"You wanna go there empty-handed?" Raidon asked.
Kiyoshi turned around, confused. "What do you mean?"
"You really plan on walking back into that chaos, injured and unarmed? Come here. Let me treat the wound—and make you a weapon."
Kiyoshi nodded and sat down. Raidon patched him up carefully, then reached for something on the nearby table.
"I just built this rapier," he said, handing it over. "It's not perfect, but judging by how that girl fights—she must be a fencer, right? This should suit her."
Scene cuts back to the present.
Kiyoshi and Aoshi now face Lust, while Sloth and Greed are busy with the mech.
"You kids really think you can take me down?" Lust sneered.
Kiyoshi leaned over to Aoshi and whispered, "The rapier doesn't have many special abilities yet, but Raidon said if you press the button on the handle, the blade will electrocute whatever it pierces."
Aoshi nodded.
Suddenly, Lust slammed her hands on the ground—her gloves triggering a sonic boom that launched her straight at them. Kiyoshi barely managed to block her kick. Aoshi, standing close, tried to retaliate with the rapier, but Lust used Kiyoshi's shoulder to vault up into a handstand and dodge the strike.
While in mid-air, she kicked Aoshi hard in the face, knocking her back, and swept Kiyoshi's feet, sending him to the ground.
Aoshi quickly recovered and attacked again, but Lust evaded with fluid, unnatural agility. From the ground, Kiyoshi managed to grab Lust's legs, pulling her off balance. She used her glove's sonic thrust to launch Aoshi away, then ordered four monkeys to keep her occupied.
Kiyoshi, still gripping Lust's legs, flung her across the room and used his thread weapon to latch onto her again. As she struggled, he reeled her in—closing the distance before landing a punch straight into her gut.
Aoshi swiftly dealt with the monkeys and turned to assist Kiyoshi, only to freeze at the sight of a swarm of bees enveloping him.
"She's trying to get away!" Kiyoshi shouted, barely keeping the bees off. "Aoshi, go!"
Aoshi dashed after Lust, but her breath grew heavy. Lust vanished through a corridor, and Aoshi stopped—frustrated she couldn't catch up.
Meanwhile, Sloth, seeing Lust under threat, prepared to act—until all three villains heard a voice through their earpieces.
> "Back now. Mission succeeded."
—Wrath.
Without hesitation, Sloth, Greed, and Lust all made their retreat to the main entrance. The bees dispersed.
Silence.
Then, an elevator dinged.
"You guys alright?" Raidon asked, stepping out, concern written all over his face.
"They fled," Kiyoshi answered, tired and sore.
The team regrouped around Izumi.
"You okay?" Aoshi asked.
"Yeah… my head's just spinning. What do we do now?" Izumi murmured.
"For now, let's head to my hotel. I also need to check on every one of my workers," said Raidon.
"Wait… why didn't the police show up?" Izumi asked.
Kiyoshi took out his phone and called the police. The response stunned them.
> "We're terribly sorry. No one called earlier. This is the first report we've received about a building under attack."
The group looked at each other, confused.
"Raidon… are you sure the person who called you earlier also contacted the police?" Izumi asked.
"I've been trying to call her—but she won't answer," Raidon replied.
Soon after, the police finally arrived. The group explained the attack—leaving out key details about the weapons and tech they used.
---
Later that evening, at Raidon's hotel, the group sat down and took a breather.
"What a day," Izumi sighed.
"Seriously… today was wild," Kiyoshi added.
As they chatted about the events, Raidon remained busy—calling every worker to ensure their safety.
Izumi eventually explained the cube to Aoshi and Kiyoshi.
"When I was pulling Kiyoshi to safety—he was out cold from the pain—Raidon handed me this cube. He said it wasn't a weapon but a companion. Still a prototype. He originally made it to help with his gamma energy research. It only responds to the first person it sees and hears—it uses facial and voice recognition. Once that bond is made, it's permanent."
He continued, "It runs on gamma energy and eats up power fast. Even when I used all the gamma shards from the car… it only ran for about 40 minutes."
After the explanation, Izumi walked out to the balcony for some fresh air. The wind felt calming as it brushed against his face.
His phone rang—it was Naomi.
"Can you come to Okinagi Beach this afternoon?" she asked. Her tone was light, but serious.
Then, another call came in—Sota.
> "Dude, where've you been? I've been waiting at your place for two hours. You didn't pick up."
"Sorry, phone was on silent! I'm heading back now. Stay there," Izumi replied with a laugh.
Back home, Izumi met up with Sota. They chatted casually, but Sota eventually said:
> "I just wanted to hang out. You've been distancing yourself from everyone lately…"
Izumi didn't tell him anything about the incident. He didn't want to worry his friend.
Later that afternoon, Sota left.
Izumi looked at the time—he was late.
He sprinted to Okinagi Beach.
The sun dipped low on the horizon as he arrived, breathless.
There she was—Naomi, sitting on a bench, the sea breeze playing with her clothes, her figure silhouetted against the setting sun.
A flock of black crows soared overhead.
Izumi took a deep breath, then stepped closer.