A thick thumb came down on a small button, casting the sign of a crossed-out speaker on a screen and sealing the sound it broadcast to the surrounding equipment. Red Boulder rose from his chair, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at the ceiling. He wasn’t trying to see through the reinforced concrete as much as he was trying to hear through it.

For a moment there, he wanted to believe it was just his imagination, but knowing he didn’t have anything like that, he knew something was up.

"Band, was that you?" He spoke into the bracelet on his left arm. "Band? You there?"

He waited exactly three seconds before taking action, casting aside every bit of doubt he had before.

"Bullet, we have trouble!"

[Wha-!? What do you mean?]

"Band isn’t responding!"

[Doesn’t she take a shower around this time? Maybe that’s-]

"No, it’s not just that."

Genomes were generally forbidden from installing implants, even ones as simple as NIMs for communication, forcing them to rely on external comms like the bracelets handed to them by the BEO. Taking them off while bathing was nothing strange, even if they were waterproof, but Band knew not to make that mistake. That was one of the most important rules in their current situation.

[I will activate the barrier.]

Though he still had doubts, Bullet knew better than to risk everything on the chance that their teammate might just be asleep. Not a second later, a subtle hum reverberated through the aim the barrier had been activated.

Crimson Watch had lost two of its members to a ghost, one capable of going anywhere, anytime, without anything being capable of getting in his way. Teleportation and portals were the main abilities he used to get around, but a more insidious power he had was the ability to erase his presence, turning him both intangible and imperceptible. An enemy capable of such a level of stealth was a nightmare to deal with, so they had no choice but to go all out trying to counter their abilities.

Thankfully, the BEO has been taking countermeasures ever since this new threat appeared. Every hero’s team had Spatial Stabilizers now, which, when activated, prevented the use of any abilities that disturb the fabric of space. Then there was the anti-Sorcery field, which disrupts the flow of mana in the surroundings and renders it impossible to use Arts like the Shirogane’s Silent Breath.

With both active, Crimson Watch’s base just became a death trap for their enemy. Unless he escaped before they could locate him, it was only a matter of time before his capture.

"Come..." The big guy whispered, as if expecting the assassin to hear him. "Let’s see what y-"

A fist sank into the left side of his face, breaking his teeth and cutting his words before his massive body flew through several walls. The resulting concussion left Red Boulder unable to move his limbs. Defence should have been his main attribute, but a single blow was enough to incapacitate him.

Horror enveloped him as he sensed the monster approaching, but try as he might, his body refused to move. The most he could do was move his head in the direction of the sound its footsteps made, but in his blurry vision, all he saw was a vague human silhouette with knife-like horns protruding from its head.

BLAM

A gunshot echoed through the corridor, and the silhouette backed away. Even with his vision impaired, Red Boulder could tell who it was that fired that gun.

"R...un... Get... out... Get out of here, Bullet!"

Glaring into the scope of his sniper rifle, Red Bullet gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger. The entire room shook as if a cannon had been fired at its center, and one of the walls exploded as the bullet pierced another hole through it. A second explosion followed, but the short hero clicked his tongue. The target somehow managed to evade his shot for the second time.

"Boulder! Get the fuck up already!"

The situation couldn’t be any worse. Red Band wasn’t responding, which meant she went down first. The barrier was working, and so was the anti-Sorcery field, but that seemed to matter little. Their opponent was a cyborg, one powerful enough to incapacitate Red Boulder with a physical attack while being small and agile enough to evade sniper shots fired at close range. That rendered their preparations meaningless, leaving them to fight as if they had been caught off guard.

The red oni mask was the only hint they needed to identify the attacker. It was the Red Demon, the same monster who changed the meaning behind the name of the district they were in right now. Knowing who he works for, the assumption that Ghost was behind the attack turned out not to be so wrong after all. Unfortunately, that only made things worse.

’Damn it...’

The Red Demon spared the still collapsed Boulder, then turned his gaze in Bullet’s direction, and then he vanished. Adjusting his rifle ever so slightly, Bullet pulled the trigger, emptied the chamber, and fired the bullet he had loaded right after. Both shots missed by a hair’s breadth as the monster zoomed in on him at an inhuman speed. The hero jumped back and fired another shot, but even at point-blank distance, the bastard was still able to evade. Arriving within striking distance, he pulled back his green-plated arm, coating it with brilliant light before unleashing a punch.

Once again, Crimson Watch’s base trembled. Buried under a pile of rubble, Bullet panted for air with eyes wide with shock. He was alive. He was somehow alive. The barrier he received managed to block the Demon’s attack, but as its light dimmed, it was clear that there would not be a second miracle. The monster seemed to have turned to face Boulder, who was finally back on his feet. Bullet had to make a decision at that moment, and though he felt bad for his teammate, he decided to do something else instead of offering his support.

This was an emergency beyond the hero team’s capabilities, especially now that they had lost their most powerful members. Faced with one of the worst villains to ever walk the city’s streets, their best choice was to call for backup. If all their precautions failed, they had a direct line to Neo-Vatra’s strongest team, given to them for this exact situation. Tapping his bracelet, Bullet sent the emergency signal to Flame Guard.

[Did you really think this would work?]

The message appeared unintelligible at first, but as he read it for the second time, Bullet seemed to remember a second piece of info on their attacker. His other name was the Cyberpunk, and he was one of the most skilled Divers in the world. BEO tech had no match, but it still fell short in the face of someone of his caliber.

’Don’t tell me-’

Before he could finish the thought, two more notifications appeared. The first one informed him that the space stabilizer had been shut down, and the second was about the anti-Sorcery field. What was the point of those machines again?

Boulder seemed to regain some of his vigor, rushing to charge the enemy. His attacks wreaked havoc on the building, causing more destruction without showing any results. Bullet believed it was futile until an idea popped into his mind. The location of their base was known by all, so if the noise of battle reached those outside, it would be clear that they were under attack, and the right people would hear about it before long. The problem was, could they survive until then?

Not wasting time wondering about their chance of success, Bullet turned the long barrel of his rifle away from the enemy and activated his ability at the same time as he pressed the trigger. The small explosion that launched the bullet forward was magnified twenty times, turning the bullet into a tank shell. The direction he chose pointed toward the center of the city, and with just a bit of luck, the shot would fly far enough to catch Paragon’s attention, drawing it to their location.

"Grahh!!!"

The pained groan sent chills through Red Bullets, and he turned around just to see a nightmare-inducing sight. Boulder, the toughest among his teammates, was on his knees, clutching his neck with both hands. Streams of crimson blood flowed from the gaps, quickly forming a puddle at his feet. Standing before him was the Red Demon, both arms resting by his side, red droplets trickling from the claws on his left.

Bullet was frozen silent. It was only now that he noticed the villain had different bionic arms, one green and bulky, the other black, slim, and sharp. The mismatch gave him the appearance of a disfigured monster, and painted in fresh human blood, that description wasn’t too far from the truth.

Snapping back to his senses, Red Bullet aimed his rifle once more. His desperate shot pierced nothing but air, and before he could wonder where the monster had gone, his head was suddenly locked in place. Just as he began to wonder why he couldn’t move, his line of sight was suddenly raised, as if he had stood up. As it reached a level he knew was impossible for someone of his height, an image began to form in his mind: that of a blood-soaked demon picking his severed head.