"Yo Vin," Zane said as he flicked his sword to get the blood off of it.

He then slowly walked over to one of the wolves, that was still squirming in the snow, trying to crawl away on the two legs it had left, the other two being just stumps with blood gushing out of them. Zane pointed his katana at the dire wolf's neck and rammed it through. The creature died with a last, miserable howl escaping its lungs.

"What are you doing here?" Vindictus asked as he sat down on a nearby rock.

His pale skin shone in the sunlight, his wings cast a large shadow behind him and his red eyes pierced him.

"Living!" Zane yelled. "Just . . . having some fun!"

"Alright, what are you angry about?" Vindictus asked calmly, pulling his wings closer to his body.

Zane walked up to him and sat down on another rock, opposite to the one Vindictus sat upon.

"Why would I be angry!?" Zane asked, breathing heavily.

"You only scream around like this when you're angry," Vindictus said.

"That so!?" Zane asked, still being louder than usual.

"By the way, where is your fox girlfriend?" Vindictus asked.

"Off getting married!" Zane said.

"And you just let that happen?" Vindictus asked.

"What do you mean!? That's the whole reason I brought her to Kalwa!" Zane said.

His breathing began to calm down.

"Then why do you sound so sad?" Vindictus asked as he looked him up and down with his red eyes.

"S-Sad?" Zane asked, having calmed down.

"Yes, you sound like you've lost something," Vindictus stated. "Or maybe you left something behind?"

"What would you know!?" Zane yelled.

"I have lost many things as well you know, a lot of things. Friends loved ones . . . and every time I would act like you're acting now as if it wasn't that bad. And every time someone would ask me why I sounded so sad," Vindictus said. "Listen, I don't have much time. Even by being here, I might make Scuti angry, and that is really not something anyone wants . . ."

Zane noticed Vindictus tense up a little at the thought.

Vin, afraid of someone else?

"Anyway. Are you sure that . . ." Vindictus looked around at the many dire wolf corpses around them, "whatever you're doing here is really what you want to do?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm the old me again. And the old me just wants to adventure," Zane stated, trying to sound as confident as he could.

"The old you? This is the old you?" Vindictus asked.

Zane nodded, not noticing the warm feeling on his cheeks.

"Then why are you crying if the old yo- or rather, the current you just wants to adventure?" Vindictus asked with a concerned look on his face.

"I-I'm no-" Zane began, but when a cold breeze hit his face he felt his tears freezing.

"So, I'll ask you again, are you sure that . . . this . . . is what you want?" Vindictus asked. "Are you sure that you're your old self again? I remember a time where you said the same thing, turned out you were just lying to yourself so you could forget. Visiting their graves was enough to bring out the you that I know."

"I-I . . . I don't know," Zane said.

Have I been lying to myself? Would the old me just leave someone that loves him behind like that? Only leaving a simple note behind . . . no, no of course not. I'm not the old me. I just used Ivana to make myself believe that . . . I'm scum. I'm an asshole that only thinks about himself. So what am I sad about? Is it because I left Ivana behind? Should I have taken her with me? We could have had a family together . . . no, that's not it. Mira. I'm angry at myself for leaving her behind to marry that idiot.

"I'm not . . . the old me," Zane said. "I'm just some asshole that only thinks about himself."

"There you go," Vindictus said. "Although I'm not sure whether or not it's good that you can just admit something like that. But at least now you realized that this isn't what you want. Only one question remains. What is it you want?"

Vindictus looked down at him, hir red eyes piercing him, his smooth skin shining in the sunlight, his dark green wings slowly moving up and down and his long, black braid laying in the snow.

What do I want? I want to get Mira out of there . . . but where would we even go? If I just destroy that wedding they'll hunt us down . . .

Zane looked up at Vindictus.

"Do me two favours," Zane said. "One, bring me down to Kalwa. Two, tell Ishtar to come to the Boriam port."

"Hmmm . . . I don't know if I'll find Ishtar . . . as I said I don't have much time," Vindictus said.

"If she isn't in Kross then go tell Indura, she still owes me for escorting her," Zane said.

"Yeah, Indura adores you . . . although I don't know whether or not that is a good thing. I mean the guy . . . I mean girl is a bit strange, having been reincarnated so many times," Vindictus said with a smile on his face. "Alright, I'll do my best."

Vindictus got up from his rock and walked over to Zane, grabbed him beneath his arms and then rose into the sky with a single, strong flap of his massive wings.

Being friends with a dragonkin really does help.

The cold air hit Zane's entire body as Vindictus carried him through the skies. He looked down and saw the massive frozen lake beneath them. From up there it seemed even more impressive. After only a few minutes Zane could see the city of Kalwa beneath them.

"Get ready, we're going down," Vindictus said.

Before Zane could answer Vindictus dove down, towards the streets of Kalwa. With a loud crashing sound he hit the ground, leaving behind a crater. He then slowly put Zane on the ground and extended his wings again. Everyone was staring at the two.

"Don't get yourself killed or something," Vindictus said.

Zane smiled.

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"I won't," he said.

With another flap of his wings, Vindictus was in the air again. Zane turned his attention towards the ramp and began running. He didn't even notice the many people and guards staring at him as he sprinted up the ramp, over the platform and then up the stairs and into the mansion.

No one was there. He quickly ran down the stairs, past the dining hall and kicked open the large door that led to the hall where the wedding was. With one hand he drew a gun and shot a bullet straight into the ceiling to get everyone's attention.

The massive hall was rounded at the beginning and the back half was square. The walls were made of a dark stone and only lit up by the four massive chandeliers that hung from the ceiling, sorcery crystals were all over them, filling the room with light. Multiple huge, bright red and gold carpets had been laid out on the floor.

At the end of the hall was a massive clock-like structure with three large, light blue pendulums that reflected the light. Above the one in the middle was a large plate on the wall with the numbers one through thirty-five on it. The large, silver clock hand pointed to number ten. The one to its right showed the numbers one through twelve, currently pointing to the number ten and the one to its left showed the numbers one through twenty-four, currently pointing to the number thirteen.

So this is one of those famous clocks the royal families have beneath their capitals.

Beneath the three clocks was an altar, three people stood in front of it. Xavier dressed in black, fine clothes, Mira in a white dress and a man dressed in dark red standing between them with a book in his hand.

The rest of the hall was filled with tables, chairs and most of all, people. Everyone had their eyes focused on Zane as he walked down the stairs and stepped onto the red carpet, blood still dripping from his armour. A few of the people there began screaming and he could see a few others faint.

Guards immediately surrounded him, pointing their weapons at him.

"Zane, what is the meaning of this? I thought you quit," Holvin said from between two guards.

"Yes, but I sadly forgot something important so I just came back to get her," Zane said.

"Ivana is not here," Holvin said.

"I'm not talking about her," Zane said with a grin on his face.

"Then who el-" Holvin began but Zane had already drawn his katana and pointed at Mira with it.

"Her," he said.

"I can't let you do this. Guards! Capture this man!" Holvin screamed.

The guards began closing in on Zane with their spears pointed directly at him. But Zane ignored them, opened one of his satchels and took out a vial with orange liquid inside. He saw the guards look at him in shock when he drank it.

His throat burned as the flames welled up in him and then left his mouth. All of the guards jumped back to escape the flames. The carpet strangely didn't catch fire at all.

What did they use for this?

Zane kept the guards at bay with his fire breath as he approached the alter slowly but surely. In the background, he could hear laughter. He slightly turned his head to see where it was coming from. Lovana, Veral and Igarem stood around a small table with drinks in their raised hands.

"The bastard came back!" Veral shouted.

Lovana agreed with a loud hum that could be heard even through all the commotion. When Zane's fire breath stopped he had reached the halfway point of the hall. Only a few more guards stood between him and the alter where Mira was staring at him from.

"Please . . . just come with us quietly. Master Holvin will forgive you," one of the guards said.

Do I really look like I care about that guy's forgiveness?

He could see a few servants and family members run out of the hall. Zane sheathed his katana and drew the other gun.

"W-We don't h-have to do t-this," a guard said with a shaky voice.

Zane ignored their pleading and shot a bullet right past a guards head, hitting the stairs far behind them. The guard fell to the ground, dropping his weapon.

"What are you idiots doing!? This man is trying to kidnap my wife! Arrest him this instant!" Xavier shouted, his voice echoing through the hall.

One of the guards began screaming and charging at Zane with his spear. When he thrust it at him Zane stepped to the side, pointed one gun at the guard and squeezed the trigger. For a moment it seemed like nothing happened. But then the guard coughed up blood and fell to the ground with a hole in his upper body. With dead eyes Zane looked at all the other guards, each one of them kept their distance as they began circling around him.

Do we really have to do this? Do I have to kill more of these guys just to prove my point?

Zane pointed both guns at the guards and squeezed the triggers. Two more guards fell to the ground.

"Anyone else that wants to throw away their life?" Zane asked with a serious look on his face.

He looked back at Mira who was staring at him with a shocked look in her eyes. A guard used that moment to charge at him, pointing his spear directly at Zane's side. Zane leaned backwards, grabbed the spear shaft with one hand, which was uncomfortable since he was still holding the gun, pointed the other gun directly at the guard's face and pulled the trigger. The guard fell to the ground with a hole in his head.

At least the carpet is already red.

"Stop this madness at once!" Holvin shouted.

He slowly walked towards Zane.

"Why are you doing this?" Holvin asked, trying to stay calm. "Is it money you want? I can give you more money?"

"I told you. I left something here that I would like to take now," Zane said.

"I told you already that I can not let you take her away, she needs to marry Xavier to keep the Vermillion family intact," Holvin said calmly.

"And is that also what she wants?" Zane asked, looking back at Mira.

She first looked over to Xaver who was biting his thumb, then at Holvin and then at Zane. She slowly shook her head.

"See?" Zane said with a grin on his face.

"That does not matter! This is about something much bigger than her, or you or anyone else here! This is about the Vermillion family! The greatest of the five great families of Ion! We are the descendants of the Ninetails clan! We have been the most powerful of the five great families since the beginning of the fourth era four thousand years ago! I will not let some mercenary treat us like this!" Holvin screamed. "Anyone who brings me the head of the mercenary Zane Larcadia, also known as the Reaper will get fiv- no, ten thousand gold coins!"

Bringing out the big guns eh?

"What!? Ten thousand!? For the Reaper!?" Veral asked loudly. "As good as that sounds, that ain't enough money to risk my life for!"

Zane waited a few moments for any of the guards to attack him, but none of them dared. A few more servants ran out of the hall.

This might complicate things . . . and the witch doesn't owe me any favours . . . I'll just have to threaten her.

He turned around and began walking towards the altar. He heard footsteps behind him, turned around and pointed his guns at two guards that had charged at him from behind. Both of them stopped in their tracks. Without even waiting for them to plead for their lives Zane shot two bullets through their faces. Both of them fell to the ground.

Zane turned back around and walked up the few steps that led to the altar. Xavier stepped in front of him.

"Enough is enough! I will not let you insult my family, my father any longer!" he shouted.

Zane put both guns back in their holsters and drew his katana. With one fluid move, he cut open Xavier's throat and sheathed his blade again. The man sank to the ground, gripping his throat with one hand, blood seeped through the spaces between his fingers and onto the red carpet.

Without saying a word Zane walked past the dying Xavier and stepped before Mira.

"This might sound a little selfish but I would like you to come with me, now," Zane said as he reached out to her with one hand.

Mira nodded and took his hand, at that moment Zane pulled her closer and stepped behind her.

"Sorry," he whispered in her ear.

His blood-stained blade was quickly at her throat and he began driving her down the steps and towards the exit to the hall. No one dared say a word. Holvin had run to his son along with some guards, the rest kept their distance from Zane, not wanting him to kill Mira.

"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! I don't care about that bitch Mira! Just bring me his head! Whoever does it gets a hundred thousand gold coins and the right to marry any member of the Vermillion family he or she wants!" Holvin cried as he held the dead body of his son in his arms.

"Now that's a prize worth risking my life over!" Veral shouted as he jumped in front of both of them. "Nothing personal, but you see . . . the offer is just too good."

"Mira, do you have your rune on you?" Zane asked her quietly as he pulled his katana away from her throat.

She nodded and ripped off the right sleeve of her wedding dress, revealing the black armring with the rune on it. She pointed at Veral with one finger and a moment later the rune began glowing and Veral was hurled into the wall.

"What was that!?" someone in the crowd yelled.

"That thing might be more useful than I expected," Mira said.

Zane nodded in agreement.

"You think I'll just let you run off with my sister like that!" Merana yelled as she charged at Zane, her dagger, the same one she used to give him the scar over his eye, in her hand.

Zane lifted his left arm and channelled some aura into his gauntlet. Mira crashed right into the air shield and sank to the ground.

"Another one of those weird things," someone in the crowd said.

"Let's go," Zane said to Mira.

She nodded and the two slowly walked towards the stairs that led back up into the mansion. Zane heard something fly through the air and raised his left hand again, blocking the arrow shot at him.

"Nothing personal," Lovana said as she drew back the next arrow.

As soon as she let go it hit straight into the air shield again.

"What is that thing?" she asked.

Zane shrugged. By the time they had reached the door, they had left behind a trail of arrows. As soon as they went through the door Zane slammed it shut.

"Good, now we need to go to the wi-" Zane began but he was interrupted.

"Zane, what are you doing?" Ivana asked from the top of the stairs.