"Where are we going?" Damien asked Chester, cradling Alvis in his arms.

The boy felt like complete shit. He blamed himself for drawing the ire of the Twilight Bandits. The fact that Bentham and Alvis got griviously injured in the process of trying to help him. It made him want to vomit. Self-loathing and sadness weighed down on every inch of his frame, and he couldn't bear to look Sheila in the eyes while they trudged through the streets of Strofil South.

"...the Neutral Zone. I think there's a place we can go." The illusionist replied, keeping an eye out while he led the group. There were a few figures still roaming around. He kept his Vorpal Striking Head ready at his hip in case any more gangsters came to bother them.

But none came forward.

They were silent for most of the walk, save for Sheila speaking up to ask a question, her voice tentative and shaky. The girl looked scarred from the events, and glanced at the boy in Damien's arms.

"Alvis...He'll be okay won't he?"

The boy's face morphed into one of soul-crushing guilt. But he did his best to reassure the small girl.

"He will. I promise on my name. Alvis will survive."

Before long, they entered the neutral zone. It was much livelier, with a few shops open past midnight and still catering to a few customers. Chester allowed himself to relax upon seeing the sights, but Damien didn't. He utilized his mana-sensing abilities to track down any notable figures as they followed the illusionist's lead. He wouldn't let a fly past his senses if he could help it. No harm would befall the children under his watch.

"Well, this is the place."

They stood in front of a one-story building. The establishment had a rustic charm to it, but the lights were closed. Damien had believed they were going to some sort of hospital, but the more he peered inside the more he saw that it was a restaurant. Bentham paled, seemingly recognizing the building.

'Well, the children might be hungry. But isn't Alvis' situation more pressing at the moment?'

The vampire held his tongue, but he looked at the boy suffering from burns all over his body and winced. Chester rapped his knuckles on the door and waited for a response.

After a few seconds of shuffling and muffled words, it swung open to reveal an elderly lady with a pair of shades. Before she could say anything, the woman immediately noticed the injured child in Damien's arms and her face went from annoyed to impassive.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you so soon, sonny."

"Sorry Lola, but we don't have anybody else who knows the city well. And I've heard a lot about the one who runs this part of the city. You mind helping me patch Alvis up?" Chester asked with a sheepish grin. "I'll pay you. Just need a place for the kids to stay. Home burnt down, some bandit bastards got to them."

Lola sighed and slapped his offering hand away. For a moment, the illusionist was worried he was wrong in his assumption and that the grandmother wasn't as generous as he thought. His heart sank.

"I don't need your damn coins. Bring them in. I have plenty room for kids."

Thanking her profusely, the illusionist led them all inside. Damien and the others followed, but the older woman had some words to say as Bentham passed by, making him flinch violently.

"Little thief, still getting into trouble? I should've spanked you harder the last time..." She muttered darkly. His feeble hopes that she had forgotten him in her advanced age was for naught.

The child trembled, remembering memories from years past. Back when he roamed freely as an independent vagabond, stealing from storefronts with ease. Until he tried to dine and dash at this particular restaurant. He braced himself for a beating when she reared her hand back, and the other children moved to shield their co-leader.

Lola patted him on the head. She ruffled his matted hair roughly, making it into a tangled mess.

"Don't worry, I don't hold a grudge. But you oughta pay for your next meal. Or work for it, at least!"

Chester watched the interaction play out with amusement, but his attention turned to Alvis. They secured a safe haven, but the boy was still grievously injured. His legs were a mess and the burns hadn't fully healed. In a comatose state, it was a wonder how a young teen survived being crushed by burning rubble.

'Magic bullshit, I guess? These kids are smarter and stronger than most adults I've seen on Earth.' The illusionist mused.

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Lola lead them into the restaurant, a lot more spacious than the curly-haired man remembered. When it wasn't packed with people, it put into perspective just how large the area was. It could easily fit five dozen people but it was filled to the brim during the opening hours.

Further past the main area, she opened up the back to reveal a second portion of the building. Over twenty children dozed off in sleeping bags spread all over the floor. There were some Chester recognized when he first came, but they all looked to be Sheila's age.

In the furthest corner, a little girl sat. Her piercing, abnormal irises observed the new entrants with an impassive expression. Chester's eyes met hers and he gave her a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Eli, still not asleep?"

"Couldn't." She replied to the grandmother. "Nightmares."

Lola nodded knowingly. "Alright, might as well give me a hand. Come."

Being careful not to disturb the slumbering children, they all went as a group into another doorway, revealing a small, humble bedroom. It was adorned with several trinkets and what looked to be pictures of Lola and several children. The room smelled of candles and herbs. She ushered Damien to put Alvis on the simple mattress.

"Careful, vampire boy. Move the sheets! Those are silk!"

The teen glanced at the older lady, still keeping his mana senses active. He could feel everybody's aura. Even the minute ones from the children were perfectly visible to him. The blonde girl with piercing eyes who followed them had an odd energy unlike anything he'd seen before, but it was still detectable.

Damien didn't feel a single iota of energy from the grandmother. He pushed a bit further, trying to see if he could glean anything from her, but his eyes went wide when the woman turned to glare at him.

"I told you to move the sheets! You lil' bastard!" She slapped him over the head, making him wince in pain. "Is that how your grandfather raised you? A peeping tom?!"

There were too many things to process for the boy. First, the fact that he felt a stinging sensation from her slap. He had taken a flail to the head in his many spars with Chester that stung less, although the man was usually holding back.

'How does she-?!'

His thoughts were interrupted as she continued to settle the boy down and pulled out a little drawer containing several items; gauze, stitches, and several bottled liquids.

"He's hit his limit with potions," Chester added as they wiped Alvis down with a rag. "Whatever it's called, they don't work anymore. Do you know any hospitals we could take him-?"

"Restorative Saturation Threshold. That's what it's called. Not a big deal. Eli, go ahead and sanitize the boy's body while I get the junk ready."

Chester stood there, unsure of her abilities. She had seemed like the most reliable person to go to in such a situation. He could tell from their short interaction she was a woman who was very rough around the edges, but her intentions were good. And she cooked a damn fine meal. But he didn't expect her to treat the boy herself, they merely wished for a place to stay and a recommendation for where they could find a nearby hospital.

"Er, Lola, do you need my help anywhere? Are you a licensed surgeon?"

"Yeah, if you could shut your yappin' mouth. That'd be good." She muttered grumpily, whispering under her breath about getting her beauty sleep interrupted. "I know my way around. I've patched up worse."

Again, she demonstrated surprising skill and agility with her hands. He had seen her in action when she was cooking food, but watching her roll out a toolkit and prepare for surgery was a completely different matter. Lola seemed to have in-depth knowledge about surgery. Sanitizing the tools and her hands thoroughly. Cutting through the gauze the children used to wrap around the worst wounds, applying ointment. She continued to work with the blonde girl as her dutiful assistant. Chester, Damien, and the orphan children watched in awe as she worked with laser focus.

"Dear, do you mind getting me those leather splints? The one we had for Agnes when she broke her leg? Just refit it to the boy's legs."

Eli looked down at Alvis for a moment, scanning his legs with an appraising eye. She promptly turned and left, taking a pair of scissors with her and closing the door quietly.

While Lola continued mending the boy's wounds, Chester and Damien talked quietly with each other.

"Chester, what the hell is this place? Who is she?"

"Her name's Lola. I went here to grab some food and I found out she was the one that the civilians name-drop to keep the other gangsters in line. Figured that if there was a place safe from those Twilight Bastards, it'd be here."

The vampire looked uneasy. He side-eyed the woman, deciding to keep his mouth shut until they were in a space away from prying eyes. He focused on the matter at hand. "...What are we going to do about the Twilight Bandits? They're probably going to stop at nothing. If these kids ever leave the neutral zone, they're screwed!"

He wanted to find Oliver Wood. The boy was certain that if they took him down for good, it would leave fewer problems once they left the city. Until that psychopath was dead, the children would never find peace.

"What can we do, Damien?" The illusionist said frustratedly. "Take them with us while we look for your brother? Ship them off to a random city to keep them safe? Fuck, let's take things one at a time. I'm tired, damnit."

The vampire recoiled. Chester's accusatory tone had made him remember just how the search for his brother got them in so much trouble. Damien put his head down and decided to keep quiet. The illusionist's furrowed brow softened and he felt some guilt lashing out at the boy, but he couldn't help it. The vampire teen was too hardheaded, and it resulted in this outcome.

Sheila and the other children noticed their spat and looked at them with worry. Bentham stood beside them, and he whispered quietly to avoid attracting Lola's ire.

"What Mister Rose did was wrong, that I agree with," The boy said with a firm voice. Damien winced but knew he was right. "But I don't think its right to blame him. We did this of our own accord. Just...I wish that you trusted us more, Mister Rose. We can help, but not when you push us away like that."

The teen looked so small. Vulnerable, even. It was the first time they'd seen Damien look so defeated in the short time he knew them. For once, he truly looked his age. Just a teenage boy that had placed too much responsibility on himself. Blame and self-loathing were visible on his face.

'All I wanted was to keep them away from danger. And It just made it worse.'

He could make excuses. Blame them for getting involved when they didn't need to. But in the end, Damien knew that everything boiled down to how he approached his plan. He was too eager, too headstrong. Had he asked for Chester's help, the undercover mission would've gone swimmingly. Or at least, he would've had someone to rely on when things went south.

But Damien was afraid. Deeply afraid. His anxieties and grief from the One-Day War still followed him. Chester nearly died. He had failed to keep his team safe when they set out to take the enemy ballista. Aunt Nat had lost her arm in the battle, and he was near helpless against the berserker vampire. It was why he was so hypervigilant since then.

It was also why he decided to distance himself from Chester. He didn't want to put him in peril for his own desire to see his brother, even when the man was perfectly willing to help.

But Damien could see just how much it had hurt others. And that ate him up more than anything else. His fears and insecurities led to his outcome. Alvis was in a comatose state, and their home burnt down to the ground. The orphans would likely have a target on their backs for the rest of their lives.

"Yeah...I'm sorry." He bowed his head deeply, his forehead touching the floor. "I didn't mean it to be like this. I-"

The vampire boy broke down into tears, and his quiet sobs filled the silent room as Lola operated on Alvis.