One month ago
A mysterious rift opens in Japan, unleashing blood-thirsty humanoid insect creatures called worms.
Three weeks ago
While the magicians battle the worms, another incursion is incited by a corporation called ZECT, with their troopers attacking both magician and worm alike.
Two weeks ago
Magicians manage to keep control over important territory from the worms.
One week ago
The magicians sustain heavy losses and lose large amounts of territory thanks to the actions of a single Masked individual.
Now
Tokyo.
Average soldiers are of barely any use in fending off worms. Their thick hides prevent most projectiles from harming them. And after molting, the newfound speed of the worms renders these soldiers completely useless. What's worse for them is the fact that several squadrons of ZECT Troopers have been spotted. A girl watches and waits, as the battle rages on. Then the sound of footsteps catches her attention. When she turns around to see who those footsteps belong to, the girl can't help but smile.
"Onii-Sama! You're here!" The girl exclaimed, relief flowing through her voice. A tall, well-built young man made his way towards the girl.
"There were more worms than I initially figured." The man then stated, his voice as calm as frosty mist. "Miyuki, I want you to stay here. I'll let you know when it's safe." The man then walked past the girl, reveals a pair of silver pistols, and closes his eyes. Almost immediately, his senses warn him of two worms making their way towards his position. The man doesn't waste even a single second, as the moment the worms showed themselves, both were no more than exotic green flames. The man now has his weapons on hand; he fires three more shots, all hitting three separate worm targets. Then, as if on cue, a sleeker, molted worm approaches. The man's expression doesn't change in the slightest.
Molted worms are deadly due to their speed, and once a worm uses its super speed; there isn't much that even magicians could counter with. The solution, eliminate the worm before it enters utilizes its super speed. The molted worm eyes the man, and then in the blink of an eye, the worm explodes from a single shot from the man's pistol. The man continues forward, spotting two magicians struggling to deal with a pair of molted worms. The man recognizes them as students, but that's when the familiarity ended. One of the magicians casts a spell on the worm, which misses the worm entirely. The two worms then attempt a pincer maneuver on the magicians, but one worm is incapacitated from a spell from the man. The second worm stops his attack to see what happened. It manages to catch the man finishing off the downed worm with a single shot. The second worm then goes for the attack, but soon finds itself reduced to pretty green explosions in a flash. The man then turns to face the magicians.
"Th-thank you." One of the magicians says. The magician opens his mouth to say something but is then cut off by a shot from the man's pistol. The man had aimed his shot at the second magician, a worm in disguise. The remaining magician is shaken by the turn of events, but something told him that if he didn't stay with the man, he wouldn't stand much of a chance to survive.
"What happened to your regiment?" The man then asked, his fierce voice was as cold as arctic winds.
"Uh, we got split up; last I heard from the others, they were handling some special worm." The magician stuttered. The man stared.
"Do you have their coordinates?"
"Yes, they should be just up ahead." The magician answered. The man then turned around and walked.
"I suppose you could walk with me." The man's tone changed to that of a casual, if not, bored jogger. The magician didn't need words to agree, as he began following the man. But suddenly, the magician is ripped away from his feet. The man stops, his senses warning him that something is coming. He then fires a shot; he misses. This must be the special worm the magician mentioned. Probably finished dealing with the magician regiment and is on the hunt for a new target. It was notably faster than regular molted worms and was most likely physically stronger as well. Certainly surprising for the man, but nothing his magic couldn't adapt to. Immediately, the man began setting traps around him. The worms may be fast, but their intelligence has yet to showcase anything past animalistic traits. Better for the man, this worm doesn't appear to have the ability of flight. Even if the worm jumped, all the man would have to do is place another trap. And with the number of traps the man laid around himself, it was inevitable that the worm would find itself ensnared by a binding spell. And with that, the man aims his pistol for one last shot. His finger begins to squeeze the trigger.
The worm then finds itself slashed at its torso, splitting in two before exploding. The man is perplexed. He hadn't yet fired a shot, and even if he somehow miss judged his own weapon's firing speed, the attack would have simply annihilated the worm, not cut it in two. The man then began to scan the area where the worm was killed, both with his eyes and heightened senses. The green flames that indicated a dead worm began to die down and standing right behind those dying flames was an armored man.
From the waist up, the armor was plain and bulky, consisting of rounded shoulders and a boxy chest plate. From the waist down, there was no actual armor, just what appeared to be a black undersuit. The top armor was silver with certain parts being colored red. The helmet was round, with a large blue visor covering about two-thirds of the face, with a crest on the head that mimicked an insect antenna. On the armored man's left shoulder, a printing of ZECT's symbol could be seen.
"I assume you're here to take me out, under orders of ZECT, am I correct?" The man then stated.
"Shiba, Tatsuya. The older brother of Miyuki. You're a student attending First High School." The armored man then said. Tatsuya glared at the armored man.
"Care to explain to me how you came by that information?" Tatsuya then asked, his voice began to drip with cold, but murderous intent. The armored man says nothing, instead, he opts to aim what appears to be a pistol of his own and fires immediately. Tatsuya simply puts his hand up, blocking the projectiles before they could even reach his palm. Tatsuya then counters by fire a shot from his pistol. But, he wasn't aiming for the armored man himself. Instead, Tatsuya created a small circle that would fire a shot of pure energy straight at the armored individual. Surprisingly, the shot simply grazes the armored man, who then charges forward. This doesn't faze Tatsuya what so ever. The armored man goes for several jabs towards Tatsuya's abdomen; Tatsuya simply deflects all strikes before gifting the armored man with a palm strike. The attack sends the armored man sliding back, but Tatsuya is relentless in his assault. The magician quickly fires two direct shots at the armored man's shoulders. Sparks fly as the armored man reels back. But he recovers quickly as he fires back, Tatsuya dodges the shots. It didn't take much for Tatsuya to realize that the armor was doing its job at protecting the individual inside, but it doesn't seem to be doing much in terms of speed. In a way, Tatsuya was somewhat relieved to be fighting against something that doesn't wield immense speed. Tatsuya uses his speed to flank the armored man; firing three directs shots to the individual's back. Seemingly unfazed, the armored man quickly turns around and fires five shots at Tatsuya. All five miss. The armored man then takes a glance at his weapon, before switching his grip; essentially changing the pistol into a small ax.
Tatsuya sheaths his pistols then goes in for the kill, but this time, the armored man is the one that blocks the attack. He then counters by swing his ax down at Tatsuya. Tatsuya dodges to his left, before attempting another attack. The armored man simply swings his ax towards where Tatsuya was standing. Tatsuya blocks the swing with his palm; or more accurately, a small magical barrier in front of his palm. Sparks fly as the armored man pays Tatsuya for his relentlessness earlier with multiple fast but heavy swings of his weapon. Tatsuya wasn't too bothered by this. He still had the speed advantage. The magician begins backing up, dodging and deflecting strikes from the ax. In doing so, Tatsuya begins building momentum, before landing one good palm strike at the armored man's chest. A loud, bass-filled boom emanated from the hit, as the armored man is sent hurdling back, slamming into the insides of a ruined building. The exposed upper floor of the building is then collapsed, burying the armored man in the rubble. Tatsuya moves in to examine. But then the armored man stands up, the rubble barely even inconveniencing him. The armored man then reached for his waist. Tatsuya then notices the strange belt the armored man is wearing. Silver and plated all the way around, but at the center was a red, mechanical beetle; a rhinoceros beetle to be exact. The armored man then flicks the red beetle's horn. Blue electricity begins to form from the red beetle, wrapping around the armor. Then, the armor itself begins to open. The armored man then grabs the red beetle's horn, before uttering the words; "Cast Off!" He then pulls the horn like a lever, and the mechanical beetle lights up,
"CAST OFF" The armor flies off with a force that nearly knocks Tatsuya off balance. The bulky torso armor is then replaced by a sleek red suit. The head is then adorned by a horn that raises up, splitting the whole face down the middle.
"CHANGE BEETLE"
Tatsuya is surprised, but not fazed. He swiftly unsheathes his pistols once more, aiming them straight for the armored man's head.
"Clock Up." The man calmly says. He then pushes a button on the left side of his belt. Tatsuya is hit in the stomach by a punch from the armored man. Tatsuya slides backward, grasping his injury. Tatsuya then returns his gaze at the armored man once more. How did he fail to notice the attack coming? He was a fair distance away for any melee attack to be done. But before he could think anymore, Tatsuya was beset by a barrage of swift but painful strikes; none of which Tatsuya could catch or even notice. Could it be? The barraged stopped, and Tatsuya managed to find his footing again. The magician then coughs up blood. He then senses the armored man standing behind him. Tatsuya then turns around to see the armored man, currently facing away from the magician.
"Alright, who are you?" Tatsuya then asks. He didn't sound angry, or distressed; instead, he sounds curious. The armored man doesn't turn around.
"My Grandmother once told me…" The armored man then says. "That strongest man can never be truly strong until he is faced with someone stronger. You will now face me." The man then points towards the sky. "Walking the path of Heaven, the man who will rule everything. Tendou Souji."
