I created a foundation

That thought was like a devil lurking in the deepest part of her heart. When she was most vulnerable, it stretched out its claws and whispered in her ear with a voice full of temptation.

behind the door.

What is happening behind the door that separates the two worlds?

What would that stupid Eriri look like in front of that hateful man?

That man...

How would he treat this victor who had just won the war and came to him on his own initiative?

Once this thought arose, it was like a wildly growing vine that instantly wrapped around her heart, tightening more and more, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

curiosity.

That's poisonous enough to kill a cat.

It is also the source of all stories.

Kasumigaoka Utaha suddenly opened her eyes.

A faint yet extremely stubborn light rekindled in those originally empty eyes.

She picked up the wine glass on the table, tilted her snow-white neck, and drank the remaining crimson liquid in the glass.

The spicy alcohol slid down her throat into her stomach, bringing with it a burning warmth that seemed to give her a little extra courage.

She stood up.

The high heels made no sound as they stepped on the smooth marble floor.

Like an elegant and stealthy black cat, she moved lightly and silently, step by step, up the spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

The closer we got, the clearer the sound leaking from the crack in the door became.

Her cheeks began to heat up uncontrollably.

Her heartbeat was also beating violently against her chest.

shame.

anger.

unwilling.

And that damn, uncontrollable curiosity.

All kinds of complicated emotions intertwined into an impenetrable web in her heart.

Finally, she reached the half-open bedroom door.

The exquisite carvings on the door panel appear mysterious and tempting under the dim light of the corridor.

Through the crack in the door, a warm orange light, belonging to a girl's boudoir, shone through.

Kasumigaoka Utaha stopped and stood outside the door.

She could even clearly hear her own uncontrolled and slightly rapid breathing.

Go in?

As a loser, spy on the winner's spoils?

No.

That's so humiliating.

but……

Just leave like this?

Are you going to just give up the opportunity you created with your own hands and that man?

She is not reconciled.

Her pride would not allow her to flee the battlefield in such a disgraceful manner.

Kasumigaoka Utaha bit her lower lip with such force that she could even taste a faint smell of blood.

The pain brought her brain back to clarity for a moment.

She is not a loser.

This war is far from over as long as she has not left.

She took a deep breath, and a hint of determination flashed in her beautiful eyes.

She raised her hand.

The white and slender fingers paused slightly in the air, and finally landed on the cold door panel that isolated the world.

Her fingertips applied gentle pressure.

The door, which was not completely closed, slid inward silently and opened a gap.

The world is now open.

The night in Tokyo is filled with colorful neon lights and desires.

Kasumigaoka Utaha's battle ended in a way she least wanted to see, in the bedroom on the second floor of another villa. She was not the winner, but she had to taste the bitter fruit of defeat alone.

And in the corner at the other end of this city, the other side of the night has just begun.

Shinjuku area.

This is one of Tokyo's most prosperous commercial districts. Even late at night, the main roads are still bustling with traffic, and huge electronic billboards silently change light and shadow, making the night sky as bright as day.

But in the backstreets, shrouded in the shadows of skyscrapers, the world looks very different.

There was no glaring light here, only the ambiguous, dim afterglow that seeped in from the main street. The air was filled with damp vapor, mixed with the complex aroma of food scraps and alcohol wafting from the nearby izakaya.

Busujima Saeko was wearing a dark casual outfit that was convenient for her to move in, and she was carrying [Yeshai], which was carefully disguised in a cloth bag, on her back. She was like an ordinary high school girl who had just finished her club activities, walking quietly on the boundary between light and darkness.

Her footsteps were light and steady, without making any unnecessary noise, blending perfectly with the noisy background sound around her.

After a day of intense training, routine night patrols have long become an integral part of her life.

This is not only the responsibility of the foundation members, but also the way for her to communicate with the Zanpakutō named [Nosai] in her hand.

Her mind was like a deep, ancient well, unruffled. Yet, her mental energy was intensely focused. With her at the center, an invisible web of perception, silently covering the surrounding blocks as she employed her [Observation Haki], spread out.

The flow of the wind, the chirping of insects, the drunkard's incoherent dream talk, the suppressed quarrel of lovers in the distance...all of them were filtered and categorized one by one in her perception.

Business as usual.

Just as she was about to expand her perception range and head to the next patrol point, her footsteps stopped without warning.

It was as if an invisible needle had accurately pierced into her peaceful spiritual world in an instant.

Busujima Saeko narrowed her eyes slightly, and her gaze passed over the intricate buildings in front of her and turned to a deeper and darker alley not far away.

Right there.

In her perception of [Observation Haki], a strange aura, like a bonfire suddenly lit in the dark night, suddenly appeared on her mental map.

That aura was incredibly powerful.

Pure and condensed, it resembled a blazing flame brimming with life energy. Its intensity was even greater than any Ghost-level anomaly she had ever seen.

But in stark contrast to that tremendous power, it also contains an almost unconcealable confusion and deep bewilderment.

It was like a traveler with the power to destroy the world, yet completely lost at a small crossroads. Two diametrically opposed qualities, in a profoundly contradictory way, perfectly merged.

"Not a Sarkite."

That breath did not contain the sickening smell of the Sarkic cultists, a mixture of crazy faith and the stench of rotting flesh and blood.

“It’s not a ghost either.”

There is also no coldness and deathly silence that are unique to spirits formed by obsession and resentment.

In fact, it does not belong to any known anomalous creature in the Foundation's database.

It was like a completely new, undefined species that had entered her jurisdiction without warning.

Busujima Saeko's eyes suddenly became sharp.

Her originally steady breathing instantly became barely audible. Her entire aura, at that moment, was completely suppressed, as if she had completely vanished from the world.

Like a black cat eyeing its prey, she lowered her body slightly, tapped the ground with her toes, and then turned into a blurry afterimage, sneaking silently towards the alley that emitted an unusual smell.

There was not a sound of wind.

There is no unnecessary movement.

In just a few breaths, she arrived at the alley entrance, her body pressed against the cold and rough wall, only half of her head sticking out to look inside.

The alley was very deep, and the only source of light was an emergency light on the wall at the end, which flickered and had obviously been in disrepair for a long time.

Under the dim light, a figure was quietly leaning against the mottled wall with his back to her.

That's a woman.

Her long, shiny black hair fell to her waist like a waterfall, and even in the dim light, it still shone with a healthy luster.

She wore a rather oddly styled black short skirt and white short top, and a pair of sturdy-looking black boots. This outfit made her already tall figure appear even more upright and full of strength.

But her posture revealed a hint of fatigue and confusion.

She just leaned there quietly, with her head slightly lowered, as if she was thinking about some difficult problem, or as if she was simply in a daze.

She seemed completely unaware that in the shadows not far behind her, there was a pair of sharp eyes observing her silently.

Busujima Saeko held her breath, and her hand, without knowing when, gently pressed on the handle of the [Noshai] behind her.

The cold touch coming from her palm restored her heart, which had been slightly tense due to the discovery of the unknown abnormality, to absolute calmness.

There is only one goal.

Judging from the aura emanating from the other party, although it was full of chaos, there was no trace of malice.

But the first rule of the Foundation is that you cannot take chances with any unknown anomaly.

She wasn't sure how long the other party's "harmless" state would last.

After quickly going through all possible response plans in her mind, Busujima Saeko no longer hesitated.

She walked slowly out of the shadows, her footsteps on the wet ground making a clear sound that seemed particularly abrupt in this quiet alley.