The city outskirts were quieter than the ruins at its heart.
That alone made them dangerous.
Fog rolled thick through the abandoned industrial zone, clinging to rusted factories and collapsed pipelines like a living thing. Broken smokestacks loomed overhead, their shadows stretching long across cracked concrete roads. The air smelled of oil, metal, and something faintly acidic—the lingering trace of Xeythrian presence.
Kairo Renji moved silently through it all.
Each step was measured, deliberate. His boots barely made a sound as he advanced between skeletal warehouses and shattered transport containers. The faint glow of alien glyphs flickered on distant walls, barely visible through the fog, pulsing slowly—as if the city itself were asleep and breathing.
In his hand, the scanner trembled.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The signal pulsed stronger than before. Dense. Heavy. Wrong.
Kairo's jaw tightened.
"This one's different," he thought. "Stronger."
The air pressed down on him, thick and oppressive, like an unseen weight settling onto his shoulders. Every instinct he had—human and otherwise—screamed danger. This wasn't a hunt.
This was a confrontation.
His fingers brushed the katana's hilt. The Orionite blade responded instantly, humming softly beneath its sheath, as if warning him. Or urging him forward.
Kairo exhaled slowly, steadying his breathing.
"Stay sharp," he told himself. "No mistakes."
The scanner shrieked.
The ground exploded.
Concrete shattered as something massive burst from the fog, slamming down in front of him with earth-shaking force. The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, cracking the road beneath Kairo's feet and throwing debris into the air.
He leapt back just in time.
The Sub-Leader straightened.
It was taller than any Xeythrian Kairo had faced before—nearly three meters of armored muscle and alien steel. Jagged plating covered its body like a living fortress, etched with glowing crimson runes that pulsed in rhythm with its breath. Its claws gleamed like forged blades, dripping with faint blue energy.
And its eyes—
Its eyes burned red with intelligence.
Not feral hunger.
Recognition.
"Hunter," it said, its voice deep and layered, as though multiple throats spoke in unison. "You reek of Orionite."
The creature stepped closer, each movement cracking the ground beneath it.
"That blade will be mine."
Kairo felt a chill run through him.
So it could speak.
So it understood.
A thin smirk tugged at his lips anyway.
"Come and take it."
The Sub-Leader roared.
The fog tore apart as it charged, moving far faster than something that size should have been able to. Kairo drew his katana in a flash, the silver-blue blade igniting as he dashed forward to meet the attack.
Steel and claw collided.
The impact sent a violent shock through Kairo's arms, nearly tearing the sword from his grip. He twisted away just as the alien's other claw came down, gouging deep into the concrete where his head had been a moment earlier.
Too strong.
He struck back, slashing across the Sub-Leader's chest. Sparks flew as Orionite met alien armor, leaving a glowing gash—but not cutting through.
The creature laughed.
A deep, echoing sound that reverberated through the fog.
"Yes," it growled. "That sting… I will enjoy breaking you."
Smaller Xeythrians poured in from the shadows, drawn by the noise.
Kairo moved.
He became a blur of motion—dodging, slicing, firing. His katana cut through lesser aliens with ease, their bodies dissolving into black mist as he carved a path forward. He fired controlled shots between strikes, dropping enemies mid-leap.
But every second he spent clearing them was a second the Sub-Leader closed the distance.
A massive claw slammed into his side.
Pain exploded through his ribs as he was hurled across the zone, crashing through a stack of rusted containers. Metal screamed and collapsed around him as he hit the ground hard.
Kairo gasped.
Something warm ran down his side.
Blood.
His blood.
For the first time in a long while, it hurt to breathe.
"…Damn it," he coughed, pushing himself up.
The Sub-Leader loomed over the wreckage, its red eyes glowing brighter.
"So fragile," it mocked. "You humans always are."
Kairo forced himself to stand, ignoring the pain screaming through his body. His vision swam, but he steadied it, gripping his katana tightly.
"…Too strong," he admitted under his breath.
The alien lunged again.
Kairo barely rolled aside as claws smashed into the ground, sending shards of concrete flying. He reached into his coat mid-roll and hurled a small spherical device behind him.
It detonated in a flash of white light.
The Sub-Leader snarled, momentarily blinded.
Kairo didn't waste the opening.
He triggered another device—energy wires snapped upward from the ground, wrapping around the alien's limbs in a crackling net. The Sub-Leader roared in fury as electricity surged through it, locking its muscles in place.
Kairo dashed forward and struck—once, twice, three times—driving the Orionite blade into exposed joints in the armor. Blue-black blood spilled, sizzling as it hit the ground.
The alien staggered.
For a moment, hope flared.
Then the Sub-Leader flexed.
The energy net shattered.
With a single, brutal strike, it backhanded Kairo across the chest. He felt something break as he flew through the air and slammed into a factory wall, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs.
He slid to the ground, coughing violently.
Blood stained his white shirt red.
The Sub-Leader approached slowly, savoring the moment.
"You fight well," it said. "For prey."
Kairo forced himself to look up, eyes burning with fury.
"You're not… walking away," he spat.
The alien chuckled.
"Oh, I am."
It stepped back, its wounds already beginning to seal, the glowing runes across its armor pulsing brighter.
"You're not ready, Hunter," it continued. "But you will be."
It turned toward the fog.
"Next time… you die."
With that, it vanished into the mist, its presence fading from the scanner like a dying echo.
Silence returned.
Kairo lay there for a long moment, staring at the broken ceiling above him.
His body trembled—not from fear, but from rage.
Slowly, painfully, he clenched his fist against the ground.
Blood soaked into the concrete.
"Run while you can," he whispered. "Next time… I won't."
Far away, deep underground, alarms flared to life.
Dr. Aris Veylan stared at the data scrolling across his screen, eyes wide.
"Kairo…" he breathed. "What are they sending now?"
Above, in the fog-choked ruins of Earth, a hunter bled.
And the war took its first true step forward.