HIDDEN EFFORTS

The world is still going on as usual.

People lives normally.

But behind it, there are people who sacrificed their lives to make it happen.

...And that is their job on a regular basis.

________________________________________________

Place : Tokyo, Japan

Year : 2017

The sky stretched beautifully that afternoon. Soft sunlight poured over the buildings, giving the city a warm, calm glow.

The hum of traffic and the occasional honk echoed through the streets, blending into the busy rhythm of the metropolis.

On one sidewalk, footsteps kept marching on—endless and constant.

It was slightly crowded here, but even so, people still followed the rules and general manners.

"O-Ouch..."

A group of soldiers in gray uniforms walked along, chatting casually. Their silver badges glinted in the light.

"Huh..?"

"Aren’t Volt-immune like us supposed to be immune to electricity?" Naoya asked, stepping into the conversation.

"Sob..." 

Earlier, Naoya had tried to wake up his teammate Komaki—this girl.

Not in a normal way, he instead used a self defense stun gadget on her.

Now, the poor girl was still groaning, rubbing the spot where she was zapped.

"But you zapped me on the hip!"

"It didn’t hurt, but it’s still numb! Right, Jusei??"

"...You’re hard to wake up anyway," said another teammate, Jusei, adjusting his sunglasses.

…

Snap!  Out of nowhere, a sneaky hand flicked the back of Komaki’s head.

"O-Ow!!"

"Chitose!! What’s your problem!?" Komaki yelped, clutching her head and stopped walking.

"Hehe..."

"Your scream echoed all the way to the restroom, you know!" said Chitose, the blonde girl from earlier—also part of their squad.

Komaki turned her head resignedly, clearly not amused.

They kept walking, slipping past the other pedestrians.

...

The group came to a stop.

They paused in the middle of a famous crosswalk

Shibuya Crossing—Known for 'the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world.'

Here, thousands pass through every minute.

"Alright, I’m heading out first!" Chitose suddenly walks away, ahead of them.

"...Hmph."

"I bet she’s leaving her patrol zone again," said Komaki.

"For what?" Jusei asked, raising a brow.

"Mmm..." Komaki smiled mischievously and held up a finger.

"To go shooopping! What else?"

"Sigh... I know you did the same thing a few times."

"If anything happens, Jusei and I aren’t taking responsibility," Naoya said, and Jurei nodded.

"I-I am not..!?"

"I-I swear, i never leave my patrol zone, unless I really have to!!" Komaki sounded annoyed—clearly upset at the accusation.

"We did notice! Don't you think we didn't..." Naoya replied dryly.

beep, beep. Jusei checked his watch.

"Yeah... whatever."

"I’m out." He turned and walked off. Looked like he didn’t want to waste time.

"Damn..."

“Komaki?” Naoya turned to the girl, thinking she was still there.

"Aren’t you going to—"

step, step… Komaki had already walked off. That girl really got irritated easily.

Naoya felt a bit bad—but quickly shook it off.

"...Whatever. I should start my patrol too."

He took a deep breath, then began to walk.

...

* * *

It was really crowded.

Conversations, laughter, even the occasional child crying—all blending into a chaotic hum.

Naoya pushed his way through the crowd, trying to reach one of the four directions of the crossing. The crowd forced him to take small steps.

Rustle... He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, then slid across the screen.

Tap. A navigation app opened, showing exactly where he was—Shibuya Crossing walk.

Tap. He tapped a tab, showing his to-do list.

"Check in at the patrol station"

"Ugh, what a pain…" Naoya groaned.

...

* * *

A little while later...

beep, beep! 

"Have a great day!" chirped the scanner as Naoya clocked in with his fingerprint.

"T-This place is really messy... this must be the work of the person before my shift, damn that guy..."

Empty soda cans everywhere. A messy desk. Overflowing trash.

This place looked more like a wrecked ship than a guard station.

"...I’ll clean it after patrol," Naoya muttered.

He stepped out and closed the door.

...

The guy eventually went outside

"Hmm… first task-"

"Hoooahm..! " He yawned.

“...Check areas with high potential for pentagrams."

Naoya began his patrol. He walked along the sidewalk, scanning for anything odd.

"Those places..."
He tucked his phone away.

"Of course I already know them by heart."

He continued walking, heading somewhere specific.

...

* * *

"Here we are."

Naoya arrived at a narrow alley, tucked between buildings.

It was dark, gloomy, and far from the busy street.

A perfect spot to hide something.

Dark and hidden spots like this one... Naoya thought.

He looked around... nothing strange.

Some trash cans. Wet moss on the walls. A few stray cats.

Just your average shady alley.

"Huh…"

"All clear… on to the next spot."

Naoya kept moving, searching through other hidden alleys.

"…All clear."

Everytime confirming one alley was safe, he moved on to the next.

"...This one’s fine too..."

He was thorough—making sure not to miss anything.

"Nothing weird."

"Sigh…"

He didn’t find anything. Oddly, it felt like he was hoping not to find what he was looking for.

"Alright! All clear."

Naoya was just about to step away, until he noticed...

Bzzz…

...

The place was suddenly filled with flies.

A foul smell hit the young man's nose.

sniff, sniff.

"This…"

Naoya’s face tensed. He knew this wasn’t just a normal bad smell.

The flies were swarming around a trash bin.

step... step… He slowly approached.

...

"U-Ughh..!"

What's with this smell...!?  He was shocked inside.

Creaaak… He opened the lid.

"U-Uhh..!"

...

A black, skull-shaped candle was inside the trash bin—lit and burning.

Beside it… a strange tray filled with dark red liquid.

It was... blood.

That disgusting smell was coming from the burning black candle.

Shit! 

T-They’re close by..!  Naoya’s expression changed completely. 

Panic. Fear. Shock—all mixed together.

Naoya backed away, still processing what he saw.

But just as he turned around—

WHOOSH..!!

...

A blade came at him—almost touched his face.

A slash aimed to split his skull in two.

"...H-H!" Naoya staggered.

The surprise attack left him stunned.

…

CLANG!!

But instead of a kill, the metal clashes violently with another metal.

The sword didn’t hit—it was blocked by the back of Naoya’s hand.

Thanks to his quick reflexes and the metal plates on his gloves, he managed to stop the strike.

Scrrrrrch..!! Although it didn’t kill him—but it did knock him several meters back.

"G-Gah..!"

"Ugh…" Naoya tried to stand. His body wobbled. "D-Dammit..."

step, step!  The attacker charged forward—swinging again, straight for his neck.

…

Naoya’s mind went blank. Eyes wide.

No time to breathe.

But his body moved on its own.

Shiiing! In a flash, he pulled out his own sword and held it up.

Swoosh—!

—CLANG!!

…

The two blades clashed—sharp and fierce.

"Ergh..!"

They pushed against each other, the sound of grinding steel slicing the air.

SHHHRK—!

—CLANG!!

They broke apart—then slashed again and again.

Swoosh—!
CLASH!!!

"Ergh..!"

Whoosh—! Swiiish—!

Naoya dodged two quick attacks.

Whoosh—

—CLANG!! On the last strike, their blades locked again—hands trembling under the pressure.

Naoya noticed the attacker’s outfit.

A cultist cloak. A weird mask. A pentagram symbol.

S-Satanist..! This is bad!!  Naoya finally realized.

They stayed locked for a moment.

Naoya’s face was tense, sweat dripping.

“Tch..!” But he wasn’t done yet.

Slowly, his left thumb reached for a tiny switch on his right glove—click!

bzzzzz…. beep, beep—beep, beep—

—ZAAAAP!!! His glove powered up, surging with electricity.

The young man quickly tightened his grip.

...ZZRCCCCHH!! The electric shock runs down the blade—lighting it up with a bright blue spark.

He tried to pass that shock through into the enemy’s weapon.

The cultist didn’t flinch. The lightning didn’t travel into their blade.

W-What!?  Naoya was slightly surprised.

It should’ve worked.

But… it wasn't.

Shing...! He redirects the cultist's sword—creating an opening.

Quickly, he turned around and swung his legs.

THUD—!  The kick sent the cultist crashing to the ground.

His glove flared up again—his sword glowing blue once more.

Take this..! Naoya didn’t hesitate—he slashed down.

The cultist moved his hand—almost like he could control things from afar.

PRSHH..!! Naoya’s swing was stopped—by a flying pile of trash.

"Gah..!"

Step, step, step—!  The cultist charged forward again—accompanied by his blade's slash.

Whoosh—!

"H, h—"

Whip—SWIIISH!

"—Uhh..!"

Naoya dodged just in time—eyes wide.

Another swing came.

(—CLANG!!)

Naoya stopped it. His face tensed—he was thinking hard.

H-How..!? That lightning should’ve worked!

Shrrreeeee..!  Their blades stayed locked again. Hands shaking.

...

Naoya scanned the attacker head to toe. The sword, the clothes, the movements.

He missed nothing.

The thing is... electricity won’t flow through that blade. 

Their sword... that’s not what they usually use...

His eyes widened—realization hit.

O-Oh..! The man finally knew what he had to do.

“...Euureeeeeerghhh…!”

He pushed the cultist’s blade. The attacker was dragged back.

“Ekh—!?”

Even through the mask, panic was clear in his voice.

Naoya kept pushing forward—he was planning something.

SWEEP—THUD!! Naoya swept the cultist's leg, causing him to fall down.

STOMP!!

Naoya gave no pause—he stomped on the enemy’s chest with force.

"G-GAAHGH!!!"

The cultist thrashed. His body was being squeezed hard.

He tried swinging his sword, but...

Bzzzzzt—ZRAAAKK!!

"AAARRRGHH..!!!" His body convulsed violently. The electricity tore through him.

Turns out, Naoya’s boots could generate electric shocks too.

"E—Egh…" The cultist lay limp—barely moving now.

"…" Naoya raised his sword high—ready to strike the final blow.

In the shadows, with half his face hidden, he looked almost like the villain now.

Only his twisted grin showed under the dim light.

"Nnghh…"

The cultist was still awake. His hand trembled, reaching for his sword.

...

He... couldn’t grab it.

The silence turned heavy. He was helpless.

Naoya powered up the blade again—crackling blue.

The hungry metal was ready to strike.

"Heh…"

…

SWOOSH—!

That final swing—was the last thing the cultist ever saw.

* * *