The Advantage is Mine!

GPA Headquarters

The room was still as they looked at the wounded angel, her remaining wings mangled and singed. 

"What was that dog?" someone muttered.

"No intel on anything dog-shaped from the Kitsune. Either it's new or… maybe something the Kitsune crafted themselves," another answered, frustrated.

"Are you certain you found nothing?"

"Nothing but a few burnt feathers in the crater. The dog itself is gone."

"Damn it! Get Zero on the line. We *have* to know what that dog was!"

Before long, the Kitsune responded with a series of encrypted messages. Upon decrypting them, the GPA agents received a single sentence and an emoji.

Not telling you! ╮(￣⊿￣)╭

...

"That old geezer!"

"Damn Kitsune tricked us again!"

"We can't just let this go!"

"Not much choice. The angel's out of commission. Competing for 008 is out of the question."

"How is she, then? How long until she recovers?"

"Um… the situation isn't exactly optimistic."

"Out with it!"

"She's in a deep sleep. We tried waking her, but there was no response. The good news is that she's healing—slowly. But there's no sign of her wings recovering. Even if she wakes up, regaining her full strength will take time."

"So how long until she's functional again?"

"Judging by her current pace, about a month until she can wake up properly."

"A month? Not enough time…"

"There might be another way."

"Oh?"

"If the Kitsune recruit 008, they'll have to pass by us."

"You're suggesting… a trap?"

"Yes. Worst-case, it'd mean a direct confrontation with the Kitsune's main force. But if things go smoothly, we might get 008 without much bloodshed."

"Agreed. The Kitsune are human, after all. People are *much* easier to handle than monsters."

...

Asia - Kitsune Headquarters

Zero listened quietly to the debriefing on the mission, nodding in approval. "Well done. Give 011 an extra helping of drumsticks."

Finishing the briefing, he glanced at a list in his hand. "If we locate the rest of the Chaos Insurgency, reclaiming the Kitsune's original headquarters is possible."

Yet reclaiming their headquarters would mean facing the Queen Bee, who had control of several dangerous objects originally separated from 009. Some were innocuous, but others, like the Killer Electric Fan, were lethal. All you had to do was leave it outside, and eventually, it would kill all living beings on Earth. Well, all human beings; it wouldn't attack other objects or monsters, and if anything approached it, it would simply move away.

Zero pondered. With the current unknowns, all he could do was seal off the old Kitsune headquarters, making sure no one ventured near.

Then, there was the matter of 002. He had retreated into the ocean's depths, where finding him was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even if they could locate him, they'd have no way of subduing him. Oceanic combat with heavy weaponry or nuclear arms was strictly forbidden; the ocean could not bear more human interference. And if the Fish-Men consumed too much radioactive water and mutated, it would only compound their problems.

"Given the current outlook, handling any of these objects is practically impossible—or, it seems, not possible by conventional means."

"But… someone has to try."

"Give up just because it's hard? Sorry, my ancestors didn't teach me that." Zero's gaze fixed on the list as his finger trailed down. "The Nightmare and the Celestial Beast have returned. Next up is 010, The Clown."

From the decoded records, The Clown's real name was Arthur Morgan—a foreigner. Bringing Nightmare back was simple; the Kitsune offered stable employment post-graduation. And the Celestial Beast? With Nightmare already onboard, there was no fear of losing control. Plus, they had him dealing strictly with non-human entities. Thus, two members of the Chaos Insurgency returned.

But The Clown was different. He wasn't in the country, and his nationality complicated matters. Persuasion would be challenging.

Moreover, The Clown's mind was… peculiar. Normal people couldn't follow his thought process, making any communication a trial.

...

New York.

The plan of the five royals unfolded with precision. Their efforts had sown discord between the Kitsune and the GPA, resulting in escalating tension. But they hadn't anticipated that the angel would suffer the brunt of it.

"It seems the Kitsune and CI are far more dangerous than the angel alone."

"Plans really can't keep pace with how quickly things change. We were prepared for a battle to the death with her, and yet she… retreated."

"This only suggests the Kitsune and CI have something up their sleeve," one royal mused, though Faerûn seemed unmoved.

Two days ago, his Marquess had reported an unusual event: the Duke transformed by Lilith had inexplicably vanished without a trace.

Yes, a fully-grown man had simply disappeared. Perplexing, to say the least.

But this morning, he had returned.

Faerûn regarded Lilith with a pensive look. She shouldn't possess such an ability. Vampires had no power to make someone vanish outright, so… was this the Duke's own doing?

"I need to investigate this."

...

Queens, Nightfall

After hours of fruitless searching, Shino sat down on a bench in the dimly lit train station, lost in thought. Nearby, a blonde Marquess—one who had hunted him before—watched him closely.

Sensing his presence, Shino broke the silence, saying, "Here already?"

The Marquess raised an eyebrow. "Not bad; you sensed me. Looks like you're getting the hang of your own abilities."

Shino stood, replying, "Thanks to you, I suppose."

The blonde Marquess smiled, but his gaze turned steely. "Naturally. And now, maybe you'll help me out as well? Can I ask you to… die!"

With those words, the Marquess lunged, conjuring a blood blade with a swift movement.

Shino reacted immediately, slicing his own wrist as his blood surged forth, shaping itself into a blade that clashed with the Marquess's.

The blood blade shattered instantly!

The Marquess staggered back, astonished.

How was this possible?

Shino had mastered blood control in just two days? Typically, learning such control was an arduous process, requiring even royal and duke vampires a minimum of two weeks to fully harness. For those with exceptional talent, it still took a week.

But Shino had managed it in only two days.

The Marquess took a defensive step back, increasing the distance between them. He had expected Shino to be vulnerable—a newly turned Duke who hadn't even tasted blood yet, with little to no Blood Energy. It should have been an easy win; even a Viscount would have been able to overpower him.

But this was a different story now.

"Fine. Let's say he learned blood control at an unprecedented pace. Still, he couldn't possibly have mastered it. I underestimated him back there."

"As for Blood Energy—if he's had any blood, he's only just begun converting it. Mine should still be stronger."

He tightened his grip, eyes narrowing. "In the end, the advantage remains mine."