*Chapter 34: Punishment*

A pool table stood in the middle of the room. A stick struck the white ball, sending it into another ball. It collided with several others, and they smoothly fell into the corners.

It was Renji, enjoying the moment.

The pool room was empty except for two others.

The dealer, who was the tall bodyguard, stood nearby wearing white gloves and a purple Venetian carnival mask.

Reizen was talking on the phone, his expression serious.

Renji continued playing, striking another ball. It rolled toward the hole, almost making it in, but then—

BANG!

Reizen slammed his right hand onto the table as he ended the call. The impact caused the balls to shift and roll off in different directions.

“Did you hear that? All the captives were rescued by the NSIA. They somehow managed to get deep inside, take everyone out,” Reizen said, unimpressed.

Renji didn’t reply. He calmly adjusted the misplaced balls.

“It seems like we have to cancel the deal with the German Research Facility, then…” Reizen continued with a sigh. “Now that the captives are free, the deal is no longer possible. All that preparation, all those resources, and the entire operation has fallen apart.”

“I see…” Renji said calmly. “But we don’t have to worry about that for now. Things don’t always go according to plan, and losing one opportunity doesn’t mean losing everything.”

He picked up another ball and placed it back on the table.

“What we lose today is a drop in the ocean compared to what we can gain tomorrow. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice a piece before you can take the whole board.”

Reizen remained silent for a moment.

“Besides… it seems like all of our men were captured,” Reizen added.

Renji placed the white ball precisely on the table.

The dealer approached Reizen and handed him a small screen. It displayed a grid of live CCTV feeds from the ESC.

Reizen glanced at the screen for a few seconds before looking back at Renji.

“Are you sure about that?”

Renji slowly positioned his pool stick.

“You see, my friend…” he said, his face completely unreadable. “When you place several pieces on the same board, you expect every one of them to follow the same rules. You trust them to move when they’re told, stop when they’re told, and most importantly… never turn against the hand controlling them.”

He carefully aimed at the white ball.

“But when one piece decides to move on its own, the entire game becomes compromised.”

Renji paused.

“And when a single piece causes the others to fall…”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“…you don’t simply replace that piece.”

He tightened his grip around the pool stick.

“You clear the entire board.”

He struck the white ball.

CLACK!

The white ball collided with another.

The balls scattered across the table.

Renji calmly watched them roll into different directions.

Inside the Estate Shopping Complex, Shun Aizawa was walking through a hallway, holding a handgun and staying alert. He approached a door and noticed a CCTV camera above it, its lens remaining completely still.

He entered the room.

Several monitors covered one side of the room, displaying live CCTV footage from different parts of the complex. Aizawa walked closer to the screens.

“So this is where we’ve been being watched, huh?” he murmured.

Suddenly, he noticed someone appearing on one of the monitors, standing outside the room’s door.

The figure crossed into the room like a ghost.

Aizawa quickly turned around and pointed his gun.

“Who is there?”

“Ahh, relax, Commander,” the ghost said. “It’s me.”

It was Zen Yoshiro.

Aizawa lowered his gun, looking completely deadpan.

“Oh… it’s just you.”

Zen looked around the room.

“Looks like the admins have left before our arrival…”

“Yeah… seems like it,” Aizawa replied with a lazy sigh.

Zen glanced at the monitors again.

“Such bad decoration for guests, if you ask me…” He paused, looking around the room. “Minus 300 points for sense of humor…”

Aizawa and Zen left the room and headed back into the hallway.

As they turned the corner, they found Satome Saorin and the rest of the SWAT team waiting for them. Several Abyss soldiers were already captured and tied up, sitting against the wall with their hands restrained behind their backs. The SWAT officers stood around them, weapons ready, keeping a close watch.

Satome noticed Aizawa.

“Hey, where have you been?” Satome asked, unimpressed, crossing her arms.

“Just taking a walk,” Aizawa replied lazily, deliberately mocking her.

“Eh? You Division One guys are just as reckless and useless as always.”

Aizawa glanced at her for a moment.

“Coming from someone who’s too experienced, huh?”

Satome’s eyebrow twitched.

“Are you trying to pick a fight?”

Meanwhile, Zen casually walked toward one of the captured Abyss soldiers. He crouched down in front of him and pulled the soldier’s visor helmet off.

“Well, look what we got here…”

The soldier glared at him. Zen’s expression slowly changed. The playful smile disappeared from his face.

“So…” he said quietly. “Where is that angry little princess of yours?”

The soldier remained silent.

“Don’t make me ask twice,” Zen added, as he leaned closer.

While Zen continued questioning the soldier, Aizawa finished bargaining with Satome.

He stepped away and began walking around the hallway, strangely calm for someone standing in the middle of an enemy facility. He glanced at the captured soldiers. Then at the SWAT officers.

“Are all the terrorists we’ve found so far captured?” Aizawa asked one of the officers.

“Yes, Sir. All confirmed hostiles in this section have been secured. We’re still searching the remaining areas of the complex.”

“I see.”

Aizawa continued walking. Everything seemed too easy. The facility had been breached. The captives were rescued. The enemy soldiers were restrained. The surveillance room had been abandoned.

Too clean and too convenient.

Aizawa slowed down.

Something felt wrong.

He looked around the hallway.

…Something’s off.

He stopped.

Then, suddenly, something clicked in his mind. His eyes widened slightly.

At the same moment—

Beep.

A tiny sound echoed through the hallway. Aizawa turned his head.

Beep… beep…

The sound was coming from somewhere near the captured soldiers. Its tempo began to increase.

Beep… beep… beep… beep…

Satome’s expression immediately changed.

“What’s that sound?” Satome said as she raised her handgun.

Aizawa looked toward the group. His eyes locked onto the captured Abyss soldiers. The beeping was getting faster.

Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep—

“EVERYONE, GET DOWN! GET AWAY FROM THE TERRORISTS!”

Everyone froze for half a second.

Then Aizawa saw Zen. He was still right beside one of the captured soldiers.

“YOU DAMN IDIOT!”

Aizawa sprinted forward.

Zen barely had time to turn around.

“What—?”

Aizawa grabbed him and threw himself sideways, taking Zen with him.

BOOOOOOM!

The hallway erupted in explosions.

Every piece of specialized gear worn by the captured Abyss soldiers detonated almost simultaneously. The blast tore through their armor, and explosions erupted around the connection between their visors and their bodies.

The shockwave ripped through the hallway. SWAT officers were thrown to the ground. Dust and smoke filled the corridor. Aizawa hit the floor hard, shielding Zen beneath him. For several seconds, there was nothing but ringing silence.

Renji sat in a chair beside the pool table, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His fingers were loosely interlocked in front of his face.

The balls were scattered across the table.

An unsettling smile slowly appeared on his face.

Reizen stood nearby, holding the screen in his hand.

“Every one of them has been eliminated,” Reizen said.

Renji remained silent for a moment, his eyes resting on the scattered balls.

“…Moths can’t escape the horizon once they’ve stepped into the water, you know,” Renji said quietly.

Reizen gave a faint smirk.

“Yeah. That’s right.” He glanced down at the screen. “And the mole is gone forever… though, what a cost.”

Renji’s smile faded slightly.

“We couldn’t afford to leave that risk behind,” he said calmly. “A loose thread can unravel the entire fabric. Sometimes, it’s better to cut it away completely.”

Reizen looked at him for a moment before turning back toward the screen.

Meanwhile… smoke rapidly filled the hallway. Blood stained the walls and floor. The bodies of the Abyss soldiers had been torn apart, their remains and chunks of flesh scattered across the floor like pieces of soaked sponge. Visor helmets, covered in blood and gore, rolled across the floor.

Aizawa, Zen, and the others slowly stood up. There were no casualties, but several SWAT officers were injured.

Zen looked around at the destruction, coughed through the smoke, and spoke.

“That was a close one…”

Satome immediately reported the situation to HQ.

“Tch… so this was what they had prepared for us,” Aizawa muttered.

Suddenly, the hallway began to shake.

Chunks of brick and concrete started falling from the ceiling as cracks spread across the walls.

“Everyone, retreat!” Aizawa shouted.