Months of effort and shared experiences laid beneath the debris. The memories conquered Stefan's mind, yet the moments that kept expanding weren't cheerful. Piled-up bodies, burning walls, and crimson blood welcomed him as the ashes from the headquarters flew in his direction.

Everything was consumed by Borbala's fire, from the rooms to the loyal members that perished that tragic day. They became one with the place they swore to protect, leaving the survivors with nothing to bury.

The leader kept some of the ashes in a small, wooden box. He couldn't give the families their children back, but at least he wanted to offer a part of them.

With each step he gave he abandoned a piece of his soul. Stefan walked away from the place he used to call his home knowing he would never find a replacement.

In a far corner of the village, they held the funeral. It was the biggest one the Protectors witnessed so far, they had to let go of thirty-six members this time. Looking at the families became a punishment for the leader, still, he didn't avert his gaze, instead, the man printed the image on his memory.

Father Zenkin said a prayer for the victims and commended his spirits to God. Even though Stefan didn't believe in that, he appreciated the presence of the priest that brought calm to the heart of the family members.

And then the time for his speech came.

"Today we're forced to say goodbye to a part of our family" He started, hiding his trembling hands behind his back. "They died fighting for their loved ones, for this village. I can't bring them back to you but I swear I'll do anything to honor their sacrifice. The Protectors won't give up until the last demon leaves our home."

To finish his statement he opened the box and threw a little bit of ash into every empty coffin. Stefan took the time to say goodbye to the martyrs before the last piece of them was buried. The man made sure to give his condolences to each of the relatives.

A force he couldn't describe pushed him towards the members. The leader didn't question his instinct, after all, he craved the company of those who would understand him the most.  He observed their posture, most had their gazes focused on the ground. Some of them found comfort in the arms of their friends. Tears continued falling down their cheeks.

The members shared their pain with each other, they connected on the victories and also in their losses.

Still, one person took some steps away from the group to mourn alone. It has been a long time since Stefan saw Momotaro showing any expression in public. The young man stood next to the graves, consumed by silence. If the leader hadn't been paying so much attention he wouldn't have noticed the single tear on his cheek.

"Excuse me," Father Zenkin said to Stefan. "I know that this isn't a great time but I have some news."

"It's alright," answered the leader.

"Can we go to a more private place?"

The men went to talk behind a tree, several meters away from the multitude. Stefan couldn't help but wonder about the priest's intentions, he hoped this wasn't another bad news.

"The truth is that I'm not the one that wants to talk with you," started the priest. Then he signaled in the direction of a man hidden by a car. "The Mayor came here to have a conversation."

"I should go then, we can't leave our Mayor waiting."

Mr. Fenley wasn't alone, as expected from a man of power, his bodyguard kept him company. The politician entered his vehicle once Stefan and the priest got closer.

"Mr. Bogdanoff, please take a seat." The bodyguard said to the leader, signaling the inside of the car.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," commented the Mayor. His brown eyes shined with recognition. "I'm sorry for your loss, and I apologized for interrupting the funeral."

"It's okay, I understand that you must be an extremely busy man." Stefan accepted the apology. He didn't want to anger a man with such power.

"I'll be fast, I promise. I heard from father Zenkin that you've been keeping their end of the bargain and I wanted to offer something in exchange, a new headquarter. You require a place for the organization and I have numerous properties around the village."

"A new headquarter will be an excellent addition, I won't deny that, but I would like to choose the property and the location should be kept a secret."

"Those are reasonable requests," agreed the Mayor. "Take this gift as a reward for your hard work and a token of my good intentions. I'll send you the location of the properties."

The politician disappeared as abruptly as he made his appearance. Stefan appreciated the favor, yet he hoped that when the time comes to return it the price won't be too high.

When he returned to the funeral most people were gone. Some minutes later, after exchanging hugs and words of comfort, the event was over.

He wished nothing more than to return home and rest between his wife's arms, a wonderful dream that would have to wait. One more task on his to-do list waited to be fulfilled: visit Lorcan.

"Shouldn't you be resting in bed?" Asked the man once he set foot in the room.

The young man who was standing next to the window turned around at a record speed. His eyes were wide open and his breathing gave a little jump.

"You scared me," Lorcan stated the obvious. "Genevieve said I can move a little, the stitches won't open if I'm careful."

"How are you holding up?" Stefan sat on the chair closer to the bed. The boy took it as an indication that he should get back to his comfy prison.

"My body is not that bad, the wound on the chest is the only problem, I want this to heal faster, I'm tired of being locked up when everything outside is so fucked up."

"It's only been three days. Please listen to Genevieve's indications, we lost too many members already and I would hate to lose another one."

"How was the funeral? Bertram told me about it this morning, he's the only one that tells me anything about what's happening."

The man directed his gaze towards the ceiling as he took a deep breath.

"It was awful, like any other funeral. I won't lie to you, the morale inside the group isn't the best right now. The members are separated, we don't have a place to direct our activities anymore, so it's impossible to keep up with everyone. And even if they didn't say it I can see that they lost part of their trust."

"Maybe they lost trust in the other members but I'm sure that they still trust you, we all do. You did so much for us, I don't think there's anyone more reliable than you."

"Thanks," Stefan answered with sincerity. Lorcan had always been that way, he gave him his entire trust from the beginning. "I'll do my best to get back to our best version, you should only worry about getting better, I'll need your help once you're back on your feet."

"Will do. This close encounter with death made me reflect about the things I should be doing, and one of those things is paying more attention to Momotaro's weapon training."

The leader laughed at the young man's occurrence. "And what are your other resolutions?"

"There's only one more. I need to stop being a coward and invite Agatha on a date."