"Survival isn't about fighting for your life, it's about fighting for your chance to see tomorrow."
The chaos of the battle swirled around Rentarō. His heart pounded, his every movement a blur of instinct. Hotaru and Enju were still at his side, each of them engaged in brutal combat with the synthetic soldiers. Despite the overwhelming odds, the bond between them made them a formidable force. Rentarō fought to protect them, but the numbers were impossible to ignore.
The steel gates clanged as more soldiers poured in from every direction. The room was quickly becoming a battlefield littered with bodies and broken metal. Rentarō could hear the sounds of his team's weapons firing and the hum of their energy blades cutting through enemy flesh, but the overwhelming power of the synthetic soldiers was too much.
They couldn't keep this up forever.
Rentarō's thoughts raced as he grabbed Enju by the arm, pulling her toward the far corner of the room. "We need to fall back!" he yelled over the noise. "We can't win this fight head-on."
Enju's face was streaked with sweat and blood, her clothes torn from the relentless onslaught, but her resolve never wavered. "Where do we fall back to?" she asked, her voice sharp, despite the exhaustion lining her words.
Rentarō's gaze swept the room. The room was fortified—there was no easy escape, but he knew one thing: they couldn't afford to stay trapped here.
"There's a ventilation shaft nearby," Rentarō said, his mind already calculating their next move. "We use it to get out of here and regroup."
Hotaru was already moving toward the shaft, her movements smooth and controlled. Despite the chaos, her focus never faltered. She had always been the most strategic of them all. Rentarō nodded, his eyes briefly meeting hers as she turned to give him a sharp nod.
Before they could make it to the shaft, however, another wave of synthetic soldiers stormed the room, their cold eyes locking onto Rentarō. He didn't have time to hesitate. His gun came up instinctively, sending several soldiers crashing to the ground, but even as they fell, more took their place.
Karasuma and Shōma had made their stand, holding off the soldiers as best as they could, but it was clear they were beginning to wear thin. Shōma was bleeding heavily, his injuries piling up faster than Rentarō could count. Karasuma's usually steady hands were shaking with exhaustion.
"Get to the shaft, now!" Rentarō shouted, his voice rough with urgency.
Enju and Hotaru had already begun climbing the vent shaft, their agile bodies slipping through the opening with practiced ease. Rentarō followed close behind, keeping his gun raised as he covered their retreat.
Just as he was about to enter the shaft, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He spun around, instinctively ready to fight, but it was Karasuma, his face pale, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Go," Karasuma said, his voice strained. "I'll hold them off."
"No," Rentarō began, but Karasuma cut him off.
"You have no time! Go!" he barked, shoving Rentarō toward the shaft. "This isn't over! I'll hold them here!"
Rentarō hesitated, but the sound of approaching soldiers made the decision for him. He could hear the sound of Karasuma's gunfire and the ensuing clash of metal as he took a defensive stance.
"Dammit," Rentarō muttered under his breath, before turning and scrambling into the vent shaft.
The cool air inside the ventilation system was a sharp contrast to the stifling heat of the battle. Rentarō's heart was still pounding, and the weight of the situation was pressing down on him harder than ever. They had managed to escape, but they hadn't won. Not by a long shot.
The shaft twisted and turned in directions that Rentarō couldn't keep track of, but it didn't matter. His mind was already calculating the next move. How could they stop what had already started? How could they stop a war before it became too big to contain?
There was no way he could let these synthetic soldiers continue their march.
After a few minutes of climbing, they reached a small access door. Rentarō pushed it open, the cool air of the night flowing in, offering a brief reprieve from the chaos. The team stepped into the alleyway outside the facility, their faces grim.
"We need to regroup," Rentarō said, his voice steady. "We need to figure out what we're up against."
Hotaru was already checking her weapon, making sure it was in working order. Enju was scanning their surroundings, her sharp eyes noting every detail of their escape route.
"How do we stop them?" Enju asked, her tone fierce. "We've seen how advanced they are. If they're already producing soldiers like that…"
"They'll continue to push forward," Rentarō said, his gaze fixed on the horizon. "We need to find the source. The lab. And we need to destroy it before they can make more."
Hotaru nodded. "Agreed. But we can't do this alone. We'll need help."
Rentarō's eyes narrowed. "Help from who?"
Hotaru's gaze flicked toward the city. "We have contacts. People who can support us. But they'll need time to mobilize. And we'll need to be ready for whatever comes next."
Rentarō's hand clenched into a fist. "Then we don't waste any more time. We move out as soon as possible. We find the lab, and we put an end to this."
But even as he said it, Rentarō couldn't shake the feeling that this battle was only just beginning. The Council had created something far worse than he could have ever imagined, and now they were on the edge of a war that could consume everything.
And the price for victory?
It would cost more than any of them could afford.