By the time Naea arrived in Tokyo, the atmosphere at the explosion site had reached a fever pitch of desperation. Amidst the swirling ash and the smoldering ruins of the server farm, rescue teams were meticulously sifting through the debris in a frantic search for Akira's body. While the ten teenagers who had been found alive were safely pulled from the wreckage, Macau took immediate charge of the medical evacuation. She coordinated their transfer to Tokyo General Hospital, ensuring they were sent for comprehensive checkups and treatment for their minor injuries. However, despite the exhaustion and the danger of secondary collapses, Macau refused to leave the site herself; she remained anchored to the ground zero of the blast, driven by a sliver of hope that Akira might still be found alive amidst the devastation.
Upon reaching Tokyo, Naea headed straight for the Tokyo Prosecution Center, her heart racing with a mixture of dread and desperate hope. As soon as she entered, she approached a staff member and urgently asked if the missing teenagers had been found. The officer nodded in confirmation, but his expression remained heavy and shadowed by a profound sadness. He explained that while the tactical team had successfully rescued ten children just in time, the victory was bittersweet and haunting. With a somber tone, he revealed the grim reality: for the other ten victims, help had come too late. That human monster had already succeeded in his twisted mission, transforming those innocent lives into his grotesque and lifeless "Art Pieces," leaving the department—and now Naea—to grapple with the horrific cost of the "Artist's" madness.Upon hearing the tragic fate of the other children, a wave of profound sorrow and distress washed over Naea, her heart aching for the families who wouldn't be receiving good news today. Distraught and desperate for certainty, she urgently asked for the names of the survivors. The staff member paused, looking at her with a mix of caution and empathy, asking if she was personally searching for someone among the missing. Naea nodded fervently, her voice trembling as she confessed that her younger brother, Isamu Sato, was one of the victims caught in the scandal. The moment the name left her lips, the officer's expression cleared, and he immediately confirmed that Isamu Sato had indeed been rescued and was among the survivors. At those words, the suffocating weight on Naea's chest finally lifted, and she felt as though she could breathe for the first time in hours. In a voice now softened by immense relief and quiet gratitude, she asked where they had taken him, desperate to be reunited with the brother she had almost lost.The staff member reassured her that the survivors had suffered only relatively minor injuries and had been transported to Tokyo General Hospital (TGH) for comprehensive checkups and immediate medical care. Upon hearing this, a visible wave of relaxation smoothed the tension from Naea's features; the suffocating dread that had anchored itself in her chest finally began to dissipate. Without wasting a single heartbeat, she hurried out of the building and hailed a cab, her mind already racing toward the hospital wards. She settled into the back seat, her voice urgent as she directed the driver toward TGH. Navigating through the dense evening traffic of the city, the driver managed to weave through the urban maze, pulling up to the hospital's sterile glass entrance in exactly twenty minutes—bringing Naea one step closer to the reunion she had feared would never happen.As Naea hurried inside the hospital, the staff immediately greeted her with the professional courtesy reserved for one of their own, but she barely had time to acknowledge them. She quickly approached a nurse and urgently inquired where the rescued children were being treated, to which the nurse responded with a respectful nod, "Dr. Sato, they have all been admitted to the General Ward for immediate care." Without a moment's delay, Naea rushed toward the ward, and as she stepped inside, the sight that met her eyes was heartbreaking. The room was a hive of frantic activity, with medical staff tending to various injuries—some children were being wrapped in bandages, others were receiving stitches for deep lacerations, and many were undergoing basic first aid. As Naea's expert eyes scanned the room, her heart sank; the bruises and trauma she witnessed told a silent, horrific story of the brutal torture these innocent souls had endured. Her gaze moved further down the row of beds until it landed on a young boy lying with his eyes tightly shut, his face pale as a nurse carefully drew a blood sample from his arm.Naea stepped cautiously toward the boy, her voice barely a whisper as she breathed out his name, "Isamu..." At the sound of that familiar voice, the boy's eyes fluttered open, and the moment he saw her, his face crumbled with emotion. "Naea sis... you're here! I missed you so much," he cried out, his voice thick with the exhaustion of his ordeal. The nurse, having finished collecting the blood sample, moved away to provide them with some privacy. Naea rushed to his bedside, her professional instincts taking over as she meticulously examined him from head to toe, checking for any hidden injuries or signs of severe trauma. Only after she was certain that he was physically stable did she finally let her guard down, pulling him into a fierce, protective embrace while whispering how much she had missed him and how terrified the entire family had been. After a moment, she gently pulled back and immediately dialed her mother. The second the call was connected, Naea broke the news: "Mom, I found Isamu. He's here with me, and he's absolutely fine." On the other end of the line, her mother's voice erupted in a mixture of sobs and overwhelming joy, desperately demanding their location and insisting that they were coming to the hospital right that second to be with him.Naea gently intervened, urging her mother not to worry or rush to Tokyo, reassuring her that Isamu was out of danger and needed rest more than anything. She promised that she would bring him home to Osaka herself over the coming weekend; though her mother was reluctant to stay away, she ultimately yielded to Naea's calm, professional reasoning, and the call came to an end. Turning her full attention back to her brother, Naea asked if he was hungry, but Isamu softly declined. Ever the caring sister, she tried again, suggesting some fresh juice to help him feel refreshed and hydrated after the trauma he had endured. As she looked at him with warmth, Isamu suddenly grew serious and asked, "Sis, can I ask you something?" Naea sat down beside him and nodded encouragingly. "Who gave me my name?" he whispered. Naea thought for a moment before replying that it was their grandmother, but his response caught her off guard. "She chose the wrong name for me, Sis," he said quietly. When a confused Naea asked why he felt that way, Isamu looked at her with hollow eyes and replied, "Because I found out that my name, Isamu, actually means 'Brave' .
But I'm not brave, Sis... I'm not brave at all," Isamu whispered, his voice cracking with a sense of failure. Naea immediately shook her head, gently dismissing his self-doubt and urging him not to spiral into such negative thoughts after everything he had survived. Attempting to shift the heavy atmosphere and divert his mind, she forced a small, encouraging smile onto her face and playfully asked how he had even discovered the meaning of his name. Isamu looked at her solemnly and replied, "The Prosecutor told me." The moment those words reached Naea's ears, she didn't outwardly react, but an icy chill suddenly raced through her entire body, leaving her skin cold.
Isamu continued, his voice dropping into a heavy, somber tone as he began to recount the nightmare he had lived through. "Sis, did you know? That monster turned living people into his 'Art Pieces'... and he would have done the same to the rest of us if the Prosecutor hadn't arrived in time." Naea simply hummed in response, her heart heavy because she already knew the dark details of the case. "But it was different for me," Isamu added, his expression turning hollow. "He didn't want me as an art piece; he wanted me to be part of the explosion. I had completely given up hope, Sis. I didn't think I'd make it out, so I found a place to hide where I thought no one would ever find me." His voice trembled with a mix of sadness and awe as he reached the turning point of his story. "I don't know why, but that Prosecutor... she came back inside. She kept searching until she found me. When she finally did, she spoke so kindly, telling me not to be afraid. I kept begging her to leave me and save herself, telling her there wasn't enough time left, but she refused to move."
"She stayed back to tackle the bomb," Isamu continued, his voice trembling as the memories flooded back. "Time was running out, and I finally asked her why she was risking everything to save me, when my life shouldn't matter that much to her. That's when she told me that there is someone in my family who is incredibly important to her... and that I am everything to that person." Naea felt her breath hitch as the realization hit her like a physical blow. "Sis, a few moments later, she managed to detach the bomb from me, but she had to divert the mechanism toward herself because it was rigged to detonate at any second. She looked at me and told me to run—to get as far away as possible—because she knew in her heart that one of us had to stay behind, and she chose herself." As Isamu spoke, tears began to stream down his face, his composure finally shattering. "Sis, I didn't want her to die! She was so kind... even in those final moments, she gave me courage and helped me survive. It's because of me that she was caught in that explosion," he sobbed, his voice breaking into a guttural cry as he collapsed into a fit of uncontrollable weeping, the weight of her sacrifice crushing his young heart.Naea's voice trembled as she finally forced the question out, "Was that prosecutor... Akira?" As the name hung in the air, she found herself desperately hoping, almost selfishly, that he would say no. She couldn't understand her own heart; why was she so terrified of this name? This was the woman she rarely spoke to with kindness, someone whose very existence she had often dismissed as trivial. Yet, hearing Isamu's story, the thought of it being Akira made her blood run cold. When Isamu simply nodded and began to sob even harder, it felt as though the world had stopped spinning, as if someone had reached into her chest and seized her very soul.
Suddenly, the heavy silence of the ward was shattered by the frantic sounds of the corridor. Doctors were shouting for everyone to clear the path as a stretcher carrying a critically injured, blood-soaked patient was rushed past. Through the chaos, a broken, desperate voice cried out, "Doctor, will she be okay?" Naea's heart skipped a beat—she recognized that voice instantly; it was Macau. Before she could process the shock, Dr. Taki sprinted into the general ward toward her, his face grim. "Naea, we have a massive emergency," he said breathlessly. "A prosecutor has just been rescued from the bomb explosion. She has sustained catastrophic, life-threatening injuries, and we have to operate immediately."
"Dr. Hoshi won't be able to make it in time, so the moment I heard from the nurse that you were here, I rushed to find you. Now, Naea... are you ready?" Dr. Taki's words hung heavy in the air. Hearing the word 'Prosecutor,' Isamu stood up in stunned disbelief, his voice trembling as he asked, "Is she... is she really alive?" Dr. Taki sighed, his expression grim, "Her condition is critical, but she is incredibly resilient; it's as if she refuses to let go of life." Isamu turned to Naea, his eyes pleading through a fresh veil of tears, "Sis, please... please save her!" Sensing the ticking clock, Dr. Taki urged, "Naea, we don't have much time." With a firm nod, Naea commanded, "Prepare for surgery," and hurried out of the ward.
Once inside the privacy of her cabin, the mask of professional composure she had worn in front of Isamu shattered. As she pulled on her surgical scrubs and stood over the washbasin to scrub in, the tears she had been suppressing began to flow uncontrollably. Akira's voice echoed in the chambers of her mind, replaying every confession: "I adore you... I trust you..." and the selfless promise she had made to Isamu. But Naea knew she couldn't afford to break down now. Steeling her heart and wiping away the traces of her grief, she composed herself and marched toward the Operating Theater. Just before stepping through the doors, she whispered a final, defiant vow to the empty corridor: "Prosecutor Akira, you kept your promise with your life. Now, it is time for me to honor mine with this solemn vow."