After Hoang's brutal punch, the assassin crumpled to the ground, his breathing ragged before he fell completely still, like a discarded piece of trash.
Hoang felt something strange lingering after that punch. A bizarre power. It felt like his fist was about to burst into flames.
But.
There was no time to savor victory. Hoang threw himself down beside the pool of Isao's blood.
"Isao!" Hoang dropped to his knees, the cold asphalt biting through his jeans.
Blood. So much blood. It soaked into his knees, warm and metallic. He stared at his friend's closed eyes, at the chest that no longer rose and fell. "No… don't joke around…" His trembling hand pressed against Isao's chest. A heartbeat. Faint. Desperately faint. But alive. He was still alive!
"Hey, Isao… Isao-kun! Are you alive? Answer me!"
Hoang shook his friend's shoulders, but Isao's head only lolled to the side, motionless. A crushing wave of regret seized Hoang's chest, squeezing the air from his lungs.
It was his fault. All because of that damn home run. Because of this Takoyaki outing. Why? Why was this happening? Why was this place completely empty? Where even were they? The pool of blood beneath Isao kept spreading, thick and searing like an oil slick on a midnight sea.
"ISAOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Hoang's scream shattered against the walls near the station. In the midst of it, Misaki's trembling fingers had already dialed for an ambulance. Her pale blue eyes flared back to life, rippling with anxiety.
She felt like a curse. It was because of her that these two had been dragged into this. I'm sorry. That's what she wanted to say. But she knew that even if she apologized ten thousand times, the guilt would haunt her forever.
At least I have to do something. Anything. Even the smallest thing.
"Don't panic too much… I can see it. The stab wound missed his heart and the main artery, but if we don't stop the bleeding fast, he'll die from blood loss for sure!"
Hoang whipped his head around, his face smeared with grime and disbelief. "How do you know that?"
"I'm Minamoto Misaki. I… ate a Dream Apple by accident. I have clairvoyance—I can see through things."
She lowered her head, her voice choking with self-blame. "I'm an Esper, but up until now, I've been completely useless. I dragged you and Isao-san into this mess…"
"…"
"And she's also the only key to binding those apples."
A deep, heavy voice, carrying immense pressure, suddenly rumbled from the row of trees. He stepped out. The very space around them seemed to constrict, trembling before this new arrival.
Hoang and Misaki spun around simultaneously. Their hearts nearly stopped.
Standing there was a giant of a man, nearly two meters tall, draped in a loose black cloak. The most terrifying thing was the mask—a stark white Tyrannosaurus Rex skull encasing his entire head. Deep within those dry, empty sockets burned a pair of emerald-green pupils, cold and razor-sharp, like an ancient reptile observing its prey. In one hand, he dragged the assassin Hoang had just defeated, clutching him by the scruff of the neck and pulling him along the ground like a broken toy.
"RE… REX…"
Misaki breathed the name, her voice saturated with pure terror, as if she'd just come face-to-face with the devil himself.
Hoang's survival instinct roared to life. He was an elite international student with a sharp mind, but right now, his brain was screaming only one command:
Run.
"Tch… can't believe a little errand like this ended up requiring my personal attention." The bone-masked figure muttered, his voice echoing from within the skull, hollow and chilling.
Without a second thought, Hoang gritted his teeth and hauled Isao onto his shoulders. He and Misaki bolted with every ounce of strength they had left, sprinting wildly past the monstrous figure. They ran back east, away from Senriyama Station. Their frantic footsteps hammered the pavement, leaving a scattered trail of dark red droplets.
"Hurry! This place isn't safe anymore!" Hoang gasped, the thick stench of blood and the metallic reek of death nipping at their heels.
"Hey, what the hell is REX? Who is he?!"
Misaki kept her head down, her shoulders trembling violently as if trying to conceal a horrifying truth that would shatter Hoang's entire worldview. She remained silent, barely able to speak. She knew. She knew all too well. That man was Rex, the supreme leader of an organization called JURA—a group dedicated to hunting Dream Apples, human trafficking, and world domination. The organization had existed for centuries and was one of the largest, most brutal underground syndicates in existence.
Most of its key members possessed superpowers granted by Dream Apples. Their ambitions were vast, and they served as a direct counterbalance to the academies, the Japanese government, and the world at large.
It was strange how they could still operate so openly. Though the world seemed far more peaceful than it was five hundred years ago, when endless chaos reigned. That era had finally ended with the emergence of WHITE BEAR—one of the Four Great Espers. His rise and development had suppressed the chaos and established a societal equilibrium that had lasted to this day. He had played a major role in that.
For a bookworm like Hoang, shouldn't he have known at least something about all this?
"Hey, what's REX…?" Hoang kept asking, curiosity burning despite everything. The genes of an international student still craving knowledge, no matter the subject.
Their ragged footsteps continued their frantic rhythm, Isao's life hanging by a thread. Running. And running. Until…
"AHHHH!"
The two of them, still in flight, had circled back to the very intersection where Hoang had thrown that face-shattering pitch at the big guy. But now, the man was nothing more than a skeleton with scraps of flesh clinging to it, lying in a massive pool of blood that spread across the street like a recent downpour. Scattered around were messy, bloody footprints the size of human feet.
Hoang and Minamoto Misaki stared, eyes wide, unable to process the horrific scene before them. Words failed them completely. Why? What on earth had happened? Why was he like this? It looked as if he'd been mauled and torn apart by some kind of animal. No, that was exactly what it looked like.
The air grew heavier and heavier. There was no time for curiosity or questions now. They had to get Isao to a hospital and wait for the police and ambulance. Hoang thought, and kept moving…
"BWAAARK…"
A chilling sound cut through the night, making the already oppressive atmosphere feel utterly suffocating.
Hoang and Minamoto instinctively looked back.
"This time… what the hell is it now?"
Before they could even gather their wits, four pairs of blazing red eyes appeared in the darkness, like a squad of assassins targeting them with laser sights.
Four shadows, like motorcycles, shot toward them.
Sleek bodies. Powerful legs gripping the pavement. Long tails swishing and slicing through the air. Agile forelimbs tipped with claws as sharp as daggers, ready to eviscerate anyone in their path. Their eyes gleamed with the primal focus of predators honed over millions of years of evolution. They surged forward with wind-tearing speed, like salarymen late for work who'd skipped breakfast.
As they neared the pair, they slowed and stopped.
About six or seven meters away.
The four figures became starkly visible under the cold glow of the streetlights. Heads bobbing at human height. Slender frames that weighed over a hundred kilos each.
Minamoto and Hoang felt as if their feet had been glued to the ground. They couldn't speak. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything. Because anyone who saw this sight would have their brain short-circuit. It was unbelievable. Like something straight out of a movie.
"Grrrr…"
VE… VELOCIRAPTOR.
The word finally surfaced in their minds, sending an icy chill down their spines. Their chests tightened. Space and time seemed to warp around them. And this was probably the last word they would ever think…
Four Velociraptors.
Technically, if we're being paleontologically accurate, they should be called Deinonychus based on their size and morphology. It's one of pop culture's greatest mix-ups—a glorious mistake that accidentally sculpted a legendary killer into dinosaur lore. But right now, scientific nomenclature meant absolutely nothing. Their presence was real. The death they brought with them was real.
They spread out into formation, slowly tightening the circle around Hoang and Misaki. Isao, draped over Hoang's shoulder, was growing colder. Fresh blood still seeped steadily through his shirt, dripping onto the asphalt—each drop, each drop ticking down like a countdown clock for the curly-haired boy's life.
"Damn it… what the hell is going on?"
Sweat poured off Hoang like a waterfall, stinging his eyes. Robots? Some kind of sick prank? No. Definitely not…
His bookworm brain spun furiously, grasping at nothing. In the heart of modern, sophisticated Osaka, they might as well have been standing in a primordial "forest" soaked in blood and killing intent. The Osaka jungle.
The monsters bared their teeth. Dried blood caked around their muzzles, sloppy like someone who'd eaten curry and forgotten to wipe their mouth, but there was nothing humorous in their eyes. Those were the eyes of predators, refined over millions of years to pinpoint the most vulnerable spot on a prey's throat.
"GRAAAAAWR—!"
A roar tore through the air. Driven by pack-hunting instinct, all four creatures launched themselves simultaneously from all four sides. They shot forward like arrows loosed from a bowstring, their sole objective to rip apart anything still standing.
Hoang shut his eyes. He didn't want to cry, and there was no time to cry anyway. Was this really how his dream of a "peaceful" study abroad life was going to end—in some dark, nameless alley? He'd worked so hard just to set foot in that university. And yet…
…
BOOM!
A thunderous collision echoed, accompanied by the dry crunch of flesh and bone slamming together. Instead of feeling claws sink into his skin, Hoang only heard the pained yelps of the creatures. He opened his eyes and stared in disbelief: the four Velociraptors had just crashed headlong into each other in mid-air, tumbling away like spinning tops losing momentum.
"WOO HOOOO! ZEBRAAAAAAAAAAAAA IS HEEEEERE!"
In a single musical beat, before anyone could register what had happened, Hoang, Misaki, and Isao were no longer where they'd been standing. They'd been "scooped" up and deposited safely a short distance away.
"ZEBRA! ZEBRA! THAT'S RIGHT! I AMMMM... ZEEEEEEEEEBRAAAAAAAA!"
A wave of arrogant laughter slammed against their eardrums, forcing Misaki and Hoang to clamp their hands over their ears. Standing before them was an image so absurdly bizarre it defied logic: a man in an impeccably sharp suit vest, crisp and flat as if he'd just stepped out of a high-society gala, yet perched atop his neck was a stark black-and-white zebra head mask.
His entrance was so overwhelmingly loud and forceful that the oppressive pressure of the giant REX and the bloodlust of the Raptors seemed to be swept clean away, like a hurricane had just blown through.
Isao let out a faint groan, his weary eyes fluttering open under the sickly yellow streetlight.
"Huh… which son of a… is singing Karaoke… so damn loud?"
---
"Sen… Sensei!"
Minamoto Misaki's voice trembled, but not from fear—from pure, unadulterated worship. Her eyes sparkled as if she'd just witnessed a divine revelation.
Meanwhile, Hoang was frozen. He stared at the man before him—a guy in a classy suit wearing a gigantic zebra head.
"Uh… A zebra? No, just a complete weirdo."
Hoang muttered to himself. He had no idea why Misaki called this guy "Sensei," but a tiny spark of hope had just flickered to life in his chest. Relief and shock swirled together, leaving a strange, bittersweet taste in his mouth.
"THAT'S RIGHT! I AMMMM... ZEEEEEBRAAAAAAA! HAHAHAHAHA!"
His bellow echoed through the alley, earth-shatteringly loud. Immediately afterward, Zebra launched into a dance routine so utterly bizarre that no words could adequately describe it. Even as a Humanities major with a supposedly rich vocabulary, Hoang found himself utterly defeated by this display of sheer, unapologetic absurdity.
Even more terrifyingly, Misaki started… dancing along.
"ZEBRA! ZEBRA! ZEBRA! ZEBRA! ZEBRA! ZEBRA! ZEBRA! ZEBRA! ZEBRA!"
The rhythmic chanting obliterated the earlier deathly atmosphere, transforming the blood-stained alley into a cheap neighborhood talent show stage. Hoang glanced at the bewildered Velociraptors, then at Isao, who had just regained consciousness with a completely dumbfounded expression, and thought to himself: If you guys aren't embarrassed, everyone else sure is! Idiots!
He winced and forced an awkward smile. Apparently, the beautiful girl had also been "infected" by the hyperactivity virus known as Zebra.
"You're as hyperactive as ever… Zebra Boy."
A deep, heavy voice, thick with killing intent like molten lead, sliced cleanly through the comedic atmosphere. Hoang shuddered, but also secretly sighed in relief that the dance performance had finally stopped.
Rex—the one Misaki so deeply feared—slowly stepped forward. His gait was leisurely, almost like a runway model, but each time his sole touched the ground, an invisible pressure radiated outward, clashing fiercely with Zebra's presence. The Velociraptors wagged their tails, clustering around him like loyal hunting dogs greeting their master.
"Hey hey! I ain't Zebra Boy, I'm ZEBRA! THAT'S RIGHT! I AMMMM... ZEEEEEEEBRAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Zebra lifted his head high, laughing arrogantly, his defiant aura completely undiminished.
"Got it now, you lizard-skull freak? Get my name right!"
"Aren't you wearing a zebra head?" Rex replied mockingly.
"THAT'S RIGHT! BECAUSE I AMMMM... ZEEEEEBRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Rex fell silent. Though he maintained his composure, even he seemed at a loss before his opponent's infuriatingly proud brand of insanity. The kidnapping plan had seemed perfect. It should have been ridiculously easy, especially after he'd ordered his subordinate to create an isolated space around Minamoto Misaki—a dimension both illusory and real—right at the three-way intersection west of Senriyama Station. Now it was in shambles. Zebra—the most obnoxious wildcard—had shown up.
Why was he here? And those two kids, too. This was supposed to be an isolated space. Good grief. ALONE's power always seemed to glitch out like this. Maintaining an isolated space around a single person in the middle of a city was genuinely difficult.
"You better get ready for prison, Rex. Didn't WHITE BEAR beat you to a pulp last time? Haven't learned your lesson?" Zebra jabbed a finger directly at his opponent's face.
Hoang held his breath, watching. He was still kneeling on the ground, both hands pressing a piece of cloth firmly against Isao's wound to staunch the bleeding. Between these two monsters, he was nothing but a speck of dust, but he couldn't tear his eyes away.
"Hmph… I just came to play today." Rex hissed through the gap in his skull mask. "Those two grunt underlings of mine are truly useless pieces of trash."
Then his razor-sharp gaze snapped toward Hoang. "And you too… foreigner. We'll meet again."
"Stop right there! Who said you could run?!"
Zebra lunged forward, but it was too late. A cloud of pitch-black smoke, flecked with swirling ash, erupted, engulfing Rex and the Velociraptors. When the smoke cleared, the alley was empty.
"Damn it! They got away. Son of a—!" Zebra snarled, his face filled with regret at missing a chance to show off in a fight.
Standing there was Zebra—the undisputed record holder for hyperactivity at the Osaka Supernatural Academy. One of the FOUR GREAT ESPERS—KING RANK. The mightiest pillar protecting the Osaka region.
Though infamous as the loudest creature alive, the world knew nothing about him beyond the zebra mask. His real name, age, appearance, and the true nature of the "Dream Apple" power he possessed all remained a colossal mystery.
"HAHAHAHAHA! THAT'S RIGHT! I AMMMM... ZEEEEEEEEEBRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA