Chapter 107: The Return Of The Dreamers
Far beyond the borders of Kingsville...Beyond the highways scarred by war.
Beyond the forests where sunlight barely reached the ground.
Beyond mountain ranges that had stood untouched for centuries... three figures emerged from the shadows.
They walked without speaking, without hesitation, and without looking back.
The Silver Moon had returned.
Mirage led the group through the dense wilderness, his long coat brushing against the tall grass with every step. The exhaustion of recent battles was evident in the dried blood staining his clothes and the countless tears running across the fabric, yet his posture remained perfectly straight.
Behind him walked Shogun.
Then Baekho.
Though both carried fresh wounds from the fighting in Kingsville, neither allowed fatigue to show.
Defeat had marked their bodies...but not their resolve.
Step.....
Step...
Stop.
After several more minutes of walking, the trio came to a stop.
Before them stood something that had no business existing in the middle of an isolated mountain.
It wasn't merely a building.
It was...Alive.
An enormous structure had been carved directly into the mountainside, its metallic exterior pulsing with rhythmic waves of blue light. Mechanical components intertwined with organic-looking surfaces, giving the unsettling impression that the facility itself was breathing.
A low mechanical hum echoed throughout the valley.
Then—
WHIRRRR...
A circular mechanism descended silently from above.
Its polished surface shifted and rotated, dozens of lenses adjusting independently as beams of pale blue light swept across the three visitors.
BEEP... BEEP...
The scan lasted only a few seconds.
Then a calm mechanical voice echoed through the valley.
"Identity confirmed."
A deep vibration rolled through the mountain.
RUMBLE...
The entrance slowly unfolded.
Not outward nor upward.
Instead, the walls themselves seemed to separate like the opening jaws of some enormous mechanical beast.
Without exchanging a single word, Mirage, Shogun, and Baekho stepped inside.
FWOOSH!
The interior was unlike anything found on the surface.
Long metallic corridors stretched endlessly beneath the mountain. Soft white lights illuminated the passageways without revealing where they originated.
Thousands of hidden machines operated behind the walls, their constant hum blending together into an eerie mechanical whisper.
Every corridor, every ceiling, and every floor, seemed to be observing them.
Yet the three men navigated the labyrinth effortlessly.
This place was familiar.
Home.
After several turns, they finally reached the deepest chamber.
Inside...one man sat with his back to them.
Headphones rested comfortably over his ears as dozens of holographic screens floated around him, displaying equations, biological data, and countless streams of information moving too quickly for an ordinary person to follow.
Bundles of cables disappeared beneath his chair like roots connecting directly into the surrounding systems.
Even without turning around...He knew they had arrived.
"...Welcome back."
His calm voice carried effortlessly across the chamber.
"You took your time."
Mirage stepped forward.
Without wasting a second, he reached inside his coat and carefully removed a small metallic cube no larger than the palm of his hand.
"...We brought the samples."
The seated man extended one hand behind him.
He still hadn't looked at them.
"...Good."
Mirage placed the cube into his palm.
Despite its modest size, the object was unimaginably valuable.
Contained within it...Were fifty living patients. Compressed, preserved and waiting.
The man examined the cube quietly.
Several seconds passed.
Then...he slowly rotated his chair. For the first time...their eyes met.
"...Now."
His voice remained perfectly composed.
"Tell me everything."
Mirage didn't hesitate.
He recounted everything.
Kingsville, the outbreak, the Freakers. Every unexpected variable. Every failure. Every interference. He described Daito, Wei-Wan, their companions, their strategies and their combat abilities.
Nothing was omitted.
Finally, his expression hardened.
"...And the one who overwhelmed us..."
A brief pause followed.
"...A Savage named Wei-Wan."
The room fell silent.
The man simply listened, he interrupted nothing.
Asked nothing.
Every detail was carefully stored away. Every weakness. Every strength. Every possibility.
After several moments...A faint smile appeared.
"...Interesting."
His fingers gently tapped against the armrest.
"...Very interesting."
* * *
FWOOSH!
Far beneath the surface of the world...Hidden from every nation.
Every government.
Every map...a city of steel stretched endlessly beneath the earth.
This was the underground headquarters of the NBA.
An entire civilization built in secret.
Towering structures of black alloy rose toward an artificial sky while rivers of glowing energy flowed between districts like veins carrying life through a colossal mechanical organism.
At the highest point of the underground metropolis... Inside a vast chamber overlooking the entire city...a lone man sat silently, watching and waiting.
Without turning around, he spoke.
"...Enter."
The massive doors behind him opened with a resonating—
THOOOOOM...
A woman dressed entirely in white stepped inside.
Every movement she made was graceful, measured and precise.
She stopped several meters behind him before bowing respectfully.
"...You called for me."
The man rested his chin upon his folded hands.
"I've been thinking."
A thoughtful silence followed.
"...The time has finally come."
The woman slowly lifted her head.
"...For what?"
A faint smile spread across his face.
"...For the Dreamers..."
He looked out across the underground city.
"...To wake up."
The chamber became deathly still.
"...Are they ready?"
The woman answered without hesitation.
"After three months..."
"...Training under the 'Noble Rank Numerators'..."
She allowed herself the smallest hint of pride.
"...They've surpassed every expectation."
Another pause.
"They now possess the qualifications of High-End Numerators."
The man's smile widened.
"...Excellent."
He rose from his chair.
"...Bring them to me."
"...Immediately."
She bowed once more.
"...Understood."
Turning on her heel, she departed without another word.
Her footsteps echoed through increasingly restricted sections of the underground facility.
Step...
Step...
Step....
Past countless security checkpoints.
Past reinforced blast doors.
Past warning signs no ordinary member was ever permitted to cross.
Until...She arrived before a single enormous door.
It towered several stories high, its thick mechanical locks suggested that whatever lay beyond it...was never meant to escape.
She placed one hand against the control panel.
CLICK.
For several seconds...nothing happened.
Then—
RUMBLE...
The colossal door slowly began to open.
RUMBLE... RUMBLE... KRRRRRRR...
Ancient gears groaned deep within the walls as layers of reinforced steel slowly separated, revealing nothing but absolute darkness beyond.
No lights, nor movement.
Only a black void.
The woman remained perfectly still before the entrance, her expression calm and composed as she waited for the mechanism to complete its cycle.
Then—
Fwoo....
She felt it.
A pressure unlike anything she had experienced before.
It wasn't visible, it wasn't tangible. Yet it crashed over her like an invisible tidal wave.
Her breathing caught for the briefest moment.
Her body instinctively leaned back half a step before she stopped herself.
"...So..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"...They've reached this level..."
The darkness inside the chamber stirred.
A single footstep echoed outward.
TOK...
Then another.
TOK...
Then another.
Each step carried an overwhelming presence that seemed to shake the very air.
Three silhouettes gradually emerged from the shadows.
As they walked, faint light from the corridor slowly revealed them.
The first carried himself with effortless confidence, his hands tucked casually into his pockets as though answering a summons was nothing more than another ordinary day.
The second walked with relaxed swagger, a crooked grin already forming across his face as he rolled his shoulders.
The third said nothing at all.
His gaze remained calm and observant. Every movement was controlled, every step measured with quiet precision.
Power radiated from all three of them. Not wild, not explosive, but refined, disciplined and dangerous.
Yet...they weren't alone.
Far behind them, deep within the darkness of the sealed chamber...something else opened its eyes.
One pair.
Then another.
Then another.
Until...Eight crimson eyes glowed from the blackness.
Watching.
Silent.
Patient.
For a single heartbeat, the corridor itself seemed to grow colder.
The woman narrowed her eyes toward the darkness, but whatever those eyes belonged to never revealed itself.
Just as quickly as they had appeared...they vanished.
The chamber fell silent once more.
Behind the three figures, the massive blast door slowly began closing again.
THOOOOOM...
RUMBLE...
The darkness was sealed away.
Whatever remained inside...stayed there. The woman straightened her posture before addressing them.
"The Boss has a mission for you."
The man at the front slowly lifted his head.
There wasn't even the slightest hint of excitement in his expression.
Only confidence.
"...Took him long enough."
A faint smirk crossed his face.
"...Guess it's finally time to roll out."
The woman gave a respectful nod.
"...Welcome back."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then...Names echoed through the corridor like legends returning from myth.
Tasao V.
A man whose confidence bordered on arrogance, yet whose presence alone demanded respect.
Zumi C.
Relaxed and smiling.
Carrying himself with the easy confidence of someone who had never doubted his own strength.
And finally...Sakumo S. Sagase.
The Dual Wielder.
Quiet and composed.
His hands rested naturally at his sides, but every instinct warned that the moment combat began, those hands would become a blur impossible to follow.
Three Dreamers.
Three High-End Numerators.
Three warriors forged through months of relentless training beneath the Noble Rank Numerators.
Now...they had been unleashed.
Far above them...the surface world remained completely unaware of what had just awakened beneath its feet.
Kingsville was still recovering. Ash-En-Town had barely survived. Playmore waited unknowingly on the horizon.
Meanwhile...Daito fought a monster in the middle of an empty desert. The Silver Moon quietly gathered information from the shadows. And now...The NBA had begun moving its own pieces.
The balance that had held the world together for so long was beginning to crack.
One faction after another stepped onto the board. One move after another brought them closer to an inevitable collision.
Some sought power, others sought answers, many simply wanted to survive, but none of them yet realized the scale of the storm approaching.
Somewhere beyond the horizon...war was no longer a possibility.
It was a certainty and it had already begun.
To be continued....