Chapter 43: Dead Zone Discovery
The wind howled as Ryo Kazen stood at the edge of the quarantine perimeter, eyes narrowed at the warning signs flickering erratically. It was here—the place no hunter dared to step into without direct permission from the Global Protocol Authority.
The Dead Zone.
Once a thriving city block, it had become a cursed graveyard of lost hunters and corrupted data-beasts. Satellite scans failed to penetrate the thick fog of protocol interference. And yet, here Ryo stood—alone, cloaked in his newly adapted shadow gear, enhanced with the remnants of the Void Core he had salvaged.
"Warning: Unauthorized Entry Detected. Consequences May Be Fatal."
He exhaled slowly. "Like that ever stopped me."
Stepping through the barrier, Ryo immediately felt it—the shift. Time here… staggered. The HUD of his system flickered, glitching as though the entire zone resisted digital life. But the Shadow Protocol—his protocol—was different. It was alive. It adapted, twisted, and bent reality in a way even the GPA feared.
[Shadow Protocol: Adaptive Sync – Activated][Cognitive Field Warping Detected – Engaging Stability Lock]
A surge of stability surged through him. His heartbeat synchronized with the humming of his system, stabilizing his senses.
Within moments, the cityscape warped. Buildings rose like shattered teeth, their steel bones exposed, draped in wires and data-flesh. Creatures skittered between shadows—mutated remnants of corrupted hunters, fused with protocol glitches. Their eyes glowed like dying stars.
And in the center of it all stood a tower—massive, skeletal, and pulsing with crimson data-light. That was his target. Ryo's sister's memory fragment had pinpointed this zone as the last known location of Project EDEN, the secret experiment rumored to link human consciousness with the root core of the Shadow Protocol.
He stepped lightly, every footfall muffled by the dense, corrupted fog. Shadows bent toward him, hungry, curious. Ryo reached out mentally—and felt them respond.
[Shadow Link: Established][Corrupted Entity Tamed: "Wisp No. 1"][Command Awaiting…]
A creature that looked like a half-melted wolf padded to his side. Ryo blinked. "Looks like you're not all monsters in here."
But they weren't alone.
A piercing screech tore through the air, and the ground trembled. Something big was waking up.
The protocol window opened on its own.
[Emergency Alert: Guardian of the Zone – A-Class Corrupted Sentient Detected: "HALO SCORCHER"][Recommendation: Flee or Engage with Overdrive Support]
"I'll take the third option," Ryo muttered, stepping forward.
With a flick of his wrist, shadows surged from beneath him—streams of digital darkness swirling and coiling like serpents.
The Guardian emerged—massive, part-machine, part-nightmare. Its body radiated heat that melted surrounding structures. Glowing data sigils pulsed across its armor. One hit from its flaming scythe would vaporize a lesser hunter.
But Ryo was no longer a lesser hunter.
[Shadow Protocol – State Shift: Phantom Veil Mode Engaged][Combat Rank Fluctuation: B ➝ A (Temporary Sync Boost)][Enemy Lock: Confirmed]
The battle exploded in an instant.
Ryo vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing behind the beast, his blade slicing across its flank. The Guardian howled and retaliated, slamming its scythe downward. Ryo dodged, rolled, and summoned his newest summon—Reaver, a towering shadow-wraith with spiked arms.
Together, they fought like dancers in a deadly rhythm. The Guardian grew faster, its attacks more unpredictable. But Ryo—he was evolving mid-fight. The Shadow Protocol learned, copying attack patterns, creating counters.
And then it happened.
[New Protocol Acquired: "Echo Blade – Scorcher Variant"][Element Absorption Confirmed: Flame + Shadow = Ashfire Protocol (Locked Tier)]
With a burst of power, Ryo's blade ignited in black-and-crimson flame. He leapt, slashed, and drove the burning sword into the Guardian's core.
The beast screeched as its body fractured, releasing a blinding pulse of corrupted light—
Then silence.
Smoke curled in the air. Ryo knelt by the shattered core and pulled free a data crystal glowing faintly.
[Protocol Memory Retrieved: PROJECT EDEN – Level 1 Clearance Gained][Hidden Memory Unlocked: Subject 0001 – Rina Kazen]
His breath caught. "Rina…?"
The memory flickered before his eyes—a recording of a girl, no older than ten, inside a cold lab, her eyes hollow.
"She's alive," he whispered, tightening his grip on the crystal. "And they've been experimenting on her…"
He looked back at the tower—still looming, still pulsing.
"I'm coming for you, Rina. Whatever it takes."
End of Chapter 43