CHAPTER 25: COUNTER ATTACK

"Do you know why Grin took Miko and Sora?" Seth asked.

"It’s probably for the Drive Pulse Resonance Field." Zeishuro answered.

"The what?"

"It’s a core bleed technique." Zeishuro explained. "Father uses his Delirium Drive to twist a person’s fears and guilt into combustible Drive fuel. Once a person’s Drive Core bursts, the core bleed absorbs it and turns it into massive power. If I’m right, Father plans to gather all of it then unleash his revenge on the Shikkoku. But...." His gaze suddenly turned dark. "I think it’ll end up consuming him instead."

"So he’s going to use them to feed this core bleed? Then we need to move fast."

"We’ve got about a day and a half," Zeishuro said. "To make it work, one main source of Drive energy has to pump power into the core bleed’s source. Which means he’ll probably be using your friend for that."

Seth’s clenched his fists. "And Miko?"

"Only father knows the location of the source, even us Saints don’t know where it is." Zeishuro replied. "But that boy can locate it like no one else can."

Seth pushed himself up using his sniper rifle like a cane. But before he could take a step, Zeishuro blocked his way.

"Don’t be stupid. Right now, the best thing we can do is save every bit of strength we have left."

"But we’re wasting time!" Seth argued.

"Or do you want to waste your lives?" Zeishuro’s voice was firm. "Your friend there hasn’t even woken up yet. And even if we rest for a whole day, we won’t even get half our strength back. That means when we face Father, we’ll be at 40 or maybe 50 percent at best."

Seth froze. He hated it, but Zeishuro was right. Charging in now was suicide. He glanced at Kaela, who was still weakened and nowhere near recovery. And Ren, he was still out cold.

"First, we wait for our hero to wake up," Zeishuro said, glancing at Ren. "If it were months from now, maybe he could take Father head on. But right now? He can’t. So we back him up with everything we’ve got. That’s the only way we stand a chance."

The three of them sat in silence. Worry was clearly painted on Seth’s and Kaela’s faces, but they knew there was nothing they could do right now. They couldn’t call for backup, after all, every signal had been cut. And with guards swarming the place, escaping in their current state was impossible.

4 hours passed in complete silence as they took naps here and there. Finally, Zeishuro spoke.

"No backup? It’s been eight hours since you showed up."

"Backup probably won’t come for another day," Seth replied. "Recon missions like this are routine. It usually takes a whole day. If we don’t report back, they just assume we’re still gathering intel."

"But I think the captain will notice," Kaela muttered in a weak voice.

"Maybe," Seth said. "But like I told you, we need to last at least sixteen more hours for them to notice."

Then suddenly, Ren’s eyes snapped open as he jumped up.

"Argh! My body hurts!" He groaned, facing the wall. It took him a second to realize the others were behind him.

"Zeishuro! Where is he?! I fell asleep!" he shouted in panic.

"Relax," Zeishuro said with a small laugh. "We’re all just resting. You should too."

"Seth? Kaela? What is going on?" Ren asked, looking lost.

The three quickly filled him in. Ren listened, stunned just as Seth and Kaela had been when they first heard the truth.

"Huh? Me? A hero? I don’t even know how I pulled any of that off earlier. I only had the upper hand because I went berserk for a while."

"Don’t worry," Zeishuro said. "Your body remembers everything you did. You just need to recreate what you envisioned when you fought me."

Ren frowned in thought. "Hmm... All I remember is a void. Then these lightning spheres, connecting like a constellation and then....BOOM! Black lightning."

Seth’s eyes widened in recognition, he knew what it was while Zeishuro just started smiling in amusement .

"That was probably you opening the gates to your Core Release. But you still need to master it." Zeishuro said.

"So I have a Core Release now?" Ren asked.

"Not quite." Zeishuro replied. "All you did was open the gates. But that’s already enough for now."

Zeishuro began devising a plan. His mind ran through every detail, time frames, strengths, weaknesses, the backup’s arrival, and the timing of the ritual. He wasn’t just some fighter, he was the Smileys’ main strategist after all.

"Here’s what we’ll do," he said. "We rest for the next 24 hours. By then, we’ll have about 7 hours and 30 minutes to stop Father before he absorbs the core bleed. Out of that, we only need to hold out for 3 hours and 30 minutes before ZEAL backup gets here. As Seth mentioned earlier, ZEAL will realize that something is wrong after a day. Considering their preparations and travel time, they should arrive exactly when I predicted, 3 hours and 30 minutes into our mission to stop Father."

He glanced at Seth and Kaela. "We’ll split into two groups. You two stick together. Let me explain how the Drive Pulse Resonance works, there are 5 transmitters powering 5 drive circles scattered around the ward. They collect the energy released when Drive cores explode. But that’s only half of it, about 50 percent of the power. The real key is the main source."

Zeishuro’s expression darkened. "Father will be at that source. And so will your friend. Seth and Kaela, your job is to destroy the 5 transmitters while Ren and I will find the source."

"And Kuro?" Seth asked.

"I don’t know where he is, probably with father." Zeishuro admitted, "but if I run into him, I can talk to him. I know the way to the Saint’s lair, our real hideout. It’s a cathedral, just like the decoy you guys infiltrated."

Seth’s eyes narrowed. "So there’s another one?"

"Yes. But it’s hidden. That place is invisible to the naked eye, shielded by a wall of Drive core energy gathered from the Core Bleed circles. And if my guess is right, father is hiding the source somewhere in there."

—--------------------------------

Back at the Saint’s lair, the pews stood in neat rows under the dim moonlight.

In the center, Sora was trapped inside a Drive Cage made entirely from Kuro’s unbreakable chains.

Her molten covered fists pounded against the cold metal as sparks flew, but not even a scratch appeared. Kuro’s specialty was detainment, and this cage was his masterpiece. His forte.

"How are the preparations?" Grin asked, his voice echoing through the hall.

"They’re going well, Father. We’ve completed about fifty percent of the field’s activation," Kuro replied.

"Good. But where are Zeishuro and Gray? Did they really have that much trouble with those pests?"

"I doubt it, Father. They’re too strong to lose easily."

"Then until they return, we assume they’ve been defeated and prepare for any ambush." Grin said, his tone cold as Kuro nodded without another word.

From inside the cage, Sora could barely see the outside through the narrow gaps between the chains.

Where am I? It’s so dark out there, and Miko, where is he? He was taken with me. How about the others? How can I break free from this?

Her thoughts spiraled in panic as fear pressed against her chest. Tears welled up in her eyes as the feeling of helplessness sank in.

—-------------------------

24 hours passed in a blur. The group had done nothing but rest, pouring all their focus into recovering as much strength as they could.

When the time came, Seth, Kaela, and Zeishuro stood up, testing their bodies. They knew they weren’t back to full power, maybe only halfway, but it was enough to move.

Seth checked his guns, Kaela stretched her arms and legs, loosening the stiffness from her muscles, and Zeishuro rolled his shoulders, his joints popping as he flexed his limbs.

Ren, however, stayed seated.

He closed his eyes, diving back into that strange void in his mind. Drive lightning circles shimmered faintly around him. He could see the glowing lightning spheres again linked together like a constellation in the night sky.

He raised his index finger toward the wall as he gathered energy and fired. A bolt of ordinary lightning shot forward. He took a deep breath then fired again.

This time, it wasn’t ordinary. Black lightning erupted from his fingertip, tearing through the air with a sharp and vicious sound as the wall in front of them exploded into debris.

Kaela and Seth froze, stunned. They knew exactly how destructive that was. But Zeishuro just smiled.

This kid’s something else. He’s barely at fifty percent of his strength and yet that kind of force emerged from that finger? How terrifying.

Without wasting another moment, the group split.

Ren and Zeishuro followed the sewer path Zeishuro had mapped out as the dim and damp tunnels echoed with their footsteps.

Meanwhile, Seth and Kaela went above ground, heading toward the five transmitters marked on Zeishuro’s map.

The plan was in motion, this was their shot to finally bring down Grin and the Smileys.

As they moved, Zeishuro’s voice broke the steady rhythm of dripping water across the sewers.

"If Father decides to kill me, will you kill me first?"

Ren glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"I don’t want Father to be the one to kill me. Or us. It would probably destroy what’s left of him. So, if it comes to that, I’d rather you end it. I’m sorry for asking this, Hero."

"I won’t," Ren said instantly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I won’t let anyone kill you."

"Then what? My sins are beyond saving."

"Then don’t end it like that," Ren replied. "Don’t take the easy way out. Change. Repent. Live better."

Zeishuro stopped for just a second, he was too stunned. Besides the day he first met Grin and the Saints, this was the first time anyone had spoken to him with such kindness.

"Why not join ZEAL? Assuming we both make it out of this alive," Ren said.

"You really are something. Guess I’ll think about it." Zeishuro replied as a small smile formed on his lips.

—--------------------

In Ward 3

"Something’s off," Aeri muttered, standing on a raised platform while darting her eyes over the aftermath of a battle to help ZEAL’s allied gang from a Shikkoku attack. The place was a mess. Broken crates, overturned stalls, and the faint smell of smoke lingered in the air. But they stood victorious.

"What is it?" Rago asked, standing beside her.

"It’s been a full day, and my squad hasn’t reported back."

"The recon mission on the Smileys, huh? With their 3 Saints all rated as 6 star threats, your team’s probably having a rough time. And we still don’t know anything about their leader."

"Exactly. I know the ward is massive, they might just be taking long to cover every corners, but being silent for this long just feels wrong."

"You should check on them. I’ll hold the fort here. We’re lucky they didn’t send any fangs for this invasion attempt. It’s over anyway, so go." Rago said with a smile.

Aeri didn’t need to be told twice. She quickly pulled out her phone and called Valen.

"Valen, I need reinforcements. Now."

Within minutes, the order was given. The Remnants of the Raging Waters were dispatched to meet Aeri at the 8th Ward.

She quickly went on her way, leaving Rago and his squad to clean up the mess after their victory in Ward 3.

"I’m coming, please be safe." Aeri whispered.