The ray gun's glow became unbearable.
The entire factory shook.
Metal beams bent.
Walls cracked.
The weapon was seconds away from disaster.
Then—
CRASH!
A machine tentacle suddenly shot upward.
It pierced through the roof.
Saito looked behind him.
"...Scrapper?"
More tentacles emerged.
Dozens of them.
The backup system had activated.
The mechanical limbs wrapped around pillars, walls, and support beams.
Scrapper stood beneath the ray gun.
Controlling every one of them.
Saito stepped forward.
"We need to stop this, Scrapper!"
"Before innocent people get hurt!"
Scrapper laughed.
A tired laugh.
Then shook his head.
"I don't want to stop it."
The tentacles plunged deep into the ground beneath the weapon.
The floor began breaking apart.
"I want to bury it."
The earth trembled.
Huge cracks spread across the factory.
The ray gun slowly began sinking.
Dragged underground.
Away from the city.
Away from everyone.
Shiro's eyes widened.
"...Scrapper."
The tentacles tightened.
For the first time—
Scrapper looked exhausted.
Not angry.
Not hateful.
Just tired.
Then he looked at them.
Both of them.
"You two need to run."
Shiro immediately stepped forward.
"Not without you."
For a moment—
the old friendship returned.
The treehouse.
The laughter.
The years before everything fell apart.
Scrapper smiled sadly.
Then said:
"...Tell Mina I miss her too."
Before either of them could react—
WHOOOSH!
Two tentacles wrapped around Saito and Shiro.
Then hurled them out of the factory.
CRASH!
Saito hit the ground hard outside Gaira Town.
Shiro landed nearby.
Dust filled the air.
The ground continued shaking.
Shiro immediately tried to stand.
"SCRAPPER!"
He took a step toward the city.
But Saito grabbed his arm.
"We need to leave!"
Shiro struggled.
"Let me go!"
But Saito pulled him away.
The buildings around them were collapsing.
The danger was growing every second.
Finally—
Shiro stopped fighting.
And together—
they ran.
Away from Gaira.
Away from the factory.
Away from Scrapper.
Inside the collapsing facility—
Scrapper stood alone.
The ray gun continued sinking.
The floor disappeared beneath it.
The giant weapon vanished underground.
And Scrapper went with it.
The tentacles moved everywhere.
Ripping apart support beams.
Dragging machinery.
Pulling down entire sections of the roof.
Anything to seal the hole.
Anything to contain the blast.
Then—
he spoke one final command.
"System."
"Activate shield."
WHRRRRR.
A barrier formed.
A massive energy shield surrounded the underground chamber.
Trapping everything inside.
Scrapper.
The ray gun.
And the disaster.
The tentacles finally stopped moving.
The roof collapsed into place.
The hole was sealed.
Silence filled the chamber.
Scrapper looked at the glowing weapon.
The same machine he had spent years building.
The same machine that had cost him everything.
Then he slowly closed his eyes.
And waited.
A moment later—
a brilliant green explosion consumed the underground chamber.
And Gaira Town shook beneath the force of its light.
The ground continued shaking beneath their feet.
Buildings collapsed behind them.
Metal towers bent and fell.
The entire center of Gaira Town was coming apart.
Then—
a deep rumble echoed from underground.
Not an ordinary explosion.
Something much larger.
Much more powerful.
Shiro looked back.
And froze.
A massive green light erupted from beneath the factory.
The earth cracked open.
The sky itself seemed to glow.
A gigantic green explosion rose upward.
Saito's eyes widened.
"...Damn it."
The shockwave was coming.
Fast.
Too fast.
"We won't make it."
The green light continued expanding.
Swallowing everything in its path.
Then—
a familiar voice appeared beside them.
"Need a hand?"
Both turned.
"Kaito!"
Kaito stood there breathing heavily.
The rescued girl nearby.
Bomb and Rin behind him.
Without wasting another second—
Kaito grabbed Saito's shoulder.
Then Shiro's.
"Hold on."
WHOOSH!
The world blurred.
The forest vanished.
The road vanished.
The explosion vanished.
And suddenly—
they were deep inside the woods.
Far from Gaira.
Far from the blast.
The group stumbled forward.
Trying to regain their balance.
Then everyone turned around.
Looking toward the distant city.
Nobody spoke.
The green explosion continued expanding.
But the shield around Gaira held.
Barely.
The enormous barrier contained the blast.
Holding it inside.
Preventing it from reaching the surrounding villages.
The shield stretched.
Cracked.
Shimmered.
Fighting against impossible pressure.
For several long moments—
everyone watched.
Waiting.
Praying.
Then—
the light began fading.
The shield slowly disappeared.
The explosion weakened.
The green glow vanished into the sky.
And eventually—
only smoke remained.
A giant pillar of smoke rising from where Gaira Town once stood.
Silence followed.
No cheers.
No celebration.
No victory.
Only silence.
Shiro stared at the smoke.
His hands trembled slightly.
The wind moved through the trees.
And slowly—
he lowered his head.
Not as the leader of White Hat.
Not as a warrior.
Just as someone who had lost a friend.
Back at Morguin Town—
The streets were crowded.
White Hat members stood near the gates.
Gein's troops waited nearby.
Everyone kept looking toward the road.
Waiting.
Hoping.
No one knew exactly what had happened in Gaira Town.
Only that a massive explosion had been seen in the distance.
The tension was unbearable.
Then—
A scout pointed toward the horizon.
"They're back!"
Immediately, everyone looked.
Several figures were walking toward the town.
Saito.
Kaito.
Bomb.
Rin.
The rescued girl.
And Shiro.
The moment they were recognized—
cheers erupted.
"They made it!"
"Captain Saito is back!"
"We won!"
Relief spread through the crowd.
Soldiers laughed.
White Hat members smiled.
Even Gein let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
But one person wasn't looking at the crowd.
Mina was looking only at Shiro.
She immediately ran forward.
Pushing past everyone.
"Shiro!"
The White Hat leader stopped walking.
Mina reached him.
Ready to ask what happened.
Ready to ask where Scrapper was.
But then—
she saw his face.
And she understood.
Shiro wasn't injured.
He wasn't exhausted.
He was grieving.
The same look she had seen only a few times in her life.
The look of someone carrying a loss.
Shiro opened his mouth.
But no words came out.
He simply stood there.
Silent.
Mina's expression softened.
She didn't ask any questions.
Didn't force him to explain.
Instead—
she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.
Holding him tightly.
Shiro stood frozen for a moment.
Then his shoulders relaxed.
Just a little.
The crowd slowly grew quiet.
The cheering faded.
Because everyone understood.
Someone hadn't come back.
Saito watched silently.
Kaito looked away.
Even Rin remained quiet.
For once.
The evening wind passed through the town.
And in the middle of the road—
Mina continued holding Shiro while the smoke from distant Gaira Town still lingered on the horizon.
Night had fallen.
The celebrations in Morguin Town had ended.
The soldiers had returned to their camps.
The townspeople had gone home.
And for the first time all day—
everything was quiet.
At the edge of town stood an old tree.
A familiar tree.
The one that held the treehouse.
The place where three children had once laughed together.
The place where a friendship had begun.
Shiro stood beneath it.
Silent.
A single flower rested in his hand.
Mina stood nearby.
Saying nothing.
Just staying beside him.
The old wooden treehouse creaked softly in the wind above them.
Shiro walked forward.
Then knelt beside the roots.
Carefully placing the flower there.
For a few moments—
he simply looked at it.
Remembering.
The alley.
The bullies.
The awkward boy holding a strange device.
The promise of friendship.
The years that followed.
Then footsteps approached.
Saito.
The young leader stopped beside him.
Holding another flower.
He looked at the roots.
Then placed it beside Shiro's.
For a moment—
nobody spoke.
Then Saito quietly said:
"...As an honor."
Shiro looked up.
Saito smiled faintly.
"A friend to my ally..."
His eyes moved toward the flower.
"...is also a friend to me."
The words hung in the night air.
Simple.
Honest.
Exactly the kind of thing Saito would say.
Shiro laughed softly.
The first genuine laugh he had managed all day.
Then he looked up.
Toward the old treehouse.
Toward the place where it had all begun.
The wind gently moved the branches overhead.
And Shiro smiled.
A sad smile.
But a peaceful one.
Then quietly said:
"...Rest in peace, Scrapper."
The three stood there beneath the tree.
Looking up at the old treehouse.
While the night carried their words into the darkness.