The hotel room was dimly lit, curtains drawn to hide the battered world outside. Misaki lay asleep on the bed, her face pale but peaceful. Koharu sat silently beside her, brushing Misaki's hair away from her face, eyes heavy with worry.
Across the room, the others gathered—tired, injured, tense.
Rei stood by the window, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the shadows beyond.
"I want to save Isamu," Rei said quietly, breaking the silence.
Heads turned.
"Why?" Kaien asked, his voice calm but curious.
"Yeah, why the hell would you want that?" Ash snapped, his voice rough, sharp. "That guy nearly killed us all!"
Rei didn't turn. "Because… he didn't kill me. He could have. But he didn't."
"That's not mercy," Ash growled. "That was strategy. Don't confuse hesitation with humanity."
Rei turned sharply. "I'm not confused! I saw something in him."
Ash took a step forward. "You want to fight me over this?!"
"Maybe I do!" Rei snapped back.
"Enough."
Naoto Yatsuki's voice cut through the room like a blade.
The tension dropped immediately.
"First," Naoto said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, "we find them. Arguing won't get us anywhere."
"Yeah," Koharu added softly, looking up from Misaki's side. "We're all tired. Don't turn on each other now."
Ash and Rei looked away from each other, both clicking their tongues in frustration.
"Tch."
"Tch."
They both folded their arms and turned in opposite directions.
"Where do we even start?" Luna asked, glancing around. "They could be anywhere."
"Naoto," Kaien said, walking up beside him. "You've been gathering information. Any leads?"
Naoto's eyes narrowed as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crumpled map.
"Yes. I have a few… and one of them might lead us straight to the core of the Hero Hunters."
Naoto spread the crumpled map across the table in the center of the room. Everyone gathered around it—Ash still fuming, Rei silent, Kaien focused, and Koharu helping Misaki sit up.
"This," Naoto said, pointing to the lower part of the map, "is the Southern Docks. Smugglers, black markets, hidden labs—it's a hive for illegal activity."
Luna leaned in. "So the Hero Hunters are using it as a base?"
"Not exactly a base," Naoto replied. "More like a transit hub. But I received intel that the Fourth and Fifth Elite passed through here last night."
Rei's gaze sharpened. "Isamu?"
Naoto nodded. "He was seen speaking to a cloaked figure carrying what looked like a divine artifact."
Kaien tapped the edge of the table. "What's our objective?"
Naoto looked around the room. "Two things. One—we secure the area and stop any active Hunter operations. Two—we locate any trace of Isamu or other elites."
"Finally," Ash muttered. "Something I can punch."
"But it won't be that easy," Naoto warned. "They'll have traps. Lookouts. If they spot us too early, they'll scatter. We need a clean infiltration."
Kaien nodded. "Then we split into three teams."
"Wait—three?" Koharu asked.
"Yes," Kaien continued. "One team draws attention at Dock Gate A. Second team enters from the west. The third…" He looked at Rei. "...slips in from the back with Naoto. Stealth and retrieval."
"I'm in," Rei said without hesitation.
"And I'll lead the front," Ash said, cracking his knuckles. "Let them see me. I'll make noise."
Naoto smirked slightly. "Then I'll take Rei and Luna. We'll find Isamu—if he's there."
"Don't forget," Misaki said weakly from the bed. "You're all still recovering. Be smart."
Koharu held her hand. "We'll end this before it starts again."
Kaien drew a deep breath. "We move at dusk."
The room fell silent for a moment. Everyone stared at the map, at the target marked in red—the Southern Docks.
It was time to end the hunt.
The sun dipped beneath the horizon, casting the Southern Docks in eerie twilight. Waves slapped against rusted cargo ships, and shadows moved like whispers between crates. The wind smelled of salt, smoke, and secrets.
Team Alpha—Ash and Kaien stood near Dock Gate A, cloaked in old warehouse uniforms.
Kaien whispered, "Wait for the signal. We distract, not engage—yet."
Ash clenched his fists. "Got it. But if one of them breathes wrong—"
"Control yourself," Kaien muttered, eyes scanning the guards posted near a fuel container.
Meanwhile, on the western side, Team Beta—Misaki and Koharu former spot, now taken by a silent, sharp-eyed warrior named Juno—moved like shadows between stacked shipping containers. Misaki pressed a small glowing crystal to her earpiece.
"We're in position. Team Gamma?"
A soft voice answered, "Gamma ready," from Naoto Yatsuki, who crouched atop a warehouse roof with Rei and Luna.
Rei's eyes gleamed faintly with divine light, his senses heightened. "There's movement near that transport vessel. Two guards... no, three."
Luna pointed. "They're patrolling in a triangle. We wait for the rotation gap."
Naoto gave a slight nod. "Good. Gamma proceeds once Alpha causes noise."
Back at Gate A, Ash stood tall. "Showtime."
He stepped into the open and whistled. Loud. Bold.
"Hey, ugly!" he shouted toward the guards. "You dropped your weapons—want help picking them up?"
The guards turned, startled—then reached for alarms.
Kaien moved faster. He dashed in, disarmed one, and knocked the man unconscious in seconds. Koharu launched a wind blast that blew a second guard into a crate.
The alarm blared, but it was too late.
Alpha had drawn the fire.
Inside the docks, chaos broke loose.
"Go!" Naoto barked. Team Gamma jumped from the rooftop and slid down ropes. Rei dashed ahead, slicing silently through cables to disable electric traps.
They reached a sealed door. Luna tapped the lock with her fingertips—energy surged through her, and the door hissed open.
Beyond it: a dimly lit hallway lined with surveillance screens and maps.
"This is the command center," Naoto said. "Secure it."
Rei quickly bound the two surprised operatives inside. Luna copied data to a crystal shard. Naoto pressed a rune on the table, disabling outer motion sensors.
"Beta, move in," he called.
Team Beta rushed toward the center now that the field was disabled. Misaki used barriers to block sniper fire, while koharu handled attackers with swift swordwork.
Within minutes, all three teams regrouped inside the command building.
"We've secured the core," Kaien said. "Now what?"
Naoto stared at a map glowing in the center console. A red marker blinked in the northeast dock.
"That ship," Naoto said slowly. "It left just before we arrived... Isamu might be on it."
Ash's jaw tightened. "Then we chase."
Naoto gave a rare grin. "No. We intercept. That ship stops at Black Tide Harbor in twenty-four hours. That's our real battlefield."
Kaien nodded. "Then tonight, we rest. Tomorrow... we end this."
Cold mist veiled the Southern Docks. The faint scent of rust, salt, and smoke mixed in the air. The water nearby barely rippled, as if nature itself held its breath.
Kaien stood ahead of the team, staring at the large, rust-covered warehouse that loomed over the dark docks. Ash, Rei, Naoto Yatsuki, Luna, Misaki, and Koharu waited behind him—each one armored in silence, each one carrying the weight of recent losses.
There was no need to say his name.
"I count three lookouts," Naoto whispered, crouched behind a steel crate. "Magic users. Light-based sensing."
"Rei," Kaien nodded. "You take them out. Silent."
Rei's eyes glowed faintly. "Understood."
Like a whisper, Rei vanished into the shadows.
Ash stepped closer to the warehouse wall, his hand on the hilt of his weapon. "No traps in the front. But I sense movement—two or three inside the eastern wing."
"We enter from the west," Naoto replied. "There's a collapsed dock wall there. Less guarded."
Koharu placed her hand on Misaki's shoulder. "You okay?"
"I've been healing non-stop since the last fight…" Misaki said, her voice weak. "But I can still move."
Luna looked at her, concern soft in her eyes. "Stay behind me. Heal only when safe."
Kaien raised a closed fist. The signal to move.
One by one, the team advanced through the mist, boots quiet on wet planks. The only sounds were waves gently brushing wood and the faint metallic hum of tension.
As they reached the broken western wall, Rei returned, blood on his gloves.
"Three eliminated. No sound. We're good."
Kaien gave a faint nod. "Then we go in."
They slipped into the shadows of the warehouse.
Inside, the space was larger than expected—cargo crates piled high, lanterns dimly glowing with enchanted fire, and faint whispers of guards echoing through the rafters.
Then a familiar voice echoed from above.
"So… the rats arrive."
The fifth elite—Isamu—stepped forward on a catwalk, surrounded by armored figures.
"You killed Lori," he said with a smile, "but you're not ready for what waits here."
Kaien's voice was calm. "We're not here for speeches. Surrender or fall."
Isamu drew his blade. "I will make you remember this night… just like you remember your friend."
Ash's fist clenched, eyes burning.
"Enough," Rei stepped forward, divine light flickering on his skin. "Let's end this."