All was silent in the alleyway. The spectators from the tavern watched the fight between Eugene and Gigas anxiously from the hole in the wall. Well, to call it a fight would be insulting to Gigas. To him, it was nothing more than a nuisance.

He had done nothing wrong, and yet those Bounty Hunters chose to pick a fight with him, as did many others inside of the tavern. However, like all those other incidents, he dealt with them. Violence wasn't always his first choice. He only resorted to that method when necessary, or whenever he was annoyed.

Speaking of annoyance, the primary source of his irritation came from the Wolf Beastia down on the other end of the alleyway—Dire.

"He's down and out! Congratulations, Gigas!" Dire cheered the large man on his one-sided victory. However, Gigas ignored the praise. The man folded his arms and sent a glance of displeasure in the Beastia's direction. "What's your problem?"

"You know what my problem is." Gigas pointed accusingly at Dire.

Did he know? Doubtful.

Dire didn't recall doing anything to incite the skirmish between Gigas and the Bounty Hunter as far as he was concerned. He never lifted a finger. Gigas was the one that threw the first punch.

If anything, the blame fell on Gigas, not him.

"I told you to hide your ears and tail. If you had followed that simple order, those Bounty Hunters wouldn't have recognized you. And what were you doing sneering at them like that?" Gigas pointed out. "Have you forgotten that we're supposed to remain inconspicuous here?"

Dire already knew the procedure. Should anything ever happen while they were together, Gigas would immediately place the blame on him. Because through some mystical force, everything had to be Dire's fault. Gigas could never be wrong.

Dire accepted that fact a long time ago.

So, he understood exactly what to do in those situations.

He'd keep his mouth shut for the most part and nod his head occasionally, pretending to listen to the man's scolding. Through one ear and out the other.

"Yes, Gigas. I'm sorry. I've learned the error of my ways. It'll never happen again. It's not you; it's me..." Dire continued to ramble on with his meaningless apologies in monotone. At that point, he'd be willing to tell his partner anything he wanted to hear just so that he would shut up.

Knowing full well that his scolding held no effect, Gigas shook his head.

"Shut up. I get it. You're not going to reflect on your actions any time soon."

A small smile crept onto the Wolf Beastia's face. It was always refreshing to see when Gigas of all people gave up.

"See, this partnership of ours could go a lot smoother if you just accept that fact from the beginning," Dire looked over to the unconscious body of Eugene. "Think he has anything of value on him?"

"Nothing that will pay for the meal that he ruined earlier," Gigas spoke with broad disdain for the man, "I knew bringing you with me would be nothing but trouble. You don't possess any tact."

"Excuse me, but I have tact," Dire claimed as he brought his hand to his chest, "besides, what's the point in hiding my ears and tail? I'm not ashamed of what I am."

"It's not a matter of shame," corrected Gigas. He pointed at Dire then continued, "It's the fact that you have a bounty on your head. The fact that you're a Beastia already draws enough attention. But, should anyone know of your bounty--"

"You have a bounty on your head too, hypocrite," Dire shot back at him, "what does it matter if I have a bounty? It's not like anyone in this kingdom has the strength to take my head."

There it was.

Dire's limitless arrogance. Another source of Gigas' frequent irritation. The Beastia couldn't go a single day without boasting about his superior strength.

Unfortunately, it was warranted.

Members of the Beastia Race are five times stronger than humans at birth. With training, that number can be multiplied by tremendous amounts. Dire was proud of that fact.

Throughout his travels around Salome, he'd encountered countless foes. All of them fell before him--except for one.

"That arrogance is going to get you killed one day," Gigas warned his partner. But, as usual, his words fell on deaf ears. Dire was seated on a nearby trash can, staring at a newspaper that had caught his eye. "Why are you trying to read that newspaper?"

"Focusing on the pictures mainly. Look at this," Dire turned the newspaper around then pointed to one of the faces shown on the front page. "Tell me why our buddy Thelo is on the front page."

"What?" Gigas approached then took the newspaper from Dire's hand. He skimmed through the front page that detailed the series of attacks across Pandora City. When he finished, he dropped the paper and sighed.

"So, what happened?" asked Dire, a grin etched on his face. "Something good, right? What did he do?"

"Thelo got himself captured by Hunters. They're transporting him to this country's maximum-security prison known as Tartarus." Gigas answered.

Dire's ears perked up. "Captured, huh? Sucks for him. He shouldn't have wandered off from us like that."

"True." Gigas agreed.

He thought back to that day when all three of them were in Pandora City. Gigas ordered that they stayed together, but Thelo chose to disobey and separate himself from the group. Gigas had no tolerance for people that couldn't follow orders. As far as he was concerned, Thelo could rot in Tartarus. It'd serve him right for going off on his own.

However, there also lied a problem in Thelo's capture. He knew too much. If pressured, Gigas believed that Thelo would spill everything about himself and the others. That wasn't something he could allow.

Gigas' train of thought was interrupted once he heard whistles and the rhythmic stomping of feet from the end of the alleyway. Dire and Gigas exchanged glances before making their way to the main road. The townspeople cleared the streets as a large unit of armor-clad soldiers marched down the street.

"A parade?" Dire asked as he watched the scene with mild interest.

"They're increasing their security," Gigas made sure to stay hidden in the alleyway. "This is one of their commando units that serve under General Amos' army. Things will get more difficult if this continues."

"I don't see how. With many troops like this mobilizing—getting into the capital city should be a piece of cake."

Suddenly, the marching soldiers came to a halt. The villagers quietly began to mutter among themselves.

"Something's happening."

Dire's tail wagged back and forth earnestly. "You're telling me. Think we should investigate?"

The frown on Gigas' face gave Dire all the answers that he needed. Even when Gigas' lips moved, Dire couldn't hear a thing. His curiosity of the event far outweighed Gigas' warnings.

Dire leaped into the air then landed on the rooftop of a nearby building to escape from Gigas. Up there, he got a much better view of the situation.

The first thing that caught his eye was a tall, imposing man with bull horns on his head standing in the middle of the road, blocking the path of the military soldiers. Carried over his shoulder was a broad ax.

"Red sashes?" The man pointed out the attires of the soldiers. He heaved a sigh and scratched the back of his head. "None of you are in Zofia's army. Damn it; I picked the wrong place."

The soldiers and townspeople grew restless. Various frightened murmurs from the people brought a smile to the man's face. The voices became silent once the Captain of the unit stepped forward and confronted the man.

Although the Captain was tall and muscular as well, his physique and size paled in comparison to the man before him. His armor and weapon were of top grade, and the medallion on his chest featured an image of a dog with a fire-like mane.

"Move, Beastia!" The Captain demanded, immediately drawing his sword. "You're in the way of our march!"

The Bull Beastia wasn't intimidated. He remained there in that spot, staring right through the Captain. The military officer could feel it—an ominous presence emitted from the man. Nonetheless, he stood firm. Not wanting to show weakness in front of his men or the townspeople.

"You're the one in charge, right? Get on your Milo. Call General Zofia. Tell her that Taurian is here to settle things." The Beastia ordered.

"Insolent hybrid! You dare speak to me in such a manner?" The Captain shouted, his face seething with intense rage. It was one thing to interrupt one of his marches. But, to completely ignore his presence was something his pride wouldn't allow.

When the Captain raised his sword with the intent to strike, Taurian reached his arm out and grabbed the officer's neck. He lifted him off the ground with ease. Despite the Captain's desperate struggling, his efforts proved useless as the Beastia's strength far exceeded his own.

"You should've kept your mouth shut and did what I told you to." Taurian reached into his robes then pulled out a small, black orb. He pressed the orb against the Captain's armor. It seeped into the man's skin and entered his body. When he writhed in Taurian's grasp, the Beastia dropped him.

The Captain's cries of pain and agony frightened the soldiers and the townspeople. Right before everyone's eyes, the military officer suddenly transformed into a Varvara. A Lycan to be exact.

The Lycan pounced on the first soldier and sank its teeth into his neck, quickly converting the man into a monster as well.

The remaining soldiers regained their composure and attacked the Lycan's while the townspeople panicked and ran for their lives.

"Odd. That Beastia can turn people into Varvara?" Dire took a seat on the edge of the building, watching the chaotic scene unfold with a sadistic smile. "I thought only Varvara could do that. Wonder how they got their hands on such an unusual power. Don't you think so too, Gigas?"

Dire didn't bother to turn around to face his partner who stood behind him with a stern expression. At first, the large man wanted to reprimand his partner for disobeying orders. However, the situation at hand took more precedence.

"We should tread lightly," Gigas suggested.

Dire stood up on the ledge and set his sights on Taurian, who stood in the middle of the road, watching as the Varvara continued to slaughter people.

"This'll be fun."

"Don't even think about it," ordered Gigas.

"Think about what?" Dire feigned ignorance. The ecstatic swaying of his tail revealed his true intentions, however.

"This has nothing to do with us, and I would like to keep it that way. Besides the army has the situation under control."

"Somehow, I highly doubt that," Dire pointed to the streets and sneered at the sight of the helpless people getting slaughtered, "It looks like the people in this town are in danger here, Gigas. It would be wrong of us to ignore this situation and leave it as it is. We should lend a helping hand."

"Don't give me that. I know that you don't give a damn about this town or anyone in it."

"That's true. But, the people won't know that when I take down that Beastia. He's giving my race a bad name after all."

Without another word of exchange, Dire jumped down to the ground. He landed on a Lycan and crushed it underneath his feet. After confirming the kill, he headed toward the Beastia. He struck down anyone that crossed his path. Varvara, soldier, townspeople—it didn't matter to him. Anyone or anything in his way was his enemy. Regardless of what was in his way, he'd have fun taking it down to achieve his goal.