With Mazuki's roar of "Cut it out!", the cheerful and warm atmosphere in the room instantly gave way to an icy silence. As Mazuki thought of the mangled human corpses and heads impaled on stakes outside, he couldn't understand how the people in this room could be so full of life.

"What are you doing?!" Mazuki shouted. "What is this nonsense? How can you have fun here while people outside are face-to-face with death every single day, every hour, even every minute?"

Katari Gin approached Mazuki with that same slight smile on his face. "Mazuki, calm down a little. The people here are not your enemies."

"Do you realize what you're talking about?" Mazuki snapped. "Looking at the state of you all, I don't think you're going to be much use to anyone!"

Just then, a cold, deep voice echoed from the depths of the room: — "Hey kid... You talk too much."

Mazuki turned toward the voice. "It's really funny coming from someone hiding behind his friends."

At these words, the others slowly stepped aside. In the center, sitting in a wide armchair, appeared a man as hard and imposing as a rock.

"Shon!" someone called out. "What?" Mazuki asked. "My name is Shon, you little punk! Use my name when you talk to me."

Mazuki began to walk toward Shon with a glint of fury in his eyes. At that moment, Ren leaned in close to Gin. "Aren't you going to do something?" "It's useless to say anything," Gin replied, sipping his tea. "Neither of them will listen to me right now."

Mazuki stopped right in front of Shon and shouted in a challenging voice: "You just sit here idly, doing nothing but eating, drinking, and sleeping! Tell me, how does this help people, huh?"

Nero stepped in front of Mazuki to de-escalate the tension. "Hey buddy, your words are too harsh. Calm down a bit."

Mazuki shoved Nero aside with a sharp motion. "I think you people are the reason for those innocent corpses outside! That makes you killers too—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Shon launched himself from his seat at light speed. He brought his giant fist down toward Mazuki’s head as if to bury him into the ground. Gin and the others in the room were shaken with alarm.

When Nero and Sara moved to separate them, Shon cast such a cold and terrifying glare at them that they froze in place, as if they had lost control of their legs. As the surrounding dust cloud slowly settled, everyone was left in shock.

Mazuki stood with both hands raised in a guard position under Shon's massive fist, but Shon noticed something strange: His blow hadn't reached Mazuki at all! There was a mysterious power protecting Mazuki, swirling around him like a shield of pitch-black smoke.

Gin immediately stepped in to calm the situation. "Okay, let's calm down now. Let's talk with clear heads. Come on, let's drink tea." "I don't have time to deal with such nonsense," Shon grumbled.

Gin's aura changed in an instant. His gaze became so terrifying that it pierced directly into Shon's soul. "Let's drink tea, Shon... Don't be a killjoy."

Faced with this terrifying pressure radiating from Gin, Shon was left helpless and silently accepted. Everyone gathered around a large table. As they sipped their tea, Gin brought up the real subject.

"Mazuki, what is the real reason you are so angry?" "Don't you see? How can you have fun while people outside are screaming and suffering?"

"Come, Mazuki," Gin said, standing up. "I'm going to show you something."

Gin brought Mazuki in front of a heavy metal door. "What is this now? Why did you bring me here?" Gin opened the door. Inside stood three men in suits, their hands, feet, and mouths tightly bound. Mazuki was astonished. "What does this mean? Who are these people?"

"Who are they? Let me tell you," Gin said darkly. "These are the ones responsible for the corpses you saw outside. The real killers."

The moment Mazuki heard these words, his soul fell into a deep void. In that void, he lost all human emotion; the only thing left was pure rage. Suddenly, he threw himself at the men and began to punch them like a madman. With every blow, his anger was fueled further.

Watching from the side, Gin felt as if he wasn't looking at a human, but a monster. The black aura that had appeared during the clash with Shon had now covered his entire body like a vine.

"Could it be... is that it?" Gin whispered. "Mazuki, stop! Calm down!" Ren shouted. "Aaaaaahhh! I'm going to kill you! All of you!" Mazuki screamed.

To prevent him from going any further, Ren landed a hard chop to the back of Mazuki’s neck. Under the impact of the blow, Mazuki’s consciousness began to fade slowly. With a low and trembling voice, he muttered one last time: "What... did you do to me..."

Ren turned to Gin. "Wasn't it too early for this? Why did you do it?" Gin replied with a mysterious smile. "The truth hurts, Ren. You know this best."

Ren nodded and carried the unconscious Mazuki away. Gin, however, was still thinking about the terrifying energy he had felt from Mazuki. "It was as if... as if I saw a real demon for a split second." He shook his head. "Ah, impossible. I guess today was just very tiring. I'd better go drink another tea."

Mazuki lay unconscious from the blow. A few seconds later, his senses began to return. He opened his eyes and scrambled to his feet, only to find the room in chaos. A deafening siren was blaring, and everyone was frantically gathering their equipment.

At that moment, Ren rushed toward Mazuki. "Come on, get up! We're leaving!" "What's going on? Is something wrong?" "Yes, and it's a big one. Apex is coming! They've compromised our location."

Mazuki began to run after Ren. "How is this possible?" "I have no idea, but this isn't the first time!"

Ren shouted to the others: "To the back room! Now!"

Mazuki was still trying to make sense of the chaos when he turned his head and saw a massive fist flying toward him again. Shon! Mazuki dodged at the last second, and Shon’s fist smashed into the concrete wall, cracking it. Gin intervened immediately.

"Shon! What are you doing?" "This is all his fault!" Shon roared. "He exposed us!" "I didn't do anything like that!" "Is that so? You're just a brat who swears revenge for his family but does nothing but run away!"

When Mazuki heard these words, he felt as if he were suspended in a void again. But this time, there was no anger; only longing and regret. Shon was right. Until now, Mazuki had done nothing but run.

Suddenly, the heavy metal doors of the hideout were blasted open. Apex soldiers flooded in. "Go! Go! Find those scumbags!"

As the soldiers poured in, a man walked calmly amidst them. Gin checked the security monitors to identify him, but the man stood in the center of the room and, without even looking up, destroyed the camera with a single flick of his finger.

Meanwhile, in the back room, Ren had fixed the elevator system. But as everyone piled in, the overload alarm began to beep. Weight limit exceeded.

Seeing this, Mazuki realized this was his fate. He stepped out, pushed the button on the wall, and the doors began to close. "You damn idiot! What are you doing?!" Ren yelled. "This is my destiny, Ren. If I make it out of here alive, come back for me." "Mazuki! Get in the elevator, now!" "Goodbye..."

The elevator began to descend. Ren and the Raven team watched Mazuki disappear upwards as they fell into the safety of the dark. Mazuki smiled. Now, he could die in peace.

"Hey, you! Hands up! Turn around, now!" Mazuki raised his hands and turned around slowly. "Where are the others?" the soldier barked. "Who are 'the others'? It's just me here." "Cut the lies! Who used the elevator and escaped? Tell me!" "Like I said," Mazuki replied calmly, "there was no one. Just me." "Look, if you help us, we'll let you go right here. Give us the names and go free."

A smirk crept onto Mazuki's face. "Go to hell, you son of a bitch."

The soldier snapped. He signaled the others to beat him to death. Five or six soldiers descended on Mazuki, kicking and punching him brutally. As the blows rained down, Mazuki’s mind drifted away to a memory...

[FLASHBACK] "Mazukiii! Come on, the meatballs are ready!" his mother called. "Coming, Mom! Come on, Dad." "Just one more round, okay?" his father, Suzuki, asked. Mazuki threw the baseball. His father hit it hard, but the ball soared high and plummeted toward where his baby sister lay. Mazuki sprinted and caught the ball just in time. "Thank God," he gasped. "Well done, my son," his mother said softly. "Always protect me and your sister. Never let anyone destroy your happiness and peace."

[PRESENT] Years later, his mother's words echoed in his mind as the soldiers beat him mercilessly. Mazuki had no strength left. Just as he accepted the end, a dark voice spoke.

— "Are you this weak?" "What? What is that voice?" — "I am you. Only you can hear me. Your current state is pathetic... are you really this weak?" "What nonsense are you talking about?" — "I can save you. Do you want that?" "Why? Are you a friend?" — "Neither friend nor enemy. I am simply someone who wants to save you from these pieces of filth." "No... I don't need help." — "You will die here! If you die, I die too!" "I said NO!"

Suddenly, one of the soldiers stopped kicking. "Hey, isn't this the son of the famous Suzuki Orahata?" The soldiers started laughing. "That bastard Suzuki?" "Yeah, the terrorist scum." "Didn't their house burn beautifully? Like a bonfire..."

The moment Mazuki heard this, time stopped. The void returned, but this time, it was a hell fueled by rage. A hand emerged from the darkness.

— "Will you die? Or will you kill?" Mazuki, following the path chosen by his rage, gave his answer. "I will kill!"

Everything reversed. Black smoke swirled around Mazuki. His aura became so heavy that the soldiers began to faint. The shockwave was felt even by the Raven team deep below.

"Wha... what is this?" Sasha stammered. "This aura..." Gin whispered. "It's the demon I saw."

Mazuki stood up. But it wasn't Mazuki anymore—it was a demon. "My, my, my... isn't this our student, Mazuki?" The speaker was Minamota Sota, the 7th Commander of the Elite 7. "Soldiers! Kill him!"

The soldiers charged. "Hey, what do I do?" Mazuki asked the voice. — "Do I have to tell you that too? Kill! Kill them all!"

Mazuki moved in the blink of an eye. He punched through chests, ripped out hearts, and let his black aura rot them from the inside out. He was smiling. He was enjoying it.

Sota, realizing the danger, ordered a retreat. But Mazuki waved his hand, and massive boulders sealed the exit. Sota turned in terror to see Mazuki standing there, arms hanging loosely, with a pair of glowing red eyes floating in the shadows behind him.

With a terrifying scream, the massacre began.

Six hours later. Morning. Mazuki opened his eyes to find Sasha and Ren standing over him. "Ren, Sasha... what happened?"

"Mazuki..." Ren’s voice was terrified. "What did you do here?"

Mazuki looked around. The room was painted in blood. Soldiers' corpses hung from the walls. But there was no sign of Minamota Sota. Mazuki reached into his pocket and pulled out the star necklace. It was shining brightly.