Meanwhile…
Back in the control room, the atmosphere was far from calm.
Rei stood at the center, arms crossed, voice returning to that smooth, controlled tone. "He'll come around. They all do. Eventually."
Hina hadn't moved from her spot. Her glare hadn't either.
The way her eyes cut through him could've shattered glass.
Rei noticed — and for a fleeting second, a thin smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
There it was again. That familiar heat behind her rage.
The same fire that had once made him fall for her.
The same fire that had made them enemies.
"Don't look at me like that, Hina," he said, cocking his head. "I simply told him the truth. If you'd done it earlier, maybe he wouldn't have been punched in the face."
"Oh god... yes... I love that look on your face... keep looking at me like that, HIna.. your eyes are making me feel so... so..." That was what Rei was thinking.
He was probably attracted to Hina.
"You did this to humiliate me... you... waited all your life for this moment, don't you?" she snapped.
Her voice was calm but dangerous — a whisper coated in steel.
Rei shrugged. "I did this because we can't afford secrets anymore. If he's going to be part of this, he needs to know who he's really standing beside. And you're the first responsible for his pain," Rei smirked again. "All of this for your egoism." He said, while giving her a deadly glance.
Hina's pupils became really small for a second.
It seemed like she could snap at any time.
The grip around her arm tightened, with her nails digging right into her skin, probably to restrain herself from doing something wrong.
She wanted to kill Rei in that moment, and he perfectly knew this.
She looked at him with hate and bloodlust.
Yuna felt scared.
Everyone in the room felt her murderous intent.
But all she did, was sighing and looking at the floor again.
Maybe Rei was a little bit right.
"Come on, Hina-Chan... Did you really think that a professional killer trained by the most horrendous criminal could deserve such a pure feeling like love? Don't make me laugh, please." Rei said, with a hateful tone of voice.
Hina's body twitched by anger after hearing her words.
She looked at him again, probably ready to say something awful or... to assault him.
That's why Akira gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
A simple gesture to remind her to not do anything bad.
So, Hina calmed herself down.
Yuto said nothing. He remained leaning against the wall, arms folded, eyes closed like a monk who'd seen too much to care.
But Akira…
Akira was watching everything and scanning every single word everyone spoke.
Silently.
Her mind, however, was racing.
Rei's playing too close to the edge.
He had always been power-hungry, but now it was more than that.
There was calculation in everything he did. A game of positioning. Influence. Control.
He didn't just want the device.
He wanted the people around it to kneel.
And if Hina broke in the process… well, that was just a consequence Rei could accept.
Akira shifted her stance, eyes narrowing slightly.
So this is how it's going to be, huh?
Her loyalty had always been flexible. She served missions, not ideologies. She followed leaders who earned her respect — and Rei had just lost a big chunk of that.
She knew she'd need a backup plan.
Soon.
"Anyway," Rei said, breaking the tension like he hadn't just detonated a bomb, "back to the mission."
He waved his hand and the screen behind him changed again — this time showing a topographic map of the eastern provinces. Satellite scans. Guard patterns. A blinking dot marked in red.
"The auction for the Ark Device is taking place in less than six days. The location has finally been confirmed — a fortress built into the side of Mount Izuma. Remote. Nearly impenetrable."
Yuto opened one eye.
"You're planning an infiltration?"
"More than that," Rei said, gesturing to the room. "We're launching a full-scale operation. Ground unit, air support, internal sabotage."
Akira crossed her arms. "That's a full war zone."
"It is," Rei agreed.
"And you expect Kai to help with that? After what you just pulled?" Akira's tone was flat, but it carried weight.
Rei chuckled. "Kai's stronger than you think. He just doesn't know it yet."
Hina's jaw tightened. "He's not your weapon."
"He's not yours either."
The words hit harder than she expected.
And he knew it.
Rei stepped closer — not threatening, but deliberate.
"You had your chance to tell him everything. But you didn't. You wanted to protect him. Or maybe... you just didn't want to lose him."
He leaned in slightly, voice dropping.
"Now you might lose him anyway."
Hina looked away.
That hurt more than she wanted to admit.
Rei turned back to the others, clapping once. "Prep begins tomorrow morning. I want every team briefed and every route memorized. No mistakes. No survivors on their side."
"Are we clear?"
Silence.
Then a unified nod from the operators in the room.
Rei smiled thinly.
Then glanced once more at Hina.
She still hadn't moved.
Still staring at the floor like something in her had cracked.
And deep down, Rei liked that. A little too much.
"The most important part of this mission, is that this attack that we're going to do is just the beginning. The real show will begin on the school festival. But it's too early to talk about that." Rei said, while closing all the monitors.
"Rei. There's a problem." Hina managed to say.
Rei looked at Hina with a surprised look on his face.
"Uhm? What is it?" He asked.
"Lala and Haruto are spying Kai. Moreover, there's also Emi Fujimoto." Hina said.
Rei smirked.
"Don't worry about that. My men will take care of that."
Akira then spoke.
"There's also another thing." She said.
"Speak." Rei replied, with a formal tone of voice.
"The Kurotaka Syndicate is also involved in all of this situation..." Akira said, with an almost worried tone of voice.
"The... Kurotaka? You mean... those idiots?" Rei said, with a small giggle.
Akira nodded.
"Yeah. Hiro's sister... made a deal with them to eliminate Hina." Akira spoke.
Another big truth.
Hina's eyes widened.
"What...?" She said, with a deadly whisper.