— KUBATO —
As the vehicle accelerated, Kubato stumbled backward and fell at Akumu's feet.
He remained standing, as if the laws of physics simply did not apply to him.
"Kubato," he said, bending down toward her. "Go and sit down."
The sirens grew louder. Gates opened in the fortress, and several off-road vehicles—identical to the one she was riding in—poured out in swarms.
The city's streets were wide—at least some of them. Buildings, mostly square or rectangular in shape, lined both sides of the road. People ran about in panic. Other vehicles immediately made way.
The man at the wheel sped through the streets, swerving sharply and deliberately taking narrow turns, clearly trying to lose their pursuers.
But suddenly, a vehicle appeared in front of them—three people inside.
"Damn it!" the driver cursed.
"I'll take over! Keep driving!" Akumu commanded the trembling man and leapt onto the hood.
Spinning, Akumu swung his arm, hurling a chain from his sleeve. It latched onto the pursuers' shadow. He yanked hard. Their vehicle tipped sideways. The occupants screamed in terror.
They sped past, leaving the wreck behind.
"You know how to get out of the city?" Akumu shouted directly at the driver.
The man nodded, stressed and pale.
They approached an intersection at high speed—and from the right, three more vehicles appeared.
Kubato's parents and the driver screamed in fear as the vehicles rushed toward them.
Some of the soldiers even drew pistols. It reminded Kubato of the morning.
Before any shots could be fired, Akumu vanished into a translucent mist. He reappeared inside one of the enemy vehicles and sent chains lashing into its tires.
The vehicles flipped violently. While the driver held their course, Akumu used shadows to hurl the crashing vehicles over them. In slow motion, Kubato watched as wreckage flew above their heads and shattered on the road behind them.
Impressive—and terrifying.
With his chains, Akumu grabbed the soldiers one by one and pinned them to their shadows, leaving them unharmed. Then he rose from Kubato's own shadow.
Without a word, he picked her up and placed her in the seat beside her stepparents, who stared around in stunned disbelief. Larissa had her eyes tightly shut in fear.
The driver kept his eyes on the road, steering into another curve.
Even though the situation was anything but appropriate, Kubato felt a strange pride.
Akumu was protecting her so fiercely.
Her gaze fell on the cat slave sitting beside Marcel. Only now did she remember…
She had been… shot…
Gunfire rang out. Kubato flinched, then noticed snipers on the rooftops, aiming at them.
She looked for Akumu—but he was already gone.
She watched as he swung from building to building on chains, disabling the snipers one after another. Moments later, he stood back on the loading platform. Chains dangled from his sleeve, and one of them held a soldier's weapon.
More shots echoed from the rooftops.
They're all chasing us…
Me… us…
Kubato shuddered at the realization that so many soldiers—so many men—were hunting them, surrounding them, ready to kill.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Akumu kneeling, aiming the weapon.
"Let's see how this thing works," he sang cheerfully, targeting the rooftops.
He fired.
Kubato flinched at the loud bang.
Did he just… kill someone?
She watched as Akumu shot the rifles out of the snipers' hands, one after another.
His aim is so precise.
"Incredible!" Konrad cheered from the passenger seat.
More off-road vehicles burst from the next corner and charged straight at them.
"Wilhelm!" Akumu shouted, dropping the weapon. "Where's the way out of the city?!"
In the next instant, Kubato watched him leap onto the hood again, swing his chains, and flip the vehicles by tearing into their tires.
Like a movie scene, the vehicles spun past them, their occupants screaming in terror, crashing and breaking apart as they landed.
"Behind the fortress!" Wilhelm yelled, his voice shaking.
"Good."
The road opened into a wide avenue. The massive fortress came into view once more—along with countless vehicles and armed soldiers.
Wilhelm screamed in panic and was about to turn around.
"We're lost!" Konrad cried—
Suddenly, darkness swallowed the vehicle Kubato was riding in.
In the next moment, the darkness vanished—and they were driving along a bumpy path, deep in the forest.
"Where are we?!" voices rose inside the vehicle.
Kubato was stunned as well—but she felt safe.
Akumu was there.
The forest path was narrow and winding.
Wilhelm slowed down, carefully maneuvering through leaves and tightly packed trees.
Silence fell. The sirens were gone. There was no sign of their pursuers.
"Where are we…?" Wilhelm whimpered. He clearly couldn't cope with the supernatural.
Kubato's stepparents were restless, as were Larissa and Konrad. Only the slave sat quietly, enduring everything without a word.
"I moved us through the shadows," Akumu explained calmly, standing upright on the hood.
"You teleported us?" Konrad asked, confused, looking around.
Kubato followed his gaze. The tension slowly faded with every meter they drove deeper into the forest.
Inside, she finally relaxed.
She was relieved. Akumu had saved her—and her stepparents, who had been dragged into this because of her. She would never have forgiven herself if they had died for her sake.
Thank you… Akumu…
Thank you… Grandpa…
— ARTHUR DAMM —
The heat of battle had long since faded.
Arthur felt every bone in his body. He could still feel the exhaustion of the fight behind him. But he did not regret it—not even for a second. He was almost happy.
He would gladly fight him again.
Slowly, he pushed himself upright. His shattered armor was heavy and oppressive without the stabilizing force of the energy core. Piece by piece, he freed himself from it until he stood on the half-burned platform in simple clothing.
The spectators had fled long ago when the sirens began to wail. The soldiers Akumu had previously trapped in shadows were free now—and gone.
Only Arthur remained.
And Siegmund, still unconscious on the ground.
"I don't want to die!" someone wailed into the silence.
Arthur noticed it was one of the condemned prisoners. Beside him lay the corpse of a convicted rapist—just like this man.
"Please! I regret everything!" the man sobbed, especially when he noticed the general. He was bound and kneeling on the platform.
"That was a magnificent fight," Arthur Damm said, ignoring him as he stared into the distance.
The platform creaked louder, weakened by the fire Arthur had set. A section gave way—along with the rapist—and fell into the depths below.
The screaming ended abruptly.
"We will meet again," Arthur said quietly, as the rest of the platform groaned and threatened to collapse.