"What's all this ruckus?" Tenki interrupts, stretching his shoulder.
Nas turns his head slightly, Jovi tilts his head,
"Tenki. You made it." Jovi says.
"Don't pair me up with bums next time, Jovi." Tenki replies.
"Hey, you shitheads. This is not the time to be having a conversation. Fight me, the both of you, now." Nas says, highly annoyed.
In the distance, blood keeps leaking from Carmelo's wound as he keeps his grip on Oshoku's wrist,
His vision gets blurry and his eyelids get heavier.
"I cannot believe this, Oshoku. You're still not finished here?"
Vino says in Oshoku's mind.
Oshoku's eyes widen in shock, he starts speaking out loud,
"V-vino, s-sir… I was just finishing up." Oshoku says in a panic.
Nas, Jovi and Tenki all stop and turn their attention to Oshoku's anxiety.
Carmelo releases Oshoku's wrist and takes a weak step back,
"That's nonsense, Oshoku." Vino says in Oshoku's mind.
"Subjugate."
Oshoku falls to his knees, clutching his throat as it looks like his eyes are about to pop out of his skull.
"I'm sorry, Lord Vino. G-give me another shot." Oshoku pleads in agony,
Oshoku's back starts mutating and stretching,
Carmelo's eyes widen in shock, Nas frowns and tilts his head confused, Jovi drops his guard, Tenki yawns.
Suddenly, an arm shoots out of Oshoku's back, Oshoku screams in excruciating pain.
"What the hell is going on?" Carmelo asks, still injured.
Another arm shoots out of Oshoku's back, followed by a head, and then an entire body steps out from Oshoku's back.
Everyone's eyes widen in shock, the silhouette reveals itself as Vino himself.
Oshoku's corpse twitches lifelessly on the floor,
"Oh, it's only Vino." Nas says calmly,
Carmelo stares at Oshoku's body,
"Vino?! What did you do? This was your ally!!"
Vino closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
"My ally? I do not have 'allies'."
"This rodent couldn't even control a small town of Huairuro, what would I need him for?"
Vino says, he crouches down and engulfs Oshoku's body in green mana.
"I'm going to show you, how absolute I am."
Vino stands back up.
"Nas, you're dismissed."
Nas stares at Vino and blinks twice.
"Okay." He replies in a bored tone.
Nas puts his hands in his pockets and calmly starts to walk away.
"Boss, are we just going to let him leave?" Tenki asks with wide, confused eyes.
Jovi sighs bored,
"Yes. I'm only assisting Carmelo."
Vino summons yellow mana around his hand and covers his mouth.
"Every citizen, come outside from your house right now."
Suddenly, heavy pressure fall on Carmelo, Jovi and Tenki, crushing them into the ground.
"Boss? Are you okay?" Tenki says strugglingly,
"I'm okay, Tenki." Jovi says, struggling to talk.
"V-Vino, what are you doing?" Carmelo says, struggling.
The town's residents begin to emerge from their homes, they form a line and gaze out at the battlefield.
"You all deserve the truth, this man you call a hero is the reason this is happening." Vino says loudly,
"VINO!" Carmelo yells,
"The country of Huairuro would blossom under my control, but Carmelo here ruined those plans for me."
The citizens start glancing around at each other,
"Look at your children, you could give them the best life they could've asked for."
A man in the crowd steps up and yells back,
"How can you say that about Carmelo! He's been the only one helping us with every crisis going on around here!"
A small part of the crowd agree with the man,
Vino starts laughing to himself.
"You… you hear this, Carmelo? You've already lost the crowd." He says, still laughing.
"You all talk of loyalty, of trust. Yet your so-called 'hero' betrayed the very people he swore to protect. How much more are you going to starve, suffer, freeze… because of his stubborn righteousness? How many lives could have been spared if he had done what I offered?"
The crowd starts murmuring to each other, Vino closes his eyes and nods slowly.
"VINO! STOP! EVERYONE, DON'T LISTEN TO HIS LIES!" Carmelo screams,
Vino removes his hand from his mouth and crouches down to Carmelo.
"You're so… so dull, Carmelo. Even when trying to protest against me, you still do everything I want from you."
Carmelo's eyes widen,
"What the hell are you talking about?" Carmelo tries getting up, but he can't.
"You basically served me your country on a silver platter. The only thing I had to do was make you exhaust yourself, then plant the seed of doubts in the minds of your people."
"You bastard!!!" Carmelo grits through his teeth,
"Exactly as I had planned it. Now for the climax, yes?"
Vino gets back up and faces the crowd, he puts his hand on his mouth and speaks up again.
"Look at your children again. Think of the food they could have. Think of the schools, the safety that only I can provide. But no, you're going to suffer, starve, and live in fear, all because of Carmelo's pride."
The crowd falls silent for a moment.
"Get that fucker out of here then!!" A man yells, the crowd erupts in the same energy.
Vino chuckles lightly.
Jovi manages to lift his finger,
"This is all you, Carmelo." Jovi whispers strugglingly,
Jovi breaks the gravity weighing Carmelo down.
Suddenly, Carmelo's body feels light, he shoots upward and disperses from the scene.
Vino's eyes widen, he releases the gravity holding Jovi and Tenki down.
"Huh…"
Vino clenches his fist in green mana and completely revives Oshoku.
Oshoku wakes up in a panic, breathing heavy,
"Oshoku, bring me Carmelo's head."
"Y-y-y-y-y-y-yes, sir."
Oshoku loads up and flashes away from the scene to look for Carmelo.
Vino steps up to Jovi and Tenki,
"And who are you two supposed to be?"
'Any second now, Crowley…' Jovi thinks, slightly concerned.
Tenki puts Jovi's arm on his shoulder.
"What's the move, boss?" Tenki asks, ready to fight.
From out of nowhere, Tenki and Jovi quickly start sinking into the shadows on the ground,
Jovi breathes out and starts laughing,
"Goodbye, Vino Wolf."
Vino is left alone in the battlefield, the citizens staring out, concerned.
…