[Laboratory - Level -1, containment area]
The basement stretched like a labyrinth of rusted cages and tanks filled with murky fluids. Pipes dripped onto the cracked floor, where the dampness fed a sour, metallic smell.
-We split up," Bulwark snarled, his voice booming like live steel. Each take one. If they fall... at least the others have a chance.
Kurou smiled. His skin was cracked like cracked porcelain. Each breath expelled a faint reddish steam.
-Children first," he whispered.
Before Haruto could respond, Kurou lunged at him, spreading his fingernails like black scalpels dripping with goo.
-Shiftie, scatter! -Ricochet shouted.
Shiftie vanished immediately, melting into the shadows cast by the tubes. Kurou clawed at the air, but found only emptiness.
Ricochet stepped back, spinning his circular boomerang.
-No matter how fast you move," Kurou spat. One scratch is enough. Haruto grinned. An electric glow sizzled on the edge of his weapon.
-Then don't scratch me.
The boomerang streaked through the air like lightning, bouncing between tanks and pipes, striking Kurou in the back. A tentacle of blackish flesh emerged from the wound, throbbing.
Kurou grunted, turning to Haruto.
-Shiftie! -Haruto shouted.
From behind him, invisible, Aoi emerged like a flicker. She struck Kurou's knee with a bar, sending him reeling. But instantly, a red tendril leapt at her.
Aoi rolled under a metal table. Her breath hitched. The place reeked of rust and wet flesh.
Kurou laughed, a hollow laugh.
-You feed me... with every cut, with every blow.
Ricochet swung his boomerang again, this time straight at his head. Kurou raised an arm: the blade cut through some of the skin, but a living mass regenerated immediately.
-Aoi! -I have an idea! We have to burn it, so we can stop it!
Aoi slipped into the shadows, looking for something useful. He spotted a heat lamp, hanging from a rusty tube. He unplugged it with a jerk.
-Ricochet! -he shouted from the gloom. Get ready!
Kurou lunged at Haruto, roaring. The boomerang slammed into his claws, barely deflecting them. A tentacle grazed Haruto's arm, leaving a stinging burn. Ricochet gritted his teeth.
-Now, Shiftie!
Aoi appeared behind Kurou and slammed the lit lamp against his back. A high-pitched screech filled the basement as the mutant tissue scorched.
Kurou spun around, writhing, throwing uncontrolled tendrils. Aoi rolled, feeling the warmth of the microorganisms die on contact with the heat.
Haruto screamed, hurling his reinforced boomerang straight at the open wound. The weapon embedded itself with an electric crackle, generating a small explosion of sparks.
Kurou fell to his knees, his charred flesh smoking. His gaze, a mixture of hunger and hatred.
-IT... WILL... NOT... END...! -he roared.
Shiftie and Ricochet looked at each other, panting. Aoi raised the bar.
-Yes. This is where it ends.
The two rammed together: Aoi punched him in the face as Haruto retrieved his boomerang and threw it point-blank, piercing Kurou's head like a burning star.
Silence.
Kurou collapsed. His body was still writhing, but there was no more mind behind it. Haruto drew in a ragged breath, his boomerang sputtering smoke.
-We did it...
Aoi let out a breath. For the first time, he allowed his cloaked form to dissipate.
-The worst is yet to come," she said, looking off into the distance, where they knew the others were still fighting.
Haruto nodded, raising his boomerang, still smoking.
-Let's go. Goro won't wait for us.
And together, they walked deeper into the darkness.
[Laboratory - Level -1, transformer room]
The corridor opened into a wide room, lit by strobe lights and electrical panels flickering like a swarm of fireflies. Dozens of wires hung from the ceiling, snaking over pools of murky water. The air smelled of ozone and burnt metal.
Yume strode ahead, her field of silence barely vibrating, keeping her breath held. Daiki walked beside him, hands trembling as he drew a new shield in the air.
-You look pale," Yume murmured, not turning around.
-Yes? It's my natural colour," Daiki replied, forcing a smile. Being a walking wall drains me. What do you know.
A sizzle burst a neon lamp over their heads. From the gloom, laughter vibrated like an electric hum.
-What a pathetic duo," said Misora, walking slowly between the transformers. Her skin sparkled with blue streams, leaping between her fingers. The metal gloves amplified each discharge.
Yume frowned.
-Misora. You always were a rotten spark. Misora grinned, baring her rubber-covered teeth.
-And you were always a flower with rotten roots. Come here, traitor.
With a snap, a bolt of lightning shot through the air. Daiki stepped forward, forming a barrier that absorbed the spark, but his knees shook as he did so.
-Can you hold it? -Yume whispered, not taking her eyes off Misora.
-As long as I can stand up," Daiki spat. The good news is, I don't plan on being electrocuted.
Misora held up both hands. White sparks jumped between her palms. The machines around her vibrated, overloading. A pipe exploded, spewing steam.
-You know what's funny, Yume? -Misora said, walking in circles. You were always looking down your nose at me. You were the favourite! The 'star recruiter'! And look at you now... just as broken as the failures you brought.
Yume stood her ground, unblinking.
-And you're still pathetic.
A spark. A flash of lightning. Daiki roared, raising two angled barriers. The discharge ricocheted, splitting a console in two.
-We can't block it forever! -Daiki shouted.
Yume looked around: puddles, exposed wires, open transformers.
-Then don't block it... follow it!
He held out his hand. Her field of silence didn't nullify the electricity, but it dampened the blasts. Misora snapped her teeth, launching another blast.
Daiki moved her barrier like a mirror. The spark ricocheted, zigzagging to a transformer. The metal exploded in a flash.
Misora burst into hysterical laughter.
-I don't care! Fire feeds me! Yume gritted her teeth.
-Daiki! The water. Drive it.
Daiki gasped, understanding. He created a curved barrier like a makeshift channel. Another spark from Misora impacted the barrier, flowed along the ground... straight into the puddles.
Floating wires plunged into the electrified water. The floor sizzled. A scream. Misora stopped, blinking, as the current bounced off her feet. Her gloves rustled.
-Traitorora! -she howled.
Yume lunged at her, breaking her own silence with a muffled roar. She activated her field to maximum, blocking Misora's snap. Electricity murmured inside the bubble, unable to escape.
Daiki fell to his knees, his barriers trembling.
-Yume, end it!
Misora writhed, each dead-end spark ricocheting inside her body, searing her from within. Her scream was muted, swallowed by Quiet Bloom's emptiness.
Yume stepped closer, without a hint of mercy, and whispered almost to herself:
-A spark without an echo can't ignite anything.
With a gesture, he released the pressure of his field just as Misora tried to expel her last discharge. The blast exploded backwards, consuming her in a flash of blue.
Silence returned, heavy, almost unreal.
Daiki gasped for breath, the skin on his face pearly with sweat.
-You... You owe me a back rub after this.
Yume exhaled, almost smiling. Then his gaze hardened.
-One to go.
The two of them leaned against each other, walking between charred transformers, ready to search for Bulwark...and the monster that still remained.
[Laboratory - Level -1, acoustic test room]
The air was charged with a barely perceptible hum, as if the entire room contained a chorus of invisible blades. Goro entered alone, his steel footsteps vibrating on the rusted gratings.
Kanzaki stood waiting for him, surrounded by sound-absorbing panels perforated like beehives. He wore his white dressing gown splattered with blue ink and old fluid stains. He smiled. For him, it was an operating theatre. A theatre.
-Ah... the steel dog," Kanzaki purred, examining him with a grimace of mock interest. You're the watchman without a badge, aren't you, the neighbourhood hammer? I thought they'd send something better.
Goro clenched his fists. The skin on his arms tightened and turned grey, hardening until it shone like polished ingot.
-You don't know who I am," he said, his voice booming like metal striking metal. You have no idea why I came.
Kanzaki let out a dry laugh.
-I don't need to know. You're just an obstacle, a piece of animated scrap. I'll cut you down like everyone else.
She clicked her tongue. A high-pitched hiss erupted from his throat. Waves vibrated in the air, taking the shape of translucent blades. The hiss was felt in the back of his neck, a shiver that made even steel tremble.
Goro didn't even blink. He stepped forward, his shadow covering the ground like an oil slick.
-You talk a lot for someone who understands nothing.
The first sonic blade launched straight for his head. Goro raised his forearm and blocked the slash with a low crunch: sparks flew, leaving a fiery line on his living armour.
Kanzaki twirled his fingers. Another cutting wave materialised behind Goro, seeking his back. The hero stiffened his back with a jolt, taking the impact like a vibrating iron bell. The sound echoed through the room.
Kanzaki clapped his hands in derision.
-Magnificent! A living shield! But tell me, what if I find the right frequency?
He spread his arms wide, intoning a guttural murmur. A dozen sonic filaments swirled like vibrating whips. Goro planted both feet, flexed his shoulders and clenched his fists.
The first whip slammed into his side. He felt the vibration poke between his steel and his bones. Another wave grazed his cheek, cutting into his skin. Goro grunted, holding his centre steady.
Kanzaki laughed, drunk with power.
-Steel sings when you cut it! Is it not beautiful? I will split you layer by layer, blacksmith. I don't even know your name, nor does it matter.
Goro remembered the heat of the workshop. The forge. His grandfather hammering blades over and over until the impurities were stripped away. He took a deep breath. Each new wound fed something deeper.
-I don't care if you know who I am," he growled, his voice a low drum. All that matters is that... I know who you are.
He flexed his arms. His steel creaked, but did not yield. He took two more steps, each blow of his fist against the opposite palm generating a pulse that vibrated the room.
Kanzaki took half a step back, for the first time surprised. Goro smiled, a grimace of tempered fury.
-A coward. A hollow echo.
He charged. Sonic blades sliced the air, bounced off his torso like glass whips against a reinforced beam. Goro advanced, his steel knuckles flashed like the fists of a living statue.
Kanzaki tried to back away. He muttered another frequency, sharper, almost piercing. Goro grunted, felt the vibration seek a crack beneath his armour. His left arm cracked, silver lines ran along the junction with his shoulder.
But he took another step. He clenched his fist.
-Your science does not understand forging.
He threw a right. Kanzaki raised his hands, trying to reinforce a wall of ripples. Goro's fist tore through the barrier as if through water. It impacted his stomach. The air vibrated. A dry echo.
Kanzaki spat blood, but still mumbled something.
-No... You can't...!
Goro lowered his chin, his breath thick.
-Steel does not break, Kanzaki. It tempers.
A second punch straight to the throat cut off the last frequency. A muffled crack. Kanzaki folded in on himself, his waves dissolving into the air like a dead song.
Silence filled the testing room again.
Goro took a deep breath, holding his cracked arm. His shadow was cast over Kanzaki's twisted corpse. With his other hand, he brushed the handle of his ceremonial hammer hanging from his belt: his son's name was still engraved there, untouched.
-Riku. -His voice was barely a whisper, almost a prayer to no one. One step closer.
He turned towards the exit. His steely silhouette was lost in the gloom, searching for the others.
[Laboratory - Level -1, corridor leading to the exit]
The basement smelled of burnt metal and fresh blood. The five of them gathered in front of the old armoured door. Ricochet had a scratch on his eyebrow, Shiftie was breathing with her back against the wall. Yume was holding her arm, still shaking. Daiki wiped his sweat with his torn sleeve. Goro, his arm cracked, looked at them one by one.
-It's over," he growled, breaking the silence. We blocked their rituals, killed their rabid dogs. Daiki, call the police. Have them pick up the remains of this dump.
Blockwave nodded, reaching into his pockets for his makeshift communicator.
-Yes, boss. We're finally going to sleep soundly tonight.
It was then that a soft sound pierced the stillness: tap, tap, tap... shuffling footsteps on the fluid-stained floor. All five turned at the same time.
It was Kurou.
His body was scorched, full of cracks oozing a blackish vapour. But he was still standing. A broken smile gaped beneath his red eyes.
In his right hand, something glowed: a metal control, rusted, with a single red button. Yume took a step back, as if she had seen a ghost.
-No..." she whispered, her voice cracking. Kurou, don't do that. We'll all die. The others looked at her, puzzled.
-What is that? said Haruto, his boomerang half-raised. Kurou coughed up blood, letting out a hollow laugh.
-If I go..." his voice was like a slimy rumble, "I do not go alone. Let this whole cage burn.
Aoi looked at Yume, confused.
-Yume, what's that?
But the answer was lost. Kurou pressed the button with a trembling finger.
Immediately, red lights flashed on the walls. A muffled siren began to rumble, low, like a rotting heart. Metal doors unlocked, one after another, with wet clicks.
In the gloom, thuds were heard. Growls. Something crawled behind the walls. Yume swallowed, her gaze fixed on a distant point.
-When they inject the Cult's liquid, there are only two ways: either you 'wake up' as a gifted one... or your body breaks down and you become a monster. That's what they told us. That's what I thought.
He turned to the others. His voice was a raspy whisper.
-But there were four cases... four monsters who mutated... and also gained powers. They were unstable, impossible to control. They were locked up here to study them. To copy them.
Daiki took a step back.
-And now they're...?
A creaking sound interrupted his question: one of the doors burst open. A huge arm, covered in black skin and sores, emerged. Kurou turned to look, his smile a gaping slit.
-Yes... yes... all of you... you will die...
A roar. Something moved like a living wall. A gigantic monster, an amalgam of flesh, spines and tentacles, rose up behind Kurou. It had eyes scattered like gaping bubbles. Without warning, a bony clawed hand grabbed him around the waist.
Kurou barely had time to scream. The monster smashed him against the wall, his torso bursting like a sack of rotting flesh. The control fell to the ground, stained with dark blood.
Aoi clapped his hands to his mouth. He recoiled, holding back a retch. Haruto paled, lowering his boomerang with trembling hands. Yume closed her eyes, as if an old nightmare was eating her up inside.
Goro, on the other hand, stepped forward. His steely shadow cast over the pool of blood.
-Don't let your guard down," he growled, his voice thick as a drum. The real fight begins now.
In the gloom of the corridor, more footsteps sounded. Claws tearing metal. Distorted breaths. The eyes of the deformed "chosen ones" glowed like freshly lit embers.
The heroes stood back to back.
And the basement, for the first time in years, roared with monstrous life.