"Are you serious? The bugs?" Junk Dog muttered, his voice laced with unease. "If it fails, they’ll die and that would be a waste."
Rikael smirked, unconcerned. "And if it doesn’t fail, we gain four new top tier soldiers, almost on par with us. They’ll obey whether they want to or not."
The "bugs" were one of Shikkoku’s darkest creations, an experiment born not just to enslave bodies, but to shatter souls. Unlike crude methods of brainwashing that erased memory or identity, these bugs were far crueler.
They didn’t wipe the mind clean. No, they allowed the victims to keep everything. Every memory, every bond, every emotion remained intact. The warmth of family, the pride of growth, the vows made in blood, all of it stayed.
But one vital piece was cut away, the ability to resent Shikkoku.
No matter how much they hated the Fangs or their leader, no matter how strong their will burned, that one thread of rebellion would be gone. They would remember the betrayal. They would remember the day they were chained. And yet, they would kneel without a choice.
Perfect dogs. Perfect soldiers. With experience, will, and loyalty, all sharpened by despair, bound forever under Shikkoku’s leash.
That was the fate Rikael and Junk Dog had in mind for the four.
Laon and the others awoke after the bug experiment, their eyes dull yet burning with a strange light. To Junk Dog’s surprise, none of them convulsed, none showed signs of rejection, and none died. They didn’t even struggle as the parasites rooted into their cores, it was as if their bodies had accepted the invasion naturally.
Aside from Finian, whose shattered limbs had been replaced with advanced artificial ones, their bodies were intact. Their Drive Core abilities pulsed the same as before, if not stronger. By all appearances, nothing had changed.
But the real test was deeper.
Would they still resist? Would they still carry that burning hatred?
The answer was immediate.
Even with memories of the bakery, their bonds, their struggles, and even the moment of betrayal, none of them felt the urge to fight back. No venom lingered in their voices, no rebellion sparked in their eyes.
Instead, it was the opposite.
"What is this feeling? I know they destroyed everything we built. I know they are the enemy. And yet..." Laon muttered, clenching his golden aura imbued fist. "I have this overwhelming urge to serve them with everything I have."
The others nodded without hesitation.
"Yes. It feels right. As if my only purpose is to fight and die for Shikkoku," Luciena whispered, her tone disturbingly serene.
Rikael and Junk Dog exchanged a glance, their sinister grins widening. The experiment hadn’t just succeeded, it had exceeded expectations. Not only did the four survive, but they had also become something far worse, loyal hounds with their strength, willpower, and combat experience intact, yet bound by an unbreakable leash.
From that day forward, Laon and his companions became Shikkoku’s trump cards. In every battle, they were unleashed like calamities, their overwhelming power tilting the tide of war. Their presence alone was enough to crush resistance. To Shikkoku’s enemies, it was as though four new Fangs had emerged from the shadows.
Inside the organization, they rose rapidly, revered and feared, second only to the Fangs and the Leader himself.
To the outside world, their names soon spread like wildfire, the Four Messengers of Shikkoku.
—----------
As Laon stood before the smiling Ren, something deep within him cracked. At first, it was only a faint ache in his chest, an unfamiliar sting he hadn’t felt in years. It pulsed heavier with each breath, like a buried truth clawing its way back to the surface.
Instinctively, Laon shut his eyes and pushed his senses outward. His golden aura spread through the ward, weaving into every crevice, every corner, until it painted a skeletal image of all that transpired within the battlefield.
And then, he saw them.
Valerie, broken and lifeless. Finian, crushed in the dirt.
Memories surged in him like a flood, but what was most shocking wasn’t what he remembered, it was what he felt. The rightful source is Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
He shouldn’t have felt anything. That was the purpose of the bug, the leash forged by Shikkoku. Sadness, grief, anger, love, none of it was meant to remain. The only emotion he should’ve carried was loyalty to Shikkoku and its leader. Nothing more.
It was the same when Luciena had fallen. He remembered it clearly, the moment her life ended, and he had simply accepted it, unflinching, empty.
But now, as the last of his comrades lay defeated, something inside him shattered.
A burning rage welled up in his chest, raw and violent, as though a dormant volcano within his soul had erupted, tearing apart the chains that bound him.
Golden light flared wildly, whipping into violent winds that split the ground beneath him. His aura no longer flowed like a disciplined weapon, it stormed outward, chaotic, alive. Tears streamed down his face, glistening against the golden radiance as his breaths grew heavier.
Ren stood still, his grin fading into confusion. He had seen many auras spike in battle, but this was different. This was not the controlled surge of power that came with Core Release, it was something far more primal, something breaking free.
"What is this?" Ren muttered under his breath as the wind screamed around him.
Laon’s eyes glowed fiercely through the tears, his voice cracking as he roared.
"WHY!? Why do I feel this when I shouldn’t!?"
For the first time since the bug, Laon was human again.
"What’s happening with this guy? This aura, it’s crushing me." Ren’s heart beat hard. "I can’t just stand here."
He forced his voice, quiet and sharp. "Core Release: Lightning Requiem."
Black lightning burst, wild and loud, then calmed like a coiled beast. It crawled over Ren’s skin and formed a dark mask over his face. The air itself began to tear as two huge wills met, Laon’s golden storm slamming into Ren’s black lightning.
For a moment the whole battlefield felt the push. Soldiers paused. Dust hung in the air. It was not a clash of sword and blade yet, but a fight of spirit and force, two catastrophic powers trying to crush one another without a single step taken.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Ren called, feeling the strange heat and grief inside Laon. Something raw and dangerous burned there.
Laon spat out words like a struck beast. "Am I okay? No! I’m not! I’m not supposed to feel anything. I should only serve. But now rage, hatred, sadness. The Shikkoku! ZEAL! All of you will pay!"
Ren’s brow furrowed. "Wait, what? Aren’t you with Shikkoku?"
"No! We were used!" Laon shouted. His voice broke and turned into a roar as his aura went even wilder. Tears shone on his face, but his hands shook with a hate that had no order.
Ren felt the wind of that hate like knives. He tried to step closer, to reach the man who had been an enemy for so long. "Laon, listen! Calm down. Talk to me. Tell me what happened!"
Laon’s laugh was bitter. "You’ll understand soon enough! They took everything from us. They used what we loved against us. I remember the bakery, the nights, the laughter, and they turned it into chains!" His fist slammed the air. Golden arrows blinked into being around him, quick as hornets.
Ren saw Laon’s shoulders tighten, he was about to fire. The golden arrows flew, a storm of light meant to shred everything in their path. Ren’s chest tightened. He didn’t want to kill a man who might be more broken than evil. But he also could not let Laon rain death on him.
He moved.
Black lightning spun from his feet as lightning platforms formed beneath him. He dashed through the shredding rain, cutting angles while shouting, "Laon! Hear me! You’re not a tool. You were never meant to be a dog!"
Laon’s eyes flashed. "You say that now? You are part of them! ZEAL!" his voice choked. "You, all of these gangs led us to this fate!" He fired another barrage of golden arrows. Each one ripped at the air with cold hunger.
Ren threw up a wall of dark lightning. Arrow after arrow slammed into the field and broke, sparks flying. But the force threw Ren back. He slammed into a broken wall and the world spun.
"You don’t have to be their slave!" Ren yelled. "You can be free!"
Laon didn’t calm down. He stood still, but the air around him felt like a coiled beast, quiet, heavy, ready to snap. His face was calm, but his eyes burned. That look sent a cold shiver down Ren’s spine.
"I hope you’re powerful enough to at least last for a minute," Laon said in a low voice. "I am full of everything now. Filled with every emotion that I almost forgot how they felt. I will crush anyone in my way. Including you."
He closed his eyes and spoke the words quietly. "Core Release: Elven Dawn."