Four days later...
After finding out what had happened, Rory didn't do anything rash and turned his attention to following Vicente's plans and advancing some conversations for the group's good.
Marcus wasn't interested in getting into trouble with the current protectors of the Fuller family either, so he was also careful in his movements and hadn't done anything problematic in the last few days.
Apart from the expansionist movements of the Scarlet Syndicate and House Mazzanti, nothing out of the ordinary had happened in Millfall in the past few days.
Even Shelby, a young woman who sought the flames of chaos, was cautious in the short term, preparing for her moves that would unfold closer to the date of her wedding to Marcus.
With about a month to go before her wedding day, she was only waiting for Vicente's return and his reaction to one of her plans to proceed with her plans to throw Millfall into chaos.
Amid this local calm moment, the Royal Army post in Millfall had finally received the reinforcements it had been waiting for to begin its hunt for the 3rd-stage basilisk.
On the afternoon of the previous day, the first battalion in the region to hunt the basilisk had set out from Millfall in the direction of The Rocky Gorge.
That afternoon, another group of soldiers would leave for the area, a group that included Nova, who naturally wanted to earn merit in this hunt in order to eventually increase her position within the army.
And so, at daybreak, the city awoke with no unusual excitement for the new normal of the past few weeks, with groups of soldiers moving about and local powers working toward their own ends.
In the midst of it all, a young man with black hair and an unusual magical gem entered the city on horseback and rode quickly toward the center of Millfall.
After days of travel, Vicente Fuller was finally back!
Seeing his city, Vice had a smile on his face as he made his way to his house, where Nina should still be, as it was only a few minutes before she left for the academy.
Eager to see his little sister again, he parted with his men a few minutes ago and took one of the two horses from his carriage to return to the city with his real identity.
Meanwhile, the group of House Mazzanti men entered Millfall through a different entrance, quickly attracting the attention of the family men guarding that area of their territory.
"Hey, where's the boss?" A House Mazzanti soldier approached Vice's carriage shortly after seeing it heading toward the family's headquarters.
"He went to see the young lady." One of the three men there said. "Anyway, alert our people. We have trouble and a hostage with us."
"What?" The man looked at the car and climbed up one of the sides, then saw a woman with a hood over her head lying on one of the seats inside.
"What the fuck! Who is that?"
"You'll understand soon."
...
While Vicente's men took Jasmine to the family headquarters, he arrived in front of her house, where he quickly ordered his men to remain silent while he went to surprise Nina.
Secretly entering their house, he moved cautiously into the kitchen, listening to the sound of people eating and Nina talking to Eve.
He then moved and appeared behind Nina, signaling to Eve not to be alarmed.
He placed his hands on Nina's shoulders, startling the girl, who immediately turned to see who it was.
"Brother!" Nina cried as she jumped and immediately hugged her big brother.
Eve finally smiled when she saw Vicente back and, well, relieved that the hunt for the pentagrams had worked.
"Vicente, you don't know how much I prayed for your return..." She said in an emotional tone. "You can't imagine the things that have happened in your absence... I want to sincerely apologize for failing in my role. I didn't think acting in your absence would be so difficult."
Vicente found this strange as he took Nina into his arms and held her like a baby.
Even though Nina was over 8 years old, with Vicente's strength, he could easily lift her.
"What are you talking about?"
As she enjoyed being rocked by her brother, Nina saw his expression change a few times as Eve spoke to him, explaining the problem that had occurred in his absence.
The genuine smile of being back home faded, soon to be replaced by a look of anger as his skin reddened and his veins showed.
There was a small shadow under Vicente's eyes, and anyone looking at him right now could easily feel a chill from his dark mood.
"Did all that happen?" He asked Eve after he had heard everything, knowing what Marcus Symons had ordered and also that Nina had only returned because of Nova and Casey's joint action.
"Unfortunately. We tried everything to protect Nina, but we have no influence at the academy, and this place turned out to be the weakness that led to all this." Eve sighed, aware that her group could have done more to avoid such a situation if it hadn't been for the rules of this academy.
But she couldn't deny her share of the responsibility for Nina's abduction. None of this would have happened if she and the Vice men had been stronger.
She felt guilty and wanted to do something about it!
"I see..." Vicente avoided looking at Nina at that moment, filled with rage.
'Marcus... I thought you were smart and could do business with a rival. I thought giving you a chance before, but that's not going to happen now!" He thought, seeing that the Symons family could only become his enemy.
As someone who could negotiate with enemies and live with them, Vicente wouldn't think of exterminating opponents without good reason. But when someone crossed his line, there was no going back, no way to repair his relationship with them.
If he decided to eliminate someone, he would not stop until his goal was achieved or he himself died!
Since Marcus had targeted Nina, a poor, helpless, crippled child, there was no forgiveness for him!
Even though Nina was okay and seemed to have suffered no irreparable damage, there was no way Vicente could forgive Marcus' insolence!
"So that's it... Well, that's good." He said as he set Nina down again. "That clears everything up. That's better. Now, nothing is stopping me from acting against him. I have nothing left to think about."
"What are we going to do?" Eve asked.
"For now, nothing. First, I want to know what's happened since Rory got back. Did he send the next group out to hunt pentagrams?"
"Yes. I was supposed to be in that group, but Rory asked me to wait for his return so as not to leave Nina alone." Eve commented, eager to go after her pentagram to become stronger.
"I see. I'm sorry, but you must watch over her for now. Besides that coward Symons, we have other problems to deal with that will keep me and Rory busy. Stay with her for a few more days. You'll go with the next group."
She smiled as she looked at Nina. "Don't worry. I just want to get stronger so I can protect her better. I'm not leaving without someone to take care of her in my absence."
With that, Vicente soon left with Nina and headed for the academy.
