Outside Grizzly Village—
Smoke still drifted through the broken eastern wall.
Fire flickered across shattered carts and damaged barricades.
The battlefield slowly paused—
Not from peace.
But tension.
Kaito carefully lowered Ling and Jori onto the ground.
Both unconscious.
Burn marks covered parts of their clothes from the explosion.
Kaito's eyes stayed fixed forward.
On the masked man.
Silent.
Still.
Standing beside Horun without a word.
Takeru landed beside Kaito alongside several wolfbeasts.
The wolfbeasts immediately lowered into battle stances, growling cautiously.
Takeru narrowed his eyes at the masked figure.
"…An invoker?"
Kaito slowly shook his head.
"…No."
His expression hardened slightly.
"…He's different."
The masked man looked toward them quietly.
No emotion.
No reaction.
Just the cold lenses of the gas mask staring back.
Then—
Horun suddenly stepped in front of him, resting the massive sword over his shoulder again.
"Heh…"
A grin spread across his face.
"…What are you going to do now?"
The tension rose instantly.
The guards behind Rick tightened formation.
The invokers reignited flames around their hands.
Kaito slowly reached for another knife.
Then—
BWOOOOOO!!
A loud trumpet echoed from the western side of the village.
Everyone turned immediately.
Dust rose beyond the roads.
Then—
Rows of armored soldiers appeared.
Marching in formation.
Spears raised.
Flags waving.
The army of Hiraki Village.
At the front—
Gein rode forward on horseback with a stern expression.
"Move!"
His voice thundered across the battlefield.
"Secure the village!"
The Hiraki soldiers charged into position immediately.
Horun clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"…Tch."
He looked toward the arriving army.
Then toward Kaito.
"…Another time."
He raised his hand slightly.
"Fall back."
The gangsters immediately responded.
BWOOO!!
A horn echoed from their side.
The remaining Gold Gang members quickly began retreating from the village.
Some carried injured allies.
Others covered the escape.
Rick stepped forward angrily.
"Don't let them escape!"
But Kaito suddenly raised his hand slightly.
"…No."
Rick looked at him.
Kaito's eyes remained on the masked man as the enemy forces disappeared into the darkness.
"…Not tonight."
Saito rushed toward Kaito immediately.
Dust crunched beneath his boots as he stopped beside him.
His eyes quickly moved to Ling and Jori lying unconscious on the ground.
"…Are they okay?"
Kaito glanced down briefly.
"…Yeah."
His voice stayed calm.
"My subordinates aren't that weak."
Even so—
His grip tightened slightly around one of his knives.
His eyes still lingered toward the dark forest where Horun and the masked man disappeared.
Nearby—
Rick raised his voice loudly across the battlefield.
"All medics!"
"Treat the injured!"
"Bring them to the nearby hospital!"
The remaining guards immediately moved into action.
"Yes, Mayor Rick!"
Villagers rushed out carefully from hiding.
Some carried medical supplies.
Others helped lift wounded guards and wolfbeasts from the ground.
Several invokers extinguished the remaining fires around the broken wall.
A wounded wolfbeast groaned quietly while another supported him over their shoulder.
"Easy…"
"We got you."
Not far away—
Takeru crouched beside one of his injured soldiers.
The wolfbeast's arm was covered in blood.
Takeru tore part of his sleeve and tightened it around the wound firmly.
"…You did well."
The wolfbeast winced slightly.
"…Sorry… Lord Takeru…"
Takeru shook his head immediately.
"Don't apologize."
His ears twitched slightly as more sounds of pain echoed around the battlefield.
Broken carts.
Collapsed barricades.
Smoke drifting through the cold night air.
Gein finally approached from the western road with several soldiers following behind him.
His eyes scanned the damaged village.
"…Looks worse than I expected."
Rick let out a tired breath beside him.
"…But we survived."
Gein stayed quiet for a moment.
Then looked toward Saito.
"…You reacted faster than I thought."
Saito glanced at him briefly.
"…People were in danger."
"That's enough reason."
Gein crossed his arms.
For once—
He didn't argue.
Deep inside the forest—
Far from Grizzly Village—
A large tent stood hidden between the trees.
Torches burned around it.
Gold Gang members guarded the area heavily, weapons ready as wounded men returned from the failed attack.
Inside the tent—
The atmosphere felt heavy.
Dangerous.
Horun stepped through the entrance slowly.
His massive sword rested against his shoulder, stained with dirt and blood.
At the center of the tent—
A large man sat in a heavy chair.
Gold armor covered his body.
A massive hammer rested beside him.
The same man who had once marched prisoners through the forest.
His sharp eyes lifted toward Horun.
"…Where are my valuables?"
Horun lowered himself slightly.
"…Sorry, boss."
"We got stopped by a gangster."
The man's expression immediately twisted with annoyance.
"…You failed?"
He clicked his tongue loudly.
"Tch…"
His fingers tapped against the hammer slowly.
"…Who was the one that stopped you?"
Horun raised his head slightly.
"…An army from villages under a gangster."
"And also…"
"Three assassins."
"…And wolfbeasts."
The man stared at him silently for a moment.
Then scoffed.
"…That's it?"
"And you failed because of that?"
Horun's jaw tightened slightly.
"…There were too many."
Inside the meeting room at Lorum Mansion—
The atmosphere was tense.
The large table was covered with maps, reports, and casualty lists gathered from the attack.
Candles flickered softly against the dark walls.
Saito sat at the head of the table quietly.
Kaito leaned against the sofa nearby with his arms crossed.
Takeru stood beside the window, ears twitching slightly from irritation.
Around the table—
The mayors sat in heavy silence.
Rick looked exhausted.
John's usual cheerful expression was gone.
Even Fein stayed unusually quiet.
Saito finally broke the silence.
"…Thank goodness we reacted fast."
His eyes shifted toward Kaito.
"…Thanks to you."
Kaito gave a small nod.
"…I only got information earlier than expected."
Takashi adjusted several papers in front of him.
"…Even so…"
His expression darkened slightly.
"…The number of injured guards keeps increasing."
The room fell quiet again.
Several names were written across the casualty reports.
Guards.
Invokers.
Wolfbeasts.
People wounded protecting their villages.
Gein suddenly leaned forward slightly.
"We cannot keep hoping strength alone will protect our people."
His tone was serious now.
No arrogance.
No mocking.
"…We need another strategy."
Rick looked toward Saito from across the table.
"…Do you have another strategy, Sir Saito?"
The room became quiet again.
Everyone's eyes slowly shifted toward him.
Waiting.
Saito stayed silent.
His gaze lowered toward the table.
Toward the reports.
The names.
The damage.
The injuries.
Just a while ago, he had been wandering villages freely with Kaito, joking around, avoiding paperwork, talking about becoming the King of Gangsters like it was some distant dream.
But now—
Entire villages depended on him.
People waited for his decisions.
His orders.
Their safety rested on his shoulders.
For a brief moment—
Saito felt the weight of it all pressing down harder than any battle.
The freedom he once had…
felt farther away now.
But when he thought about the people under his territory—
The villagers.
The wolfbeasts.
Tina.
Pyvi.
Takashi.
Takeru.
Everyone who trusted him—
He couldn't just turn away.
Then—
Fein suddenly spoke.
"…With or without strategy…"
Everyone looked toward the old mayor.
Fein rested both hands on his cane calmly.
"…We still have each other."
The room stayed silent.
Even Gein looked slightly surprised.
Fein continued quietly,
"Now the only thing that matters…"
His sharp eyes settled directly on Saito.
"…is your decision."
A short pause.
"Will we surrender?"
"…Or fight?"
Saito slowly lifted his head.
Their eyes met.
Then—
A small smile formed on Saito's face.
"…You're right."