The City of Ionia

Her physical body felt stretched and divided into multiple threads. High-intensity white and blue lights fractured into her soul. Her nerves communicated like never before. There was no pressure or airflow from her body. Her vision blurred, and for a moment, everything was silent. No weight, sense, or smell. Just compression. Without a warning, everything snapped back. Her knees hit the floor while keeping her body upright. She opened her eyes to the narrow tunnel–like a path.

"Whoa…" said a girl.

"A little switch–a–roo action," said the boy.

Alice looked towards her left, focusing on the SCAR unit.

She was telling the truth. She thought to herself.

"Say, how did you manage to get a SCAR unit?" Alice asked while standing casually.

"Ugh, Julia, it's like we know the answers to everything." Said the boy with a cocky grin.

"Hmph, something about this tall girl ticks me off. I don't know if it's her stupid face or her ugly red vest. Or is it because your head is above the clouds? Juan, what do you say, and kill her already?"

Were they siblings? They looked similar. Not direct siblings, but possibly related. Alice shook that thought out of her head. There was no reason to ponder family ties.

Alice rubbed her eye and asked, "You look unfazed by the teleportation that occurred before your eyes. Do you need me to break it down for you?"

Juan cracked up in laughter as Julia rolled her eyes at him. She shook him hard, demanding that Juan not let his guard down. He nodded and stood straight.
"We knew we would be up against some high–tech tricks. Being a part of Ruben's crew and all."

"Ruben's crew?" Alice asked. "How do you know?"

"Got a rat on your squad," Juan said. "Too bad you won't be alive to take care of that."

They charged at Alice at full speed. She looked back to see if the SCAR unit did the same. It was stationary and didn't move a robotic limb.

Julia came in fast and swung low at the legs. Alice jumped back, but before she could reset, Juan was to the side. He slammed into her side, knocking the breath from her lungs as she staggered towards the wall.

Julia pressed in again, aiming straight for the face. Alice twisted her body and narrowly avoided any contact, and caught her wrist with both hands. With a firm yank forward, she spun her around into her partner.

They stumbled, but didn't hit the ground. They weren't perfectly coordinated. Alice could work around their faults.

Alice wasn't the best at hand–to–hand combat. At first, she's fine, though her weak lungs make her tired easily. That's why Alice sticks to recon and uses a sniper. Though she knows hand–to–hand combat, she preferred not to engage in it unless absolutely necessary.

Juan changed with high strikes to the head. Alice ducked and dodged, striking his knee with a low kick. He bent over, not fully down, but enough for Alice to grab his collar, slamming his head into the wall. He collapsed motionless.

Behind was Julia. She rushed at her, throwing a flurry of quick jabs. Alice blocked them with her forearms and slipped a quick one in the gut. She folded, which gave Alice an opening to follow up with a knee to the jaw. She dropped flat on the ground.

Both were down, groaning.

Alice held her head, trying to catch her breath. She huffed and puffed heavily while fishing for her inhaler in her pocket.

"Shit. Did I forget it?"

Forgetting the inhaler wasn't a big deal. There were other times when bringing it along slipped her mind, and she came out just fine. After all, she did have a trick up her sleeve to deal with her lack of stamina.

She turned to the SCAR agent, who stood there as if nothing had happened. It hasn't moved, nor made a sound.

"What do I do with you?" Alice asked herself.

"Ge—Get up."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Alice turned around to see Juan helping Julia stand. They both took a beating but resiliently stood.

"That thing isn't going to attack you unless we are in absolute danger," Juan said with a plastered, cocky grin.

"Absolute danger? Do you mean death? Or too weak to move?"

"Heh, regardless of what logistics, you won't be alive to handle the SCAR agent. I can hear you breathing hard. You don't have enough energy to continue for much longer."

Julia added onto Juan's words while cracking her knuckles. "You're going to regret coming here."

Something shifted in her face—a sudden twitch in the jaw and the slight narrowing of the brows.

Then the eyes.

They flared.

A soft blue shimmer surged, transforming into an electric glow. A sharp, vibrant blue in both of Julia's eyes, almost like Alice stared into a lightning bolt.

For Juan, it was a similar thing. However, his eyes were blood red instead of a vibrant blue.

"The power of the serums! You are at our mercy!" Juan yelled with complete arrogance.

There were three types of serums.

QT-19 was the original prototype and remains the most powerful to this day. Designed to surpass the boundaries of human capability, it granted overwhelming power. When paired with a specialized device, QT-19 users could destroy an entire area, leaving no survivors. It wasn't just a weapon; it was a guarantee of annihilation.

Then came RT-19. This version introduced a new concept—consciousness within the serum itself. The idea was to create an idealistic bond between the serum and the host, akin to a true symbiosis. Hosts who received RT-19 had a single colored eye. But it never worked. The serum's consciousness inevitably overwhelmed its host, slowly replacing its will with its own.

To counteract this, PAIR-12, an antidote designed to suppress the serum's mind, was created, though it came with consequences. Without the consciousness, the serum's full potential could never be unlocked. While RT-19 rivaled the QT-19, accessing its true power required an impossible discipline and a willingness to lose oneself.

Built out of failure, VT-19 was the final result. It stripped away the serum's consciousness entirely and removed several of the more volatile features found in QT and RT. The result was much safer for the user, though weaker. For the first time, control was prioritized over power.

There was a short period where the serums were sold in the underground market, along with all the other illegal items. They were scarce, since obtaining a serum was equivalent to walking on a slightly thicker tightrope with high heels. Borderline impossible.

Somehow, these two were injected with the serum.

Julia's eyes burned blue, a clear Defense–Type. The serum granted her enhanced strength and accelerated reflexes. Her wounds closed faster than usual, and her pain threshold was unnaturally high. She could take hits others wouldn't survive and keep moving.

Then there was Juan. His deep, violent red eyes were a textbook example of an Attack–Type. With the crimson eyes came aggression, speed, agility, and power.

Two living weapons, both armed with serums.

"From which series?" Alice asked.

"Like it matters," Julia responded. "Either way, we are going to beat you to a pulp!"

Alice smiled while pushing her asymmetrical blob out of her eye. "I'll join the fun." Her eyes turned bright red, indicating that she was an attack-type.

"HA! Even match up. Looks like this is going to be fun!" Juan exclaimed with that same arrogant smile.

"Doubt it," Alice said.

"Huh? Got something to say?"

"VT user, right?"

Julia joined the conversation. "Teh, what gives?"

"It means I'm superior. Acting like you have the upper hand is quite childish."

Julia stepped back. "Your skin… it's glowing…"

Juan stayed where he was, unusually silent. His wide eyes told the story. What he witnessed wasn't something we wanted to see again.

What makes the QT and RT serums so powerful is their ability to ascend the physical capabilities of a normal human. Alice could've fought them without having to resort to this. Though she wanted to end things quickly.

This was her only chance. It wasn't her ace, since using that would be detrimental. It was another trick up her sleeve. Something she used whenever she wanted to speed up the process.

It wasn't just her eyes that glowed red. A faint red glow emerged beneath her skin, almost like an echo chamber. The light shimmered softly, nearly matching the color of her red vest.

"What in the world…" Julia said, flabbergasted by the sight. "A RT—-no—could it be a QT user?"

Alice crept forward to close the gap. "Do you hear that? The melody of despair. Do you feel that? The force of gravity harnessing you to the ground. Do you notice that? The clattering of your trembling teeth." Alice opened her arms wide with her unguarded body facing the two. "This is one of the two main abilities offered by the QT. An ability where the serum stops enhancing and starts rewriting. This ability… is called Ascension."

Ascension. A deadly ability that ascends the human body's limit.

It wasn't just strength or speed. Not just quicker reflexes. It's everything. Every part of the body pushed past the human limit. Bones, tendons, ligaments, blood flow, nerves, everything is supercharged. At this moment, Alice wasn't a person or a weapon. She was more like a mythical being.

To a normal person, the movements of an ascended person were blurred. Strength, agility, stamina, all charged up like riding lightning. Every step struck like a boulder, and every strike was lethal.

Julia swallowed hard, unable to keep her eyes still. "How long… can you stay like that?"

Alice gave a truthful answer. "Not long. The body can't hold it. It'll kill me from the inside out if I push too hard. Maybe I'll pass out. Maybe my heart will explode and I die. But for the next few minutes… I'm a nightmare straight from hell."

On the other hand, Juan smiled and yelled, "You really think having a more powerful serum will work?! Hate to break it to you, but I'm gonna mess you up!"