...━━━☆§ v𝕆𝐋. ➀: Chapter 1⅋ 2: §☆━━━━━━...

A sigh escaped the boy's lips, eyes closed before reopening them to stare at his hands, with shame and regret written all over his expression:

"What did I do? It happened so fast..." He continues, "...I guess I couldn't control myself. I mean, I didn't mean for that to happen...to hurt the kid. What the hell is this power anyway? I thought I finally had a handle on it!?!"

That's when a vibrating voice suddenly spoke behind him, "𝙄𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙃𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙩𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜." The boy, startled by the unexpected voice, jumps away from the Rena Sayama billboard poster and lands in a battle pose and questions. 

"Who's there?" His bewilderment deepened as a tall, robotic alien suit floated into view. It stares with no emotion, which puts him on edge. He narrows his eyes at it and suddenly gasps in realization. "Wha...ULTRAMAN?" 

He pauses for a quick moment before concluding something he had thought, "Wait?... Isn't Ultraman supposed to be bigger?" "𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴." It spoke to him, completely confused but stunned by this, "Huh?" 

However, it didn't end there.

"𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩." 

The robotic alien extended its hand, then abruptly changed its mind and prepared to slice the boy. He dodged and jumped away from the attack just in time as the laser ray only clipped a billboard before the alien floated closer. "𝙃𝙢𝙢...𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙."

"What the hell?" The boy gritted his teeth in shock before jumping from one place to another, where he and the robotic alien could fight without causing damage in the city.

Meanwhile, somewhere nearby...(Katsuna's POV):

Welp, I finally got my interview with the "SSSP museum" to become a receptionist, it's not what I was going for but... it's at least a job I can get paid, the only thing I have to do is wait for the call and answer to ask if I got I can be accepted. 

But my mood was ruined when an explosion shook the ground, I paused the breaks after remembering Bemular's words from last night in my apartment saying, " 'You would know where.' " 

Understanding his meaning, I immediately scanned the city until I spotted smoke rising from a soccer stadium, a trail I could follow. Without hesitation, I floored the accelerator and sped towards it.

Once I slammed my car door shut, forgetting to lock it in my haste to find Bemular. 

Rushing inside, I hurriedly took the stairs to the soccer field, where I found Bemular standing with his back facing me. I almost smiled and waved, but then I realized his gaze was fixed on something or...more like someone.

Confused, I looked to where he was looking, and to my horror, I widened my grey doe eyes in shock and disbelief, to witness a human boy with black hair in a Seito Academy uniform who looked to be about sixteen.

"W-What do you want??" He shouted, "Why are you doing this!?"

That's when Bemular said something I never thought he would say, "I told you. That power does not belong here on Earth." 

'Huh? What does he mean? What powers can a human possess?' I thought, confused while silently staring at the human boy, trying to understand what was going on, he shouted his answer: "M-Maybe not, but...I-It's not like I asked for it!

'Just what the hell is going on?'

"You are correct..." 

'No way...I'm not letting Bemular do this! I have to stop him!' 

My hands clenched tight around the cold, unyielding metal of the railing. I needed something solid to anchor me, to keep me from collapsing under the weight of the shock, the sting of that unexpected betrayal. 

It felt like the ground itself was tilting beneath my feet. 

With every ounce of strength I had, I forced my voice to rise above the turmoil roiling within me. I screamed, "Bemular! STOP!" The sound ripped from my throat, a desperate plea tearing through the air. 

To my surprise, the kid actually heard me. 

He must have, because Bemular actually came to a halt from what he was doing and slowly turned his head, his body following the motion. Seeing my opportunity, a fleeting chance to possibly salvage the situation, I didn't hesitate. 

I pushed off from the platform, launching myself down to the ground below. With a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins, I didn't care about the injury of my ankles and I rushed toward him, determined to close the distance as quickly as possible.

Out of breath from running towards him, I gasped.

"What are you doing!??" I exclaimed, "I thought you didn't kill people!"

The words he said next, left me in utter shock.

"If there is blame..." Bemular coldly spoke, turning away from me, by putting his focus back on the human kid, "...it belongs to Shin Hayata." 

My breath hitched in my throat: 'Mr. Hayata? What in the world did Hayata have to do with this? The very idea that he could be responsible for...this...was ridiculous!' 

"That's...that's impossible!" I began to stammer, completely caught off guard as the words caught in my throat as I desperately tried to fix my response. My mind raced while searching for any logical explanation. 

I was set on proving that the ridiculous accusation against me was completely off-base. I aimed to break down those unfounded claims with clear and solid evidence, "But... he's human, I don't think..." 

"The reason why I need his powers is so you can be stronger," Pointing directly at the kid, I widened my eyes in shock and disbelief, shaking my head, and kept on hearing him say, "He is the reason why you should have them, so you would be a true 'Gifted'."

'Is he out of his mind? Bemular's acting really sketchy! I've never seen him act this way before, I'm seeing so many red signs that he's about to do something horrible and I can't just sit back and let this happen.'

I thought and clenched my hands in a fist, 'I have to stop him from going through with this. It's on me to make sure no one gets hurt.' Before Bemular's offer, "Join me, Katsuna. Take his powers for yourself, and you would never be 'Giftless' ever again." 

The moment Bemular's words left his mouth, something inside me snapped. 

I couldn't stand by and let this happen.

Not to a kid. 

Not to anyone. 

My protective instincts kicked in, and before I could even think, I was moving. I stepped between the boy and Bemular, my fists raised in a fighting stance I'd learned from Uncle Jack years ago with my heart was pounding, but my voice was steady.

"Bemular, stop," I said firmly, my eyes locked on his. "This isn't you. You don't hurt people. You don't hurt kids."

Bemular tilted his head, his glowing eyes narrowing as he regarded me. "Katsuna," his voice cold and detached, he continues saying, "your dedication to someone who has harmed your people is...pathetic. This boy is a threat. His powers do not belong here. They must be taken."

"No. You're wrong." I shook my head, refusing to back down, "Holding onto grudges, hurting innocent people—it only breeds more pain. We can't keep fighting each other. We have to find a way to coexist. Equality, and respect—that's what we need. Not more war."

Bemular didn't respond immediately. The air between us was thick with tension, the silence stretching on as he seemed to consider my words. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. Then, without taking my eyes off Bemular, I glanced over my shoulder at the boy.

"What's your name?" I asked him, my voice softer now.

The boy hesitated, his wide eyes darting between me and Bemular. "S-Shinjiro," he stammered, "Shinjiro Hayata."

My breath caught in my throat. 'Hayata.' The name hit me like a punch to the gut. 'Shin Hayata—the man I'd met at the museum, the one who had spoken so fondly of Ultraman and the Science Patrol. This boy...was he related to him? Was that why Bemular was targeting him?'

I turned back to Bemular, my resolve hardening. 

"Whatever his powers are, they don't give you the right to hurt him," I firmly tell him, trying to reason with him, "He's just a kid, Bemular. You can't do this."

For a moment, Bemular was silent. His glowing eyes bore into mine, and I could feel the weight of his gaze, the intensity of his presence. Then, slowly, he sighed—a sound that was almost...human.

"You disappoint me, Katsuna," he spoke lowly but heavily, with something I couldn't quite place, "I had hoped you would understand." Before I could respond, Bemular floated closer, his massive form towering over me. 

I held my ground, refusing to let him intimidate me, but my heart was racing. He leaned in, his face inches from mine, and for a moment, I thought I saw something in his eyes—something that looked almost like...pride?

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. "This isn't you, Bemular. You're not a monster."

Bemular didn't answer. Instead, he reached out and grabbed my shoulder, his grip firm but not painful. For a split second, I thought he was going to say something, to explain himself. But then, without warning, he threw me to the ground.

The impact was brutal. 

My head hit the turf with a sickening thud, and pain exploded behind my eyes. I groaned, trying to push myself up, but my arms gave out, and I collapsed back onto the ground. My vision blurred, and I could feel the darkness creeping in at the edges.

As my consciousness faded, I caught one last glimpse of Bemular. He was standing over me, his glowing eyes fixed on mine. And in that moment, I thought I saw something—something that looked almost like regret.

Then, everything went dark.