DOWNTOWN, TOKYO.
8:00 P.M.
Birds fluttered into the sky as a loud shriek tore through the night air. The wailing of car alarms followed, adding to the chaos.
A reptilian creature with humanoid features, as large as two cars, burst through the crumbling wall of an apartment building. In its grasp— a crying baby, wriggling and wailing in terror. The creature held the child up to its face, inspecting it curiously, gripping the baby firmly by its clothing as if it were nothing more than a toy.
The infant's cries seemed to agitate the beast further. It let out another ear-piercing shriek, its breath washing over the helpless child.
By now, the apartment's residents had evacuated, watching in horror as their home hung on the brink of collapse.
"Oh my god! What is that?!"
"R-Run! Run away!!"
"Someone save my baby!!"
"What do we do?!"
Panic surged through the crowd. The sheer size and viciousness of the creature left everyone paralyzed with fear.
Then— police sirens. Squad cars screeched to a halt, and officers poured out, weapons trained on the beast.
"Whatever you are! This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police! Drop the child and surrender!"
The creature answered with another deafening shriek— this time, it was so powerful that the glass windows of the squad cars shattered instantly.
The officers hesitated. Firing their weapons would risk hitting the baby. And even if they did shoot... would bullets even work on something like this?
The monster glared at the crying child in its grasp. Annoyance flickered in its oval shaped reptilian eyes. It raised the baby to eye level, claws poised to strike.
"No, stop!!!"
A sickening squelch.
Blood splattered through the air.
Time seemed to freeze. The crowd fell silent, their minds struggling to process what had just happened.
The creature howled in pain. It staggered back, its severed arm hitting the ground with a heavy thud, blood gushing from the clean-cut wound.
A lone dark figure stepped forward, unfazed by the chaos.
"Are you some kind of reptile one?" he asked casually.
He bent down, picking up the dismembered arm.
"I thought you'd be harder to cut," he mused. "You look tough, but my punch sliced through you like butter... Guess you're one of the weak ones, huh?"
A smirk played on his lips, hidden beneath the black ski mask covering his face.
The monster blinked in shock, eyes darting between its missing limb and the man before it. Then, with a furious snarl, it hurled the baby into the air and lunged towards him in attack.
The mother gasped, sprinting forward just in time to catch her child in midair.
Meanwhile, the masked man sidestepped the creature's attack with ease, weaving backward just inches away from its deadly strike. His eyes narrowed as he spotted an opening— the beast was off-balance, one arm severed, the other buried in the pavement from its failed punch.
He clenched his fist.
With a brutal kick to the side of its head, he sent the creature flying. It crashed into a streetlamp with such force that the pole snapped in half.
BOOM!
The impact echoed through the streets.
The monster groaned, struggling to its feet. Blood dripped from its wounds, but it was far from done. It threw back its head and unleashed another earth-shaking screech.
The man exhaled, spreading his legs into a combat stance. He pressed a firm palm against the pavement, his shadow stretching unnaturally beneath him.
From the darkness, something emerged— a sleek, unnatural sized fox-like creature with black and white fur and six glowing tails, each resembling the hands of a clock.
"Shadow Spirit: Chrono Fox," he muttered.
The monster lunged.
Before it could close the distance, Chrono Fox grabbed the masked man's sweatshirt and blurred away, moving at a speed too fast for the human eye to follow— much like the instant he had severed the beast's arm.
"Attack!" he commanded.
Chrono Fox's tails stiffened. The tips shifted slightly clockwise, signaling an increase in speed.
Then— whoosh!
The fox shot forward, slamming into the creature's midsection before it could react. The impact barely fazed the monster, but before it could counterattack, the fox repositioned and struck again.
Then again.
And again.
Each rapid strike sent shockwaves through the air. The sheer speed of the repeated assaults left the reptilian beast disoriented, its body trembling under the relentless barrage.
It was time to finish this.
The fox zipped back to the masked man, dissolving into his shadow once more. He clenched his fists, muscles tensing as he channeled his energy.
Then— he launched himself forward.
His speed rivaled the fox's as he closed the gap in an instant.
One final punch.
His fist tore straight through the creature's chest, his arm bursting out from the other side in a spray of squelching blood.
Silence instantly fell on the entire scene.
The monster's body twitched, then collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
For a moment, the world stood still.
Then—
"Way to go, man!"
"That was insane!"
"Death to all demons!"
"What a hero! Tell us your name!"
Applause erupted from the crowd. People emerged from their hiding places, their faces lit with awe and excitement.
The masked man turned away from the creature's corpse. The police stood frozen, still processing what had just unfolded before their eyes.
A woman stepped forward, cradling her rescued child. She hesitated, then called out, "E-excuse me! Thank you so much!"
She bowed deeply, trembling with intense gratitude. "How can I ever repay you?"
He glanced at her, studying her for a brief moment. Then, without a word, he turned and vanished into the night.
The murmurs of the crowd filled the air.
"They really do exist..."
"All this time, I thought it was a hoax..."
"Superhumans."