The air shimmered.
Haio stood in the middle of a smoking crater, his black uniform tattered but untouched by the inferno around him. Before him, three elite Spec Enforcers from the International Guild surrounded him in a triangle formation, each one classified as an S-Rank threat. But Haio's amber eyes were calm—calculating.
One of the Enforcers stepped forward. A lean man with mirrored lenses and blades of condensed energy flickering along his arms. "You're the Archive... the boy who hoards Specs like a data bank."
Haio didn't answer. Instead, he adjusted the cuff of his left glove. Internally, he navigated his Archive—the mind-space that contained hundreds of Specs like icons in a scrollable grid.
> Activate: Spec #1 – Tissue Forge.
Haio's muscles rippled subtly, rearranging themselves into dense braids around his limbs. His calves compressed like springs.
> Activate: Spec #2 – Energy Reservoir.
His skin faintly glowed gold. The ambient heat from the explosion, the tremors of his breathing, the tension in the air—he absorbed it all, quietly charging.
"Engage!" barked the Enforcer captain.
The two others shot forward like bullets.
But Haio blurred past them.
A single stomp launched him into the air like a slingshot. His spring-loaded legs propelled him upward, dodging a sonic blast mid-air.
> Spec Combo: Tissue Forge + Energy Reservoir.
He twisted mid-flight, releasing a burst of stored energy through his leg. The shockwave cracked the air—and he reappeared behind the Enforcer who had lunged earlier.
> Strike Mode: Enhanced Punch.
CRACK.
The blow landed against the man's ribs, amplified by stored kinetic power. He flew back, bouncing across the ground like a pebble on a lake.
Haio exhaled slowly.
Two down.
The blade-wielder narrowed his eyes. "So you're a counter-build."
> Activate: Spec #3 – Erode.
Haio raised his right hand, now engulfed in a black-purple shimmer. When the Enforcer lunged, Haio blocked with his forearm. The blade met flesh—and began to corrode.
"What—?!"
The sword-arm disintegrated like rusted steel. With a flick of his finger, Haio touched the ground. A line of corrosion raced through the concrete, erupting beneath the Enforcer's feet and throwing him off balance.
> Activate: Spec #4 – Quirkscope.
Haio's pupils dilated. Numbers and breakdowns flashed in his mind:
Name: Raze Blade
Type: Emitter
Spec: Constructs plasma blades from internal heat pressure. Requires stable breathing. Weak to nerve shocks and external corrosion.
Haio smirked. "Got you."
He used a single palm strike laced with stored energy from Energy Reservoir, and Echo Reservoir activated instinctively.
The remaining Enforcer screamed as a concussive blast sent him flying into the wall, unconscious.
> Victory Logged.
Energy Remaining: 32%.
Haio calmly turned to walk out of the crater.
But something tickled the back of his mind.
A shift.
A presence.
He wasn't alone.