A dungeon outbreak? - Hiro asked Akira
"Yes"
_______
It's called Dungeon Outbreak beacuse where 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 and claim rewards and the magic stones , but the main reason they raid them it's because they can't let the monsters inside break outside because if the dungeons aren't raided or cleared in a certain amount of time the monsters come out into our world.
Sometimes it happens because of reasons such as a failed raid, an unstable dungeon, or external interference—allowing the monsters to pour out uncontrollably.
_______
The air is thick with smoke and the metallic taste of blood, while screams pierce through the streets
Hiro does not think...instincts kick in.
"Akira hide"
Running down the street he finally sees a little girl, very small, almost entirely concealed under stuff that has fallen on her.
Without a moment's hesitation, he is by her side in an instant, bent low to meet her gaze.
Hiro voice gentle but urgent
"Hey, hey, it's gonna be all right."
"I'll get you outta here, okay?"
She looks up at him, her eyes wide, and her tiny body frozen in terror.
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 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 hit the ground with a sickening thud, the faint remnants of white lighiting crackling along its massive frame.
Hiro stood frozen, the girl still trembling in his arms, as his wide eyes darted to the figure stepping forward—the figure of Akira.
His hand lowered slowly, its faint glow fading into nothingness as if what had just happened was trivial.
His calm demeanor didn't match the chaos that had just unfolded, and a knowing smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.
Hiro's breath came out shaky, his mind unable to process the sheer 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.
"You really have changed. You're not a scaredy-cat anymore."
But then his tone shifted, his voice darker, colder, carrying the weight of everything he had been through.
"What an idiot you've become, though… sacrificing yourself just like that."
Hiro flinched at the words, but before he could reply, Akira turned his gaze toward him fully. For a moment, Hiro saw a glimmer of something in his friend's eyes—something buried beneath the menace and detachment.
Akira's voice softened, almost reflective.
"Look, Hiro," He said, his words slow and deliberate.
"If there were more people like you in this world... maybe even I wouldn't have turned out this way."
Hiro's mouth opened as if to respond, but no words came.
He just stared at his friend, this force standing before him, and for a fleeting second, he saw the Akira he once knew—the one who had stood up for him back in school.
"How did you…?" Hiro finally stammered, his voice full of awe and disbelief.
"I mean… how!?"
Akira's smirk faded into something softer, almost melancholic.
His gaze locked with Hiro's, and for the first time, there was no wall, no mask, no menace—just raw vulnerability.
"Today," Akira said quietly, "I owe you my gratitude not you."
Hiro blinked, confused.
"What do you mean?"
Akira's eyes softened even further, his voice dropping to barely more than a whisper.
"For the first time in what feels like forever thanks to your words, I caught a glimpse of my other emotions again."
He paused, his words hanging heavy in the air.
"Thank you, Hiro thanks for thanking me really."
Hiro's breath hitched, his heart pounding as the weight of Akira's words settled over him.
But then, just as quickly as the moment had come, it was gone.
Akira's expression hardened, his gaze snapping to the horizon where more monstrous shapes loomed in the distance.
His posture straightened, his presence becoming something utterly untouchable.
"Get out of here," Akira ordered, his voice sharp and commanding now.
"Take that little girl and hide."
Hiro hesitated, his legs refusing to move.
"But Akira—"
"Go!"
Akira shouted, his voice cutting through the air like a blade.
His eyes burned with a fierce light, his calm smirk returning, but this time it carried a chilling edge.
"You've done enough, Hiro."
"Now let me handle the rest."
With that, Akira surges ahead-his aura heightens, an eerie, fierce power welling from his body.
The monsters fumble over, apparently sniffing the dangerous energy he has been exuding.
Hiro, clutching the girl tightly in his arms, stepped backward, his eyes unblinking.
Hiro finds a safe patchand his heart races down while he watches Akira, facing the monsters alone.
He cannot take his eyes off him because his fear and curiosity make him do so.
Akira scans over the growling beasts, hulking forms of energy that once would have intimidated him but now, these are little more than angry dogs.
Akira mind racing
"From the mana energy they're giving off… this must be a D-rank outbreak and the type of Orc's they are… I've faced these countless times in D-rank dungeons and i can say for sure"
A evil smile is seen from his lips
"They're disgustingly weak."