The rain beat against the corrugated sheet metal with the regularity of a metronome.
The air inside the abandoned warehouse smelled of engine oil, damp dust, and cold tobacco.
Zekken twirled his scalpel between his fingers.
The blade reflected the weak light of the flickering neon sign hanging from the ceiling.
He took a slow step toward the silhouette seated in the gloom.
The individual wearing the fox mask remained perfectly motionless.
No perceptible breathing.
Not a single twitch.
Yet, the atmosphere around him grew heavy, charged with a murderous intent so dense it made the hairs on Zekken’s arms stand on end.
One more slight movement, and he knew he would lose his hand.
He was burning to know what was hiding behind that mask.
“You shouldn’t do that.” The metallic click of Kazuki’s katana sliding an inch out of its scabbard was enough to stop Zekken.
Zekken stepped back, a humorless smile stretching his thin lips.
“Why are you defending this guy, Kazuki?
I feel like you’re running us in circles with your little secret organization.
This silence is seriously starting to wear me out.” Kazuki kept his hand resting on his weapon.
His posture revealed no flaws.
“You’re wrong.
Everyone has the right to silence here.
Both you and Nida know full well what you owe us.
We forced the doors of the correctional facility to extract you.
Our relationship is limited to a simple exchange of interests.
You have nowhere else to go.
In your place, I’d calm down.” A metal chair scraped violently against the concrete.
Nida stood up.
His heavy build blocked out the meager light of the room.
“Look here, I get the impression you think you’re kings around here.
You know, nothing’s stopping us from crushing all of you and turning this warehouse into our new home.” Kazuki locked his gaze onto him, defying the mountain of muscle.
“Try and see.” “Come now, come now.
No need to go that far.” Morgen emerged from the darkness, water trickling down the thick fabric of his coat.
Zekken put his scalpel back into his lab coat pocket.
“Well, well.
The former Captain is back from his walk.” Nida took a heavy step toward the newcomer.
The veins in his neck bulged dangerously.
“Morgen…
How could you leave my brother Roen at their mercy?!” Morgen shook his head, brushing off the accusation with an indifferent wave of his hand.
“Sorry, Nida.
It’s not my fault if your brother got caught by a mere student.
Barely out of prison and he turns out to be this incompetent.” The air abruptly grew heavy with ozone.
Yellow and black electric arcs crackled around Nida’s wrists.
The fabric of his tank top singed under the sudden heat.
“You should watch your words, you fool,” Nida growled.
His voice crackled, distorted by static electricity.
“Just because you got us out of the slammer doesn’t mean I can’t kill you right now.” The pressure in the room dropped instantly.
Oxygen seemed to vanish.
The neon light on the ceiling crackled before imploding in a shower of cold sparks.
A new silhouette stepped forward with measured paces.
A young man wearing a white lab coat.
His brown hair framed deep violet eyes, cold and analytical as they assessed the situation before him.
“Nida, would you mind keeping it down?” Arama’s voice was soft, but it placed a terrifying weight on the shoulders of everyone present.
“If you, Zekken, and your little brother were planning to rebel, you’re out of luck.
Check your chests, both of you.” Zekken looked down.
Beneath the fabric of his shirt, a violet glow beat to the exact rhythm of his pulse.
A mechanical sound echoed against his own ribs.
Nida noticed the exact same thing across his chest.
The electricity died around his fingers.
A bomb.
“Hey!” Nida stammered, fury giving way to incomprehension.
“When did you…” “Rest assured, it’s just a simple precaution,” Arama interrupted, pushing his hair back.
“You wouldn’t want to know what would happen if your brother’s went off by accident, would you?” Nida clenched his jaw, swallowing his rage.
He took a step back.
Morgen approached the table.
“What a diabolical method, Arama.” Arama kept his hands in his lab coat pockets.
“Hospitality is due to them.
By the way, Morgen, what about the famous veteran?
Did those sweet words of vengeance against the Five Families lull him nicely?” “He’s madly devoted,” Morgen replied.
“He greatly facilitated our task.
The detonation must have done a lot of damage.” Arama’s gaze darkened slightly.
He turned toward the warehouse door.
“Don’t underestimate the Captains.
They’re formidable, and you’re well-placed to know that.
With this turn of events, they’re already on our trail.
We don’t have any time to lose.” Dust was slowly settling over the smoking crater of the South Arena.
The concrete had been vitrified by the heat released by the blast.
Thiago Vane’s amber shield dissipated with a crystalline chime, the links of Spirit melting back into the air.
Jin Arashi released the atmospheric pressure that had protected him, brushing ash from his shoulders with a disgusted pout.
Mazen Nazari remained completely unscathed thanks to his own spatial distortion.
Kei Aris swept his gaze across the devastated area.
The shifting darkness at his feet stretched out to probe the hot ground.
“It is clearly not Morgen’s habit to go this far to erase his tracks.
Thiago!” Captain Vane had crouched down near the central impact point.
His gloved fingers brushed against the molten rock.
“Their network is much vaster than we imagined,” Thiago analyzed, his jaw clenched.
“They left nothing to chance.
Morgen has access to our databases.
He knows my tracking profiles.
He knew I could have traced the explosive by studying the signature of the handmade alloy.
The explosion left nothing behind; the blast swept away all physical evidence with it.” Jin emerged from the rubble, rubbing a smudge of soot off his cuff.
“Well, well.
We’re dealing with a big fish here.” Heat rippled around Ornella, dissipating the residual smoke.
Her eyes swept across the crater with deep analysis.
“This technology…
A bomb implanted directly into the ribcage.
It has to be directly linked to the missing women reported this month in the capital.
Targeted abductions.
Perfect test subjects to calibrate this kind of explosive graft.” Director Mazen crossed his arms.
His mind was already linking the files.
“Not to mention Roen Silas’s profile.
He’s a prisoner from the Northern complex.
His escape last month with Albert and two other inmates was way too clean to be improvised.
Someone was pulling the strings from the outside to put this team together.” The sound of boots crushing shattered glass cut short their analysis.
Kei turned sharply, his darkness churning violently.
“Hey!
Kids!
You were told to stay inside the evacuation perimeter!” Leila walked in the lead.
Behind her, Kais, Tariq, Soura, Raad, Issa, and Goman cautiously advanced through the carcasses of vehicles.
Their uniforms were in tatters, covered in chalky dust.
“The shockwave shook the foundations of the safe zone,” Leila replied, unfazed by the Captain’s tone.
“We wanted to make sure there was still something left of the Academy.” “Mostly just to see if you were all dead,” Kais specified, casting a wary glance at the smoking chasm.
Goman Arashi crossed his arms.
He stared at Jin with thinly veiled hostility, superbly ignoring the other officers.
“Apparently, some people always manage to survive,” he muttered.
Jin gave him a slight wave, an amused smile on his lips.
“Always a pleasure to see you in one piece, dear cousin.
Did your dome hold up against the firebirds?” Goman gritted his teeth and looked away, the jab hitting his pride right where it hurt.
Issa pushed his cracked glasses back up his nose.
He cautiously approached the edge of the crater.
His eyes scanned the star-shaped burn marks on the melted tarmac.
“The blast originated from a closed central point.
A ribcage.
And the residual thermal peak doesn’t match Professor Vang’s spiritual signature at all.
It looks like he was trapped without knowing it.” Thiago slowly straightened up.
He observed the students one by one.
Tariq clenched his fists.
Raad and Soura scanned their surroundings.
They were no longer the frightened kids from the first day of the attack.
They had just survived the ordeal of the exam, and they were looking for answers.
“That’s correct, Kaneshiro,” Thiago confirmed, his voice heavy.
“Morgen used him to cover his escape.
And this is only the beginning.” Raad exchanged a meaningful look with Soura.
The physical exam was over, but the real war had just struck right at their doorstep.