"Ready, Ethan?" Linh asked calmly.
Before he could answer, Ethan felt a surge of energy—then, in a blink, the world shifted. They had teleported.
Cold air hit his face as the wind howled past him. Below, the sprawling estate of Darius came into view—massive, sleek, heavily guarded.
"No tall buildings to swing from this time," Linh said through his earpiece. "You're using the wingsuit."
"What? How do I activate it?" Ethan shouted, feeling gravity pull him down faster and faster.
"Just stretch out your arms—it'll deploy."
Ethan did as she said. With a whoosh, the wingsuit unfolded from his gear, catching the wind and lifting him slightly. He glided effortlessly toward the ground, his eyes fixed on the target.
"Shouldn't there be some training before using this thing?" he asked, surprisingly composed.
Linh chuckled. "You're too smart for training."
That gave him confidence. He focused on the HUD floating in his visor.
"Land at the marked point," Linh instructed.
Ethan shifted his weight, arms extended, and gently swooped down, landing safely on a patch of grass just outside the mansion.
"Why not land on the rooftop?" he asked.
"Darius's house is packed with automated defenses. Rooftop turrets—high-grade. You'll need to shut those down first."
"Got it." Ethan activated his vision mode, scanning through walls. Two dogs patrolled the yard.
"Linh, dogs."
"There's a tranquilizer built into your gauntlet. Aim and shoot."
Ethan clenched his fist. With a swift motion, he aimed at each dog and fired—two silent darts hit their targets. The dogs dropped instantly, unconscious.
"You're amazing, Linh."
"You see the control room?"
"Yes. I see it."
A guard stood just outside. Ethan crept up silently, then took him down with a brutal elbow to the neck. He entered the room.
Inside, another enemy spotted him—but too late. Ethan delivered a clean combo: punch to the face, kick to the knee, a brutal knee to the head. The guard collapsed.
Ethan pulled out his sword and drove it into the central system. The defense network shut down—but suddenly, alarms blared.
"Ethan! No! You had to deactivate the alarms first!" Linh yelled.
Ethan groaned. "Oops. My bad."
"Well, guess we're fighting our way out," he muttered.
A swarm of over 125 guards closed in.
Bee's voice crackled over comms. "Ethan, heads up. Sending you another weapon!"
"Nice!" Ethan beamed.
He drew his original sword and sliced through five attackers in seconds. Still, something felt missing.
Then—crash!—a heavy crate smashed into the ground, flattening a soldier.
"Reach out!" Bee shouted.
Ethan stretched his hand. The crate burst open. A second sword launched into the air, slicing off an arm and a leg of nearby enemies before landing in his grip.
"Another sword! Now I can be myself."
Ethan took his stance, both blades drawn.
He moved like lightning. Twin swords flashed through the air, cutting down enemy after enemy like a storm. Limbs flew. Blood sprayed. His control was precise, almost artistic.
He tossed one blade—it tore through a gunman's arm. The second flew into another's skull. With a thought, he called them back, spun, and hurled them again, the swords orbiting around him like deadly satellites.
Enemy after enemy fell—none could get close.
"Darius!! Where are you?!" Ethan roared, vengeance boiling in his voice.
Suddenly, arms wrapped around his neck. Darius appeared from behind, hurling Ethan five meters into the air.
"I'm here," Darius growled.
Ethan landed hard but rolled into a kneel. He stared down his enemy.
"Who killed my family?!" he shouted.
Darius leaped and struck, launching Ethan into a tree.
Bee whispered, panicked, "Linh, this isn't good…"
"I'm going in," Linh said, racing toward the battle.
"I killed your family," Darius sneered. "What are you gonna do about it?"
He punched Ethan again—hard enough to crack his mask.
Ethan summoned his sword and drove it into Darius's gut—but it barely slowed him.
"And now," Darius hissed, "I'm gonna kill you."
He ripped the sword out and stabbed Ethan straight through the stomach.
Ethan screamed.
Then—BOOM!
A streak of gold lightning crashed from above. Linh descended, surrounded by golden energy. Her mechanical wings flared, stabilizing her descent.
The tips of her wings charged, then fired a focused beam of electric power—BLAST!—sending Darius flying through a wall.
A stealth aircraft uncloaked and landed nearby. Medics rushed out, carrying Ethan into the ship.
Darius slumped, unconscious, bloodied.
Linh hovered, her face burning with fury.
She wanted to end him.
But she turned away, flying back to the aircraft.
Her eyes stayed fixed on Ethan.
Anger. Pain. Fear. Love.
All of it, in one glance.