A few minutes before the bomb blasts, Eugene and Jade were on their way to the merchant headquarters after securing lodgings for the night at the local tavern, when Eugene stopped in front of a small stall that was selling accessories.

"Are you going to buy that?" Jade asked, seeing Eugene pick up a pack of hair ties from a tray.

"Hmm?"

Right now, Eugene was in a dilemma as to what design to select between a fox and a rabbit.

"Ann keeps losing them and Noah said he wanted one too, cause she took his" explained Eugene, weighting between the two animal designs.

"I can't handle hearing them bicker back and forth. This has to end"

While the fluffy rabbit hair tie was pleasing to the eye, it didn't suit Ann's temperament and fox-shaped ones seemed cliche.

'Why is it so hard to choose a single hair tie?' Eugene's ears perked up as he seriously debated between the two animals.

"Just pick one" Jade complained, massaging his throbbing head.

For about thirty minutes, Eugene had been stuck in the same position over the purchase of a small trinket. They were getting funny looks from the people that passed by the shop.

In an effort to relieve his boredom, Jade ran his eyes through the rest of the merchandise. Among the distinct accessories on sale, the one that caught his eye was the silver necklace showcased on the top shelf.

It had a peculiar design with a pendant the shape of a leaf enclosing a blue pearl. Suddenly, the picture of a beautiful woman crossed his mind.

'Wouldn't this suit her?' Jade's expression softened, imagining Melina wearing the necklace.

The necklace added to her elegant charm and soothing aura so much it seemed that it was made for her.

Realizing what he had just done, Jade shook his head to rid of the thoughts.

'What am I thinking?!'

In fact, Jade was embarrassed that he had thought of Melina in such a light when the village Chief had been taking care of them since they were kids.

Aside from Eugene, the rest of the Nero mercenaries were comprised of orphans who had lost their parents due to various reasons. It was the village Chief that gathered them together and brought them to the village.

Even Ann, who had joined them a few years back, had a complicated past that she was unwilling to disclose, was welcomed into the community.

Though he was a strict old man when it came to rules, they were eternally grateful to the Chief for giving them a place to call home.

The longer Jade stayed at the stall, the more he was reminded of Melina. To stop his delusions from spiraling further he urged Eugene to select one soon so that they could return.

"Hurry up!"

Eugene ignored Jade and concentrated on the matter at hand.

After contemplating for a while, a thought popped up in his mind.

"!"

He swiftly placed the pack of rabbit hair ties back on the tray and paid for the fox ones.

"I'll take this"

The reason for this decision was simple. If he were to give her the rabbit-shaped hair ties he chose first, Ann would use that as an excuse and pull him into a snuggle session.

Having learned from his past mistakes, Eugene knew what he had to do in order to stay away from Ann's radar. Although her intentions were pure, the way she expressed it ended with him being put on the pedestal.

'Nope. Not doing the same mistake again' Eugene clenched his fists.

"Thank you!" The shopkeeper beamed with a satisfied business smile.

The cute rabbit beastmen had been staring at the items in her stall for so long that they looked adorable. Not to mention, having the handsome leopard beastmen along with him was attracting a lot of favorable attention to her stall.

"Would you like to buy something else? I'll give you a special discount" She offered, hoping to boost her business with their presence.

"So are you going to buy that?"

It was Eugene's turn to ask. It was hard not to notice Jade's focus fixed on the necklace.

"Buy what?" Jade averted his eyes, dodging his question.

Jade wanted to keep his feelings a secret for as long as possible until he could prove himself worthy to ask for Melina's hand. If he were to accidentally spill anything and Eugene found out, it would be a disaster.

Because if Eugene knew, it would only be a matter of seconds before Ann figured it out. And if Ann knew, by default the twins would know. And if the twins knew, it meant the world does too.

The wretched cycle of information exchange would spread it faster than wildfire.

Jade wouldn't be able to bear to see the Chief look at him with disappointment in his eyes. And Melina... his first and last love would go unfulfilled.

"The necklace you've been trying so hard to not notice" Eugene rolled his eyes.

He gestured to the shopkeeper and pointed at the necklace, who in turn presented it to him with a big smile.

"I... Why would I buy anything?"

Jade denied his claim and turned his face away. There was a light blush on the corner of his cheeks that was barely visible.

'Unbelievable'

Eugene raised his eyebrows and stared at his colleague.

The usually composed Jade turns into a mess when it comes to his love life.

"He'll pay for this" He said to the shopkeeper and pushed the necklace onto Jade's hands before walking away.

"Your welcome"

"Haaah" Jade sighed putting a hand on his head,

"Is it that obvious?"

Jade paid for the necklace, put it in his pocket, and went after Eugene.

For some reason, the number of people in the night market was increasing as time went by. The streets were so crowded that it would be easy to lose track of someone.

"Did you see the crest of the Knights assembled in the gates? Seems like there is going to be a parade"

"Yeah. It's gonna be a big night today"

From what he could hear from the people passing by, there seemed to be a parade arranged for the night.

'Parade?'

It would be better if they regroup before the parade started since the Nero mercenaries were set to start early the next day on their return trip back to Velven.

Using his long ears to not lose track of him, Jade followed after Eugene. By the time, he caught up to him they were already at the merchant headquarters.

"Hold up, Eugene" Jade stopped him from entering the headquarters.

The matter was of utmost urgency. It was well known in the village that Melina was no short of suitors. If he were to win her heart, it must be with sincere intentions. Melina should find about it directly from him instead of hearing over village gossip.

Without beating around the bush Jade ushered Eugene away and asked directly,

"How long have you known?"

'Do the others know about it too?'

Jade didn't need to voice the words for Eugene to understand. The exasperated look on Eugene's face was enough to make his worst fears true.

"Jade, everybody knows. I'm surprised you didn't"

As the person who is going to live her life with Jade, Eugene felt pity for Melina.

Everybody, other than the person in question was aware of who the recipient of Melina's love was.

The constant cat and mouse game they have been having for years was getting tiresome for the people of the village.

"Just confess, Jade. The longer you drag this on, the more frustrating it is. For us"

"I don't know... I can barely hold a conversation when she's around" Jade hesitated a bit and continued,

"I'm afraid to confess and ruin the relationship we have. But at the same time, I don't want to lose her"

Although Eugene had zero experience when it came to romance, he knew how to console his friend who was having a tough time. Also because in Jade's case, he already knew the end result.

"You won't know unless you ask her, Jade. Just tell her and see what happens. You might find yourself surprised"

"Yeah... I should"

Jade decided to confess his feelings regardless of the outcome, once they reach home. He realized that there was no right moment.

Time doesn't wait for anyone. One has to seize it when given the opportunity.

Eugene was right. The truth is bound to come out one way or another.

He wouldn't be able to know what Melina thought of him unless he asked.

"Besides..." Jade admitted with a chuckle.

"The number of people around Melina significantly reduced since Ann came along and scared the crap out of the travelers. I guess that's the only reason I'm thankful to her"

"But don't tell her I said that" He quickly added.

It was a good thing that the trio foxes had gone to explore the city instead of staying back. If Ann were to find out about what he said, she wouldn't rest until he heard the last of it.

*BOOM* *BOOM*

At that moment, explosions were heard from above.

Eugene and Jade watched as the headquarters engulfed in flames. People were screaming and running everywhere in a panic as the fire started to spread.

In an instant, smoke covered the area making it hard to see and breathe.

"Raeden!" Eugene exclaimed, snapping out of the shock.

"He's still inside the building"

Earlier Raeden had gone to the headquarters to receive the rest of the payment from the Orion merchants. He was accompanied by Chief Gallahan of the Tullus mercenaries to report the sudden ogre attacks on the way to the city.

But before they could react, another series of explosions went off.

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

This time Eugene and Jade were flung into the air, having stood too close to the explosions.

*thud*

The duo crashed onto a cart that was parked near the building, filled with hay to feed the horses.

Fortunately, it helped cushion their fall from the blast. But others in the vicinity were not as lucky them.

Through the smoke, Jade could see people scattered on the ground. Injured people were crawling through the debris to save themselves.

The headquarters had collapsed into itself leaving a deep hole. Screams were heard from inside the destroyed building asking for help.

Amidst the chaos, shadowy figures moved out of the building carrying something along the way.

"Eugene! You alright?"

Jade pulled Eugene out and checked on his condition. The fall had triggered their transformation into their beast forms.

Blood was dripping from his forehead, having been hit with a small shard of glass.

"I'm fine....sssh!" Eugene winced, reflexively touching the wound on his head.

"Did the building just burst?" He asked in a hazy state.

"It did. Now get up"

In the distance, they could see the guards from the local tower rush the people to safety while trying to control the fire.

"Jade, Look" Eugene tapped on Jade's shoulder and pointed at the sky.

*boom*

A ball of fire launched into the sky like fireworks and morphed into a red snake above the city square.

"What is that?"

In the darkness, shadowy figures were running towards the snake symbol in unison as if it was a beacon for a summon.

"Leave that for later" Jade jumped down the cart and ran towards the collapsed building.

"We need to find Raeden"

Shuffling through the debris, Eugene and Jade frantically searched for their missing colleague. But no matter how long they searched, there was no sign of Raeden or Chief Gallahan.

"Any sign of them?" Jade carried the injured man in his arms and passed him to the guards before moving on to the next one.

"No. Not yet"

With that, the second floor was completely evacuated. The smoke was making it harder to track Raeden's scent.

Had Jade not stopped them from entering the headquarters at the last moment, they too would have been in the same state.

Just as they were about to leave the hall, Eugene sensed the smell of blood from the collapsed portion of the wall. Blood was dripping through the corners from the floor above.

Recognizing the scent they rushed through the broken debris, to reach the next level.

The fourth floor was where the important artifacts in the building were stored. Based on the trajectory of the explosion, it seemed to be the point of ignition. There was a large hole on the ceiling with the building caving to create a dent.

"It's coming from there"

Eugene pointed at the corner of the collapsed wall. On a closer look, the wall hadn't completely collapsed as if someone was holding it from below.

Raeden in his beast form was supporting a collapsed wall with his back forming a pyramid-like structure, safeguarding them from the debris.

Underneath the wall was a familiar voice calling out to them.

"Over here"

Chief Gallahan and two other people from the merchantry were stuck in the gap, all covered in dust.

They were in the middle of a heated discussion when a dozen of snake-masked men entered and started attacking. If it weren't for Raeden acting quick, he wasn't sure if they could have survived.

Helping them out of the way, Jade and Eugene removed the cluster of debris fallen on the wall allowing Raeden to push it to the other side.

*THUD*

The floor where they were standing moments ago, crumbled with the fall of the wall. The core structure of the building was damaged to the extent that it might topple any second.

"We have to leave now. The structure won't hold on for long" said Raeden walking out of the smoke.

Just as they evacuated the building, it crumbled into the ground leaving nothing but dust.

"Raeden your arm!" Jade exclaimed, noticing the bloodstains on his arm.

"I'm fine" Raeden brushed it aside.

An iron bar had grazed his arm when he held the wall together. Rather, he was more worried about the members of the Nero mercenaries that were not present.

"Where are the others?"

"They went..."

Right as Eugene was about to answer, his attention was caught by the army of Knights marching towards the city square. The Knights were fully armored as if they were going to war.

"Isn't that?"

And leading the army was someone they were familiar with for the past few weeks. Although his appearance was significantly different, Eugene was able to instantly recognize him.

"Kalan?"

"Are you sure?" Jade intercepted.

The man in the formal military wear was not the leader of the Orion merchants he knew of.

Then he remembered the shadowy figures that emerged from the fire. Since the Knights were progressing towards the city square, it meant that there was a larger threat present that was yet to act.

"I never forget a face. That's definitely him!"

Eugene defended. With everything that has happened to them, it wasn't a far-fetched guess.

'Why is he dressed like that?'

"Raeden, where are you going?" Eugene called out, watching him head in the same direction as the Knights.

"Let's go! We need to get there before they do"

Eugene and Jade looked at each other once before following after Raeden, not knowing that the 'threat' the army was about to subdue was one of them.









At the same time on the city square, Ann's face twisted in doubt unable to comprehend the sight before her eyes.

She dropped the mask clutched in her hand on recognizing the identity of the person beneath it.

"Priest Handsome!?"