Instantly, a loud bang was heard from outside the warehouse. The vibrations were felt under their feet. The alarm sounded loudly, followed by the sound of footsteps moving faster.
Valeria quickly cocked her weapon. “No matter what happens, we need to get out of here now.”
However, before they could move, Kazuto's voice rang out again, this time in an interested tone.
“Oh, and Vin... I want you to know one more thing before we meet in person.”
Kazuto leaned closer to the camera, staring straight as if he could see into Vincent's soul.
“Are you really sure Milea needs saving from you guys?” he sneered.
Vincent's heart sank. Before he could respond, the screen suddenly went dead, leaving them in a stifling silence.
Outside, gunshots began to ring out. And Kazuto's question kept ringing in Vincent's head, like a demonic whisper dominating all his thoughts.
Lorenzo and Valeria exchanged glances. Did Milea really need saving? Or was it... Milea was playing them? 
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Milea blinked her eyes slowly. She felt her limp body on the cold and dusty floor. There was no one there. Her head throbbed violently, while a pungent metallic smell filled the entire room. 
“Where am I?” Milea tried to remember how she got to this place, but all she could think of was a bright flash of light before everything went dark. Now, she's in a cramped room with rusted steel walls and the distant rumble of machinery.
“Vin...?” Milea murmured as she turned her head to her left and right. 
Milea tried to get up, but something on her wrist was holding her back. A strange black bracelet with a pulsating red light. As she tried to pull it off, a voice boomed from a speaker in the corner of the room.
“Welcome, Milea. You are now mine.”
Milea's heart skipped a beat. She recognised the voice, the person who had taken her hostage. Kazuto. The mysterious figure who had only been known from rumours and horror stories of the underworld. 
“Where am I? What are you going to do to me?” Milea was about to rebel when Kazuto's hand tried to touch her face.
“My best friend's wife is beautiful. She's also a brave person,” Kazuto marveled at Milea.
“Who are you? What do you have to do with my husband?” Milea asked curiously.
“Did Vin not tell you about me?”
Milea didn't move. Not all of Vincent's past friends had been told to her. 
“Your husband and I have been friends for a long time. We had the same dreams. But, he chose to go off the beaten track and live his dream alone. Didn't he betray me?” Kazuto explained. The look in his eyes was that of someone who was extremely vengeful.
“He never betrayed anyone. Instead, he was always let down by the people he trusted the most,” Milea said in defence of her husband.
Kazuto burst out laughing. “You don't know anything about Vin apparently. Do you deserve to be called his wife?” he mocked.
“Shit!” muttered Milea under her breath.
Milea bit her lip, looking around for an opening to escape. However, before she could move any further, the door in front of her opened with a hissing sound, revealing a dark, winding hallway. With bated breath, she stepped inside, realising that the only way out was forward.
***
Vincent's fingers moved quickly over the keyboard, his eyes squinting behind a screen filled with complex and intricate codes. Just then, Ryuga came over to him.
“How's it going?” he asked.
“Almost in...” muttered Vincent, as cold sweat ran down his temples. 
Vincent had spent hours looking for loopholes in Kazuto's security system, and was now only one layer away from being able to access the main network.
However, the screen suddenly turned red. The alarm sounded loudly. A warning appeared on the monitor: “Breach detected. Activating elimination protocol.”
“Danger, Vin!” Ryuga warned. 
“Shit!” Vincent instantly withdrew his hands from the keyboard, but it was too late. 
Electric current surged through his system, hitting his body like a shockwave. The entire room shook as Kazuto's defence systems began to viciously counter his attacks.
“He's too tough,” Vincent said pessimistically. His eyes began to blur, but he gritted his teeth and forced his hands to keep moving. 
With his remaining strength, Vincent activated his last bypass programme.
“Are you sure?” Ryuga hesitated. “If this fails, not only will you lose your life, but you will be erased from the digital world forever.”
“I don't care. I'll keep trying.” Vincent returned with his unyielding determination.
The screen returned to normal instantly. Vincent's breath caught. “It worked...!” 
However, before Vincent could feel any relief, something in the system caught his attention. A virus code with a structure he had never seen before. Ryuga had also seen the virus code.
As they read deeper, his face paled. This was not just an ordinary destructive virus. If they touched it, the entire network would collapse, including themselves.
But more surprisingly the code held something they hadn't expected. A hidden message.
“Milea... is in here.” 
Vincent gulped. His fingers trembled as he tried to dig deeper into the code he had just found. As he deciphered it, the computer screen suddenly changed, displaying a series of data that formed the pattern of the human brain.
“No way...” Vincent whispered. This wasn't just a destructive virus.
“It's a programme that stores human consciousness in digital form,” Ryuga argued. And amongst the files, he saw something that hit him in the chest, Milea's name.
“Kazuto... who are you really?” muttered Ryuga. However, before he could get an answer, the screen flickered, and a face appeared.
It was Kazuto, but not in physical form. His face was like a hologram, composed of constantly moving codes.
“Welcome to my new world, Vin.” Kazuto's voice sounded deeper and colder. “I am no longer just a human. I am a consciousness that has transcended the mortal body. And soon, Milea will belong to me... forever.”
“What?” Vincent widened his eyes in shock.
“No way,” Ryuga was also taken aback by Kazuto's statement.
Milea was not just being held back. Rather, she was being transformed into a part of this network. If Vincent destroyed the system, he could free Milea, but the risk was too great. If he failed, Milea would vanish with him.
Time was running out. Kazuto looked at him with a cold smile. “What's your choice, Vin?”
“Damn it!” cursed Vincent irritably.