Why the hell would he make a demand like that?

Frozen in place, I screamed internally.

I could be wearing a quarantine mask!

This place had all kinds of bizarre equipment lying around. Demanding that someone remove a protective mask just because it was a restricted area was completely unreasonable.

And from the look of it, Gregory seemed to genuinely believe I was some outside contractor.

But speaking that aggressively to someone you’ve just met?

It wasn’t surprising—but it was disappointing. Of course, I didn’t have time to complain about it.

Trevain was starting to suspect something.

“What’s taking so long?”

Gregory urged impatiently.

San turned to him with a startled expression. She looked completely thrown off by the sudden aggression.

People in the lobby began glancing in our direction.

But ominously enough, Jason Trevain merely narrowed his eyes. He didn’t stop Gregory.

I wasn’t close with Trevain’s group, but I knew at least one thing: Trevain usually kept Chen and Gregory under control.

Normally he would’ve cut this off.

“Sordi.”

No.

“What is this?”

Gregory’s arrow turned toward the unlucky second-generation seniors.

If Ricardo or Jonathan tried to cover this up with some lie and got caught, they’d be dragged into the mess too.

Panicking, I lowered my voice and answered.

“I was just about to leave.”

The two seniors’ heads snapped toward me.

I thought I heard Ricardo sigh and take a step back, but I ignored it.

Second generation or not—they were still outranked by the first generation.

No matter what Ric or Jonathan said, Gregory wouldn’t listen.

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave immedia—”

“He still won’t take off the mask?”

Gregory frowned.

“Huh? He still won’t take it off. You think a restricted zone is a joke?”

“Well, I don’t think you need to go this far, but it is kind of weird that he won’t remove it.”

Chen Koenig leaned forward and joined the conversation.

“Isn’t wearing it more uncomfortable anyway?”

I should just leave without answering.

I decided that and straightened my knees—

But Trevain walked over.

What’s with that smile?

“Just leave him alone, idiots.”

Chuckling quietly, Trevain approached me.

Then, in a way that sent chills down my spine, he placed one hand on my shoulder and crouched to match my eye level.

What?

What...?

“Maybe he just doesn’t want to show you his face.”

The blond senior said that casually—and then brought his free hand to my mask.

I didn’t even have time to react.

He was faster.

Just as I was about to decide whether running or slapping his hand away would be the lesser act of insubordination—

Jason Trevain pulled off the mask.

Click.

My vision opened.

Trevain froze.

He was large, and we were standing extremely close. Ricardo and Jonathan were blocking the side where people were passing through.

So the only ones who saw my face immediately after the gas mask came off were Trevain and the two second-generation seniors.

How did I know?

Because behind us, San, Chen, and Gregory each expressed confusion in their own way.

“Hey! I can’t see his face!”

Chen even shouted it.

“Who is it? Someone from General Affairs? Or wait—Inspection Department?”

“Did you come to clean up the memorial space?”

San asked in a trembling voice.

“We’ve been removing some of the really old bouquets little by little...”

I was the first one to recover.

I slowly raised both hands and carefully took the gas mask from Trevain.

Then I gently placed it back over my face.

As if nothing had happened.

......

And then—

I ran.

“You motherfucker!”

The moment Trevain reached out to grab my collar, I sprang to my feet and bolted backward.

“Stop!”

Aaaah!

Why now?! Why of all times?!

“There’s a limit to how much you can deceive people!”

Fine—just don’t shout my name!

Screaming internally, I sprinted straight toward the stairwell at the far end of headquarters.

“What the hell?!”

Chen’s confused voice echoed behind me.

“What is it?! Who is it?!”

Trevain didn’t answer.

That gave me a small sense of relief—but the situation was anything but calm.

For the first time in a while, I felt my life was in danger as I raced up the emergency stairs.

“You bastard! Stop!”

Trevain roared like an enraged lion.

“Stop, you piece of shit!”

I frantically pulled out my phone.

Still running up the stairs, I pushed open a random door at some unknown floor and burst into a corridor.

A long hallway stretched ahead.

Thankfully, there was no one around.

I ran through the corridor and made the call.

BANG!

“So you’re going to resist, huh?”

Why are you chasing me?!

Clutching my phone tightly, I sped up at the ominous mutter behind me.

Please answer.

Why won’t you pick up?!

He answered.

“Erich!”

[I’m busy. Hanging up.]

I shouted his name with hope in my voice—but the reply was icy.

His tone sounded irritated, like I had interrupted something important.

[I’m in the middle of work.]

Click.

The call ended mercilessly.

I had hoped—foolishly—that they might have already captured Yekaterina.

They must be talking about the operation against her.

I needed to know how far things had progressed before I could make a decision...

BANG!

What the hell?!

“Let’s see how far you can run.”

Something slammed into the spot my heel had just left.

I didn’t have time to check whether it was a live round, a tranquilizer, or something else.

All I knew was that Jason Trevain had pulled out a gun.

Suddenly, a memory surfaced.

Something Samuel had told me after Jonathan Kudo beat the hell out of me.

The doctor had asked if I knew that Trevain once beat a junior half to death for crossing the line.

“You’re not the type to cross the line,” Samuel had muttered back then.

Right now—

I had crossed it.

Probably by a lot.

BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

If he caught me, I’d be beaten senseless before I even had the chance to explain.

I knew men like Jason Trevain well.

The outcome was obvious.

He wouldn’t care if I begged him to wait until after the final battle.

I sprinted at full speed and threw myself down the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» stairwell at the end of the corridor.

Then I ran upward again.

I didn’t even count how many floors.

BANG BANG BANG!

Bullets ricocheted off railings and steps.

CLANG! CLANG!

Please!

Taking three stairs at a time, I heard Trevain toss away his empty magazine.

At that exact moment, I burst through the door on the next floor.

A space lined with glass-walled conference rooms appeared.

Luckily, it felt mostly empty.

I dashed between the rooms.

BANG!

“What the—?”

Just as Trevain fired again, a conference room door at the far end of the hallway flew open.

Ska Owen stepped out.

I immediately slowed down to avoid crashing into him.

“What’s going—”

Then Yehyeon suddenly stepped out behind him.

I nearly collided with him.

“Whoa.”

I barely stopped in front of him, bracing myself against the opaque conference room door.

But I still had forward momentum, so I flailed my arms trying not to crash into him.

The wind rushing past startled Yehyeon, making him let out his usual drained sound.

Yehyeon and Ska both stared at us wide-eyed.

“Ah.”

That moment was all Trevain needed.

He caught up.

The silence was even scarier.

His hand clamped down on my shoulder like a vise. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

It felt like he was going to crush it.

It’s over...

Just as I resigned myself, Ska and Yehyeon grasped the situation.

“You got caught?”

Yehyeon blinked and asked.

BOOOOM!

Before anyone could answer—

Jason Trevain suddenly let go of my shoulder, grabbed Yehyeon by the collar, and slammed him into the conference room wall.

CRACK!

The glass panel fractured.

I jerked my head around in shock—but Yehyeon merely blinked calmly, showing no sign of pain.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Trevain growled at him.

...What?

“If you’re not going to help, keep your mouth shut.”

Trevain seemed angrier at Yehyeon than at me.

Pure rage poured from his voice and movements.

I quickly grabbed Trevain’s right arm, the one holding Yehyeon’s collar.

But I couldn’t intervene recklessly—I didn’t fully understand the situation.

Ska simply watched with an amused expression.

Which made it even harder to say anything.

What the hell is going on?

“You knew about it, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t know then.”

Yehyeon answered calmly.

“I only met him a few hours ago. I’m angry too.”

“You think it’s fun messing with people?”

A vein bulged on Trevain’s forehead.

“You enjoy making everyone look like idiots? You think everyone except you is a moron?”

“Sunbae.”

At that point, I gave up on many things.

Without lowering my voice, I spoke awkwardly.

“I’m sorry. But this was really my decision alone. Nobody knew on that day. I—”

“Did I ask you anything?”

Trevain cut me off.

He didn’t shout.

That made it even scarier.

Still gripping Yehyeon’s collar, he slowly turned his head toward me.

His eyes were on the verge of exploding.

“I don’t need to hear anything from you. Just stand there quietly and wait to get beaten.”

...Speaking further would only make things worse.

Realizing that, I let go of his arm and stepped back.

When Trevain heard about my death, I thought he’d just snort and say something like—

That creepy Creature bastard finally died.

I never expected this kind of reaction.

I...

“You’re not my superior anymore.”

Trevain shook Yehyeon’s collar violently.

“Good. Let’s talk privately. I’ve got a lot to say.”

“You never believe what I say anyway.”

Yehyeon remained calm even as I felt the blood drain from my face.

He simply stared at Trevain’s blazing blue eyes while being shaken.

“I was going to yell at him too. But you cut in line.”

“Bullshit...”

“Alright.”

Just as Trevain opened his mouth to explode again—

Ska finally intervened.

He walked past me and placed a hand on Trevain’s shoulder.

“Both of you calm down. We don’t have time for this.”

Before Trevain could reply, Ska continued wisely.

“And this isn’t the place for it.”

The aide gestured behind his shoulder with his thumb.

“What kind of disgrace is this in front of the Commander-in-Chief?”

Commander-in-Chief?

Trevain and I both turned our heads.

A dark silhouette flickered inside the conference room.

As I stared blankly at it, another person slowly stepped out from where Yehyeon and Ska had come.

A cautious entrance.

Inside the gas mask, my mouth opened slightly as I saw the man Colton Wiseman had placed in the seat.

The leftover remnant of someone I had already removed from this world.

The new Commander-in-Chief was short.

His eyes rolled around nervously, filled with doubt and anxiety.

This is bad.

I knew immediately.

This man would never make bold decisions.

He probably knew his support line had been cut—but he wouldn’t retreat, nor would he willingly follow the judgment of those beneath him.

Whenever a coward obsessed with rank gains power, disaster follows.

Even though I had never seen him before, I could smell the fear pouring off him.

I hoped all these thoughts were just prejudice.

“Commander, please return to your office.”

Ska quickly squeezed Trevain’s shoulder and released it.

“You’ve likely received a report from the Media Bureau.”

“Who is that?”

The Commander pointed at me.

“Why is someone dressed like that inside headquarters? And why is he causing a scene? Is that the humanoid enemy you mentioned earlier?”

“No.”

Ska answered smoothly.

“I apologize for my subordinates causing a disturbance. I will handle their punishment later.”

“How would you know? You can’t even see his face through the gas mask.”

The Commander replied irritably and jerked his chin at Trevain.

“You should answer.”

Apparently that irritated Trevain.

He released Yehyeon’s collar and turned toward the Commander with an eerie blank expression.

For the first time, Yehyeon seemed cautious of Trevain.

Jason Trevain answered slowly and calmly.

“I was disciplining a junior. Since you’re busy with urgent matters, we’ll take our leave.”

“Good grief. Badgers really are barbaric.”

The small man adjusted the collar of his suit with both hands and frowned.

“Is this how you educate juniors here? Even if your job doesn’t require brains, a person should still have basic manners.”

“Commander, the presidential office has sent a reply.”

This time Yehyeon stepped in quickly, cutting off the conversation.

At some point he had changed into a suit.

Standing in front of the Commander and blocking our view, he spoke politely.

“It’s urgent. Please come upstairs.”

Thanks to the cover provided by those two seniors, Jason Trevain and I were spared the Commander’s long lecture.

It was just past noon.

Even by that time, Kyle’s side had shown no movement at all.

Because of that, the leadership spent the entire day persuading both the Commander-in-Chief and the government to secure additional troops and funding.

The power struggle among the Elders hadn’t fully settled yet, which made things even harder.

In the end, the leadership postponed the expected start of battle by one day.

***

Sunset.

Darkness beginning to settle.

“Let’s go.”

Kyle said.