They bolted from the warehouse just as black vans screeched to a halt outside. Men in tactical gear poured out, weapons raised.

"Freeze! Special Phenomena Investigation Unit!"

But Akira and Ayaka were already gone, disappearing into the maze of abandoned buildings. They ran hard for three blocks before finally stopping in a narrow alley, both breathing heavily.

"That was too close," Ayaka said, checking behind them. "We need to be more careful. The SPIU isn't playing around anymore."

"Agreed. Let's split up from here. Less suspicious if we're not seen together."

"Good idea. And Akira? Next time I tell you to stay away, maybe actually listen."

"Where's the fun in that?"

She shook her head but smiled despite herself. "You're impossible. Go. I'll make sure they're not following."

Akira took a different route back to school, keeping his Essence Cloak at maximum. By the time he slipped back through the side entrance, classes had ended, and most students were heading home.

He found Mia waiting in the exact spot he had left her. Her arms were folded, and her face looked angry. "That was a long staff meeting," she said flatly.

"Yeah, sorry I made you wait."

"Except, no one seemed to know about this staff meeting you claimed to be coming from."

"That's because it was a one-on-one thing," he said, activating Silver Tongue without even thinking about it/

She studied his face for a long moment, then seemed to decide to let it go. "Come on. Let's go home. I'm exhausted."

—

The next few days passed in relative peace. Akira threw himself into his new routine: morning training, school, managing his increasingly complicated harem situation.

The SPIU incident faded into the background, just another close call in his growing list of supernatural encounters.

But on Thursday afternoon, as he walked through the main gates, something felt off.

A black sedan with tinted windows sat parked near the faculty wing. It wasn't the kind of car teachers drove… it felt too official, too clean, too expensive.

"Ai, you seeing this?"

"Oh yes, darling. That's government-issued. And judging by the antenna array on the roof, they're not here for a parent-teacher conference."

Akira kept walking, trying to look casual while his mind raced. Had they tracked him somehow? Was this about the ashling days ago?

As he passed near the administrative building, he caught a glimpse through an open window. A man in a dark suit stood talking to the Vice Principal; he was tall, lean, with sharp features and eyes that seemed to miss nothing. Something about his posture screamed military training.

"Background readings in this area have shown unusual fluctuations," the man was saying. "We're conducting routine checks at all major gathering points. Schools, shopping centres, hospitals."

"I assure you, Agent Sato, our students are perfectly normal," the Vice Principal replied nervously.

Agent Sato. Akira filed the name away.

"I'm sure they are. Still, we'll be maintaining a presence in the area. Just routine observation. Nothing for anyone to worry about."

Akira moved past before they could notice him watching. His heart hammered in his chest.

"They're circling," Ai said quietly. "Not hunting yet, but definitely sniffing around. We need to be extremely careful, darling. One slip and they'll be on us like wolves."

"Understood. I'll keep my signature completely suppressed."

"Good. Because there's something else you should know… you have that drug test tomorrow. Remember? Part of joining the basketball team officially."

Akira had forgotten entirely. "That's not a problem, is it? I haven't actually taken any drugs."

—

The rest of Thursday passed without incident. Akira avoided Agent Sato, kept his interactions normal, and went home early. He even managed to have a quiet dinner with everyone without any drama, which was like a minor miracle given his current situation.

But at 1:45 AM Friday morning, he sprang up from sleep like he had been tased or something.

[GATE ALERT]

[NEW SPATIAL INSTABILITY DETECTED]

[LOCATION: SCHOOL ATHLETICS FIELD]

[CLASSIFICATION: GRADE ALPHA - BURST GATE (FIRE ELEMENTAL)]

[ESTIMATED TIME TO FULL MANIFESTATION: 15 MINUTES]

[Warning: If not suppressed within 15 minutes, the rupture will be visible to civilian satellite and local SPIU sensors]

[Gate will expand at exponential rate - potential casualties: 200+]

"No, no, no," Akira whispered, throwing off his covers. "Not now. Not here."

"We have to go, darling," Ai said urgently. "If that gate fully manifests, the entire school could burn. And with the SPIU already in the area..."

"They'll lock down the whole city looking for the source."

He quickly pulled on dark clothes, grabbed his dagger, and slipped out of his room. The hallway was dark and silent. He moved like a ghost, weeks of sneaking around paying off.

Outside, the night air was warm… too warm. Even from four hundred meters away, he could feel the heat radiating from the athletics field. The sky above the school had taken on an orange glow, like a false sunrise.

He ran, pushing his enhanced speed to the limit. As he got closer, the temperature spiked dramatically. The grass beneath his feet was already brown and dying, moisture evaporating in seconds.

And there, hovering above the center of the field, was the gate.

It looked like a tear in reality itself: a jagged wound in the air that pulsed with orange and red light. Flames licked at the edges, and through the opening, Akira could see another place entirely.

A realm of endless fire, where rivers of lava flowed beneath skies filled with ash.

"It's bigger than Shirayuki's gate," Akira said, feeling his stomach sink.

"Much bigger. Grade Alpha means multiple guardians, darling. And look—the first wave is already coming through."

Shapes began emerging from the tear. Ashlings, dozens of them, pouring through like a swarm of burning locusts. But these were different from the ones they'd fought before… larger, more aggressive, burning with white-hot flames instead of the normal orange-red.

"Enhanced variants," Ai explained. "They're being supercharged by proximity to the gate. This is bad, Akira. Very bad."

Behind him, a familiar voice cut through the night. "I knew I'd find you here already."

Ayaka stepped out of the shadows, already in combat mode. Her demonic markings glowed, and her eyes held a mixture of resignation and determination.

"You sensed it too?" Akira asked.

"Impossible not to. Every supernatural within a kilometer probably felt that rupture." She looked at the gate, then at him. "We can't let this spread. If even one of those things reaches outside this area..."

"Then we end this. Fast and clean."

"Nothing about this is going to be clean. That's a Grade Alpha, Akira. There's a guardian in there, and it's going to be a lot stronger than Shirayuki was."

"Then I guess we better not let it come out."

The first wave of Ashlings spotted them and shrieked with voices like crackling flames. Twenty, thirty, maybe forty of the creatures, all charging at once.

Akira summoned his ice essence, feeling it surge through his veins. The cold was a welcome relief against the oppressive heat. "You take the left flank. I'll take the right. We push them back toward the gate and then seal it."

"Seal it? You know how to seal a Alpha Grade gate?"

"Not yet. But I'm a fast learner."

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