"A dungeon outbreak?" Hiro asked, his voice trembling as he glanced at Akira.
"Yes," Akira replied, his tone calm but laced with an undercurrent of tension.
It's called a Dungeon Outbreak because the creatures or monsters inside a dungeon break free and escape into the outside world, causing chaos and destruction. Typically, dungeons are self-contained spaces where Adventurers or STARS enter to defeat monsters, claim rewards, and harvest magic stones. But the main reason they raid them is to prevent the monsters from breaking out. If a dungeon isn't cleared within a certain amount of time, the monsters spill into our world, wreaking havoc. Sometimes, it happens due to a failed raid, an unstable dungeon, or external interference—allowing the monsters to pour out uncontrollably.
The air was thick with smoke and the metallic tang of blood. Screams pierced through the streets, a cacophony of fear and desperation. Hiro didn't think—his instincts took over.
"Akira, hide!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.
He sprinted down the street, his eyes scanning the wreckage. That's when he saw her—a little girl, so small she was almost entirely concealed under the rubble of a collapsed storefront. Her tiny frame trembled, her wide eyes frozen in terror as she clutched a torn stuffed animal to her chest.
Without a moment's hesitation, Hiro was by her side, kneeling low to meet her gaze. His voice was gentle but urgent, a stark contrast to the chaos around them.
"Hey, hey, it's gonna be all right," he said, his tone steady despite the adrenaline coursing through him. "I'll get you out of here, okay?"
The girl looked up at him, her lips quivering as if she wanted to speak but couldn't. Her tiny fingers gripped the fabric of his shirt as he scooped her into his arms, her weight barely noticeable against his chest.
At the very moment Hiro scoops her into his arms, a heavy, guttural growl rips through the air nearby.
He spins, and his heart falters-a towering ORC Monster lumbers toward them, its weapon shining with malice.Hiro's eyes go wide, the reality of the threat sinking in as the ORC raises its weapon, preparing to strike.
Hiro's instincts roared louder than his fear as he clutched the trembling girl against his chest, her tiny fingers gripping his shirt like a lifeline.
"This is it," - His mind whispered, an unshakable truth."I'm not running away out of this."
His breathing quickened as the ORC's massive weapon glinted in the dying light, its shadow looming over him like death itself.
"But if it's me or her…"He tightened his hold on the girl, his body a shield, trembling but resolute."It's has to be me."
Memories flickered through his mind, rapid and vivid laughing with Akira under the cherry blossoms after school, his grandmother's warm smile as she handed him a bento, the first time he felt hope to not give up in his life when Akira stood by him in the face of his bullies.
"I never said it enough… I never thanked them enough but atleast i thanked him before it was to late"
His jaw clenched, his heart thundering.
"Akira… If you're still around here and watching…take care of everyone, okay?"
"Keep doing what you do, because people like me need someone like you."
The ORC roared, its weapon swinging down in a deadly arc.
"This is how it ends, isn't it?
"Not a bad ending at all but at least… at least i hope she'll live because of me."
Hiro shut his eyes tight, his body braced for the inevitable.And in that moment, a strange calmness washed over him as he smiled as he felt proud of himself.
"Haaa i'm not afraid anymore."
Akira stands off, away from the entire scene, calmly.
He watches Hiro confront the monster with nothing but raw determination, a mere tug of a smirk at the corners of his lips.Then as the Orc Monster is a glimpse away from killing Hiro a blindingly brilliant lighting explodes , hitting the Orc dead center.Without even time for the beast to scream, it falls lifeless to the ground.
The ORC's body slammed into the ground with a sickening thud, faint arcs of white lightning still crackling across its massive frame. Hiro stood frozen, the girl still trembling in his arms, as his wide eyes shifted to the figure approaching—a figure that could only be Akira. His hand lowered slowly, the fading glow of his power dissipating like it had been nothing more than a passing breeze.
The calmness in Akira's demeanor was an eerie contrast to the chaos that had just erupted, and a faint, knowing smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
Hiro's breath hitched, his mind struggling to grasp the overwhelming power he had just witnessed.
"Akira..."
"Was that...was that you?"
Akira exhaled softly, tilting his head as though Hiro had asked an obvious question.The faint smirk remained, but there was a shadow of something deeper in his eyes—something Hiro couldn't quite place.
"Heh," Akira murmured to himself, almost too low for Hiro to hear.
Akira tilted his head, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "You really have changed. You're not a scaredy-cat anymore."
The words should have felt like a victory, but Hiro saw something deeper in Akira's eyes. A shadow of something darker.
Akira's voice dropped, his tone colder. "What an idiot you've become though… Sacrificing yourself like that."
Hiro flinched, but before he could reply, Akira's gaze pierced him like a blade, unwavering and intense.
And then Hiro saw it—the fleeting moment when Akira's wall cracked, a vulnerability that he'd never expected.
"Look, Hiro." Akira's voice softened, just for a moment, just enough to make Hiro's heart skip. "If there were more people like you… maybe even I wouldn't have turned out this way."
Hiro's mouth went dry, his mind whirling. "How did you—?"
Akira's smirk faded, replaced by something closer to regret. His gaze locked onto Hiro's, raw and unguarded. "Today, Hiro… I owe you my gratitude. Not the other way around."
Hiro blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
Akira's voice was barely a whisper, like he was speaking to himself as much as Hiro. "For the first time in what feels like forever… I caught a glimpse of my other emotions. Thank you. For thanking me. Really."
Hiro stood there, speechless, as the weight of Akira's words settled into his bones.
But before he could speak, Akira's expression hardened, his body radiating a quiet, unshakable power. He turned away, his gaze sweeping over the horizon where new monsters gathered, waiting for their moment.
"Get out of here," Akira's voice was sharp, commanding, cutting through the air like a blade. "Take that girl and hide."
Hiro hesitated, his legs frozen, his gaze flickering between the girl and Akira. "But Akira—"
"Go," Akira snapped, his eyes blazing with an intensity that made Hiro's heart race. "I've got this."
Hiro's chest tightened, but he nodded. He turned and backed away, clutching the girl in his arms. He found shelter behind a ruined wall, his mind reeling. He set the girl down, his gaze never leaving Akira, who stood alone, facing down the monsters with an air of absolute certainty.
Akira's aura surged. The monsters faltered. They whimpered.
And then Akira spoke, his voice carrying the weight of a seasoned warrior.
"From the mana signature they're giving off… this is definitely a D-rank outbreak. And the type of ORCs they are… I've fought these countless times in D-rank dungeons. I can say with certainty…"
"They're disgustingly weak."