The rushing wind blew Ellen's hair as she stared at the door Zane had kicked open, flying off who knew where. The corner of her mouth twitched.
"This is a feint?"
"We didn't wipe out the enemy. What else would you call it?"
"Don't just stand there. Move."
Zane stepped quickly into the circular building. Ellen sighed inwardly, raised her weapon, and followed him inside.
Forget it. No point overthinking—Zane's the master here. Whatever he says, goes.
...
"Hurry! The intruders are fleeing north! After them!"
"When is Public Security sending reinforcements?! We can't hold out much longer!"
"The intruders have appeared in the south again! Requesting support!"
Thanks to Zane and Ellen's actions, chaos had erupted outside the skyscraper, spilling over into the interior as well.
Inside, members of Hare's House and Victoria Housekeeping were each tackling their own assignments.
Somewhere in the building—
"Billy, can you even handle this?"
"Nekomata says enemies are coming this way!"
Nicole eyed Billy with doubt as they stood before a password-locked iron door.
"Trust me, Nicole-boss!"
"I might be a combat cyborg, but I'm solid when it comes to stuff like this too!"
As if to prove himself, Billy quickly cracked the lock and entered the correct code. The iron door opened with a clang. Nicole waved for Nekomata, and the three slipped inside together.
Elsewhere, Corin and Rina faced the same obstacle—another locked iron door. But unlike Billy, neither of them had the skills to crack it.
But...
"Leave it to Corin!"
Corin raised her circular saw with both hands. The sharp blades spun wildly with a shrill whine before she brought it down hard against the metal door.
The grinding shriek echoed as sparks flew, and soon a hole was cut wide enough.
With a crash, the severed section of door fell to the floor. Corin and Rina slipped through the gap.
Password? What password?
Why bother with codes when brute force worked just fine?
Of course, they were fortunate—only two guards were stationed across these two floors, and both were already incapacitated.
While both teams pushed forward, Anby and Lycaon—working separately—were facing their own challenges.
But to them, these were no more than obstacles.
...
The night outside was dark as ink, still as water.
"These guys... they don't seem very professional," Ellen muttered quietly from her hiding spot in the shadows, watching the security scramble. She looked almost detached, as if none of it concerned her.
Zane emerged beside her, glanced around, and said softly,
"Have a little more confidence. It's not that they're weak—it's that we're too strong."
Ellen nodded in agreement. She'd found many of Zane's remarks questionable before, but this one she couldn't deny.
"Alright. Time for us to head inside."
With that, Ellen glanced at him once more before following into the darkness.
...
The skyscraper's uppermost section wasn't a floor but a massive space spanning seven or eight levels in height. The center bulged upward, making the chamber even more cavernous.
The ceiling was pieced together from smooth, mirror-like glass panels, cleaned daily regardless of weather.
Accidents from this upkeep were not uncommon.
But to the organization that owned the building, such losses were nothing. Compared to paying millions in denny compensation, what mattered more was being able to look up and see the open sky.
Starlight mingled with moonlight, casting dreamlike shadows across the hall. Two colossal statues stood in its center, bathed in the glow filtering through the night.
Each towered dozens of meters high, carved in gray-white stone.
One statue depicted an ancient human holding aloft a flame, the flowing fire etched in stone so vividly it seemed alive.
The other showed a human raising the sun with both hands. From the ground, its grandeur was overwhelming. The starlight happened to fall directly on the "sun," making it shine as if real.
Suddenly—
A shattering crash split the silence. Glass rained down, and with it came the faint thud of someone landing.
Lycaon stood atop the statue of the sun-bearer, steadied himself, and rose. Beside him, another sound echoed—Anby had landed neatly on the statue's shoulder.
"I'm ready here. They should be outside by now—time to provide support."
"You move, I'll open the door."
Anby straightened and spoke softly. Lycaon nodded and leapt down, striding toward the great door at the far end of the hall.
But before he reached it, a red beam shot out, locking directly onto him.
Then a second. A third.
Clearly, security in this hall was top tier. Lycaon knew that without the highest clearance, no outsider could move freely here.
His ears twitched—footsteps. Guards were on their way. No need to guess; these were the hall's independent security forces.
He stepped back. The mechanical systems in his legs flared with a blue glow. A heartbeat later, Lycaon shot forward like a cannon!
Traps activated in his wake as security forces charged in faster.
While Lycaon drew their attention, Anby darted toward the door. It was reinforced with heavy materials, nearly impossible to break by force.
But that wasn't her target.
Lightning arced across her blade as she slashed—not at the door, but at the control device beside it.
Within moments, sparks flew and the device shattered. Anby slipped through the exposed panel, diving into the wall to find the circuit system.
Without command authorization, the door remained sealed. But cripple the system, and it was nothing more than two slabs of dead weight.
She knew the destruction would trigger an alert—the information was already spreading. Which meant every second counted.
She worked quickly.
After only a dozen breaths, a heavy hiss—like air leaking from a ruptured balloon—filled the hall. The massive gate slackened visibly.
Outside, the waiting group seized the chance, forcing the doors open and regrouping with Anby and Lycaon.
Together again, Anby wasted no time, immediately leading them to support Lycaon—while also pressing deeper in search of the so-called secret area.