The gymnasium smelled of sweat and blood of the dead assistant. Dozens of students and staff were still kneeling or lying face-down on the polished wooden floor. Thirty or so women in cleaner jackets stood like statues, rifles slung but fingers ready on triggers.

At the center of them all, the leader looking tall woman with cropped hair and a pale scar running across her cheek — frowned at the silent radio in her palm. Her thumb pressed the transmit button again and again. No answer. Nothing but static.

She hissed under her breath. "What's taking them so long…? Is something going on?"

A young gunwoman beside her whispered, "Leader… still no reply from the perimeter."

"I can hear that." The leader shoved the radio back into her pocket, straightened, and barked loud enough for everyone to hear, "Enough waiting. It's time."

Her hand slid behind her back. A pistol came out from the waistband of her trousers, black metal glinting under the gym's ceiling lights. The students gasped.

The woman walked slowly, heel-clicks echoing across the silent gym, until she stopped in front of two girls pressed together against the wall.

The Lan sisters.

Xue and Meiling looked up. Both were pale, both trembling in fear and anger.

The leader smirked. "You two. Stand up."

They rose shakily. Meiling looked rather beaten up with her nose still bleeding from the previous attack.

"You know why we took you," the leader said. "Sending a body from the Lan family will make our message clear." She tilted her head. "Decide who dies first. Now."

The students nearby froze. Some bit their lips, some closed their eyes.

Xue's lips trembled. "W-what…? You can't kill a Lan...they will come for you and ruin your family and everything you love."

"Choose," the leader repeated ignoring Xue, voice like a blade. "Or I kill you both."

Meiling's jaw clenched. She stared at the floor, at her shoes, at anything but the gun. Xue's breath came shallow and quick.

Seconds dragged like minutes. The leader raised her pistol. "Three…"

Meiling's nails dug into her palm.

"Two…"

And then a whisper. "Take Meiling."

The leader blinked. "Oh?"

Meiling's head snapped toward her sister. "Xue…?" Her eyes widened. "No—!"

Xue stared at the floor, shoulders quivering, shame radiating from her posture.

The leader's mouth twisted into a laugh. "So the elder sacrifices younger, hm? Not what I expected." She gestured with the pistol. "Take her."

Two of the black-clad cleaners moved in, grabbing Xue under the arms despite what Xue said.

"What are you doing? Let me go!" Xue shouted. The woman smiled and muttered something cruel to her. "I wasn't going to take your shitty Lan words anyway. I was only asking so I could do the opposite of what you all want."

"No!" Meiling reached out, but a rifle barrel blocked her. "Don't take her—!"

The leader ignored her and strode after the cleaners, dragging the pistol loosely at her side. "Let's show the world what happens when they ignore us."

Meiling fell to her knees, fists pounding the floorboth betrayed and scared because no matter what Xue was still her blood and her cousin. "Xue…"

Students around her whispered, horrified. Someone sobbed quietly.

Soon, Xue stood on the cold stone tiles, knees weak. Wind whipped at her hair and uniform. Below, the academy's wide courtyard stretched out, filled with flashing lights and a cordon of security and government forces. Cameras on tripods pointed upward.

Behind her, the traitor leader held the pistol against Xue's temple, one arm locked around her shoulders.

"Hold her still," the leader ordered.

The two cleaners gripped Xue's arms tighter.

Xue swallowed, eyes fixed on the courtyard. Soldiers, guild members, government officials… all staring up at her. Somewhere out there, she knew, Lan family was watching.

The leader raised a megaphone. "To the so-called government negotiators!" Her voice echoed across the grounds. "This is my answer. For not acknowledging our demands!"

She pressed the gun harder against Xue's head.

In the command truck below, High Commissioner Olivia's knuckles whitened on the edge of the table. "Damn it…" she whispered. "If even one student dies—especially from the Lan family—this will be a stain on all of us."

Beside her, Xinyue forced her face into a mask of calm. Only the tremor at the corner of her mouth betrayed her unease.

"It's now or never, Amanda," Olivia murmured to herself. "It's now or never."

Inside the gym, the hostages could hear the speech from the balcony through the open doors. Some began praying. Meiling crouched, hands covering her ears.

Up on the balcony, the leader adjusted her aim, thumb tightening on the trigger.

Then a soft crack cut through the air.

One of the cleaners holding Xue jerked, a neat hole blooming in her forehead. She collapsed like a dropped marionette.

"What—?!" The leader whipped her head around.

Another crack. The second cleaner fell backward, blood spraying the stone tiles.

Xue sagged, almost falling with them.

"Snipers!" the third cleaner who was standing with Xue shouted.

The leader cursed, yanking Xue back as she dove for cover behind the balcony's stone balustrade. Bullets sparked off the railing where she'd been standing seconds ago.

Below, soldiers and agents moved, their rifles tracking the balcony.

Inside the gymnasium, the traitor gunwomen stiffened. A third crack echoed, then a fourth — somewhere outside, unseen shooters were picking them off one by one.

"They're… they're falling!" a student gasped.

Nina and the guild leaders stared at the chaos. Women who had been guarding the perimeter were crumpling, each shot clean and silent.

Chiyo's mouth opened. "What is this? What's going on?"

Olivia's voice came cool and sharp as she looked at them with satisfaction in her eyes. "Unit One."

"What?" Chiyo blinked.

"The work of Unit One," Olivia repeated. "That's all you need to know."

Nina's eyes narrowed. "So they're cleaning house…"

Olivia nodded her head. "Now we just have to wait...soon all of the hostages will come without any harm."

Around them, the guild leaders exchanged glances. Even the most battle-hardened among them looked uneasy. Outside the dungeon, they were used to thinking of themselves as the strongest. But human against human… when they were in a situation like this, they understood why they still relied on the military services of people like Olivia.

"This," Nina murmured, "is why even we obey orders outside the field."

Chiyo swallowed, watching another traitor fall to an invisible shot.

Olivia's voice crackled again looking at all the guild leaders. "Now you have nothing to worry about. Focus on protecting your guilds and giving us accurate reports. Unit One will handle the rest."

***

The hallway lights flickered as Ren and Daichi sprinted along the corridor. Every few seconds came the sharp echo of gunfire from somewhere ahead — pop-pop-pop — followed by the shattering crash of windows. Dust drifted from the ceiling with each shot.

Ren skidded to a stop at an intersection. "Something's going on…" His eyes darted from door to door. "The gunfire's getting frequent. I think they are fighting."

Daichi clutched his arm. "We should—"

A sudden figure stepped out from the shadow of the staircase without even letting Daichi complete his sentence.

"Stay there!"

A woman in a cleaner's uniform, hair disheveled and face slick with sweat, leveled a pistol at them. Her eyes burned with something between desperation and fury.

Ren's stomach dropped.

Daichi's breath hitched. "It's one of them..."

She flicked the safety off with a practiced thumb. "Hands up."

Ren and Daichi raised their hands slowly.

From behind them came another set of footsteps — heavier, steadier, armored.

Ren turned his head slightly. A familiar silhouette filled the end of the hallway. A woman in black tactical armor, helmet tucked under one arm, heavy boots echoing.

Ren's eyes widened. "Amanda… Marquez…"

Even in full SWAT gear, she was unmistakable — the one who led Unit One.

Amanda's gaze swept the scene, instantly taking in the hostage-taker, the two boys, the angles of the hallway. She dropped the helmet, drawing her sidearm in one smooth motion. "Put the gun down."

The leader's eyes darted between them. She cursed under her breath, then lunged forward, grabbing Ren by the collar and yanking him against her chest. The cold press of the pistol dug into his temple.

"Don't get closer!" she barked.

Ren winced but stayed still, his hands up.

Daichi dropped to his knees, hands on his head, too shocked to move.

Amanda's voice stayed firm but calm. "It's over. We've surrounded the academy. Don't make any more mistakes. Drop the gun and I'll make sure you get a light sentence."

The leader laughed, a harsh, broken sound. "A light sentence? That's what you think I want?"

Amanda's finger tightened on the trigger. "Don't test me."

The leader's laugh turned into a bitter smile. "You think surrounding this place means it's over? You're wrong."

Ren's stomach turned cold at the tone of her voice.

The woman's eyes gleamed as she raised her chin. "This whole academy is rigged to blow. If we don't walk out of here alive, everything goes up in flames. Everyone."

Amanda's jaw clenched. "You're bluffing."

"Try me." The leader pressed the pistol harder against Ren's head. "You want to find out how many charges are under your feet? Go ahead and do it!"

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