The battlefield still reeked of blood and smoke.

  The dust had barely settled, and yet, even in the silence, they all knew—

  this wasn’t over.

  ?

  A distant thrum cut through the air.

  Then another.

  The sound grew louder, sharper, the rhythm unmistakable.

  Rotor bdes.

  From above, the super chopper loomed, slicing through the sky.

  The floodlights cut through the darkness, sweeping across the ruins of the battlefield.

  The Setai insignia gleamed against the metal body, sleek and unyielding.

  Then—

  The doors slid open.

  Samberg stepped out first.

  His coat fluttered in the heavy wind, but his stance was calm, controlled.

  His eyes scanned the battlefield with absolute precision.

  He motioned his squad to move immediately.

  No hesitation.

  No wasted motion.

  The Setai specialists rushed forward, carrying vials of glowing green liquid—health potions.

  “Patch them up first,” Samberg ordered, voice steady.

  Then, his eyes flicked toward the looming figure in the distance.

  Tenzan.

  The air around him cracked as he took another slow step forward.

  ”…But that thing needs to be put down.”

  The Setai worked fast.

  Ren, Yumi, Akira, and Ryuko were given their doses.

  The potion worked almost instantly, sealing wounds, easing the damage—

  but none of them were at full strength.

  Akira was still missing an arm, now only able to use the other at fifty percent.

  Ren still felt the weight of being unched through three buildings.

  The battle had taken everything from them.

  And Watari…

  was still on the rooftop.

  The wind shifted.

  A flicker of mist.

  A ripple in the air.

  Then—

  Hitomi stood before him.

  Watari barely reacted. He was still catching his breath, his body numb. His left eye throbbed, blood seeping through his fingers as he clutched his face. The fight had left him drained—more than drained. Something was off.

  Hitomi said nothing at first. Instead, he tossed a vial toward him. Watari caught it, recognizing the bright glowing green liquid inside. His mind fshed back—Yumi’s wounds after the Shadow Beast fight. He knew what this was.

  “You’ve seen this before, I assume,” Hitomi said simply. “You should know what it does.”

  Watari didn’t drink it immediately. He studied Hitomi instead. Something was different. The Chūkan warrior exhaled, folding his arms.

  “I was given orders to come here—not to fight. I was simply told to deliver a message.” He stepped forward, his gaze sharp. Not cold, but measuring. “Ever since you set foot back here, you’ve been out of alignment.”

  Watari didn’t respond.

  “Almost losing to bck smoke after you’ve fought the white cloud… Even without the Chūkan’s influence, you should be stronger than this.” A pause. Hitomi’s eyes flicked to Watari’s trembling fingers, the blood staining his face, the exhaustion weighing down his frame. “You’re weaker now than you were before. Your Tamashkii is still unsteady.”

  Watari’s jaw tightened.

  “Alignment is everything,” Hitomi continued. “Resonation is everything. Move with intent.”

  The words settled deep. Too deep. They hit a nerve.

  Then—Hitomi vanished. Dissolving into mist, like he had never been there at all.

  Watari exhaled sharply. Then, without another thought, he drank the potion. His boots hit the ground with a soft thud as he rejoined the others.

  Ren gnced at him, immediately noticing the fresh, sealed wounds—but more than that, he noticed the look in Watari’s eye.

  Yumi tilted her head. “…You good?”

  Watari rolled his shoulders. “Better than before. What’s the sitch?”

  “We can’t cut it, and it’s as if all of our attacks are doing no damage.”

  Watari gave a small grin. “So basically just another day in the life of a Tamashkii user.”

  The moment of respite sted only a second.

  Then—the vibration. A deep, guttural tremor. A sound that came from beneath the earth itself. The ground felt wrong. The sky felt wrong. The weight in the air changed.

  Ren’s stance stiffened. “…What was that?”

  Then, Tenzan took a step forward.

  The ground beneath him splintered. The fire still clung to his body—burning, yet ignored. His hulking form loomed over them all, and with each step, the battlefield cracked beneath his weight.

  Yumi’s breath caught in her throat.

  Tenzan wasn’t slowing down.

  The moment of recovery was over.

  CUT TO BLACK.