—
The old sewer tunnel echoed with fading footsteps as the trio retreated from the smoldering ruins of the Syndicate lab. Hoshiro's pulse still thundered in his ears. Every muscle ached, but the fire in his chest—the one that lit up whenever Ayame was near—kept him moving.
Above ground, the city looked untouched. Peaceful. But beneath the lights, a war was brewing.
Back at the hideout—an abandoned train station hidden behind holographic wards—Kazuki threw himself onto a mattress made of old jackets. "I deserve ramen. A big bowl. With eggs."
"No one's stopping you," Ayame said, sitting against a beam, arms crossed. "If you can walk."
Kazuki groaned louder.
Hoshiro removed his mask, wiping sweat from his brow. "That monster… it wasn't just bio-engineered. It had chakra threads embedded into its nerves. Dark threads."
Ayame stiffened. "Crimson Threads?"
He nodded. "They're using forbidden chakra weaving. That's Syndicate-level tech… but I thought that art died with the old warlords."
Kazuki sat up, now serious. "You think the Crimson Syndicate has a new leader?"
Ayame looked away. "Or worse… an old one returned."
Before Hoshiro could ask more, the emergency screen flickered. A message: *"TARGET SPOTTED – SECTOR 7 – CODE BLACK."*Ayame stood. "That's close."
Kazuki grabbed his gear. "Another monster?"
Hoshiro pulled on his mask. "No. This time… it's a human. A hunter."
Lightning cracked in the distance.
The Syndicate wasn't done.
They were sending assassins now.
And this one knew Hoshiro by name.
—