The ripple tore open like a jagged breath in space.
And from it—
The squad emerged.
Swords drawn. Cloaks swirling. Eyes locked forward.
No time to speak. No time to think.
Because the moment they stepped out—
Blood.
Five defective Ubuyō Warriors lunged at a hooded figure standing alone.
In a single, fluid motion—
Ssh.
A clean, precise cut.
All five fell.
Kaito froze. “Whoa.”
The hooded figure turned. Slowly. Calmly.
The cloak fell back.
Jiro.
Blood still dripping from the edge of his bde.
“…Finally,” he muttered, voice hoarse but steady.
“You guys made it.”
His shoulders rose and fell with exhaustion. But his stance never wavered.
“There’s no end to these things…”
Behind him, another wave of Ubuyō surged. Their bodies unstable—flickering with fractured Tamashkii. And when they fell—
They didn’t bleed.
They evaporated.
Fragments of corrupted soul light burst from their bodies, then faded into sparks.
Watari narrowed his eyes. “What are these?”
Ayase stepped forward.
“Defective Ubuyō,” he said, grim. “I’m sure our captain expined it already—each generation of the Kegare keeps one perfected Ubuyō in waiting. But the process of reaching that ‘one’…”
He looked away.
“…isn’t clean.”
Everyone stilled.
“They create dozens of failures trying to find the perfect vessel,” Ayase continued. “Some were once warriors. Some… lingering spirits.”
A pause.
“Some… were human.”
Yumi’s fists clenched at her side. “I’m so tired of people being used… twisted… for sick experiments.”
Watari pced a hand on her arm. “Yeah. I get it.”
He gave a small smile.
“But we’re here to stop it.”
She nodded—quiet. Grounded.
Ayase turned to Jiro. “Where are the others?”
Jiro jerked his head to the side. “We sent our force to the Shinmōnban. Told them it was a training exercise. Only our elites are here, this way.”
They followed him down a corridor, deeper into the Fifth. Echoes of battle rang through the air—cshes, bursts of energy, screams that never finished.
They reached a wide common area.
Two more cloaked figures stood against a flood of Ubuyō.
One of them—
A quick movement.
They pulled their sword back—then thrust.
A burst of wind and Tamashkii pressure exploded forward, unching the front line of enemies into the walls.
The other one moved like a ghost.
Not teleporting—
But shifting.
They disappeared and reappeared within slivers of space, slicing through enemies with quiet, exact precision. By the time the Ubuyō realized what was happening—
They colpsed. All at once.
Jiro raised his voice.
“Tetsuo! Amano! Reinforcements!”
The two figures turned, tossing their hoods off.
Tetsuo stood with a soft smile, his eyes warm despite the chaos. His uniform—torn slightly, but clean. His posture straight.
“Thank goodness… this was starting to look like a lot of work.”
Amano shook her head, arms crossed, deadpan. “We were definitely going to die. Actually—no. We’re still going to die. Today’s the day.”
Kaito blinked, caught off-guard. A faint blush crept onto his face.
Watari noticed. Raised an eyebrow.
…Then decided to say nothing.
Ayase broke the moment. “Where’s Captain Kusanagi?”
Jiro’s jaw tightened. His eyes lowered.
“…Outside. Beyond the gate. He’s fighting one of the Phantom’s underlings.”
The group tensed.
“He told us to hold the interior. To keep the gate from falling. And we’re barely doing that.” Jiro’s fists trembled. “I want to go help him—but…”
Ryuko cracked his knuckles. “Well, good news. We’re here now.”
Ren and Akira began stretching zily.
Akira grinned. “Time to get to business.”
Ren nodded. “Let’s mop up.”
Jiro blinked—then smiled. Just a little.
“Thanks, guys.”
Watari turned to Kaito. “Let’s check on Kusanagi.”
Kaito nodded.
But before he could step away—
Yumi grabbed his hand.
“Be careful,” she said quietly.
Watari squeezed her hand back. “Of course.”
Then he looked at Ayase. “You coming?”
Ayase shook his head. “No. I’m staying.”
Watari raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
Ayase’s voice dropped. “If I draw my bde… the air of the Chūkan itself would ripple. The Elders would feel it instantly.”
He locked eyes with Watari.
“Do not forget, we are undercover. As far as the Elders know, this is just a Fifth Gate issue.”
Watari nodded slowly. “Got it. Let’s go Takeya.”
Ayase stepped forward once more. “But Hayashi…”
A pause.
“If this opponent has Kusanagi held up—then I need you at your absolute best.”
Watari inhaled.
Then nodded again—firm this time.
Takeya, Kaito, and him vanished into the corridors.
Yumi watched them go.
“…Looks like it’s gonna be idiot hour after all, huh?”
Ren smirked. “Yeah. Sometimes those boys just need their boy time.”
Then the ground trembled.
A fresh wave of Ubuyō Warriors surged from the gate corridors, their corrupted Tamashkii flickering violently.
Ren, Ryuko, Yumi, Akira, Tetsuo, Amano, Jiro—
All drew their Reibakus.
Bdes lit.
Eyes locked forward.
Ready.
