The night was colder than Ka-nar had expected. Tokyo's neon lights didn't reach this part of the district — abandoned warehouses, half-broken factories, and streets where only silence and danger walked. His breath turned uneven as he darted into one of the crumbling buildings, heart pounding.
Outside, heavy footsteps echoed. Metal clanked. The sound of hydraulics pressing with every step.
Satsujin.
Ka-nar had only heard whispers about him before — the Akuma Gang's ruthless warhound, enhanced with an exoskeleton that turned a human into a weapon. But whispers did no justice to reality. One glimpse earlier, when that armored figure walked through the alley with red eyes glowing from his helmet, had been enough to freeze Ka-nar's legs.
He had tried to fight — but the truth was bitter.
He wasn't ready.
---
Inside the abandoned building, Ka-nar pressed his back against a cracked wall. His hands shook as he adjusted the Neno Lens, but instead of answers, he saw endless lines of text flashing before his eyes. The lens screamed warnings — [Threat Level: Extreme] … [Survival Odds: 3%].
"Three percent?" he whispered, his voice breaking. "Damn it…"
The sound of a door creaking off its hinges made him flinch. Dust rained down. Somewhere deeper in the building, shadows shifted.
Satsujin was coming.
---
Then, from above, something descended like a phantom.
A figure cloaked in dark fabric, aura radiating like a storm. The air thickened, as though the world itself recognized his arrival.
Ka-nar's eyes widened as he saw him drop into the hallway ahead. He moved with such precision that even the dust in the air seemed to bend around him.
The mysterious man.
The same protector who had appeared once before, only this time, Ka-nar could feel the raw killing intent radiating from him.
---
The first scream echoed as the man unsheathed a blade — not glowing, not mechanical, but sharp and old-fashioned. Yet in his hands, it moved faster than bullets.
Three Akuma Gang members rushed in with rifles.
Ka-nar froze.
But before a single shot echoed, the man blurred.
One slash — a throat cut.
Another twist — a chest pierced.
The third dropped before he even realized he was dead.
Blood hit the cracked floor. The metallic scent spread. Ka-nar covered his mouth, horrified and yet unable to look away.
---
From outside, heavy footsteps grew louder.
And then, he appeared.
Satsujin stepped through the broken wall like a monster breaking free from chains. His exoskeleton gleamed under the faint moonlight, wires running across his arms and legs, pistons hissing with steam. His mask reflected the battlefield — soulless, mechanical, terrifying.
"So… you're the one," Satsujin growled, voice distorted through a metal filter. His eyes locked on the mysterious man. "The ghost who's been butchering my men."
The cloaked figure said nothing.
"Doesn't matter who you are," Satsujin continued, stepping closer, floor trembling beneath his enhanced weight. "Tonight, you die."
---
The clash erupted.
Satsujin lunged forward, his exoskeleton amplifying his speed unnaturally. The ground cracked under his leap. His fist, layered with reinforced steel, swung at the cloaked figure with the force to crush stone.
The man sidestepped. Smooth, calm. His blade met the strike, sparks flying. The impact shook the hallway, sending Ka-nar stumbling backward.
Steel against steel. Flesh against machine.
Ka-nar's breath caught in his throat as he watched. Every move the mysterious man made was deliberate, calculated — but Satsujin was raw power.
The exoskeleton roared, pistons firing as he unleashed a flurry of blows. Each punch left dents in the wall, shook the building's structure, shattered debris flying everywhere. Yet the cloaked figure weaved through them, blade slicing just close enough to graze armor plates.
For the first time, Ka-nar realized — Satsujin wasn't fighting a man.
He was fighting a predator.
---
The mysterious man finally spoke, voice low, calm, but sharp enough to cut through the chaos.
"You've traded your humanity for a machine?"
Satsujin snarled. "And that makes me stronger than anything you could ever be!"
With a roar, he activated a booster on his back. The exoskeleton surged with energy, propelling him forward like a missile. His shoulder crashed into the cloaked figure, sending both skidding through the hallway into a larger chamber.
Ka-nar ran after them, his chest burning, lens flashing warnings again.
[Do Not Interfere.]
He stopped at the doorway.
The chamber was chaos. Machinery long abandoned lay scattered, rusted wires hanging from the ceiling. And in the middle — two forces collided.
Blade against steel claws.
Agility against brute force.
Precision against madness.
---
Ka-nar could hardly breathe. His instincts screamed at him to run, yet his legs rooted to the spot. Watching this battle felt like staring into a storm — terrifying, destructive, unstoppable.
The mysterious man twisted, slashing through one of Satsujin's arm plates. Sparks burst. Satsujin roared, swinging back with enough force to split the ground.
Neither yielded.
Neither spoke.
The air trembled from their fight.
---
Finally, Ka-nar's lens buzzed with new words.
[Identity Match: Unknown]
[Affiliation: Classified — Linked to Sato Akira]
Ka-nar's blood ran cold.
So he wasn't just some wandering protector.
He was connected to Sato Akira.
But what did that mean? Friend? Enemy?
Before Ka-nar could process, the clash reached its peak.
Satsujin activated his exoskeleton's full boost, glowing lines running across his body. His final strike ripped through walls, tearing the chamber apart.
And the mysterious man — met it head-on.
Steel crashed. The building shook.
TO BE CONTINUED.....