Chapter 44- "Departure"
---
**Corridor – Night.**
Footsteps echoed—many, hurried.
Kaito walked at the front—Mio close beside him, Hasegawa's team behind in full gear.
Ren appeared from a side passage—casual, drinking milk from a carton, straw in mouth.
Kaito raised a hand.
"Yo."
Ren nodded—mid-sip.
Kept walking.
Then stopped.
Turned.
Looked at the group—big, armed, tense.
"…Where are all of you going?"
Kaito smiled—small.
"Western Peninsula."
Ren lowered the carton.
"Vacation? And you didn't invite me?"
Kaito shook his head.
"Not vacation. Cave breakout."
Ren sighed—long, disappointed.
"Oh."
He scratched his neck.
"Okay. Enjoy."
He turned to leave.
Kaito called after him.
"You don't wanna come?"
Ren paused—back still turned.
"I'm not a hero who helps everyone. I don't put my life in danger for some monsters. Sorry, man."
Kaito laughed—soft.
"It's okay."
Ren started walking again.
But stopped once more.
Glanced over his shoulder.
Watched them disappear down the hall.
Then—quietly—kept going.
---
**Mech hangar.**
Mio climbed into the cockpit first—silent, focused.
Kaito followed.
Hatch sealed.
Inside—cramped, warm.
Mio stared at the controls.
Kaito reached over—gentle.
Touched her hand.
"Don't worry."
Mio looked at him—eyes shining.
Nodded once.
Heat sync initiated.
Blue lines pulsed.
78%.
Stable.
Mio exhaled.
"Let's go."
The mech stood.
Engines hummed.
Outside—Hasegawa's team boarded military helicopters.
Blades spun—WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP.
One soldier—young, nervous—looked at Hasegawa.
"Colonel… we coming back, right?"
Hasegawa grinned—sharp.
"Of course. Who else is gonna drink my coffee?"
Another soldier laughed.
"Yeah—your coffee tastes like motor oil!"
Another Soldier smiles.
"Hyung will be there, he is so cool."
One soldiers put arms on her.
"But he didn't like you, he is slayer."
Hasegawa threw a glove at him.
"Shut up and strap in."
Laughter—short, real.
They lifted off.
Mechs and helicopters rose together.
Into the night.
---
**Western Peninsula – Night.**
The night light broke—gray, sick.
The camera panned slow—wide, sweeping.
Former South Korea.
Towers leaned—broken spines of glass and steel.
Streets cracked open—cars fused into asphalt.
Han River—once shining—now black, thick with mana residue.
Apartment blocks—hundreds—silent.
Doors hanging open.
Windows shattered.
Inside—furniture overturned.
Toys on floors.
Photos fallen.
No bodies.
Only bones—scattered, picked clean.
Small tin houses clustered in gaps—survivor shacks.
Barricades of scrap metal and concrete.
Rusted signs:
"EVACUATION ZONE – DO NOT ENTER"
Faded.
Useless.
The camera drifted lower.
Abandoned metro entrance—stairs descending into black.
Wind howled through it—hollow moan.
No light inside.
Only faint blue glow—mana crystals pulsing in the dark.
The helicopters and mechs appeared on the horizon.
Small against the ruin.
The peninsula watched.
Silent.
Waiting.
---
*End*