The captain stepped forward. His voice dropped like a hammer:

"DON’T MOVE."

All the gene weapons locked in on Renji—guns, cannons, chains—every last one of them targeted him under the black sky of that tense night. Soldiers stepped forward, cold and expressionless, positioning themselves with menacing precision.

Renji tried to drop the sword. He flicked his hand, shook it, tried forcing it off, but it was no use—it stayed glued to his palm like it had been fused to his skin. Renji’s heart sank. This was bad. Really bad.

"I said don’t move!" the captain roared again, his voice booming like thunder through the tense air.

Renji froze.

The captain, radioing in, spoke quickly:

"Revs spotted and taken down. A new something has appeared—looks like a new type of Rev... in human form. What are your orders?"

At the Blackout Division Headquarters, in the glowing command room filled with massive screens and blinking data, a dozen workers manned their stations. High-ranking officers loomed behind them. The general picked up.

"Yes, we’re reading the something," he said with a heavy tone.

A woman commander leaned in.

"It’s a monster," she muttered grimly.

The captain’s voice crackled back, urgent:

"What are your orders, sir?"

The general’s gaze didn’t move. His eyes stayed fixed on Renji, face stone-cold, piercing.

Commander Naomi’s voice rang behind him.

"It’s gotta be a new Rev species. Let’s kill it—we don’t know what it is!" she shouted.

"Even if it’s a Rev-human hybrid, it might be useful to us," Commander Kenta countered, calm and focused.

"Where the hell did it even come from?" Commander Aya added, her eyes narrowing in concern.

Meanwhile, Renji’s eyes scanned the dozens of weapons pointed at him. The sight was massive. Terrifying. Sweat slid down his temple as his body stood locked in place, tense and unsure.

His arms were growing heavier, his stance shaky. His muscles trembled from holding still.

He thought,

"Man, this is getting real hard to keep up. These weapons—every single one—is locked on me. They think I’m dangerous. They see me as a threat. One wrong move and I’m done. I can’t let them think I’m hostile. I gotta stay still... but damn, my arms... they’re heavy as hell..."

He grimaced through the strain.

"Let’s take it down," Commander Naomi said again, this time more assertive.

At HQ, General Hiroshi’s eyes remained glued to the screen. He hadn’t blinked once. His focus was fierce—almost eerie.

"Reporting to HQ—awaiting final orders!" the captain barked again, his tone confused now, laced with urgency.

Back on the field, Renji glanced at the sword.

It began to shake.

His heart stopped.

He gripped it tighter, trying to still it, but the blade kept twitching slightly in his grasp. What once was a weapon he tried to drop was now refusing to leave—and now it was moving.

Renji tightened his grip, using every ounce of strength he had to keep it still.

The captain noticed and growled:

"I said don’t move a muscle!"

But it was too late.

The shaking became visible. It wasn’t subtle anymore.

The captain’s eyes widened, his tone rising:

"I said don’t move, goddamn it!"

The sword vibrated, pulsing with energy, and Renji’s hand moved with it. He whispered under his breath:

"Shit..."

The captain, still trying to connect with HQ through the staticky radio, shouted:

"It has movement! What are your orders?!"

Commander Naomi didn’t hesitate:

"We should kill that thing!"

The captain heard her voice and took it as the final order.

He nodded to himself.

"That’s it."

Just then, General Hiroshi’s frozen stare finally broke. He spoke,

"Hold on till I reach—"

But the radio signal cracked out.

The captain, hearing only bits, held his ears tight.

"I heard ‘kill it’... before it cut..."

He clenched his fists.

"Move in!"

Renji inhaled sharply, panic crawling up his chest.

"Oh crap. They’re coming for me. What do I do? I’m human—maybe I can talk, let them know. Maybe they’ll understand..."

He swallowed and shouted—nervously, too quickly:

"Human!"

The soldiers froze.

Renji blinked.

"Did I just say ‘human’...?! Damn it—I meant ‘I’m human’... What the hell, Renji! That sounded bad. Real bad."

They stood there for a few seconds, puzzled.

Then their eyes turned deadly.

"It wants to kill humans," one of the soldiers whispered darkly.

"Move in, soldiers, take it down!" the captain yelled, voice cutting the air like a blade.

Renji’s face changed. He knew—this wasn’t going to end well.

Two sword-wielding soldiers activated their gear. With a loud CLANG, they launched toward the wall, latched on, then swung, redirecting toward Renji from both sides, blades out, eyes locked.

Renji looked up at them, his face full of confusion, unsure what to do.

His gaze darted to the sharp edges cutting toward him.

"One clean slash from either of them... and I’m dead."

WHOOSH!

Steel screamed through the air. Renji twisted back—his upper body snapping into a deep lean, legs steady, toes light on the ground. The blade barely missed, leaving behind a glowing arc in the dark.

The two soldiers landed, immediately preparing to strike again.

"We need to put this down," was the thought shared silently between them.

Renji shouted again, voice breaking,

"I’m human—don’t shoot!"

The captain’s eyes narrowed as he heard the sound.

"A talking Rev? Impossible."

He pointed and yelled:

"Soldiers! Take it down at all costs!"

"I’m no Rev!" Renji screamed.

"Please! I don’t want to fight you!"

At HQ, all three commanders went still.

"It spoke," Commander Kenta whispered, wide-eyed.

"A Rev hasn’t ever spoken before," Naomi said, half to herself.

"That’s no Rev," Commander Aya said firmly, eyes locked on the screen.

On the battlefield, gunfire exploded around Renji. Dozens of bullets tore through the air, raining down on him. He scrambled to dodge, weaving left and right, shoulders tilting, hands raised. “I’m not a threat!” he shouted, desperate.

But the soldiers didn’t care. They only saw a target. They increased their fire. Renji gritted his teeth, struggling to stay upright. “Aargh—they won’t listen!”

The barrage didn’t stop. Bullets from heavy, assault-grade gene rifles shredded the ground around him. He twisted to avoid them, but several struck him—bruising, cutting, burning.

Then—a soldier charged.

With a roar, the soldier swung a chain sword at Renji, catching him off-guard. It knocked him off balance.

The soldier reeled the chain back, the weapon flying through the air along Renji’s path, closing in.

Still under fire, Renji’s arm jerked sharply—his sword-hand moved on instinct. He struck the chain sword mid-air, knocking it down. The blade’s head jammed into the ground with a crunch.

Renji snapped.

He gripped the buried weapon’s tip, yanked it forward, dragging the chain—and its wielder—toward him. The soldier tried to resist but couldn’t. Renji roared and gave it a harder pull.

The soldier stumbled and fell hard.

All eyes turned to their fallen comrade.

Without pause, Renji gripped the chain again and yanked with raw strength. The soldier was flung toward him like a puppet. Renji cocked his fist, gathered force—

SMACK!

His punch connected with the soldier’s face, launching him back like a missile.

Gasps. Rage. Glares.

The captain’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. “Did it just fight back?” His voice rose. “It’ll pay for that! ALL UNITS—ADVANCE! FULL FORCE!”

Time slowed for Renji. His heart thudded.

“They’re coming. I’ll die if I don’t fight back. I didn’t start this… but I have to finish it. I have to survive.”

BANG! BANG!

Gunfire erupted again, a relentless hailstorm now.

A soldier sprinted straight at him—boots slamming, sword drawn, rage in his stride. He swung hard at Renji.

CLANG!

Steel met steel. Renji blocked the blow, shoving the attacker back. The soldier crashed to the ground.

But he wasn’t alone.

Two Blackout soldiers rolled from the wall—boots braced, velocity charged. Their swords lit up, their trajectory tight. They launched toward Renji, floating mid-air like assassins.

Renji spotted them too late.

His eyes widened. “Too fast to block—”

CLANG! CLANG!

His sword dropped to the ground.

The two attackers paused mid-air. Renji had… dropped his weapon?

They smirked. Easy kill.

SWISH!

Their blades sliced through the air.

But Renji moved fast—lightning reflexes. He caught both blades. With his bare hands.

Blood dripped down his palms. His arms stretched out wide.

And then—he smiled.

The captain blinked in shock. “What…? How’s there so little blood?”

He looked closer. Renji hadn’t grabbed the blades. He’d caught the flat sides. No deep cuts. Only shallow scrapes.

Still holding both soldiers mid-air, Renji raised one foot. He stomped into the ground with monstrous force—dust and gravel exploded upward.

“What is he doing?” someone muttered.

Renji twisted his body, launched his sword upward—

—and caught it mid-air.

SWISH!

A clean arc. The two attackers slammed into the ground.

“NOW!” the captain barked.

THOOM!

A cannon blast roared. A soldier fired a heavy cannonball straight at Renji.

Still off-balance, Renji heard the blast before he saw it. He turned—

—a glowing yellow orb was coming right at him.

“I can’t outrun it. Too fast. It’ll kill me. Dodge—NOW.”

The blast was closer than he thought.

CRACK!

The cannonball slammed into the ground, exploding on impact.

But Renji had dodged—barely. He tilted his shoulder just enough.

Breathing hard, he muttered, “That all you got?”

The captain’s eyes widened. “Wait. That’s speech. Human speech. From a Rev?”

The cannon soldier smirked. “Not even close.”

Renji noticed the silence.

Why weren’t they attacking?

Then he looked down—and froze.

The single cannonball had multiplied into three.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three massive explosions on Renji's spot. It shook the battlefield.