The alley was quieter now, filled only with the occasional groan of pain. Athena stood near the mouth of the alley, the artifact key in her hand—sleek, gold, etched with glowing cyan runes pulsing softly.
Dark Lord was the first to break the silence.
"You're not seriously keeping it, are you?" he asked, brushing dust off his cloak, the red shimmer of his broadsword still faintly glowing. "We took Recoil down together. That key should belong to the crew."
Athena shot him a cold glare. "No. I took him down. You and Neo were eating pavement half the fight. You don't get to call dibs."
Neo stepped in now, spear slung over one shoulder, his tone calm but edged with warning. "Athena, come on. Let's not pretend you did this solo. This isn't the time to get selfish."
Athena's hand tightened around the key. "I'm not being selfish. I'm being realistic. This key is too dangerous to pass around like loot. We need someone strong enough to wield it—and that's me."
Dark Lord growled, stepping closer. "You think we'll just let you walk away with it?"
The tension crackled between them like storm clouds ready to burst. Recoil, who had managed to get closer to their position, winced in pain as he watched it unfold.
Nova's voice pinged faintly in his ear. "Warning: aggression levels among hostiles escalating. Probability of internal conflict—78%."
"I can see that, Nova," he muttered, wiping blood from his lip.
Neo raised a hand, trying to keep the peace. "Let's vote on it. Use the crew protocol. Majority rules."
Athena shook her head. "No votes. No delays. The longer we argue, the more likely someone else tracks us down. We need to move—"
She stopped.
So did everyone else.
A cold, unnatural breeze cut through the alley like a blade. The neon lights flickered.
Then… clink… clink… clink.
Bootsteps. Slow. Purposeful. From the shadows behind them.
A shape emerged.
Black tuxedo. Skull-like mask. Twin holsters housing a Glock and Colt at his hips.
The Reaper.
"Evening, children," he said smoothly, voice metallic through the voice modulator. "Having a little lover's quarrel over my key?"
Dark Lord turned instantly, sword drawn. "How the hell did he find us?!"
"I didn't," the Reaper said, stepping forward, light bounced off his Glock in the moonlight. "I watched. And you made it easy."
Athena backed away, holding the artifact tighter. "Stay back." " Athena, your probabilities of beating this target are down to 15 percent" Iris warned.
He tilted his head. "Or what?"
Athena struck first—flinging a throwing knife aimed for his visor. But the Reaper tilted his head with unnatural precision, dodging it mid-step. Neo lunged next, his electrified spear crackling as it came down.
CLANG!
Reaper caught the shaft with both hands, twisted, and slammed Neo into the dumpster with a sickening clang.
Dark Lord roared and charged, broadsword flashing. Reaper disappeared.
Then he reappeared behind Dark Lord, slashing across his back with a dagger so fast the blade left a red afterimage.
-110 HP.
Dark Lord hit the ground hard, groaning.
Athena activated a skill—her boots flaring with speed. She lunged in, fists blazing, going for a full-body combo. Reaper gave a slight smile and emerged another dagger.
He met her strikes head-on. For every punch she landed, he returned three. The alley exploded with movement—steel clashing, fists flying, shadows dancing like ghosts.
"Nova," Recoil whispered, trying to sit up. "Can we intervene?"
"Negative. HP too low. Inventory locked for 20 more seconds. Probably of sucess now at 5 percent"
Athena landed a clean hit to the Reaper's ribs—he staggered slightly.
She moved to press the attack—but that's when he swept low, spun, and stabbed both daggers into the wall behind her, propelling himself up and over her back.
He flipped, landed behind her—
—and yanked the artifact key from her grip.
She turned too late.
He was already airborne again, flipping backward like a dancer made of death, the key spinning once between his fingers before vanishing into his inventory with a flash of black pixels.
Athena screamed in frustration and charged.
Just before Reaper raised a hand—and a shimmering smoke bomb burst from his palm, engulfing the alley in thick black mist— he glanced at Recoil and gave a chuckle.
"Consider this a favor," his voice echoed from the shadows. "You three would've just ruined it."
By the time the smoke cleared, the Reaper was gone.
Silence.
Neo was slumped against the dumpster. Dark Lord was barely conscious. Athena stood frozen, her chest heaving, fists clenched.
Recoil, still sitting against the wall, chuckled despite himself. "Told you it was a bad idea trying to steal it from me, now you couldn't beat the Reaper"
Athena didn't reply. She just stared into the distance, where the Reaper had vanished into the night, the artifact now in his hands.
And for the first time, Recoil saw something in her eyes that hadn't been there before.
Not arrogance,not confidence. But fear. Without speaking a word, she reversed and boarded her car. She gave Recoil a little shaken gaze and drove off.
" Nova" Recoil muttered. " Call me the Silver Syndicates, I need to get outta here" …
" Wait man, you mean the key was stolen from you?" Tyrion inquired, his tone indicated worry. Recoil gave a slight nod.
Five minutes after the call made to the Silver Syndicates. They arrived at the scene where they met Recoil on really low stats and took him to Smoke's place.
" But why didn't you upload it mate? This could've been avoided?" Vapor groaned in frustration.
" So what happens now?" Smoke asked while he offered him a red pill. " We find a way to get it back happens" Tyrion raged.
" What is it?" Recoil asked staring at the pill. " Something to restore 30 percent of your HP back" Smoke clarified.
Recoil swallowed and felt some energy work it's way into his bones. He viewed his stats
Name: Recoil Coins: 10350
Height: 6 feet 1inch
Rank: C {Amateur I} XP: 255/400
HP: 95/300 MP: 200/200
Strength: 55. Accuracy%: 45
Stamina: 40. Agility: 30
Luck: 30 Available stats point: 60. Available skill points: 40
**Weapons**
–Backpack capacity–: 4/10
Dual Glock 19cc { -75 points damage,clip size: 9, reload time:15secs, range: 100 metres}
Remington shotgun LV2{ -90 points damage, clip size: 9, reload time:25secs, range: 97 metres}
Saber blade XR { -36 points damage}
Phantom fang { -130 points damage, critical hit damage -150}
Grenades x9 [ -250 points damage, 10 metres blast radius]
N/A…
***Skills***
Basic street fighting ( Lv5)
Quantum leap (Lv 1)
***Accessories***
Dark hoodie, tracksuit bottoms and trainers.
" I'm sorry I disappointed you guys" Recoil said in a heavy tone. " I'm disappointed myself but don't worry I will get our artifact back and when I do they'll all regret they ever stole it!" Recoil declared, his blue eyes darkening with determination.