Chapter 28: Plain Sight
ZWIING! ZWIING!
Sirens echoed across the ruined block.
TRUDGE! TRUDGE!
The NBA soldiers moved in carefully, rifles raised as they stepped over the burning rubble surrounding the building.
Fwoosh...
Smoke poured out from the shattered windows like a living thing.
"Stay sharp," one of the soldiers said through his mask.
Another soldier scanned the unstable walls.
"Don't touch anything. This structure could collapse any second."
They entered slowly.
Inside, the air was thick with smoke and dust. Their flashlights cut thin white beams through the darkness.
Broken pillars leaned at impossible angles. Flames crackled along the walls.
The soldiers moved toward the destroyed center of the building where the battle had taken place.
One of them suddenly stopped.
"…Over here."
The others approached cautiously.
Lying on the floor was a blackened body.
Burnt.
Twisted.
It looked almost like charcoal.
One soldier crouched down.
"…It's a human body."
Another soldier shined his light closer.
His voice dropped.
"Wait…"
"That's Sakumo."
The body was scorched completely black.
But something was wrong.
The soldiers slowly realized it.
"…Where's his head?"
Silence filled the room.
Then one soldier pointed toward the center of the collapsed floor.
"There's something else here."
In the middle of the wreckage sat the crushed frame of a destroyed vehicle.
The metal had folded inward like paper.
One soldier approached it carefully.
He leaned forward and shined his flashlight into the dark interior.
Inside…
There was something.
A shape.
Still.
Dark.
"Hey… I think there's someone in—"
BANG!
The door of the vehicle exploded outward.
CLANG!
CRAAASH!
The metal slammed into two soldiers and sent them crashing violently into the wall.
"CONTACT!"
The soldiers opened fire instantly.
RATATATATAT!!
Gunfire filled the room.
But the smoke was too thick.
They couldn't see clearly.
SWOOSH!
Something moved through the darkness.
Too fast.
SHING!
A blade flashed.
SLASH!
One soldier's arm flew across the room.
PSSSHH!
Another's throat opened in a spray of blood.
"Uaarrgh!"
CRACK!
A third soldier screamed as his chest was ripped open.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
RATATATATAT!!
RATATATATAT!!
They kept firing blindly.
But the dark figure moved through them like a ghost.
SLASH!
Guts spilled across the floor.
PSSSSHH!
Another soldier collapsed, his helmet rolling away as his body split open.
Blood splattered the walls.
"No...Noooo!"
The last soldier backed away in terror.
His flashlight finally caught the figure.
Burnt skin.
Blood covering the entire body.
Hair singed.
Eyes wild and empty.
One arm hung uselessly.
The other held a blade.
"…D-Daito…?"
But Daito didn't respond.
He looked like something feral.
Something that barely resembled a human anymore.
Then suddenly—
CRAWL!
Shrieks echoed through the broken building.
From the shattered entrances…
Freakers poured inside.
Dozens.
Then too many.
SWOOSH!
They rushed the soldiers immediately.
"DEFEND YOURSELVES!"
RATATATATAT!!
Gunfire erupted again.
But now they had two enemies.
The Freakers attacked the soldiers viciously.
"Skraaww!"
"Skreeeii!"
SLASH!
Claws tearing flesh.
CLOSH!
Teeth ripping into necks.
"Uaaarr!"
"Die you creatures!"
The soldiers screamed as they tried to fight back.
But in the chaos, some Freakers turned toward Daito.
They lunged at him like starving animals.
But the moment they reached him—
SLASH!
Daito moved.
His blade flashed violently.
Heads rolled across the floor.
Bodies split open.
One Freaker jumped onto him—
SWOOSH!
BITE!
TEAR!
Daito grabbed it with his teeth and bit directly into its throat, ripping out a chunk of flesh before throwing the corpse aside.
Another Freaker leapt at him.
SLASH!
He tore its jaw completely off.
PSSSSH!
Blood sprayed across the room.
SLASH–SLASH–SLASH!
The dark figure slaughtered everything around him.
Freakers.
Soldiers.
Anyone who moved.
The room became a massacre.
Bodies piled up everywhere.
* * *
Outside the burning building—
CLANG!
A massive armored container slowly opened.
On its side was written:
"PROJECT ABIGAIL"
The heavy door slid open with a deep mechanical sound.
Inside stood a young boy.
Thin.
Pale.
His eyes calm.
Almost too calm.
The boy stepped down from the container.
Soldiers nearby looked nervous.
"Sir… are you sure about this?"
The commanding officer nodded slowly.
"He's the only one who can stop him."
The boy walked forward.
Slowly.
Toward the ruined building.
Inside—
Fwoosh...
Daito stood surrounded by bodies.
"Huff.....huff.....huff"
Breathing heavily.
Blood dripping from the blade in his hand.
His head twitched like a wounded animal.
Then…
He sensed something.
His feral eyes slowly turned toward the entrance.
Outside the smoke—
STEP.....
STEP.....
The boy walked toward him.
Alone.
Calm.
Step by step.
Toward the monster.
Brrrmmmm!
The ruined building trembled as flames crawled across the broken walls.
Inside the destruction, bodies of soldiers and Freakers lay everywhere.
In the middle of it all, Daito stood barely upright.
Burnt.
Bleeding.
Barely breathing.
His sword hung loosely in his hand.
Then—
STEP–STEP–STEP!
Footsteps.
Multiple.
Through the smoke, silhouettes appeared.
"Aerin! Wait—!" someone shouted.
But she had already run ahead.
BRRMMM!
Aerin pushed through the rubble and stopped dead in her tracks.
Her eyes widened.
"…Daito…"
What stood in front of her was barely human anymore.
His body was charred black in places.
His stomach wound had reopened and blood soaked the cloth tied around it.
Shake...Shake...
His arm trembled violently.
One side of his face was burned.
Yet somehow, he was still standing.
Behind her, the rest of the team arrived.
Wasabi stepped forward.…and immediately looked away.
"Damn…"
Even she couldn't keep her eyes on Daito for long.
The others went silent.
Then they felt it.
WOOSHH!
A presence.
Cold.
Heavy.
They slowly turned.
Standing at the entrance through the smoke, Was the boy from PROJECT ABIGAIL.
Completely unharmed.
Walking forward calmly.
Daito's cracked voice broke the silence.
"…You should've run…"
Everyone looked at him.
Daito coughed blood.
"This one… isn't like anything we've ever seen…"
The boy continued walking.
Slow.
Unstoppable.
Zachia stepped forward beside Daito.
"It's okay," he said calmly.
"We're not leaving anyone behind."
SNAP! SNAP!
Champagne cracked his knuckles.
SWOOSH!
Energy began building around his body.
"Well," he grinned, "guess we're doing this."
Wei-Wan sighed and stepped forward, too.
"Dying in a burning building wasn't exactly my plan today… but sure."
Aerin tightened her grip on her weapon.
"You saved us before."
Her voice didn't shake.
"Now we save you."
SWOOSH!
FWOOSH!
Power began rising around all of them.
Champagne's aura flared.
Zachia's energy surged.
Wei-Wan readied his stance.
Wasabi touched her tablet.
Brandon flexed his muscles.
Fah-jin took out her sniper gun.
Aerin stood firm.
Avenor also stood her ground.
They stepped forward together.
"If we go down," Champagne said,
"We go down together."
Daito stared at them.
For a long moment he said nothing.
Then.....He smiled.
A real smile.
"…So this is it."
His legs trembled but he forced himself forward, standing in front of them.
"…I finally found it."
He looked back at them one by one.
"Aerin."
"Wasabi."
"Zachia."
"Champagne."
"Wei-Wan"
"Fah-jin"
"Brandon"
"Yakisa"
"…Thank you."
He lifted his sword one last time.
"Let's finish this."
They all charged.
At the same time.
The boy stopped walking.
For the first time, his expression changed slightly.
BRRRMMM!
TREMBLE–TREMBLE!
The ground shook as the team unleashed everything they had.
Their attacks collided with ABIGAIL—
KA–BOOOOOOOOM!!
A blinding explosion of power erupted.
The entire structure shook violently.
Walls disintegrated.
The roof collapsed.
Light swallowed everything.
Outside—
CRASHH!
CRUSSSHH!
The shockwave flattened nearby cars and shattered every remaining window in the area.
The explosion roared like a dying star.
Then..... silence.
Dust slowly filled the air.
The ruined building was gone.
Nothing but a crater remained.
The soldiers watching from a distance stared in disbelief.
"Did… did they get him?"
The dust slowly began to settle.
A shape appeared in the center.
Standing.
Perfectly still.
It was ABIGAIL.
Completely unharmed.
The boy stepped forward through the dust.
In his hand, he was holding someone by the neck.
Daito.
His body hung limp.
Broken and barely conscious.
Fwoosh!
The others lay scattered across the ground around the crater.
Not moving.
The boy looked at the soldiers calmly.
Then, he spoke in a quiet voice.
"Capture complete."
* * *
Fwoosh....
The desert wind howled across a long empty trail.
A single armored vehicle moved slowly across the sand, kicking up a cloud of dust behind it.
The dashboard screen blinked softly as the engine hummed.
Outside, the horizon stretched endlessly.
The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky orange and purple.
Inside the vehicle...Someone stared out the window in amazement.
"...I still can't believe that view," Wei-Wan muttered quietly.
Fifty kilometers behind them…
The ruined city of Whaley Saw was barely visible on the horizon.
The place where the world believed they had all died.
Inside the vehicle sat Daito and his entire crew.
Alive.
Aerin leaned back in her seat, arms crossed with a small satisfied smile.
She glanced at Daito.
"Well…" she said playfully.
"Looks like you should start believing in prophecies after all."
A few members of the crew chuckled nervously.
Wei-Wan shook his head, still confused.
"No seriously," he said. "How is this even possible?"
Everyone turned toward Daito.
Daito sat calmly in the passenger seat, his sword resting across his lap.
"The Traditional Blade," he said.
"That's how."
Fah-jin frowned.
"That still doesn't explain anything."
Daito nodded.
"It has a hidden ability."
He lifted the blade slightly.
"Illusionary Loops."
The crew listened closely.
"It works like this," Daito continued.
"The moment the blade tastes someone's blood… it links them to the illusion cycle."
Zachia blinked.
"Wait…"
He slowly looked down at his palm.
"…That's why you cut our palms when we first met."
Daito nodded.
"That wasn't random."
He continued explaining.
"Once the link is active, the blade can create a repeating illusion scenario. Anyone observing us becomes trapped watching the illusion while the real versions of us move freely outside the loop."
Champagne leaned forward.
"So the whole fight with Sakumo… the soldiers… the missiles…"
"An illusion," Daito confirmed.
"They saw exactly what the blade wanted them to see."
Zachia whistled quietly.
"That's insane."
Daito nodded again.
"But the illusion alone wasn't enough."
He looked toward the back seat.
"There was another factor."
Everyone slowly turned toward one person.
Avenor.
She sat quietly by the window.
Almost shy.
Daito spoke calmly.
"One thing I never expected… was her power."
Avenor looked up.
"My Savage Power," she said softly.
Daito nodded.
"Camouflage."
"Or more accurately…"
"Invisibility."
Wei-Wan's eyes widened.
"You're kidding."
Avenor shook her head.
"When Daito activated the illusion… I covered all of us."
She gestured casually.
"I hid our presence completely."
Wasabi leaned back in disbelief.
"So while the entire city thought we were fighting…"
Aerin finished the sentence.
"…we walked right out."
Daito looked out the window toward the distant horizon.
"The illusion kept repeating the battle with Ragnarock."
"They watched it… believed it… and destroyed their own battlefield, trying to kill us."
Champagne laughed loudly.
"So basically…"
"We ghosted an entire army."
Wei-Wan shook his head again.
"That's crazy."
Aerin leaned closer to Daito with a smirk.
"Not insane."
"Legendary."
VRRMM....
The vehicle continued moving across the desert road.
Behind them…
Far beyond the horizon…
The destroyed city of Whaley Saw burned under the setting sun.
And somewhere inside that ruined battlefield....
ABIGAIL still believed the battle had happened.
To be continued...