The smoke from the battle still lingered in the air as they moved away from the site of destruction. Not far ahead, a simple but well-kept house came into view.
"There, I can see our house," Bia said, relief clear in her voice. "Come on, hopefully Mom's already there."
"If she's not, I'll go look for her," Gustavo replied, his protective tone overriding his exhaustion. "She must've heard the explosion or the screams."
Zeki followed behind, feeling like an outsider. His first instinct was to say goodbye and disappear, but something stopped him. It would be rude. So he stayed quiet, just observing.
When they arrived, Bia ran to the door, opening it and calling for her mother. A woman—Bianca—rushed out, pulling her daughter into a tight, desperate embrace.
"Bia, for God's sake, what did you do? Look at you!" she exclaimed, checking her from head to toe. "Don't tell me you were in the middle of that explosion!"
Gustavo walked in right after, and their mother's eyes locked onto him. "And you, Gustavo? What happened to your arm? What have you two been up to?"
"Relax, Mom. It's nothing. We can handle ourselves," he tried to reassure her.
"Nothing? Tell me right now what happened! How did you hurt your arm?"
Bia, noticing Zeki standing awkwardly at the doorway, tried to shift the focus. "Mom, save the lecture for later, okay? Uh… come here, Zeki. This is my mom. Zeki, come in, introduce yourself."
"Hi," Zeki said, clearly uncomfortable.
Bianca's eyes fixed on him, searching for answers. "Who is he, Bia? Was he the one who did this to you?"
"Mom, stop! If he had done anything to us, do you really think I'd let him walk in here?"
Feeling the tension his presence caused, Zeki took a step back, ready to apologize and leave.
Bia grabbed her mother's arm. "We fought a giant worm, and we're only alive because of him."
Bianca looked at her daughter, stunned. "So… that strange thing flying in the sky… that was because of you?"
"Yes, Mom. Actually, Zeki was the one who defeated it."
Her gaze shifted back to Zeki, who was already trying to slip away. "Boy, come back here."
Bia and Gustavo both looked at him as he approached hesitantly.
"I can't deny I saw that horrible thing in the sky," Bianca admitted, her tone calmer now. "My daughter must be telling the truth. Thank you."
Zeki simply looked at her. "You're welcome."
The gratitude didn't last long.
"Bia, Gustavo—what were you doing at the explosion?" Bianca snapped. "I clearly remember you saying you were going into the city!"
"Well, this idiot started fighting the worm, and I had to join in against my will, that's what happened!" Bia said quickly.
"You little brat, that's a lie! You were heading straight for the explosion too!" Gustavo shot back.
"I went because I thought it was our house!"
"I think you've got amnesia, because I clearly remember the worm attacking us first, and I was just defending myself!"
"But if you had backed off, I would've too! You're the older brother!"
"What kind of excuse is that? If it weren't for me, you could've died!"
"What do you mean Bia almost died?" Bianca asked, panic returning.
"Damn… now I'm dead," Bia muttered. "That's definitely three sandal hits coming."
"Excuse me," Zeki interrupted, his calm voice cutting through the argument.
All three turned to him.
"I already thanked you. If you want to leave, you can go," Bianca said.
Now I know where Gustavo gets his personality from… Zeki thought. "I'd like to talk about the worm—and the possibility that there are others."
"Explain it to her, Zeki!" Bia said quickly, seeing a chance to escape punishment.
"Alright, go ahead," Bianca said, curious.
"Before we came here," Zeki began seriously, "I wanted to check the hole the worm came from, but I felt like the three of us were being watched."
"I didn't feel anything. Sounds like you're making excuses," Gustavo muttered.
This guy just argues with everyone…
"Gustavo, quiet," Bianca snapped.
"Anyway… there's no way that worm could drill through metal while roaring like that. So another monster must've done it."
"But if that's the case, why wasn't there any other monster there?" Bia asked, confused. "You said you didn't sense anything else."
"Yes, but you know there are intelligent monsters. It could've been a trap—or maybe they were trying to attract someone's attention. I'm not sure." Zeki stood up. "I wanted to go back there, but it's probably surrounded by hunters by now. They won't let me through." He walked toward the door. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to register with the guild tomorrow. You should go too."
"Wait—you're not part of a guild?" Bia asked, surprised.
"I'm out," Gustavo said. "I'm not working for a bunch of snobs who don't have the guts to fight."
"I understand," Zeki replied. "But I hope you change your mind, Gustavo."
"Before you go, you should eat something. You must be hungry," Bianca offered.
"Thanks, but I should get going. My mom will be worried."
Zeki left and took off into the air, flying back home, deep in thought.
That feeling… those were monsters, no doubt. But different from the worm. And if they chose to stay hidden, they're intelligent. I need to check if my mom is okay.
He reached his apartment, went upstairs, and opened the door.
"Zeki, is that you?" his mother called from the kitchen.
"Yeah, Mom."
"Good. You took longer this time. Oh, and your father is on his way."
Alright… looks like she doesn't know anything.
Zeki dropped onto the couch and turned on the TV, flipping through channels until he landed on a report about the incident. That was fast. They could've shown up a bit earlier.
The reporter's voice filled the room, talking about the "bizarre creature," the lack of casualties, and the mystery behind its defeat. They credited the "hunters who intervened," praising their "unknown techniques" and "quick response that prevented greater damage."
Zeki listened with a blank expression.
The door opened, and his father walked in.
"Dad, did everything go well?"
"Yes, fortunately. But, dear, is dinner ready?"
After dinner, exhausted, Zeki went to bed. But sleep didn't come easily. The events of the day, the feeling of being watched, the strange dynamic of that family… everything kept spinning in his mind.
At dawn, he got up, determined.
"I better get ready so I won't be late for the guild registration."