The Executives' Order.

"We need to push him harder," Natasha murmured, putting the device back in her tactical pocket. Her eyes remained fixed on the empty courtyard where Ken had trained hours before. "Next week we'll raise the simulation level to 80%. I want to see what emerges from his shadow when his mind breaks."

Kyosuke, who was tilting back in a swivel chair with his boots on the command console, let out a biting chuckle. "You're sadistic, Naty-chan. I like it. But be careful, if you break the toy too early, it'll be useless."

"Then move up the exam date," said an unfamiliar voice from the room's entrance. "We don't have the luxury of waiting another week. We must test him tomorrow. In the Okutama Ruins."

Silence fell over the control room.

Kyosuke stopped his chair with a jolt. He slid his red glasses down to the tip of his nose and looked at the intruder. It was a middle-aged man, impeccably dressed in a high-ranking officer's uniform without a single speck of dust—something almost insulting in Hachioji.

"Huh? And who are you supposed to be, old man?" Kyosuke blurted out, standing up and making the chains on his arms clink dangerously. "No one comes in here without buying me a pri—"

Before Kyosuke could finish the sentence, a hand forcefully covered his mouth. Natasha had moved with speed right to Kyosuke's face.

"Shut your mouth, idiot," she hissed into Kyosuke's ear. Then, she released the instructor and stood at military attention before the newcomer, bowing her head with absolute respect. "Commander Kaita. It is an honor to see you again in the Sector."

Asa Sato, who was in a corner sharpening a blade, slowly got to his feet. Asa gave a firm nod towards the Commander.

Kyosuke, upon hearing the name, froze. Even he knew who that was. Commander Kaita. One of the Executives of the Strategy Council. He was not a warrior; he possessed no physical strength or Kijin abilities. But with a single signature, he could erase an entire sector from the map or condemn thousands to death. He was the brain behind Japan's survival.

Kaita walked towards the monitors, ignoring Kyosuke's initial disrespect. He walked with his hands clasped behind his back, inspecting the screens.

"Hmmmm..." Kaita murmured, observing the recruits' profiles. "I see you've made some progress with these youngsters. The survival numbers are... acceptable."

"They are good recruits, sir," said Natasha, standing firm. "But they are still very inexperienced. They need at least another month of physical and mental conditioning before going outside."

Kaita turned slowly. His face showed no emotion. "Unfortunately, Instructor Kuroki, time is a resource we no longer possess. We must hurry things along. Take them outside. Let them fulfill their role at once."

Natasha frowned, breaking protocol for a second. "Their role? Sir, with all due respect, sending them to Okutama now is sending them to their deaths. Okutama is an unstable zone. Why the rush?"

Kaita sighed, pulling out a silk handkerchief to wipe his brow. "Because yesterday at 0400 hours, we lost contact with Northern Installation-7."

The three instructors tensed up. Northern-7 was a key fortress near the Hokkaido border.

"It fell?" asked Asa Sato in his gravelly voice, adjusting the strap of his immense sword. "Did a horde from Region 1 break through the defenses?"

"If it were only that, we could handle it," said Kaita, and for the first time, there was a tinge of genuine fear in his voice. "The reconnaissance drones showed something impossible. The base wasn't destroyed solely by the Ice Giants of the White Desert."

Kaita paused dramatically, looking each instructor in the eye.

"There were creatures from Ground Zero."

The air in the room turned icy. Kyosuke stopped smiling. Natasha's eyes widened in disbelief. "Our zone?" she asked. "The Gakis and mutants from Kanto? That's absurd. They're scavengers, stupid beasts. They don't travel north, much less ally with the Ice Kings."

"Apparently the rules have changed," Kaita stated, projecting a blurry holographic image that showed an ice-encrusted silhouette fighting side-by-side with a deformed beast from Zone 0. "The creatures that live here, right beside us, are answering a call from the North. The enemy is organizing."

Kaita walked towards the exit, his boots echoing on the metal. "Tomorrow at dawn, I want them in Okutama. Divide them. Test them. If they die, they weren't fit for the war to come. You have my orders."

The door closed behind him, leaving a sepulchral silence.

Natasha dropped into her chair, running a hand through her purple hair. The news was devastating. A joint attack from two regions meant the end of the precarious balance keeping humanity alive.

"Damn it..." murmured Kyosuke, with no trace of his usual cheer. "If the metal-heads and the ice-heads are teaming up... we're screwed."

Asa hefted his giant sword onto his back. "What do we do?"

Natasha looked at the screen where Ken's photo was still displayed. "We obey," she said, her voice heavy with regret. "Prepare the trucks. Tomorrow, we descend into hell."