The air in the alley was heavy.
Still.
Like it knew what was coming.
Teji stood with his hood up, shadows crawling across his face.
His eyes hadn't left the skyscraper in front of him—the so-called "Skyline Spire."
Flashy, clean, shining like a blade in the night.
Tourists lined up every day to ride the glass elevators to the top.
People smiled. Took photos. Admired the city from above.
But none of them knew what hid just below the roof.
The secret floors.
The labs.
The control rooms.
The halls where screams echoed behind soundproof walls.
The place where Boizano began—
And where Teji planned to end it.
That tower wasn't just another building.
It was the root.
The brain.
The heart of it all.
Every test subject.
Every agent.
Every broken life—
It all traced back here.
Take this place out… and everything else collapses.
No more agents.
No more labs.
No more twisted science turning people into weapons.
And yeah…
Tamiki would be safe.
At least, that's what Teji kept telling himself.
He heard footsteps behind him.
"Yo. You're early," Agent 7 said, stepping into the alley with his usual grin.
He leaned on the wall beside Teji and pulled a lollipop from his jacket, popping it into his mouth like this was just another mission.
"Can't sit in peace when your girlfriend's been kidnapped, huh?" he teased.
Teji didn't move. Didn't blink.
His voice was low. Cold.
"…Let's go."
Agent 7 raised a brow, surprised at the silence, but didn't press it.
"Alright then."
They walked side by side, boots hitting the cracked alley floor.
The soft hum of neon signs buzzed above them.
Ahead, the tower loomed—glowing white, almost mocking them.
The glow from the building bathed their path in pale light, stretching their shadows long behind them.
For a moment, neither spoke.
After a beat of silence, Teji spoke.
"…I know this is weird coming from me," he said, eyes still locked ahead, "but I still don't know your real name."
Agent 7 glanced sideways, one brow raised. "Why you wanna know that now?"
Teji didn't pause. His steps stayed steady.
"Something big's gonna happen tonight. If you die… it'd suck not knowing your real name."
A short silence followed. Just the quiet sound of footsteps on pavement.
Then Agent 7 let out a short laugh. "Hah. So you think I'm that weak, huh?"
He smirked and pulled the lollipop from his mouth, twirling it between his fingers.
"Alright then. The name's James."
Teji gave a small nod. "Alright."
No handshake. No pat on the back. Just that.
Two soldiers in the dark.
Two ghosts walking toward the light.
Toward the tower.
Toward the place where it all began.
And maybe—tonight—it would all end.
The lobby was cold when they stepped in.
Too clean. Too quiet.
No guards. No voices. Not even background music.
Just high ceilings, shiny marble floors, and walls that echoed nothing but silence.
The kind of silence that warned you.
Like the building itself was holding its breath.
The elevator stood at the far end, chrome and spotless. Waiting.
Waiting like it knew who they were.
Waiting like it had been expecting them.
Teji walked straight to it.
The doors slid open with a soft chime, and the two stepped inside.
The control panel looked normal—too normal.
Numbers lined neatly from 1 to 75, clean and white, like any other hotel or business tower.
But they both knew.
There were more.
Floors that didn't show up on blueprints.
Floors that weren't meant to exist.
Floors where screams had been heard—but never reported.
Teji didn't hesitate.
He pressed 75.
Then, with practiced timing, pressed 74 and 73 at the same time—
And finally tapped 1.
The screen above stopped playing its usual dumb mall ads.
Instead, the screen flickered. Glitched.
Then it turned black—
And a cold message appeared:
"Welcome, Agent."
James let out a low whistle. "Creepy."
Teji's eyes stayed locked on the screen.
"Be ready," he said quietly.
James gave a short nod. "No need to tell me."
The elevator jerked, then began its slow climb upward.
The humming of the motor buzzed around them, vibrating in their bones.
For a while, there was nothing but silence.
Then Teji spoke, arms crossed, voice low.
"I wonder who we'll face this time. Agent 5 showed up. Then Agent 2 and 3. So…"
James's smirk faded.
His jaw clenched.
"…That would mean Agent 1," he said.
Teji turned his head slightly. "Why that face? You scared?"
James let out a breath—dry and sharp. His eyes stayed on the elevator doors.
"A little bit, yeah."
He glanced at Teji.
"I've only heard stories, but they say Agent 1 is the strongest of us all. Not just stronger than Agent 2 and 3—but stronger than both of them put together."
Teji didn't reply right away. His eyes dropped.
"If that… 'weird thing' didn't happen to you last time," James went on, tapping Teji's chest gently with two fingers, "the blackout… the healing… the part where you don't even remember the fight—
If that didn't happen, you'd be dead by now. No question."
Teji nodded slowly. His voice was soft this time.
"You're right… we should be careful."
He paused.
"…Because even I don't know what Agent 1 looks like."
James leaned back against the wall.
"Yeah," he muttered.
"We both don't."
The elevator continued climbing.
Silent. Heavy.
Like it knew they weren't coming back down the same way.
James leaned in slightly and whispered, "Do you know where they're holding Tamiki? This place is huge, man."
Teji didn't move. His eyes stayed forward, sharp and cold.
"Usually," he said, "when something like this happens, they'll keep her in the lab section. That's where they put things they want to study. Things they want to break apart and understand."
He paused. His voice dropped lower.
"If she's not there… we're not leaving."
James gave a slow nod. "Alright."
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open.
What greeted them wasn't a hallway.
It was a warzone waiting to happen.
Ten mechanical units stood in formation.
Tall. Armored. Cold.
Humanoid-shaped guards—machines covered in thick steel plating, each one glowing faint red under the hallway lights.
All of them had their weapons raised.
No warning.
A dozen barrels aimed straight at Teji and James.
Teji's eyes narrowed.
No fear.
No panic.
Just a quiet mutter under his breath:
"Calculated."
The first shot came fast.
A thin beam of red light—sharp and hot—sliced through the air.
PZZZCHHH!
Then everything exploded into motion.
A wave of burning lasers flew at them—
The air cracked.
The walls blackened.
The floor lit up with scorched lines.
Some beams missed, hitting the ceiling and sending down showers of molten sparks.
But Teji and James didn't freeze.
They moved. Fast.
Ducking low, sliding behind pillars, flipping over railings.
Every step was trained. Sharp. Clean.
They weren't just running.
They were dancing through a storm.
The lasers kept coming.
One hit the wall inches from Teji's head.
Another scorched the ground where James had just been standing.
One mistake—just one—would've meant death.
But neither of them made it.
They didn't have time to talk.
Didn't need to.
They knew how the other moved.
Back-to-back, they pushed forward—
Ready to fight through hell.
Teji's foot landed in a slide—smooth, low, silent.
In one motion, he pulled out his bayonet.
The steel caught the red hallway lights, gleaming like it knew what was coming.
He surged forward. Fast. Sharp.
One of the bots stepped up to block him—
Too late.
Teji drove the blade upward, right into the neck joint.
Straight into the main circuit node.
The bot froze.
Sparks burst from its mouth grill.
It twitched hard—then dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.
Behind him, James was already moving.
He grabbed another bot by the arm, twisted around its back like a wrestler.
Then, with a grunt, he grabbed its head—
—and tore it clean off.
Sparks exploded from the neck like fireworks.
Wires flailed and snapped.
The body dropped, the head still hissing in James's hand.
"Damn," Teji muttered, eyes still sharp, "you've still got it."
"Warmup," James replied, tossing the smoking head aside like it was nothing.
The floor around them was chaos.
Crushed metal. Shattered glass.
Sparks hissed from broken joints.
The hallway smelled like smoke and burning wires.
James cracked his knuckles with a grin.
"So… what's next?"
Teji didn't answer right away.
He was staring down the hallway ahead—
Where shadows loomed and the air felt heavier.
"Next…" he said slowly.
He stepped forward, blade still in hand, blood of machines dripping from the edge.
"We find the lab."
They moved.
No hesitation.
The walls closed in tighter as they walked—
Cold steel on both sides, silent like a tomb.
Each step they took echoed like a warning.
Then the hallway split.
Left or right.
Teji stopped, eyes flicking between both paths.
"…As I remembered," he said, low and focused, "the lab is on the right."
James nodded once.
They turned.
The right path was narrower.
Darker.
The kind of dark that felt alive—like something was watching.
And the silence was louder now.
So quiet, it made their ears ring.
They didn't say a word.
Just walked.
Careful. Ready.
Every step bringing them closer to the place where everything could change.
Suddenly, Teji raised a hand—his whole body froze.
James stopped instantly behind him.
No sound. No words.
Then—
PFFF–SHK!
A bullet sliced through the air right between them.
Another—
PFF-SHK!
Too close.
Both of them dove to opposite sides of the hallway, slamming into cover just in time.
More shots followed.
Precise. Fast.
No wasted bullets.
Too clean. Too sharp.
It wasn't just someone firing—it was someone trained to hit.
Then—
Silence.
No more shots.
Just the soft, cold sound of footsteps.
Thump.
Thump.
Slow. Heavy. Controlled.
Something was walking toward them.
Each step echoed off the walls like a countdown.
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
Metal. Wires.
Glowing red eyes.
But it wasn't like the other bots.
This one moved different.
Not stiff. Not robotic.
It shifted its weight.
Watched the space.
Like it was thinking.
Like it was hunting.
James whispered, low and tense, "That's a bot?"
Teji didn't look away. His eyes stayed locked on the figure.
"Careful," he said.
"That bot's different. It's built to move and fight like a real agent."
James narrowed his eyes. "So what now?"
Teji's voice was cold.
Calm.
"The real agents are right here."
No hesitation.
James gave a sharp nod, lips twitching into a smirk—
Like he already knew what Teji meant.
Then he broke cover.
Burst out into the hallway holding a thick, broken piece of metal—like a homemade shield.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets slammed into it.
Sparks flew everywhere.
But James didn't stop.
He charged forward like a wall of steel, each step faster than the last.
Teji was right behind him.
Low. Fast. Silent.
Then—
The bot stopped firing.
It lowered the gun—
CLACK-SSSHK!
With a hiss of pressure, the bot's arms locked into place—
Fists clenched.
Heavy. Reinforced. Built for destruction.
It dropped into a low stance.
Ready to beat them down, not slice them apart.
Like it had been waiting for this moment.
James grinned. "Guess it wants a real fight."
Teji's grip on his blade tightened.
"No problem."
James tightened his grip on the heavy chunk of metal in his hands.
The bot didn't blink.
It shifted, eyes glowing red as it scanned their every move like a predator locking onto prey.
No fear. No hesitation.
Just pure, cold programming.
The fight was about to begin.
Its head tilted, making a faint mechanical click—like a warning.
Then—
BOOM!
It charged.
Fast.
Too fast for something that size.
Teji and James split without thinking—one darted left, the other right.
The bot swung a massive fist at James.
He ducked low—close enough to feel the air rush past his face.
James exploded upward with a sharp uppercut straight into the bot's chest.
The sound echoed like a drumbeat—
CLANG!
The bot staggered back, metal groaning under the hit.
Teji didn't hesitate.
His right hand flashed, pulling out the bayonet.
His left hand revealed the hidden karambit—curved and deadly like a fang ready to strike.
He dashed forward, low and fast—a blur of motion.
His blades cut through the air, sparks flying where steel met steel.
One slash across the bot's thigh, then another—cutting deep.
But the bot wasn't done.
It twisted fast, its heavy arm swinging back like a hammer.
A backhand slammed into Teji's chest, sending him sliding back across the floor.
James let out a roar, charging again like a bull.
Both fists smashed into the bot's face—
BAM! BAM!
The bot crashed into the wall with a heavy dent.
But it didn't fall.
It was still standing.
Unbroken.
"Damn thing's tougher than usual," James muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
Teji's eyes narrowed, studying the bot closely.
"The plating's been reinforced," he said quietly.
They circled it slowly, every movement calculated.
Without warning, the bot lunged at Teji—wild and aggressive.
Teji ducked low, twisting his body to avoid the swinging arm.
He spun on his heel, bayonet flashing as it slashed deep into the bot's side.
Then, quick as a flash, he twisted and slashed with the karambit across its other arm.
Sparks flew as metal scraped metal, and deep scratches burned bright against the dull steel.
James didn't hesitate.
He grabbed the bot's free arm, twisted it hard, then slammed a knee straight into its back.
A distorted mechanical growl burst out from the bot's throat—angry and raw.
But it snapped back fast.
Headbutted James hard.
James stumbled backward, nearly crashing into the wall.
The bot turned, ready to follow up with another attack—
But James gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing.
With a sudden burst of strength, he punched the bot's side with full force.
CRACK!
The sound wasn't just metal crunching.
Something inside the bot stuttered—
A gear grinding, a wire snapping.
The bot jerked violently and froze for a split second.
That split second was all they needed.
Teji lunged forward, blades drawn, eyes fierce.
He leapt and slashed straight for the neck.
The metal fought back.
The cut didn't go clean.
Thicker cables. Reinforced wiring wrapped tight like a cage.
Teji gritted his teeth, twisting the bayonet into the joint, forcing it deeper.
The karambit bit in from the other side, grinding hard against the wire, sparks exploding like tiny fireworks.
The bot's arm flailed wildly, trying to grab at him.
But James was already on it—tackling the bot from behind, pinning it down with raw strength.
Teji growled, pushing harder, twisting with everything he had—
Then, with a wet snap of metal and wire, the neck gave way.
The bot twitched.
Sputtered.
And finally collapsed, lifeless, to the cold floor.
Smoke curled up from the bot's shattered circuits, drifting in slow, ghostly tendrils.
Teji stood over the fallen machine, chest rising and falling hard, breath rough.
James pushed himself up, wiping sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.
"Well… damn."
Teji sheathed both blades with a smooth motion, eyes still sharp, alert.
"That was just a warm-up."
James let out a shaky breath.
"That was hard, though."
Teji exhaled slowly, the sound quiet but tense.
"Yeaaa… I wonder what comes next."
Their boots clicked softly against the cold metal floor as they moved forward, steady but cautious.
Ahead of them, a solid door stood like a wall of stone—heavy, reinforced. Its frame was lined with faded warning signs and black-yellow stripes, a silent threat left over from some forgotten danger.
Teji stopped and scanned the area carefully.
"We're on the right path," he said quietly.
"If I remember right, after this room… there's another door. That one leads straight to the lab."
He stared hard at the door, the weight of what lay beyond pressing on him.
"Hopefully… Tamiki will be there."
James didn't joke this time. He just nodded, serious.
They stepped forward together, bracing their feet.
CLANG.
The door swung open with a sharp metallic groan, slow and heavy.
Inside, it wasn't pitch black—but far from clear.
Dim red emergency lights flickered weakly from the corners of the ceiling, casting long shadows that danced like ghosts.
The air felt thick, heavy, like something unseen was waiting for them.
They stepped inside slowly, every movement careful.
Silence.
But Teji froze mid-step.
Something was off.
He couldn't put it into words—just a cold feeling crawling over his skin, like the air itself had teeth. Like the walls were alive, watching every move.
He spun toward James, instincts firing.
"Hey, be carefu—"
BOOM.
A shadow exploded forward like a cannon blast.
CRACK.
One brutal punch slammed into James's chest. The power behind it wasn't human—it was like a freight train hitting a wall.
James flew through the air, tossed like a ragdoll.
He crashed hard into a thick metal wall—so hard it dented with the impact.
Silence.
James hit the floor, unmoving. Knocked out before he even hit the ground.
Teji's eyes went wide.
"James!"
But before he could react, WHAM!
The figure struck again, this time from the left.
Teji barely had time to raise his arms to block—
The blow smashed through anyway.
His body flew back, slamming into the opposite wall with a sickening thud.
His head rang like a bell. Vision blurred. Warm blood trickled down his forehead.
He gritted his teeth, trembling, fighting the sting, pushing himself upright.
Then he saw him.
The figure.
Standing silent, still—like death had come to visit.
His breath doesn't fog in the cold air, or the lights dim slightly more when he steps forward. Something off.
Slowly, deliberately, the figure reached into his collar and pulled out a dog tag.
Red. Cold. Scratched and worn from countless battles.
He let it dangle under the flickering emergency lights.
Then his voice broke the thick silence—calm, sharp, dark.
He said it like a fact.
Like a verdict.
"Agent 1."
Teji's eyes narrowed.
There it was.
That presence.
That weight in the air.
Not just raw strength. Not just deadly skill.
But pure, hungry bloodlust.
The kind of aura only a perfect killer carries.
And now… it was locked on him.
[End of Chapter 13]