Soft, beautiful hair suddenly appeared.
"Am I dreaming?
Elda? … It's been a long time…"
"What's with this look?
Were you trying to pull off a 'Glasgow smile'?
Looks like you just cut yourself.
And what about that eye?"
"…I hope you're not here just to check in on me…"
"…Yeah… Do you want to leave this place…?"
"…Leave…?"
"Of course… Aren't you tired of being here?"
"Am I that easy to use?"
"Hehehe. Maybe I just need a little favor…"
"…Last I heard, you were abducted…"
"We can talk about all that outside too…"
Elda opens the cell door.
Denis tries to stand up, staggering.
"Why did you do all this to yourself?
Are you really schizophrenic?"
"…Getting people's attention is easy…"
He stumbles out of the cell.
Suddenly he loses balance.
Elda catches him.
He regains his footing.
"Come on then…"
Elda starts walking ahead…
But Denis doesn't move.
"What is it?.. Why aren't you coming?"
"I'm not exactly excited to see Brody…"
"W-what?"
Elda is genuinely shocked.
"Oh, come on… Why keep lying to each other here…
Even if it was a lie… you were once a 'member' of our team…"
"Y-you…"
"Weren't you? One of Aid's top 2 agents:
Elda Glory?"
A sinister smile appears on Denis' face…
His face is even more terrifying now with cuts along his mouth…
Elda realizes the person in front of her is dangerous…
Was this really the same boy she spoke and joked with 5-6 years ago?
Now, he could be called a teenager.
Roughly 16–17, maybe 18 years old…
Years ago, she saw gratitude in his eyes when she gave him chocolate.
Now there was only death in those eyes.
"I understand why Brody wants him now," Elda thinks to herself.
"Do you know who I am, Elda?"
"That's exactly what I'm curious about…"
Suddenly, Denis' right eye begins to glow:
The sclera is pitch black.
The pupil is completely white.
That abnormal eye lights up.
"A change this drastic over a girl…?"
"Really? You think I ended up like this because of Mia?
Well… she did play a part.
If I hadn't grown attached to her…
If she hadn't died before my eyes…
None of this would've been triggered…"
"Fate…?"
"Fate? …I'd rather call it Her doing…"
"'Her'?"
"You'll understand soon enough…
Actually, I'm sorry…
You won't even understand what happened—
before you die."
As soon as Elda hears that, she reaches for her weapons.
She draws one pistol and aims it at Denis.
But her second gun is missing.
"Looking for this?"
Denis lifts the missing pistol in his hand.
"You…"
"The noise you just made…
Will attract everyone here.
Like this…"
Denis' eye glows even brighter.
He tosses the gun in his hand and holds it to his own head:
"Baaaam!!"
The gun fires.
Elda's eyes widen—
Denis' body drops to the floor.
Blood splatters on the walls and everywhere.
Hearing the sound, soldiers rush inside—
"What was that?"
Krauser, despite his pain, turns to Liv and asks.
"We'll find out…"
Liv readies her weapon and charges inside with the soldiers.
"No… damn it… You're not taking all the fun…"
"But sir—"
"Shut up and help me!"
The soldier lifts Krauser and they descend the stairs quickly, entering the room—
Krauser freezes.
The soldiers have their weapons aimed at a woman…
Denis is lying on the ground, covered in blood…
"D-d-Denis…"
Then he looks at the woman:
"Y-you… Elda?!"
Liv:
"So you're Miss Glory… Nice to meet you."
Elda:
"Tch…" she grits her teeth.
"D-D-Denis… is he dead…?
H..hhh…hhaarrgghhh!"
Krauser ignores his wounds and lunges forward—
Right at Elda—
Just as Elda moves to defend herself—
Seven gunshots are heard—
The soldiers collapse—
"What's going on—" Liv tries to react—
But she suddenly feels something on the right side of her neck:
Close enough to sense it fully—
And then she sees it—
That pale, bloodied face of Denis, smiling sadistically.
Krauser turns—
Denis shoots him in the leg.
Then walks toward him—
He grabs his shoulder and, with a dagger-like, sharp, elegant stone,
He stabs him—just under the rib cage.
"Aah..!"
"I'll ask you just once, Krauser:
Where is Bifrat?
We both know he's not dead…"
"Ahh… suck… my… dick… you bastard…"
"..."
Denis slashes the blade inside Krauser's body sideways—towards the right—
Krauser drops to his knees—
Denis kicks him hard in the head—
Elda can't make sense of what's happened in under a minute…
"…Come on then…
Let's go, Miss Glory…"
"H-how did you…?"
"Don't you think we should talk to Brody about this…
once we're outside?"
⸻
Knock knock!
The door opens—
Shun, Taha (the ninja), and Kuri (Lie) walk in.
Kuri:
"What do you make of it?"
Andrew:
"Elda's escape was most likely for Denis."
Taha:
"How could a psycho be of any use to her?"
Shun:
"If it's just for him… he must not be an ordinary psycho."
Andrew:
"You're right… Denis is not ordinary at all.
In fact, he never was from the very beginning…"
Kuri:
"Are you going to explain?"
Andrew:
"Alright…
First of all—Denis is not from this world."
Taha:
"You mean like… an alien?"
Andrew:
"Not in that way…
I mean, not from this world…
He's not from the New World.
He's a remnant of the Old World…"
Kuri:
"But… technically that's impossible…
Even if he survived the 'Apocalypse'…
He couldn't be this young now…
He's only like 17…"
Andrew:
"Just like how Shun has been with us for five years but still looks 22…
Same deal…"
Kuri:
"But Shun—"
Shun:
"…I'm artificial… That's a fact.
Don't worry, I'm not offended…"
Kuri:
"Right…"
Andrew:
"Denis survived the 'Apocalypse' years ago…
Back then, he was around 7 or 8…
But then, things happened…
Even I don't fully understand what…"
"Like Zack, he was taken over…
But we don't know by whom…"
Taha:
"Why not?"
Andrew:
"Because he completely wiped them out.
Unlike Zack—
OptiPax still exists…
But whoever or whatever captured Denis…
Left no trace…"
Kuri:
"So he went out of control like Zack?"
Andrew:
"No…
That's the key difference between them.
Zack was unconscious.
He was controlled by the Dark Angel—Kaishi…
Denis, on the other hand…
He's a conscious lunatic…"
Shun:
"...."
Taha:
"How dangerous is he?"
Andrew:
"I don't even know his objective…
After the big incident, he escaped…
Then somehow, he was neutralized…
Zack and his team found him.
That's where it gets important…"
Kuri:
"That strange power you felt?"
Andrew:
"Yes. During their bounty hunting days,
I felt something totally unique and unlike anything before…
Naturally, I suspected that boy…
Part of his face was bandaged.
He was mysterious…"
Kuri:
"So he manipulated them all this time?"
Andrew:
"I don't know…
He might have suppressed his power.
Might have a dissociative personality…
Or maybe he was in a deep slumber—
And Mia's death shocked him awake…"
Shun:
"Whatever the case,
That makes him a threat to us…"
Andrew:
"You're right… So be careful…
I'll keep you updated.
You can go now…"
The trio exits the room…
The doors close—