Chapter 13:Crestfall isle

Aetherion Academy – Dorm Sector 7

03:00 A.M.

The academy's calm night was shattered by a blaring siren.

"PROJECT ELITE—UP. NOW. LAUNCH IN 30 MINUTES."

The voice was metallic and unrelenting—Professor Kael's no-nonsense tone, broadcast through the academy's emergency channels. Harsh. Cold. Dead serious.

Kai bolted upright in bed, heart already hammering. The lights in the dorm strobed red.

Across the hall, someone cursed—Kaito, probably. Renji was already stomping out of her room pulling on combat boots, hair a total mess, eyes half-open but pissed like a soldier yanked from a dream.

"You've got five minutes to gear up. Don't waste them."

Rika opened her door next, bleary-eyed but already scanning the hallway like she was still inside an illusion. "What the hell now?" she muttered.

Kai said nothing. He was already pulling on his reinforced uniform, strapping his gloves and utility belt tight. His mind locked into mission mode.

Airi emerged last—still brushing her hair back, eyes sharp beneath a shadow of sleep. Her uniform was zipped only halfway, wind aura flickering faintly around her like her body knew the storm was coming before she did.

Their eyes met in the chaos of the corridor—just for a second.

No words.

But there was something electric in that second.

Launch Pad Omega – 03:27 A.M.

The six S-Rank students—Kai, Airi, Renji, Rika, Kaito, and Derrick—stood beneath a titanic airship shaped like a steel-winged dragon, its engines humming with restrained power.

Kael paced before them like a general about to deploy a strike team. Behind him, Headmaster Kurenai stood motionless, eyes scanning each of them with unreadable calculation.

Kael spoke sharply, no warm-up.

"This is your first deployment under Project Elite. This is not simulated. This is not safe."

He tapped a console.

A 3D map of a storm-wracked island rotated in the air.

"Crestfall Isle. Lost Kaiju research site. Now a containment zone crawling with real Tier 1 and Tier 2 Kaiju. Your mission: retrieve this—"

He pointed to a shimmering image of a radiant emblem: The Golden Crest of Aetherion Academy.

"It's hidden somewhere on the island. You have 48 hours. No support. No extraction until time's up."

"Wait—actual Kaiju?" Rika said, voice rising.

Kael didn't blink. "Correct."

"Are we allowed to kill?" Renji asked flatly.

"If you want to live, yes."

"Lovely," Kaito muttered.

Derrick looked down at his gloves—reinforced to suppress his Kaiju blood. His hands trembled just once.

Kurenai finally spoke, his voice absolute.

"You were chosen for more than strength. You represent the future of this world's defense. But the Kaiju don't care about potential. They only respect power."

His gaze turned to Kai.

"Show them why we chose you."

Aboard the Carrier – En Route to Crestfall

The jet roared across dark skies, slicing through low clouds. The team sat inside the jump bay, strapped in and silent.

Kai sat beside Airi, arms folded, eyes closed—but not asleep.

"You nervous?" Airi asked suddenly.

He cracked one eye open. "You?"

She didn't answer. Just smiled slightly.

"I just hope they didn't put the crest underwater," she added. "Because I swear if we have to fight sea Kaiju again—"

"I'll freeze the ocean," he said.

She snorted. "You'd try."

"Wouldn't be the dumbest thing I've done."

She paused, then glanced at him sideways. "…What is the dumbest?"

Kai smirked. "Not kissing you the last time I had the chance."

Airi blinked. Hard.

Then turned away, the heat rising to her cheeks louder than her voice.

Crestfall Isle – 05:14 A.M.

The team dropped from the carrier one by one—landing with practiced grace in the mist-drenched jungle. It was quiet.

Too quiet.

Bones littered the soil like dead leaves. Giant claw marks raked across moss-covered cliffs. Trees had been torn from the ground like weeds.

Rika's skin crawled. "Yeah. This place is definitely haunted."

"No ghosts," Renji said. "Just monsters."

Mission Active: Retrieve the Crest. 48 Hours Begin Now.

They moved—Kai and Airi heading east through the thick canopy, Kaito and Derrick taking the river path, Rika and Renji scaling cliffs to scout from above.

Something watched them from deep in the jungle. Something that hadn't eaten in days.

And beneath the soil… something stirred.