On the ground in the Bay Area, evacuation orders were being carried out methodically. But the Bay Area—a hub filled with foreign embassies and an international vibe, packed with upscale residences, the kind of place where East Tokyo's elite gathered—was a logistical nightmare to evacuate, especially with all those foreign embassies causing headaches.
Satoru Gojo crouched at the edge of a building's rooftop, rubbing his chin—well, his pale blue skin, or maybe bluish-white was more accurate. He'd swapped his blindfold for sunglasses, watching the Neon government officials not far off, still trying to convince the people at the Mold Country embassy to evacuate.
"Tch, those foreigners really aren't afraid of dying," Yuji Itadori said, jabbing his thumb toward them with a smirk.
"They've always been like that," Megumi Fushiguro replied, arms crossed.
"Eh, whatever. If they won't listen to good advice, let the idiots meet their fate," Gojo said with a wave of his hand. "Nobara, did Kusakabe and the others find the spot Tengen mentioned?"
Nobara Kugisaki's voice crackled through the communicator, tinged with irritation and trembling from the wind. "Found it! The entrance is in a shipping container at the Bay Area dock. It was a pain to locate—if it weren't for Tengen's lingering cursed energy, we'd still be looking!"
Gojo let out a whistle, hopping down from the rooftop's edge. His sunglasses slid to the tip of his nose, revealing his striking blue eyes. "Nice work, Nobara! Let's move, guys. If we're late, little Tengen might just blow up."
CRASH! A deafening roar echoed across East Tokyo.
In a flash, Gojo was hovering midair, his eyes locked on the sea beyond the dock. The ocean wasn't just churning with waves—it was split, as if an invisible blade had cleaved it in two, the water parting dramatically on either side.
It was a sight as grand as Moses parting the Red Sea.
"Holy—!" Yuji's voice shot up, dazed with awe. "What the heck is Mr. Gaio doing?!"
Megumi looked up at Gojo, his brows furrowed tightly. "Teacher Gojo, the situation down there…"
"I know," Gojo said, his usual playful tone gone. He stared at the gash in the sea, a flicker of seriousness in his blue eyes. "That's Tengen's slash…"
---
Rewind a bit. In the underground base, 02's tears clung to her eyelashes as she glared at Gaio, though a smile played on her lips. "When you said 'try to remember,' were you lying to me?"
Gaio grinned. "What's the point of lying to you?"
"02!" Dr. Franxx's voice cut through their conversation. "You can't go with him! He's dangerous!"
"Dangerous?" Gaio tilted his head toward the doctor. "Huh, so you've already pegged me as a threat."
He paused, pretending to think. "Let me guess who put you up to this… Oh, right." His voice grew colder. "Those animals in the government, huh? Feeling uneasy about someone standing above them? Scared?"
His tone turned icy. "Fearing power but not virtue—the rotten core of Neon's people."
Gaio looked at 02. "Come to me, 02."
02 glanced at Dr. Franxx, then steeled herself and took her first step—toward Gaio.
Her steps were slow, like she was walking on clouds, but each one was resolute.
Dr. Franxx, frantic, dropped his cane and lunged to grab her arm. "02! Have you forgotten who gave you life? Who kept you alive?!"
02 turned back, tears falling onto the doctor's hand. "Doctor, you gave me life, but Darling is my everything." She pried his hand off and kept walking toward Gaio.
Gaio's lips curved slightly. He reached out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to his side.
His hand was so warm it made 02's heart race. "Good job," he said, his voice soft, like starlight melting into her eyes.
"You're insane, Nero!" Dr. Franxx roared. "02! She's not human! You know that, don't you?! She's a monster I created from the genes of a dragon!"
02's face paled at his words. Yes, her beautiful, human-like appearance was something she fought to maintain. Her true form was still that red-skinned, sharp-toothed "monster."
"So what?" Gaio pulled 02 close. "A monster?"
He looked down at her pale face. "I'm one too."
At those words, 02 froze. Dr. Franxx froze. Everyone froze.
Blue demonic flames began to flicker across Gaio's body, and behind him, a towering blue-flame demon took shape.
It moved in sync with him, like a shadow.
Gaio freed one hand, twirling his wrist. The Yama Blade appeared in his grip, mirrored by the blue-flame demon behind him.
"02, don't care what others think. For the people you love, and who love you, just be yourself."
With a smile, he let go of 02 and gripped the Yama Blade's hilt.
"Even if you're a monster, so what? As long as someone loves you."
He drew the blade, and countless slashes filled the air.
The metal dome of the underground base was sliced open, along with the earth and sea above it.
The base shook violently, cracks spiderwebbing across the metal walls as it began to collapse.
Gaio glanced at 02, then at the towering Strelizia mech. "This big guy's not much use anymore, huh?"
02 turned to look at the mech. "Is that so? I've been training to pilot it since I was a kid."
"You won't need it anymore," Gaio said, pointing the Yama Blade at Strelizia.
Dr. Franxx's face twisted in horror. "No! The 'core' has already been injected! Nero, if you destroy Strelizia, the core will explode! All of East Tokyo—no, the entire Kanto region—will be wiped out!"
"Oh? You knew that and still went ahead with the experiment? Hypocrite," Gaio said, sliding the Yama Blade back into its sheath.
Dr. Franxx exhaled in relief, but the next second, his face crumpled.
Gaio assumed an iaido stance, drawing the blade in a flash. Countless slashes flickered before him in less than a second, and he sheathed the blade again.
Click.
The crisp sound of the blade returning to its sheath drowned out the base's collapsing roars.
In everyone's ears, the sounds of destruction, breathing, everything—vanished.
But in their eyes, Strelizia was covered in countless blue light trails.
Crack. The sound of metal breaking brought the world's noise back.
Strelizia crumbled like a dried sandcastle, blown away by an invisible wind.
Tengen's body, reduced to cursed energy crystals, was encased in orange-yellow magma.
The "core," meant to be forcibly fused, was separated by the Yama Blade.
Gaio reached out, and the core floated into his hand.
He sneered at the writhing core, then flicked his wrist, making it vanish.
With that done, he turned to 02 and extended his hand. "Let's go, 02. I'm taking you home."
02 slipped her fingers into his palm, glancing back at Dr. Franxx, slumped on the ground. His white hair was a mess, his cane fallen beside him, his eyes filled with despair.
"Let's go," Gaio said softly, turning her face toward him. "There's nothing worth staying for here."
02's throat tightened, and she buried her face in his arm, her voice muffled. "Darling…"
"Mm," he replied, drawing the Yama Blade again to slice open a portal in the air. He led 02 through it.
Dr. Franxx, still slumped on the ground, watched them disappear. His eyes held despair, but no hatred or disgust.
Maybe he'd known this was coming.
But would Gaio let the base collapse on its own, giving those inside a chance to escape?
No. Shortly after he left, everyone in the base—except Dr. Franxx—realized their bodies were turning to dust, just like Strelizia.
---
On the surface, Gojo's eyes widened as the parted sea began rushing back into the gap, the ocean collapsing as if a massive chunk had been carved out from the seafloor.
Floating above the swirling vortex, Gojo's blue eyes reflected the dark abyss at its center. He twirled his sunglasses with a grin. "Tengen's slash probably shaved off the entire seabed."
Below, Yuji clung to the dock's railing, waves splashing his face as he leaned closer. "Mr. Gaio is so cool! Splitting the sea? That's way crazier than when I fought that special-grade cursed spirit!"
Megumi, standing beside him, yanked his collar. "Don't get so close. The vortex will suck you in."
Yuji stuck out his tongue but stepped back, still staring into the abyss. "Should we go down there? Maybe we'll find some clues Mr. Gaio left behind!"
"No need," Gojo said, glancing at his wrist communicator. Nobara's location blinked on the screen—she was at the base's entrance, digging through rubble. "Nobara says the entrance is destroyed. As for the situation inside…"
He paused, his voice unusually serious. "No one's coming out alive."
Megumi frowned. "And the one responsible?"
Gojo was quiet for a moment before answering. "You think someone like Tengen would leave survivors? Unless…"
He trailed off, looking up at the sky. His sunglasses slipped, revealing a flicker of complexity in his eyes.
---
In the underground base, Dr. Franxx was the only one left, leaning against a warped lab table, clutching a photo of 02 as a child.
In the picture, a red-skinned girl with messy pink hair grinned, her eyes curved like crescent moons.
It was 02 starting to grow, her face no longer the sharp-toothed monster she once was.
"Doctor, what's the outside world like?" Her voice echoed in his mind, but all he saw now was rubble and darkness.
He touched the photo, his fingertip stained with blood from a gash on his shoulder. He didn't care.
He thought of Gaio's words—"Monster? So what?"—and 02's determined look as she pulled away from him. Suddenly, he felt his entire life had been a mistake.
"02…" he whispered, tears falling onto the photo. "I'm sorry…"
As the words left his mouth, a massive chunk of debris crashed down from above. He closed his eyes, a faint smile on his lips.
In his final moment, he remembered the tuft of hair forcibly taken from that female dragon—and the arm he'd lost in the process.
---
Atop a building not far from the Bay Area, Gaio and 02 appeared.
02 clung tightly to his arm, as if afraid he'd vanish again.
Gaio smiled at her. "You don't have to hold on so tight, 02. I'm not going anywhere."
"No way," 02 said, shaking her head firmly.
Gaio chuckled helplessly, ruffling her hair. "Can you let go for just a sec?"
"Why? Does Darling not like me anymore?" 02's green eyes shimmered with tears.
(Note: 02 uses "boku" to refer to herself, a masculine pronoun often used by tomboyish girls, similar to "tomboy" in English or "fake boy" in modern .)
"No, 02, I've got some stuff to take care of," Gaio said, smiling as he explained.
"What stuff?" 02 asked, curious, finally loosening her grip.
"Making the people who tried to mess with my peaceful life pay a price."
Gaio's smile was warm, but his eyes glinted with cold resolve.
02 watched as he stepped to the edge of the rooftop. He held the Yama Blade in his left hand, and with a flick of his right, the Flowing Blade Like Fire appeared.
He tossed both blades into the air, swiftly grabbing their hilts and drawing them with a single motion.
"First, a little appetizer for them—Dimensional Slash: Heavenly Fire."
P.S.: Dr. Franxx didn't get the genes from the Klaxosaur Princess but from a crossover with Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, hence the dragon reference.
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