Aranea avoided the streets. Instead, she advanced across the ruined buildings in a zigzag pattern, breaking through walls as she went. Months ago, it wouldn't have been possible for her; the sheer volume of falling rubble would have slowed her down or buried her up to her neck. Now, she tore through any obstacles in her path as if they were paper, listening to the chunks of stone drumming upon her shoulders and the helmet.

I am weak no more. Aranea realized. A presence stirred inside her, pleading to be unleashed, promising to propel her to even greater heights of strength. She suppressed this temptation, shutting it in. Her power won't corrupt her. No way will she end up ruined like Mom. She was content with who she was.

The snipers had spotted her cataclysmic advance and were firing nonstop, hoping to hit her by accident. One projectile grazed her pauldron, shaving several centimeters off it, and the collision impact was so strong that it turned the wolf hag around. She checked the map to confirm the distance to her target, then leaped out the window and stuck to the shadows to fool her enemies, who were still firing at the cloud of dust.

She reached the skyscraper just as Olesya and her pack arrived at the square, assisting in evacuating the injured and getting the troops to safety. The unit of the Reclamation Army was closing in to help, and Scout Siri led the mop-up operation in the south tower, leaving the bastards in the north one unattended. Aranea sped up, no longer caring for stealth, and barged into the emptied first floor, finding stairs leading above.

As she ran up, her lenses caught sight of a stretched wire connected to the safety pins of several grenades. She jumped over the wire and sent a warning to Siri. The scout thanked her with a snarl and told her to focus on herself, stating that she was experienced enough not to fall into an obvious ambush.

"We need to retreat!" Aranea's ears picked up words coming from five floors above her.

"Shut it! They'll soon be here! Why didn't you put a hole in the doggie?"

"But it was surrendering! By the laws of war, we must spare prisoners!"

Aranea chose not to go to their floor. If they had any brains, the door to their room would be trapped. Using her ears, she pinpointed the locations of the speakers and snuck onto the floor below, positioning herself roughly under the owner of the second voice.

"You stupid bitch, they are all going to d…" Aranea's jump interrupted the voice.

She crashed through the ceiling, finding the stumbling-away adversary who had murdered her soldier. Behind him was the slick form of another silver mask. Both were dressed in camouflage cloaks to blend in with the structure, but she spotted the familiar black-and-gold uniforms beneath them. Anger guided her punch to the larger silver mask's stomach, sending him flying to the back of the room. He hit the wall and dropped his unusual silver rifle. Aranea spotted a metal exoskeleton underneath his clothes.

On the floor lay a corpse. A laser shot had found him through the scope of his rifle, melting a hole in her head. A sound of footsteps came from a nearby room, and Aranea crouched low, ready to pounce.

"Surrender or die, I don't care which," she forced herself to say. No matter the sort of weapons the freaks use, they need to aim at her first.

She was not in danger, and regardless of their past actions, the rules of war had to be adhered to unless she wanted to become the kind of person she despised. Following the code of conduct saved lives before and might save lives in the future. Personal hatred or rage was irrelevant to duty.

I'm trying to convince myself. She chuckled.

"We surrender! Of course we surrender! Please spare…" the fallen man said quickly, extending his arm, yet Aranea heard movements in the other room and the slipping of an object down his sleeve.

She jumped up, landing on the ceiling and holding on to it with her claws. Projectiles spearing the walls opened yawning holes to her left and right. A pistol dropped into the man's hand while the smaller, silver-masked woman lowered her weapon and glanced around in confusion.

"Murder her, you idiot!" The bulky man snapped at his partner, aiming at the wolf hag.

Aranea wondered what he had hoped for. No matter. Can't understand the crazy. She landed on him, and her stomp turned his head into a bloody paste that splashed inside his crumpled helmet. Paying no attention to the still-twitching body under her foot, she broke through the right wall, finding another silver mask. With a finger on the trigger, the woman tried to turn her weapon, moving as if submerged in deep sand for the enhanced senses of the wolf hag. Aranea stabbed with her paw, spearing the throat.

She grabbed the gurgling woman by the collar and tossed her through the entrance door. Concealed grenades detonated, creating a bright explosion that tore through the wall and ceiling, leaving Aranea facing the last enemy, who crawled from the rubble and tried to lift her rifle in panic. Aranea tilted her head, wondering how she was still standing. She was sure that the shockwave was supposed to break some of her bones.

"My offer still stands," the wolf hag said in a weary voice. These senseless killings made no sense to her anymore. All who died here—her soldiers, civilians, enemies, and the monsters… What did any of them achieve? Stopping food delivery? What a joke. "No need to die in vain. Surely someone, somewhere, will miss you."

"Just like my teammates will be missed," the woman snapped back, leveling her rifle. Aranea dived to the left, her eyes widening. Her adversary was quick! Not as fast as her, but she was one of the New Breeds.

A wailing scream deafened Aranea's ears when the silver mask fired, missing the wolf hag's chest. She kicked the rubble, sending a jagged shard flying toward the rifle's barrel with enough force to push it upward. It was just enough to save her from the next shot aimed at her shoulder. Not intending to give her foe any more chances, Aranea leaped and grabbed the rifle, slashing at the head.

The half-breed blinked, watching the claws pass through the cloudy shape of her foe and sensing the rifle turn ethereal and slip from her grasp. The woman slid into her, phasing through Aranea's body. She could still see the silver mask, but the woman's form became murky, floating in the air, as if she was existing on two planes of reality simultaneously. The woman passing through her body sent a tingling sensation throughout, resembling the touch of a light electric current. The sudden disappearance of her target resulted in Aranea rolling forward.

She landed on her arm, stood on it, and glanced back. The enemy shifted back to the solid form, discarding her foggy appearance, and whirled around, aiming. The silver mask was swift enough to match a warrior of the Wolf Tribe, meaning that to the wolf hag, she was a snail. Aranea used her arm to jump off the floor, striking with her leg. The kick passed through the fog once more, bringing more tingling as the wolf hag flew past her enemy.

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Stupid. Why am I trying the same method? Aranea snarled. If one way doesn't work… She struck the floor with the right paw, grabbing her shardgun with the left. As the floor cracked, Aranea let herself fall, piercing the ceiling from below and positioning herself steady for a shot, relying on her ears to deduce the prey's location, and fired. A scream of pain came from the room above.

She broke in, creating another hole and startling the wounded silver mask. The shards lacerated her left leg and arm, forcing her to limp. Aranea knocked her rifle aside, grabbed the woman by the throat, and pushed her through the wall leading outside. She held the silver mask over the distant city below.

"Try to phase your way out of this." Aranea pressed her shardgun to the woman's stomach, preparing to fire.

"Wait!" the woman yelled, raising one arm. "Please, wait! I give up, I surrender!"

Aranea frowned. Today, the silver masks had already lied to her. They had dared to attack her civilians and kill Sahir. Anger boiled within her, demanding release and threatening to erupt if she kept fooling around.

She secured the shardgun to her back, telling the rage to shut up. I am me. Aranea stubbornly said to herself. She promised to do better and intended to uphold this oath. Decent people do not kill those who surrender.

"Dare not to resist," Aranea said, bringing the woman in.

She pushed her claws into the edges of the silver mask, tearing it clear to reveal the face of a young, tanned, brown-haired woman looking at her with frightened blue eyes. Her nose bore a single scar, and she wore her hair tied in a knot at the back of her head. The wires hissed, and Aranea tossed the remains of her helmet away, stepping at the communicator.

"Name and rank? Your dead fellow mentioned an arrival. Was he talking about us coming to get you, or are you waiting for reinforcements?" Aranea demanded. The silver mask remained silent. "If you're waiting for backup, they'll fall into our paws. Cooperate, so we can prevent further deaths of your comrades."

"I am not telling you anything," the prisoner said in a resigned tone. Her lips trembled, and her breath became labored from exposure to the harsh weather of the Ravaged Lands.

Aranea nodded, reaching for her waist, while the woman shook in terror. The paw found a respirator and pushed it into the prisoner's mouth.

"Here. Should be easier to breathe." She forced the silver mask to sit and tore away her cape, using it to bandage the wounds. "This would all be so much easier if you and your people had just accepted our offer of unification from the start."

"Offer? A threat! You are the ones invading our lands. Can't you just leave us alone?" The woman mumbled, scowling from pain. Her Common lacked even the slightest accent.

"Alone? And for how long? It's been centuries since the Extinction, and you still act like savages, battling over scraps," Aranea responded, treating the injuries.

"The Regulators are not savages! We are heroes, the shield keeping pillagers from preying upon our people, and our laws bring prosperity to our lands!" The woman spat, nearly spitting out her respirator in indignation. "We protect people from…"

"Oh, you did a grand job here," Aranea mocked, applying a tourniquet to stop the bleeding on the prisoner's leg. "Those dead civilians in the square? Guess now they are safe from anything. Yeah, accepting supplies to survive is worthy of a death penalty. Totally. Assholes."

"We tried to avoid civilian casualties," the silver mask whispered.

"By firing indiscriminately at everyone! Sure. That's why your ilk looted the settlements, raided caravans full of water and food, and ambushed neutral traders delivering goods to your subjects forced to live in ruins," Aranea jeered. "Such noble behavior. No malice here. Heroes. Saints, even. Totally not pillagers."

"You... you lie and twist things. Regulators would never harm traders. Yes, our people live in harsh places, but that's only because we lack the funds to build more proper towns, and this stupid conflict you forced on us drains us of what little we have. Our forces relocated certain things to deny them from falling into your greedy hands! You are the invaders here, no matter how you try to justify your land grab. All the deaths and sorrow are on your hands, bastards!" The woman accused passionately, but Aranea ignored her outburst, finishing bandaging the wounds and securing the prisoner's hands. She stood, hearing a series of loud explosions coming toward the square.

"Olesya, what in the fresh Abyss is it?" asked Aranea. From up there, it seemed as if a wave of destruction were rolling toward her troops.

"Just our backup! Ari, hurry up here, or you'll miss all the f… Sly, to your left!" Aranea heard a rapid whine of the servomotors and the tearing flesh under the claws. "Careless buffoon! If you can't protect yourself, get behind the warriors and toss grenades! C'om, no dying today, lasses and lads!"

"Wolf Hag Aranea?" asked a new voice, reserved and steely. "Lieutenant Marveni Ursico here. I reckon that since you saved my boys here, drinks are on me upon our return back to base."

"Appreciate the offer." Aranea smiled. "I trust this barrage is your doing? Will you assist us in mopping up the opposition?"

"Yes, my tanks and heavy teams are flushing the rats out of the building as we speak. As for assisting, I am not certain it is the correct term to describe our involvement. Your packs keep everything under control…" The roof of a building near the square flew upward, alongside corpses of greenies and silver masks. "Not my work, by the way. Wolf Hag Olesya has unleashed her claws. We arrived too late."

"You can still make up for it, sir," Aranea spoke with respect, monitoring the prisoner. "I captured an enemy combatant and overheard gossip about the potential arrival of the hostiles. Size and whereabouts are unknown, but they sounded certain of our demise."

"So far, they were wrong. Let's not change it. I will dispatch a force to alert us of any potential intruders," Ursico responded with concern. "Worry not, they will not sneak up on us again."

"I leave it in your care, sir. Wolf Hag Aranea out." She looked at the prisoner. "For your sake, I hope you're not afraid of heights. If you throw up, I'll make you clean and polish my armor later."

She slung the silver mask over her right shoulder and secured the rifle to a mag lock. Then, Aranea glanced at the building below, feeling relieved and enjoying the wind currents slicing at her exposed mouth. She sensed anger and rage at the sight of the dead civilians today. It wasn't grief, not yet, but Philip's sessions had borne fruit, and her soul was at ease, knowing that she could grow into a proper person, worthy of her parents.

"What are you…" the prisoner asked.

Aranea jumped out. She stabbed her left paw into the side of the skyscraper, almost stopping her fall. The half-breed stood up horizontally and ran down the wall toward the approaching ground, accompanied by the silver mask's screams. She bounced off the wall at the last possible moment, landing on the roof of a small building. It gave way, and they landed with a loud boom, drawing a strained grunt from the prisoner.

"Phew, that was wild. Need to do it again. You're still alive?" the wolf hag asked.

"My ribs hurt. Use the stairs next time," the woman groaned. The respirator fell out of her mouth.

"Too long. You're a New Breed. You can take it." Aranea caught the object and returned it to the woman's mouth. "Hold on. We still have a little to go. It'll be easier later, trust me." Aranea kicked a hole in the wall and emerged into a crowd of shocked people in tattered anti-heat suits.

"Don't eat us all, I beg of you!" screamed a man in front of the gathering, dropping to his knees. "If you need a sacrifice, take me! Let the others pass in peace!"

"Relax. Not a cannibal. Citizens, I understand it was scary and painful and that your entire life has suddenly changed. Fear is natural, but don't let it control you. Evacuate the city for the time being. The fighting is ongoing, but the army will arrive soon, and then it will be safe for you to return." Aranea patted the man on the head.

"Fine." Another man spat on the road. "Bullshit! Our homes are on fire, and my friend was hit by a steel splinter. There he is, writhing in agony on the stretcher. How's that for being fine, doggie?"

"It isn't," Aranea said, raising a paw to silence the rest of the group. "It should've never happened, and you won't make anything better by dying or staying in danger. Survive, rescue whoever you can, and rebuild. And watch over the little ones; they need your care and protection the most now."

Aranea hurried past the group, informing her allies about the wounded person and receiving Siri's report that she had finished her task. Siri offered to stay in ambush to support their allies, and Olesya granted that request. Aranea smiled, feeling safe as she charged toward the square. The presence of three wolf hags and the troops should deter any attempts at assaulting them. They had finally apprehended a captive, and the Resistance's involvement was all but confirmed. The city will be rebuilt, better than before, and the people will move on. They had to.

Otherwise, what was the point of any of it?

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