"———!"
Joanna nearly leapt from her spot, her body reacting before her mind could catch up. Instinct took over. Steel flashed in the dim light as her dagger cut through the air in a sharp arc, aimed directly at the reaching hand.
Her movement was incredibly quick. So fast that the figure before her wasn’t even able to react.
If not for Joanna suddenly stopping mid-motion, it was very likely that her head would’ve come flying away.
"Haa... Haa... Sarah...?"
Recognizing the figure standing before her, Joanna’s jaw clenched as she placed the tip of her dagger on Sarah’s neck, pressing it slightly.
"...It’s you, right?"
Joanna’s teeth clenched tightly as she stared at Sarah.
Seeing the familiar pair of dark eyes and hair, Joanna truly wanted to believe that the person standing before her was Sarah, but after everything that had happened to her so far, she started to second-guess herself. Was this really Sarah?
But what if it wasn’t? It could be a trap again...
’Damn it! Damn it! Damn it...!!’
The more Joanna looked at Sarah, the more her mind seemed to struggle as she continued to press her dagger against her neck.
But eventually—
"Don’t open the door."
Sarah’s voice echoed once more, sounding strangely calm.
Joanna looked at the door, her chest rising and falling. She couldn’t feel the presence like before. Then, Sarah showed up? Coincidence?
"How did you find me?"
Joanna asked, her expression sharp.
"We’re all connected."
Sarah replied, not looking away from Joanna.
"I know that. But how were you able to enter the house?"
"My node."
Sarah replied, pointing at her temple.
"...You should be aware of my abilities."
Joanna hesitated. This was true. In terms of abilities, Sarah was the best at infiltration and scouting. If it were her, then it would be possible to enter.
But...
’No, this isn’t enough. I can’t trust her just yet. I won’t fall for the same trick twice.’
Thankfully, Sarah wasn’t completely helpless. They hadn’t spent the week prior to the World Congress doing nothing. They had gone over all sorts of scenarios, such as what they needed to do in case someone was pretending to be them.
’I didn’t do it before with Ariel because she was talking inside my mind, but since I can no longer trust that, I can do it now. This will—’
BANG!
All of a sudden, a thunderous and sharp ’bang’ reverberated throughout the entire house, echoing up the walls as if the structure itself were splitting apart.
"What...!?"
The entire building shuddered in response. The floor trembled under her boots, dust drifting from the ceiling as the walls groaned in protest. Joanna staggered slightly, caught off guard by the sudden force, her pulse spiking all over again as the house continued to shake around her.
Despite this, she still kept her dagger pressed against Sarah’s neck.
"What’s going on?!"
"...It’s Min."
Sarah replied a few seconds later, her gaze shifting towards the lower floor.
"He’s breaking into the house."
BANG! BANG—
Subsequently, the house shook once more, the entire place groaning as Joanna’s eyes widened.
"Breaking? Why would he..."
"Since we can’t enter, we’re breaking everything apart. You might not be able to break the door apart, but he is. This is what we learned from the Squad Leader."
"...Ah."
Whatever words had been forming on Joanna’s tongue died instantly. Her breath faltered as her eyes locked onto Sarah.
For a split second, she could only stare. Then the tension drained from her fingers. Her grip on the dagger loosened, the blade trembling slightly before she pulled it back, carefully easing it away from Sarah’s neck.
A smile soon tugged at her lips.
"...Yeah, he did."
All doubts about their identities vanished like this. This was true. The Squad Leader had indeed mentioned something like this to them. Back then, Joanna didn’t say anything, but she truly found it laughable in this situation.
Then—
BANG—!
A deafening crash erupted from below, the sound of the front door splintering under immense force.
Then came the footsteps.
One heavy, and one light. The footsteps calmly walked past the stairs and eventually reached the second floor as two familiar figures appeared in Joanna’s view, their steps pausing as Ariel eventually nodded.
"You’re here."
"...I am."
Joanna’s shoulders relaxed, but not for long, as her gaze moved back towards the door, and the tension in her chest returned. She pointed at it.
"Something is hiding behind the door. It was trying to get me to enter the door, but I felt that it was a trap. It also played several tricks on me. It can mimic voices and even speak inside the mind. We should be careful. Whatever is inside the do—"
BANG!
Joanna had barely begun to speak when Min moved.
Without warning, he lunged forward and drove his shoulder straight into the door. The impact slammed through the hallway, wood cracking under the force.
Joanna flinched at the sudden violence, her eyes widening as the door shuddered on its hinges.
"What are you doing!? Did you not hear what I said?"
"We did."
Ariel answered as Min suddenly smashed his shoulder against the door again.
BANG—
"And?!"
"...And it’s for this reason that we’re smashing the door open. Since it hasn’t attacked you yet, it means that it’s weak."
"No, but—"
Joanna’s words died in her throat as a strange sensation surged through her mind, sharp and invasive, forcing her to freeze mid-motion.
Her eyes widened yet again. A faint tingling spread from her chest outward, threading through her body, and onto her mind as she looked at Ariel, whose lips curled slightly.
"You... what have you done?"
"Nothing in particular."
Ariel answered, her expression calm.
"I am just giving you some courage."
BANG!
The door burst open with a violent crack, the wood splintering inward under the force.
Joanna’s gaze flicked to Ariel, then back to the broken door. She wanted to continue shouting at Ariel and Min, telling them to stop. Telling them that they needed to be more cautious, but when she opened her mouth, she found herself unable to say those words.
Instead...
"Make sure to deal with it quickly."
The words that came out of her mouth were completely different than her previous thoughts as the tingle in her chest grew and her body started to tremble.
But not out of fear.
No.
More like...
Excitement.
’Ah, fuck...’
Joanna realized rather quickly what had happened. Ariel had used her skill to alter her mind.
The fear that had been coiled tightly in her chest only seconds ago dissolved as if it had never existed. The tension left her muscles, the dread evaporating from her thoughts with unnatural ease.
Suddenly, the entire situation didn’t feel so scary. But rather, annoying.
’Did I seriously get toyed around like that?’
"Ah, no. I need to fix this."
Without another word, she reached down and retrieved her daggers.
"Min, wait for me."
Walking into the room, her voice trembled slightly as she suppressed a soft giggle.
"...All of a sudden, I feel like I want to cut the bastard who was playing with me. You’ll allow me to do that, right?"
Walking past Min, Joanna looked around.
Dear caller...
"Where are you~?"