EPISODE 4 — Rage Meets Fear
Ren Akazawa's roar ripped through the hallway like a shockwave.
Students scattered. Windows rattled. A locker door slammed shut on its own from the force of his exploding aura.
Aya stood firmly in front of Riku, talisman burning bright in her hand.
But even she trembled when Ren stomped forward, each step cracking the tiles beneath him.
His voice deepened — layered with the monstrous growl of the god inside him.
> "Make way. Rage does not ask. Rage TAKES."
Riku's heart hammered so violently he thought he might collapse.
The air around Ren shimmered with heat, an invisible fire swirling around him.
Aya stepped forward.
Her expression sharpened — pure hunter instinct.
"Ren Akazawa," she commanded, "the thing inside you is corrupting your body. Stop moving now, or—"
He grabbed her talisman hand with a single swipe.
Aya gasped.
The talisman sizzled and burned out instantly.
Ren smirked.
"Your little paper isn't stopping me."
And then he tossed Aya aside like she weighed nothing.
She slammed against a wall, coughing, but immediately tried to stand.
"Aya!" Riku cried.
But Ren's massive shadow fell over him before he could take a single step.
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✦ The Clash of Instincts
Ren's eyes glowed molten-red, pupils thin like a predator.
"You want to run? Go ahead…"
He leaned forward, grinning.
"But your fear calls to me."
Riku's legs locked.
He couldn't run.
Couldn't think.
The voice inside him purred:
> "Let me protect you."
"No—people are watching. If you take over—"
> "Then shield them."
Riku clenched his fists.
"I… I don't want anyone else getting hurt!"
Ren's fist shot forward.
Riku flinched—
And the world shifted.
Their surroundings blurred.
The hallway darkened.
Shadows surged around Riku's feet, spiraling upward like smoke.
Ren hesitated.
"What the hell…?"
Osoramaru whispered inside Riku, but now the god's voice echoed from behind him as a faint silhouette — tall, horned, cloaked in shadow.
Riku's eyes faintly glowed blue-white.
Students gasped.
Aya whispered from where she knelt:
"Riku… he's partially manifesting…"
Ren snarled and threw another punch — this one even harder.
Riku moved without thinking.
He didn't dodge — he predicted.
He saw Ren's attack before it happened, like the world slowed for him.
Fear sharpened his instincts to inhuman levels.
He sidestepped, breath trembling.
Ren's punch cracked a wall where Riku had stood a second earlier.
"YOU—!" Ren roared.
Riku exhaled shakily.
> "Fear is not weakness,"
Osoramaru rumbled.
"Fear is survival."
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✦ Aya Returns to the Fight
Aya wiped blood from her lip and pulled two new talismans from her uniform sleeve.
She slapped one onto her own wrist, and a purple sigil glowed over her skin.
Riku blinked.
"Aya…?"
She sprinted forward — fast, faster than any normal human.
Talisman magic boosted her muscles.
She leapt and threw the second charm directly onto Ren's back.
The paper flashed.
Ren screamed, grabbing at his shoulder.
"GET THIS OFF ME!"
Aya slid between him and Riku.
"That seal will suppress the god inside you for thirty seconds," she said. "Use them to calm down!"
But Ren's grin widened.
"Calm down!? Why would I calm down…"
His aura flared brutally.
The talisman began to burn and crack.
"…when rage feels THIS GOOD!?"
Aya's eyes widened.
"He's breaking the seal—already!?"
Ren ripped the talisman from his back and crushed it in his fist.
"Thirty seconds are up."
"But—!" Aya shouted.
"It's only been ten!"
Ren didn't answer.
He simply roared and charged again.
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✦ Riku Awakens a New Ability
Riku felt everything collapsing — Aya losing ground, Ren growing stronger, students screaming and fleeing down the hall.
He couldn't let Aya fight alone.
He couldn't let Ren destroy the school.
He couldn't ignore the god inside him any longer.
Riku whispered:
"Osoramaru… lend me just enough to stop him."
The god's chuckle rumbled.
> "A fair deal. I accept."
Riku exhaled — and shadows burst around his feet.
His eyes turned sharp, glowing blue-white.
A second step of fear-based power awakened:
FEAR SENSE: TRUTH OF INTENT
He now saw Ren's violent aura like red flames rising from his body — and he could read the exact moment Ren planned to strike.
Ren moved.
Riku moved faster.
He grabbed Aya's wrist and yanked her out of the way just as Ren's fist smashed into the ground, cracking the floor into a crater.
Aya stared at him.
"Riku… you predicted that?"
He didn't answer — not out of arrogance, but because he didn't know how to explain it.
Ren stood up, panting, muscles twitching.
"You're getting annoying."
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✦ The Second Hunter Organization Arrives
Suddenly—
A thunderous BOOM echoed from the end of the hallway.
All three turned.
A group of masked figures in blue uniforms stormed the building entrance.
Each wore a symbol stitched over their hearts:
「龍印狩会」
The Ryūin Hunter Society
— the second, more aggressive hunter organization.
The leader stepped forward, a tall woman with ice-cold eyes.
She spoke into a radio.
"Target located. Rage Vessel confirmed. Fear Vessel present. Threat classification: dual Awakening."
Aya gasped.
"Oh no… not them."
The woman pointed directly at Riku and Ren.
"Capture the Rage Vessel alive."
She paused.
"For the Fear Vessel… use lethal force if necessary."
Riku froze.
Ren's expression twisted, eyes darkening.
Aya shouted:
"Run!"
But the Ryūin hunters sprinted forward with weapons drawn.
Ren cracked his knuckles.
"First you, Fear Boy… then them."
Riku backed up.
"No—please, don't—"
Ren roared and charged toward him—
—just as the hunters leapt in to strike.
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Episode 4 Ends Here.