Tairon's spiritual hospital carried a constant scent of burned herbs and condensed energy. The hallways echoed with soft footsteps and muffled voices, as if the entire building was suspended in a nervous silence.
Tekio was speaking with two doctors near the reception. His arms were crossed, his face serious, yet visibly relieved.
— So, that's it? — he asked, adjusting the band on his wrist.
— Yes, you and your companions are clinically stable. You just need to sign the release forms, and you're free, — the doctor replied, flipping through the papers. — I recommend rest, but… you don't seem like the type to follow that kind of advice.
Tekio gave a faint smile.
— Thanks for everything.
He walked to the room where Dan and Stella were. He knocked twice and entered.
— You're being discharged. I've already informed the staff; everything's set. I've packed my things… But before leaving, I'm going to make a stop at the cemetery.
— The cemetery? — Stella asked, surprised.
Tekio nodded, eyes lowered.
— I need to… talk to someone. Meet me at the entrance when I call and you're ready.
He closed the door carefully, leaving Dan and Stella alone.
Stella ran a hand through her hair, now partially held by a new clip. She sat on the edge of the bed, watching sunlight stream through the window.
— You know, Dan… I thought I'd never feel whole again. But now… something inside me has awakened.
Dan, sitting in a chair, stretched his legs.
— You mean the assassin angel aura?
Stella chuckled lightly.
— It's not just that. I felt… control. For the first time, I could use it without hurting anyone. I felt as if… as if I were whole again.
She looked at her sword, leaning against the wall.
— I want to talk to my brother… to Tenklyn. Even if it's not easy, he's always known more about this than he lets on.
Dan smiled sideways.
— He'll help you. He may seem untouchable at times, but you can see in his eyes that he protects you more than he says.
She nodded, feeling a timid warmth of hope for the first time in a long while.
---------------
It was then that the door slowly opened. A man, accompanied by a woman and a child, timidly entered.
— Excuse me… — the man said, his voice trembling. — I heard you're being discharged today. I… I'm the one you saved. The one who was possessed.
Dan and Stella exchanged glances.
— Ah, of course, — Stella said, standing up. — It's good to see you're alright.
The man stepped closer, hands slightly extended.
— I came to thank you… for not killing me. For saving me even when it seemed impossible.
Then he hugged her, quick and unexpected.
Stella froze, confused.
Dan went on alert. Something was wrong. The way he moved. The way he spoke.
The man, still hugging Stella, slowly turned his face toward Dan… and smiled.
But it wasn't a human smile.
It was broken, distorted… empty.
— Damn…! — Dan shouted.
Before he could move, however, a shadow cut through the air like a blade.
The man's body was ripped from Stella by an invisible force. A second later, a devastating explosion engulfed half the room, tearing a giant hole in the wall.
The room fell silent for a moment after the explosion was contained by Akira.
Dust began to settle, but tension only grew. The hole in the wall revealed the chaos outside—buildings burning, distant sirens, heavy energy pulsing through the air. Dan helped Stella regain her balance, and both looked at Akira, who remained still, watching something.
His eyes were fixed on the child.
She stood in the corner of the room, trembling. Her eyes, once innocent, were empty. Too empty.
The mother knelt in front of her daughter, pulling her close, arms trembling as she tried to protect her.
— No… no! Please! — she begged, desperate. — She's just a child! Don't do this!
— She's not, — Akira murmured, stepping forward. — She's a vessel. A sealed bomb in a fragile body.
The mother positioned herself between him and her daughter, arms wide.
— No! I won't let you hurt her! She's been through enough!
Akira's eyes narrowed.
Without hesitation, he advanced.
With precise movement, he shoved the woman aside, throwing her against the wall. She fell, groaning, clinging to the side of her body—but alive.
And then, without hesitation, Akira pierced the child's shoulder with one of his black daggers.
The moment the blade pierced her flesh, the child screamed—but it wasn't a human scream.
Black veins spread across her body. Her pupils vanished. Her skin began to tear along symmetrical lines. Energy erupted around her.
A violent, raw force expanded like a shockwave. Windows shattered. Walls trembled. The ceiling cracked.
Dan, Stella, the mother, and Akira were thrown back by the brutal force of the transformation.
Akira quickly shielded the woman, absorbing her fall. She, confused, simply sat on the ground.
The room completely collapsed, and the four of them were launched outside, through the shattered wall, landing in the hospital courtyard amidst debris, dust, and frenzied sirens.
At the center of the destruction, the child no longer existed.
In her place stood a colossal demon.
Its skin was black as freshly lit charcoal, with cracks of pulsating red light emanating from within. Four twisted arms, a triple jaw opening with guttural sounds, and eyes glowing in a chaotic pattern, like a dying star.
The air around it was heavy and dense, as if gravity itself had multiplied.
Dan struggled to stand.
— That… that's what was inside her?
Stella staggered upright, gripping her sword.
— It doesn't matter… we need to stop this!
She advanced alongside Dan. The battle began.
But no matter their efforts, each strike seemed insignificant. The creature regenerated rapidly, and its strength made the ground quake with every attack.
— You're just going to hurt yourselves — Akira said, his voice low.
He walked slowly toward the monster, unhurried. Light distorted around his body.
In the blink of an eye, he was before the creature.
Akira's blade gleamed with cold, cutting energy. He leapt.
One single motion.
The dagger cut through the air with surgical precision, striking the center of the monster's chest—the true core, hidden beneath layers of false energy.
The creature froze.
Then it screamed… a sound that didn't seem to belong in the real world.
The spiritual structure keeping it alive collapsed. The massive body disintegrated into black dust, which blew away with the wind.
Silence.
Akira landed on his feet, as if nothing had happened.
— Core neutralized. Barrier dismantled.
The impact still reverberated through the hospital courtyard, now covered in debris and soot. Dust settled slowly, revealing sprawled bodies, collapsed walls, and at the center… Akira.
Dan looked directly at the doctors hiding behind the counter, and they immediately understood it was time to treat the wounded among the rubble.
Dan and Stella rose unsteadily. The shock of what they had just witnessed still burned in their eyes.
— Who… who are you? — Dan asked, panting.
Stella gripped her sword tightly, eyes wide with lingering shock.
— You attacked a child… in the coldest way possible… — she murmured, filled with confusion and fear.
Akira didn't respond immediately.
He simply stood with his back to them, staring at the space where the demon had been seconds before. His posture was rigid, like someone who had done what was necessary—and nothing more.
— That wasn't a child — he finally replied, voice cold as ice. — It was a high-level vessel, designed to appear harmless until it was too late.
Dan took a cautious step forward, still tense, studying the hooded stranger.
— And you knew this… how?
Akira slowly turned. His eyes, devoid of any human light, stared at them with calculated precision.
It was then that Stella noticed.
— The sash… — she murmured, lightly touching Dan's arm.
Tied around Akira's waist, over his worn black combat uniform, was a white cloth bound firmly in a ceremonial style.
Dan narrowed his eyes, and the memory struck like an arrow: Mei also wore that sash. And Tenklyn… when they saw him once in official records, it was there too.
— So… — Dan whispered. — You're one of the four.
Akira said nothing. But the silence spoke volumes.
Stella slowly lowered her sword, eyes still fixed on the man with dead eyes and a cutting presence.
— You are the Fourth Emperor.
Akira observed them for a moment longer before turning his attention back to the surroundings, as if the burning buildings were mere details on a war board.
— The attack wasn't only here — he murmured. — This is a test. They're probing our responses… our strength. Everything was calculated down to the details. We need to act as soon as possible.
Dan and Stella remained silent. The weight of his words was clear.
Akira then took a few steps forward, stopping before disappearing among the debris. Without looking back, he left one last sentence hanging in the air:
— Gather your weapons. You will be part of the front line.
And with that, he vanished into the smoke.
Dan and Stella stood still for a long moment. The hospital in ruins around them, the smell of smoke, the sky covered in ash. But despite the chaos… they felt alive, for now.
And that someone was watching them from the shadows.
Somewhere amid the twisted concrete and the city's watchful shadows, a dark hall pulsed with silent energy. At the center, a circle of motionless puppets surrounded Hazau, each with a broken mask, stitched mouths, and glassy eyes that never blinked.
Hazau watched the scene projected on a floating energy screen, showing the destroyed hospital courtyard, the flames in the background, and Akira standing like a blade among the rubble.
— He exterminated the vessel with surgical precision… — Hazau whispered, crossing his thin arms, his face partially obscured by a cracked mask. — That was just to distract them. They even saved the civilians… my toy didn't even kill one thanks to him.
One of the puppets twitched slightly, and Hazau smirked.
— Akira… your early interference could cost you dearly — he said, as if speaking to his own shadow in the projection. — Still… I'm curious. You didn't hesitate. Not for a second.
He turned slowly, as if aware someone was watching him. A liquid-like portal opened in the dark corner of the room, and from it emerged the hunched silhouette of Doctor Isha, arms wrapped in filthy bandages, vials dangling from his waist.
— Did you see that, Isha? — Hazau asked, without hiding his disdain. — Our friend not only sensed the disturbance ahead of time… but responded flawlessly. He's evolving too fast.
— That's a problem. — The doctor's voice sounded like a mix of speech and whisper, as if the air tore his words apart. — The barrier was dissolved with ease… and the core eliminated before it even fully activated. If this continues, he might break the cycle.
Hazau approached the central puppet, placing his hand on its head like one would stroke a child.
— And to think we used only a fragment of the true seal… — he murmured. — Doesn't matter. All this is a prelude. Akira exposed his position too early. Now we know how far he's willing to go.
Doctor Isha lifted a vial of black liquid, which seemed to pulse as if it had life.
— Do you want me to observe him?
— I want more than that — Hazau said, turning slowly. — Make him feel the weight of being exceptional. Test his decisions. Break his confidence. The next step… will be personal.
The doctor grinned behind the bandages. His rotten eyes gleamed with sick enthusiasm.
— And the puppets?
Hazau raised his arms, and the bodies around him shuddered, lifting their heads in unison, as if awakening from a macabre sleep.
— They will dance. The stage will expand… and the fire that started in this hospital will spread through the veins of the city.
He paused, staring at the projection once more. Akira's frozen face on the screen, eyes dead but determined.
— Let's see how long he can save everyone before the world around him collapses.
---
In some unknown, hidden place, buried beneath snow and winds so cold they could tear human skin, Mei appeared, not looking as composed as usual.
— So… cold… Perhaps I overestimated my strength.
She shivered, feeling the raw chill bite through her clothes, and the thought lingered in her mind: every step forward would demand more than before.
Continue...