After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

The case of the Happiness Cult was nearing its conclusion.

But there were still some imperfections.

That was the fact that their leader, Master Tanaka, and his deputy had not yet been successfully arrested and were still on the run.

For the police, not capturing the leader would not signify the end of the case; they surely were not content with this.

Especially since they were not simply criminals, but highly dangerous individuals who had committed murder and even had subordinates who obeyed their commands, to call them a 'terrorist organization' would not be an exaggeration.

Anyone would feel uneasy with such individuals at large in society.

After a month of silence without any movement, the police came up with a 'good idea'.

Bait, fishing.

Komori Ai, even Kagura Hikaru and Ayakoji Chiyoko, were all considered bait for this fishing.

This seemingly normal 'moving plan' was actually a trap set for the Happiness Cult.

Here, they gathered their enemies (Kagura Hikaru, Ayakoji Chiyoko), shrine maiden (Komori Ai), and the police who had arrested their colleagues.

It was almost like a giant pitcher plant, inviting them to take the bait willingly.

Of course, the police did not plan to really let them come to harm; plenty of backup was concealed nearby, forming a tight-knit web of protection.@@novelbin@@

Kagura Hikaru could understand their impulse to catch the leaders of the Happiness Cult, but the fact that they had not been informed beforehand was really frustrating.

Inspector Yamazaki probably noticed he had become aware and gave a meaningful look in that direction before getting into the car.

The passenger seat was occupied by his wife, the short-haired female police officer.

"... let's go," said Hikaru, leading Komori Ai into the car.

Once the arrow is on the bowstring, it must be shot.

Ayakoji Chiyoko was already in the back seat, listlessly propping her chin with her hand as she looked out the window.

Kagura Hikaru had Komori Ai sit in the middle, fastened her seatbelt, then closed the car door and said, "We can go."

The sedan started moving.

A strange silence filled the car; no one spoke.

Kagura Hikaru observed through the window.

After the car had started, several vehicles followed them at a moderate pace, occasionally alternating; these must have been police undercover vehicles, there to protect them.

Influenced by Komori Ai's two sentences, Kagura Hikaru suddenly also became uneasy.

What exactly would happen next?

A pair of little hands quietly reached over and intertwined with Hikaru's fingers.

He turned to look.

Komori Ai was straining upward, resting her chin on his shoulder, and whispered into Kagura Hikaru's ear, "They're coming."

The sedan drove through the intersection.

Although it should have been a green light, a van from a side road sped towards them after running a red light.

A second before the collision, Kagura Hikaru only managed to protect Komori Ai's head, shouting, "Be careful!"

The next moment, the massive impact arrived as expected.

In the final moment, Inspector Yamazaki reacted just in time, slamming the pedal to the floor, accelerating a short distance so that the van, aiming for the center of their vehicle, only hit the rear of the car.

Even so, the impact sent their sedan spinning halfway around, nearly flipping over.

The screeching sound of tires sliding across the ground was ignored; inside the car, everything was topsy-turvy, and the seatbelt painfully constricted against their stomachs, almost as if it was about to cut into their intestines.

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It was an extremely brief yet unbearably long moment.

When Kagura Hikaru felt the vehicle stabilize, he opened his eyes and saw that the window by his side had shattered, scattering glass shards over him and inside the car. The door had a large inward bulge, luckily it hadn't collapsed.

He quickly checked himself over for injuries and, finding none, then looked at the others in the car.

Komori Ai and Ayakoji Chiyoko were both unharmed, just visibly shaken.

Inspector Yamazaki was also shaking his head, and after snapping back to reality, he pulled out his weapon, as he was carrying a gun.

The female officer in the passenger seat was less fortunate. She slumped forward in her seat, her head drooping, and there was a trace of blood on her forehead—a likely result of knocking her head and passing out during the crash.

"Kagura!"

Inspector Yamazaki turned around to check on their condition when his expression suddenly changed, and he shouted to Kagura Hikaru.

Kagura Hikaru turned his head just in time to see a metal baseball bat thrust through the shattered window from outside.

He ducked just in time but was still hit on the scalp, the pain making him feel as if his hair had been scraped off.

He opened the door and kicked with all his might, sending the already flimsy door flying out and striking the attacker, knocking him back a few steps.

Immediately after, he unfastened his seatbelt, got out of the car, and rapidly assessed his surroundings in half a second.

The rear half of their sedan was severely damaged. The van that had hit them had stopped not far behind, and the armed, masked men heading their way likely had emerged from that van, wielding baseball bats, crowbars, and police batons, and they approached aggressively.

He didn't even have to think about it, these must be members of the Happiness Cult.

Backed into a corner, they resorted to violence to achieve their goals. What a hassle.

Aside from the people Kagura Hikaru was facing off against, there were others attacking the vehicle, targeting Komori Ai in the back seat.

Inspector Yamazaki was dealing with them, firing his gun as a warning.

Innocent bystanders around the road screamed.

This wasn't America; gunshots in a busy district meant something serious had occurred.

Kagura Hikaru only glanced back briefly, as he didn't have the time to look any longer—the attackers in front were already making their move.

The latter pushed the wrecked door that had hit him aside and pulled a familiar-looking gun-like weapon from his waist, aiming it at Kagura Hikaru and pulling the trigger.

He immediately recognized it as a Taser gun, a tool he had used to bring down many members of the Happiness Cult. Now, it seemed like payback had come.

Kagura Hikaru's reactions were lightning-fast. He dodged to the side right before his assailant could fully squeeze the trigger, narrowly missing the electric wires shot from the Taser gun.

Before he could deal with one enemy, another rushed at him, wielding a crowbar and aiming a powerful chop at him.

This man seemed to have a background in Sword Dao; his slash was decently skilled.

But Kagura Hikaru responded faster, twisting his body and whipping out a kick that hit the man's wrist before the crowbar could fall, sending it flying. He then lunged forward, punching the man in the face and swiftly moved behind him.

The other attacker had already turned the Taser gun towards him, firing another shot, but Kagura Hikaru dodged, causing him to accidentally strike his comrade, who had just taken a punch, taking down the Happiness Cult follower.

As the unfortunate man fell, Kagura Hikaru stood up from behind him, lifting the Taser gun he had just taken.

While he was behind his foes, Kagura Hikaru had snatched this Taser gun from the person incapacitated by friendly fire. Was this the standard issue for the Happiness Cult followers?

Without a moment's hesitation, he pulled the trigger, taking down the second enemy.

Only now did he have time to look around at the rest of the scene.

The attackers who had run down from the van were now being subdued one by one by the responding police officers.

The plainclothes policemen, guns in hand, competently ordered the thugs to drop their weapons and lie down.

But those daring enough to assault police officers were undoubtedly fanatics, hardly inclined to heed the police's commands.

Inspector Yamazaki had also gotten out of the car by then, protecting Ayakoji Chiyoko and Komori Ai who were still inside the vehicle.

It seemed to be a total standoff.

However, with the increasing number of police cars arriving, those people would eventually surrender, wouldn't they?

Just as Kagura Hikaru was thinking this, several more vans charged into the perimeter, crashing directly into police cars and even knocking down a few officers.

Kagura Hikaru saw the figure of Master Tanaka from the approaching vans.

He jumped out of the van, shouting to his subordinates about "reclaiming the Shrine Maiden!" and led the charge towards them.

It just never ended.