A low, growing hustle echoed from outside the apartment building—shouts, footsteps, the sound of wood striking metal gates.
Inside the room, Derent was barely standing. His face was bruised, blood ran from his lip and brow, and multiple cuts marked his arms and torso. James, Caeson, and Junwell had overwhelmed him with coordinated strikes, though each of them carried visible damage too—James's knuckles were swollen, Junwell's shoulder bruised, and Caeson breathing heavier than usual.
Derent had fought back fiercely, but it wasn't enough.
Caeson exhaled sharply. "We could've finished this earlier… but my Beretta's empty now. And I lost my extra bullet packet somewhere in the fight."
Junwell nodded. "We're almost done. Unless another hurdle shows up."
At that moment, Vaelor rushed back into the room, still holding the steel shield. He ignored the injured Derent and went straight toward the large glass window.
He looked down.
The street below was filled with people—dozens of them. Civilians. Some carried sticks, some kitchen knives, some crude weapons. They weren't Senate soldiers. They looked like ordinary townspeople.
Vaelor's expression hardened.
He turned sharply. "There's a crowd outside. A big one. They're not Senate division… they're civilians."
He looked at Kollren. "You brought them here."
Kollren's eyes remained calm.
"We have to leave," Vaelor said urgently. "Before they force their way inside."
Derent, barely conscious moments ago, struggled upright again, leaning slightly toward Kollren's side. Goffey stood beside them, tense.
Kollren stepped fully into the room.
"Run," he said simply.
Everyone froze.
Junwell narrowed his eyes. "You… you're the same man from the market. The one who we asked about the Senate."
James and Caeson recognized him at the same time.
"So you're Kollren," Caeson muttered.
Caeson glanced again through the glass. "Why should we run? We can handle them. They're normal civilians."
Vaelor's voice cut in firmly. "You can't. I won't allow it. They're civilians—even if they're being manipulated by the Senate. I won't let you fight them."
Junwell looked at Vaelor carefully. "So what's your plan?"
"We retreat," Vaelor said.
Goffey suddenly spoke. "You can't."
Derent, despite his injuries, stood beside Kollren with difficulty.
Kollren turned slightly to Derent. "Are you alright?"
Derent answered in a low but steady tone. "Yes."
Kollren then faced the three again. "I have a deal for you. You can leave this place."
Caeson scoffed. "We don't need to listen you?"
Kollren's voice grew colder. "The people precious to you… are they safe right now? I believe my men are very near to them."
Caeson's face darkened. "What nonsense are you talking about? We don't have relatives here."
Kollren tilted his head. "No one? Really? Then perhaps I should proceed with demolishing the targets."
Junwell raised a hand. "Wait."
"Why?" Caeson snapped.
Junwell's mind was racing. Alfred had already left earlier. Tracking him would be difficult—but not impossible. And what if they had found him? What if they were watching someone else connected to them?
Vaelor remained silent, thinking differently.
They don't know about me, he thought. I'm not part of their political conflict.
Then Kollren's eyes shifted toward him.
"At the ground floor," Kollren said calmly, "your friend is with the governors."
Vaelor's heart dropped. Robert.
"What did you do?" Vaelor demanded.
Kollren replied evenly, "He's just sleeping."
Without another word, Vaelor sprinted out of the room and down toward the ground floor.
Junwell faced Kollren. "What do you want?"
Kollren answered, "You will act as decoys. The world will believe you killed the governors. But it will be me who does it."
Even Derent and Goffey stared at him in shock.
Caeson shouted, "What are you saying?!"
Junwell's voice was steady. "Why are you doing this?"
Kollren's composure remained unshaken. "Because I am now partnered with the Vice-Chancellor… Adolf Benjamin."
James froze. "Ricardo's brother agreed to this?"
Junwell clenched his jaw. "And we never knew."
Kollren continued, "For a long time, I only wanted one thing—to destroy the Senate."
Derent stared at him. "What are you talking about?"
Kollren's eyes darkened as memories surfaced.
"The Vessel Vain Factory incident," he said quietly.
"I was fourteen. My family was poor. We could barely afford two meals a day. But my mother, my sister, and my father… they were always bright for me."
He paused briefly.
"I loved studying. I was curious about everything. And I loved playing chess."
"One day, when I returned from school, only my mother was there. She was crying. My father and sister died in a gas leak at the factory. My sister had gone to deliver lunch to him. Many workers died that day."
Silence filled the room.
"That broke me," Kollren continued. "But what broke me more was justice."
"When the workers' families protested and tried to expose the truth through the media, authorities ignored them. And then the Second Division of the Senate killed them—one by one."
Derent's eyes widened.
"My mother was killed too. I was left alone. I couldn't pay rent. I became homeless. I spent nights starving. I had no skills except studies and chess. And none of that mattered anymore."
He looked at them with calm fury.
"I rose from nothing for one purpose—revenge."
Junwell asked carefully, "And who helped you reach this level? And aren't you doing the same thing now—targeting our relatives?"
Derent spoke unexpectedly in Kollren's defense. "This… doesn't sound like you. I don't know your past, but you're not like them."
Kollren gave a faint smile. "Part of it was true. Part of it was a lie. I needed to talk to you. You three were demolishing everything too quickly."
James frowned. "Then what about the crowd outside?"
"They're not under my control," Kollren answered. "They're loyal to the Senate. You should escape through the rooftop."
Junwell said, "If the Senate is criminal, why are civilians loyal to them?"
Kollren replied, "Because you are seeing only the surface. Even within something corrupt, some people believe they are protecting order. Some are misled. Some seeks benefit.
He looked at them one last time.
"Not everything evil looks evil to those living inside it."
"And the person who me back then was Carinus."