Saint pulls away and looks Jane in the eyes.
"Jane, leave with me."
Mari's eyes widen. Ivy steps forward, her hand landing on Saint's shoulder.
"We are kind of in the middle of something, dude."
Zodiak's eyes widen from across the room. He notices a small twitch in Saint's fingers, his body tenses instinctively.
Before anyone can react, Saint's hand flashes. He backhands Ivy across the room with terrifying speed. The impact sends her crashing against the wall.
"Saint?!" Mela's voice cuts through the silence.
Jane freezes. Mari's breath catches.
Zodiak explodes forward, Time slows as he revs up a punch, his knuckles glowing gold. He closes in behind Saint.
Saint slightly turns his head, his eyes calm.
'He can see me? How fast is he?!' Zodiak thinks, shocked.
Zodiak's fist slices through nothing. In a blur, Saint's body turns into red petals that spread through the air.
Carmelo's heart stops.
"Nibiru Style?! Already!? It should take time to master that!"
The petals swirl and reform. Saint reappears, sitting casually on the fence above them, legs swinging slightly, his expression unreadable.
"What is the meaning of this, Saint?" Jovi asks, voice low and calm.
Saint looks down at him coldly.
"How many more of us are you gonna let die, Jovi?"
Zodiak frowns and steps forward, Capone and Crowley following his lead, ready to fight.
Carmelo raises a hand. "Son, let's just talk."
"Surely you don't think you can beat all of us, Saint?" Jovi says, his eyes never leaving him.
Saint exhales softly, then closes his eyes.
Mari's tone is sharp.
"How are you even here, Saint?"
"I heard everything through Mela's brain link."
Everyone turns to Mela. She blushes under the sudden attention.
"How can you all be so sure Jovi isn't just as bad as the government?" Saint continues, his voice cold.
"I've thought about it. What has he actually done to prove his stance in all of this?"
Ivy, bruised and angry, pulls herself off the wall.
"What do you know? You've only known him for some months."
"STOP! Just stop!" Jane yells.
Everyone stops. The air grows thick.
"Saint has chosen his side, Jane." Zodiak's voice is flat.
Jovi turns to Mari and gives a silent nod.
Mari's jaw tightens. She steps forward, dropping into her shadows.
Mela raises her palm and summons a barrier, trapping Jane inside.
"Sorry, Jane. Can't have you interfering."
'Let's see how much Saint can dance.' Jovi thinks.
Without warning, Ivy flicks her wrist and fires a pink mana projectile.
Saint dissolves into petals again,
"No! Please don't kill him!" Jane cries out from behind the barrier.
Mari emerges from her shadows, grabbing Saint by his shirt.
"Sorry about this." she mutters as she hurls him into the wall.
Crowley shakes uncontrollably,
"Gravity Style: Forward Spear."
An invisible force pulls Saint forward, flying him toward Crowley.
"Nice move, Crowley," Zodiak says, his arm coiling back. He drives his fist into Saint's side with a full-force blow, launching him through the cabin wall.
"JOVI!" Carmelo shouts.
Before he can rush forward, Mela summons another barrier, trapping him inside.
The others follow Jovi outside. Dust settles as Saint stands up slowly, blood dripping down his head.
"Saint, please stand down," Mari warns, still ready to strike.
"Run away like you did before. Kitty," Ivy says, mocking.
Saint straightens, cracks his neck, then gets in fighting position.
Zodiak lunges first. He throws a punch that Saint blocks with his wrist. Ivy spins, launching a high kick, Saint ducks, and jumps away. Mari rises from her shadow again, her hand shaped like a blade.
Saint turns, eyes widening as Mari swings for his back. His body bursts into petals once again.
"Above?!" Ivy shouts.
Saint reappears midair, but Mela reacts fast, summoning a barrier, trapping him in the air,
"Zodiak, now!"
Zodiak forms a quick hand sign.
Saint frowns, red mana erupts from his body inside the barrier, overwhelming it and breaking the barrier in the process.
"He broke it?!" Mela gasps.
Zodiak moves in.
"Sagittarius Style: Velocifero."
A golden arrow shoots rapidly at Saint.
Suddenly, Saint's mana turns pitch black. His eyes turn completely white.
Jovi's eyes widen in genuine shock. "No way… that technique."
The arrow strikes Saint in the chest, impaling him, but the black mana quickly travels its way to Zodiak.
"What is this?!" Zodiak tries to jump back, but the black mana sticks itself to his body.
Saint's body falls to the ground, the black mana transfers Saint's sustained damage to Zodiak, in just a second.
In a blink, Saint stands again, his wounds gone, while Zodiak drops to one knee, gasping, his own chest bleeding from the arrow.
Everyone freezes in disbelief.
Saint exhales.
"Why would I run away?"
Jovi lets out a faint laugh, "Enough. Stand down."
Mari nods, she stands down.The others lower their guard.
"Someone get Jane," she says, crouching by Zodiak's side.
Mela rushes back into the cabin.
'Saint… you're really the one.' Jovi thinks quietly.
They carry Zodiak inside. Carmelo pushes through the group, stepping out toward Saint.
"Son. Let's talk." he says, his tone pleading.
Saint chuckles, "I'm not here to talk to you."
"Don't make me force you, Saint."
Saint shakes his head, "Act the caring dad all you want. Push me, and I won't hesitate to kill you."
Carmelo's eyes widen and his body stiffens. His son's words hitting harder than any strike.
Jovi steps forward slowly, placing a hand on Carmelo's shoulder.
"This isn't necessary. Let's just talk it out. It seems like you have a lot on your chest, Saint."
…
Unit Zero just stepped off a plane in Shiawase.
"Man, I always wanted to come here! You think we'll have time to shop?" Beyce says, spinning around in excitement as they walk down an eerily empty terminal.
"Focus, Beyce. We're on a mission," Kevo mutters, his backpack strapped tight.
"Shop? What are you, a girl?" Plaster says, annoyed.
"I'd like to shop… why not?" Aixa replies, walking past him with a smirk.
"Yeah, but you're a girl. Beyce isn't."
"You should shop. Haven't seen you change outfits once." Aixa says, popping her gum.
"What?!" Plaster yells, his voice echoing through the vacant hall.
Beyce can't help but laugh.
"Stop it, Plaster. Aixa. You're acting like children." Claire says nonchalantly,
Aixa rolls her eyes, still chewing gum, and keeps walking.
"Hey, don't you guys think it's weird?" Beyce says suddenly.
"The airport's empty. We haven't seen anybody since we landed."
"That's true," Kevo replies. "Stay on your toes. According to Capsule, our guide should be waiting for us by the entrance."
They continue down the long corridor.
"This is really giving me the creeps," Aixa mutters as the glass doors slide open.
A tall man with pale skin and long blond hair waits for them outside.
"Oh, just a couple of kids? You must be Unit Zero. I'm your guide, Tanna."
"Nice to meet you!" Beyce says cheerfully.
"Hop in my car. I'll fill you in on what's happening." Tanna says, opening the back door of a small black van.
They get in. Tanna starts driving,
"Our mentor didn't exactly fill us in on the details." Kevo says.
"So we appreciate you taking the time."
Tanna nods slightly. "No worries. Let me start from the beginning."
He glances in the rearview mirror as he drives by the empty streets.
"There was this man, his name was Kanilo. Worked at this company that produces permanent mana infused tools here in Shiawase. He eventually lost his job because he confirmed he wasn't a believer of Noza Ginova, and the timing couldn't have been worse for him, since they had just hired another technician in the same field as him."
Aixa pops her gum again. Plaster yawns.
"And when clearing out his station, he decided to sneak inside the restricted zone and steal something the higher ups were working on. After stealing it, he was on the run. Turns out what he stole was a mana infused insect, named Niššīku. The project was unfinished and unstable, Niššīku could learn mana by manifestation. Since it has come to this, we can assume that Kanilo had a lot of built-up hatred, and accidentally powered up Niššīku."
Claire frowns. "So you're saying this powerful insect is on the loose?"
"Not just that." Tanna's tone drops. "Niššīku controls smaller insects. They can force themselves and take humans as hosts. Take over their bodies."
"I'm gonna throw up," Aixa mutters, covering her mouth.
'A literal insect invasion… and they call us?' Kevo thinks to himself.
Beyce punches his palm. "Well, don't you worry! We'll take care of every last one of them!"
Tanna chuckles faintly. "Thank you."
Kevo glances out the window, the streets are completely empty. Abandoned cars lined down the road.
"We're here," Tanna says, parking in front of a tall hotel.
"It's closed?" Beyce asks, tugging at the locked doors.
Tanna smirks. "Not that one. This way." He points to a small café beside it.
Aixa sighs, Plaster shrugs, and they follow him in.
Inside, soldiers and civilians lie scattered on the floor, some bandaged, some shaking, all injured.
"Woah…" Beyce whispers.
Tanna opens a closet, pulling out a box of masks.
"We bring every uninfected person here. It's the safest we've got."
He tosses masks to each of them.
"Wear these whenever you go outside. The insects can fly into your ears or nose too, but they prefer the mouth."
Everyone puts their masks on in silence.
Tanna sits down, clasping his hands.
"Now… let's make a plan."