Judith

  Falling to her knees in the sand, she had just reached the wall that divided the wasteland and the city. The excessive use of her death step ability to teleport herself ahead of the sandstorm had taken nearly all of her corrosia reserves. Even as the giant door in front of her slowly slid open with a metallic screech that bombarded her ears, Judith stood while holding onto her severed arm.

  She walked through the small crack in the door at a brisk pace. The door still screeched as it rushed to close behind her and protect from the incoming storm in the desert. Numerous Kodak agents rushed up to her but she ignored all of them.

  Judith stomped her feet against the pavement as she walked through the wrecked city streets carrying her severed arm. The only time she ever remembered being this pissed off in her life was her previous encounter with Michael Cynosa.

  “That fucking snake,” she muttered. “Can’t believe I ever tried doing business with him.”

  In just one day, Dan refused her offer to join her and become one of her most powerful Bloodknights and had laid waste during his escape through the city. Then that naive bitch Ada chose to literally stab her in the back. Then Michael Cynosa had the nerve to show his face in her presence once again.

  She had nothing to show for all the crap she had put up with this day aside from walking alone on the city streets. The bleeding along her midsection had stopped, but the blaring injury diagnostics in her HUD warned her to seek immediate medical help. Her breathing became hoarse thanks to her collapsed lung from Ada impaling her from behind. And while her severed arm could still be reattached, the sooner the procedure could get underway, the less complications she would face.

  Judith walked past a destroyed car that was still on fire. The raging flames that erupted from its engine triggered another shower of sparks, some hitting Judith’s armor. She still kept her eyes forward.

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  When she recovered, she would make sure that the Alpha Corp would truly quake in terror at her name. Her gloating to Dan about not just destroying tanks and cutting down buildings, but mangling entire landscapes with her destructive output alone would come true one day. Everyone would be nothing but peons compared to her as she sought for ultimate power through corrosia.

  She opened a private channel with the only entity who had the right and authority to give her orders. Judith briefly stopped in the middle of the street. She didn’t bother stepping out of the way of a plume of smoke coming from another damaged vehicle. Her lungs could easily handle the toxins in the smoke.

  “Well, what a fucking waste that turned out to be,” she said, not bothering with any formalities. “Dan Orion refused our offer. I’ll make sure that brat lays dead at my feet the next time I see him. One of our Bloodknights has defected too.”

  Overlord’s demonic voice chuckled in her mind. “These things happen. This is… a minor setback in the grand scheme. Once you recover from your injuries, we can divert our attention to other matters.”

  Judith gritted her teeth. She dropped her arm onto the pavement and curled her fist.

  “Michael Cynosa is still out there,” she said. “I still cannot forgive him for what he did to me. Denying us that batch of Arctic serums after we had paid him handsomely. And these wounds Dan and his little friend inflicted on me. Their growth potential will be a problem Overlord.”

  “I’m directing transport to your location. Save your anger for future efforts. Let them have this minor victory. It means nothing,” Overlord said. Then he abruptly cut the call.

  Judith looked down at her clenched fist. Since Overlord was sending her a ride, at least she didn’t have to continue conserving what little energy she had left on this depressing walk. She used the sliver of corrosia she had left and summoned her golden blade. The blade of energy that was once bright and vibrant and hummed with power and destructive capability was now a dim and flickering blade that could only just about maintain its shape.

  She took out her anger by flicking her wrist and sending a slashing wave of gold energy off to the side. Judith glanced and saw a six story structure collapse. Her golden blade flickered out of existence and she bent down to pick up her arm. Bricks and twisted metal spilled onto the street from the destroyed building.

  “They will all die soon enough,” she declared.

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