Inside the Himura residence in Azabu neighborhood, located at Minato Ward, Tokyo.
June 18th, 2026
7:14 AM 20° Celsius/68° Fahrenheit
Ray? Terrifyind and barbaric?
The words hit like ice. Arashi must be joking, Arashi was just joking, they all thought.
"Ray-kun? What...what do you mean?" Sakura asked softly, in disbelief.
Arashi's hands gripped the edge of the table.
"Something terrible, something I wasn't supposed to see." She muttered.
Reina's teasing facade vanished.
Kitsune sat up straighter, eyes wide.
"What...what did you see?" Sakura asked again, feeling a mix worry, fear, and curiosity. But she kept her voice calm, maternal.
Arashi's eyes slowly, painfully met her mother's. "Ray...he...he killed them. Sakurai, Ito, and.....Jiro..."
"He killed them...like it was nothing." She added, fear in her eyes.
A heavy silence.
Reina's breath hitched. "Wait - what? You're serious?"
"He slaughtered them like pigs. And he didn't even blink." Arashi's voice cracked.
Sakura's smile faded completely. She held her daughter's trembling hand.
Meanwhile, in the Buckingham Palace private airstrip, located at London, England.
June 17th, 2026
11: 15 PM(London time) 5° Celcius/41° Fahrenheit
The sky above London was a deep, bruised shade of midnight blue. A thick veil of clouds drifted lazily, cloaking the moon, while below, a bitter cold wind swept across the private airstrip nestled behind the fortified gates of Buckingham Palace. The runway lights flickered faintly under the dim glow of the tower lamps. Everything about this place was hidden in plain sight - classfied, guarded, and virtually unknown to all but the highest echelons of the British Empire.
A sleek, matte-black military jet glided with precision and grace, its engine humming with suppressed power. As it came to a silent halt, a dozen Queensguards in obsidian uniforms surrounded the strip, forming a human wall of rifles and silent loyalty. They didn't speak. They didn't move. Only watched.
The plane's hatch hissed open.
From within the shadows of the cabins emerged three figures - imposing, poised, and gliding down the stairwell with the controlled grace of apex predators.
Serpent. Viper. Nighthawk.
One of the elite Queenswomen teams of the Crown. Three of the deadliest women alive under the British flag.
Serpent walked in front, her black trench coat billowing in the wind. Her crimson gloves were stained at the knuckles. Her expression was unreadable - face like carved ice, her icy blue eyes like razor glass. In her left hand, she gripped a canvas-wrapped package.
Viper followed to her left, long-legged and graceful, her golden - blonde hair slicked back in a ponytail, a small smirk dancing on her lips despite the smell of blood still lingering on her leather suit.
On the right side, Nighthawk moved like a shadow given form - short black hair, grey tactical uniform smeared with soot and ash, her green eyes scanning every corner of the airstrip like a sniper waiting for a target.
Waiting for them at the foot of the strip was a woman who radiated authority like a sun cloaked in velvet. Dressed in a midnight - blue ceremonial gown laced with platinum trim, wearing a crown so subtle and slender it looked etched by angels themselves, stood Queen Charlotte Victoria III - the sovereign of England.
Surrounded by her royal Queensguards and two discreet advisors, stood unmoving, hands clasped in front of her. Regal. Untouchable. Calculated.
As Serpent descended the final step, her boot clicked against the tarmac with finality.
She strode forward and stopped a few paces from Her Majesty.
With a flick of her wrist, Serpent let the package drop onto the concrete with a dull, wet thud.
The canvas unfurled.
A severed head rolled out, its dead blue eyes wide with shock, jaw permanently twisted mid-scream.
The Queen did not flinch.
"Mission accomplished, Your Majesty." Serpent said coldly, straightening her posture.
Viper and Nighthawk stepped forward and bowed in unison alongside her.
Queen Charlotte stepped closer. Her eyes lingered on the head of Jules Blackthorne, the ex-MI6 operative who had betrayed the Queen and his country by selling secrets to hostile countries. He had vanished, protected by the Matriach and her organization.
She looked back at Serpent. "I commend your efficiency. I trust he didn't die easily."
"He tried to run. He failed." Serpent said dryly.
Queen Charlotte's lips curved slightly.
"Excellent."
But then Nighthawk spoke.
"Your Majesty, there is something we must report." She said, her voice cool and measured.
Viper stepped in. "The SAS extraction team you sent was compromised. Ambushed just outside Dubrovnik. Blackthorne anticipated we'd call for evac."
The Queen's eyes narrowed faintly. "Their fate?"
"All dead, we couldn't save them. We had to improvise." Viper said, her eyes lowered.
"We were under heavy fire. We underestimated their count. But we neutralized every threat. No one survived. No leaks." Nighthawk added.
Serpent said nothing, but the stiff edge of her jaw showed her restrained fury.
Queen Charlotte took a moment. Then she exhaled slowly, turning her gaze to the distant skyline of London behind the Palace.
"Regrettable." She murmured.
"But understable. Retrieve their bodies, we'll hold funerals for them." The Queen solemnly added.
Her gaze returned to them. "You three are not soldiers. You are my blades. My shadows. My will made flesh. You do not break. You do not run. You adapt. You strike. And you never....ever fail." The Queen uttered.
The Queenswomen bowed again in unison.
"Yes, Your Majesty." All three said.
The Queen stepped forward - just inches from Serpent now - and her voice dropped to a whisper, one only they could hear.
"Blackthorne had allies...very powerful ones. They may retaliate. Let them come. England does not beg. English does not bleed." The Queen's whisper.
A pause.
"And should they come for me....I will send him. Along with you all." The Queen added.
Serpent nodded, understanding every word, even the 'him'. Cause she knows that 'him' well. "Then, they'll never reach you."
"I know." The Queen's last whisper.
The Queen stepped back, nodded to her royal aides, and motioned toward the palace gates.
"You've done well tonight. Rest. You've earned it." She said as the guards opened the gates.
As the trio followed their escort, Viper whispered to Serpent. "Think she'll be mad about the helicopter explosion?"
"She already knows." Serpent replied, emotionless.
"And if she's not mad....." Serpent added.
"...then she's planning something worse." Nighthawk finished with a smirk.
And just like that, the three disappeared into the black of London's night.