The laughter from Lorenzo and the others slowly disappeared into the crowded streets of Titan.
Night had started settling over the city.
Tall neon signs flickered endlessly across the massive buildings while Tao lanterns drifted overhead like miniature moons floating through artificial skies. Music thundered from bars packed shoulder-to-shoulder with Hunters preparing for the Hunter Games. Every few minutes another window shattered somewhere deeper within the city, followed by roaring laughter from drunken Tao users showing off abilities they barely controlled.
The streets smelled like smoke, alcohol, metal, sweat, and rain-soaked concrete.
Titan never truly slept before the Games.
Not when millions dreamed of becoming legends.
Not when millions dreamed of surviving.
Every few seconds the atmosphere trembled faintly from someone nearby releasing too much Tao. Invisible pressure crashed through the streets like ocean waves colliding against each other. Civilians barely reacted anymore. Vendors continued selling food beneath glowing signs while children ran through alleyways completely ignoring enough Tao pressure to crush weaker Hunters unconscious.
This city had adapted to monsters long ago.
Meanwhile—
Thousands of miles away from Titan—
Beneath a sky darker than the bottom of the ocean, the headquarters of the Hunter Association stood silently against the night.
Ten enormous towers pierced through the clouds like black spears forced into the earth by some forgotten god. Rivers of Tao flowed around the structure in transparent layers, creating barrier after barrier across the sky itself. Blue light drifted endlessly through the darkness like glowing veins beneath skin.
Ancient scripture crawled across the towers continuously.
Not painted.
Moving.
Alive.
Every few seconds one of the barriers pulsed softly, causing the clouds overhead to ripple outward across the atmosphere.
Humanity's strongest fortress.
The center of mankind.
The home of Hunters.
At the base of the towers stretched an entire city reserved exclusively for Association personnel. Hunters crossed elevated bridges suspended thousands of feet above the ground while Tao-powered trains moved silently through lower districts glowing beneath artificial moonlight.
Massive Yokai skeletons decorated several plazas like monuments to extinct gods.
Even the air felt heavier here.
Sharper.
As if the atmosphere itself had learned how to kill.
Inside the Fifth Tower, a boy around seventeen sat alone inside a dim apartment room.
Curly black hair rested messily over tired dark eyes half-hidden beneath exhaustion. His posture looked terrible, stretched lazily across a chair near the kitchen counter like someone who had completely forgotten what discipline was supposed to look like.
Steam rose from a cup resting loosely in his hand.
Coffee.
The room itself felt strangely empty.
No trophies.
No decorations.
No photographs.
Nothing personal.
Only a few weapons leaning against the far wall and a black Hunter coat thrown carelessly over the couch beside scattered mission reports.
The silence inside the apartment felt unnatural compared to the chaos outside the tower.
The boy stared at the coffee for several long seconds before taking another sip.
Then immediately grimacing.
"...Eh."
His face twisted slightly in disgust.
He quietly stood before walking toward the sink.
"I don't even like coffee."
The entire cup disappeared down the drain.
Outside the apartment walls, the tower hummed softly with Tao energy.
Outside his room, engraved into black steel polished perfectly enough to reflect the hallway lights, rested the words:
5th Asura.
Beneath it sat the symbol of the Hunter Association.
A title feared across the world.
The Asuras were not simply elite Hunters.
They were disasters humanity had forced onto its own side.
Living weapons chosen personally by the Association itself. Hunters powerful enough to alter battlefields merely by arriving. Certain Yokai territories stopped expanding solely because Asuras existed nearby.
To become an Asura was to stand at the absolute peak of modern Hunters.
Only ten existed.
And Guy was the Fifth.
The youngest among them.
Most Hunters spent their entire lives hoping to merely witness an Asura once.
Guy scratched the side of his face lazily before glancing toward the ceiling.
"So boring..."
Then suddenly—
ALARMS BLARED THROUGH THE ENTIRE ASSOCIATION.
Red emergency lights exploded across every hallway.
WARNING SIRENS screamed through the towers violently enough to shake the windows themselves.
The Tao barriers surrounding headquarters activated instantly.
The pressure alone made the atmosphere vibrate.
Hunters throughout the Association froze.
Then chaos erupted.
Doors slammed open across every floor.
Hunters sprinted through corridors while Tao erupted instinctively around their bodies.
"We're under attack?!"
"Something breached the outer barriers!"
"Get to defensive positions!"
"How the hell did someone get inside?!"
Weapons materialized instantly.
Tao formations illuminated entire hallways.
One Hunter leapt from an upper balcony directly into the lower floors without hesitation while another activated a massive defensive scripture across an entire corridor.
Guy blinked once.
"...Huh?"
The red warning lights reflected faintly through his dark eyes while he stood motionless beside the sink.
Then—
A calm voice echoed through every tower simultaneously.
Director Alaric Vane.
"False alarm, everyone."
Instant silence.
The alarms immediately died.
The flashing lights vanished.
Only the low humming of the Tao barriers remained.
Confused murmurs spread throughout the towers while irritated curses echoed from certain floors.
Guy yawned.
"...That was disappointing."
Far above the Association, inside the Director's chamber, moonlight spilled through massive glass windows overlooking all ten towers below.
The room barely resembled an office.
Ancient books filled shelves stretching toward the ceiling itself. Weapons older than entire Kingdoms rested behind reinforced glass cases. Maps covered in Tao scripture floated several inches above a massive black table near the center of the room.
At the far end stood a tall man beside the windows.
Black gloves.
Long silver hair.
Sharp golden eyes carrying the exhaustion of someone who had spent too many years forcing humanity to survive.
Alaric Vane.
Director of the Hunter Association.
The strongest neutral authority in the world.
Even standing still, his presence bent the atmosphere around him.
In front of him stood two men covered in dust and dried blood.
One looked massive.
Broad shoulders.
Dark skin.
Scars covered nearly every visible inch of his arms like records of old wars carved directly into flesh. His black coat hung over his body like the cape of some ancient executioner.
Stone.
Beside him stood a shorter man adjusting his glasses calmly despite the tension filling the room.
Black gloves.
Rolled sleeves.
Sharp observant eyes constantly scanning everything around him.
Kingston.
Cold wind blew through the open window behind them. Papers shifted softly across the desk while the Tao barriers outside illuminated the room faintly blue every few seconds.
Vane stared at them silently.
"...You know," he finally said, voice calm, "breaking into the Hunter Association isn't making you two look any less guilty."
Stone and Kingston immediately bowed.
"Thank you, Vane," Stone said quietly.
Kingston lowered his head slightly further. "Thank you for believing us."
Vane laughed softly.
The sound barely carried warmth.
"I already knew you two wouldn't be behind something this sloppy."
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"The people calling themselves Scissors enjoy theatrics too much to fake an attack this poorly."
Kingston adjusted his glasses.
The lenses reflected moonlight for a moment.
Stone remained silent.
Vane watched him carefully before smiling faintly.
"I'm honestly more surprised you two are even willing to speak to Guy again."
The atmosphere shifted slightly.
Subtly.
But enough.
Stone looked away toward the city below.
For the first time since entering the room, hesitation crossed his face.
"I'm only asking him for help with this mess," he said coldly. "I don't want him involved with Scissors."
Vane smiled slightly wider.
"That alone already involves him."
Silence.
Outside the window, one of the massive Tao barriers rippled across the night sky like disturbed water.
Vane continued calmly.
"What happens when the Association publicly connects him to you two?" His gaze sharpened slightly. "What happens if people start calling the Fifth Asura a terrorist too?"
Stone's eyes immediately turned cold enough to freeze the atmosphere.
"He won't."
The answer came instantly.
Without hesitation.
Kingston quietly glanced toward Stone before returning his attention to Vane.
The Director studied both men carefully.
Then finally nodded.
"I see."
The room fell silent once more.
For a moment only the distant humming of the barriers could be heard.
Then Stone turned away.
"Let's go."
Kingston followed quietly behind him.
The massive chamber doors slowly shut after them with a low metallic sound.
The instant they disappeared—
Vane's expression vanished.
His right hand tightened beneath the desk.
A black pistol rested hidden there.
Loaded.
Ready.
His grip remained perfectly steady while silence filled the chamber again.
Far below the towers, lights from the Association city flickered endlessly like stars trapped beneath the earth.
Vane slowly closed his eyes.
...Yeah.
So I was right.
There's no way those two called in that supposed Scissors attack.
He loosened his grip around the pistol slightly.
They couldn't even feel the pressure from my murderous intent.
A faint smile crossed his face.
Or maybe I've just gotten worse at releasing it.
Meanwhile—
Stone and Kingston walked silently across one of the massive bridges connecting the upper towers.
Night wind howled around them violently enough to shake loose strands of Kingston's hair. Far below, countless Hunters moved through the streets beneath the Association lights like rivers of moving shadows.
Kingston finally spoke.
"You think he'll agree?"
Stone stayed quiet for several seconds.
The bridge trembled faintly beneath distant Tao reactors powering the towers.
"...No," Stone admitted.
His voice sounded strangely tired now.
"But we're asking anyway."
Kingston glanced sideways at him.
"You still blame yourself."
Stone's footsteps slowed slightly.
For a moment memories flashed through his eyes.
Rainwater dripping through ruined buildings.
Fire consuming entire streets.
Blood flowing through shattered concrete.
And a younger boy standing silently in the middle of it all.
Expressionless.
The memory disappeared instantly.
"...Yeah," Stone answered quietly.
Then both men continued walking deeper into the Fifth Tower.
Toward the Fifth Asura.
The elevator ascending through the tower moved almost silently.
Only the faint humming of Tao reactors beneath the floor disturbed the quiet.
Stone stood near the front with his arms crossed while Kingston leaned lazily against the wall beside him, adjusting his glasses every few seconds more out of habit than necessity.
Neither spoke.
Above them, glowing numbers slowly climbed higher.
The Fifth Tower was different from the others.
The lower floors remained crowded with Hunters, researchers, Tao engineers, and Association staff moving endlessly through white corridors illuminated by artificial Tao lanterns.
But the higher the elevator climbed—
The emptier everything became.
Quieter.
By the time they passed the two-hundredth floor, silence had completely swallowed the tower.
No guards.
No workers.
Nothing.
Only black steel walls engraved with ancient Tao scripture glowing faintly blue beneath dim lighting.
Kingston exhaled slowly.
"...Still creepy."
Stone glanced toward him. "You've been here before."
"That doesn't make it less creepy."
The elevator finally stopped.
A soft chime echoed through the hallway.
The doors slid open.
Cold air immediately rolled inside.
A long corridor stretched before them, lined with enormous windows overlooking the entirety of the Association city below. Thousands of lights illuminated the darkness beneath the towers while the Tao barriers overhead rippled continuously like glowing oceans suspended in the sky.
At the very end of the hallway stood a single black door.
5th Asura.
Stone stared at the words silently.
Kingston rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"...You wanna knock or should I?"
Stone ignored him and started walking.
Each footstep echoed softly through the empty corridor.
The closer they got to the door, the heavier the atmosphere became.
Not oppressive exactly.
Just dense.
Like the air itself had become harder to move through.
Kingston noticed it too.
"...He's awake."
Stone nodded once.
No answer came from inside the room.
Stone knocked anyway.
Several seconds passed.
Then a voice answered lazily from the other side.
"It's open."
Stone pushed the door inward.
The apartment looked almost exactly how Guy had left it earlier.
A television played softly in the background despite nobody watching it. Some random cooking show flickered across the screen while steam rose from instant noodles forgotten on the counter.
Guy himself sat upside down on the couch.
His legs hung over the backrest while his head rested near the cushions, curly black hair dangling toward the floor as he stared lazily at them.
"...Oh."
He immediately straightened himself slightly.
His eyes moved toward Stone.
Then Kingston.
"...This is awkward."
Kingston laughed nervously almost instantly. "You noticed too, huh?"
Stone stayed silent.
For a moment nobody spoke.
The atmosphere inside the apartment felt strangely normal despite the fact three monsters capable of leveling entire cities stood inside the same room.
Guy scratched his cheek lazily.
"So," he said casually, "you two breaking into headquarters again or was tonight something special?"
Kingston coughed awkwardly.
Stone finally spoke.
"We need your help."
Guy stared at him.
Then immediately sighed.
"No."
Kingston blinked. "You didn't even hear the problem yet."
"I already know the problem."
Guy stood up slowly before walking toward the kitchen.
"The Association thinks you attacked them, but it was actually some fake Scissors operation." He opened the refrigerator. Cold white light spilled across his face. "And now you need evidence proving your innocence."
He stared into the nearly empty fridge for several seconds.
"...I really need groceries."
Stone watched him carefully.
"You already knew?"
Guy grabbed a bottle of water before shutting the fridge with his foot.
"I'm an Asura. Information kinda just appears around me."
He took a sip.
Then frowned immediately.
"...Warm."
His expression somehow looked genuinely offended now.
"I need a new fridge too."
Kingston slowly looked around the apartment.
The longer he stared, the more confused he became.
"How do you live like this?"
Guy looked around too.
"...Like what?"
"There is literally nothing in here."
The apartment genuinely looked abandoned.
Besides the weapons, couch, and kitchen counter, the room barely resembled somewhere a person actually lived. No decorations. No hobbies. No signs of comfort.
Even the walls felt empty.
Guy shrugged.
"I sleep here sometimes. That's enough."
Stone's gaze narrowed slightly.
"You still haven't changed."
The room quietly fell silent again.
Guy leaned against the counter while staring toward the city outside the windows.
Far below, the lights of the Association reflected faintly across his dark eyes.
"There's no point changing if nothing around me changes."
Kingston immediately noticed the shift in atmosphere.
"We're trying to change that," he said quietly. "We'll erase the corruption inside the Association."
Stone stepped forward slightly.
"Guy."
Guy interrupted him immediately.
"No."
His voice stayed calm.
Stone's jaw tightened slightly.
"We're not asking you to join Scissors."
"I know."
Guy took another sip from the warm water before grimacing again.
"I understand the speech already." His eyes remained fixed on the city beyond the glass. "If you just keep fighting eventually corruption disappears and everyone lives happily ever after."
His voice stayed calm.
Tired.
"But that's still just an if."
Stone ignored the comment.
"Then help us stop them."
Silence.
The television continued playing quietly in the background.
Some chef screamed dramatically about seasoning while neon lights flickered far below the tower windows.
Stone spoke again.
"Guy... we just need a little bit of your help."
Guy stared out the windows for several long seconds before finally speaking.
"You know what's annoying?"
Neither answered.
Guy continued anyway.
"Every time something dangerous happens, people suddenly remember I exist." His eyes remained fixed on the city below. "Yokai attacks. Kingdom wars. Terrorist groups."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Everyone always says the same thing."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"'Get the Asuras.'"
The smile never reached his eyes.
"As if we're some emergency weapon hidden inside a glass box."
Kingston quietly looked away.
Even Stone stayed silent now.
The television screen distorted slightly.
For the smallest moment—
The atmosphere itself felt violent.
Not pressure.
Not bloodlust.
Something worse.
Like the room had briefly remembered what kind of monster stood inside it.
Then it vanished completely.
Like it never existed at all.
Guy yawned.
"So no. I'm not getting involved."
Stone looked through the window before turning back toward him.
"If this plan fails..." His voice lowered slightly. "And we can't clear our names..."
The atmosphere sharpened.
"We'll erase Scissors ourselves."
A crack suddenly spread across the kitchen counter beside Guy's hand.
Kingston immediately felt the pressure spike violently for half a second before stabilizing again.
The glass windows trembled softly.
Guy's expression never changed.
"...I'm fine with that."
Silence.
For some reason, hearing that answer weakened the tension slightly.
Stone stared at him for several long seconds.
Then finally turned toward the door.
"That's good to hear, lil bro."
The words sounded almost mocking.
Almost.
But not completely.
Kingston quietly followed behind him.
The apartment door slowly opened again.
Cold hallway air spilled inside.
Then—
"Stone."
Both men stopped.
Guy still faced the windows.
The city lights reflected across his eyes quietly.
"...What exactly did Scissors steal from the Association?"
Stone stayed silent.
Kingston glanced sideways toward him.
For the first time since entering the apartment, Stone hesitated.
Then finally—
"...A list."
Guy slowly looked over his shoulder.
Stone continued quietly.
"A classified list containing every potential candidate for future Asura selection."
The room fell silent.
Even the television suddenly felt distant now.
Guy's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Including kids."
Kingston nodded once.
"Thousands of them."
A faint crackling sound spread quietly through the apartment.
Tao.
Not visible.
But alive.
The instant Guy released even a fraction of it, the lights overhead flickered violently.
Stone watched him carefully.
"I knew that part would get your attention."
Guy stared at them silently.
Then toward the city outside again.
Far below, countless lights flickered endlessly beneath the night sky.
Hunters.
Children.
Dreamers.
Idiots.
People trying to survive.
His reflection stared back at him faintly through the glass.
The Fifth Asura.
A weapon humanity pointed toward problems too large for normal people to survive.
For several long seconds nobody moved.
Then Guy sighed.
Long.
Tired.
Annoyed.
"...I hate both of you."
Kingston immediately smiled in relief.
Stone crossed his arms.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Guy rubbed the side of his face lazily.
"I'm helping because I don't trust you idiots handling this alone."
A faint grin crossed Kingston's face.
Stone looked away slightly.
For the smallest moment—
He almost looked relieved.
Then Guy pointed toward the door.
"But if either of you dies doing something stupid, I'm not attending the funeral."
Kingston laughed.
Stone smirked faintly.
"...Good to know."
Outside the windows, the Tao barriers rippled endlessly across the night sky while far below the Hunter Association continued moving like the beating heart of humanity itself.
And somewhere deep beneath those towers—
Something dangerous had already started moving.