Noen leaned back in his chair, patting his stomach with a satisfied groan. "Aghhh, that was so good. Thank you so much for the food!" He pushed himself up from the table and carried his empty plate back to the kitchen, a small habit of normalcy in his chaotic life.
Ignaz was already standing by the door, his posture straight and professional. "Thank you very much for your hospitality," he said, inclining his head toward Kai's mother.
She beamed at them, her smile reaching her eyes. "No problem at all! I'm just glad you both enjoyed it. You look like you needed a proper meal."
When Noen returned to the hallway, Ignaz was already gesturing toward the exit. "Thanks, Kai!" Noen said, sliding his feet into his sneakers and pulling the laces tight.
"It's all good, Noen," Kai replied, watching him with a lingering sense of concern. "Just take care of yourself, man, okay? Don't do anything too crazy."
Noen gave a quick, reassuring nod. He and Ignaz waved a final goodbye and stepped out of the house, the cool Munich night air a sharp contrast to the warm, butter-scented kitchen.
They hadn't gone far when the silence of the neighborhood was shattered. A violent, crashing sound echoed through the streets—something heavy, metallic, and distinctly unnatural.
Ignaz stopped dead in his tracks, squinting his eyes as he peered toward the source of the noise.
"You definitely want to go see what that is, don't you?" Noen asked, letting out a heavy, dramatic sigh.
Ignaz didn't even look back; he simply nodded and began walking toward the commotion.
"I guess there's always time to put ourselves in potential danger, isn't there?" Noen muttered to himself, squeezing his eyes shut for a second before resignedly following behind.
They reached the edge of a nearby city park, where the shadows of the trees were dancing under the flicker of emergency lights. A group of magical beasts had materialized right in the middle of the grass, their twisted, hulking forms looking entirely out of place against the playground equipment.
"Look over there," Ignaz whispered, his voice calm. "The Beast Slayers are already on it. No need to worry."
He pointed toward a disciplined formation of men and women in dark, reinforced uniforms. They moved like a single machine, their weapons glowing with faint, rhythmic mana.
Noen stood back, hands shoved deep into his pockets. He kicked a loose stone, watching the scene with a detached kind of curiosity. "I've always wondered... where do these magical beasts actually come from? And the system, and everything else?"
Ignaz looked genuinely surprised by the depth of the question. He glanced at Noen, then back at the fray. "Well... it's always been this way. The beasts, the gates... they just spawn. One minute the air is clear, and the next—zack—they're here. No one knows the 'how' or the 'why' behind it. It's just the world we live in ."
Noen watched the front lines of the Slayers. They were circling the beasts with practiced precision, closing the gap with every step. It was cold, efficient, and professional—nothing like the desperate, bloody struggle Noen had endured on the island.
"Well... then let's keep moving, shall we?" Noen asked, turning his back on the fight.
Ignaz checked his watch one last time and nodded. "Right. We have a schedule to keep."
⸻
Back in the sterile silence of the unknown facility. The figure stepped into the building, greeted by a vast room where the walls were lined with monitors displaying data streams from across the globe. In the center sat a large circular table, its surface projecting a shimmering blue hologram.
A man sitting at the table quickly snapped his laptop shut as the figure approached. "Good to see you, M5!" he said, standing up and extending his hand in a gesture of professional greeting.
M5 didn't hesitate—they slapped the hand away with a sharp, dismissive crack. The man's expression faltered, his hand hovering awkwardly in the air as a look of disappointment crossed his face.
"What happened while I was away?" M5's voice was cold, cutting through the hum of the room. "Have you actually made progress, or has it just been more disappointment?"
"N-No, not at all, M5!" the man stammered, his hands fidgeting nervously as he tried to regain his composure. "We have an update regarding Mr. Cain."
"Finally?" M5 asked, the contempt clear in their voice. They pulled out a chair and sat at the table, their eyes immediately locking onto the flickering light of the hologram.
The man began to scroll through the data streams on the holographic display, his fingers trembling. He navigated through files and maps until he stopped on a rotating 3D image of a familiar face: Noen.
M5 didn't blink. They stared at the projection with an intensity that made the air in the room feel thin. The man nervously reached up and removed his glasses, his hands shaking as he looked at the data. "We found out he's in Germany right now!" he said, a small, desperate hint of pride in his voice as if he were delivering a major breakthrough.
M5's gaze shifted slowly from the hologram to the man. The pride instantly vanished, replaced by pure terror as the man recoiled.
"And you think I didn't already know that?" M5 hissed.
Before the man could even stammer an apology, M5's hand shot out like a strike from a predator, gripping him tightly by the throat. The man's breath hitched, his eyes bulging as M5's grip tightened. "I want him here... NOW!"
With a violent shove, M5 hurled the man across the room. He hit the floor hard, sliding a few feet before scrambling to his knees. "W-We're on it, M5... we're already working on it," he choked out, gasping for air.
M5 sat back down, their silhouette framed by the cold blue light of the screens. They watched the hologram of Noen flicker, a dark, calculating smile finally touching their lips.
"That failure..." they whispered to the empty room. "...might just be our solution."