The transport rumbled to a halt beside a fractured wall overtaken by ivy and moss. Concrete groaned under the weight of time, and the shattered skyline of Sector 9-B loomed in the background like forgotten ruins.
Team 7 disembarked into the hollow silence of a dead city.
Kazuki was the last to step down, his visor scanning the immediate area. He tapped the side of his wrist device, projecting a glowing map into the air. The five rookies gathered around him, listening intently.
"This is your battlefield," Kazuki said, his tone sharp but calm. "You are not here to prove you're special — you're here to prove you belong."
The map rotated, displaying a digital layout of the terrain ahead. Faded labels marked various zones: a collapsed shopping mall, a broken overpass, and the skeletal remains of an old subway terminal.
He pointed to three zones marked in green.
"These are your sweep points. Stick to your squads, follow the formation."
Then the map zoomed in toward a blinking red marker — jagged and ominous at the northeastern edge.
"This is a cave system beneath the subway ruins. Unstable. Dangerous. Several of our people vanished trying to explore it. No one came back."
The word RESTRICTED pulsed in blood-red letters on every visor.
"You do not go near that cave unless I tell you to. If I catch you so much as looking into it, I'll cut you from this unit myself."
He turned away and barked orders.
"Natsume, Jin — left flank. Sugou, Keiko — you're center. Yuuki, you're with me."
Yuuki gave a quiet nod.
His hand instinctively brushed the handle of his regulation blade. The manifested one still remained unused… and untrusted.
The Sweep
They moved like shadows across cracked streets and broken glass. The air buzzed with static tension, every corner a possible threat.
Kazuki raised a fist. The squad stopped.
"Contact. Three Hollowborn. North end of the plaza."
The creatures emerged from the mist — blackened, twisted silhouettes stumbling through the rubble. They weren't fast… but they were hungry.
Kazuki's voice was low and firm.
"Engage."
The rookies moved in formation. Yuuki darted forward with practiced motion, striking with clean cuts. Every month of hellish training now served him in real combat.
Keiko fought nearby, agile and precise. Her twin daggers glinted with each spin, but even she struggled to keep up with the erratic movements of the enemy.
One Hollowborn lunged toward her—
"Keiko!" Yuuki shouted.
He leapt between her and the creature, blocking its claw with his blade and countering in one fluid motion. The beast dropped in a heap of ash.
She staggered back. "Thanks…"
"You good?"
"Y-Yeah."
From behind them, Sugou watched. Silent. Calculating.
The Setup
They regrouped and continued deeper into the district. Now approaching the northeastern quadrant — dangerously close to the cave entrance.
Kazuki's voice crackled over comms.
"Team 7, hold position at the plaza outskirts. We'll sweep the final zone and extract before sundown. No one enters the red zone. You all know why."
But even as the squad settled into their watch points, Sugou was drifting further toward the ruins.
Yuuki noticed it first.
Where's Sugou?
Before he could ask, a scream echoed to the right.
Keiko.
Yuuki turned sharply — she had strayed too far and was cornered by two Hollowborn, fangs bared and ready to strike.
"Damn it—!"
Without thinking, Yuuki sprinted toward her.
"Hold on!"
He barreled past debris, slashing one Hollowborn with a clean upward strike. The second lunged, but he parried and cut through its chest in two moves.
Keiko was on the ground, breathing hard. She'd managed to hold them off, but barely.
"You alright?" he asked.
"I… I don't know how I slipped. One second they weren't there—"
Yuuki helped her to her feet.
That's when he heard something behind them.
Footsteps.
Sugou.
He was standing near the cave entrance, waving them over.
"Yuuki!" he called. "I chased one in here — I think it's wounded! Might be a higher-class!"
Yuuki narrowed his eyes. "What? Why are you—"
"It went inside the cave. If we lose it, that's on you," Sugou snapped.
Yuuki glanced back at Keiko.
She nodded, recovering. "We can't let one escape, can we?"
Yuuki clenched his jaw. "Fine. We'll be fast. Just a few meters in."
They crossed the crumbling edge of the RESTRICTED cave.
The moment they stepped past the entrance—
BOOM.
An explosion — no, a collapse — thundered behind them. The mouth of the cave caved in, rocks crashing down in a cloud of dirt and dust.
Yuuki instinctively grabbed Keiko and shielded her.
When the shaking stopped, he turned around.
The entrance was sealed.
"…Sugou?" Yuuki called out.
No answer.
Just silence.
Keiko sat up, coughing. "Did the roof—? Is it blocked?!"
Yuuki stood slowly, sword drawn, visor light flickering on.
"He set us up."
Keiko stared at him. "…Why?"
Yuuki didn't answer.
But in his mind, the pieces clicked.
Sugou saw me protect her before. He knew I'd do it again.
"He used you to get me in here," Yuuki muttered.
The cave was damp, cold, and far too quiet.
A distant scraping echoed deeper within — something not quite human.
Yuuki turned to Keiko, calming his voice.
"You okay to walk?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm fine."
"Stay close. I'll get us out."
He looked into the depths of the cave.
I won't let him win. Not here.