The Sky Turns Red
Alarms shrieked across the Shinkai District well before morning.
Shaun woke to the sound of vibrating windows, the echo of sirens slicing through the quiet Tokyo morning. He bolted upright, heart pounding. His phone flashed with the guild's emergency code.
LEVEL 5 MOBILITY EVENT DETECTED — ALL ACTIVE HUNTERS REPORT IMMEDIATELY.
Reina was bursting into his room, hair tied, armor on halfway.
"Shaun—suit up. Now."
He didn't hesitate. He grabbed his combat top, snapped on his gauntlets, fastened his boots.
He could barely hear over the sirens, but he didn't need details — the code alone was enough to know:
This was huge.
Daichi slid into the hallway, steel armor forming over his arms with a ripple of mana.
"Shaun, bro—you ready? They're saying we've got multiple swarm clusters coming straight toward the bay."
Reina wore an expression colder than steel.
"The intel estimates between two thousand to five thousand signatures."
Shaun's breath caught in his throat.
"That's… impossible. That many at once?"
"It's happening," Reina said. "Something forced them out of the ocean. Something strong."
Ayame's ghost flickered in Shaun's memory — her quiet smile, her voice telling him not to cry.
He swallowed.
"I'm ready."
The Guild War Room
The war room was chaos. Screens covered the walls, showing live feeds from drones circling Tokyo Bay. Dozens of hunters, support staff, and analysts crowded around holotables.
Aerial feed wide screen in biggest screen, the ocean was boiling - literally.
The water churned violently, black shapes tearing through its surface.
Waves crashed in unnatural patterns.
Mana pulses light up the water like underwater lightning.
Ghoul after ghoul clawed its way onto the shore.
Reina's jaw tightened.
A curse escaped from Daichi's mouth.
Shaun stared, quite unable to blink.
Hundreds of staring red eyes.
Hundreds of pale, twisted bodies.
And more were coming with every second.
Commander Hiroshi stood in the center of the room, radiating calm authority as if he weren't the architect of half their suffering.
"Hunters," Hiroshi announced, voice loud and smooth, "we are facing an unprecedented migration event. The monsters are being pushed inland. We estimate between 2,700 to 3,000 individuals."
Someone shouted, "Why didn't the Authority warn us sooner?!"
Hiroshi answered without turning.
"Because even they don't know what caused this."
Shaun leaned closer to Reina.
"This feels… wrong."
She nodded.
"They're not moving like a migration. They're fleeing."
Daichi frowned.
"From what?"
Deployment
After a ten-minute briefing, squads deployed rapidly.
Shin'en no Kishi was placed at Point Silver — the northern front, closest to the residential districts. The guild's job: hold the line and prevent the Ghouls from reaching civilians.
Drones dropped smoke and boundary barriers.
The troops, armed with mana rifles, formed defensive lines.
Dozens of hunters readied themselves.
Reina, Daichi, and Shaun were standing in front.
Reina tightened the straps on her armguards.
"Focus on survival. Stick to formation. Don't overextend."
Daichi cracked his neck.
"If you go down, Shaun, I'm dragging your glowing butt back home."
Shaun forced a smile, but his hands were cold.
Around them, the air vibrated with the collective mana of hundreds of hunters preparing for war.
Then—
The first roar tore across the sky.
A deafening, unnatural scream.
The ocean seemed to cough out darkness.
And the monsters attacked.
The Swarm Arrives
They ran like a living tsunami.
Hundreds of Ghouls raced across the sand, running into the first barrier.
Some climbed over each other, tearing into mana shields with clawed hands.
Others leapt like wolves, targeting hunters directly.
Reina came forward, her blade sopping with silver moonlight.
"Shaun!" she shouted.
"Curtain!"
Shaun slammed his palms to the ground.
Golden healing aura burst outward in a dome, forming the battlefield's support field.
Hunters inside the radius felt wounds knit faster, fatigue ease, mana strengthen.
Daichi roared and charged.
Metal spiralled over his arms, forming massive gauntlets.
"IRON TEMPEST!"
He swung, smashing ghouls aside like rag dolls.
Reina danced between them, blade slicing necks with graceful precision.
Shaun took position behind them, firing bursts of controlled healing-energy, which now acted like impact waves after weeks of training.
The battlefield roared with screams, explosions, and mana detonations.
The reek of blood saturated the air.
Shaun felt his heart race — but for the first time, he didn't panic.
He moved with purpose.He breathed with control.He healed with intent.
He had grown.
But then—
A tremor shook the ground.
Reina froze mid-strike.Daichi stumbled.Shaun felt the vibration through his bones.
Ghouls stopped charging.
For a moment… the battlefield fell eerily silent.
And then—
CRACK.
Something enormous broke through the ocean surface.
Shaun's eyes widened.
A creature twice the size of the others, its back lined with jagged bone spires, its jaw extending unnaturally.
"An S-RANK VARIANT!" a hunter screamed.
The beast roared, unleashing a soundwave that shattered barriers.
Shaun was thrown backward, hitting the ground hard.Blood filled his mouth.
Reina rushed to him. "Shaun! Are you—"
Another roar.The monster began charging straight toward their squad.
Daichi gritted his teeth."Time to be a hero…"
Shaun jumped to his feet, shaking.
"No. Time to survive."
The S-Rank Ghoul Variant lunged—
And the real battle began.
The S-Rank Variant
The meteor strike of an S-Rank Ghoul Variant hit the shoreline.
Its massive body slammed into the earth, sending shockwaves ripping through the sand. Hunters flew like scattered dolls. Mana shields cracked. Weapons shattered.
Shaun was forced onto one knee, bracing himself as the creature's roar tore across the battlefield.
Its eyes were wrong — glowing with the intensity of a living furnace, too bright, too intelligent, too aware.
Reina steadied herself beside him, breathing hard.
"That… that thing isn't a normal S-rank."
Daichi growled. "No kidding, I felt that roar in my spine."
The creature straightened, bone-spires along its back expanding like jagged wings.
It stood easily four times the height of a man, its arms thick as engine blocks.
Then it focused on Shaun.
His breath froze.
There was a tug inside him, a pulse of mana recognition that was ancient, unsettling.
"It's sensing your power," Reina warned.
"Why me?!"
"Because yours is different!" she exclaimed. "Stronger! Brighter!"
Shaun swallowed hard.
Great, all he needed, was to be a walking monster magnet.
The Variant let out another roar, then charged.
"SPREAD OUT!" Daichi bellowed.
Hunters scrambled, diving aside just as the Variant barreled through their formation, crushing stone and bodies beneath its weight.
Shaun just about rolled away in time.
The ground where he stood a few seconds earlier collapsed into a crater.
"Oh hell…" Shaun whispered. "This is not good."
Reina surged forward, moonlight coalescing into a sickle of light.
"Shaun! Support Daichi! I'll draw its attention!"
Shaun made his quaking legs run.
His pulse raced with fear — but training rooted his movements.
He raised his hands.
"SOLAR SAIL — JIBE!"
Golden light shot from his palms like compressed wind.
It hit Daichi right on, enveloping his body with a shining aura.
Daichi felt the surge and grinned back aggressively.
"NOW WE'RE TALKING!"
Metal spiraled around his fists, forming twin hammers.
He ran toward the Variant.
Daichi vs. The Beast
Daichi jumped, roaring.
His metal fists smashed into the Variant's jaw with enough force to send shockwaves through the air.
BOOM.
The earth cracked beneath them.
But the Variant merely stumbled a step. It snarled and swung its huge forearm-
"DAICHI, MOVE!" Shaun shouted.
Too late.
The blow caught Daichi across the chest.
His armor dented inward.
He flew back like a ragdoll, smashing into the remains of a supply tower.
"Daichi!" Shaun shouted, the blood draining from his face.
Daichi coughed, trying to stand.
Pain rippled through his voice. "I'm… fine… jus' cracked a few ribs…"
He fell again.
Shaun sprinted toward him but was blocked by a wave of incoming ghouls.
Twelve at a time.
Shaun's pupils constricted.
His heart raced.
No choice.
He raised his hands and sent a controlled explosion of golden light.
"RADIANT SHEAR!"
A crescent-shaped blast swept across the ghouls, cutting them down as if their flesh were paper.
He wasn't supposed to use that ability yet, as it drained too much mana.
But Daichi was dying.
There was no choice.
Shaun fell to one knee, panting.
His vision blurred.
Reina saw it.
"Shaun, save your mana! You will burn out—"
But Shaun wasn't listening.
He lurched towards Daichi, healing aura sputtering around his palms.
Reina's Stand
Meanwhile, Reina faced the Variant alone.
Its shadow loomed over her, like a mountain falling.
She dodged to the side, faster than most hunters could blink.
Slash—slash—slash—
Her moonlight blades carved radiant arcs across the Variant's hide.
Every strike left burning marks.
But it did not fall.
If anything, it grew angrier.
The air vibrated with the depth of its growl. Mana churned violently around it.
Reina felt the shift, her instincts screaming —
"Shaun! It's about to—"
The Variant inhaled.
The sky darkened.
Shaun's blood ran cold.
"REINA, MOVE!"
Then the explosion came.
A beam of crimson energy tore out of its mouth, incinerating everything in its path.
A line of fire cut across the battlefield, melting sand to molten glass.
Reina barely dodged aside.
Her cloak caught fire.
Her shoulder burned.
She rolled, smothering the flames, eyes wide with shock.
"That attack… that's high-A rank destructive output," she whispered. "No, higher…"
Shaun pulled Daichi to his feet, heart pounding.
"We can't keep fighting it like this. There are still thousands of others—"
Right on schedule, another wave of monsters swept up out of the sea.
At least 500
The ground shook at their collective roar.
Shaun's heartbeat stuttered.
"We're… going to be overwhelmed," he whispered.
Reina's grasp on her blade tightened.
"Not if we break their leader."
She pointed her blade at the Variant.
"Shaun. Daichi. We kill that thing… or everybody dies."
The Turning Point
Shaun breathed sharply.
Even with Daichi's strength and Reina's skill, even with his healing—the Variant was beyond them.
There was no avenue of escape.
Shaun forced himself upright.
"I'll… do it," he said softly.
Reina turned sharply.
"No. Shaun, you're not ready for high-level engagement—"
"I don't care," he whispered, looking down at his trembling hands."I'm not losing anyone else."
Ayame's face flashed in his memory.
He walked toward the Variant.
Reina and Daichi exchanged worried glances.
Daichi rasped, "Reina… he's gonna get himself killed."
Reina closed her eyes."…I know."
But they followed him anyway.
Because they were a team.
And they would rise or fall together.
As Shaun approached the Variant, its gaze shifted.
Something inside Shaun responded — a spark, a pulse.
For a moment, the beast hesitated, almost as if recognizing something.
Shaun's heart skipped.
Why does it react to me? Why me?
Then the Variant roared and charged.
Shaun braced himself—
"Shaun, don't you dare die on me!" Reina shouted.
"BRO, STOP TRYING TO BE A HERO!" Daichi roared.
But Shaun stepped forward.
Golden light erupted from his chest—Brighter than ever before.
The Variant lunged.Shaun raised his hands.
Their powers collided.
And the battlefield exploded in light.
The Light That Shouldn't Exist
The collision of Shaun's golden light and the Variant's massive claws detonated across the battlefield like a bomb.
A shockwave rippled outward, flattening smaller ghouls and toppling barricades. Hunters dove for cover as sand and debris blasted into the air.
Reina shielded her face.Daichi braced himself on trembling legs.
But in the center of it all—
Shaun stood his ground.
Golden light exploded from his body like a second sunrise. His hair lifted, his eyes burned with pure radiance, and his veins pulsed with molten mana.
The Variant screeched, staggering back several meters.
Reina's eyes widened."Shaun's power… evolved…?"
Daichi stared in disbelief."Bro, what the hell did you just unlock?!"
Shaun himself didn't know.
He only felt pain — sharp, burning, overwhelming.But beneath it… something else.
A warmth.A pulse.
A presence that whispered:
Let me out.
Shaun grimaced, clutching his chest."No… not yet…"
The Variant roared again, shaking off the shock. Its red eyes locked onto Shaun with violent hunger.
It recognized something inside him — something powerful.
It wanted it.
It charged again.
The Battlefield Turns Nightmarish
"Shaun! Move!" Reina shouted.
But Shaun didn't move.
Instead, his golden aura shifted — forming a half-sphere shield around him just in time.
The Variant's claw hammered the barrier—BOOM!The shield rippled but held.
Hunters gasped.
"That wasn't a healing barrier…""He created a shield?!""That's high-tier defensive magic—impossible for a healer!"
Shaun felt blood trickle from his nose.The shield had cost him nearly everything.His mana reserve plummeted like a stone.
The Variant reared back for another strike—
Reina flashed forward, slicing across its arm.Moonlight carved a burning arc through its flesh.
Daichi slammed into its leg with a metal-covered shoulder.
For a moment, the Variant staggered.
"Shaun!" Reina shouted. "We need you! Focus!"
Shaun stood, barely.His vision shook.He couldn't keep going like this.
But he remembered Ayame again—the way she smiled through pain.The way she worried about him as she died.
He clenched his fists.
I won't let anyone fall again.
He forced more mana into his hands, ignoring the ripping pain.
Golden circles formed behind him — glowing halos of concentrated power.
Daichi blinked in awe. "Damn… Shaun's really not human anymore…"
Reina whispered, "He's crossing boundaries healers were never meant to cross."
Another Front Falls Apart
A scream tore across the battlefield.
A different squad — Squad Hikari — was collapsing under another ghoul cluster.Their captain, an S-rank lightning user, was overwhelmed as dozens of ghouls swarmed their position.
"HELP US!" someone cried."WE CAN'T HOLD—!"
Their formation shattered.Hunters fell one after another, torn apart.
Shaun turned toward them instinctively.
Reina grabbed his arm. "Shaun, no! If you go, you'll expose yourself—"
"I can't let them die!" Shaun shouted back.
He raised his hand and unleashed golden light toward the collapsing squad.
Unlike his healing waves, this was something new—
A beam of radiant mana shot across the battlefield, striking the dying hunters.
Their wounds closed. Their strength surged. Their mana stabilized.
Shaun wasn't just healing them…He was reviving their fighting spirit.
Hunters gasped."W-what was that?!""That's divine-type healing!""He saved them from across the battlefield!"
But the Variant took advantage of Shaun's distraction.
It lunged—Massive claws tearing through the earth.
Reina and Daichi barely intercepted.
"SHAUN, FOCUS!" Daichi roared."THIS BASTARD'S AFTER YOU!"
Shaun redirected his attention—
Just as the Variant slammed both arms down.
The shockwave obliterated the sand around him.Shaun was thrown into the air, crashing into a destroyed crane truck.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
"Shaun!" Reina screamed, sprinting toward him.
A New Evolution… But Not Shaun's
The Variant paused, trembling.
Then its body twisted.
Bones cracked.Muscles bulged.Its spine split open, forming new spines with glowing tips.
Daichi's eyes widened."Oh no… it's evolving mid-fight?!"
Reina's breath hitched."That's— that's impossible! Ghouls don't evolve like this!"
But it was happening.
The Variant roared, its power surging drastically.A dark aura engulfed it, making the air feel heavy, suffocating.
A nearby hunter cried out, collapsing.
"W-what's happening…?! I can't… breathe!"
Reina's voice trembled."I've felt this type of mana once before… in a failed expedition…This is the aura of a proto-SS rank."
Daichi's face drained of color."It's getting stronger every second! Shaun, get up!"
But Shaun was struggling to breathe.He leaned on a broken piece of metal, chest burning with pain.
His vision blurred.Reina, Daichi, the battlefield — everything flickered.
He tried to stand—
Collapsed.
Reina rushed to him, grabbing his shoulders.
"Shaun! Stay awake!"
He breathed hard, barely conscious."I… I can't… my mana is… I'm out…"
Daichi slammed a fist into the ground."Damn it!"
The Variant roared again, preparing a massive attack.
Hunters screamed.The sky darkened.Mana condensed into swirling crimson energy.
If it fired that blast—
The entire northern front would be wiped out.
The Loss That Breaks the Line
A squad leader — an S-rank spear-wielder — stepped forward.
"Kazuo! Don't!" someone shouted.
But he didn't listen.
Kazuo charged the Variant with reckless desperation.
He thrust his spear into the Variant's chest.
The beast roared—Then impaled Kazuo with its claw.
Blood sprayed across the sand.
"No—!!!" Shaun screamed.
Reina's eyes widened in horror.Daichi's fists shook.
The Variant lifted Kazuo into the air and crushed him like a doll.
Then threw his body aside.
Kazuo's entire squad froze in shock.
Their formation collapsed.Hunters fled.The monsters surged forward.
Reina trembled."This battle… is slipping out of control…"
Daichi grit his teeth."If we retreat… Tokyo's finished."
Reina looked at Shaun — broken, bleeding, struggling to stand.
"Shaun…" she whispered."We need you."
Shaun tried again to rise—
And fell.
His hands shook violently.
"I can't… my mana's empty… I can't…"
Reina placed her hands on his cheeks, forcing him to meet her gaze.
"You saved hundreds today. You saved us. Losing mana doesn't make you weak."
Her voice cracked.
"You're not alone, Shaun."
He stared into her eyes.
And something inside him — some small, fragile piece — steadied.
He wasn't alone.He wasn't fighting alone.
He took a breath.
And for the first time—
He reached deeper than mana.
Into something else.Something he didn't understand.
Something ancient.
His chest burned—
Golden flames flickered in his veins again.
But this wasn't mana.This was something deeper.
Something forbidden.
Shaun didn't know what it was.
He only knew—
He had to stand.
For Reina.For Daichi.For Kazuo.For Ayame.
He rose.
Golden light ignited around him once more.
Reina gasped.Daichi stepped back.
"What… what are you becoming…?" he whispered.
Shaun didn't answer.
He faced the Variant again.
And the Variant… stepped back.
It felt fear.
The Unstable Ascension
The battlefield seemed to hold its breath.
Hunters stared in disbelief as Shaun rose to his feet—burning, glowing, radiating something no healer should ever possess.
His golden aura didn't flicker this time.It roared, spiraling upward in a column of radiance that split the smoke-filled sky.
Reina stepped back, eyes trembling."Shaun… that energy—it's not natural."
Daichi whispered, voice cracking,"Bro… you look like you're about to ascend to God mode…"
Shaun didn't speak.Couldn't speak.
The world around him blurred, as if time slowed.His heartbeat pounded louder, heavier—echoing in his skull.
Don't lose yourself.
Reina's voice.Ayame's voice.His own fear.The echoes guided him.
His hands lifted, golden threads swirling around his fingers.
The Variant snarled, sensing a threat unlike anything before.
It roared and charged, the ground quaking under its massive steps.
Shaun took a single breath—
—and launched forward.
The Collision
The two forces met in a blinding flash.
Shaun's form became a streak of golden light.The Variant's claws sliced through air, missing by inches.
Shaun slid under its arm, thrusting his hand against its abdomen.
"RADIANT—PULSE!"
Light erupted—a blast like a miniature sun detonation.
The Variant screamed as its body tore backward, steaming, burned.
Daichi shielded his eyes.Reina's hair whipped violently from the force.
"That output…" she whispered."No healer has ever created destructive force like that…"
Shaun stepped forward again, stumbling slightly.Steam rose from his skin.
The Variant roared, enraged and injured.Its body twisted again—more bones protruding, its muscles pulsating violently.
"It's evolving again?!" Daichi shouted."That thing just won't die!"
Reina grabbed Shaun's arm."You can't fight at close range again—you're burning your own life!"
But Shaun shook her off gently.
"I have to," he whispered. "I won't let anyone else fall."
The Variant lowered its body, preparing its strongest attack yet.
Dark energy gathered in its throat—the crimson glow turning black.
Reina's eyes widened."It's going to release a super-compressed mana beam… that can wipe out a city block!"
Daichi stepped in front of Shaun."No way—if you're fighting it, I'm fighting too!"
Shaun placed a hand on Daichi's chest.
"Thank you… but this one is mine."
Golden flames wrapped around Shaun's arm.Not healing mana.Not supportive energy.
Pure destructive power—born from evolution, emotion, and desperation.
Shaun vs. The Beast
The Variant fired.
A black-red beam ripped from its throat, the sound alone enough to shatter glass across the bay.
Shaun thrust both hands forward.
"SOLAR — BREAK!"
His golden energy beam collided with the Variant's hellish blast.
The moment they touched—
The sky exploded.
A dome of swirling red and gold rose into the air.Its shockwave flattened every ghoul in a 200-meter radius, sending hunters flying.
The ground cracked beneath Shaun's feet.
"GAAAAAH—!" Shaun screamed, pushing with everything he had.
His body shook violently.Blood streamed from his nose and mouth.His aura flickered dangerously.
"Shaun!" Reina cried, reaching toward him—
Daichi held her back."No… he needs this. He needs to finish it himself."
Reina wanted to argue—but she saw Shaun's face.He wasn't just fighting the Variant.
He was fighting his own limits.His past.His grief.His fear.
He pushed harder—
His golden beam thickened, brightened, overwhelmed the Variant's attack—
—and shattered through it.
The golden blast struck the Variant dead in the chest.
The monster let out a gurgling scream—its body tearing apart, dissolving into dust and shattered bone.
The battlefield fell silent.
The Variant… was dead.
Hunters stared with wide eyes.
"Who… who did that…?""That wasn't a healer's power…""Is he even human…?""That glow… could he be a new rank?"
Shaun stood in the smoking crater, chest heaving.His aura flickered.His knees buckled.
Reina rushed forward.
"Shaun—!"
He collapsed into her arms, unconscious.
His last thought before darkness took him:
Ayame… I did it.
The Aftermath
Hours later, the battlefield was quiet.
The migration had been pushed back.Thousands of ghouls lay dead.Hundreds of hunters were injured or killed.
But Tokyo was saved.
Reina sat beside Shaun's hospital bed in the guild infirmary.His body was covered in bandages glowing faintly with restorative mana.
Daichi stood on the opposite side, arms crossed, face stiff."He pushed too hard. He nearly fried himself…"
Reina stared at Shaun's sleeping form."But he won."
Daichi nodded."Yeah… he won."
Silence settled between them.
Then Reina whispered:
"…Daichi. Shaun's power—it isn't normal."
Daichi looked at her."I know."
"It's not healer-type. It's not support-type. It's… something else."
Daichi's jaw clenched.
"Hiroshi knows too," he said quietly. "He's been watching Shaun closer than anyone."
Reina's grip on the bed sheet tightened."Shaun is evolving faster than any hunter I've seen. Faster than humanly possible."
Daichi stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"Reina… do you think Shaun might be…the next Hell-Rank?"
Reina's eyes widened.
Hell-Rank — a theoretical rank above SSS.Impossible.Mythical.Feared.
"No," she whispered."…but he's something. And that's what scares Hiroshi."
They both looked at Shaun.
Sleeping peacefully.Clueless about what he had become.
Hiroshi's Shadow
In his office, Hiroshi watched the battle footage again and again.
Shaun's golden burst.Shaun's beam overpowering the Variant.Shaun's collapse.
A sadistic smile crept across his lips.
"Magnificent," he whispered.
He tapped a button.
Dr. Ishida, the guild's head researcher, appeared on screen.
"You saw the data?" Hiroshi asked.
"I analyzed it," Dr. Ishida replied breathlessly."This is unprecedented. Shaun's power output exceeded SSS thresholds in bursts. His healing energy mutated into a destructive hybrid. This shouldn't exist."
Hiroshi laughed softly.
"Oh, it exists. And I intend to claim it."
Dr. Ishida hesitated."But Commander… if he continues evolving, he may become unstable. Or uncontrollable."
Hiroshi leaned forward, eyes cold and hungry.
"Then we will break him before that happens."
Back in the Infirmary
Shaun's eyes twitched.
Reina noticed immediately."Shaun…?"
His fingers curled.He inhaled sharply.Then his eyes opened.
Not golden.Not glowing.
Just… tired.
"Reina… Daichi…" he whispered.
Both of them leaned in.
"You're alive." Reina exhaled shakily. "Thank goodness."
Daichi grinned. "Dude, you scared the hell out of us!"
Shaun smiled weakly.
"What… happened… after I blacked out?"
Reina answered gently—
"You saved Tokyo."
Shaun blinked.
"I… did?"
Daichi clapped a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"You did more than that, bro. You became a damn legend."
Shaun looked between them.
Then at his hands.
His palms still faintly glowed.
He whispered to himself:
"…What am I becoming?"
Reina and Daichi exchanged troubled glances.
But before anyone could respond—
The infirmary door opened.
Hiroshi entered, smiling.
"Shaun," he said warmly,"Congratulations on your first real victory.We have much to discuss."
Shaun felt a chill crawl down his spine.
The war at Tokyo Bay was over.But the war inside the guild…
Was only beginning.