When the last Crow fell dead, the Snow Wolves rejoined Elian and Bianca, who were resting on a bench in silence.
"Daughter, it is done. There are many who saw us; should I end them all?"
"No, Mom—what you did was plenty. Thank you."
Silent approached and nuzzled her daughter tenderly, "Child, Whisper told me of the hardship you endured thanks to these vile people. Give me the word, I will not rest till each one of them is destroyed." She then turned to Elian, "You’ll help me, won’t you, son-in-law?"
"Of course, Mother-in-law. Should we get started?"
Pleased, Silent licked Elian’s cheek in gratitude, "Not yet. Let them stew for a bit. With you terrorizing them, let them feel my daughter’s suffering. I personally will make it my mission to eradicate them."
"Mom, we need them..."
"Do we?" Silent asked. She then shook her head, "No, we do not. We only need what they can give you. Give me time, Daughter. I will learn everything needed to protect you from these sinister plots. And when I gain that knowledge, none shall hurt you ever again," she growled.
Silent was by far the kindest of their party. So, when Elian saw the rage in her eyes, he knew these Crow bastards were beyond saving. Which suited him just fine.
Bianca’s eyes glazed as she nodded. It was a mixture of gratitude and affection—despite what she considered a colossal blunder, none of them faulted her. If anything, her family thirsted for more blood.
Elian rubbed Bianca’s back as he smiled, "Thank you, Mother-in-law. I’ll leave it to you. Let me know if you need anything."
"Fufu, to think that I would wield the authority to command a Tyrant. Truly one cannot fathom what life has in store," Silent contemplated. "While I appreciate the sentiment, you know what it is I desire most, don’t you?"
"Yes. I know; do not worry, Bianca and I will make them soon."
"W-What? Says who?!" Bianca contested.
Abruptly cutting into the conversation, Fluffy came forward. She had Burny’s core in her mouth.
"Yeah, yeah—we get it. You do mass genocide, not dates. Or baby-making. More importantly, buy me a flamethrower, Bianca; next time this bird-bastard explodes, I’ll cook him on the spot. Having to care about his core is troublesome."
Bianca went speechless at Fluffy’s comment. Elian could see her facial expressions warp through irritation, anger, and ultimately resignation. It was fun watching how Fluffy messed with her. Being soul sisters, only Fluffy knew how Bianca truly felt.
"Fine, I will get you one later, you rude little troublemaker."
A large shadow then loomed over their party. While Silent and Fluffy immediately reverted to their dog forms after the battle, Bastion kept watch and glared at those around him. However, his concerns were quite different from what one would expect.
"Where are the rest of them? Why haven’t any of the pack leaders in this place come forth? After all the noise we made, still no one wants to come here?"
Elian couldn’t help chuckling; ever since turning into a Weapon, the Snow Wolves had all their personalities warped. Slowly but surely, they were all turning into battle maniacs. Due to being trampled on and enslaved, they now found pleasure in crushing their opponents.
"Father-in-law, that is primarily because of you. A gigantic twelve-meter war machine is quite intimidating."
"Shut up and stop patronizing me. I thought humans were supposed to be strong? Where are they? Weren’t Crows arrogant pieces of crap that wouldn’t shut up?"
What Bastion said was true. No one came. Not because they couldn’t—but because they’d already done the math.
Elian took down Heaven’s Fist. Bianca’s reputation as the Witch of the Frozen Night was just as bad, if not worse, than Elian’s.
Moreover, everyone in the know already saw Fluffy’s rampage. If even sixty Crusaders could not help, no single person could. And there wasn’t only one metal wolf but three.
Dying was practically guaranteed, and there was literally no reward in fighting Elian’s group. Especially when the targeted group being slaughtered was the Crows.
The events made Elian contemplate.
If we attacked civilians, people would rise up to protect their own. But as we only hunted Crows, most of them stood down. So fragmenting an army makes it easier to break. I should remember this.
"Let’s go, everyone. None of those who are truly powerful will attack us while we are in the city. I already took care of the recordings; apart from the mess, no one will know we were here."
Elian tilted his head. "Eyewitnesses?"
"Scrubbed. They can try to describe it, but the introduction of nanomachines and POV recordings has made testimonies obsolete. Not that trying to apprehend us will do much."
So this is power. We wrecked their city, killed their citizens, yet we still get away with it.
Bianca then grabbed her lover by his collar and bragged, "Indeed. If we were weaker than any of them, we would have been executed on the spot." She then tiptoed and kissed Elian on the cheek, "Fifty years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this. Thank you, Elian."
Elian wrapped his arms around Bianca’s waist and raised her up. "Anything for you," he said with a kiss.
"Where to, daughter?" Bastion added as he reverted to his dog mode. Elian let Bianca down, and she immediately began to fluff her dad. "Just one last stop; we need to hire some muscle."
"Are these the people you intend to hire to get Sunny’s children?"
"Yes, follow me. I know the place."
Leading the group, Bianca left the wealthy district and walked towards the streets. Those who recognized them immediately backed away. Thus, it looked like Bianca’s group had a force field that kept people away.
There were a few people who followed them, trying to be nondescript.
Bastion grumbled in displeasure. "This is so uncomfortable. Elian, can I kill them all now?"
"Not yet," Elian replied as he walked. "I count ten."
"Wrong," Silent replied. "There are thirty. Rooftops. Distant buildings. Half of them pretending not to look."
"How can you even see them, Mother-in-law?"
"I have good eyes," the weapon beamed with pride.
"Mom’s full of crap. It’s because of her talent, Awake. She can ’sense’ anyone who looks at her. It’s how she beat up Dad’s admirers before he even knew he had any."
"For the love of Snow, Whisper, can you not be such a crass, unruly little brat?"
Fluffy’s antics sent the group into laughter as they made their way toward the poorer sections of the city.
More and more people followed them; Bianca intentionally didn’t use cars or public transport and walked. Which made Elian puzzled.
"Taking in the sights?"
"So much has changed. I don’t recognize this place anymore. It just drives home the point of how much time has passed," Bianca said in low spirits.
"Isn’t that a good thing?"
"Huh? What do you mean, darling?"
Elian grabbed Bianca’s hand and intertwined their fingers. "I, for one, am glad the city in your memories is gone. That means this new one hasn’t hurt you yet." He smiled at her before pulling her closer. "I don’t need to destroy it, for now at least."
His words caused Bianca to giggle, "Elian, stop being so silly. Didn’t you grow up here too?"
He looked around and shook his head, "Not really. My parents are in another city. I don’t have good memories of this place. My home is where you are, so I don’t particularly care where we end up."
"Really now? Then should we buy a house somewhere?" Bianca teased.
"Sure, why not? We’re rich, powerful, and we have all the time in the world."
At his words, Bianca froze; then a radiant smile appeared on her face. "I see, you’re right. I will look into it."
"Would you two horny sadists please stop flirting already! Chop, chop!"
Hurried by their nagging pet, Elian and Bianca walked leisurely as a growing number of breakers followed them. As the sun set, the city slowly transformed into a utopia of neon lights.
Bianca eventually led them and stepped into a neon-lit alley, pulsing with noise and shadow. She took a large, gaudy hat from Elian’s magic bag and strutted inward like a runway model and entered.
Large muscular bouncers tried to block the dogs and Burny, but Bianca slapped them with wads of cash. One of them immediately shouted in excitement, "YO! It’s her! It’s Mistress Velvet! She’s back!"
In an instant, Elian’s party suddenly gained a large number of hulking bodyguards who escorted them like VIPs. All of them eager to get hired by Bianca. Elian gawked at her in disbelief.
A few girls tried to join their party; their eyes locked onto Elian. But Bianca stopped their plans with one ruthless command.
"Beat up any woman who comes within twenty meters of my husband."
"YES! MISTRESS VELVET!"
Like a celebrity, Bianca’s large party moved through the nightlife. Those following them from the high-end district got blocked or attacked by the Breakers guarding the pleasure district. It led to fight breaking out all over the district.
They finally stopped in front of a building that had the signage, "Arcus Kiss."