Chapter 1: Pull the Trigger

The door to the room burst open.

“I overslept! Why didn’t anyone wake me up!?”

A young man with messy brown hair dashed into the dining room, fumbling with his white shirt as he fought to knot his tie.

“Dammit! Mom!”

There she was—his mother—sitting calmly at the table, reading the morning paper as if the world weren’t ending outside.

“Oh, Hayato. You’re finally wake up. Your father’s already left, by the way,” she said, not even glancing up.

The TV was on in the background, muted, showing footage of the attacks from the day before.

Hayato grabbed his backpack and started shoveling down breakfast at breakneck speed.

“The next train leaves in five minutes. I suggest you run,” his mother said, still completely unfazed.

Hayato nearly choked on his toast when he heard that. He stuffed the rest into his mouth, grabbed his toothbrush, and bolted for the door.

“Thanks, Mom!”

“Be careful! There’ve been more Invader and Dual sightings lately!” she called after him, raising a hand in farewell.

She wasn’t sure if her son even heard her but by then, he was already leave.

“That boy… honestly,” she sighed, returning to her paper.

*****************************************************************************

Hayato sprinted toward the station, his thoughts spinning in chaos. But as crazy as it sounded, he wasn’t worried about being late.

What really bothered him was… people.

“Knew it. Rush hour.”

The trains were jam-packed with office workers and students, shoulder to shoulder.

His breathing grew shallow. Crowded places always overwhelmed him, and living in Tokyo was already bad enough for someone like him.

That’s why he always took the first or last trains of the day. They were the only times he could move freely, without being crushed by the crowd.

Now he was hopping in place to keep up with the flow of passengers, trying not to get trampled.

“Damn it!”

He broke away from the crowd and ran for the exit. Time for Plan B.

Outside Kamagome Station, Hayato swiped his Seikatsu High School student card to unlock an electric rental bike.

The stands, run by the American company Liberty, had spread all over the city. For years they’d been trying to grow their presence in Japan—a country stubbornly resistant to foreign corporations—and now Liberty was everywhere: in bike rentals, traffic ads, even the city’s defense systems.

The bike’s motor hummed softly as he pedaled. The wind brushed his face, and the endless noise of Tokyo reminded him that this city never slept.

Every traffic light, every intersection… it all seemed to be under Liberty’s watchful eye—always one step ahead, always ready for the next threat.

“Duals, huh…” Hayato muttered as he waited at a red light.

His gaze drifted to a massive 3D billboard flickering atop a building, some kind of Liberty military propaganda.

“Protecting Humanity.”

“Sounds a bit dramatic…” he said under his breath.

“I get that Invaders are dangerous, but Duals… couldn’t humanity benefit from people like that? From humans with powers?”

“Are Duals really as bad as Liberty says they are?”

The light for the bike lane turned green, and Hayato continued on his way, lost in thought.

Having powers sounded cool—like something out of a manga hero’s origin story—but being hunted by Liberty like a criminal? Not so much.

Then, a sharp, high-pitched whir filled the air, like massive turbines cutting through the sky.

“What’s that sound?” he murmured, looking up. “Jet fighters?”

A moment later, the anti-Invader alarm blared across the streets, and his phone began to vibrate violently in his pocket.

“An attack? In the middle of the city?”

People began running in panic, scattering in every direction as they searched for shelter in buildings and alleys. Cars were left abandoned, and all buildings raised shimmering energy barriers around them. Keeping citizens out of danger

Hayato desperately searched for somewhere—anywhere—safe. The wind that whipped through the gaps between skyscrapers stung his face, and his heart pounded violently in his chest.

A sharp whistle sliced through the air—followed by a wave of heat from a nearby explosion that slammed into him like a tidal surge.

A Liberty missile had struck close by, hurling shrapnel and debris in every direction. The blast threw Hayato several meters through the air before he crashed against an overturned car.

Smoke and dust swallowed everything. The stench of burnt metal and gunpowder filled his lungs, making him cough.

Dazed, with a cut on his forehead tracing a thin line of blood down his face, he pressed his hand against the hood of the car and struggled to stand.

His heart was still pounding as alarms and sirens wailed across the city.

When he looked up, he saw them—soldiers soaring at high speed through the air, engaged in combat against what looked like… a girl.

He tried to get up again, only to collapse. That’s when he saw it—the blood spreading across his chest. The shrapnel had hit him.

“Tch… pathetic. You really are hopeless, huh?”

“Who said that?” he muttered, his throat burning from the pain.

He squinted through the haze, and then he saw her, the target of the soldiers’ attacks. A young woman with golden hair, radiant armor, and pure white wings.

“Is that… an angel? Am I… dying?”

For a brief moment, their eyes met.

“Pathetic,” said the mocking voice in his head. “You’re about to die, and yet you’re thinking about protecting that girl.”

“That voice again…” he whispered.

The world was spinning. The air grew heavier with every breath. Deep down, he knew he wouldn’t survive this.

“Pull the trigger… and let me take control…”

“Trigger…? Control…?” His voice faded with every word. “What are you talking about…?”

Almost without thinking, his trembling hand lifted—his fingers curling as if gripping an invisible gun.

“Fire!”

His fingers squeezed the imaginary trigger and, in that instant, his body collapsed onto the cold asphalt.

His heart thundered one last time, a deep pulse echoing from the depths of his being.

A tremor ran through his body and before everything went dark, one final word echoed in his mind…

SHOWTIME!