In the early dawn of the Empire's capital, the three Night Raiders moved swiftly on their stolen horses, galloping through the decaying streets of the Pleasure District.
The two horses' hooves clattered against the cobblestone, echoing through the ghostly silence of the area that once buzzed with life.
The district was now a mere shadow, a distorted image of the inferno it had turned into.
They had been traveling for thirty minutes towards the pleasure palace in the massive district, spanning almost a thousand kilometers.
As they rode, the sights of desolation and death passed them by, remnants of a reign of terror littering the streets.
Corpses, broken-down buildings, and shattered windows became the fresh face of what was once been a thriving entertainment hub.
Tatsumi, sitting behind Mine on her horse, clung to the sides as the wind rushed past them. He couldn't help but feel the weight of their earlier encounter, the tension still hanging thick in the air.
Breaking the silence, he finally asked, "Those women we saved.. will they be safe?"
Without looking back, Mine answered, her voice firm,"Don't worry, Bulat had pointed them to a safe route to escape, and he also secretly sprayed a special gas to mask their scent. It'll make it harder for those abominations to track them down, though I am not sure about humans."
Tatsumi felt a small sense of relief, but it didn't last long. His thoughts drifted back to the grotesque creatures they had seen, the monsters with nine glowing eyes and slimy, writhing tentacles that feasted on corpses.
His heart tightened at the memory. "Those creatures... They weren't normal Danger Beasts, were they?" His voice was tense, laced with uncertainty.
For a moment, there was a tense silence, the only sound being the rhythmic clopping of their horses as they raced through the district.
Mine's silence spoke volumes before she finally answered, her voice low. "None of the beasts I've seen till now looked anything like those creatures, but I can't be sure. Something about them felt... wrong. More sinister than any Danger Beast I've encountered."
Bulat, riding beside them, spoke up in a reassuring tone, his muscular frame steady on his horse. "You two shouldn't worry too much about those creatures right now. We'll report everything to Boss Najenda once we're out of here. Our focus is to recover our comrades and get the hell out of this district before things get worse for us." His words were firm, but even he couldn't ignore the unsettling feeling gnawing at him.
The trio continued their ride through the desolate district, the weight of the situation bearing down on them with every passing second.
However, the growing tension was interrupted as the winds behind them began to shift, growing stronger, colder.
Swishh!!
The change was immediate and unsettling. Bulat, Mine, and Tatsumi all turned to see the horizon behind them darkening rapidly.
Massive, ominous clouds were gathering on the district's border, which they had just crossed, swirling as if summoned by some unseen force.
Bulat's jaw clenched as a wave of unease washed over him. Something was wrong, very wrong.
He quickly signalled for them to stop.
"Halt!" Bulat ordered sharply, unsheathing his short sword. In a blink, his muscular body was encased in the shining, powerful Incursio armour, the transformation swift.
Without wasting a second, Bulat looked over at Mine, his tone urgent. "[Mine, come with me. Now.]"
Mine didn't hesitate. She complied, letting Bulat scoop her into his muscular arms.
Swishh!!
With a powerful leap, he launched them both into the air, the force of his strength carrying them onto the rooftop of a five-story building with just two jumps. From this vantage point, they had a clear view of the incoming storm.
Mine immediately transformed her pumpkin into its sniper mode, the rifle's barrel extending as she knelt down and aimed through the scope. She adjusted the focus, her heart pounding as she scanned the sky.
After a few seconds, her fingers began to tremble, her breath hitching in her throat. Sweat trickled down her neck despite the icy winds that whipped around them.
"...General Budo…. is here..," Mine whispered, her voice shaking with fear.
The skies seemed to respond to the name, rumbling with a deafening roar.
CRACKLE!!!
A thunderous clap echoed across the sky as a bolt of lightning split the heavens, descending with terrifying precision.
It struck the border of the Pleasure District, obliterating the abominations below in an instant.
Bulat beneath his Incursio paled as he heard General Budo's name. His eyes hardened, knowing all too well the weight that the name carried.
Bulat's heart raced as he watched the scene unfold. His mind flashed back to his days as an Imperial soldier, the memories of seeing Budo in action rushing to the surface.
Budo was not just any general, he was the Empire's strongest, a living legend whose power and presence could crush entire armies.
He had witnessed Budo's unmatched strength firsthand, how he could control the very elements with his teigu, calling down lightning with devastating accuracy. It was both awe-inspiring and horrifying.
Even without his teigu, Budo was a force to be reckoned with, but with his teigu Adramelech, that man was a living terror and now that terror has set out from the imperial castle to hunt.
"[General is here…]" Bulat muttered, his voice grim.
Mine pulled her eye away from the scope as she immediately adjusted Pumpkin back into its rifle form and looked at Bulat, her face pale. "We have to move. If Budo's here, we don't stand a chance in a direct flight, heck even with our full force we would lose to that monster of a man. We need to save Sheele before he wipes the entire district clean."
She knew all about Budo's accomplishments and abilities from the records of the Revolutionary army and other sources, and she would be crazy to even consider fighting the great general.
Bulat nodded, knowing she was right. He leapt down from the building with Mine in his arms and landed effortlessly beside Tatsumi.
"[Tatsumi! I'll explain everything later. For now, cling to my back tightly, we're moving without horses,]" Bulat ordered, stepping toward Tatsumi, who stood there anxiously.
Still rattled from the lightning strike and Bulat's abrupt change in demeanor, Tatsumi nods hastily.
"Okay, brother!" he responds, following Bulat's command.
"[We head straight to the Pleasure Palace to get Sheele and Bane out. Mine, keep watch behind us for any threats. Tatsumi, hold on tight or you could seriously get hurt,]" Bulat commands as Tatsumi climbs onto his back.
With both companions secured, Bulat tensed his legs and propelled forward with incredible speed, covering hundreds of meters in a single leap.
The wind howled as they leap through the air, but the looming storm behind them is impossible to ignore.
'We don't have much time,' Bulat thinks grimly, his speed increasing as the ground cracks under the force of his steps.
Tatsumi clings to Bulat as tightly as he can, but his body wavers like a leaf caught in a storm, his mouth opening in a soundless gasp as they move faster than he ever imagined.
Meanwhile, Mine glances back, her hair whipping around in the wind. Unlike Tatsumi, she was not directly facing the wind pressure, but the storm clouds gathering behind made her heart race with dread.
General Budo's arrival changed everything. What was once a race to save their comrades had become a desperate fight for survival against one of the most terrifying forces in the Empire.
After a few tense minutes, Mine spots a blurry streak of lightning tearing across the sky toward the place they are heading. Her heart tightens in her chest.
"Bulat… I think Budo knows where they are!!," she shouted, her voice grim.
Bulat's heart sank as Mine's words reached him. The speed of their journey was already fast, but knowing that General Budo may have locked onto Sheele's location added an unbearable weight to their mission.
"[Hold on tight!]" Bulat shouted, his voice edged with urgency. His legs tensed, and with a massive leap, the ground beneath them cracked, sending them soaring even further with each jump.
Swishh!!
The wind howled around them, pushing Tatsumi's body backward despite his tight grip on Bulat's back.
Tatsumi's eyes widened at the intensity of the speed. His vision blurred as the surrounding landscape raced by in mere seconds.
It was like riding a storm itself, raw, powerful, and relentless. His body wavered with each leap, his arms wrapped as tightly as they could around Bulat, trying to suppress the panic rising in his chest.
"B-Brother, is this really necessary?" Tatsumi shouted, still not knowing the perilous situation, his voice breaking against the force of the wind whipping past his face.
"[Yeah!]" Bulat called back without turning his head.
Mine glanced over Bulat's shoulder. The sight of the blurred streak of lightning in the distance confirmed her worst fears.
"He's definitely heading for Sheele!" she said, her voice barely audible over the wind. "That bolt… it's already ahead of us!"
Bulat gritted his teeth. His strength was formidable, but even he couldn't outrun lightning.
The cracks in the ground deepened with every powerful leap from Bulat, dust and debris exploding in all directions as he tore through obstacles.
Mine was shielded in his arms, her gaze fixed forward, as they raced toward the source of the lightning, each rumble in the sky a reminder of the looming danger.
Time felt distorted, the moments dragging into what seemed like an endless blur of movement and tension.
CRACKLE!
Every thundering clap made Bulat push harder, their desperate dash closing the distance toward the Pleasure Palace, the heart of the pleasure district where Sheele and Bane might be.
Suddenly, Mine's eyes widened. "The lightning, it's moving in a different direction!" she shouted, her voice filled with urgency as she pointed.
The lightning, which had been streaking toward the palace, veered in another direction.
Bulat didn't hesitate. He abruptly paused, his feet skidding against the rough ground as he adjusted his trajectory.
Without a word, he followed the direction of the shifting lightning. His leaps continued faster now, the urgency mounting in his chest.
After a few intense moments, Bulat came to an abrupt halt as he saw a colossal bolt of lightning which descended from the sky, a few kilometres in front, crashing down with a deafening roar.
RUMBLE! CRACKLE!
BOOO MMMM!!!!
As the trio heard the loud sound of destruction, their muscles tensed, and they froze.