The night felt heavy, as if the atmosphere itself had condensed. Hikaru stood on the balcony of his apartment, the wind rushing gently against his face. Cool air brushed his skin, carrying a faint freshness with it.
Moonlight glinted off him, revealing his pink shirt, white pants, and slippers as shadows stretched quietly across the balcony floor.
"I'm sorry, Sarah… and Mina" ,Hikaru thought, the words tightening painfully in his chest. "But I have no choice."
I have to return to this cruel world.This battle is between me and them.I can't let you all get hurt."
Hikaru stood lost in thought, eyes tracing the softly glowing moon.
Then something felt… off.
He looked down toward the street through his balcony. A van was parked at the main gate of the apartment complex.
The door slid open. Assassins emerged, armed with guns and knives, their movements precise and silent.
Hikaru's face remained calm. No fear, no surprise—nothing.
He stepped back into the room. His footsteps echoed lightly across the floor as he moved toward the main door.
With fluid motion, he unlocked it. Then, deliberately, he switched off the lights.
Darkness swallowed the room instantly. Shadows deepened in every corner, and the faint hum of the city outside seemed to fade.
The silence became heavy. The danger waiting outside could not see him.
Hikaru was ready.
The corridors of the apartment were dimly lit. Shadows clung to the walls as the assassins moved forward in silence, every step measured, every breath controlled. One wrong move—and their lives would be over.
They climbed the stairs carefully.
After a few more steps, they reached the fourth floor.
Below, at the main gate of the apartment, the guards lay motionless on the ground. Blood pooled beneath them, spreading slowly across the concrete, heavy and dark.
The building had already been breached.
And something inside was waiting.
They reached the room where Hikaru lived. A few of the assassins hesitated, but as the others flooded into the dark space, they had no choice but to follow.
One of them whispered to the others, low and cautious, "Hey… someone turn on the lights."
Weapons raised, the assassins began scanning the room for any sign of Hikaru. One of them stepped toward the switchboard.
Tap!
The lights flickered on, illuminating the room.
But as soon as the assassin turned back to rejoin his team, his eyes went wide. Terror froze him in place. Air caught in his throat, choking him, his grip on the gun slackening.
There, in front of him, stood Hikaru.
The assassin panicked and pulled the trigger. His hands trembled violently—but nothing happened. The gun was empty. Hikaru had already removed the magazine.
Before he could even react, Hikaru moved. Calm and precise,his grip tightened on the magazine. He thrust the magazine into the assassin's throat, piercing deeply.
Blood spurted, the assassin collapsing silently.
And just like that, Hikaru switched the lights off again, vanishing into the darkness, leaving nothing but fear lingering in the room.
As the hunt began, the scene shifted to another country.
Inside a lively city market, Sarah and Mina walked alongside Rio, busy with shopping. The festive season had transformed the place into something vibrant and alive. Colorful lights glowed overhead, toys lined the stalls, and the air was filled with the rich scent of street food—sweet, spicy, warm.
People moved everywhere. Families laughed, couples walked hand in hand, children tugged at their parents' sleeves, and strangers shared smiles without reason. Happiness seemed to spill freely into every corner of the market.
Sarah and Mina blended into the joy, unaware of the danger unfolding elsewhere.
For them, this was more than just a trip.
It was one of the best vacations they had ever had.
As Sarah and Mina walked through the marketplace, Mina suddenly noticed something missing.
Rio.
Sarah realized it at the same moment. Both of them stopped, scanning the crowd anxiously, looking left and right as people continued to move around them.
As Sarah searched desperately, Mina tugged lightly at her jeans and pointed toward a nearby stall.
There, a street performer was showing magic tricks with a frog.
And right in front of him stood Rio.
His expression was pure amazement, like a child seeing magic for the first time. He leaned forward eagerly, firing questions at the trickster.
"Hey, how did you do that?"
"Does the frog take protein shakes?"
"Why is the frog so muscular?"
"Can the frog jump to the sky?"
The trickster's face twisted into complete confusion, his expression growing more exaggerated with every question.
Before Rio could ask anything else, Sarah grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.
"Hey! You're not a kid—let's go," she snapped.
Mina followed behind them, turning back briefly to the trickster and bowing slightly.
"I'm sorry, mister… for that person."
The trickster just stared, still trying to process what had just happened.