— The Summon —
Keithly, hearing the murmurs of students, quickly ran to Lawrence and Juice's class.
Her footsteps echoed faintly across the corridor — thud… thud… thud… — before she stopped by the door.
She called out to Lawrence, asking why they both had missed a whole month of school.
Before Lawrence could respond, a voice echoed through the classroom speakers, cold and metallic.
> "Lawrence and Juice, report to the principal's office immediately."
The class fell silent.
Lawrence and Juice exchanged glances, then both let out a quiet sigh before standing up.
Their shoes clicked against the tile floor as they walked out — step… step… step…
---
— The Principal's Office —
The principal stood firmly behind his desk, trying to appear intimidating. His gaze was sharp, voice steady.
> "Why haven't you two been attending school since the start of the term?"
Juice stepped forward. His breathing slowed — inhale… exhale… — as he forced a few tears and began.
> "Well… a month ago, Lawrence and I had just returned home from a party. We were shocked to find our house turned upside down. When we rushed inside… we only found our mom alive. But she didn't make it that same day."
He sniffled, continuing,
> "Before she died, she said it was an attack… from a monster. We didn't know what to do. We just… held a peaceful and quiet funeral for her. I'm sorry for not returning to school earlier."
The room grew heavy.
The ticking of the wall clock was the only sound — tick… tick… tick…
The principal's stern expression slowly softened.
> "I'm… I'm terribly sorry for your loss," he said quietly. "You two should take it easy. You're dismissed."
---
— The Shadow in the Hall —
Keithly stood outside the office, arms crossed, her face unreadable. She'd heard everything through the slightly open door.
She whispered to herself,
> "Impressive… I never expected such talent in lying from them."
A faint smirk crossed her lips before she turned and walked away — heels clicking softly…
Moments later, Lawrence stepped out. His eyes darted toward the spot she had been standing.
He turned to Juice.
> "Be careful," he muttered under his breath.
---
— The Special Force Training Grounds —
At Ascenders High, Bunny and a few other students in the Special Force were running another 100 laps.
Their breaths came out in rhythm — huff… huff… huff…
As they jogged, conversation buzzed among them like low static.
> "They say some of our seniors will be invited to watch the interrogation," Danny said breathlessly.
"A real criminal who knows about the Unknown!"
The group grew excited, whispering back and forth.
The air around Bunny, however, was different — quiet, irritated.
> "oi I don't care about that yeah," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
Draigo laughed between gasps.
> "Come on, Bunny. Think about the extra credit we're getting for this."
Bunny gave a cold glare.
> "Keep talking, and I'll make sure you're doing two hundred laps instead yeah."
Draigo instantly shut up.
---
— The Observation Room —
A few hours later, the interrogation began.
The students sat behind a glass partition, the glow of the monitors reflecting in their eyes. The tension was thick.
Bunny crossed her arms, unimpressed.
Bella leaned over, whispering,
> "You should lighten up. We're literally in the middle of cracking a big case here."
A sharp voice cut through the whispers.
> "Quiet!" a senior snapped. "Butcher's in here. You'll make him lose it."
Everyone froze.
Bunny sighed — tch — and turned her gaze back to the screen.
---
— The Interrogation —
Inside the dimly lit room sat Bahlah, the captured leader.
Chains clinked softly as he shifted in his seat.
> "I decided to snitch," Bahlah began calmly, "because I got tired of taking orders."
Viktor stood a few feet away, arms crossed, eyes cold and piercing.
SEER watched silently from the corner, his presence heavy.
> "Tell us everything you know about the Unknown," Viktor demanded.
Bahlah leaned back, eyes half-lidded.
> "My men and I first encountered them in the Sahara Desert… We went there for deals, and heard about a new weapons dealer. We thought it was a joke… until we saw him."
Viktor frowned.
> "Who?"
Bahlah smirked.
> "A kid."
The word echoed through the room. Even through the glass, the students in the observation chamber felt their hearts skip.
> "He couldn't have been more than seventeen," Bahlah continued. "Two others with him. Thought they were pretending. Then a mafia boss showed up… and everything changed."
SEER's tone grew sharp.
> "Get to the part where you actually meet the Unknown."
Bahlah leaned forward. His voice dropped lower.
> "You still don't get it, do you? Those kids were the Unknown."
Silence.
> "That boss dropped ten million cash on the table. The money vanished — like magic. And that's when I knew… they weren't ordinary."
The heroes exchanged uneasy glances.
Heartbeats echoed faintly — thump… thump… thump…
Bahlah chuckled softly.
> "They took twenty percent of the underworld in one month. Through blood and chaos. They're not normal… They're beasts. And to them—"
He grinned wickedly.
"We're just prey."
---
— After the Interrogation —
Viktor and SEER exited the room. The door creaked shut behind them — clack.
The other heroes gathered.
> "You think he's telling the truth?" one asked.
SEER's tone was steady but grim.
> "He's not lying."
Lexy scoffed.
> "If they're really kids, we can easily track them down."
K20 finally spoke up, his deep voice breaking the silence.
> "Don't underestimate them. If they're kids… then they're smarter than you think."
The air grew still.
Even the faint hum of the fluorescent lights sounded heavy.
Thump… thump…
The heartbeat of the truth — growing louder.