As the dust settled from the massive sword slash, the shadowy giant dissolved a mere distraction.
From the rooftop, a familiar voice called out. "Miss me, Kiro? I had to say my goodbyes." It was Neo, a sly grin on her face. Her illusion had bought them a precious second.
But the reprieve was short-lived. Lt. Col. Brandt rose from the crater in the wall, cracking his neck. "That... hurt," he growled. "Who did that?!" He took a deep, sniffing breath, his eyes locking onto Raiji's scent. He let out a deafening howl that sent a visible shockwave rippling through the air. His body then contorted, muscles swelling and tearing through his jacket as he grew to a monstrous 7.5 feet tall.
Raiji didn't flinch. He dashed forward, his two swords drawn. One was slightly larger than the other, with a faint, glowing line running down its center. He met Eva Rostova's crimson blade in a shower of sparks, holding her off.
RAIJI: (Without looking back at Kiro) "Came to help. I was suspicious of the army. Looks like I was right."
Eva Rostova's grip tightened on the hilt of her massive sword. Her cold eyes narrowed on the new opponent. "And who might you be? A nameless swordsman, no doubt. Weak. You stand with Kiro, so you are scum. You will be eliminated."
Raiji: (A sharp, confident smile cutting across his face) "They call me the fastest in the west."
With explosive brute strength, he surged forward, shoving her back. Eva responded not with a step, but with her blade. She cut down, a fissure splitting the ground and racing toward him. The energy of the slash extended the blade's reach; he felt the wind of its passing as he wove to the side.
"Super Wind Slash!" she cried. A crescent of green, razor-edged wind screamed toward him. Raiji dodged again, but she was already airborne, her legs swirling with vortices of air.
"X-Wind Slash!" Two intersecting blades of energy shot down in a cross pattern.
Raiji brought his swords up in a desperate block. The force was immense, skidding him backward across the pavement.
Nearby, Kiro and the Hound traded blows. Fist met fist, the concussive impacts creating small shockwaves. It was a futile exchange the Hound's bestial form shrugged off the hits, while Kiro was left gasping, his body battered.
From the shadows, Neo's arms erupted, wrapping around the Hound. "Shadow Magic: Barrage of a Thousand Cuts!" Ethereal blades slashed at the beast-man from all sides, but they did little more than scratch his hardened hide. With a roar, the Hound flexed, and the shadowy limbs shattered into nothing.
Unfazed, Neo's voice dropped to a chant. "Shadow Magic: Hand of Sealing."
A colossal, five-fingered hand of pure darkness descended from above like a god's judgment. It slammed the Hound into the ground with a deafening BOOM, pinning him under its immense weight.
Neo stretched out his other hand. "Great Wall." A rampart of solid shadow erupted from the earth. Then, the very floor at the Hound's feet turned into a viscous, black tar.
then hand slap eva into the shadow tar, She lands with a splash into the tar-like shadows
"What is this?!" Eva yelled, her boot sinking into the suddenly sticky, liquid shadow. "It's like tar!"
Neo shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Kiro! Raiji! Run! I'll hold them! My own backup is on the way!"
There was no time to argue. Both Kiro and Raiji turned and ran, their bodies pushed to the limit.
Kiro: (Shouting over his shoulder) "You better make it out of this alive!"
They burst into the open, arriving at a derelict transport gym. Their escape was in sight.
Right on cue, a small, agile aircraft screeched overhead, hovering for a crucial second. Veyra leaned out of the cockpit.
VEYRA: "Get in, now!"
As they leaped for the craft, a massive figure dropped from above, landing between them with a force that cracked the ground. It was Vice Admiral Grunt.
In perfect, desperate unison, Kiro and Raiji threw everything they had into a single, simultaneous palm strike to his chest.
THUMP.
The impact was like hitting a steel wall. The reverberation shot back up their arms, and both coughed violently, the wind knocked from their lungs.
KIRO: (Gasping) "How...?"
They scrambled back, trying to dash around him, but Grunt moved with impossible speed. One hand caught Raiji's blade in an iron grip; the other forearm blocked Kiro's fist as if swatting a fly.
GRUNT: (His voice a low, gravelly rumble) "A pleasure to meet you, thief. I am Grunt. A war hero. I fought for the very people you steal from."
Kiro wrenched his arm free with a kick, while Raiji twisted his blade loose. They jumped back, creating a sliver of distance.
kiro - I never asked you to fight for me
It was all the opening Joe needed. The Guild Master appeared, and without a word, threw a punch that didn't connect it punched the air itself. A visible shockwave hurled Grunt backward, sending him skidding on his knees.
Grunt rose, dusting off his suit, his composure chilling. "This is official government business, Joe. Stand down."
JOE: (His friendly demeanor gone, replaced by iron resolve) "He is one of my hunters. I am well within my rights to protect him."
Just then, a new voice, laced with mocking familiarity, rang out. The bounty hunter, Gaheris, emerged from the shadows, his white coat stark against the gloom.
GAHERIS: "Miss me? The party's just getting started."
JOE: (Without looking away from the Admirals, he barked at the trio) "Go! I'll handle this!"
The small aircraft shot into the stormy sky, moving with an agility that defied its size.
KIRO: (Staring at Veyra in the pilot's seat) "Where did you learn to fly? I didn't know you were a pilot!"
VEYRA: (A focused smirk on her face) "VR games. Years of practice."
RAIJI: (Gripping his seat, looking pale) "Oh no. This is going to be bad."
Back on the ground, Grunt launched himself into the air after them but Joe appeared in front of him in a blink, as if he'd always been there.
GRUNT: "How did you ?!"
A powerful blow sent Grunt crashing back to earth, carving a new trench in the street.
GAHERIS: (His sensors whirring, trying to track the movement) "Even I lost track of you... What are you?"
Then, a second Joe appeared directly in front of Gaheris, materializing from thin air.
Gaheris's helmet tilted up, his tactical display analyzing the scene. He saw it now a third Joe was still standing calmly where the first one had been.
GAHERIS: "A Clone Cube... It must be. That's why there are three of you."
Grunt roared, getting to his feet and throwing a devastating punch at the Joe in front of him. The clone effortlessly dodged, countered with a punch and a kick of its own, and tossed the Vice Admiral aside like a ragdoll.
From his original position, the real Joe watched it all, a look of utter boredom on his face as he stroked his beard.
JOE: "You two... are so easy."
Veyra expertly piloted the small aircraft, weaving through the towering spires of the upper city.
VEYRA: "Our real ship is waiting at the Green Clan's airspace. We just need to"
A figure in a black uniform floated alongside them, standing on nothing but air. He casually shuffled a deck of cards, then pointed one towards a pursuing military chopper. The chopper's minigun swiveled and fired a rocket directly at them.
VYERA: "Hang on!"
She jerked the controls, but the rocket clipped their tail. The aircraft spun out, crashing onto a nearby rooftop. Kiro lunged, catching Veyra before she could slam into the concrete.
All three scrambled to their feet, shaken but ready.
VEYRA: "Thanks, Kiro."
The military chopper descended, its rotors whipping up a fierce wind. The man in black stepped forward, calmly staking his cards.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "I am a Lieutenant General. My name does not matter."
He gave the deck a sharp shuffle.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "Get them."
Ten elite troops rappelled down, charging the trio.
Kiro and Raiji moved as one. Raiji unleashed a swift, horizontal wind slash that sent the first wave tumbling backward. Kiro flowed through the remaining soldiers with brutal efficiency a punch to the gut, a sweeping kick to the legs, and a final, jaw-rattling uppercut.
VEYRA: "Hey, don't leave me out of the fun!"
She used Kiro's back as a springboard, launching into a flying kick that connected with one soldier's jaw, simultaneously drawing her pistol to shoot the weapon out of another's hands before shoving him back with a well-placed kick.
KIRO: (A grin spreading across his face) "Watch it! ...But that was smooth."
The Lieutenant General watched, unfazed. He walked over to the soldier Veyra had shot, placing a single card on the man's chest.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "Get up."
The soldier's body convulsed. His muscles grotesquely swelled, tearing through his uniform. With a bestial roar, he stood, the crushed bullet popping out of his now-invulnerable skin.
KIRO: "Did you even shoot that guy? Your bullets must be dull."
VEYRA gave Kiro a sharp slap over the head. "My bullets are the best!"
KIRO: (Rubbing his head) "Sure..."
RAIJI: "Kiro has a point. Must be your bullets."
He got a slap too.
VEYRA: "Just fight this thing!"
Both men dashed forward. Raiji went low, a sweeping slash aimed at the beast's legs, while Kiro went high, delivering a powerful punch to its face. The creature was pushed back a step, but the blow seemed to have almost no effect.
Then Raiji's blade found its mark, slicing across its side in a clean, swift motion. A line of dark blood welled up.
The transformed soldier stepped back, momentarily confused by the coordinated assault.
VEYRA: "Shock bullet!"
She fired a round into its chest. Electricity crackled over its form, and the beast shuddered, stunned.
KIRO: "Okay, this guy is a tank. Stand back, I'm gonna give him the 'big boy' punch."
RAIJI: "Sure."
They both leaped back as Kiro gathered himself and shot forward, putting his entire body into one devastating punch to the creature's gut.
In that split second, the Lieutenant General's voice cut through the chaos, utterly calm.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "Uno Reverse. And plus four. Too bad."
A shimmering, invisible force erupted from the beast. Kiro's own kinetic energy, magnified, reversed course and slammed back into him, hurling him through the air like a ragdoll.
Before the General could savor the moment, Raiji was already underfoot.
RAIJI: "Mini-nado!"
A localized whirlwind of razor-sharp cuts erupted beneath the beast, lifting it into the air and shredding its uniform further.
VEYRA: "Fire in the hole!"
She fired a single, specialized round. It struck the center of the mini-tornado, and the entire vortex instantly ignited into a blazing pillar of fire, engulfing the soldier in a funeral pyre of his own making.
The beast hit the ground, smoke rising from its scorched form.
KIRO: (Cracking his knuckles) "I volunteer to be the MVP."
VEYRA: (With a smirk) "Sure thing, 'Big Boy'."
RAIJI: (Eyes locked on the Lieutenant General) "One more left. Stand ready."
The Lieutenant General slowly clapped his hands, a mocking smile on his face.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "Good job. Excellent teamwork. But tell me... can you handle ten of him?" He gestured to the fallen soldier. The trio's confidence wavered, a wave of nervous tension passing between them.
KIRO: "Bring it on!"
VEYRA: "Calm down, Muscles, you struggled with one!"
RAIJI: "This might be a tough one. We might have to book it. Not that we're weak... but this is different."
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: He stepped forward, a fresh deck of cards appearing in his hand. "Don't even get happy. I am far stronger than those weaklings."
Kiro and Raiji dashed forward, but the General was ready. He calmly drew a single card.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "Slow Down."
An invisible weight pressed down on them. Their movements became sluggish, as if running through thick mud, reducing them to an average jogger's pace.
He wasn't finished. From a second deck, he drew four more cards, fanning them out.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "Times Four."
The effect multiplied. Their bodies dragged, their movements stretching into agonizing slow motion. Throwing a punch felt like pushing against a mountain.
As they struggled, he built a small tower from a third deck. As it stabilized, a red aura flickered around him, his muscles tightening. He cracked his neck.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "Time to Fight."
Seeing an opening, Veyra fired. He leaned aside, the bullet whizzing past his ear.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL: "Bad move, girl."
A wave of overwhelming, desiccating heat suddenly engulfed them, forcing sweat to instantly bead on their brows. The air shimmered.
Then, a figure dropped from the sky, landing between them and the General with a ground-shaking impact.
on his jacket at back is sword with dragon red.
THE STRANGER: "You're army. I'm a rebel. Let's fight." He glanced back at the slowed trio. "Run! I'll hold him! We've got your back!"
The Lieutenant General's eyes narrowed. Without a word, he flicked a single, glowing red card at the newcomer. It cut through the air and burns like the stranger burned it