When Akechi noticed that the signal from Zaboru's emergency device had been jammed, he did not wait for confirmation. The moment that strange silence appeared on the security channel, a cold unease entered his chest. Akechi Hamazou was not the kind of man who panicked. His expression rarely changed, his voice rarely rose, and most people who worked with him had never seen him truly shaken. But when it came to Zaboru, hesitation was unacceptable.
Without further delay, he moved toward ZAGE Tower.
By the time Akechi arrived on the 50th floor, the damage was already obvious. The executive office was a mess. Papers were scattered across the floor, the window had been shattered, furniture had been pushed out of place, and faint traces of smoke from the flashbang still lingered in the air. Several Aoshidan men entered behind him and immediately began securing the area, but their faces were tense. No one had reported an intruder. No one had seen anyone enter through the lobby. No guard had noticed suspicious movement through the lower floors.
That alone told Akechi enough.
Whoever came here had either bypassed every visible layer of security or entered from above.
Akechi's eyes moved toward the broken window, then toward Zaboru, who stood near the room with a calm expression that annoyed him more than panic would have.
"Zabo," Akechi said, his voice low. "What happened?"
Zaboru looked at him, then sighed lightly. "A visitor came."
Akechi's stare became colder. "A visitor does not shatter your office window."
"This one was not very polite."
Akechi did not smile. He turned slightly toward his subordinates and gave a quiet order. "Secure the floor. Check the rooftop, stairwells, elevator logs, external walls, and every camera angle. Do not assume normal entry routes. Also clean the visible damage before staff panic." His men bowed and moved immediately. Only after that did Akechi return his full attention to Zaboru. "Tell me everything."
Zaboru did.
As they moved out of the damaged office and toward the quieter outer corridor of ZAGE Tower, Zaboru explained the strange man named Leonard Epstein, the silent aircraft, the jammed emergency signal, the name Illuminati, the invitation to join them, the way Leonard spoke about people as numbers, and finally the sudden attack. Akechi listened without interrupting. His face remained expressionless, but that did not mean he was calm. Zaboru could feel it clearly. Akechi was furious.
When Zaboru finished, Akechi stopped walking.
For a moment, the hallway became silent.
Then Akechi spoke, very quietly. "Apparently, I have become too lax."
Zaboru looked at him. "Akechi-san."
"Aoshidan's top priority is protecting you. Someone bypassed my guards, entered ZAGE Tower, jammed your emergency signal, spoke with you directly, attacked you, and escaped. That is not a small failure."
"I'm fine."
"That does not matter."
"It matters a little."
"No," Akechi said flatly. "It means we were lucky. Protection that depends on luck is not protection."
Zaboru scratched his cheek. "You are taking this harder than I expected."
Akechi glanced at him. "You are taking it too lightly."
Zaboru opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak, a calm female voice interrupted from the far side of the corridor.
"It is not Aoshidan's fault."
Both Zaboru and Akechi turned.
A woman stood there with two people behind her. She looked Asian, with red hair that fell smoothly around her shoulders, sharp eyes, and a calm beauty that felt almost dangerous. She was not smiling much, but there was a confidence in her posture that made it clear she had not arrived by accident. Behind her stood a tall, muscular Black man with a ponytail, broad shoulders, and a grin that looked far too friendly for someone appearing in the middle of a security crisis. Beside him was another man, more ordinary at first glance: pale skin, casual suit, glasses, relaxed posture, and the kind of plain expression that made him easy to underestimate.
Akechi did not underestimate him.
His eyes immediately settled on the man with glasses.
The woman and the muscular man were dangerous, but the man with glasses felt different. His posture was too relaxed. His hands rested too naturally. His jacket sat a little too heavy in certain places. Akechi could tell at once that he was hiding weapons. Several of them. Maybe blades, maybe firearms, maybe something stranger.
Akechi's body shifted slightly, barely noticeable to most people, but Zaboru noticed it.
He was ready to fight.
The tall Black man quickly raised both hands with a nervous but cheerful grin. "Wait, wait, wait! Please, no fighting! We did not come here to attack you. Seriously, we come in peace. Actually, we came here to explain who attacked you, Zaboru-sama!" His eyes suddenly sparkled, and his perfect Japanese came out with almost ridiculous enthusiasm. "Also, wow. I cannot believe I am really meeting the God of Video Games."
Zaboru stared at him for two seconds.
Then he sighed. "Another stranger again?"
The red-haired woman smiled faintly. "Unfortunately, yes."
Zaboru looked at Akechi, then back at the three of them. "Fine. If everyone keeps entering my building like this, we might as well use a meeting room. But before that, let me say this clearly. If you came here to attack me too, please take a number or contact my Secretray. Today has been busy."
The tall man laughed loudly, but quickly lowered his voice when Akechi's eyes moved toward him.
The red-haired woman gave a small, amused smile. "You are calmer than expected."
"I just had a knife pulled on me by a secret society guy who escaped through my window using a silent aircraft. My definition of normal is currently being repaired."
She chuckled. "Fair enough."
They moved to one of ZAGE Tower's secure meeting rooms. Akechi stayed beside Zaboru the entire time, never once lowering his guard. Even when they sat down, his attention remained mostly on the man with glasses. Zaboru noticed the tension and leaned back in his chair, trying to look relaxed despite the strange situation.
The red-haired woman sat across from him and introduced herself first. "My name is Maya." She gestured toward the large man beside her. "This is Roggi." Then she looked toward the man with glasses. "And he is Pietro."
Pietro gave a small smile. "Pleasure."
Akechi said nothing.
Roggi grinned and leaned forward slightly. "And again, really, I'm a huge fan of you. ZEPS changed my life. I mean it.
Zaboru only chuckle "Well glad you enjoy it"
Maya cleared her throat gently, and Roggi immediately straightened. "Sorry. Serious mode."
Maya turned back to Zaboru. "We are from Arachne. You are probably already slightly aware of us, or at least Akechi Hamazou is." Her eyes shifted to Akechi. "We have clashed with Aoshidan several times recently. Not because we wanted war, but because we wanted you to know we exist."
Akechi's gaze remained cold. "There are better ways to introduce yourself."
Maya nodded calmly. "There are. But better ways are not always safer."
"That sounds like an excuse."
"It is an explanation," Maya replied smoothly. "Whether you accept it or not is your choice."
Zaboru looked between them and raised one hand slightly. "Okay, before this becomes a very polite murder scene, explain. What is Arachne? And why did a man calling himself Illuminati attack me?"
Maya's expression became more serious. "Arachne is an old hidden organization. We operate outside public society, but not outside the world. Our goal is simple in principle, difficult in execution: to guide the world away from collapse, manipulation, and domination by groups that see humanity only as property and we want to protect honest business people from people with greed."
Zaboru stared at her.
Maya continued, "Illuminati is our opposite. They want control. Not influence. Not guidance. Control. Political systems, economic systems, media, technology, communication, culture, medicine, war, peace, fear, desire—everything they can touch, they want to own. For decades, we have fought them from the shadows."
Zaboru slowly leaned back. "So secret organizations are real."
"Yes."
"And you guys one of them and those Iluminati?"
"Yes."
"And you are telling me this inside my company meeting room after a guy named Leonard Epstein entered through the roof, tried to recruit me, attacked me, and escaped in a silent aircraft."
Maya nodded. "Correct."
Zaboru closed his eyes for a second.
Inside his mind, he felt a strange exhaustion that had nothing to do with work. Arachne. Illuminati. Secret organizations. Hidden technology. Silent aircraft. This world was already different from his previous one, but now it felt like someone had ripped open the floor and revealed another world underneath the world.
Zaboru opened his eyes and chuckled weakly. "What next? Templars? Assassins? Apple of Eden?"
Maya tilted her head. "Apple of what?"
"Never mind. Different headache."
Roggi looked curious. "Is that from a game idea? Because it sounds cool."
Zaboru shrug "Maybe, don't think it too much"
"Understood, Zaboss."
Zaboru paused. "Zaboss?"
Roggi grinned proudly. "Zaboru plus boss. Zaboss."
Zaboru sighed "I know that and you are not allowed to call me that, the one who called me that usually my worker and Roggi you are not okay?" Roggi look really sad.. "Okay…" Zaboru sighed and it's really unpleasant seeing a muscular man sulk like a girl!".
Maya smiled slightly, then continued. "Leonard approached you because the Black Berry Z01 changed the timing. Illuminati already knew you were important. ZAGE's games, consoles, anime, publishing, sports, and online ecosystem made you a cultural power. But the Black Berry is different. It is communication. BBM, ZAGE ID, Little Steam, mobile internet, ZAGE Forum in people's pockets. You are no longer only shaping entertainment habits. You are entering daily communication habits."
Zaboru's face became calmer. "So they want the gate."
"Yes," Maya said. "They want the gate, or at least influence over the one holding it."
Roggi leaned forward again, unable to stay quiet. "And they probably said something creepy, right? Like, 'You have desire,' or, 'We can give you the world,' or, 'The masses are sheep,' or some villain speech like that."
Zaboru looked at him. "Actually, yes. Pretty close."
Roggi slapped the table lightly. "I knew it! Illuminati bastards are always dramatic. They never just say, 'Hello, we are evil.' They have to make it poetic."
Pietro spoke for the first time, his voice calm and dry. "To be fair, Roggi, you also introduced Zaboru as the God of Video Games."
"That is different," Roggi said firmly. "That is truth."
Akechi finally spoke again, his voice cold. "What do you want from Zaboru?"
The room became heavier.
Maya did not rush her answer. "Protection. Cooperation. Awareness. Not obedience."
Akechi's eyes narrowed. "That is vague."
"It is careful," Maya said. "We do not want to control Zaboru Renkonan. If we did, we would be no different from Illuminati. We want him to understand that the attack tonight is not an isolated event. They will likely come again. Maybe not with knives. Maybe with business offers. Media scandals. Political pressure. False allies. Reputation attacks. Attempts to reach people around him."
Zaboru's expression darkened slightly.
Maya noticed.
"They may target your company. They may target your family. They may target your past, your wife's past, your business decisions, your foreign relationships, your acquisitions, or your public image. They will not always attack like Leonard. Sometimes the knife is a newspaper headline."
Zaboru became silent.
Akechi's jaw tightened, though his face remained controlled.
Roggi's voice softened for the first time. "That is why we came, Zaboss screw it i call you this!. You are kind, but you are not small anymore. You built something people love. You made games, stores, schools, foundations, sports paths, entertainment, jobs, communities. People like you are exactly the kind of people Illuminati hates most."
Zaboru looked at him carefully.
Roggi continued, more earnestly now. "Because you make people believe tomorrow can be fun. That sounds simple, but it is not. Fear is easy to control. Hope is harder. Fun is even harder. A kid who waits for a new ZAGE game, a worker who saves money for Black Berry, a family eating at ZAGE Tavern, a player who gets support from ZAGE Foundation—those people are not thinking about hidden rulers. They are living. They are dreaming. That is why we protect people like you."
For a moment, Zaboru did not know what to say.
Roggi's earlier fanboy energy had made him seem silly, but now his words carried surprising sincerity.
Zaboru exhaled and smiled faintly. "You make me sound more noble than I am. I don't really have some hidden desire to save the world. What I want is simple. I want ZAGE to become dominant, and I want to improve the video game world before I die. If the world becomes slightly better along the way, that is a good bonus."
Maya's eyes softened with interest. "That is exactly why our leader likes you."
Zaboru blinked. "Your leader?"
Roggi grinned again. "Lady Alissa is your mad fan."
Maya slowly turned her head toward Roggi.
Roggi froze.
Pietro quietly adjusted his glasses. "That was supposed to be omitted."
Roggi looked between them and whispered, "Ah."
Zaboru stared.
Akechi stared.
Maya closed her eyes for one second, then opened them with impressive calm. "Our leader respects your work."
Roggi nodded quickly. "Yes. Respect. Very respectful. Extremely normal amount of respect."
Pietro added, "Not suspicious at all."
Maya looked like she wanted to kill both of them quietly.
Zaboru, despite the situation, laughed. "Okay. I understand. Your leader is a fan."
Maya sighed softly. "Please do not misunderstand. Lady Alissa is rational."
Roggi muttered, "Most of the time."
Maya's eyes moved toward him.
Roggi immediately straightened again. "Always. Very rational."
Zaboru chuckled, and even Akechi's expression shifted slightly, though not enough to be called a smile.
After the brief softness faded, Akechi returned his attention to Pietro. The man with glasses had remained calm throughout the conversation, observing everything with a faint grin. Akechi did not like him. Not because Pietro had said anything threatening, but because his stillness felt practiced.
Pietro noticed Akechi's gaze and smiled. "You know, Akechi Hamazou, we are somewhat alike."
Akechi's eyes narrowed. "No."
Pietro's grin widened slightly. "You refused before hearing why."
"I do not need to hear why."
"But I will say it anyway. We both stand beside extraordinary people, and we both understand that the world around them is more dangerous than they realize. We both prefer to solve problems before our masters even notice them. We both carry weapons in rooms where everyone pretends they are only having conversation."
Akechi's gaze became sharper. "You talk too much."
Pietro chuckled. "And you talk too little. See? Balance."
Akechi did not respond.
Zaboru glanced at Akechi, then at Pietro. "Are you two flirting or threatening each other?"
Akechi immediately answered, "Threatening."
Pietro smiled. "Mostly."
Then Zaboru's expression became serious again. "So what happens now? Illuminati knows I refused. Leonard escaped. The Black Berry releases tomorrow. I assume this is not over."
Maya nodded. "It is not over. For now, Arachne will increase observation around ZAGE Tower, AKAI facilities, ZEB, your family floor, and several foreign entry points. We will not interfere with your company unless necessary. We will also share limited intelligence with Aoshidan if Akechi Hamazou agrees."
Akechi looked at her coldly. "Limited intelligence is not enough."
"It is what we can offer today."
"Then offer more."
Maya's expression did not change. "Trust is not built in one night."
Akechi replied calmly, "Neither is security. Yet you expect us to accept your presence after infiltrating this tower."
Maya accepted the criticism without flinching. "Fair. Then consider tonight an introduction, not an alliance."
Zaboru leaned forward slightly. "And if I refuse even that?"
Maya looked at him carefully. "Then we leave. We continue watching from farther away. We still oppose Illuminati because that is our purpose. But you would be less informed, and they would prefer that."
Zaboru studied her face.
She was not begging. Not threatening. Not flattering too much. Maya was calm, controlled, and clearly trained to speak with dangerous people. Roggi's sincerity balanced her calculation, while Pietro's quiet danger kept the room tense. They were strange, but they did not feel like Leonard.
Leonard had looked at people like tools.
These three, at least, looked at people like people.
That difference mattered.
Zaboru finally sighed. "Fine. For now, we exchange information. Carefully. Akechi-san decides what is acceptable for security coordination."
Akechi glanced at him. "Zabo."
"I know," Zaboru said. "I'm not trusting them blindly. But after tonight, pretending secret organizations do not exist would be stupid."
Akechi was silent for a moment. Then he looked back at Maya. "Any information goes through me first. If any Arachne member approaches Zaboru's family without permission, I will treat it as hostile."
Maya nodded. "Understood."
Pietro smiled faintly. "Very protective."
Akechi stared at him. "Correct."
Pietro's smile widened. "Good."
Zaboru leaned back and looked up at the ceiling with a tired laugh. "Tomorrow I'm releasing a phone. I wanted to worry about sales, queues, Apple, and whether Little Steam servers survive. Now I have to worry about Illuminati, Arachne, silent aircraft, and some guy named Leonard who thinks knife attacks are conversation starters."
Roggi grinned. "To be fair, Zaboss, your life was already not normal."
"That is true," Zaboru admitted. "But tonight it became aggressively not normal."
Roggi stood too and bowed deeply. "Good luck tomorrow, Zaboss. I hope Black Berry sells like crazy. Also, if you ever need someone to test durability, I can drop it from a building."
Zaboru stared at him. "Please do not."
"Understood."
Pietro stood last, still looking at Akechi. "Until next time."
Akechi said nothing.
Pietro seemed satisfied with that.
As the three Arachne members prepared to leave, Zaboru watched them carefully. Before stepping out, Maya turned back once more and looked at him with a calmer, almost gentler expression.
Maya gave a small bow and left with Roggi and Pietro.
When the door closed, only Zaboru and Akechi remained in the meeting room. For a long moment, neither spoke. Then Zaboru let out a deep breath and rubbed his face.
"Akechi-san."
"Yes?"
"I really wanted eat lot of steak and meat tonight."
Akechi stared at him.
Zaboru looked back with a tired smile. "I'm serious."
Akechi was silent for two seconds. Then, with his usual expressionless face, he said, "After nearly being recruited and attacked by Illuminati, meeting Arachne, and discovering a hidden war beneath society, your first request is steak."
Zaboru nodded. "A lot of steak."
Akechi closed his eyes briefly, as if praying for patience.
Then he opened them and said, "Fine. But I choose the restaurant, and my men secure it first."
Zaboru grinned. "Deal."
Akechi turned toward the door, but his expression darkened again before they left. "And Zabo."
"Hm?"
"This is not over."
Zaboru's smile faded slightly.
"I know."
Tomorrow, the world would line up for a new phone.
But tonight, Zaboru had learned that the world was far deeper, stranger, and more dangerous than even he had imagined.
To be continued.
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