Chapter 2 : Crimson Roar
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[Wide aerial shot. The desolate outskirts of Sector-9.]
The team's tactical cruiser screeched to a halt, dust and static rising into the cursed air.
The stench of rotting mana lingered like a warning in the wind.
From behind a makeshift barricade, a field officer leaned out and waved casually.
"Heh! I was half-expecting you kids to drop in from a helicopter or something cool like that," he joked.
Anya stepped out first, expression unreadable as always. Her uniform still bore a faint shimmer of blue aura.
She blinked at the officer once.
Blank stare.
"Tough crowd..." the man mumbled, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
Then—
BOOM!
A sudden, violent explosion rocked the district.
Buildings shook. Dust billowed. A wave of cursed energy rippled through the air like a thunderclap.
Anya's voice cut cleanly through the haze.
> "Let's move."
Her eyes narrowed. The squad followed without hesitation.
---
[Cut to: War-torn street lined with craters.]
Through the smoke, three towering demons emerged.
Mutated. Evolving. Glowing veins of molten crimson ran across their grotesque limbs like lava beneath skin. Horns twisted skyward. Their auras radiated with distorted malice that bent the very air around them.
These weren't basic mid-grades.
They were awakened types.
Gary unsheathed his twin blades with a grin.
> "Guess it won't be easy."
Lanya cracked her knuckles. Sparks ignited at her fingertips.
> "Good. I hate easy."
Rosan, ever calm, raised his glowing bow and took a deep breath.
Anya stepped forward.
A flicker of blue aura ignited around her boots as she moved.
> "Formation Alpha."
The team spread out instantly.
The camera zooms in—tight focus on Anya's glowing eyes.
> "We strike—together."
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🎵 Cue heavy battle OST.
The battle began.
Gary dashed forward with a blade in each hand, sliding beneath the first demon's claw strike and slicing upward in a flash of silver and light.
SHING!
The demon snarled, its chest gashed wide.
Lanya launched from a nearby rooftop, nunchaku blazing with electric fire. She spun mid-air and slammed her weapon into the demon's shoulder, cracking bone with precise impact.
The second demon lunged, jaws wide—only for Rosan's arrow to split into five mid-flight, piercing the monster's joints and slowing its movement with searing bursts of radiant energy.
> "Locked!" Rosan shouted.
> "NOW!" Anya commanded.
Her blade—a sleek, ice-blue katana—sang as she moved.
She blurred forward, aura streaming behind her like a comet, and drove her sword through the lead demon's chest.
A howl.
The demon shrieked as Anya ripped the blade free and launched into a spinning counter-strike, slicing across its body in one fluid motion.
It stumbled—wounded, enraged.
And then…
A cry.
---
[Close-up: A child, no older than six, trapped beneath collapsed rubble.]
Tears streamed down the boy's cheeks. His eyes wide in terror.
Anya froze.
Her gaze locked on him.
> "Why is there a child in a sector like this?"
Another roar.
The third demon noticed the boy—and charged.
Anya didn't think.
She ran.
Her teammates shouted after her—but her focus was pure.
She leapt forward, slicing debris aside with one hand, the other wrapping around the boy.
And then—
WHAM!!
The demon's fist smashed into her back, launching her across the field like a ragdoll.
CRASH!
She hit the ground hard, shielding the child with her own body. Blood pooled beneath her arm. Her vision blurred.
The demon raised its scythe.
She tried to stand. Her legs refused.
Pain clawed through every nerve.
But still—
She stood.
Even shaking.
> "Just a little more…"
The scythe came down.
---
He blocked it.
He stumbled back, bleeding—but alive.
And smiling.
> "You're okay now."
Anya's eyes widened.
> "W-who…?"
He grinned.
> "Ta-da. The one and only… Dev."
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[Cut to black. Dramatic pause. Music fades.]