While the two of them were still devising a plan behind cover…
Don had yet to return to his physical form. When in mist form, his power caused him to lose all senses except one: touch. The way he navigated was by sending particles of his mist to bump into physical objects—allowing his mind to piece together what was there.
If you can't imagine it, picture yourself completely blind, deaf, and unable to smell. The only way you can perceive the world is through touch.
That's Don in mist form.
And because of that, every attack Don made required him to first locate Toshi and Sera precisely. This is why there's a secret to his strategy:
Whenever Don's physical body appeared in front of them, it wasn't just his "hand" with a gun.
It always included one of his eyes.
Because Don had to see his target to shoot it.
Put another way: in order to attack, he must manifest at least two senses—sight and touch.
Right now, only his eye and a gun-wielding hand were visible, and Don kept a safe distance from them.
After some probing shots, he noticed something strange.
That woman in the low-cut dress (who he still didn't know was Toshi)…
She dodged every bullet he fired—even ones fired point-blank.
And that didn't make sense—unless she had some sort of power he hadn't figured out yet.
Don already knew Sera's ability, but not Toshi's—and that uncertainty put him at a disadvantage.
"…Sera can duplicate materials, right? That makes her tough to deal with… She can heal herself, and that combat knife we stabbed her with? She's probably pulled it out already. And she can generate ammo endlessly, unlike me. But…"
Don's eye, nestled in the mist clinging to the ceiling, gazed down at Toshi and Sera who were mid-discussion.
"…The saving grace is… Sera lacks combat experience. That still gives me the edge. If she knew how to fight, her power would be a nightmare."
So that was Don's plan.
His objective: kill Sera first—then Toshi.
His mist gathered again above them. His other hand formed, weapon ready.
He planned to unload an entire magazine down through the smoke and end this—especially Sera.
But before he could—
FOOM!!!
An explosion echoed!
Smoke bomb.
Don knew that sound well.
Sure enough, a gray smokescreen filled the area around the two targets.
"…They smoked themselves out? Ah, I get it. They realized I could pinpoint them—so they're blinding me in return. Clever…"
With the smoke so thick, Don's eye couldn't see them anymore.
But vision wasn't his only sense.
He still had his ears.
He heard footsteps—someone dashing out of cover.
Could be a feint. Could be real.
So he merged his mist with the smoke, spreading throughout the entire area… and then—
He felt them.
Two bodies. Two women.
Running away from each other.
"…They split up? Oh… I see. Toshi must be holding me off… while Sera moves to intercept Fred and Priya."
Perfect. Don locked onto Sera.
His mist reconstructed her body through sensation—he had a perfect picture in his head now.
"That's gotta be Sera's body. No mistake."
With an approximate range estimated, Don fired into the smokescreen.
"AAAHHHHHH!!"
A scream. Sera's voice.
The body he hit convulsed. He couldn't see it, but he felt it. Twitching violently.
But Don wanted to make sure.
He had to confirm the kill.
He began reconstructing his physical form again—his eye and hand reappeared to clear the smoke…
And then—
"!!!!"
Don was stunned!
On the floor lay a pair of severed arms and legs—not a full body.
It had been those limbs crawling around and baiting him.
Both glowed faintly with Sera's pink aura.
He'd been tricked.
Don quickly dematerialized his hand and eye back into mist—but it was too late.
"…It worked exactly how we thought, Sera."
"Yes. Exactly like we thought."
"!!!!!!"
Two figures stepped from the smoke behind Don.
Sera and Toshi!
Toshi activated his martial ability—time slowed. A ticking clock echoed in the background.
He fired directly at Don's face before the enemy could dissolve.
Time warped—Don's physical features faded, but not fast enough.
Four shots.
Straight through the smoke.
"!?!!"
The bullets hit home—piercing Don's hand and grazing his eye—before he dispersed entirely into mist.
"Hit! I hit him!!"
Sera grinned, heart pounding.
Their theory was right.
Don had to show part of his body to attack—and that moment made him vulnerable.
The smoke worked.
They'd found the weakness.
But then—
Don's voice echoed.
"You may have figured it out… but mist can go anywhere… including your mouth, Sera."
Sera and Toshi's eyes went wide.
She realized it—too late.
"Gghk!? AAAAGHH!!!"
Something was inside Sera's mouth.
Don's hand.
It had formed inside her mouth and was now prying her jaw open from within.
His male grip was tearing her mouth apart.
Aaaahhh!!! It's in my mouth! It turned into a hand!
She clawed at her face, trying to reach in and pull it out—but couldn't match Don's strength.
"Ghh—ghhhh—ghrrrkk!!"
There was only one choice left.
And Sera didn't even think—she acted.
"SERA!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? STOP!!"
Too late.
She jammed her pistol into her own mouth—
And pulled the trigger.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three rounds—right into Don's hand inside her throat.
Blood sprayed from her mouth—hers and Don's.
"AAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!"
Sera collapsed—Don's hand vanished.
Her mouth overflowed with blood, the taste and stench nearly made her vomit.
Pain like fire scorched her skull.
She spit out the blood—and a few metal fragments from the bullets.
If not for her metallic body, she'd be dead.
"Khak!! Hkkhh!!!"
"Sera!!! Are you insane!?"
Toshi rushed to her side. Inside her mouth—torn to shreds.
Blood poured freely—but…
Thanks to her healing power, the wounds sealed back up.
Copper shrapnel slid free of her lips.
"GAAHHH!!"
Only Sera could survive that.
Only Sera could do something like that.
"...Shit… I'm seriously impressed. Sera… can you keep going?"
"...Mmm!"
She couldn't form words yet—but she pointed toward the stairwell.
Don—was running away!
"He's escaping?!"
"Mhh mhn't! Mhh's mhhnnn mh goh fhh Fmeh nn Preeyaa!!"
("Not escaping! He's going for Fred and Priya!")
Meanwhile…
Mickey reached the rooftop—trailing the power cables.
Crackling sparks lit up around the comms tower as his glowing green circuit-marked body shimmered into view.
He looked down at the helipad.
Fred and Priya's guards were waiting.
"..."
He couldn't take them all at once.
But he could cut off their escape.
The helicopter's noise masked his movement.
He slipped through the shadows toward the pilot—
Just as the rooftop door burst open.
THUD!
Fred and Priya—his targets—had arrived.
No sign of Don.
Mickey raised an eyebrow.
Where the hell is Don...?
Don, meanwhile, had retreated to regroup with Fred and Priya.
His hand was severely wounded, but he knew Sera and Toshi would need time to recover.
Now was his chance to get Fred and Priya out.
But when he reached the rendezvous point—
They were gone.
He didn't need to guess.
They'd gone up.
Straight to the rooftop.
"...Tch."
Don scowled.
They had ignored his instructions.
But it didn't matter now.
This would all be over—very soon.