Rein walked through the takamasa family compound, her red hair held up in a ponytail that blew in the wind as she watched children playing and adults talking.
She couldn't help but smile at all the people in front of her, all her family, all her friends, she loved everyone of them.
She put her bubble wand up to her mouth and started blowing, bubbles filled the surrounding area, making the place look more like some kinda dream than an actual home.
"Rein, are you okay?" The redhead spun around, surprised by the sudden voice from out of nowhere. She sighed in relief when she saw that it was her mother. The woman looked very similar to her, fair skin, long red hair that she let flow, a haori that held a flower pattern on it.
"Oh, mom. Yeah I'm fine. Just.. people watching I guess." The girl said.
Her mother smiled as she approached, resting a hand on her shoulder."You know, I never did realize how many bubbles you could make, tsuyoshi wasn't lying about your lung capacity" She joked. "Although, I also didn't expect you to be people watching, isn't that a little too boring for someone your age?"
Her mother laughed softly, the sound carrying easily through the open courtyards of the Takamasa compound.
"Boring to you, maybe," the redhead said. "To me, it's comforting. Seeing everyone like this."she hummed, turning her gaze back toward the compound grounds.
The Takamasa estate sprawled wider than most neighborhoods, old wooden walkways connecting modern stone buildings, gardens folding into training yards, shrines tucked between living spaces.
The biggest reason it wasn't all modernized was that the elders couldn't bare the thought of straying too far from their roots.
Children ran past the two women, One nearly tripped, caught himself, then kept going like nothing had happened.
A group of older teens sat on the steps of a residence, arguing animatedly over something Rein couldn't quite hear, most likely something about training.
Rein smiled faintly.
"I like it like this," she said, her mouth shifting into a content smile "i love you guys, you're my family. Plus I guess I just like normal"
Her mother glanced at her, eyes soft but sharp, like she was always looking past what Rein said and straight into why she said it. "Normal doesn't last," she replied gently. "you can admire normal all you want but you have to understand that it wont stay that way forever."
They began walking, their steps unhurried. Gravel crunched beneath their shoes as they passed one of the inner gardens. Wind stirred the prayer ribbons tied to the fence, the fabric whispering quietly as it fluttered.
A few people bowed respectfully as they passed. Not deeply, not formally, just enough to acknowledge them, rein noticed, and she still couldn't help that feeling in her chest, That feeling which was a mix of pride and discomfort.
"Still not used to that?" her mother asked without looking at her.
Rein snorted. "Never will be."
Her mother chuckled. "Good. Keeps you human."
They turned down a narrower path that led toward the training sector. The air smelled faintly of metal and ozone, residual energy from earlier drills. Rein's fingers twitched instinctively at her side, muscle memory itching to move.
"You're restless," her mother observed.
"Am I that obvious?"
"You always are when you're thinking about fighting."
Rein grimaced. "I'm not thinking about fighting."
Her mother gave her a look.
"...Okay, maybe a little," Rein admitted. "But not like that. It's just-everyone's out there, being sin hunters, doing what they were raised to do, and I can't help but be anxious for when I get my chance."
They slowed near the edge of the courtyard, where a few trainees practiced footwork drills under the watchful eye of an instructor. Her mother stopped walking entirely.
"Rein," she said carefully, "you're allowed to take your time."
Rein looked at her. "Thats easy for you to say, you've already been a sin hunter. When's my turn?."
Her mother smiled-not sadly, not dismissively. Just knowingly. "You have plenty of time to be a sin hunter. Rushing yourself into it won't do you any good."
Rein sighed.
"It's just... How can I not want to be a sin hunter? I'm a takemasa, it's like asking a cheetah to wait until it can run."
Her mother took a step closer to Rein, placing a hand her shoulder. "You're a Takamasa, yes, but you're still your own person. Don't let the family name dictate how you feel about yourself. Besides, being a sin hunter isn't as good as people advertise"
Rein exhaled, the tension easing just a little.
The sounds of the training yard filled the brief silence between them- the thuds of people's feet hitting the ground one after another, the whistling of sword strikes that barely missed their target, the crash of a training dummy falling to the floor Rein watched for a moment, eyes tracking movements without thinking, cataloging mistakes and adjustments out of pure habit.
Her mother followed her gaze. "People don't talk about the parts that come after the glory," she said quietly
Rein frowned. "What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, her mother turned and gestured down a side path Rein hadn't noticed before. It curved away from the noise of the training yard, slipping between two long buildings and into a quieter section of the compound.
"Come with me," her mother said.
Rein hesitated for only a moment before following. The air here felt different-cooler, calmer, heavy with the faint scent of incense and old wood. The sounds of sparring faded behind them, replaced by the soft crunch of gravel and the distant trickle of water from a nearby stream.
"Is something wrong?" Rein asked.
"No," her mother replied. "Not wrong. Just... We need to have a talk, a very long overdue talk."
They passed beneath a wooden archway carved with old Takamasa symbols, the wood worn smooth by time and touch. Beyond it lay a small courtyard, far quieter than the rest of the estate. Stone benches surrounded a shallow pond, koi drifting lazily beneath the surface. Wind chimes hung from the eaves of a nearby building, their soft notes ringing gently.
And there, seated on one of the benches, was her father.
He wasn't training. He wasn't meditating in the way Rein had seen other elders do. He was simply sitting, hands folded loosely in his lap, gaze fixed on the water as if lost somewhere far beyond the compound.
His long hair fell down his back like waves until it touched the floor, he wore no shirt so his incredibly chiseled physique was on display for all to see
Rein smiled upon seeing her father, "Dad, you're back!" She hadn't seen him in months because he was on some kinda business trip
Her father looked up, his expression smoothing into a warm smile as he spotted Rein. "Ah, there you are." He nodded towards the bench next to him. "Come, sit."
Rein obeyed, perching on the edge of the bench. Her father's gaze returned to the pond, his expression unreadable.
"When did you get back? I didn't ever see you return" the girl asked
"Just today, it was... A very long trip" the man stated simply.
Rein was about to say something else before she noticed the looking on her father's face, it was the look that told her he wanted to say something
So she waited patiently, watching the koi swim and listening to the wind chime's soft notes.
"Rein... Do you have any idea how important you are?"
Rein froze. Her father's words settled over her like a too-heavy cloak, unfamiliar and awkward. She blinked at him, searching his face for any hint of jest or exaggeration-there was none.
"I... What?" The question came out sharper than she intended, laced with disbelief. "I'm not-"
Her mother placed a gentle hand on the back of Rein's neck before she could spiral further into denial. A quiet warning: Listen.
Her father exhaled through his nose-not quite amusement but something close to resignation as he finally looked away from the pond and met Rein's eyes fully.
"Do you think I would say that if it weren't true?" He gestured loosely toward the estate behind them with one hand while keeping both palms open in an offering between them all three here now together under this archway carved by ancestors who knew things they couldn't pass down properly anymore, today only whispers left behind instead stories whole enough still hold weight when needed most urgently like right here right now maybe even more so than ever before because why else would he bring up this topic unless there truly wasn't another choice left anymore?
The wind stilled abruptly; even birds fell silent mid-call somewhere beyond these walls where life continued
"You are special.. in a way that no one understands. I don't understand it, your mother doesn't understand it, I doubt even you understand."
Rein's breath caught. Her father's words weren't a compliment-they carried the weight of something heavy, something that settled between her ribs like an unspoken burden.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out at first. When she finally managed to speak, it was quieter than before-almost wary:
"...What are you talking about?"
Her mother stiffened slightly beside them; Rein could feel the tension in her grip on the back of her neck now instead just resting there gently as if ready to pull away any second when needed most urgently maybe even more so than ever before because this? This felt different from anything they'd said earlier today or yesterday for that matter all those years leading up until right here right now under this archway carved by ancestors who knew things they couldn't pass down properly anymore only whispers left behind instead stories whole enough still hold weight when needed urgently like maybe even more so than ever before unless he wasn't exaggerating which seemed impossible given how serious his face looked right now...
Her father reached out slowly and placed one hand over where theirs met atop Rein's shoulder-not covering it entirely but not quite leaving space either between their touches either while keeping eye contact unbroken throughout entire
"You are my daughter, the heiress of the takamasa family and a person destined for greatness. Which is why it's imperative that you know your worth, as the most valuable and most special person we have seen in decades." The man said cryptically. She couldn't quite understand what he was getting at.
Rein's gaze flicked to her mother, silently hoping to find some hint of understanding, but her mother's expression remained inscrutable. She turned back to her father, feeling strangely small under the weight of his words.
"I..." Rein began, it was like they were trying to tell her something, but they didn't want to say it.
Suddenly a guard appeared close to the entrance of the grounds "sacred head, sacred lady, kazuma has arrived, and with him he has brought his daughter." The guard said as he kneeled in respect.
"We can have this talk another time." The man said. "Go talk to your friend."
"But-"
"No buts, she is your friend after all... Tho one request, there's a diner recently opened down the road, bring her there" the older man said
Rein suppressed a sigh-she disliked feeling dismissed, but there was no point in continuing to argue with her father once he'd made up his mind.
She nodded and rose from the bench, still feeling off-balance. The thought of spending time with her friend-ganju-was a welcome distraction from her father's confusing words.
As she left the courtyard, she shot one last glance over her shoulder. Her father had gone back to staring at the pond, but their mother was watching her, expression unreadable.
As she left, so did the guard, leaving the two alone.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The woman asked her husband.
"Absolutely, After what happened I know it for a fact. This is the best way to keep her alive."
"She's a fourteen year old girl Tsuyoshi, she cannot handle a life without a family." The woman cried.
"What would you have me do! Have her die with the rest of us!?" The man raised his voice.
It was then that the two had heard a crunching sound, as if someone was eating.
"Yeesh, lovers quarrel, that's the last thing I wanna be involved in" came a voice that caused the couple to freeze.
Both parties paralyzed in fear, they turned around to see a teenage boy with green eyes, staring dead at them while eating a bag of chips.
"You probably already know why I'm here, so why don't you save me the trouble, and just die already."
Meanwhile
Rein had made her way out of the compound to find ganju outside on a chair on her phone.
"What are you doing outside?" The redhead asked.
"Waiting for you." The blonde said
Rein blinked at her friend, some of the weight in her chest loosening just a little.
"You could've waited inside," she said. "It's hot."
Ganju shrugged, locking her phone and slipping it into her pocket. "It's cooler than sitting in your house with a bunch of intense adults staring at me like I'm about to steal a sacred scroll."
Rein snorted. "Fair."
They started walking together, heading down the stone path that led out of the Takamasa estate and into the quieter streets beyond. The compound gates closed behind them with a soft wooden thud, and the world immediately felt... smaller. Less heavy.
The road curved gently downhill, lined with old lantern posts, small shops, and the occasional shrine tucked between buildings. Cicadas buzzed lazily in the trees overhead, and the air smelled like summer-warm pavement, flowers, and something sweet drifting from farther down the street.
They walked for a bit in comfortable silence, Rein's thoughts slowly returning to her earlier conversation with her parents. She stole a sidelong glance at her friend.
"Hey... can I ask you something?"
Ganju looked over at her, raising a brow. "Shoot."
Rein chewed on her bottom lip, trying to find the right words. "It's just... I had a weird conversation with my parents earlier. They were being really cryptic, talking about how special I am and how I need to know my worth... but they never actually explained what any of that meant."
She looked at her friend, hoping for some input.
Ganju's expression softened as she studied Rein, her golden gaze searching her friend's beautiful face.
"That sounds... a little ominous," she said. "Do they do that a lot? Talk in riddles like that?"
Rein sighed, running a hand through her red hair. "Sometimes, yeah. It's like they expect me to just... understand what they're getting at. But half the time I feel like they're speaking a different language."
Eventually the girls pushed open the doors of the ice cream place
The cool air of the ice cream parlor hit them like a relief, carrying with it the sweet scent of waffle cones and fresh fruit. A small bell above the door jingled as they stepped inside, announcing their arrival.
Behind a glass case filled with colorful flavors-mint chip stacked beside strawberry daifuku swirls-stood an elderly woman in a polka-dot apron. She looked up at them over her glasses and beamed.
"Ah! Welcome girls! What can I get for you today?" The woman asked cheerily.
Rein glanced at the menu board over the counter, quickly deciding.
"One scoop of matcha green tea, please."
Ganju leaned against the counter. "I'll take two scoops of the strawberry daifuku, please."
The woman nodded, quickly preparing the ice cream and passing it to the girls across the counter. She then paused, studying the two of them with a sly smile.
The two headed to a nearby seat and sat down.
The shop had a cozy, old fashioned sort of vibe, with wooden floors and a few plants placed here and there. A couple of other customers sat scattered around, quietly talking amongst themselves.
Rein took a lick of her ice cream-the rich, earthy matcha melted on her tongue. She sighed happily, feeling some of the lingering heaviness from the conversation with her parents lighten.
Ganju was already halfway through her first scoop, watching Rein intently.
"Feeling better?" the blonde asked, licking a bit of strawberry off her bottom lip. Her eyes had been searching up and down her best friends body, almost as if mapping it out.
Rein smiled, nodding. "Yeah," she admitted, "a bit. It helps to be away from the estate."
She took another bite of her ice cream, letting the familiar flavor wash over her. It was easier to forget about her parent's strange words here, where everything felt normal. Ganju's presence was like a grounding force, always pulling her back to reality when she got too stuck in her own head.
Ganju tilted her head, studying Rein like she was trying to solve a puzzle only she could see.
"You always look lighter when you're not there," she said. "Like... your shoulders drop an inch."
Rein blinked, then laughed softly. "You're imagining things."
"Nope," Ganju replied immediately. "I'm very observant."
Rein rolled her eyes but didn't argue. She leaned back in her chair, letting the cool shop air wash over her, watching the condensation bead on the glass of the display case.
"It's not that I hate the compound, it's my home, and it has been for all fourteen years of my life, but... I don't know how to explain it, it's become so... Mundane"
Ganju took another lick of her ice cream, nodding in understanding.
"Yeah, I get it," she said, her expression unusually serious. "Sometimes the places we should feel most comfortable in end up feeling the most... confining."
Rein looked at her friend, surprised at the wisdom in her words. Ganju wasn't usually this contemplative.
"Well I mean, don't get me wrong I would never choose to live anywhere else and I do have a lot of stress on my shoulders as the heiress but... It all just blends together these days. Guess that's just another reason I can't wait to become a sin hunter."
Ganju paused mid-bite, her spoon hovering near her mouth.
"...You really want that life that badly?"
Rein hesitated. Not because she didn't know the answer-but because saying it out loud felt heavier than thinking it.
"I don't know if it's the life," she admitted. "I think it's the purpose. Everyone else has one. Even you."
Ganju raised a brow. "Me? What purpose do I have?"
Rein smirked faintly. "You act like you don't know."
Ganju didn't reply immediately. She finished her spoonful, then leaned back, crossing her arms. "I guess... I just don't like the idea of you running toward something that'll hurt you."
Rein looked at her. "i won't get hurt, I'm pretty strong."
"that doesn't make me any less worried" Ganju said. "Sin hunters die. A lot. And your family talks about it like it's... destiny."
"Cause it is. There's not a single takemasa who hasn't been a sin hunter"
Ganju's mouth pulled into a slight frown. "I know that, but still. You have a lot to live for."
Rein couldn't help a scoff. "Like what? Being the perfect heir to my family business? Not much of a life goal, is it?"
Ganju rolled her eyes, but it was more affectionate than exasperated. "No. Like having a family, or finding someone you love, or just... living normal."
Rein almost laughed at that. As if any of those options were on the table for her. She tried imagining it-a future where she was just some normal woman. It felt impossible. It was impossible.
After a couple minutes the two eventually headed back.
The sun was lower now, casting long shadows across the street. Cicadas buzzed louder, and the warm evening air had cooled just enough to raise goosebumps on Rein's arms. Ganju walked beside her, hands in her pockets, occasionally bumping Rein's shoulder on purpose like she always did.
"So," Ganju said after a minute, "if you die dramatically one day, I'm stealing your room."
Rein snorted. "You wouldn't survive five minutes with my parents."
"Worth it," Ganju replied without hesitation.
They reached the outer gates of the Takamasa compound. Normally, there would be guards stationed at the entrance-at least t
"...That's weird," she murmured.
Ganju frowned. "Maybe shift change?"
Rein shook her head. "They don't leave it empty."
They stepped inside.
The compound was quiet.
Not peaceful quiet.
Unsettling quiet.
Then she saw it.
The main courtyard was a horror she wasn’t ready for. Bodies littered the ground. Some sprawled face down, limbs bent at impossible angles, others were twisted in mid-motion, as if the moments before death had been frozen. Blood pooled in wide, dark stains across the stone paths and wooden walkways, soaking the gardens she had loved just hours ago. Petals and leaves stuck to slick patches of crimson.
Rein’s hand went to her mouth, her heart hammering. She wanted to scream, but no sound came out. Her eyes darted across the scene, her mother’s favorite bench overturned, a fragment of a shattered vase nearby, a stray sandal floating in a pool of blood. The smell of iron and death filled her lungs, making it hard to breathe.
Ganju’s usual bravado faltered. The blonde had gone pale, gripping Rein’s arm tightly.
“Rein… what… what happened here?” Ganju whispered, her voice trembling.
Rein could barely process. She staggered forward, her eyes scanning desperately for any sign of life, any hint that someone, anyone, had survived.
A hand, disfigured, limp, stuck out from beneath the remains of a collapsed wall. Rein’s stomach lurched. She turned away instinctively, only to see another figure- her father’s figure lying near the pond, his robes soaked, unmoving. Her breath caught in her throat.
Rein stumbled forward, the world narrowing to that single, broken shape near the pond. Her legs moved before her mind could catch up, heart slamming against her ribs so hard it hurt.
“Dad, no-no, no, no” Her voice cracked as she dropped to her knees beside him.
His eyes were closed. Too still. Too quiet.
Rein reached out with shaking hands, fingers hovering just above his shoulder like she was afraid touching him would make it real. But it already was.
She pressed her hand against his chest.
Nothing.
"Rein!"
The girl turned around to see her mother limping towards the two, blood rushing down her face, and leg twisted in every direction.
"Mom!" The girl rushed into the arms of her mother, hugging her like her life depended on it. "Mom what happened here?!"
"Rein, you shouldn't be here, please leave!" The woman said with a hurried breath, the pain being too much to bear.
Rein clutched her mother tighter, her hands shaking, tears already streaming down her face.
“What do you mean leave?” she cried. “Mom, you’re hurt! Dad—he’s—” Her voice broke completely, the word refusing to come out. “what happened? Everybody's dead!”
Her mother cupped Rein’s face with trembling fingers, blood smearing across her daughter’s cheek.
“Listen to me,” she said urgently, her voice hoarse. “This isn’t safe. They're still here.”
Rein froze.
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“…Who?”
Her mother didn't answer. "Rein, remember what we told you okay, you're special, very special and someday you'll find out why but until then Please always know your worth, please!"
"M-mom" before her mother could make any other move, a bullet punched right through her skull, sending her grey matter everywhere, including all over her daughters face.
Her mother's lifeless body dropped to the ground as Malcolm stared at the red haired girl.
"So, you're the one who got away" the man said, reloading another round, ready to unload it into the kid, before he could though, kazuma layed a punch into his jaw, incapacitating him for a brief second.
"Rein, ganju, run!" He said as he ran, grabbing them by the arms and running them away from the action.
The man quickly got his bearings back, and tried to fire at the three, but his shots were blocked by the appearance of 2 and a half dozen security guards.
They knew they couldn't take him even if they all attacked at once, so they blocked the bullets with their bodies, allowing kazuma and a few of the guards to get rein to safety.
"Kazuma what's happening!? What's going on!?" Rein yelled at the head of security, wondering what happened.
She looked behind him, to see all the security being gunned down one by one.
She cried as she witnessed the scene.
"I have no idea either, but as of now, you are the only takamasa on the planet" the man told the girl who's breath hitched at that.
No matter how far away they got, she couldn't get the scene out of her mind, of all her family members dead, of her mother getting a hole put in her skull, right in front of her.
And out of the corner of her eye, she saw a person, with green eyes watching them.
---
The giant shadow of the bird like creature swallowed the streets, everyone craning their necks up to get a look at the sin.
And just like that, the crowd dispersed, people running away in fear as the phase 3 sin perched above them, looking ready to attack everything in the area.
Kazuma, rein, ganju and the guards looked up at the giant creature in shock and terror, they were doomed, this would be the end.
Rein started hyperventilating, phase 3's were the second highest rung on the ladder of power, second only to the strongest of angel gear. They were the exact reason why Japanese sin hunters were overworked, in order to ensure phase 3 sins don't come about, sin hunters often get their shifts extended to 72 hours and more.
The bird demon, in its fully incarnated Phase 3, stood forty meters tall, a pure abomination. Its seventy-meter wings made of necrotic membranes over elongated black bone unleashed shockwaves with every flap, shattering concrete and hurling debris.
The enormous skull bore an iridescent keratin beak lined with disgusting inhuman teeth dripping corrosive ichor. Eyes clustered asymmetrically across the cranium, some on writhing stalks, glowing with hunger.
The tumorous body exposed splayed ribs and mismatched pulsing hearts in a slurry of blood and bile. A cluster of barbed talon-limbs sprouted below, while the back erupted in a living thicket of venomous quills and parasitic tendrils
Ash looked up at the giant sin above him with a predatory grin. Rubble and debris collapsed around him, but nothing had hit him outright.
"Ganju! Get Rein out of here!" Kazuma shouted, already raising his weapon. "Now!"
Ganju didn't hesitate. She grabbed Rein by the wrist and bolted down the nearest side street, dragging the redhead with her as civilians scattered in every direction.
Ash cracked his neck.
"Alright! I haven't had a good fight in awhile, so you'll have to do!" The boy said, crouching. As he did so the concrete below cracked.
He eventually launched off the ground, making a crater where he previously stood.
As he got close to the sin, it tried to bite at him, but it was barely out of range. However due to it extending outward to bite him, this left it in his range.
As he slammed his fist down on the creatures head a shockwave blasted outward, flattening nearby street signs, flipping parked cars, and throwing dust and debris into the air like a mushroom cloud. For a split second, the intersection disappeared behind smoke and rubble.
Kazuma shielded his face, skidding backward across the pavement.
"What the hell-?!"
Ash didn't give it time to recover.
He used the creature's own body as a springboard, planting a foot against its ribcage and launching himself higher.
The Phase 3 did not like this, it shot out it's many quills at the boy, he dodged most of them, but a few did get stuck in his skin.
Suddenly his skin started blackening as necrosis began taking effect. He quickly flexed his muscles to send the quills out. The necrotic tissue would be a problem, but his regeneration was slowing the spread for now
Ash eventually landed on the creature with enough force to send a large portion of its body into the apartment building it was perched on.
The bird tried to eat him, grabbing him in its open beak, forcing him to hold it's beak open.
It eventually did manage to clamp its beak shut with him in it. But that was a mistake as from within, ash punched the thing down, sending it crashing down through the whole building, leaving nothing but rubble and debris that collapsed on top of the phase 3.
Eventually it broke free of the rubble, before projectile vomiting ash out of its mouth at speeds that shouldn't be possible.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH" ash screamed as he was launched across the city at impossible speeds.
The creatures shook itself off, regenerating all the damage caused by the boy.
The Phase 3 Sin lifted it's ruined head, scanning the area. It spread its wings.
The wind that followed could be compared to a hurricane, it was a pressure wave that ripped through the streets, shattering windows, flipping abandoned cars, ripping street signs clean from their posts. Civilians who had hesitated to evacuate, the ones who thought they had time?
Did not.
The creature’s back convulsed.
A forest of quills tore free from its flesh and launched outward in every direction, hundreds of them screaming through the air like black lightning.
“NO!” Kazuma shouted.
The guards moved instantly, throwing up barriers, diving, shielding each other. Some quills shattered against reinforced shields, others embedded into concrete and cars.
But the civilians…
Screams erupted.
People dropped mid-run, collapsing as black veins spread across their skin. Some fell instantly. Others staggered a few steps before their legs gave out. Parents reached for children. Children cried for parents who were no longer moving. Eventually, the children were struck as well
The civilians skin turned black as the necrosis crawled up their body
The necrosis spread like a living plague, voracious and unrelenting, devouring flesh from the inside out. It started at the puncture wounds where the quills had pierced, small, innocuous holes at first, blooming into dark craters as the venomous toxin liquefied muscle and sinew beneath the skin.
Kazuma cursed beneath his breath. How the hell were they supposed to do this?
Kazuma raised his weapon anyway.
“All units, suppressive fire- NOW!” he barked
The guards moved on instinct.
Bullets, grenades, knives they threw everything and the kitchen sink at this thing.
Explosions rippled across its body.
Bullets bounced off its wings.
Shockwaves tore through the street.
For a very brief, very precious moment… it looked like they were doing something.
Then the Sin turned its head.
Not in anger.
Not even in irritation.
It turned its head to check what was affecting it, as if everything they threw at this thing did as much as an ant crawling on it.
Its wings snapped outward.
The pressure wave that followed wasn’t just wind it was force, like a wall of wind.
Kazuma barely had time to cross his arms before-
BOOM.
He was launched backward.
Guards were ripped off their feet mid-stride, hurled like dolls into storefronts, slammed into walls, flung across intersections. Barriers shattered on contact. Weapons skidded across asphalt. Some guards hit the ground and didn’t get back up.
Kazuma crashed through a bus stop, glass exploding around him as he skidded across the pavement, rolling hard before slamming into a parked car.
His ears rang.
His vision blurred.
He forced himself up anyway.
“Get up!” he shouted, voice hoarse. “Everyone- get up!”
A few guards staggered to their feet.
A few didn’t.
The Sin didn’t care for their attempted resistance.
It beat its wings again- harder this time.
The street buckled.
Cars flipped.
Concrete cracked.
Another wave tore through the area, knocking the remaining guards off balance, slamming them into walls, into each other, into the ground.
Kazuma fired anyway, unloading everything he had left into the creature’s chest.
The shots vanished into its flesh.
They didn't even leave a scratch.
“Damn it…” he muttered.
The Sin lowered its massive skull.
Its many eyes fixed on him.
Kazuma felt it- that pressure in his chest, that instinct screaming that he was prey.
Then it moved.
Kazuma didn't even have time to brace before the force of the wind sent him flying across the street again. He crashed hard, rolling until his back slammed into a concrete divider.
His weapon skittered out of reach.
The Sin loomed above him, casting the street into shadow.
Behind him, guards were scattered, broken formations, shattered defenses. They couldn't get up and many of them would likely die if this kept up, but they were still sin hunters, even if they were also bodyguards.
This damn bird.
It was screwing around.
Playing with its food.
Kazuma forced himself to his knees, blood running down his temple.
“So this... is the power of a phase 3” he muttered.
And above him, the Phase 3 Sin spread its wings again.
ready to stop the game.
Before it could tho, it got hit by a bus.
The thing got sent flying as the bus crashed into it at supersonic speeds.
Ash brushed dirt off himself, as he walked up to check on kazuma. He had been thrown all the way to Narita.
"You okay?" He asked the older man.
Kazuma looked down at him in shock, utter shock. This kid... How... He had no words, a teenager had been able to fight a phase 3... That sounded like something straight out of a children's fairy tail, yet he had bore witness to it himself.
"Kamazuma where's rein? Isn't she supposed to be with you?" Ash asked, worried about the girl he was charged with protecting. "Aww man, I can't find a sin and go protect her at the same time" ash whined as he tried to rack his brain to understand what he was to do. Suddenly a lightbulb popped into his head "Oh oh I know, kamazuma, can you go find the girl for me please? I promise I'll be back in a jiffy" the boy said, turning his attention back to the sin.
He then started running after the thing leaving kazuma to just stare at the back of the boy in awe.
--- meanwhile---
Ganju and Rein were pressed into the corner of a convenience store bathroom, the door locked, the lights flickering overhead.
The store was quiet.
Too quiet.
No footsteps.
No voices.
No alarms.
Just the distant sounds of destruction outside the stores walls.
"Well that was certainly a way to meet my first phase 3" rein joked, trying to not shatter from everything going on right now. "... Do you.. think your dad's alright?"
Ganju didn't say a word, she just stared at the floor for a second before looking back at her friend. "He'll survive. I know it.. he has to"
"I hope so. I can't stand the thought of another person dying." The girl said, it was understandable that she didn't want to see another dead body, that after everything that's happened she just wished everyone survived.
Then, ganju interlaced their fingers, looking her best friend in the eye. "Hey, when this all blows over, just know that I'll be there okay? I'll be there."
Rein nodded. "I know you will, you always are."
The lights in the store flickered, and then shut off completely, leaving the bathroom in darkness. Neither of them moved.
Ganju blushed a little as her eyes traced her friends jawline, eyes locking on her lips " there's... There's something I've always wanted to tell you.. and I've never been able to-"
She was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door being knocked.
"That's probably my dad," the girl said, seemingly a little bit disappointed that she didn't get to say what she wanted to say. She definitely couldn't say it with her dad watching.
She stood up, walking over to the door and pushing it open. "Dad I'm glad you're o-"
It wasn't her father. In front of her stood the face of the man who tried to kill them just yesterday, Malcom Garcia.
He held a gun to her head, golden eyes showing no sign of hesitation.
She tried to jump back before he fired the bullet, but she couldn't get away. He fired, and although it didn't hit it's intended target which was the head, it punched a nasty whole through the side of her neck, sending her to the ground, bleeding and in pain.
"Ganju!!!" Rein rushed to her friends side. She had completely forgotten that there were still assassins after her after a phase 3 showed up.
“No, no, no, stay with me, stay with me!” she cried, tears blurring her vision. Blood soaked through her fingers faster than she could stop it.
Ganju’s eyes fluttered.
“…Rein…” she whispered weakly.
Malcom raised his gun to her, ready to put her down for good.
But before he could, one of her guards tackled the man into the wall, he quickly recovered and tried to push the guard off him, but he refused to budge.
Upon reviewing the scene, Malcolm
Malcom twisted out of the guard’s grip and drove his elbow into the man’s throat, crushing his windpipe before pivoting into a low sweep that took another guard’s legs out from under him. There were ten guards here.
Two of the men rushed him at once.
He sidestepped the first, yanked the second forward by the collar, and slammed his head into the tiled wall hard enough to crack porcelain. Before the first could recover, Malcom spun and planted a heel into his chest, launching him backward into a row of sinks.
“Spread out!” one guard shouted.
Malcom didn’t let them.
He charged straight into the formation, using one guard as a shield as another fired, shots tearing through their own man’s body before Malcom flung the corpse aside and closed the distance.
A baton swung at his head.
He caught it mid-air.
Snapped it in half.
Then jammed the broken end into the attacker’s shoulder and drove him to the ground with a knee to the face.
Another guard tried to grab him from behind.
Malcom rolled forward, dragging the man over his shoulder and slamming him headfirst into the bathroom stall door, crumpling metal and bone alike.
Two more guards attacked in sync, one high, one low.
Malcom ducked the high strike, kicked the low attacker’s knee sideways until it bent the wrong way, then snapped upward with an uppercut that lifted the second guard off his feet and into the ceiling.
A guard tackled him from the side, driving him into the mirror-lined wall. Glass shattered around them. Malcom took the impact, then slammed the man’s head through what remained of the mirror and followed with a brutal knee to the ribs.
Three guards remained standing.
Their breathing was heavy.
Their hands were shaking.
Malcom cracked his neck once.
They charged.
He met them head-on.
One went down with a Heavy punch to the throat. Another caught a spinning backfist that sent teeth skidding across the floor. The last tried to retreat,
Malcom grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall hard enough to crack the concrete.
The bathroom fell silent.
Bodies were scattered across the floor.
Malcom stood in the center, breathing steady, golden eyes cold, blood dripping from his knuckles.
And then he turned back toward Rein and the bleeding girl, or at least where they were supposed to be.
They had slipped past him during all the chaos.
Rein had left the convenience store, carrying ganju on her back panting. "Help! Somebody HELP!" she called out, hoping to get an ambulance or something, anything.
Suddenly, she felt the weight raise off her back.
She turned around to see kazuma lifting his daughter off of rein. His eyes were noticeably misty.
"Kazuma, Kazuma we have to get her some help, she's, she's gonna die!" She cried in fear for her friend.
"I know, but no ambulances will come. The whole city has been evacuated, because of the phase three, so if you keep on like this, all your doing is painting a target on your back."
"Then what do I do!?" The girl yelled.
"There's likely an HAS medical team on their way, to make sure everyone has evacuated and provide aid to the injured. They'll see you. Don't yell just.. just run, okay, just run" The man said, handing the girl back his daughter.
Bang!
Suddenly, kazuma got a bullet sent right into his back, it wasn't enough to put him down, but it hurt. Alot.
Rissa looked off at Malcom who's golden eyes seemed to be staring into her very soul.
If he was standing here then.. then that meant. She started hyperventilating, mind going all over the place. If he was here then that meant he killed all her guards.
He killed them all.
She couldn't help but imagine herself back on her family compound, she couldn't help but remember all those dead people who she cared for, dead people who were her family.
She wanted to throw up, so many sin hunters killed, so many...all for what? For what?
Something bubbled up in her mind, some emotion, she understood it. She understood it so well...it was wrath. Unbridled, wrath.
"Go!" Kazuma yelled at her to run away as he stood in front of her, hands out to protect her.
Rein ran as she placed ganju on her back
"Now, it's you and me"
Kazuma didn’t flinch as the next bullet whizzed past him, embedding itself harmlessly into the car that was behind him, causing its alarm to start. He dropped into a low stance, feeling the heat of the gun barrel aimed at him. Malcolm was trying to end this stand off before it even began, rushing the man,
The first strike came fast, a quick jab to the jaw thrown by Malcolm which forced kazuma to lean back, twisting his body just a little bit to let the punch barely graze him.
He countered with a low kick aimed at Malcolm’s knees. Malcolm pivoted, caught the kick with his forearm, and slammed his elbow into Kazuma’s ribs. Kazuma gritted his teeth in pain as the strike felt like it broke a couple ribs, he used the split second of the man being so close to him, to slam his elbow into the man's temple, forcing him back a bit.
They circled each other, breath heavy, eyes calculating. Malcolm lunged again, throwing about a dozen or so punches at the head guards skull and ribs. Kazuma blocked and parried, each strike sending vibrations up his arms.
He ducked a haymaker, rolled forward, and slammed his shoulder into Malcolm’s midsection, sending the other man skidding back across the concrete.
Malcolm recovered instantly, springing back on his feet as if nothing had happened.
Damnit, he was way more skilled than expected, kazuma had expected that since he was a gun slinger, he'd be weak in close quarters combat, but that assumption could not be more wrong it seemed.
Malcolm feinted left, then drove his fist toward Kazuma’s midsection. Kazuma twisted at the last second, catching the blow with his own forearm and swinging a counterpunch toward Malcolm’s chin. Malcolm leaned back, letting the punch slide off his jaw similar to how kazuma did previously.
However he could not copy that manoeuvre perfectly and the force of the punch threw him into a nearby street sign, bending metal with a satisfying screech. Kazuma advanced, closing the gap, driving a knee into Malcolm’s gut. Malcolm grunted but grabbed Kazuma’s leg mid-strike, using it to hurl Kazuma forward.
Kazuma rolled, barely avoiding a kick aimed at his side, and sprang up just in time to intercept Malcolm’s spinning back kick. The impact cracked the asphalt beneath them. Kazuma twisted under the strike, grabbing Malcolm’s leg and flipping him over his shoulder, slamming him onto a dumpster with a loud metallic crash. Malcolm tumbled off, barely rolling to his feet.
For a heartbeat, they stared at each other. Both breathing hard, blood mixing with sweat.
Malcolm charged, faster than before and Kazuma met him blow for blow, parrying, dodging, striking. Kazuma ducked a punch, spun behind Malcolm, and slammed his elbow into the small of his back. Malcolm twisted, avoiding a crushing strike, and retaliated with a spinning hook that caught Kazuma in the shoulder.
Kazuma threw a trash can at the dark skinned man who slipped to the side letting it hit the wall, but then kazuma's fist collided with his chest. Malcolm absorbed it and countered with a sharp knee to Kazuma’s ribs, forcing him to stagger. Kazuma stumbled back, eyes narrowing.
Meanwhile, rein ran down the empty streets, passing through shattered buildings and road.
She cried as she ran, completely unable to take any of it. She hated this, all of this, was this the fate of all sin hunters? To die a horrible death for no reason at all.
Suddenly a blast of air pressure came flying at her, which she didn't notice.
Before it could turn her into a puddle tho, ash stepped in front of her, tanking the shot.
Rein looked up at the person who had shot that at her. The boy with glowing green eyes stood next to a mailbox as he watched the group.
"Hey, I knew I'd see you again" ash said staring at the older angel gear.
Tj walked closer to them a calm, collected grin on his face"When I fought you yesterday I was still tired and jet lagged, now you don't have that to save you." The boy said he raised his right hand teleporting in front of ash.
Ash barely had time to shift his weight before TJ’s fist came flying toward his face.
He tilted his head, the punch grazing past his cheek by millimeters, and countered with a sharp elbow aimed at TJ’s ribs. TJ twisted mid-step, letting the strike glance off his side before snapping a knee upward toward Ash’s chest. Ash caught it with one hand, the impact cracking the pavement beneath his feet, and shoved TJ backward.
TJ flipped through the air, landing cleanly on his feet.
"Faster than I thought" he muttered to himself,
He vanished.
Ash felt the air distort behind him and spun just in time to block a strike to the back of his head. Their forearms collided with a thunderous crack, shockwaves rippling down the street. Ash noticed that the hand that struck at him, bore the multiplication mark
TJ ducked under a straight punch and slammed his palm into Ash’s chest, sending him skidding backward across the asphalt. Ash dug his heels in, stopping himself just before crashing into a wrecked car.
Rein went back to running.
Ash jumped back a bit, confusing tj. That is until he sensed the giant phase 3 above him.
He barely managed to dodge out of the way of a volley of quills that it had shot down.
TJ had assumed that ash killed the thing, but apparently he hadn't done so yet.
While TJ was busy in thought, ash appeared in front of him at speed he could barely react to, he held out one of his hands, seemingly in order to block the attack, but it didn't do that as ash nailed the teen in the face, sending him flying through the 5 story building behind him and blasted him straight through the wall of an office building.
Tj spat up a little blood as he stood back up from that punch, he had used his ability to multiply the density of the air in front of him, slowing down the fist to weaken the force.
Ash jumped up into the office building, watching the boy who was still recovering after that last punch.
"Why exactly are you going after the takemasa family?" The boy asked as he ran at the boy, not letting him recover. He sent a punch at the boy who barely dodged it, grabbing a computer with his left hand and slamming it into ash's head, sending him two meters back.
"We weren't after the whole family, just the girl, they just happened to be collateral" tj had multiplied the weight of the computer the moment it made contact with ash's head, giving it enough force to make him back up.
"Okay but that doesn't answer my question of why tho?"
"Boss's orders, I can't exactly say no" tj said, using this extra second he got from talking to send a torrent of flame at ash
He kept the flame up for about half a minute before a fist slammed through the roof above him. He couldn't get out of the way fast enough and his multiplication arm got hit, completely tearing it off.
The green eyed boy cursed under his breath, the boy must've dodged the flames by breaking his way into the upper floor, and then he sent an attack from above.
The boy considered his options, he had no clue what this guy's ability actually was but based off what he'd seen, it was likely just a flat strength enhancement ability, and given the boy's earlier avoidance of his division hand, it was safe to say the boy knew what his ability was. However he clearly didn't know that he couldn't reduce anything to zero.
He raised his division hand, ready to try and bluff him out, but he was forced to dodge as a sharp shot of blood was shot at him.
He looked back at ash, what exactly was this guy's ability.
The floor exploded.
Concrete, rebar, desks—everything tore upward as the Phase 3 burst through from below, its massive skull smashing into the office floor like a wrecking ball. The entire building groaned, windows shattering outward as shockwaves rippled through the structure.
Ash leapt back just in time, landing on a collapsed cubicle wall as the creature’s talons shredded through the desks where he’d been standing.
TJ barely teleported out of the way, reappearing on a tilted filing cabinet near the wall. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The sin’s beak snapped shut inches from his head.
Ash took advantage of the opening.
He sprinted along a fallen support beam and drove a punch straight into the creature’s jaw. The impact cracked bone and sent the massive head slamming sideways through a row of offices, tearing out walls and exposing the building’s exterior to open air.
This forced it to fire off it's quills which nearly hit tj. Ash blocked the onslaught with a broken off cubicle.
Tj hadn't expected the sin to bite his arm and throw him.
Meanwhile, Rein burst out of the smoke-choked street and into a half-collapsed plaza where HAS medical teams were sweeping the area.
“MEDIC!” she screamed, stumbling forward, nearly dropping Ganju from her back. “Please- she’s been shot- she’s bleeding out!”
A medic in white and gray combat gear noticed her and immediately went over to go check on her.
"Kid, are you okay?"
“No, My friend is hurt! She got Shot!” Rein cried, collapsing to her knees as her legs finally gave out.
Two medics rushed her, one immediately catching Ganju as Rein sagged forward. The other pressed two fingers to Ganju’s neck.
“She’s alive,” he said. “Weak pulse. Neck wound- arterial bleed.”
“Get pressure on it, now!” another medic ordered.
One of them pulled out a gel-like sealant and slammed it over the wound while another applied a compression wrap. The sealant hardened instantly, slowing the bleeding to a crawl.
"We need to get this girl to the hospital now" another of the medics said, as they picked the girl up and hauled her to the ambulance.
Rein grabbed the medic’s sleeve, shaking. “She- she can’t die. Don't let her die"
The medic met her eyes. “ Don't worry, she won't.”
They lifted Ganju onto a stretcher and rushed her into the truck, hooking her up to monitors and oxygen within seconds. Rein climbed in after her, hands trembling, gripping Ganju’s hand as machines began to beep steadily.
“Miss, are you injured?” a medic asked.
Rein shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “No- no, I’m fine- just… just help her.”
Meanwhile
Malcolm staggered back from Kazuma’s last strike, blood dripping from his nose and mouth. Kazuma stood across from him, chest heaving, one hand pressed against his ribs, the other clenched into a fist.
They were both exhausted.
Malcolm rushed in first this time, abandoning finesse for raw aggression. His fist slammed into Kazuma’s jaw, snapping his head sideways. Kazuma responded instantly, driving his elbow into Malcolm’s throat and following with a knee to the stomach that forced the air from his lungs.
Malcolm grabbed Kazuma by the collar and slammed him into a shattered storefront window, glass exploding around them. Kazuma roared and shoved him back, then lunged, tackling Malcolm through a brick wall into a narrow alley behind the building.
They hit the ground hard.
Kazuma rolled off him, barely avoiding a boot to the face, and sprang back to his feet. Malcolm was already up, moving in again. Their fists collided midair, knuckles cracking against knuckles, both men grimacing as the impact sent shockwaves through their arms.
Kazuma started throwing a brutal flurry of punches driving Malcolm backward step by step, into a dumpster, into a wall, into the pavement. Malcolm blocked, dodged, on some occasions just took it, but the onslaught didn’t stop. Kazuma slammed his head into Malcolm’s, then drove him face-first into the concrete.
Malcolm’s hand snapped out, grabbing Kazuma’s wrist and twisting hard. Bone cracked. Kazuma snarled and headbutted him, pushing him back.
They separated again, both bleeding, both shaking from exhaustion.
Malcolm reached into his coat. This fight was taking too damn long.
Kazuma's eyes widened as he jumped back, tho he was too late.
Malcolm let the bullet fly.
The bullet tore through Kazuma’s shoulder, spinning him sideways. He crashed into a parked car, denting the door with his body. Before he could recover, Malcolm was on him, driving his knee into Kazuma’s ribs again and again, breaking bone.
Kazuma coughed, blood spilling from his mouth.
Still, he swung.
His fist caught Malcolm in the jaw, snapping his head back and staggering him.
Kazuma pushed himself upright, staggering, vision blurring, but his eyes were still locked on his enemy
“You’re… a damn asshole"
Malcolm’s expression hardened.
He raised the gun again.
Kazuma tried to get out of the way, but he couldn't.
The second shot hit Kazuma in the chest.
The third hit his throat.
Kazuma collapsed forward, crashing onto his knees, then onto his hands. Blood pooled beneath him, spreading across the cracked pavement.
Malcolm stepped closer, breathing hard, staring down at the man who refused to stay down.
Kazuma tried to speak.
Only blood came out.
His body trembled once… twice… then went still.
Malcolm stood over him for a moment, silent, then turned away, already moving toward where Rein had fled.
Kazuma died facing him.
Suddenly, Malcom found himself surrounded by dozens of sin hunters.
He sighed in annoyance.
--
TJ hit the ground rolling, skidding across broken concrete as the Phase 3’s beak snapped shut inches behind him. He barely twisted aside before one of its talons slammed down, pulverizing the floor where his head had just been.
“Unbelievable…” TJ muttered, teleporting upward onto a fractured ceiling beam.
Ash didn’t waste the opening.
He launched himself at TJ, but the Phase 3 swung between them, one massive wing slamming into Ash’s side and sending him crashing through a wall into the adjacent office. Cubicles exploded into splinters. Glass rained down.
Ash rolled to his feet instantly, a bunch of quills had gotten stuck in him but he picked them out.
Necrosis wasn't too deadly to someone like him. His angel gear wasn't just a strength boost, it enhanced every aspect of his human body, from his strength, to his speed to his senses and his recovery rate, every part of him was at least 100 x greater. This meant the necrosis would only mess him up for a little bit.
Tj placed his hand on the ground, dividing the temperature in the room, completely freezing the building over.
Then he was forced to dodge a shot of blood from ash. He had no idea what that blood did, he couldn't let it touch him.
Ash landed lightly on a twisted beam, frost creeping up the walls around him as TJ’s ability turned the entire floor into a frozen tomb. Ice raced across desks, walls, even the exposed rebar, locking everything in a brittle shell.
“youre actually pretty strong!"
TJ vanished again.
Ash barely tilted his head as a fist slammed past where his face had been, cracking the ice wall behind him. Ash countered with a backhand that TJ barely avoided, teleporting to the ceiling, then to the wall, then behind Ash in rapid succession—each move calculated, each strike layered with division.
Ash twisted mid-air, blocking a kick with his forearm. The impact detonated a shockwave, shattering ice into glittering shards. He slid back, boots carving trenches into the frozen floor.
The Phase 3 roared.
Its massive body smashed through another wall, talons ripping into frozen concrete like paper. It swung one wing, generating a gale-force blast that ripped cubicles free and hurled them across the floor.
TJ teleported to avoid the debris, appearing just long enough for Ash to fire another shot of blood.
TJ dodged, but this put him in the position to be swatted out of the air by ash.
Ash smiled as the boy slammed into a wall, it seemed like the older boy had fallen for his bluff. Because of his angel gear, his heart pumped blood through his body way faster, this meant that when he cut himself, his blood traveled at insane speeds mimicking a bullet or something, but it wasn't moving fast enough to do any actual damage.
He'd been using these blood shots in order to force the boy where he wanted him
TJ hit the wall hard enough to crater it, coughing as he peeled himself out of fractured concrete.
“with all this power at your disposal, you could've easily killed the girl before I even got there, so why didn't you? You were obviously watching" ash yelled from outside of the room
Before TJ could respond, the Phase 3 screeched and lunged again, its beak crashing through another wall as its talons tore into the floor, collapsing the structure beneath them. The entire building lurched sideways.
“following orders doesn't mean I'm particularly thrilled about killing someone who did nothing wrong” TJ explained, teleporting to a falling beam just as the floor dropped out from under him.
Ash launched after him, but the sin cut between them, its wing slamming into Ash and sending him rocketing through two frozen walls in a spray of ice and concrete.
TJ used the moment.
He slammed his hand into the air, dividing the oxygen and trying to asphyxiate ash, which he was succeeding at as the boy couldn't breath.
Ash felt his lungs seize.
The air around him thinned, vanished, like someone had ripped the atmosphere out of his chest. His vision darkened at the edges as his body reflexively tried to inhale- and found nothing.
“…Huh,” he muttered.
He kicked off the wall, rocketing forward on sheer momentum alone, he threw his fist out, ready to slam it into the angel gear in front of him and possibly end the fight, however instead, the sin appeared in front of him trying to attack him, and it ended up bearing the full force of the blow instead, ripping it's head off its massive body, tho that absolutely was not enough to kill it since phase 3's have a regeneration so much greater than that of a 2nd phase that they can return from anything short of total vaporization.
Ash quickly found himself being punched in the head by the boy with one arm, but that didn't seem to do much.
“…That’s it?” Ash said, genuinely confused, before realizing that the entire air was glowing.
"I bet you didn't know, that when you divide the space between atoms, it causes them to spilt which releases energy, the splitting of one small atom is totally insignificant, but I bet it ain't so insignificant When you split an entire rooms worth!" Tj yelled as the entire building glowing.
The city stood still, like the calm before a storm.
Windows across the city spiderwebbed in unison. Streetlights flickered. The sky above the district dimmed, as if something massive had just inhaled.
Ash’s eyes widened.
“…Oh.”
The world detonated.
There was no sound at first.
Just white.
Then—
BOOM.
A sun bloomed inside the city.
The explosion expanded outward in a perfect sphere, vaporizing the building, the street, and everything within several hundred meters in less than a millisecond. Concrete turned to dust. Steel liquefied. Asphalt boiled. Glass didn’t shatter—it simply ceased to exist.
A shockwave slammed through the city like the fist of a god.
Skyscrapers miles away folded inward as if punched. Windows exploded outward in every direction, raining glass across entire districts. Vehicles were hurled like toys, flipping end over end through the air. The ground itself fractured, rippling outward in concentric waves like water struck by a stone.
Fire followed.
A rolling wall of incandescent plasma swallowed streets, buildings, entire blocks—turning them into a churning ocean of flame and debris. The temperature spiked so violently that the air itself ignited, creating a roaring inferno that drowned out all sound.
Twenty megatons.
A nuclear-scale detonation—without radiation.
From kilometers away, people were thrown off their feet as the blast wind hit, flattening trees, collapsing walls, ripping rooftops from buildings. The sky turned orange, then white, then black as a mushroom cloud clawed its way upward, towering over the city like a monument to annihilation.
The Phase 3 Sin was obliterated instantly—its body, its regeneration, its very existence reduced to nothing but superheated particles.
The blast wave kept traveling.
And traveling.
And traveling.
By the time the pressure wave finally began to weaken, an entire district had been erased from the map—nothing left but a glowing, cratered scar in the city.
Luckily everyone relevant had been far enough away to not be harmed.
HAS helicopters flew over the whole city, looking at the destruction that had unfolded,
HAS helicopters cut through the smoke-“You’re… a damn asshole"
Malcolm’s expression hardened.
He raised the gun again.
Kazuma tried to get out of the way, but he couldn't.
The second shot hit Kazuma in the chest.
The third hit his throat.
Kazuma collapsed forward, crashing onto his knees, then onto his hands. Blood pooled beneath him, spreading across the cracked pavement.
Malcolm stepped closer, breathing hard, staring down at the man who refused to stay down.
Kazuma tried to speak.
Only blood came out.
His body trembled once… twice… then went still.
Malcolm stood over him for a moment, silent, then turned away, already moving toward where Rein had fled.
Kazuma died facing him.
Suddenly, Malcom found himself surrounded by dozens of sin hunters.
He sighed in annoyance.
--
TJ hit the ground rolling, skidding across broken concrete as the Phase 3’s beak snapped shut inches behind him. He barely twisted aside before one of its talons slammed down, pulverizing the floor where his head had just been.
“Unbelievable…” TJ muttered, teleporting upward onto a fractured ceiling beam.
Ash didn’t waste the opening.
He launched himself at TJ, but the Phase 3 swung between them, one massive wing slamming into Ash’s side and sending him crashing through a wall into the adjacent office. Cubicles exploded into splinters. Glass rained down.
Ash rolled to his feet instantly, a bunch of quills had gotten stuck in him but he picked them out.
Necrosis wasn't too deadly to someone like him. His angel gear wasn't just a strength boost, it enhanced every aspect of his human body, from his strength, to his speed to his senses and his recovery rate, every part of him was at least 100 x greater. This meant the necrosis would only mess him up for a little bit.
Tj placed his hand on the ground, dividing the temperature in the room, completely freezing the building over.
Then he was forced to dodge a shot of blood from ash. He had no idea what that blood did, he couldn't let it touch him.
Ash landed lightly on a twisted beam, frost creeping up the walls around him as TJ’s ability turned the entire floor into a frozen tomb. Ice raced across desks, walls, even the exposed rebar, locking everything in a brittle shell.
“youre actually pretty strong!"
TJ vanished again.
Ash barely tilted his head as a fist slammed past where his face had been, cracking the ice wall behind him. Ash countered with a backhand that TJ barely avoided, teleporting to the ceiling, then to the wall, then behind Ash in rapid succession—each move calculated, each strike layered with division.
Ash twisted mid-air, blocking a kick with his forearm. The impact detonated a shockwave, shattering ice into glittering shards. He slid back, boots carving trenches into the frozen floor.
The Phase 3 roared.
Its massive body smashed through another wall, talons ripping into frozen concrete like paper. It swung one wing, generating a gale-force blast that ripped cubicles free and hurled them across the floor.
TJ teleported to avoid the debris, appearing just long enough for Ash to fire another shot of blood.
TJ dodged, but this put him in the position to be swatted out of the air by ash.
Ash smiled as the boy slammed into a wall, it seemed like the older boy had fallen for his bluff. Because of his angel gear, his heart pumped blood through his body way faster, this meant that when he cut himself, his blood traveled at insane speeds mimicking a bullet or something, but it wasn't moving fast enough to do any actual damage.
He'd been using these blood shots in order to force the boy where he wanted him
TJ hit the wall hard enough to crater it, coughing as he peeled himself out of fractured concrete.
“with all this power at your disposal, you could've easily killed the girl before I even got there, so why didn't you? You were obviously watching" ash yelled from outside of the room
Before TJ could respond, the Phase 3 screeched and lunged again, its beak crashing through another wall as its talons tore into the floor, collapsing the structure beneath them. The entire building lurched sideways.
“following orders doesn't mean I'm particularly thrilled about killing someone who did nothing wrong” TJ explained, teleporting to a falling beam just as the floor dropped out from under him.
Ash launched after him, but the sin cut between them, its wing slamming into Ash and sending him rocketing through two frozen walls in a spray of ice and concrete.
TJ used the moment.
He slammed his hand into the air, dividing the oxygen and trying to asphyxiate ash, which he was succeeding at as the boy couldn't breath.
Ash felt his lungs seize.
The air around him thinned, vanished, like someone had ripped the atmosphere out of his chest. His vision darkened at the edges as his body reflexively tried to inhale- and found nothing.
“…Huh,” he muttered.
He kicked off the wall, rocketing forward on sheer momentum alone, he threw his fist out, ready to slam it into the angel gear in front of him and possibly end the fight, however instead, the sin appeared in front of him trying to attack him, and it ended up bearing the full force of the blow instead, ripping it's head off its massive body, tho that absolutely was not enough to kill it since phase 3's have a regeneration so much greater than that of a 2nd phase that they can return from anything short of total vaporization.
Ash quickly found himself being punched in the head by the boy with one arm, but that didn't seem to do much.
“…That’s it?” Ash said, genuinely confused, before realizing that the entire air was glowing.
"I bet you didn't know, that when you divide the space between atoms, it causes them to spilt which releases energy, the splitting of one small atom is totally insignificant, but I bet it ain't so insignificant When you split an entire rooms worth!" Tj yelled as the entire building glowing.
The city stood still, like the calm before a storm.
Windows across the city spiderwebbed in unison. Streetlights flickered. The sky above the district dimmed, as if something massive had just inhaled.
Ash’s eyes widened.
“…Oh.”
The world detonated.
There was no sound at first.
Just white.
Then—
BOOM.
A sun bloomed inside the city.
The explosion expanded outward in a perfect sphere, vaporizing the building, the street, and everything within several hundred meters in less than a millisecond. Concrete turned to dust. Steel liquefied. Asphalt boiled. Glass didn’t shatter—it simply ceased to exist.
A shockwave slammed through the city like the fist of a god.
Skyscrapers miles away folded inward as if punched. Windows exploded outward in every direction, raining glass across entire districts. Vehicles were hurled like toys, flipping end over end through the air. The ground itself fractured, rippling outward in concentric waves like water struck by a stone.
Fire followed.
A rolling wall of incandescent plasma swallowed streets, buildings, entire blocks—turning them into a churning ocean of flame and debris. The temperature spiked so violently that the air itself ignited, creating a roaring inferno that drowned out all sound.
Twenty megatons.
A nuclear-scale detonation—without radiation.
From kilometers away, people were thrown off their feet as the blast wind hit, flattening trees, collapsing walls, ripping rooftops from buildings. The sky turned orange, then white, then black as a mushroom cloud clawed its way upward, towering over the city like a monument to annihilation.
The Phase 3 Sin was obliterated instantly—its body, its regeneration, its very existence reduced to nothing but superheated particles.
The blast wave kept traveling.
And traveling.
And traveling.
By the time the pressure wave finally began to weaken, an entire district had been erased from the map—nothing left but a glowing, cratered scar in the city.
Luckily everyone relevant had been far enough away to not be harmed.
HAS helicopters flew over the whole city, looking at the destruction that had unfolded,
HAS helicopters cut through the smoke-choked sky, their rotors barely audible over the distant rumble of collapsing structures. Below them, the city was no longer a city.
It was a woundchoked sky, their rotors barely audible over the distant rumble of collapsing structures. Below them, the city was no longer a city.
It was a wound.
A perfect circular scar carved into the earth, kilometers wide, glowing faintly at the edges where heat still shimmered in the air. Buildings simply… ended. Streets vanished mid-block. Rivers of molten asphalt cooled into black glass.
It was then that they spotted an unconscious teenage boy.
Ash laid in the crater, completely unconscious and unmoving, tho otherwise, he was rather alright.
--Later--
Ash sat in a boardroom with a bunch of old geezers and politicians from America and Japan, spouting political jargon he didn't understand.
"This is blatant terrorism! how dare you suggest we're overreacting!" The Japanese government were not happy with America. Sending out an angel gear on Japanese land without permission was one thing, but sending assassins to wipe out the most important family in Japanese history was a completely different thing... Plus a whole city got turned to rubble.
The woman representing America spoke up, her grey eyes glaring daggers at the man. "May I remind you of the actions of the takemasa family not too long ago?" Her name was Laura Graves. She leaned forward, her voice cutting through the tense silence like a blade.
"The Takamasa family has been a thorn in international relations for years. Their unchecked operations, it's no secret they've overstepped boundaries, meddling in affairs beyond Japan's borders. What happened was regrettable, but let's not pretend it wasn't provoked."
The Japanese delegation erupted in outrage. An elderly minister slammed his fist on the table, his face flushed red. "Provoked? You sent assassins! Wiped out an entire lineage! And now you sit here justifying the destruction of Tokyo's eastern district as collateral? This is an act of war!"
Ash slouched in his chair at the far end of the table, picking at a bandage on his arm.
The explosion had left him with burns that were already healing faster than any normal human's should, but the boredom was killing him more than any Phase 3 Sin ever could.
He glanced around the room- suits, ties, stern faces- all arguing over politics he couldn't care less about. His green eyes flicked to Laura, noting the way she held herself, confident, unyielding, like she owned the room. He himself could admit that he wasn't the best judge of character, but someone like her? He could tell she was trouble.
Later ash found himself walking into the HAS lounge as he noticed rein there, underneath a blanket.
"Hey, you alright?" He asked the girl who didn't respond immediately.
"Is it true?" The girl asked which caught ash off guard.
"Is what true?"
"Is that man.. really going to get off the hook?" She asked, staring him dead in the eyes.
"Oh, well yeah, you heard right," ash said. He wasn't one for politics or anything, he really didn't understand a thing about it, but even he thought it was kinda absurd that those guys didn't get punished, the Americans had intimidated the Japanese government into submission, leaving them with no choice but to completely forget about the events of that day.
"Oh" rein said in a low tone. Her senses dulled as she lost focus on the real world, her knuckles whitened as she soon lost herself in a wrath that was unbridled.
She quickly found herself in an inky black void, surrounded by nothing but darkness.
THIS CANNOT STAND, IS THIS HOW ALL SIN HUNTERS OPERATE!
Rein looked around searching for the source of the disembodied sound.
ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE DIE WORTHLESS DEATHS WHILE THE BAD CAN SIMPLY GET AWAY WITH ALL THEIR MISDEEDS? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS IS RIGHT?
the red head shook her head in anger, pure vitriol rolling off of her. "No"
THEN I CAN GIVE YOU THE POWER TO CHANGE THINGS! GIVE IN TO THAT WRATH, THAT ANGER, THAT HATRED! AND LET ME FIX THE WORLD FOR YOU!
Before she had the chance to accept, she was shaken violently, like a set of maracas.
"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, completely oblivious to what just happened.
"Yeah I'm fine." She said. Lying.
"Alright. So, what happened to ganju? I don't exactly keep the best track of injured people."
"She's... She's alive. That's.. the best I could ask for. But according to the doctors her larynx has been damaged beyond repair, and she'll never be able to speak again. It also did a lot to her psyche, she can't open a door without pointing a weapon at whoever's on the other side." Rein explained her friend's condition to the man.
"Well that stinks." Ash said before his eyes studied her " what about you tho? Now that you've got assassins off your back what are you gonna do? Where are you gonna go?" The boy asked.
"I was actually granted special admission... To the HAS junior division. By September I'll be part of junior division 12." She said, expression unreadable
"Oh, that's awesome. Wish ya luck " the older boy said before noticing that she didn't seem happy.
"Ash... You're a sin hunter right?" The girl asked.
" Last time I checked yeah." The black eyed boy said.
"I- is this normal? Is it normal for so many people to die like this? No friends, no family, nothing? Just dead?" The redhead asked, and ash took a second to think about it, this gave rein all the information she needed.
"Yeah. Sin hunting isn't exactly something you do if you wanna Live a full happy life. People die all the time. That's just part of the job" the boy said.
...
"What was your reason for becoming a sin hunter?" The girl asked him causing him to chuckle. "If you're in such a dangerous job, you must have a good reason for being here right?"
"Well I mean, yeah. I like to fight, it's fun, being a sin hunter lets me fight all the sins I want. Plus, I couldn't imagine having one of those complex jobs like being a doctor or something." He said and the girl hmphhed.
She had expected him to say that he was here for revenge or something but no, he actually had such a simple goal, tho it did kinda fit with his personality so she guessed she shouldn't be surprised.
Tho it did manage to put a smile on her face.
"Alright then, I guess I'll see you later then rein" the boy said, tho the redhead shook her head.
"Don't call me that. That name was given to me because I was the heiress of my family and would one day reign over the family as the next head. But that's not gonna happen anymore, so that name is kinda odd to use... Just call me rissa" the girl told him.
"L- like the singer?"
"... Yeah" Rissa was embarrassed at the fact that ash actually knew where the name came from. Ganju used to love rissa's songs.
"Alright then Rissa, I guess I'll see you later."
---Meanwhile---
Malcolm walked into his home through the garage, tired and hurt from the previous fight.
His boss had ensured he'd face no consequence, tho he hadn't assumed he'd face them in the first place, they were the bosses orders after all.
His son was still asleep, his wife was still asleep, the whole house was asleep.
Suddenly out of the corner of his eyes, a figure appeared.
He immediately took a hold of his guns ready to blow a hole in the intruder should he even think about getting closer.
"Woah woah, calm down there..,
) the figure said, as he walked out of the shadows, revealing himself to be tj himself.
"What the? But I thought you killed yourself? Blew yourself to high heaven. " The man said.
"My ability let's me multiply anything. I simply multiplied myself before letting the clone he
ad off in my stead." The teenage boy said, before slamming his fist into the table.
"You and I need to talk"
