~~~Kaba Island~~~
[10:21pm]
"Ryujin! Ryujin!"
The voice was a ghostly echo, threading through the fabric of his awakening mind. Like a whisper carried by a cold draft, Hachi's call wove itself into his thoughts, pulling him back from the void.
"Save..."
Ryujin's eyes fluttered open.
He was lying on the tattered fabric Itoshi had scavenged, his body swaying with each labored step the younger boy took.
As his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was the towering barrier—a shimmering veil of iridescent energy that cut the island off from the rest of the world.
It loomed above them, an unyielding divide between their current captivity and the unknown, its presence both ominous and inescapable in the 10:21 pm darkness.
"What the hell...?"
Startled by the sudden rasp of Ryujin's voice, Itoshi flinched.
His grip failed, and he instinctively let go of the makeshift sled. Both of them tumbled back immediately, their heads smacking the cracked pavement with a dull, sickening thud.
"Ryujin!"
"Ow! That hurts, dumbass! Why did you suddenly let go?!"
Ryujin shouted. He sat up quickly, clamping both hands over the back of his head as the world spun.
"You're alive!! Thank God!"
Itoshi cried, his voice cracking. Tears of pure relief welled in his eyes, spilling over onto his soot-stained cheeks.
"What makes you think I'm dead?! I have a higher chance of dying from what you just did!" Ryujin snapped, glaring through the pain.
"Sorry, sorry... Hehe... I'm just glad you're awake!"
Itoshi scratched his head awkwardly, his face a mess of exhaustion and joy, unable to muster a better excuse.
Ryujin let out a long, weary sigh, the adrenaline of the fall fading into a dull ache.
He scanned their surroundings, taking in the jagged silhouette of the wrecked town below and the faint, pulsing glow of the barrier above.
His gaze settled on Ayro, who was still lying unconscious and pale beside them.
"Ah... Itoshi must've been pulling us up to meet with the others. The town's already far... Thank you, Itoshi."
"Are we close to the others?"
Ryujin asked, his tone shifting back to the calm, firm authority of a leader.
"A little bit more..."
Itoshi panted. Every word seemed to cost him a massive amount of effort, his chest heaving under his sweat-soaked shirt.
"Alright. You take a rest—I'll pull Ayro from here."
Ryujin nodded, pushing himself off the ground. His muscles protested, but he stood steady.
"Ok! Thanks!"
Itoshi wiped a thick layer of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, then suddenly recalled the noise that had been buzzing for the last hour.
"Oh yeah! Ryujin! Your comms thing—it's been ringing earlier!"
"Is it? The signal must be back... Let me check."
Ryujin tapped the sleek, white device wrapped around his left wrist. The interface hummed, a holographic display invisible to the naked eye flickering to life in his field of vision.
"Ah... Hachi-san left a lot of missed calls."
"Ehh? How can you tell?"
Itoshi tilted his head, looking only at Ryujin's bare wrist.
"Hmm? Ah... You don't have the implant yet, so you won't see it."
"Ehh."
Itoshi looked slightly disappointed, peering closer at the device.
"Anyways, let's go meet the others. They're down the road, right?"
"Y-Yeah!.."
~~~Gaborone, Botswana~~
[South Africa Frontlines - 3:22pm]
Amidst the desolate remnants of what was once the thriving city of Gaborone, Botswana, only ruins remained—a silent testament to the war against the Seeles.
Scars of bombshells marred the earth, and the air was thick with the suffocating stench of decay.
Fallen soldiers lay scattered across the battlefield, their bodies claimed by the elements as swarms of flies buzzed hungrily over the lifeless remains.
Gaborone was on fire—both figuratively and literally. Flames consumed what little remained of the skyline, while the scorching heat of the desert's unforgiving sun coupled with the blaze of war to torment the soldiers fighting desperately for a future.
"Uffa! Fa un caldo pazzesco!"
A soldier shouted in frustration, his voice cracking in the dry air.
"English, please... Lieutenant Guiztazi,"
An English soldier hushed. He sat by a crumbling wall, his back turned to his comrade as he stared out at the heat haze.
"Hai un traduttore, perché non lo usi?!"
Lieutenant Guiztazi continued to complain, wiping a thick layer of sweat from his forehead with a dirt-stained sleeve.
"Hah?!"
The English soldier turned his head slightly.
"I SAID, YOU HAVE A TRANSLATOR! WHY DON'T YOU USE THAT?!"
The Englishman ignored the outburst and lit a cigarette, the cherry glowing bright in the shade of the ruins.
He exhaled a thin trail of smoke into the stagnant air.
"You know I hate things going into my body, right?"
"È solo una scusa perché ti senti gay quando lo fanno, (That's just your excuse 'cause you feel gay when they do it.)"
Guiztazi muttered with a smirk.
"What?!"
"I said it's hot!"
The lieutenant reasoned quickly, his eyes dancing with mischief despite the grim surroundings.
"Quit fooling around, we're amidst this battle!"
Lieutenant Guiztazi waved his gun playfully in the air, continuing to grumble about the relentless African heat.
Suddenly, a sharp woman's voice cut through the desert air, cutting the banter short.
"Oi! You're too loud!"
The growl came from Captain Marina Gauthier, who had been struggling to find a moment of sleep under the unbearable sun.
A fearless soldier from France, she fought with relentless determination—though her true motives for remaining in this hellscape remained a mystery to those under her command.
"Now you woke up Captain!"
Lieutenant Guiztazi teased, though he lowered his voice.
The English soldier shot him an annoyed look before flipping him off.
"Blehhh."
"Tsk, damn you!"
The two immediately engaged in a brief, low-energy hand-to-hand spar, their movements fast but clumsy from the sheer weight of fatigue.
They scuffled in the dirt, the sound of their heavy boots and grunts echoing off the broken concrete.
"There's only the two of you, yet you're still so loud..."
Captain Marina muttered. She covered her ears in irritation, turning her back to the scuffle.
The men clashed once more while the captain fought her own battle—drifting back into a restless, shallow sleep beneath the sweltering African sky.
For now, they were free from the Seeles' grasp, but the silence that followed carried the heavy, electric weight of an impending storm.
Meanwhile...
~~~East London, South Africa~~~
[South Africa Frontlines - 3:30pm]
The desperate cries of soldiers fleeing for their lives echoed through the shattered halls of East London, mingling with the whispers of a city long undone by war.
Seeles began to flood the streets, their guttural snarls bouncing off the burning ruins. Their mouths stretched wide, dripping with a thick, black sludge that sizzled against the hot pavement.
Some crawled on all fours with spider-like agility while others staggered upright on jerky, feral hind legs.
The African heat scorched the soldiers, but the wrath of the beasts was far crueler—merciless, unrelenting, and far deadlier than the sun itself.
"Hurry up!! They're coming!"
One soldier shouted, the raw panic in his voice tearing through the sound of gunfire.
"Arrghh!!!"
A scream erupted from the back of the line as chaos claimed another man.
"The boats are that way!!! They're closing, hurry up!!"
A soldier pointed out, his finger trembling toward the shoreline.
As they reached the docks, the heavy iron gates began to groan shut. The mechanical hiss of the closing seals signaled their only escape was vanishing as the vessels prepared to depart.
The first men to reach the barrier began to bang their fists against the cold metal. Their knuckles split and bloodied within seconds, but the desperation in their hearts was far louder than the pain.
"OPEN UP! WAIT FOR US!"
"OPEN UP GOD DANG IT!!"
"WE'RE STILL HERE!!"
"No... This won't do... This is not good..."
One soldier muttered. He stood back from the gate, trembling violently as the deep roar of the ship's engines vibrated through the dock.
"Hey, we're still here!! Don't leave us!"
The soldiers already on the last departing boat echoed the cries of their abandoned comrades, their eyes wide with the helplessness of those who knew they couldn't turn back.
Those left behind on the pier had no choice but to face the rising tide.
Some were instantly torn apart by the flood of Seeles, while others retreated into the deeper ruins, cowering in the shadows and awaiting an inevitable fate.
"Hey!! Wait for us!!!"
"A-Are we gonna die here?! A-Am I gonna die?! Wh-What have I done?!"
A terrified soldier sobbed. He dropped to his knees, his grip tightening on his rifle until his arms shook.
"Hey! Get up! This is no place to die!"
Another soldier shouted, grabbing the man by his tactical vest and trying to drag him to his feet. But fear had already hollowed out the soldier's will; he was a dead man breathing.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
The soldier who had tried to help finally let go, roaring into the smog-filled sky. He hurled his helmet and rifle to the ground, his voice breaking into a mix of primal rage and absolute grief.
"DAMN YOU, SKULLS!"
~~~Kaba Island~~~[10:44pm]
Ryujin and Itoshi froze as a piercing screech tore through the air, chilling their bones.
Their pace quickened, dread tightening its grip as they neared the spot where Itoshi had left the others to rest.
"I'll go check it out!"
Itoshi cast a quick glance at Ryujin before sprinting up the road—his breaths were ragged, and his heart pounded with a desperate urgency.
Ahead, Kirashi stood alone, encircled by eight Seeles. His clothes were torn and battered, shredded by near-misses, but to Itoshi's relief, no grave wounds marked his skin.
"Kirashi! Are you ok!?"
Kirashi and the Seeles snapped their heads toward the sound of his voice in a synchronized, eerie motion.
"W-What the—"
Itoshi muttered, taking a step back.
Kirashi turned his head toward Itoshi, never dropping his fighting stance.
He gripped his katana tighter, the blade gleaming under the moonlight.
"Y-Yeah! I'm ok! Perfect timing. Ask questions later—for now, help me!"
"O-Ok!"
Without hesitation, Itoshi unleashed a blazing attack. He thrust his palms forward, sending a torrent of blue fire that set three wind-type Seeles ablaze.
The flames roared, devouring the creatures in a hiss of black sludge. He held his ground, eyes darting back down the road as he waited for Ryujin to catch up and handle the rest.
Itoshi jumped next to Kirashi, the two of them placing their backs together as the remaining Seeles tightened their circle.
"Ryujin is coming this way! He's with Ayro! Where's Kara?"
Itoshi asked, his eyes scanning the surrounding treeline.
"She's with Aldrin. They were chased by two earth-types. We gotta hurry—they're with Jayu-chan,"
Kirashi replied. He took a shallow, shaking breath, his eyes remaining sharp despite the bone-deep exhaustion settling into his limbs.
"O-Ok!"
Itoshi nodded, his flames flickering higher in response to his rising stress.
As Ryujin finally crested the hill, still pulling the unconscious Ayro behind him, Itoshi stepped forward to meet the next wave of monsters.
Kirashi took the momentary opening to lean slightly on his sword, snatching a much-needed moment to rest.
Meanwhile, miles away in the silence of the "Broken Zone," Aldrin, Kara, and Jayu remained huddled in the corner of a dimly lit, dust-covered classroom, waiting for the sound of footsteps that weren't followed by a screech.
~~~To be Continued~~~