"I found my clothes not too far from here—on a tree. By the time I got back, Nico had already started carrying you toward the river. He was slow… but it was better than nothing. A few days passed, and now here we are."
"Damn… this is a bit much to take in all at once," Yuri muttered, rubbing his temples.
"So you really had no idea you were harboring something like that inside you?"
"No. I've been normal for as long as I can remember. Although…"
His words trailed off as realization hit.
The mornings he woke up in strange places… the times he survived impossible odds…
It all started to make sense.
"Although…?" Kierra asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Nah. Never mind."
He sighed. "How long was I out?"
"Four days."
"…I see."
"It's been hell protecting your unconscious ass in this cursed wilderness," she said, arms crossed. "Nico's practically had no sleep."
"W-What? Why would he even do that? After everything I've cost him…"
"You'll have to ask him that yourself."
"Where is he anyway? I haven't seen any sign of him since I woke up."
"He's probably back at his place. Trying to fix the damage."
"Oh…"
Yuri pinched the bridge of his nose. "To think I caused all this… I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I mean, we were all after the flash drive. In a way, Uzoth's the one who brought this on us."
"Speaking of…" Yuri paused. "Where is the flash drive?"
Kierra lowered her head with a sigh.
"Riiiiight here."
She suddenly shot up, proudly holding the flash drive between two fingers. "Snatched it while Uzoth was busy fighting Nico."
She smirked. Clearly proud of herself.
"…Thank you."
"No prob. So… what now?"
"My goal hasn't changed. I still need new straps for my weapons. You saw how useless I was without them."
"And the flash drive?"
"I'll deal with it once I can actually protect myself."
"Alright then. Sounds like a plan."
She gave him a small, half-hearted smile. But her mind was racing.
Totally ignoring the power he holds… Is he hiding it to avoid questions? Or just avoiding reliance on something he doesn't understand yet?
I knew tailing Uzoth would lead to something big. But this… this is exhilarating.
She stood and looked out toward the terrain below.
Ryo… what the hell have I gotten myself into?
---
Meanwhile…
Back at Sardar's Arca Zone, Uzoth was in stable condition. His wounds had been cared for and he was slowly healing.
The air in the hospital was suffocating—thick with Radia. Powerful emissions clashed invisibly across the facility, distorting the atmosphere. Anyone below Grade 3 wouldn't even be able to breathe properly.
This was the tension of having multiple Grade 4 and Grade 5 Radiants gathered in one building.
Sardar and his elite unit, the RELLS, were present to keep Uzoth in check if he lost control. In turn, Uzoth's Umbra Legion stood guard in case Sardar made a move. Neither side trusted the other.
They were all gathered in a conference room. No one sat comfortably. No one blinked.
Trying to ease the mood, Sardar—dressed in a sharp blue suit—stood up.
"Gentlemen, please," he said, his voice smooth but commanding. "Let's calm ourselves. The Radia levels are rising beyond acceptable limits. This is a hospital, not a battlefield. Attacking Uzoth here would be… costly. For all of us."
Silence.
Then, one voice rose—calm and cutting.
"Tell your men to stand down first," said Akashi, the First Division Captain of the Umbra Legion.
He wore a black robe with white boots, a contrast to his peers' white robes and black boots. A white helmet with narrow slits concealed his face—rumored to have never been seen by anyone but Uzoth himself.
"I'm sure your boys feel pretty intimidated, what with your top two missing," he continued. "But rest assured—we won't make a move.
…Even if we did, there's nothing you could do to stop us."
Sardar smiled faintly. "Threats wrapped in peace offers. Not exactly your character...Akashi"
He stepped forward, his voice now devoid of charm.
"I alone hold the strength of every RELL in this room combined. Even if the others are absent…
You wouldn't walk out of here if you tried anything. Learn your place—for the sake of peace."
Akashi said nothing. But he raised a hand. The Umbra Legion immediately suppressed their Radia emissions. The atmosphere cooled.
Sardar responded in kind, signaling his RELLS. Tension finally began to ease.
Behind Sardar, leaning silently against the wall with arms crossed and head tilted down, stood a familiar figure—RELL 4.
He wore a beaked mask and vibrant blue wings.
This was the man who had snatched Uzoth from battle. His alias: Blue Blur, or BB for short. Though ranked fourth, many claimed he was the strongest among those currently present—a testament to the insane power of the top three RELLS.
Seated beside Sardar was RELL 3. A young woman wrapped in a thick fur coat and snow gloves. Timber boots and slim jeans completed her look.
She didn't radiate tension like the others. Instead, she casually scrolled through her phone, nodding to music only she could hear. Her alias: Snow Reaper, or simply Snow.
Next to her sat RELL 5, a familiar face from the Zirud bomb operation.
Casual shirt, trousers, and bare feet. His toe tapped rhythmically on the floor, the purpose unclear. His alias: Hydrant, or Hydra.
And near the room's entrance, keeping guard with a sword taller than most men, was the hulking RELL 6.
No shirt. Torn trousers. Leather boots.
Arms crossed, kneeling by the door.
His alias: Phantom Jack, or PJ. No one entered or left without his approval.
Opposite the RELLS stood the Umbra Legion—A team led by Uzoth's disciples.
Each division captain was a disciple that had grown up with Uzoth and were his most trusted elites.
Leading the group present was Akashi, the First Division Captain. Calculated. Silent. Utterly loyal.
Rumors swirled that he wasn't just Uzoth's strongest disciple…
…but possibly his actual brother.
Among the First Division stood four members. All were Grade 4 Radiants, except their commander, a Grade 5. None of them sat—they had been trained to remain combat-ready at all times.
No one outside the Umbras knew what the members looked like. They all wore metallic masks that covered their entire heads.
Their reputation was well earned. "Absolute perfection," many called it. Not a single task had ever gone unfulfilled. Uzoth had built quite the team around him.
---
A knock disturbed the silence. PJ moved to open the door.
It was Uzoth.
He rolled in on a wheelchair, still recovering—but his presence alone shifted the air.
"Gentlemen, how wonderful," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. The Umbras immediately knelt—except Akashi, who remained upright.
"How great of all of you to come see me today," Uzoth continued, rolling forward to face Sardar directly.
"Welcome," Sardar said. "I'm glad to see you doing well."
"No you're not." Uzoth stood from the wheelchair. "We both know you'd have preferred me dead."
"If that were true, why go through the trouble of saving you?"
"You're twisted, Sardar. Who knows what goes on in that small head of yours?"
"Oh? I save you and now you insult me to my face?"
Suddenly—Radia exploded from both of them.
The hospital shook as pressure surged. Everyone in the room braced for combat. Within a kilometer, anyone below Grade 4 Radiant level collapsed from the shockwaves.
Cracks spread across the hospital walls.
It was about to go to hell—
—when an even more overwhelming Radia blanketed the area.
A familiar smell wafted through the air.
Foreign tobacco.
The RELLS immediately lowered their stance.
Chains scraped the walls outside.
SHING.
The door was sliced clean open.
Uzoth turned. "Well, well, well…"
A figure entered—wearing a half-burnt scarf and a black fedora, smoke curling off him. Chains hung around his arms, each ending in jagged blades. His boots jingled ominously with each step.
Ryo.
Behind him stood RELL 2—Lin. Otherwise known as
Kaminari. His thunderous aura was unmistakable
Said to rival Monarchs in raw power, Ryo's arrival shifted everything. He walked in casually, eyes falling on the two Monarchs locked in a power contest.
He let out a low, menacing laugh.
"These are the world's highest authorities? Bickering like children? What's become of this world…"
His voice echoed with a cold chill.
"He's right," Sardar muttered. "This isn't the way to act—Uzoth. Can we sit and talk like we're supposed to?"
Uzoth looked at Ryo… then back at Sardar.
"You're afraid of him, aren't you?"
"Don't piss me off," Sardar growled, meeting his gaze.
Uzoth smirked. "Touched a nerve, did I?"
CRACK—!
A chain from Ryo snapped toward Uzoth at breakneck speed.
CLANG!
It was intercepted—by Akashi.
"I don't care who you are," Akashi said coldly. "Touch him again, and I'll end you."
Uzoth placed a calming hand on Akashi's chest.
"Let's not turn this into a war inside an Arca Zone. I get the message. Stand down, Akashi."
Akashi held his glare a second longer… then obeyed. Uzoth calmly returned to his wheelchair.
Ryo moved behind Sardar. Lin gestured to Snow to fix the door.
Snow wordlessly removed her gloves—her hands glowing like a silent blizzard. Within moments, a glacier formed, sealing the destroyed entrance. She returned to her seat.
Lin stood guard beside the new ice-door.
---
The meeting had officially begun.
Sardar cleared his throat.
"As you're all aware… Uzoth encountered something—someone—of immense danger."
He paused.
"The son of Jim Tachibana."
The room tightened.
"What?" RELL 4 was the first to break the silence, lifting his head from the wall.
"I thought he died in the womb," Akashi said, his voice sharp.
"We all did." Sardar's tone darkened. "But after some digging, I uncovered the truth. Not only did he survive… he lived through something that should have been impossible. His mother's body was split in half by a Zarek. Most assumed the fetus died with her. But somehow, he avoided the slash. And slowly…"
He hesitated for just a moment.
"…he absorbed her corpse. Which may explain why he also possesses an Amphinite."
"Seriously?" Snow grimaced. "You had to phrase it like that?"
Uzoth stepped forward slightly.
"I didn't fight Yuri. I fought the thing inside him. And it matched me blow for blow."
His fists tightened.
"Maybe even stronger."
"How did this slip past us?" Lin asked, arms crossed.
"Because," Uzoth answered, "he's been outside the Arca Zones his whole life. We can't track everyone out there. That's how he survived... unnoticed."
Sardar picked it back up.
"And that's the problem. Whether or not he's guilty of anything now, he's unmonitored. His lineage alone is enough to be concerned. You've all fought Jim. You know his ambitions. If his son carries even a fraction of that drive..."
He let the warning hang in the air.
"We cannot risk it."
Akashi narrowed his eyes.
"So... what do you propose?"
Sardar didn't flinch.
"We capture him."
"That's against our constitution," Snow objected. "He hasn't committed a crime."
"Then what do you suggest?" Sardar asked, almost challenging.
Before Snow could respond, BB's voice cut through the tension.
"We observe him."
He stepped forward from the shadows.
"Watch his movements. His mindset. Jumping to capture without evidence only pushes him into the very role we're afraid of."
Hydra nodded.
"Agreed. We don't know his intentions. He might be with us — not against."
Sardar sighed.
"Fine. All in favor of capture?"
No hands were raised.
"All in favor of observation?"
Every hand went up — except for Ryo, arms still crossed, and Uzoth, quietly rubbing his temples.
Sardar turned.
"Ryo. You disagree?"
"I have a different proposal."
He walked slowly to the center of the room.
"We talk to him. Face to face. Test his mind. A conversation could be the difference between evidence and paranoia. If he shows red flags — we act. If not, we monitor. Clean. Constitutional."
Uzoth glanced over and nodded.
"I agree."
Sardar gave one last look around the room.
"Any objections?"
None.
"Then it's settled. This meeting is adjourned. We'll organise a meeting with him some time soon. I'll notify you if plans change. Thank you all."
---
As the others began to leave, Ryo lingered. His stare locked onto Uzoth — sharp, unreadable.
Uzoth noticed.
"You look like you've got something to say."
Ryo stepped closer.
"You look like you've got something to hide."
Uzoth smirked.
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"The flash drive."
Ryo's tone went cold.
Uzoth's gaze hardened.
"Still as observant as ever. I don't have it. Not right now."
"Funny you didn't mention it back there."
"Didn't see a reason to."
Ryo clicked his tongue and slowly tugged one of his chains — the metal rattling like a predator's growl.
Akashi instantly unsheathed his claws.
Ryo laughed — low, venomous.
"Obedient dog."
Akashi's eyes burned.
Ryo leaned in just enough.
"I'm not going to announce it publicly. But if you make a move for that flash drive… things will get ugly. Fast."
Uzoth turned his back and sat in his chair.
"I don't take threats from second place."
Akashi retracted his claws and began pushing Uzoth forward.
Uzoth smirked faintly.
"A fight's inevitable. May the best man win."
Behind him, Ryo's laugh echoed again — wicked, bone-chilling.
"May the best man win indeed..."
---