The storm had not passed.
It had merely grown darker.
Inside the dimly lit safe house, Reo sat motionless on the edge of the battered couch, his wounds hastily patched, his body screaming for rest.
But sleep wouldn't come.
Not with the weight of the coming disaster pressing down on him like a lead coffin.
Doraemon shuffled nervously, clutching a new gadget — a compact tracker shaped like a small watch.
"You should at least equip this," Doraemon urged. "It'll monitor your vitals and send an alert if Kael gets within a two-kilometer radius."
Reo took the device, strapping it onto his wrist without a word.
It beeped softly, syncing to his biometric signature.
Doraemon hesitated, then added in a lower voice, "We could run, you know. Hide somewhere even Kael can't find. You've done enough."
Reo gave a tired smile — one that didn't reach his eyes.
"You don't run from family, Doraemon."
Even when that family had turned into a monster.
Especially then.
---
Meanwhile… In the Industrial Wastes
The air stank of smoke and decay.
Kael stood alone, surrounded by the wreckage of old factories — places abandoned by humanity, but now perfect for something like him.
His muscles twitched unnaturally beneath his skin, raw energy pulsing through every nerve.
"Calibration complete," the system inside him purred.
"Strength enhancement: 300%. Reflex enhancement: 280%. Pain suppression: active."
Kael flexed his fingers. Sparks danced across his knuckles.
He could feel the power clawing under his skin, begging to be unleashed.
And yet... something else was growing inside him.
Something darker.
Something less... human.
His mind buzzed with new instincts — savage, predatory.
He could smell Reo, even across the city — a faint trace, like a bloodhound catching scent.
"You can't hide," Kael whispered into the storm. "Not from me."
His hands curled into fists.
"I'll tear apart every street, every building... until I rip you out of whatever hole you're hiding in."
The transformation wasn't complete.
But it was enough.
Enough to make him unstoppable.
---
Back at the Safe House
A sharp ping! sounded from the tracker on Reo's wrist.
Doraemon's eyes widened. "Signal detected. 2.3 kilometers. Approaching fast!"
Reo shot to his feet instantly, grimacing as the sudden movement reopened wounds.
"He's moving fast — too fast!" Doraemon yelped. "No human can move like that!"
"Because he's not human anymore," Reo muttered grimly.
The walls of the safe house rattled.
Then came the sound — a deep, guttural growl, rolling through the air like thunder.
Reo's blood ran cold.
Doraemon fumbled desperately for his gadgets. "Take this! And this! And—"
Reo grabbed only one: the Dimensional Cutter, a sleek, high-powered device that could slice through almost anything.
He tucked it into his belt.
"No more running," Reo said.
He turned to Doraemon, voice steady despite the fear clawing at his gut.
"If I don't come back—"
"You will," Doraemon snapped, shoving another gadget into Reo's hand — a tiny silver cube. "Emergency recall device. If things go bad, press it."
Reo nodded.
The walls shook again, dust raining from the ceiling.
The monster was here.
---
The Encounter
Reo stepped outside into the broken street, the rain plastering his hair to his forehead.
Across the shattered asphalt, a figure emerged from the darkness.
Kael.
But not the Kael he knew.
This Kael was taller, broader, muscles coiled tight under inhuman skin. His eyes glowed a savage crimson, and his grin was all teeth.
"Hello, brother," Kael purred, voice layered with a mechanical edge.
Reo's fingers tightened around the Dimensional Cutter.
"You're not my brother anymore," he said.
Kael chuckled — a deep, bone-chilling sound.
"Maybe not. Maybe I'm something better."
And with a roar that shook the earth, Kael lunged.
---
Clash of Titans
Reo ducked the first strike — a hammering blow that cratered the street behind him — and rolled to the side, slashing with the Dimensional Cutter.
The blade bit into Kael's arm — but instead of blood, strange silver tendrils oozed from the wound, sealing it almost instantly.
Kael grinned wider.
"My turn."
He moved like a blur, faster than anything Reo could track, and slammed into him with the force of a wrecking ball.
Reo flew backward, smashing through a wall and tumbling into rubble.
His ears rang.
His vision blurred.
But he forced himself up.
Because if he stayed down — even for a second — he was dead.
Kael stalked toward him, slow and deliberate.
"You should have killed me when you had the chance," Kael said.
Reo spat blood.
"Maybe."
He wiped his mouth, and for the first time in a long time, he grinned.
"But now... I get to finish what I started."
The Dimensional Cutter pulsed in his hand, heating up, ready.
This time, there would be no holding back.
---