Yukihime was furious.
No, calling it "fury" was an understatement.
She had been in Japan for a while, and everything had gone to hell.
Everything she — and everyone under her command — had sacrificed for was now at risk.
She couldn't blame her own people.
[New Dawn] — Kugutsu had turned out to be more dangerous than expected.
On top of that, Fumio had disappeared, likely captured.
And his team of teenagers, in a deliberate act of recklessness to rescue him, had fallen into the same trap.
Yukihime was fairly certain of it, but she had to speak with the only person who knew the truth: Cloe.
The problem? Simple: the girl in question had fallen into a coma due to the poison that had been injected into her.
With only hours left before a possible large-scale attack by the [Black Corps], the [Omega Mage] had to travel to the East District herself.
The place where all this mess had begun.
"Tell Hoshi I'll be there in a moment. I'm going directly with teleportation." (Yukihime)
The artificial vampire was surrounded by the heads of her organization, all trying, like her, to find the best course of action to avoid losing the war before it even began.
"Yukihime-sama, maybe we should reconsider our options." (Jun)
"There's nothing to consider. I'll solve this complicated situation myself." (Yukihime)
"B-but, you'll be outnumbered! What if they're waiting for you!?" (Izumi)
"We should move all our forces to the Central District and cut the snake's head off before it moves to strike!" (Mitsuru)
Loyal Jun was questioning Yukihime's judgment.
Calm Izumi was panicking.
And the usually moderate Mitsuru was taking the initiative.
Things were really bad if those three were acting like that.
But their leader remained calm, thanks to the many years she had lived beyond theirs combined.
"Goto still doesn't know about us. Otherwise, we'd already be destroyed. He'd never leave a hostile force of our size free on his island. He'd turn our rebellion against a tyrant into a heroic tale about how he crushed his enemies." (Yukihime)
"But even if that's true, Kugutsu—" (Jun)
"She's a coward. She can act like a predator all she wants, but deep down, her true nature is that of a cat playing with mice — and hiding from dogs. That's why I have to be the one to talk to her." (Yukihime)
"You're not seriously thinking of recruiting her, are you? That woman's a monster! She'll stab us in the back the first chance she gets!" (Izumi)
"In the back? She'll stab us in the face if it suits her." (Mitsuru)
"I know. That's why I'll offer her a clean way out, so we can get her and her subordinates off our backs."
The [mage] left shortly after, as fast as possible.
She was certain Goto didn't know about [New Dawn], but with every hour Kugutsu didn't get what she wanted, the chances of her turning to her boss increased.
In the worst case, the spies Goto had planted among various secrets would make their move.
In situations like this, it was best not to rely too much on luck.
And time was crucial.
"(Hajime-kun, Takeda... I won't let you suffer even a minute longer!)" (Yukihime)
✦✦✦✦✦
"Scream! Come on, scream! You filthy pig! Let your student hear it!" (Cris)
Cris was brutally torturing Fumio, using pliers, knives, and other tools made for that purpose.
Hajime's mentor clenched his teeth, refusing to let even a groan escape.
Not just out of pride and strength — but because he knew he'd been brought into a different room for a very specific reason.
The thoughts that had crossed his mind while being dragged there had turned out to be true:
"(A new room, no soundproofing? D-don't tell me… they want me to scream! To torture them, too!? I can't let that happen!)" (Fumio)
Just as the [mage] had feared, Kohaku was in the room to the left, hearing Cris's screams as she gave her all to make Fumio suffer.
The girl was curled up, trying to cover her ears and gritting her teeth not to break under the torment.
A new form of psychological warfare Kugutsu had improvised last-minute to "soften up" the [esper].
Unfortunately, speakers amplified the sounds from the adjacent cell.
In the right cell was Hajime.
And he was suffering nearly as much as his squad leader.
Tied up, unable to move due to the bed and the gleipnir chains, and with multiple doses of drugs flowing through his system.
"[Overwrite]! [Overwrite]! Come on, please!" (Hajime)
His attempts to access his powers were, of course, fruitless.
At most, he managed to generate a few green sparks before his [magic] was shut down again.
It would be hours before Cris finished her torture.
The psychological damage from such an event would haunt both teenagers for a long time.
✦✦✦✦✦
Around the same time, after many hours, Yukihime reached the base Hoshi and her group had occupied.
"Yukihime-sama." (Hoshi)
"I came as quickly as possible. Tell me everything. Leave out no details." (Yukihime)
While listening to her subordinate, the [mage] couldn't help but think about how she would extract the truth from Cloe without waking her up.
"(It's terribly unfair for me to do this... to one of us, a young girl. But I can't afford to think about ethics right now.)"
Only after Hoshi had finished did Yukihime brush aside any lingering doubts about what she was going to do.
"(I don't know if reading her memories while she's unconscious will cause permanent damage... but I have no choice.)"
The artificial vampire was escorted to the bedside of Hajime's teammate.
With a deep sigh, she placed a hand on Cloe's forehead, searching through the memories of the past few days.
"(...Such loyal and brave kids... But as adorable as they are, this behavior of theirs... No, better to talk punishment after I've saved them.)" (Yukihime)
✦✦✦✦✦
The next day, Kugutsu was preparing to summon Hajime to her office again.
"(Let's see if you've softened up a little today, boy.)" (Kugutsu)
But before she could send her trusted doll to fetch him, someone knocked on the door.
"Kugutsu-sama!"
"Enter." (Kugutsu)
"Ma'am! We have a problem!"
Starting the morning with a subordinate bursting in and shouting those words was far from ideal for Kugutsu.
A strange sensation sent a shiver down her spine.
"What is it?" (Kugutsu)
"There's a woman… says she's an [Omega Mage]… in the lobby! She demands — and I quote — "to speak with the psychopathic serial killer running this district"! She's threatened to freeze the entire base and completely annihilate the South District if she doesn't get a response within three minutes!"
That was definitely not what Goto's subordinate had expected.
In fact, she was so taken aback that she couldn't think clearly for a few minutes.
"(She's here!? Why is she here!? She really exposed herself like this, for just a few of her people!? Even factoring in Takeda Fumio's power, and Kamijo Hajime's importance as a pawn — risking a frontal assault... wait, something's off!)"
"Ma'am, what should we—" (Subordinate)
"Why didn't the alarms go off if there's a hostile in our base!?"
"W-well..."
"Speak!"
"The sensors stopped working! All the cameras and other security systems went offline the moment she appeared out of nowhere in front of us! S-she hasn't shown any violent actions yet! She just approached the highest-ranking officer in the lobby and said those words before overwhelming him with... something — a kind of magical pressure! Everyone below Alpha rank fainted on the spot! I was ordered by the top officer himself to come straight here!"
"(What the hell…!? No, wait! I can turn this situation to my advantage! I'm on home turf — even if she has backup, a fight inside my own base would be suicide for her too! They'd lose far more than they could gain!)"
Kugutsu watched her subordinate trembling and sweating cold.
Apparently, she had been lost in thought longer than she'd realized.
Only one minute remained before Yukihime's ultimatum expired.
"Bring her up to me... quietly. Put every one of our squads on maximum alert, but don't tell anyone else what happened. Let's not panic that paranoid freak Goto."
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
As her subordinate left, the serial killer activated her connection to every doll under her control.
Some were called back to her office.
Others were placed in strategic positions around the building.
Using her [illusion magic], the [Black Corps] ensured the dolls remained hidden from view.
She couldn't defeat Yukihime, but if she played her cards right, she could still come out of this encounter victorious.