HOKKAIDO, JAPAN.
Snow was falling with a deceptive calm over the tall pines surrounding the Minamoto mansion. It was a clean, silent snowfall, the kind that muffles sound and makes the world seem asleep. But behind that perfect calm, one of the greatest catastrophes humanity had ever experienced was about to unfold.
Tanaka Minamoto felt it before anyone else.
It wasn't a premonition. It was a direct message from the seal. He was the fourth Guardian.
The ground beneath the inner courtyard emitted a sound like that of a wounded beast. The mark on his left arm began to glow. The symbol — an ancient stylized dragon — seemed to move across his forearm.
"The seal is reacting!" he shouted loudly.
At the global meeting they had agreed to reinforce the areas where the dimensional seals were located. They created new security protocols after discovering that internal security had been compromised by traitors, although they still didn't know who was responsible.
Tanaka clenched his teeth.
The Minamoto mansion was not just an ancestral residence. It was one of the most secure locations in the world.
In what is now known as Hokkaido, at the end of the Great War, the Supreme Beings sealed away the Karnot maritime vanguard: troops prepared to dominate the oceans, a naval force impossible to imagine.
According to ancient records, the Pacific fleet consisted of a hundred combat cruisers, so advanced that even modern science fiction films could not accurately describe them.
The idea of that being released made his blood run cold.
Suddenly, magical alarms began activating throughout the complex.
"Activate emergency protocol," he ordered through the communicator. "All personnel to positions. Close the south wing. Reinforce the seal chamber."
Responses came immediately, but before anyone could fully deploy, the tactical wrist communicators began vibrating intensely.
It was the signal no one wanted to hear:
Direct threat to the seal.
Guards exchanged glances. No explanation was needed.
Emergency lights turned on. Detection seals began glowing along the stone walls.
Waves began striking the containment barriers.
Chaos was starting to take shape.
Then the first impact occurred.
The upper window of the east wing shattered. Burned bodies fell. Portals began opening along the walls.
"Claimoor! Prepare to fight!" Tanaka shouted.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest and summoned his guardian.
A green energy circle formed on the ground. A massive dragon emerged and immediately attacked the Claimoor trying to reach the seal chamber.
Suddenly, a silent vessel landed above the mansion and fired an energy beam.
The impact broke part of the protective seals. Figures in black tactical suits began descending.
Energy fire. Barriers pierced. Guards falling.
"Claimoor entering through the west wing!" a guard shouted. "Those people are using magical technology!"
"Who the hell are they?" asked Haruto Yamada, head of security.
Before he could answer, the vessel fired again, striking the south tower where the air defenses were located.
Then more attackers emerged from the forest.
The main entrance collapsed.
"Yokohama!" Tanaka shouted. "You're the traitor!"
The leader of the attackers replied:
"Don't call it betrayal. Call it a shift in power."
"I, Masumoto Yokohama, will be one of the new leaders."
"How long have you been planning this?"
"Generations."
Meanwhile, in London…
The meeting continued under maximum security.
The President of China spoke gravely:
"If we only have one year… what should we do?"
Ciara, head of the O'Broin family, answered without hesitation:
"A global armada. There's no turning back."
Tension filled the room.
"The seal under our protection has already been compromised in Ireland. In Brazil, the second seal was broken. As Markus said… if Japan is attacked and that seal falls, we will be in open war."
She took a deep breath before continuing:
"And believe me… none of your governments are ready for this war."
At that moment, all communicators began sounding simultaneously.
A sharp tone.
Urgent.
Atlas was sending a priority alert.
Devices displayed the message:
HOKKAIDO UNDER ATTACK.SEAL AT RISK.
Absolute silence followed.
Germany – Atlas Central Base
At Atlas' main complex, hidden beneath German military installations, dozens of analysts worked before data-saturated screens.
The same message kept repeating.
Anomalous energy readings.
Oceanic interference.
"Satellite visual confirmation," said one analyst. "Unknown naval emergence in the Pacific."
"This can't be happening," added another. "This isn't an incursion."
"It's the deployment of a massive armada."
Atlas officially entered global maximum alert.
"Alert all families. All bases prepare for combat. Black code. Japan has fallen."
"The seal has been broken."
Japan
Tanaka no longer had any strength. He had fought for over an hour against Claimoor and enemy soldiers.
Masumoto watched him.
"You have my respect. No wonder you were chosen Guardian when my older brother died."
"But your time has come. I'll give you an end worthy of your pride. Die with dignity."
Tanaka replied with difficulty:
"You're a fool. You think the Karnot will help you… You don't know the history. What you're bringing into this world is its downfall."
The magical pulse stopped flowing through his body.
His heart stopped.
The dragon mark disappeared.
The mountain trembled.
The ocean seemed to split in two.
Miles from the coast, the sea began to stir without wind. Ice shattered into massive plates.
Then the first vessel emerged.
A technological battleship.
Dark. Angular. Imposing.
Its hull was made of an unknown alloy, matte and non-reflective. Energy lines ran across it like living circuits. Automated artillery towers rotated slowly.
It wasn't a ship.
It was a war fortress.
Then another emerged.
Larger.
Then a third.
Then an entire formation.
Battleships, destroyers, and tactical platforms rising from the ocean.
Not a fleet anyone could imagine.
A destructive force.
The sky darkened from energy interference.
Satellites failed.
Civilian communications collapsed.
At the Minamoto mansion, the massacre was complete.
Claimoor advancing.
Eagle faction agents firing.
Yokohama walking among the bodies.
Masumoto watched the fleet in the distance.
"The world changes tonight."
The seal no longer glowed.
It was total rupture.
On the coast, the main battleship opened a hatch.
A platform slowly rose.
A man appeared.
Tall. Dressed in a black suit. On his chest was a seven-headed hydra, the emblem of the Karnot family.
Kaisel Karnot.
Supreme admiral of the armada.
He had been sealed five thousand years ago.
A subordinate knelt.
"Admiral. Confirmation: seal neutralized. Formation complete."
Kaisel calmly observed the Japanese coast.
"At last… five thousand years have passed."
"But it seems humanity has regressed instead of advancing."
Ferdinan, second commander of the fleet, replied:
"All ships are ready."
Kaisel raised his gaze.
"It's time those traitors pay. The Supreme Beings made the mistake of leaving us alive."
He looked toward the horizon.
"Brothers… wait. I'm coming for you."
The ships began aligning.
Energy systems reached maximum power.
In Germany, Atlas confirmed the global threat.
In Ireland, the main seal patch vibrated.
In Brazil, the stolen relic glowed.
And in Russia, the mark on Noah's back began burning uncontrollably.
The pain made him fall to his knees.
Eleanor held him before he hit the ground.
"What's happening?"
Mikhail answered:
"We're in trouble. Look at your arm."
Eleanor's mark seemed alive. The tiger moved beneath her skin.
"What is all this?"
"What we always feared," Mikhail replied. "One of the main seals has been broken. The magical balance is collapsing."
Sophia arrived running, breathless.
"This is bad… the Minamoto mansion has been devastated."