At the edge of the room, a dark-haired woman plucked the strings of her shamisen. She smirked at Rose, revealing her true identity. The instrument she played was no ordinary strings. Rose advanced toward the target, his wrist releasing a thin white wire from a vent.
Suddenly, a drunken man staggered into him, slamming his shoulder hard. Rose did not move an inch, his stance was rooted, as if his feet were fused to the floor.
"Hey, cute lady, play with me," the yakuza slurred, leaning in to breathe against Rose's neck. Rose's face remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on the target. Then, with a mechanical grin that looked disturbingly unnatural, he spoke.
"Right this way."
He guided the man to a low table by the rooftop window. The yakuza's eyes burned with lust, fixed on Rose's chest, eager to see what lay beneath the kimono of this assassin disguised as a geisha. Rose knelt before him, facing the guest. At that moment, Eve's voice whispered into his mind.
"I left a gift under your table. You're clear to act."
Rose retrieved a small black sphere, no larger than his palm, and set it on the table. He shifted his attention from the target to the drunken guest.
"Shall we begin?" Rose said, his pale green eyes glowing, reshaping into pink hearts.
"Ha! Ikuzo!" The man raised his left hand at waist level. Together, they tapped cups in rhythm, sliding the black sphere back and forth, singing in playful tones. As they played, the shamisen player began her prepared melody.
"♫ Konpira fune fune oite niho kakete shurashu shushu ♫" The ancient chant filled the tea house. The yakuza clapped along, enchanted by the performance.
"Almost there, Rose. Get ready," Eve urged.
Rose's song quickened. The room erupted in laughter and applause, glasses clinking in rhythm. But beneath the mask of festivity, Rose's smile faded back into the cold face of a geisha.
Then swiftly, the tanto hidden beneath the table replaced the black sphere in his hand.
Stab! Stab! Rose drove the blade into the yakuza's left eye, singing the final verse with a hollow tone.
"♫ Ichido mawareba…"
He ripped the blade free. Blood sprayed across his cheek, staining his pale face. The man's scream echoed, then fell silent. The shamisen was kicked into the air, transforming mid-flight into a heavy machine gun. The woman caught it, her hair whipping back to reveal crimson eyes.
"Right, nobody's leaving this place in one piece!"
Eve unleashed a storm of bullets, mowing down the yakuza until the floor turned scarlet. Blades slashed through the tea house, piercing hearts without mercy. Rose carved through every obstacle with his tanto, bodies falling like cut vegetables. He leapt, shattering the glass wall, lunging toward his target.
But in that instant, a black mechanical arm burst through the window, stabbing into Rose's chest. He lifted his head, meeting the gaze of a grotesque woman clinging to the glass. Her eyes were set beneath her nose, glaring at him with monstrous intensity.
"Well, look who's here!" Eve laughed wildly when she saw the creature. "Adam, darling!" she cried, naming it aloud.
"Been yearning to rip you for so long!" the demon snarled, biting into the glass with rage.
Rose seized Zanlin's arm, dragging him inside, his other hand clamped tightly around the creature's throat. He pressed his foot against the mechanical limb, pinning it down.
"Let him go, Rose!" Eve coaxed. Rose hurled Zanlin across the tea table toward her. Chaos erupted. In the confusion, Tetsuo seized his chance—he dove out the shattered window, parachute snapping open.
Rose rushed to the broken glass, his eyes zooming in on the street below. He spotted the target escaping into a convoy of three black cars.
"Get him, Rose. I'll see you on the other side," Eve shouted, dodging Zanlin's frenzied attacks.
"Ms. Feng, I need the fastest vehicle you've got," Rose commanded via com' device.
"Got it, Green. I'm already on him. Jump!" Feng quickly replied.
Without hesitation, Rose sprinted toward the window, smashing through the remaining shards. His vision locked onto a motorcycle speeding out from the building below.