ASH BENEATH FLAMES

The clash rang out like thunder—a sharp echo of steel colliding. Sparks danced between the blade of a katana and a pair of elemental-forged daggers. Kairo held his ground, his breath steady as he pushed against Kuragiri's weight.

Kuragiri's cloak fluttered behind him, his eyes dim and unreadable, reflecting only death and ice.

Kairo exhaled calmly, stepping back as the momentum broke. "Phew… just in time." His gaze flicked to the side, scanning the dust-ridden battlefield. "Hey, Zera—you okay?"

Zera stood behind him, her breath shaky, arms trembling. Her brows tightened with a scowl as she winced in pain.

"Do I look okay to you?" she snapped, half-wheezing.

Kairo nodded, eyes still forward. "Return to the team."

Without another word, Zera turned, dragging herself back. But in a blur—like a whisper of wind—Kuragiri appeared before her.

Her eyes widened.

His fist, now encased in a jagged gauntlet of frozen ice, came down like a hammer.

Zera crossed both arms over her face in a desperate defense—but too late. The moment the ice-clad fist struck, one of her morphic arms froze instantly… and shattered into crystalline fragments.

A scream tore through the silence.

"Aaaiieee!!!"

Kuragiri's voice dripped with cruel satisfaction. "Heh… now you can't regenerate those Morphic arms of yours."

Kairo's eyes burned with rage. His hand clenched his sword tighter, veins flaring across his forearm. "You dare…!"

In an explosive dash—faster than lightning itself—Kairo charged forward. His blade became a blur, slashing rapidly in succession, each stroke cloaked in flame. Fire swirled like a cyclone around him.

Kuragiri responded with a gust of cold breath. A billow of frost exhaled from his lips, freezing the blazing arcs midair, shattering them in a burst of glittering frost.

Kairo's voice roared through the firestorm. "Atomic Wildfire!"

The ground beneath them erupted.

A violent blaze of inferno surged up from the earth, swallowing the street in molten chaos. Houses were leveled, the air itself igniting. Smoke coiled into the sky. Kuragiri's cloak caught fire—his skin scorched, parts peeling from the heatwave.

But he didn't scream.

Kairo lunged forward again.

"Salava!" he growled, snapping his head forward.

A massive stream of lava spewed from his mouth—an elemental torrent of molten destruction hurled at Kuragiri.

But the assassin exhaled once more, his frost surging outward. The lava froze in mid-air—solidified into sharp obsidian ice.

Kairo kicked the mass of frozen lava, sending shards slicing through the air. The ice knives cut across Kuragiri's cheek, leaving bloody trails.

Kuragiri didn't flinch. He only smirked as he licked the blood from the corner of his lip.

"You're not S-Rank… are you?"

Kairo's eyes narrowed. The tension between them crackled like pressure before a storm.

..............................

Long before he became the feared leader of Assassin Squad No. 5… Kairo was just a boy.

He remembered that day vividly. The sound of shouting, the scraping of feet on wooden floors, the echo of laughter that wasn't his.

He had been standing by the gate of a small dojo, eyes peering through the fence as he watched a group of children practicing karate. Their movements were clumsy but filled with spirit, punches flying, kicks missing the mark. Yet something about their energy fascinated him.

The sensei noticed the presence by the gate and walked over, a kind, weathered smile on his face.

"Hey, kid," the man said, kneeling slightly. "Wanna spar a bit?"

Kairo hesitated, glancing down at his casual clothes. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to hide the nerves under a timid smile. "Uuhg… heh, sure."

He stepped onto the wooden floor. The moment he entered, the room's mood shifted.

One of the kids raised a brow mockingly. "Look at that beautiful karate uniform."

Laughter echoed from the others.

Kairo ignored it, walking toward the sparring space. He stood silently, expression calm but unreadable.

The sensei joined him in the circle. "Ready, kid?"

"Sure."

"Go!"

It took less than a second.

Before anyone could blink, the sensei was on the floor—his body slammed, breath knocked out. Kairo stood over him, dominance radiating from his cold stare.

"I win."

The dojo fell silent.

The sensei let out an awkward chuckle. "Hehe… What's your name, kid?"

"Kairo," he said. "The one who will become the greatest assassin to ever exist."

The karate master get up and stretches

" Hehe I'll be sure to remember that name."

And so the whispers began.

Within days, rumors swept through the neighborhood—a kid had defeated Kobe's undefeated martial arts teacher. Children who once mocked him now feared him. Parents whispered warnings. People avoided him like a curse.

He became alone.

He stopped speaking much. No one dared to approach him. Even when he smiled, it carried a weight that chilled the room.

One day, while wandering aimlessly, he passed by a quiet neighborhood near the edge of town. Something smelled off—blood, fire, and death.

He followed the scent.

There, in the shadow of a smoldering orphanage, he saw it. A man—an assassin—slaughtering the last of the adults, stepping over charred bodies. Five children huddled in the corner, trembling as the murderer approached them with a bloodied dagger.

Kairo's heart thudded.

He ran.

Unarmed, unthinking, he charged forward with nothing but a broken chair leg in his grip. The assassin turned, his stare colder than ice.

Fear clutched Kairo's chest, but he didn't stop. He hurled the chair with all his strength.

It was kicked aside easily.

A dagger flew toward Kairo.

He grabbed the nearest thing—a worn-out children's book—and threw it. It struck the assassin's face, buying a second.

Kairo leapt in and delivered a heavy blow to the assassin's gut. But it wasn't enough.

The man roared, coating his blades in wind-element energy. He swung—slicing toward the children behind Kairo.

Kairo glanced back. Their faces were frozen in terror. He turned again, his body moving before thought. He grabbed a nearby table and threw it into the wind slash. It shattered instantly—but something inside him sparked.

Fire.

It danced along his veins.

The air around him lit with embers, and suddenly—an eruption.

Flames surged from his body in an uncontrolled blast, incinerating the assassin where he stood.

Smoke filled the air.

Kairo collapsed.

When his eyes opened, the children were gathered around him. A girl, a little younger than him, knelt beside him with tears in her eyes.

"I'm Zera… thank you for saving our lives."

Kairo smiled faintly. "Heh… You're welcome."

A thick, chubby boy stepped forward, innocence on his face. "I'm Kamuro, sir! But… if you're this strong, shouldn't you be famous or something?"

"Not everyone respects power," Kairo said softly. "Some fear it. So I've decided not to show it anymore."

Zera's eyes blazed with conviction. "Then from now on use your power to the fullest! Don't hide anymore! And I'll catch up to you in no time!"

Kairo looked at her in silence. For the first time… he felt something beyond solitude.

Kuragiri waiting for a reply from kairo, lips curved in a faint smirk. "To weak to talk?"

Then the air around him shifted.

A blue aura ignited around his body, heatwaves distorting the space around him. The sky seemed to ripple as his presence intensified.

His hair cast shadows over his eyes.

"From now on… I'm fighting beyond the capabilities of an S-rank."