Kouga stood alone on the bay of the River Thames, near Blackfriars Station, watching Schicksal drones hum across the evening sky. The river rolled beneath him in slow, murky waves. He tapped the comm in boredom.
"So, remind me again—how's this supposed to go down?"
Otto's sigh crackled through the radio.~Are you determined to irritate me, or is it simply your nature?~Kouga didn't answer—he only smirked.~Never mind. I already know which it is.~ Otto coughed once before continuing.~Schicksal's specialist mechs have been deployed across London—landmarks, historical sites, anywhere Jackal's riddle could apply. They'll perform EM scans to strip away every layer of spatial camouflage. I will coordinate from the hotel. The rest of you will move the moment the Divine Key is located… or if World Serpent interferes. Does this explanation suffice for the tenth time?~
Kouga let out a hum."…What happens if I ask for an eleventh?"
~Starting the scans.~ Otto said sharply.
Above him, a drone released a shimmering blue pulse that washed over London. More followed—wave after wave, rolling like quiet thunder. For a moment, nothing changed… and then the far side of the Thames rippled. Its reflection bent unnaturally.
Slowly, the true shape materialized:A translucent cube, suspended fifty meters above the river, each side concave as though sucked inward.
"Well," Kouga said, switching to all channels, "looks like we found our target."
~Indeed,~ Durandal replied from her position on Blackfriars Bridge.~But the scans can't penetrate it. We still can't determine what's inside.~
~Which is why,~ Otto added smugly, ~I prepared a countermeasure earlier.~Several new mechs decloaked overhead, each carrying a heavy emitter cannon.~We'll break the barrier with concentrated Honkai beams.~
The cannons fired—thick magenta lances of energy hammering the same point. The cube's surface vibrated, cracked, then shattered, one whole side dissolving into fragments of light.
Inside, suspended in the warped space, something heavy began to descend.
"Tell me we evacuated London already," Kouga said as the distortion unraveled.
~Of course. Rita and the Valkyries are managing the situation—and spreading a false narrative about a nuclear hazard. Why?~
"Because some Brit would lose his mind seeing a train dropped into his favorite river."
The structure resolved fully—a massive black locomotive trimmed in gold, its front plates gleaming white, lowering itself onto the Thames. Steam poured from its rear like breath from a sleeping giant. It halted a hair's breadth above the surface, causing only the faintest ripple.
Durandal immediately summoned her white battlesuit.Kouga shifted into RyuRanger, red aura flaring as he sprinted across the water, each step exploding into tiny splashes. Durandal followed, her armored skirt splitting apart and igniting into thruster-like flames that carried her forward.
A side panel on the locomotive hissed. Metal lifted like a mechanical arm, steam spilling around them.
They raised their guards.
From the mist stepped a boy.
Small. Pale. Snow-white hair, ocean-blue eyes, standing effortlessly atop the river. His attire was almost regal—black cape to his ankles, white shirt with a long front tail, blue trousers, gold-trimmed boots. But none of this was what made Durandal's fingers tighten around her lance.
It was the sword.
A compact but dangerous blade—orange light locked in place by black-and-amber machinery, flames flickering along its edge like a living heartbeat.
"The Judgment of Shamash," Durandal breathed. "Maybe just an imitation… but if it's even close to the real 7th Divine Key, this is going to be difficult."
The boy's eyes narrowed. Whether from challenge or impatience, neither could tell.
He launched at them.
Flame-drenched steel crashed against Durandal's lance in a thunderclap. The shockwave hurled Kouga backward; he skidded across the water, boots carving ripples until he steadied himself.
Durandal and the boy were already exchanging blows—fast, violent, each clash detonating another shockwave across the Thames.
With Durandal and the boy locked in their fiery duel, Kouga made a break for the open doorway inside the train, hoping to snatch the Divine Key while the kid was distracted. He nearly slipped inside—until the boy abruptly shifted tactics. Using the force of Durandal's next strike like a springboard, the kid launched himself backward, landing between Kouga and the entrance with unnatural precision.
A single horizontal sweep of that burning blade unleashed a tidal wave of fire. Kouga's instincts screamed; he vaulted high, letting the inferno roar beneath him. But the flames didn't dissipate—they surged forward across the river, unbothered by water, racing straight for central London.
"…Oh no." Kouga muttered as he landed on the side of the locomotive. Without hesitation, he threw himself straight toward the advancing wildfire, raising his arm to shield his face. The next minute was nothing but heat—blinding, bone-deep, suffocating heat—until he burst through and crashed onto the nearest riverfront building.
The firestorm was still advancing.He didn't hesitate.
"Heavenly Fire Star—Lightning Blaze Destruction Wave!"
He unleashed a roaring blast of flames and lightning. The collision of both infernos detonated in an eruption of steam, boiling water lifting into a colossal fogbank that swallowed London whole.
As the smoke thinned and the river simmered beneath it, Kouga let out a short breath of relief. He leapt back toward the Thames—
—just in time for Durandal to come flying out of the remaining haze like a human missile.
They smashed through the building behind him as if it were a set of cardboard props. Dust, brick, and plaster rained around them as they finally hit the street on the far side.
Kouga shoved her off with a grunt."Aren't you supposed to be the big S-Rank? What are you doing getting tossed around like laundry?"
"S-Sorry," Durandal groaned, pushing herself upright.
Kouga rolled his neck. "Next time we spar, I'm cranking my power even higher. Seriously." He hopped to his feet. "Let's finish this. The target's right there—we just have one speed bump in the way."
Durandal responded with a short hum of acknowledgment and blasted back into the sky. Kouga followed, sprinting back to the riverbank.
The boy stood waiting, as if he knew exactly what they would attempt next. He raised his blade—
—but Kouga blurred ahead first.
The kid barely managed to switch his attack into a defensive guard. Kouga's punch slammed into the flaming blade with enough power to rupture the air itself.
The shockwave was catastrophic.
The 2nd Divine Key—train and all—was blasted backward. Durandal instantly broke off to intercept it. But the shockwave continued outward, ripping through infrastructure. Streets buckled. Windows exploded. Entire bridges—including Blackfriars—shattered into raining steel and broken concrete. Buildings shuddered, some collapsing entirely.
Kouga's fist finally overpowered the boy's guard, launching the kid straight toward Southwark. Kouga saw the out-of-control train spiraling through the sky—and took off after both of them.
The boy hit the underside of the tumbling locomotive first. He scrambled across the frame, then shoved against it with his tiny frame—augmented by a burst of fire propelling from the blade. The spin slowed, but only barely.
Durandal arrived seconds later, bracing the train with thrusters flaring. Together, they slowed the descent to something survivable—but the mass was still too great.
It took Kouga nearly a full minute to catch up. The train clipped a skyscraper's signal pole on the way down, spiraling even harder. Kouga dove beneath one side, fired every thruster he had, and together the trio finally stopped its free-fall. It slipped from their grip near the end and dropped—but landed with only a small crater instead of wiping out several blocks of London.
Kouga touched down beside the massive machine, exhaling."Well… didn't see that coming."
Durandal landed beside him—
And the boy attacked again.
He lunged from behind the train, blade sweeping horizontally—but Durandal intercepted the strike with her spear. Kouga followed with a left hook that smashed the boy into the side of the locomotive, tilting it but not quite toppling it.
The kid recovered quickly, but now found himself facing two enemies instead of one. Realizing the fight had turned against him, he hopped onto the top of the train. He adjusted his footing, raised the burning blade—
—and plunged it down.
Both Kouga and Durandal surged forward, expecting the Divine Key to be destroyed—
—but instead, a swirling portal burst open beneath the locomotive, devouring the train instantly. Durandal immediately dove after it.
The portal snapped shut behind her.
Leaving Kouga standing alone on the cracked asphalt.
"What…?"
It was the only thing he could manage.