The members of the committee were brought to an unknown club. On their way to the room in which they were led, they passed people drinking and playing cards and chess. The committee members periodically cast glances at the people around them, feeling serious and frowning glances.
Finally, they were led into a room where there were two people. One of them was Rikuto Yamada, the head of the Bloody Carnival. When he saw the newcomers, he sarcastically said:
— Oh, it turns out we have guests! Haruki, look, are your people working well? Ha ha! Rikuto mocked Haruki, who, despite this, remained confident in the victory of his colleagues.
Haruki raised his head a little and looked at his colleagues with a cold and soulless gaze that seemed somewhat indifferent.
—H-Haruki..." Kazuto said with difficulty before falling to the floor.
— Bring our guests! Rikuto ordered, waving his right hand.
— What do you need? Yukio asked as he was being led to the end of the room.
Rikuto didn't answer, just smiled in response to Yukio's question.
— So, you will spend your remaining days in this small, cramped and uncomfortable room, — said Rikuto coldly.
— Yes, it's clear already, — Yukio muttered sarcastically. He understood that all this was empty chatter.
—And here we will see, boy,— Rikuto said menacingly and decisively.
Yukio clenched his teeth in anger, feeling the rage rolling over him.
—You know, Rikuto, there's something you didn't take into account," Haruki said with a cold voice.
— And what did I miss? Surprise me, Haruki. The door of this room will be concreted. Shouting is useless," Rikuto replied with feigned interest.
"You forgot that your magic allows you to control the powers of your subordinates. The head of the committee has the same magic, but our possibilities are far from exhausted. What do you think will happen when Masao finds out what's going on here? — Haruki got into the taste and began to speak in a calm but confident voice, with a smile on his face.
— Thanks for the reminder. Now we'll just kill you," Rikuto said in an indifferent tone.
"Yukio, have you counted how many seconds are left before the chaos starts?" Haruki turned to Yukio, not hiding his superiority.
A small note fell out from under Haruka's hands.
"What is it? A note?" thought Rikuto.
"Of course, Haruki. The madness will start in three, two, one," Yukio also smiled.
"So, so, was this Haruka's plan? And he kept a note all this time?" — Rikuto thought quickly and got up from his chair, leaving the room and ordering to molest the guards.
Suddenly, strange patterns appeared on Kazuto and Ryoma's faces. Kazuto had a green pattern depicting a lily of the valley, and there was a blue lotus pattern on Ryoma's cheek. Kazuto suddenly opened his eyes and calmly tore the ropes with which he was tied, his eyes glittering with rage. Ryoma also calmly freed himself and stood next to Kazuto.
— Listen, carnival mice, you should know that a soldier must blindly obey his commanders. Although, in general, it doesn't matter. Magic: Artillery bombardment,— Kazuto grinned maliciously.
Suddenly, from behind Kazuto, from a strange black circle resembling a black hole, a huge projectile flew out - an ordinary artillery warhead. He immediately knocked out all the guards behind two walls of the club, and they flew out into the street. Kazuto quickly untied everyone else, including Haruki, and they headed out of the club. They didn't find Rikuto there.
— Hey, are you going far? — Kohei appeared from afar, who was smoking a cigarette, and reached out to them.
— Haha, why am I not surprised that you were sent to the delay? Haruki was laughing at the situation.
"Shut up, Haruki. Your little friend has to pay for running over me," Kohei said furiously, recalling the incident when Takumi hit him with a truck.
"Whatever you say, Kohei. Magic: Rain of bullets," Kazuto intervened without waiting and immediately attacked.
—Magic: Supersonic speed,— Kohei disappeared from view.
Although they saw signs of rapid movement, it was impossible to determine exactly where Kohei was. He was rushing around the committee members with incredible speed. Suddenly, bullets began to fall from the sky at great speed, and one of them hit Kohei.
— Ah! Ah! — Kohei stopped and fell, holding on to his leg.
"No one can hide from this rain," Kazuto stopped his magic and walked up to Kohei, kicking him in the stomach.
— Ay-ay! Kohei writhed in pain.
— Hey, guys! Are you done? Masao, the head of the Committee, ran up to his subordinates.
— Yes, yes, everything is fine, — said Haruki and hurried to the car, he wanted to sleep with great joy.
— I'm so glad to see you! Ryoma hugged his boss, and the pattern on his face disappeared.
The same thing happened to Kazuto's face - the pattern disappeared. Everyone got into the car and went to the headquarters.
"The war between the organizations is not over yet, we need to stick together," Yukio advised.
— Rikuto said he has three more moves. It's very interesting which ones," Haruki was intrigued by the current situation.
*Rikuto Yamada's car*
Rikuto took out his phone and started dialing someone's number.
— Hello? Yes, we are starting the third move.
*Headquarters of the Committee of Investigations*
Haruki and all the other members of the committee instantly went to bed, their fatigue finally caught up with them. The rest time flew by quickly, and a new day has come.
— Good morning, comrades! — happily greeted Haruki, who had had a good night's sleep and was full of energy.
—Shut up, Haruki,— Kazuto replied, annoyed at being woken up from a dream.
— It's time to get to work, colleagues, — sleepy Yukio headed into the hall with a half-asleep gait.
"Yukio, we need your magic to find out what Rikuto is up to," Haruki reminded Yukio, so that Yukio wouldn't forget what role he was playing.
"Yes, yes, of course, but at least let me wake up first," Yukio agreed, realizing that he needed a little time to recover.
"Haruki, how come it's so easy for you to deceive Rikuto?" Takumi asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"You know, I didn't really have an exact plan, I was guided by circumstances, but fortunately, everything worked out on the fly," Haruki shared, demonstrating his improvisational ability.
"Such a Haruki, everything always goes to him by itself," Takumi thought, watching his friend.
Yukio jumped out of the bathroom fully awake and ready to work. Takumi looked at him in surprise, not understanding how Yukio came to his senses so quickly.
"Well, I'm waiting for everyone in the hall," Yukio said and headed into the hall to start his magic.
Kazuto and Ryoma followed him and entered the hall, followed by Haruki and Takumi.
— So! Something strange happened yesterday. Masao gave maximum power to his seals, but at the same time Kazuto and Ryoma had some patterns in the form of flowers on their faces to those to whom the full power of magic was transferred. This is all the information we managed to find out," Yukio said, summarizing yesterday's events.
— Well, it's just that patterns have appeared, what can we talk about here? Kazuto complained, protesting against the discussion of his face.
— Okay, okay, let's not discuss the patterns on your face. Let's better discuss the strategy in the fight against the Bloody Carnival," Haruki suggested, referring to the discussion of more important things.
"Haruki, this is also an important part. I am sure that these patterns did not just appear, they have some meaning, namely that they gave Kazuto and Ryoma even more magic power. We can't just pass this by, we need to learn more about this phenomenon," Yukio insisted, needing clarification.
— Okay already, not the point. Haruki, did you say that Rikuto told you that he still has three moves to destroy the committee? Yukio asked Haruki.
— Exactly! Haruki confirmed, snapping his fingers.
—In that case, we should expect three more serious attempts to kill us all," Yukio warned, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.
— Hmm, I can assume that Rikuto will try to repeat what was already in the first move, — thinking out loud, Takumi offered his version.
— Unlikely, he's not stupid enough to perform the same operation twice. That would be stupid," Yukio expressed his opinion, confident in his argument.
—Maybe you're right," Takumi agreed, backing up Yukio's words.
— I also think that the work will become more and more difficult, — Rema added.
— Perhaps, Rema. But we have the opportunity to influence the situation. — Haruki was optimistic and called everyone to work.
*Bloody Carnival Council*
— These creatures have divorced us like children! Kohei was indignant, dissatisfied with the situation.
— Well, it's time to act according to the third move. The Committee turned out to be a difficult opponent, as it seemed to us. But we have to hit them back. — Rikuto shared his plans.
—Mr. Rikuto, the first move failed because we shouldn't have combined them in the same room," Sora Takemoto, head of the Bloody Carnival Council, expressed his opinion.
— Actually, the first move didn't fail, we just tested the committee to find out about its abilities, and now we can attack with full force. There are two more moves left in our arsenal. But now is the time for the third move. — Rikuto planned to destroy the committee.
— Sir, don't you think it's strange that we were so easily defeated by an insignificant committee? Kohei asked, reflecting on the defeat of the Bloody Carnival.
— No, I don't think so. They may be insignificant, but they are strong and strong. As they say in the movies, never underestimate your opponent. — Rikuto was prostrating on the table.
— I think that with the third move we will not be able to destroy the committee, but we can significantly weaken it. Let's focus on that," Sora suggested.
*Secret library of the Special Patrol*
"So, time is running out, and this damn book is nowhere to be found!" Sakura thought, not without irritation, her heart was beating so fast that she could barely concentrate on the task. The library, hidden from prying eyes, was saturated with the smell of old parchment and covered with books scattered on the floor and shelves.
Sakura, in a desperate attempt to find the desired copy, literally threw books, creating chaos among the pages and paper. The feeling that time was working against her was only intensified by her unsuccessful attempts. Suddenly, the faces of the guards who were on duty in the library were reflected in the mirror of her round glasses.
"Damn it! As if that wasn't enough," flashed through her thoughts, catching the sounds of approaching footsteps. The library door slowly swung open, opening the way for two guards to invade. The trampling of their feet, the ringing of steel cold weapons, penetrated into every corner of the room.
Sakura held her breath. "Damn you, fate," she whispered, fear rolling over her in a wave. But she wasn't going to give up. Suddenly, determination, which had reached previously unheard-of heights, rose above fear.
"Is there someone here?" The first guard asked, nervously looking around the library, as if looking for a potential intruder.
— Hey, haven't you realized yet that no one will cross your path? Who can get in here? The second guard objected, still skeptical.
— Is that so? Well, whatever you say... "Bang!" — the speech of the first guard had to be interrupted by an incomprehensible crystal, which darted in his direction, throwing him into the wall.
"Wh—what the hell?" The surviving guard moaned, his lips rushing, but the words couldn't find a way out through his strained throat.
— Listen carefully... You want to save your life, don't you? Then tell me, where is the book called "The Oligarchy of Magical Happiness"? Sakura's voice sounded, coming out of the darkness that reigned in the library, like a voice from hell.
A shimmering crystal hovered in Sakura's hand, casting frightening reflections on her face. The guard was seized with horror, so much so that he could not even breathe fully. He silently shook his head, shaking with fear, trying to imagine what kind of horror this girl could create.
— I understand... Sakura whispered softly, slowly raising her hand to deal with the remaining guard. The powerful explosive crystal was precisely aimed at his direction, and a second later he let out his last breath without even having time to utter a word.
Sakura quickly disappeared into the shadows, the evil decision could not be fulfilled. She never found the book she was looking for, but she didn't have time to think about it. She is waiting for other dangers, other mysteries, other riddles that require her attention and the ability to survive.
*Headquarters of the Committee of Investigations*
Everyone was in the spacious hall, tension and nervousness were felt everywhere. Minds were hunted down like wild animals on the hunt, and everyone tried to guess what steps the Bloody Carnival would take in its ruthless game. Suddenly, the elevator doors opened noisily, but no one got out.