Four days passed since the terrorist attack on Spero Town. While to some it wasn't that long ago, to others, it might as well have been years. One of the people on the other side of that spectrum was the Wolf Beastia, Dire.

Ever since he took part in defense of the town, he wasn't allowed to show his face outside by order of his partner, Gigas. They had long infiltrated the capital city. Their mission was nearly complete. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could leave.

Dire always made it known about his intentions to leave Soteria as soon as possible. While notable, Gigas considered that fact problematic. Dire believed in getting things done as quickly as possible, regardless of the method used. Most of his ways were extremely violent and often always unnecessary.

That's why when they found themselves a place to hide in an abandoned building, Gigas ordered Dire to remain put. He wasn't allowed to leave the hideout unless given permission.

Usually, Dire would ignore the order and do whatever he wanted. But, he figured Gigas would complete the mission in no time at all.

Boy, how wrong he was.

Each day Gigas returned to the hideout, his levels of irritation showed on his face and body language. Of course, Dire didn't miss out on his opportunities to tease and mock his partner. He never saw any drawbacks in adding more fuel to the fire.

Every time Gigas came back to report another failure, he'd mainly complain about the increase in security around the port. Soldiers patrolled the area on a regular basis. There were nearly no flaws in the formation. Even when he spotted some, it didn't provide enough time to sneak pass and obtain a vehicle.

Having grown sick of his partner's incompetence and lack of results, Dire took it upon himself to deal with the situation. If Gigas couldn't get the job done, then he'd do it. The moment he headed for the nearest exit, a portal opened in front of him.

Out from said portal came Gigas with his arms crossed over his chest. "Where do you think you're going?" He demanded to know.

"Outside. Need to get some fresh air," answered Dire with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, "been cooped up in this building four whole days. It's stuffy in here."

"I gave you a direct order not to leave," Gigas reminded. He already knew I was having trouble getting through Soteria's security. He didn't want Dire wandering around the city adding to his problems.

Dire feigned ignorance. The Beastia swayed his head from side to side, looking up into an imaginary thought bubble as if searching through his memories for that specific order. 

"Ah, yeah, you did. But, I'm bored. Don't wanna listen to you anymore."

"Did you forget what I told you would happen if you disobeyed a direct order?" Gigas opened a portal beside him. He reached inside and pulled out his hammer, more than ready to beat Dire into submission if he had to.

Dire's tail wagged eagerly behind him. Been years since the two of them last seriously fought each other. If a fight between them were to happen at that moment, Dire was confident he'd come out as the victor.

"You wanna fight, Gigas? Sure thing," The Beastia smiled and took an offensive stance. Just when the two were ready to fight, a barrage of gunfire erupted from outside, catching their attention. 

Dire and Gigas moved to the window and looked outside. Like Spero Town, the streets flooded with Varvara. Civilians ran off, screaming for their lives. Soldiers arrived on the scene moments later, shooting down as many creatures as they could.

"Well, Gigas, guess we'll just have to work with this," Dire patted his partner on the shoulder.

"What a pain..." Gigas turned and headed for the door. "fine; we'll use this situation to our advantage. However, you're still going to follow my orders. You're not to leave my side, even for a second. You won't attack anyone without any probable cause. Don't make any excuses about self-defense. I'll know when you're lying."

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Dire scowled after Gigas gave him the rundown of how things would work between them. Even though he didn't have a subjugation collar around his neck, he sure as hell felt like a slave. If he wasn't allowed to have fun out on the battlefield, then what was the point of battle?

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll be good," Dire forced a smile.

With their verbal agreement sealed, the two stepped out onto the chaotic streets. The firefight between the military soldiers and Varvara raged on. Left and right bodies collapsed and faded. Dire mentally commended the Acolytes.

Despite their small numbers, they proved themselves to be a tremendous threat to the country. 

Dire licked his lips in anticipation for his inevitable confrontation with the Acolytes. He didn't want to miss out on all the fun. The moment he stepped forward to join the fight, a firm hand grasped his tail and kept him in place.

"Don't even think about it," demanded Gigas while Dire tended to his tail, "this isn't our fight. We're only going to fight when necessary—like I told you."

"Isn't clearing a path for us necessary?" Dire harshly responded. He didn't see many opportunities to sneak through the battlefield without a fighting something.

Gigas didn't even bother to entertain his partner with a response. Instead, he opened a portal and shoved the Beastia through it. Dire fell through the dark void for a moment before he exited and landed in a different part of the city.

The area was less chaotic as the previous one. Only about a handful of soldiers and Varvara lingered.

"Military sucks at their job," Dire watched with mild interest as the soldiers died pathetically to the Varvara. "country's gonna fall if this keeps up."

"It doesn't matter to us if this country preserves or falls. Let's hurry to the castle," Gigas walked onward. Varvara attacked him along the way, but they were swatted and crushed with mighty swings of his hammer.

"Show off," Dire sauntered behind his partner. Along the way, they came across more soldiers and Varvara. Dire would've taken care of them, but Gigas frequently used his portals to avoid combat. 

 "We're almost there," Gigas announced.

"Hey, Gigas, something just crossed my mind," Dire said.

 "What is it?"

"You spent the past four days doing recon, right? That means you must've gotten close enough to the bridge. How come you didn't use a portal to take us there immediately?"

"Security's too tight. Showing up near the bridge with the portal would've attracted too much attention."

"Oh, and walking up to the bridge during the chaos won't do the same?" 

Gigas had nothing to say afterward. He kept his mouth shut and continued onward. Once the duo turned a nearby street corner, a massive horde of Varvara greeted them. A couple lunged at the team.

Gigas smacked them away without much effort. Afterward, others charged in.

Dire stepped out in front of his partner and attacked the approaching monsters with a flurry of kicks. He intentionally maneuvered deeper into the horde—ignoring Gigas’ demands to come back. At that point, his adrenaline was pumping. His blood boiled. 

An entire horde of enemies lied right before his very eyes. He'd be a fool to let them get away with attacking him.

One after the other, Varvara attacked then faded into nothingness after receiving a kick from the Beastia. The longer he remained in the horde, the more he realized how weak the defenses of the country must’ve been. Sure, Lycan’s were dangerous in packs. The belief of strength in numbers applied to those creatures. However, that opinion meant nothing to those that were truly strong.

Only weaklings relied on the strength of others. That’s all the Lycan’s were—weaklings. Dire couldn't understand how a country believed to be the strongest in the world, could lose so many soldiers to weak monsters.

 "Dire!" Gigas' voice thundered from behind Dire. His ears perked up once he heard a rush of wind coming at him. The Beastia ducked down, narrowly avoiding the hammer that flew over his head and blew away approaching Varvara.

"About time you decided to join the party," Dire straightened his posture and turned to face Gigas with a grin.

"You're hopeless..." Gigas dryly responded.

"What? This is the most Varvara I've ever seen in my life. Can't blame me for getting excited," Dire turned to face the incoming monsters.

Before they could continue with their fight, a speeding vehicle rushed through the area, plowing down the monsters. Dire and Gigas jumped out of the way and watched a series of explosions consume the Varvar—essentially clearing a path for the duo. 

"What the hell was up with that?" Dire scratched the back of his head. The remaining Varvara ignored them and chased after the speeding vehicle.

"Doesn't matter. We can retreat now." Gigas turned around and ran off in the opposite direction.

Dire remained in the middle of the street. The sight of the fleeing monsters ignited his instincts to give chase. It only took one angry shout from Gigas to snap him out of it. With a groan of frustration as a response, the young wolfman complied with the demanded. 

They traveled down a different path to the castle. Along that road, another speeding vehicle nearly ran the team over. 

"That's the second time someone tried to run us over!" Dire complained.

"Perhaps if you got out from the middle of the road," said Gigas from the sidewalk. He pointed his hammer at the pack of Varvara that approached. "enemies remain."

"Oh, shut up..." Dire joined with his partner and helped him clean out the annoying creatures. Eventually, they reached the port at the foot of the mountain. The first thing that caught his attention was the vehicles parked there. The matched the exact ones that nearly ran them over.