They had finally taken shape. The sky rippled, distorted by the presence of a thing that should not exist. A red sphere, blood-drenched and ominous, hung suspended above the tower, pulsating with an almost sentient malice. It resembled a moon, but its color was unnatural, and the weight of its presence pressed upon the hearts of all who saw it.
"What… is going on?" Adam whispered, his voice barely audible over the distant rumble of collapsing buildings.
Seleph's wide green eyes reflected disbelief. "No… way! Is… is that—"
But there was no time to finish.
The sphere began to bulge, small spheres detaching from its surface like parasites. They plummeted toward the first floor of the tower with alarming precision, each accompanied by explosions that tore through the air with deafening force. The residents of the slum beneath screamed in terror, running blindly as their homes crumbled around them.
Eve spun around, her sky-blue eyes wide with panic, and bolted toward the stairwell. "We… WE NEED TO GO BACK!!! TO THE ORPHANAGE!!!" she screamed, stopping just before the door.
Seleph followed without hesitation, dragging her along as Adam's attention remained locked on the red moon. The wind whipped around his face, carrying the smell of smoke, dust, and something fouler—an undercurrent of unnatural blood.
"Wha… What do I do? I… I don't— I need—" he muttered to himself, trying to steady his racing heart.
Without warning, Adam leapt from the roof, landing with a force that sent a tremor through the debris-strewn streets. Eve and Seleph froze, their fear momentarily anchoring them to the ground, but Adam dashed forward, a blur of motion cutting through the chaos. The siblings followed, propelled by adrenaline, as explosions rocked the city around them.
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND!!!" Seleph screamed, voice raw and trembling. "I THOUGHT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO ENTER THE TOWER OR APPEAR IN THE TOWER!!!"
"IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE!!!" Eve shouted, sweat and tears mixing on her face. "THE TOWER PROTECTS THE OUTSIDE, BUT I NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT THE INSIDE!!!"
The red sphere above them began spitting more small moons, each landing with apocalyptic devastation. Buildings collapsed, fires erupted, and the screams of children and adults alike echoed through the slums. Adam reached the orphanage, gasping violently, his heart hammering as he saw the roof buckle under a new sphere. Mother Lyvie and the children were outside, frozen in horror.
Time seemed to slow as the sphere struck, a wave of wind and fire ripping through the courtyard. Adam's outstretched hand met the blast, but it was useless. He was thrown backward, consciousness flickering like a dying flame. When his eyes opened, the orphanage lay in ruins. Smoke and ash choked the air. The world he had called home for two years was gone.
"No! Again? Again? Am I going to lose everything again?" he thought, stepping carefully through the debris. The charred bodies of children and nuns were strewn around him, their screams and laughter now twisted into silence. Every step revealed more devastation. Memories—small, beautiful fragments of time—were consumed by fire and blood.
Then he saw her. Mother Lyvie, still alive but barely, pinned under a grotesque red liquid form. A blood-red creature was feeding on her, its mouthless face opening only into a jagged, horrifying maw.
"Mo…ther?" Adam's voice cracked as he dropped to his knees, chest heaving, eyes wide with helplessness.
She lifted her head weakly, her vision blurred. "A…d…am?" Her voice was faint, barely a whisper, but the smile she offered was genuine, even in death.
"I love you all." Her lips formed the words silently as the embers of her life faded, and her eyes closed.
Adam's heart shattered, rage bubbling over his grief. The creature turned, sensing the life within him, and leapt with horrifying speed.
"DIIIIIEEEEE!!!!" Adam roared, swinging with every ounce of his strength—but the creature split, exploding into a rain of red ichor that splattered the surrounding buildings.
A voice cut through the chaos: "What the hell is happening here?"
A man emerged from the crimson storm. Black hair disheveled, beard stubbled, and a cigarette dangling from his lips, his white tank top clung to a sculpted frame. A black cape adorned with a roaring lion emblem flowed behind him. The air around him seemed to bend as he walked, a presence both terrifying and commanding.
"How the hell did Blood Fiends appear in the tower?" he muttered, surveying the devastation. "That bastard didn't go easy on them."
He bowed slightly, hands clasped. "Now… how should I deal with a suicidal kid?"
Eve and Seleph stumbled to the ruins, horror and despair overtaking them as they saw Mother Lyvie's lifeless form.
"About ten Blood Fiends are confirmed on this floor. Ten and climbing," a calm female voice reported through a small patch behind the man's ear.
The man, Ryoma Susanoo, flicked his eyes skyward, watching as more Fiends descended. He raised a hand, and debris—the shattered remains of buildings and furniture—levitated around him, glowing with a crimson aura. Each piece twisted and reshaped in his grasp, forming spears, katanas, and jagged blades.
"Let's make this quick," he said, throwing a jagged piece that became a sword mid-air. It cleaved through a Fiend with surgical precision, blood spraying outward, the sound almost melodic amidst the carnage.
Adam watched, awe-struck. "The… Black… Lion Order…" he whispered, eyes fixed on the swirling weapons and Ryoma's lethal efficiency.
Ryoma's movements were a symphony of strategy. Spear after sword followed his red aura, each weapon anticipating the Fiends' paths, intercepting them before they could strike. The environment itself became a battlefield, debris repurposed as both offense and defense, walls shattered and rebuilt in his wake.
"I'm controlling my speed, but even then… this kid keeps up," Ryoma thought, glancing at Adam, Seleph, and Eve being carried through the chaos. "This kid… what is he?"
Adam stumbled slightly as Eve fainted in his arms. "Eve? EVE!"
"Calm down," Ryoma said calmly. "She just passed out. Can't blame her after seeing this."
Seleph, pale and trembling, murmured Adam's name weakly. "Adam…"
Adam's eyes hardened. "What?"
"Did you see it? The thing that did this?" Seleph demanded, voice cracking with anger.
"Yeah," Adam answered, eyes cold but resolute. "Did you kill it?"
"No. Ryoma did. He avenged everyone."
"Ryoma… Susanoo," Adam repeated, reverence and curiosity mixing in his tone.
The group reached the pillar of Scalae, its sheer verticality a daunting testament to the tower's scale. Ryoma departed, leaving them behind. Through the transparent walls, they could watch him soar toward the red moon, debris turning into weapons around him like an army of steel angels.
The Blood Fiends advanced, countless and relentless. Ryoma's fists glowed red, shattering Fiends with brutal efficiency. Every strike was precise, almost artistic, as shards of debris became swords mid-flight, intercepting Fiends from multiple angles, creating a rain of destruction in perfect choreography.
"Time for the sun to rise," he muttered, striking the Blood Moon directly. It shattered in half, fragments spinning like crimson snow, as his aura spread through the air.
Adam's chest swelled with a mixture of grief, rage, and inspiration. "I need to learn this… I can become stronger with this!"
Seleph and Eve, battered and shaken, watched from the ground, relief washing over them amidst the devastation. The first floor lay in ruin, but the tide had been turned.
"Damn it," Adam whispered, his voice barely controlled. "Damn it."
The Blood Moon Incident had begun, a day that would be remembered in the Tower of Leo's history as the start of unprecedented chaos and the awakening of Adam's path.