Henry: "You want to join?"
Before Ichiro could answer, a calm, commanding voice cut through the air.
???: "Ichiro. You're late… again."
A young woman in a long white dress embroidered with purple flowers emerged from the city hall. Her presence was radiant, and every servant immediately bowed.
Servants: "Greetings, Miss Mitsunaga."
Henry blinked. Mitsunaga…
Ichiro clenched his jaw, eyes darting between Henry and the woman.
Ichiro: "… Forget what I said, Henry. I'll catch you later, alright?"
Henry's heart sank. The words "Let me join your adventure" dissolved before they could bloom.
Henry: "…Alright. See you."
Ichiro picked up his broom and walked beside the woman.
Miss Mitsunaga: "What were you doing outside?"
Ichiro: "Just… talking to an old friend."
Miss Mitsunaga: "You can do that later. First, clean the leisure space on the first floor."
Ichiro: "…Yes."
He turned, trudging up the stairs. His shoulders seemed heavy—like chains holding him back.
Henry exhaled, watching him disappear.
Henry (to himself): "I'll talk to him later. For now… I'm starving. Guess I'll ask Emilia for money."
The street was a warzone of panic. Civilians had scattered, leaving Jack and Sev locked in brutal combat.
Jack's right arm morphed into a scaled dragon's limb, crackling purple lightning from his mouth, firing across the cobblestones. Sev dodged, his chain-dagger whistling through the air, dripping with aura.
Jack: "Where's the woman!?"
Sill: "Right here."
Her upper body burst from a shadow behind him, knife raised. She landed on Jack's back, blade plunging downward—only for Jack to snatch her wrist with his dragon arm.
She smirked, melting back into the shadows.
Jack: "Tch—!"
Pain seared through him as Sev's chain stabbed into his shoulder. His skin shriveled, fluids siphoned into the steel link. His body began to mummify, his breath ragged.
Sev: "So delicious! Your fluids!"
His tongue snaked grotesquely, savoring the taste.
Jack's eyes burned. He ripped the chain free—and instantly his body surged back, vitality restored.
Sev staggered back, horrified.
Sev: "I-it's impossible… You shouldn't even be able to stand!"
Jack's wings erupted from his back, lashing open in fury.
Jack: "Now… I'm angry."
He launched skyward, diving for Sev, but shadows swallowed the assassin whole, pulling him out of reach.
When Jack scanned the rooftops, his stomach dropped; Lenny was gone.
Above, Sev and Sill stood on the tiles, Lenny bound in chains, his mouth sealed by shadow hands. He struggled, eyes wide with terror.
The blue stone slipped from his pocket, rolling across the roof. Sill scooped it up—then froze.
Sill: "S-Sev… look."
Sev's eyes bulged.
Sev: "…No way… The Tear of the Forgotten."
Still: "I—Is it really it?"
Sill's hands trembled.
Sev: "That Baron… he tricked us."
Sill: "W-what do we do now?"
Sev: "Run. We deliver this to Count Dracula himself. We'll be rich beyond—"
He didn't finish.
A thunderous explosion ripped the rooftop apart as Jack's lightning slammed down, purple sparks cascading across the tiles.
Jack hovered above, eyes burning like stormfire.
Jack: "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
Lenny thrashed, muffled cries muffled but joyous—his brother had come.
Sev growled, whipping his chain, but Jack caught it, yanking him close. His dragon arm closed around Sev's skull, slamming him into the rooftop, tossing him like a broken doll.
Sill caught him with shadow hands, rage twisting her features.
Sill: "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"
Sev staggered to his feet, spitting blood.
Sev: "Still… let's do it."
Sill: "…Alright."
Together they roared, tattoos blazing, black marks crawling across their skin.
Sev: "Open: Sable Thorn!"
Sill: "Open: Lament of the Forsaken!"
The air warped around them, a miasma of death spreading through the city street.
By the time Henry reached the harbor, the sun was dipping low, painting the water gold.
Henry: "Finally… here… Wait, where's the boat?"
His chest tightened. Floating among the waves were shattered planks—remnants of their ship.
Henry: "… What happened…?"
Then he froze. Emilia drifted on the surface, clinging to wreckage, barely conscious.
Henry: "EMILIA!"
He dove in, dragging her ashore. She coughed, spitting water in his face.
Emilia: "H-Henry… Where is that guy…?"
Henry: "What guy?"
Her eyes sharpened in sudden clarity. She shoved him aside—just as a giant skeletal fist crashed down from above. She conjured a fog shield; the impact blasted waves into the air.
Emilia: "It was a trap. To lure you here."
Henry looked up. On the dock stood the bald man, his skin crawling with black marks, the tattoo on his forehead blazing.
Henry's aura surged, blue light wrapping his body. In a blink, he vanished and reappeared in front of the man, fist cocked.
But before he could strike, a skeletal arm shot from the side, slamming into Henry and hurling him into a docked boat. Wood splintered, water gushed.
The man spread his arms, smiling as the portals above him tore wider.
From the rift, more skeletal arms began to descend—an army of death.