---During the events at Rei's base---
"So, that boy ran away... and now the police have him listed as missing." Sabushi said, sipping from a wine glass, seated in his luxurious armchair.
Haruto, leaning against the wall, replied, "Sources say he was seen in a taxi before vanishing."
Sabushi turned his gaze towards Lala. "I see. And things weren't going well between her and her supposed fiancé, were they?"
The girl nodded.
"Exactly. And I think the scene at the Cat Café was clear enough." Lala shifted in her seat. "Hina's look chilled me to the bone. I felt she would have ripped out my nails and slit my throat just for touching him, had no one been around. The jealousy was real; poor Kai must have reached his limit."
"Aside from that, I sensed a kind of internal distress in him," Haruto added. "And our mole reports that Hiro's sister has allied herself with the Kurotaka."
"..." Sabushi set down the wine glass, resting his elbows on his knees and joining his hands. "Have I ever told you why that boy is so important?"
Lala shook her head, indicating "No."
Haruto spoke. "He's the son of the Suzuki heir, and of a world-famous writer and artist, correct?"
"No. There is much more, and I will keep it simple." Sabushi said in a calm tone.
He then stood up, stretched his arms, and began to speak again.
"His parents are simply... complicit." Sabushi stated.
"Huh? Complicit? In what sense?" Lala asked, her voice innocent but curious.
"Behind every rich person, there is always blood. His maternal grandfather and his great-grandfather were part of an elite group of magnates who exploited the blood of thousands to build everything they gave to the world. Even if his parents are considered 'innocent', the blood of that past still flows in their wealth." Sabushi paused. "Beyond that, they were friends with Takumi Renji, and they are also aware of that machine. His parents are not victims. They are "unaware" complicit. They knew exactly what they were involved in."
Haruto took a step forward. "So... Complicit... in what?"
"The greatest scientific betrayal of the century." Sabushi slowly turned his head, his gaze sharp as glass. "The Requiem Project."
Silence fell in the room.
"That project," he continued, "was conceived by Takumi Renji, the most brilliant scientist of his generation. He wanted to create the first infinite energy reactor, capable of powering the planet for centuries. No more oil wars, no more hunger, no more destruction."
Lala held her breath. "So... Renji was a hero."
Sabushi laughed softly. "And I was his guardian angel. Until the government offered me something Renji couldn't give me: power."
He approached the table, picked up a bottle, and poured another glass.
"Renji didn't want to sell his invention. He said absolute power belongs to no one. And the government... never accepts a 'no'."
"So they had him eliminated?" Haruto asked.
Sabushi took a sip, then nodded. "Yes. The order came directly from them. I organized his 'disappearance' in exchange for a sum that could buy half of Asia. And to do it, I needed someone Renji would never suspect."
Lala paled. "Don't tell me that..."
Sabushi looked her in the eyes. "Yes. Hina. A young girl at the time. Elites like him, unfortunately, had the bad habit of being attracted to teenagers."
Lala covered her mouth with a hand. Haruto clenched his jaw.
"Hina was his assassin. The order was simple: kill Renji and run away; we would take care of the laboratory... and after all, the powerful used their influence to stage a sudden illness. Everything went according to plan. The world mourned a genius who died of a heart attack live on TV."
Sabushi stepped back, hands behind his back. "But I... never delivered the data to the government."
"You double-crossed them," Haruto said, understanding.
"Exactly." Sabushi smiled, but his eyes were cold. "While everyone was trying to carve up the genius's carcass, I took the mind. All the designs, the synchronization codes, the fragments of the Requiem Engine... they are mine. But there is one problem."
"What is it?" Lala asked, almost whispering.
"Only half of the project is in my hands."
Distant thunder rattled the windows.
"The second half," Sabushi continued, "is guarded by the Suzuki family. It's a secret passed down for generations. The Heart of Requiem—a crystalline core capable of starting the machine, but only if it recognizes a specific DNA. That of the Suzuki's firstborn. This was because Renji couldn't have children, and he knew no person in the world would be as safe as the Suzuki's only child."
Lala clenched her fists. "And to activate it... he has to die, right?"
Sabushi didn't answer immediately.
He merely stared at the rain beginning to fall outside the window.
When he spoke, his voice was lower, almost compassionate.
"Every revolution requires a sacrifice. The Requiem Engine feeds on vital energy. It is the price of infinity. Kai must donate his. Renji had planned to pay the Suzukis billions so they would entrust the young man's life to him... or rather... he had promised it to his grandparents, as the boy's parents are decent people."
Haruto stepped forward, his eyes cold. "So Kai would have died anyway?"
Sabushi nodded. "The Requiem directly extracts primordial universal energy from the body to power its core. The Suzuki son is the only one who can allow this, because shortly after birth, he was given transfusions of non-human plasma, originating from the United States."
Haruto and Lala were listening intently.
It was the first time Sabushi had spoken like this.
For a moment, he didn't seem like the criminal commanding entire clans, but rather a rational person.
"Everyone wants everything. I am sure that terrorist Rei is also interested in the Requiem, which is why he has been trying to take me out for years," Sabushi added, his voice almost sad.
His completely different way of speaking made them pause.
Perhaps he was sure he would die soon, and that's why he was telling everything to Lala and Haruto.
"My original plan was to bring the boy to us, so I could get a ransom from his parents... but Hina disobeyed me. I never expected a being like her, who has killed almost a thousand people, to feel love. Totally outside my calculations." Sabushi said. "The perfect, cold assassin, the perfect leader to leave my legacy to... ran away because she wanted to live happily, as if the people she killed were nothing."
Haruto continued to watch him in silence, his fists clenched. "So... what happens now?"
Sabushi looked at him calmly.
"We wait until they strike. The priority is to retrieve Hina and the boy, then kill Rei, Sakura, and anyone who might be a witness." He spoke with a firm, direct, almost threatening voice.
"So... we just need to protect ourselves and counterattack?" Lala asked.
Sabushi nodded.
He turned towards the two, his figure shrouded in the light of the flashing signs outside.
"Rei is a very astute man, but I know Hina hates him, so she will do her best to complete any task, finding the perfect moment to kill him. We must play on that. I know they will attack."
A flash of lightning tore through the sky.
Sabushi poured wine back into the glass, then lifted it and looked at it against the light.
"If everything goes according to my calculations, starting tomorrow, we could control the entire world."
He turned to Haruto and Lala.
"Now go and prepare. Gather all possible forces and place guards in the basements, in the tunnels, and in any place a human being could pass through. If Rei shows up, destroy him. But I want Kai and Hina alive. At least until he decides to die on his own."
Another thunderclap.
Lala swallowed slowly, unable to say a word.
Sabushi offered one last smile, subtle, sharp as a blade under the light.
"The world is ready for its new god. But he doesn't know it yet."
After these final words, Haruto and Lala walked out the door, understanding that the situation had become much more serious than expected.
Every second was crucial.