Lila died?

One bullet grazes her neck, causing blood to splash against the window beside her.

She screams in agony while holding her wounded neck.

Her entire torso went limp from shock as she lay helpless on the floor.

Blood gushed out of her neck, mingling with tears streaming down her cheeks. She lay motionless, staring blankly at her terrified brother.

Bullets were suspended before they could hit Sylvester from behind, and they fell to the ground.

Clank!

Clank!

Sylvester rushes over to Lila, shoving the table aside. His heart aches in pain as he clutches her cold body, unable to protect her from the attack. 'Lila!' he cried.

Boom!

An overheated circuit causes the machine to explode.

Within minutes, Six corpses were dropped to the floor, along with dozens of injured and mysteriously missing people, who looked similar to Lila's.

Rai is thrown into a state of panic at the strange sight that could only be attributed to a disturbed mental state of Sylvester in response to his injured sister.

It wasn't long before most survivors began running outside to escape the nightmare scenario that was unfolding before their eyes.

Quickly healing his shoulder and face injury that he had sustained from the bullets, Rai leaps across the table and shoots a bolt of lightning which severs the mechanical arm.

Bang!

Sparks fly everywhere as electricity surges through the air. Some land on the exposed areas, crackling and igniting instantly, engulfing the entire area in flames. The blazing debris rises high above the ceiling before exploding upwards in a massive ball of fire.

Rai watches the robot shut down, dropping to the floor as the flames extinguish.

Its metal frame is heavily armored, with scale-like armor plating covering every inch of its outer surface. A massive cannon mounted behind its shoulders emitted clouds of black smoke, which it had used as a cloak earlier to sneak up on them. Two sets of legs protruded from its sides, each ending in three clawed toes facing inward.

There was a spark of electricity from its body, with a glitching red glow from its eyes. It had been augmented with a skewed version of the deceased awakener's healing ability.

A revving sound could be heard as it slowly updated its system and had begun its version of a healing process.

Rai takes a step back, stunned by the reminder, knowing the capability of such a monstrous agile seven-foot robot.

'That can't hold it off for too long.' He thinks while looking around for possible escape routes.

Walking over to a distraught Sylvester, he punches him in the face and yells at him in rage. "Get your act together?! What the fuck are you doing sitting there in self-pity?! She is going to heal, goddamnit!!!"

Snapping out of the trance-like state, Sylvester holds onto Rai's hoodie drawcord firmly, pulling him closer and threatening. "If anything happens to her while in your care, I'll end you!"

'Understood!' Rai nods his head as he doesn't have any other choice.

Releasing Rai, Sylvester wraps Lila's hands with his jacket and hands her over.

Rai holds her in his arm, worried about the consequences of the jacket slipping off Lila's hands. "What if..."

Sylvester cuts him off before Rai can express his concern. "If you die by her hands while she's unconscious, then you're worse off dead."

Seeing Sylvester's eyes glow with rage as he looks behind and at the robot, Rai gives one final nod and rushes towards a counter, hiding behind it.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he carefully places Lila on the floor and watches her as she slowly heals.

'Why is hers taking so long?' He wonders with a worried look.

"You're also an anomaly?!" Rai hears a creepy voice from behind.

He would have nearly struck there with lightning in his defense but stopped the moment he saw who was there.

Lowering his voice, Rai asks, "why didn't you leave like the rest? It's dangerous here, you know."

"The thrill can't be missed," Fernandez responds, chuckling, "even if my restaurant has suffered enough damage today to officially close down for a while."

Rai furrows his brows in confusion, unsure what to believe: a non-awakener casually speaking with him and showing no form of hate or fear, and the fact that he had stayed behind to witness a brawl with the risk of dying in the ensuing battle.

"Perhaps, do you have a death wish, Sir? Or can you heal real fast?" He curiously asks.

"At my age, the thought of death would be an easy way out and sadly I can't heal fast," Fernandez whispers with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

'No kidding.' Rai rolls his eyes.

Lila groans and turns on her side, drawing the attention of both Rai and Fernandez.

Rai pushes back to avoid making contact with her exposed hands.

Brushing off Rai's fears, Fernandez pulls off his jacket, and folds it while saying, "at the least, she should have something to cushion her head while she heals."

'Such a noble gesture... for an idiot!' Rai facepalms and shakes his head.

Grabbing Fernandez by the arm, Rai shakes his head and gives a hint on what Lila's ability is using charades.

Fernandez gulps and falls back, horrified by the revelation.

"That's right," Rai affirms.

At that same moment, Rai felt it strange that they had not heard any ruckus from behind.

Taking a peek behind the counter, Rai's eyes were fixated on Sylvester sitting on top of the robot, waiting for it to fully regenerate whilst staring at his hand.

Spotting Rai at a distance, Sylvester speaks with a cold undertone. "How long till it wakes up?"

Fernandez takes a peek, getting a glimpse of the deathly patient Sylvester. 'His murderous intent has grown worse.'

"In a few minutes, once the system is updated, it will regenerate no matter the damage, so beware," Rai explains, hoping with this knowledge Sylvester could utilize his variation.

"So many people tick this kiddo off," Fernandez comments with a light chuckle but is quick to duck before he locks gaze with Sylvester.

Rai has his back against the counter, staring at Fernandez before confronting him. "This isn't the first time something like this is happening here, right?"

Fernandez shakes his head, and sarcastically replies, "it's the first of its kind. Unlike the last time with the person narrowly escaping death, I have bodies littering my floors now, a new upgrade!!"

His answer only confirms his suspicions, 'the siblings had probably bonded with him, being as crazy as they are.'

Fernandez waves his hand to get Rai's attention, "do you know what this kiddo does to his targets?"

Subconsciously shaking his head at the question, Rai waits for an answer.

"He offers a fair chance to fight it out with his opponent, although there's not much of a difference." Fernandez burst into low laughter.

Not being able to relate to what could be remotely funny, Rai grimaces but forces a chuckle to get out of the awkward situation.

'Could that be the reason he is waiting for the robot to regenerate and get to its feet?'

Crrnn!

Stiff and creaking sounds coming from the robot attempting to move resonates throughout the hall.

"Finally!" Sylvester exclaims in ecstasy, doing a front flip before landing on the floor.

Staring straight at the robot with a wicked grin, Sylvester clenches his knuckles. "How far can you go in imitating the real thing?"

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Author's note

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