The stench of rust and mildew clung to the abandoned subway tunnels as Nakato's boots splashed through stagnant water. His regulator hummed against his wrist, its crimson sensors casting an eerie glow across the cracked concrete walls. Somewhere in these dripping catacombs, Dr. Kazuo was turning innocent people into monsters—using Nakato's own father's research to do it.
"Thermal's picking up movement ahead," Daisuke whispered, his holographic display flickering in the dark. The blue light reflected off his glasses, hiding his eyes. "Two hundred meters—there's a makeshift lab set up near Shelter B's foundation."
Hinako adjusted the grip on her daggers, the blades already coated in a faint silver glow. "How many hostiles?"
"At least twenty cultists. And..." Daisuke swallowed hard. "Five civilians hooked up to IVs."
Ryujin didn't slow his pace. "Then we move fast. Nakato—you're on point."
Nakato's flames flickered to life in his palms, casting long shadows across the tunnel. The fire felt different now—not just an extension of his anger, but something sharper. More precise. Like it was waiting for his command.
They rounded a corner and froze.
The tunnel opened into a cavernous space that had once been a maintenance hub. Now, it looked like a nightmare operating theater. Five hospital gurneys stood in a semicircle, each holding a thrashing figure connected to IV bags filled with glowing red serum. Above them, cultists in tattered robes chanted as Dr. Kazuo—his usually pristine lab coat now stained with blood—adjusted a machine pumping vaporized black mist into the air.
Nakato's stomach turned. The mist was the same shade as his flames.
"Initiation at seventy percent," Kazuo called out, checking a monitor. "Prepare the stabilization runes!"
One of the civilians—a young woman no older than Hinako—suddenly arched her back, screaming as her skin began to blacken. Jagged spikes of bone erupted from her shoulders.
Hinako moved before anyone could stop her.
Her daggers flashed silver as she vaulted over a stack of crates, slicing through two cultists before they could react. The chanting turned to shouts of alarm.
"Damn it!" Ryujin lunged after her, his sword cleaving through a third cultist. "Daisuke, barriers! Nakato—stop those transformations!"
Nakato was already running, his flames roaring to life. He skidded to a stop beside the nearest gurney, where a teenage boy convulsed as black veins spread across his face. The IV bag's label made Nakato's blood run cold:
**"PHOENIX SERUM v9.2 - MAZUI BASE STRAIN"**
He yanked out the IV needle and pressed his burning palm to the boy's chest. "Come on... burn clean..."
The black veins recoiled from his flames, retreating back toward the injection site. The boy gasped, his eyes snapping open—human again, but terrified.
Across the room, Hinako fought like a demon, her daggers carving through cultists as she made a beeline for Kazuo. The scientist scrambled backward, shouting orders to his remaining followers.
"Protect the experiment! The Eclipse comes for us all!"
Ryujin cut down two more cultists, but a third managed to slam a rusted pipe into Daisuke's ribs. The tech genius crumpled with a cry, his holographic display flickering out.
Nakato turned to help—
A guttural roar shook the chamber.
The young woman on the center gurney was no longer human. Her body had twisted into something monstrous—half-formed wings jutted from her back, her fingers fused into claws. She turned glowing red eyes toward Nakato and lunged.
He barely dodged, feeling the whoosh of air as her talons grazed his throat. His flames flared instinctively, but pulling his punches now could get him killed.
"Sorry about this," he muttered, then unleashed a controlled burst of fire at her legs.
The creature howled as the flames seared through its unstable flesh, sending it crashing to the ground. It wouldn't hold her long.
Across the room, Hinako had Kazuo pinned against the wall, one dagger at his throat. "Shut it down! Now!"
The scientist laughed, blood trickling from his split lip. "You don't understand! This is evolution! The Eclipse—"
Ryujin's sword suddenly protruded from Kazuo's chest, its tip glistening crimson.
"I've heard enough," Ryujin growled, yanking the blade free as the scientist crumpled.
Hinako stared at him, daggers lowering. "We needed him alive!"
Ryujin didn't answer. He moved to the central console and began smashing controls. The machines powering the serum injections sparked and died.
One by one, the remaining victims stopped convulsing. The black mist dissipated.
Silence fell, broken only by Daisuke's pained breathing as he clutched his ribs.
Nakato extinguished his flames and knelt beside the boy he'd saved. "Hey. You're okay now. What's your name?"
The boy's voice was barely a whisper. "T-Takeshi. They took us from the shelter... said they were testing a cure..."
Nakato's hands curled into fists. He looked up at Ryujin. "How many more labs like this are out there?"
Before Ryujin could answer, the ground trembled. Dust rained from the ceiling as a deep, resonant hum filled the chamber—coming from the tunnel they'd entered through.
Daisuke paled. "That's a Kage Corps containment alarm. They're sealing the tunnels."
Hinako grabbed Kazuo's research drive from the console. "Then we move. Now."
They barely made it twenty meters before the first explosion rocked the tunnel behind them. The Kage Corps wasn't just sealing the area—they were erasing it.
As they ran, Nakato caught Ryujin's grim expression. This wasn't just a cleanup operation. Someone high up wanted this buried.
And Nakato intended to find out why.