The Rezvani roared out of the underpass, tires biting asphalt, engine still carrying the echo of the last slam. Riku's hands stayed tight on the wheel, his eyes flicking between the mirrors and the road ahead. The hunters weren't gone. The one he clipped would be back, and the others were still on the rooftops, pacing them like wolves waiting for the kill.
He knew it now—running wasn't enough. These things wouldn't stop until they tore the SUV apart or dragged its passengers into the street.
He took a sharp turn and slowed just enough to regain control. The Rezvani skidded, straightened, then rolled into a wide service lot surrounded by warehouses. No glass fronts, no cluttered alleys—just a flat expanse of cracked pavent and a few broken lamp posts. Open ground.
"Riku?" Suzune's voice cracked. "Why are we stopping?"
"Because this doesn't end by running," he said, pulling the handbrake and throwing the SUV into a hard stop. The Rezvani's body rocked, then steadied, engine growling like it was ready for more.
The girls looked at him with wide eyes. Hana clutched Miko's arm, trembling. Ichika was glaring, but even her voice shook. "You're insane if you think you're going out there."
"I'm not insane," Riku said, calm but hard. He checked his vest, pulled the M4 Carbine from the passenger side, and racked the charging handle with a sharp click. "I'm prepared."
He turned to them, eting each pair of eyes in turn. "Listen. You do not get out of this car. Doors stay locked. Engine stays running. If sothing happens to —gear shift to D, foot on the gas, straight out of here. Don't stop."
"No!" Miko cried. "You can't just—"
"I can, and I will," Riku cut her off. His tone left no room for argunt. "This SUV is a fortress, but even it won't hold forever if those things keep hamring it. I've got to thin them out before they rip us apart."
Suzune swallowed, gripping the dash. "Then… co back."
"I will," Riku said. "Count on it."
He pushed the door open. Cold night air hit him imdiately, carrying the faint stench of rot and asphalt dust. The Rezvani's engine humd behind him as he stepped out, boots crunching against broken pavent. He shut the door with a firm slam.
The lot was quiet—too quiet. His ears picked up the faint scrape of claws on steel, the sound of sothing moving fast across rooftops. They were circling. Watching.
Riku raised the M4, checked the holographic sight, and took a slow breath.
"Alright," he muttered. "Co and get ."
The first Night Hunter answered. It ca from his left, leaping off a warehouse roof with its arms spread wide, claws glinting in the moonlight. Riku snapped his aim and squeezed the trigger. The M4 barked in controlled bursts—three rounds, center mass. The creature twisted mid-air, snarling, and slamd into the pavent, skidding with sparks. It roared and rolled to its feet, holes in its chest oozing black ichor, but still alive.
"Figures," Riku growled. "Not gonna drop easy."
Another shadow flashed across the right rooftop. He pivoted, firing quick bursts. Rounds stitched across brick and clipped the hunter's arm. It shrieked, clambered down the wall headfirst like a spider, then darted for the cover of a parked delivery truck.
From the SUV, muffled voices cried out—Suzune shouting his na, Hana screaming—but Riku didn't look back.
He strafed toward the center of the lot, keeping distance from the Rezvani. If they sward him, he couldn't let the fight spill onto the car.
The first hunter charged again, sprinting low and fast. Riku aid for the legs this ti, dumping a burst at the knees. Bone cracked, and the thing collapsed mid-stride, tumbling forward. He didn't give it ti to recover—he stepped forward and put another burst into its skull. Black ichor sprayed across the pavent, the creature thrashing before going still.
"One down," Riku muttered.
The second hunter didn't roar. It ca silent, claws scraping concrete as it sprinted from the truck's shadow. Riku caught it in his peripheral and spun, firing, but it was fast—too fast. It zigzagged, dodging bullets, then lunged.
Riku dropped to one knee, rolled sideways, and let it sail overhead. Its claws slashed the ground where he'd been, sparks flying. He ca up on one knee, aid, and fired a full burst into its back. The rounds tore through flesh, staggering it, but again, not enough to kill.
"Damn stubborn," he hissed.
The hunter spun, eyes glowing faint in the dark, mouth opening too wide as it hissed at him. Then it leapt again.
Riku braced, firing at its chest mid-air. Bullets slamd into it, staggering the creature, but its montum carried it into him anyway. They hit the ground hard, Riku rolling onto his back with the beast over him.
Claws slashed down. He shoved the rifle crosswise, blocking. tal screeched as talons raked the barrel. Its stinking breath blasted his face as its jaws snapped inches from his throat.
With a grunt, Riku yanked his sidearm from his thigh holster and shoved it under the hunter's chin. He pulled the trigger three tis. The pistol cracked loud, and the hunter's head snapped back, ichor spraying. It thrashed once, then collapsed dead across him.
Riku shoved the corpse aside, chest heaving. He scrambled to his feet, wiped blood from his face, and reloaded the M4.
Two down. But the rooftops weren't quiet. He could hear more—claws, growls, the scrape of bodies moving just out of sight.
A low snarl echoed from the far roof. He looked up and saw it—bigger, broader, its head crest jagged, its shoulders thick like armor. A pack leader.
It crouched on the edge of the warehouse, glaring at him, and let out a roar that shook the lot. The sound made the other hunters stir. Shadows moved. More were coming.
Riku tightened his grip on the rifle.
Inside the SUV, the girls scread again, Hana's voice breaking through the glass. "Onii-chan!"
Riku didn't turn. He raised the M4, aid at the leader, and spoke loud enough for the Rezvani's cabin to hear:
"Stay inside. No matter what. This one's mine."
The pack leader leapt from the roof, slamming into the pavent hard enough to crack it. It stood tall, claws twitching, head cocking side to side like it was mocking him.
Riku squared his stance, eyes narrowing.
"You wanted ," he said, voice low and steady. "Now you've got ."
He pulled the trigger.
The lot exploded with gunfire.
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