Rushing to the SUVs, trying their best to ignore the cops stripping or breaking into cars, the group hustled into the vehicles and locked the doors.

"What the hell is happening to them," Rì-Chū asked, still confused from passing out on the mountain.

The last hour and change had been like a blur to him, and he was lucky Yeoja was there to drag him around.

"Human nature," David replied, a tinge of contempt in his voice.

Rì-Chū looked at him with even more confusion.

"Broadly speaking, what he said," Alex said with a light sigh. "I cursed them to give in to their deepest desires. It’s that nature that is coming out. I’m honestly surprised no one tried immediately going on a killing spree."

Rì-Chū swallowed nervously.

"Was there really a risk of that happening?"

Alex shrugged.

"You never know. That’s the thing with people’s deepest desires. For some, it’s money; for others, it’s sex. The sins we carry within us are usually controlled by our willpower and common sense, as well as our inhibitions..." Alex paused.

"Take that away, and you never know how people will suddenly react. Luckily for us, it seems the police in this country are not hungry for power or blood. That would have been a shit show to deal with, heh," he chuckled, semi-nervously.

"That you even used this option is already a risk in itself, you dumbass," David replied, glaring at him.

"Hey! It was that or injuring them. I think this is the better option," Alex defended himself.

"Tch!"

Alex could tell David was dissatisfied with the method he used, but they hadn’t the time to get picky. Whatever worked the fastest was their only option.

The SUVs quickly drove away from the parking lot, the hubbub of other cars fleeing the scene covering their escape from the incoming police.

Through the radio in their ears, they heard Kujaku still giving orders to her men in Japanese.

After a while, she finally stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.

Alex looked at her and asked, "Everyone make it out of there? Aside from the ones the kid killed, I mean," he asked, before correcting himself.

Kujaku winced at the loss of loyal assets, but Alex could tell there was more to the complicated emotions on her face.

"We lost a few good men to that little monster. One of them being Takagi..." she said, the words sticking in her throat.

She had known him since they were kids, and even though the man had always been under her orders, since his family was a retainer family to her father, he had never shown anything other than devotion to her cause.

She considered him a friend, even if they never said so to each other.

Haruto, who had been focused on driving this whole time, started trembling.

Kujaku saw the quiver and looked at her. She had seen how the man died.

Putting her hand on Haruto’s shoulder, she gripped it lightly.

"Don’t, Haruto. It’s not your fault. Takagi was the fastest of us. If he hadn’t wanted to get hit, he wouldn’t have. He saved you, knowing what would happen. His death is not on your hands. It’s on mine for not seeing this threat coming before it was too late."

A tear rolled down Haruto’s cheek.

For all her bravado, and all their disagreements, Haruto never truly resented Takagi. He was her senpai, and she respected him.

He had been Lady Aoi’s lieutenant far longer than she had, and known the boss for his entire life, so they had always been in a competition to see who could serve her better.

Her taking his position had been a slap to the face he struggled to come to terms with, and Haruto loved playing on those emotions as a way to take revenge for the gruelling training he had put her through.

But there was no hatred toward him in her heart. And now that he had saved her, she felt guilty.

Guilty that he had warned her several times to stay more alert to her surroundings. Guilty that she had failed to notice the monstrous child dashing in her direction.

But even more so, guilty that she had no time to react, when suddenly she was yanked to the side, essentially swapping positions with Takagi, as he smiled at her one last time.

Time had seemed to slow to a crawl as she saw the man who trained her; the man who practically raised her, turn into a red mist.

The retreat order had come directly after, and her training had stopped her from freezing in place from the horror.

However, now that the situation was calming down, and her adrenaline levels were finally dropping, she just couldn’t keep the scene from replaying in her mind.

Impending death in the form of a bloody tornado; a jerk to the side; a final smile; a red mist explosion, playing on repeat behind her eyes.

Even if her master said the death wasn’t on her hands, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was. Her brain tried to imagine ways she could have prevented the situation.

Her driving quickly showed signs of distraction, and Kujaku grabbed the wheel above her hands.

"Move. I’ll drive," she ordered.

"I’m fine, boss," Haruto said, trying to shake away the images haunting her.

But as she was reaffirming her grip on the steering wheel, she felt a whack to her neck, and everything went black.

Still holding the wheel, Kujaku had struck her with a chop to the neck, knocking her out instantly, and was now unfastening her seatbelt.

"Can someone grab her for me?" she asked, as they started slowing down, now that Haruto had gone limp.

David grumbled as he pulled on the woman’s shoulders from the back seat. He was sitting directly behind Kujaku, so he was in the best position to pull Haruto out of her seat.

"A little warning, next time decide to karate chop our driver in the middle of the freeway. I prefer my drivers conscious and in control of the vehicle."

Kujaku chuckled at his plight.

"Next time? Do you intend to be driving around with me often?" she mockingly teased.

David rolled his eyes at her, but he couldn’t quite hide the slight blush that appeared on his cheeks.

"You’re such a tsundere," Kujaku giggled, hopping into the driver’s seat.

"Your mom," David replied, looking out the window to his right, hiding his face.

Alex could only watch with a shocked expression.

’You get your balls drained once and you fall for a woman? How simple-minded,’ he mocked internally. ’I would never.’