Serafim was worried about his little brother. He knew that Anastasiy was putting on a strong face to not worry their family, but deep down he was terrified of his situation. Indeed, he had found his brother crying the first few nights after he woke up. For the first two nights, Serafim had stood behind the door, listening to his little brother questioning himself, doubting everything that was going on around him, everything that he had been told. And that had hurt Serafim.

On the third night, he had entered Anastasiy's room, who had tried to wipe away his tears and smile. But as soon as Serafim took him in his arms, he collapsed, letting his tears flow freely. He spent the whole night consoling him, reassuring him, chasing away his fears and tears. He knew that words would not be enough, so he made an oath to him. An oath on his life. Anastasiy had been horrified when he heard this but had also accepted, knowing that only then his fears could finally disappear. And now they were coming back with a vengeance as he stood before the remains of his home.

Guards stood around it, a barrier preventing the flames from spilling over. Anastasiy finally realized how incredibly lucky he had been to survive the explosion.

"Captain, young master," greeted one of the guards.

"Any change?"

"The barrier seems to have strengthened four hours ago, before weakening again. Young Master Ewald's barrier is still there."

Anastasiy glanced towards his brother and saw that like him, he had made the connection. The moment the barrier had strengthened must have been the moment the two creatures were present in the same room as him. Which meant there was a possibility for him to use magic, or at least he hoped so.

"When we tell Ewa this, remind me to have a recorder with me."

"I promise."

The two brothers were perfectly able to imagine the face of the third brother when he would learn this. After all, the situation with his core was already strange. Learning that he could potentially do magic without having a core directly inside him would definitely cause Ewald to pull his hair out.

"We also managed to break through the cellar wall," the guard resumed when Serafim focused on him again.

"Damn it, Stacie. What kind of magic did you use?"

"A barrier spell, I guess."

"Stacie, a barrier spell doesn't last three weeks without being renewed by its caster. Especially when the attacker has three mages, ten magicians, and five master swordsmen."

"I'm a genius?"

Serafim laughed at his brother's reply, ruffling his hair under his protests, before setting off down the street. The duo arrived at a house that was just as damaged as the others, perhaps even more since the ground floor no longer existed. The cellar was visible, revealing a stone archway that led to the next cellar and so on. Passing through each cellar, the duo soon arrived at their destination.

"In your face, shitty wall!"

"Language, Vitya!"

" Who cares! "

"Vitya!"

"I see you're in great form, Vitya."

"Captain!"

Several others saluted Serafim, as Anastasiy observed the group of eighteen people before him. All showed different levels of fatigue, ranging from discreet dark circles under their eyes to ready to fall asleep on the spot. Finally, Anastasiy's gaze fell on the pair in front of his brother. The man had hair that would have made a lion green with envy, with skin marked by long hours in the sun and scars. Beside him, a small woman with white hair streaked with red kept swearing as she recounted how they had managed to destroy the wall. The man kept rolling his eyes behind his glasses, constantly admonishing the woman about her language.

"Damn it, Aslan! Are you going to let me speak or what?!"

"Vitya! I swear I'm going to soap your mouth if you continue!"

At the threat, the woman turned to the man, spitting at him as a cat would. The two spikes of hair that Anastasiy found strange straightened, revealing cat ears, before flattening out again as Vitya's hair straightener. For his part, Aslan steadied himself, his one arm holding a bar of soap as he glared at Vitya. The tension was at its peak when suddenly two columns of water crashed into the duo.

"Captain, young master, this way," waved a young man with purple hair and a killer look.

"Thank you, Anthelm," Serafim thanked with a smile.

"Anthelm! You son of b-!"

And Vitya took another column of water.