Chapter 13: Valkyrie Effect.

Drake stepped over the lifeless body of Marcus, a lackey of the evil scientist who had been obsessed with cutting open his head. His breath came in ragged gasps, his muscles still thrumming with the temporary energy that the Alpha link system had provided him.

The sterile, fluorescent-lit lab was now a battlefield, littered with the remnants of shattered equipment and broken machines.

He wiped drops of blood from his forehead and turned his attention to the storage room. He knew that Marcus's lackeys were hiding there, probably cowering in fear after witnessing their leader's brutal end. Drake could pick up the faint sounds of their whispers.

As he approached the door, his grip tightened on his weapon; a blade. The door creaked open, revealing two men huddled together in terror. Drake's eyes locked onto his targets, and with a swift, decisive motion, he dispatched one of them. The other fell to his knees, hands raised in a desperate plea.

"Please! Don't kill me!" the man begged, tears