"Leiva's target is Section 13!" Jackie exclaimed.
"Here, Jade! Call Uncle right now!" Jackie tossed the phone to Jade, who quickly dialed Uncle's number.
Jackie found himself frozen in the middle of the street, torn between two crucial choices. On one hand, Paco—El Toro's protégé—was severely injured, possibly even dying. On the other hand, Section 13 housed magical artifacts that held the fate of the world in the balance.
Running to the center of the road, Jackie was at a loss. Should he stay and help El Toro check on Paco's condition? Or should he rush to Section 13 and try to stop Leiva?
In reality, a trained military professional would likely make the hard decision to protect Section 13, prioritizing the mission over personal attachments. But Jackie wasn't a soldier—he was an adventurer, a man who often found himself stuck in moral dilemmas.
That was one of Jackie's greatest shortcomings. He and his team had formidable skills, but they were amateurs compared to someone like Leiva—a career soldier with years of combat experience and a heart hardened by countless battles.
"Jackie, why are you just standing there? Uncle has the solution ready to remove the mask! Where is the person who put it on... eh? What happened here!?" Uncle's voice rang out as he and Tohru arrived, with Uncle holding a potion in one hand and a dried pufferfish in the other.
"Are you demolishing the neighborhood?!" Uncle yelled, taking in the destruction around them—the wrecked cars, the ruined buildings, and the water still gushing from broken pipes in the street.
"Uncle, thank goodness you're here. Leiva... he..." Jackie rushed over, finally feeling some sense of direction as he quickly explained the events that had transpired.
After hearing the full story, Uncle surprisingly didn't bonk Jackie on the head as he usually would. Instead, he entered a deep state of thought.
"So Uncle's suspicion was right. The warnings from the magic array were true. Tarakudo was just a distraction—the real disaster is connected to that 'General' Leiva mentioned."
"Jackie, contact Captain Black. Tell him to prepare for a full defense. We must get to Section 13 immediately! Whoever or whatever is behind Leiva, we have to stop them!" Uncle commanded, his expression grim.
Just then, El Toro Fuerte appeared, carrying Paco's battered body in his arms. "Uncle, please... save Paco!" he pleaded.
Like Jackie, Uncle hesitated for a moment. "Paco..." But Uncle was fundamentally a man of good, and his hesitation only lasted a second before he decided to do what he could.
Casting a healing spell, Uncle did his best to stabilize Paco's condition, though his voice was heavy with concern. "I've managed to keep him alive... but only for a little while longer. The only thing that can save him now is in Section 13."
Unbeknownst to them, this short delay had cost them precious time, missing the optimal moment to stop Leiva's advance.
Late Night, Section 13, Captain Black's Office.
"Jackie? What... Leiva's attacking Section 13?"
"Alright, understood. Don't worry, Section 13 is secure. The defenses here are top-tier, designed by military experts. The walls are 3.5 meters thick and reinforced with composite materials. Even heavy artillery won't break through easily..." Captain Black confidently reassured Jackie before hanging up.
Stepping out of his office, Black was about to instruct his team to prepare for battle when suddenly, the alarms blared across the entire facility.
BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion rocked the entire base. The walls shook violently, and dust began to rain down from the ceiling.
Captain Black's confident expression faltered as he shouted, "Don't panic! The walls are 3.5 meters thick! Even if we're under heavy fire, they can hold for a while. Everyone, prepare for battle!"
But before he could finish his sentence, one of the reinforced walls began to warp and twist. The wiring embedded in the structure melted from extreme heat, sparks flying everywhere.
Like a volcano reaching its breaking point, the steel-reinforced concrete wall dissolved into a molten lava flow, cascading forward with deadly heat, engulfing the Section 13 agents standing nearby.
Screams filled the air as the molten destruction claimed its first victims.
"I-It's impossible..." Captain Black stammered, his face filled with disbelief. "Evacuate the wounded! Prepare the defenses!"
But Leiva had no intention of giving them time to recover.
Moments after the wall collapsed, through the gaping hole, countless Ninja Warriors surged in like predators descending upon their prey.
Every agent they saw was attacked without mercy. Shuriken, knives, grenades, daggers, throwing spikes—every tool of death was expertly wielded by the Ninja Warriors, who moved with lethal precision.
Unlike Jackie, most Section 13 agents stood no chance against these cold-blooded killers. Those who managed to take down a soldier were immediately overwhelmed by others. The Ninja Warriors didn't differentiate between the wounded or the armed; everyone was a target, and they ensured no survivors by finishing off the injured.
Following Leiva's cold orders, the soldiers systematically finished off every body they came across.
Stepping through the molten wreckage of the wall, Leiva brushed his fingers over the purple-red crystalline gem on his collar, a gift from Selené. "Truly, Miss Selene's power knows no bounds."
His eyes scanned the area, observing the remaining resistance. With a frown, he raised his right hand and coldly commanded, "Torrential Spears!"
With his voice, the entire water system in Section 13 ruptured. Water burst from every broken pipe, rapidly coalescing and compressing into hundreds of high-pressure water blades.
FWIP!
These water blades, like sharpened spears, sliced through the air, cutting down every remaining agent in the vicinity.
CLINK CLINK!
In a matter of moments, the central hall of Section 13 was drenched in a bloody downpour, with chunks of debris and body parts scattered throughout.
The entire space was quickly transformed into a nightmarish hellscape, the stench of blood thick in the air.
Survivors, splattered with blood and strewn with unidentifiable bits of flesh, began to tremble uncontrollably. Even the most seasoned agents of Section 13 recoiled in horror, collapsing to their knees, vomiting from the sheer carnage.
"Run!" someone shouted, and the survivors, driven by panic and terror, broke ranks and fled in every direction.
Leiva paid no attention to these "cowards." He had more important matters to attend to.
"I can sense it... the masks are just ahead."