They were all surrounded, trapped like rats in a cage. The heavily armed soldiers guarding the hangars advanced slowly in close formation, the monsters in their service growled impatiently, and behind them stood Rea's team, their eyes glazed over, controlled by the treacherous Griselda. The air had thickened, charged with an oppressive aura.
Daru clicked his tongue nervously and said bitterly,
"We've really been had... We're in deep shit."
Yamero gave a twisted smile despite the situation.
"You said it. That bitch Griselda has a surprise in store for us worthy of our name... She really wants to crush us."
Maki, already in a combat stance, gripped his weapons and asked coldly,
"What's the plan?"
Suka, looking focused, placed two fingers over his slightly glowing marked eye.
"I marked Griselda while she was talking about the Mark of Oros. One of the features of my technique also allows me to teleport directly to the marked person's location. No matter where they're hiding, I can reach them."
Miya frowned, glancing around at the horde surrounding them.
"In that case, we'll have to split up. Two of us will go after Griselda to retrieve the relic. The others will clean up around here... otherwise we'll all be buried before we even reach it."
A brief silence fell, broken only by the monsters' grunts and the clanging of enemy weapons. Then Yamero burst into a light, almost provocative laugh.
"In that case, Suka and Miya, go hunt that witch." Daru, Maki, and I will take care of the guests properly.
His carnivorous smile shone in the darkness. Behind him, Daru cracked his knuckles, a wave of vibration coursing through the air like a warning, and Maki swirled her blades, their cold reflections drawing deadly arcs.
Suka and Miya disappeared in a split second, as if swallowed by the air itself. Their destination was clear: to find Griselda before she could further her dark designs. Meanwhile, Yamero, Daru, and Maki advanced toward the horde of enemies blocking the road, their silhouettes rising like ramparts against the impending chaos.
Now perched atop a building, Suka and Miya observed the city from above. The wind whipped their faces, carrying with it the scent of gunpowder and smoke.
Suka broke the silence:
"Did you bring with you the dagger you made to detect Oswald?"
Miya slowly took out a leather sheath, her eyes shining with a serious gleam.
"Yes, I have it with me. But tell me... what exactly do you want to do with it?"
A dark glint crossed Suka's eyes.
"I am... somehow connected to those I mark. This dagger is linked to my seal. With it, I could trace Griselda's energy, marked by my power."
Miya nodded, impressed.
"Absolutely. It's possible."
Without waiting, Suka took the dagger in his hand and infused his aura into it, activating the D'oros mark. A golden glow, pulsing and ominous, enveloped the blade as if it were breathing. Beside him, Miya pulled out a high-tech phone that projected a three-dimensional digital map, displaying every live energy movement in the city. Their two tools merged, and soon a glow intensified at a single, precise point.
"There... I've got it," Suka murmured, his eyes shining with a cold glow.
Their gazes fixed on the location clearly visible on the map: the offices of the President of Japan.
Miya put a hand to her mouth, stunned.
"What's she doing there? Does she want to include him in her infernal agenda too?"
Suka's fists clenched, a dull anger rising within him.
"Nothing should surprise me coming from that abominable witch. She's ready to do anything to undermine the very foundations of power."
He took a step toward the void, ready to pounce.
"We have to move quickly. Every second lost is in her favor."
Meanwhile, the entire horde of enemies had been literally decimated. The ground was nothing more than a field of carnage: dozens of lifeless bodies littered the concrete, the monsters were reduced to shreds, their limbs scattered like bloody waste. The smell of iron and gunpowder saturated the air, and a heavy, almost unreal silence fell after the storm.
Yamero, impassive, still held the last survivor in his massive hand: a terrified soldier, lifted by the throat with one hand. His legs thrashed in the air, his breath was ragged, his eyes rolled back in pain.
Yamero, a carnivorous smile on his face, stared at him coldly:
"So... you've decided to talk and tell us where the other production sites are located?" It would be your only chance to save your life…
The soldier, choking, his nose bleeding, managed to utter in a hoarse breath:
"Never… I'd rather die…"
A flash of cruelty crossed Yamero's eyes.
"Too bad… you're of no use to me now."
And with a simple slap of the hand, a seemingly ordinary slap, the unfortunate man's head detached itself from his body. It flew into the air before crashing heavily against the hangar wall, splashing the metal sheets with blood. The body collapsed limply to the ground, inert.
Daru, absently wiping his bloodstained hands, sighed:
"Well… looks like we've finished cleaning up around here. Let's go back to HQ; it'll be more productive than trampling over corpses."
But he had barely finished his sentence when an unexpected sound broke the silence: slow, sarcastic applause echoing through the air. Clap… clap… clap…
Everyone looked up. Perched atop the hangar, like a spectator who had savored the performance, was Momoshi—the prototype who had tricked the team by pretending to be Rea. His smirk lit up his face, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
"Well done," he said in a honeyed voice. "Truly… an admirable spectacle. You're worth more than I thought. Yes… you were."
Maki, frowning, replied curtly, "What do you mean by that?"
With a blink of an eye, Momoshi disappeared from his perch and reappeared before them, standing on the ground. His imposing presence made the air vibrate around him, as if gravity itself were bending to his aura.
He smiled even wider.
"You're worth... me lowering myself to face one of you. I was convinced you'd be crushed by those minions... but you've proven otherwise. So I'm offering you a privilege: choose between you who will have the honor of facing me."
He paused, his eyes flickering from Yamero to Daru and then to Maki, a sadistic glint in his gaze.
"Oh... and don't worry," he added in a falsely reassuring tone. "Everyone will get their share of the pie. Don't be greedy..."
His words sounded like a grim promise.
Daru steps forward, ready to volunteer to face Momoshi. But Yamero raises his hand and calls out to him with a wry smile.
"You're not going to take away my pleasure of having a little fun, are you, Daru?"
Daru sighs, shaking his head.
"Go ahead, have fun, brother."
Without waiting, Yamero steps forward, his eyes fixed on his opponent.
"Then come show me what you're made of, you vermin!"
Mothershi, still with her back to him, gives a small smile.
In a split second, Yamero disappears from his position and reappears in front of him, his fist slicing through the air towards Momoshi's kidney. But Momoshi, with a sharp movement, turns around and blocks the attack with a flick of his wrist. At the same time, Momoshi counters with a direct punch aimed at Yamero's stomach, but the latter intercepts it with his palm and deflects the trajectory, stepping back slightly to break the rhythm.
Momoshi gives no respite: he pivots on his support and launches a roundhouse kick aimed at the back of the head. Yamero reacts, raises his leg and counters with a kick of his own.
The impact is brutal. Their legs collide with such violence that a shock wave spreads around them, kicking up dust and rubble, as if the air itself had shattered under the pressure of their combined strength.
Daru, a slight smile on his lips, crossed his arms and calmly said:
Daru: This could be very interesting...
The two opponents stared at each other with an almost animal intensity. The silence around them was heavy, as if the air itself was waiting for the first move.
Yamero, narrowing his eyes, spoke in a tone laden with irony:
"You seem quite skilled at unarmed combat. Is it the result of a martial specialty... or is it simply your power that gives you this advantage?"
Momoshi gave a small smile, then without hesitation, he removed his t-shirt, revealing a body marked by deep scars, reminders of his violent past. His voice, deep and calm, echoed in the air:
"I was once, before Griselda saved me, a fighter in illegal arenas in Thailand." I saw the sweat, the blood, and the death up close… every fight was a matter of survival. But suddenly, I stopped everything. I left that hell and came here, to Japan, hoping to change my life. That's when I met Griselda. She reached out to me and offered me a job. The only condition… was to enter her program to perfect myself. I accepted. And in exchange, I obtained much more than I had before: power, strength I could never have imagined.
Yamero let out a cold sneer, her eyes shining with unabashed contempt.
"Saved? She didn't save you. She chained you with illusions, that's all. You're nothing more than a pawn, a docile tool in her schemes." Poor fool...
Momoshi, far from being destabilized, clenched his fists and replied in a firm, almost sharp voice, "Don't waste your breath trying to divert me from my path. I am loyal to those who brought me out of the darkness. No matter your vision, Yamero... instead of chattering, come show me your strength."
With these words, he took a step forward. His left hand opened, palm facing forward, while his right closed into a powerful fist. His legs placed themselves firmly on the ground, anchored like a rock, adopting a martial attack stance. His aura slowly rose, an invisible pressure spreading through the air, making the ground vibrate around them.
Yamero and Momoshi each deployed their "flow territory."
Flow territory, or flow mode, consists of spreading one's senses and energy around oneself, over a few meters or several hundred, or even more, depending on the user's mastery. Once this territory is deployed, the fighters become capable of sensing the slightest change in the air, the slightest muscle twitch, the tiniest movement around them.
Each of them extended their flow territory to over a hundred meters and, without waiting, they rushed at each other. An exchange of blows immediately erupted, swift and precise, each constantly anticipating the other's attacks, again and again.
Daru said,
"Did you feel it too, Maki?"
Maki replied,
"Yes, I did. They deployed their flow territory... but I've never reached that stage, nor even seen such a thing in action. Is it really effective?"
Daru then picked up two large stones and threw them at superhuman speed toward Momoshi and Yamero. Yet, before even hitting their target, the stones literally disintegrated, invisible to the naked eye.
Daru said,
"You see? When the territory is deployed, the fighters no longer need to think, hesitate, or divert their attention. Everything is done passively. They are capable of eliminating the slightest obstacle, no matter how small, instantly."
Momoshi appeared like a flash and aimed a dazzling roundhouse kick at Yamero's abdomen. Yamero, quick to react, anticipated and intercepted the attack with his elbow. But even so, the impact pierced his guard: an invisible shock wave penetrated his defense, brutally throwing him back several meters.
Stunned, Yamero snarled, "What is... this?"
Momoshi gave a cold smile. "A technique called a double-edged attack. Even if you block, the wave pierces and hits the intended target."
Without wasting a moment, Yamero leaped again, feinting a frontal strike only to immediately reappear behind Momoshi, ready to strike him down. But Momoshi instinctively pivoted, grabbed his arm, and followed up with a precise sweep that knocked his opponent off balance. At the same time, he cocked his elbow and brought it down straight on Yamero's face.
The latter, with a quick reflex, grabbed onto the ground and managed to throw himself backward, narrowly escaping. Momoshi's elbow crashed into the ground with terrifying force, opening a gaping six-meter fissure that scarred the earth.
Yamero said, "But actually... what is your mythical power?"
A fiery aura erupted behind Momoshi, taking the form of a colossal fiery figure, its flames dancing like a legendary warrior ready to fight.
Momoshi, with a slight smile, replied, "The Blazing Fighter."