Chapter 13: Journey to Paradise

Kuronami-jima.

An isolated island east of Japan—abandoned completely since the First Ground Wave ten years ago. No human was permitted to enter. A land cursed with names: The Forsaken Island, The First Gate of Hell, City of Souls.

The sky above Kuronami-jima was always gray.

Not dark like night.
Not bright like day.
Just a hollow, lifeless shade stretching endlessly, as if emotion itself had been drained from the heavens.

Clouds drifted slowly, unnaturally—almost as if something heavy pinned them down behind the horizon.

Occasionally, thin streaks of blue-purple light cracked across the air.

As though the sky itself was breaking.

There was never thunder.
Only flashes—forming, swelling, then sealing shut again.

Like the island was blinking.

The VTOL descended into this forbidden sky.

And once they stepped out—

They were greeted by the stench of burnt dust, scorched metal, and something indescribable…
A scent that felt like a dying city mixed with a forest wounded by violent magic.

It made the chest tighten with every breath.

The surrounding forest held no green.
Every trunk was wilted and blackened like charcoal—yet strangely unbroken.
Whenever the wind blew, the dead leaves rustled like thousands of tiny hands waving.

Somewhere deeper inside, a low, resonant growl rumbled.

Something too large was holding its breath.

There were no birds here.
No insects.
No living wildlife.

Only silence.

A silence that threatened anyone foolish enough to break it.

Kamito stepped forward, his eyes scanning the ruins.

“So this is the city that was once beautiful… ten years ago?”

Airi moved her flashlight across the dark forest merging into shattered buildings.

“Now it’s nothing but a dead city.”

Mikoto looked up at the skyline—twisted, cracked, burned, collapsed.

“Fifty thousand people used to live in this city. Now… it’s a ghost town. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

She wasn’t wrong.

They stood before an urban landscape that shouldn’t exist on an abandoned island:

Towering skyscrapers
Six-lane highways
Suspended railway tracks
Street lights still hanging, swaying in the cold wind—

A dark, hollow replica of Tokyo.

Burned scars covered the roads.
Some buildings had collapsed at angles that no earthquake could cause.
Shattered glass littered the ground like remnants of frozen time.
Electronic billboards flickered weakly, even without power.

Then—
A sound.

Distant.
Echoing.
Wrong.

A scream from the past.

In this dead city, sound itself was dangerous.

A faint step echoed from a nearby alley.
But when they checked—the alley was empty.

The pedestrian light suddenly turned green.

No one crossed.

Kamito jolted in fear and hid behind Mikoto.

“Kamito-kun, are you afraid of ghosts?”

“W-What if I am?!”

Airi leaned closer, making a mock-scary face.

“Boo.”

“Airi-san, please stop—! I can’t take this!”

Then—

A metallic clang.
A falling can.

All of them flinched—
Even Mikoto jerked back and instinctively grabbed Kamito's arm.

Airi immediately scowled.

“Hey—you're too close to him.”

“S-Sorry… I panicked.”

Kamito looked at Mikoto.

“Mikoto-chan… you’re scared too, aren’t you?”

She fell silent, face flushing with embarrassed denial.

Sera, however, remained calm—her voice steady, cold, and painfully real.

“These aren’t illusions. These are the souls who never found peace. Souls who died instantly during the Ground Wave. Souls reliving their last routine. This city… is a metropolitan grave that was never buried.”

The weight of her words silenced them all.

And above the rooftops, something massive watched.

Eyes glowing red.
Smoke-like breath curling in the wind.
Waiting.

They reached the central district when—

DAAAAAASH.

A colossal shadow crashed into view.

A massive beast emerged—its form impossibly large, its scales black-silver, its ox-like head adorned with iron horns, eyes burning bright crimson.

The ruler of this island.

Gouma Gyuryū.

It roared—shaking the ground beneath their feet.

Sera drew her katana.

“Everyone—battle positions!”

Airi reacted first.

“<Bullet>!”
“<Rampage>!”

Twin pistols flared with magic as she fired rapid volleys—
but the bullets bounced uselessly off its armored hide.

Mikoto slammed her staff into the ground.

“<Lance Spear>!”

A massive spear of solid mana shot upward—striking the monster’s chest.

No damage.

Sera switched from guns to her katana, slicing with full force.

Sparks.
No wound.

Kamito rushed forward and unsheathed Ark.

Even Ark’s blade could not pierce the monster.

“Kamito—tell your friends we need to retreat!” Ark warned.
“This creature is beyond dangerous. I can’t even locate a weak point!”

Hearing that, Kamito shouted:

“Everyone! Fall back! NOW—!”

But Gouma Gyuryū slammed its massive body into a building—
sending rubble crashing down between them.

The team was violently split:

Mikoto and Airi trapped on one side,
Kamito and Sera on the other.

The beast focused on Kamito and Sera, chasing them relentlessly.

They sprinted through a ruined avenue when—

Sera stumbled.

She aimed her pistol, firing hopeless shots even knowing they were futile.

She closed her eyes, ready for death—

SLAAAAASH!

Kamito appeared in front of her, blade flashing with explosive force.
His strike didn’t wound the monster, but it sent the creature skidding backward just enough.

He grabbed Sera’s hand.

“Come on! We’re getting out of here!”

For a moment, Sera froze.

The way he pulled her—
It reminded her of that night, long ago—
when her mother held her hand while running from the monsters.

She tightened her grip and ran with him.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the ruins—

Mikoto stared at the sky, gripping her Lance Spear tightly.

“I hope… those two are alright…”

Airi beside her reloaded her pistols, jaw clenched.

The hunt had only begun.

And Gouma Gyuryū’s roar shook the entire dead city.