Kyoya’s car finally approached the near end of the residential zone street. The car picked up speed and zoomed away, unbothered.

The taxi and the van also reached the end of the street. Both vehicles slowed down, watching in confusion as the target they had been tailing sped away.

They expected the car to stop behind falsely placed construction barricades. But the road was clear.

The taxi stopped, and five men got out to check. Behind them, the van stopped, and six more thugs hopped out, guns in hand.

“What’s going on?” one of them asked out loud.

One bald man, lighting a cigarette, barked orders, “Where are those idiots?! Go check.”

Others nodded and split off.

One of them walked towards a dark alley, looking around, torch in hand.

He peeked inside, pointing the torch, and his face went pale.

He came back to the van running as if he had seen a ghost and stopped, catching his breath.

“Boss! Everyone’s knocked out!”

Others also came back running.

“Same over here!”

“What?!” the bald man exclaimed.

He followed the others in a rush. The moment he saw the situation, his jaw tightened, teeth clenched.

Every person in the alley was knocked out cold, covered in shards of ice.

A female voice called from behind. “Can I help you, gentlemen?”

Everyone turned.

Standing in front of them in her gear, Black Scorpion, battle mask in place, spinning her katana lazily, was Madoka.

A laugh could be heard from the left. “Hey, that’s my line, you know.”

Heads turned again.

Leaning against the lamppost, arms crossed, the polish of his white gauntlets shining in the light, was Finn, clad in his gear, Resilient Knight.

Both walked forward, closing in on the thugs.

The thugs immediately pointed their guns at them.

“One more step closer and I’ll put holes in that fancy suit of yours.”

Madoka raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Okay. I won’t move.”

She nodded towards Finn. “He will.”

From afar, Saya pulled the trigger. A sniper round cut through the air and shot out two rifles pointing at Madoka.

The thugs clutched their hands, groaning.

Madoka instantly sent a surge of ice. It quickly crawled towards the thugs and hit them, climbing up their bodies and freezing them to their shoulders with a layer of ice.

Finn bolted forward and landed one punch after another in their guts with rapid succession. His punches shattered through the ice, just hard enough to knock them out.

All the thugs lay on the ground, groaning, unable to move.

Finn dusted off some ice from his shoulder.

“Well, that was easy.”

“Yeah. It’s always easy when you catch them off guard,” Madoka said.

From above, Saya descended with a small thud, thrusters powering down.

“Mission accomplished.”

“Clean shot,” Finn complimented.

Saya smiled. “Thanks.”

“I expected more of them, honestly,” Madoka said.

The sound of more vehicles approaching could be heard. Two military jeeps and a truck arrived.

Armed forces jumped out, boots hitting the ground. Commander Stelle’s forces were here.

Their captain approached the three.

“We’ll take care of the cleanup.”

Finn sighed with relief. “Phew. I thought they brought backup.”

The soldiers immediately got to work, picking up and cuffing the thugs.

Saya opened her HUD and checked the surveillance network. The list popped up. Four drones were still marked red.

“We’ll have to take care of those signal jammers they are carrying,” she said.

“We’re on it,” the captain replied.

Zen’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not supposed be here.”

She laughed, amused. “That was your plan, wasn’t it?”

She gracefully stepped down from the railing.

“You buried your identity… burden?”

“Returned to the academy… nostalgia?”

Her eyes narrowed. “And when they tested you?”

“You took a bullet,” she said, flat, almost disappointed.

Zen stood there in silence, instincts on high alert.

She took a step closer.

“Even the Vanguard is here. No one expects Protocol to be hiding in plain sight, right?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Guess what? It worked. You fooled the world.”

“Black Helix doesn’t suspect a thing.”

Then her face turned dangerous. She unsheathed her katana and pointed at him.

“But you forgot to account for us!”

Zen’s staff immediately deployed in his hands. “I don’t have time for this.”

“That’s the point. You don’t,” she said, her voice almost maniacal.

She took a stance and charged forward immediately with a wind boost.

The distance between them closed in a blink, her blade already in motion.

Zen reacted half a second late and barely blocked with his staff.

She chained slashes one after another.

“Anomalies would dodge. Normal people would be dead. But only you would take a bullet to make your enemies doubt!”

Zen could only block.

No chance of striking back.

One heavy strike from her katana staggered Zen’s defense.

She capitalized with a wheel kick.

Zen blocked with his arm, but combined with elemental force, the attack sent him flying off the roof at high speed.

He crashed onto the road two floors below but got back up quickly, breathing heavy.

She jumped down. “Tsk, tsk. Getting slower, aren’t you? Master would be so disappointed.”

He regained his stance. “What do you want from me, Kageri?”

“Shut up!” she hissed. “Keep my name out of your mouth, you traitor!”

She closed the distance again, faster this time.

“What do I want?!”

Her slashes were fused with wind, heavier this time, but just as fast.

“I want to shove my blade into your guts and twist it until you scream with agony!”

She meant it, and Zen could already feel it.

He spun his staff and countered.

Momentum shifted.

Kageri on defense.

Strikes came in rapidly.

She blocked each with precision.

Dozens of strikes and blocks—traded in just a fraction of a second.

“I’m not your enemy!” he shouted.

“I don't care!” she screamed back.

Both weapons clashed. Sparks flew. The sound of metal rang out like thunder.

None of them wavered.

The soldiers were nearly finished loading all the convicts into the truck.

Saya checked her HUD again. All drones lit green.

“Surveillance network restored.”

Finn gave her a high-five.

Saya looked at Madoka, who seemed frustrated.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“I’m trying to contact Zen,” she replied, worry etched on her face. “He’s not picking up.”

Finn looked around. “He should’ve been here by now. What’s taking so long?”

Madoka sighed. “I’m having a bad feeling about this.”

She turned to Saya. “Can you track his location?”

“On it,” Saya replied.

She checked her map, and within a few seconds, Zen’s location pinged.

“He’s not too far off. Follow me.”

Her gear’s thrusters fired. She took flight.

Finn approached the squad captain in a rush. “We’ll have to borrow one of your rides, please.”

The captain nodded. “Hop in. I’ll drive.”

She quickly got in and fired up the engine.

Madoka and Finn hopped in.

The jeep began following as Saya led the way.

Zen hit heavy. Kageri staggered back.

He charged forward.

She aimed a slash at his neck.

Zen dove, sliding beneath her.

He followed with a backflip. Wind condensed around his foot mid-air, creating an invisible platform.

He landed on the wind pad and launched himself towards Kageri at blinking speed, aiming a strike at her shoulder as he zoomed past.

Kageri placed her blade in between with minimal time to react.

CLANG!

He landed on another pad and ricocheted off to another, changing angle instantly, then launched towards her into another heavily packed strike.

His left arm flared with intense pain.

He gritted his teeth, losing focus for just a second.

Kageri took advantage.

She dodged the strike, grabbed his foot, and slammed him down.

“Do you think that trick still works?!”

She plunged her blade down at him.

He tilted his head.

The blade hit the ground. Missed by an inch.

Zen rolled out fast and got back on his feet.

Kageri pulled her blade out and charged again, not letting him recover.

She chained heavy slashes again.

Zen reacted poorly.

Attacks connected. His gear shield started ticking down.

“SHIELD INTEGRITY: 54%”

“47%”

In three seconds, Kageri chained seventeen slashes.

More than half connected.

“Warning: 32%”

“Warning: 11%”

“WARNING: SHIELD DEPLETED!”

Zen put his arm in front of the blade. A thick layer of ice formed on his arm like an arm guard.

Kageri’s strike hit, shattering the ice.

TWICE.

THRICE.

She chuckled. “Getting desperate?”

An upswing followed, staggering him back again.

A sweep kick knocked his footing away.

She spun, channeling all her elemental force in one final strike.

“If Kurenai didn’t forbid me, you would be DEAD!”

The hit slammed into Zen’s chest, his arms the last of defense between.

The upper layer shattered into pieces. The armor plate cracked.

The force sent Zen rolling away hard, his hands never letting go of his staff.

He finally came to a stop and pushed himself up with shaky, exhausted hands.

Using the staff as support, he finally got back up, catching his breath.

The hood of his gear, badly damaged, sparked and immediately retracted into its housing unit.

Kageri’s eyes locked onto his. The sight of his face after years triggered a flood of memories. Memories of what they used to be.

She shut her eyes in a heartbeat, gritting her teeth.

Kageri sheathed her katana, her grip tight.

“If I’m not allowed to kill you, I’ll make sure you burn faster.”

Zen's heart stung.

She turned to leave, then paused. “We know where you are… and we’ll meet again.”

With a final look over her shoulder, she walked away and vanished into the dark.

Zen remained standing, damaged, exhausted.

“Why are you like this, Kageri?”

A small, nameless boy slowly walked through a path, filled with trees on both sides, dimly illuminated by the moonlight.

A short walk later, he reached the open training field.

A figure came into his view. He walked closer and peeked from behind a tree.

At the training field, a young teenage girl was practicing swings with a wooden katana.

“Kageri…” the boy murmured.

Kageri stopped mid swing, her head turning towards him.

He quickly hid behind the tree. A few seconds later, he peeked again, only to find her gone.

“Huh?” he blinked, looking around.

Suddenly, something poked him in the waist from behind.

He yelped, immediately turning and pressing his back against the tree.

Kageri laughed.

“Hey there, Little One. What are you doing here?”

Little One blushed, his voice soft like a whisper.

“Getting some fresh air.”

She raised an eyebrow, amused. “Oh? Is that so?”

Little One looked away, shy.

“Why are you here?”

“Just practicing,” she replied.

Little One looked back at her again.

“Won’t your parents be worried if you’re late?”

She let out a long sigh, her eyes softening.

“I wish.”

“What… do you mean?” Little One asked.

She walked back towards the field.

“Don’t have any.”

Little One followed behind.

She looked at him. “You don’t have any either, do you?”

He shook his head.

She gently patted his head. “Come, sit with me.”

Kageri sat down on a wooden bench. Little One joined.

She opened a box, grabbed a sandwich, and handed it to him.

“Here, take it.”

Little One looked at her, tilting his head innocently.

“Go on,” she insisted.

After a moment of hesitation, he finally accepted.

She grabbed one for herself.

“You know, most kids Kurenai-sensei trains are from the orphanage.”

“They’re just like us,” she said.

He listened and ate in silence.

Kageri looked up at the starry sky above.

“We only have each other to care for. To cherish. To protect.”

“We’re just like a family.”

Little One blinked. “I am… family?”

She patted his head again. “Yeah. You’re one of us.”

“You’re family.”

He didn’t pull away.

Little One stared at the ground, thinking.

“Then… I’ll care. I’ll cherish. I’ll protect.”

“Just like everyone else.”

She smiled. “Really?”

He nodded. “I promise.”

She cradled his head in her arms.

“Then I promise too, Little One.”

From above, Saya finally spotted Zen. She immediately dived down. “Zen! What happened?!”

Tires screeched just behind them. Madoka and Finn rushed to help him.

“Hey, bro, you okay?” Finn asked.

Zen stared at the ground, silent.

Madoka cupped his bruised face. “Zen, look at me. Come on. Talk to us, damnit!”

Zen's eyes slowly met hers.

Then his left arm went stiff, and his legs gave up.

Finn caught him before he could fall. “Whoa, whoa. Easy there. Let's get you some rest first.”

They helped him stand and carried him to the vehicle.

Once settled down, they wrapped a blanket around him.

Zen finally began breathing properly.

All they could do was stand in silence and watch.

Suddenly, Zen violently shook his head, shaking off the heaviness.

He let out a cold, shaky breath, his voice broken,

“I… failed.”