Izuma crouched low on the cracked rooftop.
heart pounding so loud he thought the city might hear it. The cool night air stung his lungs, sweat trickling down the side of his face.
His eyes flicked to the streets below, where the first signs of chaos were beginning to stir. Somewhere out there, Lira was waiting by the west wall — alone. And Adia, somewhere by Ember Alley's tunnel, ready to strike.
He took a deep breath and forced his voice out.
"BEGIN!"
The word cracked through the night like a gunshot.
Below, the city seemed to pulse with energy. At the west wall, Lira flexed her fingers, her eyes sharp as blades. She slipped through the shadows, a ghost in the moonlight. The rough stone beneath her boots whispered secrets as she moved silently along the crumbling battlements.
Her mission: slow down the incoming scouts, buy time for the city.
Ahead, faint murmurs of enemy boots echoed. She planted spikes and traps in tight clusters, her hands steady despite the weight of solitude. Her breath came in controlled bursts.
Suddenly, scouts appeared—dozens, sleek and silent. Lira's blade flashed, cutting through the night with cold precision. She ducked low, pivoted, and unleashed a spinning slash that felled two before the rest could react. Every strike was a calculated gamble.
She called out sharply, "West wall..."
A pause, Then she screamed.
" PARTIALLY SECURED ! "
---
At Ember Alley, Adia crouched low inside the dark tunnel, her hand tracing the damp walls. The smell of sulfur was thick here, a sharp contrast to the usual damp earth. She could feel the magic lingering in the air — fire residue, volatile and dangerous.
Her fingers danced over the rune-etched stones she'd prepared earlier. Her focus sharpened.
A flicker of flame appeared ahead—traps set by the enemy.
With a roar of defiance, she lunged forward, shattering the fire traps with precise bursts of wind magic, sending embers scattering.
The tunnel shook as she triggered a controlled collapse, blocking the enemy's path. Her breaths were ragged, muscles screaming from the strain.
She Shouted, In an almost shaky voice,
"Tunnel secured—but not clear!"
---
On a rooftop a few blocks away, Rinji watched quietly from behind a chimney, eyes tracing Izuma's tense silhouette. The kid hadn't said much since arriving back, but Rinji's mind was racing.
Three out of the four hours we were away this kid was scouting the city on different rooftops. Quiet, calculating, like some damn strategist, it's almost like a professional...
Izuma's ability to see the city like a game board — it was more than luck. It was instinct, raw potential. Now, with the chaos unfolding, it was showing.
He just shouted "BEGIN." That word—so simple. But it set the whole damn thing in motion, this is more than just potential, I doubt he even realizes what he's capable of with such a thought process...
Rinji's gaze shifted back to the street below, where the chaos was unfolding in two dangerous fronts. He felt a surge of respect. This wasn't just all luck nor coincidence.
He was ready from the very start.
---
Back on Izuma's rooftop, his eyes flicked to the north—smoke billowed in the distance, the first signs of the Demon King's army pressing closer. His fists clenched.
There was no time to waste.
But then, something else caught his eye.
Movement.
A crowd was gathering, slowly but surely, right where the fallback point was supposed to be.
His breath hitched, Then his eyes glinted. He had expected that.
The panic was coming.
He whispered in a soft monotonic voice,
"It seems as though I've hit checkmate"
---
Izuma wiped a sweat from his brow, swallowed hard, and without a second thought, he leapt from the rooftop, rolling on a pile of hay to absorb the impact, landing near Rinji who was already on the ground.
"Rinji," he said, voice tight,
"they're gathering."
Rinji nodded, already moving toward the crowd.
This is it, Izuma thought,
time to see if they trust me.
---
He spotted a sturdy wooden crate near the center of the square and clambered up awkwardly, knees shaking. The crowd's murmurs rose like a tide, faces turning toward the small figure above them.
His voice caught in his throat.
For a long, painful moment, silence stretched.
Then, with trembling hands gripping the crate's edge, Izuma began to speak.
Izuma cleared his throat, fingers gripping the crate like it was the only thing keeping him from falling apart. His voice wavered, cracked at first.
"Uh… Hey. Everyone. Listen… I know this isn't exactly what anyone expected. Hell, I don't even know why I'm up here… but—"
He swallowed hard, eyes flicking nervously across the faces staring back at him.
"Look… I'm just… like you, or most of you. A kid. Not a hero. Not some badass warrior or hero. I'm scared too. I'm scared as hell, okay?"
He rubbed the back of his neck, Then started scratching his head, voice catching.
"But... that doesn't mean we're done. It doesn't mean we can just... wait for whatever's coming to show up and hope it goes away. We can't."
He took a shaky breath.
"Right now, out there," —he pointed to the west— "there's a girl. Name's Lira. She's out there, alone, fighting for us. Buying time. She's putting everything on the line. And in the east, under Ember Alley, Another one, solo again, She's Adia, and she's fighting too. She's blocking off the tunnel they want to use to burn this place down."
His voice grew stronger, eyes shining despite the fear.
"This isn't over. Not yet. But they're holding, damn it. They're trying. And if we just stand here… if we just panic... what does that say about us?"
He paused, swallowing thickly, voice cracking again.
"I don't have some grand plan. I don't know if this is gonna work. Hell, I'm not even sure if I'm the right person to say this."
He looked down at his hands, then back at the crowd.
"But… I know we can't give up. I've seen what happens when people do. And that's not gonna be us."
He clenched his fists, trying to steady himself.
"I'm scared. You're scared. Everyone here is scared. But fear... fear isn't the end. It's the start. It's what makes us hum–Beings....beings"
He caught himself, Then took a slow breath, forcing himself to look each person in the eye.
"So yeah, I'm scared. But I'm also here. I'm standing in front of all of you because I believe in this city. I believe in you."
His voice cracked, but the words were sincere.
"Look, I don't know how many times I'll get this chance. Hell, I don't know if I'll get another chance at all. But if I fail—if we fail—then all of this means nothing."
He glanced toward the walls again, voice softening.
"But if we can coordinate ourselves, if we stand together, if we don't let the panic take over… maybe, just maybe, we can make it through."
He swallowed one last time and let out a breath.
"So, yeah… I'm not some perfect leader. I don't have answers for everything. And I'm definitely not fearless."
He paused, voice dropping to a near whisper.
"But I promise this—wherever I go, whatever happens… I'm not giving up on you. And I hope you won't give up on me, nor them."
He straightened, Then pointed to the west wall, voice stronger, louder.
"Are you really gonna let them fight for nothing? Just stand here and let it all go to waste? That's not who we are. That's not us."
He dropped his hand, fists clenched tight.
"This is our city. Our home. And we're gonna fight for it, and I'm not talkin' in an actual battle but, let's fight this emotionally....Together."
His voice cracked again but then steadied, ringing clear.
"So, come on. Let's show them what it means to stand firm. Not because we're fearless does but... But because we're not giving up."
---
The crowd was silent for a long, tense moment. Then a low rumble grew, murmurs swelling into cheers.
Izuma's heart hammered in his chest, breath shallow but steady. He climbed down from the crate, voice trembling but proud.
Rinji caught his eye and nodded.
The fight wasn't over.
Not yet.