By the time they had moved far enough away from the hospital, night had fully descended upon the city. Sard slowed his pace slightly to match the tempo of the others. Thanks to the simple, civilian-looking clothes provided by the hospital, they didn't stand out much in the dark streets; what they wore looked like ordinary daily attire. In this part of town, streetlights had flickered out in places, leaving behind only a wavering and cold beam of light. The streets were almost completely deserted due to the late hour; only the howling of the wind filtering through the buildings and the sound of their own footsteps could be heard.
Sard, seeing that Fast—whom he had been supporting on his shoulder just a moment ago—was now standing on his own feet and had regained his pace, turned his gaze toward Lena. Despite the shock to her head, Lena remained silent, her eyes fixed on the empty road ahead.
"Lena," Sard said, his voice echoing in the silence of the night. "How are you feeling? That blow to your head... you might need to go back to the hospital. We dragged you into this, but the situation is more complicated than you think."
Despite the slight tremor in her head and the recent chaos, Lena didn't miss a step. Her gaze remained on the road ahead, her voice carrying a surprising resolve. "No, I'm perfectly fine," Lena said, looking into Sard's eyes. "I'm not going back. I want to come with you. I realize that even if I were left alone at this point, I wouldn't be safe anyway."
Sard gave a slight nod at Lena's clear stance. There was much to talk about, but the ominous expanse of the street weighed down on them all like a heavy burden. This silent walk continued for a few more minutes. However, suddenly, that dull silence was pierced like a knife by a piercing female scream.
Sard paused in his tracks. Fast locked his gaze toward the direction of the sound, toward that dark void a few streets away. Despite the distance, the echo of the scream was still ringing in their ears. "We need to check that out," Fast said, his entire body tensing like a drawn bow focused on that distant point. Sard looked at his determined posture, gave a nod of approval, and all three quickened their pace toward the alleyway where the sound had come from.
Finally, they reached the mouth of the narrow side street. As Sard took a step into the darkness and entered the alley, the cries for help mixed with sobs became clearer. The street had narrowed significantly, turning ominous with the shadows of dumpster containers. Sard raised his hand to stop the others. "You stay here, I'll take a look," he said, stepping forward.
As Sard approached the pile of trash, he encountered a woman huddled there in fear. When the woman lifted her head and locked eyes with Sard, the desperation in her eyes merged with the word that spilled from her lips.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered.
At that moment, Lena's sharp groan was heard from behind. Lena gritted her teeth at the sudden pain of something stinging her arm. By the time she noticed the small metal dart embedded in her arm, her head was already spinning. Her knees buckled, and before she knew what was happening, she collapsed to the ground.
Just as Fast was about to lunge toward Lena, a figure emerged from the shadows behind him. Before Fast could even turn around, he was knocked to the ground by a hard, professional blow to the back of his neck.
Sard turned around quickly only to see his two friends lying unconscious on the ground. At that moment, a heavy and rhythmic sound began to be heard from the depths of the darkness. A deep, mocking sound of applause...
The figure walking with heavy steps from within the shadow continued to applaud with every stride. "Well, well, well, Sard..." the figure said, his voice echoing in the cool night air. "So, we meet again after all this time."
When the figure stepped under the dim light in the middle of the street, he stopped applauding and stood still. Sard was momentarily stunned upon seeing the face of the person before him. "Shinya?" he said, his shock evident in his voice.
Shinya smirked wickedly and spoke, looking at the woman on the ground: "Your kid is behind the trash in the opposite street. Go."
The woman, upon hearing these words, immediately jumped up and ran toward the place Shinya had mentioned. As Sard watched the woman go, his face hardened again, the shock in his eyes replaced by a deep seriousness.
"What do you want from us, Shinya?"
Shinya smirked, looking into Sard's eyes. "You knew very well that you shouldn't stick your nose into our business, Sard. We released you under certain conditions," he said in an ice-cold tone. "And now, you're trying to bite the hand that set you free."
Sard replied with a look of disgust: "I would never have anything to do with people like you."
"Is that so?" Shinya said, looking at Fast on the ground. "But your actions, and you stealing our new member candidate from us, don't exactly tell me that. Besides, you've even injured one of our men."
Sard murmured in surprise: "New member?.."
Right then, Shinya cut Sard off and interjected: "But I should thank you. For providing me with this opportunity for revenge... I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time. I've improved myself quite a bit since our last encounter."
This last sentence of Shinya's triggered a flash in Sard's mind. As the distorted grin on Shinya's face slowly faded, it was replaced by a completely different image. Sard's eyes grew dull. It was as if the chains of time and space had been unraveled, and all his senses were pulling him backward. As the raw scent of wet earth filled his nostrils, heavy and ice-cold raindrops pouring from the sky began to lash down on his shoulders, his neck, and his long black hair falling forward.
Sard had collapsed into the cold, wet earth on his knees. His head was bowed; his soaking wet black hair covered his face like a veil, watching the muddy water seeping into the ground. He was completely covered in mud, and every pain he felt in his body reawakened those old memories. Standing before him was Shinya, holding a metal baton. That sly grin on his face had curled like a snake as he watched Sard's helplessness from above.
Sard struggled to square his trembling shoulders and slowly lifted his head. Through his wet black hair, he looked at Shinya's face with an unquenchable hatred in his eyes. This painful memory of the past grew like a dark shadow animated by the voice of the man standing before him; this scene, bursting forth from those dusty shelves in his mind, trapped Sard once again in the cold reality of that rainy night.