Hina's Perspective
Three days had passed since the mysterious vandalism at our school began.
At first, everyone thought it was nothing more than an isolated incident.
A few walls covered in paint.
A couple of strange drawings.
Some colorful symbols that nobody could understand.
The teachers had treated it as a serious disciplinary problem, while the students treated it like the latest mystery to gossip about between classes.
But the vandalism didn't stop.
It happened again the following morning.
Then again the day after that.
Every time the school was cleaned, new graffiti appeared somewhere else.
The janitors worked tirelessly to remove the paint, only for them to return the next morning and discover that someone had somehow managed to vandalize another section of the building.
It was almost as if the culprit was deliberately challenging the school.
And then...
Something changed.
It wasn't just our school anymore.
The vandalism had spread throughout Tokyo.
At first, it was only a few walls near the school district.
Then several buildings downtown were covered.
After that, entire streets began displaying strange paintings and symbols.
Some were enormous.
Some were small.
Some looked like ordinary graffiti.
Others looked like something a child might draw with a box of crayons.
Except there was something unsettling about them.
They seemed almost alive.
I stood near the sidewalk, staring at the city around me.
The afternoon sun was slowly beginning to disappear behind the buildings, casting long shadows across the streets.
Cars moved through the intersections while pedestrians walked along the sidewalks, most of them staring at their phones or talking among themselves.
Yet everywhere I looked, there was paint.
A wall covered in bright red spirals.
A building covered in blue creatures with exaggerated faces.
A giant purple monster painted across the side of an apartment complex.
Even the concrete barriers along the road had been covered in colorful drawings.
I slowly looked around.
"This is getting worse."
The words escaped my mouth quietly.
I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened at school.
The mysterious girl I'd seen.
The strange mismatched eyes.
The way she'd moved.
And the fact that she had somehow disappeared without leaving a trace.
Who was she?
Why was she vandalizing everything?
And, more importantly...
Why did the graffiti feel so familiar?
I folded my arms and stared at a massive painting covering the side of a building.
It depicted what looked like a strange cartoonish dragon with oversized teeth.
For some reason, I felt uncomfortable looking at it.
"Hina."
Ryuna's voice suddenly echoed inside my mind.
I blinked.
"What?"
There was a brief silence.
Then Ryuna spoke again.
"Something is wrong."
Her voice sounded different.
She wasn't playful.
She wasn't teasing me.
She sounded serious.
I slowly looked around.
"What do you mean?"
"I can sense something."
I frowned.
"Something?"
"Something sinister."
My expression immediately changed.
The sounds of the city suddenly seemed distant.
The traffic.
The conversations.
The footsteps.
Everything seemed to fade into the background.
"What kind of something?"
"I don't know yet."
Ryuna's voice became quieter.
"But it's close."
I swallowed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
I glanced around the street again.
There were dozens of people nearby.
Children walking with their parents.
Office workers returning home.
Students heading toward train stations.
Nobody seemed to notice anything unusual.
Then—
A scream tore through the air.
"HELP!"
I froze.
My heart immediately jumped.
The scream had come from somewhere nearby.
"Ryuna..."
"I heard it."
Another scream followed.
"HELP US!"
I immediately turned toward the sound.
My instincts took over.
"We need to go."
"Transform, Hina."
I nodded.
"Right."
I quickly looked around for somewhere secluded.
There were too many people on the main street.
I couldn't simply transform in the middle of everyone.
Not if I wanted to keep my identity secret.
Fortunately, I spotted a narrow alley between two buildings.
I quickly slipped inside.
The moment I was certain nobody was watching, I placed one hand against my chest.
The familiar warmth began spreading through my body.
I closed my eyes.
"Ryuna..."
The little dragon's voice answered inside my mind.
"I'm ready."
I took a deep breath.
Then shouted—
"Transform Me!"
A brilliant white light erupted from the center of my chest.
For a brief moment, everything around me disappeared beneath the glow.
The white orb appeared against my chest, shining like a tiny star.
Ryuna's spirit merged with me.
A powerful sensation surged through my body.
White light wrapped around me, forming a sphere that completely concealed my body.
My civilian clothes disappeared beneath the transformation.
The white silk suit formed around me, followed by the blue blouse and blue skirt.
My blue leather boots appeared around my legs, their vine-like designs wrapping securely around them.
My black hair transformed into brilliant white.
My green eyes changed into glowing blue.
When the light finally faded, I opened my eyes.
I was Shina once again.
I clenched my fists.
"Let's go."
I jumped.
My feet left the ground effortlessly.
I landed on the roof of the building beside the alley.
The moment my boots touched the surface, I pushed myself forward again.
Another rooftop.
Then another.
Then another.
The city passed beneath me as I moved from building to building.
Normally, jumping across rooftops like this should have been impossible.
But my Essence Form had changed everything.
My body felt lighter.
Stronger.
Faster.
The wind rushed against my face as I leapt across another gap.
"Ryuna!"
"Yes?"
"Where did the scream come from?"
"Keep moving toward the eastern side."
I immediately changed direction.
The scream had sounded desperate.
Someone was in danger.
And if Ryuna's instincts were correct, whatever was causing this was connected to the strange graffiti spreading throughout Tokyo.
I jumped onto another rooftop and immediately stopped.
My eyes widened.
"There!"
Several civilians were gathered below.
They were trapped in a narrow street between two buildings.
A man was desperately trying to shield two children behind him while another woman stood nearby, frozen in fear.
But they weren't alone.
Something surrounded them.
At first, I thought they were ordinary monsters.
Then I realized what I was looking at.
My eyes widened.
"What..."
The creatures looked like drawings.
They had irregular bodies covered in splashes of paint.
Their limbs were uneven.
Their faces looked like crude doodles.
One had a gigantic mouth drawn across its face.
Another had enormous circular eyes.
A third had what appeared to be scribbled horns sticking from its head.
They looked ridiculous.
But the terrified civilians clearly didn't think they were funny.
The creatures moved around them, growling and scratching against the pavement.
"What are those things?"
Ryuna immediately answered.
"Paint creatures."
"Paint creatures?"
"They're not ordinary monsters."
Ryuna's voice became tense.
"Someone created them."
I clenched my fists.
"So the graffiti..."
"May be connected to them."
One of the creatures suddenly raised its arm.
The painted limb stretched forward toward the civilians.
"Look out!"
I jumped from the rooftop.
The wind rushed around me as I descended toward the street.
The creature's arm was only a few meters away from the civilians.
I extended my leg.
"Get away from them!"
My boot struck the creature directly in the side of its body.
The impact sent it flying.
The painted monster crashed through the air and slammed into the side of a nearby building.
Paint splattered across the wall.
The civilians stared at me in shock.
I landed between them and the remaining creatures.
The pavement cracked slightly beneath my boots.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The creatures stared at me.
I stared back.
Then I turned toward the civilians.
"Run!"
The man immediately snapped out of his shock.
"Shina?"
"There's no time!"
I pointed toward the street behind them.
"Get somewhere safe!"
The woman grabbed the children's hands.
"Come on!"
The civilians began running.
One of the children looked back at me.
"Thank you!"
I smiled faintly.
"Just keep running!"
The civilians disappeared around the corner.
I turned back.
The paint creatures were already recovering.
The one I had kicked slowly pulled itself away from the wall.
Its body seemed to ripple like wet paint.
I stared at it.
"So you can take a hit."
The creature growled.
I lowered my stance.
Ryuna's voice echoed through my mind.
"Hina."
"I know."
I watched the creatures carefully.
"They're different from the Razorblade monsters."
"Yes."
"They look..."
I searched for the right word.
"Messy."
Ryuna gave a small nervous laugh.
"That's one way to describe them."
The creature suddenly charged.
I immediately stepped aside.
Its painted fist slammed into the pavement where I had been standing.
I jumped backward.
Another creature attacked from the side.
I ducked underneath its arm and spun away.
"They're fast!"
"Be careful!"
I jumped onto the side of a nearby wall and pushed myself away, avoiding another attack.
The creatures surrounded me.
Three.
Then four.
Then five.
I slowly looked around.
"So much for this being an easy rescue."
The creatures began advancing.
I raised my fists.
My heart pounded.
But I wasn't afraid.
Not anymore.
I had already fought monsters before.
I had already protected people.
And I had already made a promise to Tokyo.
No matter what these creatures were...
No matter who had created them...
I wasn't going to let innocent people get hurt.
I tightened my fists.
"Ryuna."
"Yes?"
"Let's stop them."
A soft white glow began gathering around my hands.
Ryuna's voice became warm and encouraging.
"Together."
I nodded.
"Together."
The creatures suddenly roared.
I charged forward.
The mystery surrounding the vandalism had finally come alive.
And somewhere within Tokyo...
Someone was watching.
Someone who knew exactly what these monsters were.
Someone who had been waiting for Shina to appear.
The battle was only beginning.