The city was on fire.
Sirens howled through the misty night, cutting jagged lines of sound through the black sky.
Floodlights snapped on one by one, beams slicing through the ruins of Relay Node 7.
And from the darkness, they came — black helicopters, armored drones, rapid-response units.
All hunting one thing.
Them.
---
No Time to Breathe
Reo's heart pounded against his ribs like a war drum as he sprinted down a shattered alley, Arisa and Yuna right behind him.
Takashi stumbled, bleeding from a wound in his side, but Reo grabbed his arm, yanking him forward.
"No stopping," Reo barked. "MOVE!"
Behind them, Coil hunters poured into the wreckage, scanning with thermal sensors, shouting orders.
They would be surrounded in minutes.
"Doraemon!" Reo hissed into his earpiece. "Exit route!"
Inside the worn backpack bouncing against his back, Doraemon worked furiously, scanning the city's underground systems.
A moment later, his voice crackled through.
"Sewers! Thirty meters east! There's a maintenance hatch — go now!"
Reo didn't hesitate.
He veered sharply, leading the team down a crumbling side street, leaping over piles of trash and broken piping.
In the distance, searchlights grew closer — like the eyes of monsters bearing down.
---
Desperate Escape
"There!" Arisa pointed.
A rusted metal hatch set into the cracked pavement.
Reo dropped to his knees, pried it open with a wrench snatched from a junk heap.
The smell that wafted up was foul — damp, rotten, ancient.
Perfect.
"Takashi first!" Reo ordered.
Arisa helped lower the injured boy into the dark tunnel, then Yuna, then herself.
Reo followed last, pulling the hatch shut just as drone searchlights swept over the alley they'd just left.
Seconds.
That's all the difference had been.
Seconds between life and death.
---
In the Belly of the Beast
The sewer tunnels were narrow, barely wide enough for them to move single file.
Cold, stagnant water splashed around their boots as they stumbled deeper into the dark.
Their flashlights carved thin, shaky beams through the gloom.
Above them, the world rumbled with chaos — helicopters circling, boots pounding, sirens screaming.
But down here?
Only silence.
A heavy, suffocating silence.
Reo took point, every step calculated, every shadow a potential trap.
"Doraemon, how deep does this system go?" he whispered.
"Deep enough to reach Old Town," Doraemon replied. "But it's dangerous. Maps are outdated. There could be collapses… or worse."
"Worse?" Arisa asked, glancing nervously at the dark water sloshing against her knees.
"Let's just say… not everything down here stayed dead." Doraemon muttered.
Yuna paled.
Takashi groaned softly, blood still seeping from his side.
They needed medical attention — soon.
Reo clenched his fists.
Just a little longer. Just survive a little longer.
---
Old Ghosts
Hours passed.
Or maybe it was only minutes.
Time twisted strangely in the endless dark.
Just when it felt like the tunnels might never end, Reo's flashlight caught something — a ladder, bolted into the slimy wall.
Above it, a faded maintenance hatch.
Old, rusted.
But freedom.
"Up!" Reo ordered.
They climbed one by one, muscles trembling with exhaustion.
Reo was the last to ascend.
As he reached for the hatch handle, he hesitated — instincts screaming.
Something's wrong.
The hatch wasn't just old.
It was sealed.
Fresh welds gleamed in the flashlight's beam.
And scratched into the metal, barely visible:
"RUN."
Before Reo could react, a low growl echoed from the darkness below.
Multiple growls.
Wet, ragged breathing.
And then —
Eyes.
Red, gleaming eyes.
Dozens of them.
---
The Hunt Below
"GO BACK!" Reo roared.
He shoved the others down the ladder as a horde of shapes lunged from the tunnels behind them — creatures twisted and half-human, half-machine.
Abominations bred from failed experiments.
The Coil's discarded nightmares.
The monsters shrieked as they gave chase, splashing wildly through the filthy water.
"RUN!" Reo bellowed again.
They sprinted back through the tunnels, lungs burning, fear clawing at their throats.
Takashi stumbled, but Yuna grabbed him, dragging him along.
Behind them, the pack closed in — teeth flashing, claws raking the air.
Reo gritted his teeth.
Not like this. Not after everything.
---
Light in the Dark
"Left turn, 20 meters!" Doraemon shouted in Reo's ear. "There's an old evacuation shaft!"
Hope surged.
They ran harder, feet slipping on wet stone.
The monsters howled in fury as they gained ground.
At the last second, Reo spotted the shaft — a narrow crack in the tunnel wall.
He pushed the others through first, then turned, drawing a short-barrel pulse pistol from his belt.
One shot.
Two.
Three.
Monsters dropped, screeching, but there were too many.
With a final burst of speed, Reo dove through the shaft, sliding into the darkness beyond.
Just as he cleared the entrance, he triggered a small, silent charge.
The tunnel behind them collapsed in a thunderous roar, sealing the monsters away.
For now.
---
Temporary Haven
They stumbled into a forgotten maintenance room, collapsing against the damp walls, panting.
The air was foul, but it was safe.
For now.
Takashi slumped to the floor, Arisa immediately tearing open her pack to patch his wound.
Reo leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit.
He let his head fall back, closing his eyes for a moment.
Still alive.
Against all odds… still alive.
But the night wasn't over.
Not by a long shot.
Above them, the Coil's forces scoured the city.
They would be hunted until the end of the world.
Unless they fought back even harder.
Unless they lit an even bigger fire.
And Reo?
Reo was ready.
He opened his eyes, cold and sharp.
"We hit them," he said hoarsely. "Harder than before. Burn their networks. Cripple their supply lines. Break their lies."
He looked around at his battered, bleeding team.
"You with me?"
One by one, they nodded.
Worn.
Wounded.
But unbroken.
And somewhere in the dark, a revolution waited to be born.
---