Half a year had passed, and the heat of summer was beginning to fade.
"Phew... this is a major problem."
Kaina Tsutsumi, better known as Lady Nagant, was breaking into a cold sweat. Six months ago, the leadership of the Hero Public Safety Commission had been completely overhauled. Her current mission from the new President was to infiltrate a designated villain organization to retrieve ledgers and evidence of their illegal activities. She had successfully gained the high-ranking members' trust and, seizing a moment when their guard was down, had begun searching the main office. That was when she discovered a suspicious secret passage behind the boss's desk.
They're definitely hiding something.
Kaina stared at the dark entrance. She could have simply turned back and reported her findings, but her hero instincts and curiosity whispered that she had to see what was inside. Her logic screamed that it was dangerous and that a report would suffice, but in the end, she chose to push forward.
"Ugh... the smell... it reeks of rotting flesh."
As she moved deeper into the passage, a foul stench hit her, forcing her to cover her nose. It was the smell of decaying meat mixed with harsh chemicals like bleach. Though the odor was painful enough to make her nostrils sting, it also confirmed her suspicions—she had found the smoking gun. If she could uncover the secrets hidden here, she could finally put this organization, which had slipped through the legal system for so long, behind bars.
Just in case...
Preparing for the worst, Kaina folded her right arm to deploy her rifle and loaded a strand of her hair as a bullet.
When she finally reached the end of the passage and stepped into the hidden room, the color drained from her face. She stood frozen in horror.
Before her was a laboratory filled with several large, bed-like tables. On those tables lay corpses with their abdomens sliced open, some missing limbs.
"Those monsters... is it organ trafficking?"
Kaina felt her stomach churn. Having worked as an assassin in the underworld for years, she was no stranger to gruesome sights, but the sheer clinical coldness of this room made her bile rise.
"I'll make sure you all face the death penalty for this..."
She decided to search deeper. If there were any survivors, she had to rescue them.
The stakes were high, and her actions were risky. Being in the heart of enemy territory alone was dangerous enough, but the thought of leaving a potential survivor behind to rot was something she knew she would regret for the rest of her life.
Most of the corpses on the tables were missing specific organs—eyes, livers, hearts, or kidneys. It was undeniable; this was a massive organ harvesting ring.
As she moved past the carnage, Kaina felt a long-dormant murderous intent flare up within her. She might have to break her recent streak of non-lethal captures. Keeping her rifle leveled, she moved toward the back of the facility. The further she went, the cleaner the environment became. The blood and viscera on the floors and walls were replaced by sterile, white surfaces.
She found a storage room filled with iceboxes. Each box was labeled with the specific body part it contained.
"Bastards..."
She ground her teeth and continued her search. Despite checking several rooms, she hadn't encountered a single person, which only made her more uneasy.
Why is there no one here?
In a facility this large, the silence was unnatural. She considered retreating before it was too late, but just as she turned—
"Ugh... nngh..."
A faint, pain-filled groan reached her ears. Kaina instantly aimed her rifle toward the sound, her palms sweating. She crept toward a heavy iron door at the end of the hall.
The sound came from inside. Is it a survivor?
Holding her breath, she slowly pried the door open and nearly collapsed at the sight.
It was a nightmare. In a room resembling a pigpen, women were being kept like livestock. Most were missing their limbs; some had their eyes gouged out, while others had lost their ears or tongues. The most chilling detail, however, was that every single woman was branded with a heated iron, much like cattle.
"This is sick... how can they treat people like animals...?"
Biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, Kaina pulled out her communicator and sent an SOS signal. She planned to clear the guards outside and wait for the recovery team.
"Don't... go..."
"Save... us..."
Seeing her turn to leave, the few women who still retained the ability to speak pleaded with her.
"Don't worry. I'm a Hero. A team is already on its way; you'll be rescued soon."
Kaina tried to reassure the victims who were wheezing and begging for help.
However—
THWACK!
"Ah!"
A heavy blow struck the back of Kaina's head. In that split second of distraction, her guard had failed her. Her last thought before the world went black was a flash of regret for her own carelessness.
.
.
.
"......"
"What's with you and that pager, Michikatsu?"
"Kaina's report... is late."
"Whew~ worried because your girlfriend isn't calling? I'm so jealous! Some guys have two girls, and I'm sitting here single."
"Two. Momo and Kaina."
"You aren't counting Himiko?"
"Himiko is my sister. I am not so far gone as to indulge in incest."
"She's adopted, though. Isn't that technically a 'pass'? There are plenty of cases of siblings like that getting married—"
"Quiet."
"Yes, yes. I hear you."
Michikatsu was taking a break in the staff lounge, enjoying the air conditioning. He was restless, his eyes fixed on his communicator because Kaina hadn't checked in past her designated reporting window. Hawks tried to soothe him, telling him she was a Pro for a reason, even though he felt a bit of a sting at the display of "couples' anxiety."
"Speaking of missions, isn't your next assignment the Shie Hassaikai group?"
"They are... starting to make moves. We must prune the weeds before they grow."
"You're really consistent, you know that? The new President said you don't have to resort to killing anymore, but you're as stubborn as a mule."
"I have told you... one must not... leave room for future calamities."
"Honestly, I admire you, but you also scare the hell out of me. Sometimes you really do seem like a Demon."
"That is an ignorant observation. I am a Demon."
Hawks sighed and took a sip of his coffee. Having been recruited by the old Commission, Hawks had taken lives before, but it had left him with deep trauma and PTSD that required ongoing therapy. Yet Michikatsu showed no hesitation when it came to eliminating the truly vile or the irredeemably fallen.
He felt a mix of awe for Michikatsu's resolve and a chilling shiver at the coldness with which he discarded lives as if they were insects.
Just as Hawks was about to take another sip, the device in front of Michikatsu began to wail.
"SOS?"
"Did something happen to her?! Michikatsu?!"
Nagant rarely sent emergency signals. She was a veteran, a specialist who had survived the worst the underworld had to throw at her. If she sent an SOS, it meant the situation was dire.
Michikatsu checked the coordinates. It was the heart of the villain cartel's hideout—a place rumored to be involved in human trafficking and organ harvesting. Michikatsu didn't hesitate; he vaulted out of the building's window and sprinted toward the signal at a blinding speed.
"Please... don't be late..."
Michikatsu prayed for Kaina's safety.