Nic arrived at the small town of Winera, where Fino was supposed to be—but when he got there, Fino was nowhere in sight.
"Hm, is he out somewhere?" Nic wondered. He decided to ask around the locals.
Luckily, one resident had seen him. The guy said Fino had headed into the forest behind the town, right at the edge of Winera.
Without wasting time, Nic went straight there, curious what Fino was up to.
---
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Fino was with Pinny. Several trees around them were smashed to pieces.
Fino stared at his own hands—they were scratched up, but not from pain. For some reason, he'd just knocked down trees with raw strength.
"SO COOL, FINO! HOW DID YOU SUDDENLY GET THIS STRONG?!" Pinny yelled excitedly.
"I have no idea… my body just feels way stronger than usual. And when I tested it… yeah, it really is," Fino said, still baffled by himself.
Pinny stepped closer. "So… does this mean you're finally joining the Defense faction?"
Fino went quiet for a second, then nodded slowly. "I feel like I have to start moving. I can't just stay still forever, right?" He smiled and gently patted Pinny's head.
"YES! Finally you're stepping up, haha!" Pinny grinned wide.
Right then, Nic appeared, clapping his hands slowly. He'd been watching—finally seeing the effect of the Cupid Loyalty he'd given Fino back then kick in.
"Welcome to the Defense faction, Fino. Now we're both new members there," Nic said, giving a thumbs-up.
Fino turned. "Nic? Since when were you here?"
"Just got here. Locals told me you were in the forest. So… we're gathering in Vintervirk right now. You in?"
"Gathering already?" Fino glanced at Pinny.
Pinny nodded enthusiastically, and Fino agreed to come along.
After dropping Pinny back home safely, Nic and Fino headed straight for the hidden city of Vintervirk.
But the trip wasn't smooth. Something suddenly blocked their path.
Fino froze, face pale with panic. Standing right in front of them—out in the open—was Lady Golden Eagle. As far as he knew, she never showed herself to low-caste people. She always stayed high up, only sending her golden eagle down to attack.
"W-we're in trouble… we have to run!" Fino whispered, trembling.
But Nic just stood there, staring at Galea. He was curious why she'd come again when he'd clearly shown he didn't care about her.
Galea stepped right up to Nic. Fino backed away.
She pressed her fan gently against his lips, smiling softly. "Looks like the little raven wants to start moving now? You know… that just makes me even more excited." Her cheeks flushed again.
Nic sighed and decided to play along. He activated God of Illusion combined with God of Intimidation—summoning a massive, intimidating raven shadow looming behind him, glaring straight at Galea.
"Sorry, but your words are wrong. It should be 'the big raven is about to make his move, and you should start being careful.'" Nic whispered, voice dripping with intimidation.
Instead of fear, Galea froze in awe… then got even more thrilled. She laughed and swung her fan at him.
Nic dodged easily, grabbed Fino, and bolted using God of Speed. He had no intention of fighting her yet.
Galea watched them vanish in a blink, annoyed but still letting them go.
"That raven… that raven…!! I have to have him~" Galea muttered, her obsession with Nic growing for reasons even she couldn't fully explain.
Nic kept running until—without realizing—he'd already reached Vintervirk.
Fino blinked in shock. "Wait! Huh? Vintervirk… how did we get here so fast? It felt like I was carried by the wind."
Nic whistled innocently. "Ah, just my secret running technique."
"Secret running technique… wait, how were you so calm in front of Lady Golden Eagle? She even attacked you! Have you fought her before?" Fino asked, still confused.
Nic shook his head. "Nah, no idea. Just coincidence. I'm used to running from predators anyway."
Fino stayed quiet, thinking: What kind of prey escapes an Apex predator that easily without a scratch?
---
A little earlier, inside Vintervirk.
Fang and Bunny had arrived first and run into Felicia.
"Hey hey, why are you two here? Coming to see me? Nobody invited you!" Felicia said.
"What the hell, you clueless fox? Who'd want to see you? We're all gathering—if you don't wanna join, just leave," Bunny snapped back.
Felicia gritted her teeth, ready to throw down. Fang quickly grabbed both their hoods to hold them back.
"Geez, stop it already. You two are always fighting… We're reuniting as the Defense faction," Fang said.
"Reunion… wait! I ran into some crazy guy who claimed to be from the Defense faction! You really know him?" Felicia asked.
Fang nodded. "Yeah, that's Nic. He's a bit weird… but I guarantee he's insanely strong and one-of-a-kind."
"You're right! I pushed him into a death trap, and you know what? He came out completely fine, like nothing happened!" Felicia complained.
Fang told her to calm down and trust Nic. Then he started contacting all the former Defense members to gather.
One by one, they arrived.
Fannar burst in full energy as always. "YOO!! WE'RE BACK TOGETHER? I CAN'T WAIT TO DO MY THING!"
Felicia and Bunny smacked his head in unison. "SHUT UP, YOU MOUNTAIN GOAT!"
They realized they'd hit him at the same time, glared at each other, and turned away in sync.
"Ow… you guys are the same as ever! That hurt, damn it!" Fannar rubbed his head.
Then Hermyra the Ermine arrived.
"Um, hi everyone… finally we're meeting again," she said softly.
"YOO! HERMYRA, YOU'RE AS GENTLE AS EVER—" Fannar started, but Felicia shoved him aside.
"Move! Aaa, Hermyra! Didn't I tell you—even if we're not in the same faction anymore, we're still best friends! But you never visit!" Felicia hugged her tight.
"Ah, sorry Fel… but you know Zhatick is too dangerous if I leave. Especially with the Predator faction—Snow Sniper always heads there," Hermyra explained.
"Aa… oh right! Sorry, Hermyra," Felicia grinned sheepishly.
Bunny immediately teased. "Pfft… some best friend who doesn't even know her friend's situation? Hilarious."
Felicia got pissed again. They almost fought, but Fannar and Fang held them back once more.
Then Aivar and Veyra—the Reindeer and Ptarmigan—arrived.
Fang looked a bit awkward in front of Veyra.
"Ah, Veyra… welcome back. We should put the past behind us, right?" he tried.
Veyra looked at him, nodded, and seemed to be trying to act mature—no more dwelling on old grudges.
Aivar spotted Fannar and they immediately bro-hugged.
"Haha, finally meeting again, brother!" Aivar laughed.
"YOO, AIVAR—MY BEST BROTHER! WE'RE FIGHTING TOGETHER AGAIN, HAHA!" Fannar shouted.
They were so loud Bunny and Felicia just covered their ears.
Veyra asked Fang, "Where's that raven guy?"
"Oh, you mean Nic?" Fang replied.
"Ah, so his name's Nic? Yeah, him. Because of him, Aivar and I decided to join back," Veyra said.
Felicia was shocked. "Huh? You joined because of that weirdo? How??"
Veyra tilted her head. "Hm, maybe ask the others why they came back."
Hermyra and Fannar both said it was because of Nic.
Fang scratched his cheek. "He's actually the one who wanted to reunite us all…"
Felicia scratched her head in frustration. "Then where is he now??"
Right on cue, Nic and Fino walked in looking cool.
Fang spotted Fino with Nic. "Whoa, you actually brought him too?"
Nic nodded and introduced Fino to everyone as the new member, the one who vibes with the Gentoo penguin.
Veyra stepped up and shook Fino's hand. "Welcome aboard, Fino."
Fino nodded, thanking them for the warm welcome.
Then Felicia approached Nic—originally ready to yell again—but the moment she got close, her heart pounded hard and her cheeks flushed.
"Eh… why's my chest like this?" She clutched it and looked at Nic again.
The feelings exploded inside her, but she still refused to admit it.
"What? Still gonna reject me here?" Nic teased, leaning in close.
Felicia's face turned bright red. She shoved his face away. "FINE! FINE, OKAY, I ACCEPT! LET'S JUST HURRY UP AND TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GATHERING FOR!"
She stormed off to the center, embarrassed.
Bunny watched and was convinced: Felicia definitely likes Nic.
"How is that even possible?" Bunny thought.
After that, they started chatting, introducing themselves properly. The Defense faction was officially whole again—with Fang still as leader.
Nic activated Listen to the Leader, and everyone instinctively treated him like a true commander.
Nic gave the orders: go straight for a barbaric hit on the high castes, then run.
"We're playing hit-and-run. Terrorize them, scatter them, then we'll fight them piece by piece later."
"Wait… fight them? Honestly, even if we're strong, I don't think we can beat them," Veyra said.
"That's true—if they stay grouped. But we'll make them scatter. Let me explain in detail."
Nic activated God of Strategy and laid out the full plan for striking back.
---
Meanwhile, at the high-caste border district—between low and high castes.
A guard was chilling on top of his watch post.
"Hah, looks like those lowlifes finally don't dare break in anymore? We'd happily let them in… but getting out? Not so easy. Should I tell the rich folks to lighten the punishments so more come? Sksk, what am I even saying," the guard muttered.
A few seconds later—
"Yoo! Still relaxing, buddy?" a voice said. It was someone wearing a goat mask—Fannar.
The guard jumped and tried to shoot, but got smashed instantly.
"YOOO, I'M BACK! HAND OVER YOUR TREASURES, YOU ARROGANT BASTARDS!" Fannar yelled as he charged in, leaping across steep, tall buildings.
Everyone moved right after the strategy talk—no fear at all.
Alarms blared across the high-caste district, warning civilians of an attack by "evil cultists" (the cover name for low-caste people so tourists wouldn't know).
Guards ordered everyone inside. They frantically tried contacting the Predator faction.
---
On the other side, the Predator faction was just about to head out to fight Lady Golden Eagle when they got the news: high castes under attack.
"See? Told you," Snow Sniper said.
White Wolf went silent. Veins bulged on his neck, eyes razor-sharp. Pure rage.
"FUCK!! AGAIN?! LET'S WIPE THEM OUT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!" White Wolf roared, turning back immediately. The others followed without question.
A massive faction clash was about to explode.
To be continued…