Tokyo Area, Conference Hall
Inside the highest-security conference hall, dozens of senior officials sat around a long table.
Government ministers, military commanders, intelligence officers, and representatives from several important organizations had all been summoned without explanation.
Seitenshi sat in the main seat.
Kikunojou Tendou stood silently to her right, leaning upon his cane as he observed the enormous screen mounted on the wall.
At this moment, the atmosphere inside the room was unusually heavy.
A few minutes earlier, the Tokyo Area government had received an emergency transmission from the IISO Headquarters.
The same transmission had simultaneously been sent to every surviving government throughout the world.
Its message was almost humiliatingly simple.
The IISO had lost control of its Tokyo Branch and the person responsible for it was reportedly a ten-year-old boy.
At first, many officials had assumed that the report contained some kind of error. However, the video currently playing before them left little room for doubt.
On the screen, heavy rain poured over the fortified entrance of the IISO Tokyo Branch.
A white-robed boy walked calmly toward the facility while holding the hand of a small girl. Two maids and a young women followed behind him.
One of the intelligence officers suddenly leaned forward.
"Pause the recording."
The image froze.
The intelligence officer pointed toward the young woman standing behind Xiao Feng.
"Enlarge her face."
The image shifted, bringing the woman into clearer view.
Several officials immediately recognized her.
"Isn't that Kisara Tendou," The Minister of Public Security said.
The gazes of several people unconsciously moved toward Kikunojou.
The senior statesman remained expressionless, but his hand tightened slightly around the handle of his cane.
The intelligence officer opened another file, "Facial recognition confirms it. Kisara Tendou, president of the Tendou Civil Security Agency. She is also a former member of the Tendou family."
The Minister of Public Security looked toward Kikunojou, "Your granddaughter was present during the assault?"
Kikunojou's expression did not change, "Kisara left the Tendou family years ago. Her decisions are her own."
The minister turned back toward the screen, "Was she taken hostage?"
"There are no visible restraints," The intelligence officer replied, "Her movements also appear voluntary. She followed the boy into the facility without hesitation."
"Then she may be working with him."
"Perhaps, however, there is no footage of her attacking any IISO personnel."
The Minister of Public Security frowned.
"She willingly entered a restricted government facility beside an armed attacker. That alone makes her involvement suspicious."
Kikunojou tapped the end of his cane against the floor, "Suspicious does not mean proven."
The minister glanced at him but chose not to answer.
Seitenshi continued staring at Kisara's image.
"Resume the recording."
The footage began moving once again.
When the guards raised their rifles, the boy merely looked at them.
Although the recording contained no voice or energy fluctuations, every guard suddenly froze. Their bodies became completely motionless.
Looking at this bizzare and ghostly scene, the conference hall fell silent.
One military commander leaned forward, "What happened to them?"
An intelligence officer checked the information provided by the IISO.
"According to the surviving personnel, they remained fully conscious but lost all control over their bodies."
"Some kind of paralysis weapon?"
"No device was detected."
The footage continued, showing how Xiao Feng approached the enormous reinforced gate then raised one foot and kicked it.
Boom!
The gate crumpled before flying into the compound.
Everyone present stared at the screen in disbelief.
"That gate was designed to resist military vehicles." One of the military commanders spoke but no body answered him.
The next recording showed armed soldiers rushing into a corridor. They immediately opened fire.
Hundreds of bullets crossed the narrow passage.
Xiao Feng unsheathed his sword then a flash appeared and the bullets shattered in mid-air.
A moment later, an enormous wave of energy tore through the corridor, splitting the floor and annihilating the soldiers standing in its path.
The footage changed again, this time, the underground guards were advancing through a passage with their weapons raised.
Xiao Feng snapped his fingers and frost spread across the walls and floor. In only a few seconds, the entire passage and everyone inside it were sealed within ice.
Another recording showed Xiao Feng standing inside the main command centre.
The surviving officers fired upon him from every direction but the bullets stopped in front of his body. Then the bullets reversed direction and killed almost everyone.
The video was cut away shortly afterward.
Several officials turned their eyes from the screen. Even those accustomed to military reports found the scene difficult to watch.
However, the most frightening fact was not the number of people Xiao Feng had killed.
It was how easily he had done it.
The conference hall became deathly quiet and the scientists present repeatedly examined the footage.
No machinery had been detected. He didn't use explosives, chemicals or Varanium Equipments.
The boy seemed to possess superpower which can control all kinds of supernatural powers.
A senior intelligence officer finally spoke, "Has this footage has been verified?"
"Yes, it has been verified multiple times.," Another middle aged man answered. "The IISO Headquarters provided the original surveillance data. Our analysts found no evidence of alteration."
"What about the possibility that he is an Initiator?"
"Impossible."
A researcher immediately shook his head, "Initiators possess enhanced strength and regeneration, but their abilities originate from the Gastrea virus. None have demonstrated control over weather, fire, ice, invisible force, or energy attacks."
Another scientist adjusted his glasses, "He may represent an entirely new evolutionary branch. Perhaps a male Cursed Child whose mutations differ from the girls."
A military officer frowned, "Aren't all the Cursed Children are female? How could there be a Male one?"
"That is true according to everything we currently understand." The scientist looked toward Xiao Feng's image, "But this boy has already made our understanding meaningless."
Several officials exchanged uneasy looks. Then the Minister of Public Security slammed one hand against the table.
"This is absurd!"
Everyone turned toward him.
"He attacked a government-recognized organization and massacred its personnel. Why are we discussing threat classifications instead of sending the military to eliminate him?"
The Chief of Staff of the Self-Defence Forces stared at him coldly. "Did you watch the same recording as the rest of us?"
The minister frowned, "We still have artillery, missiles, and Varanium weapons."
"The IISO used automatic weapons, reinforced barricades, and armed security forces." The general replied, "None of them even slowed him down."
"Then deploy heavier weapons!"
The Chief Cabinet Secretary immediately retorted, "And destroy part of the Tokyo Area along with him?"
The minister opened his mouth, but no words came out.
After a moment, he silently lowered himself back into his seat.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary continued, "We also have no evidence that heavier weapons would work."
...