X landed down on the ground. He stealthily scouted the office building, feeling no presence emanating from it.

"Strange," he thought to himself as his teammates landed beside him.

"What's the plan, boss?" Brick asked, looking toward X.

"I found no signs of any activity after investigating the office. It's clear that they're cooped up in the warehouse," X explained.

"Perfect, I'll go set myself up at the office," Chimney stated, extinguishing his cigarette against his hand.

"No, get up on the roof, and engage them as soon as we open fire," X smiled. "The rest of you, come with me. Me and Pretty-boy will be at the front; Brick and Vizor fire at them from the back. Use shields as cover. Let's go," X gave out orders as the squad approached the warehouse doors.

The warehouse building stood tall, constructed out of reinforced concrete slabs. It consisted of two floors: the first was a general storage area, and the second was made up of decks and catwalks overlooking the first.

"Open up!" X shouted as he kicked the doors open.

There were about twenty men stationed inside the building. Phoenix stood on the second floor, surrounded by eight of his comrades—a tall, masculine figure dressed in a long gray trench coat, with long blonde hair and a bird-shaped mask covering his face.

"Open fire!" Phoenix ordered in a strong, commanding shout.

Suddenly, eight turrets lit up out of the cover of darkness, shielded by knight force-fields. Immediately, X's expression shifted to one of frustration and annoyance as the barrels began to spin.

"Ordinus!" X screamed out.

"Denied, no demonic energy detected in your surroundings," the A.I. stated.

"Shit," X retorted in frustration.

Explosions suddenly went off, releasing a portion of the wall from its supports and causing it to collapse behind the group, trapping them inside.

"Deploy shields," X shouted.

Brick and Pretty-boy quickly picked up their round, badge-shaped shields, deployed them into the shape of a half-cylinder, and placed them on the ground in front of the squad. The turrets fired rounds with savage intensity as Phoenix looked on at the trapped knights, watching them squirm, trying to survive.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Chimney—who was previously hidden in the very back of the warehouse—fired a shot from his rifle, aiming at Phoenix. However, Phoenix was too swift. He narrowly avoided the attack and whispered something to one of his men. The man picked up a remote and, with a single press of a button, detonated the area where Chimney was stationed. Smoke filled the interior. Phoenix's men gazed down at the demon hunters with great disdain as they opened fire.

Explosive and incendiary rounds broke through the squad's shields with little effort. Without delay, X lunged forward and placed another shield in front of his team.

"Quick, get behind me!" he shouted to his men.

He crouched down as Calvin fired over him, providing cover.

Suddenly, a grenade flew to the center of the group, exploding directly behind the shield and shattering it, throwing everyone in various directions.

"Carry a shield, she said," X murmured. "That's why I don't carry a fucking shield around, Bec!" he thought as he attempted to pick himself up off the ground.

As he tilted his head, he saw flames surrounding him in a circle. His teammates were scattered all around his vicinity.

Calvin had been launched into the nearby wall, bleeding out with his legs detached from the rest of his body.

Maddie was hanging on that same wall, impaled through the chest with a thick piece of rebar.

The only one still on his feet was George, who was unloading explosives at the turrets before him, taking out their shields. He moved with great accuracy, dodging bullets with an almost animalistic instinct. His face was calm and focused, with a single goal in mind: survive and return home.

"Open fire! Quick, while the Pale Reaper is down!" Phoenix ordered his men.

Before the men had the chance to shoot, Jebua appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He charged at Phoenix in an attempt to stab him with a poison dagger, but to no avail. Without a single trace of worry, Phoenix swiped horizontally with a knife, cleanly decapitating Jebua in one strike.

Jebua's head fell to the cold ground below.

"No!" X screamed in agony as his companion's head rolled on the ground toward him.

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The glimmer that was previously found in Jebua's eyes disappeared, replaced by the blank, vacant stare of a porcelain doll.

"So this is how I die?" Jeb wondered. "Captain, you have to survive," he smiled for the last time as his consciousness faded from existence.

"How pathetic!" Phoenix scoffed. "For a 'great' demon hunter to be decapitated by a simple knife," he laughed.

"I'll fucking kill you, I swear, I'll fucking kill you!" X shouted with pure rage.

X got up, but before he could do anything to assist his comrades, George was shot straight through the head. His blood splattered against the back wall of the warehouse, spreading in the shape of a wing as his lifeless body collapsed on the ground.

"That's for my brother, you bastard!" shouted the man arming the turret.

Phoenix's plan was working perfectly. By coercing the family members of contractors killed or captured by Squad X to fight, he avoided using demonic energy. And without demonic energy, X could not use his own demonic powers. Such was the flaw of the Ordinus system. Demon hunters were ill-equipped to fight against human foes. After all, in the eyes of the city, humans posed little threat. This created a loophole—a powerful weapon to use against the otherwise unbeatable team of legendary demon hunters.

X looked up at Phoenix with a rage so vast that Phoenix, even from his safe position on top, could feel a shiver run down his spine. X searched the pocket of his tattered coat, but all of his weapons were destroyed—except one. The blade given to him by Rebeca was still in perfect condition. As the gunmen and turrets opened fire, X turned the weapon on, extending the blade into a curved, single-edged saber. Thanks to his vast experience, X could intuitively tell this was an exceptional weapon.

As a barrage of bullets flew at him, X cut them apart in midair. However, this was not enough to give him an advantage. He was acting like a barrier, protecting Maddie and Calvin from the oncoming projectiles.

"I'm done playing games," X growled as he extended his mechanical arm and fired a powerful energy blast at Phoenix, destroying the shield behind which Phoenix and his posse had hidden.

Because X had to remain still while aiming, he was shot through the legs, but this did not slow him down. If anything, he moved increasingly faster. Yet, despite his speed, he could only remain on the defensive.

Soon, another explosive was launched at his teammates; X had no choice but to take the brunt of the impact himself. He was torn into chunks, his robotic arm was destroyed once again, his right leg was blown apart, and his other arm was damaged so badly he could barely hold his sword. However, X was not worried. In his final moment of desperation, he smiled as the reaper welcomed him into its embrace.

"Finish him!" Phoenix gave the order, and another explosive RPG round was fired at X.

Suddenly, X jumped as high as his damaged leg allowed. He sliced the RPG round and, as soon as his blade cut deep enough into it, he disabled his weapon, attaching himself firmly to the projectile. Then, using its momentum like a pendulum, he swung through the air, redirecting the rocket back at Phoenix.

An explosion echoed through the warehouse, raining fire and brimstone onto the ground below.

Phoenix received extensive damage, with shrapnel piercing his entire body and scattering across his face. His right eye was no longer usable, and his skin was burned and disfigured. He stood up, leaning on the wall as he slowly regained consciousness.

This was not enough to kill Phoenix—far from it. His tenacity and determination rose as his injuries worsened.

"Shoot him, he's almost dead!" Phoenix shouted with all his might, coughing up blood.

But then, suddenly, X's blade came flying like a boomerang, decapitating Phoenix.

Phoenix's body lit ablaze. A powerful white flame engulfed his head and body, forcing the pieces back together, healing him in the process.

"Fuuuck!" Phoenix screamed. "Contractors, give covering fire! Everyone else, retreat as soon as possible! Whatever you do, do not engage the Pale Reaper!" Phoenix continued giving orders, his face appearing increasingly more scared.

"Demonic energy detected, host state critical, limiter lowered by 3," Ordinus said in a robotic tone.

"About time," X smiled while glaring at Phoenix.

Contractors fired magic projectiles of various elements all around—wind blades, stone bullets, and fireballs, a wide assortment of attacks converging on X. However, that did not matter. Sparks filled the room, drowning out every other sound in a loud, incessant chirping. In an instant, X unleashed a powerful chain of lightning into the turrets, destroying them in the blink of an eye. His body regenerated almost instantly, twisting and contorting back into its correct shape as bullets were forced out, dropping to the ground.

X stood stoically as he looked up at Phoenix. "I wonder how many times I will have to cut off your head for you to actually die," he contemplated.

Phoenix squirmed; his face contorted with fear. "I invoke!" he screamed as his body became enveloped in fleshy, scaly armor resembling a demon, complete with long dark-red feathers draped behind his head and a beak forming over his face. His jagged armor looked alive, part of his body, equipped with sharp claws and a bestial stature.

"Yeah, me too," X grinned.

…

X opened his eyes and suddenly found himself in a strange, unfamiliar location. He was sitting on the ground in the middle of the street, surrounded by barricades made of black minivans belonging to the Knights organization.

As X looked up, he saw a familiar face. Her name was Cassey, a black, thin paramedic with curly hair and a gorgeous, contagious smile. She looked at him as she crouched down in front.

"Hey, beautiful," he remarked, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, you're back," she responded, standing up again.

"How long was I out?" X wondered.

"About two minutes," Cassey explained, writing something in her notepad.

"How did I get here? Last I remember, I was stuck in a smelly old warehouse," X scratched his head.

"You blacked out again, huh?" Cassey said, visibly worried.

"Yeah," X looked at the ground with a grim expression.

"Well, apparently you punched whoever you were fighting so hard they flew halfway across the city—well, nine blocks, to be exact," Cassey stated before being interrupted.

"What about my team?" X asked in a sorrowful tone.

"Two deceased, two in critical condition," Cassey swallowed.

X looked up at the sky, peering deep into the expansive darkness of space, a vista diluted by the city lights so much that the stars were no longer visible.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Cassey placed her hand on X's shoulder.

"I'm gonna scout some newbies," X smiled, getting up off the ground and walking off, eventually disappearing into a crowd.

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