Hollow Fang

The hum of artificial light flickered above the obsidian conference table. Shadows danced across the black walls, barely illuminated by the cyan glow of the holographic screen hovering in the center. Data streams flowed silently, casting reflections on the expressionless faces of the six elite assassins standing around it.

They were the best—S-Rank Squad No.5, feared across the world for their precision and lethality. And yet, even they stood quietly as the mission file opened with a grim tone.

Commander Reika, sharp-eyed and poised like a blade drawn halfway from its sheath, broke the silence.

Reika:"Target confirmed. Deep beneath Kobe's eastern district lies an abandoned research facility—Site Zero. Buried under decades of secrecy. Most believed it was just a myth… until now."

One of the squad members smirked, folding his arms as if waiting for the inevitable twist.

Squad Member A:"And the catch?"

Reika's gaze didn't waver.

Reika:"It's not empty. A guardian-class entity still protects the Genesis Core Vault. Your mission is to eliminate it and recover any active cores. Intel extraction is top priority."

Another member scoffed, skepticism etched into his furrowed brow.

Squad Member B:"And we're supposed to stroll in and kill a guardian-class being? Sounds like a suicide run dressed as a recon op."

Reika:"You're S-Rank. Do your job."

In the far corner, silent and still, stood Asahi Kuragari.

Thin-framed, quiet, and mostly ignored, he didn't speak. His eyes barely met anyone else's. The others called him a mule—the squad's errand boy. He wasn't part of their killing machine. He was just… there.

His fingers twitched against the strap of the heavy gear bag slung over his shoulder, thoughts quietly spiraling in his head.

"Again... Just the mule. Never part of the core team. Just pick up the gear. Carry the packs. Why do I even bother…?"

A voice snapped him out of it.

Squad Member C:"Oi, Kuragari—make sure the extraction packs are loaded. And don't trip on the way."

Laughter followed. He didn't respond.

Hours later, the storm outside had grown worse. Thunder rolled across the skies above Kobe, echoing like the growl of something ancient. The descent into the forgotten underground began in silence. Cold air wrapped around the squad as they stepped into the rusted metal corridor that led into Site Zero.

The walls groaned. Dust clung to everything like it refused to forget the decades of abandonment. But something felt wrong—off, like the air itself was holding its breath.

Squad Member D:"This place gives me the creeps."

As they went deeper, the environment shifted. The silence thickened. The walls began to glow—faint glyphs pulsing like a heartbeat in the dark.

Asahi's steps faltered for a moment, eyes trailing the strange runes flickering around them.

Asahi:"Are we sure this place is abandoned…?"

The squad leader didn't turn.

Kairo:"Stay focused. We're almost at the vault."

Then the vault chamber came into view.

A massive door, ancient and engraved with untranslatable sigils, slid open with a grinding groan. The chamber within pulsed crimson, bathed in the glow of dormant Genesis Cores lining massive pillars. The air shimmered unnaturally.

The moment they stepped in, something stirred.

Heavy footsteps. Stone grinding against metal.

And then it appeared—towering, monstrous, ancient. A creature forged from obsidian and crystal, veins pulsing with red-gold bio-energy. The Guardian of Site Zero.

Its voice was hollow and cold, but it shook the chamber with its power.

Guardian:"...Foreign presence detected... Initiating purgation protocol..."

The next second, its foot crashed down, shattering the ground beneath them. A 10-meter radius exploded in debris and shockwaves. Elemental energy surged from beneath the floor like lava veins lit by fury.

Kairo didn't hesitate.

Kairo:"Split formation—Delta Arc!"

Rein veered left, electricity coursing through his body. His arm ignited with a plasma arc, forming a blade of lightning. He lunged with speed that cracked the air.

Rein:"Let's see if you bleed, freak!"

His strike hit the Guardian's arm, sending sparks flying—but the creature barely budged. Its response was a sweeping fist that tore through the air like a hurricane. Rein barely ducked in time.

Zera launched next, crystals sprouting from her skin. She leapt into the air, hurling a barrage of razor-sharp Morphic Shards toward its joints.

But nothing pierced. The Guardian didn't even flinch.

Kairo roared, fire erupting from his fists.

Kairo:"Elemental Reinforcement—Lariat Burst!"

His twin fists struck the Guardian's core, detonating in a double explosion that blew a crater into the floor. For a moment, the squad thought it might have worked—until the creature regenerated midair, slamming down with a Gravity Pulse Hammerfist that crushed the ground into a swirling pit.

Asahi stood frozen, watching from the rear, his chest tight with fear.

"They're going all out… and it's not even flinching…"

The Guardian twisted its arm. A mechanical shriek echoed through the chamber as a bio-cannon extended from its limb. A dark spiral formed—an antimatter projectile.

The Singularity Lance fired.

Rein rolled aside, barely escaping. But the blast annihilated the corridor behind him, leaving molten wreckage.

Zera:"We can't keep up! Its regeneration rate is insane!"

Kairo gritted his teeth, flames rippling off his shoulders.

Kairo:"Fall back to core chamber door! Regroup!"

Smoke filled the room as the squad staggered toward the exit, battered and bloodied.

Kairo's voice lowered to a growl.

Kairo:"We're pulling out… This thing is beyond S-Rank threat levels."

Rein looked over his shoulder, then flicked his gaze to Asahi, who stood trembling at the rear.

Rein:"Let the mule distract it. Might buy us time."

Asahi's eyes widened in disbelief.

Asahi:"W-Wait… you're leaving me?!"

Zera didn't even look back.

Zera:"Don't die too fast, errand boy."

Then they were gone.

And he was alone.

The Guardian's molten eyes locked onto him. Its blade scraped across the floor, a slow, haunting sound that cut deeper than any scream.

He reached for a dagger with shaking hands, flung it toward the monster—it bounced harmlessly.

The next second, pain exploded through his body.

The Guardian's blade impaled him clean through the stomach. He was lifted off the ground, blood spilling down in hot, rhythmic drops.

His vision blurred.

Asahi:"So… this is what I was worth… nothing…"

The Guardian released him. He collapsed, motionless.

And then… the earth began to quake.

The Guardian turned away, convinced its task was complete. It returned to its dormant stance, unaware of the energy beginning to twist and churn beneath the surface.

The moment Asahi's blood touched the ancient core beneath the chamber, something changed.

A low hum began to rise from deep within the facility. Lights flickered violently. The Genesis Cores—once silent—began to pulse, react, and resonate with an uncontrollable force. One by one, the dormant cores ruptured in violent sequence.

A vortex of blinding light swallowed the chamber. Core after core detonated, unleashing elemental surges—flames, frost, electricity, shadows—all merging into a massive energy spiral that converged onto Asahi's broken body.

His body jerked violently.

His eyes widened as if his soul were being dragged from the edge of death and hurled through chaos. Blood evaporated off his skin. Nerves screamed. His bones cracked and reshaped. Muscles twitched, tightened, expanded. His hair bleached white in a flash, only a few strands retaining their original color.

And then—he screamed.

A scream so raw and thunderous that it drowned out the quaking earth.

Asahi:"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!"

The explosion of power shattered the entire core chamber. Walls crumbled. The Guardian staggered back, confused for the first time. A pillar of energy shot through the ground, reaching the surface. Lightning storms formed above Kobe as the earth below tore open.

From the dust and light emerged a figure cloaked in smoke and fury.

Asahi—no longer the timid errand boy. He stood taller, body freshly reformed, shadowed beneath a torn black cloak. His eyes glowed with a crimson heat haze, veins coursing with unfamiliar power.

The Guardian stepped forward again, attempting to re-engage.

But Asahi raised his arm—instinctively—and released a wave of compressed heat that warped the very air. The energy blast struck the Guardian before it could move, vaporizing half its torso in one instant.

Asahi's breathing was heavy. He stared at his hand in disbelief.

Asahi:"...What… is this power…?"

The Guardian's remaining body twitched, attempting regeneration. Asahi moved, not with hesitation—but with the cold, precise intent of someone reborn in vengeance. His daggers, now infused with elemental essence, materialized in his hands.

Asahi:"You left me to die…"

He began walking slowly toward the Guardian as his energy surged again, now cloaked in a heat haze that distorted reality itself around him.

Asahi:"You threw me away… like I was nothing."

The Guardian charged one final time.

Asahi dashed forward with impossible speed, both daggers tearing through the Guardian's core before it could react. The creature let out a final screech before erupting into fragments of crystal and dust.

Silence returned.

But it wasn't peace.

Ash fell like snow.

Thunder still rumbled above.

Asahi looked at his bloodied hands. The cloak around him shifted in the wind—black outside, red inside. His hair flowed pale white, marked by strands of black as if clinging to the person he used to be.

He turned his gaze toward the path ahead, where the squad had escaped. His fists clenched slowly.

Asahi:"...I'll kill every last one of you."

His voice was low, calm—yet filled with a venomous finality.

Asahi:"I'll hunt you in the light... and devour you in the dark."

A shadow swallowed the broken chamber as he vanished into the tunnel beyond, reborn under a new name the world would soon tremble to hear—

Hollow Fang.