The word 'try' echoed through the room. The sound of the joint-based mechanical skeleton made it clear that it would be more 'will die' than try.

Zero's reply was filled with such confidence, almost like he fully believed Saul couldn't do anything, and in fact, he couldn't. This was a monster who could kill Saul with a mere thought, hacking into his neurochip and by extension his brain, making it explode.

"You—"

Saul shouted, taking a step back.

Zero's eyes locked onto him, the cold red of his metal irises staring directly at him.

Even with such a distance, Saul could feel the cold aura he exuded, the aura of a monster, the aura of someone who was more machine than human.

A machine without emotions.

His cybernetic implants glowed in the dim-lit room, the metal plates creaking as Setoshi's stance changed, his feet slowly moving forward. It was a slow, but steady pace. Almost like that of a predator walking towards its prey, who was unable to escape.

"Don't even try."

Zero said coldly, his voice like the coldest wind, as he took a step forward, his metal boots crushing the ground below him without any effort. His cold eyes were locked onto Saul, and Saul knew, the moment that man in armor in front of him decided to make the first move, he would be sliced apart by the blades that were a part of his body.

He was an unstoppable killing machine which was made of metal, while Saul was little more than a sack of meat with a fragile skeleton.

He couldn't fight Zero.

A bead of sweat dripped down Saul's back, his throat was completely dry now and his hand was trembling uncontrollably.

He couldn't think of a way to stop Zero.

That's right, it was akin to facing an insermountable wall.

Is it possible to hold down something which surpasses the capability of a human?

No.

It's a hard fact.

Human's are weak, they don't have scales on their body to protect them from attacks nor thick fur to protect them from the environment.

They don't have sharp claws to attack something nor sharp teeth to tear flesh.

That's why human's nowadays added tools into their bodies, to enhance themselves.

Better eyesight, better stamina, better strength.

A human, with the addition of these augmentation's could be considered a superhuman, however, they are not.

They are still human, a fragile sack of meat which could be taken down if you hit the right spot.

Humans can be enhanced, but they will never be on the same level as a monster, an unstoppable mechanical killing machine whose only purpose is to hunt down targets and destroy them.

All a slightly augmented human like Saul could hope to do was to use every fibre in his being and his mind to its fullest, bring out everything that made him, himself and use that against Zero to hold him off.

He had to use his brain, he had to use every last drop of his intelligence and creativity to keep both him and his comrades alive.

Zero, however was cold, the machine couldn't be reasoned with, and even if it could understand logic, there was no guarantee the cold-hearted man would listen to anything.

It was obvious they were in a very dire situation, and Saul was in a desperate need of a plan.

How was he going to hold him back?

His eyes were flickering, he was panicking mentally. Taking a glance behind him, he could see Taguchi, Hirata, Megumi and matsugana running away for their life's, he couldn't blame them.

Taguchi was one of his only friends left after his parents had died, and he had a sick mother to take care of, who had previously been a factory worker but got in an accident, losing both her legs and being denied her insurance.

Nomi was already dead, along with Aoi.

Saul sighed internally.

"Luna, what the fuck did you do that the Kusonoki conglomerate has send Setoshi after you.."

Luna was a quiet girl most of the time, not doing anything extra and only doing what needed to be done. Why was such an influential figure hunting her?

This was something Saul wondered while Zero was slowly walking towards him without any rush. Was it a personal thing? No, someone like the Tokyo Butcher, someone like Setoshi, was above such things.

That meant the reason Kusonoki sent him after Luna had to do with business.

When suddenly—

Zero bolted toward Saul suddenly. Before he could even blink, the Tokyo Butcher had closed the distance between them with incredible speed, so fast that Saul could do nothing but stumble backwards.

Zero's arm moved in a blur of speed, his left arm which was covered in metal plating extended out and crashed into Saul's gut. Saul couldn't even react to the attack, the only thing he could manage a muffled grunt as the breath were knocked out of his lungs.

Stumbling down, he closed his eyes momentarily, the world going dark for him before he managed to stop himself. Saul grabbed his katana which was laying on the floor, grabbing it and using it to balance himself.

He needed a moment to compose himself, his breath was ragged, his body covered with a cold sweat, and his heart felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.

Zero's cold eyes didn't leave Saul, as if he was simply studying Saul's movement, his eyes almost gleamed with something that looked like cold satisfaction.

In that very moment, Saul sensed something piercing through the air, coming straight for his face.

He raised his katana up high, blocking it and then getting a good look.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

It was a piercing weapon like a shilleto, coming out from inside a chamber in Zero's left arm.

The blade was about a meter long and was incredibly sharp, the edge glinting, reflecting Saul's own reflection on it's surface. That attack had been so fast that he didn't even had time to see Zero's arm moving, but he'd reacted in time.

"Bastard—"

Saul cursed through his own clenched teeth, pushing back against the metal blade.

Zero didn't look surprised that he blocked the attack, instead, he seemed quite relaxed about it.

He took a step back, taking a deep breath, trying to get some air back into his lungs.

The fact that he managed to block the attack was already an amazing feat in itself, at least that was what Saul thought. However, he had a feeling this was just the beginning and the Tokyo Butcher was still holding back.

"That's some arm you have there."

The pain slowly started returning from that previous attack and he could feel something sticky trickling down from the corners of his lips.

"You…"

Saul coughed. It was a pathetic cough, sounding more like the wheeze of someone with tuberculosis. In a way, he was close to it. He looked at the man in armor, at his cold expression which didn't even seem bothered by the fight.

Zero's crimson eyes squinted at him as he answered.

"I'm surprised you're still holding up well."

"What? Don't think I'll go down easy?"

Saul spat out the bitter taste of copper from his mouth, glaring at Zero.

It was a bold display of bravado, but in reality, Saul was shaking in his boots.

His head was spinning, his breathing was still heavy and ragged, and his stomach was killing him, even as he spoke.

His body felt like it was on the verge of collapse, his arms trembling as he held tightly onto his katana.

Another swing came from the blade, ready to slash through him but Saul managed to dodge in time, sidestepping and taking cover behind whatever was left of the sofa they were formerly sitting on. The leather torn and ripped off, the inner stuffing peeking out and scattered around, but it was all he had.

He took a few precious seconds to take a breather.

Zero raised his right arm, his fingers clenching around the handle of a weapon hidden underneath the metal plating of his armor. He then clicked a button, with which a loud hissing sound was heard, like the sound of gas coming through.

Saul's nose perked up, picking up on a scent.

A strange, familiar but unpleasant scent that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"What the—"

He stopped, his eyes going wide, as he sniffed the air again. There it was again, that scent.

That was the smell of methane mixed with a strong, industrial-grade fuel.

A cold sweat formed on Saul's brow as realization slowly dawned on him.

"Fuck.."

"You've got to be shitting me…"

It was an unusual feeling, that smell. Something he wouldn't have expected from someone like Zero, but then again, the Tokyo Butcher was a walking weapons platform after all. It would be a miracle if he didn't have such a weapon — a flamethrower.

Then, it happened.

Crimson flame like a dying phoenix being reborn bursted out of the barrel, latching onto the gas.

They burned in an instant, transforming into a living hell, the intense heat licking against his skin that made him cringe.

Zero walked toward the flaming sofa, the weapon still spitting flames. He seemed to take some pleasure in the sight.

Saul had to act fast, but his head was spinning from a mixture of blood-loss and oxygen depletion, not to mention the overwhelming smell of burning gas and leather.

But he still had to stand up, he still had to act, for his comrades' sake.

He had a mask which would've been helped in such a situation but it had flown somewhere when Zero had jumped from the ceiling.

It was out of reach now.

Looking down at his cloths, he grabbed his katana, stabbing it into the fabric and slicing through it.

"I can use my shirt as a makeshift mask.."

He coughed again as smoke filled his lungs, making him feel sick to the pit of his stomach.

Zero watched him in his struggles with some interest, as if he was observing a lab dog. Wrapping the cloth he had just cut through tightly around his nose and mouth, he took in a deep breath, taking in as much oxygen as he could.

The makeshift mask was helping him to breathe a little better, at least, which was good.

He slowly stood up, his body screaming in pain, and clenched his teeth.

Zero's attention fell back onto him.

Saul glanced around him, the flames has consumed most of the room, including the exit so even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to run away without getting severe burns.

"This is a dead end.."

He muttered, looking back at Zero who was closing in on him.

There was no where to go — the only way out of this was to confront Zero.

But could he even hope to win against him in his current state? Could he even stand up on his own two legs?

There was no other way.

The flames were hot, licking against his skin, every breath felt like he was inhaling poison.

But now, that seemed like a secondary problem, as from underneath Zero's armor something emerged.

The device came into view in a blink, a thin metal tube came out of Zero's shoulder. The red light on the outside started blinking before a high-pitched beep emitted from it, making Saul flinch involuntarily at the sudden sound.

It was a compact, highly efficient weapon which, to a normal person, would seem almost impossibly small.

However, in Zero's hands, it looked almost like an oversized toy.

Zero took aim at Saul, now, it was obvious that the Tokyo Butcher done playing around with him. His red-eyes staring down at Saul before letting out a satisfied sigh—

The weapon's barrel opened, as a red target laster shot out. Before it could lock onto Saul, being quicker than he thought, he dodged it, running as fast as he could to the middle of the room, where a hole had been formed filled with debris from the fallen ceiling.

Since this was the second floor, he needed to make this jump to escape this blazing room where he would die much sooner than needed.

Jumping down, Saul landed safely on the debris that had been formed from the wreckage.

He felt dizzy, and he had to grab onto an iron rod that stuck out of the broken floor but at least he had managed to escape the room.

Taking a shaky breath, his vision blurring and going in and out of focus, he looked up at the broken ceiling. He could barely see Zero's silhouette, standing in the middle of the fire.

"It's the end of the line for me.."

Saul muttered to himself, before beginning to run. Although, it would be hard to call it "running."

More like staggering.

He stumbled forward, taking a few shaky steps before falling on one knee.

His breathing was still ragged, his heartbeat was like drums, and the pounding in his head did not stop.

He closed his eyes.

However, he ran.

Ran, ran and ran.

Until he reached his finished line.

When he finally opened them, he was out of the now burning house, the entire two story building set ablaze.

The sky was filled with flames, the smoke rising in the air, and ashes were drifting around.

On the horizon, beyond the dome, a moon was shining brightly. A full moon, in fact, and it was a beautiful sight to look at.

Normally such a thing wouldn't happen, because of the ads that were constantly being played on said dome. However, it seemed tonight was an exception.

No matter, it was a beautiful sight.

"Taguchi and the other's probably took the car.."

Looking around, the best course of action now was to run to the streets and get away.

Although his legs could barely move.

"Damn it.."

Saul cursed under his breath, and it was no wonder. With those wounds, he shouldn't be standing, much less running.

He clenched his teeth. He had to get away, otherwise Zero would catch him and finish what he had started.

Saul glanced behind him, where he see the front house of the house being ripped off, thrown to the side and who emerged was Zero, on his tail.

Zero had come after him. Although the Tokyo Butcher showed no emotion, to him this was enjoyable. The thrill of chasing and hunting someone was a feeling he enjoyed, he enjoyed the pained expressions of his target's faces and he was currently not in any hurry, especially when his target was so injured and weak.

This was fun.

Almost, intimate.

Euphoric.

He followed Saul closely, his eyes locked onto the bloodied footprints that had been left on the ground.

Following it like the hunting dogs of ancient times.

When suddenly, Saul sat down on the grassy ground, the green stained red with his blood, and looked up at Zero.

"I-I c..can't go on anymore. Kill me."

It was a strange request, but such an action like that was almost like showing mercy to Zero.

He glanced at Saul, standing over him like a hunter standing over a carcass he had hunted, and then crouched down to his level.

"You know what, you're really something."

Said Zero, his cold voice filled with genuine praise.

"Anyone who doesn't embrace metal like me can't survive in this world, people such as you will be wiped out one by one. I'm the proof of such a thing."

Zero paused for a moment and then raised by his arm, the missile launcher on his shoulder locking onto Saul's face.

"I'll wipe your squad out next."

Saul, however, wasn't afraid, he chuckled softly, and simply closed his eyes.

It was dark, but warm. Such a comforting feeling. When, with a loud bang.

The lights went out for Saul Griffin.

Zero stood up, turning away. He had no use for a dead body, and besides, he had other targets to take care of.

"No, how can I forget that.."

He muttered to himself, of course, a hunter never forgets his trophy.

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