The sun was already past its peak, casting long orange streaks through the gray skies, when Liam finally let his guard down.
A few hours had passed since the battle in the plaza. The mutated corpses of the cockroach-men were gone—either taken by scavengers or decomposing rapidly due to some unseen property of ARC energy.
Liam sat cross-legged at the corner of a deserted alleyway, silently observing the two he had saved.
The teenager, face smudged with dirt, huddled by a cracked lamppost. He looked like he hadn't eaten in days, but his eyes were sharp—watchful.
The injured policeman, older, mid-thirties perhaps, leaned against the wall with a makeshift bandage strapped across his ribs. His breathing had steadied. Though pale, he retained a soldier's grit.
"…Thank you, again," the man finally said. His Japanese was slow, deliberate. Then he tried in accented English, "You saved us. We owe you."
Liam nodded once, still cautious.
"You… military?" the man asked.
"No," Liam replied, voice low. "Just passing through."
The silence stretched.
The teen broke it. "I'm Kenji. He's Officer Sakamoto." He nodded to the older man. "We're part of a small group. Survivors. We're trying to get to them. We… got separated."
Sakamoto's eyes darkened. "We were searching for supplies. I had a partner. He didn't make it."
Liam's gaze flicked to Kenji.
"I was alone. He saved me. Pulled me out of an alley just before those monsters came," Kenji said softly, clutching the pipe in his lap. "Sakamoto carried me most of the way."
Liam absorbed the information in silence. Then he finally spoke.
"How many in your group?"
"30. Maybe more now," Sakamoto replied. "Three ARC users. Low-rank. E or D, I think. One of them can create heat pulses — not fire, but hot enough to push back smaller beasts. The other's fast. Like… really fast."
Liam looked away, processing.
He had survived alone for weeks. Controlled his environment. Chose his fights. Moving with others meant uncertainty.
But…
The mutated humans. The growing strength of creatures. The rising chaos.
He couldn't deny it—going solo had a limit.
Sakamoto seemed to sense his hesitation.
"You don't have to stay long," he said. "Just help us get back to the group. You look capable. And…"
He hesitated.
"…I think you might need people too. Eventually."
Liam didn't answer. But when Sakamoto tried to stand and winced in pain, Liam was already beside him, helping him up with a strength that made Kenji stare again in awe.
They began moving.
---
Osaka was a dead city now.
What was once a buzzing metropolis was reduced to silence and smoke. Skyscrapers stood like gravestones over cracked streets. Vines and mutated flora had begun creeping through concrete, unnaturally fast.
The trio moved cautiously through alleyways and ruined backstreets, avoiding wide roads. Liam took point, steel rods in hand. Kenji followed close, helping support Sakamoto.
They spoke in hushed tones.
"Where's your group located?" Liam asked.
"Underground parking structure near Tennoji Station," Kenji replied. "They reinforced it. Trapped the entrances. There's an old ARC user — not strong, but he knows how to make barriers."
Liam raised an eyebrow. "Barriers?"
"Like thin force walls," Sakamoto said. "Not perfect, but it holds off mutated animals. Barely."
They didn't get far before a shriek echoed across the buildings.
Liam froze.
Kenji flinched.
Chittering sounds followed.
"Back. Behind the car," Liam ordered.
They ducked beside a rusted, flipped kei car. Liam peeked through the shattered windshield.
Three familiar figures skittered down the street.
The cockroach-men.
Same clicking speech. Same gleaming carapace.
They were tracking.
"…It's them," Kenji whispered, pale. "The ones that escaped…"
Liam clenched his jaw. The urge stirred again. That sharp, rising sensation under his skin — ARC energy responding to potential combat.
But he held back. Controlled it.
Focus. Don't frenzy.
He scanned the street. Cracked pavement, abandoned stalls, a broken delivery truck halfway up the road.
"We move when they pass," Liam whispered.
But one of the cockroach-mutants turned sharply — its antennae twitching.
It was smelling them.
Before Liam could react, Kenji's hand knocked a glass bottle over with a clatter.
The lead mutant shrieked.
"Run!" Liam shouted.
---
They dashed through the narrow street, ducking between broken fences and fire escapes.
The cockroach-men chased with unnatural speed, skittering along walls and rooftops.
Liam turned and threw a rod like a spear — it struck one in the shoulder, knocking it off balance. He retrieved it mid-run.
"Get to the overpass," Sakamoto wheezed.
Kenji pointed. "Left!"
They turned — but another mutant landed in front of them, cutting off the path.
Liam didn't hesitate. He surged forward, energy focusing into his limbs.
He slammed into the creature with both rods, striking the side of its knee and sweeping low. The impact cracked the chitin. The mutant screamed, but Liam didn't stop. He stabbed through its throat and yanked the rod free with practiced precision.
ARC energy surged inside him again — intoxicating.
Another mutant lunged from behind.
But this time, Sakamoto fired a small-caliber pistol he'd kept hidden in his coat.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The shots didn't kill the creature, but they staggered it.
Liam finished it with a strike to the neck, severing the head.
Heavy breathing. Silence.
They were clear.
---
After another hour of cautious travel, they reached a secured street near Tennoji Station. Makeshift barricades, scavenged metal sheets, and rusted spikes surrounded a dark entrance leading underground.
A signal — three sharp knocks on a manhole cover — was answered from inside.
A small group of worn survivors peeked out, weapons ready.
Then they saw Sakamoto.
He waved weakly.
The barrier flickered — thin orange light pulsed — and the entrance opened.
Liam hesitated at the edge.
Kenji turned to him. "Come with us. Just for a while. Please?"
Liam stared into the darkness of the shelter, eyes narrowing.
He didn't know these people.
Didn't trust groups.
But something in the way Kenji looked at him — not with awe, but hope — made him pause.
For now, just for a while, he would stay.
He stepped inside.
The barrier sealed behind him.
---