Beheading

High in the sky.

Wisps of clouds drifted by.

A monoplane slightly smaller than an X-1 biplane transport aircraft was speeding through the air.

Its wings tore through the air with a thunderous roar.

Inside the cabin sat two men and two women, four young people in total.

Gilan had met one of the men and one of the women before in the Investigation Committee hall on the seventieth floor of Triumph Building. They were reserve members of the Thorn Collective, belonging to the ancient secret cult known as Midnight Rose.

All four wore ruby rings identical to Gilan's, symbols of their status.

"Haldan, I heard that you and Celine have met Thorn Collective member Number 001?"

A young man with small eyes and medium-length tousled hair asked the buzz-cut man across from him.

The buzz-cut man, Haldan, turned and exchanged a glance with Miss Celine, who had short brown hair cut to ear length, before nodding.

"Yes. Though we only saw him from afar, Mr. Gilan's strength should not be underestimated."

Haldan spoke with feeling.

Celine ate a washed red berry and added quietly, her tone full of admiration:

"I heard that it was precisely because of him that the higher-ups of the secret cult were willing to break the rules and establish a reserve organization like the Thorn Collective."

"Is that really so exaggerated? They made an exception for him alone?"

The long-haired, small-eyed man who had asked the question chuckled.

"I've actually heard a little about Gilan. He used to be the illegitimate son of an earl's family, but that family was completely abolished a few months ago for suspected cult activities... As for him, he now works for the Mysterious Investigation Committee as a team leader. Nothing special, really."

"Buweige, he has another identity as well—an