The rain tapped steadily against the windows as a low tension filled the air. In a dimly lit room above an old inn, the team had gathered around a large table cluttered with maps, blueprints, and faded photographs. A single lantern flickered above, casting long shadows on their faces.
Naoto Yatsuki stood at the head of the table, arms crossed, his sharp eyes scanning the map laid before them.
"We strike at the Southern Docks," he said, voice calm but firm.
Rei raised an eyebrow. "That area's a fortress. Heavily guarded. You want us to walk into a death trap?"
Naoto's finger moved across the map, pointing to the far east side—an older warehouse district.
"Not walk. Distract. Luna, Koharu—you'll slip into Warehouse 9. Set a fire. Enough to get their attention and force a shift in patrol."
Koharu frowned. "We won't last five minutes in there."
Naoto glanced up. "You're not meant to. Light it and vanish. Fast and silent."
Luna nodded, already thinking through the escape routes.
Then, Naoto turned to Ash.
"You'll lead a team of three through the sewer tunnels beneath Dock 3. The entrance is here—abandoned, but still intact. Use it to reach the main shipment yard."
Ash leaned forward. "And you?"
"I'll be watching from above. If something goes wrong…" Naoto smirked, "…I'll fall from the sky."
Misaki stepped closer. "What's our goal? A fight?"
Naoto shook his head and flipped the map over, revealing a manifest written in code. He tapped a circled mark.
"There's a weapons shipment arriving at dawn. Magical weapons. If we destroy it, their operations collapse. No ambushes, no surprise strikes, nothing—for weeks."
The room went silent. The weight of the mission settled in.
Naoto's voice dropped slightly. "This isn't about one branch anymore. It's about breaking the chain."
Kaien nodded. "Then let's break it."
Outside, thunder cracked. The plan was set.
Tomorrow, the Southern Docks would burn.
The moon hung low over the rusted cranes and stacked shipping containers. Waves crashed, echoing like slow drums beneath the chaos building in the hearts of the team.
Ash, standing at the front, adjusted his gloves. His eyes burned not just with power—but with Drax's memory.
"Targets confirmed," Lori
muttered, looking through a magical monocle. "Six elites. One commander."
Kaien nodded. "We go in quietly. Luna, cover the rear. Rei, you're with me. Ash…"
"I'm going for the commander," Ash said coldly.
"Don't die," Kaien replied.
They moved—shadows in motion. Misaki's blade shimmered with enchantment. Koharu's glyphs lit up the concrete ground. A fireball from Naoto lit the night sky—and the battle began.
The Dockyard Battle
Steel clashed. Magic erupted.
Kaien disarmed a twin-blade hunter with expert counters, his sword drawing a crimson arc in the air.
Luna shattered crates with shockwaves, tossing enemy scouts into the sea.
Misaki and Koharu worked in perfect rhythm—blinding foes with light magic, then cutting through them like dancers.
But all eyes turned when Ash screamed:
"COMMANDER!"
From the top of a container stack, a tall, armored man stepped forward, face masked, lightning crackling at his fingertips.
"You must be the loud one," the Commander said.
Ash's fists lit with blue flame. "I'm the one you killed Drax for."
The two charged.
Ash vs Commander
Fists met blades. Ash dodged a lightning slash, countering with an uppercut infused with fire. The Commander slid back, laughing.
"You're strong. But not complete."
Ash summoned a flame burst, pushing forward. "Then I'll break you piece by piece!"
The battle raged—punches, kicks, swords, spells. The ground shattered. A shipping crate exploded.
Ash bled from his arm. The Commander cracked a rib.
But Ash roared through the pain, fueled by rage, heart, and memory.
In one moment, he whispered, "This is for Drax."
And punched through the Commander's chest with a flaming, magic-infused strike.
The docks fell silent.
Only waves and breathing remained.
Kaien stepped forward. "One branch left."
Ash stood still, staring at his burning fist. "We end this. For him."
The flames of the Southern Docks painted the night sky in hues of crimson and smoke. Bodies lay still across the broken pier, echoes of clashing steel and magic still ringing in the air.
Amid the chaos, a figure stepped onto the battlefield with a calm, predatory presence.
His coat flared slightly in the wind, and his footsteps were silent despite the blood-soaked ground. His eyes scanned the field—sharp, cold, calculating.
He paused as he reached the body of Lori, the 6th elite ranker of the Hero Hunters. Her lifeless eyes stared up at the dark clouds.
"So… she's already dead."
The words escaped his lips like ice.
From the shadows, Ash and Kaien turned, alert. Luna froze, sensing something terrifying.
The man looked up slowly, revealing a half-burnt hunter mask hanging from his belt. His face, marked by a scar from jaw to ear, twisted into a smirk.
"I am Isamu," he said, voice deep, steady, and without emotion. "5th Elite Ranker of the Hero Hunters."
Kaien narrowed his eyes. "Another one…"
Ash gritted his teeth. "We're not done yet."
Isamu tilted his head slightly, his right hand drifting toward the twin blades strapped to his back.
"No," he said quietly, "you're just getting started."
The winds stilled for a moment—then exploded into motion as Isamu launched forward like a phantom.
The second battle at the docks had begun.
Southern Docks – Midnight.
The full moon hid behind clouds, casting the battlefield in a grey pallor. Fire crackled in the distance. Water lapped violently at the edge of the shattered pier.
Isamu stood still like a statue, eyes closed, feeling the wind shift.
Then—he moved.
Like a bullet, he blurred forward, twin blades slicing through the air. Kaien barely blocked the first strike, steel screaming against steel as he was sent flying through a stack of crates.
"Kaien!" Luna shouted, rushing forward, releasing an arrow of light.
But Isamu twisted mid-air, slashing the arrow in half before it reached him. He landed and struck the ground—sending a violent shockwave across the dock.
Koharu stumbled, blood running down her forehead. Misaki tried to stabilize her, but a shuriken burst through the smoke, grazing Misaki's shoulder.
"He's… too fast," Koharu whispered.
Ash charged with fire dancing around his fists. "We end this—now!"
He launched a barrage of flame strikes. Isamu darted between them effortlessly, blades deflecting each hit. Sparks lit the dark like stars.
From behind, Rei tried to catch him off-guard. "Thunder Lance!"
Lightning speared toward Isamu—but he caught it on his sword, the energy crackling around him.
"I see now," Isamu muttered, stepping into Rei's space. "You're all broken."
He drove his knee into Rei's ribs. Rei flew back and crashed into a rusted container, blood coughing from his mouth.
Luna's scream cut through the chaos. "Ash, behind you!"
Ash turned too late—Isamu's elbow smashed into his jaw. Ash flew backward, hitting the dock hard enough to splinter it beneath him.
One by one, the team collapsed. Koharu's shield cracked. Misaki's blades were broken. Even Kaien, bleeding and barely conscious, was down on one knee.
Isamu stood in the center, surrounded by a circle of defeated warriors.
"You believed teamwork would save you. That's cute," he said coldly.
Ash dragged himself up, lip bleeding, vision blurry. "No… we can't lose. Not now…"
But his legs gave out. He collapsed beside Kaien, his breathing ragged.
"We… lost," Ash whispered.
For the first time, his voice was filled not with fire—but with defeat.
The battlefield lay in ruins. Crates were shattered, bodies lay still, the ocean breeze carrying the bitter scent of blood and smoke. Misaki and Koharu tended to the injured, while Ash sat in silence beside Drax's grave marker made hastily with broken wood.
"We need Naoto Yatsuki," Kaien said grimly, his voice barely steady.
"But he's out gathering information," Luna responded, her eyes focused on bandaging Kaien's arm. "He said he'd find something critical about the Hero Hunters' chain of command."
Kaien clenched his fist. "If he doesn't come back soon, we won't survive the next battle."
In Rei's Unconscious Mind
A vast void of stars stretched endlessly. Rei floated in silence, his body limp in the cosmic black. Then—light.
Golden pillars formed around him, and from them stepped a figure dressed in ancient robes, eyes glowing like suns.
"Hello, Rei. It's been a long time," the voice said.
Rei blinked in shock. "Almirah… the God Almirah…"
The figure smiled gently, but there was no warmth in it. "Your allies are broken. You are dying. And yet—you still refuse me?"
"I said I don't need your power," Rei said stubbornly. "I'll win… with them."
Almirah's eyes narrowed. "And what will you do when they're all dead? Because of your pride?"
Rei trembled. He saw flashes—Luna crying, Ash falling, Misaki screaming over Koharu's body, Kaien unable to rise. Then silence. All of them… gone.
"You have one chance," Almirah said. "Take my power. Or let your world burn."
Rei closed his eyes, pain twisting in his chest.
"…Alright," he whispered. "Just… help me protect them."
A burst of light exploded from Rei's chest, engulfing the darkness.
The broken battlefield fell silent, all eyes locked on Rei.
He stood slowly, the glow from his body intensifying with every breath. His skin shimmered with ethereal light, golden markings crawling up his arms like divine veins. His silver hair floated gently, as if caught in a wind that only surrounded him. His once-ordinary eyes were now a burning gold—mirrors of the god who now lived within him.
"R-Rei…?" Koharu whispered, eyes wide.
Luna stepped back instinctively. "No… that's not normal energy. That's…"
"Divine," Kaien finished, staring in disbelief.
From behind Rei, radiant wings of pure energy burst open—six in total. Each wing seemed made of living light, shifting like flame and mist.
Cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet, not from weight, but from presence. The sheer pressure of his transformation bent the air, distorting sound, shaking the dock planks as if a god had descended.
Rei clenched his fist. It glowed white-hot, a divine fire surging through it. "This power… it's not just mine," he said. "It's a promise. To never let them fall again."
A deep voice echoed from within him—Almirah's voice. "You are now the vessel of my will. Protect or destroy. The choice is yours, Rei."
Rei raised his head, his gaze piercing the distant horizon where the next attack would surely come.
"No more losses," Rei whispered. "No more fear. From now on, I'll fight like a god."
And with that, Rei stepped forward—and the world seemed to shift with him.