Two days before Mark woke up:
After Joseph's defeat, Mark immediately lost consciousness and was on the verge of death. Ramo walked toward him and carried him, then turned around and said: "Did you think I didn't notice your presence? You were here from the beginning, pretending to be dead."
Suddenly, someone begins regenerating in the darkness.
"Oh, you noticed me. You're strong, so I thought pretending to be dead would help me avoid a confrontation… but it seems there's no escape."
Ramo: "I can kill you right now, but I won't."
"Why?" the person asks.
Ramo replied: "Simply because you deserve a terrible end at his hands."
Then Ramo suddenly withdraws at great speed.
"Another traitor!!!"
Two days later (the same day Mark woke up)
The Presidential Office — State A
The room is dark. The president sits in his chair, drenched in sweat, while someone stands behind him in the shadows, their face not fully visible.
Suddenly, the president rises from his seat and bows to the ground, pleading: "Please, Mr. Ar…"
Ar moves and sits in the president's chair, then begins to speak.
"Tell me, Mr. President… what was our deal?"
The president trembles: "The elimination of States B and E, and protection from their threat. In return, we would help you develop the serum and follow your every word to the letter."
Ar, with anger: "Then what happened? Why did you break the agreement and try to lead us into an ambush?"
Ar: "Do you think I don't know everything that's happening? It seems I've become too lenient."
"Now tell me… what do you think would happen if I went to your home and killed your entire family for my own amusement?"
The president begins to cry and plead: "I'm sorry, sir, it will never happen again. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Ar strokes his chin, thinking: "Hmm… very well. I'll give you two months. If the serum isn't ready, I will destroy this little state completely and level it to the ground."
The president: "Yes, sir."
Ar stands from the chair, pushes it back, and calmly, politely asks the president to return to his seat. He whispers in his ear: "I've given you two months, but in return, I will take something from you — so that you obey me next time."
Then he leaves swiftly.
The president speaks to himself: "Damn you, Andres… look at what you've done."
Back in time:
Before leaving the training camp, in Colonel Andres's meeting with the lieutenants, it becomes clear that the confrontation he had spoken of was a cover for his true plan — to overthrow Ar and the others. The plan involved pretending the serum was ready and requesting it be delivered in the northern territories, in order to set a trap for Ar and eliminate him.
To ensure the trap's success, they were willing to sacrifice all the soldiers — Mark among them.
Minutes later , an employee rushes into the president's office to find him sitting frozen in his chair.
Employee: "Sir, sir, sir — I'm sorry to say this, but your home was just attacked… and your daughter has disappeared."
The president, furious and in tears: "I'm sorry, my daughter… I'm so sorry."
An hour later , Ar appears, making his way toward one of the rooms.
The room is large on the inside, filled with medieval paintings and designed in the style of that era. In its center stands a large meeting table with six chairs — only four of them occupied.
Ar enters and becomes the fifth person to sit. One chair remains empty at the far end of the table.
Ar: "It's been a while, comrades. How long has it been since our last meeting? A hundred years? Fifty? I can't remember."
A woman answers: "It has been 45 years, 10 days, 2 hours, 5 seconds, and four fractions of a second."
Ar: "As precise as ever, Ani."
Ani: "Obviously. Now — why are your clothes soaked in blood? Were you having fun again?"
Ar: "I had a delicious meal just before the meeting. It seems her blood splattered onto my clothes."
Someone: "Savage, as usual."
Ar: "Silence, Lloyd. You're the last person who has the right to speak."
Lloyd: "Why?"
Ar: "You haven't accomplished anything. All you've done is eat, sleep, kill humans, and enjoy yourself — while we worked and manipulated them to obtain the serum."
Another person intervenes: "All of you, be quiet. You're insufferable."
Lloyd: "And who do you think you are, Hugh? You don't get to order us around. You're not the leader."
Another person intervenes angrily: "All of you, be quiet. The leader will arrive soon."
Everyone raises their heads to look at him — the tallest person in the room, his height towering at nearly four meters.
Ar replies: "Yes… Israj is right."
Suddenly, a suffocating black aura swept through the room, as though the air itself had grown heavier.
The door opened slowly, and the leader entered.
He wore an elegant black suit, his steps calm and steady — as though the ground itself submitted to him with every stride. His long white hair fell slightly over his eyes, concealing them behind a veil of shadows.
The moment he entered, everyone rose from their seats without hesitation and knelt in respect…
Everyone except one.
Lloyd.
He remained seated, leaning back in his chair, wearing an arrogant smile as though none of it concerned him.
Silence fell.
The leader stopped before the table, then slowly turned his head toward Lloyd.
He raised his hand and brushed back the white lock of hair that covered his eyes…
And they were revealed.
They were something that should not have existed in this world.
Two white pupils, pale as ice, set within absolute darkness — as though light and shadow had exchanged places within them.
In that moment…
Lloyd's head was severed.
The leader did not move.
He did not raise his hand.
No sound was made.
Simply…
The head separated from the body without warning.
The arrogant smile froze on Lloyd's face as his head struck the table, then rolled across the floor. A fountain of blood surged from his severed neck, staining the floor a deep crimson.
His body remained seated for a moment…
Then slowly fell from the chair.
No one dared lift their head.
The silence was heavier than mountains.
The leader spoke in a deadly calm:
"It seems these few years have made you forget… the difference in power between us."
Then he added, his voice cold:
"You have failed miserably… and on top of that, you dare to be arrogant."
---
Ar: "But, sir —"
Suddenly, Ar's hand is severed from its place.
Lloyd's body then rises and bows before the leader.
The leader lowers his hair to cover his eyes again, and calmly asks everyone to return to their seats. At the same time, he instructs Ar to regenerate his hand and return Lloyd's head to its place. Ar regenerates his hand swiftly and places Lloyd's head back — it reattaches to his body, and he returns to life.
The leader then adds: "What is the progress on your assignments?"