The sound of footsteps echoed softly across the golden floor of Hard-Wirrt Academy.
The heavy doors creaked open — Araki stepped inside.
The headmaster's office was dimly lit by the fading afternoon sun, dust floating through the air like quiet ghosts.
At the center sat Headmaster Yakur — a silver-haired man dressed in black, his eyes deep and heavy with the weight of a century of battle.
He looked at Araki with a gaze both weary and sharp, the kind that could strip the truth from a man's soul.
-"You understand the consequences of what happened in Gustavo… don't you, Captain No. 1?"
His voice was low and dry — like stone grinding against steel.
Araki bowed slightly. He didn't argue, didn't defend himself — only stood still in respect.
- "I'll make it right, sir," Araki finally said quietly.
"But please… give me a little more time. There's a pattern of mass extinction forming in the Northwestern region.
If we don't intervene, the damage could spread here."
For a moment, Yakur said nothing.
A faint light flickered in his aged eyes — suspicion, concern… and calculation.
The pressure radiating from him made Araki's hand tighten unconsciously, as if he were standing before an ancient god who had long forgotten what mercy meant.
- "Do as you see fit," Yakur said at last.
"But remember — you'll be responsible for every outcome.
This is the last time I'll cover for you."
-"Understood, sir." Araki bowed and turned to leave.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Waiting outside were Kazru, Captain No.19 — a man with a long scar down the back of his neck — and Jurgard, Vice-Captain of Unit 2, his silver earrings glinting under the hallway lights.
- "So, what happened, Captain? Did you get chewed out?" Jurgard teased, hands in his pockets.
"This mission," Araki replied with a small yawn, scratching the back of his head,
"might be something you two can actually help with."
Kazru folded his arms, tone blunt and steady:
- "You haven't changed a bit. Still that guy who loves throwing himself against stronger enemies just to learn from the fight — even if it costs you your life."
Araki smirked faintly:
- "Not your concern, kid. Report whatever you need to. I've got business to handle."
And with that, he walked off down the left corridor, his footsteps fading into
- "You think the Headmaster's gonna step in this time?" Jurgard asked quietly.
"No need," Kazru answered, his tone cool.
"Two Captains are more than enough.
After all, that Grakk guy lost six death matches against Yakur himself."
Jurgard gave a short, uneasy laugh.
- "That was a hundred years ago… back when the Headmaster was in his prime.
Nowadays—"
- "No one knows anymore," Kazru cut in, voice even.
"But if what happened in Gustavo really has Grakk's fingerprints on it…
then something big is about to begin."
He turned away, his figure swallowed by the golden light.
-"Let fate decide. We've got work to do."
The dry wind swept through the ruins of Gustavo City.
The sky was painted in ashen gray, buildings collapsed one after another, smoke still drifting faintly — like the final breath of a once-lively place.
Heavy footsteps echoed amid the rubble.
Three figures — Willin, Drake, and Bruno — quietly made their way deeper into the city center.
- "The material damage seems even worse than the death toll…" Willin muttered, his eyes scanning the ruins, voice heavy with sorrow.
-"Eobard's probably over at the western medical sector... helping with the survivors."
Drake bent down, picking up a scorched house sign, his gaze never leaving Willin.
-"Can you still sense Miliana's Gil? You were the closest to her."
Willin stopped.
He frowned slightly, looking up at the hazy sky.
- "I've got no idea. First time I've ever heard of something called 'Gil'..." Willin replied half-jokingly, then sighed.
"But if there's anything left behind... we'll find it. Miliana never leaves without a trace."
A cold wind passed by.
Willin suddenly halted, eyes narrowing at a small plume of smoke rising from a crack in the rubble.
- "Wait…" he said softly, signaling Drake.
"Something's off over there."
Drake stepped forward, crouched, and brushed aside heavy slabs of concrete.
A faint blue light flickered — a perfect block of frozen ice lay beneath.
The three froze.
They didn't need to say it aloud — they all recognized that power.
- "That's... Miliana." Bruno whispered, his voice trembling slightly.
Willin touched the ice, feeling the chill seep through his skin.
-"This freezing... it's recent. That means she's still somewhere nearby."
Drake looked around cautiously.
- "But this is Miinle Street. If I remember right, it's almost four hundred meters east from our inn."
"Why would Miliana leave the safe zone and come here?"
Bruno crossed his arms, thinking.
- "Maybe she's leaving us a message. You know Miliana — always cryptic, always playing her little puzzles..."
Willin chuckled dryly, standing and dusting off his hands.
- "You really think anyone in this team has the brain to solve her puzzles?"
- "What's that supposed to mean, huh!?" Bruno yelled, kicking Willin hard on the butt.
- "Aaa—!! Ouch! Ouch!! Knock it off!!" Willin shouted, hopping on one leg.
The sound echoed across the ruins, startling a flock of sparrows into the gray sky.
For a few seconds, the tension dissolved.
Drake chuckled under his breath, then straightened up again.
- "Alright, enough fooling around. Either way, we can't ignore this sign."
"We should call Holland and Araki for support. If Miliana's really sending a distress signal... there might be something worse behind it."
Willin rubbed his sore spot, wincing — but his tone turned serious.
- "Agreed. She wouldn't choose this place by accident. Maybe this... is the start of something we don't yet understand."
He gazed into the distance, where a faint light flickered through the smoke.
- "Miliana... if you're still alive, show me a sign.
I won't let anyone else in our team disappear again."
The wind carried the scent of rust and ashes.
The three stood amid the devastation — like fragments of an unspoken vow.
- "Have you fully grasped the mission?" – Principal Yakur's voice echoed, calm yet commanding, every word carrying the weight of authority.
"Investigate the Pine Forest to the south and the underground drain system beneath Gustavo. If you detect anything unusual – report it immediately. Do not act alone. Understood?"
Kazru and Jurgard stood firm, their eyes resolute, sweat tracing faintly down their temples.
In the vast chamber bathed in the pale blue glow of energy crystals, their voices rang out in unison – sharp and unwavering:
-"Yes, sir! We'll give it everything we've got!"
Principal Yakur nodded slightly.
He said nothing more – only gestured for them to leave.
The heavy steel doors opened with a deep, grinding creak.
A gust of wind swept through, rustling the long black robe of the principal.
Kazru and Jurgard bowed once more before vanishing into the dim light of the teleport gate, leaving behind a heavy silence.
The room was still.
Yakur remained motionless for a long while before slowly stepping toward the window.
The sky outside was unusually clear – not a single cloud.
He already knew that soon, Gustavo would become the Second Warfront, just as he feared.
Grakk's resurrection was nearing – the same being who once spread terror through the central city, Gaffing Light.
It was Yakur himself who had sealed Grakk away a century ago…
But now, after more than a hundred years, he could feel it –
the seal weakening… and his own power fading.
He closed his eyes, resting a weathered hand on the window frame.
The wind swept in, carrying the scent of ash and the cold breath of distant ruins.
- "Grakk…" – he murmured, voice deep and heavy, echoing like a memory from long ago.
"You've died six times… and each death dragged this world deeper into chaos."
His eyes opened – sharp as forged steel, fixed upon the sky.
-"So tell me… will you dare to rise a seventh time, Grakk?"
In that gaze was not fear – but challenge.
The heavens remained silent, yet somewhere within the wind,
a faint, mocking laugh seemed to answer.
Kazru and Jurgard's team finally reached the Gustavo Forest.
A thin mist hung over the towering pine trees, sunlight filtering through the scorched leaves, reflecting off the determined faces of the two men.
-"Hey, are you sure splitting up will help us find their traces faster?" – Kazru asked, his voice tinged with doubt.
- "Who knows." – Jurgard shrugged, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"You handle the forest, I'll take care of the sewer. Deal, brother?"
He rolled his hand into a fist and extended it.
Kazru grinned, smirked, and bumped fists with him.
- "Same as always… whoever dies first has to watch over the other, got it?"
- "Alright. But don't go dying too soon." – Jurgard replied, his smile both warm and cold.
They exchanged a long look — words weren't necessary. Their eyes carried all the trust and promise shared by comrades who had faced life and death together.
Then they leapt, vanishing in opposite directions, dissolving into the wind.
The sky above was a clear blue, a gentle breeze stirring the air, flocks of birds soaring through the heights.
The charred pine branches swayed, as if retelling the story of a battle long past.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed across the massive trunks — Kazru moved swiftly, gliding over the branches like a shadow.
Below, a few monkeys played, seemingly oblivious to the danger creeping closer.
-"The sky… it's really beautiful today." – Kazru thought to himself, feeling a strange sense of peace before the storm.
But after a while, he froze.
Ahead lay a strange chasm, like a massive well, water swirling around the edge as if being sucked into the abyss below.
A cold draft rose from it — pitch black, so deep that even light seemed to be swallowed.
-"What the hell…? Is this… connected to the drainage tunnels?" – Kazru muttered, eyes tense.
He bent slightly, preparing to inspect — when a strange voice called from behind:
- "Oh… what little mouse do we have here?"
Kazru spun around, taking a few defensive steps back, weapon at the ready, eyes sharp with caution.
-"WHO are you?!" – he shouted, voice harsh.
The man stepped out from the shadows of the forest — a well-built figure in a long black cloak, silver hair framing a face with piercing ocean-blue eyes fixed on Kazru.
- "Me? You don't need to know my name." – he said, calm, yet dripping with disdain.
- "Which team are you with?!" – Kazru growled.
"Don't tell me… you're one of those trying to resurrect Grakk!"
The man raised an eyebrow and smirked:
-"Shh… keep your voice down, kid. Yeah, that's right — I'm one of them."
"So what's the matter? Did Hard-Wirrt Academy look down on us so much that they sent a weakling like you to investigate?"
His mocking smile echoed through the forest.
Kazru gritted his teeth, eyes blazing with fury.
- "You bastard…!!" – he growled, gripping his weapon tightly.
The forest fell silent around them — only the wind whistling through the pines, and the boiling rage in Kazru's chest.
Immediately, Kazru drew both of his pistols and aimed them at the strange man.
- "Tell me! What's your name?!"
- "Shark." – he said, a faint smile playing on his lips, eyes locked on Kazru with a taunting glint.
- "And yours?" – Shark asked, grinning.
-"…I'm Kazru." – Kazru replied firmly, keeping both guns trained on him.
- "Interesting." – Shark said, and in an instant, vanished from Kazru's sight.
-"What…?!" – Kazru gasped in surprise.
Suddenly, a flurry of arrows shot toward Kazru, but he quickly dodged, returning fire toward the source.
- "What the hell…" – Kazru muttered, eyes widening in astonishment.
What shocked him even more was Shark's ability — the man grabbed the shadow of himself and pulled out an archer, and now, there were two archers standing beside him.
The arrows kept coming, coated with venom, but Kazru nimbly evaded each one.
He fired a few shots straight through the heads of the two archers — but they weren't affected. His bullets passed right through them as if they were intangible, leaving Kazru dumbfounded.
- "What's your ability, Kazru?" – Shark chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Kazru panted heavily, gripping both guns tightly.
A surge of energy enveloped the pistols, fusing them together into a single blazing sword, radiating a brilliant light.
-"My ability? My ability is to adapt to everything I've shot through." – Kazru said, the sword glowing even brighter, and in an instant, Shark's two archers vanished into thin air.
-"Oh, interesting… let's see what you can really do…" – Shark murmured, then dashed toward Kazru faster than sound, ready to strike.