It was back. Like a ghost from the past that reappeared to hunt him, the searing pain in his arm attacked him once more.

A part of him held the false hope that he would never again feel the suffering of the members he left behind. Stefan had convinced himself that without his presence everything would be better, that Momotaro would do a better job than him.

He was beginning to understand that it wasn't a matter of who was in charge, the Protectors would always be in danger as long as the demons remained in the village.

And would that be enough? The inhabitants already saw each other as enemies, returning to the peace that used to reign in the village could take a lot more work, if they could find common ground.

"How bad is it?" Genevieve asked, offering him a glass of water.

Stefan stood up from his spot on the porch of his house and approached his wife. His legs were numb from so much time that he had spent sitting on the ground, looking at the sky and asking whoever could hear him that his family wasn't in serious danger.

"It's just like that time, too much pain at the same time," he said before taking a sip of the drink. "And no one answers my messages or my calls."

"If it's like that time, do you think they're attacking the headquarters again?"

"I hope not, but that's all I can think of."

"Then it's time to go." Genevieve didn't ask him what he wanted to do, she always knew what was going on in Stefan's heart.

"Could you take care of locking the house? I'm going to try to call—"

The sound of a call interrupted him. He reached for his cell phone with a shaky hand and almost rejected the call by accident.

"What's happening?" He asked without even saying hello.

"I imagine you already felt it with your power." Momotaro's voice came from the other end of the phone. "Headquarters is under attack."

"How do they know its location?"

"The mayor betrayed us. I'm going there as fast as possible but I'm quite far away. I'm afraid I'll have to give you your position back for a while."

"Of course, Genevieve and I are on our way."

What he feared the most was confirmed. The misfortunes that plagued the Protectors were repeated regardless of the hard work they did to defend the town. Stefan couldn't understand how those who tried to do the right thing ended up being punished, they didn't deserve to receive so much hate for just fighting to keep the inhabitants alive.

His thoughts were so noisy that he didn't notice that Geneveive had disappeared to lock up the house and had already returned with the car keys in hand.

"Come on," she said, placing her hand on her husband's back.

He had never seen Genevieve drive so fast, probably over the speed limit, but who cared when the entire village was nothing more than ruins.

The closer they were to the headquarters, the greater the destruction. What Stefan imagined was too far from reality. He had convinced himself that danger only lurked in the Protectors' home, but death was spreading throughout the village.

The streets were filled with screams and cries. Homes were no longer a safe haven. A pile of doors lay on the ground as attackers entered the homes of unsuspecting residents.

Stefan watched as they fought to prevent the invaders from taking their loved ones.

The chaos forced Genevieve to slow down the march, otherwise she'll be driving over the villagers that ran through the streets.

"Please, we have nothing to do with them," one woman begged as her son was dragged from her home. "I'll give you everything you want but don't do anything to him."

"Don't lie, we know he's friends with one of them," the kidnapper said, kicking the young man in the stomach.

In the next house an old man was trying to block the entrance using a stick as a weapon. He had several bruises on his face and could not properly support his left foot.

"Come on old man, I don't want to kill you to get in," a woman in front of him shouted. "I don't even need to go in, give me your granddaughter and everything will be solved. Anyone who hides one of the Protectors must be punished, but I'm going to make an exception for you."

So it was about them. The entire village was being destroyed because of them. Stefan had his suspicions, yet the confirmation ended up opening the hole in his heart.

He had to do something, he couldn't allow innocent people to suffer just because they had been compassionate to one of the Protectors.

However, even if it helped them, where were they going to go?. Was there any safe place left for the Protectors when they were being chased throughout the village?

"Stop the car," he said to Genevieve.

"No, we can't stop now. They're waiting for us."

"These people need help, are we going to let them all die?"

"Are you going to let the members of the resistance you created die? We have a responsibility to those who decided to follow you."

Stefan didn't say anything, he just rolled down the car window.

"Sorry, but I told you before, you can't save everyone," Genevieve said.

"Prepare to raise your shield. They're probably going to try to attack us after this." He put his hand toward the window.

The ink flowed from his fingers and fell to the ground, slowly expanding towards the attackers. When it was close it rose up, close to their backs and surrounded their necks. Stefan closed his fist and the ink hardened, suffocating its victims. They tried to break free but it only caused them to lose their strength faster. In the end they fainted and fell to the ground.

"I'm raising the shield. I guess you'll do that the rest of the way," Genevieve pressed the accelerator. "The streets are emptier now, though, you'll have to be faster. I'm not going to slow down just because of you."

"I'm not planning on telling you how to drive. That never ends well for me."

Genevieve let out a laugh. "I see you learned your lesson."

The image that Stefan found when he arrived at the headquarters was devastating.

Once again he had to witness the destruction of the home he had created with his family. And the worst thing was that this time he was responsible for what was happening. He was the one who trusted the mayor and allowed himself to be weak. Every time he decided to believe in the goodness of people, it was his followers who got hurt.

The main door of the headquarters no longer existed, a gigantic hole occupied its place and the invaders entered through it. The vines that used to cover the wall were completely burned, leaving black stains as a souvenir. Dead bodies laid on the floor close to the entrance, Stefan recognized most of them.

"I'm sorry," he said to the body closest to him, closing their eyes.

"Should we go in?" Genevieve asked.

"Let's use the back door, we're more likely to find the survivors there."

They surrounded the building, guided by the sound of fighting. As they approached the exit the screams increased.

Stefan quickened his pace, running towards the cries. He didn't reach the end of the building when he crossed paths with a young man in danger. The member of the Protectors was on the ground while a man covered in metal was about to step on him.

Ink whips came out of Stefan's hands and flew towards the enemy. The ink curled around the metal man's body, preventing him from moving. Then Stefan moved his hand and the man was slammed against the wall.

"Let me help you," Genevieve said to the young man. 

"Can he walk?" Asked Stefan.

"I'm good, I can even run if that's necessary," the young man answered after getting up. "I can guide you to the others, I was with them before he dragged me here."

Just as Stefan guessed the survivors escaped using the small back door. They could have already reached the center of the village if it weren't for the enemies discovering them and having them surrounded.

Stefan, Genevieve and the young man hid behind the trees, from there they were able to see the group of Protectors trying to escape from the enemy's stalking. Most of them seemed to be injured, it shouldn't be long before their strength was gone. The invading force pushed them towards the center of the garden, leaving them trapped in a circle of people.

"Can you create a shield around them from here?" Stefan asked his wife. "I'll take care of the rest."

Genevieve raised an invisible shield to protect her friends, then nodded as a signal to her husband.

He could no longer be compassionate, if he wanted to save his family he had to attack with all his power. And that's what he did.

Stefan sent thousands of ink daggers towards his enemies, piercing their heads. Only those located on the other side of the shield were saved. He raised his hands once more to move the ink but before he could make a move the sound of gunshots burst through the air.

One by one the enemies fell.

"Looks like I made it just in time," Momotaro said, approaching the group.

"I'd say you're late," Stella commented walking in Momotaro's direction after Genevieve deactivated the shield. "If it weren't for Titan I would have already been dead."

The dog wagged his tail as soon as his name was mentioned and then ran towards his owner.

"I'm glad to see you're okay, pal," Momotaro said, petting Titan. "Are there any more survivors?"

"There's no one else inside the headquarters, some escaped before us," Stella explained.

"We have to leave before more of them arrive," Stefan interrupted the conversation.

"But where can we go?" Momotaro asked. "The entire village is under attack."

"Excuse me." A voice caught their attention. Father Zenkin appeared behind Genevieve. "I know where you can be safe. I would like to return the favor for what you did for my people."