Monor City, southern district. The atmosphere is grim. The wind blows gently, stirring clouds of dust and the scent of blood. Mutant corpses litter the ground, some still steaming. A few gutted buildings form an apocalyptic silhouette. The silence is almost sacred.
Grafay leans against an electric pole, arms crossed. He taps his foot impatiently, his gaze scanning the empty streets.
Grafay (grimacing): Seriously... are they planning to show up after the cockroaches go extinct or what? Are we going to wait for them until next week?
Yuki lounges casually on the hood of a destroyed car. He stares at the sky, calm.
Yuki: They will come... And if they don't, you can always go yell at them, that'll keep you busy.
Grafay rolls his eyes.
Grafay: Yeah, yeah. And you, you're just going to laze around until Salomé gives you cookies?
Yuki slowly turns his head toward him, expressionless, but a slight discreet smile spreads at the mention of Salomé.
Nairo, sitting on the curb, silently nibbles a dry biscuit, eyes fixed on a moving shadow in the distance.
Nairo (coldly): Movement.
The three straighten slightly. In the distance, a large crowd approaches. Dozens... no, hundreds of figures, some perched on rooftops, others advancing on the ground, encircling something — or someone.
At the front: Sally, Salomé, Bakuran. And beside them... a young tattooed man with green eyes and a confidently gothic style, walking assuredly.
Grafay (frowning): What's this circus? A rave party or a militia? And who's that, the local vampire?
Sally (smiling mischievously): Relax, albino cactus, those are the reinforcements.
Grafay (dropping his arms, outraged): That nickname again! I'm going to stick a rose stem up your nose, pink thorn!
Sally: Better than a scarecrow disguised as a cactus, huh?
Salomé chuckles softly in her corner. Yuki sits up a bit and looks at her gently. Bakuran intervenes, a bit embarrassed but amused.
Bakuran: You two, are you going to get married?
ErMut raises an eyebrow, then steps forward a few paces, facing the three defenders of Monor City present.
ErMut: Good evening. I'm ErMut. These people are under my command. I'm here to lend a hand to Monor City, with my army.
Grafay steps forward slightly, wary but intrigued.
Grafay: Your army, huh? What is it? A gothic cult of overexcited tattooed people?
ErMut (smiling proudly): You could see it that way. But every member here can kill a mutant with one arm... or even without arms at all.
Nairo stares at ErMut for a long moment, silent, then slowly nods. He understands the level. Yuki remains silent, mostly watching Salomé, but finally speaks.
Yuki: You're a mutant?
ErMut: Humanoid, yes. So are they. We coexist, survive together, fight together. We're a family, in our own way.
Grafay (glancing around): And how many of you are there, exactly?
ErMut: Let's say... a bit more than enough to overturn a mutant horde.
Behind him, Zeltania, Mutjack, Tanreo, Mertana, Saramut, and Mutana step forward in turn, imposing and calm.
ErMut (nodding to each): My commanders. They will fight with you.
Sally steps forward, calmer now.
Sally: ErMut and his army are our best chance to retake Monor City. We just have to... cooperate, even if albino cactus has trouble with new faces.
Grafay (grumbling): Albino cactus will shove you in a pot if you keep that up...
Salomé (amused, to Yuki): Don't you think they go well together?
Yuki (calmly): Too well. It's scary.
Everyone lets out a light laugh. Despite tensions, despite the apocalyptic setting, a spark of unity is born in the chaos. The reinforcements have arrived.
The group, still gathered in the center of the devastated city, enjoyed a rare moment of calm.
Grafay told a grotesque prison anecdote, arms waving wildly.
Grafay (laughing): And then the guy says to me: "You're not going to stab me with a fork?!" Well guess what… I stabbed him with a spoon. A spoon, damn it!
ErMut (howling with laughter): You're a legend, man!
Sally (rolling her eyes): That just proves you're a degenerate albino cactus...
Grafay (offended): Pink thorn, watch out, one day I'll shove you in a flowerpot and never water you!
Bakuran (chewing on a biscuit): I don't even understand how you can laugh when this city reeks of death...
Yuki (smiling faintly): Because if we don't laugh, we lose it. That's all.
Amid the noise, Nairo stayed apart, staring at the horizon without a word. Sitting on a slab, his gaze pierced the moment.
Sally, intrigued, approached gently.
Sally: Hey Nairo, you okay?
Nairo (looking up): …
He slowly nodded.
Sally (softly): Hmm... you're really not very talkative, huh? We're all having fun, and you're always off in your corner. At least are you having some fun?
Nairo (sighing): Compared to my life before...
Sally lowered her head slightly, touched.
Sally: For you to be that silent, you must have really seen some tough stuff… I don't think I've ever seen you smile. Not once.
Nairo (tilting his head): Smile... pointless?
Sally (tapping her own head): Aaah... yeah, you're not wrong. There has to be a reason for it. But still, you could...
BOOMMM!
The ground began to shake violently. Stones vibrated, windows shattered in the distance.
Everyone froze.
Salomé (pointing, panicked): It's coming from over there!!
On the horizon, a black tide of mutants advanced, slow, heavy steps, perfectly synchronized. Dozens? No. Hundreds. Thousands.
A living wave of monsters.
ErMut (whistling admiringly): Wow... They must be at least 100 times more numerous than us!
Bakuran (clenching his teeth): I think the break is officially over!
Sally (pale): I've... never seen so many mutants gathered in one place... This is the apocalypse.
Grafay placed a hand theatrically on Sally's head.
Grafay: Don't worry, pink thorn, your favorite cactus will protect you!
Sally (pushing him away): Touch me again and I'll rip your thorns out.
Then Grafay turned to ErMut, wary.
Grafay: Hey, ErMut… Since you and your guys are mutants too, I hope you won't betray us at the last moment, huh? Because now is REALLY not the time.
ErMut (laughing): Haha, where do you get that from, cactus? We have nothing to do with those beasts. We humanoid mutants are like humans with animals. We don't speak the same language.
Grafay (relieved): Ah, that's good to hear.
Suddenly, the horde stopped dead, about 100 meters away. Total silence.
Salomé (worried): Huh? But... why are they stopping?!
Two masked figures stepped out from the ranks, slowly, like ghosts. Their white masks reflected an unhealthy light.
Yuki and Salomé froze immediately.
Yuki (surprised): No… It can't be…
Salomé (trembling): Lazareth and Shirōgane?! You… you were dead!
Lazareth, leaning on his cane, spoke in a muffled voice behind his mask:
Lazareth: Come now, my dear. It wasn't some ridiculous atomic explosion that took us down. Not shadow warriors.
Yuki (smiling coldly): Perfect. I will finally be able to set you straight… this time, for good.
Sally (looking at Salomé): You know them?
Salomé: Yes, it's...
Bakuran (interrupting): Lazareth and Shirōgane. The two bastards Yuki mentioned. The ones who nearly killed Salomé.
Sally (horrified): What? It was them?!
Bakuran nodded, clenching his fists.
Lazareth: I still wonder how that girl survived Shirōgane's attack. It's illogical.
Salomé (shouting): Shut up!! What are we waiting for to settle this?!
Lazareth (raising his hand): Precisely… I was just wondering the same thing. You're far too insolent to stay alive.
ATTACK!!!
The mutants charged, the ground shook under the impact. A primal roar rose from the earth.
Salomé (shouting): LET'S GO, GUYS!!!
Everyone ran toward the horde. The ground cracked beneath their feet. The very air seemed to vibrate.
Salomé — a furious smile, ready for anything.
Sally — determined eyes, focused.
Bakuran — unleashed, screaming like a demon.
Grafay — laughing while running: "It's gonna bleed, kids!"
Yuki — cold and sharp, his hand covered in mana.
Nairo — silent, fixed gaze, a dark aura around him.
ErMut and his mutant comrades — howling, mutating their bodies, ready to fight their own kind.
BOOM!
The clash was colossal. A living wall collapsed onto another.
Swords, claws, screams, fire, shadows, and explosions.
An apocalyptic battle had begun.