CHAPTER 58: FANG VS. WARDEN

The day had passed, and before dawn broke, Squad 4, accompanied by the remnants of the Raging Waters, moved stealthily toward Ward 6.

The journey on foot was grueling. Signs of Shikkoku’s war preparations were evident in every ward they crossed. Barricades being set up, soldiers stationed in clusters, and supply lines being guarded.

They made careful reports along the way, enemy numbers, construction patterns, stronghold placements, relaying every detail to strengthen ZEAL’s defenses. But despite witnessing all this, interception was not their mission. The defense lines would handle the advancing armies. Their task was far more critical. Infiltrate Ward 6 and eliminate the messengers, and if possible, the Fang, while the Raging Waters waged war against the foot soldiers.

Their advance was slow, necessarily so. Moving fifty men unnoticed required precision. With morning creeping closer, they slipped through sewers, crossed rooftops, and threaded their way along shadowed alleys. Black hoodies cloaked their figures, blending them into the dim light of a world not yet awake.

By the time they reached Ward 6, the squad had taken positions on the rooftops overlooking the perimeter. Just as they had predicted, the ward was fortified to the teeth. Ashes swarming the streets, Shikkoku foot soldiers stationed at vantage points above. Stealth was no longer an option.

But they weren’t here for subtlety. They had a plan.

Minato and Kaela, with the Raging Waters at their side, would strike the frontlines and draw the enemy’s attention. Aeri would reinforce them at the start, her role is to bait out the Fang and the messengers. Once they appeared, Aeri would isolate the Fang with her Core Release, leaving Ren, Shin, Sora, and Seth to drag the messengers into a separate battlefield where distractions couldn’t interfere.

Without hesitation, Aeri spread her wings and soared into the night sky. Her Core ignited, dozens of radiant poles of light slamming into the ground like divine lances. The impact rattled the enemy ranks, confusion rippling through their formation. A second later, a storm of yellow beams ricocheted between the poles, cutting through soldiers and Ashes with merciless precision.

The chaos was immediate. Minato’s branches lashed out from the rooftops, binding enemies in place, while Kaela’s petal barriers rose to divide and scatter their lines.

Then the Raging Waters surged forward, striking with everything they had.

In the span of seconds, Ward 6 erupted into war.

Amid the chaos, Ren, Shin, Sora, and Seth crouched in the shadows of a half-crumbled building, eyes locked on the battlefield below. Every fiber of their being screamed to leap in and aid their comrades, but they held themselves back with clenched fists and gritted teeth.

If they moved too soon, the messengers would never take the bait. Their only chance to win was to strike clean, separate, and finish them away from the chaos. Anything else would mean disaster.

Ren’s jaw tightened at the memory of Luciena. He had seen firsthand what a messenger could do, distraction meant death. This battle demanded isolation and precision.

The minutes dragged, tension mounting with each heartbeat. Then, movement split the battlefield.

It wasn’t the messengers who arrived.

A ripple of dread swept through the enemy lines as a single figure stepped into view, a broad man clad in a dark crimson jacket, the insignia of the Fangs stitched proudly across his back. His very presence spread fear among both allies and enemies alike.

"Junk Dog." Aeri muttered under her breath, eyes narrowing.

The ground itself seemed to shudder beneath his steps, his aura swelling like a beast unchained as neon red aura emanated around his figure.

"Ahhh, finally. A Warden! I’ve been itching to kill one already!" Junk Dog muttered, lips twisting into a twisted grin. His voice rumbled across the battlefield like a growl from a feral beast. "That little stunt of yours, it really surprised us. I thought ZEAL would only send a tiny recon squad. Instead, you actually brought numbers. Heh, this is going to be fun."

Ren and the others froze in their hiding place, alarm shooting through their veins. Even the battlefield itself seemed to hesitate, foot soldiers and Ashes pausing mid battle as Junk Dog strode forward. His allies cleared a path instinctively, like servants bowing to a king. Each step radiated arrogance, confidence, and a promise of violence.

Before he could close the distance with the Raging Waters, a flash of light split the field.

Aeri.

She appeared in front of him in an instant, faster than any eye could track. Junk Dog’s grin faltered for the briefest second as her heel shot upward in a vicious strike.

He blocked it with a raised arm, muscles flexing, the impact shaking the air, but then his eyes widened.

The kick wasn’t meant to land.

The force of it launched him skyward, tearing him away from the battlefield below. Gasps rippled across both armies as Junk Dog was sent airborne like prey caught in a trap.

In the blink of an eye, Aeri vanished from the ground and reappeared before him midair, her eyes glowing with intensity. Her aura erupted outward in prismatic light, engulfing the skies in countless shimmering reflections.

Face to face with him, her voice was calm but firm, like a judge delivering a sentence.

"See me in every direction. Core Release: Spectrum Mirage."

In an instant, a light dome snapped into existence, thirty meters wide, swallowing the sky above the battlefield in yellow light. Inside that barrier, isolated from the chaos below, only two figures remained.

Aeri. And Junk Dog.

Her Core Release wasn’t just a wall to sever them from the fight. The space within twisted and fractured as countless reflections of Aeri shimmered into being, their forms rippling in hues of gold, violet, and azure. The air itself splintered into prismatic shards, bending the battlefield into a kaleidoscope of light.

But these weren’t illusions.

Each one radiated killing intent. Each one carried a portion of her might, ten, twenty, even forty percent of her true strength, enough to strike, enough to wound, enough to kill.

From below, all that could be seen was a yellow light sphere, blazing bright against the sky. The Shikkoku soldiers and Ashes hurled attacks upward, but each strike fizzled against the barrier without so much as a ripple. It was absolute, unyielding. The only way to shatter it was to defeat the one who made it. Aeri.

Inside, the air vibrated with crushing light, yet Junk Dog showed no sign of hesitation. His lips curled into a feral grin, teeth flashing as his claws glowed neon red. He thrived on pressure, reveled in it, an animal that trusted instinct above reason.

"Ahhh, this is the power of a Warden!" he yelled, muscles tensing like a predator about to pounce. "Perfect! Let’s see how much prey you can really handle!"

Then he lunged.

Like a beast loose from its cage, Junk Dog tore through the mirages, his crimson claws shredding one radiant copy after another. They burst apart in showers of light, scattering fragments across the barrier. His speed was relentless, a blur of wild fury, as though a tiger had been unleashed in a cage full of prey.

But Aeri’s assault never ceased. From every direction, beams of golden light erupted from her mirages, cutting through the distorted space. They converged, firing at angles impossible to predict.

And yet Junk Dog endured. His claws clashed against the beams, splitting them, deflecting them, weaving through the storm as if his body moved on instinct alone. His Drive wasn’t elegant, nor was it rare, it was brutally simple. A melee type ability, extending his Drive Aura into deadly crimson claws. Mediocre to most. But in his hands, sharpened by savagery, instinct, and sheer will to kill, it was a weapon of devastation.

The clash settled into a fierce stalemate. Neither side showed any clear advantage. As Aeri’s attacks grew stronger and faster, Junk Dog’s instincts only sharpened in return, both of them adapting to each other’s rhythm like predators locked in a deadly dance.

Her beams rained down with such power that deflecting them outright became impossible. Each strike shook him, blasting his body off balance and launching him into the air. But even then, Junk Dog never faltered. Twisting midair with inhuman flexibility, he evaded the barrage, his agile frame bending unnaturally as he landed back on the ground with ease as his claws carved against the light to steady himself.

His grin never faded. If anything, it grew wider.

"With how things are going, if this battle drags on any longer, even if you manage to defeat me, by the time you step out of here, your forces will already be wiped out."

Junk Dog sneered, his crimson claws glinting as his grin stretched wider.

"We don’t just outnumber you. I’ll admit, your soldiers are stronger than your average thug, but numbers win wars. And the messengers, they’ll be here any moment now. When they arrive, your squad won’t stand a chance."

Aeri only smiled in return, her light shifting and flickering around her like dancing flames. Those words didn’t shake her in the slightest. After all, she and her squad had prepared for this. It was exactly what they were waiting for.

"Well," she answered, a playful edge curling at her lips, "I suggest you don’t underestimate my kids."

Junk Dog’s eyes narrowed, his grin twisting into something wilder. "We’ll see about that. Those messengers are second only to us and the leader itself. But don’t get me wrong....." His claws scraped together, sparks flying. "I’m not losing. And I’m not planning to drag this fight out either."