The nearby fishermen stared nervously at the warehouse that had spent the last several minutes shaking with crashes, explosions, and inhuman screams.
Then, without warning, everything went silent.
The sudden absence of noise felt almost worse.
Even the gulls circling overhead had stopped crying.
The fishermen exchanged uneasy looks as the smell of dust and scorched wood drifted from the broken warehouse doors.
Meanwhile—
Inside the warehouse, every enemy force—including the stronger reinforcements—now lay as harmless bodies sprawled across the cold floor.
Dom surveyed the scene and smirked as he suppressed his mana. "So? How was that?" He asked.
Dae rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a quiet grunt. "Still felt it." He commented.
Dom frowned, tiny sparks of residual mana still dancing across his skin before fading away.
"Seriously? I thought I had it this time." He rubbed the back of his neck, still feeling the lingering pressure pressing faintly against his thoughts. "Making exceptions is harder than I thought."
"But you're still the first among us to use the Dominance spell," Dae replied, glancing at the defeated thugs, his mind drifting to a similar effect from Xavier's version during their fight months ago. "Even though we're all A-class now."
Lucy grinned, arms folded proudly over her chest. "As expected of my mate." She declared.
Dom flinched, earning a snicker from Dae.
Clearing his throat to hide his embarrassment, Dom turned away. "Let's round these guys up and report back." He said.
Lucy hummed as she got to work.
Dae, however, stopped to examine the strange energy gun lying on the ground. "So this is the illegal weapon," He muttered, studying its complex architecture and the bold mark N-L branded on its handle.
"Yeah," Dom said casually as he hoisted five unconscious men onto his back and carried them toward a pillar. "There are a dozen boxes filled with them in the back."
"They stole them, right?" Lucy asked, dragging two men by their ankles—their heads bounced and scraped across the concrete with every step. "What were they doing with them?"
"Considering the North-Land's advanced technology," Dae replied as he joined them, "… they likely planned to sell them at a high price-- or scrap them for valuable components."
Dom bound the captured men together with chains. "Too bad we can't keep them. They pack a punch." He commented, glancing at the still-steaming holes in the wall. "I bet that stings like hell."
Dae stopped beside the broken wall, watching bits of concrete crumble away. "The fact that you think a sting is the worst you'll get out of it just proves how much of a monster you are." He said.
"Says the guy who cuts bullets in half," Lucy chuckled, hauling another pair of bodies closer.
Dae smiled faintly. "Fair point."
"Hey—stop slacking," Dom called, rattling the chains in his hand. "There are more guys to tie up, and we have to do it before we hand them over to the police."
"Yes, Captain," Dae replied with a roll of his eyes.
Dom grinned, a warm, childish sense of victory spread through his chest at hearing the title.
"Aren't you tired of hearing us call you that yet?" Dae asked as he searched for more chains.
"Hey. That's a title I've been waiting for since I was seven," Dom said proudly. "I'll never get tired of it."
Lucy abruptly dropped a body and leaned against Dom's back. "And I'll never get tired of calling you that either… Captain." She added the word with a seductive smile.
Dom stiffened, his body locking up beneath her softness, while Dae smirked openly.
The next day—
Within the South-Land Royal Capital stood the Royal Magic Knights Headquarters.
Its gray stone walls towered above the surrounding streets like a fortress built to challenge a mountain.
Enchanted banners fluttered from the upper floors while knights moved in and out through the massive front gates.
Mission requests and assignments. Reward distribution. Official registration. It was the brain of the Knights.
On the ground-floor lobby, knights and civilian staff alike went about their daily routines. It was just another average Tuesday—until the front doors opened.
The moment the three mages stepped inside, the lobby froze.
Conversations faltered.
Pens stopped moving.
Even several veteran knights turned to stare.
"Hey… aren't they—"
"The Rebel Trio," A middle-aged knight muttered, jealousy clear in his eyes as the group passed. "They don't even look that strong."
"I heard they took down a Fire Salamander by themselves." A younger knight commented.
"Bullshit. That's a Magic Beast. There's no way." The first knight snapped.
"She's hot." Another commented.
As the glances and whispers continued, Lucy tilted her head. "Why do they always look at us like that?" She asked, glancing at a group of young male mages, all of whom flushed and quickly looked away.
Dom folded his arms proudly. "Because we're finally famous." His grin sharpened. "I can't wait to see the look on Pops' face."
Lucy frowned. "What's fa…mos?"
Dae raised a brow. "We discussed this during our sessions." He said, gesturing with his finger to get her attention. "It means you've become so important that people talk about you often."
"Yeah," Dom added.
"Like a certain loud muscle-brain," Dae said with a sly smirk.
Dom gave Dae a death glare while Lucy frowned, trying to process the new word.
"Um… Mr. Dae?"
They all froze as a group of five female knights approached. The girl at the front glanced at her friends before speaking for all of them.
"Um… we're from the 5th Division. So… um… we were wondering if…" Her voice grew quieter with every word until she was practically whispering and was unable to even meet Dae's eyes for more than a second. "We were wondering if you could teach us how to use a sword."
Dom smirked teasingly at Dae, noting the slight twitch of his brow.
"We don't use lightning magic like you, but if you could just—"
"I apologize, but I'm not interested," Dae said flatly, his tone cold and unyielding. Without waiting for a response, he simply walked away.
Dom clicked his tongue. That idiot, He thought, before smiling at the girls staring at Dae's retreating. "I'm sorry about my friend. He doesn't always—"
"He…" The girl began, cutting him off. Dom realized then that the girls weren't disappointed—they were thrilled. "He talked to me!" Her cheeks flushed deep red as the others squealed, as one grabbed her shoulders and began shaking her excitedly.
Dom blinked, stunned, then sighed. "Never mind," He muttered, walking away with Lucy trailing behind.
When they rejoined Dae, he noticed Dom glaring at him.
"What's with that look?" Dae asked.
"You know those girls weren't actually interested in sword lessons, right?" Dom said.
Dae rolled his eyes. "I'm not dense. I understood their intentions."
Dom's glare hardened, but he noticed Dae's suddenly annoyed expression.
"I don't know why they joined the Knights, but if they have time for something stupid like that, they'd be better off parading for attention instead of training," Dae said.
As harsh as it sounded, Dom felt a surge of pride at Dae's conviction.
They finally reached the reception desk.
A receptionist politely accepted the report files from Dae while Dom leaned against the stand, folding his arms.
"But…" Dom commented with a dismissive head shake. "This is why you'll never get a girlfriend. You need to let your walls down, man."
Lucy nodded, then suddenly froze. Her sensitive nose twitched as it caught a tempting scent…
"Having a girlfriend won't improve my sword skills or make me stronger," Dae replied, then smirked. "Besides, I'm not taking advice from a fellow virgin."
Dom's face flushed at the comment while he tried to track Lucy's movements, distracted by the sweet aroma in the air.
"It's not my fault," Dom grumbled, closing his eyes while his brows furrowed. "Between training with Pops, the Academy, and managing a sub-division, I haven't had time to actually find someone."
"You do have someone," Dae said, gesturing to Lucy, who now stood in front of another receptionist a few feet away.
The man gulped nervously as Lucy shamelessly panted; a thin strand of drool threatened to escape her lips as her hungry eyes locked on the half-eaten box of fresh hot donuts on his table.
Dom sighed. "You know what I mean."
"Yes, I do," Dae chuckled, turning to the receptionist, who pushed a document for him to sign. "But I thought you were too focused on becoming a Monarch to care about little things like that," He added, picking up the document.
"Of course I care about that stuff," Dom said proudly, raising his fist dramatically as if delivering an inspirational speech.
"I heard Ethan had a whole fan-girl club gushing over him all the time. As someone who wants to surpass him and a fellow man, I want… No. I need to have that too."
Dae rolled his eyes at the selfish, childish declaration.
Dom's smile faded as he looked down. "I always thought I'd have a bunch of fangirls after becoming a famous knight captain, but instead…" He glared at Dae again. "…they only care about the guy who doesn't even look at women. It's not fair."
Dae scoffed while signing the document. "I couldn't care less about unwanted attention. But…" He paused, eyes narrowed. "… that doesn't make me the only one attracting admirers."
"Yeah, right," Dom muttered sarcastically.
Dae subtly gestured at the receptionist in front of them. When Dom looked, he noticed how intensely she stared at him, lost in thought until she caught his gaze and blushed deeply.
"And you tried to call me dense," Dae remarked, smirking.
Dom's confusion deepened, then moved closer to whisper to Dae. "Then why has no one ever approached me like that before?"
Dae simply pointed over his shoulder.
Dom turned and saw two girls lingering nearby, eyes fixed on him. They shared a determined look and started toward him—only to stop as Lucy stepped in between, growling with a mouth half-full of dough.
She raised her hand, letting creamy white frosting slide down her sharp claws like blood.
The girls immediately retreated in fear.
Lucy smiled cockily, retracted her claws, grabbed another donut, and took a big bite.
"Lucy…" Dom grumbled.
She looked at him, curious.
"Have you been scaring off my fan-girls?" He asked.
Lucy nodded causally.
Dom's heart sank visibly. He stepped towards her, raising his hands dramatically. "Why?"
Lucy tried to speak, but her mouth was full, muffling her words.
"Swallow before you talk, please," Dae said, handing the signed document back.
Lucy swallowed, some cream still clinging to her face. "Those females have no right to approach. If they want to court you, they'd have to beat me, your mate in battle," She said, glancing at the girls at a safe distance. "But all the ones I challenged run away… like Taowards."
"You mean cowards," Dae chuckled.
Dom glared at Dae, then sighed and turned to Lucy. "But… Lucy, aren't you like… 17?" He asked.
"That's what Dae counted. So?" Lucy said, licking the cream of her lips before taking another bite.
"It's just that I'm almost 20 and it's… not exactly legally right for us to… you know…"
"Mate?" Dae interjected, smirking, prompting Dom to flip him off.
Lucy dropped the now-empty box.
"It doesn't matter," She said, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. "Not only did you challenge and beat me, but you also cared for me and sacrificed your body to protect me."
She touched her chest with a surprisingly gentle smile. For a brief moment, the wildness usually present in her eyes softened.
"To us, that's the same as a human proposal."
"No way," Dom said.
"No, she's right," Dae added, turning to them. "I got curious and did some research. It's actually a normal mana wolf custom."
Dom flinched at the thought, while Dae shrugged.
Lucy stepped closer to Dom, tail wagging and eyes loving. "We're bound for life. No matter our age." She added.
Dom fidgeted nervously as Dae smiled in amusement.
"Um… excuse me," A receptionist said, drawing their attention to a neatly packaged stack of cash on the counter. "5 million credits. As arranged."
Nearby knights flinched at the sound.
Five million credits.
Even among Magic Knights, that wasn't a sum people heard every day.
Missions were ranked much like mages themselves, but unlike a mage's rank, mission classifications measured the amount of force usually required to complete them. A C-class mission typically demanded an entire squad of B-class knights or at least one A-class mage.
A B-class mission required even greater firepower.
The higher the classification, the greater the reward. Most knights considered themselves fortunate to earn a few hundred thousand credits from lower-ranked assignments.
Which was why the lobby had gone so quiet.
The trio receiving millions meant they had just completed an A-class mission—an assignment normally entrusted to a large force of at least 7 A-Class mages or even an S-class mage.
Yet only three people had been sent.
And all three were standing right there.
"Thank you," Dae said, taking the money and handing it to Dom, who grinned.
"That's more than a mil each. I can finally get that new hoodie," Dom said, stuffing the cash into his bag.
"And I can buy more of that delicious round snack," Lucy said.
They shared a happy grin while Dae raised a brow.
"Or… we can use it to improve our living quarters," Dae suggested.
They frowned at him simultaneously.
"You do know you're both the reason we live there in the first place, right?" Dae asked.
"Don't act like it's not your fault too," Dom replied, and Lucy nodded.
Dae sighed. "Sometimes I wish I had stopped you back then." He muttered, shaking his head.
Dom threw his arm over Dae's shoulder with a smirk. "Come on, Dae. Your captain's birthday is next month. Let's relax and put some money into a gift for me."
Dae shrugged him off while Lucy gleamed.
"Ooh, can we eat that sweet bread stuff?" She asked.
"Cake?" Dom asked.
She nodded enthusiastically.
Dom grinned widely. "It's a party. We can eat all the cake we want." He declared.
Lucy squealed and hugged Dom, pressing her body tightly. He looked to Dae for help, but he was already walking away.
As they followed him, the receptionist stared at them, then laughed to herself.
"What's funny?" Her colleague asked.
"It's nothing… I just almost forgot…" She trailed off, wiping her eyes as she watched them bicker in the distance. "…they're still kids."
Watching them from a distance, it was easy to forget the titles, achievements, and rumors surrounding them.
They looked like ordinary teenagers arguing over food and birthdays.
"True… but…" The colleague said as he reached over to pick up the mission documents in front of her, his eyes scanning the sheer number of captured thugs and destruction made by just three people. "They're still monsters."
The receptionist's smile faded at the thought while a certain man nodded solemnly, his saddened gaze fixed on his now empty donut box left unceremoniously on the floor.