Year: 1576 A.W

  Location: D.S.O. Headquarters, Sector 9B, New Tokyo

  Footsteps echoed in steady rhythm across the white marble floor. Two men in black suits walked at the centre, surrounded by a dozen law enforcement officers carrying semi-automatic weapons. They moved in a tight formation, barely leaving any space to breathe, as though the silence of the corridor itself justified the excessive caution. Reco, the Associate Director of the D.S.O., led them from several feet ahead, his pristine black uniform untouched beneath the sterile lighting. He walked with his eyes fixed on the security gates as they opened one by one at his approach, requiring neither keycard nor code to grant him passage. He had been assigned to guide the two men across the final checkpoints within the D.S.O headquarters, as he alone had direct access to the six.

  Just before they reached the last gate, Reco turned his head slightly to the right. A few feet behind him walked the National Director of the Law Enforcement Police [L.E.P.], surrounded by his guards and another man in a black suit who remained half a step behind him at all times.

  “We’re here,” Reco said as he came to a stop beside what appeared to be an uninterrupted stretch of white marble.

  There was no handle, no nameplate, not even a visible seam to suggest an entrance. And yet the surface slowly parted, revealing the room beyond as though the wall itself had yielded to Reco’s presence. Several L.E.P officers entered first, their eyes sweeping across the interior. The room itself was almost bare. At its centre stood a small glass table, its edges coated in matte black, surrounded by leather chairs that reflected the sterile light above. One entire wall had been replaced with glass that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Beyond it, New Tokyo sprawled far below, its towering skyline reduced to grey silhouettes

  What kind of place is this? No flags. No insignias. Just this wall of glass and the city below. Is this where the most powerful man on Gaia waits for me?

  The L.E.P. director shifted his gaze to the left, beyond the squad of officers who had lined themselves against the wall. His expression sharpened almost imperceptibly.

  That must be him.

  Several feet away sat one of The Six.

  He occupied the chair with a low posture, his knees slightly spread and his hands clasped together in a loose interlocking grip. His face bore almost no expression, yet there was a weight to his stillness that unsettled the room far more than any overt display of authority could have.

  The D.S.O. director lifted his gaze, no softer than before. The silent motion alone was enough to prompt the two men who had remained standing. They hesitated for a fraction of a second, exchanging a brief glance as though weighing how long such hesitation could be tolerated in a room like this, before lowering themselves into the cold leather seats. Their backs remained straight, hands fixed to their knees.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  “Let us begin with a simple greeting,” the D.S.O. director said.

  “I am Merin (影智), Head of the D.S.O.”

  Silence followed. The L.E.P director adjusted his posture in the leather chair, attempting to ease the tension that had settled across his shoulders before inclining his head slightly.

  “I am Director Kurose of the L.E.P. This is my assistant, Haruto.”

  Haruto’s gaze had been fixed on the black and gold sigil etched into the ring on Merin’s hand. At the sound of his name, he lifted his eyes without thinking, and the moment his gaze met Merin’s, the air seemed to thicken around him as a cold weight slid down his spine and spread outward, pressing against his thoughts until they began to slow. His breath faltered, the air in his lungs thinning as though the room had quietly emptied itself of oxygen, and his body stiffened where he sat as a prickling sensation scraped through his consciousness until even the will to move felt distant. Beside him, Kurose watched in growing alarm as Haruto began to tremble. The officers lined against the wall remained still, but in that moment an unspoken understanding passed through them; they had entered D.S.O territory believing they were security, and yet there was nothing they could do against the man who stood at the top of the D.S.O.

  Kurose reached out at once and forced Haruto’s head downward to sever the eye contact. “Lower your gaze, Haruto.”

  The instant Haruto’s eyes broke away, his body folded forward as he pulled air back into his lungs. Several seconds had passed before Kurose allowed himself to carefully lift his own head while avoiding Merins gaze.

  “I received intel from the National Investigations Branch last Tuesday,” he said, choosing each word with care. “Is there anything you wish to tell me?”

  Merin did not move.

  “There is nothing to worry about, Director Kurose. Our agents have secured Sector 9. There is not a single demon here.”

  Beneath the glass table, Kurose’s hands tightened into fists as his thoughts pressed against one another.

  This is wrong. How much longer will the World Government continue to shield them?

  “Listen, Merin. We have something you would benefit from.”

  His composure wavered as he glanced at Haruto, now unconscious in his chair, before reaching into his coat and placing a USB drive onto the glass between them.

  “We are offering you something extremely valuable. In return, we ask only for transparency.”

  Merin’s gaze lowered to the device for a brief moment before lifting again. “I am very sorry, Director, but it cannot be done.”

  Kurose kept his eyes fixed somewhere just below Merin’s shoulder. “Transparency would have prevented the massacre two years ago.”

  Merin’s expression did not change. “There was no massacre.”

  Kurose stared at the USB for a moment longer before retrieving it and rising to his feet.

  “We are leaving. Carry him.” His voice had lost the earlier strain.

  As he approached the seamless white doorway, he turned slightly, just enough to glance toward where Merin had been seated, only to find the chair empty. There had been no sound to mark his departure. Kurose stepped back into the corridor and let his gaze move across the white walls and polished marble floors.

  These white walls. White doors. Marble floors. They believe themselves untouchable. You should have taken the deal, Merin. Now I have no choice but to approach… him.