Inside the lounge room of No Name Corporation's headquarters, the atmosphere was unusually peaceful.
After the brutal battle that destroyed The Axiom's satellite, their tense muscles could finally rest.
Tora was lying flat on a long sofa that could barely fit his gigantic body, his heavy snores echoing rhythmically throughout the room.
In another corner, Arrow sat cross-legged on the floor, calmly sharpening the tips of his arrows one by one.
Meanwhile, Rare sat quietly in a chair with his eyes closed, enjoying the silence while resting the freshly cleaned Excalibur on his lap, the blade now free from the remnants of cosmic dust.
But that peace shattered within seconds.
The room's temperature suddenly dropped drastically. The once-light air became heavy, pressing against their lungs. The automatic door slid open without a sound.
No Name stepped inside.
His black suit was slightly torn, yet the overwhelming killing intent and absolute authority surrounding him instantly swallowed the entire room.
Tora's eyes snapped open immediately.
His battle instincts reacted at once, forcing him upright. Arrow stopped sharpening his arrows, while Rare slowly opened his eyes and stared directly at their boss.
No Name swept his gaze across the room.
His ice-cold eyes narrowed.
One chess piece was missing from the board.
"Where is Scyte?" No Name's voice sounded flat, yet it made the steel walls around them tremble.
Tora looked left and right. Arrow frowned as well, only now realizing that the scythe-wielding young man had been missing ever since they returned from the underground sector.
Seeing the confused reactions of his three pawns, No Name merely let out a short sigh.
He slowly rubbed his temple, hiding the irritation that occasionally surfaced whenever he had to deal with these unruly pieces.
"Find him. Bring him to the lab. Now."
After giving that absolute order, No Name turned around and disappeared behind the door, leaving behind an awkward silence.
Tora immediately clicked his tongue in annoyance. He grabbed his twin axes and roughly rested them on his shoulder. "Tch! That damn Scyte always causes trouble at the worst possible times! Come on, let's go find the brat."
Far away from the silver tower of No Name Corporation...
Behind a small and cozy flower shop, Scyte was relaxing on a slightly creaky wooden chair.
In his hands was a bowl of warm cream soup, steam still rising from its surface.
In front of him, Mika was carefully applying ointment to the bruise near Scyte's temple.
"Aw, easy there, Mika," Scyte whined playfully, wrinkling his nose.
Mika let out a soft snort and pressed the cotton slightly harder, making Scyte wince. "Then maybe you should watch where you're going instead of 'slipping' again. This bruise looks like you smashed your head into steel, you know?"
Scyte could only grin sheepishly. "Hehehe, yeah, yeah, so naggy. But your soup is amazing though. My pain disappeared instantly."
Mika blushed faintly, her cheeks turning slightly red.
She lowered her head while tidying up the first aid kit. In that calm and sweet moment, Scyte stared at Mika quietly.
For a brief second, he forgot that he was a cold-blooded killing machine.
Here, he was just an ordinary guy in love.
But the peace didn't last long.
"OI! FOUND YOU, YOU DAMN BRAT!"
A deep baritone voice thundered from outside the shop, loud enough to make the windows shake.
Mika flinched in shock, nearly dropping the ointment in her hand.
Scyte instantly jumped to his feet, his eyes widening in panic. He recognized that voice immediately.
From beyond the shop's front window, two massive figures and an archer emerged from the end of the street.
Their presence was far too intimidating, radiating an aura that made pedestrians instinctively move away in fear.
Tora walked at the front with his monstrous muscles and vicious face hidden behind his eyepatch.
Arrow followed with his sharp, cold gaze, while Rare calmly walked beside them, dragging the massive Excalibur across the asphalt, producing a horrifying metallic screech.
"Tora?! Arrow?! Rare?!" Scyte cursed under his breath. His heartbeat instantly doubled.
The moment Mika saw the three terrifying figures, her face turned pale.
Her body trembled.
Without realizing it, the girl took several steps back and hid directly behind Scyte, tightly clutching the back of his jacket.
Tora stopped right in front of the flower shop's porch.
The air around him felt hot from sheer anger. "No Name ordered us to gather for an important meeting, and you're out here fooling around with some girl?! Want me to rip your head off your neck, Scyte?!"
Arrow crossed his arms, staring at Scyte expressionlessly. "You're wasting our time, Scyte. This isn't the moment to play around outside the headquarters."
"Oi! Tora! Arrow! Lower your voices!" Scyte shouted back, stretching one arm slightly behind him to protect Mika, who was trembling even harder. "You're scaring my girlfriend! Can't you show up like normal people for once?!"
"HAH?! GIRLFRIEND?!" Tora's eyes widened as he pointed at Mika with his huge finger. "You brought a civilian into our business?! Did your brain fall into your knees or something?!"
"Exactly why you should stop yelling! She doesn't know anything about us!" Scyte refused to back down, his eyes sharpening to make it clear he was ready to fight if they scared Mika any further.
An argument between Tora, Arrow, and Scyte became unavoidable.
Their voices clashed one after another, making the atmosphere in front of the flower shop feel like a battlefield moments away from exploding.
Mika pressed herself closer behind Scyte, covering her ears as tears began forming in her eyes.
Amid the rising tension, Rare finally stepped forward.
The tall young man slowly moved past Tora and Arrow.
A calm smile appeared on his face, radiating a peaceful aura that gradually suppressed the killing intent in the air.
Rare slightly bowed his head toward Mika.
"Please forgive my friends' behavior," Rare said gently and politely. "Tora can't control the volume of his voice, and Arrow is a little too stiff. We truly didn't mean to frighten you."
Mika cautiously peeked out from behind Scyte's shoulder.
Even though Rare's smile felt sincere, her eyes remained fixed on the gigantic sword in his hand, a blade far larger than any normal human should wield.
Her courage still shrank.
She could only nod stiffly without daring to speak.
Seeing that Mika was genuinely terrified, Tora finally let out a rough sigh.
He lowered his hand and clicked his tongue irritably, awkwardly looking away.
"Tch... whatever! Just finish your business already," Tora grumbled, his tone noticeably calmer. "If you're not back at headquarters in five minutes, I'll smash down the door along with your face."
Tora turned around and stomped away heavily. Arrow pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hurry up, Scyte," he said shortly before following after Tora.
Rare gave Mika one last warm smile and waved gently before turning around and following the other two.
After the three silhouettes disappeared around the corner, Scyte finally let out a very long sigh of relief.
His tense shoulders immediately slumped.
He turned toward Mika and gently held both of her shoulders.
"Mika... sorry about that. My friends are... well, kinda rough," Scyte said with an apologetic smile.
Mika nodded slowly, still trying to calm her heartbeat. "I-it's okay. I was just surprised. You... have to go now?"
Scyte gently rubbed the top of Mika's head and gave her the sincere smile that he only ever showed to her. "Yeah. Something urgent came up that I can't ignore. I'll head out now. Take care of yourself, okay."
Mika smiled faintly and reached up to straighten the slightly messy collar of Scyte's jacket. "You too. Be careful out there, Scyte."
Scyte returned the smile one last time before turning around.
His relaxed steps gradually became faster as he returned once more to the dark world where the Nameless Devil was waiting for them.