Glitch's fists crashed down like hammers, every punch ringing out with metallic fury. His arms, now fully shifted into steel, delivered brutal, thunderous blows. Beside him, Sultan gritted his teeth, wielding a massive forged mallet, slamming it into the Hazard's side with all the strength he had.
BAM!
CRACK!
THUD!
Blow after blow rained down, and finally—blood.
The Hazard's mouth bled. His nose dripped. A small cut opened near his eye. He staggered slightly.
Then...
Laughter.
Low at first.
Then louder.
And louder.
"Hahahaha... you guys hit hard..." he chuckled, straightening up as blood ran down his chin.
Then he snapped his fingers.
Time. Froze.
Glitch's arm hung mid-air.
Sultan's mallet was locked mid-swing.
Even the flames flickered in slow motion.
The world went silent—except for the echoing laughter of the Hazard, now walking between them slowly, his hand still tucked in his pocket like he owned the place.
He strolled up to Kai, who stood frozen but aware, his eyes twitching in confusion and fear.
"You might not be the reason I came here," the Hazard said, yawning.
"But your soul... it's quite the curious one."
Kai stared, trembling, barely able to move.
"Why... why did you do this?" he whispered.
"Why kill those innocent people? How do you have multiple powers?"
The Hazard tilted his head and gave a sadistic grin.
SPLAT.
A spray of blood filled the frozen air.
But it wasn't Kai's.
Not Glitch's.
Not Sultan's.
It was the Hazard's.
A gleaming blade had pierced him from above, slashing deep through his shoulder and chest at an angle, skewering him down to the ground.
His expression twisted in shock, confusion, and—for the first time—pain.
Up above—250 feet in the sky, standing at the open edge of a military drop hatch—was Takuya. The wind blew fiercely around him, whipping his hair as he watched from the sky, calm and focused.
His fingers loosened as the blade, having done its work, pulled itself free, spinning mid-air as Takuya dived from the aircraft, a high-altitude military assault suit forming around him, piece by piece.
Jet-black plating, glowing cyan veins, helmet visor sliding into place.
The wind screamed around him as he plummeted.
The Hazard collapsed to his knees, blood pouring from his chest.
And still falling, Takuya's hand caught his spinning blade mid-air.
"You're not the only one full of surprises."
The Hazard dropped to the ground.
His body hit the snow with a soft thud, blood trailing from his lips like a broken faucet. But just as they thought it was over—
something strange began to happen.
Small horns curled out from his forehead, not large, but enough to notice.
His once sharp, glowing eyes shifted into a mud-like brown, dulled and... human?
He blinked, dazed and confused.
"Where... am I?" he mumbled, barely able to keep his eyes open before collapsing, completely unconscious.
The others froze.
Kai's eyes widened.
"What the hell...?" he whispered, sweat dripping down his face.
"Was... was he being controlled...?"
Before they could even make sense of it—
WHOOM.
Takuya landed.
The impact cracked the pavement beneath his boots, his military suit glowing as the drop force dispersed. Time snapped back to normal, the wind howled again, and the blood-stained snow fluttered back down like ash.
Glitch turned, his arms shifting back into dual-edged blades.
"Kai, RUN!!" he yelled.
"I'll handle him! He's just a soldier—what could possibly go wrong?"
Kai hesitated.
But his instincts kicked in.
He turned toward Takuya, sprinting like a bullet. His fist ignited, flames roaring around his arm as he charged.
"Stay away from my friends!!"
But in the blink of an eye—
Takuya moved.
No build-up. No warning. Just a blur.
His palm met Kai's abdomen with a devastatingly clean strike.
BOOM.
The shockwave alone blasted the snow around them into a ring of steam and ash.
Kai's breath left his lungs.
His flames died instantly.
He dropped to the ground, coughing, clutching his stomach.
"KAI!" Glitch shouted, rage burning through him.
Takuya stood over Kai calmly, not even out of breath.
"If you don't understand why I'm here... stay out of my way, you dirty hazard ."
The air got heavy.
The battlefield, once chaotic, now had a new tension.
And Takuya wasn't smiling.
Inside the roaring belly of a high-altitude AHQ military chopper, red lights pulsed like a heartbeat. The ramp door at the back slowly lowered, revealing the snow-covered, bloodstained battlefield below—bodies scattered, shadows of fire flickering in the wind.
Echo knelt by the edge, sniper rifle locked onto his back, visor reflecting the chaotic ground scene. He gave a quiet, tired sigh.
"Show off," he muttered, spotting Takuya standing tall among the fallen, his blade still humming from its kill.
Beside Echo, Halley adjusted her armored suit, the sleek black tech shimmering with subtle blue lines. She gripped the metal bar above her, knuckles white. Her first live drop.
"You know the mission," she said, trying to steady her breath. "Secure the girl. Terminate remaining Hazards if needed."
Before she could finish—
"YAHOOO!"
—Echo launched himself backwards off the ramp like a skydiver who'd done it a thousand times.
Fwsshh! His suit reacted instantly, releasing wing-like glider panels from his back with a high-pitched hum, catching the wind as he began his controlled descent, zig-zagging through the clouds like a falling shadow hawk.
"Seriously?!" Halley blinked.
The twins stepped up.
One with slick black hair grinned while loading his dual pistols.
The other, white-haired, spun a combat baton in his hand like a samurai on Red Bull.
"Ladies first?"
"Hell nah."
Both tapped the side of their necks—
FOOSH! Their suits activated, locking onto their bodies in a second, smooth and deadly.
They kicked off the ramp, pulling foldable hoverboards from their backs that snapped open mid-air with a clank and jet burst. Booming trails of neon blue and red light streaked the sky as they shot downward like fighter jets, laughing as they rode the air like it was a playground.
Halley stepped to the edge, chest heaving. The cold bit at her cheeks.
Below her—hell on earth.
She took a deep breath, clutched the AH dog tag around her neck, and whispered:
"For the mission."
Then—
She dived.
The wind screamed past her. Her suit wrapped around her fully mid-fall, and thrusters at her boots and back ignited, launching her into a perfect controlled spiral. She soared between the twins, stabilizing fast, eyes locked ahead.
The team was in the air.
The hunt was on.