The penthouse was still heavy with silence after Ronnie's words. Neon light cut across their faces, fractured by the glass walls. The group felt the flicker of something larger than themselves—the beginnings of the Shield of Neoterra.
But before anyone could answer, the holoscreen on the wall blared to life.
BREAKING NEWS—ATTACK ON AKEHIRO CAPITAL.
The newsfeed cut into a live broadcast. Smoke coiled over the glittering towers of Akehiro, the proud heart of the Kagetsu Kingdom. Fire raged across rooftops, embers spilling into the night sky. Crowds surged through the streets; screams laced with sirens.
Reporter (voice trembling): "This… this is unprecedented. The Kagetsu capital is under direct assault—multiple districts are burning. Sources say the Taketa Clan headquarters itself has been struck, though details remain scarce…"
Henry shot up from his chair. His attention instantly turned to Ichiro.
But Ichiro…
Ichiro froze.
The words hammered into him harder than any blow he had taken in combat. His breath hitched; his entire body trembled. The Taketa crest on his mind's eye—his family, his sisters, his clan's honor—he never had imagined something like that, all swallowed by fire on the screen.
Ichiro (choked): "No… no, no, no, no."
He staggered back, palms pressed to his temples. For the first time since joining them, his composure shattered.
Henry reached for him.
Henry: "Ichiro—"
Ichiro snapped his head toward Ronnie, desperation blazing in his eyes.
Ichiro: "I need a hoverjet. Now."
Ronnie stood slowly, already understanding.
Ronnie: "Ichiro—"
Ichiro (shouting): "NOW!" His voice cracked, raw. His pride as a Taketa warrior stripped away, leaving only a boy with fear burning in his chest.
The holoscreen showed another explosion tearing through Akehiro's skyline. The reporter's voice stammered.
Reporter: "There are… there are unconfirmed reports of figures in the midst of it, wielding catastrophic power… One of them is the shogun."
Jack's jaw hardened. Emilia's eyes narrowed. Elara looked away, unable to stomach the images.
Ichiro clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened, shaking from head to toe.
Ichiro (whispering): "Yuna… Rina… Father…"
Ronnie placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. His voice, though quiet, carried authority.
Ronnie: "You'll have your hoverjet."
Ichiro looked up, stunned.
Henry stepped forward, fists balled.
Henry: "Then I'll—"
Ichiro cut him off with a glare, fierce despite the tears burning in his eyes.
Ichiro: "No, Henry. You can't. Not this time."
Henry froze, the words stinging. Ichiro's voice wasn't harsh—it was final.
Henry: "But Ichiro—"
Ichiro (tears in his eyes): "Henry, please… I have to go alone; this is what my pride as a Taketa wants me to do."
Henry stepped back, his voice falling into silence.
Ichiro turned back to Ronnie, bowing his head deeply.
Ichiro: "Thank you. I won't forget this."
Ronnie nodded once, already giving orders into his comm for a jet to be prepared.
The screen showed flames consuming another district of Akehiro, the camera shaking as shockwaves rattled through the city.
What Ichiro didn't know—what none of them knew—was that within those flames walked Null and Goliath, their soul aura and raw destruction reducing the proud Kagetsu capital to ashes.
Ichiro didn't wait for goodbyes. He sprinted from the penthouse, each step echoing with his clan's legacy, his family's laughter, and the horror of what he might never see again.
Henry stood frozen at the glass, fists trembling, guilt biting at his chest. Emilia watched Ichiro's retreating figure, lips pressed tight. Jack muttered a curse under his breath.
Elara had no words.
And Ronnie… Ronnie stared at the flames on the holoscreen, the weight of yet another war pressing against his chest.
But Lenny? He couldn't accept their decision. He ran after Ichiro. Chasing him down the hallway and the stairs until he finally met him in the hangar.
There, Lenny watched while Ichiro boarded the hoverjet.
Lenny then shouted, "ICHIRO!!"
Ichiro ignored Lenny. It pained him to leave his friends behind at such a crucial turning point, but watching Akehiro capital, burn shattered his pride as not only a Taketa warrior but also as the Taketa heir.
Lenny: "Ichiro, let me go with you."
Ichiro didn't turn around, but he answered, "Please, Lenny, as a Taketa clan member, I can let you go with me. You would shatter my pride if I let you intervene in my family's matter."
Lenny: "But we are your friends; we are a family!"
Ichiro: "I know, and I enjoyed every second of calling you my brother. Farewell, Lenny; we will definitely see each other again."
Lenny stood there; his voice was long gone, and the only farewell he could give Ichiro was with tears in his eyes while he watched the hoverjet slowly rise and leave the hangar.
Ichiro's hoverjet tears into the neon-lit night, heading for the Kagetsu Kingdom—unaware that the true monsters waiting for him in Akehiro are Soul Reapers.
Meanwhile…
The penthouse had grown quiet again after Ichiro's hurried departure. The hum of the city outside—neon traffic, the pulsing bass of nightlife—seemed distant, muffled.
Henry sat at the edge of the couch, knuckles pressed against his knees, staring at the empty space Ichiro had left behind. Elara lingered near the glass, eyes following the fading streak of light where the hoverjet had vanished into the night sky. Jack leaned against the wall, arms crossed, restless.
And Emilia… Emilia stood apart, arms folded, her gaze far away. Mist curled faintly around her shoulders, dissipating before it touched the ground.
Lenny, his eyes bloody red, finally broke the silence.
Lenny: "He's going straight into hell."
Jack: "He's tougher than he looks. He'll fight."
Lenny: "He'll die if he goes up against…" His voice trailed off. He didn't even know how to finish the sentence.
Elara turned from the window.
Henry: "Against what? We don't even know who's behind the attack yet."
That was when Emilia spoke. Her voice was soft, but it cut clean through the air.
Emilia: "One of them is gone."
The others turned toward her instantly.
Henry: "What are you talking about?"
Emilia's eyes narrowed, as if she was listening to something far beyond their walls.
Emilia: "A presence… a string in the darkness I've felt it when I was walking in the city, after Jack left. That string, it snapped."
Jack frowned.
Jack: "You're saying… one of whom? The syndicate?"
Emilia nodded once, her tone grim.
Emilia: "Yes. And not just any of them, but one who was also a Soul Reaper. Harlekin."
The name hung in the air like smoke.
Henry's eyes widened.
Henry: "Harlekin? The clown freak from the fight? When we first landed in Neoterra?"
Emilia: "I don't know how or by whose hand. But I know it happened here, in Vanterra. His essence ended not long ago."
Jack pushed off the wall, disbelief flashing across his face.
Jack: "Wait, wait—you're telling me one of the ten most dangerous people in the world just… died? And we didn't even hear it happen?"
Elara bit her lip, unsettled.
Elara: "If it's true, then someone—or something—in this city is strong enough to kill a Reaper."
Henry exhaled sharply, his chest tightening.
Henry: "…What is even the meaning of this? So, one of them just…died?"
Mist coiled thicker around Emilia now, her voice carrying a quiet finality.
Emilia: "The death of Harlekin isn't just an end. It's the start of something; it means that the Soul Reapers aren't those divine figures; they are vulnerable."
The group exchanged looks—fear, doubt, and unspoken questions swimming between them.
Outside, Vanterra's neon heartbeat pulsed on, unaware of the storm gathering in its veins.