Chapter 182 : Reading the Storm's Echo

A few hours after their adrenaline-fueled escape, a heavy silence enveloped the safe house on the outskirts of the Aokigahara Forest. It wasn't the silence of victory, but one filled with unanswered questions and the shadow of the horror they had just witnessed.

Tatsumi sat on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at the wall. His Incursio armor had been retracted, but his body still felt like it was trembling. The exhaustion from the fight and the desperate flight was felt in every muscle fiber, but it was nothing compared to his mental fatigue. The images from the laboratory—the Nomu in their tubes, the Humarise technology, and the mysterious floating figure—kept replaying in his mind like a broken film.

His door opened quietly. Akame entered, carrying a tray with a bowl of rice and grilled fish, and a glass of water. She placed it on the table without a word. That simple act, a routine they had carried over from another life, felt more comforting than any words could be.

A moment later, Leone appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed. Her usual vibrant energy was slightly dimmed, replaced by a more protective expression. "You did good, Dragon Boy," she said softly. "You came home in one piece. In our line of work, that's all that matters at the end of the day."

Tatsumi looked at his two female comrades. One was a shadow from his tragic past, the other was an unexpected ray of warmth. With them, he didn't feel so alone in this darkness. He nodded and began to eat, forcing himself to replenish his depleted strength.

After a short, much-needed rest, they all gathered again in the war room. The atmosphere was tense. On the main holographic screen, the footage from Tatsumi's helmet was replaying in slow motion. Their focus was on a single image: the female figure floating in the containment tube.

"I've run every facial recognition program I have," Hawks said in frustration, typing rapidly on his console. "Zero results. The image is too distorted by the gel and the energy field around her. No matches in any hero, villain, or civilian database."

"She's no ordinary prisoner," Akame said, her eyes glued to the screen. She pointed to a group of scientists in the footage. "Look at their posture. The way they keep their distance. They're not just observing her; they're afraid of her. Every minor energy fluctuation on her monitor makes them tense. Whatever or whoever she is, she possesses immense power."

"A remote location in Aokigahara, Quirk-stealing technology from Humarise, Nomu production, and now a mysterious high-powered prisoner," Leone chimed in, walking around the table. "This isn't just one project. This is the hub of all their dirty operations. This place might be the heart of their entire conspiracy."

Tatsumi, who had been silent until now, pointed to a small detail in the footage. "Wait. Zoom in on that part. On the containment tube's control panel."

Hawks followed his instruction, enlarging the image. There, among the buttons and indicator lights, was a small, barely visible engraved symbol—an intricate crest, not the logo of the PLF or Humarise.

"What's that symbol?" Leone asked.

"I don't know," Hawks replied. "But I can run a search algorithm to match it against all existing databases of symbols, corporate logos, and family crests. It might take a while."

In a dark underground bunker at an unknown location, Commander Kageyama knelt on the cold concrete floor. Before him, a life-sized hologram of Re-Destro stared down at him with an ice-cold gaze. Beside the hologram, Slither stood with a barely concealed, smug smile.

"Our most important research facility has been infiltrated," Re-Destro's voice sounded, calm yet filled with deadly rage. "Our most valuable asset has been seen by enemy eyes. And it all happened because you, Kageyama, abandoned your post to satisfy your pathetic greed."

"Grand Commander, I beg for mercy! I can fix this!" Kageyama pleaded, his face pale.

"You are of no more use to me," Re-Destro said curtly. His hologram vanished.

Slither looked down at the trembling Kageyama. "The Grand Commander has a zero-tolerance policy for failure." He gestured with his hand. Two large, muscular figures stepped out from the shadows behind Kageyama. The last sound heard from the room was a muffled groan.

Back at the safe house, their discussion had hit a dead end. They had the location, they knew the stakes, but they didn't know what to do. Attacking the facility directly would be suicide.

"We can't just leave her in there," Tatsumi suddenly spoke up, his voice firm and filled with a new conviction. All eyes turned to him. "Whoever that woman in the tube is, she's being treated like a specimen, not a person. Our mission is no longer just about gathering intel. We have to get her out."

Leone grinned, wide and fierce. "Now, I like the way he thinks! Rescuing a mystery girl from an evil lab sounds way more fun!"

Akame nodded in agreement, her eyes glinting with a cold light. This was the kind of mission she understood on a fundamental level: saving someone from a horrific experimental prison.

Only Hawks seemed hesitant, his pragmatic side taking over. "Rescue her? Kid, we don't even know who she is! This could be the most elaborate trap. She could be more dangerous than the guards themselves!"

As they began to argue, a loud beep sounded from the main computer.

"I got it!" Hawks exclaimed. "My search algorithm found a match for the symbol."

On the main screen, the image of the symbol from the containment tube appeared side-by-side with an image from a very old and obscure historical archive. A family crest.

The crest of the Yozakura Clan.

A thick silence immediately enveloped the room. Leone and Hawks looked at the screen, confused, not understanding the significance.

But Tatsumi immediately turned to Akame.

All the color had drained from Akame's face. She stared at the night cherry blossom crest with an expression of horror and disbelief. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Her breath caught in her throat.

The mysterious prisoner at the heart of the PLF-Humarise laboratory wasn't just a stranger. She was somehow directly connected to Akame's sworn enemy, to the source of all her suffering in this world.

The mystery had now turned into something far more personal, and far, far more dangerous.