Prologue
The city of Kazegawa rarely slept. Riizu Arataki, a high school senior with wild hair and sharper eyes, didn’t sleep much either these days. He’d watched the skyline grow thick with rumors and truth—monsters known as Kyouma had begun rising at the edge of town.
Dreams bothered him most nights. Sometimes he’d hear a voice calling through thunder. ‘Will you fight…or run?’ It never seemed to let up.
In Episode 7, titled Outbreak of Red Ruin, the monster wars take on a scary new turn.
The Call and the Fear
Red lights buzzed across windows as warning horns screamed. There’d been another attack downtown. Riizu grabbed his battered school jacket and scarred wooden sword, heart twisted up by fear and need. “Don’t,” he heard Kaoru call. She’d waited for him since class let out, ever ready to talk sense into him. But what about the people out there? Could you really turn away from this?
Kaoru pressed her badge from the Youth Safety Unit into his hands: “You’re not in this alone.” Had he listened before? Maybe. Was he brave, or just reckless?
Riku, youngest sister (all energy, no fear), burst in: “They’re saying it’s a Tier Five. Bigger than the last. What’s wrong with people—don’t they know the rules?!”
He paused. “You’re right. Alright, we fight.”
Rupiven’s Roar – The New Threat
As they rushed outside, flames traced the horizon. Rupiven, the Red Ruin, towered above shops and streets. Six dark arms swept cars away; three eyes hung low and wild. You ever see something and know deep down that it wants nothing but to raze all? “No wonder they’re closing the gates,” Kaoru muttered, voice all menace. “One touch from…that—done for.”
Stranger thing, they didn’t run. Most people ran, right? Does bravery really matter more than fear itself? Riizu wanted an answer—maybe that’s why he always stepped forward.
The first wave folded fast. Trained police, a few private agents, the last monster handler in district one (he lost his arm in seconds). Still, media drones hovered lazy over flames, limping as they streamed to the central station. Did the city know real danger could move on six legs?
In shadows, Erika Tora raised the signal rod. Her crows wheeled. “Direct hit, all reserves converge!” said crackling comms. They needed all hands—and a new plan after this. 
The Next Wave – Team-up!
Deep breath. Riizu stuck to tight alleys, Kaoru calling out movement. “Cover your mouth; its smoke spikes your senses.” Easy to say, hard to do when your heart batters your ribs.
Erika caught up with her staff and psychic scowl. “Effort only matters if you don’t die halfway,” she snapped. Did she mean it, or were those just words she learned keeping everyone afraid but moving?
You ever see friends rally round each other mid-panic? One slip from panic to partnership can change a night. “Watch me!” shouted Riku as the air turned glassy red. Did she always skate on danger, or had she learned it from Riizu?
Energy shimmered around parking towers. They dodged, leapt, challenged bad odds head on. Tier Five or not, someone had to check if the beast bled.
Weak Spots and Weak Hearts
How do you find an edge against a monster with crimson teeth and a history in old ghost stories? Risk and whispers, mostly.
They found it—the rear base of its jaw, forums said, covered in scales. Riku fetched corroded salt bombs. Kaoru set them just high enough. All waited as Riizu readied his bat, felt its hum, and yelled. Swung. “Now!”
Shockwave. Giant pain. It roared as bomb smoke burned lines through its red neck. Dark ichor spilled. Not dead, but wounded and wild. They fell back, none sure if they’d really made it this time.
A voice, not of this world, swept the panic: “This Ruin is mine. Run if you value blood.” Vision shimmered. Was it a psychic trick, the monster itself, or … someone else behind the fight?
Who was calling the shots, and for what?
Allies and Doubt
Months of casework slashed into a corner by team runner Mika, android hacker bleary after four straight shifts. “Traffic cam’s got him. Not a creature—directed. This is war, not chance,” she flatly declared. Photos whirled into bright maps and name lists. Are there puppet masters behind disaster?
Whispers thrummed through the bunker. Erika took command: “Tomorrow we follow the leads. Tonight we heal and sleep.” Not all slept; not all closed their hearts to questions trailing the ruined nightscape.
Cliffhanger: The Mark on Riizu’s Hand
Destined or doomed? Riizu found a mark curling onto his palm, where monster blood mixed with salt and his own fear. “Your fight deepens,” that old voice rang from mist. Was he becoming something new—or would the war turn him like so many who fought too close?
Riku clutched his arm, hoping it would fade. But those stories never promised returns to normal. Lights flickered as uneasy dawn crept in. Would the coming storm break him—or build him stronger than bone and promise?
Did you ever feel the tug to run, but choose to stay?
