If Hajime had been told as a young boy that one day he would slither into an air duct to infiltrate an enemy base, he would probably have been thrilled to death.

Every child, after all, wanted to pretend to be a superhero or the protagonist of a movie.

The problem? His childhood mind didn’t know the difficulties of such an endeavor.

Crawling through a duct almost the size of your body was complicated.

Doing it while carrying a katana, trying not to make noise, was truly, almost impossible.

Despite this, Hajime’s stepson did his best, for the sake of the mission.

“Have you found an exit point? I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling a bit claustrophobic.” (Hajime)

“Not yet, I want to check something first. Wait for me here.” (Kuro)

For his teammate, it was much easier to move, since he could enter inside his shadow.

This gave him the freedom to go on ahead, scouting out the way for his partner.

While Kuro advanced alone, Hajime managed to peek outside from a grate.

They were above an office, full of terminals, with very few agents present. The boy noticed one of them exit the room, using a magnetic pass to open the security door.

“(We could take one… but maybe these don’t have ranks, to move freely throughout the building, not to mention that knocking them all out silently will be almost impossible, even for the two of us… we need someone who is alone, and in a commanding position.)” (Hajime )

His thoughts as a [mage] stopped when his partner returned.

“Hey, I found an elevator, further ahead. It looks different from the others, it might lead to the cells.” (kuro)

“I think we’ll need passes to open the doors. We should steal one.” (Hajime)

“No, better to incapacitate someone and get them to tell us the right way, then take what we need.” (Kuro)

“They’ll notice the absence of some of their colleagues.” (Hajime)

“Not with the chaos Cloe and Kimiko are causing. If they realize one of their passes is missing without a trace, they might figure out we’re here.” (Kuro)

“…You’re right. Find someone who’s high-ranking and alone.” (Hajime)

“Got it. Try not to make too much noise, a honking goose would make less noise than you when you move.” (Kuro)

“Witty.” (Hajime)

**********

Outside the building, in the middle of a city in total chaos, Kimiko was running across rooftops, jumping from one building to another.

Not far from her position, Kohaku’s drones were flying over the area, with one of them leading the way in front of the [mage].

“Are you sure this is the right direction?!” (Kimiko)

“Yes, there’s a manhole a few blocks away that will get you out of their reach! But you need to get there before the patrols hit the main street!” (Kohaku)

“This isn’t easy!”

Saying the situation was bad was an understatement, with the arrival of the [Black Corps], their white-clad colleagues finally managed to impose some discipline to contain the chaos in the city.

Things didn’t go well for the girls responsible for the damage.

Kimiko was being chased by at least three subordinates of Kugutsu, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, not far from her.

Meanwhile, the cars of the [White Corps] were blocking all the streets. If she went into an alley, she’d probably be surrounded in under a minute.

The girl could have used [Mimicry] to hide, if not for an [Esper] among her enemies, who had managed to detect her while she was using her magic.

“Stop! You’re under arrest!”

One of her pursuers managed to catch her off guard, emerging from the roof of another building.

The [White Corps], staying in the shadows, had managed to stay off the drones’ radar of Kohaku.

“Kimiko! You must—” (Kohaku)

“[Lightning]!!!!” (Kimiko)

Luckily for the 16-year-old, the police forces on the island couldn’t attack a target before giving her a chance to surrender.

The [New Dawn], however, did not follow this rule.

“Arrghhghhhhhh!!?”

The faint lightning from the [mage] stunned the enemy, and before he could recover, she delivered a straight kick to his stomach, using her running momentum to maximize the impact, breaking several ribs and causing him to crash onto a sign of a shop some meters away, knocking him out.

“Kimiko! Keep running! They’re catching up!” (Kohaku)

“Damn! They’re giving me no respite!” (Kimiko)

The [Esper] tried every way she knew to give her friend a better advantage, after losing it due to the [White Corps].

The cost? Most of the drones escorting her companion.

The three [Black Corps] pursuing her were distracted just enough to give her a few more dozen meters.

“(This is not good at all! If she keeps going like this, we’ll have to retreat earlier than expected… no, we need to buy Kuro and Hajime as much time as possible!)” (Kohaku)

From the hotel room, the squad leader was abusing her powers to keep Kimiko safe.

Her nose kept bleeding nonstop while she hurriedly typed on her computer.

“Kohaku-chan! How is Kimiko-chan?!” (Cloe)

“Sorry, Cloe-chan. I can’t answer right now, hold your position! When Kimiko’s safe, I’ll find a way to reach you!” (Kohaku)

Even Cloe had a rough time — the only reason she wasn’t in as much trouble as her friend was her [Stealth Magic], which allowed her to pass unnoticed despite the dense net set to catch her.

Now, Kuro’s stepsister could only stay perched on a building, hoping Kimiko would escape her pursuers.

“You’re almost there! Jump onto the next roof, then into the alley, and go right! You’ll have less than 30 seconds! Enter the manhole and run quickly south — the underground tunnel network is worse than a maze; they won’t find you if you go underground!” (Kohaku)

“Got it!” (Kimiko)

The girl followed the [Esper]’s instructions exactly, activating her [Mimicry] magic to hide herself partially from view.

But why didn’t she use it earlier?

Simple,

She had just exited her pursuers’ line of sight, reaching the manhole before jumping into the sewer.

Less than 20 seconds later, the three [Black Corps] on her trail reached the alley, while the cars of the [White Corps] surrounded the area.

The last drone of Kohaku’s registered the scene before a hostile [magic] destroyed it.

Kohaku could breathe a sigh of relief, knowing her friend was safe.

“Cloe-chan, she made it! She’s safe! Wait, I’ll find a safe way to reach Kimiko. Once you’re together, we can reorganize—” (Kohaku)

But she immediately noticed that something was wrong. Her eyes widened when she saw her mistake.

“No, no, no, no! Why are all the drones I had with her destroyed?! I can’t even contact her!?” (Kohaku)

Kohaku had been too focused on Kimiko to notice, and the fact that she was working without her usual gear made it worse.

Unfortunately, she was making the same mistake now — so absorbed in her task that she didn’t notice a small squad of [Black Corps] entering the hotel.

**********

Meanwhile, Cloe was unaware she had fallen into a trap.

“Kohaku-chan, what’s the situation?! Kohaku-chan! What’s happening?! Why aren’t you answering!?”

Unable to contact her leader, she found herself in trouble. What should she do now? Leave or hold her position?

Unfortunately, someone else decided for her. Someone appeared behind the [mage], trying to stab her in the back.

“Huh?”

It was only thanks to a sinister feeling that Cloe managed to react in time to prevent being hit.

Instinctively, the 17-year-old created sand around herself, forcing her opponent to step back.

“Who are you!?” (Cloe)

Her attacker’s speed prevented her from identifying him, but Cloe knew she was no longer alone — there were others lurking in the shadows, armed with blades similar to those of her first attacker.

“(How did they surround me so quickly?! I didn’t notice anything! This situation is bad!)”

Meanwhile, far from that scene, Kimiko found herself cornered again.

“Damn, Kohaku! You said I was safe! I’m in worse shape than before!!!!”

“Surrender, without fighting. Your resistance is futile. You’re surrounded, and there’s no escape.” (Cris)

Cris, the [Esper] who had defeated Fumio and tortured the man, had now trapped one of her students.

Her clones made of mist blocked every sewer tunnel Kimiko entered, preventing her from escaping.

“Surrender?! I don’t think so!!!”

The [mage] prepared to fight with bravado, even though she knew she was in deep trouble.

All three girls were in the same boat.

But none more so than Kuro and Hajime, who were inside the very snake nest.