Victor examined the piece of paper that had fallen along with the crow's feathers, tracing every line with his fingers and committing it to memory.
'What reason does Oliver have for revealing these names…'
'What benefit will I gain from this mission?'
He let out a deep sigh, attempting to understand the hidden motives behind Dengar's actions, but found nothing to justify them.
A voice rang out, heavy with breath:
"So the culprit is from New Fanrein."
The door, which should have been open, slammed shut, forcing Victor to look away from the paper. A figure stood before him, drawing a knife with deadly precision aimed at his face.
Victor leaned back to dodge, grabbing a chair and hurling it at the attacker. The figure ducked and lunged at Victor, its arm blocking his neck while one hand aimed a brutal stab at his abdomen.
Victor grabbed the wrist, halting the attack, and squeezed with all his strength, shattering the enemy's force. Its arm shook as it tried to pull free.
Up close, Victor could clearly see the man's face: clean-shaven, messy short hair, breathing with fury.
Victor drove his knee into the man's abdomen, followed with a right punch, and kicked him forcefully onto a table.
Panting and disoriented, Victor drew his gun.
His dark eyes locked with the attacker's determined gaze. The man tried to rise but had to stop, raising his hands above his head.
The knife slipped from his fingers, clattering to the floor. Metal rang, prompting him to lunge, trying to wrest the gun from Victor while smashing his head into him.
Victor staggered for a moment but held the gun firmly, pulling it back and striking the man's head with full force until he collapsed.
The frenzied figure was pinned beneath Victor's foot, gun barrel pressed against his forehead. He pressed down as if to pierce the skull.
"Who are you!!"
Victor's calm voice held a smirk.
"..The one who will kill you.."
"Last chance—who are you!"
The man said nothing, driving both legs into Victor's foot, throwing him off balance.
He countered with a punch to Victor's eye socket, yanking him into the overturned table.
Dust swirled as a figure dashed in, grabbing Victor's gun.
The trigger clicked—empty. The man's eyes widened in shock. Victor leapt onto him like a wrestler, slamming him into a wall. He collapsed to the floor, panting maniacally.
Victor stood over him, knife in hand, smiling.
"Time to explain, or you die here!"
The man spat at Victor's shoes.
"Soon…ugh…soon you'll face the end! Think you'll uncover the truth quickly? You're far too slow. Hahaha…killing high-level infiltrators in Rasentiven isn't enough!"
'The person I killed wasn't actually a participant…'
Victor's eyes widened as he recalled talking with Barrel, realizing an impostor had posed as an assistant professor—still unaccounted for.
It was likely there were many more hiding—perhaps dozens—tracking him to this location.
'This place is no longer safe.'
The window shattered. Golden bullets pierced Victor's shoulder.
He staggered toward the door, the mysterious man following with knife in hand. Though battered, the man still had strength.
Victor crawled across the floor after opening the door, trying to escape.
The man advanced with a horrifying smile, wiping blood from his lips with the knife.
In the chaos, a single sound brought Victor back to awareness. A crow cried outside the window.
The sound transformed into a deafening explosion. Flames erupted, scattering sparks through the room, engulfing the mysterious man and Oliver's office in fire.
The man screamed amid the warm blaze, thrashing until his charred body collapsed beside Victor.
'Oliver Dencart…this was your plan again.'
Victor rummaged in his pocket, pulling out a vial of bright green liquid and drinking it. The wound's foreign matter dissolved, and his skin fused back together.
There was no time to waste. Gritting his teeth, he hoisted his exhausted body and prepared to descend to the second floor.
Explosions sent the maids into a frantic panic. Victor quickly explained the situation and knocked on his room's door.
"Selith, we have to get out of here!"