"IRIS!"
The shout ripped up Damon's throat.
The Chimera, its nasty needle-mouth just inches from Iris's pale face, froze for a second. It was the kind of hesitation a predator has when it hears a growl that's worse than its own.
[ALERT: DEADLY PANIC DETECTED IN USER]
[EVE: FULL CHARGE - AUTHORIZE SHOT?]
The EVE in Damon's hand felt like a heart going crazy in his palm.
He didn't think about days. He didn't think about death.
He only saw Iris's face, the beast's mouth.
And then... a snap of pure rage.
The air got thick, and a perfect cut appeared on the Chimera's neck.
An empty space, a slice of nothing. Damon kept squeezing the trigger until the Chimera's body looked like a damn strainer.
It blinked out, erased from existence like a bug in the code.
Damon was gasping.
The EVE, quiet again, cooled down in his hand, but the hollow feeling in his arm stayed.
[COST: 60 DAYS OF LIFE EXTRACTED]
[WARNING: SEVERE NECROSIS IN RIGHT ARM]
SIXTY DAYS?!
WHAT THE HELL?!
A cold chill crawled up his spine, colder than the Chimera's attack.
Sixty days. Double what he spent on the golem.
Why so much? Was it the rage? The adrenaline from seeing Iris on the floor?
He staggered, bracing himself against the wall.
His right arm hurt like hell.
Iris coughed and forced herself up, one hand going to her neck, then to a rib.
Damon stared at her, his eyes still burning with leftover fury he didn't even know he had.
"Iris... are you okay?"
She stopped.
Her blue eyes, a second ago full of pain, locked onto him. A soft, sudden blush spread across her cheeks.
"Yes... Zero."
He hasn't ever called her by her name.
Aiwass, who had seen everything, just tilted his head, a spark of curiosity dancing in his dark eyes.
Sasha stood by the busted door. She was staring at Damon's right arm, where the necrosis was already starting to stain his skin.
Her eyes behind the glasses went wide.
But when Damon looked at her, Sasha shut her mouth and nodded slowly, putting a finger to her lips like, keep it quiet.
***
By the inquisitor guild's little measurement standards, the mission was a success.
More dangerous than they expected but they got more than they originally came for.
Damon walks with his teeth clenched, his right arm hidden under his shredded black cloak and the necrosis crawls like spilled ink under his skin.
GOD, IT HURTS LIKE HELL!
Damon screams it in his head, while outside he keeps that stoic face like "I'm too cool to feel pain".
Lieutenant Miller waits for them in the main lobby, with that rat-smile like he just found cheese.
"Well, well. The National Hero comes back from his reality bath," Miller says, covering his nose in this dramatic way with a silk handkerchief. "How was the trip, Zero? Did the rats ask you for autographs?"
Damon doesn't even stop.
His [Legislator's Eye] flickers with red static.
[STATUS: ACTIVE NECROSIS]
[RECOMMENDATION: AMPUTATION]
Iris steps forward, cutting Miller off. Her armor is dented and stained with black ichor, but her aura is scary as hell.
"Step aside, Lieutenant."
Miller takes a step back, blinking.
"Captain Valen, I was only trying..."
"We found an unauthorized facility," Iris cuts in, pulling out a scorched memory unit she ripped from a terminal in the sewers. "A hidden lab experimenting with chimeras under the city."
"That... that needs to be reported immediately to Master Marcus. I'll handle the chain of cust..."
Miller tries to grab the unit, but Iris yanks it back hard.
SMACK!
"Negative," she says. "This is a Squad Zero operation, so the info is Classified. If this reaches the Council before we analyze it, heads are gonna roll."
Damon watches Miller shrink.
"But... protocol..."
"The protocol is me," Iris says, and walks right past him toward the private elevators.
Damon follows her. Iris just lied to the second-in-command to protect her "discovery". She's turning into a rebel, and all because of a misunderstanding.
"Nice work, partner," Aiwass whispers as he passes Miller, winking at him. "Better luck with the next trap."
Miller is left alone in the lobby, fists clenched and face red with embarrassment, while the elevator doors slide shut.
Damon follows Iris into the elevator, the pain in his right arm throbbing.
Shit, I can't think with this burning!
The glass elevator rises. The city spreads out under their feet, and he can't stop the nausea.
Iris stays solid, back straight like an unbreakable wall.
The air loads up with silence and Damon feels the thick mana aura around her.
A pure S-rank.
No wonder she's the guild captain, she's a machine.
His [Legislator's Eye] shows some flickering glitch over his arm, the necrosis is moving with no mercy and he can't wait, he knows he has to check this, now.
Iris turns to him, her expression, a second ago ice, softens for like one moment. There's a spark in her eyes, a silent question Damon doesn't get.
"Zero," Iris starts. "Down there... you shouldn't have..."
Damon raises a hand, stopping her.
"Captain."
His gray eyes, usually distant, now give off this urgency Iris has never seen.
"I need you to come with me somewhere," his voice rough from forcing himself to stay calm.
He leans in a little, staring her down, pushing for that kind of closeness only a secret demands.
Somewhere there's no one. Not Aiwass, not Miller, not his damn recruits.
"Alone."