Moments earlier, far below ground, a monitoring room pulsed with quiet intensity.
Buried under layers of concrete and steel, the facility thrummed with the steady hum of machines. Rows of figures in crisp uniforms stood at attention before a towering wall of screens, each one alive with shifting grids of green radar scans. The air smelled faintly of cold metal and ozone from the buzzing machines.
Every officer bore the same crest on their shoulders: a white veil stretched across a black circle - the symbol of their sacred duty.
Rows of tiny dots pulsed across the main radar display, each one a demonic presence lurking in the Veil. It was routine, the endless surveillance of their territories. Lesser demons always infested the fold like cockroaches; most were left to field squads to mop up before they grew too bold.
But they were nothing to be worried about, at least not usually...
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The calm rhythm of the room snapped. Every monitor flashed red as a massive spike of Spirit Energy appeared dead-centre on the radar. For a single heartbeat, a giant glowing dot pulsed across the screen, then it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared.
Sirens wailed. Alerts cascaded across the terminals.
"What the hell was that?!" one operator shouted, fingers flying across her keyboard.
"Its energy signature was off the charts!" another barked, eyes wide. "It dwarfs anything in this sector - we've never logged something this high!"
"It's gone already," a third said, sweating as he checked his instruments again.
"Maybe it's a mistake. A system glitch?"
Nobody moved. The only sound was the deafening blare of alarms.
"Glitch, my ass," muttered a veteran officer. His knuckles whitened on the console. "That kind of energy? If that was a named demon-"
"We're not ready for a named-class to breach here," someone whispered, voice trembling.
The room stiffened in tense silence.
Then another operator cursed loudly.
"Look! The nearby signatures, the lesser demons, they're all gathering!"
On the screen, hundreds of smaller dots began swarming, shifting erratically as if magnetised by the vanished energy surge. They converged on one point, forming a writhing nest of activity.
The lead officer slammed a hand on the desk. "If that many lesser demons cluster together, they'll cause fractures in the Veil itself. If cracks tear open…" He didn't finish the sentence. They all knew what would happen. Civilians exposed. Chaos. Death.
Training kicked in. Orders flew.
"Alert!" a voice boomed across the intercom, calm but urgent. "All active personnel, proceed to Gateway G98 and head one klick east. Multiple swarms converging on a surge-point. Engage and scatter the demons, but contain the spread."
"Also," another officer added, "report any suspicious items, entities, or individuals in the vicinity. Something caused this surge, and we need to know what."
Affirmatives crackled back across their radios as strike teams mobilised. The hum of activity filled the control centre.
But then, one more voice cut across the channel.
Cold. Steady. Commanding.
"I'm heading over now. Don't waste resources. Dispatch a clean-up unit, but leave the rest. I'll handle this alone."
As soon as his voice echoed through the speakers, the entire room froze. Some officers straightened instinctively in their seats, spines rigid. Others exchanged uneasy looks, but nobody dared speak. A chill rolled down their backs as if the temperature had dropped ten degrees.
The commanding officer snapped to attention."Y-Yes, sir! Updating protocol now. Auxiliary support will await your clearance."
The man behind the voice was a legend even here.
-
Away from the buzzing control centre, a tall figure stood in silence inside a dim, private office. He adjusted the gloves on his slender but muscular frame, the loose folds of his uniform swaying with each movement. His long, silver hair gleamed faintly in the artificial light, his piercing silver-grey eyes reflecting the steel walls around him.
At his hip rested a katana-like blade, its lacquered sheath black as midnight.
Without hesitation, he drew a glowing purple key from his coat and slid it into the door.
Click.
The sterile office was gone.
When the door swung open, he stepped into a dark, grimy alleyway that reeked of damp stone and rotting trash. The muffled roar of the Veil pressed against his senses instantly.
Above him, the sky was no longer the gentle black of night - it churned with ominous hues of purple, streaks of unnatural light bleeding across the heavens like wounds. The Spirit Energy in the air was thick, suffocating, alive.
He tilted his head back, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "…So it begins."
The man turned east.
"One klick. I'll cover that in less than a minute."
His blade rattled softly at his side as he crouched.
Swoosh!
In a blur, he launched himself skyward. Silver hair streamed behind him like a comet's tail as his boots slammed onto a rooftop. Without missing a beat, he bounded forward, darting across the cityscape with breathtaking speed.
Each leap carried him effortlessly from building to building, his eyes fixed on the horizon. From this height, the battlefield was clear: grotesque shapes writhing in the distance, a giant demon clawing at the rooftops, and swarms of twisted beasts surging like a tide.
His gaze sharpened.
"Time to wet my blade with the blood of demons."
And with a thunderous burst of speed, he disappeared into the crimson night.