Shinya, trembling with fear following Sard's final words, sought refuge in invisibility once again. As he tried to lose his trail in the darkness, Sard brought his hands together to form a massive concentration of energy. He fired a dense wave of blue energy, crackling with electric sparks, that covered the entire right side of the alleyway to its very end.
To protect himself from this destructive light blocking the right side, Shinya reflexively lunged toward the only escape point on the left. However, just as he focused on that direction, Sard hurled the heavy metal dumpster on his left with incredible speed. Even though Sard couldn't see Shinya's exact position, he had anticipated the only path he could take and swung the dumpster along that line. The dumpster slammed violently into the invisible Shinya's right arm. Thrown several meters by the impact, Shinya hit the ground hard and became visible once more. Right beside where Shinya fell lay the gun Sard had previously knocked out of his hand.
Shinya lay on the ground in excruciating pain. Meanwhile, Fast, groggy from the blow he had taken, slowly propped himself up, clutching the back of his head. He scanned his surroundings with blurred vision and, upon spotting his friend, murmured in shock:
"Sard?"
Hearing Fast's voice, Sard momentarily shifted his gaze from Shinya toward his friend. Shinya seized this brief opening. Despite his broken right arm, he pushed himself up, fueled by intense pain, and stood his ground. He grabbed the gun from the floor with his left hand and took aim. But Sard was no longer where the barrel was pointed. Shinya froze. In that moment of confusion, a crushing kick from his right side slammed into his left ribs. With the sound of ribs cracking, Shinya was sent airborne, slammed hard against the wall, and then collapsed to the ground. As the blood from his mouth mixed with the dirt on the ground, Sard appeared right over him. He grabbed him by the collar, hoisted him up, and slammed his back against the wall once more.
Sard's eyes glowed with a crimson reflection under the dim streetlights, fueled by intense hatred and rage. While pinning Shinya to the wall with his left hand, he pulled his right fist back. He was about to deliver a lethal blow. Shinya began to cry softly and whimpered in a trembling voice:
"Please..."
At that moment, a voice came from Sard's left: "Sard!" Fast had approached them, leaning against the wall with one hand still on his head.
"Sard, don't," Fast said.
Sard paused upon hearing Fast's voice. He first looked at Fast, then turned his gaze back to Shinya. In that moment, he noticed that Shinya had wet himself out of terror. He hurled him to the ground in utter disgust, muttering, "Pathetic..." Shinya looked up at Sard after hitting the ground. Sard stared down into Shinya's eyes with absolute coldness and a threatening gaze:
"Don't you ever cross our path again," he said.
Sard turned his back and walked away without giving the slumped Shinya another look. He passed Fast without a single word and walked straight toward Lena. Fast looked at Shinya on the ground with a bewildered expression, still not fully grasping what had happened; then he too turned around and followed the others without saying anything. Both were silent. Sard picked Lena up from the ground, carrying her in his arms, and the three of them vanished into the darkness of the alley.
Left like a heap of trash in the middle of the alley, Shinya began to have a nervous breakdown as he writhed in unbearable pain. Struggling on the ground, he screamed in a raspy voice:
"Do you think you'll get away with this, Sard?"
With his barely moving left hand, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. He pulled out his phone, its screen shattered, and called Alric with trembling fingers. When the call was answered, Alric's authoritative voice came through. Alric immediately asked for a status report and what Sard was up to. Shinya began to speak, breathless and in a voice filled with pain:
"Sard... Sard is forming his own group, sir. He somehow found out that Fast has potential and recruited him into his team. He's clearly fed the kid lies... When I simply asked him what his deal was and why he was harming our clan member, the three of them teamed up and attacked me all at once."
Shinya coughed and spat blood for a moment before continuing:
"Sard has grown quite strong... If it were one-on-one, I would have won, but unfortunately, they all swarmed me at the same time. After they beat me, he said, 'Give my regards to Alric, we're going to finish him.' I'm in very bad shape right now, sir, please send help..."
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Alric's voice was ice-cold:
"Understood. We'll have to answer them in their own style then."
The call ended. As Shinya lay on his back on the ground with the phone in his hand, he first began to chuckle softly. Within seconds, this developed into an out-of-control laugh that echoed off the alley walls. Shinya was laughing manically, staring up at the top of the alley with his blood-stained mouth.