Chapter 13: The Scourge Awakens

The wind over Neo-Tokyo’s rooftops carried a scent of electric storms, a pulse of rebellion stirring in the air.
For two weeks, the Shiratori Defense Wing had pushed back raids by rogue pilots, stabilizing trade routes and protecting emergency convoys. But every night, the messages kept coming:
> We will reclaim the sky.Black Nova will rise.


One name began to surface among those messages — a name from the deepest rot of the League’s former ranks: Shigure Tenma, once Kaede’s rival, now the leader of Black Nova’s rogue fleet.

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The Challenge
It was late in the hangar when Valkyrie showed the intercepted footage.
Tenma stood tall in Black Nova’s crimson flight armor, a smile like a wolf.
> “Yuto Shiratori. You think you freed the sky? No. You only made it ours to conquer. Come face me. If you dare.”


The team went still.
Jun scowled. “Shigure Tenma… Kaede once beat him in the qualifiers. He swore revenge, even back then.”
Yuto’s eyes narrowed. “So he survived.”
Riku slammed a wrench on the table. “He’s provoking you, Yuto. Wants a one-on-one.”
Yuto’s pulse thrummed. “Maybe. But he’s the head of this entire revolt. If I can stop him…”
Sora nodded. “It might break Black Nova’s momentum.”
Coach Amano stepped forward, a steely look in his eyes. “Then you’ll have to be better than ever. Because Tenma… he’ll kill you if he can.”

---
Preparations
That night, Yuto barely slept.
He ran drills with Coach Amano, slicing the sky until dawn painted the clouds gold.
Trust the wind. Trust yourself.
Kaede’s words rang louder than ever.
Valkyrie patched in data on Tenma’s new machine — the Vermilion Reaper, a terrifying hybrid glider with anti-EMP shielding and remote drone wings.
“He fights like a demon,” she warned. “You’ll need to adapt.”
Yuto studied every frame of Tenma’s flying style, memorizing his moves.
He thinks I’m the same as before, Yuto thought. But I’ve grown.

---
The Showdown
Tenma chose the ruins of the League’s old stadium for the duel, surrounded by shattered billboards and half-broken floodlights.
A full crowd gathered — pilots, engineers, even civilians who’d come to see the match that might decide their skies.
Yuto arrived with his team at his side.
Riku squeezed his shoulder. “We’re with you. Always.”
Sora held out a comm chip. “Encrypted channel. We’ll guide you if you need backup.”
Yuto smiled. “I’ll finish this.”

---
Opening Salvo
As the race beacon flared, Tenma launched from the stadium’s roof in a roaring burst of red afterburners.
His Vermilion Reaper streaked past the floodlights, slashing the air with insane velocity.
Yuto banked hard, following close, sensors scanning for weaknesses.
Tenma’s voice crackled over a public channel.
> “Kaede was weak, Yuto! You carry his broken dream!”


Yuto forced the words down, controlling his breath.
> “Kaede flew free. You never understood that.”


They broke into a vertical climb, Tenma peppering Yuto’s path with micro-missile traps, each one exploding like a sunburst.
Yuto spun, using the turbulence to slingshot himself higher.
Trust the pressure. Become part of the storm.
He charged back down, cutting between the missile trails and nearly clipping Tenma’s tail fins.

---
Dancing with the Devil
For twelve brutal laps they fought through the crumbling towers of the stadium, weaving through rebar skeletons and collapsing billboards.
Tenma’s moves were wild, unpredictable, a blend of pure rage and mechanical precision.
But Yuto found a rhythm.
His left dive is weaker, he realized. He compensates too late.
He waited, letting Tenma think he was retreating, then banked into a perfect hammerhead turn, slamming the White Comet past Tenma’s left side, scoring a clean shot that sent sparks flying from the Reaper’s wing.
Tenma roared in fury, spinning out but regaining control.
> “You won’t beat me like you beat the League!”


> “I’m not beating you,” Yuto answered. “I’m freeing you!”



---
Final Clash
On the final lap, Tenma tried a desperate move — a high-velocity vertical dive straight at Yuto, cannons hot.
But Yuto had trained for this moment every night since Kaede died.
He flipped his glider inverted, matched Tenma’s dive vector for vector, then rolled sideways and slid into a perfect slipstream that reversed their positions.
Tenma’s eyes widened in shock as Yuto’s lock-on chirped green.
Goodbye, Tenma.
Yuto fired a magnetic disabling pulse, frying Tenma’s controls and forcing him into a safe auto-eject sequence.
The Vermilion Reaper spiraled down, its red glow fading.

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Victory
Silence swept the stadium as Yuto banked above, glider steady and strong.
Crowds erupted in cheers.
Coach Amano’s voice trembled over the comm. “You did it, kid.”
Riku and Sora whooped through the speakers.
Jun simply smiled, proud.
Valkyrie’s voice crackled in. “The Scourge of Heaven just lost their king.”
Yuto exhaled, tears stinging his eyes.
Kaede, we’re free.
He turned one last circle around the broken stadium, then soared into the endless blue.



End of Chapter 13