Reborn: Apocalypse

"Oh Xavier, you don't need to!" A cheerful, female voice echoed in the afternoon light as a group of men and women moved off one of the connecting bridges from the Open Market skyscraper. Behind them, the market was still in full force. It would last this way till far into evening as people came to trade from all over.

"Tess, Tess, you know the rules. Safety first when we leave the Open Market." Xavier Shallot glanced warmly at the speaker, a petite brunette wearing a set of jean shorts and a black shirt.

"Just give me a moment." Xavier walked over to each person in the group, tapping them lightly on the head.

There were seven people here apart from Xavier. Four men and three women. When Xavier tapped each one on the head, a small, dimly glowing yellow mark would appear, in the shape of a small flame.

At the same time, a small ring on his hand would glow, an Artifact of some nature.

"There we are. Just a reminder, the Life Fires will give you an innate sense for each other. If you get lost in an ambush or an attack, focus on the Life Fire and follow it to find your way back." He nodded at his allies. Fully two-thirds of them were brand new recruits that had only been in the First Layer for a week or so.

"The Knights Gavel do not leave anyone behind." His voice was reassuring as he patted a few of the new Chosen on the back. The force they were a part of, the Knights Gavel, had a couple hundred members and were sizable, though not quite able to face up to the four great powers of the Cluster.

"Hear, hear!"

"Damn right!"

A couple of cheers broke out as the close-knit team began to head off. They kept a steady and alert watch as they moved, several of them fingering handguns or swords as they moved.

In no time at all, they crossed over several bridges, leaving the vicinity of the Open Market. The group didn't let their guard down, staying on alert. At one point, they ran into a shambling Morenkai, but quickly dispatched it, using teamwork to kill it without much ado.

Time passed.

"We're about halfway back to base. Are we going to go hunting again? Or keep going all the way back?" One of the men on the team came up to Xavier as the group jogged onto one particular skyscraper.

"Hmm." Xavier thought it over,

"I think we'll head back and recoup for now. The newbies still ne-"

CLANG

As the group fully crossed onto a large, grey skyscraper with a plain, tiled roof, a loud metallic echo caused all of them to freeze. Immediately the group bunched up, swords and guns drawn as they formed a close perimeter. Several of them raised a type of large, circular Holdon Shields, defensive Artifacts from the Shop that were durable enough to block bullets.

"Careful!" Xavier's voice was cool as he looked around, quickly scanning the rooftop. In just a split second, his eyes landed on the source of the metallic echo.


A fist-sized smoke grenade that had landed just a few meters away.

BOOOM

Just as he caught sight of the object, the grenade exploded, a massive cloud of smoke spewing out. This grenade wasn't like regular ones from Earth, but enhanced, instantly creating a large plume that swept across the rooftop.

"Enemy attack! Cluster up, guard each other's backs! Careful!" Xavier's voice boomed with authority as he took charge, his eyes flashing. His hands reached up to his back, bringing forth the two long swords he kept on him.

"Where are they?!"

"I can't see through the smoke!"

The voices of the newer members of the group grew panicked as they all pulled together, coughing as the smoke obscured their vision.

"Remain calm! We are united, a team. As long as you stay calm, we will survive!" Xavier's voice had a heroic air to it as he looked around, frowning fiercely.

'Who is attacking? Where are they?' His eyes were grim as he scanned the grey smoke. He could barely see his allies next to him, let alone the enemy.

"Arrrgh!"

An abrupt, feminine scream shook the air, causing him to spin to his left. Faintly, a flash of pink light glowed in the smoke before vanishing.

"Abigail?" He called out the name of the girl that had screamed, one of the more experienced members.

"She's gone!"

"What the hell?!"

"Wa-wait, Jason is gone too!"

Two of their members had vanished, one silently while the other with a loud scream. The dense smoke continued to hamper visibility, blocking out light.

'They were both C Rankers. We must be facing multiple close combat enemies, perhaps they can see through the smoke naturally.' Xavier's mind race ahead of him as he yelled out loud,

"Everyone, tighten up! Don't let yourself get separated, link up with your partners! The smoke isn't poisonous!" Everyone on their team had a partner, save for himself. He was one of the Lieutenants of the Knights Gavel, commanding a platoon of his own.

As Xavier stepped back, intending to follow his own advice, he abruptly realized that there was no one next to him.

In fact… not a single one of his teammates was responding. His head darted back and forth, his entire body tingling.

'What the hell is this… it's like a damn horror movie.' Xavier mentally swore.

"Who are you? What do you want?" His voice was cold and cutting. At the same time, Xavier's body seemed to shiver, rippling as he activated an Ability. A necklace around his neck also began to lightly glow, causing a blue aura to appear around his face.

A single moment passed in silence. Gradually, some of the smoke began to lessen, making the rooftop easier to see.

From out of the smoky landscape, a lone figure emerged just a few meters in front of Xavier. A man with deep blue eyes, holding a steel blade in his hand. The man's face was covered by a large, white theater mask, leaving only his eyes visible.

As Xavier saw him, he shivered faintly.

'This man… he is dangerous.'

"Long time no see, Xavier." Michael stared at the serial killer, his eyes placid.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?! How dare you attack us!" Xavier's entire body boiled with rage,

"We did nothing to harm you! What have you done with my alli-"

"You can drop the act, Xavier. You aren't fooling anyone." Micheal stared at the fighter through the mask, his voice derisive.

"Hup!" Without even giving the man time to think, Micheal leapt forward, his Steelborn Sword cutting through the air. Sword Energy wrapped around it, giving the blade a powerful edge as he swung forward.

CLANG

thud

Xavier was knocked backwards several steps, holding his two swords out in front of him. Smoke flowed around his body as he slid backwards, cascading like a river.

Micheal narrowed his eyes,

'He's faking. He could've withstood that blow if he wanted.' He instantly reached that conclusion as he felt and saw the impact, his years and years of combat experience kicking in. The way Xavier was flung backward, the way he reacted, it all clued him in, nothing escaping his vision.

'He's already B Rank, probably a high level B Ranker with his Ability.' Xavier was much stronger than Micheal had expected.

As Xavier got his bearings, he stamped down hard with his right foot.

"HIYAAAA!" An explosive burst of energy flew off from Xavier, a blast of wind shaking the air. This energy seemed to be from an Ability of his, though which Micheal was unsure. The gust blew apart the last remaining bits of smoky cover, fully revealing the scene upon the rooftop.

All the members of Xavier's team were lying about two dozen meters away on the floor of the rooftop, still and unmoving. There were no wounds on their bodies, however, and their chests were still rising and falling, indicating that they were still alive.

The masked figure of Sophia was standing guard over them, her arms crossed.

"Stay strong, gang! I'll defeat him and save you all!" A heroic aura burst around Xavier as he saw the downed men and women, blinking as he noticed that they were still alive.

"You knocked out my teammates but are attacking me?!" Mild confusion filled Xavier's voice as he saw this,

"The Knights Gavel will no-" He was interrupted.

"They're all unconscious, you don't need to keep acting." Micheal took a slow step forward. His Steelborn Sword dragged on the ground, a metallic echo screeching out.

The blond haired man stared at Micheal, his eyes slowly narrowing. He then glanced over at his downed teammates, noting that they were indeed all unconscious. He then took a speculative glance around, taking in his surroundings.

Abruptly, his entire demeanor changed. His personality seemed to change completely.

"Hahaha, wow, I'm impressed!" His serious, heroic look vanished, jarringly replaced with laughter and applause. He looked at Micheal with a friendly smile, his head tilting slightly to the side,

"You are really fucking annoying."

WHOOSH

CLANG

Xavier's body blurred as he sprinted forward, crossing the distance between him and Micheal in a single moment. He led forward with a direct slash, shaped like an 'x' right where Micheal's chest was.

The blow sent Micheal sliding backwards, his Steelborn Sword precisely blocking it. He guided the angle of his sword to slam into the weakest point of Xavier's attack, nullifying as much of the impact as possible.

'Oof. He's got power that's at least at 7-8 times the strength of a regular human.' Micheal winced as he pivoted, his feet gliding back as he forcibly came to a stop.

"You caught me, whoever you are, Masky." Xavier laughed cheerfully, a rictus of a smile appearing on his face.

"I don't know how you know, or how much you know, but you clearly know something, ahahaha." He clutched at his stomach as he continued to laugh uncontrollably. Tears streamed down his face as he shook from joy, his body shivering.

'There it is.' Micheal's eyes narrowed.

'His personality shift. The killer part.' Xavier Shallot was an insane serial killer, in the most literal sense of the word.

Micheal had read reports that guessed the killer suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder, having multiple different personalities that shifted, intermingling with his psyche. The reports had guessed that some of those personalities were mentally unstable, lacking any sense of impulse control.

The chaotic situation of the 7 Layers had only exacerbated his condition.

Perhaps back on Earth, a man like this would get treatment and help, living out his life in safety. In the brutal reality of the 7 Layers, however, letting him walk free meant allowing the deaths of thousands. As for trying to recruit him... Micheal could never accept such an unstable element on his team, regardless of how strong the man was.

'...'

'...I will do what I must.' He pushed the thought aside, focusing.

Micheal took a single step forward.

Xavier froze completely, laughter cutting off mid-laugh. His face then whipped back upward, staring at Micheal unblinkingly.

"You caught me alright. But are you enough to handle me?" He flexed his fingers. Immediately, his body began to glow and shimmer. In a split second, his entire physique took on a faintly transparent appearance, just barely see through and clear.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the blue necklace he wore around his neck.

'The Water Elemental Body Type and the Nullification Aura Necklace. He's insane but not an idiot.' Micheal stared at what he saw, nodding his head slightly.

'It's exactly the same as before.'

"How are you going to kill me if you can't even cut me? Ahahaha!"

The mad serial killer began his attack.

.

.

.

Next update on Wednesday!

P.S. Want this story to remain 100% free and not go Premium? Vote your Power Stones and it will stay that way! :)

P.S.S. Become a Patron to read up to 15+ chapters ahead tho, and support the author ;) http://bit.ly/joinwiz

.