“This fight is over.” Nozomi ignited her hands in flames. Ready to strike the final blow.

“Stop!!!” a girl's voice shouted from the background.

Lola jumped in front of Ken. Seeing a harmless little girl, Nozomi's focus broke. But her hand wouldn't stop because of the momentum. Luckily, a precise bullet shot deflected her hand to the side.

“Oh fuck! Not again!” Nozomi shouted in pain. Akane looked back at them, the burning smell of gunpowder leaking out from her gun. Unfazed by what she did, Akane strolled towards Ken. Ethan and Bull rushed towards Nozomi, trying to patch her up again.

“Damn it. Why is her aim so good!” Nozomi kept on shouting.

Akane stood in front of Ken as Lola tried to help him up.

“What are you doing I had-” Ken stopped talking, seeing Akane’s icy stare as she placed the revolver aimed right on Ken’s forehead.

“One more word and this bullet will blow your skull right here, right now.”

Lola felt frightened as well. It was clear Akane wasn't joking around.

“I’ve had it with your stupid actions, one after another. Just know that even if you are the captain by default, that doesn't mean that I need to obey you. None of us do.” She pulled her revolver back and strolled away towards the mountain steeps.

“Remember that you’re not the only one who can get frustrated.”

Ken had his hand on his face, covering his eyes as he gritted his teeth. By that time, Nozomi’s hand had already healed.

“What is this all about?”

She strolled towards Ken. Lola, thinking she might attack Ken again, put herself in front and acted like a shield.

“I won’t let you hit big brother Ken.”

She looked at the kid, confused. Why would a child like her be protecting someone as dangerous as Ken?

“Ethan, is that kid also an outlaw?”

“No… at least not on the database. It seems she is a local of the village south of here.”

“A village local… is he blackmailing her or something?”

Lola felt irritated hearing that.

“No! Big bro Ken isn’t like that. He may look like a vicious animal, but he saved me and my friends. To me he is a hero!” Lola shouted. Ken’s frustration swept away hearing that. A feeling of love and respect had emerged within him.

“But why? Isn’t he a vicious outlaw?” Nozomi couldn't wrap her head around it. Ethan tugged her clothes and said in a serious voice,

“It's clear she admires the guy. I don't think we should kill him.”

‘Are you hearing yourself, Ethan? That boy is Dad's number one priority on the target list.”

“I know. Chief Yagami would certainly not miss the chance to rip him to pieces. But ask yourself, why hasn’t he? If we could find him so easily, I'm sure it wouldn't take the fifth unit that long either. But there they were, going to a different galaxy entirely. There must be a reason.”

“Tsk!” She felt irritated. But hearing those reasons, she backed off. They strolled away. Ethan pulled out a cap from his bag, swiping the dust from it. The cap had a moon symbol on it. Nozomi put it on as she walked away.

“Wait!!!”

Ken shouted from the back. They stopped in their tracks, hearing Ken’s shout.

“Big bro Ken...”

Nozomi tilted her head backwards. Just hearing him speak made her blood boil.

“What? You still wanna fight?”

“You’re a government official, aren’t you?” Ken said, looking at her attire.

“Huh? What's that to you?”

“These people… these people need your help!” he shouted at them.

“What is he talking about?”

“The people of this village have been living under a tyrannical rule for almost two years by a false government notice. They said if an official helped, then maybe they could get their freedom back.”

“What…” she was astonished hearing that. Trying to process all that Ken was spouting.

“I want to help them. One thing I hate most in this world is being caged. I don’t want these people to bear that fate. But as an outlaw, I can't risk putting my crewmates in danger.”

“You expect me to believe all-”

“Please! I’m a stupid knucklehead who only knows how to talk with his fists. So please help them!”

Seeing Ken’s helplessness and Lola’s malnourished body, Nozomi went into a deep thought. After a few seconds of silence, she said to Ethan,

“Give me a full analysis of the land here. I wanna know who runs this place"

“Alright”

Ken collapsed back down on the ground, releasing a sigh of relief.

"Big bro, are you okay?" Lola asked. Ken patted her and replied with a grin,

"I'm fine. What about your brother? Didn't you go after-"

Liam showed up from the corner. It seemed he was hiding in plain sight. He walked close to them and shouted,

"Lola, that was dangerous! You could have died!"

"Umm… I'm sorry!" tears rolled up in her eyes. She would cry too easily.

"No… I'm sorry. I'm sorry that a pathetic, cowardly big brother like me couldn't step up when your life was in danger. If something… if something had happened to you, I…"

Ken patted his head. The way he gently patted reminded Liam of his father, which calmed him down.

"And you…" Liam said, pointing towards Ken.

"You didn't have to say all of that for us, but thank you!"

He was a bit of an indirect person, which was for certain. Ken could not help but grin.

"Hehe. No problem."

"Big bro Ken, where are you gonna go now?" Lola asked

Ken tilted his head back towards the foggy mountain and replied,

"Back to my ship, I guess. "

He looked back at them and said,

"Wanna come?"

"Can we?" Lola looked at Liam and Ken with enthusiasm. Liam, seeing Lola's face, couldn't refuse that offer, even though his gut told him otherwise.

Meanwhile, in the lair where Argo and his crew laid, Vigle fully heard the story the wolf told. He only listened, not saying anything.

"I see "

After hearing the story, those were the only words that came out of his mouth. As he got up from his position, Vik showed up with his henchmen. Most wounded, including Vik himself, as many cuts and bruises were all over his body. He tried to walk past Vigle, not making eye contact, unable to bear the shame.

“So you too, brother?” Vigle said casually.

“Tsk. Shut up!” Vik said.

Vigle stretching his wings instantly flew upwards using a gust of wind. There was an entrance hall on the top of the laboratory. He entered it slowly. Closing in on the elevator in front. The elevator went down slowly. On the floor level, it was going down from 100. The elevator was attached to the side, so naturally he could see everything happening below. Dozens of mining train tracks across the canyon the laboratory was in. Many workers working their hearts out. It seemed people from other villages were also present. The door opened on the 50th floor. Unlike the harsh, polluted background that lay outside, the 50th floor looked like a luxurious mansion. A pool on the side. Golden decorations all around, paintings of high quality, delicious food across a long table. A huge glass window from where one can observe the work below. Beside the pool, there was a small foldable chair where Kuro was sitting. Beside him was standing the piglike creature. Acting like a bodyguard. His name was Gorger.

“The fuck are you here for?” Gorger said to Vigle.

“Have some talk with the boss.”

“Can’t you see he is busy?”

Kuro looked as if he was unconscious, like a soulless body sitting down on the chair. To an ordinary person, they would presume he was dead, but that wasn't the case.

“In another Void call?” Vigil said, sitting down on the chair beside.

“Yea. And it seems it's from the Mad horsemen himself.”

Kuro wasn't hearing them. In his mind, he was inside a plain of darkness. Darkness that had no end. With him was another individual whose body couldn't be seen because of the darkness.

“How long will it take, Kuro?” the shadowy figure asked.

“Just give me a few more months . We're almo-”

“Few more months?! Even after giving you two whole years, you still couldn't find the artifact. Planet Poluto is a minor planet. Even after compromising with the government you failed to show results”

“I’m sorry for the delay, sir. But we are really close. Almost all the caverns have been mapped out and explored. Because of negligence, we had lost a vital part of the map. But do not worry, we will have it done by a month-”

“Make it a week. Add more locals if you have to. Know that the Lord doesn’t have patience for your mishaps. His visions will soon be put into action. Do not disappoint us, Kuro. You know what will happen, don’t you?”

Kuro felt a shiver down his spine.

“Yes, sir,” he could only instinctively reply.

“The next call might be your last. Goodbye for now”

After another blink of an eye, Kuro returned to the real world. He grabbed his fur, irritated by what had happened. He looked beside him, noticing Vigle sitting.

“What are you here for, Vigle?”

“Boss, we have a problem.”