[SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETED]

SMACK!

The harsh sound reverberated mechanically within the confined space of the holding facility. However, the person who caused it stood unfazed, glaring down at the surprised detective with a deliberate raised brow.

"Get rid of her, and bag and gag the prison. The boss wants his body in the river before the marshals get here."

The detective saw stars, but fought against the sharp pain beneath her skin, removing her hands from her swollen cheek, then instantly reaching for the service pistol holstered to her thigh.

"There's no way you motherless sum are military - who the hell are you impostors?"

Suddenly, the entire left side of her body went numb. Then, a brutal crack shattered the air as her arm was wrenched free, the sound echoing against the armored walls like a death knell.

The two soldiers that once stood behind the lead soldier's right side were now standing on either sides of the detective – one aiming his rifle point-blank at her temple, the other tossing her severed arm across the room.

There was a wet sound as the arm slammed against the stone floor, the impact sending sparks and shards skittering across the stone as the gun dragged it further from its momentum.

Then, the pain hit.

The sound that escaped the detective's pipes was deafening. Her screams infectiously cause the soldiers to wince, their palms finding their ears before permanent damage could be done.

"Shut that insufferable bitch up!" said the lead soldier.

The order was executed simultaneously. The soldier to her right flipped his rifle with blinding speed, crashing the butt of it against her temple with just enough force to avoid killing her with a single blow.

Stars danced wildly behind her eye lids as she crashed to the ground nearing unconsciousness. Her dead-weight body produced a sickening thud.

The prisoner frowned deeply, and his visible response didn't go unnoticed.

The lead soldier removed his hands from his ears, then slowly walked up to the cell door, gazing down at the frail prisoner with a sly grin as the detective's screaming multiplied against the reinforced steel walls.

For a moment, he briefly scanned the cell, noting the carnage surrounding the prisoner before bringing his gaze back to the accused man.

"Danuja Yomiyama. The human whom they classify a gami. Don't look like no damn Soul Reaper to me. Shit - you barely look healthy... Stand up, Danuja, and face your-"

"Don't call me that."

The prisoner's voice was low, but the weight it carried crushed the soldier's words instantly.

As frustrating as it was, the prisoner's unwillingness to meet his gaze, infuriated the soldier tenfolds. It wasn't until the soldier finally thought to follow the prisoner 's gaze to the detective's remaining hand that he finally lost it.

"A funking energy bar?!"

He turned his murderous gaze back to the prisoner. A powerful aura suddenly enveloping his body made him look more like a C Ranked Striker - perhaps, an elite C - rather than a simple soldier.

"You disrespectful, 12th division scum! You think just because you killed a couple weaklings that you can look down on me?! I am a guilded Shaman. Give me the respect my magic demands, and look at me when I am speaking to –"

SLAPT!

"..."

Suddenly, the soldier's voice caught in his throat, replaced with the sound of him gargling on his own blood.

The other three stared in disbelief, eyes wide in confusion, watching as their leader slumped to the ground lifeless.

They stared in utter terror as blood gushed from the hole in his neck, until the crimson fountain quickly ran out of content.

The ass-hole who threw the detective's arm stumbled back and was the first to speak:

"What the hell!"

The one across from him vomited, cursing between discharges, while the soldier nearest the entrance remained in stunned silence, mute as if he was born the way.

Just behind where the lead soldier once stood, was a small crater that had been left in the metal wall from the impact of an ordinary pebble that sat at its center. It was immediately clear where the attack had come from - one look at the broken stone floor near and around the prisoner was a dead giveaway.

After a few moments, the nauseous soldier wiped his mouth with the back of his free hand, before clutching his rifle and aiming it towards the prisoner.

"What the hell did you do?! The captain - he's dead! And you… you're just sitting there staring at that damn energy bar - as if you didn't just kill'em!"

His voice was hoarse and shaky, but his stance was solid. He may have been shaken, but his training betrayed years of dedication. His rifle was aimed down at the prisoner with the steeled focus of an elite rifleman.

"You won't get another shot off, you can bet on that. I have you down my sights now."

Just then, an eerie sensation crept up the soldier's spine, silencing him and warning him to move - which he did and just in the nick of time.

FWOOOOM!

A delayed gust of wind followed a large pebble as it shot past the soldier's face and exploded against the reinforced wall - this time - blowing a massive hole straight through it. In a hurried motion, all three soldiers lifted their hands to shield their faces as large debris went flying in every direction.

"Get down!" Ass-hole yelled.

The others followed, shielding their faces from significant damage, though, they took a great amount of it to their exposed bodies.

Once the dust finally settled, Ass-hole continued:

"Screw killing this son-of-a-bitch later," he said before clearing his lungs with a dry cough, "kill him now!"

The soldier nearest the door – the Mute – raised his weapon, but hesitated once he saw the prisoner's expression. It was one of pure anger. However, his expression itself wasn't the reason for the soldier's hesitation - not exactly. It was because of what warranted the expression in the first place.

The energy bar.

The treat had been crushed under a piece of wall, consequently scattering its contents across the ground. The other soldiers quickly caught on. To them, it was just a crushed energy bar, something mundane and trivial - to him, somebody from the slum of the 12th Division, it had been everything.

Ass-hole wasted no time pleading his warning:

"Stand down… Danuja Yomiyama!"

The moment Ass-hole said that name, the prisoner's gaze snapped towards him, and his body instantaneously shot up, standing with perfect posture.

"I said…" the prisoner growled. "Don't... call me that."

In the midst of chaos, a familiar digital chime rang in his mind:

DING!

[FULL SYSTEM REBOOT COMPLETED! Stabilizing at 19%]

[You now have limited access to the Reaper System]

[Welcome back, Grim!]

It was as though his very existence was momentarily recalibrated - a brutal reminder of the power coursing through him.

Suddenly, the blood surrounding the lead soldier's dead body began to evaporate into a crimson mist, soon swirling into a large sphere that slowly shaped into a blood katana. In the matter of seconds, it shot past Ass-hole, through the bars of the cell, and right into the prisoner's extended palm.

And for the first time, his gaze found a different target.

"My name…," he began, glaring at Ass-hole as a sleek, pure-white demon mask formed over his face, "… is Grim!"