Location: Subway Line 0 (The Ghost Line)
Time: 4:00 AM (Two Days Later)
The Ghost Line didn't exist on any map of Kagura-Zaka. It was a loop of abandoned tunnels deep beneath the city, built during the war and sealed off for "spiritual contamination."
It was pitch black. It smelled like wet rust and old curses.
"I hate this," Dante said.
He was standing on the tracks, knee-deep in fog. He wasn't wearing his hoodie. He was shirtless, his torso covered in bandages and sweat. His piercings—dozens of them—glinted in the faint light of a glowstick Benji had thrown on the ground.
"Stop whining," GiGi's voice echoed from the darkness. "It's cozy down here. Lots of rats."
"Okay, class is in session," Sora's voice boomed.
Sora was sitting comfortably on the platform above them, eating a bag of spicy chips. He had set up a lawn chair.
"Today's lesson is Resource Management," Sora chewed. "Dante, you rely on your umbrella to absorb impact. GiGi, you rely on your blood to make weapons. If I take those away... what are you?"
"Hungry?" GiGi suggested.
"Dead," Sora corrected. "You're dead."
Sora snapped his fingers.
From the tunnel darkness, a low growl echoed. Red eyes opened. Not one pair. Twenty.
"Tunnel Ghouls," Sora explained. "They've been down here for fifty years. They're blind, but they can hear your heartbeat. And they are very hungry."
Dante reached for his umbrella. It wasn't there. Sora had confiscated it.
GiGi reached for her knife. Gone.
"No weapons," Sora called out. "Dante, you have to absorb the impact with your body. GiGi, you have to make weapons from the environment. Go."
The Ghouls charged. They were fast—scuttling on the walls like spiders.
"Benji! Lights!" Dante yelled.
"I can't!" Benji shouted from the platform (he was hiding behind Sora's chair). "There's no Wi-Fi down here! My drones are useless!"
"Improvise!" Sora smiled.
A Ghoul launched itself at Dante. Without his umbrella, Dante had to block with his forearms.
SLAM.
The impact rattled his bones. His piercings flared white-hot, burning his skin. He gritted his teeth, absorbing the kinetic energy directly into his muscles. It felt like swallowing fire.
"Dispense!" Dante gasped.
He punched the Ghoul. The stored energy released from his fist with a CRACK like a shotgun blast. The Ghoul's skull caved in.
"Ow," Dante hissed, shaking his bleeding hand.
Meanwhile, GiGi was cornered by three Ghouls. She didn't have her blood-wires. She looked around. She saw a rusted metal pipe sticking out of the wall.
She bit her lip—hard. She spit blood onto her hands and grabbed the pipe. Her Type-Ferro blood coated the rust, sharpening the pipe into a jagged, red-steel spear.
"Batter up!" GiGi laughed.
She swung the pipe. It sliced through the Ghouls like butter.
"Good!" Sora called out, opening another bag of chips. "But you're too slow. Dante, you're leaking energy. You're glowing like a nightlight. Keep it inside. GiGi, your form is sloppy. You're wasting blood."
"I'm wasting your patience, old man!" GiGi yelled back, decapitating another Ghoul.
"Less talking, more killing!" Sora said. "If you survive this, I'll buy you breakfast."
Dante panted, sweat dripping down his face. He felt the hunger—the Thirst—clawing at his stomach. He wanted to bite something. He wanted to drink.
No, Dante thought. I am not a monster. I am an employee.
He focused on the pain in his piercings. He channeled the hunger into focus.
A massive Ghoul dropped from the ceiling behind him. Dante didn't turn. He felt the air shift. He spun, catching the Ghoul's claws with his bare hand.
ABSORB.
His arm glowed blinding white.
RELEASE.
He slammed the Ghoul into the tracks. The concrete cracked.
"Time!" Sora yelled.
The remaining Ghouls hissed and retreated into the dark, sensing the shift in power.
Dante collapsed onto the tracks, gasping for air. GiGi dropped her pipe and sat next to him, wiping blood off her face.
"I'm starving," GiGi whispered.
Sora hopped down from the platform. He tossed them two cans of Synth-Red.
"Drink up," Sora said softly. "You passed."
Dante cracked the can. It tasted like ash and copper. He drank it in one gulp.
"Do we get breakfast now?" Dante asked.
"Sure," Sora smiled. "But first... Benji found something."
Benji peeked over the edge of the platform, holding a tablet. He looked terrified.
"Uh, guys?" Benji said. "I picked up a signal. A private jet just landed at the Kagura-Zaka executive airport. The flight manifest was redacted."
"So?" GiGi asked.
"The tail number," Benji swallowed. "It belongs to Matsuzaki Heavy Industries."
GiGi froze. She crushed the empty Synth-Red can in her hand.
"He's here," she whispered.
Sora's smile vanished. "Then recess is over. Get dressed. We have a welcome party to crash."