Elsewhere throughout BSA Headquarters—
Red emergency lights pulsed across reinforced corridors.
Officers moved with practiced precision.
"Sector Three secured."
"Escort the civilians."
"Contain every hostile alive."
Rows of restrained attackers were forced to their knees.
Some still resisted.
None escaped.
Barrier specialists repaired fractured walls with layers of dark resonance.
Containment officers dragged unconscious infiltrators into reinforced transport cells.
Medical Division teams rushed stretchers through smoke-filled corridors without slowing for the ongoing battle.
Intelligence officers projected glowing tactical maps across the command room.
"All one hundred and twelve infiltrators accounted for."
"One hundred and seven captured."
"Five still active."
A woman wearing the insignia of the First Order calmly closed the tactical display.
"Dispatch Captain Marune."
No panic. No celebration. Only another routine operation.
The attackers had believed they were invading a government building.
Only now did they realize the truth.
They had invaded the largest supernatural organization on the continent.
Deep within BSA Headquarters—
The Operations Command Center.
Rows of glowing monitors covered the walls, each displaying a different section of the underground facility.
Green indicators filled the screens.
Until one suddenly turned red.
BEEP.
An operator frowned.
"...Interrogation Chamber Twelve just went offline."
Another operator looked up immediately.
"Captain Sebastian's communication signal?"
"...No response."
A few seconds passed.
"Iris?"
The technician checked again.
"...No response."
Silence settled across the command room.
The supervising officer stepped forward.
"Status."
"Internal surveillance lost."
"Audio feed terminated."
"Grave Resonance monitoring unavailable."
"Structural sensors indicate severe internal damage."
Another alarm echoed.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
A new warning appeared across the central display.
[ CHAMBER 12 ]
Captain Sebastian — Signal Lost
Officer Iris — Signal Lost
Primary Suspect — Status Unknown
Threat Classification: Escalating
The room immediately became busy.
"Seal the entire interrogation sector."
"Yes, sir!"
"Barrier Division."
"Lock every corridor connected to Chamber Twelve."
"Understood."
"Containment Division."
"Deploy Response Units Alpha and Delta."
"Moving."
"Medical Division."
"Prepare emergency trauma teams."
"Ready."
The supervisor's eyes narrowed.
"Any dimensional fluctuations?"
A technician quickly checked the readings.
"...Negative."
"Yes external breach detected."
"Then the attacker is already inside the Headquarters."
The entire command room fell silent.
The supervisor reached for the emergency communicator.
"Notify First Order."
"They're already responding."
"Third Order?"
"Moving to intercept."
"Seal every exit."
"No one leaves this building."
Another operator looked up from his console.
"Sir..."
"The suspect Zekai Krystan is still inside Chamber Twelve."
The supervisor nodded once.
"Captain Sebastian chose to interrogate him personally."
"If both Sebastian and Iris have stopped responding..."
His expression hardened.
"...then this is no longer an interrogation."
He pressed a single red button.
A deep alarm echoed throughout the underground headquarters.
WARNING.
SECTION TWELVE HAS LOST CONTACT.
TACTICAL RESPONSE AUTHORIZED.
Across the headquarters—
Doors burst open.
Containment officers sprinted through reinforced corridors.
First Order members grabbed their weapons without a word.
Third Order teams diverted from their patrol routes.
Barrier specialists activated resonance seals across every hallway.
Medical units rolled emergency stretchers toward the lower sectors.
The entire Bureau moved with practiced precision.
No panic.
No confusion.
Only protocol.
The supervisor looked toward the tactical map one final time.
A brief pause.
"If Chamber Twelve has truly fallen..."
"...only he can guarantee recovery."
The supervisor looked toward the tactical display one final time.
"...Dispatch Investigation Head Aldric Marune."
An operator immediately reached for the secure communication channel.
"Connecting..."
The line opened.
"Captain Marune, Chamber Twelve has lost contact. Captain Sebastian and Officer Iris are unresponsive. Authorization has been granted to—"
A calm voice interrupted before the operator could finish.
"...No need."
The command room fell silent.
A brief pause.
"I'm already here."
The transmission ended.
Every operator stared at the monitor.
The supervisor slowly lowered the communicator.
"...Then it's over."
Silence settled across the Operations Center.
No further orders were necessary.
---
In same building...
Throughout BSA Headquarters—
The remaining terrorists were being overwhelmed.
One by one, officers forced them to their knees.
Weapons clattered onto the floor.
"Line them up!"
"Send every survivor to Section Forty-Three."
One captured attacker spat blood onto the floor.
"You'll regret this..."
A veteran officer merely tightened the restraints.
"Keep dreaming."
---
Back inside the interrogation room...
The masked attacker stared blankly at the silent communicator.
"...Hello?"
"...Answer me."
Nothing.
His breathing became uneven.
"...No..."
He slowly raised his head.
"..."
Aldric was already standing directly in front of him.
The attacker jerked backward. The attacker never saw Aldric take a step.
"W-When did—"
A hand seized his throat.
CRACK.
His body lifted completely off the ground.
"AAAGH!!"
His feet kicked helplessly through empty air.
The mask around his face began cracking beneath the pressure.
His eyes bulged.
Both hands desperately clawed at Aldric's wrist. It didn't move even a millimeter.
Aldric's cold eyes stared directly into his.
His voice remained completely emotionless.
"Now..."
"...tell me."
"...Who..."
"...is..."
"...your grandfather?"
For the first time since the battle began...
The fanatical light inside the attacker's eyes vanished.
Only fear remained.
From the corner.
Sebastian opened one eye. He slowly exhaled. The tension left his shoulders for the first time since Chamber Twelve fell.
"...Captain..."
Relief crossed his face for the first time.
"We're safe."
The attacker hung helplessly in Aldric's grip, his feet suspended above the shattered floor.
Blood seeped beneath the cracked white mask.
His breathing came in ragged gasps.
Aldric's voice remained cold.
"Take off the mask."
The attacker laughed weakly.
"...No."
CRACK.
Aldric's fingers tightened.
The mask splintered.
Another sharp crack echoed through the room as Aldric tore the broken mask free.
It fell to the floor.
Silence.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed.
"...He's just a kid."
The attacker couldn't have been older than twenty.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet a smile slowly spread across his face.
Aldric studied him for a long second.
"...I've never seen you before."
"So you're disposable."
He loosened his grip just enough to let the young man breathe.
"I'll keep you alive."
"You'll answer every question."
The young man suddenly laughed.
Not loudly.
Quietly.
Like someone who had already accepted death.
"...Too late."
His right hand slowly lifted.
Not toward Aldric.
Past him.
Toward something behind his shoulder.
His thumb turned downward.
Aldric didn't move.
His eyes followed the gesture for only a fraction of a second.
"..."
It wasn't directed at him.
His expression changed almost imperceptibly.
Wrong.
The angle.
The timing.
The boy wasn't mocking his captor.
He was signaling someone else.
Or...
something else.
A cold instinct settled into Aldric's chest.
"...What did you just do?"
The young man's smile widened.
He didn't answer.
Only held the gesture.
Thumb still pointed downward.
Aldric's eyes hardened.
For the first time since entering Chamber Twelve—
he looked away from the prisoner.
Toward whatever stood behind him.
And the room suddenly felt far too quiet.
✦ End of Chapter 35 — No One Leaves Headquarters ✦