Pushing herself away from the iron gate, Monica angrily storms back to her men. She yells out “No more waiting boys! We're finally going to end this!”

The gathered Crimsons all yell and cheer at Monica's words. Swords and other weapons rise up into the air in celebration. Several crossbows are lifted high, then brought level. Markus sees those men start pointing the crossbows in their direction. Deliberate aim is being taken.

Markus raises his own weapon to match the present threat. He yells “Go ahead and try you fucks!” The barrel of the assault rifle starts sweeping left to right at the crowd. Many Crimsons flinch at the sight or step backwards in fear. The crossbow men immediately point their weapons downward. Markus' mind is racing, causing him to yell as a bluff “No second chances! I'll kill anyone that comes at us!”

Oscar now has his own rifle pointing at the group of Crimsons. Meanwhile, Monica is standing unfazed at the commotion. She then raises a fist to the air as a signal to her men. The Crimsons start sheathing their weapons, slowly moving away from the gate.

Tension is still in the air. Markus waits a few moments before lowering his own weapon slightly. Oscar, however, is still in his shooting stance. The old butler is aiming squarely at the chest of a Crimson thug. The man is one of the few equipped with a metal piece of armor.

“Hey! You with the breastplate! Don't move!” Oscar calls out with a smile. Everyone freezes as a gunshot erupts from the Noverran rifle. The bullet slams into the man's metal breastplate. A loud pinging sound echoes as the Crimson is sent crashing backwards.

Markus is stunned by Oscar's action, and so is everyone else. However, the situation is now potentially out of control. Markus quickly raises his rifle up again. Nervousness is showing on his face as he starts aiming at random figures.

“Son of a bitch! What was that for!?” The man with the metal breastplate cries out in pain. He staggers himself off the ground. Several nearby Crimsons help him stand as he continues to curse and yell. A large dent can be seen on the metal right at his heart.

“That's my only warning! Next time I'm aiming for the soft parts!” Oscars yells back. He then drops his shooting stance and lowers his Noverran rifle. Turning to Markus, he says “Alright, we need to go back.”

Oscar starts slowly moving backwards with his rifle firmly in his hands. Markus gets the hint and starts following his lead. Both men walk backwards to the estate, keeping their rifles focused on the Crimsons beyond the iron gate.

Monica is clearly angry. She yells out “Get camp going! I want sentries surrounding the entire compound. Round the clock watch! No one escapes!” She then starts walking back to the iron gate. Monica puts her face between the metal bars and yells out in a furious tone “You're going to regret that! All of you!”

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A laugh can be heard from Oscar. He turns to Markus to say “I already regret a lot of things. One more won't hurt.”

Both men keep moving backwards until they reach a comfortable distance to safety. As they turn around, Markus catches a glimpse of something at the iron gate. Stopping himself to look, he realizes what he sees.

“Christ, look at the size of him.” Markus says to Oscar. Several more Crimsons have joined their comrades. Among them, a wolf beastial can be seen listening to orders being given by Monica. The beastial is at least eight foot tall, reminiscent of werewolves of lore. Shirtless with bulging muscles, thick fur, and razor claws. A red bandanna is tied around his left arm.

The old butler turns around to look too. Oscar stares for a bit before saying “Looks like they have a pure breed beastial. This is going to be fun.”

Without anything else, Oscar turns his back to the Crimsons. He starts walking on the path leading back to the estate front doors. Markus follows right behind him, occasionally glancing back.

Soon, Markus and Oscar reach the large wooden doors of the main building. They pass through the doors to reach the main lobby where they all gathered before. Versa is sitting on the couch, and Aurora sitting on the decorative table beside Eclair. The pan, towels, and items brought earlier are now gone.

Versa stands up to greet the men. She says “We cleaned up after you left. We didn't need it like we thought.” She then turns to Markus to say “Your friend Eclair is doing fine. Only has a few bruises and a tiny scar on her head now. She just needs rest. How did it go with you?”

Oscar jumps in to say “Things are going to get ugly. Good portion of the gang is surrounding the estate now. We can't ignore a fight anymore.”

“Look, I don't know if I can do this. I've never killed anyone. Even if it's self defense, I'm not that type of person. I've never trained for this situation.” Markus says to Oscar with concern showing on his face.

The old butler laughs, putting his hand on Markus shoulder, then grabbing his combat vest with a firm grip. Oscar says with a serious tone “You don't have an option. Destiny has made the choice for you. There isn't any more time. Within two days, you're going to be dead, captured, or running for your life. I can promise you that.”

Markus stares in silence at the old butler. Oscars eyes show no hint of lying. He then asks “Why two days? Why are you so sure?”

Oscar steps away from Markus. He then points at the holstered pistol saying “You said it yourself. Shot up a bunch of Crimsons in town. I bet that caused a ruckus. I also noticed you weren't hiding your equipment when you first came to us. I think it's safe to say the entire town of Montillo knows you exist now.”

A groan escapes from Markus. Images from the chase through town rush into his head. He remembers how people and beastials looked at him as he ran. The stares and whispers from when he met Versa in town.

“I guarantee the Acquisition Department has already sent a task force for you. Monica knows that too. It's a race against time now. She only has a small window to get to you first.” Oscar says. He then continues with “Government would prefer you alive, but Monica could care less at this point. However, everybody wants your gear. Even if you somehow manage to escape, then you get to be chased by a criminal gang and the government. Slim chances I would say.”

A hand reaches up to Markus' face. He starts to squeeze the bridge of his nose as he processes all of the information. After a few seconds, he finally says “I'm fucked... I can't believe it. After everything I tried to do. None of it mattered.”