⚙️ IRON VEIL
Chapter One: Rust and Fire
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Rain hammered the steel rooftops of Sector 9.
Searchlights cut through the smog, scanning the abandoned district for signs of movement.
From the ground, everything looked dead — until something moved in the dark.
A low rumble echoed through the empty streets.
Aiden Kurogane adjusted the headset in his ear, keeping his eyes on the motion scanner strapped to his wrist.
> "Target signature confirmed — heat pattern irregular, carbon traces minimal."
He exhaled slowly. "That's demon material."
Aiden wasn't a soldier. Not yet. Just a technician for the Iron Veil Corps, tasked with maintaining anti-demon weapons. But tonight, he was filling in for a fallen field agent — and the mission had gone bad fast.
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🩸
The warehouse loomed ahead, its metal doors bent outward as if something had clawed its way through.
Aiden raised his rifle — a Type-07 Electrocarbine, iron-jacketed rounds and plasma edge bayonet.
The design was simple: precision, speed, and conductivity — demons hated iron more than bullets.
He stepped inside.
The air was thick with ash and heat.
Every surface glowed faintly orange from residual energy.
And in the center of the room stood a figure — humanoid, tall, its skin glowing with molten cracks.
Aiden's visor pinged:
> DEMON TYPE: PYROGENIC CLASS.
CORE LOCATION: CHEST.
IRON VULNERABILITY: HIGH.
"Alright," he muttered, switching to thermal mode. "Let's see what you've got."
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The demon moved first — a blur of heat and motion. A single swing of its arm tore through a steel beam.
Aiden ducked, rolled, and fired a burst. Three iron-tipped bullets hit home, sizzling into flesh.
The creature shrieked, stumbling backward.
Steam hissed from the wounds as the iron reacted with its biology — corrosion through contact.
It wasn't enough.
The demon slammed its hand into the ground, and fire erupted outward, melting the floor around him.
Aiden dropped his rifle before it fused to his gloves, reaching for his ion gauntlet — a glove-mounted weapon that discharged compressed electric arcs.
He activated it, and a bright white crackle filled the air.
He punched the demon square in the jaw — the impact releasing a shockwave of pure voltage.
The thing convulsed and fell to one knee, molten light leaking from its chest.
Aiden didn't hesitate. He drew his iron-edged combat knife, pressed it to the core, and drove it in.
There was a flash — a sharp metallic hiss — and then silence.
The demon's body disintegrated, leaving behind only scorched residue and a faint trail of glowing dust.
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⚙️
Aiden slumped against the wall, pulling off his helmet. His hair stuck to his forehead, soaked in sweat and rain.
Static filled his comms. Then a voice came through — calm, metallic.
> "Field Unit 12, this is Command. Mission data received. Confirming elimination of Class-2 Pyrogenic. Good work, Technician Kurogane."
He wiped soot from his face. "I'm not even a soldier. What happens now?"
> "Now?" The voice paused. "Now you report to Headquarters. You've just been field-promoted."
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🚨
Minutes later, an armored vehicle pulled up beside him. The side door opened, revealing a woman in a reinforced combat suit — Lieutenant Mira Kurohane, of the Shadow Division.
She eyed him up and down, then nodded at the scorch marks on his armor.
"Not bad for a maintenance kid," she said. "Most people don't walk away from their first demon."
Aiden shrugged. "I just followed the manual."
Mira smirked. "Then you'll fit right in."
She tossed him an Iron Veil badge — cold metal glinting in the rain.
> IRON VEIL CORPS: SECTOR RECLAMATION UNIT
Aiden caught it, the weight settling in his palm. The reality hit him.
He wasn't going back to the workshop. Not after this.
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As the transport drove away, he looked out at the burning skyline — the city's iron towers glowing red under the storm.
"Demons are evolving," Mira said beside him. "They're adapting to our weapons. The Corps needs engineers who can fight. You think you're ready for that?"
Aiden stared ahead, voice low.
"If I'm not… I'll build something that makes me ready."
The vehicle sped into the night — past broken streets and flickering neon signs — toward the heart of the Iron Veil's hidden fortress.
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⚙️ End of Chapter One
Next: "The Armory"
Aiden enters the Iron Veil Headquarters, where he discovers the advanced technology behind humanity's demon-hunting arsenal — and learns that demons are evolving faster than anyone predicted.
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Would you like me to write Chapter Two: "The Armory", showing Aiden's introduction to Iron Veil's weapons lab, the other soldiers, and the tech-based Hashira equivalents (the Wardens)?