9 - One Hundred Thousand

[TOKYO]

“Soulfuls...”

“Although, at this point, most of you are not even soulfuls to begin with.” Kaito said. He was in the conference room, holding a meeting with all of the political puppets, investors, and overall important figures connected to the GSC.

“I’ve called this meeting in order to make an important announcement. One that will change the landscape of the soulful world.” Kaito said. “Therefore, I will get straight to the point.”

“From this point onwards, the Global Soulful Coalition is disbanded.”

The room was instantly filled with mostly confusion. No one wanted to clearly express how upset they were. They saw Kaito’s appearance and were all intimidated by it, segments of the white had spread even more, and his expression looked like it could melt them alive just with its wrath.

“The organization is considered null and void. Thank you for your service.” Kaito said, almost preparing to leave.

“Mr. Kamiki, I must ask...” One of the more important figures in the room asked. “If this decision has been made as a response to your son’s kidnapping...”

“And what do you know about his kidnapping?” Kaito asked, glaring at the speaker. “What information may you have?”

“S-sir, all I’m trying to say is that perhaps making these emotionally driven decisions might be regrettable in the future. Please, reconsider this carefully.” The man said. “The Global Soulful Coalition is the single most important organization in the world. Just having it d-d-disappear overnight, what will the public think?”

“I asked you a different question. Where is he?!” Kaito raised his voice.

“We don’t know.” Another voice said. “We have deployed search teams across all the continents.”

“And...?”

“They said they are...working on it.” The man continued, feeling the intensity of Kaito’s furious gaze. “Believe us, we know how painful it might be, but no matter how dire your personal situation is, you cannot compromise the functionality of the...the whole world for it! The GSC must continue to exist in order to prevent a potential collapse of society.”

“Please...” The speaker from before continued. “We have finally, barely achieved a balance between the soulfuls and the soulless...let’s not destroy everything okay? Hey, is this session being livestreamed?” He asked the camera crews present. “If it was, terminate them and delete every record of this incident online. I’ll see to it personally!”

“I see...”

Everyone looked at Kaito.

“You’re trying to do things...on my behalf? You’re trying to change my mind?” Kaito asked. “You think you know better?”

“You’ll never understand.”

“No, we’re simply trying to avoid a political catastrophe!” Another man cried out, the words sounding less like a statement, and more like a plea. “The GSC has just finished carrying out yet another military operation, can we just...not risk the stability of the political world for a few minutes?”

Kaito zoned out for a few minutes.

“Mr. Kamiki, please, you’ll create a void in the job market too.” Another voice said.

“Mr. Kamiki, you’ll make things extremely difficult for everyone involved!”

“Mr. Kamiki, this will be a disaster!”

“Kaito...”

Kaito snapped out of it. He heard the many outcries of the soulfuls who lost their lives during the war and the many events preceding it, but one voice in particular stuck to him.

“A disaster...?” Kaito thought to himself.

“That damn Mukawa...he’s going out of his way in order to fulfill his fantasy of becoming a cheap hero. To do what he thinks is right, no matter how ridiculous and wrong it is.”

“If he values all of these lives so much...”

He smiled.

Suddenly, his hands went ablaze. The pure white flames began gaining more and more power in his fists before eventually erupting, sending waves of heat across the area. The many people present quickly tried to scramble, all running for the exit, trying to save themselves before the inevitable. Kaito simply raised his hand.

“I call upon thee...”

The pure white flames dripped onto the ground and covered parts of his body. From the pure white cloak and the puddle of death, a fierce pack of wolves emerged. They looked like they were set ablaze, and their appearance was pure white, with deep abyssal eyes and flaming fangs. They rushed at the crowd and began massacring the people present, with no remorse or hesitation.

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“Make sure everything is being livestreamed!” Kaito said, pointing at the camera crews. “I want this to be showcased on every single news network and all over the internet!”

The crews were powerless to stop him. The hounds didn’t target them, but they granted a painful death to everyone else present. To all of them, except one...

Kaito left the room. Outside, a small snake came out from the floor, spitting out a short man. The man adjusted his glasses in panic and, upon raising his head, shrieked in fear.

“P-please, don’t...don’t kill me...” He pleaded. “I have a family...”

“You’ll do what I ask you to, understand?” Kaito ordered. “Since you’re the head of information and media...you’ll set something up for me. Now hold onto something.”

A giant pure white hawk destroyed the floor. Both Kaito and the man were now on top of it, and the beast rapidly flew into the sky - soaring above the city. Kaito bid his farewell to the GSC’s buildings by launching a pair of flaming arrows at it - disintegrating it completely and even destroying a chunk of the city close to it. His prey could only watch in horror.

...

“I-It’s all set up, Mr. K-K-K-Kamiki...” The man said.

“Are we live right now?” Kaito said, looking at the camera. The many crews present in the production room were all overtaken by utter terror, they had no choice but to follow the orders. The reason Kaito embarked on this journey was to gain access to the global emergency broadcast network. He had a message to say to the world.

“We’re live now!” One of the crew members said.

“Are we now?” Kaito questioned. He dragged the media manager into the frame.

“Attention, people of the world...”

Across the globe, every household that was connected to the internet or television received the news.

Kaito killed the man he held hostage. He crushed his neck.

“What the hell is he doing?!” One of the operators yelled. “No, I’m cutting the-”

A miniature flaming arrow burnt through his head and killed him instantly.

“Should anyone attempt to halt this transmission, they will be eliminated instantly.” Kaito told the operators. “Value your lives.”

“Anyways...”

“Attention, people of the world.” Kaito said. “I am truly sorry to inform you, but the world will soon be prone to change. That is, it will be hurt, battered, and its inhabitants - you, the people, will be slaughtered by the dozens.”

Panic already began forming.

“Just now, you saw me take one human life with ease. And if you paid attention, you’d have noticed that I took a second one out too. Can you see it now? The fragility of life?” Kaito asked. “Do you believe their lives to be valuable, or do you see them as an expendable resource?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“I officially declare that the Global Soulful Coalition has been dismembered on accounts of possible treason against me. I, its founder, am declaring it non-existent, and all of its authority and imposed laws are to be rendered null and void.”

“But most importantly, I am declaring a manhunt.” Kaito said. “There is a person out there who has taken something that is dear and close to me. That person turned my trusted soldiers into traitors and schemed with them to do indescribable things to someone completely innocent. Someone as valuable to me as family. And I am sure that the person in question will receive news of this transmission, no matter how desolate his location may be. That is why, I will be imposing an ultimatum.”

“Mukawa.”

“You value human life, especially the lives of the soulless, way too much. And you seem to have forgotten that I do not.”

“You, the old captain of the Heisei and those Heisei members who have chosen to join your side, you will reveal yourselves and hand over my son to me. For every day that you don’t, I will see to it that one hundred thousand people die.”

“Starting today.”

“And shall anyone help me find that weasel, I will stop this at once. On top of that, I will reward them with whatever quantity of material wealth they wish for.” Kaito finished. “I apologize, but this is the only way.”

Kaito sparked a series of flames across the room, destroying both the equipment and the crew altogether. He, with a pair of wings, broke through the studio’s ceiling and floated above the city. The announcement kept on replaying on billboards, street projectors and radio stations.

Moments later, the streets were enveloped in chaos. Screams, confusion, anger and disbelief struck the world, as everyone suspected that they would be next. He checked his phone, and all of social media was filled with discussion regarding the announcement. Some labeled him as a monster, some took his side, supporting him.

But they all knew that there was nothing that could stop him. If Kaito decided to purge them, he would.

He soared into the sky, watching down at the city beneath him. There were easily a few million there, all he needed to do was use even a fraction of his destructive prowess. But he did like how the city looked.

He flew over it, and almost transparent white clouds descended. They looked almost divine, like the scent of something only found in the domains of heaven. They even looked pretty. As they reached the ground, the many people outside began, even unknowingly, inhaling them.

Seconds later, the people started coughing. They coughed hard enough to start coughing up blood. They started feeling dizzy, screaming in panic, accepting that that day, it was their turn to die. They started collapsing, losing their pulse. The poisonous smoke was easy to withstand, especially since the lethality of the poison was greatly reduced in exchange to dramatically increase the area of effect. But the soulless were absolutely powerless against it.

One by one they collapsed on the ground, losing their breath, and soon, their lives. It didn’t matter who called an ambulance first as everyone would fall victim to it. The services themselves, when they arrived, had full hazmat equipment - but they still met their end. Kaito probably killed way more than a hundred thousand, but it seemed to him that he didn’t even care in the slightest.

He watched from above as the disaster unfolded more and more. He kept flying across the city, no matter what traps he had set up, he couldn’t remain idle. He would continue flying over the whole world until he found the culprits.

"Only a childish course of action like this will be effective against him."

“They’re all in one spot. Zervos and Hiroshi.” He thought. “But there’s no way for me to locate either.”

“But as of right now...”

“Eliminating Mukawa and Zervos is my absolute priority.”

“...”

“I’ll retrieve the central element later.”