Chapter 3

“Major, are you really planning to leave that woman as she is?” Benyak asked, standing seriously in front of Aster, who was reading documents in his office.

Aster glanced up smoothly. “What do you mean?” he asked, pushing the papers aside with a casual demeanor.

“I’m talking about Rité Rainhills. She already has a bad reputation in the Shadow Unit. Do you know what she does when she’s alone?” Benyak asked stiffly.

“And what does she do?” Aster asked, now clasping his hands on the desk with genuine curiosity.

“Frankly, I’m not sure if I should report this directly to you…” Benyak hesitated.

“Speak.”

With Aster’s endlessly calm encouragement, Benyak reluctantly continued, “She plays with mannequins. It looks like she’s studying which parts hurt the most when stabbed, how to restrict movement, or how to inflict fatal injuries.”

Aster smiled contentedly. “She’s training diligently. That sounds like a necessary process for an assassin. What’s the problem?”

“That’s not all… She gathers every silver or gray wig she can find and puts them on the mannequins. She also writes your name on their bodies. She’s been barred from the supply room because she kept taking mannequins and disguise wigs.”

Benyak spoke faster as he became more agitated. “Plus, every night, we hear the sound of her sharpening knives in the hallway. Everyone’s on edge, unable to sleep deeply. She’s deliberately keeping us awake with that noise. That woman is completely insane!”

Aster burst into loud laughter at Benyak’s desperate outcry, leaving Benyak looking stunned. It was the first time he had seen Aster laugh so heartily.

Unable to stop laughing immediately, Aster eventually composed himself and said, “I wondered why mannequins weren’t arriving in my room lately. She must’ve been unable to borrow practice dolls.”

Benyak, looking more bewildered, asked, “What do you mean?”

Apparently, he didn’t know that every mannequin Rité practiced on was transported to Aster’s room, hands and feet bound tightly with rope.

“She’s training hard; she deserves praise. Usually, you have to drag people kicking and screaming to get them to hold a knife,” Aster said, smiling warmly.

“That’s true, but watching her insult you like that is hard for us to bear. We’re worried she might cause a big incident one day. Assassins need to control their emotions. She’s the opposite of a covert assassin; she’s more of a front-line assault type,” Benyak argued.

“If that’s your assessment, I accept it,” Aster said, agreeing easily. Benyak, responsible for the team’s training, could tell at a glance if someone had the potential to be an assassin. Aster himself had made a similar judgment when he first encountered Rité. She wasn’t good at controlling her emotions and was easily provoked. She acted without hesitation, as if living only for the moment.

“I should see for myself,” Aster said, rising from his seat and heading to where Rité was training.

* * *

At that moment, Rité stood in front of a mannequin. She looked down at the mannequin, already shredded by gunshots and knife marks, then shifted her gaze to the mark on her wrist.

Maybe if she removed this tattoo-like mark, her contract with him would end. As she pondered this dangerous curiosity, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

“You should stop.”

She turned to see Aster standing at the door.

“That brand is etched into your bones. Scratching the surface won’t make it disappear.”

“Then what if I cut off my wrist?” she asked, her voice filled with danger.

Aster stepped closer, speaking firmly, “Don’t you get it? You and I are already one. Losing a wrist won’t lose your whole body; similarly, some of you disappearing won’t end our contract.”

Rité looked up at him, feeling a bit nervous. Aster added, as if realizing something, “Ah. Cutting off your wrist might kill you. If you die, the contract ends.”

Aster chuckled, but Rité glared at him, understanding the deeper meaning. Their contract would only end if he terminated it, or one of them died.

Aster’s eyes fell on the book open on the mannequin, a book on human anatomy, especially muscles. “Were you studying where to stab to disable muscles?” he asked, smiling.

“I could teach you directly,” he added, making Rité flinch.

“No need,” she said, turning her head sharply.

“No amount of mannequin practice can compare to real combat,” Aster said, recalling past battles. Rité could only glare at him as he smiled charmingly.

“Relax. I’m not here for live experiments today,” Aster said, clearing the mannequin aside and placing a square bag on the table. With a click, the bag opened, revealing various knives. He laid them out in a row.

“Today, we’ll practice manifesting your powers in the shape of these weapons. I’ll help,” he said.

“But I need wounds to create weapons…” Rité said nervously.

“Do wounds always have to be physical?” Aster asked.

“What?”

“Emotional wounds can be just as powerful.”

“Do you even know what emotional wounds are?” she scoffed, her face twisting in pain and derision.

Aster paused, studying her pained, trembling face. It had been a long time since he’d seen such a raw, contradictory expression. Intrigued, he leaned closer.

“Show me then. Unless you show it, others can’t know your heart,” he said, bringing his face close enough that their lips could almost touch.

Rité turned her head sharply, extending her hand forward. Childishly, she wanted to prove her pain’s magnitude to him. But manifesting emotional wounds into weapons was far harder than physical wounds.

Emotional wounds had no form, unlike bodily pain, which was immediate. They were like shadows, slowly consuming a person. Catching such a thing and forging it into a weapon was no easy task.

Sweat beaded on Rité’s forehead. After her bold words, failing to create a weapon now would be embarrassing. But as she glanced sideways, her eyes widened.

Aster, extending his hand like her, easily created a weapon identical to the nearby dagger. He glanced at her and smiled.

“Emotional wounds?” he said, eyebrows furrowing.

“That’s cheating! It’s a trick!” she accused, patting him all over.

“Where are you hurt?” she demanded, leaving Aster momentarily stunned before he burst into laughter.

Rité hurriedly patted down her uniform like a madwoman before stopping. Her face flushed for a moment, but she quickly scrunched up her face even more to hide it and shouted, “Why are you laughing?”

Aster, smiling, grabbed Rité’s hand and placed it over his heart. Rité’s eyes widened, and she stammered, “Wh-What are you doing?”

“Showing you. I know the way,” he replied.

“What?” Rité asked, confused.

Aster’s smile faded as he focused. His expression seemed somewhat bittersweet. 

Can he even make that kind of face? In the moment she thought that, Rité felt a sharp pain transmitted from him, causing her eyes to widen.

“Just now… what was that? What did you do?” Rité asked, realizing the answer immediately. It was a part of his inner pain.

Their wrists, where they were touching, began to glow red. Rité stared, speechless, into his empty black eyes.

Aster silently released her hand. Rité quickly pulled back and checked the mark on her wrist. The mark, which had glowed as if branded by fire, returned to its usual dark color.

Rité asked seriously, “Let me ask you one thing. As partners, can we share things like this?”

“Of course. Didn’t I say we are one? We can share our minds too. Given the nature of our abilities, we can only share feelings related to pain, but still,” Aster replied calmly, though there was a hint of regret in his words. She didn’t know why she sensed that, but it wasn’t the important part. Rité couldn’t believe he could use her ability better than she could.

Seeing Rité in shock, Aster teased, “Haven’t you heard the rumors about me in the military? I’m quite the genius.”

Rité clicked her tongue, scrunching her face, and focused solely on creating the weapon. Aster watched her, arms crossed, and said, “It’s unfortunate, but to use your ability, you always need to recall pain. Your life must be full of it to wield your power as freely as moving your body. Consider it the punishment you mentioned.”

Rité’s face darkened. Indeed, her ability felt more like a curse than a blessing. It was the punishment for abandoning Nox to save herself.

The moment she recalled that time, light began to emanate from her hand. Her eyes widened slightly. The light repeatedly condensed and dissipated, undergoing a pre-transformation phase before becoming a weapon.

Aster advised, “Carefully sculpt the light while observing the weapon before you. Think of yourself as a craftsman carving light, transforming your inner pain into art.”

Concentrating, Rité shaped the weapon more clearly. Finally, she created a small self-defense dagger in her hand.

Aster smiled and said, “Well done.”

Rité felt awkward at his praise but was amazed by the incredible feat she had just accomplished.

The weapon she created vanished after three minutes.

“It seems there’s a time limit for maintaining your ability. Though assassination happens in an instant, it would be better to increase the duration. Rarely do you only kill one person and leave,” Aster remarked, sounding rather eerie. Lost in thought and staring at the floor, Rité suddenly remembered something she had been curious about.

“Why do you, of all people, have… a wound of the heart?” she began to ask, but someone knocked on the door before she could finish.

Aster looked at the door, his expression turning serious, and asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s Benyak, sir. Major, you need to come out immediately. We’re under attack!”

Rité’s eyes widened at the news.

Aster turned to the worried-looking Rité and said, “Today’s training is over. You can spend the rest of the time sharpening your knives, practicing on mannequins, or resting in your quarters. Do as you wish.”

He then followed Benyak upstairs. Although he spoke lightly, his face had hardened.

Something serious must have happened to summon him urgently during a state of emergency.

And his intuition was correct.

Aster walked briskly into the operations room and asked, “Report the situation.”

“Yes, sir! We received a report five minutes ago that Supply Transport Base One has been attacked. The assailants are believed to be a terrorist group known as the Vigilantes,” Benyak reported.

Aster paused at the mention of the Vigilantes. They were the group Rité had belonged to before coming here. Additionally, Supply Transport Base One was not far from where she had been captured previously.

Aster, deep in thought, muttered calmly without any emotional disturbance, “I see. They must be after weapons. What’s the current status there?”

“They’re struggling. It appears there’s an Awakened among them,” Benyak explained.

Aster’s eyes gleamed with a peculiar light. “Their infiltration route?”

“We haven’t determined it yet. The fog is thick, making it hard to distinguish friend from foe,” Benyak answered.

“Contact Khalid immediately and find out the weather conditions in that area,” Aster ordered, reviewing the information from the intelligence department. The weather at the attacked site was clear and sunny, not foggy.

Aster smiled oddly and said, “So they have an Awakened who can control fog… That could be useful for future operations.”

Seeing Aster prepare for combat, Benyak asked in shock, “Are you going personally, sir?”

Aster, fastening his combat belt, answered nonchalantly, “Yes.”

“But it’s dangerous! If the fog is thick, it’ll be hard for us to protect you, and the poor visibility puts us at a disadvantage,” Benyak protested.

“Recruiting Awakened is my most important task. I must meet the expectations of the higher-ups,” Aster replied confidently, his composure inspiring trust among his subordinates.

Aster often personally hunted Awakened. His involvement in operations almost guaranteed success, with a near 100% capture rate.

He had never experienced failure. Knowing this, his subordinates silently saluted him from behind.

* * *

Rité returned to her room but couldn’t rest easily. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something ominous was about to happen, and her bad premonitions usually proved accurate. She found herself nervously biting her nails, only snapping out of it when she felt a sharp pain. Blood trickled from a torn cuticle.

Feeling anxious, Rité stepped outside and stopped abruptly when she heard voices.

“The vigilante group tried to strike back this time? But it won’t make a difference.”

Rité’s eyes widened at the mention of the vigilante group, freezing in place behind a wall.

“If they had just stayed quiet, they might have survived. But trying to steal? They won’t get away easily.”

The soldiers continued their conversation as they walked away. Rité’s trembling hand clenched tightly. Her hand felt as cold as if all the blood had drained from it.

Could it be that the vigilante group attacked because of her?

Faces of the vigilante members flashed in her mind, sending chills through her body.

Later, when she heard that Aster had returned to the headquarters, Rité hurried to the second-floor hallway to look out the window. She saw someone being unloaded from a military truck, their entire body bound. Her knees nearly buckled.

Barely holding onto the windowsill, Rité’s eyes quivered. The man being dragged by soldiers at the front, surrounded on all sides, was none other than Maud, the leader of the vigilante group.

Two more people, familiar faces though not close acquaintances, followed him out of the truck.

Fortunately, it seemed only three had been captured. They must have sacrificed themselves to let the others escape. Maud was always more concerned about his members than his own life…

Rité’s eyes reddened.

The captives were taken straight to the torture room. Rité, her anxiety rising, ran her hands through her hair before heading to the torture room. However, she ran into Aster in the hallway and stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide.

His neatly combed ash-gray hair was slightly disheveled, and his uniform was stained with blood. It was clear he had personally captured them.

Behind him, Maud was being dragged, blindfolded with a black cloth and severely injured, unable to walk properly.

Aster glanced at the hastily approaching Rité without a word. His expression seemed especially cold and frightening today.

Rité’s eyelids fluttered. She moistened her dry lips and spoke.

“Aster…”

“Move aside, Rité.”

His cold interruption made Maud flinch behind him. Rité urgently asked,

“What are you going to do with them?”

Aster replied without a hint of emotion,

“What else? We need to extract information.”

“Aster!”

Rité called his name desperately, but Aster ignored her, turning to his subordinates.

“Torture them until they spill everything. We need to know the vigilante group’s future plans and their ties to the royalists. Report to me as soon as they talk.”

“Yes, sir.”

Aster didn’t enter the torture room himself. Instead, he headed to report the day’s events to his superiors. When Rité tried to follow, the soldiers blocked her, gripping her arms tightly.

“Let go! Aster! Talk to me! Stop right there…!”

Aster ignored her pleas, walking down the hallway. His boot steps echoed coldly today.

Rité tried multiple times to request a meeting with him, but Aster refused every time. For the first time, she found herself curious about his every move and schedule, driven by a prey’s fear.

Rité paced anxiously, and when she heard he had gone to the torture room, she rushed there immediately.

* * *

Aster stood at the door, silently observing the blood-soaked man with bound arms. This man, the vigilante leader, had been difficult to capture alive.

Aster leisurely removed his outer coat and handed it to a guard, rolling up the sleeves of his white shirt to his elbows, revealing his well-defined muscles.

He walked casually to a metal chair that seemed prepared for an audience and sat down comfortably, crossing his legs arrogantly, just as he had when torturing Rité.

“Name,” he demanded.

The leader answered with his head bowed.

“Maud.”

“Surname.”

“I don’t have one.”

“Really?”

“I never knew who my father was. People like us don’t need surnames.”

Maud slowly lifted his head to look at Aster. The man before him, glowing white in the torture room’s light, seemed surreal.

Maud laughed, blood trickling from his mouth.

“You’re a young officer. The fog hid that.”

“Age doesn’t matter. We seem to understand each other. I’ll be direct. Join our army.”

Aster spoke without blinking, his words as cold as the color of his hair. Maud met his black eyes and replied,

“You like directness, so I’ll be direct too. I have no intention of joining your army, and I won’t betray my comrades. My life isn’t the only one at stake.”

Thinking of Rité, Aster chuckled.

“Your comrades’ lives depend on you?”

“Yes. If I talk, they’ll all die.”

“But if you join us, they could all live.”

Maud’s eyes widened, then he laughed heartily, blood spilling from his mouth.

“Listen, young officer. I’ve led a group for decades. Drop the absurd jokes. If you plan to spare everyone, why only offer the deal to me? Isn’t it because I’m an ‘Awakened’?”

Maud’s smile faded.

“You have no reason to spare the others. Are you planning to use me as a bomb detector?”

Aster smirked.

“You’re smarter than I thought. Threatening your comrades’ lives won’t work on you.”

Maud’s smile vanished as he said,

“Don’t expect to get anything from us. We knew this could happen. From the moment we were caught, we were already dead.”

“Already dead…”

Aster clasped his hands and silently observed Maud. Maud couldn’t fathom what he was thinking.

At that moment, a guard approached Aster with a troubled expression, bending down to whisper.

“Sir, that woman is causing a commotion outside.”

Maud’s eyes flickered, intuitively knowing who was outside.

Aster spoke coldly, “Send her away.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of someone banging on the iron door with their foot filled the air. Along with the banging came a hysterical voice, hard to make out from outside.

“Sigh…”

Aster ran a hand through his silver-gray hair, looking weary. “You sure have a remarkable subordinate.”

Maud gave a slight, bittersweet smile. Aster turned to the guards. “Go and stop her.”

“But we can’t leave you alone here, Major.”

“It’s fine. I need to speak with him alone.”

At Aster’s firm command, the guards hesitated only for a moment before saluting and exiting the room. Aster added to the last man leaving, “Remember, don’t harm her. She’s my partner.”

The guard responded tensely, “Yes, sir!”

Maud watched this exchange with a hint of surprise. Aster turned back to him, saying, “It seems Rité is desperate to save you. The camaraderie within your militia is quite touching.”

“What do you intend to do with Rité? Are you using her as a tool?” Maud asked, his expression hardening.

Aster smiled faintly. “Worry about yourself.”

Maud opened his mouth to retort, then closed it, looking confused. Aster continued, “Since we have time, why don’t we have a chat?”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to know about Rité’s past. Her life after joining your militia.”

Maud glared at him. “Are you trying to extract information about her from me now?”

Aster smiled. “Partly. But I’m genuinely curious. She never tells me anything about it.”

Maud snorted. “Of course not. Why would she share her past with someone like you?”

“If you don’t tell me, I can find out in other ways. From you or directly from her.”

The implicit threat in his words made Maud scowl. “I don’t know why you keep Rité around, but stop tormenting her. She’s already deeply wounded. It took her a long time to adapt when she joined us.”

Aster listened with a look of interest. “Go on. It might help in deciding her future treatment.”

After some hesitation, Maud decided to talk. He didn’t fully trust Aster, but hoped it might help Rité. His own fate was sealed, but he wanted Rité to survive, even within the military.

“That girl… she’s never lived for herself. She always seemed to live for others. That’s why I took her in. She looked like she’d die if left alone.”

Maud nearly mentioned her brother but stopped himself. Her brother was a painful memory and a weakness for Rité, one he didn’t want to expose. 

Aster’s face showed deep thought as he listened. He recalled Rité’s past he had glimpsed before and could now piece together her struggles.

Maud spoke with veins bulging in his eyes. “Her empty heart was only filled with the flames of revenge. It was pitiful. But I couldn’t extinguish that flame because if it went out… she would die.”

He finished his story, recalling their first meeting. Rité had stood in the rain, eyes full of venom, in a desolate street. She was just twelve, yet her eyes bore the weight of something much older. Even starving, she offered him dry, crumbling biscuits she scavenged from the dead soldiers’ pockets.

Maud had brought her into the militia, feeding, clothing, and sheltering her. Yet she remained aloof, seeing them as no different from the soldiers who hunted her. But when Maud began sheltering displaced civilians, Rité slowly opened up, using her hidden healing abilities to help the wounded.

Her healing power, rare among Awakened, proved invaluable. She asked Maud to teach her shooting and combat skills, and though he initially hoped she could at least protect herself, Rité excelled and practiced relentlessly.

After years, the arrival of a six-year-old boy named Dave softened her further. The once prickly hedgehog-like girl became gentler, finding a new purpose beyond her brother’s revenge.

Maud’s eyes grew misty with memories. Aster, observing him, eventually shifted topics. “Commander Maud, when did your abilities manifest? I’d never heard the militia leader was an Awakened.”

Maud sneered. “Probing for more, are you?”

“Yes. I need to know.”

Maud chuckled and replied, “My abilities manifested when I heard she was captured by you. My own powerlessness and shame as a leader triggered it. I became an Awakened out of sheer desperation to protect her.”

The nature of one’s abilities often related closely to their awakening circumstances. For Rité, her guilt and desire to heal led to both offensive and healing abilities. For Khalid, the desperation to read minds triggered his memory scan ability. Maud’s desire to disappear and hide had likely shaped his own power.

Aster pondered this before speaking again. “To the one who claims to be dead.”

Maud looked up, and Aster, with a smile that seemed to suggest a deeper meaning, said, “Unfortunately, I’m someone who never wastes anything, even a corpse.”

* * *

Rité was forcibly escorted back to her quarters by two soldiers holding her arms. As she noticed a guard standing by the door to prevent her from leaving, she trembled.

After a while, a meal was brought through a small opening in the door, and Rité called out to the soldier.

“Hey! Wait a minute! Let me treat Aster!”

The soldier, who had been about to turn away, stopped at her words. Seizing the opportunity, Rité pressed her face close to the small window in the door.

“He just came back from battle. He must have injuries, right?”

“…”

The soldier didn’t respond, but his silence was answer enough. Aster was indeed injured, though he had only received basic first aid.

“Let me treat him.”

“The Major has already healed himself with his abilities.”

Rité fell silent for a moment. They didn’t know that his abilities couldn’t heal his own wounds.

“There are some injuries only a partner can heal, like mental wounds or internal organ damage that aren’t visible. Just let me see him for a health check.”

“There are orders from the Major not to allow any meetings.”

“Then just tell him what I said. Just once. I won’t ask again if you do.”

Rité’s plea seemed to cause the soldier to hesitate before he silently walked away.

Hearing him leave, Rité leaned against the door and slid down, feeling powerless. The longer she was unable to see Aster, the more despair she felt. It also meant Maud’s torture would continue longer.

A few moments later, the door opened with a click. Rité turned in surprise to see the soldier who had brought her meal standing there.

“Follow me,” he said sternly.

With a heavy heart, Rité followed him down a long corridor. The walk felt both agonizingly short and painfully long, like a march to the guillotine.

She took a silent deep breath to steady herself.

Finally, they arrived at Aster’s office. Without giving her time to prepare, the soldier announced her presence.

“Major, Rité Rainhills has arrived.”

“Let her in.”

Aster’s calm voice came from inside. The soldier opened the door, revealing Aster sitting on a chair by the window, not at his desk. He was resting his chin on his hand, looking outside. His posture was both arrogant and somehow beautiful.

Holding her breath, Rité carefully stepped inside, feeling as if she were entering a tiger’s den. The door closed quietly behind her.

She walked over to where Aster sat and stood in front of him. Without looking at her, he coldly asked, “What do you want to say?”

“Please save Commander Maud.”

Aster’s expression turned bored, as if he had expected this.

“Rité, you’re mistaken if you think all prisoners can be treated like you. Do you know how many of our soldiers died because of him? Could you save someone like that?”

At that moment, Rité slowly sank to her knees with a soft thud. Aster, now looking at her, saw something strange in his dark eyes.

Rité knelt, head bowed deeply. Her voice, gloomy and desperate, escaped her lips.

“…I’m begging you. Just this once. Please…”

Aster let out a hollow laugh.

“Rité, is your pride worth so little? Are you willing to beg for the life of an old man you barely know?”

His voice was cold, but it seemed to carry an undercurrent of anger. Though she couldn’t understand why he was so furious, Rité, her head still bowed, replied with a trembling voice.

“I’ll do anything. If you grant my request, I’ll do whatever you want…”

The room fell into heavy silence. The ticking of the clock was the only sound, intensifying the weight of the moment.

Rité’s eyelashes quivered as she waited for what felt like a death sentence.

Breaking the silence, Aster’s hard voice finally spoke.

“Look at me.”

Slowly, Rité lifted her head to meet his gaze. His arrogant expression had softened slightly.

“You said you’d do anything. I need to verify your sincerity.”

Still lounging in his chair, Aster casually commanded, “Undo my belt. From where you are.”

Rité bit her lower lip, hidden from view. She had anticipated such demands since her capture. In wartime, women often faced far worse when taken prisoner.

Despite being prepared, the reality felt extremely humiliating, especially coming from a man she despised.

Aster watched her intently, offering the illusion of choice but implying that Maud’s life depended on her compliance. It was a matter of pride or another’s life.

When Rité remained motionless, he turned away, speaking impassively.

“If you can’t do it, give up now.”

“No. I’ll do it. I will.”

Rité chose to abandon her pride. She moved closer on her knees, raising her trembling hands. The cold metal of the belt buckle made a clicking sound as she undid it. His next instruction followed immediately.

“Unfasten the buckle and unzip.”

Closing her eyes briefly to suppress her emotions, she carried out his command. The sound of the zipper lowering seemed unnaturally loud.

Underneath his pants were black briefs. Avoiding looking at the bulge, Rité focused on his polished black shoes.

“Take them off,” came the next order.

Something snapped in her mind. She decided to dissociate, to consider her body not her own for the moment.

Just as Rité, with vacant eyes, reached to remove his underwear, Aster spoke again.

“…The pants.”

Confused, she looked up at him. Aster’s expression was unreadable.

“Didn’t you hear? Take off my pants.”

Assuming he found them in the way, Rité did as instructed. As she pulled down his pants, her eyes widened slightly at what she saw.

A bandage was wrapped around his muscular thigh just below his briefs, with blood seeping through.

“Treat it,” Aster said nonchalantly.

“…What?”

Dazed, Rité stared at the bandage. It seemed hastily applied, the white fabric stained with blood.

When she couldn’t bring herself to ask about the injury and merely opened her mouth, Aster spoke first.

“It’s just a small cut. A subordinate told me you said you’d heal me.”

Rité’s eyes widened as she remembered what she had told the subordinate.

‘Could he have been teasing me from the start?!’

She sharply raised her head. It seemed that a faint smile briefly appeared on Aster’s lips as he continued to gaze out the window.

In an instant, Rité’s face turned red with a mix of anger and embarrassment. However, Aster nonchalantly added another remark as if passing by.

“There are wounds that only partners can heal, huh… I see.”

“Don’t tease me!” Rité shouted. Aster immediately leaned forward from his chair, grabbed her chin, and looked directly into her eyes.

“Are you seriously yelling at me right now? If you prefer, I could change the treatment area and method even now.”

Rité trembled and turned her gaze aside. Aster chuckled, released her chin, and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

“Go ahead.”

Rité unwrapped the bandage tied around Aster’s thigh. A long, bloodied wound appeared, much deeper than what his words of a “small cut” suggested. She couldn’t believe how he had managed to hide such a wound from his subordinates so calmly.

Suddenly, Rité noticed the scattered bandages, disinfectants, and scissors on the sofa. He must have administered first aid himself in his office to avoid being found out. He would have been in trouble if it was known that he couldn’t heal his own wound. She really had shown up at the perfect time.

Taking a deep breath through her nose, Rité placed her hand over his wound and used her power. Soon, a green aura gathered over the wound, healing it completely.

As she lifted her hand, Aster smoothly stood up from the chair, pulling up his pants and zipper as he casually said,

“Now we’re even.”

“…Even for what?”

Aster gave her a sly smile.

“Remember last time, when you were upset about being the only one naked? Now that you’ve seen my underwear too, it’s a tie.”

Once again, Rité’s face flushed as she glared at him fiercely. His words made it sound bizarre, twisting the situation with his wording.

The sound of his belt clinking echoed as he neatly arranged his shirt. Aster calmly continued,

“I’ve seen your resolve to save the commander. At three o’clock this morning, I’ll let you meet him.”

“What…?”

Aster, still looking at Rité who was sitting on the floor, handed her something. It was a key.

“It’s the key to the torture chamber.”

Rité’s eyes widened.

“Really…? You’ll really let me meet him?”

“Just to say your final goodbyes.”

At that, Rité’s face hardened.

“This isn’t what we agreed on.”

Aster spoke without a change in his expression.

“That man won’t join our army. Torture is useless. We can’t waste any more manpower, so at dawn, he’ll be executed. Persuade him to join us before then. Otherwise, it’s death.”

Rité reached out but couldn’t easily take the key. Her hand trembled in the air, burdened by the heavy responsibility. Watching her, Aster spoke calmly.

“Whether you take the key or not is your choice. I gave him a final chance too. Whether he takes it or not is up to him. I respect his choice, but he must bear the consequences of that choice. Remember my words, Rité.”

With that, he dropped the key in front of her.

“I’ve lost the key.”

Leaving those cryptic words behind, he turned and leisurely exited the room. Left alone, Rité was confused and at a loss, but the thought of seeing the commander one last time quickly brought her back to her senses, and she began to organize her thoughts.

Three in the morning. It must have been a time with the least amount of surveillance, a considerate gesture on Aster’s part.

Swallowing hard, Rité waited anxiously for three o’clock to come.

Time felt impossibly far away, yet paradoxically, it seemed to fly by with just a blink of an eye.

When three o’clock finally arrived, Rité carefully sneaked out of her room, avoiding everyone’s eyes, and headed to the torture chamber. She had bread and water from that evening’s meal, and a knife and fork that could serve as weapons.

Deliberately skipping a meal to bring food for the commander, she thought it was a small price to pay if it meant he could eat.

When she reached the torture chamber, she was surprised to find no one guarding it. Checking the schedule posted on the door, she saw that there was a twenty-minute gap during the shift change. She now understood why Aster had given her the key at this time.

It was the perfect timing. Feeling a sense of significance, she swallowed nervously.

Inserting the key into the lock, the heavy, eerie click sent shivers down her spine. She recalled the day she was captured and found herself trembling uncontrollably while holding the doorknob.

After taking a deep breath, Rité mustered the courage to open the thick iron door.

Inside the torture chamber, Maud was tied up in the exact spot she had been, his head drooping. He was a mess, drenched in sweat and blood.

“Commander…!”

With tears in her eyes, Rité rushed to him. Maud’s swollen eyes slowly opened, recognizing her face.

“Rité, how did you…?”

“Don’t talk, just eat this first.”

Rité quickly unwrapped the towel, revealing the water and bread she had brought, and held them to his mouth. Maud weakly accepted and slowly swallowed them. When he coughed, Rité carefully poured water into his mouth.

After he managed to swallow the bread and water with great difficulty, he muttered weakly.

“Thank goodness, Rité… I’m so relieved… you’re safe…”

Rité silently cried. The exhausted commander looked at her with a tender gaze. Despite being betrayed and joining the Carta army for survival, he smiled warmly, as if none of that mattered.

Rité blinked away her tears, then looked at him resolutely.

“At dawn, they’ll execute you. We have to escape before then.”

Maud’s eyes widened.

“Escape… Rité…”

Looking directly into his eyes, Rité spoke firmly.

“Now is our only chance.”

Using her power, she untied his hands. From the start, she had no intention of recruiting Maud into the army. She would rather suffer to her core than make him endure the tragedy she and Nox had faced.

Most importantly, she respected Maud’s decision. As Aster said, he would rather die than be persuaded. She had abandoned her pride and her identity as a vigilante to join the army, but as a commander, she wanted to protect his pride and self-respect.

Maud held Rité’s hand with a face full of confusion and worry.

“Rité, that man, Aster,” he said, his brows furrowing deeply with seriousness, “you must be cautious of him.”

Rité’s eyes widened as she looked at him. Maud continued with a serious expression.

“My ability is to obscure vision with fog. But for some reason, it didn’t work on him. In the thick fog where even I lose my way, he found my location without hesitation, as if he could see me through the fog, as if he was aware of my every move.”

Every ability has its activation conditions and penalties. Just as Rité’s ability to create weapons came with pain and she couldn’t heal herself, Maud could manipulate fog but also lost his sense of direction in it. Yet, according to Maud, Aster had precisely located him in the fog where even Maud would be lost.

Rité couldn’t understand how that was possible. Truly, Wilder was an extraordinary being. She felt a strange sensation that, like hiding the penalty of his healing ability from everyone, Aster might be hiding something from her too.

“He’s on a different level from other Awakened. If you confront him recklessly, you won’t come out unscathed.”

“I know. But we don’t have time to devise a more elaborate plan. Let’s go together. Even if one of us can hold him off, if two Awakened attack together, he’ll have a harder time.”

Maud looked at Rité with trembling eyes and then nodded once.

“Yes. Let’s go home together.”

The word “home” made Rité smile faintly. It was a word that warmed her heart just hearing it.

Rité quickly healed Maud’s wounds and led him outside.

“Can you use your ability?”

“I’ll try my best.”

Soon, a thick fog surrounded them, dense enough to hide them completely.

Rité recalled the layout she had memorized while wandering around the base and guided them through the maze-like paths purely by instinct.

She led Maud to the rear gate, where the guards were fewest, but it seemed the shift change had ended as there were sounds of commotion.

By now, the guards must have realized he was missing. Rité’s heart pounded wildly.

They finally reached the rear gate. Rité used her ability to create a sharp weapon and mercilessly broke the rusty lock.

The sound of military boots echoed right behind them. Though it was dark and the fog provided some cover, they were running out of time.

Once the iron gate opened, Maud stepped out first, cautiously scanning the surroundings to detect any ambush.

But at that moment, the gate slammed shut with a metallic clang. Maud, startled, turned around to see Rité standing on the other side of the bars with a forlorn smile.

Maud pounded on the bars, shouting, “Rité! What are you doing?”

Rité spoke softly, “Go. Quickly.”

“Rité! Open this gate right now! How can I escape alone? You said we would go together! So, hurry and—”

Rité, tears in her eyes, slowly shook her head.

“No. I can’t go back. I can never leave this place.”

Maud muttered in disbelief, “Why…”

“I found out that my brother has been alive all this time. I can’t leave until I rescue him. And… as you might have guessed, I can’t escape from him. Aster.”

Rité showed him the mark on her wrist. Although Maud didn’t understand what it was, he instinctively knew that it was a brand of sorts, binding her to Aster. He was shocked.

“Found them! Over here!”

Soldiers spotted them and rushed over. Rité shouted urgently, “Go! Aster won’t let me go, but he won’t chase after you. He’ll have to choose, and it won’t be you. This is your last chance to escape.”

Maud’s eyes filled with tears. Rité clasped his hand through the bars, pleading, “Please take care of the others for me.”

Using the last of her strength, Rité healed Maud’s injuries completely. He looked at her with determination and said, “I will come back for you. I promise, I will use this ability you gave me for your sake. I swear on my life.”

Maud’s raid on the supply transport base was all for Rité’s revenge. Rité, with a tearful smile, said, “Thank you, sir. Thank you for being like a father to me.”

Maud, trying to hold back his tears, finally broke down. Trying to hide his tears, he whispered, “Stay alive, Rité.”

His voice was firm, but it was heavy with emotion. With that, Maud quickly disappeared into the dense fog.

Rité watched his retreating figure, reminiscing about the memories they shared. The time he gently taught her to shoot, the times he rubbed his unshaven face against hers, laughing heartily, and her younger self screaming in protest…

They were all precious memories she would never forget.

Soon, the soldiers reached Rité and pointed their guns at her, shouting, “Chase after the escaped one!”

“Yes, sir!”

As they opened the gate to leave, Rité used her ability to strike them from behind.

“Argh…!”

In the fog, she fought five men. She had to buy time until Maud reached safety.

As he got further away, the fog around Rité began to thin. While it was advantageous to her to attack indiscriminately in the fog, as it cleared, fighting five burly men alone became impossible.

Eventually, Rité was kicked and slammed into the iron gate, collapsing to the ground.

“Ugh…”

One of the soldiers grabbed her by the hair and started to lift her when a calm voice interrupted.

“Stop.”

They immediately halted and saluted someone. Rité, gasping for breath, slowly looked up.

Aster was walking towards her from a distance.

He stopped a short distance from her and looked down at her in silence. Through her messy, jade-green hair, she looked up at him. His cold, dark eyes watched her with an unreadable expression.

Aster finally spoke calmly, “I told you, Rité. Whatever you choose, you must bear the responsibility for your choice.”

Rité flinched at his words. Aster then coldly instructed the men around him, “Take her to the training ground.”

“Yes, sir!”

Rité was roughly grabbed by two men and dragged away. Her thin, frail body swayed from side to side. As she passed Aster, she neither looked at him nor pleaded for mercy.

She had nothing to say. Betraying him was a fact.

As she was dragged away, Aster took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. The sky was beginning to lighten, casting a pale blue hue over the surroundings.

He looked up, exhaling smoke that turned the cold color into a dull gray.

It was a foggy, damp, and unpleasant day. 

* * *

The soldiers murmured among themselves, gazing at the training ground.

“Isn’t it true that the commander of the vigilante group escaped early this morning?”

“I heard that woman betrayed us. I knew it would come to this. How could we trust a woman who was once our enemy?”

In the middle of the training ground, Rité was tied barefoot to a wooden post.

She listened to their conversation with her head lowered, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. The breath she had been holding trembled as it escaped her lips.

Fortunately, it seemed the commander had escaped safely. From what she could gather from the soldiers’ conversations, the dense fog had made it difficult to find the escape route, and they feared a counterattack from the vigilante group hiding nearby, so they had abandoned the chase.

The decisive factor in halting the pursuit had been Aster’s order. Though it was a relief, Rité knew Aster had the ability to capture the commander. She couldn’t understand why he had ordered the pursuit to stop.

While the outcome was fortunate, Rité feared what it might mean.

Aster was a man strict about rewards and punishments. She had no idea how he would react to this incident or how she should act in response.

* * *

At that moment, Aster stood with his hands behind his back in Lieutenant General Russell’s office.

Normally, he would have directed his subordinates to reprimand Darren, but Aster was granted a private audience instead.

An oppressive silence filled the room. The lieutenant general clasped his hands in front of his face and slowly lifted his gaze.

“Major Cloud. What on earth happened here?”

Aster spoke calmly.

“It was my mistake. I apologize.”

“Mistake… I heard you personally allowed that woman to meet with the commander. And it happened during the early morning shift change, when there were fewer guards in the torture chamber. You even let her get hold of a key. It looks like you practically paved the way for her escape.”

“I have no excuse. I will accept any punishment.”

As Aster spoke calmly, still facing forward, the lieutenant general let out a short, bitter laugh.

“I’ve heard you’ve never failed an Awakened Hunt. Am I supposed to believe that someone of your caliber made a mistake? Do you want me to believe that?”

He paused before shouting suddenly.

“Do you think I’m here to play games with you?”

Aster’s face remained impassive, but it was more stern than usual. The lieutenant general caught his breath and spoke sharply.

“Convince me right here, right now. If you don’t want to be labeled a traitor and end up tied to that post next to that woman.”

* * *

A downpour drenched the training ground as if the sky had opened up. Rité remained tied to the wooden post, soaking wet from the rain.

She hadn’t eaten anything since the previous night, having given all her food to Maud. Her throat was parched, and her stomach ached from hunger. She had used much of her strength and abilities to help him escape, making it worse.

Rité closed her eyes and lifted her head, opening her mouth to catch the rainwater. It trickled into her mouth, the drops making her closed eyelids flutter.

She had often quenched her thirst with rainwater since childhood, so this was nothing new. She didn’t know when she might have another chance to drink, so she needed to hydrate however she could.

The heavy rain quickly filled her stomach with water. Rité let her head drop again, her turquoise hair falling over her face like seaweed.

As evening approached, the sound of footsteps squelching through the muddy training ground reached her ears. The footsteps stopped right in front of her.

“Rité.”

At the familiar voice, Rité slowly lifted her head. Before her stood Aster, dressed in his uniform but without an umbrella.

His usually neat gray hair was drenched, and his uniform clung to him, soaked. It was unlike his usual appearance and demeanor.

There were no subordinates with him, so it was just the two of them in this space. The sound of the rain masked their conversation from anyone who might try to listen.

Aster and Rité stared at each other as if they were the last two people left in a ruined world.

Finally, he spoke quietly.

“I have one question. Is that commander really so important to you?”

She didn’t understand why he was asking, but she answered honestly.

“…Yes.”

“But not more important than your sibling, it seems. You let him go and chose to stay here.”

“…”

Rité didn’t respond, but Aster understood her silence as confirmation. He was the only one who knew her innermost, unyielding desire.

Aster slowly raised a hand and reached toward her face. Rité flinched and turned her head away, but he gently placed his thumb on a wound on her cheek. It was a wound she had received while fighting soldiers to buy time for Maud’s escape.

Without healing the wound, he tucked her fallen hair behind her ear.

“The most important thing in a partnership is ‘trust.'”

“…”

“But it was me who broke that trust first, by testing you.”

Rité looked up, puzzled, and her eyes widened slightly at the sight of another key.

“Lieutenant General Russell has decided to give you another chance. It was hard to convince him. I hope you don’t betray my trust this time.”

Aster inserted the key into the lock binding her to the post and released her. As soon as she was freed, Rité collapsed forward. He quickly caught her.

She pulled herself up and stepped away from him. No matter how much pain she was in, she didn’t want to have physical contact with him or rely on him for support.

“Follow me.”

Aster walked ahead, and Rité stumbled after him barefoot.

They arrived at an old warehouse. As Rité stood uncertainly in the dark, Aster coldly instructed the guards.

“Tie her hands.”

The two men by the door lowered their rifles and approached Rité, cuffing her hands. These were special cuffs used for Awakened individuals.

Feeling threatened, Rité turned to Aster with wide eyes.

“This is the opportunity you’re giving me?”

“Yes. Listen carefully now.”

As Rité glared at him silently, Aster spoke calmly.

“An assassin never begs the enemy for mercy, no matter the situation. They never ask to be spared, unless it’s to make the enemy drop their guard.”

Rité stared at him with trembling eyes, wondering if he was so shocked that she had begged him to spare Maud.

“In that sense, your strategy was successful. You achieved your goal with me.”

Rité tried to speak, flustered by the word ‘strategy,’ but Aster interrupted coldly.

“But you failed to escape. If an assassin can’t escape, they die.”

Rité clenched her teeth and responded.

“…I know. You taught me that brutally enough.”

Aster smirked.

“Then you understand quickly.”

The guards dragged her inside and connected the cuffs to a chain on the wall. As Rité slumped to the floor, Aster dropped a key just out of her reach.

It was a situation both similar to and different from when he had dropped the key in the torture chamber the previous day.

He bent one knee, leaned closer, and spoke softly.

“From now on, your life is in the hands of this key, not mine. If you can’t escape from here on your own, you will die. This is both a punishment for letting the enemy escape and your new mission. The deadline is before sunrise tomorrow. The moment the sun peeks over the horizon, I will set fire to this warehouse without hesitation.”

Rité’s eyes widened.

“One more thing, I’ve heard that among all forms of pain, being burned alive is the most excruciating. This conclusion was consistently drawn from countless spies who had been tortured. Just in case it might help you, I deliberately didn’t treat your wounds. This time, too, don’t hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve your goal.”

Aster leisurely stood up, locked the door, and left the warehouse. Rité grunted as she stretched her legs, trying to drag the key towards herself. Her hands were cuffed to the wall, leaving only her legs free to move.

“That damn Aster…!”

Rité cursed. He had deliberately dropped the key just out of her reach, calculating the exact distance to make it difficult for her. It was chilling and irritating that he knew her body’s range of movement so precisely, even though such information was crucial for an agent.

Rité closed her eyes tightly and stretched her legs as far as she could. It felt like her arms and legs were being torn apart. Finally, her toes touched the key, but she couldn’t pull it towards herself. The restraints were special cuffs for the Awakened, making it hard to use her abilities to cut them.

Rité focused, trying to create a weapon. Every attempt broke the weapon against the chains, but she kept trying again and again. She lost track of time, engrossed in freeing herself.

When she looked up, faint light was seeping through the gaps in the warehouse. The sun was rising.

Fear gripped her. That single ray of light brought not hope, but despair. Smoke started to fill the warehouse, and heat spread rapidly. Rité shivered and gave up trying to use her abilities to free herself. Even if she were like Aster, her abilities wouldn’t develop so suddenly.

‘Think. You have to think.’

She took deep breaths, calming her racing heart, focusing solely on her thoughts. Ironically, the faint hope that Aster, who had driven her into this corner, wouldn’t actually kill her was a huge mental support.

Rité’s eyes flashed open as she realized something. She stretched her legs again, focusing her ability on her toes. She managed to create a sharp weapon at her toes. Though it soon fell off, she repeatedly created it, gradually dragging the key towards herself.

Finally, she grabbed the key and calmly unlocked the cuffs on her wrists. It was extremely awkward and difficult with her hands tied behind her back, but time was running out. Coughing in the smoke-filled warehouse, Rité focused on unlocking the cuffs. After persistent effort, she freed herself and urgently ran towards the door through the thickening smoke.

She shoved the key into the lock, but the door wouldn’t open. In frustration, she violently twisted and turned the key in the hole. Then, the key broke inside the lock.

“Damn it…!”

Rité stared at the broken half of the key in disbelief. Everything depended on this key, and now it was useless. Her vision blurred as the warehouse filled with smoke.

She frantically looked around for another way to open the door. The fire was spreading to the warehouse’s contents. Rité covered her mouth and slammed her body against the door with all her might. But her small frame couldn’t budge the door.

Time was running out, and the warehouse was filling with smoke. Her vision and mind were becoming hazy. She noticed something in the blurry edge of her vision: a heavy stone in the corner of the warehouse. It was already heated by the fire but she had no other choice.

Screaming in agony, she picked up the hot stone and threw it with all her strength at the lock on the door. As the warehouse was engulfed in flames, she burst through the door and escaped.

Lying on the ground, coughing violently and expelling fluids from every orifice, a shadow fell over her. Covered in ashes, tears, mucus, saliva, and sweat, Rité looked up at the man in front of her, trembling. Though backlit, she knew it was Aster.

What happened next made Rité freeze and forget to breathe. Aster pointed the muzzle of a gun at the center of her forehead. Rité lay on the ground, unable to move, watching him with trembling eyes. It felt just like the night she parted from Nox.

Aster, without changing his expression, pulled the trigger. There was only an empty click. Rité opened one eye and looked up at him again.

“If there had been guards outside the warehouse, you’d be dead right now. Don’t let your guard down just because you’ve escaped. People are most careless when they feel the greatest relief. Quickly plan your next move. For an assassin, time is life.”

Even now, he was teaching her.

Despite trembling, Rité couldn’t argue with his words. They were correct.

Aster finished speaking, bent down, and finally healed Rité’s burns. The burn marks vanished completely.

Aster spoke calmly.

“Now that you’ve escaped, let me tell you what you need to do next.”

Having just escaped the inferno, Rité felt utterly exhausted at the thought of another task. Aster leaned in close and spoke quietly.

“Go to your quarters without being seen. There, you’ll find something very important for you.”

Gritting her teeth, Rité stood up and started running. Aster cheerfully called after her.

“Don’t let anyone see you! I’ll ask my subordinates if they saw you.”

“Shut up!”

She shouted back at him, his laughter echoing behind her. Consumed with anger, Rité ran at full speed towards her quarters.

Entering the building, she carefully observed the soldiers in the corridor, avoiding them by hiding against the walls. Fortunately, most soldiers seemed to be at breakfast, and the corridors were almost empty.

This, too, was Aster’s consideration, but Rité didn’t want to think about that. If this was his idea of consideration, then true consideration didn’t exist in this world.

Finally reaching her quarters safely, Rité locked the door and leaned against it, catching her breath. The tension suddenly released, and she felt drained.

Just as she was about to collapse, she noticed a small box on her bed. She couldn’t let her guard down.

Swallowing nervously, she quickly approached the bed.

Opening the box cautiously, she found a note in Aster’s handwriting.

[You successfully completed the mission, so here’s your reward. Something truly precious to you.]

Beneath the note were a dog tag and an old photo. Rité’s eyes widened, and tears began to flow.

It was a photo of Nox in uniform. In the photo, Nox looked tense, staring stiffly ahead as if taking a military ID photo shortly after joining the army. It was exactly how she remembered him.

Looking at the photo, it felt like she had traveled back in time. She almost expected the young Nox to burst out of the photo, arms outstretched, crying and jumping into her arms.

Rité tightly hugged the photo of the wounded Nox from those days, closing her eyes as she trembled with silent sobs. Though her body shook with grief, no sound escaped her lips. Instead, soft, painful noises, as if she were swallowing back her emotions, slipped out. It sounded like she was being choked or forced to swallow poison.

Having lived a life where silence was necessary for survival, Rité had forgotten how to cry out loud. While a fierce emotional battle raged inside her, no one could hear it. Yet, one person knew she was silently screaming.

As Rité curled up on the bed, silently sobbing like a cocoon for a long time, Aster stood leaning against the door outside. Just then, Benyak approached him urgently from a distance.

“Major! We can’t find that woman anywhere!”

At this, Aster silently laughed, confirming that Rité had perfectly followed his orders. Benyak looked at him in confusion.

“It’s alright, you can go back. Rité will join the training soon.”

“Really? You’re allowing her back into training?”

“Yes. She successfully completed the escape training. She’s too valuable to discard. She’ll become an excellent spy.”

Benyak didn’t argue further and turned back. Aster leaned his head against the door, recalling his conversation with Lieutenant General Russell. He had convinced Russell to allow Rité to have an audience with the Commander, as he was the one who captured the Commander. Russell had listened calmly despite his anger.

Aster succeeded in persuading Russell about his future plans, but he couldn’t refuse the directive to personally mete out an appropriate punishment to Rité. Russell intended to send a strong message. Allowing Rité, who had helped the military’s most dangerous prisoner escape, to go unpunished would upset the other soldiers.

However, Aster sensed another motive. Russell didn’t want Aster’s influence to grow unchecked. There was a perception that those favored by Aster Cloud could break military laws with minimal repercussions, and that his protection was even beyond Russell’s reach.

Russell wanted to curb the perception that Aster was an untouchable force in the military. Despite Aster’s unique and independent status, Russell wanted him to remain a weapon under his control, not a performer wielding power over him.

After selecting an appropriate punishment for Rité and obtaining Russell’s approval, Aster left the room. Although the punishment was harsh, it was necessary to satisfy Russell. Aster felt relieved that Rité wasn’t sentenced to death.

However, his expression remained grim as he headed to the training ground in the pouring rain. While Rité was trapped in the warehouse, Aster stayed up all night, waiting for her escape. He dismissed the guards and kept vigil alone, as if punishing himself as well.

“I told you, Rité. Whatever you choose, you must take responsibility for it.”

Aster intended to uphold his own words. Throughout the night, he remained silent, ignoring the soldiers’ greetings, with a sharp expression, smoking cigarette after cigarette.

He rarely smoked and didn’t particularly enjoy it. His subordinates knew that if they saw him smoking, it indicated a significant change in his mood. During such times, it was best to leave him alone. Even in combat, he had never been so sharp and sensitive, so everyone quietly passed by, tense in his presence.

At dawn, Aster discarded his cigarette and set the warehouse on fire himself. His gaze was more intense than the flames as he stared at the warehouse door. He was ready to rush in if Rité didn’t escape in time, but he firmly believed she would succeed.

When she finally burst through the iron door, Aster couldn’t help but smile brightly. Her vibrant, life-filled movements as she lay on the ground, catching her breath, appeared stunningly beautiful to him.

He aimed his gun at her head. Though the gun was empty, it was to imprint their meeting more deeply in her mind. Even if it became a trauma for her, he didn’t want her to forget that memory—the most significant one in his life.

Listening to the silent echoes of her emotions from inside the room, Aster stood like a shadow for a long time outside her door.