Juno was stunned about his master’s little to zero reaction to what he had just reported. Until he remembered that the man standing there at that moment, was not really his master, but the notorious dragon spirit. After another moment of standing still and absorbing the Kohāi’s words, Nyx ventured out the door into the hallway. Juno immediately followed on his tail. “Are you not worried about her?” “Why should I be?” “She's your wife.”“You know that's not true.”“Well she's the wife of the man whose body you occupy right now. And even if you don't care, she is very important to Ren Carter.”Nyx stopped in his steps and turned to glare at Juno. “Are you raising your voice at me?” Juno heaved a sigh and hung his head. “I just need you to take her more seriously, that's all.”“She's a grown woman, lad. She'll find her way home.”“No, no,” Juno shook his head, the lines of his face contorting in worry. “I..I just think it's strange that she specifically mentioned having dinner with

“Sato-san, do you think you can help us with directions?” Sato glanced at Juno as the rest of the Ninjas piled into the Toyota HiAce which was parked in a hidden part of the quarters. “Why me?” “I mean, it just seems like you've been to this dojo before, you know?” Sato shoved his fingers through his hair and looked away, conflicted. “Actually, I haven't. But I'll try.”Without another word, he got into the vehicle while Juno stood there for a while, wondering how successful this mission could be. Eventually, he took the wheel. Nyx took the passenger seat. The rest of them took the seats in the back. The vehicle had only cruised down the highway for about ten minutes when Ryota broke the uncomfortable silence in the air. “So, what's your story?” he addressed Sato, who ignored him like he wasn't even in the vehicle, sitting right next to him. “How'd you get into the academy?” Ryota pressed on, missing the cue that Sato did not wish to utter a word to him. “Hey,” Ryota poked his

“Damn. These biotech folks did a fucking clean job.”Roko Ikagawa whistled as he watched the bodies rise one after the other, all pale blue skin, glowing lenses and sinew. Akira and Sato blinked in surprise and shock. They could not believe what they were seeing. The supposed warriors moved like zombies. But there was something eerie and wrong about them, an underlying terror that the world was yet to behold. Roko turned to face them, grinning. “Behold, our modified soldiers. Have I made the introductions yet?”Sato glanced at the first zombie-like being which approached closer. “Soldiers or warriors? I mean, they pretty much look like zombies to me.”Jiro chuckled drily. “Zombies, huh?” Sato was just about to respond when something flew across the space with alarming speed. He was one second away from reacting when—SLASH! The zombie-like being dragged his coarse fingernails across Sato’s left cheek. The scratch left a sting hot enough to bring Sato to his knees, groaning. Akir

Koshi took a step back like an overlord while the minions of the dojo charged forward. But the mortal martial artists were not prepared for the velocity of the dragon fire lord's power. Even though they were quite a fearsome bunch. Some had lightning abilities. A few others were like the metal bending Koshi, only slower. “Come at me, bastards,” Nyx beckoned with a sinister grin. “Show me what you've got.” And the aloof mortals did. SLAM! CRASH! More than five pairs of fists crashed into Nyx with terrifying momentum. The blows were packed with supernatural strength that was enough to render any mortal man crippled or in the worst case scenario…dead. But he did not flinch, not even for a second. The mortals’ eyes widened in shock. “What the fuck? Who is he?” Nyx's grin fluctuated between charming and sinister. “Oh, no worries. I'll tell you.” In the next instant, before anyone could fathom what he was on about, or what he could possibly do, Nyx moved across the space w

“Are we sure about this?” Ryota’s voice was thick with skepticism as the vehicle rolled down the bumpy road that led to Eclipse Biolab, the firm which Yoshi had founded single-handedly after attending one of the best schools in Tokyo. “Sure about what?” Juno demanded in an irritated tone. He was not in a very good mood, given how things had gone down at the dojo. He was especially worried that Rei’s dead body alongside the others from OakHills had not been found. To him, the only reason they were headed to the biotech lab was to find those bodies. But something about this particular movement did not sit right with him. If it was up to him, he would have suggested they should turn right back and maybe head to a hospital for Sato and Akira’s sake. But two things were awfully true at the moment. He knew that Ren would have wanted to find his sister’s body more than anything else. And he also knew that given the extent of Sato and Akira’s injuries, the hospital was a bad idea. Thankfu