In front of the towering entrance to Kitsune's underground headquarters, a man stood motionless, clad in a pristine white Chinese tunic suit. His cane tapped the ground lightly as he gazed ahead, his presence ominous yet regal.

"Charging straight into Kitsune headquarters… you've got quite the nerve."

Han, nonchalant, scratched his head, glancing over at the man. "You're Spider, aren't you?"

Spider's eyes narrowed, recognizing that Han knew more than he should. His body tensed as shimmering strands of spider silk began to ooze from his fingertips, ready to catch Han off guard. Han, however, calmly reached into his pocket, retrieving a stone engraved with an ancient dragon motif.

Neither spoke. The tension between them thickened. Then, without warning, Spider lunged, unleashing his silk in a flurry, the webbing tainted with a dark, oily substance, aimed straight at Han.

But Han was ready. In an instant, the dragon stone flared with a fierce red light, and a column of fire erupted from its core.

Boom!

The impact was deafening. The flames engulfed the spider silk, reducing it to cinders, and caught Spider's entire body in its inferno. Within moments, Spider's once imposing form was reduced to nothing more than charred, blackened remains.

As the fire extinguished, leaving only a faint trail of smoke, Han approached the smoldering body. "That didn't feel as strong as I expected…" he muttered, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"You've completely misunderstood," a girl's voice echoed from behind him.

Han spun around, only to see a girl in a long, flowing black dress striding toward him. Her demeanor was calm but commanding, her steps echoing down the hallway of the containment zone.

"001?" Han asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Weren't you supposed to be executed?"

Raven, her expression one of playful defiance, placed her hands on her hips. "I killed everyone who thought they could execute me. Any problem with that?"

Han chuckled. "You really think you're that strong?"

Raven flashed a sly smile, tilting her head slightly. "You underestimate me. If I didn't want to be caught, they wouldn't have caught me. Don't forget—"

Before Han could respond, Raven's body began to contort and shift. Her hair turned ghostly white, her eyes flared blood red, and her mouth stretched into a wicked grin, revealing sharp, gleaming teeth. A pair of leathery bat wings erupted from her back.

"I have all of you guys abilities," Raven purred, her voice dripping with menace. She licked her lips, savoring the shift. "The fool who tried to capture me claimed he could predict the future. I suspect Lord Aurora would be very interested in that."

Han's eyes widened. "You know Lord Aurora isn't dead?"

Raven shrugged, unfazed. "Do you really think Lord Aurora can die? Please. I've never doubted her for a second. My only task is to keep supplying the ingredients she needs."

Han's attention shifted, drawn to the hulking, bloodied figure standing behind Raven—a fat man, trembling in his disheveled clothes.

"Can he really predict the future?" Han asked, nodding toward the chubby man.

Raven turned, delivering a swift kick to the fat man's gut. He yelped, sitting up in surprise. "Ah! Yes, yes! I can predict the future!" he stammered. "What do you want to know? I'll show you, I promise!"

Raven's lips curled in disdain as she wrapped her hand around the man's neck, her grip tightening. "I already know everything you're hiding," she sneered, her voice low and dangerous.

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Her ability—*The Secret Stealer*. Raven could dive deep into the thoughts of anyone near her, peeling away their memories like the layers of an onion.

She tilted her head, her eyes gleaming with new knowledge. "So, the thing that lets you predict the future… is a diary, isn't it?"

With a swift motion, Raven shoved the man aside and pulled a worn, leather-bound diary from his coat. She flipped it open, smirking at the pages within.

"Just a simple little book," she mused aloud.

The fat man's eyes widened in terror. "No, no! Not that! Give it back! Please!"

Raven's grin stretched wide, enjoying his desperation. She dangled the diary in front of him teasingly. "Oh, do you want this back?" she cooed.

The man frantically nodded, his eyes glued to the diary.

"Return it… please… give it back…"

Raven laughed, her voice ringing with twisted amusement. But as she moved to taunt him further, the air behind her rippled and cracked, as if reality itself had torn open.

Out of the gash in space, an arm shot forth—swift and precise—snatching the diary from Raven's hand in one fluid motion.

"Ah?" Raven gasped, momentarily caught off guard.

Han stood silent, his eyes narrowing at the sudden turn of events.

Both turned toward the crack in space, the mysterious arm retreating back into the void, the diary now lost in the endless abyss beyond.

"..."

A moment of stillness hung between them, the once smug Raven now blinking in confusion, her hand still outstretched where the diary had been.

Han scratched the back of his head. "Well, that's... unexpected."

...

Perched mid-air, as if gravity itself bent to her will, Mei idly flipped through the pages of the stolen diary.

"Predict the future, hm?" she mused aloud. "I expected finding this thing to be a hassle. Turns out, it was far too easy."

With a casual wave of her hand, the diary floated beside her, untouched. Her pale fingers reached out to stroke the side of a giant snake's scaled head, its enormous body coiled and trembling at her touch. The serpent recoiled instinctively, eyes wide with fear.

"Don't be shy now," Mei said softly, her voice dripping with mock gentleness. "You should eat."

From her sleeve, she produced a vial of shimmering liquid. The moment the snake caught sight of it, it began to thrash, trying desperately to pull away, its massive coils scraping against the stone floor.

Mei's smile tightened as she grabbed the creature's head with one hand, effortlessly prying open its jaws. "Ah, I must be losing my mind, reasoning with an animal," she muttered. "Such a waste of breath. It's like trying to explain the world to a newborn. It wouldn't understand, and there's no point in asking for its consent."

Without further hesitation, Mei poured the Potion into the beast's mouth, forcing it down its gullet. The snake's body immediately stiffened, its muscles writhing and contorting in unnatural shapes. Its once-glowing eyes bulged, and its colossal form stretched unnaturally straight, like a spear being sharpened.

Satisfied, Mei stood up and dusted her hands. "Well, you'll make a fine pet. Obedience comes first, after all," she murmured, watching as the serpent collapsed, still twitching from the effects of the Potion. "We'll worry about your training later."

...

Back in the real world, Raven blinked, momentarily disoriented by the sudden disappearance of the diary. "What… just happened?" she asked, confused.

Han scratched his head, trying to piece it together. "I'm guessing the Lord took action."

Raven glanced at the quivering, chubby man still kneeling in front of her. "She didn't take you, though. Guess you're not that important to her after all." Her voice was thick with amusement.

The fat man shook his head frantically, inching backward. "No, please! Don't kill me! I'm not loyal to Kitsune—I was forced! I only joined to save my life!"

Raven raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a small smile. "Oh? You want to switch sides now?"

"I-I'd gladly join you!" the man cried, his voice desperate. "I don't even care about Kitsune. I swear! I'd even become one of you—anything to survive!"

Raven's smile grew sharper. "I see," she said, circling him like a predator toying with its prey. "You're scared of dying. That's… relatable." She paused, her eyes glinting. "Beg me."

The fat man dropped to the ground, his forehead slamming into the stone as he kowtowed repeatedly. "I beg you! Please! I'll do anything! Just let me live!"

Raven chuckled darkly. She leaned down and placed two fingers on his trembling forehead. "Well, you've convinced me," she said with a smirk. "But I hate your eyes."

Without warning, her fingers plunged into his eye sockets with a sickening pop. Blood spurted out in thick rivulets as the fat man screamed, writhing on the ground in agony, his hands clutching his ruined face.

As his screams echoed through the halls, a sudden noise interrupted—footsteps. Heavy, rhythmic, and getting louder. Raven straightened, her claws sliding out, ready for another fight.

But as the figures came into view, her eyes widened.

A group of heavily armored Fish-Men soldiers marched toward them, their weapons at the ready. Leading the charge was none other than Chino, a strange Skeleton hand floating at his side. The skeletal fingers waved casually at Raven and Han, as if greeting them.

Raven blinked. "What in the world…?"

Chino approached with a calm, almost bemused smile. "It seems they've decided to experiment with me, Raven," he said, his voice cold. "Taking my cells, injecting them into normal humans… and now you see the result."

He paused, glancing at Raven. "003, you're too fast. If you'd waited a little longer, I might've been able to offer the entire Kitsune headquarters to our Lord."