Japan Standard Time, 2:30pm.. Cait Sith's Capital, Town lobby.

Upon arriving at the main entrance gate of the Cait Sith's Territory. They are welcomed with lively scenery and crowded atmosphere in the main lobby with a lot of Cait Sith players who are hanging around. Some other have furry beasts as their rides since their race is expert on beast taming. Koharu couldn't help but to do a bit sightseeing as they explore.

Koharu: Whoa...

Keita: Quite lively here, huh?

Koharu: Yeah.. As they are carefree in this place.

Yuuki: Well, as I can remember. The Cait Sith are the only race managed to maintain their Territories thanks to their Beast Taming skills.

Koharu: How?

Keita: Well, most of the mobs in this game are powerful and usually require a few players to take out. With their destructive capabilities and the Cait Sith's guidance. It's a perfect mix in combat.

Koharu: No wonder we don't see any Salamanders activities after we left the Butterfly Valley. But that's not important..

Keita: I hope the leader is here today.

Yuuki: How do we get her on our side? I need to review our plan after a long journey.

Keita: Right, we came here as a messenger for the Undine to ally with Cait Sith and the Sylphs. After we solved the Salamander issue. And these three races will cooperate and storm the World Tree where we will find our answers.

Koharu: Is that all?

The Undine player nods.

Keita: Yep.. Once we're on top of the World Tree, we need to start improvising ourselves. You said there's a research facility, right?

Koharu: Yeah.. That's where he keeps the survivors.

Keita: Researching about brainwash.. How messed up does it sound?

Koharu: A lot. That's really all I can say without getting much details.

Keita: Well, there's no use talking about it further. Let's go visit the leader.

Koharu: Okay..

The trio explores the main street. Most of the players stare at Koharu as this is their first time to meet an unfamiliar Cait Sith player, high level players begin to take a note of her presence and appearance for later encounter. Koharu feels uneasy about the attention she's getting so they pick up their pace and speed up their walk.. Fortunately, there are only a few guards around the capital itself where the leader lives since most of them are out at the outskirts and around the gate entrance. Yuuki hesitates and stop the other two as well.

Yuuki: Wait a minute!

Koharu: Huh?

Yuuki: I'm kinda nervous to meet a foreign leader like this. What if she's misunderstood us or something since me and Keita are not the same race.

Keita: Let's not jump to conclusion yet. Koharu and I will do the talking.

Koharu: If things go south. I promise I'll protect you two.

The imp let out a sigh of relief by Koharu's promise and forgot how strong she is.

Yuuki: Ah! I almost forgot we have Koharu at our side!

Koharu: Then, let's go.

After the team agreed, the trio approaches the guard who are standing by the Capital. The guards slam the back of their spears to the ground as they stop the trio. One of them asking them in an alert tone.

Cait Sith Guard 1: Halt! Who are you guys!?

Keita: The Undine Leader sent us to deliver the message to your leader.

Cait Sith Guard 2: With an Imp and one of our own? May I know their identities?

Koharu: Identity?

Keita swiftly replies to them with confidence.

Keita: They are just mercenaries of mine, assigned by the Undine Leader. You can trust them.

They both look at each other for a few seconds before one of them makes the decision.

Cait Sith Guard 2: But to ensure the leader's safety. Mercenaries are required to surrender their weapons during the visit. And rest assured that we won't lay a finger on your items.

The request from the guards shocked the girls.

Koharu: Huh!?

Yuuki: We need to hand our weapons!?

Cait Sith Guard 1: Sorry, we are just doing our duties to protect Lord Alicia.

Koharu: ...

Yuuki: Damn it..

Keita turns around and sighs as he did not expect how things have turned out to be.  He replies with apologies.

Keita: Sorry for having both of you to do this.

Koharu: No.. Not about that.. It's just.. It might take a long time for me to take out my weapons before I can enter. Maybe I should wait outside?

Keita: It's fine, we can wait for you. Or do you have anything else to do?

Koharu: Hm..

Lai is the first thing that comes in her mind, so she decides to take a rest from full-dive for a while..

Koharu: Ah! I just remember something that needed to be done so I'll be offline for a while.. Message me after you finish what you need to do here.

Yuuki: See ya!

Koharu presses the log out button while waving goodbye to her friends. Eagering to check his status.

*Device shutdown*

Upon recovering her consciousness and getting off from the bed, she immediately checks her phone for current time. The notification is the first thing she could notice in her lock screen.

Koharu: Hm?

She unlocks it via biometric scan with her fingerprint, she finds out that the sender is from her partner. The content of it shocks Koharu, knowing Lai has now went outside with Akihiko to save Haruna from the Yakuza's grasp. She realizes she is on her own while Lai is outside, saving Haruna.

Koharu: I'm on my own now. I guess I will head to-

Then, she hears a loud bang from the door and then a loud crashing from the lobby.

Koharu: What..?

Her senses alerts her with a bad feeling. She grabs her Kimber 1911 hidden under her pillow and her Karambit from the table, along with some spare standard magazines in her pocket before she's in her shooting stance. After exiting out her room, the first thing that shocks her the most is the lobby is in fact, trashed by invading Yakuza.

Koharu: What the hell!?

Her reflex kicks in as soon as she hears a loud wooden footstep coming towards Koharu, dodging a Yakuza with a knife charging at her. She counters back by lowering down and then a slice that opens the flesh of his waist. The man screams in pain as he puts pressure on his injured waist while kneeling.

Yakuza: Uggghh!!!

*Bang!*

A bullet to the head is enough to silence the attacker, Koharu kicks the corpses down the stairs, notifying others who are wrecking furnitures of the apartment. Her mind is now prioritizing heading to the armory.

Koharu: I better head to the shooting range.

She engages the men downstairs with a slide down from the railing while laying down suppressive fire at them. She rolls forward as soon as she lands. She stabs one of them that is closest to her, on the artery part. Landing a shot to their heads as soon as they are within her iron sight before they could draw out their firearms. She pulls out the knife that is stuck on the chest and stabs on the man's throat this time, listening him suffer without a glance at the bloody mess until his death. She proceeds forward to clear out the rest from every room.

Yakuza: There she is!! Get her!

More of them gather around with all of them armed to their teeth. Koharu hides back behind the railing, reloading her handgun with a new magazine. She peaks from corner, shooting down one by one that comes within her sight. Then, she rushes out from her cover, sliding down to avoid the gunfire with a big uppercut that straight up stabbing in and swiftly cuts off another man's testicles, causing him to let out a loud scream. She swiftly shot down the other two before ending the victim's life with her gun barrel forcefully shoved inside the man's mouth.

*Bang!*

Her weapons are now soaked and drip with the blood of her enemies as she takes a breathe while gritting her teeth.

Koharu: (I need to guard the shooting range at least. We will be screwed if they trash the basement as well.)

She hurries herself to the armory, hoping to keep herself safe at least somehow and manage to survive the attack. Clearing out the rest of the Yakuzas invading the apartment.

Meanwhile... In an abandoned factory somewhere remote in Chiba.

*Metal clanking*

*Clak!*

The sound of a tooth being ripped out. Then follow up with a scream from a boy.

Lai: Uaahhh!!!!

A stream of blood leaks out from his mouth, constantly dripping from his chin. The immeasurable pain wakes him up and causes him to grit his teeth hard to endure it. Then, he finds out himself being captured with all limbs tied up to the chair while also blindfolded due to an unknown object being wore on his head that covers his vision entirely. He hears a calm voice from a unfamiliar man.

???: I had hoped for that girl. But I got you instead.

He focuses on enduring by deep breathing while listening to the mysterious man. The man continues with his conversation.

???: How impressive.. Many of my men were murdered, one of my club got trashed..

His voice becomes more anger from calm.

???: And even one of my assassins went perished by some nobodies!

Sound of furnitures are destroyed can be heard. He finally gathers the strength to speak.

Lai: You're dead man!

Despite the fear he has from being blindfolded, he follows up with a blood spit to the ground after antagonizing him. The man resumes back to calmness, ignoring his threat.

???: If you're curious about what I look like. I don't think that's necessary for you. Because I'm gonna enjoy my time watching you suffer.

He remains silent as he while being fear of not knowing when he will be killed without even realized anything around him.

???: I supposed you knew what I originally want to do with you and her. But your action had changed my mind.

Lai could feel his mouth being pried open by something metal, struggling to fight off with his tongue but inevitably, the metal got its grip on another tooth, forcefully being pulled off until it rips off completely from his gum.

*Clak!*

Lai: Uaahhhhhh!!!!!

He yells out in pain while struggling to break out from his chair. More blood drips out from the mouth despite he grits his teeth hard. But still forceful opened by someone's hand.

???: The thing that is on your head is an old model of the Nervegear. The one that murders thousands of innocent people effortlessly. Your mind will be eventually transferred to Sugou's research facilities after we establish the connection. Try anything else funny such as breaking out somehow, the Nervegear will fry your brain like usual. And you may think you're gonna die from bleeding out or even losing consciousness. But do not afraid..

Something hot invades his mouth, scalding his injured gum where his teeth got ripped out from. Result adding much intense pain for Lai.

Lai: Uaaghhh!!!!

???: I will keep you awake for now. For the project at least. She will be joining soon.

The man let go of Lai's bloody face. The constant scalding pain keeps him awake while slowly breaking him apart.

Japan Standard Time, 3:00pm.. The World Tree, top, Test lab..

The eerie sound of machine running echoes throughout the room filled with about 300 test capsules, connected to the main operating system which controls the memories injection into the mind of the test subjects. Two slugs-like guards are observing the effectiveness of the brainwash.

"I wonder how he's gonna use this project once it's done?"

"What do you think for guy with a messed up fetish like Sugou-san? I bet he's gonna use it on his fiance first, that's for sure."

"Seriously!? The daughter of Yuuki family is his first target!?"

"Don't act like you're surprised, he may look obsessed with his fiance. But she's merely a stepping stone for his.. Let's just say "paradise". Plus, I heard she's a strong-willed type too, so that's another reason why he chose her."

"Speaking of strong-willed.. We're getting a new one soon, aren't we?"

"Possibly with a tougher mind and willpower. The Yakuza had almost whacked him for sure but he still survived."

"Damn.. Sucks to be that guy who got hunted. But what happened to their bodies if their minds are forever trapped here."

"Are you really eager to know?"

"Blame my curiosity, but I do want to know."

"Don't say that I didn't warn you but that's where the messed up part begins. Sugou's gonna offer the bodies of the remaining survivors to the Yakuza, the female one will be treated as a "pleasuring gift" while the male will have their organs harvested and sold."

"Geez... Isn't it gone too extreme!?"

"That's how Yakuza work. And it benefits Sugou as well. So it's a win-win situation."

Back to warehouse...

Japan Standard Time, 3:00pm.. Abandoned factory in remote area of Chiba.

Half an hour has passed. Lai, who is still awake by the constant pain he receives, being locked down on a chair with a nervegear on his head while bleeding out from his mouth due to gum inflammation. While his mind is still remains in his real body, he struggles to set his arms free by loosening the tight and then pulling off from the chain that tied him to the chair. He repeats the process until the chain got loosened enough to set his arms free. He hears the system's warning as it detects his motion and begins the microwave, he immediately pulls off the Nervegear from his head before the high frequency microwave could kill him. Throwing the Nervegear away and setting his legs free, he found himself in a tight room with nothing but a wire that connects to the wall switch socket and the Nervegear itself as a battery charger, along with some debris and metal bars lying around him. Sore pain awakens in his body as soon as he moves a muscle. He forcefully stands up despite the injuries. Seeing that his shirt is soaked with his blood.

Lai: Ugh.. My body is a mess.

He wipes off the blood from his face with his arm, the amount of blood shocks him as it almost covers half of his arm.

Lai: Still bleeding out a lot. I need cotton or any fabric to stop it. But I can hold on with it long.

Lai pulls the cable wire off from the wall and the Nervegear, serving it as a weapon as the wire is long enough to strangle someone's neck to death with. He also grabs a rusty metal bar for quick silent takedown.

Lai: This should work.

He escapes the room silently, but encountering a Yakuza guarding at the corridor. Lai moves in swiftly and silently, wrapping around the man's neck and pull with the wire as soon he gets close. It takes 30 seconds for him to choke the man's windpipe with the wire until the man stops struggling. Lai twist the man's chin up then sideways until it makes a crack from the neck, thus confirming the kill. Lai loots the body for anything and found a 9MM modernized pistol with some spare magazines.

Lai: Now let's get the heck out of here.

Another man notices his presence and the death of the man beside Lai. The man yells out loud, alerting nearby Yakuza.

Lai: Damn it!

Lai shoots the man with a few of body shots who is shouting out loud before the man gets a shot at him. Lai starts running away to the corridor, looking for ways to escape the building. He hears someone is coming from the door in front of Lai. He keeps the gun in his pocket and grabs the rusty metal bar, immediately stabs another Yakuza's head with the metal bar through the skull as soon as Lai gets a sight on the head. He takes out his 9MM pistol and immediately takes his shooting stance while proceeding carefully, checking every corners thoroughly as he goes upstairs. He looks outside the window which hasn't blocked off, realizing he is currently in multiple floors up of an abandoned buildings, knowing that the rest of the Yakuzas outside are now mobilizing to his position.

Lai: No way heading down now.

He has no way but to go up to the top. He shoots down any incoming Yakuzas in his way, grabbing any weapons while rushing up to the top of the building. Picking up a PM-9 submachine gun.

*Bang!*

A shot flies pass him, realizing he's been chased from behind while gunning him down. Lai returns fire behind him in full auto. Suppressed them to buy some time for himself to reach the top as he runs for it, throwing the gun as soon as it runs of ammo. As soon as he reaches the top, he looks around and hopefully looking for a way, he finds out there's a scaffolding that is a few floors down below him. Before the Yakuzas could get a visual. Lai jumps down and braces impact to the wooden platform scaffolding. But as he lands..

*Crash!* *Pong*

The wooden isn't too durable to support his fall, causing him crashes down through the wooden platform and lands onto the metal platform instead. He yells out as intense pain struck through his whole body. He could feel his bone is shattering, muscle's tissue being tore apart. But he forcefully gets up and ride down the rubbish chute slide straight down to ground level. The landing isn't also soft either as the slide leads him to land on concrete debris in a dumpster, despite his effort of decreasing the falling speed. Using all of his stamina, he forcefully gets up again and runs to the gate to escape. Most of the Yakuzas came back downstairs and start chasing him from behind. Lai takes cover behind the gate and hopefully he can shoot down any of them coming at him at least despite knowing he can't stop all of them with just pistol.

Lai: I can't shake them off! Too many!

A couple of seconds passed and Lai managed to shoot down a few of them, he resumes on escaping and notices a van driving in reverse towards him. He raises his gun as he is ready to shoot until the door got kicked open with a familiar voice yell out at him.

Koharu: Lai! Get down!!!

The boy prones down immediately just as the girl instructed him before a machine gun fire rains down across the street.

*Brrrrr!!!!*

Like the brutality in Normandy Landing in 1944, one modified MG42 alone with Koharu in proning position is capable of unleashing fat stream of bullets and shredding any unaware Yakuzas apart as the sight come across. Lai turns around and witnesses Koharu's pure rage for the first time as she turns the Yakuza group into a bloodbath with shredded corpses all around. Despite them returning fire at Koharu, she insists on pulling the trigger and keep firing. Despite the loud gunfire, she grits her teeth hard as the kill count continuous stacks up.

Lai stares at her who is in rage while relentlessly laying down heavy, suppressive fire. Empty casings ejects out from MG42 one by one in a very fast pace, the amount of bullets streaming down like a laser, powerful enough to guarantee kills whenever its fire come across any living beings.

Lai: Koharu...

Focusing on killing the rest, Lai looks around at the back of the van for a weapon and grabs the XM8 assault rifle. Assisting Koharu and shooting down in a single fire to any Yakuzas who is still left alive with a clean headshot. After a few minutes of massacre, with a few still alive taking cover. Koharu jumps out with her Desert Eagle from the van and assist her partner.

Koharu: Are you okay, Lai!?

As soon as she gets a visual on him. She let out a terrified gasp from witnessing what they had did to Lai. Blood has soaked half of his shirt, bruises are all over his body and notices both of his molar tooth has been ripped off as he opens his mouth, gasping for air.

Lai: I can still hold on. We need to get out of here. They're hunting you down too.

Hardening up her fist, she asks him to wait for her.

Koharu: No... Give me a minute..

Lai: Huh?

Disconnecting the ammo belt from her light machine gun's chamber, Koharu rushes to the bloodbath area with her empty MG42, searching for Yakuza who barely survive the massacre but also on the verge of death. She holds the MG42 like a sledgehammer, raises up and starts crushing the heads of those who still breathing with the metal buttstock of the MG42.

*Tush!* *Plak!!*

She takes out her Desert Eagle, swiftly finishing off others who still have their gun on their hands.

*Bang!* *Bang!*

After murdering the rest of them and crush their heads, she drags the body of the last dying Yakuza back to the van by grabbing the hair.

Yakuza: Ugh.. Have mercy...

Instead of interrogating him, she opens the door and puts the man's head against the side of the van door, then slam it down hard that breaks his skull after a few slam.

*Tush!* *Tush!* *Tush!* *Crack!*

She vents out her anger with a raging cry as she curb stomps the head again, eyeballs springs out from the head as the brain pieces became scrambled. Without letting out a single word of grudge or any cursed words in front of her partner. She swallows it down instead and went back to calmness as she assists Lai back to the van, leaving a bunch of bloody footprints from her shoes.

Koharu: Let's get you out of here..

After boarding onto the back of the van, they both shut the door and Aki drives the van away from the bloodbath scene. The pain still sting a lot from Lai's gum that bothers him the most.

Lai: Ugh...

Koharu takes off her gears and her shirt down without any hesitation to use it as a cloth to wipe off and stop his bleeding. Leaving her only with her bra on.

Koharu: Let me help you..

Lai: Wait.. I can hold it on-

Koharu: Does it really matter to you at this time!?!

Lai: ...

She shuts him off with a loud and angry tone as she doesn't even care about something like exposing her skin to him anymore. But she resumes back to calm tone while she focuses on taking care of his bleeding wound. Absorbing the blood out from his gum with her shirt.

Koharu: I'm sorry.. Just please don't say anything...

She glares at him at first, worried and angry by the fact he didn't bring her with him to the hospital. But soon after apologizing, her gaze soften down into an innocent, concerned girl who just taking care of her boyfriend. He couldn't find a word to apologize except her name.

Lai: Koharu...

Her tone becomes innocent and soft after her worries got flushed away and seeing Lai is still alive in the end.

Koharu: I'm just glad you made it out..

Lai: Sorry.. I overestimated myself...

Akihiko: Don't blame yourself.. I'm just glad Koharu didn't come with you. It would be a grave danger if she got captured as well.

Koharu: ...

Regardless of Akihiko's genuine concern, Lai can tell Koharu is being offended by his words as she frowns about it.

Lai: I suggest you should focus on your driving. We could get your words in a wrong idea if you say anything else further.

Akihiko: ...Suit yourself..

The atmosphere becomes silent as both side doesn't want to continue with even a single word. The silent atmosphere got interrupted again by Akihiko's question.

Akihiko: But.. What happened in there?

Lai: My mind almost got transferred to Sugou's research facility in ALO with the old model of Nervegear they put on my head. And I heard a man talking to me. I didn't get a visual on him because I was blindfolded. But he was really pissed how many men he had lost because of us.

Akihiko: Damn it.. That was a close call.. But right now, both of you need to rest for a while, today has been rough for you two. I'll focus on defending the apartment with the turret this time.

Lai: Thanks..

After cleaning the blood out from his mouth, Koharu wears the blooded shirt back as the duo lean against the wall. Lai closes his eyes to rest with a XM8 resting on his lap while Koharu rests her head to her MG42. Despite facing each other, Lai notices Koharu has been avoiding eye contact with him until Koharu asks him about her mother's status.

Koharu: How's my mom?

Lai: Haruna is safe. Didn't suffered any physical injuries.

Koharu: But she must've been terrified, right?

Lai: Yeah.. They even used her to bait me out. I feel it's getting more and more dangerous day by day. We ain't getting any good night sleep without worrying about that..

Koharu: I feel tired just thinking about that...

Lai: Sorry.. I guess our mental health took a heavy toll as well as our physical body.

Koharu: I really wish I'm the one who got captured instead. So I can kill him after breaking out from the factory when I got the chance. For my mother.

Lai: I hope you're joking, Koharu.. Not everyone can withstand that amount of torture like I got. And do you think Haruna wants to see you in a state like I am?

Suddenly, she snaps and yells back at him..

Koharu: I just want this to end sooner, okay!? You think I can turn a blind eye about this after seeing you almost die for sure!?

Lai: ...

Akihiko: ...

Seeing her reaction terrifies Lai and Akihiko.. Akihiko is shocked by her hatred.

Lai: Koharu...

Koharu: Seeing them pushes us around makes me want to shove them back 10 times harder! To the point they will REGRET THEIR EXISTENCE IN THIS WORLD!

He pins her arms down to the wall and forcefully make an eye contact with Koharu.

Lai: Calm down, you're losing yourself!!

After her eyes meet Lai's, she regains her conscience and also realizing her mistake, her voice went back to softer tone again, apologizing to him.. Her face remains frowning and also depressed.

Koharu: I'm sorry.. I just lost my cool for a while..

Lai slowly releases her from him. He couldn't help but having a bad feeling about her mental state. But seeing her who still can hold up on her own, Lai wouldn't dare to ask about how she currently feels. The silent continues until the van arrives back to the Apartment.

End of Chapter...