The night was thick with fog as Souji and Mika ventured down a narrow alleyway, obviously shady, their footsteps echoing off the damp brick walls. As expected, the designated location was a dead end, a small sliver of forgotten space nestled in the shadows of towering buildings. Despite the eerie silence and the feeling of being watched, they pressed on.

"This is a street? They should rename it, mug lane or something," Mika muttered, expecting a response.

"…" In Total silence, Souji stared at Mika blankly, letting him relish in his failed attempt at comedy. "Maybe you should stick to being a butler," Souji replied a moment later.

"This place sucks," Mika stated, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of trouble.

"Relax, we're just here to find a way south," Souji reassured, though his heart pounded with anticipation and anxiety.

Before they could search any further, a figure emerged from the shadows- a short, slender young man with wild hair and a devil-may-care grin plastered across his face. He looked like he belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine, with his sharp features and casual swagger, his clothes were baggy sure, but his style was nothing to scoff at.

"Hey, you two also looking for the entrance?" the young man asked, his voice as smooth as silk.

Souji and Mika exchanged wary glances. The stranger didn't seem dangerous sure, but looks could be deceiving, and this spot wasn't exactly the place you'd expect to form a friendship.

"Who are you?" Souji asked cautiously.

"Name's Azabei Fushi," the young man said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked closer to them.

"I'm trying to get to South Japan, same as you. Figured I'd join up. Three heads are better than two, right?"

Mika eyed Fushi suspiciously, but Souji shrugged. "Fine. We could use the help."

That easily?! Mika thought, clearly shocked at Souji's lack of caution.

After a bit of searching, the trio found a hidden vent tucked behind a pile of debris. It was just large enough for them to crawl through, and after some initial hesitation at entering a small vent at the end of a shady alleyway, they began their descent. The cramped tunnel twisted and turned in the dark, their knees scraping against the cold metal as they navigated the labyrinthine space.

After what felt like an eternity, they dropped into a dimly lit room, where the stale air smelled of sweat and fear. The room was filled with other people, all gathered in uneasy silence. At the far end of the room, three figures stood in the shadows, their faces concealed behind strange, animalistic masks. Their presence alone was imposing, and the silence that fell as they stepped forward was deafening.

Some kind of cult? Mika thought, subconsciously stepping in front of Souji to protect him.

"Welcome," the masked figure in the center said, their voice distorted and muffled. "Before we proceed, we must ensure none of you are soldiers."

They began checking IDs, going through the crowd with swift efficiency. Souji's heart raced as they approached, but after a cursory glance at his student ID, they moved on without incident. The tension in the room thickened, but Souji kept his cool, glancing over at Mika and Fushi, who both seemed on edge.

After the checks were complete, they were led out of the room and toward a hidden port. A small, rusted boat awaited them, bobbing in the murky waters of the abandoned harbor. Without a word, they boarded and set sail under the cover of night, the city's lights slowly fading into the distance behind them.

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As the boat sailed through the foggy waters, Souji sat by the edge, listening to the soft splashes of the waves. He turned to Fushi, who was sitting nearby, fiddling with his phone.

"You got reception here?" Souji asked him,

"Only a little bit, probably gonna disappear when we're far enough," Fushi replied, his gaze fixed on his phone.

A brief period of silence ensued before Souji looked around, he could see a few other passengers aboard, and the boat's crew still wearing their animalistic masks, Souji felt a little out of place, and Mika was too on edge to talk properly, so Souji looked back at Fushi,

"Hey, what's happened in Japan while we were gone?" Souji asked.

Fushi looked up for the first time, his expression blank for a moment before he grinned. "You don't know? What have you been living under a rock or something?" he chuckled, Souji looked blankly as he'd recalled a time he had already asked this only earlier on in the day.

What's it with people thinking I live under a rock? Souji asked himself, before Fushi continued, "The whole country's gone to hell. Sorcery's become a thing. Mutants. Death squads. You name it."

Souji's heart sank. Mutants… Sorcery... Those were the words he had heard earlier. It was hard to believe something so fantastical could be real, but after seeing those hands, and that mutant firsthand, he knew there was at least some truth to it.

"Huh, I thought you'd be a little more shocked to hear that." Fushi pondered,

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"So, what now? We just sail down there and hope for the best?" Souji asked, his tone growing serious.

Before Fushi could respond, he glanced at his phone and frowned. "Wait a second… shouldn't we have arrived by now?"

Souji blinked. "What do you mean?"

Fushi tapped his phone screen, showing an offline map and a stopwatch. "Based on the time it usually takes, we should've reached the port already, I downloaded the maps before we left on data, and have been keeping a timer alongside the predicted time it would take us. Something's not right."

For a moment, Souji thought Fushi might've been onto something. But his hope quickly faded when Mika leaned over and snorted, "You're using offline maps, seriously?"

Fushi's confident grin wavered, changing up as he became a little scared in Mika's presence, muttering, "H-Hey, it's better than nothing…"

But before they could laugh it off, one of the crew members steering the boat turned toward them with a sinister smile. "You're right, we're not there yet. But don't worry. We're almost there."

A chill ran down Souji's spine as the crew member's grin widened, they had been overheard, and what's more, something was wrong, he could just feel it, it was instinct. Yet the boat continued on, and not too long passed before they had started closing it at one of the ports they had found.

As the boat came to dock at the port, one of the crew members spoke up, "Alright, we're gonna be collecting payment now" he stated, getting up off the boat onto the dock as he held a large axe in his hand, intimidating most of the others.

So this is it, they extort us for money as we dock, great. Mika thought.

One of the other passengers, a burly man sitting near the back, suddenly stood up and pointed a finger at the crew at the crew. "What the hell is this? You guys are pirates!"

The words barely left his mouth before a large axe came crashing down, severing his head from his body. Blood sprayed across the deck as his lifeless corpse crumpled to the floor. The passengers erupted into chaos, screams echoing through the night.

"Shit!!" Mika shouted, grabbing Souji's arm and dragging him out of the boat, dashing by the pirates who had not started indiscriminately killing. Fushi followed, his eyes wide with shock.

As they leaped off the boat and ran into the ruined port, Souji glanced back, only to see one of the pirates chasing after them with an unsettling grin on his face, his axe gleaming in the moonlight as he chuckled, waving it over his head like a psychopath.

"We need to fight back!" Souji shouted, but Mika shook his head.

"No way! They might have mutations, like that guy earlier!"

Fushi, who had been running alongside them, suddenly spoke up, his voice now trembling. "I… My.. My phone, I left… My phone."

Souji cut him off. "Let's fight him together!"

"Don't be stupid, Souji!" shouted Mika.

Now wasn't the time to argue, "Alright," Souji said, his mind racing. "I've got an idea then."

Mika shot him a disbelieving look, this kid, seriously! All he thinks about is fighting with his fists in a situation like this? "You've got to be kidding me," he stated,

"I'm serious," Souji said, his voice steady. "We split up. The pirate can only chase one of us at a time. While he's focused on one of us, I'll use 'that' to catch him off guard. It's a gamble but it's our best shot."

Mika frowned, clearly reluctant he questioned, "What if he chases you? And this is unfamiliar terrain, look around!" the surroundings bore a treacherous terrain, the once modern streets of lower area Tokyo, now reduced to a mess, left in wake by something catastrophic, building were crumbled and cracking, cars sat empty on the side, windows were smashed as the streets were busy with litter and other objects that had clearly been abandoned in a mass evacuation.

Souji gave Mika a direct order. As the Hajime family's bodyguard, Mika had no choice but to comply.

The three of them split up-Souji ran straight down the main street, Fushi darted into a nearby abandoned café and Mika sprinted down a narrow alleyway. As Souji glanced back, he smirked. "Now, let's see which one of us you pick…"

The pirate, still grinning, paused at the intersection where the trio had split. "Perfect… perfect!" he cackled. "Looks like I get to have some fun!" Reaching into his backpack, the pirate pulled out two human skulls, tossing them into the air with a gleeful laugh.

"Umekomi majutsu: Ningen no Saiken!" (Embedding Sorcery: Human Debt!)

The pirate shouted, his voice booming through the abandoned streets.

Souji skidded to a halt, his heart pounding as he watched in horror. The skulls began to transform mid-air, muscles, veins, and limbs rapidly forming around them until they became perfect replicas of the pirate himself, each wielding the same deadly axe.

"Shit…" Souji muttered, glancing back at the café and alley where Fushi and Mika had disappeared. Each of them now had a pirate doppelgänger chasing them down.

"The hell was that? How do we even deal with something like this?!" Souji thought, his fists clenching as he prepared to fight.