FLASHBACK – FAMILY HQ – A FEW DAYS EARLIER
The oval table was covered with plans, photos, red arrows. Midas stood, his golden hands resting on the wood. Around him, the complete Family — Sharky, William, Takuya, Daek, Perfecto, Silva, Amélie. And Daek's father, an old godfather with a scarred face, his fingers covered in rings.
"Here is the ultimate plan," Midas announced.
He unrolled a map of the Diamond Casino.
"First phase: infiltration from the inside."
He pointed to the access points, the private rooms, the basements.
"I will infiltrate the casino with Silva. She will wear a camera in her eyes — live broadcast. Everything she sees, our allies will see."
Silva placed her hand on her belly. "I'm not a victim, Midas. I can fight."
"I know. But you're pregnant. I won't take any risks."
She didn't answer.
"Second phase: the heist."
Midas turned to Daek's father.
"Your men will carry out an armed robbery inside the casino. General panic. You will steal valuable items and take the VIPs hostage."
Daek's father nodded.
"And we blackmail Yohan?"
"Exactly."
Midas smiled.
"Third phase: the exposure."
He pointed to the cameras, the recorders.
"With the footage from Silva's eyes, we expose the casino's crimes. The treasure hunt. Drugs. Child trafficking."
He turned to the Family.
"Yohan will have no cards left to play."
Silence.
"Do you agree with this plan?"
"YES!"
---
BACK TO THE PRESENT – DIAMOND CASINO – NIGHT
The lights were dim. Champagne flowed. Businessmen in suits laughed with overly made-up women. In the private rooms, VIPs did drugs, sniffed, injected.
BOOM.
The door exploded.
"GET DOWN! EVERYONE GET DOWN!"
Men in Yakuza attire, assault rifles raised, stormed the hall. Shogun masks. Black gloves.
Sharky entered, a mask on his face. Behind him, Amélie, William, Daek, Takuya — all masked.
"THIS IS A ROBBERY! EVERYONE ON THE GROUND!"
Casino guards fired back. Bullets whistled. Sharky mowed down two with a backhand. William shattered a jaw with a roundhouse kick.
Daek stayed back, protecting Amélie.
---
IN THE DARK – MIDAS AND SILVA
The alarm rang. The VIPs were led toward the exit by the guards.
One man remained. Naked. Trembling with rage.
"I DIDN'T COME ALL THIS WAY FOR NOTHING!"
He ran. He dodged the guards. He crossed the corridors.
"I MUST FIND A TREASURE! JUST ONE!"
He came face to face with Silva. She was on her knees, short of breath, her hand on her belly.
He charged.
BAM.
A metallic sound. A golden hand. A one-way ticket to the wall.
The man sank into the partition, unconscious.
Midas helped Silva to her feet.
"Come."
He gave her the shirt and underwear of a guard he had just killed. He put on the pants himself.
"Let's go."
---
THE CORRIDORS – ENCOUNTER WITH FRE
They advanced. Midas in front, Silva behind.
Fre stepped out of the shadows. Black mask. White gloves. Slender silhouette.
"Where do you two think you're going?"
Midas raised a golden hand.
"Silva, stay behind me."
Fre smiled.
"You think a golden hand will help you against me?"
He attacked.
---
THE VAULT ROOM – SHARKY AND THE OTHERS
Sharky kicked the reinforced door in with a shoulder blow.
Vaults. Stacks of cash. Jewels. Works of art.
"Take everything," Daek ordered.
They filled their bags.
In a corner, under a black cloth, a blade. An ancient blade. Engravings. A worn hilt.
Sharky approached.
He took the blade.
For suicide — engraved in red letters.
He turned it over.
Suicide.
He put it in his bag.
---
THE BASEMENT – THE LABORATORY
They descended the concrete stairs. Fluorescent lights flickered. Reinforced doors opened.
The VIPs were crowded into a room, handcuffed, gagged.
Behind a door, a laboratory.
Cages. Tubes. Bodies. Humans. Demons. Hybrids.
Amélie stepped back.
"What is this place?"
William clenched his fists.
"The casino's laboratory."
They advanced.
The last door opened onto a white room. Immense. Brilliant.
At the end of it, a man.
A white coat. Glasses. A syringe in his hand.
The scientist.
He approached them.
"You there — on your knees. Now. We're going to shoot."
Sharky looked at him.
"…What?"
The scientist didn't answer. He was talking to himself.
"Do you know what humanity's worst scourge is?"
He pointed to the cages.
"Humanity itself."
He turned.
"It created forces that surpass anything imaginable. But you must know that demons are a part of humanity."
He raised the syringe.
"They represent our worst misdeeds, in these demonic appearances. Demons are human. But no one wants to accept it. So you hide your faces, with your heroes, to push back your true nature."
He injected himself with the serum.
"At this point, humanity will never evolve. For the world to evolve, we must accept our true nature. Accept our dark side."
His body twisted.
"I'm injecting demonic cells. I call it… the Devil's Serum."
CRACK.
His body exploded. Black shells. Legs. Mandibles.
A giant scarab beetle.
Monstrous.
"Behold ultimate power. The pinnacle of evolution."
BOOM.
The heads of the Yakuza exploded. All of them. Without warning.
The scarab beetle moved closer to Sharky. A flash.
BAM.
Sharky flew across the room, crashing against the wall.
The concrete cracked.
He fell to his knees.
Overwhelmed by speed and strength.
His bag opened.
The blade fell out.
It gleamed.
"Take me."
Sharky looked up.
"Take me."
He remembered. A story. A legend. A hero who had made a pact with a blade. And who, thanks to it, had unified all the nations of the East.
He had heard it in kindergarten.
A Shogun.
He grasped the blade.
A connection.
The blade burned.
"TENKAI!"
A thick, black mist enveloped him.
---
TO BE CONTINUED…