The soldiers were standing near the wall.

“Hey, Mira, did you and Kay fight or something?” asked Thais.

“Me and Kay? No, why?” replied Mira, surprised.

“He seemed mad at you!” commented Thais.

“Kay? I think he wanted to ask me something, but he’s not mad at me,” said Mira.

“Then why don’t you go ask him what it was? He’s alone now!” encouraged Thais.

Mira’s cell phone rang.

“I’ll talk to him later. I’ll answer it!” said Mira, moving away to answer the phone.

The soldiers watched.

“Hey, go ahead!” said Mira on the cell phone, moving away a little further.

“This again... I wonder who she’s talking to to make her smile like that?” muttered Thais, suspicious.

Kay watched from afar.

“So that’s really it...” he muttered, standing up.

— Be quiet there! — Takemichi ordered.

Kay approached.

— I want to leave the army. I'm resigning! — Kay said.

— And now what are you talking about? — Takemichi asked, surprised.

— I think it's a promise I made to Rem. I'm resigning — Kay said.

("Mira needs someone by her side, someone who will protect her for me!") — Kay remembered, remembering the request Rem made the last time she saw her.

"I hate to admit it, but this guy can protect her," Kay thought, looking at Takemichi. "And now there's that other guy... he's not strong, but he seems to be influential, to have come with Emilia to the barracks!" — Kay thought, feeling irritated.

— After everything you've done, you want to leave like that? You're going to help rebuild this kingdom, and only then can you leave! — Takemichi said.

— If I remove the rubble, will you let me go? — Kay asked, defiantly.

"This would take a week with everyone together!" — Takemichi thought, pondering. — Okay, we'll need some things from here, so remove the rubble from the houses and pile them there, next to the wall. When you're done, you're free to go! — Takemichi said.

— And I'll need the bodies of those ghouls later. We have a deal! — Kay stated.

— I don't know what you need them for, but the bodies will go to the institute — Takemichi retorted.

— No problem, I just need to touch them — Kay replied.

— If that's the case, then we have a deal — Takemichi concluded.

Kay stepped back, concentrating.

— Are you sure about that? He seems serious about his decision — Lena commented.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

— For him to clean all this up by himself, it would take at least a month, at best — Takemichi said.

— So, you don't intend to let him go so easily? — Yan asked.

— Like father, like daughter! — Joana commented, smiling.

— This is our captain! — Ryuji said.

Takemichi's cell phone rang.

— Hello, Fernanda! — he answered.

— What's going on? Kay's suit is gradually increasing... it's already at 130%! — Fernanda said, euphoric on the call.

— 130%? Are you sure about that? — Takemichi exclaimed, surprised. — He's just standing here!

— He's going to do something, stop him now! — Fernanda asked.

— Damn it! — Takemichi approached, speaking loudly. — Kay, I don't know what you're doing, but you better stop now! That's an order!

In Kay's mind, he was floating in an empty space.

— It's been a while, I know you absorbed something from those ghouls that made you stronger. I'm going to need some extra hands for a job! — Kay said, seriously.

Back outside, Kay opened his eyes.

— Stop screaming. I'm just keeping my part of the deal — he replied.

From Kay's suit, tentacles began to grow, emerging around him.

— What the hell is that? — Takemichi exclaimed, astonished.

“This again?” — Joana murmured, astonished.

“Again?” — Takemichi asked, confused.

Tension hung in the air as Kay closed his eyes, and everyone there felt something different. Suddenly, tentacles began to emerge from Kay’s suit, twisting and growing until they formed several hands that spread around him, seemingly ready for heavy work. The soldiers watched, perplexed, as Kay’s power manifested itself in an unexpected and frightening way.

“What the... fuck?” Takemichi exclaimed, visibly shaken, unable to hide his surprise. His voice, usually controlled, was now a mixture of astonishment and disbelief.

“This again?” Joana murmured, her eyes wide as she instinctively retreated.

In the distance, Mira heard the commotion. Even though she was still on her cell phone, the sound of the soldiers and the exclamations of shock made her turn around quickly.

“What the hell is going on?” Mira blurted out, unintentionally.

On the other end of the line, the prince was silent for a second, and then answered, confused:

“Excuse me? Did something happen?”

Mira realized her mistake, blushed and quickly said:

“Sorry, it’s just… an emergency! I have to hang up!” And before the prince could answer, she ended the call and ran towards the others, feeling her heart pounding with worry.

Meanwhile, Kay had already taken full control of the extra hands. He moved from one side to the other, and the tentacles followed his steps in sync, as if they were an extension of his own will. Each hand that came out of the tentacles was precise and agile, grabbing debris from the destroyed houses and throwing them forcefully towards the corner of the wall, forming a pile of rubble that was growing rapidly.

“This… this is unbelievable!” Yan muttered, unable to take his eyes off the scene.

The soldiers stared, astonished, hardly believing what they were seeing. In a matter of minutes, Kay had cleared almost the entire perimeter. Where there had been scattered debris before, now only the houses or parts of houses that were still standing remained, while a pile of ruins appeared next to the wall.

Mira arrived at her father's side, panting and trying to understand what was happening.

"Dad, what... what is all this?!" she asked.

Takemichi, not knowing what to do, stared at Kay and muttered to himself:

"Don't ask me, I won't be able to explain!"

Fernanda's voice echoed worriedly through the radio:

"Captain, his suit is at 150%! What's going on?"

Takemichi sighed, ending the voice call and calling on video to show Kay directly.

"I'll show you, see for yourself!" As soon as Kay's image appeared on the screen, Fernanda's eyes widened.

"What the hell is this?" she exclaimed in disbelief, while the scientists around her looked on with alarmed expressions.

"What's going on?" the scientists next to her asked.

Fernanda, feeling the weight of the situation, moved away from the others to talk in private.

"I'll be right back, I need to talk to the captain." As soon as she left the room, she asked Takemichi again, unable to contain her shock. "Captain, what the hell is this?"

Takemichi rolled his eyes, equally perplexed.

"Don't even ask me! You're the scientist!"

Meanwhile, Kay's four extra hands moved in perfect synchrony, making him slide through the debris field at high speed. The soldiers around him looked on, confused, until one of them, oblivious to what was happening, aimed his gun at Kay.

"What's that?" — exclaimed the soldier, his finger on the trigger.

Takemichi's voice sounded firm over the radio.

"Don't shoot at the city!" he ordered.

The soldier, still uncertain, muttered:

"Is it a ghoul?"

"It's not a ghoul!" Takemichi corrected, exasperated. "Focus on the outside!"

The soldier lowered his gun, turning it in the indicated direction.

Suddenly, Kay stopped, and everyone around tensed up, not understanding why.