Inside Henry's office...
The room fell silent.
Henry looked at Saito with a polite smile.
"It's a shame..."
"...you refused my offer, Blue Scarf."
Saito kept his eyes on Henry.
"It is."
He folded his arms.
"Now..."
"Can we settle this?"
Henry's smile remained.
"I'm afraid not."
He slowly raised his hand.
Snap.
He clicked his fingers.
The office doors burst open.
Bang!
Warren stepped inside.
Behind him came several armed guards.
They spread out around the room, raising their guns toward the Blue Scarf crew.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Without hesitation—
Kaito stepped in front of Fanny.
Bomb moved beside him, shielding both Fanny and Malfoy.
"Stay behind us."
Fanny swallowed nervously.
"...Okay."
Malfoy's hands trembled as he stepped back.
Henry calmly adjusted his suit.
"I was hoping we'd reach an agreement."
"But..."
"It seems your pride is more valuable than my offer."
Saito glanced around the room.
His eyes counted every guard.
Every weapon.
Every exit.
Then he looked back at Henry.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So..."
"We're doing this the hard way."
Henry chuckled.
"I prefer to call it..."
"...a business negotiation."
Saito slowly reached for the hilt of his sword.
"And I prefer..."
"...honest negotiations."
The room became deathly quiet.
Neither side made the first move.
Every gun remained trained on the Blue Scarf crew as the tension stretched to its breaking point.
Saito's smile didn't fade.
"But..."
"You forgot something."
Henry folded his arms.
"Oh?"
"And what would that be?"
"Our backup."
Henry's smile grew even wider.
"What backup?"
Outside the office...
Rin struggled beneath Scrapper's mechanical tentacles.
He gritted his teeth.
"Snap out of it..."
"...Scrapper!"
With a sudden jerk, Rin freed one arm just enough to smack Scrapper across the side of the head.
Smack!
Scrapper's head turned slightly.
He remained silent.
His empty eyes slowly shifted back toward Rin.
Rin forced a grin despite the pain.
"...Sorry about that, partner."
He rubbed the spot he had hit.
"Thought it might help."
Scrapper's expression didn't change.
Without warning—
his tentacles wrapped around both Rin and Alya.
Then—
Boom!
He lifted them effortlessly.
Rin's eyes widened.
"...Uh-oh."
With one powerful swing—
Scrapper hurled them straight through the office doors.
Crash!
The doors burst open.
Rin and Alya skidded across the polished floor before crashing into the center of the room.
Everyone froze.
Saito's eyes widened.
"...Rin?!"
"...Alya?!"
He looked up.
Standing in the shattered doorway—
was Scrapper.
His mechanical tentacles twitched behind him.
His face was completely expressionless.
Saito stared in disbelief.
"...Scrapper?"
"What are you doing?"
No answer came.
Scrapper simply stood there, his empty gaze fixed on the room as though he no longer recognized anyone standing before him.
Henry looked at the battered Rin and Alya lying on the floor.
A satisfied smile crossed his face.
"Good."
He slowly turned toward Saito.
"Now..."
"It's just you and your crew, Blue Scarf."
Saito's jaw tightened.
"...How dare you."
His hand gripped the hilt of his sword.
In the next instant—
he stepped forward, ready to charge at Henry.
Before he could move any farther—
Kaito caught his shoulder.
"Wait."
Saito looked back.
"What's wrong?"
Kaito didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at Henry.
Then at Scrapper.
Their eyes.
"..."
His own eyes narrowed.
"...I knew it."
Saito frowned.
"Kaito?"
Kaito pointed toward Scrapper.
"Look at his eyes."
Saito glanced over.
Scrapper stood perfectly still.
No anger.
No hesitation.
No recognition.
Just an empty stare.
Kaito slowly spoke.
"They're being controlled."
Saito's eyes widened.
"...What?"
Kaito nodded.
"I've seen this before."
He shifted his gaze to Henry.
"...Or something very similar."
Henry only smiled.
"I wonder..."
"Can the famous Eighth Noctarion figure it out?"
Kaito ignored him.
His mind raced.
Fragments of old lessons resurfaced.
A cold training room.
An instructor's voice.
"If your mind is ever taken..."
"Don't attack blindly."
"Find the source."
Kaito closed his eyes for a brief moment, trying to remember the rest.
"...Come on..."
"What was the method?"
Another memory surfaced.
The assassin instructor standing before a class of masked trainees.
"Mind control always has an anchor."
"Break the anchor..."
"...and the victim may return."
Kaito slowly opened his eyes.
He looked from Henry...
...to Scrapper...
...searching for whatever was binding them together.
Kaito's eyes suddenly widened.
"...Void."
Saito turned to him.
"Who?"
Kaito clenched his fist.
"Void."
"The Fourth Noctarion."
"I remember now."
Saito frowned.
"What about him?"
Kaito spoke quickly.
"Saito."
"We have to fight them."
Saito nodded once.
"Alright."
"But..."
Kaito raised a hand.
"Don't kill them."
"Listen carefully."
He pointed toward Scrapper.
"Check around their neck..."
"...and their arms."
"If you find a strange symbol..."
"...tear it off."
Saito stared at him.
"That'll break the control?"
Kaito nodded.
"That's what I was taught."
"It won't be easy..."
"But it's our best chance."
Bomb cracked his knuckles.
"Well..."
"Here we go."
Saito looked toward Malfoy and Fanny.
"You two."
"Cover your eyes."
They immediately obeyed.
Bomb reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small metal cylinder.
"Smoke grenade."
He grinned.
"Been saving this."
He threw it into the center of the office.
Clink.
A second later—
PSSSSSHHHH!
Thick gray smoke exploded outward.
Within seconds—
the entire office disappeared beneath a dense cloud.
Visibility dropped to almost nothing.
Henry's voice echoed through the smoke.
"...Interesting."
Warren immediately raised his shotgun arm.
The guards tightened their grips on their weapons.
Somewhere inside the smoke—
Saito drew his sword.
Shing!
Kaito vanished into the haze.
Bomb rushed forward.
The office fell into chaos as every figure disappeared into the thick curtain of smoke, each side searching for the other while the hunt for the mysterious symbol began.
The smoke filled the office and spilled into the hallway.
Cough!
Rin forced himself onto one knee.
The tentacles wrapped around him loosened for just a moment.
"Now!"
With all his strength, he broke free.
Snap!
He immediately shoved Alya away from Scrapper.
"Get back!"
Alya stumbled across the floor, coughing as she escaped the tentacles' reach.
Rin didn't hesitate.
He charged straight at Scrapper.
"Hyah!"
Scrapper's tentacles whipped toward him.
Rin ducked beneath one.
Another crashed into the wall behind him.
Boom!
Rin's eyes stayed fixed on Scrapper.
"Kaito said..."
"...the neck and arms!"
He circled behind Scrapper.
As Scrapper turned—
Rin caught a glimpse of something beneath the collar.
A strange, glowing purple mark.
It resembled a mask.
"There!"
"Kaito was right!"
Scrapper's tentacles shot toward him again.
Rin leaped onto one of the metal tentacles instead of avoiding it.
The tentacle twisted violently, trying to throw him off.
Rin tightened his grip.
"Hold still, partner!"
Using the tentacle like a bridge, he sprang onto Scrapper's shoulders.
With one hand, he grabbed the edge of the purple symbol.
"Got you!"
He pulled with all his strength.
Rrip!
The purple mark peeled away from Scrapper's neck like a thin layer of skin made of energy.
For a brief instant—
the symbol shattered into glowing purple fragments before dissolving into the air.
Scrapper's eyes lost their empty stare.
His mechanical tentacles suddenly went limp.
"...What..."
His knees buckled.
Thud.
He collapsed onto the floor unconscious.
Rin landed beside him, breathing heavily.
"...Told you..."
"...I'd bring you back, partner."
Behind the smoke-filled office, the sounds of fighting continued, while the first victim of the mysterious mind control had finally been freed.