Kaito slowly released Saito's shoulder.
The small smile on his face faded.
His eyes shifted toward the end of the alley.
More footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Several more assassins appeared, but this time they kept their distance.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kaito's expression grew serious.
"...Void has already made his move, Saito."
Saito frowned.
"So where is he?"
Kaito shook his head.
"...I don't know."
A brief silence followed.
"But..."
He looked back toward the festival.
"...The target isn't this event."
Saito blinked.
"...Wait... what?"
Scrapper folded his arms.
"But all our reports said he wanted to ruin the Roma Spotlight."
Kaito nodded once.
"At first..."
"I thought the same."
He let out a quiet breath.
"But we were wrong."
The alley fell silent.
Even the distant cheers from the festival suddenly felt far away.
Saito looked directly at Kaito.
"...Then..."
"What is his target?"
Kaito's gaze drifted toward the lights of Roma City.
His voice became quieter.
"...Think about it."
"If Void only wanted to destroy the festival..."
"He wouldn't need to spread his men across the city."
"He wouldn't need hostages."
"And he definitely wouldn't waste time keeping me by his side."
Scrapper's eyes narrowed.
"...So this attack is just a distraction."
Kaito nodded.
"Exactly."
"The Roma Spotlight keeps everyone's attention in one place."
"The soldiers."
"The police."
"The visitors."
"They're all focused on protecting the festival."
Saito's expression slowly hardened as the pieces began to fall into place.
"...Which means..."
"The real objective is somewhere else."
Kaito looked him straight in the eye.
"...Yes."
"And if I'm right..."
"We're already running out of time."
The festive fireworks continued to burst overhead.
Bright colors painted the night sky.
But beneath their glow—
A far more dangerous game had already begun.
The brief moment of silence shattered.
"Get them!"
The assassins charged all at once.
Blades flashed beneath the dim lantern light as they rushed down the alley.
Scrapper stepped forward without hesitation.
His mechanical tentacles unfolded from beneath his cloak with a metallic hiss.
Clank! Clank!
He glanced at Saito and Kaito.
"I'll hold them."
"You two go."
"Inform everyone."
Saito hesitated for only a second.
"...Got it."
Kaito gave a short nod.
"We're counting on you."
An assassin suddenly broke away from the group and lunged toward Saito.
"You're not going anywhere!"
Before the blade could reach him—
Clang!
One of Scrapper's tentacles shot forward, wrapping around the assassin's waist.
The assassin's eyes widened.
"What—?!"
Scrapper spun once and hurled him across the alley.
Crash!
The assassin slammed into a stone wall before dropping to the ground.
Scrapper planted his feet firmly.
His tentacles spread behind him like steel serpents.
He looked at the remaining assassins and smiled.
"Fight with me."
The assassins exchanged quick glances.
Then, with a shout, they charged him together.
Scrapper rolled his shoulders.
"…Here we go."
With that, his tentacles whipped forward to meet the incoming wave as Saito and Kaito sprinted back toward the festival.
Saito and Kaito ran through the crowded festival grounds.
People laughed.
Children chased one another between the stalls.
None of them realized what was happening just a few streets away.
"We need to find Marquis," Saito said.
"And fast."
Kaito nodded.
"If Void's plan is already in motion, every second counts."
Suddenly—
A figure dropped from a nearby rooftop.
Thud!
She landed directly in front of them.
Long orange hair swayed behind her.
Tiger-like ears stood upright.
Her sharp golden eyes settled on Kaito.
"...I knew you would betray us, Silent Killer."
Kaito stopped.
"...Siyen."
Siyen rested one hand on the hilt of her weapon.
Her gaze shifted between Kaito and Saito.
"My leader's plan..."
"...will succeed."
"And none of you..."
"...are going to stop it."
Without another word—
She lunged.
Her blade cut through the air toward Kaito.
Before it could connect—
Clang!
Another sword intercepted it.
The impact echoed across the square.
The nearby crowd gasped.
People turned toward the sound.
"W-Weapon!"
"Run!"
Panic spread instantly.
Visitors scrambled away from the fight, pulling their families with them as guards hurried to clear the area.
Standing between Kaito and Siyen—
Was Darren.
He pushed her blade back and stepped forward.
Saito's eyes widened.
"Darren!"
Without taking his eyes off Siyen, Darren spoke calmly.
"I don't know exactly what's happening here..."
"But I can tell it's serious."
He tightened his grip on his sword.
"I'll hold her off."
He glanced briefly at Saito.
"If you've got a plan..."
"Go."
Saito smiled.
"...Thanks."
He looked at Kaito.
"Let's move."
Kaito gave Darren a silent nod of appreciation before turning away.
The two of them sprinted deeper into the festival.
Behind them—
Siyen smirked as she faced Darren.
"So..."
"They're leaving you instead."
Darren raised his sword.
"...I'm enough."
The two warriors rushed toward each other as the sounds of steel clashing rang out across the festival.
Saito and Kaito pushed their way through the crowd.
The festival continued despite the brief panic.
Most of the visitors thought it had only been a small disturbance.
On the stage—
Marquis was still delivering his speech.
The audience listened, unaware of the danger creeping through the city.
Saito looked toward the stage.
"...He's still there."
Kaito scanned the surrounding rooftops.
"...Too exposed."
Just then—
"Saito!"
Martha hurried toward them, breathing heavily.
She stopped in front of the two.
"What should we do?"
Saito fell silent.
His eyes swept across the festival.
The stage.
The crowd.
The soldiers.
The police.
Everything felt normal...
Yet something wasn't right.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, thinking.
Then he opened them.
"...We regroup first."
"We need everyone together."
He looked at Martha.
"Martha."
She nodded.
"Yes?"
"Go talk to your parents."
"Tell them to retreat somewhere safe."
Martha's expression stiffened.
"...So..."
"Void's target is my parents?"
Before Saito could answer—
Kaito spoke.
"...We don't know yet."
"But until we understand his real objective..."
"...it's safer not to take chances."
Martha looked toward the stage where Marquis continued speaking to the cheering crowd.
Then she nodded firmly.
"...Understood."
"I'll bring them away from the stage."
Without another word, she turned and hurried toward the backstage entrance.
Saito watched her leave.
"...I hope we're not too late."
Kaito looked across the sea of festival-goers.
"So..."
"We find the others."
Saito nodded.
"...Yeah."
The two disappeared into the moving crowd, searching for the rest of the Blue Scarf crew while the celebration continued under the brilliant lights of the Roma Spotlight.
Not far from the stage—
Bomb and Rin stood in an open space between the festival stalls.
A small crowd had gathered around them.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Go!"
Bomb and Rin threw punches at the same time.
Thump!
Their fists collided.
Bomb grinned.
"Oh, you're slowing down!"
Rin clicked his tongue.
"In your dreams."
The two exchanged another flurry of punches before Bomb slipped past Rin's guard and lightly tapped his chest.
"Ha!"
"I win!"
Bomb threw both hands into the air.
"I defeat you!"
Rin scoffed and folded his arms.
"...I was just giving you a chance."
Bomb laughed loudly.
"Sure you were."
Alya covered her mouth with a small chuckle.
"I don't think that's how it happened."
Fanny laughed beside her.
"You lost, Rin."
Rin looked away.
"...I demand a rematch."
Before Bomb could tease him again—
"Saito!"
The group turned.
Saito and Kaito hurried toward them.
Bomb's eyes widened.
"...Kaito!"
A grin spread across his face.
"You're back!"
Fanny smiled brightly.
"Welcome back!"
Even Alya allowed herself a small smile.
"It's good to see you again."
Rin rested his scythe on his shoulder.
"Took you long enough."
Kaito gave a faint smile.
"...Yeah."
"I guess it did."
Saito looked at everyone.
"We don't have time for greetings, guys."
His tone immediately became serious.
The smiles faded.
Bomb straightened.
"...What's wrong?"
Saito took a breath.
"Void has already made his move."
Silence fell over the group.
Kaito stepped forward.
"He has assassins deployed all over the festival."
"They're scattered throughout the city."
He looked toward the brightly lit stage.
"Even if the soldiers and police react immediately..."
"...it won't be enough to save everyone."
Alya looked down at her scanner.
"...So this really was a distraction."
Kaito nodded.
"Exactly."
Bomb clenched his fists.
"So what's the real target?"
Saito shook his head.
"...We still don't know."
"And that's the problem."
The cheerful sounds of the festival continued around them.
Music.
Laughter.
Fireworks.
Yet standing in the middle of it all—
The Blue Scarf crew knew that somewhere in the city...
Void's true plan had already begun.