Kuvin was practically over the moon as he stood before the towering gates of the Martial Palace. His heart pounded with excitement—Kenji's residual energy still lingered in the air, thick and electrifying. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and let the sensation wash over him.
"So… he went berserk again, huh?" Kuvin muttered with a small grin. "Completely annihilated someone, no doubt."
But now wasn't the time to admire the aftermath.
"I need to get inside… without setting off any alarms," he whispered, scanning the gate. Just as panic started to set in, a sudden realization lit up his face. "Wait... I can do that."
Stepping back, Kuvin took a deep breath and slid into a battle stance. His body began to hum with energy, a golden aura bursting to life around him. It grew brighter and brighter until his figure glowed like a miniature sun—his hair flickering, his eyes gleaming molten gold.
With his power focused, Kuvin's consciousness slipped out of his body, drifting like a ghost through the barriers of the Martial Palace.
—
Inside one of the high-tech dojo rooms, Kenji stood silently, watching Van's battle unfold. His eyes, once calm, flickered to life with a brilliant blue glow.
A suffocating pressure spread through the air like a shockwave.
Kenji blinked as the world around him faded into pitch black. A void. Silent. Endless.
He stood there, barefoot on nothingness, the only sound being his own breathing.
"Where... am I?" he muttered, glancing around cautiously.
Then it hit him. That pressure… that sensation… he knew this place.
"The Abstract Void Technique?" he whispered, eyes narrowing. "But I haven't—"
His words froze as a presence stirred behind him. Kenji spun around swiftly, instincts flaring—only to find a familiar figure standing calmly with a smirk on his face.
"Long time no see, buddy," Kuvin said coolly, arms folded as golden energy flickered faintly around him.
Kenji's jaw clenched. "Wait… if you're the one who pulled me into this state… then that can only mean—"
"Yup," Kuvin cut in, his grin widening. "I'm close by. Extremely close."
Kenji's breath hitched, his heart skipping a beat.
He was here. Kuvin was finally here.
"Did the Red Skulls…?" Kenji's voice trembled, his fists clenching instinctively. The memory of blood, fire, and those ruthless eyes surged through him.
"No, no—buddy, relax." Kuvin raised a hand gently, stepping closer. "They're not here… at least, not yet."
Kenji exhaled shakily, but his eyes narrowed again as he studied Kuvin. "Then tell me… what are you doing here? Last I checked, you were supposed to be halfway to Mexico by now."
A smirk tugged at the corner of Kuvin's lips. "Funny. I was just about to ask you the same thing."
Kenji lowered his gaze, his voice calm yet resolute. "I'm done running. They've already cut me down twice. What's the point of fleeing again if I'll just get hunted like a dog? If they want me… they're going to have to fight me."
As he spoke, two glowing daggers materialized in his hands—one pulsating with a cool, radiant blue, the other glowing with a sharp, pristine white. The air around him crackled with raw energy.
Kuvin's eyes widened. "Veyweapons…?" he muttered in disbelief. "Where did you—?"
Then he paused. A memory surged within him—back when he used the Abstract Void Technique recently, he had sensed it. A presence. One that made his spine tingle and knees nearly buckle. A being whose power nearly rivaled that of his own father.
Suddenly, within the void, a towering holographic figure shimmered into existence behind Kenji—a beastial, spectral projection of Mr. Lee, radiating pure, untamed energy. The aura alone warped the space around it.
Kuvin's breath hitched. He could feel the primal force oozing from it.
He gulped hard, face turning serious.
"So that's who you've been around…"
"How can this even be… are you captured?" Kuvin asked, eyes scanning Kenji with growing concern.
Kenji chuckled dryly, his voice laced with weariness. "Heh… it's kinda a long story."
"We'll go over that some other time," Kuvin cut in quickly, his tone suddenly sharp. "Right now, you need to escape. The Red Skulls… they brought more men than usual. A lot more."
Kenji's expression darkened. His grip on the glowing daggers tightened, their light flickering with his rising emotions. "Hmph… let them come," he muttered.
Kuvin frowned. "Yeah, not convinced." He folded his arms, his yellow eyes narrowing. "Come on, dude. We really don't have time for this."
Kenji hesitated. Conflict stormed in his eyes, but Kuvin didn't back down.
"Silvia, Saul, Zariel—what do I tell them if you get caught again? That you chose to stay behind and get dragged back into hell?"
At the mention of their names, Kenji snapped to attention. "Wait—Silvia? Saul? Zariel? Are they okay? Where are they? What happened?!" His words flew out in a frantic barrage.
Kuvin raised both hands, trying to calm him. "Relax, man. Relax. They're fine. They're safe. But you're not. Not if we don't move—now."
Kenji's chest rose and fell rapidly. Deep down, he could already sense it. The storm outside the palace walls. The foreign energy signatures creeping in from every direction. His ability—his super awareness—was screaming at him.
"You feel it too, don't you?" Kuvin said quietly. "That tension in the air… that crawling feeling down your spine."
Kenji slowly nodded, eyes glowing faintly blue once more. "Yeah. I do."
"Then let's move," Kuvin said, turning toward the edge of the void space. "Before it's too late."
Mr. Lee pressed the microphone again, his tone calm but firm. "Open the gate. Let the boy in."
Outside the grand entrance of the Martial Palace, Kuvin stood in quiet anticipation, the energy still thick in the air. Just as he shifted his stance, the massive gate rumbled, gears grinding as it slowly began to part open.
Then, out of nowhere, a small speaker embedded in the stone gate crackled to life. A familiar voice rang out, slightly distorted—but unmistakable.
"Get in already, man."
Kuvin blinked, startled. That was… Kenji's voice.
A smirk tugged at his lips. "So you really are here," he muttered, stepping confidently through the gate, yellow eyes gleaming with purpose.
In the sky above, a sleek black advanced skyship cut through the clouds like a phantom blade.
Inside, a man cloaked in a radiant green aura opened his eyes, which now glowed with an intense emerald light. Power pulsed through his body like a storm held barely in check.
"I've sensed him… young Kuvin," he said coldly, stepping forward.
Without hesitation, he leapt from the skyship.
The air cracked.
A moment later, he crashed onto the ground below with monstrous force, the impact carving a massive crater into the earth and sending debris flying in every direction.
Dust swirled around him as he rose from the crater, his glowing green aura flickering like a wildfire. Before him stood three men—each radiating an aura of danger.
The first had a beastial gauntlet wrapped around his right arm, humming with raw energy.
The second stood calmly, blue energy swirling around his form, his eyes glowing like two frozen stars.
And the third… though he appeared ordinary, the pressure pouring from his body was suffocating—like a tidal wave waiting to crash.
Belimoth narrowed his eyes.
"Do you have the Welzon Poison?" he asked, voice low and laced with menace.
"Yep," said Anthon with a smirk, tossing a transparent container forward. Inside it swirled a viscous, purple substance—pulsating like it was alive, almost sentient.
Belimoth snatched it effortlessly out of the air, his green aura surging as the poison reacted to his touch.
"Good," he muttered, his grip tightening around the container. "Then everything is in place."
Belimoth lifted his arm, his eyes still glowing with that menacing green hue. With a flick of his finger, he tapped on the advanced smartwatch strapped to his wrist—its sleek black interface lighting up instantly with lines of ancient code and modern tech fused into one.
He scrolled through a short list of encrypted names until one caught his eye.
"Kuvin…"
He tapped it.
The screen blinked once, and then a secure connection started to form—scramblers and blockers disabling any potential trackers or listeners.
A low chime echoed from the device.
"Time to talk, boy," Belimoth muttered, his voice cold as steel and calm like a predator before the pounce.
Back at the Martial Palace…
The match between Van and the Mechaman Elite had been abruptly put on hold—something rare and almost unheard of. But this time, it wasn't due to system malfunction or a weapon fault. No. It was because of someone.
A presence.
Now, inside the training hall, the air was laced with tension as Mr. Lee stood silently beside the three boys—Kenji, Van, and Dame—all of them eyeing the newcomer who had just arrived.
The boy who claimed to know Kenji.
"So let me get this straight…" Dame said, scratching the back of his head with a look of utter disbelief. "You're saying you're a friend of Kenji… and you came all this way just to help him fake another escape?"
He paused, narrowing his eyes. "And now you're also saying there are others—our age—who are Aetherbrids too?"
Kuvin stood calmly, hands in his pockets, a confident smirk tugging at his lips. "Yep," he said simply.
Silence fell over the room for a beat.
Van blinked. "Okay... things just got interesting."
"There's not much time," Kuvin said, his voice sharper now, urgency lacing every word. "Me and Kenji gotta go. The Red Skulls are on their way… and this time, they're bringing Welzon Poison."
The moment the words left his mouth, a chill settled over the room.
Kenji's expression twisted—fear flickering in his usually confident eyes. Even Mr. Lee, who rarely ever showed concern, tensed slightly.
"Welzon Poison…" Mr. Lee muttered under his breath, his gaze darkening. "That's serious."
Kuvin nodded, arms folded, as if he were merely discussing the weather. "Yeah. It's a nasty one. A toxic compound that targets an Aetherbrid's core—disrupts their energy flow, destabilizes their powers. Too much exposure?" He shrugged. "It doesn't just weaken you. It kills you."
Van looked from Kuvin to Kenji, tension rising. "And they're coming here with that stuff?"
Van's eyes narrowed, his stance shifting as he took a subtle breath, the tension in the air palpable.
"You claim to be Kenji's friend, and you want to escape with him," Van said slowly, his voice calm but tinged with suspicion. "But how do I know you're not planning to hand him over to the enemy? You do know Kenji's still injured, right?"
Kuvin raised a brow, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Heh. I could leave Kenji here, sure. Especially with a powerhouse like the old man backing you guys up," he said, nodding toward Mr. Lee. "But that won't change a damn thing."
He took a step forward, golden sparks of energy crackling faintly around his body. "The Red Skulls… they don't care. If they don't find Kenji, they'll burn this whole place to the ground. Their orders are clear. And if they return empty-handed… the leader will kill them."
Van's fists clenched. His system suddenly buzzed to life, and a sleek interface flashed before his eyes.
> [System Notification]
You have encountered an opponent with a hidden Ninja Heritage.
Optional Quest Activated:
Challenge Kuvin to a duel and survive for 10 minutes.
Reward: New Skill
Force Kuvin to reveal his ninja heritage.
Reward: ????
Van's lips curled into a grin as he dropped into a fighting stance, his aura flaring slightly. "Alright then," he said with a glint in his eyes. "You say you want to protect Kenji. You say you're strong. How about proving it?"
Kuvin raised his brows, amused. "You wanna fight me right now?"
Van nodded, the grin never fading. "Ten minutes. That's all I need."
Kuvin's smirk returned. "Fine. Let's dance."
...