The Deadman

Five weeks after the incident on that island. Kato’s life had changed again. He didn’t know if it was for the best or not. But nonetheless it became more of a cleanup job that had gotten him a new job.

Val, who came into contact with him, had given him the materials for the deployable power-armor that he was designing. Kato didn’t mention the armor, but he took his time to acquire certain materials that turned the numbers of his bank account to the number of zero.

He wasn’t exactly rich and the materials he had gotten from Strato were simply enough to recreate the systems of the materials. It took about three weeks to redesign the system and then another week to make sure that the system functions ran fine.

He had to go through six phases of development. Wrote the documentation before expunging all traces of the documents. Recreating this armor was like breathing to him. It was something he had done and done again that doing it was normal. The specifications were quite superior compared to the designs he had used.

The reason for it is the superior quality of the materials. Though the technique was quite inferior compared to the building methods of the future that he knew. The future focused on making good use of what was left and so they made equipment that was resilient. Creating formulas that would allow them to create metal that was made from different materials mixed together.

It had traces of metal, but not metal either. It would be best to think of it as a piece of clothing that adapts to the needs of the user. Reaction Adaptable Armor. It was the best power armor that you could wear in the future. There were better power armor, but learning about them was hard and recreating them without the power tools that was made to create them was impossible.

It’s like asking a Corporation for their trade secrets. The only reason that he knew to recreate them was because of the contracts he signed and the threats from his bosses that told him to never reveal it. Everyone who knew how to create them were given good roles and sometimes were turned into slaves. He never did reveal that he could and wore them as if he had bought them.

He had tested the RAA-armor and with the latest incursions. He had to have the best equipment possible. Which means that he had been carrying an arm-mounted gauss rifle that could produce 150-200 joules of energy. And a blaster that could shred flesh easily if pointed.

One look at Kato and you’d find a humanoid figure strapped with all kinds of weapons. From a light machine gun, to a submachine gun and finally to an assault shotgun. He carried himself with such purpose. Such a mission that there was one thing that made sense about carrying so many.

The amount of demons he had to kill.

The numbers of the abominations would have been overwhelming if it wasn’t for the amount of bullets that he held. Sprinkling certain locations with the blessings of lead and brass casings.

Demonic incursions were typical back in the middle ages in this world. When the world was still choke full of magic, the demons, at least their Lessers were roaming the world. It was a time where the men of that world fought them in secrecy and landed blows on evil.

The Magi Families.

The Martial Clans.

The Knights who kept them at bay.

And the Corpsecs who are after their interesting composition.

“This is Marlon to Deadman. How’s the cleanup?”

“Demons are neutralized. How are the trauma teams?”

“We manage to collect the citizens who are exposed to the demons. Our team will be working on cleansing their minds of this experience.”

“Try not to fuck with their heads too much.”

“I doubt that will be the case.”

Certain people have resistance. Their immunity to the fear produced by these creatures depends on the mental state. This place that he was hunting on was assigned to him by Strato who was coordinating the mission. There were a lot of Agents of the state, and although he was told that he could refuse said missions. Kato wanted to try his RAA armor and so had started a purge. It was a ten-hour trip and he had to follow certain procedures in order to deal with certain entities of the state who are curious about an Agent.

Agents that are equipped to deal with infestations. Kato had spent the good hour emptying his weapons and then letting the soldiers and Agents that were stationed to store the demons and then take them away. The stench alone was enough to make anyone sick. Lesser demons had this certain smell to them that makes the heart faint. Their blood differed from the normal and contained toxins that can harm an individual's immune system.

If there’s an advantage to this it is that every fiber. Every flesh that the demon had was stronger than usual flesh. Not to mention that the Witches, who guard their prized alchemy and draughts were monopolizing the ingredients to create concoctions and certain charms.

The eye of a demon. The heart of a demon. The skin of a demon could be used to enhance the physique of the individual. He had learned that certain rejuvenant treatments were made from them. At first the treatment mutated them, but one hundred years of refinement had allowed them to find the right ingredients.

A proper formula.

Kato was sure that one of the reasons that he was here was to collect the ingredients in the name of purging the enemy. One of the enemies  growled at him. Kato took his pistol, checked on the magazine, and then emptied it on the demon.

These demons were former humans. Humans that had been transformed into abominations. The mutation that happened on them was irreversible and turning back was impossible. There was a way, but it would cost more.

 

***

 

Kato went back to the mobile base with his armor still on. The mobile base was similar to the one that Strato’s group was using near italy. It was the size of a basketball court with four silent engines and thrusters for maximum speed.

The one leading the crew was Captain Marlon. It was currently blending in with this field. Kato learned that there were certain estates and farms that were contacted by the government to hide mobile bases. Clandestine operations that were secretive and highly confidential.

“Good work, Mr. Deadman.”

“Marlon. Saw a lot of taller and stronger monsters. The visitors are cared for. Your group can handle it now, right?”

“We can. I was skeptical, but you know how to operate well, Sir. A shame though since the boys would have to pick every casing.”

“Was wondering if I should switch to las-weapons. I’d need more korium in that case.”

Korium became a controlled commodity after the incident. Kato wonders if becoming a controlled material was good or not. On one hand he didn’t have to worry about the sky turning orange.

The changing room sanitized his equipment. Kato deactivated the deployable armor and kept it on his spine. He didn’t have the guts to make it part of his skin yet. A part of him didn’t want to wear cybernetics ever again. His skin, muscles, bones, and internals were strong enough that there was no need for it.

Kato got out and saw one of the engineers watching footage of the slaughter. People that were once human turned into hideous abominations. The mutation rate was visible and the change made one wonder if it was the korium that made them like this.

“Chang, how’s the transformation?”

“Awful. I had every footage sent to the archives. Black Boxes are going to have fun analyzing this.”

“I’m surprised that you have a lot of footage.”

“It's not my hobby to gather footage like this. We got to make records. I wish that you could stop the censorship though.”

Chang forwards the footage and finds a blurred figure walking around. Pixelated and covered in this distortion.

“It’s bothersome. We had an executive that thought this was all made-up CGI after seeing this and almost pulled the resources. It’s a good thing that we had live subjects that were captured.”

Kato adjusts the skull mask he’s wearing. “How are things in other regions?”

“Stable. I don’t know what happened on that island, but it made holes in our realm. The holes are being stitched and weaved in place in some regions, but some of these holes are at the bottom of the ocean or inside mountains.”

“No wonder we have folk trying to scavenge them. I guess the cleanup must be hell.”

“Oh, you have no idea. We’ve been paying a lot of favors to certain corpsecs to take care of it and have them processed. We even release certain docs on mutated animals labeled as ‘experiments to sustain billions of people’.”

“I hope the pay’s good.”

“It’s good enough at least. Though I have to spend most of it on trauma-lessening drugs and some psychiatrist. Any need for one?”

“Not really.”

Kato opens his dashboard and browses the in-work news. The Consortium was paying a lot of fines, but it was dirt cheap of a price to pay. Having an army of lawyers that can defend them in any court and an army that could threaten them to pass ‘advice’ on opposing sides made them rather obedient.

“So no work today?”

“What are your thoughts on the Lady?”

“Who? Oh, of course, it’s always about her lately.”

“Who else is to talk other than Silva?”

“She’s complex. Her motives aren’t necessarily clear, but the way she does things is enough to impress every braggart there is. Thank God she’s neutral in the affairs of the world. Can you imagine what it would be like if she isn’t?”

“Hard to believe that anyone just let her get this strong.”

“The power of money speaks. She’s an innovator with protection. A deadly magician that can kill you with a hex and the owner of a battalion that can outfit them with power-armor and advanced magnetic guns, and plasma weaponry. The footage we got on their island. Their advanced power-armor tech puts them above everyone – that I bet only a few can challenge them.”

“And here I thought Uncle Sam would label them as terrorists with WMD.”

“Oh, we tried. Sadly, the Lady has put a lot of dollars into making sure that they don’t do that. A hundred years to make a connection, put the right people in the right places and now you have an independent entity that has everyone in the balls. Of course, if we decide to go against them, there is a long process. The benefit of losing contact with the Consortium outweighs the reason for doing so. Not to mention that their Island isn’t exactly hiding the fact that they are willing to nuke their attackers to dust.”

Kato stares at the picture in the middle of the vision.

“She’s strong as well. I doubt persuading her can be successful without offering something that would align with her.”

“I heard the story. What’s your read on her, Sir?”

“She’s volatile and emotional. But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is her determination to win. She has the will. The skill. The resources to do what she wants and the world kneels. That’s one hundred years of foundation built.”

“You sound like you admire her work, Chang.”

“I can’t help it. She’s almost perfect if it wasn’t for the fact she’s a madwoman. Well, guess that’s all the work that you have for today?”

“Pretty much. Hope that you folks don’t call for a month or so.”

“Doubt it. We got a lot of openings. Who knows. We might as well bring you with us in a meeting with the Lady.”

“I don’t know. I don’t like dying again.”

Chang grins. Kato went back to his private room and watched the scenery pass by.