Haruto's consciousness floated, weightless, trapped somewhere between pain and sleep. Voices echoed in the distance—faint, muffled, like they were underwater. Then came the sharp pulse behind his forehead. A sting. A pressure. A warning.
His eyes opened.
A white ceiling greeted him, washed in the dim glow of hospital lights. The quiet hum of life-support monitors ticked softly at his side. His vision sharpened slowly… enough for him to notice movement at the corner of his eye. Haruto turned his head.
And there they were.
Kenta was curled up on the hospital floor, using his hoodie as a pillow, his sword case clutched protectively against his chest. Elyra slept sitting up beside him, back against the wall, her head resting gently on Kenta's shoulder. Their hands… somehow ended up intertwined even in their sleep.
Haruto blinked, the corners of his lips twitching in the smallest possible smile.
"…You two look ridiculous," he muttered weakly.
Kenta's ear twitched. Elyra stirred. Then both shot awake like two startled cats.
"Haruto!?"
"Haruto, you're awake!"
They rushed toward him, almost tripping over each other. Elyra grabbed his hand while Kenta practically threw himself to the bedside.
Haruto winced, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Easy, easy—my head feels like someone jammed an end crystal in it and detonated it…"
Kenta exhaled shakily, trying—and failing—to hide the relief cracking his voice. "Bro… you were out for a WEEK."
Haruto froze.
"…A week?"
Elyra nodded, brushing her silver hair back. "Yes. Seven full days. We took turns staying with you. The others visited too. A lot has happened since then."
Haruto gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean? What happened?"
She glanced at Kenta, then back at him, her expression shifting into something more serious. "You should hear it with Mr. Yoshida. It'll be better if he explains."
"Besides," she added with a small smile, "we have some good news to show him too."
Haruto raised a brow. "Good news?"
Kenta patted Haruto's back. "You'll see, dude. Come on. If you can stand."
Haruto nodded slowly. His legs trembled, but with their help, he stepped out of the bed. The fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead as the three walked down the corridor toward the exit.
It felt… unnaturally quiet.
As if the world had changed while he slept.
As if something was watching from the shadows.
Mr. Yoshida's faculty room looked the same as always—papers overflowing off tables, textbooks scattered, a coffee mug shaping a permanent ring stain on wood—but today, the air carried an unusual weight.
He was standing by the window when they arrived.
And when he turned around—
"Haruto, my boy!" he yelled, practically tackling him with a hug so strong Haruto nearly fell over.
"K-Kenta help—he's crushing me—!"
"Sir you're gonna break him again!" Kenta laughed as he pulled Yoshida off.
Mr. Yoshida wiped at the corner of his eye dramatically. "I THOUGHT YOU WEREN'T GOING TO WAKE UP! I had speeches prepared! Emotional speeches! I even bought a funeral suit just in case!"
"Sir!?" Haruto, Elyra, and Kenta chorused.
Yoshida coughed. "Anyway."
His tone shifted, dropping into seriousness.
"There's something we need to talk about. Something important."
The trio exchanged glances.
Mr. Yoshida tapped on a remote. A holographic display blinked alive above his desk, showing a sleek corporate logo:
NEBULA INDUSTRIES
Dr. Verax — Founder & CEO
Haruto frowned. "Nebula Industries…?"
"A dangerous corporation," Yoshida said. "But the world praises them. They call Dr. Verax a visionary. A genius. Handsome, charming, world-renowned."
Kenta made a gagging noise. "So a handsome villain. Great."
"He's not a villain 'yet'," Yoshida replied. "At least not publicly. But internally…"
He tapped the screen again.
Images appeared.
Robotic units rescuing people from collapsing buildings. Drones shooting down kaiju spawn. Flying AI mechs scanning entire city blocks. Everything shiny. Perfect. Efficient.
Haruto leaned closer. "They're… fast."
"Too fast," Elyra commented quietly.
Yoshida nodded. "Nebula's creations intervene before Masked Chargers can. They arrive at scenes… minutes earlier. Sometimes seconds. And that's not the real problem."
Elyra raised her hand. A soft blue light glowed at her fingertip. She swiped it through the air.
A new projection replaced Yoshida's.
Footage from a news drone:
A massive defensive turret locking onto a giant winged creature.
The system identified the target:
Threat Level: High
Classification: Unknown Kaiju
Haruto's eyes widened.
He knew those blue wings anywhere.
"Mothra!?" he gasped.
The turret fired without hesitation. Energy beams rained through the air, clipping Mothra's wings as she shrieked and spiraled.
"That turret nearly killed her," Elyra said. "Even though she was protecting a group of civilians from parasites."
Haruto stared in disbelief. "They attacked a guardian kaiju…?"
"That," Yoshida said, "is Nebula's vision. A world where machines take over every fight. A world where Masked Chargers are 'outdated.' Dr. Verax wants us replaced—completely."
Silence filled the room.
Haruto clenched his fist. "Why?"
Yoshida sighed. "Because he believes humans are flawed. Emotional. Weak. Predictable. He trusts algorithms more than people."
Kenta muttered, "He's never seen Haruto fight while screaming Minecraft moves."
"HEY!"
Elyra cut in before they derailed. "Mr. Yoshida also told us something else."
The teacher nodded.
"I want the three of you to meet me back at base when school holidays begin—just a few more days. We're going to uncover what Nebula is planning. Because something tells me… they're hiding a very big secret."
Haruto felt his pulse quicken.
A chill crawled down his spine.
As if something unseen was already watching them.
The scene shifted.
A slow, floating camera gliding through a vast room drenched in red emergency lights. The air hummed with electricity. Wires dangled like veins from the ceiling. Sparks flickered across metal floors. Machinery throbbed with mechanical heartbeat rhythms.
And then—
A scream.
Raw. Human. Terrified.
The camera drifted toward it.
Strapped to a table was a man—one of the missing Masked Chargers—his chest rising rapidly as robotic arms dug into him, extracting glowing shards of core energy, siphoning his belt's essence piece by piece.
"P-please—stop—stop—!"
The machines did not stop.
A blade hissed.
And for a moment, the scream reached a pitch that rattled the room—
Then silence.
A wet sound. A drop of red sliding down steel.
Lights flickered.
Something stepped forward.
The silhouette of a humanoid machine.
Smooth white armor.
No eyes.
Just a horizontal glowing visor pulsing like a heartbeat.
Wires disconnected from its body and slithered back into the walls.
Then—
CHHHKK—
The sound of its systems powering up.
The machine's head tilted slightly.
A cold, synthetic voice whispered:
"S0L-01 online.
New combat data acquired.
Next target… ready."
A hollow, soulless laugh echoed in the chamber—not from a person, but from the machine itself—as its body dissolved into a swarm of nanobots and vanished into the darkness.