The knife sank into the monster's slimy flesh with a dull thud. Black liquid spurted from the wound, splattering the stones beneath Kohaku's feet. She spun around, ready to strike again, but a tentacle lashed out from the side like a living blade. She ducked just in time, rolled across the ground, and reappeared several feet away, panting.
"Hiro!" she shouted. "It's going to regenerate again—move!"
Hiro clenched his teeth. The monster roared, its tentacles slicing through the air with surprising speed. The ground trembled under its massive footsteps, each impact sending shards of stone flying.
"It doesn't have an active power…" Hiro muttered. "I can't block anything—but I can still punch!"
He lunged forward, dodged one tentacle, then another, and struck the monster's stomach with all his strength. The impact made the air vibrate, but the monster didn't flinch. It leaned forward, growled, and its slimy maw opened with a savage, animalistic howl.
A tentacle shot out, wrapped around Hiro's arm. Another coiled around his leg. He was lifted off the ground, violently pulled upward.
"Hiro!" Kohaku screamed, charging toward him.
The monster hurled Hiro against a tree, then slammed him into a wall. Sickening cracks echoed out, but Hiro endured, bruised and dazed.
"You're gonna regret that…"
Kohaku seized the opportunity. She stepped back twice, slightly folded the space in front of her—creating a barely visible rift—and dove into it.
She reappeared on the monster's shoulder.
Without hesitation, she plunged both knives in a cross at the base of the beast's neck. The monster let out a guttural cry so deep it shook the air around them. It staggered back, destabilized, and raised three tentacles to crush her.
She slipped into another rift and reappeared behind it. But this time, the monster had anticipated it. A tentacle was already waiting—and struck her full force.
She was hurled to the ground, sliding several meters, breath knocked out.
Hiro shouted:
"KOHAAAKUUU!"
He stood up, blood dripping from his forehead. He ran toward the beast, dodged a strike, and climbed up its back like a furious feline. He reached the neck, where Kohaku had attacked, and began striking it barehanded, again and again.
"You wanna eat people?! YOU PICKED THE WRONG GUARD!"
The monster stumbled backward, off balance. Kohaku, lying on the ground, got up shakily.
She saw the moment.
"Hiro... get out of the way."
He leapt clear just in time. Kohaku opened a rift right beneath the falling monster.
The ground warped, gravity twisted, and the monster was half-sucked into it before slamming into the stone at an angle.
The grotesque mass screamed, its tentacles flailing.
Kohaku leapt, blade in hand, landed on its chest, and drove her knives deep into its single massive eye.
Silence.
The body convulsed… then collapsed.
---
Kubira's fist slammed into the monster's temple with thunderous power. The impact made the creature stagger. Its legs buckled under its weight, and with a guttural roar, it released Yuna.
She fell like a rag doll, but Kubira, already back on the ground, leapt up and caught her in midair just before she hit the concrete.
Yuna was alive. In shock, eyes wide, unable to speak. Her heart pounded. Her hands trembled, instinctively clutching Kubira's shirt.
"It's okay… you're alive," he whispered, gently laying her down.
But he had no time to rest.
He stood up, gaze fixed on the monster. A red veil flickered across his eyes like a storm flare. His pupils changed hue. In a deeper, more animalistic voice, he growled:
"Baaad…"
The injured monster roared in fury, but before it could move, an inhuman cry rang out across the sky.
A collective roar.
Heavy. Deep. Guttural. Like an army of giant beasts.
Then, as if emerging from shadows themselves, a dozen monsters similar to the one Kubira had fought stormed in from the alleyways, their heavy steps shattering the roads beneath them. They advanced toward the city, destroying everything in their path—houses, poles, vehicles.
Within minutes, the school district turned into a war zone.
Flames burst from a building to the east. Windows shattered with muffled thunder. Children's screams, cries, and desperate shouts sliced the air like blades. Black smoke was already rising into the sky.
Kubira rushed at the first monster again, determined to finish it before things worsened. He jumped, fist ready.
But the beast caught him midair. This time, it didn't hold back.
It hurled him violently into a wall.
The impact made the whole building tremble. Kubira crashed into the rubble, breathless.
Meanwhile, Keita and several other students had escaped the upper floors.
Now in the courtyard, they were surrounded by cracked walls, uprooted trees, and shards of glass.
Some teachers and students were already fleeing into nearby streets.
Others froze, paralyzed, realizing that leaving school meant facing even more giants outside.
Then came a deep sound, like a cannon blast.
And the teacher with the black glasses—the one no one had ever seen blink, the one whose aura silenced even the worst rebels—stepped forward, straight toward the nearest creature.
He jumped.
And struck the ground with his fist.
The earth quaked.
The ground split clean in two. A massive crater opened the courtyard, separating the monster from the students. The creature staggered back, confused.
Keita, still stunned, approached Kubira, Yuna close behind.
— "Since when does he have powers?… And Kubira too?" she asked, still trembling.
— "I don't know…" replied Keita. "I just found out like you…"
Kubira's body was still smoking. His shirt torn, arms scraped, blood staining his temple. He stood up slowly, clutching his side.
Yuna tried to help him, but he stepped back.
— "I'm going to help him," he said, eyes on the distant teacher.
Hiro placed a hand on his shoulder.
— "You sure? That thing threw you like a rock…"
Kubira grimaced.
— "I might not be strong enough… but it's my duty. Aside from the teacher and me, I don't think any other bearers are here."
In the distance, massive explosions shook the city. The dark sky occasionally lit up with flashes like lightning. The echoes of battles rang out—massive, unknowable.
Chaos had just begun.
The crater Kael had created now stood between the students and the monster, but it didn't retreat. Its deformed eye rolled in its socket, and its enormous arms slowly rose above its head, like a child preparing a massive blow.
Kael didn't move.
He stood straight, arms at his sides, the wind blowing his long black coat. His reflective glasses glinted faintly in the glow of distant fires. Not a word. No command. Not even a glance at the students. Just presence—calm, solid as a wall.
— "Professor Kael…" one student whispered from the back.
— "Is he really going to fight?" another murmured.
The monster let out a raspy howl and brought both arms down on Kael with monstrous force.
The ground exploded.
Stone shards flew in every direction. A dust cloud covered everything. Yuna shielded her face, Keita stepped back, heart pounding.
But when the dust settled…
Kael was still standing.
He had stopped the monster's arms with his bare hands.
His feet hadn't even moved.
He slightly raised his head. His voice rang out for the first time—deep and emotionless:
— "You're going to regret passing through that wall."
And he struck.
A single punch. Brutal. Precise. So fast it made no sound.
It hit the monster's side… and the creature's body was hurled backward like a bomb. It slid for meters, its shoulder crushing a wall, the ground cracking under its weight.
But the monster growled, pushed off the rubble, and rose again, staggering. Its giant eye was bleeding slightly—but its rage had only grown.
It leapt again.
Kael prepared. His body was human… but every muscle was tense like steel cable.
Just before impact, a blue flash burst on the monster's flank.
Kubira.
He surged from the side, lightning trailing behind him. His charged fist struck the monster's right leg, bringing it to its knees with a roar.
— "I'm here too," he panted.
Kael briefly turned to him. A nearly imperceptible nod.
— "Cover my right flank," he said simply.
Kubira nodded. Still bleeding, but standing.
The battle resumed.
The monster swung its arms in wide arcs, sweeping the ground, smashing randomly. Kael dodged effortlessly, his movements surgically precise. Each counterstrike made the monster's flesh ripple and buckle.
Kubira used his speed. He circled the creature, unleashing focused bursts on its joints, nerves, and eyes.
— "Kael, now!" he shouted.
Kael leapt into the air—his fist like a divine spear—and struck the monster's skull top-down.
A heavy crunch echoed.
The monster finally collapsed for good. Its head hit the ground with a thunderous crash, raising a cloud of burning dust.
Silence.
Then, the students began to scream.
Some in relief. Others in terror. But all knew one thing: they had just witnessed a battle beyond them.
Kael, without even looking at the monster's corpse, adjusted his glasses.
— "Evacuate the school. Now."
He turned and walked away calmly, leaving Kubira panting beside the smoldering body.
Keita, stunned, whispered to Yuna:
— "That was… superhuman."
Yuna didn't reply. She kept her eyes on the professor, heart pounding.
The world they knew had just collapsed.