There was no body. No note, no statement, no witnesses. As if she had never existed in the first place, only the Queen had fallen out of the world.

The executives, upon learning of the Queen's absence, reached a single conclusion after a long silence.

The Queen is alive and well.

At least, that was how it had to be. If her disappearance were made public, the order of the organization would collapse instantly. For Hive, which existed centered around the absolute presence of the Queen, her absence was not merely the loss of a ruler. It meant the pillar supporting the organization itself had been silently pulled out. Their enemies would surely not miss that opening.

A misty rain was falling. Two men are walking down a back alley, one block away from the main street.