Cyberpunk: Ultimate Cyborg System

Death has been depicted in many ways. Sometimes it’s a skeleton wielding a scythe, sometimes it’s a benevolent angel that brings salvation. If one were to ask Klaus, however, he would have answered that death was the back of a raging beast’s maw.

Saliva dripped in long, stringy ropes from the roof of the werewolf’s maw, glistening like molten glass. Jagged fangs, painted crimson from foreign blood, jutted from swollen gums, each on a distinct blade slick with fresh gore. The tongue twitched with a mind of its own as if tasting the fear in the air. Beyond that, a tunnel of muscle and shadow promised nothing but a wet, crushing end of anything unlucky enough to enter.

Klaus didn’t know how long he had been staring at it. Time seemed to have stopped, and he was trapped there, forced to look at the dark depths of death for all eternity. Unfortunately for him, the jaws were moving, and the rows of gore-painted teeth were closing around him, ready to bite off his head.

The world suddenly shifted and everything turned into a blur. Klaus’s mind had to play catch-up a moment later, that’s when he felt his body hit the ground. The silent impact revealed that he still had his prefect camouflage on. With that being the case, it wasn’t too difficult to guess who it was that had pushed him out of the way.

[Sir, we need to get out of here.] Ushida’s voice came in a second later. [Something isn’t right about all of this.]

There was a low growl then a series of heavy steps. Two red dots drew lines through the fog, moving slowly before bursting forth and closing the distance toward Klaus and his bodyguard. Moonlight shone from above, revealing the beast’s form for a moment. One of its arms was raised, claws cutting through the air as it slashed.

A sharp screech followed the swipe, like nails scratching the smooth surface of a chalkboard. Ushida had reacted quickly, using one of the Silent Breath Arts to create a barrier between them and the beast. Its growls turned into a howl then it started whipping its arms, clawing at the invisible wall with such force that each of its moves came with a powerful gale.

[Tsk!]

Ushida created new barriers before the old ones broke, but it didn’t seem like he could keep up for long. A faint flash followed each strike of the beast’s claws, giving Klaus a glimpse at its bloody appearance. The numbness from having stared at death began to fade and fear finally found its way to his heart, forcing him to face the reality of his situation.

He had been so drunk on the power granted by the Blue Skull suit that he disregarded his lack of experience, thinking he could handle the enhanced monsters trying to take him down. It was a mistake. A big one, but still just a mistake. Mistakes can be solved, and that’s what he was going to do.