After Lary throws the stone in the other direction, the men check the noise, giving Kaede and his friends a chance to move backward, slowly trying to escape the area.
The masked men investigate the source of the noise but find nothing. One of them scratches his head and looks around again.
Suddenly, one of the masked men spots them and screams,
"I FOUND HER!!!"
All the men rush toward them.
Kaede urges his friends to run as fast as they can, but a gunshot makes them stop. One of Fina's men fires his gun into the sky to scare them.
"If you move an inch, I will shoot you," the man warns.
Upon hearing that, Shina recognizes the voice.
"Hey! Aren't you one of my father's men? Do you know what would happen if something happened to me?" Shina asks with a trembling voice and shaky knees.
"Oy, oy, oy! What's going on?" Lary raises his hands in the air, clearly scared.
Kaede freezes, murmuring,
"It's over... no, it's not over..." Tears well up as he remains paralyzed with fear.
"They have a gun... how am I supposed to fight them?" Kaede thinks, still frozen.
One of the men removes his mask and says,
"Don't worry, kids! I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to get Shina because her father is looking for her," he says, wearing a weird, psycho smile.
Yumi also trembles with fear, speechless, but when she looks at Kaede, she sees a face she has never seen before.
"My father is looking for me?" Shina asks the man.
"Yes, of course. So come here, and let's forget this ever happened. Let's go home," the man says, still grinning.
"No...," Kaede says in a weak voice.
"What's with that face, Kaede? Is there something you know that you're not telling me?" Yumi thinks while looking at him.
"What do I do? What do I do?" Kaede's mind races.
When Shina is about to go to the men, Yumi confidently calls out,
"Hey, Shina!"
Shina turns around and looks at Yumi.
"What is it?" she asks.
When she turns around, she also glances at Kaede and sees his trembling face. Kaede shakes his head slightly, indicating not to go.
Shina gets the signal but remains confused, her expression still uncertain.
Yumi tries to act confidently, saying,
"We have a room project to work on, and we still need to finish it. Don't worry, we'll make sure Shina gets home safely," she says, though her voice has a hint of nervousness.
The man replies with an annoyed look,
"Listen here, lady. Shina is going home because her father is looking for her," he says, his expression turning angry.
Yumi goes silent.
"Come here, Princess Shina. Let's go to the car and head home," the man offers his hand.
Nervously, Shina accepts the man's hand, and they get into the car and drive away.
"No... don't... go... you'll... die..."
Kaede collapses to his knees, covering his face, feeling helpless. He glances at the car as it drives away and notices the man smirking mockingly at him.
Kaede feels anger rising within him, and his eyes momentarily glow.
Yumi goes to Kaede, patting his back, trying to comfort him.
"Kaede, tell me, what's going on? Why are you so desperate not to let Shina go?"
Kaede looks at Yumi with scared eyes and finally says,
"She's going to die... if we don't stop her."
Yumi is puzzled and confused by his words, but she can see in his eyes that he's not lying.
"So, why are you just sitting here?! Are you going to let her die?!" Yumi scolds him.
"Yeah, bro, let's save her. I'm not sure what you're saying, but your eyes are telling the truth," Lary joins the conversation.
Yumi reassures Kaede,
"Tell me everything later, okay? I'm your best friend. You've been acting strange these past few days." Kaede nods.
Kaede stands up, shakes his head, and takes a deep breath.
"Let's go follow them!" he says to Yumi and Lary.
They quickly find a car and ask the driver to follow the car that Shina is in.
Meanwhile, inside the car, Shina grows uneasy.
"Hey, this isn't the way home," she nervously tells the man driving. She recalls Kaede's warning, making her more anxious.
"Don't worry, Princess. We just need to make a quick stop before going home," the driver says.
Kaede and his friends continue to follow the car.
After a few minutes, the car stops at a random location. Shina and the driver get out, finding themselves in what looks like the middle of a forest with a small, isolated house.
Shina feels uneasy, not recognizing the place.
"Where are we? I thought my father was looking for me. Why are we here?" Shina asks, her voice tinged with anger and anxiety.
Annoyed, the man glares at her.
"Just shut up and follow me," he says coldly.
Shina is terrified, her feet trembling as they walk.
When they reach the house, Fina and more men are waiting inside.
"Fina?" Shina murmurs, confused.
Meanwhile, Kaede's group stops far away from the house, cautiously following on foot through the forest.
Kaede mumbles something to himself.
"Is this the place where they took me before?"
"What? Took you?" Yumi asks, surprised.
"Nothing," Kaede replies quickly.
They quietly approach the tiny house and find a small hole to peek through. They see Fina aggressively slapping Shina's face while the men restrain her.
Kaede's anger surges, his eyes glowing again.
"I can't let this happen to her," he thinks.
Yumi notices his eyes glowing again.
"His eyes... they're glowing again," Yumi thinks, slightly alarmed.
Yumi moves closer to Kaede, trying to calm him down.
"We need to think of a plan to save her," she whispers.
Kaede takes a deep breath, and his eyes stop glowing.
Lary also notices it,
"Wha-what was that?" he mutters, terrified.
"Shh!" Yumi signals for him to be quiet.
They come up with a plan, and after discussing it, the group gets ready.
Meanwhile inside the house, Fina laughs maniacally as she keeps slapping Shina's face. The men aggressively tie Shina to a chair, the ropes so tight that it's hard for her to breathe.
One of the men who works for Shina's father looks at her with an apologetic face.
"Sorry, Princess, but if Fina becomes the favorite daughter, she promised to double my pay," the man admits.
"Ahh! I can't breathe... this stupid rope is too tight," Shina thinks while struggling.
Fina laughs at Shina's futile struggle.
"Impossible, Shina! You can't escape. Your end is here!" she taunts, her face twisted with a psychotic grin.
Fina grabs a knife and licks it while approaching Shina, who looks terrified. As Fina gets closer, Shina desperately tries to break free, but it's impossible—the ropes are too tight.
Just as Fina is about to stab Shina's left hand—
**BANG!**
A loud noise suddenly interrupts her.
"Huh?" Fina mutters, confused.
Fina's men quickly rush outside to check the noise, and another loud, explosive sound echoes from a distance.
Meanwhile, in Kaede's group, Lary asks,
"Did it work?"
They see the men going outside to check the noise. Kaede tells Lary and Yumi to stay hidden. At first, Yumi doesn't want him to go alone, but with a bit of convincing, she finally agrees to stay put to stay safe.
"Who would've thought that silly plan would work?" Lary remarks.
(The plan: Yumi suggested throwing a big rock at the metal empty container outside the house to create noise. Lary would throw it, and if the men got distracted, Kaede would sneak inside to save Shina.)
Yumi had already called the police, but since they're far away, it would take a while for them to arrive. They decided to take action themselves while waiting. Lary also recorded a few videos as evidence in case something went wrong.
Kaede sneaks around the back of the small house, entering quietly. As he steps inside, he sees Fina stabbing Shina's hand.
Shina screams in pain, tears streaming down her face, while Fina grins with twisted delight.
Kaede's eyes flash with anger, but he stays calm. Shina catches a glimpse of Kaede approaching Fina from behind, but she stays silent, enduring the pain.
When Fina is about to stab Shina's other hand, Kaede rushes in and lands a powerful punch on Fina's waist, sending her crashing into the corner of the room. The knife falls from her grip.
Fina screams in pain, glaring at Kaede.
"AHHHH! YOU!!!" she yells, clutching her side.
Hearing the commotion, Fina's men and even Yumi and Lary hear it from a distance.
Kaede hurries to untie Shina, using the knife to cut the ropes as fast as he can. Once free, he grabs Shina's hand, and they dash outside.
Fina's men rush back in, only to find the room empty.
"Follow them!" Fina shrieks, pointing toward the direction they went.
Kaede and Shina run as fast as they can through the forest, but Fina's men are strong and fast. One of them pulls out a gun and shoots Kaede in the back.
"Ahhh!!" Kaede screams in pain.
Terrified, Shina stares at Kaede.
"Wh-why are you doing this for me?" Shina asks, her voice trembling.
But Kaede is too focused on running to answer. Despite being shot, he keeps moving. Another gunshot rings out, hitting his arm.
When they finally reach Yumi and Lary, Kaede tells Shina to keep going ahead. He coughs up blood from the wound, his eyes blinking with a faint blue glow.
Yumi sees the blood and bursts into tears, wanting to help, but Lary holds her back.
"If you go now, it'll all be wasted," Lary warns.
Kaede yells at Lary,
"Take Yumi and Shina and get out of here! Find a vehicle!"
His voice is strained, and his eyes glow brighter.
Fina's men catch up, finding Kaede lying on the ground. One of them grabs Kaede by the collar, lifting him up.
"Why are you trying so hard to save Shina, huh? Do you want to die?" the man growls, punching Kaede hard in the stomach. Kaede coughs more blood.
The man throws Kaede to the ground and fires several more shots into his legs.
"Aghhh!" Kaede screams, trying to endure the pain.
The man picks Kaede up again, punching him mercilessly.
"What are you? Why go this far?" he sneers.
Kaede doesn't answer, blood dripping from his mouth. Enraged, the man shoots him multiple times, leaving Kaede gasping on the ground.
Kaede's vision blurs as he struggles to stay conscious.
"It's happening again... why?" he thinks.
His body feels cold, and his eyes glow even brighter.
"Why is this happening to me?" he mutters before losing consciousness.