(Arkgrim's POV)

  I left Leon's house a couple of hours later, when the festive coziness finally started to crush my brain. The snow crunched obnoxiously under my feet, and our morning conversation was still spinning in my head.

  "WHAT A FOOL HE IS!" I yelled into the emptiness of the alley, kicking an innocent snowdrift. "Leon, you are simply hopeless!"

  How can someone have their head in the clouds like that? "Protect the weak," "destroy Kaiju"... Does he even understand that this isn't a picture in a textbook? He'll die there in the very first minute! No, seriously, I look at him and see a walking target. Talking him out of it isn't working—he's dug his heels in about this Corps of his like a stubborn mule.

  He's a freaking "softie"! So proper, domestic, kind. At the very first serious threat, when a carcass the size of a skyscraper is breathing rot and death into his face, he'll just freeze up. When it becomes a question of life or death—his or someone nearby's—he'll freeze. He'll start pondering his high-and-mighty ideals while he's being chewed up.

  "Argh, he annoys me so much!" I slapped my forehead with all my might, feeling the bracelet start to itch ever so slightly again.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  I walked down the main street, trying to air this idiocy out of my head, when suddenly my gaze caught on a bright spot on a billboard.

  "09.01 — OPEN HOUSE AT THE THIRD LEGION HEADQUARTERS, EXTERMINATOR CORPS"

  I stopped. At the bottom, in small letters, it said: "Feel the power of humanity's defenders. Gear demonstration, sparring matches, tour of the training grounds."

  Oh... Now there's a thought. Maybe if this daydreamer actually sees how everything works there? If he smells burnt meat on the training grounds, sees the sweat, the blood, and what real Exterminators look like after a shift? Maybe then he'll come to his senses? Or at least just get scared half to death and decide that an office job isn't so bad after all?

  I pulled out my phone, snapped a pic of the poster, and immediately dropped it into the chat with Leon.

  "Look what I found. January 9th, they're having an open house. Let's go together, huh?"

  The answer flew back almost instantly. As if he was sitting and waiting for my message.

  "Yes, of course! I was planning to go there anyway, even booked a ticket online. Awesome that you're coming with me!"

  I rolled my eyes. "Awesome," right.

  "Well, that's it, Leon," I muttered, putting the phone back in my pocket. "Now everything is clear. That's where you'll come to your senses. You'll see those pieces of iron, those faces of guys who haven't slept for a week, and you'll understand that your 'heroic' dreams are just dust."

  I hope this works. Because if it doesn't... I'll have to keep listening to this nonsense of his about protecting the weak, and that is beyond my strength.

  I strode toward my high-rise. The ninth. The point of no return for "softie" Leon. Let's see how long his enthusiasm lasts when he sees a real meat grinder.