The explosion lit up the entire skyline.
Aria didn't slow down.
She pushed harder, leaping across rooftops, her body cutting through the cold night air as sirens wailed from every direction.
As she got closer, the heat hit her.
Strong.
Violent.
The kind that made the air itself feel heavy.
She landed on a rooftop across from the scene—and froze for a split second.
The building was collapsing from within. Flames burst out of broken windows, crawling up the structure like something alive. Thick black smoke filled the sky, blocking out the stars.
People were running everywhere.
Some screamed.
Some stood frozen.
Firefighters were already on the ground, shouting orders, trying to control the chaos.
"Radiation tank collapse!" one of them yelled. "The structure's unstable! We need everyone out!"
Radiation.
Aria's eyes sharpened.
She didn't think.
She moved.
She jumped.
Glass shattered as she crashed through a broken window, landing hard inside the burning building.
The heat wrapped around her instantly, pressing against her skin.
The air was thick with smoke. Hard to breathe.
The inside was worse.
Metal beams twisted from the explosion. Parts of the ceiling hung loose, threatening to fall at any moment. Flames spread fast, eating through anything they touched.
"Help! Please!"
Aria turned.
A man was pinned under a collapsed support beam, struggling to move.
"I've got you!" she rushed over.
She grabbed the beam—
Heat burned against her palms, but she held firm.
Her muscles tightened.
Slowly…
The beam lifted.
The man pulled himself free, coughing violently.
"Go! Move!" Aria shouted.
He didn't argue.
She didn't stop.
Another voice.
A woman trapped behind debris.
Aria kicked through the blockage, pulling her out.
"Follow the exit! Stay low!"
She moved again.
Faster now.
More focused.
Her movements sharper than before.
More controlled.
Training paying off.
Outside—
Cameras zoomed in.
"There she is again! The blue vigilante is on the scene!" a reporter shouted.
Firefighters glanced up briefly, surprised to see her carrying people out through the flames.
"…she's actually helping," one of them muttered.
"Don't just stand there!" another barked. "Keep moving!"
Inside—
Aria coughed, wiping sweat from her face.
Her body felt heavy now.
Her side throbbed under the bandage.
But she ignored it.
"Anyone else?!" she shouted.
A faint voice answered.
"…here…"
Deeper inside.
She ran toward it—
Then suddenly—
A sharp sound sliced through the air.
Her instincts reacted instantly.
She moved.
A blade flashed past her face.
Aria spun around.
A figure stood in the fire.
Masked.
Silent.
Holding twin swords that reflected the flames.
Her eyes narrowed.
"…who are you?"
No answer.
The figure moved.
Fast.
A slash came instantly.
Aria stepped back, barely dodging.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" she snapped.
Another strike.
Faster.
Closer.
She blocked with her arm, the impact forcing her back a step.
"You're attacking me right now?!"
No response.
Only movement.
The blades came again—precise, controlled.
Aria ducked low, rolling to the side as another slash cut through the space where she had been.
"Are you serious?!" she shouted. "People are trapped in here!"
Nothing.
She pushed forward.
Closing the distance.
Her fist shot toward him—
He blocked with his blade, sliding back slightly.
She followed immediately with a kick—
He dodged.
Clean.
He's fast…
He lunged again.
Aria reacted quicker this time.
She stepped inside his range, grabbing his arm and redirecting the blade past her.
Her elbow drove toward him—
He twisted, avoiding the full impact.
"Why are you stopping me?!" she demanded, breathing harder now.
Punch.
Block.
Dodge.
The fight intensified rapidly.
Sparks flew as blade met concrete, metal, anything in its path.
Aria moved constantly, her body adapting, learning mid-fight.
But Slander—
He wasn't learning.
He already knew.
Another strike—
She barely avoided it.
The blade sliced past her shoulder, close enough to feel the air shift.
A scream echoed behind her.
Aria's head snapped toward it.
Someone was still alive.
Still trapped.
She moved—
But the masked man stepped in front of her again.
Blocking her path.
Her expression changed instantly.
"…move."
He didn't.
Anger flared.
She rushed him.
Faster than before.
Her punches came harder now, sharper, more aggressive.
She forced him back, step by step.
A clean hit—
Her fist slammed into his chest.
The impact pushed him back across the floor.
An opening.
Aria turned and ran toward the trapped voice—
But pain shot through her side.
Her movement slowed.
Just slightly—
A blade cut across her arm.
She gasped, stumbling forward.
"…damn it!"
She turned back, frustration boiling over.
"You're really doing this right now?!"
Still nothing.
The fire spread faster now.
The structure creaked loudly.
Time was running out.
Aria looked past him again.
The flames had grown.
The path…
Was closing.
Another scream.
Weaker this time.
Her fists clenched tightly.
"You don't get it, do you?!" she shouted.
"These people need help!"
She charged again.
This time with everything she had left.
She ducked under a strike, grabbed him, and slammed him into a wall.
Hard.
The impact cracked the surface.
He recovered instantly, twisting free and countering.
The fight became faster.
More intense.
Fist against blade.
Power against precision.
But every second…
Every second…
More time was lost.
The scream stopped.
Aria froze.
Just for a moment.
Silence.
She slowly turned her head.
The flames had taken over completely.
No movement.
No sound.
Nothing.
Her chest tightened.
"…no…"
For the first time—
She didn't move.
Not because she couldn't.
But because she knew.
She was too late.
Her fists trembled slightly.
Anger.
Frustration.
Guilt.
All at once.
She looked back at him.
Her voice dropped.
Cold.
"You stopped me."
Silence.
The building groaned loudly, parts of it beginning to collapse further.
Sirens screamed louder outside.
Aria stepped back slowly.
Her eyes never leaving him.
Then she turned—
And leapt through the flames.
Escaping the collapsing structure.
Outside—
Firefighters rushed forward immediately.
"She's out!"
"Get the injured!"
Reporters pushed closer, cameras flashing.
"The vigilante has exited the building!"
"She appears injured again!"
Aria landed roughly on the ground, her body shaking slightly from exhaustion.
Her breathing was heavy.
Uneven.
Behind her—
The building collapsed further.
Flames swallowing everything that remained.
She stared at it.
Silent.
This time…
She didn't save everyone.
And that…
Hit harder than anything else.