THE REBORN WORLD OF THE CHRONICLES

Alfie slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry and head heavy. His body ached from the earlier confrontation, but a familiar voice brought him back to his senses.

"I think you learnt one or two things today, kid," Marco said, crouched beside him.

"Mr. Shinra... you came back," Alfie whispered, weakly trying to rise. "Where's my mother... and my brothers?"

Before Alfie could collapse again, Marco caught him and eased him gently to the ground.

"You lowly human, what do you think you're doing?" one of the Alpha darkside spirits roared, stepping forward with murderous intent.

"Pipe down, small fry," Marco replied without flinching. "Special-darkside spirits are no match for me. You should be grateful to die by my hands today."

The first darkside spirit launched another barrage of Renshi attacks toward them. Marco, still holding Alfie with one arm, snapped his fingers. Instantly, the dark energy redirected, scattering into the sky and trees.

"What... just happened?" one of the darkside spirits muttered in disbelief.

"Just a little trick," Marco said, rising to his feet. "I deflected your attacks by seizing control of your Renshi itself. You're weaker than you think."

He reached for his sword and unsheathed it with a deliberate motion. His aura shifted—intense, overwhelming, and unlike anything Alfie had felt before. Even the darkside spirits paused.

"Retreat," one of them barked. "We're no match for him. His Renshi... it's higher and greater than even the boy's. He sealed his aura until now. This is someone dangerous."

Marco narrowed his eyes. "Impressive. You're the leader, aren't you? It's rare for Alpha darkside spirits to have a hierarchy. There's something suspicious about you. I can't let you go."

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, Shinra," the third spirit growled. "Kill us, and the god of Avengers will erase you from existence. You're risking a war humanity can't win."

"god?" Marco blinked. "You actually believe in that nonsense?"

The darkside spirit grinned darkly. "We serve directly under him. We're part of the Avengers. We may be new recruits, but our deaths won't go unpunished."

Marco's expression shifted, deep in thought. Avengers... that name sounds familiar. Could it be? No, that group haven't been in action ages ago—or so we believed...

"If it's truly a darkside god," Marco replied aloud, "why would he use Alpha darkside spirits to do his dirty work? Sounds more like a delusion—or maybe a special-darkside spirit is feeding you lies."

"You think a special-darkside spirit can fool us?" the leader barked. "We're nearly evolved into special-darkside spirits ourselves! There are over twenty of them in the Avengers. Just wait... humanity's destruction is already in motion!"

Marco studied them for a moment. They're bluffing... but they're also terrified. That means this Avengers group might actually still be in action. If so, we're facing something much bigger than we thought.

"Fine," Marco said, stepping forward. "Then I'll kill you and send your so-called god a message."

"Tch! He's not letting us go. We'll have to fight our way out!" the leader snapped. "No holding back!"

The three darkside spirits growled as they transformed—spines stretched into tails, elbows morphed into elongated sword-like blades, and their hands cloaked in black Renshi. A dragon-mark glowed ominously on their foreheads.

Marco exhaled. "Step back, Alfie. These guys aren't like the Alpha darkside spirit you and that girl fought. They're one step away from becoming special darkside spirits. I'm stronger, but this body limits me..."

Alfie blinked. "Wait—this body?"

"Don't ask stupid questions. Just get to safety!" Marco barked.

Almost blew my cover, Marco thought grimly. I really hate being stuck in this body.

With a burst of dark wind, the three darkside spirits charged. Two struck from opposite angles with their elbow blades, but Marco countered instantly, clashing steel with an expert's grace.

"Behind you, Mr. Shinra!" Alfie shouted.

"I see it perfectly," Marco answered calmly, his body already shifting to intercept the third darkside spirit's sneak attack.

A deadly storm was about to unfold—and the battlefield would tremble under the wrath of a Shinra.