THE EBON BREACH

(Theme: "Raiders of the Rain")

The rain didn't fall — it cut. Each drop sliced through the night like a thousand quiet knives, hissing against the leaves, against skin, against steel.

Kaito sprinted through the canopy, eyes narrowed, his body weaving through the storm's fury with machine precision. The forest's breath came in gusts of cold air and thunder. Beside him, Akari leapt between trunks, her form a blur, each movement clean, efficient, untouched by the chaos peeling through the heavens.

"You know the Blood Hounds better than anyone," Kaito shouted over the roar. "How the hell are we ambushing them?"

Akari's voice was calm, deadly calm. "We don't hit them head-on. We exploit their pride."

"Pride?" His breath fogged in the night.

"They built their security systems to be invincible. Which means…" Her golden eyes flicked toward him. "…they never expected a breach from within."

"Wait—how does that help us?"

"Their core grid triggers only on external contact. If you're already inside... it shuts down."

"And you can't go in first because…?"

"If I step in, their high-alert response kicks in within milliseconds. But you? You're off their radar — for now."

Kaito exhaled hard. "Hounds tech is terrifying…"

"Then don't trip it."

Lightning tore the sky. For one instant, the silhouette of the Ebon Citadel rose on the horizon — a spearhead of black steel.

"Once we're inside — what's the plan?" Kaito asked.

"Weapons first. My Crimson Blade's fractured. And we need Sample #340fA3."

"The stabilizer?"

"It keeps my horns from rupturing my spine. Without it, I won't last two minutes in a fight."

"And me?"

"You've absorbed raw core essence — enough to level a city block. If you don't anchor it soon, your cells'll collapse from radiation overload."

He drew a cold breath. "So… we're both ticking bombs."

"That's what makes us dangerous."

They leapt a broken ridge — then froze.

BOOOOM—!!

The forest exploded.

A volcanic fist punched through the rain-soaked trees. Heat rippled the air, warping space itself. Kaito's blade flashed out just in time, deflecting the strike — but the force still sent him flying, his body smashing through trunks like brittle glass.

THRMM—WHAM—CRACK!

"Kaito!" Akari snarled, pivoting, but before she could move —

A needle slashed past her cheek, radiating light, spinning death.

FLASH.

A nuclear-scale pulse detonated. Akari threw up a barrier in the heartbeat before impact — crimson aura flaring, teeth clenched — as the blast carved the forest to ash.

She exhaled through the haze. "Rank Seven and Eight…"

From the smoke, Magma stepped forward — molten plates hissing, shoulders wide as war machines.

"You survived Tazar's detonation? Impressive." His voice was mechanical, slow, inhuman.

Tazar emerged behind him — tall, lean, twitching with radiation. The very air warped around his frame.

"Shame," he cooed. "We tried so hard to vaporize you on entry."

Kaito surged back — a blur of speed, blade drawn. He swung at Magma's neck—

SKRRRANG—!!!

Magma blocked. The impact sent a sonic ring through the ground, shaking stone and bone alike.

Height… 2.9 meters. Center mass armored. Forward motion slow. Kaito's mind raced.

He smirked. "You move like a golem."

Magma's eyes glowed. "Incorrect."

He vanished.

FHOOM—!!

A fist crashed into Kaito's stomach. His eyes went wide as he flew again.

Magma slammed his hands into the earth. Stone coiled up like living serpents, sealing in molten arcs. A dome rose around them.

"You just entered our laboratory," Tazar laughed, fingers flicking as a purple gas cloud curled inward.

It's not poison. It's pre-ignition. Chemical-laced air. Ultrafine vapor. Trace uranium. This wasn't a fight — it was a setup.

Akari charged Magma, blades flashing — but he tanked the hits. Tazar intercepted, a radiation blade slicing the dirt near her feet.

Kaito's blade drove into the stone — not to kill, but to analyze.

Every dome has seams. This one breathes through heat channels. Vent points.

He struck.

SHH-KRAK—!!

A section ruptured. He dove through — gas following him. Tazar smirked.

"You brought the storm with you. Good."

He snapped his fingers.

FLASHFIRE.

Micro-explosions burst in sequence. Small — smaller than nukes — but close enough. Akari's hair scorched at the edges. Kaito grabbed her, yanked her behind his gravity shield.

"We can't stay in here—"

"Then break it."

Magma's arm shifted, transforming — his forearm a molten gauntlet as wide as Kaito's chest. He swung.

KRAAAANG—!!!

Kaito caught the blow. Bone cracked. Skin split.

"Their formation's airtight," Kaito gritted. "They're not improvising. This was planned."

Akari's eyes burned like twin dying stars. She leapt—

BANG—!!

A bullet clipped her blade. It shattered.

A net fired from the ridge. Kaito lunged, tackled her midair, pulling her free before it wrapped around.

Magma's voice boomed. "Begin the ritual."

"Ritual?!" Kaito barked.

Tazar rose, violet runes spiraling behind him — endless, whispering.

"Do you know what makes an atomic bomb... art?" Tazar's grin was all teeth.

"Mass can't be destroyed — only transformed."Tazar's voice was low, steady as he raised a hand."But with just 8.34 grams of uranium… unstable, fissile U-235…"A sphere of plasma formed at his fingertips, warping the air around it. Light bent inward. Gravity tilted. The very fabric of space seemed to shudder at the birth of annihilation.

Kaito's breath stopped. Akari froze, gaze locked.

This isn't war. This is extinction.

From miles away, Deadeye watched — silent, unmoving.

His finger twitched. Something fired.

It hit the core. Starting series of chain reaction

Tazar smiled. "Atomic—"

FLASH—BOOOOOOM—!!!

Everything vanished in white. Red. Orange.

The dome sealed itself — shimmering, thrumming with pressure, like the world holding its breath. The soil cracked beneath it. The air inside thickened, shimmering waves distorting what little light dared remain.

Akari could feel it — the weight, the heat, the sense that something had gone beyond control. Her eyes darted toward Kaito, watching as he staggered in the molten haze, breath tearing from his lungs, energy coiling too tight.

"Kaito—" she started, but the sound was lost to the hum of the sealed dome, a sound like the heartbeat of a god holding judgment.

Inside that cage of gravity and flame, something shifted. The balance tipped.

And beyond, unseen — the night held its breath, waiting for what would come when the storm broke.

ORION'S FINAL COMMENT:Oho~. The forest is gone. The brave ones? Cooked in silence. But don't worry — explosions are just how gods say hello.Next: "The Eye That Doesn't Blink." Will they rise from the ash… or become part of it?