The room was quiet until the door was suddenly kicked open. A man stumbled inside, gasping for air like he was drowning. His face was covered in dirt and old blood.
Dante jumped up, his face turning white. "Five! Where have you been? We've been looking for you for fifteen days!"
Five collapsed against the wall, shaking uncontrollably. "Dante... I don't have much time. They caught me... they tortured me every single day. They beat me until I couldn't even scream anymore. And now... they sent me back with a gift."
He pulled up his ripped shirt. Ren's heart stopped. There was a metal box strapped to Five's chest with red numbers blinking. It was a bomb.
05:00... 04:59...
"Five minutes," Five whispered, tears falling down his face. "They let me go just so I could kill you all."
Dante's voice was shaking. "Stay still, Five. Just breathe. We are going to save you. Who did this?"
"Black Stiff," Five coughed, blood coming out of his mouth. "Who else? I was at my shop when they took me. I only have four minutes left! Please... I don't want to die."
"Carlos! Get him to the safe room! Now!" Dante yelled.
Carlos grabbed Five and ran to a heavy steel door. That room was solid—no bomb could break it, and no sound could get out. Carlos laid Five on a table, his hands sweating. He tried to cut the wires.
FAILED. The beeping got faster. "Shit! Why isn't it working?" Carlos hissed. He tried again, his fingers shaking.
FAILED. Only 20 seconds left. The beeping was so loud now. "Work, damn it!" Carlos screamed. With one last pull, he ripped out the main wire.
00:01. The timer stopped.
Carlos took a deep breath. "I got it. Five, you're safe. We did it."
But Five didn't move. Dark liquid started coming out of his mouth.
"Five? Five!" Carlos shook him, but his body was cold. The gang didn't just use a bomb—they had forced him to drink poison before letting him go. They wanted to make sure he died no matter what.
"No... no!" Carlos screamed, hitting the wall with his fist. He walked out of the room, his eyes full of fire. "I'm done, Dante! I'm going to find the boss of Black Stiff and kill him myself!"
Dante grabbed his arm. "Stop, Carlos! That's what they want! We don't even know who the leader is. We don't even know the five big heads of the gang. This group that attacked us is just a tiny part of their army. We are fighting a ghost right now!"
Ren stood in the corner, feeling sick. All this blood, all this death... it was too much.
"Enough," Dante said, his voice turning cold. "We need a plan. Carlos, give me your phone. I need to call your brother."
As Dante walked away to call, Ren went to Carlos. "How big is this 'Black Stiff' gang? Why are they so powerful?"
Carlos sat down, looking at the floor. "Ren, they are the biggest gang in the world. No one can stop them. They do whatever they want. They even have their own land in Europe. My brother... he's in the EU. He is the President of Germany."
Ren froze. "The President? You... you are from Germany?"
"Yeah," Carlos nodded. "I'm from Germany. I came here with Dante to check things. Dante is from the US. And Ali, the man in the wheelchair? He's from Pakistan."
Ren couldn't believe it. "So you're all from different countries? What are you doing here in Japan?"
"I can't tell you that yet," Carlos said sadly. "But listen, the leader of Black Stiff isn't just a criminal. He controls the leader of France like a puppet. They are all over Europe, and now they want to take over Asia. Japan is just the start."
Dante walked back, closing his phone. "No more talking. We are leaving."
"Where?" Ren asked.
"Training," Dante said. "You need to learn how to use your power properly."
Ren looked at his hands. "Dante... when I fainted, I saw a message. It said 'Limit Reached.' What was that?"
Dante looked at Ren seriously. "It means you are pushing your brain too hard. You can control people who are stronger than you, but because your level is low, your brain shuts down to protect itself. If you do it again without training, you will die. Now, come on. Let's go."
[TO BE CONTINUED...]