Chapter 36 protocol : Enemies or Allies

The council’s summons had shaken the Executioner world.

In the heart of the city, within a coliseum-like chamber built for war councils and announcements, hundreds of Executioners gathered. The hall stretched high, lined with banners of binary fire stitched into black cloth. The hum of voices was restless, confused, even resentful. The seats closest to the dais were filled with the highest-ranking Executioners, while the lower tiers carried those barely above the B-rank cutoff.

The absence of the lower ranks created tension in itself. It felt like secrets were being kept, and everyone knew it.

Cigar stood at the center stage, towering and calm, his voice carrying weight that silenced the crowd.

“Executioners of Death Protocol,” he began, his tone sharp but strangely warm, “your presence here is not just a matter of order, but survival. Listen carefully, for today you will see the future of our path.”

The crowd murmured. Survival? Future?

Then the doors at the end of the chamber opened.

Three figures stepped forward.

A girl, no older than sixteen, walked first. She had pale white hair cut short, her eyes unnervingly clear as though they could dissect a person’s soul. A faint digital aura shimmered around her shoulders — her Code was awake even in stillness.

Two boys followed. The first was broad-shouldered, his jaw tight, carrying himself like a soldier who’d been fighting all his life. The second looked almost fragile, slight of frame, his gaze detached, lost in thought as if the world around him were only a distraction.

The crowd erupted.

“These are the Council?!” someone shouted from the upper stands.

“They’re children!”

“This has to be a joke—”

Executioners turned to one another in disbelief. The hum became a roar of defiance.

Cigar slammed his boot against the floor. The sound cracked like thunder, silencing the room. His voice boomed:

“Quiet! You dare question the faces of the Council before you’ve heard them speak? These children carry knowledge you cannot even begin to comprehend. Their age is nothing — their power is everything. Listen, and remember your place.”

The girl stepped forward, calm, her voice cutting through the tension.

“Age is irrelevant. What matters is strength. What matters is the will to act. You’re afraid because what you thought you knew about leadership has changed. Good. Fear reminds you that power is not yours to command — it is ours to grant.”

The stadium fell into an uneasy silence.

Meanwhile, far from the hall, the rift tore open above the skies of New York. Its red glow split the heavens like a wound, spilling shadows across the steel and glass towers.

On the shattered street below, Riven stood at the front, his Code pulsing faintly in his veins. He could hear the static hum in the back of his skull, the way it always came before violence.

Joe’s blades circled him like predators — fifteen glowing constructs of binary steel, shifting and cutting the air with lethal precision. Each sword shimmered with a different angle of light, impossible to predict.

Sasha’s threads glowed green, weaving a net across the street, each line humming with the promise of unbreakable capture. Her hands flexed, and the lines twitched like living snakes, tightening their hold on the battlefield.

Riven swallowed, whispering to himself:

“It’s been over two months since the first rift opened… why now? Why attack us now?”

Lucy stepped beside him, her Binary Blade already humming with energy, her eyes sharp and cold despite the fear she tried to bury. “Does it matter why? They’re here. That’s reason enough.”

Kira’s hand tightened on her digital sword, her expression unreadable. Chipper cracked his knuckles, forcing a grin that barely masked his nerves.

Then Joe spoke, his voice low but filled with menace.

“Two months of silence was a gift. You should have used it to run. But you Executioners never learn. You cling to your hope, your little rebellion, as if it could stop what’s coming.”

Sasha’s laugh was colder. “This city is only the beginning. You think yourselves heroes. But you’re nothing but prey being measured for slaughter.”

Before Riven could answer, footsteps echoed across the broken street.

Dozens of figures emerged from the shadows — Executioners, marked by the same cloaks and symbols of Death Protocol. Their presence twisted the air with power. The enemy? Or allies?

Lucy’s grip tightened. “Council’s dogs…”

Riven narrowed his eyes, lifting his hand slightly to keep Kira and Chipper from moving forward.

“They’re not here by accident. The Council sent them.”

Joe smirked, his blades shifting into attack position.

“Then let’s see if they’re here to save you… or bury you.”