Lightning flickered around his hand violently, casting yellowish-blue glow across the ground as a monstrous orange chainsaw materialised in Jin's hand.

VROOOOO RRRR BRZZZZZ!

Its metallic growl drowning out the world around them, and in that moment, nothing seemed real—except the terror.

Toru's body quivered uncontrollably. His knees buckled, legs refusing to hold him upright as he crumpled to the ground. Cold sweat beaded across his brow, He tried to scream, to call for help, but his throat tightened—a dry, desperate rasp, no louder than a whisper, choked by despair. The words came out like sand, coarse and useless.

"This is for your own good..." chainsaw now trembling in his hand as he stepped near toru his yellow reptilian pupil focused on him "Better than becoming a mindless monster."

His eyes bulged as the reality of his fate clawed at his mind. "N-no... na... AHHHHHH!" veins popping under the strain.

The chainsaw bit into him, and everything became pain. "NOOO... AH! AHHHH! LEAV—PLEASE—AHHHH! NAAA... ARGHH!"

His fingers, one by one, were shredded with terrifying precision, flesh peeling away like paper. Blood spurted in crimson arcs, soaking the ground beneath him, painting the scene in horror as his body jerked violently.

"Please... i-i... plea..." His words dissolved into fractured sobs, the sound of a human soul unraveling. "AHHHH ARHH ARHHHH"

The madness seemed endless, spiraling deeper with every scream.

Above, a few students gathered on the school's rooftop, but they were no longer individuals. They were frozen statues, faces twisted in a grotesque mix of terror and disbelief. Some could not bear the sight—one boy retched violently, collapsing to his knees, dry-heaving until his chest ached.

Others stood in rigid silence, eyes wide, pupils dilated as though the shock had stolen their ability to move, to think, to even blink.

Tears welled up in the corners of their eyes, from the sheer magnitude of the horror unfolding below. Their bodies quaked, not from cold, but from the visceral, gut-wrenching fear that gripped them.

All they could see was a monster, bathed in blood. . . a boy beneath him, writhing in agony as his fingers were slowly. . . ripped apart while wings of another lay behind his feet, The chainsaw's rhythm echoed in their ears like a gruesome lullaby, and they were powerless to stop it.

The only certainty was that the scene before them would haunt them forever. The nightmare had taken root in their minds, and no amount of time would ever wash away the image of that boy's desperate pleas or the inhuman cruelty of the monster who stood over him.

In the dark, murky slums of tokyo, shadows clung to crumbling walls like grime that could never be scrubbed clean. But inside an abandoned garage, a strange contrast existed—a surprisingly spotless enclave amidst the filth.

The faint scent of stale air mixed with oil and rust permeated the room, where an unsettling quiet lingered, broken only by the soft clicking of keys.

At the center of the dimly lit space, a white round table gleamed unnaturally in the surrounding gloom. Fingers danced effortlessly across a black laptop, each keystroke containing it's own noise., black leather gloves masking them.

The screen glowed with a cold, bluish hue, casting eerie reflections onto the surfaces nearby, turning this place into a hidden lair in the bowels of the city, cryptic lines of code flickered across the monitor, weaving a web of silent control.

Hovering just above the laptop, a single eye—intense and calculating—watched everything unfold. The pupil contracted and expanded, following the flow of information with practised vigilance.

Beside the laptop, a purple flip phone sat perfectly still, its polished surface reflecting the faint light from the screen. It waited, inert but ready, a sentinel in this silent operation.

The eye shifted, its gaze flicking to the phone as the green neon digits blinked into focus—4:30 PM. A thumb hovered over the device for a moment before flipping it open with a snap, the click echoing lightly in the quiet room. The glow of the message group chat lit up the display, its bright tones almost foreign in this dark place.

A message popped up on the screen.

"GUYS! I bought this super fancy new wallet today! It's a luxury brand only for elites. You guys wouldn't even understand how much I waited for it! Just wait till you see it, it's totally gonna elevate my style!"

"Good for you setsuna!" A user with bunny face replies.

"Ha! grow up, elevate my style~" another with a smirky Picachu riplied.

"Poor girl trying to fake status just to get some friends (っ °Д °;)っ go get it queen! (broken heart emoji)"

A jagged red line pulsed through the floating eye, the eye's erratic movements betraying the fury swelling beneath the surface.

It blinked slowly, the weight of bitter frustration sinking in. 'This was too real to be part of the script, these bastards!' the anger still simmering beneath.

Nearby, fingers crackled with a sharp pop, the knuckles releasing pent-up tension with each stretch.

The hands—trembling slightly from a mix of nerves and agitation—darted over the keyboard, the soft clatter of keys blending into the ambient hum of the room. The keys clacked faster now, driven by a need to restore order, to take back control from whatever chaos will or was ensuring on the other side.

Welcome [Cronos]

Unlocking the wallet.

A blue game-like screen materializes

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

Wallet address (1A1sP1eP5QEgi7DMPHUGYUGgyLmhb7hujUYa)

Enter your authentication code (. . . . )

An intricate line of code and number were dialled before a confirming screen appeared on the screen.

Password accepted.

Welcome to the Dragnor network- - -

Choose currency: Monero, bitcoin.

Entering recipient address XXX XXXXXX X X X XXX

Address format verified.

Transaction fee - ring signature enabled transaction will be obfuscated.

Selecting service A

Her eyes, wide and unblinking, hovered above the screen, pupils dilating in a mix of disbelief and excitement as the numbers flickered to life before her.

"Never knew Cap was such a big shot!"

The monitor flashed the first transfer amount—2000 XMR—"Damn we were so rich!"

The thought sliced through her mental fog like a jagged edge, but it wasn't enough to slow her down. Her fingers were a blur, working on autopilot. Each new account felt like a countdown, each transfer a step deeper into the abyss.

Ten different accounts—each one a link in a new chain that goes in some distant land.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

Screen flashing on the screen with ton of confirmation.

Transaction fragmentation complete ready to proceed?

Amount: 20000 XMR , 40 BTC

Awaiting network confirmation 0/12

The eye blinks rapidly seeing the total amount.

"NEARLY 6 MILLION!?"

The words entered her mind Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat louder than the last as the gravity of the number sank in.

"SO MUCH MONEY!?!"

Her hands trembled, slick with sweat, as she fumbled to input the final calculations. The numbers on the screen blurred as her fingers hovered uncertainly over the keys.

How could anyone even manage to get such an amount? The cold sweat on her palms made the keyboard feel slippery as if the weight of the money itself was seeping through her skin, her mind working on it's conspiracy and thoughts.

Her faith started to shake, the promises appeared false a sense of betrayal pang in her heart as she thought of the darker possibilities. Stopping wasn't an option. She couldn't stop. Not now 'i need an explanation no matter what' she took a photo of the screen from her phone.

Continue with the transfer WARNING transactions are irreversible Confirm transfer.

CONFIRM!

Transaction submitted to the blockchain.

Your transaction will be anonymized in approximately [1.66] minutes.

TRING!

The cellphone beeps as another message comes "You better delete the history once your parents found about it you will be grounded for sure"

Transaction confirmed: [12/12 confirmations].

Funds were transferred successfully.

Transaction obfuscated through [Mixer/service A].

Would you like to delete the transaction history from this device?

Transaction history cleared.

The levitating hands drifted silently toward the laptop. With a soft click, they closed it, plunging the room into it's previous thick darkness hum of the machine ceased, leaving only the muted sounds of the outside world.

From the gloves, they retrieved a small black pendrive, smooth and a skull marking on it sliding it into one of the laptop's ports.

With an unnatural grace, the hands floated toward the corner of the room. There, on the grimy floor, sat a pinkish bubble its surface shimmering. It was no bigger than a basketball.

The hands opened a phone, One last message was typed in. "I know, I do my works unlike you guys!"

The message hung in the air for a moment as if taunting the very silence it disturbed. Then, as the words faded from the screen, the hands entered the bubble vanishing like smoke into the air. An eye—cold, disembodied, and unblinking—lingered for the briefest of moments before it, too, was swallowed by the bubble's shimmering surface.

In an instant, the bubble vanished as if it was never there, leaving behind nothing but a white table. The black laptop sat there, still and lifeless, a thin wisp of smoke curling from it a final silent breath from a machine that had seen too much.

The room was now empty, save for the faint smell of burnt circuitry and the lingering echo of something no longer there.

In the quiet of a simple park, the leaves rustled softly as two people sat on a worn bench, the sound of birds barely masking the tension between them. Both received the same message on their phones. One smiled faintly, almost like a reflex, while the other's brow furrowed in visible strain.

Natsu sighed deeply, the breath leaving him like he was trying to expel the weight in his chest. He leaned back against the bench, his gaze lifting to the sky, watching the clouds drift lazily as if the world outside his mind was untouched by his turmoil.

"This feels so wrong… this is… just illegal," he muttered under his breath, his voice almost lost in the wind.

Kenta, sitting beside him, let out a chuckle that seemed too relaxed for the moment. His eyes flicked to a tree nearby, fingers tracing the grain of the bench as if it were a distraction. "In which part of this do you think anything is legal?" he said, the sarcasm thinly veiled.

"You know I'm not talking about that." Natsu's voice dropped into a quieter, darker space. A tense silence hung between them, the kind that carried the weight of unsaid truths.

Kenta opened his mouth to speak, trying to fill the void. "It's for the go—"

"I don't want to hear that self-delusional shit," Natsu cut him off, his voice sharp and brittle like glass about to break. His eyes, once fixed on the clouds, now bore into Kenta. "You know this isn't fucking right from any angle. We. . . we're just using them like tools."

Kenta scratched the back of his head, exasperated, as if the itch could distract him from the conversation he didn't want to have. "When did we ever say to pretend? Do it for real."

"Easy for you to say! You already had a crush on her."

Kenta's eyes narrowed, his patience fraying. "And how the fuck would you know?"

"Like fuck I just know you!" Natsu spat, standing suddenly, his footsteps heavy as he walked toward the tree. His fists clenched, shaking with more than just anger. "And 'pretend'? This was all fucking pre-planned! It didn't just fall from the sky like some lucky love at first sight. We made advances through calculated moves for the sake of using their quirks. It's like-like a grooming cult." His voice grew louder, trembling as the disgust welled up in his throat, choking the words out.

Kenta snapped, rising from the bench, his frustration boiling over. "Then what the fuck were we supposed to do?! What other choice did we have?" His voice echoed off the trees, matching the fury in Natsu's tone.

"But it still doesn't make it right!" Natsu shouted, his breath visible now as the temperature around him plummeted, his quirk spilling out with his emotions. The wind turned cold, biting at their skin.

Kenta's face hardened, his eyes locking on Natsu. "Then why didn't you say shit when this was first planned, huh? Why the fuck were you silent then?" He stepped closer, voice low but fierce. "And tell me, fucker, did everything you did—was it all fake? No feelings, nothing real in all these years?"

The ground rumbled beneath him, trembling under the weight of his quirk, Kenta's quirk answering Natsu's cold with his own. Natsu's shoulders slumped as the weight of Kenta's words settled in. "We don't even know if what he said was real…" His voice trailed off, a bitter sigh escaping him, defeat pulling his eyes down to the ground.

Kenta scoffed, his jaw tightening. "This fucker…" he muttered, hands gripping his head, fighting his own turmoil. The ground quivered faintly beneath him, barely restrained.

"You're getting cold feet now, bitch?! After all this time, _now_ you decide to break?" Kenta's voice rose, furious, as he stepped toward Natsu. "When we're about to actually do something for the world?"

Natsu didn't flinch but turned, his face tight with anger, the chill deepening. "We could do it differently."

Kenta laughed, a harsh, mocking sound that had no humour in it. "Oh, really? You think we can walk up to people and say, 'Oh, hey darling, we're trying to save the world from a hidden, centuries-old villain. Would you pleaaaaase help us?' You think that shit would work?" He stared at Natsu, who had turned his back again, refusing to meet his eyes.

Natsu didn't answer. His head hung low, fists still clenched at his sides, shoulders shaking slightly as the cold air thickened around him.

"That's not what I meant…" he murmured.

"Then what the fuck did you mean?" Kenta pressed, his frustration breaking into something more raw. "Forget about him, or your own damn father! You really think you can do shit to even a third-class hero?" Kenta's voice cracked slightly, but he kept pushing. "Surprise, surprise—we're not gods, Natsu. Things won't be perfect. We're just trying to save as many as we can while fixing the damn problem itself."

"HEY GUYS!" A cheerful voice cut through the frigid tension like a splash of warm water.

Both Natsu and Kenta looked toward the source, the blue-haired girl bouncing toward them with a bright smile, her energy like sunlight piercing their stormy atmosphere.

Kenta glanced back at Natsu one last time, his expression softening but still steely. "If you feel that guilty, then love her," Kenta said quietly, the words sharp but not unkind. "Love her from your fucking soul, because that's what I will do Until she decides otherwise, she is all that ever will be" Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked toward the bubbly girl, his pace quickening as she hopped happily toward them.

"Let's go," Kenta said softly, gently taking her hand.

"Ehh?" she blinked, confused, her periwinkle irises jumping between both of them. "Is Natsu not coming with us?"

Kenta shook his head "He's already tired of his project. Let's give him some space."

"Ohh…" She turned to Natsu with a smile, waving at him. "Do your best, Natsu!" Her voice rang with genuine encouragement, her grin warm and bright.

Natsu forced a half-smile in return, lifting his hand in a loose wave, but his heart wasn't in it. He watched as they walked away, the weight of their conversation hanging heavy in the cold air around him.

fist connected with the rough bark of the tree in an instant, freezing the entire treenarea around his fist.

The leaves turned sickly white, as frostbite clawed its way through the roots

His fist connected with the rough bark of the tree freezing the entire thing at once The air seemed to freeze mid-breath, growing heavy with an icy chill. The leaves darkened, turning a sickly white, as frostbite clawed its way through the roots of tree.

Crack!

The tree crumbled away like fragile glass, scattering in the wind fragments falling to the ground, glittering like shards of broken ice beneath the dim sky.