“Damn it, I told you not to move, and now I’m bleeding because of you.” Jack growled, clenching his teeth as he pressed a bloody hand to his side. He glared at Kana, who merely shrugged without a hint of concern.

“Stop whining, brother.” Kana replied with a lazy smile.

“I was tired of playing the helpless little girl. Besides, shouldn't you be able to heal yourself?”

“It’s not that simple.” Jack muttered, raising his bloodied hand. “Healing takes time, and time is exactly what we don’t have, thanks to you. The soldiers will be here any minute.”

Kana let out a soft laugh as she adjusted herself in front of a broken mirror. “Relax, brother. If they show up, I’ll slit their throats before they can blink. You know they can’t handle me :) .” Her eyes gleamed with a mix of arrogance and excitement, as if the thought of more violence motivated her.

Before Jack could respond, a shout echoed down the hallway.

“STOP RIGHT THERE OR I’LL SHOOT!”

Kana slowly turned toward the soldiers who had found them, her expression shifting from mocking to deadly serious in an instant. “Cover me, brother,” she said, disappearing from her position in the blink of an eye.

In the next instant, she was in front of one of the soldiers. With a cold smile, the blood dagger in her hand glinted under the flickering light in the hallway. An instant later, the blade sliced cleanly across the man’s throat, the dull sound of steel meeting flesh and arteries filling the air.

The remaining soldiers, terrified but trained, opened fire on her. Unfazed, Kana grabbed the lifeless body of the soldier she had just killed and lifted it with ease, using it as an improvised shield. Bullets struck the corpse with a dull thud, but she advanced, slow yet steady, her eyes fixed on her next victims.

When she got close enough, she dropped the body and lunged at them. With a swift and precise movement, she stabbed one of the soldiers in the head, the dagger piercing the skull without resistance. Simultaneously, she drew a second blood dagger with her other hand and plunged it into another soldier's back. Blood splattered across her face, cold and viscous, but her expression didn’t change. Her eyes remained empty, as if violence were nothing more than a routine, a deadly dance she had perfected.

“Told you, brother.” she said with a smile, drenched in blood. “There’s nothing to worry about.” Jack, however, looked at her seriously, raising his arm and mimicking a gun with his hand.

“Wait, brother, what are you—?” Immediately, Jack shot a blood bullet towards Kana, faster than the soldiers' bullets, striking the head of one who was trying to attack her from behind. The blood bullet pierced the soldier's helmet, causing him to drop lifelessly to the floor.

“Show-off.” Kana frowned, though she knew that, if not for her brother, she would have been killed. The connection between them was evident, but so was the tension.

The sound of boots echoing through the hallway interrupted their conversation. “More are coming.” It was Hiroshi and the other soldiers, they immediately opened fire on the brothers, quickly, Jack took Kana, taking cover behind a column at the end of the corridor.

“This isn’t fun anymore, little sister.” Jack muttered.

Amidst the hail of bullets, a small rift began to open beside them. Electric arcs danced violently around it, and the air vibrated with chaotic energy. Little by little, the rift grew larger and larger, as if space itself were cracking, until it became a portal.

“Just in time.” Jack murmured with a smile as he saw the portal open fully.

“Cease fire!” shouted Hiroshi as the soldiers halted their attack.

From the portal emerged an imposing figure, a man dressed as a hunter, draped in wolf pelts and other animal hides. Around his neck hung a necklace adorned with teeth from various beasts.

“You two look like shit.” he said to the siblings as he surveyed the scene.

“Fuck you, why’d you take so long?” Jack growled, maintaining his composure.

“Psychic interference. Wasn’t easy to track you down.” replied Lukas, ignoring Hiroshi and the soldiers surrounding them. He leaned toward Jack and Kana, inspecting them closely. “I don't know what he sees in you two, you're just brats, but whatever, he's interested.”

“Let’s go. He’s waiting.”

“Evacuate the building immediately! Once clear, request emergency extraction,” Hiroshi ordered firmly, his gaze fixed on the portal. He had recognized the man who emerged from it and knew an opportunity like this would not come again. His tone, calm yet resolute, left no room for doubt or hesitation.

“But, Tanaka-san, we can help. Whoever he is…” began one of the soldiers, but Hiroshi cut him off with an intense glare.

“If you stay, you will die. That person is a rank A, he is not an enemy you can handle. You’d only get in my way.” he said harshly, rolling up his sleeves. “I can distract him for a few seconds, long enough for you to escape.”

“Tanaka-sa—”

“NOW!” Hiroshi’s voice echoed through the empty hallways, making it clear that there was no time to argue. The soldiers hesitated no more and quickly evacuated.

As the last footsteps faded into the distance, Jack and Kana had already crossed the portal. Only the stranger remained, his figure shrouded in shadows, about to disappear as well.

“LUKAS TIERMANN! AKA “The Beast”,  in the name of DEAD and the END squad, you’re under arrest.” Hiroshi’s voice sliced through the air, echoing in the hallway.

Lukas halted, slowly turning on his heels, a sneer curling his lips. “Well, well… Seems I have fans in END. Quite the honor, isn’t it?” His sarcastic tone echoed as he raised his hands in a mock gesture of surrender.

“We’ve been tracking you and yours for a long time, Lukas. But you always manage to hide, not this time.” Hiroshi replied, his voice tense, keeping his gaze locked on his enemy. “Tell me where your leader is. Where are you hiding?”

Lukas let out a deep laugh, his eyes gleaming with malice. “And ruin all the fun? Come on, kid. You know as well as I do that it wouldn’t be the same.” He took a step forward, the ground creaking under his weight. “I’ve heard END agents are tough, but I’ve yet to meet one.”

“There will be no escape today, Lukas. I’ll defeat you and take you with me.” Hiroshi did not waver, the tension in the air nearly palpable.

Lukas’ grin widened, twisting his expression. “Show me what you’re made of, kid,” he murmured before vanishing from Hiroshi’s sight, moving at an inhuman speed.

In an instant, Lukas appeared before Hiroshi, his arm transformed into a monstrous gorilla hand. With a roar, he swung a devastating punch, the air whistling with the force of his attack. But before his fist could connect, it halted abruptly, as if an invisible force had restrained it.

“What the…?” Lukas growled, eyes widening in surprise.

A green aura enveloped Hiroshi, the air around him vibrating with palpable psychic energy. Hiroshi’s eyes glowed with intensity as his power wrapped around Lukas, immobilizing his monstrous arm.

“Not so fast.” Hiroshi said in a cold, controlled voice. The psychic force pulsed around him, making the atmosphere dense, almost suffocating.

Lukas, unable to move, let out a low growl. For the first time in a long while, the beast had met his hunter.

With a sharp gesture of his hand, Hiroshi flung Lukas across the building, his body smashing through walls and columns in his path. A cloud of dust and debris filled the area, obscuring everyone’s view. The sound of falling rubble echoed in the building.

Through the dust cloud, a guttural laugh emerged from Lukas. “This… won’t be enough to stop me.” His silhouette loomed through the haze, and as he emerged, his form had changed: now a hybrid of human and leopard, his eyes gleamed with animal ferocity, his skin covered in dark fur. His speed, far greater than before, made him impossible to track.

Hiroshi barely had time to react. Lukas appeared in a blink, unleashing a flurry of lightning-fast punches. Knowing he couldn’t match his speed; Hiroshi raised a force field around himself. The punches struck the barrier with brutal force, pushing Hiroshi back with each hit, his feet scraping against the ground.

“WHAT’S WRONG, KID? WHERE ARE ALL YOUR THREATS?” Lukas roared, his voice dripping with mockery. Each blow was stronger and faster, overwhelming Hiroshi’s defense. The force field began to show cracks.

Hiroshi gritted his teeth, his hands trembling from the strain. The green energy surrounding him intensified, his eyes burning with contained fury. “Don’t underestimate me.” The air grew heavy, and suddenly, the ground beneath Lukas started to tremble and crack.

Hiroshi wasn’t going to show mercy. With a shout, he intensified his power, and a barrage of debris flew toward Lukas, slamming him against a wall. The psychic pressure kept him pinned, rocks and concrete piling over him.

For a moment, only Hiroshi’s heavy breathing could be heard. But then, from beneath the debris, Lukas rose. His body pierced by steel rods and covered in blood, but he was still smiling. “Damn… I swear I’ll kill you with my own hands.” he growled, pulling the rods from his body.

Lukas was about to attack again when a red glow lit up the hallway. The portal Jack and Kana had crossed shone more brightly, as if on the verge of collapse.

“Looks like my time’s up.” Lukas said, his tone laced with mockery. “My master awaits.” By the time he finished speaking, the wounds on his body had healed, his skin unscathed. His regenerative ability was astounding.

“Don’t move!” Hiroshi ordered, raising a hand in desperation, but before he could do anything, an unknown man emerged from the portal. A man in his thirties, wearing a torn and filthy office suit, clearly battered.

“Hope we meet again kid…, if you survive.” Lukas smirked as he grabbed the man by the collar and flung him toward Hiroshi. “Catch!”

Weakened but focused, Hiroshi used his psychic powers to catch the man mid-air, but as he did so, Lukas had already crossed the portal. The final flash illuminated the hallway as the rift closed right in front of him.

“Damn…” Hiroshi whispered, frustrated to see Lukas escape. The man he had caught was trembling, his eyes filled with terror.

“Are you alright?” Hiroshi asked, but the man could not respond coherently. “Nakamura here. We have an injured civilian. Request immediate extraction and a medical team, fast.”

The man raised his gaze, his face twisted in fear. “Please… help me…” he murmured, his voice broken. "Save me... stop it, please..." His body began to convulse, cries of pain echoing through the building as electric sparks started to shoot from his skin. Hiroshi backed away, watching in horror as the man began to emit a black light from his eyes and mouth.

"SHIT!" Hiroshi shouted. In a split second, he raised a force field around himself just as a surge of energy consumed the man. A blinding light filled the hallway, followed by a devastating explosion.

From outside, the soldiers watched as a sphere of dark energy expanded, vaporizing the building and obliterating everything in its path.

When the light faded, all that remained was a smoking crater where the building once stood. The soldiers approached cautiously, calling out Hiroshi’s name.

"Nakamura-san!" they shouted, but there was no immediate response.

Finally, from the center of the crater, the rubble began to shift. Hiroshi emerged, his body covered in burns and wounds, his right arm completely shattered. He could barely stand, but he had survived.

"Nakamura-san, are you alright!?" one of the soldiers quickly moved to his side.

Hiroshi, breathing heavily, looked up. "Contact headquarters... tell them the Darwin's Sons were here."

The emergency helicopter arrived, illuminating the destroyed area. Supported by the soldiers, Hiroshi closed his eyes as the weight of what had just happened settled over him. This was only the beginning.