Eyes in the Sky, Abyss in the Earth.

Ken and his group advanced towards the heart of the black ruins with renewed confidence. They didn't know that, kilometers away, someone was watching them.

In the provisional command post, set up on a safe hill outside Okutama's perimeter, Natasha stood motionless. Her heterochromatic eyes burned with intensity. Her left eye (blue) watched the monitor, but her right (amber) was unfocused, pulsing with an inner light.

She was using a high-level technique: Kijin Projection. She had imbued her own essence into the silent drones flying over the zone, allowing her to literally see through their cameras as if they were her own eyes.

"They are close to entering the central ruins," announced Natasha.

Beside her, Kyosuke and Asa watched the monitors. "I'm genuinely surprised, Naty-chan," whistled Kyosuke, adjusting his red glasses. "I don't get how you can do that so easily. Maintaining a sensory link with a machine requires insane mental control."

Kyosuke, in his typical playful manner, tried to sling an arm around Natasha's shoulders. "You're incredible..."

Without breaking her concentration or looking away, Natasha drove an elbow hard into Kyosuke's abdomen. "Don't touch me," she said coldly.

Kyosuke doubled over slightly, chuckling under his breath as he rubbed his ribs. "Okay, okay, just kidding."

"I only imbued a bit of my Kijin essence into the circuits," explained Natasha, straightening back up. "It's not that complicated once you get the hang of it. Though, to be honest, in the eyes of a novice, it's almost like magic."

Natasha picked up the long-range radio. "Attention, Team B-2. This is Kuroki. You are entering the Final Boss Zone. You've been lucky until now, but that luck has run out. Bring back the head of the target creature. That's an order."

Back in the ruins, Ken and his friends jumped as their instructor's voice crackled in their earpieces. They looked up at the sky with paranoia, realizing their every step was being watched.

Back at command, Asa, who had been unsettlingly quiet, stepped closer. "Natasha," he said in his gravelly voice. "Please check the status of Squad A and C. I need visual confirmation."

Natasha nodded. Her amber eye flickered, and the image on the main monitor changed. First, it showed Tanimoto's team (Squad A). They moved with lethal coordination, efficiently dispatching minor creatures. "They look much better than Ken's group," commented Kyosuke, puffing out his chest with pride. "The class difference is clear. Tanimoto is a Kijin, after all."

"It's to be expected," said Natasha.

Then, she tried to switch frequencies to connect with the drone following Squad C. The screen flickered. Gray static. Natasha frowned. She forced her amber eye, injecting more energy into the link. Nothing. Only a void.

"What's wrong?" asked Kyosuke, his smile fading.

"I can't connect to Squad C's drone," said Natasha, and for the first time, there was a note of alarm in her voice. "The signal... it's just gone."

Asa didn't wait. He grabbed his personal radio. "This is Instructor Sato. Squad C, respond. Do you copy?"

Silence. Asa switched channels, calling the transport driver who had dropped them off. "Transport 4! Situation report! Where did you drop Squad C?"

The driver's voice crackled over the radio, bored and uninterested. "Dropped 'em at the designated coordinates, sir. Western Sector, near the old dam. They got off and went into the woods. Beyond that, not my problem. I just drive."

Asa slammed his fist on the table. "Natasha, keep trying," he ordered, visibly worried. "An entire squad doesn't just vanish on its own."

Unaware of the panic beginning to brew at command, Ken's team delved deeper into the darkness.

Kenta, Hiro, and Sato were in the lead, their chests puffed out from their earlier victory against the Kappa. "Leave the first creatures to us," said Hiro, brandishing his spear. "Ken already showed off enough at the lake. He stole the spotlight. This time it's our turn to be the heroes."

Ken sighed but reluctantly agreed. "Alright. But don't spread out."

Because of this, Ken and Naomi ended up at the rear, walking shoulder to shoulder.

"Ken..." Naomi whispered, looking ahead. "I know you lied to the others about the bet with Tanimoto."

Ken flinched and almost tripped. "W-What? No, of course not... Tanimoto and I have this huge rivalry that—"

Naomi stopped and looked at him. She wasn't angry. She gave him a soft, knowing smile that disarmed all of Ken's defenses. Ken slumped his shoulders, defeated. "Yeah... You caught me, hehe."

"Why?" she asked.

"It was the best option," admitted Ken, looking at his dirty boots. "Back in the Citadel, where I lived, there was a grumpy old man named Saito. He taught me that sometimes, people need a small lie to find an even greater courage. He'd send me on missions for scrap, and he'd always say 'it'll all work out.' I guess... that helped train my mind to be a leader."

Ken glanced ahead where Kenta and the others laughed, full of confidence. "I'm a bit worried, Naomi. I don't know if Shinji and Yamato are okay. But if I show fear, they'll feel it too."

Naomi looked at him with a mix of admiration and tenderness. "You're incredible, Ken," she said. "Saito did a good job. In the future, you'll be a great leader. I truly believe that."

Ken blushed, scratching the back of his neck. "T-Thanks..."

"Hey! Look at this!" Sato's shout interrupted the moment.

Ken and Naomi rushed forward. The path ended abruptly. In front of them, on the black stone floor, was a massive hole. A perfectly circular crater descending into absolute darkness. It didn't look natural. It looked like a throat waiting to swallow something.

"Seems there's something down there," said Kenta, leaning dangerously over the edge. "The map says the target is on the lower level."

They hesitated for several minutes. Their survival instinct screamed at them not to go down. But Natasha's order echoed in their heads: "Bring back the head."

"We have no choice," said Ken, pulling out a flashlight and adjusting his dagger. "Let's go down."

One by one, they began the descent into the abyss, leaving behind the daylight and the safety of the surface, walking straight toward the encounter that would change their lives forever.