Chapter 2 - Almost There

The staging yard smelled like metal and boiled rice. The two of them stand on top of a large wall, staring down at the expansive city block before them encased in a circular wall. Akari stumbled forward barely keeping her balance. “What’s your problem?!” She shouts.

“Shut it. Look.” She shouted, shoving him. Akari’s eyes widened, gleaming with immediate awe as she stared up, and up, and up. Her gaze shot past the clouds and fixed on the structure piercing the heavens. “We’re… in the Amatsu District! The home of the Aether Reservoir of the same name… The thing that powers all of Japan?!” She starts jumping up and down, practically bouncing off the walls in excitement.

“Guess you’ve done your homework. Welcome to Virelia.” the man said with a slight, knowing smile. I’m your instructor, Ryou Kagemura. Is what I'll say to you when you pass. ‘Cause if you don’t, I’m screwed too.”

Screwed? What kind of pressure is he under? Akari mused, but she quickly shook the thought away. Eh… I won’t worry about it. Focus on the goal.

“Anyway, you’re on. I expect big things from you.” Kagemura says, turning around to walk away. “Wait, wait, wait!” Akari scrambled to catch his attention. “If you’re really from Virelia… that means you can help me get a weapon!” He turns back around, a loose hair from the top of his head drooping down. “A… weapon?”

Akari whips out a black notebook, flipping through the pages frantically. “Hehe.. you’re curious, aren’t you? Check THIS out!” She shoves the page in his face, detailing a scythe with multiple mechanical parts, the finer details covered in walls of text meticulously written out. “You see, it-!” Kagemura cut her off, snatching the notebook from her hands and casually pocketing it. “Yeah, I’ll see what I can do or whatever. Just focus on this, alright? Good luck.” He immediately zapped away in a flash of electricity.

…What the heck, that was my diary! What a jerk of a teacher.

Multiple surveillance drones dropped down from the tower and encircled Akari, their red lights bathing her in a hostile glow. “Final contestant, could you please make your way down into the arena? Please jump down.” Without a second thought, Akari obeyed. She leapt off the massive wall, letting the adaptive shock dampers in her boots handle the punishing impact as she landed in the cramped street area. She scanned the narrow corridor of rusted steel and broken concrete.

An intercom flared up, and the voices that struck her ears caught her attention.

“Hello and good morning Japan! Up and at’em because we’ve got something special on our hands! Virelia Academy’s Entrance Exams! This year, they’ve skipped the test and gone for something more physical!” A camera nearby zooms in on the face of a girl with a short bob and a yellow streak in her hair.

“These exams decide the future of the country’s elite, and this year, it seems like things are ramping up! So make sure to Zap that doubt, folks! Because our heroes are going to shine brighter than ever!” The camera shifted to a man with tousled hair and a long blue streak in it.

“This is Lumen, here with Bolt, as we finally start the biggest exams of the year! Out of the millions of applicants, only a couple hundred were accepted! After all, the tower that powers all of Tokyo is located only a stone’s throw away!”

The man named Bolt kicks back, shooting a finger gun at the camera. “That’s right! And we’re gonna break it down for you, nice and easy! You have a 30-minute window, and you’re losing time fast! So in accordance with the Government, here’s what you need to know!”

Lumen and Bolt… Oh, right! Mei loves their show! Akari thought, fighting the urge to wave at the nearest drone.

Simple illustrations plaster the screen as Lumen stands in front in a white and red ribboned dress.

“To fight the rampaging blight, you’ll be taking out as many Blighted as you can! The goal of this test is to reach 100 points! Each tier of Blighted is worth an escalating amount of points. The smaller Blighted delegated as Yoju are one point! Don’t trust any of those animals! Bipedal Kageyo are worth 5 points and… the rest are a surprise?!”

Bolt leaned over, a concerned look creasing his face. “Seriously? Isn’t that kinda dangerous?” Lumen pushed him out of frame with a gust of wind, channeled from her finger tip. “Anyway-!” She strained her voice. “You can steal points from your fellow competitors via Knock Out! So trust no one! You only have 30 minutes! So let’s get this show on the road!”

Across the entire district, a loud buzzer ripped through the air, and the ground started trembling. Almost immediately, explosions and various debris ripped across the skyline.

Whoa! Already?! Alright then, onward!

“Starting off with the favored to win, Heir to the Hayasaka Fortune, Yuto!” A boy in a crisp school jacket with steeled grey eyes and navy hair instantly fired down multiple blighted foes, balls of concentrated water floating behind him. Wolf-like creatures with blackened fur and white eyes surrounded him, snarling and leaking a thick black aura. He closed his eyes, and before the pack could lunge, they were instantly impaled in the brain by thin, high-pressure blasts of water.

“This is absolutely nothing. Too simple for someone of my caliber."

Wet drops patter behind him, a creature of medium stature lurking behind him. A blur rockets towards them and connects with the creature, creating a cloud of dust for Yuto to shield his eyes. The creature fades into nothing, while a girl with a bob and a bandana tied around her head turns around to face him with a smile. She adjusts her dark-brown hair and dusts off her vest and skirt. Her green eyes locked with Yuto’s.

“And there she is! Kana Saito, self-proclaimed protector of Tokyo! A rising star taking the city by storm thanks to her metal powers increasing structural integrity across the city, she’s our very own local celebrity!”

Yuto dusts himself off. “You’ll get no thanks from me, Saito.”

She dramatically rolls her eyes, shrugging his words off.

“I didn’t expect any, you Hayasaka lapdog. But if you get careless again, who knows? Someone might take your points from under your nose. It wouldn't be the first time a child of Hayasaka’s gotten blindsided, would it?”

He scowled deeply, boring holes into her head. “You piece of-!”

The loudspeakers interjected, cutting Yuto off with wonder and shock as Bolt leaped up out of his chair. ‘It’s not looking good! Over half of the contestants are out of the running, and things just began! This might be a wipeout, because it looks like a team of students has been taking out the competition and… Ah, they’ve intercepted another student!”

Akari’s heart pounded. Half out already? The time limit is the least of my worries. I have zero points! I need to move!

Four masked people cornered a green-haired girl by a wall. She clutched the long sleeve of her blue blouse, looking around nervously. “Sorry about this, girlie. If you just take a quick nap, I’m sure all of the monsters might walk right past you! After all, who likes to eat plain bread?” His group chuckled around her, before a speeding blur—Akari—slammed one of the masked men into the ground.

Akari was a hurricane of motion, hopping up and down before knocking out each of the remaining men with a swift blow. She adjusted her long hair, turning to the green-haired girl with a wide, reassuring smile. “Hey, don’t worry anymore, ‘Kay? Because I am he—!”.

Suddenly, a sharp snap cut through the air. Before Akari could react, a high-tensile wire coiled around her ankle, whipping her upside down and leaving her dangling from a rusted light post.

…Well, darn. The one counter to my power. Just my luck…

“Ah-hah! Just as I planned, you’re such simple morons!” A girl with blonde hair that faded into a vibrant teal at the tips stepped out from behind a pile of rubble, a triumphant grin on her face. She and Akari locked eyes immediately, both of their voices erupting at once.

“Aka-chan?!”

“Rika?!”

“You two… know each other?” the green-haired girl asked, blinking in bewilderment.

The wire slackened instantly, dropping Akari to the asphalt. She didn't waste a second, scrambling up and leaping in for a hug. “It’s been years! What are you doing here?!”

Rika stepped back, her grin faltering as her eyes frantically scanned the debris around them. “Me?! What about you?! You’ve been—”

A wet, heavy crunch disturbed their reunion.

The three girls froze. Slowly, they turned toward the sound. A man stood over them, cradling a limp body in his arms with loving tenderness. He held the non-moving fighter for a long, quiet moment before dropping the inert figure to the ground with a dull thud.

“Oh, teacher—!” the green-haired girl tried to cry out, her voice cracking. Rika instantly shielded her, pulling a spool of razor-wire to her lips, her hands trembling.

“You’re not human… are you?” Akari questioned. Her cheerful demeanor evaporated, replaced by a tense, focused intensity.

The pale man with ashen skin and dark hair rose from his crouch. His posture was broad and heavy, and he extended his arms like a resigned deity welcoming a lost flock. “No, my child. I am much more than that. I can free you from this torment, from this fight that is not yours. I can show you mercy.”

Akari shifted her stance, her feet positioning for a quick dart, though her instincts screamed at her to run. “Yeah… no thanks! Heroes don’t take the easy way out. And they definitely don’t let people like you decide who lives and dies!”

He took a single, deliberate step toward them.

The world immediately plummeted. A sudden, oppressive physical weight, radiating off him in a crushing field. Akari felt a sickening drop in her stomach.

The Pale Man focused on Akari, his expression unhurried, composed, and utterly convinced. His deep-set eyes conveyed a twisted, paternal pity.

“It is clear to me that your hope is merely stubbornness, my child,” he said, his soft voice cutting through the ringing silence. “And stubbornness, in the face of suffering, is the cruelest path of all.”

High above in the broadcast booth, the atmosphere shattered. Bolt and Lumen exchanged a horrified glance before the studio doors burst open. A storm of men in black suits flooded the room.

“Shut down the broadcast! Now!” one of the agents roared. “A Zanshu has appeared on the field!”

Lumen’s hand hovered over the kill switch, her knuckles white. She looked at Bolt. He gave a sharp, almost imperceptible nod.

They turned back to the cameras, ignoring the shouting agents.

“It looks like our students are in serious trouble!” Lumen announced, her voice trembling but loud. “A human afflicted with the Blight has wandered into the test! Not even our most experienced fighters can handle a threat like that! But…”

Bolt scoffed, leaning into his mic with a defiant grin as the security team lunged for the console. “Zap that doubt away, folks! Because if anyone can do it, it’s the best of the best! Watch them shine!”

Back in the alley, the Zanshu slowly approached Akari. With every step he took, the air grew thinner, leaking an energy that made breathing an impossibility and made the doubts in her mind scream louder and louder.

Breathe… You can do this! Save them all, Akari! You can do it!

Akari’s legs shook, but she planted her feet. She forced a smirk, feeling the blood rush in her ears. Adrenaline pumped into her very being as she stared her foe down with determined, burning eyes.

“Screw your mercy!” she shouted, her voice echoing against the cold concrete. “I won’t let you… take our dream!”

Chapter 2 - The End