Kenzo inhaled deeply as he perched on a nearby rooftop overlooking the chaotic battle. His eyes flickered bad forth between Kasumi's crew and the Echo Syndicate members trading blows and gunfire below. He drummed his fingers against the roof's ledge as he pted his move.

  Echoes in the alley told him that the Echo Syndicate po attack the facility produg the Shiver drug. As much as he didn't want to directly get involved with Kasumi's affairs, now that it had reached this stage...he had no choice but to step in. He knew Kasumi was capable, but she wouldn't be able to hahe lieutenant of the Echo Syndicate alone.

  "Reverb" Ray.

  A master maniputor of sound waves—someoh power rivaling his own. They'd crossed paths a few times in the past—and each time Kenzled to best the man in battle. Eater ended in a stalemate. However, unlike most foes Kenzo dealt with...this man wasn't predictable.

  Kenzo’s fingers ceased their idle drumming, falling still against the surface of the ledge. He leaned forward as he focused on a group of Echo Syndicate thugs gathering at a nearby interse. Six Neon Viper members skirmished with them near an open courtyard. Two Vipers wielded pipe rifles while the others brandished bdes or pistols. Some of the Syndicate goo down in a hail of gunfire...but a handful mao close the distah their melee ons drawn.

  His attention drifted towards an Adrenomancer creeping around the edges of the fight. Electrified whips unfurled from the man's bracers, sending sparks arg through the air as he shed out at nearby Syndicate thugs. A few tried to shoot him only for their bullets to bounce off his high-tech armor.

  Kenzo frowned.

  In order to get Kasumi away from Salvatore's grasp, he o get rid of these Adrenomancers without her knowing. Easier said than done. Even if she didn't witheir demise, a lot of gangsters on both sides would reize him. She'd find out about his involvement from her goons...and then she'd hunt him down and ask questions.

  No doubt about that.

  But...si's reached this point. It didn't matter if she found out about his interferenow. The only question remaining was whether she'd hold it against him once all this was over. That depended on her mental state when they reunited. Best not to let thie further than they already had.

  He leaped from the rooftop, his body twisting in mid-air as he nded softly on the ground, the vibration of his impact absorbed by a subtle tuhat emanated from his lips. He slid a pair of headphones over his ears aed a hand over his katarode casually into the battle zone.

  The first to notice his entrance was a group of Echo Syndicate enforcers. They paused, their expressions a mix nition and wariness. One of them leveled his pistol toward Kenzo, aiming down its sights. The man opened fire—only for Kenzo to twist out of the way of the bullets' path with a rhythmic flourish.

  旋律運動 (Senritsu Undō).

  His movements synced perfectly with the music bsting through his headphones—guiding him into pce as if he were dang along with the song pying in his ears. Every bullet shot passed him harmlessly as he bobbed and weaved from side to side. Kenzo rolled his o the beat as he sauntered closer to the group with unhurried steps.

  The Adrenomancer finally noticed Kenzo. He scowled. His electrified whips shed out toward him at a blinding speed. Both cables shrough the air.

  Kenzed as the whips drew near.

  拍反射 (Hyō Hansha).

  His katana fshed through the air with a quick flick of his wrist. A crisp metallic sound reverberated throughout the alleyway as he deflected each whip with deft strikes. Each impact resulted in a small burst of sparks aricity.

  A few of the Neon Viper gangsters stopped mid-fight and stared i his performance. Another one of the Adrenomancer's attacks came for Kenzo. The man cracked his whip at him with increased ferocity.

  Kenzo easily ducked and dodged out of the way while drawing his sword out of its scabbard with a flurry of parries and ters. He jumped high into the air as the whips tried to entangle his legs. They barely missed. When he nded ba the ground—he used a kick to unch himself forward with a quick burst of momentum.

  o have a fair fight. He o end it quid move on.

  リズムライド (Rizumu Raido) + 共鳴刃 (Kyōmei Ha)

  Kenzo's eyes fshed.

  One moment—Kenzo stood o the Adrenomahe sed—his katana tore through the man's chest. The Adrenomancer grunted as blood poured freely from his mouth. Kenzo's bde retracted before he sshed once more with a fluid, elegant stroke. His bde cleaved through flesh and bone—and in an instant, the man's head fell to the ground.

  The Adrenomancer's body toppled over. Blood pooled on the ground where Kenzo stood.

  The Neon Vipers stared wide-eyed at his handiwork but soon refocused their attention on their own oppos. It wouldn't take long for them to dispatch the rest of the Echo Syndicate grunts remaining.

  Kenzo vaulted onto the rooftop with a smooth lunge. As he sprinted over the roofs of nearby buildings, he began humming along to the tunes bsting through his headphones.

  Now to deal with the other Adrenomancer lurking about. It didn't take much time to figure out where the guy went. All he had to do was follow the sounds of gunfire and explosions ing from two streets down. They sounded nothing like the report from the usual pistol or rifle he'd expected to hear in the area. And the explosions...nobody carried around explosives during this kind of skirmish. Not when the gangs alreferred close bat whenever possible.

  He quickly rounded a er and leaped off another roof toward a pair of Syndicate grunts scrambling along an adjat alley. He nded gracefully on their shoulders. His momentum smashed their faces against the ground before they even realized what happened.

  Kenzo bent his knees and crouched low.

  Still got it.

  He smirked to himself and tioward the sound of battle. After turning three more ers, he found himself fag a se that made his heart skip a beat.

  Kasumi was ered against the crumbling wall of a dipidated building, her breaths ing in quick, ragged gasps. She was visibly injured—blood oozed from a gash ohigh while cuts covered her arms and face. A trickle of blood leaked from her lip and a bruise marked her forehead.

  Her dark bodysuit bore a multitude of ssh marks and tears. A massive k of crete y on the ground at her feet. A few wires dangled limply from the end of her gloves.

  Reverb Ray stood a few meters away, his mask's equalizer oscilting across its dispy in waves while an ear-grating sound echoed through the alleyway. His silver hair seemed to shimmer with each soni that erupted from his fiips, directed squarely at Kasumi. He aimed his palms at her as she tried to evade his attacks by sliding along the ground or ging onto the sides of walls. Each time she attempted to escape the assault—she was hit by another soni that knocked her off her perch.

  The grouween them was littered with debris, fallen bricks and steel rebar y scattered amid scorch marks and bst holes. It looked like a war zone. A handful of corpses wearing both gang colors y motionless in puddles of blood. None of them remained unburnt or untouched by whatever happened here. Many had missing limbs or exposed internal ans.

  Kasumi slid bato the ground with a heavy thud as one of Reverb's attacks pushed her into a nearby building's wall. Kenzo grimaced as he heard a soft whimper escape her lips.

  As he was about to leap to her defense, a massive explosioed behind him. The bst knocked him off his feet a him hurtling through the air toward a nearby rooftop. He rolled to a stop he edge of the roof and coughed. Smoke billowed from the source of the explosion, obsg his vision and filling his h a metallic st. He shook his head and struggled to get to his feet.

  From a distahe other Adrenomaared at him through the smoke.

  "Who the fuck are you supposed to be?" The man muttered to himself as he walked toward Kenzo, brandishing an assault rifle with a grenade utached to the barrel.

  Kuso!

  Kenzo cursed under his breath and hopped bato his feet. He gripped his sword's haightly as he gred at the approag Adrenomancer. Meanwhile, Reverb tinued his relentless assault on Kasumi while she struggled to block or dodge eaing blow.

  He o hurry before it was too te.

  Kenzo crouched low, his sword raised parallel to the ground, poi his oppo. His free hand hovered by the bde's tip. He closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. His posture resembled that of a coiled spring ready to strike. His feet shifted slightly beh him as he adjusted his stance.

  音速の槍 (Onsoku no Yari).

  Kenzo opened his eyes and thrust his sword forward with a shout. A wave of soniergy burst out from the end of his katana with an audible screech, pierg through the air toward his target. The soundwaves rippled outward like a shockwave from a detonating bomb—shattering gss and blowing debris away in their wake.

  "Wha—" The Adrenomaared wide-eyed as the sonice pierced his body. A deafening bst of sound waves tore him apart before he even had a ce to react. Blood sprayed everywhere as his remains y strewn across the ground. His rifle cttered to the floor, followed by what remained of his torso and legs.

  Kenzo spun around just in time to catch sight of Kasumi adjusting her intact glove, sending out another flurry of nanowires, this time in a wide arc meant to encircle Reverb. He responded by g his hands together, creating a sonic barrier that repelled the wires. The impact geed a symphony of sparks, throwing Kasumi bato a nearby building's wall. Her cry reverberated through the alleyway as her head collided with brick.

  She colpsed onto the ground and rolled limply onto her side.

  "Kasumi!" Kenzo yelled out to her in panic as he ran toward her fallen form. He ignored Reverb pletely and spriowards where she y. Once he reached her side, he k beside her.

  Kasumi groaned weakly as Kenzo gently shook her shoulder. She groaned again and mumbled something inprehensible under her breath. Then she passed out. Kenzo quickly checked for any fatal injuries but found none. He sighed in relief.

  He gnced back at Reverb, who remained where he stood— Kenzo and Kasumi silently. If there were any visible signs of fatigue from Reverb's part...they weren't readily apparent. The equalizers on his mask's dispy tinued oscilting steadily.

  "Kenzo... Harmonic Samurai," Reverb remarked softly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Now that's a face I didn't expect to see here." He chuckled dryly. "Guess you haven't ged o. Still doing what you've always done. Hmph...whatever happeo ying low?"

  "Fuck off, Reverb," Kenzo spat coldly as he carefully picked up Kasumi with one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees. "I won't stop you from dealing with the Shiver facility, but I'm taking her away from this mess."

  Reverb shrugged nontly. "Alright," he said after a momentary pause. "She's not the reason we're here anyways. Besides...I guess she isn't all that bad...even if she's just anangster in this shitshow." He cocked his head slightly toward where Kasumi rested limply against Kenzo's chest. "This little dy utting up quite the fight when I found her earlier. Almost seemed like a fun challeil your arrival."

  Kenzo paid him no mind and carried Kasumi in silehe music bring from his headphones tio pump out a steady stream of bass beats in tandem with the rhythmic steps of his stride.

  He made sure to keep a safe distaween himself and any Echo Syndicate stragglers scattered throughout the surrounding area. If any tried to pick a fight—he'd make short work of them. If they didn't, then that was fine by him too.

  A few Neon Viper gangsters still stood watear where he first entered them. One of them greeted him with surprise while another yelled at him angrily. A third began running towards him with his on drawn.

  "What are you doing with Cobra?!" The man shouted as he aimed his gun directly at Kenzo's face. "Put her down or else!"

  "Your boss lost to 'Reverb'," Kenzo replied coolly as he stared down the barrel of the pistol poi him. "We don't need a war right now." He g Kasumi unsciously as he spoke. "If you're smart...you'll listen to me."

  The gangster hesitated but eventually lowered his gun and holstered it away. His rades followed suit as they gred suspiciously at Kenzo. Eventually, one of them spoke up after exging gnces with another. "Fine...just give us the boss. We'll take care of her."

  Kenzo shook his head. "Not gonna happen. I'm takio a good ic I know. Tell the rest of yuys to retreat and leave this matter behind you. W for the Mad Chemist won't end well for anybody."

  "But—" one of them started to protest before cutting themselves off abruptly as Kenzo narrowed his eyes threateningly. The rest nodded and quickly turned around. They scattered into the nearby shadows of the alleyway without another word.