The warehouse was quiet now. Too quiet.
The corpse of the Crimson Fang captain lay sprawled across the cracked cement, his massive body slowly cooling in the haze of smoke and blood. His axe gleamed faintly beside him, stained with gore, as if mocking the lives it had stolen.
Luv stood over the body, breathing slow, his blade still dripping. His black eyes were unreadable, but the faint tremor in his hand betrayed the strain of the battle.
Across the room, Ayu pushed herself off a pile of broken crates. She stumbled at first, her knees weak, but forced herself upright. Her knives hung limply in her hands, crimson dripping onto the floor with every step she took.
She walked through the carnage—over bodies, through blood, past the shattered remains of men who had sworn loyalty to their gang. The smell of death was suffocating, yet Ayu's jade-like skin glistened with sweat and determination.
Her eyes locked on Luv.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Ayu exhaled, a sharp, humorless laugh breaking the silence. "We survived… again."
Luv's lips twitched, almost like a smile, but it faded as quickly as it came. "Survival isn't enough." He kicked the captain's corpse. "We need answers."
The two began searching the warehouse. Every drawer, every crate, every hidden compartment was turned upside down. Most of it was worthless—guns, drugs, money. The spoils of men who thought themselves kings.
But then Ayu found it.
Behind a false panel in the captain's office, buried under ledgers and coded documents, lay a single folder. Inside was a faded photograph of a young girl—eight years old, her face pale but defiant, her dark eyes staring straight into the camera.
Ayu froze. Her fingers trembled as she traced the outline of the girl's face.
"This is her…" she whispered. "The missing child."
Luv leaned over her shoulder, his eyes narrowing. The back of the photo bore a single stamp: a blood-red insignia of a dragon wrapped around a crown.
Recognition flickered in his gaze. "Not Crimson Fang. This… belongs to a bigger syndicate."
Ayu's heart sank. "You mean there's more?"
"Always more." His voice was cold, but there was steel beneath it. "This girl is tied to someone powerful. And this…" He tapped the insignia. "…is our next trail."
They gathered what they could—documents, cash, weapons—and torched the rest. Flames swallowed the warehouse, devouring bodies and secrets alike.
As the building burned, Luv and Ayu stood outside in the night air. The fire painted their faces in shades of orange and red, making them look less like survivors and more like demons rising from hell.
Ayu clutched the photograph tightly against her chest. For once, her voice was quiet, almost fragile. "Luv… do you think we can really find her? Against all of this?"
Luv turned to her. His face was unreadable, but his words cut like steel.
"We don't stop. No matter how many gangs stand in the way. No matter how many bodies fall. We'll tear down the world if we have to."
Ayu's lips curved into a faint smile. Her exhaustion vanished beneath the fire in her eyes. "Good. Because I'm not planning to stop either."
The flames roared behind them, consuming the Crimson Fang.
The hunt had only just begun.