The blast of air and light rattled the glass panels overhead. Akio landed hard, knees bending to absorb the impact, his cloak snapping around him as the ground trembled. The shrill screech of metal filled the station. Shattered glass rained down from above, catching sunlight as it fell. Through the chaos, the crowd poured out in a panicked tide, their screams echoing through the vaulted space.

  The Auroride Central Hub had always been loud, but now it was deafening in a different way. Sirens wailed. The air smelled of ozone and burnt circuitry. The once pristine marble floor was fractured with claw marks and scorched metal.

  Akio adjusted his stance, breathing steady behind the white hound mask. His eyes darted from one threat to another—each serpent-like construct towering, segmented, glimmering with orange light. Their bodies wound through the wreckage like cables come alive. His blade flickered faintly in his grip, pale light tracing its curved edge. He’d bought the civilians enough time to escape. Now, it was just him.

  Damage control first. Stall until Gabriel secures the Auroride’s main grid.

  The next serpent lunged before the thought even finished. Its body coiled around a support pylon, armor segments grinding as they locked into a launch angle. Akio darted forward—boots hitting debris, cloak flaring. The serpent’s cannon lit up, energy swelling in its throat, but by the time it fired, he was already gone. The beam scorched the wall behind him, molten tile dripping onto the floor.

  He reappeared along the serpent’s spine, running lightly across its metal plates. Sparks flew as he dragged the blade along its joints, severing conduits one after another. The creature convulsed violently, its body jerking sideways before collapsing into the station floor with a crash that shook the pillars.

  Akio landed in a crouch amidst the smoke. The echo of combat faded into a temporary silence. Only the hum of broken circuitry and the faint whine of cooling servos. He rose slowly, exhaling through his mask.

  That was when the air shifted.

  It was a feeling more than a sound—pressure bending the atmosphere, the faint crackle of foreign energy threading through the air. Akio’s instincts sharpened. He turned his gaze upward.

  A figure stood high above the wreckage, balanced on a floating platform of dark alloy. Their silhouette was unmistakable: the cloak, the mask, the clockwork halo of orange light and rotating dials that formed a slow turning ring behind them. Suspended cubes rotated around the figure’s body, glowing faintly on their axes.

  Echo.

  For a heartbeat, the world seemed to narrow. Akio’s pulse steadied, every part of him falling into that quiet, razor thin focus that came only when the enemy in front of him mattered. The rival he had been clashing with for years was here, in person.

  Their gazes met across the distance. Akio could feel the assessment happening in real time—Echo’s attention dissecting his stance, his rhythm, his breathing. He did the same, calculating trajectories, structural weaknesses, power output. Two killers watching each other through mirrored glass.

  The hum of energy deepened. One by one, the orange cubes unfolded, releasing new constructs into the air. The serpents reassembled from the wreckage—pieces rising like shards drawn to a magnet. Metal groaned as their bodies took form again, eyes glowing bright and hungry.

  Akio didn’t move.

  The pale blue feathers circling him began to lift, orbiting in slow, fluid arcs, each one sharp as a blade. The light off his weapon refracted through them, scattering into soft hues. He angled the curved blade downward, ready, reading every vibration of the floor, every spark of light from the ceiling. Above, Echo raised a hand, gears turning with a faint click. The orange glow flared brighter.

  For a moment, everything stilled. The world poised between heartbeats.

  Then—

  Click.

  The faint sound of a camera shutter broke the silence—followed by a whisper, far too loud to belong in a warzone.

  “Oh my god, this battle is insane.”

  Akio froze. His eyes flicked towards the sound, searching for the source.

  There, half hidden behind a pile of shattered marble and twisted metal, was a familiar girl with silver hair tied half up in a ponytail, camera raised gleefully to her face. She was smiling like she’d stumbled into a fireworks show, not a death trap. Even from this distance, Akio recognized the jacket, the posture, the sheer reckless enthusiasm radiating off her.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Aira.

  He didn’t move, didn’t breathe, but inside his mind was chaos.

  No no no—why. WHY is she here?

  Before he could even begin to process the disaster, another figure crouched beside her, peeking from behind the same heap of debris. Straight black hair tied into two low ponytails, orange eyes bright even in the smoke, her expression torn between concern and reluctant amusement.

  Yoru. Of course. The universe had decided to send both of them.

  Akio’s internal scream nearly broke through his composure.

  My sister and her best friend in the middle of a live combat zone between me and Echo. This is fine. Everything’s fine. EVERYTHING’S FINE—

  He forced his attention back to the enemy above. Echo hadn’t moved, though even through the haze, Akio swore the masked figure hesitated. The villain’s head tilted slightly, the faintest pause that mirrored Akio’s own disbelief. Apparently, they both hadn’t anticipated a pair of overenthusiastic journalists crashing their showdown.

  On the ground, Yoru nudged Aira gently, whispering urgently, “Aira, I really don’t think we should be here…”

  Aira, still snapping photos like a woman possessed, grinned. “Yoru, you’re kidding, right? This is history in the making! The Dawn Hound versus Echo! We’re talking front page material here. Don’t worry—we’ll be fine.”

  Yoru hesitated, glancing from the duel above to Aira’s wide, fearless grin. “If you say so…” she murmured, clearly unconvinced.

  Akio went through all five stages of grief at once.

  DON’T LISTEN TO HER, SHE’S GOING TO GET YOU BOTH KILLED—

  From her hiding spot, Aira peeked over the edge of the debris again, clearly realizing they’d been noticed. Her eyes widened briefly when she locked onto him—then she smiled and waved. Waved.

  “Dawn Hound!” she called out cheerfully, her voice carrying over the wreckage. “Don’t mind us! I’m just getting footage for my blog! Go—”

  The air snapped.

  Akio’s instincts flared before his brain could even form the thought. The serpent construct overhead realigned, its segmented body twisting, cannon charging with a deep orange glow. He dropped his weapon mid motion, dashing forward in a streak of white just as the serpent fired.

  BANG.

  The explosion ripped through the air, shattering stone and glass. Debris exploded outward in a violent wave of dust and energy. Akio burst through the shockwave, closing the distance in a heartbeat. He caught Aira by the back of her jacket, Yoru by the waist, momentum carrying all three of them out of the blast zone just as the ceiling gave way.

  Massive slabs of marble crashed down behind them, obliterating the spot where the girls had been crouched seconds earlier. Akio twisted midair, using his body as a shield to absorb the debris, landing hard but clean. His movements were sharp, controlled, each motion calculated for minimal harm. The moment his boots hit the ground, he was already scanning the wreckage.

  Across the ruined central hub, the serpent that had fired the shot spasmed violently, its massive, segmented body twisting in disarray. Sparks arced from its joints, gears grinding in protest as its head rose shakily toward the ceiling. The cannon built into its maw pulsed erratically, its energy core flickering between bright orange and unstable white. It was losing control—seconds away from detonating or firing blindly.

  Akio moved before his mind could catch up. He released the girls and sprinted forward. His weapon lay where he’d dropped it earlier, glinting faintly amid the rubble. He slid low across the cracked tiles, one hand reaching out, catching the circular hilt mid-slide. In a single, fluid motion, he spun the weapon upright, igniting its pale light as he vaulted upward.

  The serpent reared back to strike, but Akio was already there—cutting through the air in a streak of blue. His blade curved upward once, then down in a perfect arc that cleaved the machine’s head clean from its neck. The impact echoed through the shattered chamber, followed by a blinding flare as the core imploded. The robot collapsed in a cascade of metal, the light in its eyes extinguishing at last.

  Akio landed in silence, dust drifted past him in lazy clouds. He spun the weapon once at his fingertips, letting it fold neatly into its circular form, the soft whir of the mechanism the only sound left in the aftermath.

  When he looked up, Echo was gone.

  No platform. No rotating cubes. No trace of the orange constructs that had filled the air only moments ago. The other serpents were gone too, like the battle had never happened.

  Akio stood among the wreckage, surrounded by the distant sound of alarms, the faint creak of settling metal. Relief brushed through him—a fleeting thought, quiet and honest.

  That could’ve gone a lot worse.

  Then came the footsteps. Light, hurried, and far too familiar.

  “Dawn Hound!” Aira’s voice rang out, bright and breathless. “That was amazing! Thanks for saving us! I caught all of that on camera!”

  Yoru followed just behind her, more composed but no less shaken. Her voice was soft, careful. “Thank you.”

  Akio turned to face them. The mask revealed nothing, but behind it, his eyes flicked quickly over both of them searching for injuries, confirming there were none. Relief settled heavy in his chest. He should have been angry. He wanted to be angry. But all that came instead was a quiet exhaustion.

  Aira was already back in reporter mode. “Can I ask you a few questions? What’s your motivation behind fighting? What do you think about Echo showing up? And—”

  Her voice cut off as his earpiece crackled softly to life.

  “Grid secured,” came Gabriel’s calm voice over the line. “Echo didn’t breach it. Good work, Dawn. We’re done here.”

  Akio let out a silent breath.

  Finally.

  He refocused on the two girls, on his sister—her face lit with unfiltered excitement, her eyes bright and unafraid, even after nearly dying minutes ago. He felt a pull between exasperation and fondness, an old, familiar ache. A part of him wanted to scold her for her recklessness, to demand what she had been thinking running into a live battle like this. But he knew her too well. No lecture would stop her. If anything, it would just make her more determined.

  She was like him that way. Stubborn. Curious. Fearless to a fault.

  “So,” she pressed, expectant, “what do you think?”

  Akio’s modulated voice came out even and steady. “Just be more careful next time.”

  And before she could say another word, he was gone—slipping through the dust and light, disappearing over the distant city rooftops.

  As he soared through the daylight, the chaos behind him began to fade into quiet. The battle, the danger, the near disaster—it all dissolved into something strangely human. His sister’s recklessness, Yoru’s calm, the fact that everyone had made it out alive. Despite everything, they had saved the day.

  He exhaled softly, a trace of relief in the sound.

  It could’ve gone worse.

  ─ ? NEXT CHAPTER POV ? ─

  Damien