Strange scenes were happening in front of Lounis—scenes he couldn't comprehend.
Horrifying traffic accidents in the middle of the city: trucks crashing into cars, people lying unconscious on the ground, and blood filling the streets.
But no one moved, as if nothing had happened. Not even the police or the ambulance showed up.
There was a woman walking with her little boy when suddenly, a flowerpot fell from the balcony of one of the buildings.
Lounis couldn't reach her in time to save her.
The flowerpot struck the woman's head, splitting her skull. She died instantly.
Her son's clothes and face were covered in blood. Even the people around them saw everything unfold right in front of them.
Yet no one moved—not even her son. He simply continued walking, completely unfazed by his mother's death.
It was a catastrophic sight—a true state of chaos.
At the same time, Lounis noticed that some people were still unaffected and retained their emotions.
However, these individuals took advantage of the situation. They began killing and looting the people around them, making the chaos even worse.
Lounis tried to save as many people as he could.
He stopped an old man from being robbed, saved a girl from being raped, and rescued a woman from being murdered.
But he couldn't keep up with the pace of these events.
Signs of frustration and stress began to show on Lounis' face. The psychological pressure was intense.
Just as he was about to give up, he saw a large group of guards arriving to help.
Guards of various ranks: about 40 Rank E guards and 15 Rank D guards, all led by 5 Rank C guards divided into five teams.
One of the team leaders shouted loudly:
"Guards! Spread out and bring the situation under control!"
The five team leaders approached Lounis and said:
"We salute you, Colonel Lounis!"
(All guards of rank 'A' are addressed as Colonel.)
Lounis quickly replied:
"You have full authority. Stop the chaos and bring the riots under control. I'll leave this area to you."
"Yes, Colonel!"
Lounis headed towards the orphanage.
Just as he was a few steps away, he saw a ball rolling out from the garden where the children were playing, followed by one of the children.
The child chased the ball, trying to grab it, but it had rolled into the street.
Without hesitation, the child ran after it—straight into the road.
A speeding car was approaching and didn't stop. It nearly hit the child.
Lounis managed to save him at the last moment, though the boy received a minor wound on his forehead.
While holding the child in his arms, the other children arrived.
Seeing that their friend was bleeding from his head, they said:
"Come on, throw us the ball! Why are you so slow? Hurry up!"
This left Lounis in shock and filled him with rage.
He spoke angrily:
"Now, all of you—inside!"
The children and Lounis went into the building, and there, Lounis was able to break the mental influence by placing a small portion of his aura into each child. Once freed from the effect, the children fainted.
Then he searched for the caretaker and found that she, too, was under the influence.
Lounis released her from it as well, and she fainted just like the others.
He treated the injured child with basic first aid, then left.
As he stepped outside, his phone began to ring.
Riiing... Riiing...
(He answers.)
"Yes?"
"Colonel Lounis, it seems we're in real trouble."
"What is it? Speak."
"All the generals are currently out of the country, and we've discovered that everything happening now is orchestrated by a group calling themselves 'Abyssal Shadow Organization.' Even the people who appear unaffected are members of this group."
"Have you managed to locate their base or identify their leaders?"
"Unfortunately not yet, Colonel. But there are several possible locations where suspicious activity has been reported recently. One of them is East Sea Port. Can you head there and check it out?"
"What about the other locations? Where are they?"
"Don't worry, Colonel. Colonel Louis has already gone to the first location—the Ancient Archaeological Research Facility. Colonels Emma and Anna went to the second site—the Old Town district."
"Understood. You handled it well. I'm heading to the port now."
"Colonel, we'll send reinforcements to your location so—"
The intelligence officer had not finished speaking yet when Lounis interrupted him:
"No. Don't send reinforcements. They'll only slow me down."
"But.... understood, Colonel."
The call ended.
Lounis took a breath.
Then he turned and set off—toward East Sea Port.
(Meanwhile, at the Archaeological Research Facility)
Louis stood outside the building, muttering to himself with dry sarcasm.
"Oh great, more trouble. Let's just hope this inspection goes smoothly... I just want to relax by the beach with a cup of coffee... sigh, sigh... the wind never blows as the sailor wishes."
He entered the building, where a young and attractive receptionist greeted him.
Louis, never missing a chance to flirt, approached her with a smirk.
"Ah, beautiful flower, imprisoned by duty... let me set you free and make you my wife."
She raised an eyebrow and replied dryly, "No thanks. Try again next time."
"Alas, fair lady, there won't be a next time."
But before he could say more, Louis suddenly felt it — a sinister, chaotic aura radiating from the upper floors of the building. His playful expression vanished, replaced with a cold, focused glare.
"Miss, is the director in his office?"
"Yes, he is, but he's not accepting visi—"
She didn't finish. Louis was already moving, dashing upstairs toward the source of that ominous presence.
He arrived at the top floor — the director's office. An unsettling pressure hung in the air. Louis gripped his scythe tightly and kicked the door open.
The office looked ordinary at first — a large square room with a desk in the center, two chairs for visitors, and the director's chair turned toward the tall glass wall overlooking the city.
But the air reeked of blood. There was no body in sight, but something was deeply wrong.
Slowly, the director's chair began to rotate.
Louis stood ready, unmoving.
In it sat an old man — face grotesque and terrifying, lined with deep wrinkles, lips curled into a hollow grin, and eyes sunken into dark voids.
He wore a tattered, dark green cloak, and across his shoulders rested stone-carved armor bearing the marks of forgotten ages — as if he were a warrior dragged back from the tomb of time.
In his hand… he held a mask.
A white mask, shaped into a wide, unnerving smile — cheerful and disturbingly artificial.
Louis shivered at the sight, but forced himself to speak.
"Who are you? How did you even get in here? And where's the director?"
The old man gave a chilling, low chuckle, then slowly raised a finger — pointing not at the window, but at the solid wall behind him.
Louis turned cautiously — and froze in horror.
The director's body was pinned to the wall — arms and legs nailed in place with massive iron spikes. His head had been severed and was fixed above the body, pierced through the skull by another spike.
And written above the corpse, in the director's own blood, were the words:
"It was a successful trap… sinister laughter"
The sight was nauseating. Gruesome.
Louis's expression turned to pure fury.
And then — the battle began.