The city was a graveyard of steel and glass, and amidst the twisted wreckage, the workmen of Chida Takahashi's crew charged. They were armed with makeshift weapons, a futile resistance against the towering, multi-limbed robots that patrolled the streets. The battle was a gruesome, one-sided slaughter. Workmen fell, their bodies crushed under stomping metal feet, obliterated by barrages of gunfire, or buried beneath the collapsing hulks of their adversaries.
On a nearby rooftop, the Seirei Exorcist Group watched with growing dread. Their leader, Takumi Enatsu, stood silently, his gaze fixed on the carnage below. Tension coiled in the air, a heavy, suffocating blanket, until their superior, their boss, broke the silence.
"Calm yourselves. So long as Chida Takahashi is with them, nothing will happen," he said, his voice a steadying anchor in the storm of chaos.
The statement left the group perplexed, but the boss's next words made his meaning tragically clear. Chida Takahashi, the leader of the workmen, possessed an extraordinary Standz ability: immortality. But his power was more than that. He had an unparalleled mastery of Standz pressure and output, allowing him to share his immortality with anyone within a 50-meter radius.
As if to prove the boss's words, the bodies that had just been crushed and riddled with bullets began to stir. The broken workmen rose to their feet, their wounds and injuries knitting themselves back together as if they had never been. With renewed resolve, they charged once more, becoming an endless tide against the robots, falling and rising with every assault.
A collective sigh of relief passed through the Seirei Exorcists. The workmen were safe, for now. But their relief was short-lived.
"There's a catch," the boss continued, a grim look on his face. "While Chida can share his immortality, he himself becomes mortal in the process. If he dies, his Standz will no longer work."
The stakes became chillingly clear. Protecting Chida was now the paramount objective. Without hesitation, the boss assigned Rin and Ninda, as his personal bodyguards. Chida's powers might be unmatched in their utility, but he was a non-combatant—a precious, fragile target.
Rin reached Chida, who was grinning wildly as he watched his men fight. "Get back!" Rin shouted, grabbing his shoulder.
Chida brushed his hand away with a reckless smirk. "Listen, kid. I've got one rule: I live extreme." Without another word, he charged headlong toward the nearest robot, his men trailing him.
"Damn it!" Rin swore under his breath, chasing after him with Ninda close behind. Just as a robot's cannon fired, Rin threw his hand out. A shimmering wall of sand erupted from the ground, blocking the projectile. The force of the impact, however, was enough to send Chida stumbling backward. Ninda seized him by the collar, her patience evaporated.
"Listen, old man," she growled, her eyes narrowed to slits. "Do you have a death wish? I refuse to follow your 'rule.' If you move from this spot again, I swear I'll beat the ever-loving crap out of you myself."
Chida simply smirked, seemingly amused by her outburst, and promised to stay put. Still suspicious, Rin produced a pair of Sand harden handcuffs and clasped one end to Chida's wrist and the other to his own, ensuring the old man wasn't going anywhere.
Meanwhile, on another front, a different kind of chaos was unfolding. Kaito, his frustration a simmering pot of magma, raged at his inability to break the seal that imprisoned his master, Damein. He vaulted from the head of a robot, a silent cry of fury on his lips. With a sharp whistle, his jetpack, a marvel of Standz engineering, shot down from the sky and caught him mid-air. He didn't hesitate, flying toward the hospital that now served as his base, where the seal room lay hidden beneath layers of concrete and steel.
From his vantage point, Makoto Katsuragi saw Kaito's desperate move. He sprang into action. Without a word, Miwafe created a slick, frictionless slide of ice that Makoto used to launch himself into the air, a human projectile aimed at Kaito's jetpack.
They collided with the force of a train wreck, smashing through several walls of the hospital as they fell. Kaito's auto-shield flared to life just in time, protecting him from the worst of the impact. Makoto, however, bore the brunt of it, grunting as a jolt of raw pain shot through his body.
Kaito grinned, tossing the battered Makoto off him mid-air. As Makoto plummeted, he managed a desperate, spinning kick, catching the jetpack just right. The force sent Kaito spiraling away, his precious lifeline knocked off course. Makoto crashed near Yana, who rushed to his side.
"Are you all right, Makoto?" she asked, her voice tight with concern.
"I'm fine," he insisted, brushing her off as he struggled to his feet. "Kaito's on his way to the seal. We have to move, now."
Yana shook her head. "We can't. We have to protect it. Damein can't be allowed to return."
Makoto stared at her, unable to comprehend her resolve. "You would risk your life for a seal?" he asked, incredulous. Before she could answer, he scooped her up forcefully.
Yana struggled against him. "Put me down! We have to stay!"
"Stop with the theatrics," Makoto snapped, his voice hard. "Or I'll leave you here."
Before their argument could escalate, Kaito, now fueled by pure, unadulterated rage, arrived. He had discarded the jetpack and was propelled by his own Standz. This time, he wasn't aiming for the seal. He was aiming for Makoto. He slammed into the two of them, sending them flying through the roof in a cascade of shattered concrete and glass.
Makoto instinctively shielded Yana with his own body, absorbing the brutal impact to ensure she remained unharmed. He coughed up a mouthful of blood as they landed, the metallic taste bitter on his tongue. Yana scrambled to check on him, but Kaito had already descended.
"You Standz-less freak," Kaito spat, raining blows down on Makoto's battered body.
Yana tried to intervene, grabbing Kaito's arm, but he flung her aside as if she were a doll. Her brief distraction, however, was all Makoto needed. He landed a desperate, powerful punch that connected squarely with Kaito's nose, sending him flying backward, a thin stream of blood trailing from his nostrils.
Kaito wiped his face, a dark smile playing on his lips. "You risk your life to protect these Seireis—spirits that bring nothing but danger wherever they go. I don't get it."
Makoto sneered back, his chest heaving with effort. "I don't care about them," he panted, each word a struggle. "I'm not stupid enough to believe in their cause. I'm doing this for the money, to repay someone close to me. I don't care who dies—get that through your thick skull."
Kaito's smile widened. "If that's the case," he said, "then you wouldn't mind if I do this." He snapped his fingers, and hundreds of machine guns, hidden within the rubble, swiveled to point directly at Yana.
Makoto's eyes widened in horror.
Below, the rest of the Seirei Exorcist group heard the deafening roar of automatic gunfire. They looked up, their faces etched with worry. "Oh my God, I hope Yana is all right!" Miwafe cried, preparing to rush to the roof.
Their boss stopped her, a firm hand on her shoulder. "You all concentrate here. Ninda and I will handle it." Miwafe reluctantly nodded, turning back to the fight.
On the rooftop, Yana blinked, confused and terrified. Makoto, without a moment's hesitation, threw his body over hers, taking the full force of the bullets. His entire back was a mangled, bloody ruin. Yana hugged him, her body shaking as endless sobs racked her frame.
"WHY?! HELP, SOMEBODY! MAKOTO, PLEASE WAKE UP! STAND UP! MAKOTO!" she screamed, her voice breaking.
Kaito picked his ear with his pinky, his expression one of bored nonchalance. "What a liar," he said, his voice flat. "If all he cared about was money, why did he shield you? What a waste, giving up his life for someone as pathetic as you." He watched, clearly enjoying her grief, as Yana continued to cry over Makoto's unmoving body.
Meanwhile, in the depths of the seal, Kyoka Katsuragi sensed the shift in Standz energy. He stood up, approaching the walls that held him captive. Damein watched him with a look of confusion. "What is it now?" Damein asked softly.
Kyoka smiled. "He's here. All right, buddy, I'll be off for a while. Don't miss me."
Damein's confusion twisted into anger. "Are you insane? Are you saying you can break the seal?"
"Temporarily," Kyoka replied. "The Standz pressure is too much for even me to break permanently. And I won't be going to the outside world; that's no longer possible. The sheer amount of Standz pressure I'll use to escape would take me to the path of life and death. I can only last for one minute, but that will be enough."
Damein shot to his feet, a look of pure shock on his face. "You're joking! You can't do that. If you leave this place, I'll kill you!"
Kyoka chuckled. "Hot-headed. It doesn't suit you. Besides, we're already dead." He placed a hand on the wall of the seal. "Standz Ability: Nullify. Standz Deplete."
The walls of the seal began to rumble, swallowing him whole. Damein ran toward him, but it was too late. Kyoka was already gone. "Damn it!" Damein roared, slamming his fist against the now-silent wall.
Makoto woke up. He was no longer in pain. He was lying naked in a long, endless white space, a void outside of time and place. "Where am I?" he mumbled, sitting up. "Don't tell me I'm dead. I never got to feel boobs. What a bummer."
He got to his feet and began to walk. "Well, I guess hell should be around here somewhere," he said, devoid of any emotion. As he continued to walk, he saw a figure in the distance.
"Who are you?" Makoto asked, his eyes wide. The figure looked exactly like him, a mirror image. The figure's body solidified, and he finally answered Makoto's unspoken question.
"I am Kyoka Katsuragi," he said, a gentle smile on his face. "But Makoto, you can call me Dad."