In the heart of New Kyoto, where neon billboards painted the night sky and holographic advertisements flickered over towering skyscrapers, a single broadcast hijacked every major network.
A dimly lit club. A battlefield of broken bodies. A boy—white-haired, red-eyed, standing amidst the carnage.
The city watched in collective silence as the feed rolled.
They saw the club security guard crumble, his head twisted at an unnatural angle. They watched as a Rank 5 Beast Warrior—a seasoned combatant—fell, his skull punctured by an emotionless child. And then, Mancini, a well-connected crime lord, met his end in a single stroke, his head tumbling to the blood-soaked floor.
The boy stood over the corpse, eyes cold, face blank. Not even satisfaction. Not even anger. Just… nothing.
Then, the screen cut to black.
Upper district
High above the city, in the Celestial District, where power was measured in awakened abilities and generational wealth, the aristocratic families sat in stunned silence.
"This is a joke… right?" Lord Asano muttered, staring at the frozen frame of Dio's impassive face.
"A child. A child who killed a Rank 5 like it was a game." Lady Takahashi exhaled slowly, gripping the armrest of her seat.
"He awakened too early," another noble whispered. "That shouldn't be possible."
They all knew the rules—awakeners emerged at 15. Yet here was a 10 or 11-year-old defying that reality, slaughtering seasoned fighters with the ease of a veteran.
This wasn't just a strong child. This was an anomaly.
One that could not be ignored.
S.A.M.T. Headquarters
The holographic screen flickered as Commander Ryuu Akihara stared at the playback. His officers stood motionless.
"Play it again."
The footage restarted. The precision. The efficiency. The absolute lack of hesitation.
"He's too young. He shouldn't be capable of this level of combat, let alone awakened abilities."
"Are you sure about that?" A voice resounded as Draven came out from the shadows, " if the footage is real then this guy is associated with the murder of his parents and brother."
Ryuu Akihara stared " Do you think he's out for revenge against those who killed his family?"
But Draven shook his head saying he doesn't know, it could be possible, but it's best to probably bring him in for questioning.
An officer swallowed. "Sir… should we classify him as a priority target?"
Ryuu Akihara didn't answer immediately. He watched the screen, rewinding the moment where Dio nullified the camera's power. That wasn't normal. That wasn't something on record.
"We don't know what he is yet," Akihara finally said. "But we're going to find out."
The Criminal Underground
In the darkened corridors of underground syndicates and black-market networks, the video spread like wildfire.
"That kid just took out Mancini like he was nothing."
"Mancini was weak. His bodyguard? wasn't weak."
"Who the hell is he?"
No one had an answer.
But one thing was clear—Dio Rodriguez wasn't just another awakener. He was something else.
And now, the whole city knew.
C.P.D. (Criminal & Paranormal Division) – Investigators of the Unexplainable
Special agent Damon leaned back in his chair, cigarette smoke curling through the dim light of the C.P.D. headquarters.
He watched the video again.
Again.
Again.
"This kid… he didn't hesitate," Damon muttered, rewinding the moment Dio severed Mancini's head. No flourish, no anger, no satisfaction.
"He's not just powerful. He's dangerous."
His partner, special agent Mei Hoshino, exhaled sharply. "The moment this went public, it stopped being just a criminal case. This is a city-wide crisis. Every organization is going to want a piece of him."
"Yeah," Damon murmured. "And that means we need to find him before they do."
A.R.I. (Awakened Research Institute) – The Scientists of Power
Deep within the A.R.I. laboratories, researchers and scientists stood around a massive holographic projection of Dio's fight.
Dr. Shun Hayashi, lead researcher, adjusted his glasses, eyes gleaming with a mix of fascination and unease.
"A prepubescent awakener with this level of combat ability…"
One of his assistants swallowed. "Sir, should we—"
"Initiate a full investigation. Track his genetic markers. Analyze his ability signature. I want every bit of data possible."
If S.A.M.T. wanted him as a threat, A.R.I. wanted him as a test subject.
P.A.D. (Public Affairs Division) – Law Enforcement for the Lower District
Across New Kyoto, P.A.D. officers flooded the streets, responding to the chaos as news of the broadcast spread.
Civilians whispered.
Awakeners took interest.
Gangs, mercenaries, and bounty hunters smelled opportunity. Reyna barked orders into her comms. "Lock down the Lower District. If anyone sees this kid, we need immediate containment before the wrong people get to him first." She didn't want to think about how the boy from the feed matched the discription of Calon to the last detail.
Virelia General Hospital
The room was quiet, save for the hum of machines and the rustle of hospital sheets. Calon sat on the edge of the bed, still as stone, fingers digging into the mattress. His eyes were glued to the TV mounted in the corner.
News footage played.
Flashing club lights. Lifeless bodies. Chaos.
But none of that mattered.
At the center of it all—him.
A boy with white hair.
Eyes like red glass. Cold. Empty.
A face Calon shouldn't have recognized… but did.
His lips parted. Breath hitched. He leaned forward, as if closing the distance would make the vision vanish.
It didn't.
A chill crawled down his spine.
A nurse rushed in, alarmed by his pale face. "Sir, are you—"
Calon didn't hear her.
He only saw that boy.
His voice cracked, barely audible. "White-haired devil…"
The screen flickered.
And something inside him broke.
He had begged Reyna to find that thing. To track it.
But now, with it staring back through the screen—cold, unblinking—he couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
He curled into the bed, limbs trembling. Eyes still locked on the screen, feverish and wide.
Whatever that boy was…
It wasn't human.