VEYRA: (Panting, looking at the smoldering crater in the wall) "That guy was tough. He doesn't know the meaning of 'stay down.' Swordsman, you okay?"
RAIJI: (Pushing himself up, groaning) "Just woke up... That guy had a hell of a punch." He looked at Kiro, his usual stoicism softened by respect. "Much respect to you, Kiro. You took all that."
KIRO: (On his knees, every muscle trembling) "It was tough... but my legs gave up on me. And my arm..."
He couldn't stand. He knelt, head bowed, the toll of the fight and his mysteriously fading healing finally claiming him.
Raiji managed to get to his feet, leaning on his sword.
VEYRA: "I got you, hero." She walked to Kiro, her own steps heavy but determined.
Then, a wet, scraping sound.
The General's eyes snapped open. With a guttural roar of pure hate, he pushed himself up from the debris, wobbling violently on his feet, a broken monument of rage.
BRIGADIER GENERAL: (Voice a ruined, bloody rasp) "How... dare you... You'll pay for this, you scum. Who... are you? How can you be so strong? You're... nobody..."
He focused his dying will on Kiro, the closest target. He lurched forward, fist pulled back for a final, killing blow.
Kiro could only raise one arm in a feeble block, his body refusing to respond.
Raiji saw it, gripped his blade, tried to dash and his legs buckled, sending him back to his knees.
But Veyra was already moving. A silent, furious dash. The General, tunnel-visioned on Kiro, didn't see her coming.
She didn't shoot. She didn't use a gadget.
She planted her feet and drove a suit-enhanced uppercut into his jaw, snapping his head back. A piston-fast kick to his shattered gut doubled him over. And finally, with a cry of raw effort, she slammed a hammer-fist down onto the back of his neck, driving him face-first into the concrete floor with a CRUNCH that left a dent in the shape of his body.
VEYRA: (Standing over him, chest heaving, voice cold and final) "NOW. STAY. DOWN." She looked at her fallen friend, then back at the unmoving General. "His name is Kiro."
She turned her back on the villain for the last time, walked to Kiro, and gently put his arm over her shoulder, hauling him to his feet.
KIRO: (Leaning on her, voice weak) "Thanks..."
RAIJI: (Using Baneblade as a crutch to stand, a ghost of a smile on his lips) "That suit... is really good."
KIRO: (Looking at the unconscious soldiers and the ruined base) "You've got an enemy now. Time to kick every one of these army people out who doesn't belong here."
Together, the three of them battered, bruised, but unbroken limped out of the shattered command center, leaving the silence of their victory behind them.
They stepped out of the main base, blinking in the harsh sunlight. Arrayed before them was the entire remaining garrison over a hundred troops. And at their head, a familiar, smug face: the Junior Officer, bandaged and furious.
JUNIOR OFFICER: (A vicious smirk on his face) "You maniacs made it out. That's a surprise. But look at you heavily injured. Hand yourselves in. And the woman will be cleaning my boots. That sneak attack was just luck."
VEYRA: (Leaning against Kiro for support, she rolled her eyes) "Wow. This weakling again. Don't feel like fighting all of them..."
RAIJI: (His voice calm, but with an edge of exhaustion and finality) "I've got this."
He stepped forward, one hand on Baneblade's hilt. He didn't draw it. Instead, he looked at the sea of nervous soldiers, then up at the sky above them. With a single, fluid motion, he cut the air above their heads.
A silent, massive crescent of wind shot over the formation, shearing the tops off the watchtowers with a deafening CRASH of falling metal and stone. Dust and debris rained down.
Before the panic could set in, Raiji made a second, smaller cutting motion a feint. No wind followed. It was pure psychological warfare.
The Junior Officer, who had ducked the first blast, flinched and stumbled backward from the non-existent second attack. The terror on his face was plain for all his men to see. He and Raiji locked eyes. Raiji's expression was not one of rage, but of cold, utter disdain. The officer's face flushed a deep, humiliated red.
RAIJI: (Addressing the troops, his voice carrying over the settling dust) "Listen up. Your boss is gone. Your general is defeated. You have a choice: get lost, or fight me. I promise... it will be a slow and painful death for every single one who stays." He paused, letting the threat sink in. Then his tone shifted, offering a lifeline. "And for the villagers who were forced to join you... you are free. Go home."
Silence hung over the field.
Then, a soldier near the front a man with brown hair, one of the conscripts from the village slowly lowered his rifle. He didn't aim it at Raiji. He turned and pointed it at the Junior Officer beside him.
BROWN-HAIRED MAN: (His voice steady, loud enough for all to hear) "You heard him, grunt. Get lost."
A ripple went through the ranks. One by one, then in groups, nearly half the soldiers turned their weapons not on the crew, but on their former comrades, the career soldiers who had enslaved them.
The Junior Officer looked from Raiji's icy stare to the mutinous barrels pointed his way. His bravado evaporated, replaced by raw, cowering fear.
The Brigadier General dragged himself up once more, his body a symphony of broken parts. Each movement was agony, a slow, heavy walk fueled by spite alone. He stumbled into the comms room, using the last of his strength to grip the console.
With trembling, bloodied fingers, he typed a code.
ID: 789 | 1-STAR GENERAL | XAVIER
He opened a channel, broadcasting to all nearby active bases—and one older, specific frequency he hadn't used in years.
MESSAGE BEGINS:
SUBJECT: BOUNTY ISSUANCE
TARGET: Designation "KIRO." Race: Human. Primary Weapon/Artifact: Unknown Cube-type.
CRIMES: Assault on Imperial Officers, Destruction of Military Property, Acts of Terrorism (Attack on Garrison A-77).
BOUNTY: 110,000 Credits. Status: Dead or Alive.
ISSUED BY: The Imperial Army, 9th Legion. Authorization: General Xavier.
Hunt him down.
MESSAGE ENDS.
He slumped forward, the last of his energy spent. The console flickered with the confirmation of transmission.
Signing out.
Meanwhile, outside the village...
The crew arrived back at the settlement, their return met not with cheers, but with a watchful, hopeful silence. The villagers peered from doorways, not yet daring to believe.
Kiro, leaning heavily on Veyra, was led into the Chief's hut. He sank onto a low stool with a groan of relief, waiting for the world to stop spinning.
VEYRA: (Her voice tired but firm) "We did it. It wasn't easy... but now you get to live free."
The Chief looked from her face to Kiro's battered form, to Raiji standing guard at the door. Surprise melted into overwhelming joy, and then into tears that traced clean lines down his dusty cheeks.
CHIEF: (Voice choked) "Finally... We can live in peace again. We can breathe." He wiped his eyes, composing himself. "I have one more favour to ask. I know it's much... but can you help us get our food and water back? The storehouses are in the base..."
VEYRA: "Sure. We have a plan. But first," she gestured to her own wounds and Kiro's limp arm, "we need patching up."
CHIEF: His face fell. "Sadly... we don't have anything for that. They took all the medicine, too."
RAIJI: (From the doorway, not turning around) "Really. You broke into that base anyway. Rob it." He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world a simple matter of logistics, not morality.
A new, determined light sparked in the Chief's eyes. He nodded slowly, then turned to the villagers gathering outside. "Gather every cart and barrel we have! We are taking back what is ours!"
The two village doctors, though undertrained, did their best. The crew was patched up with clean bandages and basic antiseptics a vast improvement over nothing. They rested for a full day in the relative safety of the reclaimed village, their bodies grateful for the stillness.
At sunrise, the work began. Kiro and Raiji helped the villagers relocate their core operations into the abandoned army base, now closer to the centralized storehouses of food and water. It was hard labor, but it was labor with hope.
Meanwhile, Veyra met with the Chief in his newly claimed "office"—a former supply room.
VEYRA: "We'll be moving on soon. But your food issue should be solved. The stores are yours now. Just remember to start planting for the future."
The Chief's face, which had been glowing with relief, suddenly crumpled with anxiety. Before Veyra could react, he knelt on the hard floor and bowed his head.
CHIEF: "Please… you must stay. Take care of us. If the army comes back… you can eat and drink freely here! Use it as your main base! Please, stay!"
VEYRA: (Her expression softening, then tightening with internal conflict) "It's… a tempting offer. The boss won't like it." She sighed, a note of pragmatism in her voice. "But we do need a base…" She reached down, taking his arm firmly. "Get up. Don't beg. Just ask us."
CHIEF: (Still on the ground, clinging to her gesture as a promise) "Thank you… thank you so much."
VEYRA: (Helping him to his feet) "I'll try to manage this place. We'll make it work."
At that moment, Kiro and Raiji walked in, dust from the morning's work on their clothes.
KIRO: (Wiping his brow) "Guess what? Looks like we're staying here for a while."
Kiro stared. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!"
Meanwhile, on the Frontier…
A lone bounty station stood in a sea of sand, its structure weathered into the vague, geometric shape of a pyramid. Deep underground, in a dark chamber lit only by console lights, a synthetic voice crackled to life.
SYNTHETIC VOICE: "Services online. Priority bounty packet received."
A screen illuminated in the gloom, displaying General Xavier's message.
SYNTHETIC VOICE: "Bounty confirmed. Generating mission protocol."
NEW SCREEN FLICKERS:
MISSION TITLE: ECO REDEMPTION
TARGET: KIRO
STATUS: ALIVE OR DEAD
PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: HUNT. ACQUIRE. TERMINATE.
CONTRACT: ACTIVE.
In the darkness, something stirred.