Chapter 4: Burn Protocol
They landed without a sound.
Three shadows touched enemy soil beneath the cover of darkness, their descent so precise and controlled that, for the first few seconds, the fortress remained completely unaware that its perimeter had already been breached.
Then the alarms activated.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Red emergency lights flooded the corridors, washing the steel walls in a rotating crimson glow as warning sirens echoed through the fortress.
The woman in white immediately spoke through the team's communications channel.
"Split formation. Destroy the communication towers first."
Daito moved first.
He didn't rush, and he didn't hesitate. There was nothing frantic about his movements; every step was measured, every shift of his weight deliberate, as though his mind had already mapped out the route before his body followed it.
The first wave of enemy soldiers rounded the corner.
Humans.
Armored.
Armed.
One raised his rifle.
Daito's blade flashed.
SWOOSH!
POW!
The strike landed precisely against the soldier's weapon arm, knocking him off balance without killing him. Before the man could recover, Daito rotated his body and drove the hilt of his blade into another soldier's neck.
POOF!
The soldier collapsed.
A third attempted to fire.
PANG!
Daito knocked the weapon from his hands.
The rifle spun through the air before clattering against the steel floor.
CLANG!
Daito stepped past him.
Then another soldier charged.
Daito ducked beneath the attack, pivoted, and struck the man's ribs.
THUD!
The soldier folded.
Daito continued forward.
He moved through the formation like wind cutting through tall grass, never remaining in one place long enough for the soldiers to surround him and never making a movement that served no purpose.
There was no wasted motion and no unnecessary killing, only efficiency.
Behind him, Tasao V activated his Alchemic Veins.
Blue patterns spread across his arms like glowing circuitry beneath his skin, pulsing brighter as energy surged through his body.
A defensive turret rotated toward him.
BEEP! BEEP!
The weapon locked onto his position.
Tasao smiled.
"Too slow."
He grabbed the turret with both hands.
SKREEECH!
Metal screamed as he tore it from its mounting.
His muscles tightened.
Then—
CRAAACK!
He crushed the machine between his hands.
Fragments of metal scattered across the floor.
At the other end of the corridor, Zumi Caid raised one hand.
Geometric sigils appeared around his fingers, each symbol rotating independently as the space surrounding a nearby machine core began to distort.
The air trembled.
BZZZZT!
The machine's internal components twisted against one another.
Its metal casing bent inward.
Then—
KRRRSH!
The entire core imploded under the pressure of Zumi's gravitational distortion.
Daito continued deeper into the fortress.
Generators were destroyed.
Data nodes were severed.
Power conduits were cut.
SLASH!
CRACK!
BASH!
One system after another went dark.
The fortress began losing its ability to communicate, defend itself, and coordinate its forces.
Daito still didn't kill unnecessarily.
If an enemy could be incapacitated, he incapacitated them.
If a weapon could be removed, he removed it.
But when lethal force became necessary, he didn't hesitate.
This was no longer an exercise.
It was war.
And deep inside the command wing, they finally found what they had come for.
The Briefcase.
It sat inside a reinforced security chamber, completely black and hardened, its surface untouched by the chaos unfolding around it. A biometric lock glowed faintly along its side.
Nearby lay the body of an NBA agent.
Burn marks covered his chest.
The position of his body made the truth obvious.
Execution-style.
Daito slowed.
He looked down at the fallen man for several seconds before kneeling beside him.
Without saying anything, he gently closed the man's eyes.
Then he reached for the briefcase.His fingers wrapped around the handle.For a moment, he simply stared at it.
He wanted to open it.
More than anything, he wanted to know what was inside.
The truth about Disorder.
The truth about Freakers.
The truth about the NBA.
And, perhaps most importantly, the truth about why his mother had always feared the organization that claimed to protect humanity.
His thumb hovered over the biometric seal.Just one movement.That was all it would take.
But if he opened it, the system would log the action.
The mission would be compromised.
Suspicion would rise.
And the two Savages accompanying him both carrying explosive chips inside their bodies could become collateral damage if the NBA decided he had violated protocol.
Daito stared at the seal for another moment.
Then he lowered his hand.
He stood and locked the briefcase onto his back harness instead.
The orders were clear.
Retrieve.
Not inspect.
Daito turned away.
The Briefcase remained sealed.
For now.
* * *
They regrouped in the central courtyard several minutes later.
Behind them, the final communication tower groaned beneath the damage they had inflicted.
KRRRRAAASH!
The tower collapsed into the burning remains of the fortress.
A tremendous explosion followed.
BOOOOM!
The shockwave rolled through the compound as damaged ammunition stores and power systems began detonating one after another.
BRRMMMM!
Data centers burned.
Black smoke twisted toward the night sky.
The three stood together in the firelight, their faces illuminated by the violent red glow of the burning fortress.
Their mission was nearly complete.
Then Daito heard something.
VRRMMMM...
Engines.
His eyes shifted toward the perimeter.
Armored carriers emerged through the smoke.
One.
Then another.
Then another.
Dozens of fresh soldiers poured from the vehicles, weapons already raised as they spread across the courtyard.
Tasao's expression hardened.
"Reinforcements."
Daito didn't answer.
He was already studying them.
Then the air changed.
The temperature rose.
Not ordinary heat.
Something sharper.
Something corrosive.
A faint sizzling sound spread through the courtyard.
PSSSHHH...
A man stepped forward through the smoke.
He wore a military coat over heavy combat gear, his boots striking the ground with slow, deliberate steps. A scar stretched across his jaw, and his eyes carried the cold calculation of someone who had spent years learning how to kill without hesitation.
"Retreating already?" he asked.
The soldiers parted for him.
The man slowly removed his gloves.
PSSSH!
Acidic vapor hissed from his palms.
The concrete beneath his hands began to smoke.
He smiled slightly.
"I am Sergeant W.B. Rigidy."
His fingers flexed.
"A Savage."
Tasao V sighed.
"Of course he is."
Rigidy raised one hand.
SWIRL!
Energy gathered above his palm.
Another layer formed around it.
SWOOSH!
The energy compressed into a glowing sphere.
It wasn't ordinary fire.
Daito immediately recognized the difference.
The sphere contained compressed acidic heat, its surface rotating violently as unstable energy dripped from it in molten droplets. Wherever the energy touched the ground, the concrete hissed and dissolved.
Rigidy casually launched it.
BOOM!
The sphere struck the ground several meters away.
The explosion wasn't loud.
It was violent.
BRRMMMM!
Concrete dissolved instantly.
MELT!
A section of metal flooring liquefied.
FWOOSHH!
The shockwave blasted across the courtyard and forced Daito's team backward.
Zumi immediately raised both hands.
WHOOOM!
A gravitational distortion formed around him, bending the worst of the shockwave away from his body.
Tasao planted his feet.
Daito stepped forward.
His eyes never left Rigidy.
Studying.
Calculating.
Rigidy noticed.
He raised both hands.
SWIRL! SWIRL! SWIRL!
Three more spheres formed.
"This isn't your territory," Rigidy said calmly.
His eyes narrowed.
"The NBA sends children now?"
Daito answered without changing his expression.
"Just enough."
Rigidy's smile disappeared.
BOM! BOM! BOM!
He hurled all three spheres.
The courtyard became a storm of corrosive detonations.
BOOM! BANG! EXPLODE!
Stone dissolved.
Steel warped.
Heat screamed through the air.
Daito moved between the explosions.
One sphere came directly toward him.
His sword flashed.
SLASH!
The blade cut through the projectile perfectly.
For a fraction of a second, the sphere separated into two clean halves.
Then—
BOOOOM!
The halves exploded outward.
The blast tore through Daito's jacket sleeve and scorched the skin beneath it.
He landed several meters away.
He looked at his arm.
Then at Rigidy.
Cutting the spheres wasn't safe.
Noted.
Rigidy's grin returned.
"Adaptive," he said.
His eyes narrowed with interest.
"Good."
Then he charged.
SWOOSH!
The distance between them vanished.
Rigidy wasn't slow.
He wasn't hesitant.
He moved like a battlefield veteran who had spent years fighting opponents stronger than ordinary soldiers.
Behind them, the fortress continued to burn.
Ahead stood a Savage capable of weaponizing melting spheres.
And secured to Daito's back was a black briefcase containing forbidden information about Disorder.
Still sealed.
Still waiting.
* * *
The courtyard had become a melting graveyard.
Steel sagged like wax beneath the corrosive heat, concrete bubbled beneath their feet, and flames crawled across the remains of military vehicles while smoke rolled through the air in thick black clouds.
Sergeant W.B. Rigidy stood in the center of the destruction, slowly rolling his shoulders as acidic vapor drifted from his hands.
His visor reflected the flames.
"You cut my projectile," he said. "Most men don't live long enough to try."
Daito stepped forward.
The burning sting in his arm remained, but he ignored it.
"You're strong."
There was no mockery in his voice.
It was evaluation.
Rigidy smiled.
"Respect from an NBA dog?"
Daito's eyes sharpened.
"Compared to A.B.I.G.A.I.L..."
He paused.
"...you're not that scary."
The words hit harder than an insult.
Rigidy's expression hardened.
PSSSHHH!
Acidic heat exploded around his fists.
Then he moved.
SWOOSH!
Heavy Hands
Rigidy abandoned his ranged attacks completely.
He launched himself forward with Savage-enhanced propulsion, his boots tearing across the fractured ground.
BOOM!
His first punch came toward Daito's face, coated in corrosive heat.
Daito rotated his forearm.
SWISH!
Instead of absorbing the strike, he redirected it.
Rigidy's fist passed beside his head.
PSSSH!
The acidic heat grazed Daito's sleeve.
The fabric dissolved instantly.
MELT!
Rigidy followed with a knee.
PANG!
Daito blocked it.
Then he stepped inside Rigidy's range and drove his shoulder into the man's ribs.
POW!
BOOM!
The collision cratered the ground beneath them.
Rigidy slid backward half a step.
Only half.
Then he laughed.
"You're different from the others."
He swung again.
A heavy left hook.
SWOOSH!
Daito ducked beneath it.
His shoulder rotated.
His feet shifted.
Then—
POW!
He drove another strike into Rigidy's torso.
Rigidy absorbed it and countered immediately.
The two exchanged blows at close range, neither giving the other enough space to return to long-distance attacks.
There was no elegant swordplay. No elaborate technique. No time for distance-based tactics.
Just fists.
Raw strength.
Timing.
Instinct.
Rigidy threw another hook.
Daito slipped beneath it and drove his shoulder into the general's ribs.
POW!
SWOOSH!
The impact echoed through the courtyard like a cannon blast.
Rigidy staggered.
His boots scraped across the concrete.
SKRRRRT!
Then he laughed again.
"Very impressive."
His hands opened.
SWIRL! SWIRL!
Heat gathered around both palms simultaneously.
Daito's eyes narrowed.
Rigidy slammed both hands toward the ground.
BAAAM!
A compressed explosion erupted beneath them.
CRASH!
The blast launched Daito backward.
He flew through a half-melted military vehicle.
BOOM!
Metal wrapped around his body.
For a moment, he disappeared inside the wreckage.
Then—
CRAAASH!
The vehicle shattered outward.
Daito stepped from the debris.
Immediately.
No stumble, no hesitation.
He stood straight.
His breathing remained steady.
Rigidy stared.
Daito had been hit harder before.
By something far worse.
For a brief moment, Daito remembered Abigail.
The kick.
The crater.
The broken bones.
The overwhelming gap in strength.
The feeling of realizing that no matter what he did, he simply wasn't strong enough.
Then the memory disappeared.
Daito looked at Rigidy.
Rigidy was powerful.
Very powerful.
But he wasn't absolute.
And Daito had already survived absolute.
That realization settled quietly in his mind.
He charged.
SWOOSH!
Rigidy met him halfway.
The Savage threw a straight punch.
Daito slipped inside the arc.
His body moved close.
Too close for Rigidy's full power to develop.
Daito's right hand pulled backward.
This time, the arm was fully healed.
The muscles aligned perfectly.
The scars beneath his skin tightened as his fist closed.
Rigidy's eyes narrowed.
Daito whispered—
"Let's measure."
Then he punched.
POW!
For a fraction of a second, nothing happened.
Then the air detonated.
SWOOOOOSH!
A perfect circular shockwave erupted from the point of impact.
The force tore across the courtyard.
Windows in distant buildings shattered simultaneously.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The burning air split apart.
Rigidy's chest compressed inward.
Then—
BOOOF!
The force erupted through him.
A massive hole tore through his torso.
SPLATTER!
Blood sprayed across the burning ground.
The acidic glow surrounding his hands flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then died.
Rigidy stumbled backward.
PSSSH...
Blood poured freely from the wound.
He looked down.
Then back at Daito.
There was no anger in his expression.
No fear.
Only acknowledgment.
He coughed once.
"Well struck..."
His knees weakened.
But somehow, he remained standing.
"You're a true warrior."
Rigidy straightened slightly despite the enormous wound.
His voice became quieter.
"Go forward..."
He glanced toward the burning fortress.
"...and see what this war really is."
Then his legs gave out.
THUD.
Sergeant W.B. Rigidy fell.
Silence.
For two seconds, the battlefield seemed frozen.
Then—
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
Gunfire erupted.
* * *
Enemy reinforcements had surrounded the courtyard completely.
And one of Daito's teammates had made a mistake.
Tasao V had lowered his guard after witnessing Daito's final punch.
Only for a second.
That was enough.
BANG!
A high-caliber round tore through his side.
Tasao's body jerked.
BANG!
Another round struck his thigh.
BOOM!
A third exploded against his shoulder plating.
Tasao dropped to one knee.
Blood began pouring from his wounds.
Zumi Caid reacted instantly.
WHOOOM!
Gravitational distortion warped the space around them.
Incoming bullets bent unnaturally through the air. Some slammed into the ground. Others were redirected into walls.
But it was already too late.
Tasao was bleeding heavily.
Daito turned.
His eyes became cold.
He had ended a general in one strike.
But the battlefield wasn't over.
The briefcase was still secured to his back.
The base was collapsing.
Enemy numbers were increasing.
GRAB!
Daito seized Tasao by the collar and lifted him effortlessly.
"Move."
Tasao struggled to remain conscious.
Zumi moved beside them.
BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!
Gravity pulses erupted around him.
Gunfire bent through the air.
BANG! BANG!
Explosions erupted behind them.
BOOM!
Daito didn't look back at Rigidy's body.
He didn't need to.
Some warriors didn't require words to understand one another.
They had understood each other through the fight.
Daito turned toward the extraction point.
Above them—
FWOOSH!
The NBA jet roared across the sky.
Extraction cables dropped.
Zumi secured himself first.
Tasao was barely conscious.
Daito remained on the ground until both were safe.
He looked once at the burning fortress.
Then at the hole in Rigidy's chest across the courtyard.
Then he grabbed the final cable.
FWOOSH!
He ascended.
The battlefield disappeared beneath him.
Inside the jet, medics immediately rushed toward Tasao.
"Huff... huff..."
His breathing was shallow.
Critical.
"He's losing too much blood!"
"Keep pressure on the wound!"
"Don't let him lose consciousness!"
Daito sat across from him in silence.
Blood still dripped from his knuckles.
Zumi Caid stared at him.
Something had changed.
There was less mockery in Zumi's expression now.
More understanding.
"You're insane," Zumi muttered.
Daito looked down at his right hand.
He flexed his fingers slowly.
"No."
His voice remained calm.
"I just know what stronger feels like."
He looked through the window at the burning fortress disappearing into the distance.
"And compared to A.B.I.G.A.I.L..."
His eyes hardened.
"This was manageable."
The mission was complete.
The briefcase remained unopened.
But the war had escalated.
And somewhere inside the NBA, someone would soon realize something far more dangerous than the destruction of a military base.
Daito Greyhell was evolving faster than expected.
* * *
The fortress was ash.
Smoke rolled across the ruined courtyard where Sergeant W.B. Rigidy had fallen, drifting over the shattered concrete and twisted remains of the military vehicles.
Fwoo...
The fire continued to burn among the ruins.
Enemy soldiers moved cautiously through what remained of their command structure, gathering weapons, checking communications equipment, and searching the wreckage for anything that might have survived.
Among them stood one man who had not moved.
Soldier Nagare.
His rifle hung loosely at his side.
His eyes weren't on the crater.
They were fixed on the sky.
On the distant NBA jet that had disappeared beyond the clouds.
He had seen that face before.
Older now.
Colder.
But unmistakable.
"Daito..."
The name escaped his mouth quietly.
From the same town.
The same dusty streets.
The same markets.
The same broken rooftops they used to jump between when they were children.
And now, Daito Greyhell was working for the National Biohazard Authority.
Nagare's jaw tightened.
"If your father saw this..."
His voice lowered.
"He'd be ashamed."
He looked toward the body of Rigidy.
The Sergeant was dead.
Their pillar of strength.
The man who had helped keep their faction unified.
And their base gone.
Destroyed when they had been so close.
So close to unveiling the truth about Disorder.
So close to proving that the NBA wasn't humanity's savior.
It was humanity's jailer.
Nagare clenched his fists.
Daito hadn't simply killed their general.
He had erased months of progress.
Possibly years.
And in doing so, he might have destroyed humanity's chance to become free.
That could not stand.
Nagare turned sharply toward the surviving officers.
"Send word to the Lieutenants."
The soldiers hesitated.
Nagare's expression hardened.
"Now."
A transmission unit was activated.
BZZZT!
The device searched for the encrypted channel.
KRRR... BEEP.
The signal connected.
Nagare spoke clearly.
"We initiate retaliation protocol."
A pause.
"Target: Daito Greyhell."
Another pause.
"Location: Grimvale."
The soldiers around him stiffened.
One of them looked uncertain.
"You're going after civilians?"
Nagare didn't blink.
"We will wreck everything."
He stepped forward.
"Burn it."
Another step.
"Break it."
His voice became colder.
"Level it."
He looked toward the ruined fortress.
"Until he shows up."
Silence settled over the survivors.
Then Nagare continued.
"And when he does..."
His eyes hardened.
"We beat him half to death."
No one interrupted.
"We make him understand what he destroyed."
His fist tightened.
"And then we force him to take us to the NBA."
One of the officers swallowed.
"That's war escalation."
Nagare looked at him.
"Yes."
* * *
Far away, inside the NBA jet, Daito sat silently.
He could feel it.
Not physically, not spiritually, but strategically.
War never ended cleanly.
It redirected.
Zumi Caid sat across from him with his arms folded.
Tasao V lay unconscious beside the medics.
The steady rhythm of the medical equipment filled the cabin.
BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...
"Enemy morale won't recover from this easily," Zumi said.
Daito didn't respond.
His thoughts were somewhere else.
The briefcase.
The unopened truth.
The look in Rigidy's eyes before he died.
And something else.
His mother.
His town.
The quiet streets he had left behind.
***
Inside the underground headquarters of the National Biohazard Authority, the Boss watched the mission footage.
The room was dark except for the light of the projection screen.
On it, the same moment played again.
Daito's punch.
Rigidy's body.
The shockwave.
The destruction.
The Boss replayed the footage.
Again.
And again.
Frame by frame.
He leaned forward slightly.
Then smiled.
"He's becoming useful."
An aide standing nearby spoke carefully.
"Sir... enemy chatter indicates possible retaliation."
The Boss didn't look concerned.
"Of course."
He leaned back.
"Let them move."
His eyes remained on the screen.
"Every piece must move for the board to change."
That night, miles away from NBA territory, a small town slept beneath quiet skies.
The streets were empty.
Lights glowed softly behind apartment windows.
Children slept.
Market stalls were closed.
Families rested.
Unaware.
Unprotected.
Unprepared.
And marching toward them...
Was the beginning of something far worse than a retrieval mission.
***
Seven days.
That was how long it took for war to travel from ash to doorstep.
In the quiet town on the edge of the quarantine zones, Daito's mother stood alone in the small kitchen, staring at nothing.
The cup in her hand trembled slightly.
Not from age.
From instinct.
She had lived long enough beside a reckless husband to recognize the feeling.
The air before disaster.
The silence before impact.
She slowly stepped outside.
The sky looked normal.
Too normal.
There was no smoke.
No distant gunfire.
No sign that anything was wrong.
But something inside her refused to relax.
Her husband had once told her something she had never forgotten.
"If the NBA ever feels threatened, they won't attack you directly."
"They'll make you choose between family and rebellion."
Her eyes hardened.
"Daito..."
She turned toward the old storage shed behind the house.
The door creaked as she opened it.
CREEEAK...
Inside sat an old sealed metal trunk.
She unlocked it.
CLICK.
The lid opened.
Inside were documents.
Old communication devices.
A small firearm.
And a transmitter bearing the faded insignia of the National Biohazard Authority.
She stared at the transmitter for a long moment.
Memories moved through her mind.
Her husband.
Daito as a child.
The secrets they had kept.
The things they had never been able to explain.
Then she slowly closed the trunk.
CLACK.
If war was coming...
She would not be helpless.
***
Far from the town, inside a mobile war chamber carved into steel and stone, three figures stood before a digital projection of Daito's homeland.
GRIMVALE.
The map rotated slowly in the air.
Three names stood above the soldiers gathered inside the chamber.
The Lieutenants.
Above generals.
Below ideology.
The first figure removed her hood.
Lieutenant Sasha Yong.
Tall.
Composed.
Eyes like frozen glass.
Her ability was kinetic redirection.
Any force directed at her could be bent, redirected, and returned with amplified power.
The second Lieutenant cracked his neck lazily.
CRACK.
Lieutenant Kirigaya Mooi.
Broad.
Heavy.
Silent.
His ability was Stone Manipulation.
With a single touch, he could control sand and stone at a molecular level.
The third figure smiled faintly.
Lieutenant Mira Wong.
Calm.
Unsettling.
Her ability was Neural Disruption.
Brief eye contact allowed her to destabilize motor control and perception, leaving an opponent disoriented before they even understood what had happened.
Soldier Nagare stood before them.
He spoke clearly.
"He destroyed our base."
His voice tightened.
"He killed Rigidy."
He looked toward the projection of Grimvale.
"And he works for the NBA."
Sasha Yong studied the image.
"You are certain it's him?"
"Yes."
A pause followed.
Then Mira spoke.
"Why not attack the NBA directly?"
Nagare's jaw tightened.
"Because he is the fracture point."
Kirigaya stepped forward.
"And you want to break him."
Nagare didn't deny it.
Sasha nodded once.
"Very well."
She turned toward the others.
"We strike in one week."
Her eyes remained fixed on Grimvale.
"Not to massacre."
A pause.
"To provoke."
She looked at Nagare.
"If this Daito values his home..."
Her expression remained cold.
"He will come."
***
One Week Later
The morning began peacefully.
Children walked to school.
Market stalls opened.
Merchants arranged their goods.
The streets slowly filled with ordinary people beginning another ordinary day.
Daito's mother stood near the window.
She didn't sit.
She didn't relax.
She waited.
Something felt wrong.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!
The first explosion tore through the eastern side of town.
The windows shattered instantly.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
People screamed as debris rained through the streets.
A second explosion followed.
BOOM!
A warehouse collapsed.
The ground shook violently beneath the town.
BRRMMMM!
Military vehicles rolled through the smoke.
Masked soldiers poured from them, spreading throughout the streets as civilians fled in every direction.
Then Kirigaya Mooi stepped forward.
He placed his palm against the wall of a nearby building.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
BRRMMMM!
The structure groaned.
The stone beneath his hand began to move.
Cracks spread across the wall.
KRRRACK!
The entire building shifted.
Then folded inward as though gravity itself had suddenly tripled.
CRAAAAASH!
Dust exploded into the street.
Kirigaya continued walking.
Calmly.
Slowly.
Anyone who locked eyes with Mira Wong stumbled moments later.
Their bodies stopped responding properly.
One man reached for a weapon.
His hand missed.
Another soldier tried to run.
His legs gave out beneath him.
The civilians couldn't understand what was happening.
They simply collapsed.
Then—
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
A defensive turret opened fire from a civilian guard post.
The bullets tore through the smoke.
Kirigaya didn't move.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The bullets struck him.
But they stopped.
Stone had formed around his body.
The rounds became trapped within it.
Kirigaya looked toward the turret.
He placed his palm against the ground.
KRRR...
The earth shifted.
A massive section of stone ripped itself from the street.
SWOOOOOSH!
The rock launched forward at incredible speed.
BOOM!
The turret was obliterated.
Nagare stood at the center of the chaos.
Smoke curled around him.
Flames rose behind his shoulders.
He looked directly toward the town.
"This is your doing, Daito!"
His voice echoed through the streets.
"Come out!"
Another explosion shook the ground.
BOOM!
Nagare raised his voice.
"Or watch it burn!"
***
Inside her home, Daito's mother moved quickly.
She gathered the nearest neighbors and forced them toward the basement shelter.
"Everyone downstairs! Now!"
People obeyed.
Children cried.
Adults shouted.
Another explosion shook the house.
BRRMM!
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Daito's mother didn't stop.
Once the neighbors were safely inside, she returned upstairs.
She opened the old trunk.
CLICK.
She took the firearm.
Checked it.
Loaded it.
CHK-CHK.
Then she reached for the transmitter.
RING!
The device activated.
FWOOO!
A signal began transmitting.
Her hands were steady now.
The fear had passed.
Only resolve remained.
She looked toward the window.
Smoke was swallowing the sky.
Flames were rising above the rooftops.
She whispered—
"You chose your path, my son..."
Outside—
BOOM!
Another explosion rocked the town.
BRRMMM!
A building collapsed.
CRASH!
Flames climbed higher.
Then—
FWOOOSH!
Something moved above the smoke.
A distant engine.
Fast.
Getting closer.
Daito's mother looked upward.
The sound grew louder.
VRRMMMMMMMM!
Her eyes widened slightly.
Smoke swallowed the sky.
Concrete cracked beneath another distant impact.
And somewhere beyond the burning horizon...
Something was coming.
Something fast.
Something familiar.
To be continued...