CHAPTER 3: The Birth Of Mori Kagawa

Later that afternoon at COSE, students gathered in the cafeteria area after classes. Now permitted to use their personal devices, Sutoria sat at a dining table, scrolling through complex data readouts on his screen.Yomi walked past with a tray, peering over Sutoria's shoulder. "Hey, Sutoya! What are you so focused on?""Just working on some chemical kinetics calculations," Sutoria replied without looking up. "Trying to calibrate a few reaction rates for class—"Ring! Ring!The sudden chime of Sutoria's phone cut him off. He tapped the receiver to answer, placing it to his ear."Sutoya! Is that you?" a frantic voice shouted from the speaker. It was their next-door neighbor. "Listen to me carefully—your mother was just rushed to the medical center! She went into labor a few minutes ago. They say the baby is coming today!"Sutoria's eyes widened. "What?!"Yomi took one look at his friend's expression and gestured toward the exit. "Go! Get to the hospital right now!"Sutoria didn't waste a single second. He grabbed his phone and immediately dialed his father.Over at the Demon Core Association Federation, Akiro was standing near the core monitor when his phone vibrated. Hearing the urgent news, his eyes locked onto his supervisor's office. He sprinted over, got instant clearance, stripped off his heavy engineering jacket, and bolted out the facility gates.Neither father nor son bothered waiting for a bus or hailing a transport vehicle. Tapping into their deep martial arts foundation, both Akiro across the city and Sutoria from the school grounds launched themselves forward—using lightning-fast, high-speed dash techniques that blurred their movement past the crowded streets of Mu City.By the time they converged outside the delivery wing, sweating and catching their breath, the heavy double doors opened. A doctor stepped out, pulling off his surgical mask with a warm grin."Congratulations. It's a healthy, strong boy."Relief washed over Akiro and Sutoria in a massive wave."Can we go in? Can we see them?" Akiro asked eagerly."Go right ahead. Mother and child are doing fine."Sutoria practically sprinted into the room. Isuki Naname rested against the pillows, exhausted but beaming. Nestled in the blankets beside her was her newborn son. Sutoria gently scooped his newborn brother into his arms, his heart swelling with excitement."Dad! Look!" Sutoria beamed, holding the bundle up proud. "I told you! It's a boy!"Akiro rushed over, taking the newborn into his own hands with immense care. "A boy... a little brother for Sutoria..."But as Akiro cradled the newborn, his smile faltered. A cold, strange sensation crept down his spine.To the naked eye or to anyone else in the room, it was a regular infant. But to Akiro's trained perception, what he held in his hands wasn't physical flesh at all. The infant was a humanoid structure made entirely of an overflowing, radiant blue flame—a celestial, surging light flared continuously around the baby’s form.Akiro stared in dead silence, his breath catching in his throat.Isuki watched her husband's reaction from the bed, a soft, knowing sigh escaping her lips."What's wrong, Akiro?" she asked gently. "You're making that exact same face again... just like the day we gave birth to Sutoria. Why do you always get that look every time our children are born?"Akiro blinked, instantly snapping out of his shock. He quickly smoothed his expression into a warm, joyful smile, holding the baby close."No, nothing's wrong," Akiro lied softly, chuckling to hide his unease. "I was just thinking... I hope the labor wasn't too painful for you."Isuki smiled weakly, waving her hand dismissively. "Ah, forget about the pain. As long as he arrived safely, the pain doesn't matter at all."Akiro looked down at the glowing blue essence of his newly born son—Mori Kagawa—knowing deep down that his family carried a power far beyond anything Mu City had ever seen.