Chapter 27 : The Masked Trinity

The fire crackled faintly in the corner, fighting back the cold wind leaking through the cracked walls of their temporary refuge. Mikuya sat on the edge of the old bed, her hands resting on her knees, still wrapped in white bandages.

She stared into the flames for a long time before speaking.

“Kaito…” she said quietly. “Earlier you said the Agency didn’t know what happened to Kurogami.”

Kaito looked up from his seat on the floor beside her. “Yeah.”

“You’re sure?”

He nodded. “They had a meeting four days ago. Daigo summoned all high-ranking members.”

Mikuya glanced at him, her tone sharp. “What happened in that meeting?”

Kaito’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It was… chaos.”

[Flashback – Four Days Ago | Agency Headquarters – War Room]

The War Room was dim, the air thick with tension. A long black stone table stretched down the middle of the room, with tall-backed chairs on either side. The room itself was silent save for the wind howling faintly beyond the sealed iron doors.

One by one, the high-ranking soldiers arrived—Renzo with his usual scowl, Lady Hisoka in her pristine white uniform, Takahiro with unreadable eyes, Hiroki looking restless, and Kaito bringing up the rear. Others followed—commanders, elite agents, each taking their place.

Daigo stood at the head, his arms crossed behind his back. When the last officer entered, the doors shut tight with a dull thud.

“Let’s begin,” Daigo said, his voice low but sharp. “Kurogami has failed.”

A few heads turned abruptly. Whispers spread.

“Failed?” someone repeated. “How? Against who?”

Daigo paused. “The girl. Mikuya.”

A dead silence fell.

Lady Hisoka raised an eyebrow. “You mean the same Mikuya that Renzo failed to defeat?”

“Don’t start,” Renzo muttered.

A gruff soldier leaned forward. “Guess she’s got a streak now—Renzo, then Kurogami. Makes you wonder, huh?”

Renzo shot to his feet, his chair scraping violently against the stone floor. “What did you say?”

“You heard me.”

“Say it again, I dare you—”

“Enough!” Daigo’s voice cracked like thunder across the room. “This isn’t the time for pathetic pride matches.”

Renzo sat down slowly, fists clenched, jaw tight.

Daigo’s voice grew quieter, more deliberate. “We underestimated her. She may be thirteen, but she’s a threat. A real one.”

Takahiro looked skeptical. “She’s still a child—”

“And yet she tore through Kurogami,” Daigo interrupted, his eyes cold. “Whatever she became… it wasn’t human in that moment. We don’t know what triggered it, or how she survived.”

Hiroki leaned forward. “What about Kurogami?”

That’s when Kaito finally spoke. “Do we even know if he’s alive?”

Everyone looked at Daigo. His jaw tightened.

“We’ve been searching,” he said after a moment. “No body. No trace. He vanished—taken, or killed. We don’t know.”

Another wave of unease swept through the room.

“She has Sora with her now,” Daigo continued. “I’ve received reports. He’s showing signs of cursed energy manipulation.”

The murmurs instantly grew louder, rising in confusion and concern.

“He what?”

“Cursed energy?”

Lady Hisoka frowned. “A boy like that shouldn’t even be able to tap into cursed energy without… consequences.”

Renzo chuckled darkly. “Then maybe we stop playing fair. If that brat is using cursed energy, why the hell aren’t we?”

Several others nodded in agreement.

Kaito’s voice cut through the noise. “That’s insane. You know what cursed energy does to the untrained. We’ve lost agents before.”

Renzo turned to him, smiling with venom. “Sounds like fear talking. Maybe you can’t handle it.”

“Enough!” Daigo shouted again, louder this time. The table shook slightly. “You think I haven’t considered it? You think I don’t know what’s at stake?”

Everyone fell silent.

“We’re not using cursed energy,” Daigo said firmly. “Not yet. It’s too dangerous. Too unstable. I will speak with the Masters. If we’re granted permission, then we act.”

Renzo scoffed. “By the time the Masters respond, those kids could destroy everything.”

Daigo’s eyes narrowed. “Then we train. We wait. We prepare. But until I say otherwise—no cursed energy.”

A long silence.

Finally, heads nodded. Begrudgingly. Quietly.

Daigo turned away. “This meeting is over.”

[Present – Back in the Hideout]

Kaito sat back, the fire casting tired shadows across his face.

“That’s what happened,” he said, voice low. “They’re scared of you. Of us. And Renzo’s just itching for a reason to cross the line.”

Mikuya looked down at her hands. “If the Masters say yes…”

“Then they’ll have access to cursed energy. Real cursed energy,” Kaito said grimly. “It won’t be just Renzo coming after you next time.”

Sora folded his arms. “We don’t wait for them to catch up. We get stronger first.”

Mikuya didn’t speak right away. Her fingers curled slightly.

“…If they get permission, we’re in trouble,” she murmured. “Big trouble.”

She looked up at them, her eyes no longer clouded—just cold and focused.

“From now on,” she said, voice sharp as ice, “we don’t just survive. We prepare.”

She stood up slowly.

“The real game starts now.”

The flames from the old lantern danced against the hideout’s stone walls. Mikuya hugged her knees close, her eyes still heavy with the tension from Kaito’s story. After a long silence, she asked quietly, “…Then who exactly are these ‘masters’ Daigo mentioned?”

Kaito and Sora exchanged a glance.

“You sure you want to know?” Kaito asked, voice low.

Mikuya nodded.

Sora sat forward, his tone more serious than she’d ever heard. “They’re not just masters, Mikuya. They’re called the Masked Trinity.”

The words hung in the air like smoke.

Kaito’s voice dropped to a near whisper. “They’re the true rulers of the Agency. Even Daigo answers to them.”

Mikuya blinked. “Wait—what?”

“No one knows who they really are,” Sora continued. “Not even high-ranking soldiers like Renzo, or Hiroki. Their identities are completely hidden. They wear masks all the time. No one has ever seen their faces.”

Kaito added, “Only Lady Hisoka and Daigo are known to have met them. Spoken with them. The rest of the Agency only know them through fear… and through rumors.”

Sora began counting on his fingers. “There’s three of them. One wears a pure black mask with gold streaks. Cold, clean, sharp. Another—white mask, but with blood-red carvings over the mouth and eyes. And the third… silver-lined, elegant, and dead silent.”

“They’re never seen in public,” Kaito said. “No speeches. No council appearances. They stay in the shadows of the highest tower—only Daigo knows where. And when they issue a command, it’s followed like law. No questions asked.”

“They don’t fight,” Sora muttered. “At least… no one’s ever seen them fight. But some say they don’t need to. Their cursed energy is beyond comprehension. The kind of energy that can warp the ground just by being present. Some say one glare from them could crush a grown man’s soul.”

Kaito looked at the flame, his voice distant. “There was a time when a squad tried to spy on them. It was… years ago. No one ever found the bodies. Not even the ash.”

Mikuya’s fists slowly clenched. “So… they’re the ones truly in control. Not Daigo. Not the soldiers.”

Sora nodded. “The soldiers may run the missions, but the Trinity decides what matters.”

“And no one defies them,” Kaito said. “Because no one can.”

Mikuya stared into the fire. Her mind was racing. “So… if they grant permission to use cursed energy…”

“We’re done for,” Sora finished. “The Agency will become something else. Something darker.”

“They haven’t said anything yet,” Kaito added. “Daigo told us he’d ask them. But if they say yes…”

Mikuya’s voice was low but sharp. “Then we have to become stronger. Fast. Because once they speak… the real war begins.”

The silence that followed was not peaceful. It was heavy, like the calm before a storm no one could survive.