It had been more than a week since Kamakiri Mina suddenly vanished without a trace—no messages, no calls, nothing sent back to the Kamakiri family.
They had contacted the Jou family and received only a brief reply: Mina had gone on a short business trip to Japan with Yu to purchase land for a new industrial extraction facility. They claimed she would return in a few days.
But more than a week had passed, and Hiroshi had heard nothing.
Tensions between the Jou and Kamakiri families were escalating by the day—especially with the Kamakiri inheritance ceremony, the ring-passing ritual, drawing dangerously close. On top of that, Mina's disappearance had dumped an overwhelming amount of work onto Hiroshi's shoulders.
Satoru was dead, and Hiroshi had always been nothing more than a man suited for paperwork and office work. The darker, under-the-table dealings—things Satoru used to handle—had now become an unbearable burden.
One afternoon, Hiroshi returned to the Kamakiri estate to sort through some documents after checking on his grandmother. As he walked down the hallway, he heard a rustling sound coming from a room.
It was the room that once belonged to Mina and Valko, before they moved out to live on their own.
That room had been locked for a long time. Yet light was spilling into the hallway.
Someone had opened it.
Hiroshi frowned in anger. Which servant—or outsider—would dare enter the mistress's room without permission?
Then he saw Haruna.
Her wrists and ankles were weighed down by iron chains, clanking softly as she rummaged through the wardrobe and jewelry drawers, turning the room into a chaotic mess of clothes and scattered papers.
"Oh my God—Haruna! What are you doing in here!?" Hiroshi shouted in shock.
He quickly glanced down the hallway to check if anyone else was nearby, then rushed in to stop her.
"Haruna! Have you lost your mind!? You know damn well this is Mina's room! If she finds out, we're finished!"
Haruna let out a cold snort, completely unfazed.
Having been locked inside the estate for too long, she had stopped caring about her appearance. Her face looked worn, unkempt. She wore nothing but a thin nightdress. Since the day Mina ordered her to be chained, Haruna had only grown more defiant, more vicious. She treated everyone like dirt. Laughing bitterly, Haruna shoved Hiroshi's hand away.
"Don't stop me! Can't you see how sick of this life I am!?"
Hiroshi felt utterly powerless. Anyone else, he could reason with—but Haruna was stubborn, arrogant to the core.
"Haruna, I know you're suffering," he pleaded. "You can do whatever you want in this estate. No one's stopping you. But Mina's belongings—those are absolutely—"
"What!?" Haruna snapped, glaring at him.
"You think I'm afraid of her!? I'm her older sister!"
She screamed, her eyes blazing with hatred—an expression that sent a chill down Hiroshi's spine.
"But Haruna… what exactly are you looking for in Mina's room?" he asked carefully.
Haruna scoffed.
"There's nothing useful here anyway…"
She stepped on the old clothes she had dragged out of Mina's wardrobe, treating them like trash.
Hiroshi could only stand there helplessly.
"The key…" Haruna muttered. "Right. It should be here, at least."
That was when Hiroshi finally understood.
"You're looking for the key to the chains?"
"Yes!" Haruna screamed in fury.
"What the hell do you think I'm here for!?" She kicked Mina's clothes violently.
"Who does she think she is, condemning me like this!? Chaining me for life!? I'd rather die!"
Her rage stirred something deep inside Hiroshi—an uncomfortable sense of sympathy. Mina's punishment was undeniably cruel.
But defying Mina was never a good idea. Mina excelled at dealing with anyone who disobeyed or betrayed her. Being near her felt like playing with a tiger—only when you saw it with your own eyes did you truly understand.
Haruna's voice suddenly dropped. Her chained hands hung limply at her sides.
"Don't you find it strange, cousin?" she murmured.
"Everything collapsing around SCJ… Valko and I being suspected… and now his death. If this wasn't her plan from the beginning, then what was it?"
Hiroshi looked like he wanted to say something—then stopped himself.
Instead, he shot back, "But your affair with Valko was real, wasn't it?"
Haruna turned her face away.
"So what if it was?" she snapped.
"We slept together for two years. But don't you find it strange? Mina knew all along. She just pretended to be shocked—to humiliate me."
Hiroshi shook his head, raising a hand.
"You can't justify your mistakes like that."
"Think whatever you want," Haruna replied coldly.
"But you can't deny something's off here. How can you be so sure she didn't orchestrate all this just for the inheritance?"
Hiroshi fell silent, arms crossed. Seeing his reaction, Haruna's lips curved into a knowing smile.
"You see it too, don't you? There's no way all this is just coincidence. That bitch planned everything—to trap me, and you, and Mother… all of us."
Hiroshi sighed, exhausted.
"Even if that's true, Mina was destined to inherit the position. What good does saying all this do now?"
Haruna shook her head and laughed like a madwoman.
"Don't you get it? Mina's been gone for over a week. The inheritance ceremony is right around the corner—and she's nowhere to be found. What if she never comes back?"
Hiroshi frowned sharply.
"That's impossible!"
"It's already happening, Hiroshi," Haruna said softly.
"You understand what I mean… don't you?"
Her voice turned seductive as she stepped closer, caressing his cheek. Hiroshi stiffened.
"…We could find her in Japan—and kill her before she returns."
Hiroshi's eyes widened. He shoved her hand away.
"You want to kill Mina!? Have you gone insane!?"
Even after being rejected, Haruna didn't back down.
"I'm thinking about our survival," she said calmly.
"Think, cousin. If she disappears, who inherits the Kamakiri power? Who?"
"If she becomes the head," Haruna continued, "she won't care about anyone—not even blood relatives. If she can do this to me, do you really think she won't come for you? Don't be naive."
"But if she vanishes…"
She smiled slowly.
"Imagine it, Hiroshi. The vast empire the Kamakiri hold—belonging to us. That outcome is inevitable."
"Haruna… do you even realize what you're saying?" Hiroshi whispered.
Haruna met his gaze with a smile.
"I do. And I also know you're holding the key I need. So? Are you scared?"
Hiroshi stared at her, unable to dismiss her words.
Neither of them noticed that Tomi had been standing in the hallway the entire time—listening from the very beginning.
Yet her expression was strangely calm.
Cold.
---
Outside, the village festival was roaring with noise and music, but Duyen was stuck inside with Shana.
The two of them were naked, sitting face to face with their eyes closed. Sweat had already beaded across Duyen's face. According to Haru, after everything strange Duyen had been through, her divine energy had been severely depleted. She needed time—treatment, recovery—though she still didn't fully understand how any of it worked.
All she knew was that she was sitting here like this… with Shana.
Faint, hazy blue lights shimmered around them as they performed a strange form of energy transfer.
Call it making love, touching, caressing—anything at all. Shoulder to shoulder. Skin against skin.
After what she had experienced, Duyen could finally sense it: a current of energy flowing into her, as natural and invisible as the air surrounding her.
It was strange.
Shana was the first to open her eyes. She looked at Duyen with a proud smile—because she knew. Still, something gnawed at her, something she didn't quite know how to ask.
When Duyen's breathing gradually steadied, her long curved lashes fluttered open. A faint blue streak brushed across her amber eyes before fading away. She looked at Shana and laughed softly.
"Is there something on my cheek?"
Shana shook her head, smiling brightly, her gaze full of infatuation.
"No. You're just… ridiculously cute."
Duyen stood up shyly, half-covering her small, flushed chest as she waved her hand dismissively. "Stop flattering."
She reached for the clothes she had tossed carelessly around the room, pulling on jeans and a fleece-lined hoodie to cover her slender, beautiful body. But Shana couldn't take her eyes off her for even a second—almost as if she were the one under a spell.
Still naked, Shana wrapped her arms around Duyen from behind, pressing close. She whispered softly,
"Are you sure about this?"
Duyen blinked, surprised.
"About what?"
Shana tilted her head and kissed the hollow of Duyen's neck.
"You know exactly what I mean."
Duyen let out a quiet "ah," then smiled gently, her voice steady and certain.
"I'm sure."
"Duyen… I don't want you to regret this…"
"Don't worry, Shana. I won't—"
Duyen turned around and kissed Shana's soft lips, taking the initiative without the slightest hesitation. It felt like her heart was being soothed over and over again.
And yet… the unease inside Shana refused to disappear.
She knew the wedding was coming too fast—especially knowing that there was still an anchor lodged deep in Duyen's heart.
Suddenly, a sharp bang—like a gunshot—rang out, making both of them flinch.
With her heightened senses, Shana immediately felt something approaching. Duyen, meanwhile, panicked.
"What was that? Was that a gunshot?"
Shana immediately reassured her.
"It's okay. Nothing's wrong."
"But it was a gunshot, Shana."
"It's fine, Duyen…" Shana placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Stay here and wait for me, okay?"
With that, Shana flicked her finger. The cloak lying on the floor suddenly wrapped itself around her body, as if pulled by invisible strings. Then she vanished from the house—along with Haru.
Duyen stood there, confused. She knew something was happening out there.
Even as late afternoon arrived, Shana still hadn't returned. Outside, the festival remained loud and relentless, the singing voices of young women drifting into Duyen's ears. It made her feel strangely hollow… and achingly missing Shana.
But Shana had told her to wait.
So Duyen waited, not knowing what else to do.
She sighed, stuffing her hands into her pockets, pacing listlessly across the thick snow. From a distance, she noticed two fox masked women still standing there, whispering to each other.
Curious—but unable to approach and ask what was going on.
DUYEN!
Suddenly, as if from within her subconscious, she heard someone calling her name. It could have been her imagination. Or the wind.
But the voice that followed was very real.
"Hey, tomboy. Can you hear me?"
"Luna?"
Duyen's eyes widened. She spun around, searching for Luna—but she was nowhere to be found.
"Idiot. Stop looking. I'm in your head."
Luna's voice giggled.
Duyen froze.
"In my head? That's impossible."
Yet it was true—she could only hear Luna's voice inside her mind. From afar, the two fox-masked women stared at her, as if she were talking to herself.
Then Luna's tone suddenly turned urgent.
"I'm afraid your strange little almost-girlfriend is here."
"Almost-girlfriend? What do you mean, Luna?"
But Luna continued.
"That human girl risked her life crossing the deadly Fog Forest just to get here and find you. Don't tell me you don't know who would be crazy enough to do that."
"Mina!?"
Duyen gasped, then quickly covered her mouth when she noticed the masked women paying attention to her odd behavior.
"Oh right, Mina—that's her name, isn't it? You could just let her die, you know. But the women of this village don't take kindly to humans trespassing on their territory. She's in serious trouble."
"Trouble!?"
Duyen whispered sharply, panic flooding her voice.
"What do you mean? What's happening to Mina!?"
Luna's voice softened.
"…She still matters to you? After everything she's done—to you and your friend?"
"I…"
Duyen started to speak, then fell silent. Her heart still felt splintered every time Mina's name was mentioned.
Luna sighed, her attention shifting toward the tower beneath the village.
"There's only one way to find out, Duyen. You could abandon her, you know."
Duyen stared at the ancient tower, its top floor glowing with light. Then she broke into a full sprint toward the village, heading straight for the tower, slipping through the festival crowds without drawing attention.
Suddenly, she felt someone's gaze on her.
A chill ran down her spine.
She turned around—and saw the twins, Ensha and Emma, standing silently and watching her.
One of their eyes glowed a deep, unsettling crimson, as if blood were flowing inside it.