So, it was decided.
Long, Ransom, and Ed—the lackey—would be left behind in District Five with Tomie’s people and the residents of Gigante.
As for Lola, she would head to the main city with the boss, Florida, the Bellemonte captives, and Tomie. Each of them had different agendas. Tomie would focus on reinforcements and the innocents in the main city. Although the majority of the population in the main city consisted of mercenaries, there were still civilians living there.
However, as they began loading their trucks, a man came speeding back toward the bar where everyone was gathered.
"Chief!" the man shouted from behind a truck, jumping off the vehicle as it skidded to a halt.
Lola, Florida, and Tomie—who were preparing to leave the district—turned toward him. Seeing the urgency in his movements, their shoulders tensed.
"What is it?" Tomie asked grimly, reaching out to grab the man’s shoulder to keep him from crashing into them. "What happened?"
Those nearby paused, turning their attention to their comrade. Their ears were ready for any kind of news.
"There’s—" the man gulped. "You’ve got to see it!"
Deep lines formed on Lola’s and Tomie’s foreheads. They exchanged a brief look, then nodded.
Without another word, the trio climbed into the trucks they had prepared, with the others following close behind. Soon, they arrived at a smaller area where several of Tomie’s people were stationed. By now, all of District Five was under guard. Every entrance and exit is heavily secured.
As they arrived, the guards stepped aside to make way for them.
"What’s going on?" Tomie asked as another man approached from the side and led him toward a higher vantage point. The man handed him a pair of binoculars, which Tomie raised immediately.
Lola and Florida stood beside him, eyes fixed ahead. They narrowed their gazes, spotting moving lights—like torches carried by people in a procession.
"Those are..." Florida whispered.
"Our allies," Lola finished quietly.
Their gazes shifted past the approaching crowd, toward the distance, where large flames burned. It wasn’t Gigante—that much they were certain of. But the fact that fires were erupting from multiple locations told them one thing.
The war was no longer a possibility. It was becoming a reality.
Slowly, Tomie lowered the binoculars, his mouth slightly open. Even though he had hoped some people from other areas would join them, he hadn’t dared to raise his expectations too high. The people of Ravah—and especially those in this region—had lived under fear for far too long.
The government had crushed their spirits, made examples of anyone who opposed them, and stripped them of every means to fight back. Even Tomie’s group had needed years just to become barely armed.
In other words, he wouldn’t have been surprised if their plans for rebellion had been mocked or dismissed as delusional.
But seeing people rise despite their fear stirred something deep within him. A sense of pride that the people of Ha hadn’t completely lost their spirit. At the same time, it weighed heavily on him, and even more so on Lola.
"Tomie," she called.
Both he and Florida turned to her.
Lola kept her eyes on the crowd ahead, lips pressed into a tight line.
"We need to burn every one of those bastards in the main city," she whispered. Her expression was eerily blank, betraying none of the thoughts racing through her mind. Slowly, she turned to meet his gaze. "Otherwise, if you and I fail... the entire region of Ha will be wiped out."
Tomie nodded slowly, understanding the gravity behind her words.
"There’s no room for failure," he said. She looked away, her gaze returning to the crowd. He followed suit, releasing a heavy breath. "We can’t afford it anymore."
Not with so many lives now resting in their hands.
Florida remained silent, studying Lola’s back before shifting his gaze to Tomie. He could understand Tomie’s thoughts even when the man didn’t speak, but Lola was different. For some reason, he couldn’t read her at all.
Their departure from Five District was delayed as Tomie greeted the newcomers. Not all of them were fighters; some were evacuees. But unlike the people of Gigante, who had fled with nothing, these people carried supplies and necessities.
"After we heard about the fire in Gigante, some of us came to investigate," one of the town leaders told Tomie. "I believe you understand what it’s like to watch a town burn. That fire... it awakened something in us."
Tomie exchanged a few more words with leaders from smaller communities, each expressing their willingness to help and fight.
Lola, meanwhile, stayed near their truck. She leaned against its side, arms crossed, eyes sweeping over the crowd.
Florida approached her quietly.
"Madam," he said. "Aren’t you going to speak to them?"
"For what?" she replied, scanning the people before her. "Tomie can handle that. He knows them better."
Florida fell silent, watching her. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "You really don’t like taking credit, do you?"
She didn’t answer, and he immediately bit his tongue.
"My apologies," he said, lowering his head. "I didn’t mean that negatively."
It reminded him of the rumors surrounding her. Stories people told to explain her survival during the penthouse incident that led to Scarlet’s punishment.
Lola had never spoken about it, and eventually, people chalked it up to luck. But the more time Florida spent with her, the more he realized it couldn’t have been mere chance.
If anything, Scarlet had been the lucky one. Lola had been fully capable of defending herself. Otherwise, losing a toe wouldn’t have been Scarlet’s only punishment.
"Florida." Lola raised a brow and turned to him indifferently. "We’re on a mission. Nowhere in that mission did we plan a rebellion or any of this."
She shifted her gaze toward Tomie, who was now giving instructions to guide the newcomers.
"There are five Bellemonte captives listed in the reports," she continued quietly. "Two were reported dead while we were still at Zorken Manor. Fortunately, they survived. You guys found them in Gigante, and I found another two of them."
Florida nodded slowly. "There’s another one."
"No."
"Huh?" His brows furrowed as he stared at her profile. "Did the last one die?"
"No," she replied calmly. "What I’m saying is... there are probably more of them hiding."
She snapped her eyes to him. "According to those men, Henrik Bellemonte sent operatives into Ravah as part of a program to strengthen his military force. The agreement fell apart, and his men were trapped and hunted down one by one."
"The five we’re searching for are only a small group who managed to contact Bellemonte," she added, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. "That’s why Henrik believes only five survived."
Florida finally understood where she was heading.
"What do you need me to do, Madam?"