The Drumyard was quiet again.
Wind passed through the broken metal sheets and rusted barrels, making a hollow sound that echoed through the empty alleys. Smoke still lingered in the air from the earlier fight.
Near a half-collapsed house, a masked man stood silently.
The house looked like it could fall apart at any moment. Its walls were cracked, the roof bent inward, and the door hung from a single hinge.
From inside came a sound.
A child crying.
The masked man slowly turned his head toward the door.
The crying grew louder.
Soft… frightened… desperate.
For a moment he simply stood there, listening.
Then he pushed the door open.
Inside the house, everything was dark and dusty. Broken furniture lay scattered across the floor. In the corner, sitting against the wall, was a small boy no older than five.
His face was covered in tears.
When he saw the tall figure in the doorway, the boy flinched.
"Papa…?" he whispered weakly.
The masked man walked slowly toward him.
The boy wiped his eyes.
"My father went outside… he said he would bring food…"
His voice trembled.
"Why hasn't he come back?"
The masked man didn't answer.
He crouched down and gently lifted the boy into his arms.
The child resisted for a moment.
But exhaustion defeated him.
He rested his head against the masked man's shoulder.
Outside, the glowing barrier of Artholius shone in the distance like a false sun.
Cold.
Artificial.
Indifferent.
The masked man walked away from the ruined house, carrying the child.
Central Military Command – Artholius
Inside the central command chamber, chaos ruled.
Officers shouted over one another like fighting animals.
Majors blamed colonels.
Colonels blamed intelligence divisions.
Everyone tried to avoid responsibility for the Sector 147B barrier breach.
"You were in charge of surveillance!"
"Your drones failed!"
"You should have sealed the sector earlier!"
Major Li Wai slammed her fist onto the table.
"Enough!"
But no one listened.
Suddenly—
The giant steel doors of the chamber opened.
The noise died instantly.
Every officer turned toward the entrance.
The man walking inside was someone none of them wanted to see when things were going wrong.
Global General Hawakashi Kashao.
The highest military authority in Artholius.
His expression was cold with fury.
His boots echoed across the chamber floor as he walked toward the center of the room.
Then he spoke.
"Who is responsible for Sector 147B?"
The question cut through the room like a blade.
Slowly, every officer looked toward Major Li Wai.
She stood immediately.
"Sir… the responsibility is mine."
She kept her voice steady.
"We didn't believe anyone could break the barrier."
"And we still cannot confirm whether the breach was caused by BrainDead… or by humans."
The Global General stared at her.
"Were drones deployed in the sector?"
"No sir."
"Why?"
"Because shortly before the breach occurred… all drones malfunctioned."
The General paused.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Execute them."
The room froze.
"Sir…?"
"All personnel who were present at the site during the breach."
"Give them death sentences."
A colonel nervously stood.
"But sir… if we do that, the Four Great Families will learn about the breach."
The General's eyes turned icy.
"They will not."
His voice lowered.
"Because the only people who know about this incident…"
"…are in this room."
A chill ran through the officers.
The General continued.
"Execute everyone present at the site."
Then he added without emotion,
"And eliminate their families."
A general spoke hesitantly.
"But sir… innocent civilians will die."
The Global General did not blink.
"I do not care."
"As long as the Four Great Families never learn that our barrier was breached."
He looked at the tactical display.
"And initiate a citywide blackout."
"I want to know how someone crossed the barrier."
Another officer spoke nervously.
"But sir… there are twelve thousand civilians in that district."
"How do we find them?"
The General slowly turned toward him.
"You will find them."
"Because your jobs depend on it."
He scanned the room.
"Does anyone object?"
Everyone spoke at once.
"No sir."
When the Global General left, the room finally breathed again.
Artholius – Citywide Lockdown
Within minutes, alarms spread across the city.
Emergency sirens echoed through every district.
LOCKDOWN INITIATED
In another building, Sergeant Major Lanuk stood at Sergeant Vyom's retirement celebration.
The music stopped suddenly when the alert arrived.
An officer rushed inside.
"All units deploy immediately!"
Lanuk sighed.
"So much for the retirement party."
Master Sergeant Murker grabbed his rifle.
"Duty never ends."
Within minutes, the city transformed into a war zone.
Military checkpoints blocked every road.
Soldiers stormed houses and searched civilians.
Anyone suspicious was killed instantly.
Fear spread across Artholius.
The First Explosion
Lanuk's unit advanced down a narrow street.
Small surveillance bots floated beside each soldier.
Lanuk suddenly stopped.
One of the bots beside him began malfunctioning.
Its lights flickered wildly.
"What the hell…?"
BOOM.
The bot exploded.
Lanuk was thrown backward across the street.
He hit the ground hard.
Blood covered his face.
When he struggled to stand, chaos surrounded him.
Every military bot had exploded.
Before anyone could react—
Sixteen explosions erupted across the city.
Huge fireballs rose into the sky.
Lanuk stared in shock.
Those locations…
They were Abraham Family supply storage centers.
Food.
Water.
Everything.
Destroyed.
The entire supply network of Artholius was gone.
But something else made the soldiers freeze.
Standing beside each burning storage facility…
Was a masked warrior.
Sixteen of them.
All wearing red war suits.
At the center stood one man in a black war suit.
In his arms—
The small child from the Drumyard.
The soldiers opened fire immediately.
Bullets rained toward them.
But none of them reached their targets.
Every bullet stopped in mid-air.
Like it had hit an invisible wall.
The soldiers stared in disbelief.
These weapons could kill Level-5 BrainDead.
Yet the masked warriors stood untouched.
Master Sergeant Murker grabbed the communication mic.
"Who are you people?"
"What do you want?"
The man in the black war suit laughed softly.
"You open fire first."
"You don't even notice the child in my arms."
"And now you want to talk."
Murker's voice hardened.
"You've just destroyed the food supply of this city."
"Thousands will starve."
"Do you even understand humanity?"
The masked warriors began laughing.
The black-armored leader spoke again.
"Humanity?"
"Ethics?"
"You command an army of six thousand soldiers."
"And every year you recruit more."
He raised one finger.
"Do you know how many rape cases your soldiers commit each year?"
"More than five hundred."
No one spoke.
"And whenever an officer decides someone is his enemy…"
"He kills them instantly."
He pointed toward the Drumyard.
"Have you ever seen how people live there?"
"They can't even eat once a day."
"Because everything in this city belongs to the Four Great Families."
"Food. Water. Medicine."
"All monopolized."
"And you stand here talking about ethics?"
The soldiers looked down in silence.
Then the masked man continued.
"Nineteen years ago…"
"I tried to reveal the truth."
"And do you remember what you did to me?"
His voice turned cold.
"You destroyed my life."
"But now…"
"I will hunt every military officer in this city."
"One by one."
"You won't come for me."
"You will come to me…"
"…to die."
Lanuk's Memory
Lanuk froze.
A memory suddenly returned.
Nineteen years ago.
Military officers standing at his door.
His older brother crying.
Lanuk was only five years old.
"Brother… why are you crying?"
"When will mom and dad come back?"
His brother collapsed to his knees.
"…Never."
The memory shattered.
Lanuk's blood boiled.
His plasma sword ignited.
In a flash—
Lanuk rushed forward.
One red-armored masked warrior stepped to meet him.
Their swords collided violently.
Energy sparks exploded between them.
Lanuk's eyes burned with rage.
Tears rolled down his face.
"killers…"
His voice trembled with fury.
"Now you die."