Mugen Hx

I. Cronos' new companion is named Kaguya. She is a white haired girl that wields a gun called a Cobra, an M4 variant assault rifle. Currently Kaguya seems to be scrounging from the piles of rubbles. Cronos asked what she is doing and Kaguya spoke that somewhere under the pile of rubbles, there are boxes of rounds and magazines she could use for her rifle. Some even have medical supplies and EMP grenades. She thinks that these were left behind by owners that fight against the machines. Cronos did come across such loots. He just didn't seem know about these items despite having a good memory.

Kaguya confesses to Cronos that she had been following him when she heard him fighting the machines. Cronos asks why and her response let out how guilty she felt when she did that. "I am sorry I didn't help you sooner." said Kaguya with a sincere apology in a form of a bow. Cronos understands as he would also do it in the same circumstance. Kaguya is thankful for the forgiveness.

They rested for a good while. The two discussed about where they should go. Cronos is following the north star in hopes of getting out of the city. Kaguya approves of his plan since she has nowhere to go. Until then, they have to find a way to navigate around the city.

II. They left the space anomaly. The time resumes for them. The west and the north are obstracted by blockage causes from the previous battle. Kaguya went on ahead to scout ahead. She calls out to Cronos that the east road is open. Cronos thanks Kaguya and starts to follow.

Kaguya is quick and nimble as she moves with great agility and dexterity over most obstacles while carrying her hiking pack. It is strapped with 4 different types of rifles at the side of the hiking pack. A shotgun, a submachinegun, a sniper rifle, and an assault rifle. Each gun has name. The shotgun is called Scorpion, a Mossberg variant shotgun. The submachinegun is called Spider, a HK variant submachinegun. The sniper rifle is called DSA-1, the SLR version of the FN FAL variant. Each weapon has each of its uses.

Observing how Kaguya initially fights, she starts with the Cobra to deal damage against enemies. It has good range and she controls the recoil very well, dealing consistent damage. Its effective in mid range combat. She will change it to Scorpion when overwhelmed and needed to deal a concentrated damage in one shot. This shotgun can blast through weak armor and best used for close range. She uses this to break the machine's weaponry. For moving fast, she uses the Spider. Its lightweight body allows her to sprint and shoot quickly. This combined with her agility makes it that she cannot be hit while she is in motion. A versatile weapon that also deals damage rapidly. Her best weapon so far, the DSA-1, she will use them to take out enemies from distance. It fires a large piercing round capable of punching through armor. She uses this to exploit weak spots effectively. She however, can't change weapons at will. She needed to be in cover or far from her enemy as she change her weapon.

If you compare both of Cronos and Kaguya, Cronos is a frontline fighter who fights close and personal against enemies. In game terms, a DPS. While Kaguya with her versatility in battle, is considered both Sub DPS and DPS depending of which weapon she chooses. And she stands in the rear line where it is safe. Cronos has to take the attention away from Kaguya but he cannot afford to get overwhelmed so Kaguya will take the role of an Evasive Tank to remove the pressure against Cronos. It is a simple tactic of dividing the enemy rank as these enemy of theirs, the machines. They are programmed to crush someone they see in through their red lens. Meaning whoever is close gets the attention of that enemy. The gaming term, "Aggro".

III. Crossing the street requires careful planning. Picking direct path everytime is not the safest option. Depending on the terrain, it will give both advantage and disadvantage to both Cronos' group and his enemy. Cronos highly favors areas where there are covers everywhere as he utilize them to get into cover to hide from drones. Kaguya prefers the open areas or high ground so she can utilize DSA-1 to snipe her enemies from far away from distance safely and efficiently.

The two so far are able to move further, reaching the center plaza where what used to be a lively place to hangout in a great city once exist in the the past. The place is trashed by the machines. They do notice a person standing idly in the middle of the plaza where there should be a beautiful fountain at that place. Kaguya said to that person, "Are you ok mister?"

The person reacted to Kaguya's words. They slowly turn around, moaning. Before Cronos could see their face, Kaguya fires the Cobra at the head of that person. Hitting the head multiple times caused the head to deform and blows up. Cronos looks at Kaguya. The look on her face, its haunting. "Cronos... Get ready..." said Kaguya nervously.

IV. Kaguya is a soft spoken girl who is both kind and courageous. If this is what makes Kaguya look haunted, Cronos' mind tells him one thing, "They are approaching..."

Multiple people shows up in the plaza, all are deformed from some kind of deterioration. They smell rotten and their bloodshot eyes are shaking with rage. "These are zombies. They are already dead." said Kaguya as she loads her Cobra. This is the first time Cronos encounter such enemies.

The area is surrounded, with the zombies approaching them from all sides. Both Cronos and Kaguya are near the fountain where Kaguya killed the first zombie. Before the zombies group together, Kaguya takes the initiative to change her weapon to DSA-1 and snipe them from the distance with headshots. Every shot she fired are instant kills. Cronos begin attacking the closest zombie that approaches them. He slash them with his Parallel Chronoblade. The slash successfully sliced the limb off but the zombie did not flinch from the pain and grabs Cronos, holding him down rather than biting him. Cronos struggles until Kaguya shoots the zombie off him. "Don't let them grab you. You're in serious trouble if that happens." said Kaguya as she reloads her weapon.

V. It takes a while before the zombies are all killed. Without Kaguya, Cronos would be dead. Their attack is troublesome as they focus on overwhelming their prey with numbers. You need careful planning on what move you should take before commiting. Otherwise, they will grab you, preventing you to perform an action.

"Are you ok Cronos?" asked Kaguya with worry. Cronos replied, "I am not injured this time thanks to you." Kaguya smiles and says that she is glad that everything went alright. She suggests to get out of the plaza as quickly as they can before more zombies show up. Cronos agrees with the plan and went to haste.

They went north and they discovered the street covered with blood and guts. The scene can be described like the ruins of what became of the civilization after the apocalypse. Kaguya looks saddened by this fact. There is a store at the left that is barricades with metal sheets. Kaguya suggested going there.

VI. The gunstore used to have weapons in display. None have left except for the ammunations that are left behind. Cronos can see that this place is safe because they are near the vicinity of the space anomaly. Further inside the gunstore's shooting range.

Cronos takes a look around of the place observing the artifacts of the past, such as the golden medals and an old tattered flag of some country. Numerous empty shelves that are broken down by something blunt, maybe the beat-up pipe was used on the ground. Lots of papers related to past events are scattered on the ground. None related to the present. The backdoor is either locked or jammed so it cannot be opened. The vending machine has stuff inside but Cronos doubts it will operate even if it works because it is in the space anomaly where time is frozen. Its a sorry decoration for a safe location.

Kaguya takes the time to get some ammunations and some tools underneath the counter. She could use it but not in the space anomaly. Having to pour some liquid is quite difficult unless you pull the container while its cap is opened. The liquid will just float but it will make the place very messy. Doing maintenance or cooking in general just looks weird until Cronos points it out that maintenance is more easier in this place as the area has alot of space to be utilized. That space being the air. "Cooking in this place is hard." said Cronos as he also points out that it is possible to make fire in this place but it will be just a small spark for a long time before it becomes a big fire.

VII. The two rested until they recovered and Kaguya is grateful of the loot that she discovered. It is hard to look for ammunations that her guns needed, especially for her sniper rifle. Her guns are shiny due to oil maintenance. All the parts from her guns are precisely made to fit like puzzles. Cronos gained some insight about how Kaguya's weapons work and how they are assembled.

They left the gunstore and they proceed to travel down the street. There are zombies roaming around but they aren't alert to their presence. Kaguya asks Cronos about backstabbing the zombies silently without being seen. Zombies only reacts to loud noises. So as long as Cronos chop the head of the zombies off their bodies, they will go down easily.

Kaguya climbs on a broken car and begins looking at the zombies through her scope from DSA-1. Cronos begins creeping upon the zombies as silent as he can. They don't move much unlike before so Cronos can simply hit them with one move. He uses a Hard Strike on a zombie while their back is towards him to crush its skull, dispatching them instantly. The force of the downward strike plus the weak skull makes it that when Cronos hits hard, they blow up into pieces.

VIII. The slowly advance as Kaguya is overwatching the surroundings. Cronos gets the hang of hitting stationary targets. If only he didn't step on a aluminum can would the zombie not turn around and face him. But it happened and the zombie grabs Cronos. Its struggle caused the commotion and alerts the nearby zombies. Kaguya fires a shot and kills the zombie grabbing Cronos. Its the start of the battle.

Kaguya notices an empty alleyway to the right with a dead end. She shouts at Cronos to follow her lead. He follows and they both reached the dead end. Cronos understood her plan to use the narrow alleyway to funnel the zombies into one spot which will allow her to defeat the zombies by firing at them in a single direction.

The plan worked and Kaguya is making the zombies drop like flies. Firing and reloading fast while being guarded by Cronos, they successfully defeated the horde of zombies. This however attracted unwanted attention. A grotesque zombie appeared. Its body is mangled with solidified scars and instead of having rotten skin, they have big muscles that are hard and compact. They are smashing obstacles left and right with a tackle. A zombie capable of this kind of athleticism would be a Tough Zombie.

IX. Kaguya fires her Cobra towards the Tough Zombie but it guarded its attack by covering its head with its strong arms. They roared and tries to tackle Kaguya. Cronos tries to stop its attack but gets knocked back into the wall, getting injured. Kaguya dodges out of the way and the Tough Zombie crashed into the wall. It is momentarily stunned by the impact.

Kaguya requested for support and Cronos stands up, shaking the injury off. Kaguya needs time to change her weapon so Cronos has to somehow get the attention of the Tough Zombie away from Kaguya. Cronos steps close and attacks the monster by the legs. He successfully cuts the tendon on the right leg. It will be slower than before. Angered by this, the Tough Zombie tries to grab Cronos but because of its slow speed, Cronos jumps away to safety. It chases him but Kaguya fires a powerful shot from her Scorpion, stunning the monster into a deadlock.

Cronos' Parallel Chronoblade begins to shine black and time gets slower. During this time, Cronos lunges and delivers many slashing damage to wound the Tough Zombie. Its skin is shredded open and the arms are hacked away so it cannot guard. He slashed the monster with 25 slashes under 2 seconds. Kaguya didn't see Cronos' quick attack because it looked like he just lunge at the Tough Zombie with one thrust so imagine her surprised look when she sees that the Tough Zombie is falling apart.

With it being armless, Kaguya aims for the head and blows it up with Scorpion. The head explodes and the corpse drops like a sack of flesh. Kaguya is amazed how powerful Cronos is. Cronos looks at his sword that is humming an eerie tune. It takes a little bit of time before it turns to normal. Something activated this Parallel Chronoblade but it is best that they get out of this place. Off they went to the north.