It was painful waking up; every fiber in her body was screaming for her not to move, but Isha forced herself to sit up on the desk she had found herself on. It was hard to breathe, and she still tasted the blood in her mouth...

  "What… happened? Where's the Boss?" She moaned as she got off, almost falling over, but soon she felt Boursat's aura rippling out, coming not that far away. "Boss!" she cried out, trying to hurry her legs to stand... She had to go where his aura was coming from... If he had to release his true strength... it meant danger. Deadly danger! Yet as she tried to walk, she felt like lead weights were dragging her back down, making her force his muscles to their limits to finally start moving.

  …….…..

  "The Blood General…" Leinor murmured, seeing the now muscur, tall Boursat. He stood there, watching them calmly, while bloody air swirled around him, some of it still being filled with little, violet sparks that he expelled from his body.

  "Oh?" He tilted his head, "Are there still records of me? I thought they were all expunged when I was... let go."

  "Who is that?" Ren asked, now sitting cross-legged, looking pretty calm, but her breathing was quicker than usual.

  "He was the General of the Vanguard when Aerthus VII, the tyrant, ruled the Empire." Leinor muttered, happy that the man was letting him do so, as it gave him time to heal up even more, "He was named the Blood General while he led the troops... Later, when my grandfather was still only the Crown Prince, he was disgraced, stripped of his powers, and exiled. As far as my family records go..."

  "That was my reward." Boursat nodded, "So... tell me. How's Lil' Carthus doing?" He asked after a short pause, making Ren almost ask who that was.

  "I only met my grandfather once." Leinor answered slowly, naming Aeurthus VIII by his given name instead of his title as the Emperor, "We didn't talk."

  "I see." Boursat muttered with nostalgia oozing from his words, "He was a good kid, smart too. I heard he corrected my brother's mistakes; the same goes for your father."

  "What are you two talking about?" Ren blinked her eyes, snting her little head.

  "I should've realized..." Leinor sighed, "It's just… I never immersed myself in our family history more than what was required by my tutors." He said, looking at the Blood General. "You were exiled because you killed your brother... You assassinated Aerthus VII..."

  "He was a monster." Boursat replied coldly, confirming it, "I passed up the throne because I'm not a smart man, and my family's proud affinity wasn't pure and complete inside of me." He added, watching Leinor's life force churn, healing the boy and restoring his stamina, "I can only manipute the life force in my blood; it's only half of what was expected of an imperial bloodline. But it wasn't enough... So... Erterion became Emperor, but... He would've led the Empire down the wrong path. He was too paranoid... He tried to send me and my unit into a death trap because of a rumor that I may want the throne. Yet he was already sitting on it for 20 years by then!"

  "Wait…" Ren raised a hand, surprised, like a student. Looking at him, Boursat could see that her little eyes sparkled like the stars in the night sky, "Airpuss VII was killed? And he was your brother?"

  "Hah!" Boursat chuckled, "Yes… Yes, he was."

  "Damn, then you are family!" She giggled, "You are the great-granduncle of Leinor! Why not start with that?!"

  "Am I? I am no longer part of the family," he looked at them calmly, swishing his halberd once, leaving a deep gash on the floor. "I was exiled; I have no more connection to the imperial family. I'm just a gang leader, and I'm fine with that. So, what now, kids?" he asked a bit louder, looking directly at Ren, assaulting her with his aura, but she remained unfazed... which greatly astonished him.

  "Well, it was my fault. Could you let go of the other two?" she asked smilingly, blinking her eyes like a child caught doing something bad.

  "Nope," Boursat answered before the other two could open their mouths, wanting to protest Ren's idea.

  "Then I can only use this," she sighed, pulling off the belt of her waist and dangling it in front of her smiling face. "I guess you know of my father."

  "Yes…" Boursat nodded with eyes that now looked serious and a bit wary, watching the belt in her hand.

  "Good. In short, this belt is filled with thirty of his coins!"

  "You three will die too," Boursat warned her, watching it swing left and right.

  "Probably," Ren agreed, "But... aren't we done already?"

  "I hate people like you." The Blood General groaned, wanting to curse and do it really loudly.

  "Well, we can-"

  "You come into my pce, beat up my apprentice, then attack me when I offer a peaceful solution, and now you want to waltz out? Were you hit on the head after birth?" He spat, gring at Ren.

  "Um, I don't remember," she answered, showing a face that was doing her best to recall. "Mmmh... No, I wasn't. Anyway, you said it yourself. You are a gang leader. Bribing officials, running an underground business, doing who knows what behind the scenes… Of course, we would attack you! Duh. You bad, we good. No?" she giggled, while she kept dangling the belt.

  "This mini-bitch…"

  "Hey, you are still standing strong; we are defeated. I admit that I was wrong." Ren continued, "I would accept punishment, but you wouldn't let go of them when they only followed my lead... So be it then! I choose mutual destruction! Now it's your turn. Choose!" Ren finished, wiping the smile off her face, looking dead serious at the end. "If we die... let's die together... Blood General."

  "You brats wasted hundreds of years of accumution of mine!" He yelled, stomping at pce, "You are grinding my gears, you little shits! Every time I just think about what happened, I want to batter you until not even your mothers recognize any of you!" he kept roaring as he made another swish with his weapon, cutting one of the pools at the side in half, letting the water flow down the cracks, escpaing into under the earth, "Fuck, my beautiful bath is ruined!"

  "That wasn't us now," Leinor added suddenly. "We didn't do it."

  "Fuck you! It was you!" Boursat snapped at him immediately.

  "Hey, baldie! So what do you choose?" Ren cut in, flicking her belt, which made a clunking noise.

  "Maybe I'll just get rid of you before you can toss it out." He sneered, looking into her eyes.

  "I see." Ren nodded, then, without hesitation, she tossed the belt at Boursat, surprising the old warrior with how decisive she was. This... wasn't supposed to happen!

  What caught him off guard was that all three of them suddenly tried to move backward, as if it would have any effect. No matter! He had to defend himself because it went off! As a response, Boursat himself began to release all his energy to form a protective bubble around his body, trying to survive the impending bst... It would come in... three... two... one...!

  "NOOOO! Boss!!!!" came a scream suddenly, and a red shadow fshed between them, jumping in front of him as the belt flew through the air.

  "Isha!" Boursat yelled, but it was too te. He had already erected his defense, transforming even his halberd into a sphere-shaped shield around his body, and now he couldn't help her. It was too te...

  The sudden interference even stunned Ren, who was now holding a coin between her fingers that was covered with a thin yer of lightning. She wasn't the only one, as the same kind of coin was in the hands of Leinor and Zern, ready to throw it out... but now all three of them stopped and just watched on with wry smiles. It was over... The belt nded in Isha's face with a resounding thud, as it hit her forehead, knocking her to the ground... But there was no kaboom.

  "Nyauh?!" she moaned painfully as she skidded to a stop on her butt, with a fresh bump on her forehead that started to grow bigger and bigger. After she stopped and the belt fell over with another thump, even Boursat realized... There was no explosion.

  "Huh?" he froze in pce, halting his extreme energy output and gazing at the belt, which was filled with only a few metal chunks worn during training exercises. "A... dud?"

  "Haaah… we have really lost now!" Ren moaned, sprawling out on the ground. "We hoped you would spend all your energy when you believe it's time for the big finale... Then we would bombard you with the real coins when your shields burn all the blood you use to fuel it... Tsk! That's all we had! But you probably still have enough power, and we lost our chance... Do what you will!"

  "It almost worked." Zern ughed as he felt no energy remaining in his legs to even stand.

  "I'm sorry," Leinor whispered, which made Ren ugh in turn.

  "For what? Both of you should be mad at me. Don't worry; I'll make it up for you two in the next life." She sighed before closing her eyes.

  "You. Are. Really. Pissing. Me. Off." Boursat gurgled, huffing and puffing, not knowing anymore if he was angry or just surprised into a cardiac arrest, but what he did know was that he punched out toward Ren, sending a shockwave forward.

  Yet, before it could reach her, a tile from the broken and cracked ground shot up, blocking it, as an old man appeared, wearing a butler's attire, standing between the group and the Blood General.

  "Sorry, Mr. Boursat, but the Young Lady can't take more punishment, or she will be seriously injured."

  "Hmf. Hal." Boursat snorted, looking into his eyes, "I knew you would be around somewhere here. From General to Butler... Tsk."

  "A simpler, more fulfilling life than sending youngsters to their death on the battlefield. I'm content," he answered smilingly as he picked up Ren, who by now was already unconscious. Amongst everyone, she had spent all of her energy long ago, remaining alert by her sheer will alone.

  "Hmf. They are lucky," Boursat snorted loudly, and soon his aura receded, being drawn back to his body, shaking his head, "They owe me."

  "Oh? They do?" Hal asked, smiling, but there was no kindness in his eyes, "I may be weaker than you, but I could kill you now. Do you think the Emperors are letting you build your little pce here just because they don't want trouble, or don't know about you?"

  "What do you know...?" Boursat shot back, twitching the edge of his lips. Of course, Hal was right... But that just annoyed him even more.

  "None of us is that stupid, General. Anyway... We are going, and they do not owe you anything." He decred, looking deadly serious while going around, picking up Leinor and Zern, too, as if they were sacks of wheat.

  "Fuck… Okay, okay! Tsk... What a fucking day this is... just… go!" Boursat grumbled, grinding his teeth, while Hal bowed a little and soon disappeared from view.

  "Boss…" Isha whispered as she wobbled to stand beside him, but he just sighed, looking around the ruined hideout.

  "A kid pyed me. Damn, this is frustrating!" he excimed, and then he began ughing, surprisingly loudly. "She would be a great gang leader! Come, Isha... We got a lot of work to do… Damn! This will also cut me back a hundred years' worth of money to fix back up to specs!"

  …….…..

  “Ugh… where…” Ren moaned as she sat up, looking around her dark room. She felt weak; besides that, she wasn't experiencing any pain anywhere. "I'm not dead?"

  "No, but I guess we can change that. You were out for two days," came an ice-cold voice next to her bed.

  "Ah… Mom… I-"

  "Silence." Anya shot her down at once, "I heard everything from Hal."

  "Are they... okay?"

  "They are." She nodded, and when she saw Ren rexing, hearing her answer, she looked at her more warmly, but soon the coldness returned to her eyes. "From now on, Hal will follow you openly everywhere. Also, you can't leave the house. If you try anything funny, I ordered Hal to break your legs and arms and tie you to your bed. Don't worry, I'll take care of you then, just as I did when you were a baby, until you learn your pce. Are we clear?"

  "Crystal clear."

  "Good." She nodded, surprised that her daughter wasn't arguing, "When your father comes home, he will punish you separately, so don't think this is over, and I won't care if you are being spanked so hard, you can't sit for two years!"

  "I understand. It was my fault." She nodded again, "Can you tell this to the Emperor? And Zern's family? They shouldn't be punished for my mistake."

  "Too te." Anya answered, making Ren flinch, "Zern probably is out of the City Guards by now because acting without an official order from the top is a serious offense. And besides… they followed you of their own will. They deserve the punishment they get. Some institutions, such as the Guard, need strict rules that must be followed. Something you are bad at, Ren. As for Leinor, I'm not sure... He will probably get to be in house arrest and a good beating from his father."

  "Oh…" Ren whispered, looking down at her bedsheet, looking genuinely ashamed.

  "You need to learn self-control!" Anya sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed, patting her head. "I know how it feels to be young; your body is changing, and your blood is boiling for excitement, but this was way too dangerous!"

  "I… I have no excuses." She mumbled, "I'll need to make up for Leinor and Zern first."

  "Yes, you should do that. I permit you to leave the house if you want to meet with them and compensate Zern's family. Of course, it's from your pocket! I can lend you money, but you need to repay it. Got it?"

  "Um. Fair," she nodded again with a sad smile, and Anya only now realized that her daughter could show a face like this, as she was used to her cheeky, impish attitude. She never looked... sorry. For any mischief she did. Not until now... "I forgot my pce and overestimated my powers. Sorry, Mom… I made you worry."

  "It's good that you know," Anya whispered, hugging her before getting up from the bed. "Rest. You are weak... Tomorrow you can go out with Hal. You will have exactly four hours to do what you need to do, and then you are confined to your room again."

  "Understood."

  When she was left alone, Ren couldn't help but lie back and look up at the ceiling. She had nothing to argue with... she knew that.

  "I need to remind myself..." She muttered, raising a hand and watching it, "I am no longer who I was..."

  Instincts. The instincts of someone who was a God for what would be eons. They are ingrained in her soul... Something that subconsciously drives her decisions, things that make her... her. It was a realization that she had not even thought about controlling it. She acted in a way she always did, and it backfired.

  "Life is about learning..." She murmured, finally smiling again, "I am Ren... And I had my first serious lesson in my new life. I will not forget this one..."

  …….…..

  "Master! Are you okay?" Zern yelled, rushing towards her when he saw her standing at the door of their residence, "Mr. Hal." He cupped his hand when he saw the butler following behind her. "Thank you for saving us."

  "Don't mention it," he smiled kindly, returning the greeting.

  "Mr. Hal. Young Lady," came out a middle-aged man, looking almost just like Zern, only his hair had way too many gray strands mixed into it.

  "Mr. Ortern." Ren bowed, "It was my fault."

  "Please, Young Lady." The man shook his head, "My boy can make his own decisions. What happened, happened. He needs to deal with this himself; he is an adult by w. And... I know his advancement is thanks to you. I'm just happy that I raised a loyal son..." Ortern looked at Zern with proud eyes, "He was a little too stiff for guard duty anyway. I just hope-"

  "Don't continue, Mr. Ortern." Ren raised a hand, "My family will hire him as my bodyguard. Hal brought the official papers." She stepped to the side while Hal gave the papers to Zern. "It's just the pay is less... But it's only for now! After I secure more funds, it will change!" she murmured with a tinge of remorse.

  "Master! You needn't-"

  "Yes, I do. End of discussion. Thank you for receiving me." Ren said firmly, then gave a bow to Ortern. "I won't take up your time, and to be honest, I'm still in house arrest, ahaha~!"

  "Ah, Master, here!" Zern excimed, handing her a parchment all of a sudden, "The registration to the competition."

  "Oh, thank you." She grabbed it, her eyes lighting up, "I hope I can participate! I'll need to ask Mom, tough..." she smiled, but she seemed a bit unsure... Ugh... Will she... miss it now?

  "Did you meet with the Fourth Prince yet?" Zern asked cautiously.

  "Couldn't. I went to the pace in the morning but was denied entrance." Ren sighed, shaking her head, "Anyway, we will speak soon! Recuperate until then because if I can participate in the competition, I won't go easy on you~!"

  "I wouldn't want that, Master, especially after the previous fight." He cupped his hands in respect, "I feel I might just advance a tier!"

  "Good! Good! Ahaha, now that's what I call good news!" Ren ughed, grinning at the two before finally saying their goodbyes.

  "We should return home," Hal said after they walked away from the Unth household, but Ren had other ideas...

  "I'd like to visit the Wildcats."

  "Young Lady?" Hal stopped, watching her, but she just looked up at him, smiling innocently.

  "I won't cause trouble. Promise."

  "Mm... "Hal thought a little more, gazing into her clear, amethyst-colored eyes before finally nodding, "Okay. Let's visit them..."