Mimi had fought an Elite Enthipid years ago with Nyxandria and Mari, back when she she was still the Daimyo of the Valkyries. A creature with eight pairs of extended, sharp black wings and an elongated ridged mandible which curved at the bottom, the giant Enthipid easily reached 30-feet in length, gliding through the air in a slow, deliberate motion. When the crew had approached its vicinity, it easily detected them, and uttered a cry so piercing, it short-circuited the communicators that Mimi had at the time and forced the team to take drastic countermeasures.

  This Enthipid, known as The Siren, was a high priority hunt, and appeared more docile than other Enthipids of the same class. However, it’s specialized ability allowed it not only to emit high frequency sounds at levels unfit for living species to deal with. The moment Mimi saw this beast, she knew she just had to have its powers.

  And she hasn’t gone a day without utilizing its benefits…

  Currently holding on to the ridge of the 29th floor window of the Clan of Tributes tower, Mimi looked up. No windows on the 30th floor. Should she aim for the 31st floor and head down or go up from the 29th? She placed her ear against the building, issuing a non-verbal command, activating her core’s ability.

  She began to perceive footsteps. Eyes closed, the world appeared black to her, interrupted periodically by pictures of vague, white images. Every time a foot rapped against the floors above and below her, ripples of sound reach Mimi’s ears, and she becomes able to see the environment around her. Echolocation, similar to the creatures held in Vitadale known as bats, Mimi was capable of manipulating such aspects of sound because of the Siren’s core which replaced where her heart once was.

  Enthipid cores allowed users to utilize abilities similar to those of the deceased Enthipid from which the core was taken from. However, these abilities were often limited in-scope and needed focused stores of Johrei to utilize. Since Johrei disperses quicker over a wider area, cores were often used in conjunction with compact weaponry only, such as guns or blades, and not with larger or bulkier equipment like vehicles or armor. This was also ideal from an economic standpoint, as cores were rare commodities that were only found on Enthipids of an Elite-class or higher.

  This is why Mimi often utilized headphones or microphones because they amplified aspects of her specific abilities.

  Though a recurring issue caused by Enthipid cores was that it burned through Johrei stores quickly, leaving hunters unable to use any remaining stores to power their shields. In most cases, the abilities granted by these otherwise supposedly divine objects, were used very sparingly.

  For Inners such as Supplementors and Augmentors, these issues were not present as the cores “tap into” the person itself, a symbiotic connection that allows Inners to utilize Johrei cores to its maximum potentials, similar to the Enthipids who hosted it prior, though the issue of burnout caused by trying to push too much of the Johrei’s abilities at once is still present, as well as the rarer, but more devastating problem - the Voices of Madness. Admittedly, Mimi had not faced that particular problem recently, and she continued to count the stars that she wouldn’t anytime soon.

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  From what Mimi could hear, it sounded like the patrols are patrolling through a set path around a room. Though the sounds were dim, she could hear whirring coming from inside the room, and tried to focus her hearing even more, burning through more Johrei in the process.

  An image of a server farm appeared. Bingo. However, right as Mimi was about to climb up higher, a sudden coarse noise permeated within her mind, almost causing her to lose her grip.

  The sound felt like gibberish, whispering into her mind in a stream. However, within the sounds, she swore she caught the syllables of what could almost be made out as the word…pact.

  She released her ability, and the whispers disappeared along with it. Clutching her head with a free hand, which became dizzy for a spell, she cursed herself for trying to push her powers to far. The Voices of Madness get louder each time she pushes her abilities too far. She needed to keep everything in moderation.

  Jinxing herself like this…Mimi should have known better.

  Mimi pulled herself up higher, towards the 31st floor, deciding on the higher vantage point and began sneaking around the hallways. The walls were dim, lined with dark red and dull gold paint, contrasting in hue against Mimi’s cyan top. She should’ve chosen something a bit less flashy to wear today.

  She could hear guards talking in the stairs beneath her.

  “It wasn’t the first time this happened,” a male voice said.

  The coarse female voice responded, “Still, to attempt to break into our systems, knowing how the Arbiters dealt with hackers in the past...”

  “I mean, I’m not agreeing with their actions or anything, but I understand the risks and rewards involved. If every action against a major Clan, big or small, is considered a felony, then you might as well go for the bigger crimes,” the male continued.

  “And how about the notion that you shouldn’t be doing this at all? You’re giving those rotten groups too much credit. If this argument of yours is so solid, then why have we only seen the same signatures hacking into our system? It has to be from one source, though admittedly, they are doing a pretty good job at concealing themselves.”

  Oh Reina, you’re getting careless, Mimi thought.

  “Anyways, the Daijo-Daijin already knows about-” the man started right as Mimi drop kicked him in the face.

  “Who are-” the woman began, raising her gun. Mimi jumped up from where the man stood, kneeing her beneath her chin. Blood spurted from her mouth as she fell backwards, gun dropping to the ground.

  Mimi looked around, scanning for any other guards in the area. When none showed up, she listened in quickly, confirming the fact, and then looked at the bodies which lay unconscious before her.

  Idea popping into her mind, she dragged the bodies into a nearby closet, undressing the woman, and wearing her clothing. She tossed her colorful clothing outside a nearby window, towards a pole hanging off the side of the building, planning to get it back later.

  “Ahem, ahem,” she said, using her core abilities to modulate her voice.

  What did she sound like again?

  After a few adjustments, she was satisfied. Her voice adopted a coarse tone to it, like the woman had. She grabbed a piece of cloth from the man’s sleeve, ripping it off and tying it around her mouth like a mask. Picking up the gun of the woman her hand, she began walking down the hallway, following the patrol path they were taking earlier to get to the server room.