Then, about two minutes later, Masaki, Astrea, and Anew reached the Corefury HQ. Everyone rushed outside to see that they had crashed. Roy quickly helped them inside while healing the three of them.
Roy said, "This is Wasif, the best healer in our HQ."
Wasif said, "Hello, I'm Wasif, and I use Soap Magic. Let's heal those wounds—Soap Magic: Bubble Balm!"
Everyone's injuries from the attack and the crash began to heal within seconds. After a minute, Wasif said, "All three of you are healed. But Masaki, your hand was burned pretty badly, so take it easy. It'll take a while to fully recover."
Masaki said, "Well, long story… we were fighting."
Roy said, "Did your captain start playing 'Head Ball' again?"
Astrea asked, "What's Head Ball?"
Roy replied, "You know how letters work, right?"
Astrea nodded. "Yeah."
"Well," Roy continued, "the captains hate writing letters. Sooooo… they literally just throw Masaki by the head to deliver their messages in seconds. It's fast… but terrifying."
Masaki added, "Compared to that, this was nothing. Now—where's Captain Licht?"
Roy said, "He's out somewhere, but he'll be back in about an hour."
Masaki replied, "Okay, sure. We can wait."
Astrea asked, "Where's Klaus?"
Roy said, "Oh, Klaus? He's currently deployed on border duty. He's supposed to return to HQ in about two days."
Anew suddenly exclaimed, "What!? Call him back now—he's in danger!"
Roy blinked. "What?"
Astrea said, "Someone is looking for him. They want to take him."
Roy asked, "Who?"
Anew said, "The Black Ops unit: Evil Eye."
Roy said, "So… you're telling me you came running to warn us about—"
Astrea and Anew interrupted together, "Yes."
Everyone, including Masaki, suddenly started laughing.
Astrea asked, "What's so funny?"
Roy replied, "You don't know, do you?"
Astrea frowned. "Know what?"
Roy said, "Did you notice their leader? The one with all the tattoos on his face?"
Astrea nodded. "Yeah."
Roy continued, "Well, our captains—and Rubues—go way back. One day, Rubues tried to conduct some very shady experiments. Not the sane kind. Your Captain Lucifer challenged him to a duel—even though Rubues held a higher rank at the time. Captain Licht witnessed that battle."
"And that day," Roy added, "Captain Lucifer was in a really bad mood. He didn't pull any punches. What Licht saw… he once described as 'inhumane.' He said the fight was so gruesome that the experiment Rubues was about to commit would've been a thousand times more humane than what Lucifer did to him."
"He beat Rubues so badly, his face didn't even have skin left. It was so horrific that it made Licht vomit. By the end of it, Rubues's face was unrecognizable. Even after Lucifer was done beating him to a pulp, Rubues had the brilliant idea of attacking him from behind."
Roy shook his head. "Not the brightest move. Lucifer then beat him to what could only be described as a micrometer from death… and left him alive in shame, to show him what true power really meant."
"Whenever Captain Licht talks about the incident," Roy said grimly, "he never calls it a battle. He calls it an incident—a moment where Captain Lucifer let out his frustrations. And what took the full brunt of those frustrations was human flesh."
"The incident was so horrific, Licht thought it best not to tell Captain Alysa. It changed Rubues. He lost all arrogance, left the knighthood, abandoned his inhumane research, and disappeared. Two years later, we found out—with the help of Chief Justice Hedin—that he had joined Evil Eye, the Black Ops unit."
Roy looked serious. "And trust me… if Rubues ever annoys Lucifer again—or if Lucifer even thinks he's useless—he'll kill him without hesitation."
Just then, Licht returned.
He said, "Last time, Rubues survived only because I was there to stop Lucifer's bloodlust. But now, Lucifer is more than 500 times stronger than he was back then."
"If the thought even crosses his mind, he will kill Rubues—even if he's locked inside Purgatory Prison, protected by all of Evil Eye and every prisoner in that damned place."
"None of them will be able to save him from Lucifer," Licht said coldly. "If Lucifer goes against all of Purgatory… it will be hell on earth. The entire island will be washed in blood. It will be a banquet of death and despair."