ASTRA
Chapter 6 — The Problem With Killing Gods
Japan — Astra Facility Delta-9
Time: 09:12 JST
The training hall was reinforced with layered gravitic plating.
Designed to withstand Rank 2 impact force.
Today, it was barely enough.
An Astra-Class Rank 3 combat unit stood opposite Kazuo.
Fully armed.
Blade-construct deployed.
Chest core active.
Combat simulation: unrestricted.
Kazuo stood barefoot.
No armor.
No weapons.
White hair tied loosely behind his neck.
Crimson eyes calm.
The third eye on his forehead remained closed.
"Begin."
The Astra lunged first.
Mach-speed thrust.
The blade pierced through Kazuo's abdomen.
Clean.
Through and through.
Blood sprayed across the reinforced floor.
Inside the observation deck—
Vice Chief Takeda inhaled sharply.
Reina's fingers tightened around the railing.
But Kazuo didn't scream.
He looked down at the blade impaling him.
"…You should aim higher."
The Astra attempted to withdraw—
Too late.
Kazuo's hand snapped forward and gripped the weapon mid-shaft.
His flesh sizzled against Angel-alloy.
Normally, human blood and Angel material destabilized instantly.
But his didn't.
Instead—
The metal cracked.
Regeneration began immediately.
The wound in his abdomen sealed in seconds.
Not scarred.
Not rough.
Perfect.
Takeda's voice trembled slightly.
"Cellular reconstruction speed exceeds recorded Rank 1 metrics."
Commander Amanda didn't blink.
"By how much?"
"Approximately 37% faster than Seraphiel's observed regeneration."
Silence.
Back in the arena—
The Astra activated thrusters, slamming Kazuo through three reinforced walls.
Concrete and steel collapsed around him.
Dust filled the chamber.
Then—
A pulse.
The debris exploded outward.
Kazuo emerged walking.
Bruised.
Healing.
The Astra fired a graviton burst point-blank.
The blast swallowed him completely.
Thermal readings spiked.
Impact force sufficient to disintegrate conventional Astra armor.
When the light faded—
He was kneeling.
Breathing hard.
Skin torn.
Bones visible through shredded muscle.
Then—
Regrowth.
Bone restructured.
Muscle rewove.
Skin reformed like silk closing.
Reina exhaled slowly.
"He's not even trying to kill it."
And that was the terrifying part.
Kazuo stepped forward.
One clean strike.
Palm to the Astra's chest core.
He didn't inject energy.
He didn't overclock.
He simply focused.
The Astra froze.
Then collapsed.
Core disabled.
One hit.
Combat simulation ended.
Time elapsed:
Three minutes, eleven seconds.
---
Inside the observation room—
No one spoke for several seconds.
Takeda finally whispered—
"He's dormant."
Amanda's eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
Takeda continued.
"He isn't accessing the third eye. He isn't channeling full Angel resonance."
Reina's voice was quiet.
"If this is dormant…"
Amanda finished the thought internally.
Worst case?
Hehehe.
If he loses control—
If Seraphiel influences him—
If the third eye opens permanently—
Astra-1 may become obsolete.
Humanity may become irrelevant.
Amanda turned away from the glass.
"Status on UK envoy?"
Takeda swallowed.
"She has landed."
Amanda's jaw tightened slightly.
"Of course she has."
---
Evening — Arrival
The transport descended smoothly.
No ceremony.
No welcome committee.
Cynthia stepped onto Japanese soil with mechanical precision.
Same silver combat suit.
Grey eyes unreadable.
The faint injection ports along her neck visible.
She walked straight past the receiving officers.
Past security.
Past protocol.
Directly toward Commander Amanda.
The room temperature seemed to shift slightly when they locked eyes.
"You are State Commander Amanda Rourke?" Cynthia asked flatly.
"Yes."
"I am F-2789. Designation: Cynthia."
Amanda didn't offer her hand.
"I know who you are."
Cynthia nodded once.
"I am relaying direct orders from United Kingdom Head Command."
She activated a holo-seal.
High clearance.
Unchallengeable.
"No personnel are to interfere with myself and the subject."
The word hung there.
Subject.
Not Kazuo.
Not Ardent.
Subject.
Reina's expression hardened slightly.
Amanda's voice cooled.
"He has a name."
Cynthia didn't react.
"Names are irrelevant to operational outcome."
Amanda held her gaze for several seconds.
Did she like this?
No.
Could she override UK authority on this?
Also no.
International Astra treaties were clear.
METRE ASTRA belonged to the UK.
And if the UK decided Kazuo was a planetary risk—
Japan would not win that standoff.
Amanda stepped aside.
"You'll have access to the training wing."
Cynthia inclined her head once.
Then turned to the facility doctor.
"Escort me."
She walked away without another word.
Reina stepped toward Amanda.
"We're just letting them treat him like equipment?"
Amanda didn't look at her.
"We are observing."
Reina's voice sharpened.
"That's not an answer."
Amanda finally turned.
"It is the only one you get."
---
Secure Call — Japan to UK
Later.
Amanda stood alone in her office.
She initiated a direct line to UK Head Commander Halbrecht.
His image appeared almost instantly.
"Commander Rourke."
"You sent a lab soldier into my facility."
Halbrecht's tone remained smooth.
"I sent assistance."
"You sent someone who called him a subject."
Halbrecht's eyes cooled slightly.
"It is not human."
Amanda's jaw tightened.
"It is hybrid."
Halbrecht leaned back slightly.
"And that makes it more dangerous."
Amanda activated the training footage from earlier.
Kazuo dismantling the Rank 3 Astra.
Regenerating faster than Rank 1 records.
Halbrecht watched silently.
Then exhaled.
"…Yes."
Amanda crossed her arms.
"If you intend to eliminate him, you'll need more than politics."
Halbrecht's lips curved faintly.
"If elimination becomes necessary…"
He paused.
"…we will deploy METRE ASTRA."
Silence.
Both of them knew what that meant.
METRE ASTRA had never lost.
Not once.
Halbrecht's eyes sharpened.
"But let us be clear, Commander."
"If that thing becomes uncontrollable…"
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Amanda ended the call.
---
Training Wing — Night
Cynthia walked beside the doctor down the dim corridor.
"Subject location?" she asked.
"Private recovery garden."
She nodded.
When the doors opened—
Kazuo stood barefoot in the moonlit courtyard.
White hair moving gently in the wind.
He turned slightly as she approached.
Their eyes met.
Grey.
Crimson.
She studied him carefully.
Biological anomaly.
Angel resonance detectable even without instruments.
He looked at her for several seconds.
Then—
"You're the disposable ones from London."
The doctor choked slightly.
Cynthia didn't react.
"Correct."
A pause.
"You are the hybrid."
He tilted his head faintly.
"Still deciding."
The air between them felt charged.
Calculated.
She stepped forward.
"From this moment forward, I will evaluate you."
Kazuo's lips curved slightly.
"And if I fail?"
Her answer came instantly.
"I will kill you."
Reina watched from the balcony above.
Something told her—
Seraphiel wasn't the only predator coming.
And if METRE ASTRA ever stepped onto this battlefield—
The world would witness something far worse than invasion.
It would witness judgment.
The end.....