Unwritten Mythos

The woman standing before him—her powers were unlike anything he'd encountered. The threads she controlled with just a flick of her fingers were terrifyingly precise, and those phantoms—Hollows—around him? There was no intel on them. None of the reports had prepared him for this.

The tension in the room was palpable. The Kitsune soldiers, their guns now useless, stood frozen in place, trying to process what had just happened. In a flash, Mei had sliced their weapons clean in half with those silver threads. The cold sweat dripping down Varian's neck felt like ice.

What if she had aimed for them instead of their weapons?

The thought sent a shiver through him. He didn't dare to imagine the carnage that could have followed.

Mei, sensing their unease, opened her fingers and gave a slight smile. "Relax," she said, her tone almost casual. "I have no intention of harming any of you, nor do I wish to interfere with your operations."

She paused, glancing at Vex, who was now watching her with wide eyes full of awe. "But this woman," Mei continued, gesturing toward Queen Bee, "she is mine. An experiment, if you will. And I'm afraid she still has work to do for me. So, if you're here to take her... well, that simply won't do."

Her words were polite, almost disarming, but Varian could feel the unspoken threat behind them. She wasn't asking for permission. She was making a declaration. Queen Bee was off-limits.

Vex, meanwhile, was practically glowing with reverence. Lord Aurora came to save me, she thought, her heart swelling with pride and a touch of shame. How fortunate am I?

But then, doubt crept in. Did I fail? The thought gnawed at her. I was given power, and yet I couldn't handle things on my own. Is Lord Aurora disappointed in me?

The weight of that realization sank in. Perhaps she needed to prove her worth again. She had heard the info of the dead fish and birds seeking to reinvent themselves. Maybe she should do the same—find a way to become truly indispensable to Mei.

Unaware of Queen Bee's internal struggle, Mei remained focused, her reluctance barely masked. This wasn't part of her plan, and yet, she couldn't let things spiral out of control. Not now.

Varian's eyes stayed locked on the white mask, trying to discern any hint of expression behind it. But Mei's face remained a mystery, her voice cold and measured when she finally spoke.

"Let them go."

The Kitsune soldiers hesitated, disbelief flickering across their faces. Let them go? Their orders had been clear, but Varian's tone left no room for argument. Despite their training, they couldn't help but question internally. But Varian knew better. He understood that they were outmatched.

Mei had appeared without warning, disabled their weapons with a flick of her fingers, and hadn't even broken a sweat. If she wanted them dead, they'd already be corpses littering the floor. She was playing with them, and that realization sent a chill through his bones. Varian had to make a decision, and fast. Survival outweighed orders in this moment.

The Kitsune Containment Force was still in its infancy. If their first major mission ended in a massacre, it would shake the very foundation of their organization. They couldn't afford to lose—not like this.

Mei, seemingly reading the situation, lifted Queen Bee as if she weighed nothing and turned to face Varian once more.

"Your decision is correct," she said calmly, her voice almost too gentle for the tension in the room. "The festival is coming soon. Go home, be with your family. They're more important than your work, right?"

With that, she pulled Vex along, shattered the glass with a single motion, and leaped into the night.

Varian stood frozen, Mei's parting words echoing in his mind. Was she... warning us?

No, it wasn't just a warning. It was a threat, veiled beneath a veneer of politeness. 'If you continue this pursuit, think carefully about your family's safety. Do you really want to see them suffer because of your decisions?'

Rage simmered beneath Varian's calm exterior, but he knew better than to act on it. The reality was stark—Mei was right. They were hopelessly outmatched.

He clenched his jaw and gave the order. "Containment failed. Kitsune 01 Brigade, request to withdraw."

As the team retreated, Varian's mind was already on his next move. Back at headquarters, he would submit a report detailing the encounter. This new monster, this Aurora, would not be ignored. The Kitsune Containment Force would regroup and reassess—but tonight, they had learned a brutal truth.

Their enemy was more formidable than they had ever imagined.

After returning to headquarters, Varian wasted no time in submitting his report. His fingers moved swiftly across the keyboard as he detailed everything that had occurred during the mission—every movement, every word, every flicker of threat.

SNB Number 006—Aurora.

Aurora possesses the ability to control silver threads that are incredibly sharp, capable of slicing through metal with ease. The range of these threads is considerable, and her speed is unmatched—so fast that we had less than 0.1 seconds to react when she disabled our weapons. The implications of this speed are clear: if she had intended to harm us, the entire Kitsune 01 Brigade could have been annihilated within moments.

Additionally, Aurora seems to have control over invisible entities. The exact number of these units and the range of her control are unknown at this time. Their presence poses a significant threat, as they are undetectable by conventional means.

Aurora's appearance is indistinguishable from that of an ordinary person. During our encounter, she wore a white mask and referred to herself as Aurora. She also referred to SNB 004 as her "experiment," though the specifics of this relationship remain unclear.

One of the most concerning aspects of Aurora is her intelligence and her willingness to exploit our vulnerabilities. She explicitly threatened us with the safety of our families—a calculated move that shows she understands our weaknesses and is willing to use them against us. While it remains uncertain whether Aurora can actually locate our families, we cannot dismiss the possibility that she possesses this capability.

At present, the only silver lining is that Aurora's hostility towards humanity seems limited. However, this should not be taken as a sign of complacency. Her potential for violence is immense, and her motives remain largely unknown.

After finishing his report, Varian handed it over to the logistics evaluation staff. They reviewed it with a grim expression, adding their own conclusion:

Object Designation: SNB Number 006—Aurora

Object Level: Level 2 Encryption

Object Attitude: Friendly (Temporary)

Danger Level: RS (Extremely Dangerous)

...

On the top floor of a high-rise, Mei stood with her hands clasped behind her back, her posture rigid and imposing. Vex, cowering behind her, knelt on the floor, her body trembling with palpable fear.

"This is the last time, 004."

The weight of Mei's words hit Vex like a sledgehammer. Her eyes widened in horror as she scrambled to comprehend the implications. In her mind, "one last time" meant she was on the brink of annihilation. She had failed Lord Aurora too many times—almost caught and studied, jeopardizing their secrets. She could only imagine what awaited her if she failed again.

"Lord Aurora, please, I know I was wrong. I swear, it won't happen again! Please, give me another chance!" Vex's voice was choked with desperation, her face pale.

Mei remained impassive, her gaze fixed straight ahead. She could sense the genuine fear in Vex's voice. This was the wake-up call Vex needed, a lesson to imprint the gravity of her situation into her very soul. Mei's thoughts drifted momentarily—perhaps the fright had indeed shaken Vex into understanding the seriousness of her mistakes.

Mei glanced sideways at the trembling figure. "If there's a next time, we'll see what happens."

Vex's relief was palpable as her body went slack, her voice barely a whisper. "Thank you, Lord Aurora. Thank you so much."

Mei, unaware of the storm raging in Vex's mind, was focused on her own concerns. Her initial purpose was to complete a self-splitting experiment, but the unexpected encounter with the authorities had complicated matters. Losing a subject would be a setback she could ill afford.

With a sigh, Mei reached into her coat and pulled out a small vial of shimmering liquid. Without a word, she tossed it to Vex.

"Drink this."

...

Enko woke up in the temporary military zone of Beiling City. A middle-aged man in a white coat, wearing glasses, sat beside him.

"Awake?" the man asked.

Enko didn't respond immediately. He casually took out a piece of chewing gum and began to chew.

"We examined your body last night," the man continued. "Along with those two Fish-Man bodies. After a thorough comparison, we discovered something."

The man paused, his tone turning serious. "Your body structure is exactly the same as those Fish-Men. I don't know if you were aware of this, so brace yourself."

Enko listened in silence, then pulled out his phone, beginning to play a game. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer; he was just contemplating what to say.

"You know who proposed the Kitsune organization?"

Enko's voice cut through the silence. He leaned back, chewing his gum thoughtfully. "His name was Avee. A police officer, native to Beiling City. I wasn't someone he knew well, but he believed in me unconditionally."

The middle-aged man listened quietly as Enko continued. "I gave him the information I had, and he suggested investigating Nanyan. You all know how that turned out."

Enko paused, his gaze distant. "I was there. The only survivor."

The man nodded slowly. "I know. They sacrificed themselves to give birth to Kitsune. For that, I express my regret."

"And in that operation," Enko said, his golden eyes flashing, "I became what I am now."

The man's eyes narrowed as he considered Enko's words. "You… ate the monsters' meat?"

Enko raised an eyebrow, a small smirk forming. "Yes."

The man took out a report, flipping through it. "It's almost unimaginable. Fish-Man cells have incredibly strong infectious properties. In theory, just contact with skin should be enough to trigger cell corrosion and transformation. But strangely, all of their cells remain in a sealed state."

He looked at Enko, curiosity burning in his eyes. "It's like they're locked, as if they lack some condition to activate. Any thoughts?"

Enko's mind flashed back to the Death Game, a memory surfacing.

He looked up slowly. "Aww, Siya Kamogdos."

"What did you just say?"

The middle-aged man's voice wavered as he tried to comprehend the strange sounds Enko had uttered. The words didn't seem to come from his throat but from somewhere deeper, almost as if they emerged from his abdomen. It was a language the man had never heard before, utterly unfamiliar.

Enko chuckled, his body subtly shifting as he spoke. "That sentence, more or less, is the condition you've been searching for."

The man stood frozen for a moment, then bolted out of the room, returning quickly with a recording device in hand. "Say it again! Please!"

Enko repeated the words, mimicking the feeling he'd had before. "Aww, Siya Kamogdos."

As soon as the phrase left his lips, his skin began to itch unnervingly, and he could feel his cells becoming hyperactive. The middle-aged man watched in astonishment before dashing out of the room once more.

After what felt like an eternity, he returned, breathless but triumphant. "You were right! That phrase... it's the key to activating the Fish-Man cells! But the thing is, only you can say it. We tried recording it, replaying it, but it didn't work."

He paused, excitement evident in his voice. "We believe that the sound isn't just the words themselves—it's a frequency, something unique to how you produce it. Fish-Men must have this ability to create sounds from their abdomen that trigger these cells."

The man took a deep breath, his tone becoming serious. "Enko, we need you to stay here for a while. We're trying to develop a medicine that can enhance human bodies, using Fish-Man cells to alter our internal structures, bones, and muscles. But to do that, we need you to help us activate these cells. Can we count on you to assist us?"

Enko shrugged, seemingly indifferent. "Whatever."

He leaned back, chewing his gum nonchalantly. "I have a friend, Shen Yu. She was transformed by 004, Queen Bee. Her body was completely feminized, but her mind is still her own—no mind control. If possible, I'd like you to protect her, or better yet, bring her here. But don't make her an experiment subject. She's... not fond of that kind of stuff."

The middle-aged man's mouth twitched at Enko's casual tone. "What do you take us for? We don't dissect living people. Humanism and all that."

Enko seemed unbothered and continued. "Right, I also have a friend named Tang Yan, he—"

"I know, I'll make sure he's protected too."

Enko nodded thoughtfully. "Good…"

Then, after a beat, he added, "Actually, no. Tang Yan—you can take him and dissect him."

The middle-aged man blinked, utterly confused. "???"