"Pre, mukhang nagsimula na si Sir." saad ng isang tauhan noong marinig ang ingay na nagmumula sa labas. Tumingin naman ito kay Shane na hanggang ngayon ay nakatali pa rin at may telang nakatakip sa bibig, "Anong gagawin natin sa batang 'to?"

"Hmm.. malay. Ang sabi ni Sir hindi naman na niya kailangan 'yan pagnakuha na niya 'yung babae."

"Edi pakawalan niyo." napatingin na lamang sila kung saan nanggaling ang boses na iyon. Nagtaka na lamang sila noong makita ang binata na nakatayo roon at may malaking sako sa tabi nito.

Muli silang tumingin sa binatang nasa silya at nagulat na lamang noong nagsimula itong matunaw. Shane chuckled, "Hindi madaling makuha ang magnanakaw na katulad ko." isinakbit nito ang malaking sako sa kaniyang balikat at ngumiti sa mga lalaki, "See ya!"

"Hoy bata--!" akmang hahabulin na ito ng mga lalaki ngunit bigla na lamang silang tumumba sa sahig. Nagtaka naman si Shane sa nangyari ngunit lumipat ang kaniyang tingin sa pinto kung saan nakatayo si Rui at nakataas ang kamay.

Ibinaba nito ang kamay at tumingin kay Shane, "It seems that there was no need to rescue you."

Shane chuckled and put the bag down, creating a loud sound. Rui smiled, "You really are skilled. No one noticed you huh."

"Yup. Pro 'to noh!" he said and proudly pointed at himself.

"Let's go."

Muling kinarga ni Shane ang sako na puno ng alahas at tumakbo na sila palabas. "Asan nga pala ang iba?"

"Stealing as much as they can. Zai just sent me here in case that you run into trouble. You being kidnapped wasn't in the plan but since Fedrino was kind enough to invite us here, we're taking the opportunity."

Shane pouted, "And here I thought I could do this alone and brag about it to you guys."

Rui just kept on running, "Your abduction turn out all right because it created an opportunity for us but Shane, when we already have a plan, stick to it. One simple change can cause something unexpected. Zai had to act as diversion. Although Fedrino might have noticed that we're gone, he could care less because what he wants is Zai, he wouldn't care for us if he has his hands on her."

Shane sighed, "Fine. I'm sorry."

The plan that they were talking about is what Sinbad discussed to them yesterday night, the night they have to scout the area. Before they scouted, Sinbad discussed what their plan is. First is they'll try to gather enough information so that they can break into Fedrino's mansion without being noticed. When they get in, they expose Fedrino's illegal businesses and steal from him then they'll be on their way. Simple as that. But Shane purposely let his clone be captured and be brought to the mansion. He broke in and stole as much as he can while his clone is acting as him. Thinking that Fedrino can kill Shane, Zai played along with his play and trusted Shane and the plan to the others. Which was supposed not to happen.

--

"Hmm.." the panther hummed as he walk around Zai but the girl remained looking straight ahead. Not sparing a glance from Fedrino who's smirking at her. Not glancing at the huge panther who is staring down at her. "A woman. 17 or 18 years of age." he sniffed and an amused expression showed in his face, "How amusing. A woman with the blood of the ancient demons has been bestowed with the creator's power? Avis made a desperate decision, I see."

But Zai continued ignoring him. The panther squinted his eyes and suddenly showed his claw and scratched Zai. Even though her dress was ripped and there's blood on her thigh, Zai still didn't glance at the sacred beast. The beast licked the blood on his claw and hummed again.

He lain down, blocking Zai's view of Fedrino. "Now, now. Quit ignoring this little ol' cat. Just because you know you can't beat me, you can't ignore me." Zai finally gazed at him but it was a glare. The panther chuckled, "You should know that more than anyone. Your body is currently weak right? That's the inconvenient part when you're a Hevrion. You always have that 'weak season' where your body weakens and tries to gather enough rest to make up for all those unbelievable abilities that you use. How many days does it lasts again? Oh right, two to three weeks I guess. Must be tough. Especially for a child who's experiencing her first 'weak season'." he smirked and tap his claw on the floor, "Normally, a Hevrion wakes up at the age of 23 to 25. I'm impressed that you're beginning to undergo changes at a very young age. Oh right! There's also a Hevrion who woke up at the age of 13 a thousand years ago!"

The panther hummed as if he's trying to remember the person's name, "Ah! His name was Barron! That kid was a beast. He even left me this scar." he said and pointed at the scar across his left eye. "Unfortunately, he died at the age of 21. He was accused for murdering Leonardo Ortron. No one trusted him despite the loyalty he showed to his king as his right hand man for 5 long years. Humans are truly idiotic beings." he said and sighed.

He then smirked and started to get up, "Now that's enough chitchat. The queen is waiting for me after all. Reporting human activities is such a pain in the ass.  How about you? Do you need any help with those chains?"

Zai shook her head, "I'm fine."

"Okay then." the sacred beast broke the cage causing for guests to panic. He also broke the mansion's wall and escaped. Fedrino gritted his teeth as he stare at Zai's eyes but the girl just stared back with her plain expression.

"You damn bitc--" ngunit nawalan na lamang ito ng malay noong makaramdam ng isang paghampas sa kaniyang leeg. Trois giggled and grabbed his feet, pulling him to the cage habang nasa balikat nito ang isang may kalakihang sako.

Asta and Sinbad also arrived at the same time with bags in their hands. Shane and Rui came running. Sinbad pulled his sword out of its sheath and cut Zai's shackles. "Are you alright?" Asta asked.

Zai nodded as she close her sleepy eyes and whispered, "I can't move my left arm though."

Her body weakened and Sinbad immediately let her lean on his chest as he hold her arm to make sure she won't fall. They sighed when they realized that she just fell asleep. Trois grabbed the huge bag that Sinbad was carrying and Sinbad lifted Zai's body and carried her, "Let's go."

They went out of the cage, leaving Fedrino inside with the four predators. Fedrino began to gain his consciousness and he was shocked to see his pets near him, slowly walking up to him to satisfy their hunger. He was about to run to the huge hole that the panther left but it was instantly blocked with powerful threads. Fedrino stared at the boy's cold eyes. "Go feed your pets, you scum." Rui said and started to walk away.

"Wait! Don't leave me here! Hey!" he shouted but they just kept on walking away. "I'll give you anything you want! Don't let me die in here!" after that, all they heard was his scream out of unimaginable pain.

They went back to the inn and saw that the lights are already dimmed. They opened the door and saw Ero sweeping the wooden floor. Ero stopped from what he is doing and glanced at the unconscious girl. He immediately saw the blood flowing out of her left arm. He frowned, "Are you trying to kill her from blood loss? She'll die soon if you won't treat her." but he eventually sighed when he realized that none of them know how to treat a severely wounded person. "Bring her to your room. I'll just go get the kit."

They nodded and did what he told them to. Pagkarating sa kwarto ay ihiniga ni Sinbad ang dalaga at hinintay ang pagdating ng lalaki. Ilang saglit lamang ay dumating na ito at lumuhod sa tabi ni Zai. He stared at her wounds, "Where the hell did she get these bite marks? There's no tigers around here."

"Fedrino's pets."

Hindi na lamang muli nagsalita ang lalaki at nagsimula na itong gamutin. Asta and the others just watched him, "Are you a doctor?" asked Asta but she didn't receive any reply. She shrugged, "I'll take that as a yes."

After some time, he stood up after fixing the mess. "Let her rest for a while. If you're planning to go and run away from government officials with her condition like this, you better not. Don't worry. The staffs in this inn doesn't really care about criminals or bounty hunters as long as they don't make trouble so you're fine here."

Napadaan naman ang tingin nito sa espadang nakasandal lamang sa dingding. Its hilt is black with the combination of red and its sheath also has a dark color. Just from a glance, he could tell that even the sheath is made from a high quality material. And the sword's shape is very familiar for him. Every inch of the weapon seemed perfect. There was no flaw. The smith who made it must be very skilled to make a flawless sword from high quality materials.

He looked at the others who are staring at him, "Can I touch it?"

"No." they all immediately replied in unison.

Ero frowned, "Stingy."