CHAPTER 5 — OPERATION: HIVE

The storm above New Tokyo raged as the VTOL transports descended through the clouds, their engines roaring against the thunder.
Floodlights pierced the darkness, illuminating the ruins of Old Tokyo below — a wasteland of shattered rails, collapsed tunnels, and toxic mist.

Over the comms, voices broke through the static:

“This is Alpha Team — touchdown complete. We’re secure. Over.”
“Bravo Team here. Landed successfully at the designated point. Over.”
“Delta reporting: no activity in sight, no adventurer movement detected. You are cleared to engage at will. Over.”
“Charlie Team standing by. We’ve set up overwatch positions to support your advance. Over.”

A brief silence followed, then a steady voice came through — sharp, commanding, and calm.

“Solid copy, all teams. This is Captain Sena Aranai. Prepare to enter the Dungeon. Maintain formation and stay sharp. Over.”

“Yes, Captain!” came the synchronized response through the headsets.

Moments later, Alpha and Bravo moved into the heart of the underground.
Their boots splashed through shallow, oily water as beams of light cut across the ruined subway tunnels.

The first burst of automatic fire shattered the silence.

“Contact! Multiple Spider Beasts, twelve o’clock!”

RATATATATAT!

Gunfire echoed violently as Captain Sena led her squad forward, her black-and-red armor reflecting the muzzle flashes.
Her precision was absolute — each burst from her rifle cut down another Spider Beast, their bodies convulsing before turning into black ash.

Meanwhile, Bravo Team held their ground at the far end of the tunnel, facing down a Lava Beast crawling from the cracks in the floor.
The creature’s molten body glowed crimson as bullets tore through its surface, splattering liquid fire across the walls.

“Bravo here — target suppressed! Setting C4 on the central pillars now!”
“Copy that,” Sena replied. “Alpha reporting — Spider Beasts eliminated. Proceed to Phase Two.”

As her team advanced deeper into the Dungeon, Sena’s scanner pinged repeatedly.
Heat signatures.
Too many.

She raised a fist. “Hold position.”

The soldiers froze.
Their flashlights panned across the tunnel — and what they saw made every one of them stop breathing.

Dozens of adventurers — women — hung from the ceiling, wrapped tightly in webbing.
Some were still moving weakly. Others were motionless.

“By the gods…” one soldier muttered.

Sena’s eyes hardened behind her visor.
“Get them down. Now.”

Knives sliced through the webs. Some of the captives gasped for air, others cried weakly, their voices raw and broken.
But when the cocoon nearest Sena was cut open — the soldier froze.

The woman inside was long dead. Her body pale, hollow, as if drained of life.

Sena clenched her jaw. “...We were too late.”

Still, her squad worked quickly, freeing the survivors. Two women in particular caught her attention — an Elf with emerald hair, and a young healer clutching a broken staff.

Sena knelt beside them, checking their vitals.

“Names?” she asked gently.

The elf opened her mouth weakly. “W... Wanda...”

The other, barely conscious, whispered, “A... Ayano...”

Sena looked up sharply. “These names are on the missing reports. We’re bringing them back.”

Nearby, another soldier called out. “Captain! We found one more — alive, but barely. She’s human.”

Sena hurried over. The third survivor was pale and skeletal, her eyes sunken but still flickering with faint life.
A nameplate hung loosely around her neck: Mitsuki.

“She’s been missing for a month,” Sena murmured. “Get her to medical immediately. I want all of them stabilized and evacuated.”

As medics began carrying the survivors toward the exit, Sena turned toward the heart of the Dungeon.
Her eyes narrowed.

“Plant the final C4 charges,” she ordered coldly.
“This place ends tonight.”

Her soldiers obeyed. One by one, the explosives were armed — blinking red lights reflecting off the wet tunnel walls.

Sena stepped back, watching the timer begin its final countdown.

“I won’t let you monsters crawl out of this hell ever again.”

She turned her back, signaling the retreat.

“All teams, fall back. Detonation in T-minus fifteen seconds.”

They cleared the tunnel just as the explosion tore through the underground.

BOOOOOOM!

A shockwave rippled through the earth. Flames burst from the station’s cracks, and the entire Dungeon collapsed in a thunderous roar.

Dust and smoke rose into the sky, visible even from the upper levels of New Tokyo.

The mission was over.
Or so they thought.

Hours later, in a military transport, medics worked frantically over the rescued survivors.
Wanda and Ayano remained unconscious but stable.
Mitsuki, however, lay silent under a blanket, her body trembling with fever.

None of them noticed the faint black mist seeping from her veins—
or the way her eyes twitched open for a brief second, glowing faintly red.

High above, on a nearby rooftop, a figure stood watching the aftermath through the scope of a rifle.
The night wind whipped his coat as he lowered the weapon.

Kohaku — The Revenant — silently observed the evacuation.

He adjusted the cracked white mask in his hand, eyes narrowing beneath his messy black hair.

“A Carriers…” he muttered under his breath. “They brought one out.”

He looked down toward the convoys leaving Old Tokyo, his expression unreadable.

“Better to stop it now… than wait for another disaster.”

Sliding the mask back over his face, he vanished into the darkness of the rooftops,
his red eyes glowing faintly through the rain.

The Revenant was on the move once more.