[Chapter Header]
ARC: Back Attack Land
ACT 1: The Weight of the Bloodline
[Chapter Header] ARC: Back Attack Land Flashback: PRIVATE HIGH TOKYO FOR NINJITSU EDUCATION
The scene opens with Jin at a water fountain. He fills a glass, gulps it down, refills it, and drinks again, as if trying to quench an unquenchable thirst.
"What will you do if we cease to exist?" Jin asks suddenly, without turning around.
Akos watches him closely. "I don't know what you mean."
Jin sets the glass down and begins walking along the road outside. Akos follows, shouting after him: "What do you mean, 'if you won't exist'?"
"There are many wild arts in this world," Jin says coldly. "Like mine, the Wind. Yours... your technique is the Infinite Eyes."
"And what does that signify?" Akos retorts. "That our relationship is defined by who is the strongest?"
Jin stops and faces him. "Your clan controls everything, Akos. Down to the water we drink. My clan consists of your enemies."
"Stop talking like the others!" Akos yells, frustrated.
"Tenji... why do you think he won't hate you?" Jin continues.
"Tenji is my friend! Why would he hate me?"
"The Tori clan has hated the Tasaku for years," Jin says, his voice heavy. "But we are doing the opposite. In this world, the strong survive because they possess powerful techniques."
"Techniques should only be used for a good cause!" Akos screams. "Not like Mikaro, who uses them to slaughter innocents!"
Jin steps closer. "Akos... I don't want you to die because you are 'blind'."
"I'm not blind! I just can't kill him. He's my friend, just like you are!"
"I don't want all this weight to fall on you," Jin says, almost with pity. "You're under so much pressure. You have to eliminate them. If you don't clear them out, they will clear you out."
Akos clenches his fists. "Your words sound like a warning that something terrible will happen in the coming days."
"Take care of yourself," Jin says, turning away.
"Stop it, Jin!" Akos shouts in a rage. "If you're thinking of becoming like Mikaro, I swear to you... I will kill you!"
Jin turns his head one last time. "Tasaku... we aren't guardians in this world. We aren't heroes. We are Sorcerers. And our job is to kill anyone who threatens the balance."
He walks away into the shadows, leaving Akos staring after him.
ACT 2: Shadows of the Past
Akos opened his eyes. Standing before him was a girl, with Reino standing right behind her.
"Is this the crazy guy?" the girl asked. "Stop it, Natalia," Reino interrupted. "Don't call him crazy." "Well, what he did... running into the street like that, what do you call it then?" she insisted.
Reino turned to Natalia. "You don't know what he's hiding inside. Talk to him. Didn't you say you were the gang's psychologist? Let's see what you can do. But be careful, he's tough. He took down Kaito, and Kaito was armed with a sword."
Natalia stepped closer to Akos. "Tell me now... what do you see? What sounds do you hear? I need to know exactly what's going on with you." Akos held his head, trying to avoid her gaze. He looked to the right, searching for an exit. "Hey! Why are you avoiding my eyes? Am I not beautiful? Hahaha!" Natalia laughed. Reino slapped his own forehead. "Natalia, no psychologist talks like that."
Akos looked at a flower in the room. "Who are you?" he asked coldly. "Well, I think he told you..." Natalia started, but she froze when Akos pinned her with his cold, piercing stare. It was her turn to look away. "I... I belong to Class 1. I'm the 'big sister' of the gang, 26 years old."
"Can I leave?" Akos asked. Instead of answering, Reino showed him a photograph. "Do you know when this was taken?"
Akos looked at the photo and was shocked. He saw himself standing next to Reino and Keal. All three of them were laughing together like best friends. "What?!" "I don't know when we took this picture with you," Reino said seriously. "But there is something you are hiding. The Tasaku Clan... you belong to it."
"What Tasaku Clan? I only know my grandfather," Akos whispered. "Jinzo Tasaku," Reino said. "The man who created ALPHA in 1968. ALPHA didn't start as a gang; it was something else... something higher, something more terrifying. The story the members know is that it was just random groups, but when I came to Sinish, I managed to unite them. We were 2,345 people. But then, everything started to fall apart. Everyone started fighting over who would be the leader."
Akos let out an ironic laugh. "Hahaha... that's stupid. And what happened next?" "The WAR OF SLASH," Reino replied. "A war of 14 against 4 gangs. The 4 were the ones who left ALPHA. People died, the Yakuza got involved... but the question remains: Is all of this worth it? Akos, you answer me... is it worth being who you are?"
Akos looked at the floor. "If I am worth something, I take it myself. But for me... my situation is not worth it."
"Bravo, you're starting to understand me a little," Reino said. "Behind the WAR OF SLASH, there was someone who planned the attack. And I don't mean Sou Lisou." "That bastard we left in BANIZ," Natalia muttered. "No," Reino insisted. "It was someone else. In every battle, I feel like they wanted to kill both you and me. Why did Kaito want to kill you when you're new to the gang? They know something we don't."
Akos listened to him, but he still felt like everything was a lie. "Tell me now," Reino said, placing the photo on the table. "Do you remember anything about this image?"
ACT 3: The Nightmare Within
Akos fixed his gaze on the photo. Suddenly, his smile in the picture began to distort, becoming terrifying. The room plunged into absolute darkness. Akos lifted his head high and froze.
A massive orange eye hung above his head, staring down at him through the darkness.
Akos looked around, paralyzed. In a split second, Reino and Natalia had vanished. The walls of the office melted away, replaced by a vast, infinite white void.
To his right, a creature with rotting skin and hollow eyes—like a zombie—fixed its gaze on him.
"Time to play, Akos... Hahaha!" the voice of Devil's End echoed, vibrating inside his very skull.
The zombie lunged with supernatural speed. Akos dodged, his heart hammering against his ribs. He ran through the white chaos, but the creature was right behind him, letting out guttural, wild snarls. Suddenly, Akos slammed into an invisible wall. He spun around and froze.
Dozens of zombies emerged from the void. They surrounded him, their hands like claws hungry for flesh. They grabbed his clothes, dragging him toward the center. Akos lost control. He began throwing desperate punches and slaps into the air, fighting shadows. They grabbed his head, his legs.
"LEAVE ME ALONE! Please, let go of me!" he shrieked, as a sharp pain pierced his brain. It was Devil's End digging through his memories, weaving lies into reality.
Suddenly... silence. The zombies vanished.
Akos clutched his head, his breathing shallow, sweat pouring down his face. He opened his eyes slowly.
There was no white room. He was back at school. Reino, Jin, Natalia, Sora, and Ronika were staring at him with absolute horror. On the floor, three or four ALPHA members lay injured, bleeding. The "zombies" he had been striking were his own comrades.
"Akos... what did you do?" Jin whispered, his voice trembling.
"I knew it!" Ronika screamed, pointing a finger at him. "He's an enemy! He's attacking us for no reason!"
Riko stepped in immediately. He grabbed Akos by the shoulder and dragged him out of the building before the situation could explode. Reino followed them silently, his gaze heavy with worry.
ACT 4: The Heart and the Soul
They sat on a bench in the courtyard. Riko ran to get water, while Jin sat next to Akos, trying to steady him.
"Akos, listen to me," Jin said softly. "Are you in control of yourself? Tell me what you see... what does all this mean?"
Akos bowed his head, staring at his trembling palms. The pain in his head had become a violent vibration. He looked Jin in the eyes, a gaze that could shatter steel.
"Tell me the truth... are you a lie? Yes or no?"
Jin stood there, speechless. Pure shock was written across his face.
"Jin, listen," Akos continued in desperation. "If I do something strange again... if you see me losing touch with reality... I want you to strike me in the heart."
"WHAT? No! What are you talking about?" Jin shouted, throwing his hands up. "Why would I hit you?"
"Please!" Akos grabbed Jin by the collar. "If I start running and hitting shadows again, catch me immediately... and strike me in my heart. I have to stop... before I kill them all."
Jin grabbed Akos's hands, forcing him to look him in the eye. His voice was thick with desperation.
"Why, Akos? Why are you asking me for something like this?" Jin asked, his voice breaking. "What do you feel inside? What are you seeing that makes you want me to strike your heart? Tell me the truth!"
Akos remained silent for a few seconds, staring into the void. Then, in a voice that sounded like it was coming from the bottom of a deep well, he began to explain.
"The brain is the traitor, Jin. It's the one crafting the lies. It's the one showing me the zombies, whispering that everyone is an enemy," Akos said, his eyes flashing behind his lenses. "But the soul... the human soul resides in the heart."
Jin stared at him, speechless, unable to find words.
"When you strike the heart with the right intensity," Akos continued, pressing his fist against his chest, "you cause a momentary shock. In that split second, the brain stops working in sync with the heart. The lie is interrupted. The simulation collapses. It's the only way to 'shut down' the visions before they consume me entirely."
Jin took a step back, feeling the crushing weight of the responsibility. "You want me to make you stop feeling... so you stop killing?"
"I want you to bring me back to reality," Akos replied coldly. "Even if it means my heart stops for a beat. I'd rather die as a human than live as a monster slaughtering his friends inside a dream."
Jin stared into Akos's eyes, trying to figure out if his friend had completely lost it or if he was hiding a terrifying truth.
"How do you know that, Akos?" Jin asked, his voice trembling. "How can you be so sure that the heart is the soul and not the brain? Who taught you such a thing?"
Akos lowered his gaze. The silence that followed was heavy. "I was taught by the only person who never told me a lie," he whispered.
ACT 5: Jinzo's Final Lesson
[FLASHBACK: 3 DAYS AGO – THE LAST MOMENTS OF JINZO TASAKU]
The room smelled of death and sterilized air. Jinzo Tasaku lay in bed, his breath coming in labored rasps. Cancer had defeated his body, but his gaze remained as sharp as a blade.
Akos sat beside him, gripping his grandfather's hand.
"Never give up, Akos..." Jinzo whispered, staring at the ceiling. "This world is full of people who will try to steal your truth. There are good and evil men, but the most dangerous are those who will try to control your mind."
"Grandpa, I'm scared," Akos confessed, tears welling in his eyes.
"Listen to nature, my boy," Jinzo continued. "Nature itself always stands by the human body. And nature isn't found in your thoughts—it's in your heart. That is where the soul resides. The brain can be deceived, infected, programmed... but the heart? The heart beats only the truth."
Akos leaned closer. "But what if I lose my mind, Grandpa? If my brain stops seeing reality, what happens then? Will I be lost too?"
Jinzo smiled faintly, one last spark in his eyes. "If you lose your mind, it doesn't mean you've lost yourself. As long as your heart beats, your soul is still there. The heart is your lighthouse in the darkness. Never betray it."
With those words, Jinzo's breath stopped. His hand went limp. Akos was left alone, holding a wisdom that was now his only weapon.
ACT 6: The Holy Blood
[BACK TO THE PRESENT]
Jin stood there, stunned. The weight of Akos's words made him feel small. He realized that Akos wasn't just asking for a blow; he was entrusting him with his very soul.
"Your grandfather... Jinzo..." Jin whispered, looking at his own hands. "Now I understand why you're so different from the rest of us."
Akos remained sitting on the bench, his gaze hollowed out, staring at the concrete as he tried to process his grandfather's words about the soul and the heart. The weight of the world felt like it was crushing him into the wood of the seat. But the heavy silence was shattered with a violent suddenness.
Ronika's footsteps thundered against the pavement. She approached like a rising hurricane.
"YOU! YOU FILTHY BASTARD!" she shrieked, her voice slicing through the air like a blade.
Akos didn't even have time to flinch before Ronika lunged at the bench, grabbing him by the collar and hauling him up with brute force. Her eyes were bloodshot, burning with pure, unadulterated rage.
"Look at them!" she roared, gesturing wildly at the injured ALPHA members bleeding out on the ground. "I knew it! I felt it in my gut from the very first second—you're nothing but a goddamn enemy! You came here to tear us apart from the inside, didn't you?!"
"Ronika, stop! It's not like that!" Jin intervened, stepping between them. He grabbed Ronika's arm, trying to pull her back from the bench. "Akos isn't well... he didn't know what he was doing! His mind... something is controlling him! He's under a terrifying psychological collapse, he didn't see us, he saw—"
"I DON'T CARE!" Ronika cut him off with a guttural scream, sounding more like a beast than a human. She shoved Jin away with a violent jerk that nearly sent him to the ground. "I don't give a damn about your excuses or his 'condition'! ALPHA is my family! My blood! And this outsider just spilled the blood of our brothers!"
She turned her fury back on Akos, her face inches from his, her grip on his collar tightening until his breath hitched.
"I don't care if you're hearing voices or seeing demons. To me, you're just a traitor that needs to be put down. If Reino hadn't made you a leader, I would have slit your throat an hour ago!"
Akos looked at her, his vision blurred and distorted. Inside his head, Ronika's screaming began to fuse with the static noise of Devil's End. He was too exhausted to fight, too broken to explain.
"Then kill me..." Akos whispered, his voice sounding flat and dead. "If you think that will stop the lie... then do it."
Ronika froze for a heartbeat, stunned by the absolute resignation in his voice. For a second, the sheer emptiness in his eyes caught her off guard, but her hatred was a mountain. She tightened her fist, pulling it back to strike, while Jin screamed for her to stop.
Suddenly, Riko burst onto the scene, his face pale and dripping with sweat. He was gasping for air, his eyes wide with panic.
"Riko! What happened?" Jin shouted, stepping away from the confrontation between Akos and Ronika.
"Yuzana..." Riko choked out. "Unknown men... they took him! They dragged him into a car and headed for that massive skyscraper in the city center!"
Everyone froze. The tension between Ronika and Akos snapped instantly, replaced by a cold shock. "What the hell are you talking about?" Jin whispered.
Ronika stood back, her voice turning ice-cold. "I don't care," she spat, crossing her arms. "He doesn't even belong to our gang. Why should we risk our necks for some outsider?"
But Jin, Riko, and Akos—who had suddenly snapped out of his trance—didn't wait for her permission. They took off, sprinting toward the heart of the city. Ronika growled in frustration, kicking the ground, before swearing under her breath and running after them.
After a desperate sprint, they reached the base of a towering, monolithic skyscraper that seemed to pierce the dark clouds.
"This is it," Riko panted, reaching for the door. "Let's go inside!"
"Stop!" Jin barked, grabbing Riko's shoulder and pulling him back.
"What now, Jin?" Riko snapped.
"Do you have any idea what this place is?" Jin's voice was trembling. "This building belongs to a criminal organization known as 'The Holy Blood.' They aren't a gang. They are a syndicate of elite assassins. They take contracts to kill people all over the world."
Riko stared at him, confused. "How the hell do you know that?"
Jin looked at the dark windows of the building. "Anyone who has ever glimpsed the dark side of this world has heard of them. If Yuzana is in there... he's already dead."
They pushed the heavy glass doors open slowly, ready for a fight. But the sight that met them made their blood run cold.
The lobby was a graveyard.
Dead bodies were scattered everywhere—guards, elite assassins, men in suits. Blood painted the white marble floors like a macabre work of art. It wasn't just a battle; it was a total massacre. The air was thick with the smell of iron and death.
"What... what kind of monster did this?" Riko whispered, stepping over a severed arm.
Akos looked at the trail of blood leading to the elevators. The silence in the building was more terrifying than any scream.