Eclipse and Chael walked through the gloomy streets. Despite having an entire fifteen-hour sleep, Eclipse was drowsy. There was a large bump on Eclipse’s head. Looking at that, Chael laughed, “Does your head still hurt?”

  Eclipse gritted his teeth, “Shut the fuck up.”

  After he had woken up, Eclipse was so drowsy that when he tried to climb down the window, he accidentally missed a step halfway and fell, knocking his head on the brick wall.

  As he walked through one of the streets, something caught his eye. Sold in large bags were sand. Astonished, he asked, “What’re they for?”

  “Oh, sandbags. They’re just there for absorbing water when-"

  “Please, can you move your feet from my coins?” A woman’s voice rang into the duo’s ears. Following the direction of the voice, they saw three men taunting an old woman. One was a bald, hairy man. Another one had long hair, and the third one had a little goatee attached to his moustache.

  The frontmost one, the bald, hairy man, was obviously stepping on something that belonged to the woman.

  “I don’t see any coins.” Baldy sneered.

  “You think this hag is seeing things?” Scar-face laughed.

  “Please give me my coins back. That’s all the Krecos I earned this month.” The old woman asked once again.

  Goatee’s face grew solemn. With a beer bottle in hand, he got up and then pushed the old woman to the floor. Baldy moved his feet and then picked up a couple of the coins. He put a cigarette in his mouth and then proceeded to count the coins. “Hmm… seven Krecos, not too shabby."

  Laughing, the three men then walked away, while the old lady sobbed on the floor. Looking at her, Chael walked up and offered a hand, “You all right, granny?”

  The old woman stopped crying and took his hand to get up.

  “I’m fine. Thank you, young man.” Saying that, she turned and left, a gloomy shadow over her face.

  Eclipse stared hard at Chael’s darkened expression. He didn't say anything. His mouth opened, and he muttered, "Judgment."

  Eclipse raised an eyebrow, "Hm?"

  Chael lifted the coin slightly, letting the dim light glide across its surface. Eclipse only now noticed that this coin wasn’t a typical Krecos coin. It was a little larger and heavier. The head’s side bore the face of an oni, its mask a deep green, its eyes a vivid red that seemed to glow. Twin gold horns curved from its brow, and its long fangs were also cast in gold. Dried streaks of crimson surrounded the mask’s edges.

  The other side revealed an oak tree. The leaves were green, and the wood was gold. A red river ran next to the tree.

  Chael tossed, flicked his thumb, and the coin flew into the air and flipped numerous times in the span of a single instant. Chael caught it in mid-air with one hand, then slapped it down on the back of his other hand.

  Looking at the result, a smile arced across his face, "Tails mean we get Granny her coins back."

  Eclipse looked at Chael with brief confusion, then he sighed, “Fine.”

  It’s not like he had anything better to do.

  “Do you have a plan?” Chael smiled.

  Eclipse yawned, “Ahhhh, yeah, I guess...”

  He then got to his knees and drew away on the earth with a stone, talking to Chael.

  The three sat at the entrance of an inn. Baldy, finally having finished a cigarette, reached for his pack to get another but to his dismay, it was finished. “Ah damn. That was my last cig. Damn, the pack's already finished."

  “Haa, ya crazy bastard. Y'all die of black lungs one'a these days.” Goatee sad, burping.

  “Hmph- and you can put away that damn liquor bottle. That’s your fourth one today. You’ll get drunk out of your ass then die in a damn ditch!”

  “The fuck ya say to me, bastard!” Goatee roared.

  “Bring it on, bitch!” Baldy stood up.

  “Hey, hey. Calm the hell down, both of you.” Scarface grumbled.

  They glared at each other and then sat back down. “Damn, that just fucked my mood.”

  Scar-face got up, hands in pockets, “Ya boys heard’a the destruction a couple of days ago?”

  Baldy looked thoughtful, “Yeah, some village got completely caved in with no trace of the village and the villagers. Everythin’ vanished like smoke, I tell ya!"

  “They say it ‘appened after some of those Dracoferus Tribe bastards came in.”

  “Dracoferus, huh?” Scar-face gritted his teeth, “That fuckin’ name sends shivers down my back."

  At this moment, a young boy of around eleven came out of nowhere and stood right before them. His black hair cascaded in the wind, and sea-green eyes sparkled with mischief. He then pointed at Baldy, “Hey, what are Baldilocks and his Bridesmaids doing here?”

  Baldy shot up, completely infuriated, “You son of a-“

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  Scar-face put his arm over to stop. He then walked over to Chael, who still had a stupid smile on his face.

  “Who the hell do you think you are, you little bastard?”

  Chael smirked, “Ahaha, excuse me, sir. But me? Little? Not as little as the thing between your legs.”

  As soon as he said this, the two behind him let out muffled waves of laughter, and Chael broke into a sprint. Scar-face’s face turned completely pink as he roared, “After that bastard."

  The two regained their composure and followed Scar-face, who was hot in pursuit of Chael. He was like a blur, completely zooming across the streets, through gaps in stalls, climbing up walls, but Scar-face wasn’t slow either. He was right on Chael’s tail.

  Chael gritted his teeth, ’Shit. They’re faster than I expected.”

  Further down, he saw a middle-aged man walking his way, eating a banana. Chael’s eyes sparkled, and when he was close enough, he snatched the banana off the man.

  “Gaaah! What the-“

  “Sorry!”

  He threw the banana behind him. However, to his dismay, Scar-face avoided it, and instead, Baldy tripped, slid over it, and crashed face-first into the earth.

  ’Tch, he’s pretty fast…'

  Suddenly, a protrusion in the ground caused him to trip over. He stopped himself before falling, but when he got back to sprinting, he felt Scar-face merely inches away from him.

  Scar-face grabbed towards Chael, but at the last second, he dipped into an alleyway. Scar-face stumbled forward but rushed into the alleyway after Chael.

  “Close, but no cigar.” Chael smiled.

  The other two finally appeared behind Scar-face with a twisted grin. When they looked into the alleyway, they too smiled. This alleyway was a dead end, and even the walls were too tall to jump over. This was as far as he could go.

  Chael clutched his knees, panting as the three closed in on him.

  “You’ve got nowhere to hide, kid.” They said.

  “I guess you’re right…” Chael lifted his face, a smile tugging across his lips, “But who said I was trying to hide?"

  Scarface raised his eyebrows, and just as he was about to answer, a huge pile of sand came down and washed over him and his lackeys. They staggered back, screeching. Sand had even gotten into their eyes, and to make matters worse, a large sand cloud had obstructed their vision. They heightened their senses to look around frantically.

  Suddenly, from the corner of their eyes, they noticed the flicker of a shadow. Their eyes widened as they immediately tried to pursue that movement, but unfortunately for them, they crashed face-first into the wall. A wooden plank clattered next to them, attached to a piece of clothing. This made them howl in rage and humiliation.

  They had been tricked by a little kid.

  As they finally groaned and got up, two figures loomed over them, both with sticks over their shoulders. Seeing this, their eyes teared in anticipation as both of them whacked down simultaneously.

  After they had completely passed out with seemingly large bumps on their head, Eclipse knelt and frisked their pockets. Hearing the rattling of coins, his eyes lit up. Chael also got down and helped him scavenge their pockets.

  “A whole 20 Krecos?!” Chael exclaimed and laughed hysterically.

  “These are obviously stolen,” Eclipse said and got up.

  “Those who steal should get ready to be stolen from,” Chael stated with a smug grin.

  “You can stop with these cringy quotes. And you stole a bunch of fruits just yesterday,” said Eclipse.

  Chael simply chuckled in response.

  Having looted the thugs, Chael and Eclipse went their own way. They returned the seven Krecos to the old woman, who was happy beyond belief and even invited them in for tea. They had kept the other thirteen to themselves, unaware that what they had done was as bad as the thugs.

  At this moment, a sole figure stood atop a building, looking intently at the boys below. Under her brown cape, her black hair fluttered in the breeze, and her lips arced with amusement.

  "Ahahaha! We're rich!" Chael sang happily as he juggled the bag of coins in his hand.

  "I get it, shut up already!" Eclipse gnashed, irritated.

  "How can you stay so calm?" Chael grinned, "This would last us days, and even weeks!"

  As he observed Chael’s reaction, a foreign emotion slowly hammered away in his mind. Eclipse simply sighed, then a question came to mind. “What would you have done if the coin landed on heads?”

  Eclipse referred back to when Chael tossed his coin before they initiated this plan.

  Chael looked surprised at first, then an incredibly conceited grin arced across his face, “Ahaha, kill them motherfuckers, of course!”

  Eclipse looked at him in a daze. He then shrugged it off and walked ahead, “Thought so.”

  The two walked past a certain alleyway where two men emerged. One was of above-average height. He was topless with countless battle scars all over his pale, sickly-looking body. He has shoulder-length, wavy, dark green hair. The second person, however, was much taller than the first one - almost by a whole foot. His red hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he wore a fur cloak that revealed much of his large and muscular torso. Countless fangs hung off the necklace he wore, and his laser-sharp black pupils were focused to the extent it seemed as though he was glaring.

  “Please, kind sir. A Krecos or two will do.” A beggar whom they happened to walk past pleaded without even taking his eyes up, but when he did, he subconsciously shrank back in fear.

  The two stopped in their tracks to look at the beggar. The beggar trembled under their gaze before he retracted his bowl. “Or not. Please forgive this old man-”

  Eclipse and Chael also stopped in their tracks to see how this interaction would unfold. Seeing these two imposing men, Eclipse concealed a fit of rage deep within himself. He was unsure why he felt like this. Chael, too, felt a deep sense of unease. His usual nonchalant look was replaced with a rare seriousness.

  The smaller man with the wavy dark green hair swiped his arm across the beggar, and a few coins clattered inside the beggar’s bowl, with a few spilling out, which the beggar grovelled to pick up. “Thank you, kind sir. I’ll never forget your goodwill.”

  “Don’t mention it. Buy your kids something nice.” He said, with a dark smile, his rotting, yellow teeth as clear as day. Though these words showed no ill intent, a cold wave of premonition washed over the beggar. He swallowed hard before bowing deeply and scurrying away.

  They walked past the duo, seemingly indifferent to their existence.

  Chael’s eyes widened when he noticed a dragon-shaped pattern etched into the skin of the smaller man’s back.

  “That’s… the Dracoferus Tribe’s crest,” Chael muttered thoughtlessly.

  Eclipse’s eyes widened, and he bit his tongue to control himself at the mere mention of that name.

  Chael immediately took his eyes back to the beggar, and he suddenly felt a cold shiver wash down his spine.

  Something was terribly wrong!

  Suddenly, the sickly-looking man stopped, turned, and then pointed at the beggar. In the next instant, his sickly pale body glowed a dark green, and tens of large, powerful dark-green needles shot forward and pierced through the man’s body from every angle. His form convulsed violently as the needles buried themselves deep, shredding his flesh, bone, and organ alike until he collapsed into a mangled heap. A thick bloody puddle spread beneath the remains of what had once been a living man.

  The people nearby let out shrill cries and scattered in terror, stumbling over each other as they fled the horrific scene.

  A very faint smirk crawled across his face as he muttered the words, “Vermins who can’t even fend for themselves have no place in the kingdom that man wishes to conquer.”

  Chael's eyes widened to their utmost. Eclipse’s heart thumped violently as he staggered back.

  Just what sort of power was that? How did he do it?

  Neither of them had seen anything like that before.

  Eclipse’s fury quickly overwrote his confusion as he looked at the man’s sneer, before he turned to leave.

  Dracoferus Tribe…DRACOFERUS TRIBE!

  “You son of a bitch!” Eclipse shouted and charged at the large man. Chael’s pupils contracted, and he immediately ran after him.

  ‘Why? Why are they here!?’

  Hearing Eclipse call him that, the smaller man stagnated and slowly turned around, his eyes gloomy and his demeanour disturbingly solemn.