The survivors of Iron's Hollow didn't smile.
They didn't cheer.
They just watched.
Cold. Untrusting. Scarred by war.
Ryo knew the look.
These weren't farmers with rifles.
These were soldiers who had lost everything.
And they had no reason to trust him.
A Dangerous Welcome
The leader—a woman with short-cropped silver hair, one cybernetic eye, and a jagged scar down her jaw— stepped forward.
Her armor was old, Hellion-issued but stripped of insignia. A patchwork of scavenged gear.
She stopped a few feet from Ryo, sizing him up.
> "You say you're here to finish what we started."
Her voice was calm. Hard.
> "So tell me, stranger—who the hell are you?"
Ironborn Revelation
Ryo didn't blink. Didn't hesitate.
He met her steel-cold gaze and said,
"My name is Ryo Kisaragi."
Then—he rolled up his sleeve.
Revealing the faint, glowing circuitry just beneath his skin.
The woman's cybernetic eye scanned him. Flickered.
Her expression changed.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Recognition.
> "Ironborn."
Murmurs rippled through the survivors.
Some tense. Others step back.
One man spits on the ground.
> "Hellion's dog."
Ryo clenched his fists. "I was their experiment. I'm not their soldier."
The leader watched him carefully.
> "Prove it."
The Trial of Fire
Karin muttered, "This feels like a setup."
Vos loaded his rifle. "Because it is."
Ryo didn't look away.
"How?"
The leader's scarred lips curled into something almost like a smirk.
She turned and pointed to the ruins.
A makeshift arena.
A circle of old wreckage, surrounded by soldiers.
> "You fight. One of ours."
> "You win? We talk."
> "You lose? You leave. Or you die."
Karin muttered, "Why is everything in this world decided by punching someone in the face?"
Ryo rolled his shoulders.
"Fine."
The Challenger
A hulking man stepped forward.
Seven feet of scarred muscle and cybernetics.
A mechanical gauntlet hissed, releasing steam.
His name?
> "Name's Krieg."
> "And I don't like Ironborn."
Ryo smirked. "You're gonna hate me by the end of this."
The survivors circled them. Watching. Waiting.
The leader raised her hand.
> "Begin."
Krieg swung first.
And the fight was on.
Monster vs. Machine
Krieg was fast for his size.
His metal fist crashed down—
Ryo sidestepped. Just barely.
The impact shattered the ground.
> "Oh yeah. This guy hits like a truck."
Krieg swung again.
Ryo ducked, twisting inside his guard.
And countered.
A full force punch to the ribs.
CRACK.
Krieg **staggered—**but didn't fall.
Instead, he grinned.
> "That all you got, Ironborn?"
Then he grabbed Ryo by the throat.
And threw him across the arena.
The Evolution Kicks In
Ryo hit the ground hard.
Pain flared—
Then vanished.
His body was already repairing itself.
> [ENHANCED METABOLIC RECOVERY: ACTIVE.]
Ryo got back up. Fast.
And Krieg frowned.
> "What the hell—?"
Ryo smirked.
Then he moved.
Faster. Sharper. Deadlier.
One step. Gone.
He appeared inside Krieg's guard.
A brutal uppercut to the jaw.
Krieg's head snapped back.
Ryo grabbed his arm, twisted—
And ripped the cybernetic gauntlet clean off.
Krieg roared, falling to one knee.
But Ryo wasn't done.
He grabbed his collar—
And slammed him into the dirt.
Victory and Respect
The survivors were silent.
Krieg coughed, blinking through the dust.
Then—he laughed.
> "Well, shit."
He held up a bloodied hand.
> "Guess you're not just another Hellion experiment."
Ryo took it. Shook it.
Then turned to the leader.
"Are we done here?"
She watched him.
Then nodded.
> "Welcome to the Resistance."
The First Soldiers of War
The survivors stepped forward.
Not as enemies.
As allies.
Karin smirked. "Guess you've got your army after all."
Vos grunted. "A small one. But it's a start."
Ryo exhaled.
This wasn't just about surviving anymore.
This was a war.
And now?
He finally had an army to fight it.