Lightning roar

F and N ran towards Tengen and tried to hit him in the face. Tengen dodged their combined attack and F and N's punches hit the wall, cracking it severely.

''Too slow, assholes!'' Tengen laughed. 

F turned around and tried to kick Tengen in the head but he ducked and checked F's pockets. 

''No armory keys? I thought you were the weapons guy.'' Tengen said.

''N! defend your pockets! He wants the armory keys!'' F said and tried to punch Tengen.

''You shouldn't have said that!'' Tengen said and dodged F's punch. Tengen grabbed F and threw him out of the way. F hit the wall and lost consciousness.

''Hey N, give me your keys.'' Tengen said.

''I won't allow you to get there, Tengen!'' N said and activated her curse. N's body was covered by lightning aura and she shot a bolt of lightning at Tengen. 

''You have changed a lot, N. I'm disappointed.'' Tengen said and jumped away before the lightning bolt hit him. The attack hit the wall in the other end of the room, making a huge hole in it. 

''I see you're still running away from my attacks, Tengen. I'm disappointed as well.'' N said.

''I can take any of your attacks. You just don't deserve the honor of hitting me with one of your pathetic attacks.'' Tengen said.

''You talk a lot for a guy who's afraid of B.'' N said.

Suddenly, Tengen punched a hole through N's stomach. He took the armory keys from her pocket and threw N away.

''I think you forgot who you're talking to, N. I don't fear B, unlike you. And unlike you, I am not afraid of anything. Just remember that you're still alive because of me. I saved your life many times and I can take it whenever I feel like it. Remember that next time you try to talk shit, N.'' Tengen said and walked away. 

Tengen passed by C, who was sleeping on the ground and picked her up. 

''Wake up, Snowball. I need you to treat N's injuries.'' Tengen said.

A few moments passed and C didn't wake up. Tengen looked annoyed and slapped C a couple of times. 

''Wake up, Snowball.''  Tengen said and slapped C a few more times.

''What do you want?'' C asked. 

''I want you to treat N's injuries. I'm leaving so I need you to take over here.'' Tengen said and dropped C. 

''What do you want me to do? Freeze her wounds?'' C asked sarcastically.

''Do whatever you want, I need N alive. She's not allowed to die until I allow her to.'' Tengen said and left the training facility.

''Okay then...'' C said as she watched Tengen leave.

''I guess I'm freezing your wounds, N.'' C said and walked over to N. She sat down, activated her ice curse and started to freeze N's stomach wound. 

''It's a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake, If the way is hazy. You gotta do the cooking by the book.

You know you can't be lazy! Never use a messy recipe,the cake will end up crazy! If you do the cooking by the book then you'll have a-" C muttered as she used her curse to ''heal'' N.

''What the hell are you doing, C?'' N asked.

''I do this when I need to concentrate. You don't want me to help you with my ice when I am not concentrated, it isn't helping then, it's more like killing you. Please try not to move too much.'' C said.

''I see, do your thing then.'' N said and tried not to move too much.

F woke up a few moments later and got up. 

''Ouch, my head!'' F said and grabbed his head. He felt blood on his hand and stopped holding his head to look at it.

''Where is that asshole?'' F asked.

''He took my keys and went to the armory.'' N said.

''I gotta stop him before he takes all the cursed weapons!'' F said and ran out of the training facility.

F ran inside the the Public Safety Paranormal Threat Extermination Company Building and ran up the stairs to get to the second floor. He ran across the hallway and opened the big metal door, only to see Tengen standing on the window, sword on his back. 

''Too late! Toodaloo, bitch!'' Tengen said and jumped out of the window. 

F ran across the room and looked out of the window, only to see that it was too dark to spot Tengen. 

''GET BACK HERE, YOU SLIPPERY BASTARD!'' F screamed and jumped out of the window. F landed on the ground and started running. He reached the nearby park in seconds, trying to catch Tengen. 

''C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Work! Sense the damn sword!'' F tried to find the cursed energy trail coming from Tengen's sword. He saw a grey trail of cursed energy and followed it.

''I'm not letting him get away!'' F thought as he ran after the cursed energy trail.

After a few minutes of running, F lost the trail.

''Shit! I gotta find the trail!'' F ran up a tree to get a better look at things from above.

''I'll find you!'' F closed his eyes and focused on the cursed energy of Tengen's sword. He felt different traces of cursed energy lingering in the air and opened his eyes. He saw the grey trail of cursed energy again and followed it from the trees.

After a few more minutes of following the trail, F saw a glimpse of Tengen in the distance. 

''Found you!'' F said and jumped off the tree.

F ran after Tengen but he was too fast for him to catch up to. 

''He's faster than I expected. I gotta do something about that.'' F thought as he ran on the street. A car almost ran him over but F jumped over it. 

''I need something to catch up to him, maybe a car or a motorcycle.'' F continued running, but he looked around for a motorcycle to ride.

F saw a man on a motorcycle and stopped him.

''Public Safety! Don't move!'' F yelled and the man stopped.

''I'm seizing your vehicle!'' F said and took off with the man's motorcycle. F moved fast enough to catch up to Tengen in only a few moments.

''Give up, Tengen! I've caught you!'' F said and tried to grab Tengen.

''That's where you're wrong!'' Tengen said and dodegd. He ran faster and disappeared in a tunnel. 

''You're not getting away!'' F yelled and followed him into the tunnel.

Tengen ran up the wall of the tunnel and taunted F.

''How are you gonna catch me now, dipshit?'' He taunted and ran out of the tunnel.

''With this rock!'' F said.

''What the fuck? Where did you get that from?'' Tengen asked in confusion.

''I picked it up earlier.'' F said.

''Makes sense.'' Tengen said and kept running.

F threw the rock at Tengen. Tengen dodged the rock and kept running. F sped up and tried to hit Tengen with the motorcycle but Tengen jumped over it and kicked F in the face. 

''It's over, guy. Now I gotta kill you for following me.'' Tengen said and picked the motorcycle from the ground. He raised the motorcycle over his head and prepared to hit F with it.

''Any last words?'' F asked.

''Wait why are you asking ME?'' Tengen asked.

''Distraction purposes.'' F said and got up. He grabbed the closest traffic sign and prepared to fight.

''Catch.'' Tengen said.

''Eh?'' F responded.

Tengen threw the motorcycle at F. F parried the motorcycle with the traffic sign. F threw the traffic sign at Tengen, but he dodged and the traffic sign hit a traffic light. Tengen jumped into the air and grabbed the broken traffic light and threw it at F. F dodged the traffic light and kicked another traffic sign at Tengen. Tengen split the sign in half with a kick, grabbed the two pieces of the sign and threw it at F. F jumped away to dodge the attack and fell in a bush. 

''I need something to hit him with. I gotta find another traffic sign. No, I need a cursed weapon, the other things I can find here wouldn't do anything to him.'' F said. He looked through his phone contacts and called N.

''Hey N, I need a weapon. I can't beat Tengen with a traffic sign.''

''What do you want me to do? Tengen has the keys to the armory.'' 

''He left the door open and he only took his sword from the armory. Just bring me a cursed weapon so I can capture him.'' 

''I'll bring you a weapon, I also called B so don't worry about winning, just stall until I show up.''  N said. 

''How much do I have to stall for?'' F asked. 

''I need you to keep Tengen in the same spot for 10 minutes. I'll be here with cursed weapons by then and we can hold him off until B arrived.''  N said.

''Alright then, see you in 10.'' F said and hung up. He walked out of the bush and saw Tengen far away in the distance.

''Are you running away from me, you coward?'' F taunted.

''Yes!'' Tengen yelled and ran even faster.

''Fuck!'' F yelled and went to pick up his motorcycle.

''Still works? Good.'' F said and rode after Tengen. 

Tengen turned around and threw a bike at F. F weaved out of the way and continued chasing after Tengen.

''I got you this time!'' F said and hit Tengen with the motorcycle. Tengen was sent flying into a store and crashed through the glass door. 

''I just gotta wait for 10 minutes while N finds me now.'' F thought.

A few minutes later, Tengen walked out of the store with a bag of chips and a soda. He walked slowly and ate his chips. 

''That wasn't a good decision.'' Tengen said and took a large chug of his soda.

''I wanted to spare you, I really did. But now I won't, my people need me and you want me in a cage. That's why I'll kill you now.'' Tengen said and finished his chips and soda.

''Your people are criminals! You're just a gang leader with cursed weapons and curses! You should be in jail!''  F screamed.

''UNLIKE YOU I AM FREE!'' Tengen screamed and pulled the three-sectioned lightning staff out of his shadow.

''I don't depend on the corrupt exterminators! I don't rely on anyone! I DON'T NEED TO WORK TO LIVE! MY PEOPLE LOVE ME!'' Tengen screamed and attacked F.

''MY PEOPLE DON'T DIE BECAUSE THE EXTERMINATORS ARE UNAVAILABLE! MY PEOPLE DON'T DIE BECAUSE THE HIGHER-UPS DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM! MY PEOPLE LIVE BECAUSE THEY ARE FREE OF THE EXTERMINATION COMPANIES!'' Tengen landed multiple combos on F with the lightning staff. 

''I PROTECT MY PEOPLE FROM THE MONSTERS! I PROTECT THEM FROM THE EXTERMINATORS! I SAVE THEM FROM THE GREED AND GLUTTONY OF MAN! I AM THEIR SAVIOUR AND I WILL KILL AS MANY EXTERMINATORS AS I CAN TO PROTECT THEM!'' Tengen hit F with a bolt of lightning, followed up by a combo with the staff. Tengen kicked F into the air and continued hitting him.

''And if B gets in the way of our freedom...'' Tengen let F fall to the ground.

''I will kill her too.'' Tengen said, releasing the lightning from his staff.

''You're an idiot! Our enemy is the White-Clad cult!'' F said.

''They are my allies for now. When they start to become a threat, I'll kill them too.'' Tengen said.

''You are retarded. They will use your people as sacrifice to summon a devil.'' F said.

''Don't worry, I'm the strongest.'' Tengen said.

''It doesn't matter when the devil comes knocking on your door.'' F said.

''As if the Devil has the balls to do that.'' Tengen replied.

''Just join us, we gotta stop the cult, you can do whatever you want afterwards.'' F said.

''You should've started with that, guy.'' Tengen said.

''So we could have avoided all of this shit if you just listened to what I had to say?'' F asked.

''Yeah probably, I just don't trust B.''  Tengen said.

''Damn what happened between you two for you to hate her so much?'' F asked.

''It's a long story. All you have to know about that woman is that she standing on a bigger pile of corpses than I do, most of them her comrades.'' Tengen said.

''It's what being a leader does, people die and you're responisble for them. I choose to trust her.'' F said.

''Your choice. I don't like your choice but I can't change your mind.'' Tengen said.

''I trust B and you don't, that's all. Let's just work together and stop the cult before it gets too late.'' F said and got up from the ground.

''Alright, but you gotta clear my criminal record and those of my people.'' Tengen said.

''I'll what I can do about that.'' F said.

''And I want complete full immunity from the exterminators.'' Tengen demanded.

''I'll try to do that as long as you don't commit crimes.'' F said.

''And a harem.'' Tengen said.

''Wat?'' F asked.

''I want harem.'' Tengen demanded.

''The fuk?'' F asked.

''And my people need a harem too.'' Tengen said.

''You've gotta be fucking kidding me.'' F said.

''Believe me, I'm not.'' Tengen said.

''I can't get you a harem.'' F said.

''Then we have no deal.'' Tengen replied.

''Son of a bitch.'' F said.

''Call me whatever you want, I'm not working with you.'' Tengen said.

''Fine! I'll see what I can do!'' F yelled. 

''Thank you, guy.'' Tengen said.

''Fucking asshole.'' F muttered.

''What was your name again? I don't remember it, guy.'' Tengen asked.

''It's Finley.'' F said.

''Thank you, Finley. I'll make sure to save one of my concubines for you.'' Tengen said.

''I appreciate the offer but I don't need it.'' F said.

''Alright then, I won't force you. Let's get you to my place, I'll have my doctors patch you up.'' Tengen said.

''Can we wait for N to show up? She said she will pick me up and you don't have a car.'' F said.

''Fair enough. We can wait for a few more minutes. Let's go somewhere more private.'' Tengen said and picked F up.

As F and Tengen waited for N to arrive, tension hung in the air. F glanced around, taking note of their surroundings. They were in a dimly lit alley, hidden away from prying eyes. 

''This place is dark. Are you sure that N can find us?'' F asked.

''Of course, this isn't a regular dark alley. It's a special place, N knows it well.'' Tengen said.

''She does? What happened in this alley?'' F asked.

''Her first ever fight with a monster. I had to save her stupid ass in this alley a long time ago.'' Tengen said.

''Sounds like it was a fun time.'' F said.

''Oh please, it was the exact opposite.'' Tengen said and pulled a beer out of his pocket. 

''You got more of those?'' F asked.

''Where do expect me to pull it from?'' Tengen asked sarcastically.

''I don't know, your ass maybe?'' F replied with a shit-eating grin on his face.'' 

''You're so lucky I need you to clear my criminal record, otherwise I would've shoved a vending machine up your ass.'' Tengen said.

''Now that sounds like fun, doesn't it? But I would advise against it.'' B said.

''Hey, B.'' F said. 

''Hi there. You look hurt.'' B said and walked up to F and checked his injuries.

''I'm fine, just a few scratches.'' F said.

''I'm glad the fight stopped before you got hurt, It would've been stressful to see you that injured again.'' B said and dusted off F's suit.

''Here, all better.''  B said.

''Well excuse-moi, I didn't know we time for this shit.''  Tengen said.

''Oh, Tengen, I didn't see you there.'' B laughed.

''You must be going blind, B.'' Tengen joked.

''Or maybe I just have better things to look at.'' B winked.

''That's cute, B. Real cute.'' Tengen replied.

''Enough with the banter, you two.We've got bigger things to worry about.'' F said.

''He's right, we need to focus on stopping the cult before they cause any more havoc.'' B said.

''Do we even know where these guys are?'' F asked.

''I know the location of one of their bases.'' Tengen said.

''I know that they have a base outside of the city, I've sent N there before.'' B said.

''Oh, is that's why you didn't release me?'' Tengen asked.

''Precisely. I needed to be one be one step ahead of the cult or at least even the playing field.'' B confirmed.

''I'm guessing we're going to raid their bases at some point.'' F said.

''Correct, we will have to do that sooner or later, I'd rather raid them before they can raid us, but our heavy hitters have been missing for a while now and I don't think we should do a raid when we're not at full power.'' B said.

''Yeah makes sense. Wait what do you mean by ''missing''? Who's missing?'' F asked.

''T and K have been on less missions for a while now and they stopped responding to me a few days ago. I didn't want to stir panic by mentioning their absence, we don't have many exterminators in our company, I don't want the small bunch we have to be demoralized by the absence of two of the three captains.'' B said.

''I saw T yesterday, he said he was busy with helping an old friend with something. Maybe he's taking time off to help out.'' F said. 

''I didn't know that T had friends. What about K? Have you seen him lately?'' B asked.

''I think I saw him a day ago, maybe two? I don't remember but I saw him when I was still at the hospital.'' F said.

''T was that creepy fuck, right?" Tengen asked.

''I wouldn't call him outright creepy but he's definetly weird.'' F said.

''He's not that bad once you get to know him, he just has a different way of doing things.'' B said.

''Different way my ass. He's just plain weird.'' Tengen said.

''Regardless of that, we'll have to find T and K when N arrives.'' F said.

''I well I believe that we can proceed regardless.'' B said.

N's car stopped in front of the alley and N rolled down the window.

''Sorry I'm late, too much traffic.'' N said.

''It's alright, N. Tengen decided to help us find T and K so he's on our side for now.'' F explained.

''Only for now and only if I get a harem.'' Tengen said.

''A harem? Seriously?'' N raised an eyebrow, clearly taken aback.

''Long story, don't ask.'' F shook his head, giving Tengen a disapproving look.

''Well, I'm not sure about the harem part, but we can definitely use all the help we can get. N asked.

''Let's focus on finding T and K first. Any leads?'' N asked.

Meanwhile. T and Izzy stood in the middle of the now destroyed house, injured. T looked at the impaled Izzy and laughed. 

''Phew, I didn't expect you to be this strong, girl.'' T said and reattached his hand with the reversal curse. He pulled the cards out of his shoulder and threw it away. The card hit the ground and exploded. 

''You're not bad either, asshole.'' Izzy said and activated the seven of hearts in her hand and her injuries started healing. She pulled T's sword out of her stomach and threw it back at T. 

''I believe It's time for me to go all out and kill you.'' T said and activated his water curse. 

''Do me a favor and just die already.'' Izzy said and pulled out a contract. 

''Curse of rock, give me strenght!'' 

Izzy signed the contract with her blood and the rubble and rocks from the house flew into the air and turned into spikes. The spikes flew at T, who destroyed them with his water bullets. Izzy jumped into the air and shot more spikes at T. T destroyed them with water bullets, revealing the cards hidden in the spikes-the seven of diamonds and the eight of clubs. The seven of diamonds turned into seven diamond cards and the eight of clubs turned into eight clubs that flew towards T's like heat seeking missiles. T dodged the diamonds and they exploded when they hit the ground. Then T sliced the clubs with his katana. Izzy shot more spikes at T.

''Is that your last contract? Pathetic.'' T taunted and shot through Izzy's contract with a water bullet. The bullet shred through the paper and made hole in Izzy's abdomen. Izzy fell to the ground and broke her arm.

"Out of cards and out of contracts already?'' T taunted.

 Izzy struggled to her feet, her breaths labored as she fought through the pain of her injuries. Blood seeped from the wound in her abdomen, staining the ground beneath her. 

''Just this one.'' Izzy said and pulled a bloody card out of her abdomen. 

''A last resort move? I have to finish her before she can use it.'' T thought and activated his curse again. 

''Die!'' Izzy screamed and threw the card towards T.

''Water Dragon!'' 

T released the water dragon and it clashed against Izzy's card. The water washed away the blood off the card and it revealed the card's true face.

''What?!" T exclaimed.

''The ace of spades, the card of instant death!'' Izzy yelled. 

''Doesn't matter! My dragon will win.'' T said and used his curse to push the dragon further.

The dragon swallowed the card and hit Izzy, causing an explosion of cursed water. Izzy fell to the ground into multiple pieces and T laughed.

''The card of instant death, huh? Well you sure died in instantly.'' T taunted. 

The card of instant death finally passed through the water completely and flew towards T. 

''Still moving? I guess I'll just jump out of the way and-'' T mumbled and tried to jump out of the way, but his legs gave out and he fell to his knees.

''Right now out of all times?'' T said and started looking through his pockets.The instant death card hit T in the heart and killed him instantly. T dropped his katana and all the things from his pocket.

Meanwhile, K sat in his car and waited for T to come back. 

''What's up with that guy? He should've been back by now.'' K said and rolled the window down. He searched through his pockets to find his cigarettes. 

''Shit, nothing in here. I guess I'll have to go buy some.'' K said and opened the car door. He walked around, looking for a convenience store. K walked around for a minute or two and saw Izzy's destroyed house. 

''Reckless as always.'' K mumbled and walked towards the destroyed house. 

''Hey T, you still here?'' K asked. But there was no response. 

''Don't play tricks on me, T, I know you're here.'' K said.

No response.

''C'mon asshole, show up already.'' K said and kept searching.

No movement, no sound, nothing to indicate that T was anywhere nearby. As K ventured further into the wreckage, his heart sank with each passing moment. K found T on the ground.

''Found you, T.'' K said and picked him up.

''Next time don't go all out without telling me first. I waited for you for too long.'' K said and carried T out of the house. 

''I'll leave you in here and go buy some cigs. I'll be back in a few so just wait here.'' K left T in the car and went to the nearest store to buy cigarettes. 

Entering the convenience store, K grabbed a beer and a pack of cigarettes.

''Rough day, eh?'' The cashier asked.

''What makes you say that?'' K asked.

''I haven't met anyone who smokes these for fun.'' The cashier replied and pointed at the pack of cigarettes. 

''It's an old habbit.'' K said.

''I hope so, it would be a shame if it wasn't out of habit.'' The cashier said.

''No worries, no one is dead.'' K replied and paid for his cigarettes.

''I see, well then, take care.'' The cashier said.

K left the store and pulled his phone out.

''Requesting aid, this is K from Company 5. We've got a busted vehicle and a heavily injured partner, requesting immediate assistance.'' K said and walked back to his car. 

''You'll be alright, T, help is on the way.'' K said and opened his can of beer. 

A few minutes later, an ambulance and a team of exterminators arrived at the scene, responding to K's call for assistance. As the paramedics loaded T into the ambulance, K followed them with his eyes, not uttering a single word. 

''Captain! Are you listening?''  One of the exterminators asked.

''What is it, L?'' K asked the lilac haired woman. 

''Are you going to report this to miss B or do want Division 9 to do it for you?''  L asked.

''No need, I'll do it myself.'' K said.

''Do you need anything, captain?'' The woman asked.

''Not really, I'll return home and write the report. Thank you anyway, L.'' K said.

''Are you sure?'' L asked.

''I'm sure. I'll see you tomorrow if I happen to run into you.'' K said.

''Alright then. See you tomorrow, captain K.''  L said.

K walked away and soon enough, he disappeared into the distance. Around 35 minutes later, K found himself in front of his apartment building. He entered the building and got in the elevator. He pressed the button for the 8th floor and soon enough, he was at the front door of his apartment. He unlocked the door and entered his apartment. He entered his living room and threw his necktie and jacket on the floor before laying on the couch.

''I need a drink.'' K mumbled. 

''Maybe you need to get a girlfriend'' K's sister said.

''Maybe you need to remember that I'm married, Millie.'' K said.

''And you're also divorced if I remember correctly'' Millie said.

''Fuck you.'' K muttered under his breath.

''Fuck you too. There's dinner in the kitchen.'' Millie said.

K got up and went to the kitchen and looked at the meal Millie made for him.

''Mac'n'cheese? Really?'' K asked.

''If you don't like it, make something yourself! Fucking asshole!'' Millie yelled.

K didn't respond and started eating the macaroni and cheese. Suddenly, K's phone rang.

''What do you want?'' K said, still chewing.

''Hello, K. I need you to come here right now, It's very important.'' B said.

''Why? What happened?'' K asked.

''You and T were missing for days, I have a few questions for you.'' B said.

''Sure but I'll bring my dinner with me.'' K said.

''I don't mind, just make sure that you come here quickly.'' B said.

''Right, see you in a few.'' K said and hung up.

''I'm going out for a bit, I'll be back as soon as I can.'' K said.

''Where are you going?'' Millie asked.

''To the office, the boss wants something from me.'' K said.

''What would she want from you at this hour?'' Millie asked.

''I don't know.'' K lied.

''Just don't stay out there too long, I don't trust that woman.'' Millie said.

''Sure thing. I'm taking my dinner with me too.'' K said.

''Okay, just go already.'' Millie said.

''Make sure to lock all doors and windows.'' K said.

''You don't have to tell me twice.'' Millie said.

K left the apartment and headed for the Extermination Company. He found himself in front of the building in less than 25 minutes. 

''Here we go.'' K muttered and entered the building. He took the elevator to B's office and knocked on the door.

''Come in, K.'' B said.

''What do you want to know?'' K asked before sitting down on a chair.

''I want to know why you and T decided to fight the cult without telling me.'' B said.

''That lilac snitch. Anyway, I have a good reason for working on investigating the cult for months without telling you.'' K said. B raised an eyebrow, seemingly interested.

''Enlighten me then, K. Why the secrecy?'' B asked.

''You're indecisive, the cult abducts and experiments on people while you don't do anything. People die and you keep giving orders for small fry monsters. You claim to want to help people and yet when the time for it comes you're nowhere to be found.'' K said.

''Go on.'' B said.

''You've been wasting weeks by keeping Tengen in prison, he's one of the only people with connections to the cult and yet you decide to beef with him about bullshit from the past instead of working with him once and then dealing with him once everything is over.'' K said.

''Anything else?'' B asked.

''You don't do anything about non exterminator curse users and anomalies even though it's your job. I hate how little you do for the big boss of Company 5.'' K said.

''Is that all?'' B asked.

''The cult is trying to summon a damn devil and you're here doing nothing! "We can't afford to be passive. The longer we hesitate, the more lives are at stake. We need to take decisive action, even if it means bending a few rules." K said.

''And tell me, what did your work accomplish?" B asked.

''T and I managed locate a base of the cult or we're at least 95% through with it.'' K said.

''So you're telling me that T died to almost find a cult base?'' B asked.

''Yeah...'' K replied.

''If you didn't go work on your own, T would've been alive and well and we would have had 2 bases found with the third one 95% done.'' B said.

''You already found two bases?!" K asked in shock.

''I do things behind the scenes, I don't like causing mass panic among my colleagues. I've done what I had to, even teaming up with Tengen, to make sure that we know where the cult bases are and soon enough we're going to raid them.'' B said.

"I had no idea, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions and for not trusting your judgment, B. I guess I underestimated you." K said. B nodded, a faint smile on her face.

''It's understandable, K. We're all under a lot of pressure, and tensions can run high. But we're on the same team, and we need to trust each other if we're going to defeat the cult." B said.

''You're right, B. I'll do my part to support your efforts and work with you moving forward." K said.

''Do you have anything else to say?'' B said.

''T decided to kill one of Tengen's subordinates and that's why he's gone.'' K said.

''Don't tell me he went up against Isabella.'' B said.

''That one with the brown hair that was annoying us every week about Tengen.'' K said.

''That's her. I'm sorry to say this, K, but T didn't kill her.'' B said.

''What do you mean?'' K asked.

''You see, Isabella is one of the few curse users that uses old curse weapons and techniques. Those things were seen as useless compared to most methods even back then, but people like her still used them. Those old curses and weapons had one thing that makes them more powerful thank new methods: the ability to cheat death.'' B explained.

''So you think she used her weapons and curses to escape?'' K asked.

''It's possible, she is a curse contractor after all. This might sound mean or even evil depending on how you decide to take to take it, but I believe that T might have died for nothing, and if that is the case, you might be the one to blame.'' B said.

K's expression darkened as he processed B's words. Guilt and regret gnawed at him, knowing that T's sacrifice might have been in vain. He hadn't considered the possibility that Isabella could cheat death with her ancient curse techniques, and now the weight of that oversight weighed heavily on his conscience.

''Don't make me think about it.'' K said and lit a cigarette.

''I didn't know you had those on you, I guess you were prepared for the worst outcome.'' B said, looking at K's cigarettes.

''I was worried that I might have to smoke one for him.'' K said.

''You should save them for tomorrow, when everyone is present. I want all of us to show respect to T as the family we are. We're all comrades and losing one of us is a sad moment for each and every one of us.'' B said.

''That said, I would like one right now, T was a close friend to me, just as he was to you. I don't think I can wait any longer.'' B said.

''I've never seen you smoke.'' K said and handed B a ceremonial cigarette.

''That's because I don't.'' B replied and lit the cigarette with a match. 

K and B sat in quiet reflection as the smoke curled around them, their thoughts lingering on T's death.

''I'll make sure his death wasn't in vain.'' K said, his voice quiet but determined.

''We owe it to him, we have to put an end to the cult once and for all.'' B said.

''What do we do?'' K asked.

''Tomorrow, after we give our respects to T, I'll send you, F and N to Exterminator Block 27 and you will recruit this grade 2 exterminator.'' B said and showed K a picture.

''Do you think she'll be enough to cover for T?'' K asked.

''I can't be certain but I want to believe that she'll be a good enough replacement for the time being.'' B said. 

''Why isn't recruiting her a solo mission for me? Don't you think it's something I have to do alone to repent?'' K asked.

''I don't know what you would do if you're alone and grieving. I don't want you hurt yourself.'' B said.

''I see...'' K said.

''Let's not talk about this anymore. It's late and I believe that it's time for us to go home.'' B said.

''I agree.'' K said and got up from the chair.

B got up from her chair as well and followed K out of the office. 

''Wait, I forgot my dinner.'' K said.

''Did your wife make it for you?'' B asked.

''My sister did.'' K said.

''I see. Well, go grab your dinner, you don't want to leave a good meal in there.'' B said. K quickly went to back to the office and grabbed his dinner.

''Take care, K.'' B said.

''You too.'' K said and took the elevator to the ground floor. B stood in the hallway alone and smiled.

''Their end is near.'' B said before going down the stairs leading to the parking lot. She got in her car and drove off, the only thing following her being the moon. 

To be continued.