Chapter 62 - Into the Lion’s Den

The dust had barely settled, but there was no time to hesitate. Mira was gone. The explosion had taken her, and all that remained was Shiro's taunting message.

Hotaru turned to Sai, her eyes blazing with determination. "We find her. Now."

Sai nodded, gripping the hilt of his weapon. "Agreed. But charging in blindly is exactly what he wants."

Tora was already working on his tablet, fingers flying over the keys. "Give me a second. If I can hack into their system, I might be able to trace where they took her."

Ryuuji cracked his knuckles. "And if you can't?"

Tora smirked. "Then we crash in the old-fashioned way."

Before they could move, Kuro, who had been silent all this time, suddenly tensed and let out a deep growl.

Hotaru followed his gaze to a figure standing on the rooftop of the ruined factory. The moonlight revealed silver hair and cold eyes.

Shiro.

He looked down at them with a small smile, completely unbothered by the destruction he had caused. "I was wondering how long you'd take to get here."

Sai's grip tightened. "Where is she?"

Shiro tilted his head, amusement flickering in his gaze. "You should be asking why she's gone. Not where."

Hotaru took a step forward, her aura crackling with barely restrained fury. "Enough games. If you touched her—"

Shiro chuckled. "Relax. She's alive… for now." He glanced at Tora, whose fingers were still on his tablet. "And you can stop hacking. I made sure you wouldn't find anything useful."

Tora cursed under his breath.

Shiro took a step closer to the edge of the rooftop, looking down at them like a king addressing his subjects. "Let's make this more interesting. If you want her back, come and get her. But I warn you—by the time you do, she might not be the same person you remember."

And with that, he vanished into the shadows.

For a long moment, no one spoke. The only sound was the wind howling through the ruins.

Then Ryuuji exhaled sharply. "I hate that guy."

Hotaru's hands curled into fists. "We need a plan. Now."

Sai nodded. "We're going after him. But we play this smart."

Tora smirked. "Smart? You sure you're in the right team?"

Hotaru cracked a grin. "Shut up and start working, hacker boy. We have a friend to save."

To be continued…

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