"Okay, Wingy," Zen said, his voice a low, thrilling growl. "Ready or not, here I come."
The words hung in the air, a chilling prelude to the storm. Every eye—Shinji's tear-filled, Darius's pained, Rose's strangely serene—was fixed on the figure standing before the ruined school. The silence was absolute, a thick blanket of dread broken only by the crackle of stray embers from the wreckage. A dozen SSD agents, their rifles lowered in stunned confusion, stood frozen in a semicircle behind him.
Suddenly, a low, rumbling laugh echoed from within the dark, jagged hole where King had crashed. The sound was guttural and full of cruel amusement, a predator's cackle. The SSD agents flinched, some raising their rifles again. Shinji's jaw tightened, and Darius groaned, a shudder of revulsion running through him. Rose, however, remained still, her gaze fixed on the crater. The laugh finally went cold, replaced by a voice as hard as stone. "Okay, boy. Guess I'll be going all out from the start against you."
From the depths of the fractured brick and twisted metal, a massive black claw reached out, its razor-sharp talons scraping against the broken concrete. It found a firm grip, and then another claw emerged, digging into the ruins. Slowly, King pulled itself free, its massive form stained with ash and grime. The left side of its face was a mangled mess, a deep, jagged scar where Zen's kick had connected. A thin stream of black blood trickled from the wound, but the creature's smile was wider than ever. It began to walk, its pace slow and deliberate, a predator savoring the hunt.
Zen stood motionless, his hands still in his pockets. The playful, bored grin was gone, replaced by an expression of cold, murderous intent. His eyes, usually a calm, dark brown, now burned with a fierce, glowing red, like twin coals in the dark.
"I'll make you regret what you did to my face," King snarled, the words a low rumble.
Zen's response was a low, animalistic growl. "You were already dead. Am just making it official." The words hung in the oppressive silence, a physical weight.
King stopped dead, its monstrous form suddenly radiating a tangible fury. "How dare you," it roared, its voice shaking with rage. "You, a mere Pestilence, dare to insult one of the Elite Riftborn Noble?"
The SSD agents glanced at each other, their confusion deepening. The words meant nothing to them. They hung in the air, alien and terrifying.
"That's enough, boy," King continued, its voice dropping to a low, deadly rumble. "Now I will deliver judgment upon you."
As the words left its mouth, King looked down. A dark energy began to swirl around its body, a black, oily aura that seemed to devour the light. Its hardened hide slowly started to shift, dark, obsidian scales erupting across its skin. The talons on its hands and feet grew, elongating into wicked, curved daggers. With a tearing sound, its powerful, bat-like wings suddenly burst open, and a vortex of pure dark energy swirled around the monster, a miniature storm of malevolent power. King looked up, a chilling smile spreading across its face as it saw the fear in its prey's eyes. Then, with a roar that shook the very ground, it launched itself forward in a black streak, a wrecking ball of pure rage heading straight for Zen.
Zen watched as the black streak tore across the broken asphalt. But instead of meeting the attack head-on, a sly, amused grin twisted on his face. He sidestepped with an almost lazy grace, and the monstrous form of King shot past him, crashing into a large, half-destroyed academic building. The structure groaned and shuddered, then collapsed in a thunderous roar of splintered wood and pulverized brick.
The SSD agents flinched back, instinctively raising their rifles to shield their faces from the cloud of dust. Darius stumbled backward, a hand pressed to his mouth in shock, while Shinji stood frozen, his eyes wide as saucers. Only Rose remained calm, a faint, almost imperceptible frown on her lips.
Meanwhile, at the SSD HQ, away from the dust and chaos, the Director of the SSD sat in his spacious office. Sunlight streamed through the massive window behind him, illuminating the polished mahogany desk and the small, contented smile playing on his lips. He leaned back in his leather chair, a data tablet in his hand showing Rose's background. "So that's why Zen chose you," he muttered to himself. "Now I see."
Back at the school, King emerged from the wreckage, its wings twitching with fury. It roared, a sound of pure, unadulterated rage, and charged again. This time, Zen met it head-on. The two figures collided in a blur of motion. Zen's hands flashed out, blocking and parrying King's massive talons, a shocking display of speed and precision. The monster's blows were immense, each one carrying the force of a battering ram, and Zen was pushed back, a grimace of effort on his face.
"Not so cocky now, are you, boy?" King sneered, pressing the advantage.
Zen's eyes narrowed, and a flash of something akin to surprise crossed his features. King was stronger than he'd anticipated. A vicious right hook from King sent him skidding back, and a thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his lip. But in that moment, something shifted. A low hum began to radiate from Zen's body. The red in his spiky hair seemed to catch fire, and a soft, crimson glow emanated from it. The glow intensified, and suddenly, his hands and legs were engulfed in roaring flames, the inferno dancing around his limbs like a second skin.
The heat was so intense that his red jacket began to smoke and char, the fabric sizzling and peeling away. With a snarl of annoyance, he ripped it off and threw it aside. "Okay, now we can have some fun," he growled.
The air around them crackled with energy as King's wings flared, a vortex of dark energy swirling around the creature. King lunged, but Zen was faster now. He ducked under a sweeping claw, his flaming fist lashing out to connect with King's armored jaw. The blow was so powerful it sent King staggering back. Before the monster could recover, Zen was a blur of motion, a red-hot streak of fire and fury. His flaming legs became a weapon, a blur of kicks and spins that hammered King's torso and legs. King's obsidian scales sparked and cracked under the relentless assault, the monster roaring in frustration as it was forced onto the defensive. The ground beneath them became a cratered wasteland, each strike from Zen's flaming limbs gouging out chunks of concrete and sending waves of heat rippling through the air.
King roared again, its rage boiling over. "If that's how you want to play!" it bellowed, and its claws began to glow with a sickly black light. It unleashed a wave of dark energy, a concussive blast that tore through the ground where Zen had just been standing. But Zen was already in the air, a lithe acrobat of flame and fury, leaping from one crumbling piece of rubble to the next. He twisted mid-air, deflecting another dark blast with a fiery kick, the energy dissipating harmlessly against his burning sole. King flapped its massive wings, the gusts of wind throwing debris and dust into the air, but Zen used the air currents to his advantage, his body a weapon of controlled chaos.
Shinji, standing just a hundred meters away, couldn't even process what he was seeing. All he saw was a flash of crimson and a streak of inky black, a constant, flickering motion that was too fast for his eyes to follow. The sound of their blows echoed like thunderclaps, each impact a physical tremor in the ground. "This isn't… human," he whispered to himself, his mind struggling to comprehend the scale of the fight. "They're both monsters."
He turned to Rose, desperate for an answer, for some sort of explanation. To his surprise, her calm composure had vanished. Her face was a mask of confusion and concern, her eyes fixed on the battle with a look of pure bewilderment.
"What is happening?" Shinji asked, but Rose didn't answer. She just continued to stare, her lips slightly parted in shock.
Meanwhile, back at the SSD headquarters, his assistant agent Marcus burst into the Director's office, his chest heaving. "Sir! We have a problem!" he gasped. "The Riftborn at the school… its danger level just spiked to 9.6!"
The Director's smile vanished. He slammed his hand on the desk and shot out of his chair, a newfound urgency in his movements. "Get to the command room! Now!" he barked, his voice filled with a cold, professional authority.
He stormed into the command room, a vast space dominated by a massive screen on the far wall and the SSD analysis team and their mini screens. The massive screen showed a real-time feed from a dozen hidden cameras, all focused on the school. The Director's eyes scanned the data flashing on the screen, a grim line forming on his lips. "Everyone, calm down," he said, his voice cutting through the tense atmosphere. "Zen's danger level is still higher than this Riftborn's. We're safe for now. But to be safe, get Squad 0's second-strongest member on standby. I have a feeling Zen's arrogance will be his downfall one of these days."
The Director then turned his attention back to the screen, watching with a mixture of hope and fear as the two combatants flew at each other, a vortex of flame and shadow. The fight was a blur of motion, a symphony of destruction.
Zen's blazing kicks and punches were a relentless storm, and King's dark energy blasts and sweeping talons were the perfect counter. The ground groaned and shook with every impact, buildings a hundred meters away crumbling from the sheer force of their blows. Finally, with a coordinated, massive attack, they both landed blows on each other's chests. The force was so immense that they both flew in opposite directions, crashing into two nearby buildings. The evacuated children and parents, along with the Squad 1 agents who had secured them, watched in terror as what looked like two fighters ripped their way through the already damaged school. "Thank God we ran," a young agent whispered, his face pale with shock. "We would've been pulverized."
Zen and King slowly emerged from the rubble, both of them bruised and bloody. Zen's flames had gone out, leaving his limbs blackened and smoking, and King's obsidian scales had retracted, leaving a mess of cracked, bleeding flesh. They stood in the middle of the smoking battlefield, panting heavily, each of them looking exhausted. They began to walk towards each other, the silence broken only by the sound of their ragged breathing.
They stood face to face, the tension almost a palpable thing, and then the final brawl began. They were both out of gas, but the blows they landed still carried the weight of a freight train. Each punch was a bone-shattering thunderclap, a flash of pain and fury. Zen's fist slammed into King's jaw, sending the monster's head snapping to the side. King retaliated with a brutal uppercut, knocking Zen's head back. Zen returned fire, a series of quick, brutal blows to King's ribs. King roared in pain, but before it could recover, Zen spun in the air, his right leg becoming engulfed in flames one last time. He landed a fierce, flaming kick directly to King's chest. King's eyes widened in shock, and it crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
A roar of triumph erupted from the SSD agents. They ran forward, cheering Zen's name, their faces filled with a mixture of relief and adoration.
Back at the headquarters, the command room erupted in applause. The Director's face was a mixture of smug pride and unmasked relief. An agent turned to him, a grin on his face. "So, Director, I guess we don't have to call him anymore, huh?" he said.
The Director laughed, a loud, booming sound that filled the room. "No, we don't! I told you all, Zen would win! And it looks like we have a new second-strongest member of Squad 0!"
His assistant agent Marcus looked at him, a worried frown on his face. "Director... you don't mean what I think you mean, do you?"
The Director's face turned serious. "Yes. That's exactly what I mean. Now call Rose. And make it fast."
Back at the school, Zen walked towards the unconscious King, a faint smile on his face. "Guess I was wrong about you," he said, his voice a low whisper. "You're strong… just not strong enough." Zen now stood over the crumpled form of King and casually nudged him with the tip of his feet. "Get a good look at the ground," he said, his voice laced with patronizing amusement. "That's where you'll be every time you face someone like me."
He slowly raised his right leg, positioning it above King's heart, the limb igniting with flames again, ready to land the finishing blow. But Rose's voice screamed out, "Zen! Stop! The Director said King is to be part of Squad 0!"
The flames on Zen's leg disappeared, and his shoulders relaxed, the fierce focus draining from his face as if it had never been there. He looked down at the unconscious King, then sighed. "Guess we better get him to the SSD Hq before he wakes up."