Timeline update: Two years have passed since Arata Kurogane entered the Sky Severing Academy at age 17. He is now 19 years old. The academy was a temporary stage; the real game begins now.
Tonight, the focus is the East Continent, a sprawling land of jagged mountains, dense forests, and vast trade cities. Its rulers prize power above law, and the Circuit Guardians maintain a strict presence here. Yet, shadows move in the gaps: unrecorded territories, rogue researchers, and secret experiments.
A young girl, no older than 10, had escaped from a clandestine Circuit Guardian lab. She was a subject of a forbidden experiment: enhanced circuits through a potent drug, designed to accelerate awakening but at terrible cost. The lab planned her execution to erase evidence.
John Merciless considered the situation carefully.
Why rescue a single child? he thought briefly. Because she is a key. The lab's secrets must be preserved for… future purposes. A world built from chaos is more predictable if I know the variables.
He issued orders with precision.
The Kurogami leadership was dispatched across the continent, each guarding escape routes, blocking reinforcements, and ready to intercept any who dared interfere. Each had a distinctive mark, demeanor, and presence—arrogant, chill, and confident to the point of nonchalance.
Number 1: Reiji "Voidclaw" Kurogami
The strongest. Mark: a crimson streak across his right eye. Personality: cold, calculating, rarely speaks. Prefers action over words. Role: leads the infiltration team.
Number 2: Selara "Moonveil" Kurogami
Mark: silver crescent on her left cheek. Personality: teasing, playful, enjoys provoking opponents. Role: guards main escape routes, ensures civilians do not interfere.
Number 3: Kael "Ironlash" Kurogami
Mark: tattooed arc across the back of his hand. Personality: hot-headed, loves direct combat, destructive. Role: intercept reinforcements.
Number 4: Aria "Frostbite" Kurogami
Mark: icy blue streak down her arm. Personality: quiet, observant, precise. Role: blocks northern mountain passes.
Number 5: Lucien "Grimflare" Kurogami
Mark: black flame pattern on his chest. Personality: flamboyant, arrogant, treats combat like theater. Role: city perimeter blockade.
Number 6: Sora "Skyreign" Kurogami
Mark: wing-shaped tattoo along his shoulder. Personality: aloof, often drifts above ground in flight during missions. Role: aerial surveillance and interception.
Number 7: Thane "Bloodveil" Kurogami
Mark: red line across the jaw. Personality: savage, enjoys intimidation, silent smile before killing. Role: traps and ambushes.
Number 8: Lyra "Shadowgale" Kurogami
Mark: inked spiral around her wrist. Personality: playful with allies, merciless with enemies. Role: forest and narrow passage coverage.
Number 9: Orion "Stonefang" Kurogami
Mark: jagged line along the jawbone. Personality: stoic, disciplined, enjoys observing battles quietly. Role: city reinforcement.
Number 10: Nyx "Voidkiss" Kurogami
Mark: black lip tattoo. Personality: mysterious, enigmatic, smiles inappropriately in dangerous moments. Role: final blocking point near the lab.
The moon rose over the jagged hills of the East Continent.
John Merciless observed from a distant cliff, black cloak fluttering in the wind, eyes glinting beneath his mask.
Three strongest infiltrators: Reiji, Selara, Kael. The rest hold the perimeter. If anything goes wrong, contingency is in place. Fail? Predictable. Failure itself is a tool.
The lab sat isolated on a plateau, surrounded by high-tech wards, energy barriers, and defensive spells.
Reiji landed first, one hand on his blade, the other tracing invisible lines of energy that bypassed the barriers.
Selara twirled lightly, moonlight reflecting off her silver hair, teasing invisible enemies.
Kael smashed through the reinforced gate like it were paper, flames licking from his circuits in sheer destructive joy.
Inside, the corridors were patrolled by Circuit Guardian elite units. These were not ordinary soldiers—they were awakened users trained for extreme combat, each capable of holding a small battalion alone.
And yet… John Merciless' plan already accounted for them.
Reiji neutralized a trio silently, locking their circuits in a temporary stasis.
Selara lured two into a hall, laughing, then immobilized them with precise strikes.
Kael—true to form—engaged a squad directly, enjoying the chaos, leaving scorched marks across walls.
The trio reached the innermost chamber. The girl was there, weak but alive. Around her, vials, syringes, and magical devices hummed with forbidden energy.
The team froze briefly: they saw the Circuit Guardians had been using people as lab experiments, secretly administering a drug to accelerate awakening and manipulate circuits.
Arata's logic had been clear: the girl must be rescued—not out of compassion, but because she was evidence, a variable, a key to understanding the Guardians' hidden experiments. If she fell back into their hands… John Merciless' calculations would be compromised.
The Circuit Guardians reacted instantly. Energy surged, spells ignited, and the lab became a storm of power.
Reiji moved like liquid steel, slicing and immobilizing with perfect precision. Selara danced, laughing as she struck enemies off-balance. Kael reveled in chaos, flames and punches colliding with the guardians' attacks.
Despite their skill, the infiltration team maintained calm arrogance. Each movement seemed effortless, almost bored.
"Predictable," Reiji muttered.
"So… slow," Selara purred, dodging a strike with a twirl.
"Boring," Kael growled, smashing through another barrier.
As the battle approached a tipping point, John Merciless' voice echoed remotely through energy transmitters.
"Number one," he instructed. "Activate Protocol Crimson. If the main path fails, the auxiliary exits will manifest. Do not hesitate."
Instantly, hidden portals within the lab hummed. Guardians who had anticipated containment found themselves trapped between illusions, energy locks, and null zones.
The girl was freed, escorted through a hidden exit as the elite units tried to regain control.
John's planning ensured every failure point became a calculated advantage, turning chaos into a controlled, predictable result.
After extraction, the Kings and Queens regrouped outside the lab.
Reiji stood tall, silent, as if nothing had happened. Selara twirled a strand of hair, smiling teasingly.
Kael laughed, brushing blood from his hands. The others lounged in their respective spots, relaxed, almost bored.
The mission was a success—not because of brute force alone, but because John Merciless anticipated every reaction, every obstacle.
The Circuit Guardians may have underestimated the variable, he thought. But in a game like this… underestimation is fatal.
The girl, safe for now, looked up at her rescuers with wide eyes.
John Merciless observed from afar. He felt nothing—no attachment—but the calculations in his mind adjusted for her presence. Variables shifted, future simulations ran anew.
The East Continent has changed tonight, he thought. And the plot… is just beginning.