Chapter 24: Bloody Truths

The silence was heavy.

Mayu stared at the stranger, her heart beating in disarray.

She knew this face.

Those dark eyes, that piercing gaze.

But it was impossible.

— You're dead.

Her voice trembled, caught between anger and disbelief.

The man crossed his arms.

— No. I was left for dead.

---

**Flashback.**

A dark corridor.

Bodies littering the floor.

Screams echoing in the distance.

And him, bathing in his own blood.

He remembered the Professor's gaze.

The cold, unfeeling tone of his voice.

— Leave him there.

Then darkness.

---

— I survived.

The stranger spoke in a sharp tone, as if wanting to cut through the emotions.

— I've spent the past years tracking the Professor, understanding his game. But he's always one step ahead.

Mayu clenched her fists.

— Why come back now?

He fixed his gaze on her, and for the first time, his mask cracked.

— Because you're the only one who can stop him.

A shiver ran through Mayu.

This wasn't just a mission.

It was a trap.

And she had just fallen into it.

---

Akira groaned, breaking the tension.

He pressed a hand against his shoulder, blood oozing between his fingers.

— I don't want to interrupt this lovely reunion… he said. But we should take care of this before I pass out.

Mayu only now realized how much her own body burned.

Her side was on fire.

Her breath was short.

They needed medical attention.

She glanced at the stranger.

— Are we safe here?

A slight ironic smile stretched across his lips.

— Nowhere is safe.

---

They settled as best they could.

Akira ripped a piece from his own coat to improvise a bandage for his shoulder.

Mayu gritted her teeth as the stranger disinfected her wound.

— Too slow.

— Shut up.

Despite the pain, her gaze remained fixed on him.

A million questions burned on her lips.

But she didn't have time to ask them.

A sound echoed.

A metallic scraping.

Then…

A laugh.

---

— I found you.

The voice was sweet. Melodic.

A shadow slipped out of the darkness.

A slim, elegant figure.

A woman with short hair, a cruel smile on her lips.

In her hand…

A long black katana.

Mayu's blood ran cold.

She recognized that smile.

That voice.

— Saya.

The woman tilted her head slightly, like a mechanical doll.

— It's been a while, Mayu.

Then, in a flash—

She attacked.