"Hahahaha—!"
Loud laughter echoed from inside a hotel room.
In front of the door, two people stood guard. They exchanged glances, both clearly startled by the sheer volume of the laughter.
"Valmet, what do you think could make Ojou laugh that hard?" an elderly man asked.
"I don't know either, Lehm," Valmet replied.
"Ojou feels strange today. Situations like this are extremely rare—especially for her to ask us to leave her alone in the room."
"Yes, I was surprised too," Lehm said, nodding slowly. "If I remember correctly, she said she would only be negotiating over the phone, so we didn't need to worry."
"I know," Valmet answered uneasily.
"But it's been quite a while since that first call. That's what's making me worried."
"Relax," Lehm said calmly.
"All of Ojou's escort team is already positioned throughout the hotel. They're on full alert. No enemy will be able to get anywhere near her."
"Even so, this still bothers me," Valmet replied, clearly uncomfortable.
"Trust Ojou, Valmet," Lehm said firmly.
---
Meanwhile, inside the hotel room, Koko was still laughing loudly.
"Hahahaha! Did you see their faces just now?" she said, slapping the table.
"That was hilarious. They looked like soldiers who accidentally slapped their own general's child."
"Zelretch, it seems you're quite famous in Ritsuka's world," Kagaya said calmly.
"More precisely, among certain circles," L added flatly.
"The people who recognized you clearly held high-ranking positions in that facility. The way they carried themselves was aristocratic—and not only did they know you, they were clearly afraid of you."
"Hahahaha, you've hit the mark again, L," Zelretch said with a small laugh.
"I'm genuinely impressed by your deductions and intelligence."
"In that case," Koko cut in,
"can you finally tell us who you really are?"
"Hm…" Zelretch paused, as if considering.
"It wouldn't be fun if I explained it myself," he said lightly.
"You'd better find out on your own. Sooner or later, the truth will reveal itself anyway."
"Zelretch, you keep far too many secrets," Kagaya said gently.
"Hahahaha," Zelretch merely laughed in response.
While the conversation continued through the water orb, no one outside could hear it—except Ritsuka.
At that moment, Ritsuka was alone in a special reception room for guests. Sweets and food were neatly arranged on the table in front of him, yet he did not touch any of it, remembering the group's advice to be cautious in case the food had been poisoned.
"They're too noisy," Ritsuka muttered quietly, slightly irritated by the loud conversation echoing in his head.
Then Koko's voice came through the water orb.
"Ritsuka, they said they were going to bring the person responsible for this place, right?"
"Yes," Ritsuka replied.
"That's what they said. Apparently, the director of this facility is busy handling something, so I was told to wait here."
"Ritsuka, this is the critical point," L said seriously.
"Make sure you find out the real reason why you and your sister were brought here. This clearly isn't just a simple kidnapping."
He continued without pause.
"And one more thing—try to learn Zelretch's identity from them as well. He refuses to tell us himself."
"That's exactly what I plan to do—" Ritsuka began.
Suddenly, the entire room went dark. The power cut out, and emergency lights flickered on, bathing the room in a dim red glow.
"What's going on?!" Ritsuka shouted as he sprang up from the sofa.
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the building.
"Ritsuka! What happened?! What was that sound?!" Kagaya's tense voice came from the water orb.
Moments later, an automated warning system blared throughout the facility.
Emergency. Emergency.
Fire detected at the central power plant and main control room.
Central division walls will seal in 90 seconds.
All personnel are to evacuate immediately via the Second Gate.
I repeat—fire detected at the central power plant and—
"That was clearly an explosion," Koko said grimly.
"Something serious is happening there."
The alarms grew louder, overlapping and echoing throughout the facility, heightening the sense of panic.
"It looks like it's begun," Zelretch murmured, staring at the screen showing Ritsuka's feed.
"Ritsuka, for now, stay where you are. Do not move to—"
L's sentence was cut off.
Ritsuka had already stood up and opened the door to the room.
"W–wait, Ritsuka! Don't do anything reckless!" L shouted.
But Ritsuka didn't hear him.
As soon as he stepped into the corridor, he froze. The entire hallway was drenched in the red glow of flashing emergency lights, creating an oppressive, ominous atmosphere.
"It looks like someone deliberately caused chaos here," Koko said after seeing the scene.
"Ritsuka! You heard what L said! Go back to the room—"
Kagaya's voice was filled with concern.
Once again, Ritsuka didn't hear him.
Ritsuka began to walk, then broke into a hurried run. His face was tense—fear mixed with the expression of someone haunted by old trauma.
"After that intersection… turn left," he muttered.
"Then here… and here…" he continued, as if tracing a route long buried in his memory.
With every step, flashes of unpleasant memories surfaced in his mind.
"Hey, Ritsuka!" Kagaya called out.
"Stop, Kagaya," L said gravely.
"It seems Ritsuka isn't listening to us anymore. He's completely focused on that place."
"Ritsuka… could it be that you—" Koko fell silent, staring at Ritsuka's face, now filled with fear and anger.
Suddenly, another warning echoed throughout the facility.
Power plant shutdown confirmed.
Generator output insufficient.
Automatic switch to backup power impossible.
All personnel must manually reroute power sources.
Division walls will seal in 40 seconds.
All remaining personnel evacuate immediately.
Ritsuka kept moving without stopping until he reached a massive door standing wide open.
The moment he stepped inside—
He froze.
His face went pale.
Before him lay a horrific scene—charred corpses scattered across the room, some crushed beneath rubble. The stench of burning and destruction filled the air.
Suddenly, Ritsuka collapsed. His knees hit the floor, his arms hung limply at his sides, his face filled with despair.
"No… no…" he muttered repeatedly, as if regretting something left unsaid.
"I… I'm too late… again."
He stared at his own hands.
To his eyes, they were drenched in blood—a hallucination that felt far too real.
"This is my fault… all of this is my fault," he whispered.
"This happened because I was too weak."
His hands trembled as he touched his face, his breathing heavy as dark memories crushed his mind.
"Hahahaha—"
Ritsuka burst into laughter, but there was no joy in it.
"Nothing has changed!" he shouted.
"Hahahaha!"
He laughed again, his voice broken and bitter.
"You haven't changed at all, damn it!" he yelled, as if cursing himself.
"You're still just as useless as before!"
The laughter continued, hollow and empty.
"Unable to save anyone."
Suddenly, the automated warning system echoed again, cold and emotionless.
Unable to access vital values of Master Coffin.
Unable to reach minimum requirements for Rayshift.
Searching for suitable Master…
Suitable Master found.
Adjusting process to Number 47 and Number 48 as Masters.
Unsummon Program initiated.
Beginning Heroic Spirit conversion.
The mechanical voice continued, utterly indifferent to Ritsuka's collapsing spirit.
Then, a gentle girl's voice reached Ritsuka's ears.
"Big brother…?"
Another voice followed, soft yet clear.
"Senpai…"
Ritsuka froze. He turned.
Two girls stood there.
One had short orange hair, supporting the other—a girl with purple, eggplant-colored hair. The purple-haired girl was badly injured, barely able to stand without support.
The mechanical voice echoed again, cold and unfeeling.
Rayshift commencing in 3…
2…
Ritsuka could only stare at them, holding his breath as tears streamed down his face.
"Wait…" he whispered.
1…
"This time," Ritsuka said firmly,
"I will save all of you."
Process complete.
Initiating First Order demonstration.
Light engulfed everything.
When the voice finally fell silent, the three of them vanished from the place, leaving behind only raging flames and Ritsuka's water orb.
Then a voice echoed in the space.
"What does this mean, Zelretch?" Kagaya said, his voice filled with restrained anger.
Zelretch remained silent. He did not answer.
"Koko," L said in a low but sharp voice,
"you clearly recognized Ritsuka's expression just now. That wasn't the expression of a normal teenager. As an arms dealer who's often in conflict zones, you know this."
"Yes," Koko replied quietly.
"I've seen it far too many times. That kind of expression doesn't appear on a normal teenager—at least not on the Ritsuka we knew before."
She continued heavily,
"That was unmistakably PTSD, survivor's guilt, and paradoxical laughter."
Koko let out a long sigh.
"This isn't funny at all."