The sirens hadn't stopped screaming since the sky tore open.
Shojiro didn't wait for instructions. He didn't call anyone.
He just ran.
Shojiro bolted. He didn't stop to think, didn't call anyone, didn't speak. His legs pumped like pistons, heart hammering, lungs burning. The closer he got to the Momo Dojo, the more horrific the scene became. Streets were littered with overturned cars, shattered glass crunching underfoot. Mangled bodies, twisted and lifeless, lay strewn across the asphalt, some barely recognizable as human. Screeches and blood-curdling screams echoed from alleys, mixing with the acrid stench of smoke and burning metal. Blood splattered everywhere, coating walls, doors, and sidewalks.
The city had become a nightmare painted in smoke, fire, and blood. Screams pierced the air — sharp, frantic, inhuman. The streets were littered with overturned cars, shattered glass, and the mangled forms of those who hadn't made it.
He turned a corner and froze.
Small, grotesque creatures swarmed through the crowd. They were humanoid but twisted — eyes black as tar, teeth jagged and dripping, claws rending flesh effortlessly. Mothers screamed as children were snatched, ripped into pieces, torn apart in seconds. People were thrown into walls, bodies mangled beyond recognition, blood pooling and steaming in the heat of the chaos.
"I should save them… I could help…
Shojiro's clenched his fist as he saw a man being dragged into an alley, limbs flailing. But every second spent helping meant moving slower. I can't stop. Not now. Father needs me".
Still, he couldn't ignore everyone.
He darted to a woman trapped under a toppled cart, her leg pinned and creatures closing in. With a heave, he lifted the cart just enough for her to crawl free. She scrambled into a safer street as he sprinted on.
A group of children froze in terror, surrounded by demons. Shojiro leaped, grabbing the nearest one, hurling them over his shoulder, and then sprinting toward an open alley. He turned back just in time to knock one creature off a collapsing fence, buying the others a chance to run.
I can't save all of them… but I can save some. That has to be enough.
Shojiro's stomach turned, but he couldn't stop. He dashed past a toppled food truck where a group of civilians had been trapped. One woman's arm had been torn off, and the creature dragging her shrieked as it twisted her spine. Another crawled over the bloodied pavement, desperately trying to grab her child, only to have it snatched midair and vanished with a gurgling scream.
Someone screamed from a toppled car ahead. A young woman was pinned beneath the door. Shojiro stopped, dug his heels in, and lifted with every fiber in his arms. Muscles screamed; veins bulged. The metal groaned — then shifted just enough for her to crawl free.
She gasped, eyes wide.
"H-how—"
"Run!" Shojiro barked.
And she did.
He didn't wait to see where she went. Every second wasted meant his father was closer to danger.
Everywhere he looked, bodies were disappearing, being shredded, consumed, or flung into the walls. The creatures were small, but their numbers were endless. Their speed was unnatural, their strength terrifying for their size.
"God… I can't save them all. I can't even save half. I—just have to get to him".
Everywhere he looked, bodies were disappearing, being shredded, consumed, or flung into the walls. The creatures were small, but their numbers were endless. Their speed was unnatural, their strength terrifying for their size.
Shojiro weaved through the carnage, using his speed to avoid grabbing hands and snapping jaws. His own bloodied knuckles scraped against a twisted car, sparks flying as he pushed off and vaulted over a body.
A man screamed behind him as he tried to fight back. Shojiro glanced — one of the creatures had sunk its teeth into his shoulder, twisting him midair. By the time Shojiro processed it, the man was gone. His scream ended in a wet, horrific silence.
"Too late. Too many… I can't help them. I have to get to Dad. I have to".
Shojiro clenched his fists. He couldn't stop, couldn't even slow down to help everyone. His father's voice echoed in his mind: "Protect. Survive. Move."
Shojiro skidded to a halt outside the Momo Dojo. The building was half-collapsed, walls cracked, smoke curling from broken windows. Dust hung thick in the air, mingling with the metallic tang of blood and burning debris.
For a moment, he thought he was too late. Nobody moved inside. The streets were silent except for the distant screams of chaos and the faint crackle of fire.
A flash of movement ahead — a young boy, running with his mother toward a half-collapsed alley. Shojiro lunged, pushing aside a creature mid-swing and sending it smashing into a wall. The mother stumbled, tripping over debris. Shojiro grabbed her arm, pulling her up and shielding the boy with his body as another demon tried to bite through his shoulder.
"I… I can protect at least some of them. I won't fail them like I failed everyone else".
He barreled forward, muscles screaming, adrenaline surging. The demons couldn't stop him. Not for long. Not now.
The final stretch was a nightmare.
Corpses on the road, mangled beyond recognition. A toppled water tower gushed torrents that mixed with blood. The dojo gates were shattered, half the roof caved in, paper talismans burning in the wind.
He stumbled forward, legs trembling, breath ragged. The silence after all the screaming was worse — empty, unnatural. For a moment, he thought he was too late. That there was nothing left to save.
And then, faint but unmistakable, he heard it — a strong, commanding voice cutting through the chaos.
"Move! All of you, move! Get underground!"
It was his father.
Shojiro's heart clenched. The chaos still raged around him, but hope surged through his veins. The shelter — the people — his father was keeping them alive. He pushed harder, weaving through the endless swarm, flames licking at buildings and blood splattering the walls, until he saw the open hatch leading to the underground refuge.
He was almost there.
And behind him, the creatures scattered as something far larger stirred in the distance — a shadow that dwarfed even the burning ruins of the city.
I can't look back. I can't stop. I have to reach him…
Shojiro clenched his teeth, muscles straining. Whatever comes next… I will not fail.