Far from the battlefield, beneath a forgotten subway system blanketed in darkness and dust, the strange group of sane infected returned to their refuge—a shadow-laced hall deep beneath the city, sealed off from the surface by collapsed tunnels and concealed barriers pulsing faintly with dungeon energy. The only light came from glowing fungal veins that pulsed in the cracked walls and the soft luminescence of crystalized infection nodes embedded in the structure like sentient surveillance.
The air was thick with tension.
As the group approached the central chamber, they dropped to one knee in synchronized reverence. At the end of the hall, upon a jagged, obsidian-carved seat, sat their leader—a towering male figure clad in a dark, tattered robe, its cloth so black it seemed to devour the ambient light. His hood shadowed most of his face, save for the thin line of his pale jaw and the faint emerald glimmer where eyes should have been.
He spoke without motion. His voice was deep, unnatural—like two tones layered atop each other. "Report."
The silver-haired woman—codename Iris—rose and stepped forward. Though her voice remained calm, the subtle tension in her posture betrayed the weight of what she had witnessed.
"Target Renji Kuroya has exceeded previous estimates," she began crisply. "His mutation has progressed past Level Three adaptation. He displays dynamic hybridization traits—absorption, rapid physical modulation, and instinctive combat awareness. He also retains psychological cohesion and leads a bonded team of infected."
The robed figure shifted slightly, fingers curling around the armrest. "Describe the others."
Iris nodded. "His teammates show semi-controlled evolution but remain vulnerable under extreme stress."
She raised a hand and conjured a glowing image mid-air using a condensed infection wisp—four silhouettes formed, each tagged with a brief symbol and descriptor:
Mika Ishida – "Kinetic propulsion specialist. Offensive range support. Volatile under pressure."
Takeshi Mori – "Enhanced musculature and reinforcement. Durable frontline asset."
Yumi Takahashi – "Shadow manipulation. Adaptive stealth and ambush potential."
Kaito Nakamura – "Electrokinetic striker. High-burst close combatant. Emotionally unstable."
"Together," Iris continued, "they form an efficient tactical unit—but Renji is the lynchpin. Remove him, and cohesion collapses."
Another of the infected—Draven, the one with cybernetic arms—stepped beside her. "He tore through a tier-five rhinoceros variant solo. No hesitation. No regard for collateral damage. He's becoming something else."
"He's also reckless," Iris added. "Impulsive. His emotional core remains intact. It can be exploited."
A long pause. The hooded leader finally stirred, standing with an unnatural grace that made even the ground feel uncertain beneath his steps. He moved forward slowly, until his towering form loomed over the glowing projection.
He stared at Renji's silhouette.
"So… the Abyss's gamble survives. Interesting."
There was something almost reverent in the way he said it. Then his voice hardened.
"He is not to be killed."
The room tensed.
"Instead," he continued, "he must be captured alive and brought here. We will tear open the secret of his mutation. If what sleeps within him awakens unshaped, it may tear apart everything we've built. But if we shape it…"
His voice faded into a cold, dark smile.
"…he becomes our weapon. Or our key."
Draven stepped forward. "We'll need coordinated isolation. He's too unpredictable in open terrain. And the others will die protecting him."
Iris nodded. "There's a weakness. They're seeking shelter. Their hideout is gone. If we push them into a temporary zone, one we've seeded—"
"—they'll walk into the net themselves," finished the robed leader.
He turned away, voice rumbling low like distant thunder.
"Begin preparation of Zone Delta-9. Infuse it with tier-six dungeon residue. Starve it of exits. Place our scouts along the western breach."
He paused.
"And send a mimic to intercept any external interference."
The others bowed deeply.
As the infected group dispersed into the shadows, Iris lingered for a moment, staring at Renji's glowing silhouette in the air.
"Let's hope you're strong enough," she whispered to herself. "Or this city won't survive what happens next."
Then she too vanished into the dark.
---
The wind howled low through the half-destroyed ruins of a warehouse on the city's edge. Dust swirled in lazy circles, carried by the fractured currents of the fading dusk. Renji stood at the edge of a shattered wall, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the wreckage of what used to be their temporary sanctuary. Charred belongings. Smeared blood. Crushed furniture. The air still reeked of scorched metal and decaying flesh.
"Someone survived," Yumi muttered, her voice emerging from the shadows. Her eyes flicked to a trail of smeared footprints barely visible in the grime-covered ground.
Renji knelt beside the faint tracks, his hand brushing against a faint scuff on the floor—something had been dragged, and recently.
Suddenly, a soft cough echoed from behind a rusted ventilation shaft.
Instantly, Kaito surged forward, electricity sparking faintly from his knuckles, but Renji raised a hand to stop him. "Wait."
Takeshi approached carefully, peeling aside the broken panels.
A man in his twenties, gaunt and shivering, peered up at them with wild eyes. His face was smeared with ash, and blood crusted the side of his mouth. One arm dangled limply, clearly broken.
"Kenji…" Mika exhaled in disbelief. "You made it out."
The young man—Kenji—nodded weakly. "Barely."
Renji crouched beside him, his voice steady but cold. "What happened?"
Kenji's eyes darted around in paranoia, as if expecting black shadows to emerge from the walls. He pulled a tattered cloth from his coat and unwrapped a half-burned insignia—black feathers crossed over a blood-red talon.
"The Black Crow faction," he said with a hiss of fear. "They found us."
Renji's expression darkened instantly. Behind him, Kaito clenched his fists while arcs of electricity snapped across his fingers.
Kenji continued, breath ragged. "They stormed the hideout three nights ago. Came without warning. I think… someone betrayed us. They didn't just want to destroy it. They were taking people. Testing on them. The screams…"
He trailed off, trembling. "I barely escaped through the drainage passage. Others weren't so lucky."
Renji's silence was suffocating. His jaw flexed as he stood, towering over the trembling survivor. His mind flashed with fragmented images of those they'd protected, those who had chosen to live under his group's uncertain protection—innocents, barely stable infected, frightened survivors.
Now gone. Taken.
Renji's voice came low, but seething with promise. "I'll tear them apart."
The others looked to him—no hesitation, no uncertainty in their eyes.
"We're with you," Mika said, her gaze steely.
Takeshi nodded. "It's not just about revenge. It's about making sure no one else ends up in a Black Crow lab."
"Let's make them pay," Kaito growled.
Yumi's shadowy form melded into the dimming light. "Then we start in the underground. That's where scum like them hide."
Renji turned back to Kenji and offered him a potion from the orb they had acquired earlier. "Stay here. Rest. You gave us what we needed."
Kenji took it with trembling hands, eyes filled with a mix of relief and guilt. "Be careful. They're not normal anymore. Some of them… they've evolved beyond even you."
Renji didn't respond.
Instead, he turned and motioned for his team to move out.
---
Hours Later – Beneath the City
The deeper they went into the underbelly of the city, the more twisted the world became.
Gone were the remnants of civilization. What lay ahead was a lawless network of sewers, abandoned transit tunnels, and collapsed infrastructure now claimed by society's outcasts and monstrous anomalies. This was the underworld—the place where factions like the Black Crows thrived, far from the jurisdiction of government eyes or public knowledge.
They passed through narrow tunnels lit only by flickering torches or luminescent fungus. Rats the size of cats scurried at their presence. Whispering voices followed them—mutants, survivors, vagrants of the abyssal zones who had learned to blend with the filth and fear.
"Watch the ceiling," Yumi warned, shadows curling protectively around her as she scouted ahead.
Mika paused near a collapsed metro station wall. Graffiti covered the surface—most of it meaningless tags and warnings. But one symbol stood out: a crude crow, painted in red and smeared over an eye.
Takeshi cracked his knuckles. "We're close."
A moment later, they entered a vast open chamber, once a transfer station, now converted into a black market exchange and information hub. Ramshackle stalls dotted the floor. Mercenaries, scavengers, infected mercs, and shady brokers mingled under the flickering lights. The stench of alcohol, chemicals, and sweat hung thick in the air.
All eyes turned as Renji and his team stepped in.
They didn't blend in. Their aura made that impossible.
But they didn't need to blend in. They wanted to be seen.
A hunched broker with glowing yellow pupils stepped forward, grinning with sharp teeth. "You lot don't belong here. Which means you're either very lost or very dangerous."
Renji stepped forward, radiating barely leashed fury. "We're looking for the Black Crow faction."
The broker flinched, his smile wavering. Conversations nearby ceased. A heavy silence fell over the station.
One of the nearby mercenaries scoffed. "You looking to die?"
Renji didn't even turn toward the speaker. "I'm looking to return the favor."
The broker exhaled. "You've got guts, I'll give you that. But the Black Crows don't show their faces here. They operate from the deeper rings—Delta zones. You head there, you'd better bring something heavier than attitude."
Kaito stepped forward, lightning flaring around his fist. "We've got heavier."
Yumi's shadows slithered along the ground, coiling up around her legs like living mist.
The broker swallowed. "Alright, alright. I'll mark the path on your map chip. But if you get caught, I never saw you."
As the broker uploaded the location, he leaned in close to Renji, lowering his voice. "Just remember—those who go looking for the Black Crows rarely come back. They don't just kill—they convert."
Renji's voice was a cold whisper. "Let them try."
With the coordinates in hand, Renji turned to his team. No words were needed. They were already moving—deeper into the abyss, into the heart of the monster's nest.
And the Black Crows?
They wouldn't know what hit them.