Make Them Love Me Or They'll End The World

Reiden waited in the chamber where Siren was bound, the muffled chaos of battle echoing up from far below. Any ordinary commander would have been barking orders, scrambling defences, retreating before the enemy breached the upper floors.

But Reiden wasn't ordinary. He simply stood in the shadowed corner, arms folded, as though the carnage was nothing more than background noise to him.

The attempt to extract the Nightfract had failed. Not because of his scientists, no, because of her. Siren's resistance had been far greater than anticipated. Even chained, drugged, and mentally assaulted, she clung to the name of the boy rushing toward her.

Kentaro Takamiya.

It was troublesome. But also. It was… Fascinating.

Soldiers kept bursting into the room with updates. Casualties. Advancing enemies. The speed of Halcyon's push through the facility was alarming, but Reiden's expression never shifted from that cold, thin smile.

When the latest soldier finished his stammered report, Reiden leaned close, towering over the man like a shadow swallowing him whole.

"Good. Now do your job. Stop them as best you can."

His voice was low, almost gentle, yet it carried the weight of a verdict.

The man barked a terrified "Y-Yes, sir!" and fled.

Reiden dismissed the scientists next, ordering them to retreat through the emergency passage hidden behind the wall. After all, they were his precious pawns, the brains to his whole idea, Reiden had envisioned. They didn't hesitate; they practically ran. The last one slipped through the door without even looking back.

Reiden tilted his head, feigning a wounded pout.

"…Could've at least asked if I was coming with you," he murmured, his tone mock-sad.

Aria stirred weakly in the chair, her wrists raw against the restraints. Memories clawed at her as her eyelids dragged open; the last thing she remembered was the nightmare.

The scientists had tried to force her BloomCore into a Nightfract, hammering at her mind with weapons and machines designed to corrupt her. They flooded her head with visions: Kentaro stabbed, his blood running hot across her hands, Velza's smirk hovering above his corpse. These weren't just "images." They were experiences. Every sound, every sensation, every scream, was real enough to shatter her grip on reality.

For a moment, she truly believed it. She felt him die. She lived through it again and again until her body convulsed against the chair.

But even as the corruption pressed harder, trying to override her thoughts and bend her will, something inside her refused.

Kentaro's face. His voice was the first time he swore to protect her. That moment replayed like a shield, cutting through every fabricated nightmare.

The machines couldn't erase it. The corruption device couldn't twist it.

She blacked out eventually under the weight of their assault, but the extraction failed. And now, as her vision cleared, the room was empty, save for Reiden standing there, watching the last of the scientists vanish through their hidden escape door.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Aria allowed herself a tiny, trembling smile.

"Heh… Looks like your time's almost up, jackass."

Reiden's finger twitched. He turned slowly, that smile widening into something darker.

"Ahh, Siren. Please, don't mistake this for victory. I despise giving people false hope."

Her confusion flickered. If Kentaro was coming, if he was already so close, how could Reiden still sound this certain?

He stepped closer, each bootfall heavy, deliberate.

"You see, let's say he does save you." He crouched slightly, levelling his eyes with hers, that grin never breaking. "That doesn't mean you've won. It simply means… My plan will take a longer route to completion."

Her breath caught. "A… Longer route?"

Reiden didn't answer. He straightened and turned toward the door, tilting his head as though listening.

Footsteps.

Fast. Heavy. Dozens of them.

Not soldiers.

His grin sharpened.

The door exploded inward with a crash, Shogo flying in foot-first, slamming face-first into the wall on the rebound.

"OW! Damn it!" he yelped, scrambling up.

Behind him, Yura and Yumi swept in there weapons drawn.

"Well, well…" Reiden spread his arms slightly, like a host welcoming guests into his home. "It's finally nice to meet you all."

And then he came.

Kentaro.

Sweat dripping, legs trembling from wounds that hadn't had time to heal. His breath was ragged. His eyes locked on Reiden with a fury that burned hotter than pain could touch.

Aria's heart leapt into her throat. Her eyes blurred with tears.

"KENTARO!!" She screamed, her voice cracking.

His head snapped toward her, then back to Reiden. His teeth clenched so hard his jaw trembled, his body taut as a drawn blade.

"VALE!!" The word ripped from him like a roar, the sound vibrating through the chamber walls.

He stepped past shattered desks and abandoned terminals, each footfall echoing like a hammer. He didn't break eye contact with Reiden, not once, as though looking away for even a second would mean defeat.

He crossed the threshold into the heart of the chamber, standing between Aria and the man responsible for all of this.

"This ends HERE!"

Reiden chuckled low, a sound like steel dragging over stone.

"Oh no, Kentaro Takamiya… This is only the beginning."

*

Soon after Velza had left Rin behind, she tore through the building, only to stop short in astonishment.

The hallways that should've been brimming with elite Null and Spire forces had become a graveyard. Bodies were everywhere. Soldiers she had trained alongside, men and women handpicked for their loyalty, now lay sprawled across the floor in grotesque positions. Some were piled against walls as if they'd been swept aside by a storm, others slumped in the pools of their own blood. A few still groaned, clutching shattered limbs or gasping through broken ribs, but most were eerily still.

The acrid tang of ozone and scorched steel lingered in the air, mixed with the copper stink of blood. Weapons lay scattered, rifles twisted at impossible angles, blades bent and snapped. The walls themselves were scarred, gouged with impact marks as if entire squads had been swatted like flies.

Velza's teeth clenched. Alberlines were strong, yes, but this strong? Impossible. Especially the ones Kentaro had under him. They were supposed to be weaker, beneath her. Yet here was the proof: dozens of her finest warriors, elites who could each crush a regiment, reduced to nothing more than discarded shells.

She slammed her palm against the elevator panel. Dead. Sparks spat weakly from the ruined console, mocking her. Snarling, she pivoted to the stairwell and vaulted over the railing, dropping entire flights at a time. The underground tunnels were an option, but they'd cost her minutes she didn't have. Reiden was waiting.

The deeper she went, the worse it became. More bodies. More wreckage. One soldier still twitched, helmet dented inwards where something had struck with terrifying precision. Another's armour had been ripped clean through, as if by invisible claws. Velza forced herself not to look too long, her anger rising with every step.

She burst through the final steel door.

And stopped instantly.

The corridor ahead was a massacre site. Soldiers lay sprawled in neat rows, like dolls placed in mock order after being broken. Some were stacked, one on top of the other, as though someone had been playing with them. The sight made her stomach twist.

And at the centre of it, perched casually atop one soldier's back with her legs crossed like it was a throne, sat her.

The short-haired pink girl Serica had left behind.

But she wasn't alone.

Kneeling beside her, wagging an invisible tail, was Reiden. Barking.

Velza's eye twitched. "What the hell…"

Reiden panted happily, hands on his knees. "Woof."

Her sword-hand trembled with rage. "Just what sick game is this, you bitch?! How dare you mock him!"

The girl looked up slowly. Masked, but her lips curved in a small, bemused smile. She stood, dusting herself off with exaggerated daintiness.

"My apologies," she said lightly. "I was bored. Thought helping Rin's friends might kill some time. But…" She glanced down at the kneeling clone, ruffling his hair like a pet. "…Playing with my doggy was too much fun."

Velza's vision flared white at the edges. Fury wasn't new to her, but this… This was an insult. She could tell it wasn't the real Reiden, but still, the audacity.

Her hand dropped to her sword hilt. "Just what are you?" she hissed.

The pink-haired girl tilted her head, amused, almost curious. Then, with a smirk that curled like smoke:

"Honestly? Just a girl looking for fun. Maybe you could provide me with some?"

Velza bared her teeth, blood singing in her ears. "Tsch. As if. I don't have time for games, so move, unless you want to die. And once I'm back…" Her lips curled into a vicious smile. "I'll kill you anyway. For the disrespect."

The girl stepped forward, shadows bending with her movement. Her eyes, unseen behind the mask, seemed to glitter.

"Bring it, sister."

The air between them cracked like glass. In the silence of fallen soldiers and echoing stairwells, Velza and the pink-haired stranger launched forward.

Their battle had begun.