The walk from Roppongi to Shinjuku felt like walking through a graveyard made of glass and steel. The city was still there—the tall buildings still reached for the sky, the street signs still pointed the way, and the cars still sat in the lanes. But the life was gone. There were no birds chirping in the trees. No engines running. No people talking on their phones. Only the low, heavy hum of the black Veil above us, sounding like a giant bee that never stops buzzing.
Every step we took echoed against the walls of the empty shops. Thanks to the [Soul Link], I could feel Nobara and Toge inside my own mind. It was a strange feeling, like having two extra heartbeats under my ribs. When Nobara felt a sharp pain in her leg from our last fight, I felt a dull ache in my hip. When Toge felt thirsty, my own throat felt dry and scratchy. We were three different people, but we were sharing one soul.
"It feels weird," Nobara whispered. She was walking close to me, her hand resting on the hilt of her broken hammer. "I can feel your pulse, Ren. It's... fast. Like you're running a race even when you're standing still."
"I'm nervous," I admitted, looking at the dark shadows of the alleys. "This isn't just a school mission anymore. It's a game where the only way to stay alive is to win, and the rules are written in blood."
[SYSTEM MAP UPDATED]
[LOCATION: SHINJUKU CROSSING]
[ACTIVE PLAYERS IN AREA: 42]
[DANGER LEVEL: EXTREME]
As we turned the corner into the famous Shinjuku crossing, we didn't see the usual crowds of people. We saw something much worse. Massive, white roots were growing out of the asphalt, ripping up the road. They wrapped around the buildings like giant, hungry snakes. These weren't normal plants; they were made of cursed energy, and they smelled like damp earth and old bones.
"Hanami," I growled. I remembered that smell. It was the energy of the disaster curse that had been standing next to Geto.
The Ambush at the Crossing
Suddenly, the ground began to vibrate. It wasn't an earthquake; it was an attack.
"WATCH OUT!" I yelled. I lunged forward, grabbing Nobara and Toge and pulling them back just as a row of sharp wooden spikes shot up from the ground. If we had stayed there for one more second, we would have been pinned to the road like butterflies.
From the shadows of a broken department store, a group of five sorcerers stepped out. They weren't like the "Cannibal" we saw earlier. These men were wearing clean, traditional combat gear. They moved slowly and carefully. They looked like soldiers who had been fighting for years.
"Well, well," the leader said. He was a big man with a deep scar across his nose. He carried a heavy iron staff that looked very heavy. "The System told us a 'King' would be passing through this area. I didn't think the King would look like a tired teenager with messy hair."
[TARGET: 'IRON' GORO]
[POINTS: 45]
[TECHNIQUE: METAL MANIPULATION]
"We don't want to fight you," I said. I held my hands out, palm up, trying to show I wasn't attacking. My hands began to glow with a soft violet light anyway. "We're just trying to get through to the other side of the city."
Goro laughed, and the sound was cold. "In this game, 'getting through' means someone has to die. I need forty more points to buy a healing potion from the System for my little brother. Your head is worth fifty points all by itself. Do the math, kid. You're just a walking prize to me."
The Power of the Three-in-One
Goro raised his iron staff, and the metal began to glow. Suddenly, the staff melted and broke apart into hundreds of tiny, flying needles. He waved his hand, and the needles shot toward us like a silver cloud of bees.
In the past, I would have used all my energy to build a shield and hope it held. But now, I didn't have to do it alone. The [Soul Link] let us move as if we were one body.
"Toge!" I shouted.
Toge didn't need to speak a long sentence. He knew exactly what to do. He stepped in front of us and opened his mouth, showing the symbols on his tongue.
"SCATTER!"
The silver needles didn't just stop; they flew apart in every direction as if they had hit an invisible wall. The shockwave from Toge's voice was much stronger than before because he was using part of my gravity energy to power his words.
"Nobara, now!"
Nobara leaped into the air, using my shoulder as a stepping stone. She didn't have her nails, so she used the metal around her. I focused my gravity on the iron needles that Toge had just scattered. I made them heavy—heavier than lead.
"[GRAVITY LOCK]!"
The needles crashed to the ground, pinning Goro's feet and his clothes to the road. He couldn't move. He was trapped by the very weapon he had tried to kill us with.
Nobara landed lightly in front of him. She didn't use her hammer. She touched his chest with her bare hand. Because of the Link, she could pull the "Void" power directly out of me and send it through her fingers.
"Resonance: Void Strike!" she yelled.
A burst of violet energy exploded from her palm. It wasn't a punch that broke bones; it was a soul hit that broke his power. Goro's eyes went wide as his cursed energy was simply erased. He fell to his knees, not dead, but completely powerless. He looked like a man who had forgotten how to breathe.
The Girl with the Sword
The other four sorcerers saw their leader fall in seconds. They immediately dropped their swords and staves. They were shaking. They had never seen three people fight with such perfect timing.
"Wait! Don't kill us!" one of them begged, holding his hands up. "We were forced into this! We're part of the Resistance! We hate this game!"
"Resistance?" I asked, lowering my hands as the violet glow faded. "Who are you resisting?"
"The System Users who are hunting everyone for points," a new voice said. It was a woman's voice—strong, steady, and familiar.
A tall figure stepped out from behind a massive white root. She was wearing a dark green hood to hide her face, but when she pulled it back, I gasped.
It was Maki Zenin.
She looked different than the last time I saw her at the school. She had more scars on her arms, and she was carrying a new sword that glowed with a faint green light. Her eyes were sharp, like a hawk's, and full of the pain of someone who had lost everything.
"Ren. Nobara. Toge," Maki said. Her voice was like ice, but I could tell she was glad to see us. "I heard the Zenin family tried to kill you on the mountain. I guess that makes us family again, since they want me dead too. Come with me. The real fight is just beginning, and you're going to need a place to hide before the 'Game Master' finds out you're here."
[NEW ALLY JOINED: MAKI ZENIN]
[CURRENT TEAM: THE EXILES]