ARES stands at the front door of the partially ruined house, scanning the place with a quick glance.
ARES: [Hmm, where are Luna and the others, what happened to them?]
He climbs upstairs and heads toward Luna's room. He opens the door and looks inside. The room isn't damaged except for some fallen furniture. Luna is sleeping peacefully as if nothing happened. He approaches her and starts poking her to wake her up.
ARES: "Hey… Luna, wake up…"
Luna rises, rubbing her eyes.
LUNA: "Huh… what's the matter?"
The fallen furniture catches her attention, and she looks at ARES with suspicion.
LUNA (suspicious): "Don't tell me you broke the furniture and came here to ask for forgiveness?"
ARES: "I wouldn't enter your room for any reason, but this is a valid one."
LUNA: "And what is your reason?"
ARES points his finger toward the window.
ARES: "Look out the window and you'll know."
To her, it feels strange that ARES is acting this way, but she does what he asks. She walks to the window and pulls the curtains aside. The moment she looks out, she freezes in shock.
LUNA (shocked): "W-Wh-What happened here!?"
ARES steps forward and stands beside her as he speaks.
ARES: "Two strange people appeared and started fighting. They're the ones who caused this destruction."
She looks at him in annoyance, thinking he is joking and not taking the destruction seriously.
LUNA: "What are you talking about!? Stop messing around!"
ARES's gaze toward her shows that he realizes something: the house remained untouched and his family seems unaware of the battle and the destruction.
ARES: [I see… since they are dear to me, they were protected instinctively.]
He looks toward the door. Patrick and Laura are standing there, watching with worry. Laura lets out a sigh of relief upon seeing them safe.
LAURA: "Thank God you're safe."
PATRICK: "Ah, yes…" He takes a breath, then continues. "ARES, Luna… there are two investigators in the house. They want to check something."
ARES receives this with suspicion and annoyance, while Luna looks worried.
They go downstairs. The two investigators are waiting silently. Both are in their mid-forties. The first, named Chris, has stern features and a strong presence. The second, Nicholas, has calm features.
PATRICK: "We're all here, detective."
CHRIS: "Good, now let's begin the investigation. Since you're the only ones who survived, maybe you can provide us with some useful information."
On the surface, things look normal, but both investigators are eyeing ARES carefully.
CHRIS: "We'll start with the girl."
He points toward Luna, whose nervousness increases.
NICHOLAS: "We'll need a room for the questioning. May we borrow one?"
PATRICK (worried): "Yes, of course. Come with me upstairs."
Patrick leads them upstairs.
After about fifteen minutes, in front of Luna's room, ARES stands with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall. Laura paces back and forth, deep in thought, while Patrick watches the door patiently.
Laura finally stops, speaking in deep confusion.
LAURA: "Do either of you know what's happening? A quarter of the district is destroyed, and two investigators came saying two people with supernatural powers caused all this destruction. Ahh~ I don't understand anything."
PATRICK: "I'm just as confused. We're not in some comic book. I can't imagine the government giving such a stupid explanation."
ARES: "No, I saw them. It's true."
He says it bluntly because he knows they are unaware of what really happened. Both look at him in shock.
PATRICK (shocked): "What are you saying? You sound just like them now. Did they threaten you not to say anything?"
Patrick originally thought the government was testing weapons. But his own words made him doubt more—he knows ARES well enough to know he wouldn't joke about this.
ARES shoots his uncle a look that seems to say: 'Do you really think I'd ever do such a thing to them?'
The door opens. Luna walks out with Nicholas.
NICHOLAS: "The questioning with Luna Leonardo is finished. Now, ARES Leonardo."
The detective goes in first. Patrick approaches ARES and tells him:
PATRICK: "Don't be hostile with them, they're just doing their job."
ARES nods, then enters the room and closes the door.
The table is in the center, with two chairs. Chris sits in one, leaving the other for ARES. Nicholas stands beside him.
The atmosphere in the room is tense. Nicholas glances nervously between ARES and Chris. Chris stares at him calmly, showing no emotions, while ARES returns his gaze with disdain.
ARES: [Detective Chris is difficult to read… but this fool already gave himself away. They know something.]
Chris pulls out a cigarette, lights it with a match, and takes a drag.
CHRIS: "Let's get straight to the point. Who are you?"
ARES: "I don't understand what you mean."
CHRIS: "No need for those answers. We know everything, but we want to see it with our own eyes."
ARES: [So, I was filmed by someone.]
ARES: "I don't think anyone wants to see something they can't handle."
CHRIS: "And how do you think the strong are defeated?"
ARES narrows his eyes, now wary of Nicholas.
ARES: "The strong are only defeated through betrayal."
Chris takes another drag from his cigarette.
CHRIS: "Yes… and also when they lower their defenses."
In a swift motion, Nicholas tries to press a cloth against ARES's face to knock him out. But at the last second, ARES stops his hand. His eyes turn completely black, and a terrifying dark aura surges from his body.
ARES: "Detective… just so you know—I never let my guard down."
BOOM!!
The room explodes. Both investigators die inside. The others are severely injured. Patrick lies unconscious on the floor, Laura as well. Luna stands weakly, her eyes lifeless, staring toward the room. Her vision blurs. Her feelings are a mixture of fear and worry for ARES and the rest of her family.
LUNA (weakly): "ARES…"
She collapses.
But ARES is nowhere to be found in the room.
An hour later, the area is swarming with police officers, investigators, and ambulances. The Leonardo family is taken to the hospital, along with other victims of the battle.
Far away, in an isolated place, three officers gather. One holds files on the Leonardo family, checking the number of family members.
ZACK: "Remind me, how many members of the Leonardo family were taken to the hospital?"
MANJIRO: "Only three, why?"
ZACK shows them ARES's file.
ZACK: "But I didn't see this boy."
MANJIRO: "We searched the whole house, there was no one else."
MESA: "Do you think he died?"
MANJIRO: "Maybe he was incinerated during the fight between those two strangers."
ZACK: "Either way, let's leave. Our presence here isn't of much importance."
… A short distance from the house, someone is watching silently. He is the one who filmed ARES during his transformation and sent it to Chris and Nicholas.
They had agreed to keep it secret, planning to use his power for their own benefit. But their plan backfired. They underestimated the difference between someone wielding dark power and humans with limited abilities.
He continues watching from afar, unwilling to reveal himself, fearing they would discover the photos.
MAN (grumbling): "Damn it… aren't they leaving yet? This is the first time I've seen them so interested in something that destroyed this country…"
As he speaks, ARES suddenly appears behind him.
ARES: "You're right. This is the first time they've shown interest in something terrible that happened."
The man freezes. He turns his sweaty, trembling face until his eyes meet ARES's grim gaze.
ARES: "I'm standing right here. Weren't you trying to kill me?"
He shows him the messages exchanged with Chris, ordering them to sedate ARES and bring him in, while the man would handle the rest. If things went out of control, he would kill ARES himself.
ARES looks at the messages.
ARES: "Things did go out of control. Your friends are dead… and now it's your turn to be killed."
He crushes the phone in his hand, then lifts the man with his power, glaring at him in disgust.
ARES: "What? Is this all you've got? Just those pitiful eyes? I thought you were better than this. Ah~ well, I'll throw you away. You'll die like that. If you had lived up to your words, you would've died less painfully."
MAN (pleading, crying): "Please… please let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone about you."
The man begs and cries, hoping to soften ARES's heart so he'll let him live.
ARES: "Fine, I'll let you go."
The man sighs in relief, but his eyes widen when ARES adds:
ARES: "I'll let you go—but you'll be thrown."
ARES throws the man away with a flick of his hand, as if tossing a ball behind him.
MAN: "GYAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
ARES: "That's three people who knew my identity eliminated. This isn't the right time to show myself to the police."
He places his hand on his chin, going over everything that happened.
For a brief moment, his eyes widen. His brows rise in sudden shock. The memory of being stabbed by the mysterious figure in his dream flashes in his mind.
ARES: "He said there's a clan that will help me… what was the name? Chiato? Kachito?"
He falls silent when he hears policemen approaching his position. ARES dissolves into dark smoke.
POLICEMAN 2: "There's no one here. Maybe it was just your imagination."
POLICEMAN 1: "Maybe you're right. Let's go—we've got a lot of work."
The two leave. Moments later, ARES reappears.
He puts his hands in his pockets and walks away calmly.
ARES: "I'll go to Eren. Maybe I'll find something about this clan in one of his old books."
By evening, at the royal palace, King William stands on the balcony, gazing at the horizon with a distant look, pondering the morning's events.
WILLIAM: [I can't believe this… how can the legend be real? A legend spoken of since ancient times, now appearing in this era. Fortunately, the people don't know. It's been hidden from the public for five centuries, completely forgotten.]
He enters the palace, walking calmly and firmly. He stops at the door of a room, opens it, and steps inside.
The room is empty—no furniture, only light. William walks to the wall.
WILLIAM: "Open."
SYSTEM: Voice recognized.
The wall splits open, revealing a secret chamber filled with shelves of ancient books.
William stops at the seventh shelf, scanning with his eyes until he finds the book he's searching for.
The title reads: "The Chikayou Clan."
He takes the book and flips quickly through the pages until he stops at an illustration.
The drawing shows a man dressed in black, seated with the head of the Chikayou Clan and several of his retainers. It looks like an important meeting.
He turns the page, finding the clan's symbol: two hands clasped in a handshake, symbolizing commitment.
WILLIAM: "The Chikayou Clan… the mysterious clan. The only clan that knows everything about these two powers—how to strip them from their wielder and all their secrets."
He closes the book and takes it with him. The secret chamber seals shut automatically.
WILLIAM: [I won't make any move for now. I'll search for this clan once things calm down. Then I'll force them to give me that power.]
His expression is far from peaceful—his face shows hints of ruthless intentions, as if ready to commit the worst atrocities just to seize both powers.