The mechanized doors slid open, and Guren Izaya entered the room. His agenda today was clear.

The silver-haired man put on a pair of glasses before he carefully observed the monitors in the spacious room. Then, his eyes made contact with three other pairs.

Relishing the cool air inside, he flicked his long, silver hair before settling down beside one of the beds.

This was a special recovery facility given to him by the Ishida Conglomerate. On an ordinary day, it was merely a private underground lounge inside the Ishida Tower that he barely had the chance to use. Normally, he would have gone here to smoke a few puffs, a de-stressing habit that he had unfortunately gotten the past few years.

Today was not the day for that.

"Feeling any better?"

He forlornly asked the occupant of one of the two beds. While waiting for the answer, he skimmed through Dr. Shin Kagami's body, taking note of the bandages and the impact points where his flesh had been torn apart.

Next, he stared at the person's vitals through a monitor. Upon seeing the data, his worried emotions subsided. That came right as the doctor spoke.

"The experiment worked too well. It's even more astounding than what you did with Satoru."

Apparently taking offense to the statement of the doctor, the spiky-haired youth stood up from his distant seat and scoffed. Motioning his hands together in a stranglehold, his glare pierced through Izaya.

"Heh! Should have let me accompany this guy there. Setsura and I would have ripped that fool a new one! I would have devoured him and that Setsura knockoff of his."

He continued in his abrasive tone.

"Making me fall back in the Temple of Recollections was stupidity. I could have been the one to hunt that punk's half-dead body instead of that doctor."

"Take it slowly, Satoru. We do not have disputes with Reijy Ishida, nor were you in prime condition after the battle against Kazuki Arata and his allies."

"Are you looking down on me?!"

"Mind your manners in front of Lord Izaya, savage!"

The sharp voice came from the other bedridden person. Reiya Utara sat up, her body also riddled with bandages.

"There's no reason for us to fight, everyone. Our conflict is not with each other nor is it with human beings."

Despite speaking in a meek and calm tone, Izaya easily diffused the situation with his words. Acknowledging his three comrades, he gave each of them an understanding look.

"Regardless. That person is dangerous, and we can't leave him alone," grumbled Utara.

"True. I have come in expecting fluctuations in the results, but the way he broke free was unthinkable."

Sensing the agitation in both Utara and Kagami, Izaya did not say a word before walking to Utara's bed.

"The lack of control making you feel uncomfortable?" asked him while calmly patting her hair.

"I-it's not that," responded Utara, flustered with the silver-haired man's touch. "He could have been a great asset on our side. We just weren't prepared to contain him."

"Ah, but no one can. Do you remember what kind of power I gave him?"

"The Render of Bounds'. B-but, it's just an inferior copy of it!"

"That should tell you how strong an Ascended One is. And how much we still need to prepare for our climactic battle."

"Should we go after him again, Lord Izaya? With you accompanying us, we can easily subdue the boy."

"It is best to let him do as he wishes. Besides, we have a more pressing goal to attend to."

"What would that be?"

"Thanks to the intervention of a dear acquaintance, I was not able to fully integrate the Magna Arbiter's power into my Armament. Instead, the last remnants of the power were diffused and probably landed on the open palms of someone else."

"Just like with Kimura?!"

"Not quite. The remaining unabsorbed power of the Magna Arbiter is not powerful enough to cause the Nullity to come back to life by latching onto a host. Still, I need a bit more of it for me to open the door to that tower."

"So, what you're saying is that we should find the person who acquired the last remnants of the Magna Arbiter's power?" interjected Dr. Kagami.

Izaya nodded.

"We have hundreds of candidates to work with, but we can safely cross out those Awakeners with Kazuki Arata. The same goes for Reijy Ishida and Miyuko Sadohara. I'll get to it ASAP."

Izaya brought his palm out to stop Dr. Kagami at the doctor's eager suggestion.

"You need to recuperate. There is a way to do it more easily."

"And that is?"

"We wait."

"Pardon?"

"Dr. Kagami, I entrust you with monitoring the Fragments that spawn in this city. Ms. Utara will take to the field. Meanwhile, if Reijy Ishida tries to get in our way..." he turned his sights onto Satoru. "I trust that you can do just enough to prevent him from messing with our plans."

Satoru licked his lips, and for the first time in the conversation, the spiky-haired youth flashed a smile.

"I'll do more than just that, as I said. That punk doesn't stand a chance!"

"If you'll allow me, I'll fine tune my research and try to seal those limbs in addition to my task. Render of Bounds or not, I won't accept defeat. Perhaps we can even use those limbs to hijack his mind and have him join our ranks."

"Bolstering our ranks sounds like a good idea," nodded Izaya, hand rubbing his chin. "But I don't quite like your plan of action."

"Sounds like you have a plan, Lord Izaya," chimed in Utara.

"Yes."

Without saying another word, he began walking out of the room. Confirming that all three of his subordinates were in good recovery pace, he exited the room.

I have a far more suitable candidate in mind.