Now we return to the present. The Emperor is lying on the ground, blood pouring out of his body. Right beside him, Nazar is sitting quietly.

  Remembering his past, the Emperor whispers:— “If I hadn’t taken that man’s hand that day… maybe my four brothers would’ve had a better life.”

  Nazar can hear every bit of that broken whisper. The Emperor continues:— “There’s no difference between us and those killers…”

  They killed us back then, and we:— “We don't even know how many thousands of innocent people we’ve slaughtered. If I hadn’t taken that hand… my four brothers would’ve lived a normal life, even if it was a hard one. Because of my anger… thousands lost their lives…”

  As soon as he finishes, Nazar slowly stands up. With a calm, gentle voice, he says:— “From what you’re saying… I can tell your past was painful. If you want, I can take you to the Nur Dominion.”

  Hearing that, the Emperor gives a faint, tired smile and replies softly:— “No… let me die here peacefully. And since I’ve lost… that means my brothers are dead too. I don’t want to live without them. Just tell me one thing… do children still wander the streets helplessly?”

  With a voice mixed with sorrow and tenderness, Nazar answers:— “No… now no child has to suffer on the streets anymore.”

  Hearing this, the Emperor smiles — a small smile filled with peace and relief. Slowly, his eyes close. Nazar lowers his head and stands beside him in silence. A deep pain in his eyes — as if he’s trying to feel every ounce of the Emperor's suffering.

  Some time later, we see the control room — Rayn is standing inside, and twenty blue hologram screens float in the air in front of him.

  Nazar slowly walked into the control room. The moment he entered, Rayn said in a straightforward tone:— “You caused a bit too much seismic damage.”

  Hearing that, Nazar replied in the same blunt tone:— “Yeah… the enemy was pretty tough. Now tell me — what did you find here? And what exactly is this Gearborn thing?”

  Rayn spoke calmly:— “From what I found, it’s weird as hell. These Gearborn are made from the dead bodies of Myraan users.”

  Hearing that, Nazar looked at the corpses inside the glass tube-like chambers beside him and said in a calm voice:— “Myrraan continues to leak out of a person’s body even after death… and they’re using those dead bodies to create weapons. And because Myraan stays inside, the dead bodies keep getting stronger over time.”

  After listening to Nazar’s analysis, Rayn responded bluntly:— “Damn, Nazar — walk in and instantly decode everything, huh? And yeah — these things have no mind of their own. They just get stronger and act as human-shaped weapons.”

  Saying that, Rayn walked toward a glass tube filled with a bubbling red liquid. In a calm voice, he said:— “Nazar, these look like chemicals… but they’re not chemicals at all. This — is blood.”

  Then Rayn looked at Nazar and said in a straightforward voice:— “You know, I once went on a mission at Destroy Metro Station. Honestly — back then we rescued more than a hundred weak, injured, terrified girls.”

  As soon as he finished, Nazar began speaking in a calm tone:— “So… this blood belongs to those girls. Judging by the color and density, this is probably rare blood — the kind that’s found only in extremely rare females. And without this blood, they wouldn’t be able to create Gearborn from dead bodies.”

  Hearing that, Rayn laughed:— “Damn! My genius brother! I only said half, and you figured out the rest!”

  As soon as the two finished talking, all twenty blue hologram screens suddenly turned red. Seeing this sudden change, Rayn and Nazar instantly stepped back, alert.

  The moment they looked at the screens, they saw a one-minute countdown ticking down — the numbers dropping every second. Realizing what it meant, Nazar immediately shouted:— “Rayn, run! Now!”

  Both of them started running, but because of their earlier injuries, they couldn’t sprint at full speed.

  After covering some distance, Nazar pulled out a small glowing blue orb from his suit. He brought it near his mouth and quickly whispered:— “One hundred meters.”

  The moment he said it, Nazar hurled the orb toward the control room and started running again.

  The orb hit the ground — and instantly, a transparent blue barrier expanded over a hundred meters, locking everything inside it — even the air itself. Half of the barrier sank straight into the ground like a dome grown from nothing.

  Meanwhile, on the red hologram screens, the countdown kept dropping — 3… 2… 1… And the moment it hit zero, the entire place tore apart with a monstrous explosion.

  But because of the transparent blue barrier, not a single sound escaped. Even so, the blast was so intense that the ground outside the barrier shook violently — as if a massive earthquake had hit the whole zone.

  The blast’s force didn’t escape the barrier even once. As the explosion died down, the blue shield of the Nullsphere slowly faded away.

  Thanks to that barrier, Nazar and Rayn survived what should’ve been certain death. Gasping for air, Rayn looked at Nazar and said:— “Was that the Nullsphere orb?”

  Nazar replied in a calm but slightly regretful tone:— “Yeah… but we lost everything inside. We came out with nothing. Meaning… the mission failed.”

  Hearing that, Rayn chuckled lightly and said:— “Relax, bro. I already took samples of everything beforehand. And I transferred all the data to the Nur Dominion.”

  Nazar didn’t respond, but a slow, satisfied smile appeared on his face. A little later, the two of them stepped out of the base. One look outside was enough to tell that the place from before the mission no longer existed.

  Cracks split across the ground, the air was heavy with dust, and not a single tree was left standing.

  Outside, Haarun, Riyy, and Sa’ut were waiting for them. Riyy had four Urumi swords strapped to his back, Haarun carried his heavy sword — and in his hand, he held Nerath’s Double-bladed Scythe.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Seeing Rayn and Nazar, Riyy quickly rushed toward them and said:— “You guys okay? We felt a strange tremor from this direction, so we hurried over.”

  Rayn answered calmly:— “Everything’s fine now. Honestly, we survived by a hair… Without that Nullsphere orb, the blast would’ve wiped us out.”

  Right after Rayn finished, Haarun bluntly asked:— “What even is a Nullsphere orb?”

  Everyone turned to look at Haarun at the same time — like he had suddenly committed a crime.

  Haarun pretended to be scared and said straight up:— “Why are you all looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?”

  Before he could even blink, Rayn replied in a calm but brutally direct tone:— “Obviously, you skipped the Nur Dominion’s special offense-and-defense list.”

  Hearing that, Haarun looked to the side, scratched his head, and muttered:— “No… I didn’t skip it. I mean… I kinda skimmed it. A little.”

  Before he could finish, Riyy burst out laughing and said playfully:— “We haven’t seen a Nullsphere orb in person either, but everyone here knows what it is. Except you, Haarun.”

  Once everyone settled down, Nazar started explaining:— “You guys are new Bloodfangs… so you haven’t seen a lot yet. But with time, everything will make sense.”

  He paused for a second, then continued:— “Now let me explain the Nullsphere orb. It’s made to reduce the impact of blasts and destruction. You have to command it to a specific meter or kilometer range.”

  Everyone listened intently — like Nazar’s explanation was some kind of life-lesson.

  Nazar kept going:— “Once you give it a command and drop it on the ground, a barrier spreads outward from that point. The bigger the range you set, the stronger the barrier becomes.”

  Hearing that, Haarun asked straight up:— “Does this barrier have any limit?”

  Nazar nodded and answered calmly:— “Good question. Yes— the Nullsphere’s limit is three kilometers. Anything more than that, and the stability breaks.”

  After everyone finished talking, Sa’ut spoke in a calm voice:— “I’ve already sent the mission report to Nur Dominion. The NightShade Carrier will come pick us up soon.”

  Right after Sa’ut said that, Haarun commented bluntly:— “With the amount of destruction we caused… it’ll take more than 200 Bloodfang GhostFix Squads to repair all this once we leave.”

  The five of them kept slowly walking through the ruins, waiting for the NightShade Carrier to arrive.

  Rayn walked around, observing the wrecked surroundings, while Nazar sat quietly on the ground in one spot. At that moment, Riyy slowly walked up to Nazar and said softly:— “Nazar, I want to give you something.”

  Nazar looked a bit surprised and asked:— “What do you wanna give me this time?”

  Riyy began explaining:— “The two brothers I was fighting… At first I thought they were emotionless, cold-blooded killers. But when I got closer, I realized—they had feelings too. Maybe their past wasn’t great. And honestly… surviving their combo attack was a miracle on its own.”

  He let out a small breath and added:— “So I’m saying… you should keep a weapon for yourself too. Especially theirs.”

  Saying that, Riyy took two of the four Urumi Swords strapped to his back and held them out toward Nazar.

  The moment Nazar took those two Urumi Swords in his hands, he went completely still — as if he could feel the emotions and memories hidden inside the blades.

  On the other side, Haarun and Sa’ut were sitting on two separate branches of a large tree.

  Sa’ut was quietly staring up at the sky, while Haarun kept spinning Nerath’s Double-bladed Scythe in his hand. While twirling the Scythe, Haarun said bluntly:— “Sa’ut… thanks for giving me this weapon.”

  Sa’ut replied calmly:— “It’s nothing.”

  Then the scene shifts back to what happened a little earlier — Haarun suddenly noticed that all the Gearborn had collapsed onto the ground.

  He stopped his attack and stood still for a moment — acidic smoke hanging in the air, bodies of Gearborn scattered everywhere… The whole place felt like a brutal battlefield.

  Right then, Sa’ut appeared in front of him, standing on top of two hover-drones. In his hand was Nerath’s Double-bladed Scythe. Seeing that, Haarun asked in surprise:— “Why do you have Nerath’s weapon?”

  Sa’ut stepped down from the drones and replied in a calm voice:— “Haarun… Nerath wasn’t the kind of person we thought he was. He found complete peace in his final moments, and he actually thanked me… genuinely.”

  Hearing that, Haarun’s eyes widened in shock. He couldn’t understand how someone known as a ruthless killer could be so calm… so human.

  Sa’ut continued in a soft voice:— “You know what Nerath’s last words were? He said… he didn’t want his weapon to become ‘useless’ after he was gone.”

  Saying that, Sa’ut handed the Double-bladed Scythe to Haarun with a small smile and added gently:— “This suits you perfectly. I’m a hacker anyway — and I already have ten drones of my own.”

  The moment Sa’ut finished speaking, Haarun gripped the Scythe firmly — and a slight smile slowly formed on his face.

  And then… we return to the present scene. A little while later, the sky split open as a dark aircraft descended from above — This was the NightShade Carrier.

  The NightShade Carrier looked like a black metallic beast. Its body was wrapped in matte-black armor that swallowed any light touching it.

  Long shadow-fins stretched out from both sides, and thin violet lightlines glowed underneath — as if the darkness itself had learned how to shine.

  At the front was a narrow cockpit-slit, pulsing with a faint red glow from within. It made no sound while landing — only the air trembled lightly. Anyone could tell this wasn’t just a carrier… It was a silent predator.

  As the NightShade Carrier approached, all five of them quickly boarded. The moment they got inside, it rose into the sky without a single noise, and within seconds, disappeared into the black clouds.

  Once they left, the jungle fell into a deep, heavy silence again. Not a single sound anywhere. The air carried a sharp acidic smell, countless areas were destroyed, and nearly a thousand trees lay fallen and dead.

  Just then, footsteps echoed through the forest — a person wearing a Bloodfang suit, but far more advanced than the regular ones.

  The same white suit that appeared at the end of the Metro Station Mission. Because of the mask, the face couldn’t be recognized.

  The unknown Bloodfang walked straight into the ruined base, clearing away the broken debris and pulling out the bodies of the Emperor and Varkion.

  Then he went to the waterfall and retrieved Nerath’s body, collected Zerath’s body from the shattered road, and brought back Kareth’s body from the deep forest.

  Carrying all the bodies, the mysterious Bloodfang headed deeper into the jungle. A while later, he was seen kneeling under a massive tree, with five graves lined up in front of him.

  The weather was freezing. A chilly breeze flowed through the trees, the river beside them whispered softly, leaves dropped one by one from the branches — and the faint chirping of early birds before dawn… all of it blended into a strange, peaceful atmosphere.

  The unknown Bloodfang slowly began to speak. Because of the mask, his voice sounded deeper, yet the calmness and regret within it were unmistakable:— “I’ve learned everything about your past.”

  He paused for a second. Right then, the wind blew a little stronger, and the whole environment softened even more — as if the five of them were still listening to him from beyond death.

  The unknown Bloodfang continued in a gentle voice:— “I’m sorry… during the time you needed someone the most, there wasn’t a single right person… not even a Bloodfang… to stand beside you.”

  He let out a small sigh:— “Back then, Nur Dominion and the Bloodfang didn’t even exist. Crime rates were sky-high. There was no way for anyone to guide you onto the right path.”

  His voice steadied:— “I couldn’t save you… so I’m making a promise today — as long as I’m alive, no child or helpless person will ever suffer again.”

  After finishing his words, the unknown Bloodfang slowly stood up. Then, with quiet footsteps, he walked away into the depths of the forest, leaving behind five graves in a place no one would ever be able to reach — as if a new era was about to begin.

  A few moments later, the sky filled with descending aircraft — dozens of NightShade Carriers dropping down from above.

  From each Carrier, groups of Bloodfang GhostFix Squad members stepped out, clad in black suits. The squads immediately spread out, repairing the entire area. Anything fixable was restored flawlessly, and anything beyond repair was altered and disguised as a normal accident.

  Their work was fast, precise, and absolutely silent. Before dawn arrived, more than two hundred Bloodfang GhostFix Squad members finished every last task, boarded their NightShade Carriers, and vanished into the sky without making a single sound.