The battlefield was silent, save for the crackling of fires still burning in the distance. The sky, once veiled in the smoke of battle, had cleared, revealing the pale glow of the moon overhead. It was over.

  But the consequences were just beginning.

  The flashing red and blue of police sirens filled the area as academy officials and law enforcement swarmed the battlefield. Emergency teams rushed to treat injuries, their voices sharp and urgent as they called out to each other. Academy staff moved with practiced efficiency, taking stock of what had transpired.

  Fumiko, Sama, Hiro, Raiden, Josuke, and Hinata were all rounded up for questioning. Their faces were pale, their bodies battered, yet they barely had time to process everything before being detained.

  An officer turned toward Kage. "You're coming in for questioning as well. We need to—"

  Kage didn't even glance at him. "I have more important matters to attend to." His voice was flat, uncompromising.

  As he walked past the officer, his phone buzzed. A message flashed across the screen: "You are summoned immediately for questioning. Assassin's Guild."

  The officer stepped in his way. "Hey, you can't just walk away! You need to answer for what happened here!"

  Kage barely slowed his stride. "If you really want to stop me, be my guest. But if I have to move you myself, you won't like it."

  The officer hesitated. Then, he stepped aside. Kage disappeared into the night, his silhouette swallowed by darkness. The Guild's summons was not something even he could ignore—not after what had just transpired.

  Helicopter cameras hovered overhead, searchlights cutting through the gloom, capturing the devastation below. The bodies of assassins, unconscious students, and the wreckage left behind from the battle were broadcasted live to the entire country.

  Inside a high-end vacation resort, a television displayed the breaking news.

  Hinata's mother gasped, covering her mouth. "Hinata..." Her voice trembled with fear. "She was there—right in the middle of it all."

  Her father slammed his fist on the coffee table, cracking the glass. His eyes weren't focused on his daughter in the footage, but on the destroyed property around her.

  "Look at our house!" he snarled, face contorted with rage. "Completely demolished! And where was she? Too weak to even defend our property!"

  He paced the room, kicking aside an expensive vase. It shattered against the wall, but he didn't even glance at it.

  "All that training, all that potential with her telekinesis, and she couldn't even protect our investment." He grabbed his phone, punching in numbers with excessive force.

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  Her mother wiped her tears, reaching for her husband's arm. "Should we check if she's okay?"

  "We need to return home immediately," he said, not answering her question. "Insurance forms need to be filed. Contractors need to be called." For a brief moment, something that might have been concern flickered across his face before disappearing. "And I suppose we should make sure the girl isn't a complete liability."

  "We're leaving. Now." His tone left no room for discussion.

  Rei lay unconscious, unmoving. But something was wrong.

  His muscles twitched unnaturally, his breathing shallow and erratic. Faint blue energy flickered across his skin like static, crackling in the air around him. His face contorted in agony, even unconscious.

  "His vitals are all over the place," one medic reported, her voice tense. "Heart rate spiking, then dropping. Brain activity is off the charts—I've never seen readings like this."

  An academy official hesitated. "Are we sure it's safe to move him?"

  Another grimaced. "Safe or not, we have to contain him before something worse happens."

  A senior medical officer approached, examining the readouts with widening eyes. "His mental charts are off the roof. It's almost as if he's fighting for control over himself." The officer shook his head in disbelief. "I'm not sure what this means, but these readings are new even for me."

  "What do you mean?" the official asked.

  "It's like he has two different neural patterns trying to operate simultaneously," the medic explained, pointing to the erratic spikes on the monitor. "One keeps trying to take over, and the other keeps pushing back. He's suffering from what appears to be a catastrophic migraine, even while unconscious. His body is literally at war with itself."

  As they lifted Rei onto a reinforced transport vehicle, his fingers twitched violently. His eyes remained shut, but a faint glow passed through his lids, casting eerie blue shadows. A moan of pain escaped his lips, even in unconsciousness.

  "Sedate him again," the senior officer ordered. "Maximum dose."

  "We've already given him three times the standard—"

  "Then make it four."

  Deep within a high-security prison, a towering figure sat in the darkness of his cell, watching the news coverage on a small screen mounted high on the wall.

  Then—he laughed.

  "Hahahaha! That damn Haikito! He predicted all of this. I guess it's my turn to hold up my end of the bargain." His deep voice echoed off the concrete walls.

  The guard stationed outside his cell stiffened. "What the hell are you laughing about, inmate?"

  The man stood.

  Broad shoulders. A monstrous frame. His presence sucked the air out of the room, making it hard to breathe.

  "Guard... release me from this shithole." The request came out almost casual.

  The guard swallowed hard. "I can't just release inmates willy-nilly."

  The figure sighed. "I asked nicely."

  Then, he stepped forward.

  He placed his hands on the steel bars of his cell.

  Instead of breaking them, he bent them slowly. The reinforced metal twisted like putty in his grip, bending out of his way as if reality itself refused to resist him. He walked through the bars effortlessly, the metal groaning in protest.

  The prison guard paled before reaching for the alarm. "ESCAPE! RYUU HANMA IS ESCAPING!"

  Sirens blared. Security doors slammed shut throughout the facility.

  Yet Ryuu kept walking.

  Guards raised their weapons but did not fire. None of them dared.

  At the front gate, the warden stood waiting. Unlike the others, he was not afraid.

  Ryuu stopped before him, rolling his shoulders lazily. "Haven't changed a bit, Warden."

  The warden sighed. "So... it's time, isn't it?"

  Ryuu grinned, cracking his knuckles. "Yes. It is time."

  Without another word, the warden deactivated the final security barrier.

  Ryuu Hanma stepped into the night—free at last.