Ryujin and the others had finally arrived. But before they left, he pulled Itoshi aside.
"Don't come with us" he said quietly. "Mr. Bjorne will drop you off somewhere else."
"Yeah, sure"
Itoshi replied with a shrug.
Then, glancing down at his outfit—a ragged scarecrow costume—he muttered,
"Is this really what superheroes are supposed to look like?"
Kirashi snickered.
"Honestly, you look better like that than showing your thick face, Itoshi."
Itoshi grunted before he replied.
"Jeez, shut up."
Ryujin carefully opened the door and stepped out. Kirashi followed, opening his side of the road.
"Don't blow it, Hero!" he said to Itoshi as he closed the door.
Kara and Jayu sat in the third row of the SUV seats as the vehicle started moving once again. Jayu, smiling, cheered to Itoshi,
"Go go go! Hero!"
Ryujin and Kirashi arrived on the scene, fully prepped and ready. A field man hurried over to Ryujin.
"Sir! Two of your men are already deployed... but we're having trouble with the other two."
Ryujin smiled after hearing the field man assumed the two warriors facing the seele's were his, before he replied coldly.
"I'm aware,"
From the comms, Miss Gigi's voice came through sharp and clear.
"There are only three Seele's—no more coming from the river. This should be quick work. Ryujin, you assist Ayro with the two wind types. Kirashi..."
Kirashi's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"You have a competition... one you might lose."
"W-what?"
Kirashi asked, confused.
"On that note, push forward and wait for Itoshi's arrival,"
She added.
Without hesitation, the two dashed inside the athletic field, steady breaths and eyes locked forward.
Above them, the crowd watched intently as the two danced through the fray of three Seele.
"Look at them!"
"That's amazing!"
"A wind user and—what element is that?"
"Those Seele are going down!"
Their cheers echoed into the evening as Ryujin and Kirashi pushed on. Ryujin caught Ayro's eye.
"Why are there so many people here?"
Ryujin muttered to himself.
Ayro glanced back just as Ryujin approached.
"Good, they're here," he murmured.
Hoshi noticed the reinforcements too, landing on her knees with a quick scan.
"Here come the rest... but where is that flame boy?"
She muttered to herself.
Kirashi rushed over, mistrust flickering across Hoshi's face.
"Yo! Kunoichi,"
Kirashi greeted her with a wide smile.
"This guy... he'd be dead if he faced that beast alone"
She thought before ignoring him, plunging back into the fight.
Kirashi was shocked, his soul feeling like it had left his body.
"Wha... she ignored me..."
Suddenly, splashes of wind hit him with force. He raised both hands to shield himself from Hoshi's blast.
Kirashi studied her fighting style carefully.
"She's been fighting for quite some time already, but she's still not tired. What the hell?"
He observed again, narrowing his eyes.
"She's low on the ground... trying to slow down the Seele as much as possible... But her wind isn't potent enough."
Potency, A scale of Power people Gifted of Wind uses to figure out how much power it requires to take a Earth Type Seele down.
Kirashi noticed something new: Hoshi was beginning to slow down as well. But she was still far from stopping, far beyond where he could reach.
A heavy strike from above — Hoshi wouldn't be able to dodge it. Kirashi saw the attack coming and without hesitation shouted:
"Wind gust!"
He pointed his index finger at the Seele, imitating a gun. A single gust of wind shot out from his fingertip.
"Woosh."
The gust sliced through the Seele's hand, quickly evaporating it.
"Ah... it's still not that potent" he muttered to himself.
Hoshi looked back at him, eyes wide open.
Between them, Hoshi had the speed and stamina. Kirashi brought the sheer force.
The shock on Hoshi's face was obvious, even behind the mask. As the Earth-type Seele shrieked in agony, Kirashi turned to her with a smug grin.
"I'm not letting you pull ahead" he said, just loud enough for her to hear.
Hoshi glanced at him, then back at the wounded Seele. She rolled her eyes.
"Try to keep up."
Elsewhere, Ayro and Ryujin were locked in their own battles — each taking on a Wind-type Seele.
"We need an opening" Ryujin muttered. "Just one clean shot for Itoshi."
Channeling his water, he slicked the grass beneath the beast's feet. The Seele slipped, clawing at the ground to stay upright. Ryujin smirked as it snarled.
"Annoyed, are we?" he said calmly, keeping his distance.
Ayro, on the other hand, had his own method. Shadows twisted from his fingers, dark tendrils lashing out to bind the beast. It roared in resistance, but Ayro held firm. He didn't need to win — just stall long enough.
Itoshi had to arrive. Soon.
Back with the Earth-type, Hoshi and Kirashi were adapting fast, syncing their movements — Kirashi going high, fists blazing; Hoshi striking low, a blur of motion.
Then—CRACK. A clean hit. The Earth-type Seele lost another arm. They both fell back, breathing hard.
"Winded already?"
Hoshi teased, glancing sideways.
Kirashi caught his breath, sweat on his brow.
"Not even close."
But the Seele wasn't down. With a furious roar, it lunged—only to rush past them, heading straight toward the two Wind-types.
Mouth wide, shrieking.
Kirashi and Hoshi didn't flinch. They stepped forward as one, confidence in their eyes, weapons drawn. A kunai. A katana.
Wind surged between them, howling louder than the beast. The air trembled. Grass flattened under the force of their power.
They dropped into their stances.
Kirashi, katana poised left, inhaled deeply—his eyes locked.
Hoshi, kunai in hand, stood tall. Calm. Ready.
The moment the beast was in range—
They moved.
"Gust Slice!"
"Gust Impale!"
Their voices rang out, echoing through the field.
BAM!
Everything froze.
Behind them stood the massive Größer als Männer-class Seele. Silent. Still.
Back to back, Hoshi and Kirashi didn't speak.
Kirashi sheathed his katana with practiced precision.
Hoshi flicked her kunai, a string of dark goo whipping from its edge. Her eyes remained closed.
The wind rushing from the Seele chased after them, a violent gust that tore through the field, trailing behind the two like a storm hunting its prey. Dust swirled. Grass bent. The very air trembled with the beast's fury.
Then—
BOOM.
The head of the nine-foot monster detonated mid-charge, a burst of raw force and pressure. A heartbeat later, the rest of its body split apart—clean, precise, sliced into sections.
Time seemed to slow.
The beast evaporated, its remains dissolving into particles of shimmering mist.
Silence.
Then the crowd erupted.
"WOAH!!"
"They beat it!"
"One down—two to go!"
"Those Wind-types are insane!"
"The Kunoichi saved us again!"
Voices rose in awe and disbelief, cheers mixing with gasps. Eyes were wide, mouths agape. The dust was still settling—but the legend had already begun.
Kirashi and Hoshi turned slowly, the fading mist of the fallen Seele swirling around them.
Kirashi stood on the left, panting, bruised, and nearly spent. His shoulders sagged, katana tip scraping the ground. He was out of breath—out of gas.
"Hah... hah... I'm beat" he muttered, voice low, half-laughing at his own limits.
Hoshi stood on the right—calm, collected. One eye closed, her kunai still at her side. She barely looked winded.
She gazed at Kirashi, sweat dripping down his face, his chest rising and falling like a storm barely calmed.
Then she spoke.
"Not bad"
She said coolly.
"But still inefficient."
Her words cut sharper than steel, not cruel—just honest.
Kirashi gave a tired chuckle.
"Guess I'll take that as a compliment."
Hoshi didn't answer. She simply turned her gaze forward, already calculating their next move.
The fight wasn't over.
Hoshi shifted her focus to the two Wind-type Seele still locked in combat with the beasts of Squad Segment 663. Their roars echoed in the distance, clashing winds ripping through the battlefield.
Her eyes narrowed beneath the mask.
"Now... where's that flame boy?"
As if in answer, a strange flash of light bounced off her mask, grabbing her attention. She instinctively looked up—
—and her visible eye widened.
[Itoshi's POV]
He was perched awkwardly on a alley way somewhere, not far from the lit-up track below. Still in his ridiculous scarecrow disguise, he tugged at the straw collar uncomfortably.
Mr. Bjorne stepped out of a dark military vehicle behind him, dragging something large from the trunk.
"Itoshi, come here."
His voice was unbothered, almost too casual for the moment.
Itoshi approached with a frown.
"What is that thing?" he asked, eyeing the circular device warily.
"Just take off your shoes"
Bjorne said, grinning like a madman.
"Trust me."
Itoshi hesitated, then sighed and kicked off his shoes.
He stepped onto the device.
"Repeat after me!"
Bjorne ordered.
"Head down"
"HEAD DOWN!"
Itoshi followed.
"Arms In!"
"ARMS IN!"
Lastly,
"Knees apart!"
"KNEES APART!
Itoshi lagged,
"Okay, but how am I supposed to—"
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
BOOM.
The launch pad fired.
Itoshi's body flung into the sky like a ragdoll, his limbs flailing helplessly. His face stretched beneath the scarecrow mask, the wind whipping his lips around as he tried—and failed—to scream.
"JSAOA—IAWIAOISDADA—!!"
The words were unintelligible gibberish lost to speed and panic.
He reached the peak of the arc.
The entire battlefield lay below him—the lit track, the shattered remains of the Earth-type Seele, Hoshi and Kirashi standing victorious.
And then—gravity kicked in.
"Crow incoming."
A scarecrow, barefoot and airborne, hurtled toward the ground.
The one meant to scare crows had become the crow.
Itoshi's body twisted midair as he tried to stabilize himself.
"I'm gonna die if I don't land this shit!" he shouted to no one but himself.
Panic surged, but so did instinct.
With a growl, he gritted his teeth bellow his mask and summoned fire to his feet—blue flames erupted, wild and untamed. The night sky lit up with the glow, casting an eerie brilliance across the battlefield.
"Goddammit—!!"
He plunged downward, blue fire trailing behind him like a comet—then spun into a hammer kick, aiming to crash directly into the path of the Wind-type Seele.
"DIVINE RETRIBUTION!!"
Everyone saw it.
The squad.
The field agents.
The civilians crammed behind the barricades.
All eyes lifted to the sky, jaws slack, hearts frozen.
A streak of blue flame tore through the dark like a comet—wild, brilliant, and uncontrolled. It wasn't just a light. It was a signal. A symbol. A storm wrapped in fire.
And then—
BLAST!
The impact rocked the center of the track.
The Seele that Ryujin had been holding at bay didn't even have time to react.
Itoshi came down like divine retribution, crashing into it with full force. The moment his burning heel connected, the beast was sent careening into the ground.
A shockwave burst out from the point of contact—
Dust exploded.
Smoke roared upward in a blinding cloud.
Blue fire surged, licking the air, consuming the grass in a controlled inferno.
The wind howled. The flames roared.
Then—
Silence.
The flames died down just as fast as they erupted.
The first Seele was gone—its massive frame scorched and lifeless, reduced to ash and glowing embers under the weight of Itoshi's impact.
The dust settled.
And there he was.
Itoshi, crouched low in the center of the track, wearing a scarecrow outfit, one knee on the ground, fist planted in a perfect superhero landing. Blue fire flickered softly around him.
The crowd erupted into gasps and murmurs.
"Is that him?"
"That's the Flame user!"
"He took it out in one hit!"
But under the mask—
Itoshi was losing it.
"I'm so glad I have this mask"
He thought, eyes wide behind the straw hat brim.
"What kind of insane plan was that?! Who launches people without warning?!"
Before he could even shake the shock off—
SCREEEEEECH!!
A guttural, shrill cry tore across the field.
The last Seele lunged from the side, mouth open wide, claws ripping through the grass as it charged straight for him.
There was no time to run.
Itoshi snapped his head up, instincts overtaking fear.
His eyes narrowed beneath the mask.
He raised his left hand.
FWOOOM—!
A burst of pure blue flame surged from his palm, blasting forward with terrifying force. The fire struck the Seele mid-lunge, engulfing it instantly.
The scream cut off.
A second later, the final Seele collapsed—charred, motionless.
Smoke curled around its body before it disintegrated like the others.
Silence fell again.
Then—
BOOMING CHEERS.
The crowd went wild.
Itoshi remained standing there, arm still outstretched, hand smoldering. Even in a goofy scarecrow outfit, he looked like the very embodiment of fury and control.
Beneath the mask, he whispered:
"...I'm never doing that again."
Among the crowd, not everyone seemed to be a fan of Itoshi.
"A Flame Gifted?"
"This is bad news."
"How did a damn flame user get here!?"
They muttered the words repeatedly, unease spreading like wildfire.
Itoshi stood tall, facing Ryujin. Ryujin responded with a calm smile, while Itoshi slowly shook his head from side to side.
Meanwhile, Kirashi sat comfortably on the grass, a smile playing on his lips as he watched Itoshi's performance unfold.
Hoshi, though conflicted about flame users, couldn't deny her admiration—impressed despite herself, she found a small smile forming in the midst of the chaos.
~~~To be Continued~~~