Inside Lorum's meeting room—
the atmosphere was tense.
Maps covered the table.
Mayors from allied villages sat around it.
Gein.
John.
Fein.
Takashi.
Shiro.
And the core members of Blue Scarf.
Saito stood at the center.
Explaining everything they had discovered at Neherick Village.
When he finished—
the room fell silent.
Then Shiro suddenly stood up.
"...Ray guns?"
Saito nodded.
"Not just one."
He looked around the table.
"There were at least ten."
The room immediately erupted in murmurs.
John frowned.
"Ten?"
Fein looked uneasy.
"That's enough to destroy villages."
Takashi adjusted his glasses.
"Or worse."
Meanwhile—
Shiro remained standing.
His face had grown pale.
"But..."
His eyes moved across the map.
"...why?"
Before Saito could answer—
Rin spoke.
"Probably a Calamity Table order."
Every eye in the room immediately turned toward him.
Rin leaned back in his chair.
Arms crossed.
"I heard conversations before."
"The Calamity Table wanted Scrapper to build destruction weapons."
The room became even quieter.
Rin continued.
"And test them."
He tapped the map.
"On this city."
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Then Shiro slowly sat down.
His hands clenched.
"So that's it..."
He stared at the map.
"He intends to wipe out every rival in the city."
Nobody disagreed.
Because it sounded exactly like something Scrapper would do.
Saito crossed his arms.
"Don't worry."
"We already destroyed them."
Bomb immediately smiled proudly.
"You're welcome."
The room ignored him.
Shiro shook his head.
"I wouldn't be so sure."
Saito frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Shiro pointed toward the map.
"Neherick was an operation base."
"Not his headquarters."
The room became silent again.
Then Shiro looked directly at Saito.
"If he built ten there..."
He paused.
"...what if there are more at his main base?"
The thought hit everyone at once.
Bomb's smile disappeared.
Kaito frowned.
Even Rin looked thoughtful.
Saito stared at the map.
Then spoke.
"Then we'll destroy those too."
The answer came immediately.
Without hesitation.
Shiro sighed.
"That's exactly what I was afraid you'd say."
Saito smiled.
"Come on."
"You have to trust me."
"I can do this."
For a moment—
Shiro didn't answer.
He simply stared at the table.
Thinking.
Remembering.
Scrapper.
The treehouse.
The friendship.
The years they lost.
Finally—
he spoke.
"If you insist..."
The room waited.
Then Shiro stood.
"But I won't join."
Kaito blinked.
"What?"
"We're allies."
Shiro nodded.
"We are."
"But I can't."
His voice was quiet.
Almost painful.
"I just can't."
Nobody stopped him.
Nobody argued.
Shiro walked toward the door.
Then left the meeting room.
Click.
The room became silent.
Saito slowly exhaled.
He understood.
Even if he didn't like it.
Then he looked toward Gein.
"Ready your troops."
The Hiraki commander immediately nodded.
"They'll be ready."
Saito turned toward the rest of the room.
Toward his crew.
Toward his allies.
Toward the people willing to stand beside him.
His eyes sharpened.
"Let's destroy Scrap Gang."
The room erupted.
Chairs scraped.
Fists slammed against tables.
Cheers echoed through the mansion.
Bomb grinned.
Kaito smirked.
Rin laughed.
Gein nodded.
And for the first time—
Blue Scarf wasn't preparing to defend.
They were preparing to attack.
Far from Lorum—
Far from Neherick—
At the heart of Scrap Gang territory—
stood Gaira Town.
Unlike the other settlements in the region, Gaira barely looked like a town anymore.
Metal towers rose into the sky.
Pipes stretched between buildings.
Steam hissed from enormous machines.
Mechanical arms moved supplies from factory to factory.
The entire place felt alive.
Not with people.
With machinery.
At the center of it all stood a massive underground facility.
Inside—
A single giant ray gun dominated the room.
Much larger than the ones destroyed at Neherick.
Much more advanced.
Workers moved frantically around it.
Engineers adjusted glowing components.
Metal cables thicker than tree trunks connected it to generators.
And standing before it—
was Scrapper.
Silent.
Watching.
His mechanical arm rested behind his back.
His expression unreadable.
"...Only one remains."
The words echoed through the chamber.
Behind him stood two officers.
One was a towering man whose body was covered in metallic armor.
A mechanical tiger tail swayed behind him.
Yellow mechanical eyes glowed beneath his helmet.
The other was a young woman.
Calm.
Cold.
One of her legs had been replaced entirely by metal.
She stood with her hands folded behind her back.
Waiting.
Scrapper finally turned around.
His eyes settled on them.
"So."
His voice was calm.
"Steel is dead."
The young woman nodded.
"Most likely."
The room became silent.
Scrapper looked away.
"And we lost the ray guns."
Again—
the woman nodded.
"Yes."
For a moment—
nothing happened.
No anger.
No shouting.
No outburst.
Which somehow felt worse.
Then Scrapper slowly laughed.
A small laugh.
A dangerous one.
"All of that..."
His mechanical hand tightened.
Destroyed.
Months of work.
Resources.
Research.
Gone.
Because of one person.
Scrapper's smile vanished.
"...That pathetic kid."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
The two officers remained silent.
Neither wanted to interrupt.
Scrapper turned away.
Walking toward a large balcony overlooking Gaira Town.
The factories below continued operating.
Machines continued moving.
Workers continued building.
Preparing.
Always preparing.
Scrapper placed both hands on the railing.
His eyes stared toward the distant horizon.
Toward the lands controlled by Blue Scarf.
Toward Lorum.
Toward Shiro.
His voice became quiet.
Almost personal.
"...You'll see, Shiro."
The wind blew through the city.
Moving his coat.
"You'll finally see."
The mechanical tiger officer glanced at the woman.
Neither spoke.
Because they knew what happened whenever Scrapper started talking like this.
The years.
The bitterness.
The resentment.
None of it had ever disappeared.
Scrapper's eyes hardened.
"I'll show you what I can do."
His mechanical hand clenched.
The metal groaned from the pressure.
Then he looked toward the horizon.
Toward everyone who had ever doubted him.
"...I'll show all of you."
Behind him—
the final ray gun hummed to life.
And somewhere in the darkness of Gaira Town—
war was already beginning to take shape.
Evening settled over Gaira Town.
The factories continued running.
Steam rose from towering machines.
Orange light from furnaces painted the streets.
At the outer walls—
Scrap Gang guards watched the surrounding roads.
Bored.
Confident.
After all, nobody would be crazy enough to attack Gaira Town directly.
Then—
BWOOOOOOO!
A war horn echoed across the plains.
The guards immediately froze.
"...What was that?"
Another horn followed.
BWOOOOOOO!
This time louder.
Closer.
The guards rushed to the battlements.
Looking toward the horizon.
Then their eyes widened.
"What the—"
A massive force was marching toward the town.
Rows of armored soldiers.
Shields.
Spears.
Archers.
Banners of Hiraki Village fluttering proudly above them.
The entire road seemed covered in troops.
Panic spread through the walls.
"Enemy attack!"
"To the gate!"
"Move!"
Scrap Gang members flooded toward the entrance.
Preparing defenses.
Preparing weapons.
Preparing for war.
At the front of the army—
Gein rode forward on horseback.
His armor reflected the evening light.
He drew his sword.
The troops behind him waited.
Silent.
Focused.
Ready.
Then Gein pointed toward Gaira Town.
And shouted—
"CHARGE!"
The army erupted.
A deafening battle cry shook the battlefield.
Hundreds of soldiers surged forward.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
The assault on Gaira Town had begun.
Meanwhile—
inside Gaira Town—
Saito and his crew were already moving.
Long before the attack started.
Using the chaos exactly as planned.
The four figures slipped through the streets hidden beneath dark cloaks.
Saito walked at the front.
Kaito beside him.
Bomb quietly checking his equipment.
And Rin—
looking far too excited.
The sounds of alarms already echoed through the town.
Guards rushed toward the walls.
Leaving entire sections of the city nearly undefended.
Exactly as planned.
Saito looked around.
Factories.
Machine workshops.
Storage depots.
Everywhere he looked—
Scrapper's influence was visible.
"This place is huge."
Kaito nodded.
"And heavily armed."
Bomb pointed ahead.
"Main factory."
The largest building in the city dominated the skyline.
Metal towers surrounded it.
Pipes connected it to dozens of other structures.
And deep inside—
the final ray gun was waiting.
Rin smiled.
"There."
Saito followed his gaze.
Then nodded.
"Let's finish this."
As the battle raged outside the walls—
Blue Scarf moved deeper into the heart of Scrapper's territory.