Western Bailey – Mortal Official Hall
The room was heavy with silence.
Chairs creaked softly as people shifted uncomfortably, waiting for someone to speak.
Gru finally stood.
His back was straight, but his eyes carried years of pain.
"We need the Wanderers back," he said.
The sentence was quiet… but it echoed like thunder.
Whispers filled the hall. Some shocked. Some confused. Some already afraid of what it meant.
Rikiya's heart tightened.
She didn't speak.
Not yet.
She waited.
A man sitting beside her leaned closer and whispered gently, "Please… try to understand."
But Rikiya's eyes stayed locked on Gru.
He didn't say her name.
He didn't have to.
His look said everything.
He wasn't just asking for a team.
He was asking her to remember… everything.
Her hands slowly curled into fists.
A soft crack — her knuckles.
But inside her, everything was screaming.
She saw them again.
The blood.
The crying faces.
The way people begged.
The way her mother fell.
The way her teammates never came back.
It all flashed in front of her like a storm of broken memories.
"You think I don't understand what you want?" she said, her voice low and sharp.
"You say 'Wanderers' like it's just a name. But for us, it was everything."
Her voice shook, but her eyes were steady.
"You sit here, in safety… planning. Talking. But outside, people are dying. Not just from demons. From our own mess. Our mistakes."
She swallowed, hard.
The words hurt her more than anyone else in the room.
"I lost too much once. I'm not ready to lose again."
She stood.
The hall fell completely silent.
"I don't care if you restart the Wanderers or not… but I won't let my family be part of it."
With that, Rikiya turned around.
Her footsteps echoed in the hall, louder than any voice.
Just before she pushed open the door, she stopped for a breath.
Not for them.
For herself.
"I'm tired of watching people die," she whispered.
And she walked out.
Behind her — silence.
Not one person moved.
Not one person dared to speak.
Even the light coming through the windows felt colder.
Outside, the sky began to turn grey.