Yoichi
Machine blood sprayed across the fractured concrete at my feet, thick and glowing blue. It hissed as it touched the ground, mixing with the dust, oil, and ash that had long since claimed this place. I didn't flinch. I just stood there, the silence after the kill ringing louder than the battle itself.
The tremor running through my arms wasn't fear. It was rage—deep, quiet, the kind that didn't scream. The kind that burned slow, like a fuse buried under skin, waiting for the final spark.
I tightened my grip on Shinkōzan—the Gleaming Slash of the Deep—my crystal-forged katana, forged in silence, reborn in war. The blade pulsed in my hands, faintly glowing with residual energy siphoned from the HOLO I had just brought down. Cracks laced the edge, thin but growing, like it was feeding too much—too fast. A warning. Or a promise.
The body at my feet—a twisted frame of synthetic muscle, ruptured plating, and sparking wires—convulsed once before going still. One red eye flickered, then died.
Another one down. But this was far from over.
Above me, through the broken skeletal frame of the building, I could hear them—the next wave. Magnetic boots clicking against steel grates. Servo motors spinning up. Voices—cold, encoded, almost human.
They were coming. Faster this time. Smarter. I let out a slow breath. Rolled my shoulders. The blade rose again, steady in my hands. There would be no time to rest. Not here. Not in the shadow of the system that ruined everything. And I wasn't finished yet.
I drew a short breath.
In front of me, a dozen more Gore Hounds growled, their saw-like jaws spinning with anticipation. Barbed cables dangled from their bodies like whips—twitching, ready to shred flesh and armor alike.
I stepped forward.
The ground cracked beneath my boots as I moved, slow but certain, eyes fixed on the swarm of Gore Hounds ahead. Their engines whirred in unison, saw-blade jaws grinding, barbed cables twitching like serpents eager for blood.
But I didn't stop.
I had no mercy left in me. No fear. Only rage.
I was done with hesitation.Done with questions.Done with hoping these things could ever be anything but monsters.
These metal abominations—once hailed as peacekeepers, as the protectors of humanity—had become its executioners. They were never meant to destroy, but here they were, tearing down what was left of the world they were designed to save.
They destroyed everything we tried to protect.
Now it was my turn.
Let them come.
With a single swing of Shinkōzan, I cleaved through two Gore Hounds at once.Their metal bodies collapsed to the ground—twitching, sparking, then still.
I leapt into the air, blade reversed in my grip, and drove it down into the nape of another.The katana pierced clean through its armored neck, shattering its energy core in a burst of crackling light.
"You..." I whispered, my voice trembling, caught somewhere between grief and rage."You guys are nothing... nothing compared to the pain that's tearing me apart."
One Gore Hound lunged at me from the side.
I spun sharply, slicing through its leg in a clean arc before driving my katana straight into its chest.Shinkōzan surged with light as its crystal core absorbed the remnants of the HOLO's energy, feeding it back into my body—a small but vital surge of strength.
I moved fast—faster than thought—like a crystal storm unleashed, merciless and unstoppable.
Each strike I delivered, every cut I made, carried the weight of something deeper.Not just vengeance.Not just survival.
Guilt.
It burned in my chest with every breath, demanding release through blade and blood.
ADVENT.
Shella... Rissa... Virly... Vanny...
Their names echoed in my mind like a broken prayer—reminders of what I'd lost… and what I still had to find.
I held my breath as I swung again, slicing through the metal neck of another beast. Sparks burst. The body fell. But the silence it left behind was louder than its death. Why did we fail? Why couldn't I protect you? Was I not strong enough? Was our bond not what it used to be?
Each question hit harder than the recoil of my strikes. Each doubt cut deeper than any wound I'd taken. And still, I kept moving. Because I had no answers.
Only guilt. And a blade.
I stifled a groan as the wound on my side tore wider. Warm blood spilled down, soaking through my clothes, clinging to my skin.
But I didn't care. I couldn't care.
Because if I stopped now…If I let the pain win...
I'd never forgive myself.
Shinkōzan flashed again in my grip.
One diagonal slash—and two more Gore Hounds crashed to the ground, limbs twitching, sparks flaring. I twisted my body to the side, narrowly avoiding another strike, then drove the blade into the creature's back—merciless, precise.
No hesitation. No second thoughts.
I had to survive.I had to keep going.
For them.For my sister...
I bit down on my lip, tasting the salt of my own blood on my tongue.
Ren...Asagiri Ren.
The sister who always looked at me with that quiet storm in her eyes—a mix of hatred and love she never dared to speak. The sister who always appeared strong, unshakable… but I knew better. I saw the cracks. Her heart was fragile.
Especially after the system began to collapse.Especially when she started blaming herself for all the chaos that followed.
Even when the world fell apart, and she formed ADVENT from the ashes, Ren still stood tall—at least, in our eyes. She tried to stay strong for us. Always. But I knew the truth. She couldn't even stand on her own anymore. Ren was already broken. Yet somehow… she still gathered us together. Still gave us something to believe in.
Hope.
And that's why… I hoped.I hoped she'd forgive me.
I prayed she wouldn't hate me for failing to protect ADVENT.For letting it all fall apart right in front of us.
slashed through another Gore Hound as it lunged from above. My body moved at full speed, weaving through the narrow gaps between the ruins with precision and fury. No hesitation.No mercy. I wasn't here to survive.
I was here to hunt.To kill.To tear down every last HOLO that stood in my way—no matter what it cost me.
stood still on top of the burning wreckage, sparks spitting and sizzling under my boots as the last jolt of electricity snapped through the pile. One more movement. Just one. I dared those disgusting HOLO bastards to try me. I was ready to tear them apart. But before I even realized it, my mind slipped—Back to that goddamn mission.
Our last one together.
That ambush hit like a fucking freight train—Three different HOLO types, coordinated like they knew every step we'd take before we even took it. They came out of nowhere, fast and brutal, and we were caught with our pants down.
And I wasn't ready.
None of us were.
But I was supposed to be. I was the one who should've seen it coming. Should've shouted louder.Should've drawn first blood. Instead, I hesitated like an idiot. And they couldn't make it.
People I trusted. People who trusted me.
I keep trying to convince myself that it wasn't my fault... that no one could've predicted it.But that's bullshit, isn't it? Because deep down—I knew.And I froze anyway.
I remember Shella trying to coordinate the defense, barking orders through the chaos.Rissa held the line—fighting with everything she had, shielding Virly and Vanny behind her like a human wall of fire and song.
And me?
I fought. I slashed and struck, carving through them like some crystal-born demon unleashed from hell itself. But it was too fast. Too brutal. Too much.
We didn't stand a chance.
The memory burned so vividly in my mind that it ripped a scream from my throat—a raw, broken roar of despair that tore through the ruins like thunder.
And with that scream came the kill.
Another Gore Hound lunged—and I drove my blade straight through its chest with a violent thrust, forcing it back, splitting its core, tearing its body clean in two.
I didn't stop to breathe.I couldn't.Because the past was still chasing me.
I didn't know if they were still alive… or already—I couldn't finish the damn thought.I didn't dare finish it.
Shinkōzan trembled in my grip.
I turned slowly, eyes scanning the devastation around me. A dozen Gore Hound corpses littered the floor, torn apart, still smoking. The air was thick with the stench of burned oil and melted steel. Nothing moved.
Silence.
I stood alone, once more, in the center of a massacre—My body trembling, not from fear… but from blood loss and exhaustion. But I was still alive. I had to be alive. My hand pressed down on the wound at my side. Warm blood oozed between my fingers, trailing down my hip. My vision blurred. Colors faded. Edges wavered.
But I clenched my teeth.And I stood my ground.
Because dying wasn't an option.
Not yet.
"I'll survive…" I whispered. "I'll find you guys... all of you."
My steps were shaky, but I kept moving—dragging my battered body out of the ruined building one breath at a time. Beneath a cracked, ashen sky, I offered no words to the world. Only a silent prayer.
Ren...Forgive me.
I swear, I'll make it right. Even if I have to stand against the world alone—Even if it breaks me. I will find them.No matter what it takes.