The chapter picks up directly from that exact moment.
Kye arrived at a secluded private villa located on the far outskirts of the city—a remote meeting point chosen by Kael to ensure absolute secrecy and avoid unwanted surveillance.
Over the past few months, Kye and Kael had stayed in continuous contact. Kael had been secretly digging into classified archives to uncover the truth behind his own father's dark corporate dealings, genuinely assisting Kye along the way.
Kael slid a thick, classified dossier across the mahogany table.
VOLUME 3 - CHAPTER : 31 - BEGINS....
Kael: "Dr. X and Dr. Z... or should I say, Uncle Daigo and Aunt Mira. Their complete research profiles, clinical history, and scientific credentials are all detailed right here. It officially confirms they operated directly under my father's special division."
Kye: "I already knew that much, Kael. I know who my parents were."
Kael looked down, a heavy guilt weighing on his voice.
Kael: "I'm truly sorry, Kye... I had no idea you were carrying this much trauma and handling all of this alone. If I had known earlier, I would've stepped in sooner. Seeing what you've been through... it makes sense why you've changed so much since back then."
Kye: "Don't dwell on the past, Kael. Tell me what else you found."
Kael leaned in, his expression turning dead serious.
Kael: "Remember this date: September 10th. On that day, a massive executive summit and a high-priority, classified experiment are scheduled to take place at the global headquarters of SS PARTNERS in Manhattan. I'll pass along the remaining specifics as soon as I decrypt the secondary drive. Pulling this data is insanely risky—if my father catches wind of what I'm doing, I'm as good as dead."
Kye reached forward, firmly gripping Kael's shoulders.
Kye: "Thank you, Kael. You've given me an incredible lead. Just be careful and don't get caught. I need to move now."
The scene abruptly warped, shifting into an eerie, cold laboratory environment.
Rows of advanced quantum machinery hummed in the background, surrounding pristine steel tables and modular control stations. Standing amidst the dim blue terminal glow were several completely new, unreadable faces.
This was definitely not New York—this was the sovereign domain of an entirely different powerhouse.
Standing before the terminals were none other than the Vanguard: Black Division.
Vanguard—a hyper-classified global governmental conglomerate tasked with handling existential, nation-level crises and planetary black-ops operations. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, it commanded multiple international sub-branches, standing as the direct European counterpart to New York's SS PARTNERS.
Sitting at the high council bench was Marcus Veyne, the Supreme Director and geopolitical face of Vanguard. While not an active frontline combatant himself, the entire covert apparatus moved exclusively at his command.
From the shadows behind him stepped a tall, strikingly handsome man radiating an eccentric yet overwhelming presence.
Aurazen "The Absolute."
Aurazen: "So... are we finally joining the fray,
Director Marcus?"
Marcus: "Watch your tone, Aurazen. And to answer your question—yes. Vanguard's Black Division has been officially greenlit to deploy for the upcoming Manhattan summit. This remains strictly classified; the public will know nothing of our intervention."
Aurazen: "Understood, Director. After all... you know precisely why they call me The Absolute."
From the adjacent row, another figure rose to his feet.
He wore dark tactical sunglasses, his entire left arm bound tightly in layered black cloth: Crown "The Only One."
Crown: "How many of our tier are being deployed? I'm getting impatient just sitting around."
A massive, broad-shouldered man in a heavy fur-lined trench coat leaned forward from the front row. With rugged facial features, he exuded the raw, brutal presence of an ancient Norse warlord: Garteguese Romanee, "The Demon of Combat."
Garteguese: "I'd be more than delighted if you let me off the leash for this one, Marcus."
Marcus: "Roster assignments and deployment logistics will be briefed shortly. For now, ensure your gear is primed. The clock is ticking down to the Manhattan breach."
The following day arrived.
The focus shifted to the Alliance. Ren was stationed back at the safehouse, serving as the central communications anchor in case the frontline team encountered severe complications.
The active strike team stood fully geared, their new modular element-infused suits humming with power.
Arisa: "Ren, look after yourself while we're away. I'll be back before you know it."
Ren: "Sis... will you really be able to handle this?"
Arisa: "Remember when you were taken? Ever since that day, one catastrophe has followed another. We never got the chance to live a normal life. Until we destroy the root cause of this whole nightmare, going back to peace is impossible."
Saito adjusted his tactical gauntlets, his gaze hardening behind his visor.
Saito: "Is everyone prepped to move out?"
Alliance: "All green. Let's move."
With unified resolve, the Alliance deployed directly toward Grayson.
At the same time, miles away on an empty highway, Kye was already en route to Grayson as well.
[Flashback]
In his darkened apartment the night before, Kye had tapped open Grimm's encrypted phone. A priority alert had flashed across the screen inside an executive group channel sent directly under the alias Bansho:
"Maintain absolute perimeter lockdown on Grayson. The facility must be safeguarded at all costs."
[Present]
Armed with that intercepted directive, Kye pressed his foot to the gas, speeding through the fog toward the final active outskirts outpost.
Meanwhile, over in Grayson, several figures were already lying in wait for Kye's arrival.
Unlike the abandoned, isolated wastelands of Woshwood-77 and Ashmoor, Grayson was a thriving, well-known outskirts hub bustling with public life and heavy street traffic. SS PARTNERS had designed this branch with calculated precision—placing it dead center in a densely populated commercial sector surrounded by bustling shopping plazas, office complexes, and constant crowds of innocent civilians.
Standing before the structure, Kye tilted his head back, taking in the towering monolithic skyscraper. It was vastly larger and far more fortified than any previous branch he had dismantled.
Kye: "Why the hell did they place a sub-branch facility right in the middle of a civilian sector? Won't this draw unnecessary attention? I don't know about them, but having this many bystanders around is definitely going to make things complicated for me."
Pushing open the heavy glass entrance doors, Kye stepped inside.
To his surprise, the massive lobby was eerily deserted. There were no armed guards, no civilian employees, and no executives bustling about—only two pristine receptionists seated silently behind the central marble desk.
'What the hell is this?' Kye thought, his guard instantly rising. 'I doubt today is some national holiday. So why is an active corporate branch completely hollowed out?'
Treating the structure as his father's former stomping ground, Kye strode directly past the lobby and stepped onto the ascending escalators leading to the upper floors.
Strangely enough, neither of the receptionists lifted a finger to stop him—they simply watched him pass in cold, dead silence.
Moments later, the Alliance arrived outside the very same perimeter.
Saito scanned the bustling crowds and towering neon billboards surrounding the plaza.
Saito: "Just as expected... this sub-branch is smack in the middle of a dense commercial zone. Going in loud and causing widespread chaos here is completely out of the question."
Elena: "Good thing we secured those clearance badges from the previous outpost. With the matching executive uniforms we tailored, this infiltration disguise should hopefully get us through the front doors without raising alarms."
Layered over their sleek nano-tech suits, all four of them wore the standard black-and-white formal coats and trousers worn by mid-ranking SS PARTNERS operatives.
Arisa: "These coats are ridiculously oversized and don't even fit properly... Are you sure we won't get spotted immediately?"
Hollow: "We don't have any other viable options right now. Better to try an inside breach than stand out here doing nothing. Whatever happens next, we deal with it on the fly."
With their badges clipped to their lapels and their expressions locked in cold focus, the Alliance pushed through the revolving glass doors and stepped into the quiet lobby.
Saito froze the second he crossed the threshold, his eyes scanning the cavernous entrance.
Even the two receptionists who had been sitting at the desk moments ago had vanished without a trace. The entire ground level was an eerie, echoey void.
Saito: "Huh...? This makes no sense. Why is an active corporate branch this hollowed out?"
Saito pulled back his oversized suit sleeves, extending his palms toward the lobby ceiling.
Arisa: "What are you doing, Saito?"
Saito: "Our new suits are fitted with localized EMP-radiation emitters. It'll fry every electronic sensor and CCTV feed in this sector without tripping external alarms. Since the floor is dead quiet, let's start scouring the terminals for intel immediately."
With their digital footprint masked, the Alliance began systematically breaching the ground-floor research offices.
Directly above their heads on the second floor, completely oblivious to their presence below, walked Kye. Having found nothing of value on the ground level, he stepped silently up the central stairwell, his senses dialed to maximum alert as the floorboards creaked under his boots.
Just as Kye reached the landing of the second floor, a pair of slender arms slipped around his waist from behind, pressing a tall, strikingly attractive girl flush against his back.
Without bothering to turn his head, Kye spoke in his usual flat, chilling tone.
Kye: "Who are you? Judging by your presence... you're one of the receptionists from downstairs."
Valerina: "My name is Valerina Auzurius. It's lovely to finally meet you, Mr. Kye Kurasaki. And my, aren't you sharp? Did you figure out who I was from the pressure against your back? Because right now, my chest is pressed rather firmly against those toned shoulder blades of yours."
Without wasting a breath on conversation, Kye snapped his hand backward, driving two fingers straight toward her eyes with lethal precision.
SWOOSH!
Valerina tilted her head back with unnatural, fluid reflexes, dodging the strike effortlessly. As expected, she was far from a normal girl.
Kye: "Just as I thought. What would a pair of ordinary receptionists be doing in a black-ops facility like this? Drop the act. Who the hell are you?"
Valerina: "Ugh, why are you so relentlessly rude, Kye? There's really no need to be so harsh with me... after all, I haven't even done anything to you yet."
SPLASH!!
A sharp arc of blood sprayed through the air. A deep, precise laceration tore across Kye's back, slicing clean through his jacket and flesh.
Kye: "So you managed to pull off a clean cut in a fraction of a second while playing innocent?"
Voice: "She didn't do that. It seems my little sister got so distracted drooling over your looks that she forgot what we're here for. But I don't get distracted."
From the shadows near the corridor pillar emerged the second receptionist. Her gaze was sharp as a scalpel, her fingers dripping with faint, razor-thin lines of energy.
Seraphine: "My name is Seraphine Auzurius."
Valerina: "Dear older sister, do you really have to ruin all my fun? I told you to stay out of my way! A girl needs a little excitement in her life—I'm sick and tired of this boring routine. Don't we deserve a little time in bed together first?"
Seraphine: "Shut up, Valerina. Stop spouting nonsense."
Kye ignored the stinging burn across his spine, his cold eyes shifting between the two sisters.
Kye: "So both of the desk girls were the real watchdogs. What exactly do you two want?"
Seraphine: "What we want? The real question is... what are you doing trespassing in our branch, Kye Kurasaki?"
Kye: "What do you think I'm here for? Honestly... seeing two beautiful girls like you almost makes me change my mind. Why don't I just take care of both of you at the same time?"
Valerina: "Really, Kye? You'd do that for us? See, that sounds way more fun! Sister just never understands—"
BOOM!
Before Valerina could finish her sentence, Kye moved like a flash. His spinning roundhouse kick slammed dead-center into Seraphine's chest with explosive kinetic force!
The violent shockwave tore through the reinforced concrete beneath her boots, sending Seraphine crashing straight through the floor and plummeting down into the lobby below!
Meanwhile, on the ground floor, the Alliance breached the door of the primary control chamber.
Inside sat two massive, imposing figures, radiating heavy, suffocating pressure.
Pinned to their tactical uniforms were glistening silver insignias identifying their rank:
*Ravik — Special Executive
* Kaizen — Special Executive
The moment their cold, predatory gazes locked onto the intruders, Saito, Hollow, Elena, and Arisa instantly raised their weapons, locking into full combat stance.
CRASH!
Right between both squads, Seraphine smashed violently through the ceiling, slamming into the tiled floor amidst a cloud of shattered concrete dust!
Ravik: "Well, well... Seraphine? How did you end up down here? Weren't you stationed upstairs to welcome our little guest?"
Kaizen: "Leave it, Ravik. Do those two sisters ever actually get anything done right?" He turned his lazy, condescending gaze toward the Alliance, smirking. "And what's with all the shaking, little rats? Chill out, will you?"
Pushing herself up from the cracked tiles, Seraphine dusted the rubble off her shoulders, her eyes burning with pure venom.
Seraphine: "That bastard Kye... he's a complete, unhinged piece of filth."
Arisa: "Kye?! Kye is here right now?!"
Ravik: "Oh? So you little impostors didn't even know you were crashing the same party?"
Kaizen's predatory gaze drifted over Arisa, his lips curving into a slimy grin.
Kaizen: "My, aren't you an absolute cutie? Kye is a dead man walking anyway, sweetheart. Why don't you ditch that sinking ship and come over to my side? I'll give you every pleasure this world has to offer."
CRASH!
Another violent fracture ripped through the ceiling.
Valerina slammed into the ground, sliding across the marble tiles on her knees. Fresh cuts marked her arms, and her breath ran ragged.
Valerina: "Kye... you won't even let me get close to you? Tch! Look at how much of my blood you've spilled..."
Kaizen: "Look at this idiot girl, still flirting with the enemy! Whenever I call you, you act like I don't exist. Didn't I tell you last time that I could keep you satisfied, Valerina?"
Valerina's playful demeanor instantly vanished, her eyes turning pitch-black with disgust.
Valerina: "Shut your filthy mouth, you creep. I wasn't speaking to you."
Kaizen clicked his tongue in irritation.
Kaizen: "Tsk. Is that really how you talk to your own comrade?"
Seraphine: "If you two are done with your pathetic little drama... how about we butcher these four pests first?"
Before anyone could make a single move—
BOOM! BLAST!
The ceiling above them completely vaporized.
Kye dropped down like a meteor, landing dead-center between both factions. The sheer kinetic force of his arrival fractured the entire ground floor, sending shockwaves that blew the surrounding doors off their hinges and filled the air with dense concrete dust.
Rising smoothly from the crater, Kye brushed a speck of dust off his collar, his lips twisting into a cold smirk.
Kye: "So, Valerina... how was my little dose of love?"
His gaze casually shifted to the four masked figures in executive suits behind him, his eyebrows arching in amusement.
Kye: "Wait... what are you little runts doing here? Don't tell me you amateurs broke in just to steal intel too?"
Before a single answer could be spoken or the first punch could be thrown—
[ END OF CHAPTER 31 ]