Rin stood tall, her eyes glowing like molten amethyst, shadows swirling at her feet like living armor. Her breath steamed in the air, but her fear had vanished, replaced by something else—power, confidence... control.
She flexed her fingers slowly.
Everything felt lighter.
Faster. Stronger. Like her body had finally caught up to something buried inside her for years.
Across from her, Takuya now stood fully suited, his black armor glinting in the broken light, visor lowered, sword glowing faintly with kinetic charge.
He raised his blade, steady. Focused.
But she saw it in his stance—hesitation.
Rin tilted her head with a smile.
"I don't know what's happening or why... but let's see where this takes us."
Takuya took a step forward, eyeing her like a puzzle he couldn't solve.
"Your form changed..." he muttered, almost in awe.
"Somehow I can feel it. Like... your entire presence is different. How did you even do that?"
Rin laughed—short and sharp.
"New form. Like in video games, right? I guess I'll call this one... Max."
Takuya's grip on his sword tightened.
He thought to himself, "She changed the very structure of her soul... how the hell? That's not even... possible."
But Rin didn't wait for logic. She didn't need it.
She took one slow step forward, shadows swirling behind her like a cape of smoke, and gave him that bold, confident smirk.
"Alright, buddy. You said you were gonna kill me, right?"
She planted her foot down hard, the ground cracking slightly beneath her.
"Let's see you try."
Without a second's warning, Rin thrust her hands forward —
dark energy swirling around her palms and condensing into glowing orbs, crackling with unstable power.
She hurled them at Takuya like miniature comets.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Each orb exploded on impact, ripping into the asphalt with shockwaves that made nearby buildings tremble.
Takuya dodged, weaving through the blasts with quick, sharp movements, but one clipped him on the side—
the explosion sent him skidding across the ground.
His armor sizzled where the blast hit, but he pushed himself up without hesitation, gritting his teeth.
"Tch... she's faster too," he muttered under his breath.
Without wasting a second, he sprinted toward her, sword pulled back for a clean, precise strike—
but Rin sidestepped it effortlessly, her movements fluid, almost playful.
Another energy ball materialized in her hand with a snap—
she flung it straight at his back.
Takuya spun, deflecting it with the flat of his sword, but the force still staggered him.
They clashed again—
Rin ducking, twisting, flipping over his strikes with shocking ease, while Takuya tried to land a blow, every attack getting closer but still missing by inches.
Back and forth.
Their battle blurred into a storm of dodges, strikes, and explosions—
Takuya's precision versus Rin's raw, unpredictable energy.
But Rin...
Rin was smiling now.
And Takuya felt it—
she wasn't struggling anymore.
She was thriving.
Rin moved faster than Takuya could react, landing light blows with no intention of killing him.
But to her surprise, Takuya dodged most of her attacks effortlessly, as if reading her every move.
With a grunt, Takuya leapt onto a nearby rooftop, sprinting from building to building, parkouring at insane speeds.
Rin, wings of dark energy sprouting behind her, hovered after him—not fast, but determined.
Takuya's hand hovered over a tranq gun at his belt.
Then, on one of the rooftops—
he skidded to a halt.
There, lying broken and lifeless, was the body of a Sgt. Sharon.
Someone he knew.
Something snapped inside him.
His jaw tightened. His breathing slowed. Pure anger clouded his vision.
Takuya turned around, standing his ground.
Fight stance. Sword ready.
Rin hovered closer, her guard dropping slightly, confused by his sudden shift.
SLAM!
Out of nowhere, Halley crashed into Rin—
both of them tumbling across the rooftop.
Takuya wasted no time. He fired the tranquilizer.
The dart struck Rin's hand—
but she caught it like a toy, laughing coldly.
"Gonna take more than that to stop me now," she said, standing up again, dark energy swirling around her.
Halley, gritting her teeth, summoned her ability—
the air around Rin thickened as an invisible force began choking her.
"Now you listen!" Halley snapped, her voice sharp with rage.
"Come with us for questioning, and maybe you get to live. Otherwise—"
Rin gasped, her glowing eyes dimming.
"You're... a Hazard too... why?" Rin croaked.
Halley's grip tightened, her voice trembling with old hate.
"Don't call me that."
But then—
FWOOOSH!
A flaming blast whipped past, knocking Rin free.
Halley and Takuya whipped around.
It was—
KAI.
Standing firm, flames roaring off his fists, a cocky grin across his bruised face.
"Like Glitch would say... ROUND 2, ASSHOLES!"
Kai charged forward, taking a boxing stance, fire encasing his whole body, standing protectively in front of Rin's unconscious form.
But just as the moment built—
fwip!
Kai staggered as a paralysis dart embedded itself into his side, courtesy of Echo's sniper rifle from high above.
"Sorry guys," Echo's voice buzzed through comms. "I was outta tranq bullets."
Kai stumbled, fear gripping him.
Why weren't they just killing him?
They wanted Rin alive—for experiments.
More darts slammed into him.
Takuya emptied his clip mercilessly into Kai's body, just to be sure.
Kai couldn't move.
He fell to his knees.
Only one thought in his mind—
"I need help. I need to save Rin...!"
And then—
"YOU NEED HELP?" a voice echoed in his mind.
"Who's there?" Kai gasped internally.
"That's not important.
Do you want help?"
"Yes!"
"Can I use you?"
"YES!"
And then—
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Kai's body erupted in insane laughter, violent and deranged,
as his flesh burned away in a wildfire of black and red flames.
His skin.
His muscles.
His nerves.
Gone.
Standing there now was a skeleton wreathed in fire, a horrifying fusion of Kai and something far older, far deadlier.
Takuya and Halley froze, horrified.
Kai's new form shrugged off the darts like pebbles, the bullets popping out of his bones as the flames pulsed brighter.
"It's been... so long..." the voice said through him, deep and thunderous.
Takuya barely had time to blink before—
BOOM!
One flaming punch.
Takuya was sent flying across buildings, smashing through walls, before collapsing, his suit sparking and shielding him from death.
Halley took a shaky step back.
"W-what are you?!" she gasped.
The flame-coated skeleton turned slowly, gazing at her with hollow, burning eyes.
"Halley...?
Is that you?" the voice said, softening strangely.
Halley stiffened, the blood draining from her face.
That voice...
That nickname...
"How do you know that?" she whispered.
The skeleton approached slowly, wrapping his fiery arms around her in a careful hug—
and somehow, the flames didn't burn her.
They were... warm.
"It's me... your warrior... your soldier... your brother...
It's me, Sakuragi," the voice whispered.
Halley's breath caught.
Her knees buckled.
Her mind screamed in denial, but the words...
those words only her brother ever said.
Halley gasped for breath, heart hammering violently.
She shoved him back with a force blast, tears spilling uncontrollably down her cheeks.
"No... no, it can't be you..." she cried, collapsing to her knees.
He gently held the sides of her head, like something precious.
Halley's whole body trembled — fear and denial crashing into her like twin storms.
"Halley, I can explain," the voice said softly, painfully.
"No..." she whispered, shaking her head violently.
"You can't be—Sakuragi's dead!
He DIED! That's not possible!!"**
Tears blurred her vision as she shoved him away again, stumbling back.
Above them, the blood-colored sky loomed heavy, as if mourning too.
Across the rooftop, Rin stirred weakly, her Max Form having completely faded away.
She blinked in a daze, barely aware of what was happening.
Meanwhile, at the Dinosaur Exhibit—
Glitch lay sprawled on the cracked marble floor, barely conscious, his face a swollen mess of bruises and blood.
Every breath he took was ragged and painful.
Then—
WHOOSH.
A dark portal tore open in front of him, its swirling edges humming.
Out stepped Father Ben and Anya, both freezing at the sight.
"Holy shit..." muttered Anya, covering her mouth.
They rushed toward him.
"They tranquilized him, but why didn't they carry him?" Father Ben muttered, scanning the battered man.
He knelt down, inspecting Glitch's trembling body.
"Unless..."
Father Ben's eyes darkened.
"Unless something scared them off—or the fight isn't over yet."
"Come on, help me move him!" Anya barked, dragging Glitch's limp frame toward the portal.
With effort, she tossed him through to the other side.
He disappeared into the safezone beyond.
Father Ben stood up, wiping blood from his gloves.
Then he walked slowly out of the exhibit—
—and stopped, horrified.
A street of corpses stretched before him.
Bodies of soldiers and Hazards alike littered the snow, turning it a sickly crimson.
The metallic smell of blood choked the air.
At the far end of the ruined street, one body twitched.
It was Sultan.
Father Ben narrowed his eyes and opened another portal, swiftly yanking Sultan's body to safety.
And then—
he looked up.
Far above, on a rooftop—
he saw it.
A walking flame.
A creature that shouldn't exist.
Burning with ancient, wrong fire, the skeleton-like figure moved with terrifying purpose.
Father Ben's heart skipped a beat.
"What the hell...?"