Chapter 34 protocol : Rising Thunder

The blare of the alarm echoed through the metallic halls of Guild Tour, its shrill cry cutting through the air like a knife. Lights strobed red in every corridor, casting long shadows across armored walls and steel walkways.

> [SYSTEM ALERT: RIFT DETECTED. CLASS–B RIFT BREACH IMMINENT.]

Inside the hangar, chaos turned into order. The guild known as Rising Thunder assembled, ten executioners moving with mechanical precision. Technicians strapped on their suits, monitors displayed rift coordinates, and weapons shimmered into existence—digital constructs forged from the Execution Code.

Among them was David, tall and calm, his suit laced with white streaks of lightning that sparked whenever he flexed his hands. Unlike the others, his code pulsed violently, carrying within it the raw charge of a storm. His weapon—a binary blade of white light—hung at his side like the fang of a god.

“Target?” David asked, tightening the gauntlets of his suit.

“Blue giant. Ice-class manifestation. Already breached the rift,” a handler barked from the comm-line. “You’ll be engaging in the city. Estimated casualty zone: high.”

The guild piled into their hovercraft, engines roaring. The craft burst into the night sky, neon-lit skyscrapers stretching beneath them. But the alarm was already late—the rift had birthed something too fast, too strong.

Below, screams cut the city streets.

The monster had already arrived.

From the rift’s glow lumbered a colossus of blue ice, crystalline skin glimmering under city lights. Its body radiated cold mist, and when it roared, a blizzard spilled from its jaws like dragon’s fire. Buildings cracked, windows shattered, and entire streets froze solid in an instant.

“Deploy!” David commanded.

The hovercraft bay opened, and the ten members of Rising Thunder leapt into the fray, binary weapons igniting. Swords, spears, and rifles shimmered with coded energy as they struck at the giant’s legs. Sparks of fire, bursts of force, and coded projectiles lit the battlefield like fireworks.

But the titan was merciless.

It swung an arm, smashing through two buildings at once. A single backhand sent one executioner flying into a frozen skyscraper, blood painting the shattered glass. Another was caught in its icy breath—the scream died as their body froze, turning brittle before collapsing into fragments.

“Two down already! Hold the line!” someone shouted.

David shot forward, lightning sparking across his body. His binary sword extended into a streak of white light, cutting across the giant’s shin. The ice cracked, shards flying, but the beast retaliated with a crushing stomp that sent shockwaves through the city block.

“Focus fire!” David barked. “Keep it distracted!”

The others obeyed, their coded weapons striking, though weaker, barely chipping its armor. Binary flames flickered against its frozen skin, leaving scorch marks that refroze instantly.

The titan opened its maw again.

“Brace—!”

A torrent of freezing wind engulfed the executioners. Walls of ice rose, spikes formed mid-air, and the city transformed into a frozen wasteland. One of the weaker members was skewered instantly, lifeless before they hit the ground.

David’s eyes narrowed. He wouldn’t let it go further.

“—Execution Code: White Lightning.”

The sky answered his call. From the clouds above, bolts of lightning crashed down, chaining themselves into his body. Energy surged through his blade until it hummed like a god’s weapon. In a flash, he leapt—blinding speed—scaling the titan’s body.

“Cut apart!”

He slashed across its chest. White arcs split the giant in two, lightning exploding outward. The titan shrieked as cracks splintered through its icy frame, glowing brighter, before its body shattered in a final burst of shards and frost.

Silence fell. Only the sound of David’s blade humming faintly remained.

The survivors—seven left, bloodied, breathing hard—stared at him with awe.

High above, two silhouettes observed from the rooftop of a ruined skyscraper.

Joe and Sasha—among the first three Executioners ever created—watched without speaking for a long moment. Joe’s eyes tracked David as he sheathed his binary blade.

“He’s strong,” Sasha said finally, voice quiet. “But still raw. Reckless.”

Joe smirked. “Stronger than most of the new generation. If Death Protocol thinks this is enough to hold back what’s coming, though…” His voice trailed, dark and heavy.

They turned their gaze toward the rift, its lingering glow still pulsing in the distance.

Hours later, within the chambers of the Shadow Council, the atmosphere was tense. Holographic figures sat around the black table, their faces obscured by static.

“The rifts are opening too frequently,” one councilor growled. “That was a Class-B, and it nearly wiped half the guild.”

“David prevailed,” another countered. “He is proof the system works.”

“And yet,” came the cold voice of one member, his mask reflecting faint blue light, “when the Demon King arrives, even David’s lightning won’t be enough. Nor Riven’s strength. We are out of time.”

The chamber went still. They all knew it.

If Riven wasn’t strong enough when the Demon King came through… humanity would end.

“Then we tell him the truth,” another voice cut in, projected through the feed. “Everything. Who we are. Where the system came from. Why the rifts exist.”

Murmurs filled the council. It was a decision they had resisted for years. But the tide was shifting—Raven’s distrust grew every day, and the rifts were no longer containable.

Night. The city was quiet, though scarred by the day’s battle. Riven sat alone on the edge of a rooftop, legs dangling, eyes fixed on the rift’s faint glow still shimmering far away.

The battle earlier wasn’t his. But the message was clear: the breaches were worsening.

He clenched his fists.

“If I can’t trust them,” he whispered to himself, “then I’ll find the truth myself. Whatever’s hiding inside those rifts…”

His eyes narrowed, resolve hardening.

“…the answers lie there.”

The wind carried his words into silence.