The battle was over.
Silence had replaced the explosions.
The streets were almost unrecognizable.
Hunters who had come to kill me were scattered across the battlefield, while only a few survivors remained.
They were running.
Trying to escape.
I caught one by the collar and pulled him back.
"You're not going anywhere."
He trembled.
I stared straight into his eyes.
"How many people have you killed?"
He looked confused.
"What do you want to know?"
My expression hardened.
"Everything."
He stayed silent.
I let him go.
Then I grabbed another.
"Talk."
"O-Okay!"
He looked around nervously.
"You know the 1984 Chizunai Bombing Attack?"
I nodded.
"That was us."
I froze.
"...What?"
"The MHA."
My grip tightened.
"And?"
He swallowed.
"The East District gas leak."
He hesitated.
"That was us too."
"And?"
"The 2024 terrorism attack."
I frowned.
"I don't remember that one."
"Of course you don't!"
He laughed nervously.
"You were inside the Prison Maze!"
I stared at him.
"...And?"
"The mass shooting in the South District in 1990."
He lowered his head.
"That was us."
"And?"
He looked terrified.
"There were..."
He struggled to remember.
"Too many."
"Tell me."
"I don't remember all of them!"
He shook his head.
"But all the major attacks..."
He looked directly at me.
"...were done by the MHA."
Silence.
I released his collar.
He stumbled backward.
"Did they really kill all those people?"
I looked around at the ruined battlefield.
For years...
I had believed the MHA was protecting people.
I'd killed monsters for them.
I'd followed their orders.
I'd trusted their elders.
And all this time...
The organization I'd been serving had been responsible for countless deaths.
One of the surviving hunters slowly raised his hands.
"So..."
He swallowed.
"I told you the truth."
He took a step backward.
"...You'll let me go, right?"
I stared at him.
For a moment, I said nothing.
Then I looked away.
"You should be killed, baka."
His face went pale.
I turned around.
The survivors began running.
But I didn't chase them.
I simply stood there...
Watching them disappear into the distance.
My fists slowly clenched.
"I spent three months working for these people."
I looked toward the MHA headquarters.
"Three months..."
My voice became colder.
"...I'm going to make sure they never hurt anyone again."