Ryou's hand came down sharply against Akira's chest, forcing him back a step.
"That's enough watching," the captain said calmly. "Rookies—go."
Akira blinked. "Sir—"
"Let me see what you're made of."
The order was final.
The nightmare shifted its weight, claws scraping against the asphalt with a sound like grinding bone. Its massive body lowered, smoke-like fur rippling as its oversized eyes fixed on the rookies alone.
They moved.
Akira snapped his wrist.
The urumi uncoiled with a sharp crack, flexible steel arcing toward the creature's neck in a precise, lethal curve.
The nightmare moved.
Not fast.
Perfect.
Its body flowed aside, the blade sliced through empty air.
Ayla was already closing the distance.
She moved like a blade drawn from shadow, twin daggers flashing. The first strike aimed for the joint beneath its foreleg. The second followed instantly, angled up toward its throat.
The tail came first.
It whipped through the air with a sound like tearing fabric.
Ayla rolled beneath it, felt the pressure shear past her skull, then slashed upward—
Resistance.
For a fraction of a second.
Then nothing.
Her blade slid off Nothing.
Ren didn't wait.
He charged, shield plates snapping and reforming into knuckles around his fists as he roared, driving forward with everything he had. The punch was clean. Perfect form.
The nightmare leaned back.
That was all.
Ren's strike passed through where the creature had been. A claw slammed down beside him, the impact cracking asphalt and launching him backward. He skidded across the street, boots screaming as he barely kept his footing.
Kaito fired.
His rifle hummed as targeting data flooded his visor—angles, trajectories, probabilities. Precision rounds streaked toward the nightmare's torso.
The creature ducked.
Twisted.
Stepped.
Each bullet passed close enough for Kaito to see its fur ripple.
None connected.
The Misokke twins advanced.
No words.
Their massive hammers rose in perfect synchronization and came down together.
The street exploded.
Concrete shattered. Dust and debris roared upward in a violent cloud.
For a single heartbeat—
Akira thought they'd done it.
Then the nightmare stepped out of the dust.
Unmarked.
Unbothered.
Its head tilted slightly.
It wasn't attacking.
It was learning.
Akira's chest tightened.
It's reading us.
That realization was worse than fear.
"Senior Squad—evacuation priority!" Ryou's voice cut through the chaos.
The veterans moved instantly.
Misaki and Fumika herded civilians into side streets. Recon and Flank took flanking positions, weapons trained outward.
Lives were being saved.
Behind them—
The rookies were being dismantled.
Akira lunged again, urumi snapping wide, forcing the creature back—finally restricting its movement.
"Now!" he shouted.
Ayla surged forward, daggers flashing, striking for the eyes.
The nightmare vanished.
Not leapt.
Not dodged.
It was simply somewhere else.
A claw tore through the space where Ayla had been a heartbeat earlier. She twisted desperately, the strike grazing her side. Fabric ripped. Pain flared hot and sharp—but she stayed upright.
Ren's breathing broke into ragged gasps.
It's not fair.
His fists slammed together. His heart pounded.
"Damn it," he muttered.
He charged.
"REN—NO!" Akira shouted.
Too late.
The nightmare struck.
Its claw ripped Ren's shield free, tearing metal from his grip like scrap. The force lifted him off his feet, body hurled backward through the air.
Before he could hit the ground—
Ayla moved.
She jumped.
She slammed into Ren's side, shoving him clear—
And took the hit herself.
Claws tore through her torso.
Blood sprayed across the asphalt.
She hit the ground hard, rolled once, and stopped.
"Ayla!" Ren screamed.
The nightmare landed lightly, towering over them. Its eyes glowed with something disturbingly close to satisfaction.
Akira dropped to one knee, urumi coiling defensively as his hands trembled.
It's happening again.
My friends are getting hurt.
And I'm useless.
The thought echoed in his skull, over and over, like a lie being screamed at him.
Ryou's voice snapped through the comms—sharper now.
"Rookies, disengage! Pull back—now!"
Ayla forced herself onto one elbow, blood soaking her sleeve. Her hand shook as she raised it.
"I'm… fine," she said, voice strained. "Don't… stop."
Akira stared at her.
At Ren, frozen in horror.
At the nightmare—unharmed.
The creature crouched again, muscles coiling, eyes locked onto them.
The fight wasn't over.
It had never been fair to begin with.
END OF CHAPTER 4