system:Reborn

Chapter 9: The Fleet Above

The sky over Neo-Tokyo turned black.

Not because night had fallen.

Because something enormous had moved between the city and the stars.

Kai stepped outside the damaged shelter and looked upward.

Hundreds of spacecraft hovered above the clouds.

They weren't human.

Their designs were unlike anything humanity had ever produced—long, angular vessels covered in glowing symbols, arranged in perfect formation around the Core.

Mira stood beside him.

"Those weren't there before."

Kai's System activated automatically.

[GLOBAL THREAT DETECTED]

[UNKNOWN FLEET APPROACHING]

[ORIGIN: UNREGISTERED]

[ESTIMATED TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL: EXTREME]

Kai swallowed.

"Extreme?"

The System had never used that classification before.

Then every screen in the city activated simultaneously.

A message appeared across the sky.

[STAGE ONE EVALUATION HAS BEGUN.]

Kai stared.

"What evaluation?"

The message changed.

[CIVILIZATION: HUMANITY]

[CURRENT EVOLUTION LEVEL: 0.03%]

[SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 11.7%]

The crowd around them erupted in panic.

Then another message appeared.

[FIRST WAVE — PHASE TWO]

[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE THE INVASION.]

[TIME LIMIT: 12 HOURS.]

Mira looked at Kai.

"Those ships aren't here to observe us."

Kai shook his head.

"No."

A deep rumble shook the city.

One of the enormous ships opened.

Something descended from it.

Then another.

Then thousands.

Kai activated System Vision.

[ENEMY UNIT IDENTIFIED]

Designation: Celestial Hunter

Rank: C

Level: 27

Quantity: 18,402

Kai's face went pale.

"Over eighteen thousand?"

Mira looked toward the skyline.

"How many awakened heroes do you think are still alive?"

Kai didn't answer.

He already knew.

Not enough.

Suddenly, a familiar notification appeared.

[HIDDEN QUEST]

Defend Neo-Tokyo.

Reward: 1,000 Evolution Points

Bonus: Unknown

Failure: City population reduced by 30%.

Kai clenched his fists.

"Thirty percent..."

A massive explosion erupted several kilometers away.

The invasion had begun.

Kai and Mira ran toward the battlefield.

As they moved through the streets, Kai noticed something strange.

The Celestial Hunters weren't attacking randomly.

They were ignoring ordinary civilians.

Instead, they were targeting awakened humans.

Specifically—

System users.

Kai stopped.

"Mira."

She looked back.

"They're hunting people with abilities."

Mira's expression changed.

"Then why aren't they attacking us?"

Kai looked at his interface.

A new warning appeared.

[OBSERVER CAMOUFLAGE ACTIVE.]

His eyes widened.

The System was hiding them.

But why?

Before Kai could think further, a voice came from above.

"You two."

Kai looked up.

A young man wearing futuristic armor hovered over the street.

Energy surrounded his hands.

[HUMAN AWAKENED]

[RANK: B]

[ABILITY: PLASMA MANIPULATION]

He pointed toward Kai and Mira.

"You've got unusual System readings."

Kai immediately became cautious.

The armored hero landed.

"I'm Commander Ren."

He looked at them.

"Who are you?"

Kai hesitated.

Then the sky behind them exploded.

A Celestial Hunter crashed into the street.

Commander Ren turned.

"Questions later."

Kai activated System Override.

Mira raised her hand.

The three of them faced the approaching army.

And somewhere aboard the largest spacecraft above Earth, an unknown figure watched Kai through a holographic screen.

A distorted voice spoke.

"The two anomalies have finally found each other."

Another voice answered.

"Should we eliminate them?"

The figure shook its head.

"No."

The screen zoomed in on Kai.

"Let them evolve."

A pause.

"I want to see what they become."