Reborn: Apocalypse

"I-I-wheeze-" The Shadowalker's voice was scratchy as he stuttered, his entire body shaking. The man jerked his head over, towards where he had thrown the pair of knives at Micheal.

Micheal turned and glanced carefully, making sure he kept his attention on the Shadowalker as well.

'Hmm?' He blinked.

The two knives that had pierced through the air towards him, aimed at his head, were nowhere to be seen.

'No, hold on.' His eyes narrowed. He could faintly make out a couple of small clouds of shadowy essence, clinging to the wall and slowly dissipating.

Micheal turned back to the figure, a frown on his face.

"A fake attack?" The knives weren't real knives at all, but fake ones created out of the shadow essence a Shadowalker could manipulate. While they might look and fly through the air like a real knife, they contained none of the power or strength.

"Ye-yes. Yes. Was-was just a test." The Shadowalker's voice was harried as he stuttered out a response, not daring to move. The abruptness of Micheal's surprise response and the unexpectedness of the attack had put the man in a dangerous situation.

From the way Micheal moved, Anju felt like he should be both stronger and faster than the Irregular. This was his third year here, his Strength and Endurance were well above that of almost every single Fourth Waver. Even his Strength, which was not his strong suit, was almost 4 times as strong as that of a regular human. However…

There was a sharp blade that had somehow managed to force him out of his Shadowalker state and injure him held right up next to his neck. The Irregular's eyes bored into him as if they could pierce through his soul, shaking him to his bones.

All of these things combined to freeze him completely despite his ostensibly more powerful physique.

Micheal's eyes hardened as his thoughts raced.

"A test? Why?" As he looked at the shadowy figure, a vague memory stirred in his mind. This figure actually seemed somewhat familiar.

"I meant no har-harm. I was merely ordered t-to evaluate you." The Shadowalker seemed to have calmed down somewhat as he replied.

"Organization. Now." Micheal slid the sword right up against the man's neck, his eyes brooking no argument.

"The Saru Group." The downed man's thoughts were far too scrambled to wonder why a newbie was asking what organization he was in.

'Ah! That's it! This must be Anju, the Lieutenant under Captain Bola! The report that I was an Irregular must've caused a bigger flurry than I thought it would.' At the mention of the Saru Group, Michael finally realized how he knew this fighter.

He himself had served under the Black Knife Ninja, as the pretentious fighter called himself, back on his first go around through the 7 Layers. He had only ever been a subordinate on one of the Hunting Teams under the fighter and never risen to prominence in the Saru Group before he left, and thus hadn't had much interaction with the man.

'He was self-obsessed, but not a bad type. I remember he helped out in the large scale battle against the Black Flag Pirates when that mess went down after the Godfather Organization was almost wiped out in this Cluster.' The Black Flag Pirates were scum as far as Michael was concerned, so Anju's actions there redeemed himself.

'He died then, if I recall correctly.' He could faintly remember hearing that Captain Bola was incensed. The two men were like brothers. Anju had been murdered while using his Ability to help scout out where the Black Flag Pirates had hidden their base.

Due to the labyrinthian setup of the Cluster, if an organization was trying to hide its base, it was certainly possible to avoid prying eyes.

As all of this flashed through Michael's mind, he instantly made a decision.

thud

CRACK

"Arrrgh!"

Micheal's sword pommel slammed into the right arm of Anju, instantly cracking it. The Shadowalker fell to one knee as he yelled, clutching at his arm in pain.

"Tell your leader if he wants to test me, he can find me in person." Micheal's eyes were cold as he looked down at Anju. He held his blade next to the Shadowalker's neck, his killing intent causing the man to tremble uncontrollably.

"Your foolish overconfidence was your downfall. Don't think just because you can meld into the shadows that you can't be detected or injured." Micheal's voice boomed as he rebuked the fighter, arrogance dripping on his voice. There was no better way to teach a lesson like this than making someone feel as if their mistake might cost them their life.

Anju had originally died because he got caught in a manner like this. He was overly reliant on his Ability, and when that Ability was countered, he left himself vulnerable.

'You'll need to grow out of that habit if you want to survive.' Micheal's eyes narrowed as he withdrew his sword, barking out a command.

"Leave."

The Shadowalker made no comment as he scrambled to his feet, clutching at his arm. His body immediately collapsed into shadows as he fled, not even opening the door as he rushed away from Micheal, as if he was fleeing from a horrifying demon.

Micheal sighed as he left, looking around his room.

'Since I didn't kill and instead spared him, the Saru Group won't consider me a mortal enemy. With the skill I showed, it's likely Captain Bola might actually show up in a few days if I stay here.' He rubbed his eyes as he returned his sword to his Low-Tier Spatial Ring.

'Well. I can't have that.' The Captain was a true-blue expert. Micheal could faintly recall that the First Layer had a Ranking system in designating how powerful someone was. The Captain was at least B Rank.

'With my current physique, I would probably qualify as C Rank given my skill with the sword. I'm not sure how my Life Orbs would factor in, but I don't think I'd be able to physically keep up with him.' He sighed again. At least this incident would have gained him a great deal of respect within the Saru Group. That would make his job easier later, when he revealed the big secret of the First Layer.

He had planned on staying here in this room for the next month, he noted, as he looked around. As fate would have it, he didn't even manage to stay here a full day.

'Whatever. Easy come, easy go.' Micheal quickly packed anything he had taken out, unstopping the door. He then walked out into the hallway, glancing up and down it.

No one could be seen.

'They might be watching the roof. I'll have to be a little risky.' Micheal jogged over the stairway. Instead of going up it, he went down, dropping below several floors till he reached the 25th.

Once he arrived, he made his way over to the opposite side of the building. He checked several different rooms, noting that all of them were unoccupied. Some of them were bedrooms while others were office rooms. Finally, he found one in particular he had been searching for.

A lounge.

He ran up to the far wall of the lounge, where a large glass door could be seen, opening up onto a very small outcropping.

Most of the buildings had multiple ways to exit. It was common to find a lounge with a door that opened to the outside on certain floors, one of the odd quirks of the First Layer.

Micheal looked out at the night sky as he came outside, taking in a deep breath. Despite looking like a city, the air here was clean and fresh.

His eyes narrowed as he spotted movement.

He could just barely make out dozens of Morenkai down below, moving on the sidewalks at night. Their shambling, ominous figures were incredibly disconcerting to look at.

Micheal snapped his fingers quietly.

Immediately, two blue orbs appeared, floating around his head. He commanded his Life Orbs to descend till they reached the floor of the small outside patio.

"Hup!" He grunted quietly as he stepped on the orbs, finding his balance.

'Time to relocate.' His eyes flashed as he looked at the building he was now floating right next to. Then, without fanfare, he began to zoom up the side of it, building up momentum. After he'd flown up two different floors, and crossed the side of several rooms, Micheal swerved, turning harshly.

WHOOSH

His body soared across the empty gap between two skyscrapers as he was flung into the air. The Life Orbs immediately began to glide downward as they found nothing within 10 meters to support Micheal's weight.

For a few scant moments, exhilaration filled Micheal as he soared through the night sky, flying above the dangerous hive of monsters below.

Moments later, he came within range of the neighboring skyscraper. His Orbs immediately regained their flight capabilities, using the sturdy wall as a sort of magical anchor.

'Let's get out of here.'

.