(Chapter starts)
Good evening, world.
All around the world, every screen flickered to life. Billboards, TVs, radios, even smartphones—suddenly, they were all showing the same thing.
A live broadcast.
A man in a red mask appeared on the screen. Only one of his eyes was visible—cold, sharp, and blue.
"To the people of Japan.
To the governments of the world.
To every human listening…"
His voice was calm, but his words hit hard—like thunder.
"I am Red. A protector of the Safians. This is a warning.
In the past year, the Safian population has dropped by 2%.
In Japan alone, one-fourth of all Safians have been killed by humans."
He looked straight into the camera.
"If even one more Safian is killed in the next 24 hours… we will declare war on all of humanity."
There was a long, heavy silence.
"To the agencies that hunt us… to the governments that allow it… to the people who ignore it…
This is your last chance."
Red took a slow breath.
"If you've ever killed a Safian… get ready.
We're coming for you."
The screen went black.
---
The scene changed.
Inside the headquarters of the Anti Safian Enforcement—known as A.S.E—the most powerful agency in Japan made to kill Safians, Chief Kuroda Neiss slammed his hands on his desk and stood up, furious.
"Get that bastard Kazuto in here! Now!"
His bodyguard ran out of the room.
Kuroda paced back and forth, shaking with rage.
"A war… all because of us…"
Moments later, the door opened. Kazuto walked in, calm as always.
"Did you call me, Chief? I already got the Assassinator of the Month award. Want me to pose with it again?"
"Don't act dumb!" Kuroda shouted. "This war threat—it's because of you!"
Kazuto shrugged like he didn't care. "Huh? Me? I'm just a kid, Chief."
Kuroda snapped. He grabbed a glass and threw it at Kazuto's head.
"Fixo," Kazuto whispered.
Time slowed down.
Kazuto stepped aside, caught the glass in mid-air, and—while time was still slow—threw it right back at Kuroda.
Three seconds passed. Time went back to normal.
Crash!
The glass smashed against the chief's forehead. Blood started dripping down his face.
"Damn you!" Kuroda yelled, holding his head.
His guards raised their guns and pointed them at Kazuto.
"You're fired! Get the hell out!"
But Kazuto didn't even flinch.
"What did I do wrong? I was doing my job. Killing those devils—that was the mission, wasn't it?"
"You went too far!" Kuroda shouted. "In just eight months, you killed 12,000 Safians! Even kids… families… innocent ones. This isn't what you were hired for! Now Japan's the center of attention because of your bloodbath!"
Kazuto pulled out a folded paper from his jacket.
"My contract says you can't fire me before one year. It's only been eight months."
Kuroda snatched the paper, ripped it in half, and threw it aside.
"Forget the contract! You're out! We can't deal with you anymore."
Kazuto narrowed his eyes.
"You know there's a bounty on you, right? One million yen. I could kill you and live a pretty good life."
"Guards! Throw him out!" Kuroda yelled.
Kazuto raised both hands. "Relax. I'm going."
---
Kazuto walked alone on the sidewalk outside the building.
The cold wind blew through his white hair. He looked down at his hands—the same hands that had taken so many lives.
What do I do now?
He thought about all the innocent Safians he had killed.
And the humans, too… all for revenge.
There was no turning back.
Moving forward leads to hell. But going back? That's hell too.
He clenched his fists and looked up at the sky.
"I'll keep moving forward.
I'll kill every last one of them...
I promise, Mother."
---
(Chapter Ends)