The screen went haywire, a mess of static that suddenly formed a new window.
Riko hadn't even caught his breath from the fight when the screen built into his forearm started glitching. It twitched for a moment, then went completely nuts, like something was trying to rip it apart from the inside. Painful, screeching noises came from it, like metal being ground to dust.
Luna scrambled backward. "Uh, Riko? Your… arm thing is having a breakdown."
"I noticed, okay?!" Riko snapped, grabbing his forearm. The screen was bending outward, and cracks of light spread across it, flickering red, then blue, then colors he couldn't even describe, colors that hurt to look at.
The person on the roof hadn't moved, but Riko felt his attention shift. Even from three floors up, it seemed like the man was staring at the screen on Riko's arm.
The screen twitched again, more violently this time.
Then, it looked like it popped open.
Not physically, but visually. The interface stretched outward, like a digital curtain being pulled back. A fresh window appeared in shaky bursts, each line of code popping onto the screen like it was trying to escape. A message started to form, letter by letter.
Riko squinted. "Wait a minute—those aren't normal warning signs…"
Luna cautiously peeked closer. "When are they ever?"
The glitching window calmed down, just long enough for a message to appear:
HE IS HUNTING.
Riko froze, his breath catching in his throat.
Luna gasped. "H-Hunting? Hunting who?!"
The letters flashed again, then warped, like a dying light.
HE IS HUNTING.
HE IS HUNTI—
HE IS—
H—
Riko's heart pounded. He glanced toward where the boss had crashed, but the rubble was still settling, and the monster hadn't shown itself.
This warning wasn't about the boss.
His eyes slowly drifted upwards, towards the rooftop.
The mysterious person was still there.
Still watching.
Still frozen.
But somehow, the air around him felt heavy, like gravity itself was bending towards him.
Riko's throat tightened. "Is… is it about HIM?"
Luna whipped her head towards the rooftop figure. "That guy?! Why would HE be hunting anything?! He looks like a statue someone tried to give feelings to, but then changed their mind."
Riko didn't blink. "He said I was still too weak."
"Yeah, he also watched you punch a kaiju three blocks over," Luna said, moving behind Riko like he was a human shield. "If HE'S the target, we're not just weak, we're in negative levels."
The message on the screen twisted again, the letters stretching out.
HE IS HUNTING.
The screen shook, vibrating so hard Riko's teeth rattled.
"I don't like this," he whispered.
"You THINK?!" Luna yelled, her voice cracking. "Riko, make it tell us something! Ask it something—anything!"
Riko tried. "HEY! Screen! Who's 'he'?! What does this mean?!"
The digital window went crazy. Symbols spilled down it like falling code, some familiar, others alien.
The person on the roof tilted his head slightly, like he was listening.
Riko's pulse raced. He shouted, "WHO IS HUNTING?! Tell me—NOW!"
The message flickered.
For a split second, there was another line behind it, something trying to break through the distortion. Riko leaned in, squinting, trying to make out the shapes hiding in the chaos.
"Screen—come on—focus!" he yelled.
Luna grabbed his sleeve. "It's acting like it's scared—can computers even be scared?!"
Riko didn't answer. He was staring at the window, that hidden word flickering under the static, the one that almost looked like a name.
Then, the entire screen seemed to shrink inward.
Riko jumped. "What—?!"
More glitch-words screamed into the air, buzzing through his bones.
The window's edges twisted, the letters dripping down like melted ink.
HE IS HUNTING.
HE IS HUNT—
H—
The light flashed, blinding-white, stabbing Riko's eyes.
Luna covered her face. "Riko! Make it stop!"
"I can't!" he yelled. "It's doing this on its own!"
The rooftop figure took a tiny step forward.
It felt like a threat and a beginning.
The message spasmed, stretching across the screen like a scream. Riko forced himself to read it even as it warped:
HE IS HUNTING.
His stomach dropped.
He lifted his arm slightly, his voice cracking with fear and frustration.
"WHO?!" Riko shouted. "Who is hunting?! Who are you talking abou—"
The screen went black.
No fade.
No glitches.
No shutdown.
Just black.
Dead.
Like someone cut the power.
Like someone silenced it.
Like someone didn't want Riko to know.
Luna stared at the blank surface, panting. "Riko…?"
Riko's voice was strained.
"Who?!"