29 The outpost (1)

"Hey Nico, bring me those chips. I need to attach this piece to the interface module. This is the last step before we can power up this shit."

"Yeah."

Nico handed the chips to Alex, who caught it with a smirk. "This device has a fuckin' complex encryption. Alone could make Fort Knox's security look like child's play."

Nico nodded in agreement. "Regardless, we will earn a hefty sum when we will get those data."

A noise attracted Nico's attention. "Did you hear that?"

Alex turned to look where Nico was looking, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

"What are y — "

It was then that a knife pierced his throat. Nico didn't even have the time to scream, as Sebastian was already on him.

"Aaah. More juice for my steam." Sebastian shivered as he absorbed the mana from the two Nightshades.

Sebastian was already inside their outpost. It hadn't been easy to reach this point, but thanks to Manifest illusion, the spell he got from his mother, it had been relatively easy.

All he had to do was distract the guards outside and kill the others, then take care of those he used his illusion on.

It took him a week to make the spell, but he managed. The only problem was that a week, at the end of October, wasn't really time he could afford to lose.

After he was done absorbing their mana, Sebastian chanted his new spell.

"Ezuro."

As the final syllable echoed through the dim chamber, a flicker of light materialized before him.

From this wavering luminescence, a form slowly took shape, mirroring Sebastian's own figure, mask and all.

This illusion stood before him, its outline shimmering and occasionally faltering.

The illusion, though, was lacking, its presence not as solid or convincing as he wanted.

Sebastian's poor mana reserves had limited the spell's potency, resulting in an illusion that was, frankly, a bit underwhelming.

<This will be enough. I just need it to distract the Nightshades.>

Sebastian navigated the labyrinthine corridors of the Nightshades' outpost. The place was a maze, far larger than he had expected, with traps lurking around every corner.

Despite the daunting scale and the myriad traps designed to ensnare unwelcome visitors, Sebastian avoided turrets and dodge snares that would have captured less savvy intruders easily.

He didn't know how he managed to not alert the Nightshades, but somehow he did.

Sebastian sent the illusion forward. He remained a few paces behind. He could not see what the illusion did.

Yet, the plan was simple: the illusion would trigger any ambushes or activate traps based on sight before they could harm him.

If there was someone that could spot or attack him, or if a trap was poised to spring, it would reveal itself against the illusion first.

As Sebastian's illusion advanced with cautious steps, the silence of the corridor was abruptly shattered.

Without warning, a pair of hidden turrets sprang to life, their barrels whirring as they locked onto the illusion and unleashed a hail of bullets.

The illusion, flickering under the onslaught, served its purpose well, but the noise was unavoidable.

"Fuck. Here it goes my luck!"

The clamorous echo of gunfire triggered an alarm, its shrill cry slicing through the quiet like a knife.

Sebastian cursed under his breath, his heart racing as the base was thrown into chaos.

"Distract the turrets!" he said at the illusion. He only had one chance.

The spectral figure darted towards the turrets, its movements erratic and unpredictable, drawing their fire away from Sebastian's path.

Sebastian seized the moment and sprinted past the distracted turrets, his footsteps silent despite his speed.

"Feels almost like cheating at chess, doesn't it?" He said to himself, referring to the illusion.

But his relief was short-lived. Two Nightshades, armed and alert, rounded a corner ahead of him. Their guns were raised, their intentions clear.

"Fantastic! Just what I needed!"

Sebastian recalled his illusion. It started running through walls, a ghostly apparition in full defiance of reality.

"But then again, when the game is this rigged, who can blame me for playing a little... creatively?"

The illusion appeared in front of the Nightshades, drawing their attention.

In the brief window of distraction, Sebastian lunged forward.

"HELLO!" he said with a grin the Nightshades couldn't see.

He disarmed the first one with a deft twist of the wrist, sending the gun skittering across the floor.

He then hurled his dagger toward the second, piercing his eye and killing him on the spot.

"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT A SHOT!"

The first Nightshade barely had time to react before Sebastian's hand was on his weapon. He didn't waste time, and fired a bullet directly through the man's head.

"This wasn't bad either."

The alarm continued to blare throughout the complex, a relentless siren that pierced the area.

He glanced around, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards in an amused smirk.

"Well, so much for sneaking in unnoticed. Nothing like a blaring siren to really highlight my subtle entrance. At this rate, they might as well roll out the red carpet for me."

With a shake of his head and a chuckle at his own joke, he readied himself to go forward, the alarm's din now just a backdrop to his determined stride.

"Let's see, it is not here," he said, opening a door. "It's not here… aaaah damn, where is that office?"

He kept running. Weirdly enough, he only found some turrets, which he easily destroyed thanks to his illusion.

In the end, he arrived at a door. There must have not have been Nightshades anymore since he found no one else inside the base.

He had encountered no further resistance beyond the turrets.

While pushing the door open, he stepped into an office, only to be greeted by the sight of a Nightshade gang member.

It was a woman who started shooting at him as soon as she saw him. Sebastian took cover behind a sturdy piece of furniture.

"Playing rough, uh?" He grinned under his mask.

Without hesitation, he summoned his illusion once more, instructing it to feign an attack on the woman.

The spectral figure charged forward, throwing a punch that passed harmlessly through her.

The momentary confusion it caused was all Sebastian needed. In that fleeting second, he sprang from cover, closing the distance between them with strides powered by his enhanced muscles.

Before the woman could realize what was happening, Sebastian had already disarmed her.

"Wait," Sebastian said. The woman looked at him with eyes full of fear and confusion. "It should have been easier to shoot you." He sighed.

"Well… nevermind." He grinned. "Let's play a game, shall we?"