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For a moment, everything was still.
Not even the wind dared to move.
Then.
“NOW!” Lighter shouted.
And the battle began.
Lighter’s charge was the first to land.
His armored fist cracked through the dirt, slamming into Caesar’s shield with explosive force. She staggered, boots digging into the ground, but she held firm, laughing under her breath as she absorbed the impact.
“Missed me, didn’t you?” she sneered.
“Not even slightly,” Lighter growled, launching another barrage of punches, hammering against her defense with relentless fury.
Seth darted past them, flanking Zhu Yuan with speed and precision. He ducked under her baton swipe and retaliated with a hard jab to her ribs, his shield deflecting the stun-burst she fired back.
“Let him go, Zhu!” Seth barked.
“He belongs with me!” she shouted, spinning and sweeping his legs. “You don’t understand him!”
Their weapons clashed in sharp bursts of force and footwork. Seth using clean technique while Zhu relied on brutal efficiency and PUBSEC martial conditioning.
Meanwhile, the others surged toward Miyabi.
Lycoan led the charge, leaping with cybernetic speed, claws outstretched.
Hugo, blade unfolded, struck low while Anton’s drill-spear tore through the ground with molten sparks. Ben followed up with a concussive punch, aiming to destabilize her stance.
But Miyabi stood like a wall of ice and fire, her blade singing through the air.
She parried Lycoan mid-leap, dodged Hugo’s arc, deflected Anton with a wrist flick, and barely winced as Ben’s strike grazed her side.
“Four-on-one,” she said calmly. “Cowards.”
“Or realists,” Hugo replied coolly. “You’re too dangerous to go easy on.”
From the rooftops, Billy and Harumasa coordinated their support.
Billy’s dual pistols barked controlled bursts, aiming for Miyabi’s joints and blind angles while Harumasa fired precise arrows tipped with microshock cartridges. They weren’t aiming to kill, but to disrupt, weaken, buy time.
“Pressure her!” Harumasa called. “Keep her blade out of rhythm!”
“Easier said than done!” Billy yelled, firing another shot to intercept a parry aimed at Lycoan’s throat.
Miyabi was a blur.
Every swing of her blade was measured, devastating. Her strikes came like falling judgment, silent, cold, absolute. It took all of Lycoan's enhanced agility to keep up, darting around her with claws extended, narrowly dodging the edge of a blade that could cleave a man in two.
“She’s still holding back,” he growled.
“Not for long,” Hugo answered beside him, lunging with his folding scythe.
Miyabi turned on him, sparks flying as her katana met steel, and kicked him square in the chest. Hugo rolled with the blow but hissed as he landed, her strength was inhuman.
“Pull her attention!” Anton shouted, revving his drill spear before slamming it into the earth.
The shockwave forced Miyabi to hop back, and in that moment, Ben rushed in from the right with his big and heavy arm, aiming for her side. She pivoted smoothly and blocked with the flat of her blade, sliding backward from the force, but not stumbling.
Billy’s gunfire came next, precise, constant. His rounds weren’t lethal, but they were meant to chip away at her control, to frustrate, to open a gap.
“Haru! Now!” he barked.
From a rooftop angle, Harumasa’s arrow flew, charged with static, aiming for her blind spot.
But Miyabi twisted at the last second, the arrow grazing her shoulder as her blade sliced upward, deflecting the second shot before it could land.
“You think this is enough?” she said, voice cold. “You think numbers will save him?”
Lycoan’s claws sparked, legs faltering. Hugo grunted, eyes narrowing.
Ben slammed his fist into the ground to anchor himself.
“She’s trying to break our rhythm!” Anton shouted. “DON’T LET UP!”
They surged again, this time smarter.
Lycoan darted low, striking from the shadows. Hugo feinted high, his blade grazing her defense to mislead. Ben and Anton moved in unison, one driving power, the other strategy. Billy and Harumasa provided ranged cover, bullets and arrows forcing her to always choose defense.
Even Miyabi, for all her training and power, began to sweat.
“You can’t have him!” Lycoan growled. “We won’t let you!”
Miyabi’s eyes darkened, her strikes becoming sharper.
“You’re too late,” she hissed. “Wise belongs with me now.”
“He never chose you,” Hugo replied. “You chose for him.”
Her blade glowed again, and this time she unleashed a wave slash, a crescent arc of energy that split the battlefield, knocking Ben off balance and forcing Harumasa to retreat from his perch.
“She’s ramping up!” Billy shouted.
Anton gritted his teeth. “Then we finish this, before she gets serious.”
Miyabi’s blade hummed, the glow intensifying until it drowned the battlefield in a white-blue light. Her breathing slowed, her stance lowering into perfect stillness.
And then, she moved.
No one saw the first strike. Only the aftermath. Lycoan was hurled across the ground, his claws shattered, armor torn. Hugo’s scythe split in two as he collapsed, blood at the corner of his lips. Anton’s drill spear was swatted aside like a toy, the force spinning him into the dirt. Ben barely raised his arm before Miyabi’s knee drove into his chest, the shock leaving him limp.
“Too slow,” she whispered, already behind Harumasa. One flick of her blade and his bow snapped in half, the archer tumbling from his perch in a heap.
Billy fired desperately, every round aimed with precision. But Miyabi’s blade danced between them, steel flashing like lightning. In the space between breaths, she was at his side, twisting his wrist until his pistols clattered uselessly to the ground.
In less than five seconds, the battlefield was silent.
The once-coordinated strike team lay scattered, broken, groaning in the dirt. Miyabi stood alone among them, her blade resting calmly at her side, a faint curl of steam rising from its edge.
“You thought numbers would be enough,” she said quietly, her eyes sweeping over the fallen. “But none of you… were ever close.”
She turned her head, gaze distant, fixed on someone unseen.
“Wise,” she murmured, a softness breaking through her cold tone. “It’s time to come with me.”
The sounds of battle outside were muffled by the estate’s thick walls, distant clashing steel, bursts of gunfire, and shouted names. But Ellen and Rina had long since learned how to block out noise.
Their mission was clear.
Move quietly. Get to Wise. Get him out.
Rina moved ahead, disabling a motion sensor near the stairwell with a flick of her gloves. Ellen followed, her steps light despite her strength, her eyes locked ahead with shark-like focus.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
Eventually, they reached it, a sealed steel door recessed behind an ordinary bookshelf. To anyone else, it would’ve looked like just another part of the wall.
But the false bookshelf had a biometric lock, and beyond it… they could feel his presence.
Rina reached for her tools. Ellen raised her blades.
“We’re close,” Rina murmured.
“He’s in there,” Ellen confirmed. “I can smell it.”
They pushed the false wall aside and were met with a single reinforced chamber door, red light blinking on the lockpad.
Ellen growled, slamming her fist against it. “It’s locked.”
Rina examined the pad. “No override. The keys must be—”
A soft chuckle echoed through the hallway, cold and casual.
“Looking for these?”
They both turned sharply.
At the end of the hall stood a familiar figure. Tall, agile, and dangerous.
Jane.
Tail flicking lazily, ears perked, her gloved hand held up a set of silver keys, dangling them from one clawed finger like a game piece.
“Took you two long enough,” she said with a grin. “Didn’t think I’d let amateurs like you steal my prize.”
Ellen snarled, her serrated teeth on full display.
“Give them. Now.”
Jane tilted her head mockingly. “Aw, that’s not how this works. You want the key? Then come take it.”
She twirled it once on her finger, then let it drop into her tail, which coiled around it like a serpent.
“Better move fast before Zhu Yuan or Miyabi notices you’re even here.”
Ellen’s grip tightened around her blades.
“Sharks don’t ask for their prey,” she hissed, stepping forward, voice sharp and feral. “Once we bite, we don’t let go.”
Rina, silent, stood beside her, eyes narrowed, electricity pulsing faintly from her gloves.
Jane’s smile widened.
“Good. I was hoping this would be fun.”
The air inside was suffocating.
The hallway was narrow, lined with flickering lights, every sound amplified—every strike a thunderclap between the walls.
Ellen lunged first.
Her shark-like grin was a threat in itself, her serrated teeth bared as she swung her blades with the force of a predator on the hunt.
But Jane was quicker. The rat thiren slid low, tail whipping upward to intercept Ellen’s strike, sparks hissing as metal clashed. With a mocking laugh, Jane shoved her back and flipped to her feet.
“You’re too slow, fish-girl,” Jane taunted, twirling the keys on her tail. “I thought sharks were supposed to be scary.”
Ellen snarled, lollipop snapping between her teeth.
“Keep joking. Once I sink my teeth into you, you’ll never get away.”
Her gloves sparked with deadly electricity, crackling arcs chasing along the floor. She struck suddenly, fast and efficient, a bolt of current blasting toward Jane’s flank.
Jane twisted at the last second, tail slamming against the wall to vault herself upward, dodging the shot with unnatural agility. She landed against the ceiling like a spider, claws digging into the plaster.
“Two against one,” Jane chuckled, eyes glowing faintly. “Still feels unfair, for you.”
Her claws scraped along the ceiling as she launched down in a spinning dive, tail lashing like a whip. Ellen blocked with her armguard, teeth bared, while Rina sent another jolt of electricity to force Jane back.
Ellen shoved Jane into the wall with a roar, snapping her jaws inches from the rat’s throat.
“GIVE. ME. THE KEYS!”
Jane only grinned wider, pressing her forehead against Ellen’s, her tail flicking mockingly behind her.
“You want them? Then take them. Let’s see if your bite is worse than your bark.”
Rina’s eyes narrowed, her gloves fully charged.
“Enough games,” she whispered.
The air hummed with electricity, the entire hallway glowing blue as she prepared to unleash a strike powerful enough to end this, whether Jane wanted to give up the keys or not.
The air hummed with electricity, Rina’s gloves sparking at full charge. Ellen stood ready at her side, blades raised, breath heavy from the clash.
Then, a faint sting.
Ellen blinked, confused. She looked down at her arm and saw a shallow cut across her forearm, no deeper than a paper slice. It hadn’t even registered in the heat of the fight.
Jane smirked, twirling her bloodstained dagger.
“Oops. Did I nick you?”
Ellen’s body suddenly betrayed her. Her grip faltered, knees buckling slightly as a cold stiffness crept up her arm, spreading through her veins like ice water.
Rina’s eyes widened. “Ellen!”
Jane’s grin sharpened as she tapped her dagger against the wall, the keys on her tail jingling in rhythm.
“Careful now… wouldn’t want you to suddenly lose your balance, would we?” she mocked.
Ellen snarled, trying to force her muscles to obey. Her teeth snapped in frustration as her body grew heavier, movements sluggish.
“What… did you… do?” she growled.
Jane tilted her head innocently.
“Poison. Nothing deadly, don’t worry. Just a little paralytic cocktail I’ve been perfecting. Makes the big predators nice and slow… nice and helpless.”
Her eyes gleamed, feral and delighted.
“Perfect for taking prey alive.”
Rina stepped forward, gloves humming brighter, electricity arcing dangerously across the hallway walls.
“You planned this…” she said coldly. “You wanted us weakened.”
Jane licked her lips, dagger poised.
“Of course I did. Why fight fair when you can win smart?”
Ellen staggered, slamming her hand into the wall to keep herself upright. Her breathing was ragged, fury in her shark-like eyes.
“I’ll… rip you apart,” she snarled through clenched teeth.
Jane laughed softly, tail flicking the keys playfully.
“Try. If you can still move.”
The hallway crackled as Rina prepared to unleash her gloves’s full charge, knowing if Ellen fell completely, she’d have to carry this fight herself.
The hallway flickered with the blue glow of Rina’s gloves, sparks hissing as she held her charge.
Then, in the blink of an eye. Jane moved.
Her tail lashed forward, coiling around Ellen’s throat with terrifying precision. The paralyzed shark thiren tried to struggle, but her body betrayed her, her muscles stiff and slow. Jane yanked her back, pressing the serrated tip of her tail against the side of Ellen’s neck.
Ellen snarled weakly, her jaws snapping inches from the rat’s face.
“Ghh… I’ll kill you…”
Jane chuckled, leaning close, her whiskers brushing Ellen’s ear.
“Oh, I know you would. That’s why this is fun.”
She turned her gaze to Rina, who stood frozen, gloves still crackling, eyes burning.
“Well, maid?” Jane mocked, her grin wide and sharp. “You going to fry me where I stand? Or would you rather watch your friend’s throat get drilled open?”
The tail tip pressed harder, drawing a thin line of blood down Ellen’s neck.
Rina’s fingers twitched on her gloves. One wrong move, and Ellen was done.
“Release her,” Rina said coldly.
Jane tilted her head, eyes glinting in amusement.
“Not until you drop the charge.”
“You’re bluffing.”
Jane’s smile widened.
“Am I?”
Ellen’s breathing grew heavy, her eyes narrowing at Rina.
“D-don’t… hold back…!” she forced out, voice strained through the paralysis. “Fry… her…!”
Jane laughed, tail tightening.
“Loyal, isn’t she? Too bad loyalty makes people stupid.”
She dangled the keys again with her free hand, the sound mocking, cruel.
“So what’s it going to be, maid? Attack me… and lose her. Or back down… and lose him.”
The hallway felt smaller than ever, the air stifling. Every second that passed was a knife’s edge decision.
The crackle of electricity died down. Rina slowly lowered her gloves, the charged glow fading until the hallway was once more swallowed by shadow and flickering light.
She let out a controlled sigh, her eyes never leaving Jane’s.
“Fine,” she said evenly. “Let her go… and we’ll leave.”
Jane tilted her head, her grin stretching wider.
“Oh? Just like that?”
Her tail pressed tighter against Ellen’s neck, making the shark thiren’s breath hitch.
Rina gave no visible reaction, her voice calm as stone.
“You want him for yourself. We won’t interfere. Just release her.”
For a heartbeat, silence filled the hall.
Then Jane chuckled, low and mocking.
“You really think I’d believe that?” She tapped her claws against Ellen’s shoulder, the faint scrape making Ellen flinch. “You two are pests. You’ve been buzzing around him like flies since the beginning. Why would I let you just walk away?”
Rina’s eyes narrowed, though her voice stayed neutral.
“Because killing us now wastes time. And if Wise wakes up, he’ll hear. You don’t want him to see this side of you, do you?”
Jane’s smile faltered for just a moment. Her tail twitched.
Ellen forced out a strained laugh through her clenched teeth.
“She’s… right… Rat. You’re scared. Scared he’ll look at you… the way he looks at them.”
Jane’s grin snapped back, but her eyes betrayed irritation.
“Careful, shark. Or I’ll test how sharp my tail really is.”
The sound of footsteps echoed faintly from deeper within the estate. Heavy, deliberate, someone else was coming.
Jane’s ears twitched. She immediately released Ellen from her tail’s grip, letting the shark thiren crumple to the ground with a growl of pain. Before Rina could react, Jane darted forward with ratlike speed.
Her claws flew across the keypad lock.
The reinforced door hissed open.
And there he was.
Wise.
Curled in the far corner of the room, knees pulled to his chest. His head rested against the wall, chest rising and falling shallowly in troubled sleep. Chains glimmered faintly around his ankles, biting into his skin.
Even in slumber, his expression was haunted.
Jane’s grin spread wide, almost trembling with delight.
“There you are…” she whispered. Her voice carried a shiver of hunger, of triumph.
She stepped over the threshold, tail swaying behind her like a serpent ready to strike. The keys jingled once as she twirled them around her claw.
“Guess I’ll take my prize…”
Ellen staggered up, body sluggish from the poison, but her eyes burned like fire.
“Over… my dead body…” she rasped, pushing herself off the wall, blood still running down her neck.
Rina’s gloves sparked to life again. She moved silently, positioning herself between Jane and the bed where Wise lay.
The room’s tension snapped like a wire.
Jane stood at the doorway, tail swaying, eyes gleaming as she drank in the sight of Wise curled helplessly on the floor.
Ellen and Rina tensed, ready to strike, ready to kill if they had to.
But Jane only chuckled, slipping the keys into her pocket.
“Well now,” she purred, her voice soft and mocking, “this was fun. But unfortunately—” she gave them a little bow, eyes never leaving Wise, “—I have to go now.”
Before either could move, her tail lashed out, smashing the light overhead in a shower of sparks and plunging the hall into darkness.
Ellen roared, blades cutting through the air, but struck only plaster. Rina’s gloves flashed, illuminating brief glimpses of the rat’s silhouette as it darted along the ceiling, scurrying with unnatural speed.
By the time the sparks faded, Jane was gone.
All that remained was the echo of her laughter bouncing through the vents.
Ellen slammed her fist into the wall, cracking the concrete.
“Damn it! She had him right there!”
Rina’s narrowed eyes stayed fixed on Wise through the doorway. He still hadn’t stirred, still asleep despite everything, chains rattling faintly with his breathing.
“No,” Rina said quietly. “She’s not done. None of them are. This was just her warning.”
Ellen’s teeth bared in fury.
“Then next time… she doesn’t leave in one piece.”