A blood-colored haze lingered above the shattered remains of Capriha's eastern sector. Smoke curled up from collapsed rooftops and the scent of scorched blood clung to the air. Gendai, Raijin, Felicia, Kamaki, and Evelyn raced down the war-torn street, their boots crunching over glass and charred ash as they neared Squad D's last known location.
Raijin pulled up alongside Gendai, his lightning-lined eyes flicking her way with a grin.
Raijin: "Hard to believe you were once just that scared, insecure girl. Now look at you—a full-fledged leader. Who'd have guessed the twist in your story?"
Gendai didn't look at him, eyes focused ahead.
Gendai: "That's because no one else could fix me but me."
Raijin: "That's the spirit. Todo and Xavier would've been proud if they could see this version of you."
A silence followed. Her eyes briefly dimmed.
Gendai: "…Yeah. If only I'd been strong enough back then… maybe things would've turned out different."
Raijin: "Maybe. But regrets are anchors. Right now, we fight for the future—not the ghosts."
Gendai: "Speaking of ghosts, why're you even talking to me now?"
Raijin smirked, rubbing the back of his head.
Raijin: "Simple. You and I… we're the last two left of the High Alpha Alliance. Kazimir and Riah? Gone. Angelly—dead. Todo and Xavier? Buried. Lilly's sealed away in Imaginary Space. Just you and me now."
Gendai nodded solemnly.
Gendai: "It'd be nice to have us all together again. Just once…"
Raijin: "It would. But that version of us… it only lives in our memories now."
He looked ahead, his tone sharpening.
Raijin: "We're getting close. Prep the squad."
Gendai (raising her voice): "Everyone, tighten formation. Eyes sharp."
They turned the corner—and stopped.
The streets were silent. Smoke wafted lazily over the field of corpses. Blood stained the cracked pavement. Shattered weapons lay beside twisted limbs—soldiers and civilians alike. Squad D was gone.
Gendai froze. Her eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat.
Images surged back—the nightmare in Kazimir's consciousness, the haunting fragments of his trauma, the genocide, the loss.
Her legs trembled.
Raijin reached out and grabbed her arm.
Raijin: "Snap out of it. First time seeing death this close?"
Gendai (voice shaking): "There were… children. Families. All murdered."
Raijin: "It's my first time seeing a massacre this big too. Looks like a vampire feast."
Felicia and Kamaki split from the group, moving carefully among the bodies.
Felicia (activating her comm): "General Neve. We found Squad D. They're all gone. Civilians too… it's a bloodbath."
Neve (over comm): "Damn it. Have you cleared the area of hostiles?"
Felicia: "Not yet. We're scouting now."
Neve: "Stay on alert. Don't die out there."
Felicia (softly): "You got it, General."
Kamaki paused, sniffing the air.
Kamaki: "I can smell them. They're close."
Felicia: "Vampires?"
Kamaki: "Yeah… and they're hungry."
Gendai's eyes sharpened. Her green aura flickered to life like smoke trailing from her fingertips.
Gendai: "Everyone—battle positions."
Footsteps echoed from the fog.
From the mist stepped a tall man clad in a long crimson coat, pale skin reflecting the blood moonlight. His white hair blew gently in the breeze. Handsome, sharp-fanged, with an eerie calm. Beside him walked a woman with jagged claws and a maddened glint in her eye—Enma.
Evelyn (tense): "Who are you?"
Enma (grinning): "You're new. But the rest of them know exactly who I am."
She threw her arms wide.
Enma: "But you're rude. Allow me to give the honor. This… is my lord and savior—Foogle, the Crimson King."
Raijin stepped forward, lightning spitting from his fists.
Raijin: "Cool name. Shame you'll be a corpse by the end of the night."
Enma (lunging): "OH HELL NO!"
She came at Raijin with shrieking claws. He sidestepped cleanly, letting her momentum carry her forward before he drove a boot into her stomach, slamming her into a wall of broken concrete.
Raijin (grinning): "Like I said, Foogle... you're dealing with us."