The convoy of !VVO vehicles slowly disappeared beyond the outskirts of Basmet Town.

Through the window of the lead vehicle, Hollow looked back one last time.

The town that had once feared the name !VVO now waved goodbye.

Some children even smiled.

"...We've really changed."

Lament, seated beside him, looked out the same window.

"We did more than change."

"We gave them a reason to believe."

Hollow remained silent.

Three weeks ago...

That would've been impossible.

Back then, !VVO was nothing more than a name people whispered in fear.

Now...

It was becoming something else.

The journey back to Gusablam City was unusually peaceful.

Members laughed from the vehicles behind them.

Some argued over card games.

Others slept after weeks of nonstop work.

No one talked about Plan B anymore.

It had done its job.

...

Several hours later...

The convoy entered Gusablam City.

The towering headquarters of !VVO came into view.

As the vehicles stopped, members stepped out one by one, stretching after the long drive.

"It feels good to be back."

"I missed my own bed."

"I'm sleeping for twelve hours."

Laughter echoed throughout the courtyard.

Hollow couldn't help but smile.

This was the first time he'd seen everyone so relaxed.

As he entered the headquarters, familiar hallways greeted him once again.

Everything looked the same.

Yet...

Everything felt different.

The fear that once filled the building had been replaced with conversation.

Members no longer lowered their heads whenever someone walked by.

They greeted one another.

They joked.

Some even argued over whose turn it was to clean the meeting room.

"...Leader."

Hollow turned toward the voice.

A man carrying several neatly stacked folders approached him.

He looked to be in his late thirties, wearing a neatly pressed black suit with a silver !VVO pin on his collar.

"I've finished organizing the reports from Basmet Town."

Hollow accepted the folders.

"Thank you."

The man gave a polite nod.

"I'm Rowan."

"Hollow."

"The pleasure's mine."

Rowan smiled.

"I've heard a lot about your leadership these past three weeks."

"I've also heard the headquarters has become much quieter."

"...Is that a complaint?"

"Quite the opposite."

Rowan chuckled.

"It's nice hearing laughter around here again."

Before Hollow could reply, Lament called from down the hallway.

"Hollow! The members are waiting for the debriefing."

"I'll be there."

Rowan stepped aside.

"I won't keep you."

As Hollow walked away, he glanced back for a brief moment.

Rowan had already returned to organizing paperwork.

Quiet.

Professional.

Almost invisible among the busy headquarters.

Yet somehow...

He looked like someone who had always belonged there.

That evening, after the debriefing concluded, Hollow stood alone in his office.

He opened a calendar resting on his desk.

Three weeks.

Exactly three weeks had passed since the day his life had changed forever.

Three weeks since Vincent's death.

Three weeks since Gabriel Brown's arrest.

Three weeks since he became the leader of !VVO.

It wasn't a long time.

But it was enough to prove one thing.

Change was possible.

Hollow closed the calendar and looked out over the city lights.

"...Let's keep moving forward."

Outside, the headquarters buzzed with life.

For the first time in years...

!VVO felt less like a criminal organization...

And more like a family.