Chapter 24: NBA Spy
The tension of the fight had faded, replaced by quiet conversation inside the ruined hall.
Champagne stretched his arms and looked toward Zachia.
"So where's Avenor Yakisa?"
He tilted his head.
"Shouldn't you two be going together?"
Zachia nodded.
"Of course."
"But the arrangement between us is different."
He tapped the side of his head.
"She's the eyes and ears."
Then he lifted his fist.
"I'm the blade and armor."
"She gathers information."
"I break things."
He leaned casually against one of the statues.
"But if I'm going to trust you people…"
"…we should know more about each other."
His sharp canines flashed in a grin.
"Savage powers."
"Backgrounds."
"Secrets."
He crossed his arms.
"I'll go first."
The room quieted.
Zachia's expression became slightly darker.
"I became a Savage when I was fifteen."
No one interrupted.
"My best friend…"
"…was turning into a Freaker."
The words echoed through the hall.
"The infection had already started."
"He knew what was coming."
Zachia looked at the floor for a moment.
"He didn't want to lose himself."
"He didn't want to become one of those things."
"So he asked me…"
"…to use his life."
His fists tightened slightly.
"He told me if his life could become a weapon…"
"…then at least it would serve a purpose."
"So I sacrificed him."
Silence filled the hall.
"And that's how I became a Savage."
After a moment, Wei-Wan Lou stepped forward.
His voice was quiet.
"My story isn't heroic."
He looked toward the broken roof.
"I had a younger sister."
"She was the only family I had left."
"One night Disorder bloomed and expanded."
His eyes darkened.
"The guards didn't warn the district."
"The Freakers formed and came."
He clenched his hand.
"I tried to protect her."
"But I wasn't strong enough."
He swallowed.
"When I found her…"
"…she was already turning."
His voice cracked slightly.
"She begged me to save her."
"There was only one way."
Wei-Wan looked down.
"So I did."
"And when the ritual ended…"
"I realized something."
He took a breath.
"I had saved her from becoming a monster."
"But I became one instead."
Next was Champagne.
He laughed awkwardly.
"My story is less tragic."
"My father was the Chancellor."
"He wanted the perfect soldier."
"He believed Savages were humanity's future."
"So he forced the ritual on me by sacrificing my mother."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I didn't really have a choice."
"I survived."
"But ever since then…"
"I've been trying to prove I'm more than just a weapon he created."
Fah-jin stepped forward next.
Her eyes were cold.
"My clan lived in the deep forests."
"We survived by hunting."
"One winter…"
"…food ran out."
She paused.
"And the Freakers came."
Her voice was flat.
"The elders chose the strongest among us to become Savages."
"I was one of them."
"I survived."
She turned slightly toward Zachia.
"But power without honor…"
"…means nothing."
Brandon scratched his head.
"Well…"
"I was a soldier."
"My unit got trapped during a hive outbreak."
"We were losing."
He laughed quietly.
"The commander told us only one person could survive the ritual."
"So we drew lots."
He lifted his shoulders.
"I won."
"But sometimes…"
"…I wish I hadn't."
Finally Wasabi Yuko stepped forward.
"I was a researcher."
"I studied Freaker mutations."
"But experiments went wrong."
"My team was infected."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"There was only one way to stop the outbreak."
"So I used the ritual."
"I turned myself into a Savage…"
"…just to contain the disaster we created."
The room became quiet again.
Then everyone slowly turned toward Daito Greyhell.
Zachia grinned.
"Your turn."
Daito looked at them all.
His face remained calm.
Serious.
Then he spoke.
"None."
For a moment nobody understood.
Fwoo...
Then realization slowly spread across the room.
Daito had no Savage power.
And neither did Aerin.
They were the only two pure humans on the entire team.
Zachia stared at them in disbelief.
"Wait…"
He pointed at Daito.
"You're telling me…"
"You fought me like that…"
"…without Savage power?"
Aerin sighed.
"There's more."
Everyone turned to her.
"When we first found Daito…"
She spoke slowly.
"He was standing in the middle of a battlefield."
"Covered in Freaker blood."
Her eyes narrowed.
"And scratched by their claws."
The entire room froze.
Because everyone knew what that meant.
Contact with infected blood.
Direct claw wounds.
Those were the primary triggers of mutation.
Zachia's voice dropped.
"And he didn't turn?"
Aerin shook her head.
"No."
"For some reason…"
"…he never became a Freaker."
Shock filled the room.
"!!"
Savages stared at Daito like they were looking at something impossible.
Something unnatural.
Something that should not exist.
Daito stood there silently.
Facing all of them, his face serious, his eyes intense.
And for the first time, even the Savages felt a strange question forming in their minds.
"What exactly…is Daito?!"
* * *
The silence in the ruined hall lingered after Aerin revealed the truth.
Daito frowned slightly.
"Stop looking at me like that."
His voice was calm, but firm.
"Even I don't really understand it."
He folded his arms as he spoke.
"My family…"
"…were researchers."
"And war heroes."
They listened closely.
"My mother was a scientist studying Disorder."
He looked toward the cracked ceiling.
"So if I had to guess…"
"…there's a chance my family developed some kind of resistance."
"Maybe immunity."
He exhaled slowly.
"But don't misunderstand."
"My mother tried everything."
"Secret chemicals."
"Experimental treatments."
"Prototype antidotes."
His expression hardened.
"None of them worked."
The words hung heavily in the air.
"Many people were tested."
"And every single one of them…"
"…either died."
"…or turned into a Freaker."
The team stayed silent.
Daito continued.
"It pushed my family to the edge."
"They read everything."
"Studied everything."
"Gathered every piece of data about the virus."
"But the truth is simple."
He shook his head.
"This infection is new."
"No scientist in the world understands it."
"There are no leads."
"No formulas waiting to be discovered."
"No hidden answers."
"There is nothing but endless trial and error."
He looked around at them.
"So honestly…"
"I don't even know if saving the world is possible."
"But right now…"
"There's only one thing keeping everyone moving."
He paused.
"Hope."
Before anyone could respond—
Fwoo..
Zachia raised a hand.
"Hold on."
His expression had turned strangely serious.
"I've got a simpler question."
He stared directly at Daito.
"Are you immune…"
"…or not?"
Daito blinked once.
Then answered honestly.
"Yes."
He shrugged slightly.
"Probably."
The moment Zachia heard that word—
"Yes."
His posture changed.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Well…"
"There's something I should probably confess."
The team stiffened.
"You all seem like good people."
Everyone watched him carefully.
Slowly…
Zachia grabbed the heavy belt around his waist.
And pulled it down slightly.
Underneath the belt, a thin wire ran across his side.
Connected to a small device.
A tiny red light blinked steadily.
Beep....
Beep....
Beep....
Zachia sighed.
"I did mention earlier…"
"…that I work for the NBA."
His eyes shifted toward them.
"And my partner…"
"Avenor Yakisa…"
"…has been listening this entire time."
The room froze.
Zachia continued quietly.
"She was monitoring everything."
"Which means…"
He gestured toward the blinking device.
"…this conversation has already been transmitted."
"To the higher-ups."
The mood changed instantly.
SHING!
SLING!
CLICK!
Weapons came out.
Steel flashed in the dim light.
Wei-Wan Lou's hand moved to his blade.
Brandon clenched his fists.
Fah-jin's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"!!"
Even Champagne looked ready to strike.
The whole room filled with tension.
SWOOSH!
But Daito didn't move.
Not yet.
Because one thought had already formed in his mind.
A single name.
His mother.
If the NBA now knew about his possible immunity…
Then the first person they would look for, would be the scientist who tried to cure Disorder.
And that meant only one thing.
Somewhere…
Right now…
The NBA was already searching for her.
The small device continued blinking.
Beep....
Beep....
Beep....
Then suddenly—
SWOOSH!
GRIP!
Zachia ripped the device straight from his waist.
SNAP!
The wire snapped loose.
The blinking light flickered violently.
CRUSH!
Then he crushed it in his hand and tossed it across the stone floor.
It shattered.
He raised both hands slightly.
"Relax."
"I'm not your enemy."
His voice was serious now.
"I'm on your side."
Wei-Wan Lou didn't lower his weapon.
"If the NBA caught wind of Daito's existence…"
He looked toward Daito Greyhell.
"…then we have a serious problem."
Zachia nodded immediately.
"That's exactly why we can't stand here arguing."
He pointed toward the exit.
"We move."
"Now."
Then he added quickly,
"We need to get Avenor Yakisa."
"She's smart enough to realize what's happening."
"And if I'm leaving…"
"…she'll leave too."
Fah-jin folded her arms.
"I knew something about you felt wrong."
Her sharp eyes locked on Zachia.
"My instincts rarely lie."
"But I didn't expect you to be an NBA spy."
Zachia rolled his eyes.
"Hey, give me some credit."
"It's not like I planned this."
He gestured around the ruined hall.
"You people showed up out of nowhere…"
"…and dropped the biggest secret in the world on my head."
Before the argument could continue—
FWOOSH!
Daito stepped forward.
"That's enough."
Everyone turned toward him.
"The time for pointing fingers has passed."
His voice was calm but commanding.
"If the NBA already knows I'm here…"
"…then every second we stay in Whaley Saw makes things worse."
He looked toward the exit.
"We leave."
"Immediately."
Wasabi Yuko quickly opened her tablet.
CLACK—CLACK—CLACK!
Her fingers moved rapidly.
"Calculating escape routes."
A digital map of the town appeared.
"The fastest path out of town…"
"…is through the eastern Red Zone barrier."
She looked up.
"But we'll have limited time before containment squads lock it down."
Beside Daito, Aerin hesitated.
Then she reached behind her back.
She pulled out something wrapped in worn animal skin.
She handed it to Daito.
"Maybe…"
"…this is the moment."
Daito looked down.
It was the blade given to him long ago by the valley Shaman.
The Traditional Blade.
Still wrapped in rough hide.
Daito frowned.
"I told you before."
"I don't believe in prophecies."
Aerin didn't back down.
"At this moment…"
"…you don't have a choice."
Daito stared at the blade for a few seconds.
But before he could answer—
CLAP!
Zachia clapped his hands once.
"Touching moment."
"But we should probably run before the entire NBA drops on our heads."
Moments later—
SWOOSH!
They were on the move.
To be continued.....