The neon lights of Shinjukai flickered in the rain as Miko and Bai moved through the narrow alleys, their footsteps splashing through shallow puddles. Neither had spoken since leaving Arata's mansion. The weight of what they'd uncovered hung heavy between them.
"Are you going to keep sulking?" Bai finally asked, his voice cutting through the steady patter of rain.
Miko shot him a glare. "I'm not sulking. I'm processing."
"Call it what you want," he said with a shrug, pausing to glance down the next alley. "But brooding won't save anyone."
She clenched her fists. "You heard what Arata said. My parents—" Her voice caught, and she shook her head. "I don't even know who they were anymore."
"You're not them," Bai said, his tone softer than she expected. "Whatever they did, whatever choices they made, that's not on you."
Miko looked away, the guilt and anger swirling inside her. "And what if I'm no better? What if I'm just some… weapon they created?"
Bai stepped closer, his golden eyes locking onto hers. "Then you decide how to wield that power. That's what makes you human."
The words hit harder than she wanted to admit, and for a moment, the tension between them eased.
A faint beeping from her earpiece interrupted the moment. Mei's voice crackled through. "Guys, I've got bad news. Kenji's been talking."
"What do you mean?" Miko asked, touching her earpiece.
"I mean the Guild knows about you now. Arata's spinning it like you're some rogue experiment gone wrong, and they're hunting you down," Mei explained, her voice tight with worry.
"Fantastic," Bai muttered. "It was only a matter of time."
Mei hesitated. "There's more. I dug into Arata's files while you were at the mansion. There's something called Project Legacy. It's bigger than just the experiments."
Miko frowned. "How much bigger?"
"End-of-the-world bigger," Mei said grimly. "I'm sending you coordinates for a lab in the industrial district. Whatever they're planning, it starts there."
"Got it," Miko said, glancing at Bai. "Ready to crash another party?"
He smirked. "Always."
The lab was a stark contrast to the opulence of Arata's mansion. Hidden among abandoned factories, its exterior was unassuming, but the reinforced doors and surveillance cameras hinted at what lay inside.
They slipped in through a side entrance, Mei guiding them remotely. The corridors were dimly lit, the air thick with the scent of chemicals and machinery.
"This place is too quiet," Miko whispered, her daggers drawn.
"Trap," Bai said simply.
They turned a corner and froze. The corridor ahead was lined with containment chambers, each holding a figure suspended in a glowing liquid. Some were unmistakably human, others grotesque hybrids of man and demon.
"This is what they're building," Bai said, his voice laced with disgust. "An army."
Miko stepped closer to one of the chambers, her stomach churning as she recognized the face inside. "That's—Kenji."
The realization hit like a punch to the gut. "He didn't just betray me. They turned him into one of these… things."
"Focus," Bai said, pulling her back. "If they've started converting hunters, we're out of time."
A low, guttural growl echoed from deeper within the lab. They turned to see a massive figure stepping out of the shadows—a hybrid, its body twisted and monstrous. Its eyes locked onto Miko, and it lunged.
Bai moved first, intercepting the creature with a blast of energy that sent it stumbling. Miko followed, her daggers flashing as she struck with precision. But the hybrid was relentless, its strength far surpassing anything she'd faced before.
"Little help here?" she shouted, narrowly dodging a swipe of its claws.
Bai smirked, his energy flaring. "I thought you didn't need me."
"Don't push it!" she snapped, slicing through the creature's arm.
Together, they wore it down, their movements synchronized despite their differences. When the hybrid finally fell, Miko leaned against the wall, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
"We can't fight all of them," she said.
"We won't have to," Bai replied, nodding toward the control room at the end of the hall. "Destroy their power source, and this whole operation goes down."
The control room was a maze of monitors and equipment, its centerpiece a massive cylindrical reactor glowing with an eerie light. Mei's voice came through the earpiece. "That's it. Shut it down, and the entire facility is toast."
Miko approached the console, her hands hovering over the controls. "How?"
"Cut the power and overload the reactor," Mei said. "But you'll only have a few minutes to get out before it blows."
"Of course," Miko muttered.
As she worked, Bai stood guard by the door. "Hurry up," he said, his tone tense.
"I'm going as fast as I can," she snapped.
The reactor began to whine, its glow intensifying. Alarms blared, and the building shuddered as the system started to overload.
"Time to go!" Mei shouted through the earpiece.
Miko and Bai ran, the corridors shaking around them as the lab's systems failed. Containment chambers shattered, releasing hybrids that staggered and roared in confusion.
They reached the exit just as the building erupted in a fiery explosion, the force knocking them to the ground.
Miko sat up, her ears ringing, and looked back at the smoldering ruins. "That's one lab down," she said.
Bai stood, brushing dust off his coat. "Only a dozen more to go."
Miko glared at him. "You could at least pretend to be optimistic."
He smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"
As they disappeared into the night, Miko couldn't shake the feeling that the battle was far from over—and that the answers she sought were still out of reach.
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