Two weathered fighters ran out of the Concrete Maze, a labyrinth of broken structures made during the era of the Old World. Many do not believe it was the home of millions of Humans before Earth’s graduation. It sheltered dangerous beasts that could kill a seasoned Leveler in seconds. The two continued running away from the maze, they ran towards a singular tree on top of an orange mound. They both wore the same leather jackets with a giant fist embroidered on their backs. It was the symbol of the gang that occupied that area. Dark gray clouds rumbled above them, and the scent in the air told them that acid rain was soon to come. One of the two ran with a limp. Blood dripped down one of his legs. It was a small throwing knife embedded in his thigh. But they had no time to take care of their wounds. Their faces showed that whatever they were running away from was more dangerous than the coming acid rain. As they were coming near the blue and gray tree, the limping man wrapped his arm over his partner’s shoulder. His leg had gone numb, and he couldn’t move it much anymore. When they finally reached the tree, the sky rumbled above them again. And then, it started raining. Acidic droplets hit the orange dirt, scarring it with tiny pockmarks. Despite the harsh winds, the leaves of the tree that protected them didn’t sway, it stood still. The two ignored it. The injured fighter crashed into the ground, his back against the tree. “Surely that crazy motherfucker has stopped chasing us by now. It’s been two days,” the injured one said. He pulled the knife out of his leg and tossed it to the side. The rain did not affect it. His partner crouched down beside him and wrapped his leg with a dirty bandage. “You joined only a few months ago, right? You didn’t get to meet the old captain,” she said. “All I know is that the old captain was a powerhouse,” he winced as she applied pressure to his wound. “She was from some backwater noble family in the western continent. Probably had some military training when she was younger,” she explained. “What does that have to do with the guy chasing us? What did the other guys call him again? Was it Iron Bag?” He asked. “I’ve heard other people call him Iron Back. He and the old captain knew each other way before the gang formed. This wasn’t the first time he attacked.” “He’s done this before? I don’t want to go through this all over again,” he sighed. “He didn’t kill anyone last time he came, just knocked us out. It was more of a friendly gesture at the time. Though he did nearly kill the old captain,” she shivered. “Is he really that strong?” He asked. “Probably the strongest within a thousand kilometers. Why the hell is he attacking us?” She wondered. “That’s the best I can do,” she finished, treating his wound, gaping at it. . He grimaced. “Maybe he wants something from us? I don’t recall us stealing anything important in the last few weeks,” he suggested. “I don’t want to stick around and find out. Let’s leave as soon as this rain stops,” she said. She sat down beside him and stared at the ground. After they relaxed a bit, they both closed their eyes. But they were still not comfortable enough to fall asleep. The wounded man would periodically open his eyes and look around. It was like the longer they stood still in one spot, the sooner that danger would come. He stared at and studied the throwing knife on the ground a couple of meters away from his feet. It was made of a single material, a material that he wasn’t familiar with. A dark gray metal, inlaid with an even darker color that had a branching pattern. It looked like the roots of a tree. Almost alive. The staring got worse, he was entranced by it. He stopped blinking, and his whole body went numb. Pain from his injured leg disappeared. His partner shook him out of it. “You good? I thought you died on me for a second there,” she said. He gasped for air. He had forgotten to breathe. “My bad. I tried staring at the knife to distract myself from the pain,” he told her, pointing at the knife on the ground. When he turned to look back at the knife, it was gone. In its place stood a man who held a metal umbrella, towering over them. The droplets that touched his leather coat sizzled and caused it to smoke. He didn’t seem to mind. Covering his face was a metal mask. It had no features on it, not even holes to breathe or see through. Just a couple of dents and the same root-like pattern that was on the knife. He stepped into the cover that the tree provided. A metallic screeching came from his umbrella when he closed it. Then, he pointed it at them. They responded by raising their hands slowly. “Two days, I thought you two would’ve stopped sooner,” the masked man said, slamming the pointy end of his umbrella into the orange ground. “What do you want from u, Iron Back? We hold the lowest position in the gang, we can’t offer you anything even if we wanted to,” the woman said with a shaky voice. “I’ve always hated that name,” he sighed. “Look, I’m just trying to get to your captain. Your little group went too f, a r and she knows not to do that.” “You mean the old captain? Captain Hakai? She left a few months ago. You killed our current captain when you busted into our base!” The woman screamed. She charged straight at him. Her two fists grew two times her body's size, and the skin on them hardened. Iron Back didn’t respond to the incoming attack, still processing what she had just said. The injured man didn’t want to see what happened next and left his partner, running out of the cover that the fake tree provided and into the pouring acid rain. It stung his skin, he could feel it starting to peel off. He made sure to shield his eyes and mouth while he ran. Iron Back watched the injured man run as he cut one of the woman’s arms off with a gripless sword that seemingly came out of nowhere. The sword was all blade, he had to use a metal gauntlet to wield it. Her dismembered arm fell to the ground, shriveling back to normal size after being severed from a source of power. She fell to her knees and screamed in pain. The injured man continued to run away, not wanting to look back and watch her final moments. He wasn't sure if he was screaming himself. “She left the gang? Explains a lot,” Iron Back said. He brought out the same throwing knife that was taken out of the injured man’s leg. And without much effort, he threw it and hit act same spot. “Would you happen to know where she might be?” He asked her. She grasped her bleeding stump with her free oversized hand, glaring at the faceless man. “Fuck you,” she groaned. He tilted his head to the side. “Yeah, I kind of expected that,” he said, letting out a deep breath and slumping his shoulders. Iron back placed his boot on her back and paused. The woman closed her eyes and waited for what was to come. “I shouldn’t feel guilty about this,” he whispered to himself. “You’ve done worse things than what I’m about to do,” he said. The woman chuckled. “Not wrong.” He kicked her out of the cover and into the torrent of acid rain. The injured man heard her wail, but he still didn’t look back. He was well aware of the pain she felt as the acid ate through his hair and scalp. Perhaps it was his ocreams that he was hearing. Through the slits of his fingers, he saw something ahead. Possibly something to protect himself from the rain. Now empowered by hope, he tried to limp faster. However, the familiar knife lodged into the back of his leg didn’t help. He never slowed down, even when he felt clumps of his hair and skin sliding down the sides of his face. His heart sank when he realized what it was. Stuck into the orange ground was a broken sword that looked like it belonged to a statue. It was made out of the same material as the knife stuck to him. He turned and sat down, leaning against the sword that was bigger than him. Iron Back already stood next to him, partially covering him with his umbrella. He moved his hands away from his eyes, letting the acid get into one of his eyes. It immediately blinded him and melted everything in his eye socket. “Do you know where Hakai is?” Iron Back asked. “Have you no honor? A High-Level like you, out here in the wastes, killing scrubs like us,” he groaned. “Rich coming from you,” Iron Back paused. “How about this, you tell me where she is and I’ll let you live,” he offered. The man thought about it for a bit. “I thought about lying to you for a second there, but you probably already knew that I have no clue. I don’t even know who the hell she is. Just kill me,” he said, accepting his fate. Iron Back stood still and stared at him, or at least that was what the man guessed he did. Then, he felt the sword behind him disappear, making him fall to the ground. His last good eye started to get blurry from the rain. The last thing he saw was the silhouette of the giant sword falling from the sky, the same sword he saw that gave him hope just a few moments ago.