"Give me a show... and I'll give you obedience."— Cicero
Silence. Thick and absolute. Not a sound. Not a flicker of light.Until—
Crack.
Tetsu snapped awake.
A nurse—her face hidden, only those eerie orange eyes visible—leaned in and jabbed something into his neck. She flinched, surprised.
"This won't hurt... yet. So behave, brat."
Then she vanished.
It hit him—he couldn't move. He was strapped to a padded table, his limbs completely restrained. Even his mouth was clamped shut by a muzzle. Before he could process anything, a voice rang out from speakers embedded in the massive, rune-covered, circular room.
"Well, well... good to see you awake again!!"
Tetsu's heart jumped.
He knew that voice.
The man with the gas mask.
"I know you have questions," the voice continued. "They'll all be answered soon enough. But first—you should know this: you killed a Fallen... and half of your town. In three hours."
"You've got the wrong guy!" Tetsu shouted through the muzzle. "I'm not a monster! And what the hell's a 'Fallen'?!!"
The voice paused, then chuckled.
"I can't tell you much right now. We need to see how sane you are. If you're fit to serve. After all... you're a Wanderer now."
"A what?! WHAT THE HELL IS A WANDERER?!" Tetsu yelled, panic rising.
Another laugh boomed through the room.
"You don't even know what you've become, do you, kid?"
How the hell did this guy know my name? thought the boy
"All your questions will be answered… if you survive," the voice teased. "That injection? It's a tracker. Linked to an explosive in your skull. So don't try anything funny. Oh—and if you're not a Wanderer… take a look in the mirror. Or better yet, check your chest."
"Now then..."
LET THE SHOW BEGIN.
With a loud clack, the restraints disengaged. His muzzle hit the floor. Free at last, Tetsu reached for his face—everything seemed the same. Until he opened his mouth.
His teeth. Razor sharp. Like a piranha's.
And his hair—no longer jet black, but ash gray, with just a few black strands left.
He moved to check his chest, but the metal walls surrounding him began to part—revealing a massive arena. Far off, behind thick steel doors, came the sound of clanging metal.
That sound…
It was the same one that thing that killed him before made.
"Buff!!" he whispered. "Where did he go?"
The last thing he remembered was Buff offering him his core… then everything turned to static, and that masked bastard stabbed him. But if what that guy said was true… how could he have wiped out that beast—and half a town?
How long had he been out?
The voice returned.
"LISTEN CLOSE, TETSU! You'll be fighting five of the same creatures that attacked you!"
"F-FIVE?!" he stammered. "That thing ripped me to shreds in five minutes! How the hell am I supposed to fight five?!"
"Maybe you should look at your heart. That might help."
"What the hell does that even MEAN?!" Tetsu shouted.
The voice continued, unfazed.
"Judging by your reaction, I take it you don't know what a Fallen or a Wanderer is. Quick crash course: a Fallen is a mechanical creature from the Void. Many types. You'll be facing the beast-class ones. Wanderers are humans who've taken on a Fallen's power—either by force or by being gifted the core. In short: they become part-Fallen themselves."
CLUNK.
The metal doors opened.
"They're here," the voice added.
"One last tip, kid… aim for the core. And make use of that thing in your chest."
Tetsu turned.
Five creatures stepped into the arena—beast-like, four-legged, metallic monstrosities with mangled, grotesque faces. Each had a single glowing red eye.
Their core.
Tetsu was surrounded.
Then he remembered: "Use that thing in your chest…"
And Buff's last word: "Live."
If he really had Bu's core… that meant—
He looked down.
A grotesque metal ring protruded from his chest. Right where his heart should be. In its center: a small crystal flame, burning bright blue.
"How the hell do I activate it?" he muttered.
Then—
A voice inside his head.
"Repeat after me… 'Activate.'"
He shouted with everything he had:
"ACTIVATE!!"
The metal ring whirred.
Steam hissed from his mouth.
Metal began to melt over his skin, transforming him again into that monstrous, mechanical form.
Before the beasts could react, one of them was slammed—hard—in the face. Its core shattered. It was thrown three meters back.
Tetsu stood among them, mechanical and terrifying. His head—now a monstrous blend between a medieval helmet and a train engine—flared with rage. Red lights glowed behind a metal grille. Only a mouth full of jagged, bone-crushing teeth remained organic.
A giant blade extended from one of his mechanical arms. His body—an industrial masterpiece of wires, plates, and steam-powered brutality.
The remaining four beasts couldn't flee. They wore shock collars that electrocuted them if they moved. All they could do… was watch the slaughter.
Next went a wolf-shaped one. Tetsu tore it apart as the others trembled. He laughed—a cold, sadistic sound—while his back turbines spewed steam like a dying engine.
"Three left," he growled, voice now warped and metallic.
"Pretty savage, don't you think?" a man in a dull green suit said, watching from above.
"You sure he's agent material?" he asked.
The man beside him—the one in the gas mask—grinned.
"That's what I want to find out. But... something's off. He didn't look like this when I captured him."
Green Suit lit a cigarette with a golden lighter etched with a dragon.
"Boss, why'd you call me here? Don't tell me you're assigning him to me."
The gas-masked man activated a valve on his mask, revealing a mischievous smirk.
"As a matter of fact… yes. He's all yours, Agent Maru."
Maru sighed, exhaling smoke.
"Damn it, boss. Are you trying to ruin my week?"
Still, he smiled, exhausted. Maru looked about 26, with messy brown hair, massive dark circles under emerald green eyes, and a worn-down suit to match.
Then—
The metal shrieked.
"It's over," Johann said. "Faster than I expected."
From a hidden balcony, Maru peeked down. His jaw dropped.
Tetsu stood in the arena, drenched in purple blood. It blended eerily with his now-metallic skin.
"What now, boss?" Maru asked coldly. "Do we let him go?"
Johann turned.
"No, Captain Maru. Not yet. It's time for the final test."
He pressed another button on his mask and addressed the arena.
"EXCELLENT, TETSU! YOU MET MY EXPECTATIONS!!"
Tetsu, panting and spent, looked up.
"Ah, forgive me—how rude not to introduce myself!"
"I am JOHANN VON HOFMANN!! A pleasure!!"
Maru's face paled. "What the hell is he planning now?"
Then Johann dropped the bomb:
"YOUR FINAL TRIAL—BEFORE I ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS—IS TO FACE THE KING OF THIS ARENA!"
"THE ONE KNOWN AS THE FIRE HOUND!"
"FEARED BY FALLEN AND WANDERERS ALIKE!"
"THE ONE AND ONLY—ALEXANDER TROOPER!!!"
He shouted, arms waving dramatically.
Maru froze. "Boss… I know you're insane but… Trooper will kill that kid in seconds."
Johann shrugged. "I told him not to kill the boy. But I'm curious. According to reports from Sendai—the town we found him in—they both use similar powers. Let's see how long this one lasts before the flames consume him!"
Tetsu turned to the last sealed door.
Heavy. Reinforced titanium.
It shuddered from blows on the other side—not primal, but calculated. Mechanical. Purposeful. Deadly.
BOOM.
The door flew off its hinges.
And then… he saw it.
Humanoid.
Fanged.
Metal-plated.
Fire roared from its back.
Its helmet resembled a hound's head, flames licking from behind like a burning mane. Its body—covered in armor and cables, just like Tetsu's—but stronger. Heavier. Terrifying.
The arena fell silent.
Tetsu and Trooper stared each other down—two beasts studying their prey.
Maru wiped sweat from his brow.
"This… is gonna be interesting."