The party had so much pizza, loud music, and the kind of chaotic, joyous energy that only a house full of adventurers can generate. For the first time in his life, DragonSlayer felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. When the last of the guests had finally stumbled out into the pre-dawn light, a comfortable, exhausted silence settled over the small townhouse. The floor was a minefield of empty pizza boxes and discarded soda cans. And scattered around the living room, in various states of undress and unconsciousness, was Bombom's team. Gluteus was snoring softly on the largest sofa, his massive frame taking up its entire length. Kaito was curled up in a fluffy, nine-tailed ball in an armchair. And Lyrielle had fallen asleep at the dining table, her head resting on an open book. It was, against all odds, a peaceful, domestic scene.

The morning light, hazy and gray, filtered through the dirty windows. One by one, the party stirred, groaning and stretching, the aftermath of the celebration a dull, collective ache. They said their goodbyes, a series of mumbled "see ya laters" and tired waves, until only two remained.

DragonSlayer stood awkwardly in his living room, surrounded by the wreckage of the best night of his life. He looked at Bombom, who was standing by the door, a small, genuine smile on his face.

"Thank you," DragonSlayer began, his voice a low, almost inaudible mumble. "For the whole… party. I know it was something you did."

Bombom's smile widened. "Well," he said, a teasing glint in his red eyes, "I wasn't supposed to leave my friend all alone on his special day." He paused, his expression shifting, the smirk turning wicked. "And besides, I couldn't be alone with you. Not after that… incident."

The color drained from DragonSlayer's face, replaced by a furious, uncontrollable blush. "W-what?" he stammered, his bravado returning in a frantic, desperate wave. "No-no-no, they were wrong! Hahaha!" His laugh was a high, nervous sound that fooled no one. He took a hesitant step closer, his own laughter dying in his throat. "Ha."

He didn't know what he was doing. His body was moving on its own, drawn by a force he didn't understand and was terrified to name. He got closer, and closer, until his face was just inches from Bombom's. He could see the faint, magical shimmer of his perfect eyeliner, the surprised, confused look in his wide, red eyes. He closed his own eyes, leaning in…

The front door burst open with a loud, cheerful bang. "HEYYYY GUYS!"

DragonSlayer leaped back as if he had been electrocuted. Kaito stood in the doorway, a foxy, knowing grin plastered across his face, his nine tails swishing with a playful, innocent energy that was anything but. He looked from DragonSlayer's horrified, crimson face to Bombom's bewildered, equally flushed one.

"Am I interrupting something?" Kaito asked, his voice dripping with a sweet, sarcastic venom. He didn't wait for an answer. He zipped over to Bombom, grabbing him by the arm. "I'm pulling Bombom with me now," he announced with a cheerful, possessive finality. "So… say goodbye to the weird knight." And with that, he dragged the still-stunned Bombom out of the house.

All that was left was DragonSlayer, standing alone in his messy living room, his heart hammering against his ribs, his body trembling with a mixture of shame, confusion, and a profound, soul-deep mortification. "W-what did I just do?" he whispered to the empty air. "I-i-i was about to…" He slapped his own face, a sharp, stinging impact that did nothing to clear the fog in his mind. "That was not me." He slapped himself again, harder this time. "I can't be falling for him. I can't."

Meanwhile, Kenjiro was being pulled down the quiet, tree-lined street, his mind a chaotic replay of the last thirty seconds. Did he just try to… kiss me? The thought was so absurd, so utterly out of left field, that his brain immediately rejected it. No, no way, he reasoned, a furious blush creeping up his neck. He was clearly joking. Trying to get a reaction. Yeah. That's it. A joke.

A voice, deep and familiar, a rumbling echo of pure, unadulterated rage, reverberated in the silent, shattered space of his own mind. It was his shadow.

"You look so weak thinking like that," it boomed, the words a physical, psychic slap.

Bombom closed his eyes, and the world dissolved. He was back in the dark, familiar void, standing before the towering, muscular phantom of his former self. The shadow had its arms crossed, a look of pure, contemptuous disappointment on its spectral face.

"What happened to the fury?" the shadow demanded. "What happened to our glory and pride? Look at you. Your legs are trembling over a stupid prank. You're getting soft."

"Y-you're right," Bombom stammered, the shadow's words a cold, hard bucket of ice water on his confusing, budding emotions. "I must take my revenge. And I must return to my body."

The shadow stepped closer, its immense form looming over him, a terrifying, motivating presence. "This world is changing you, Bombom," it growled. "Our ego is vanishing. It's being replaced by… happy feelings. And butterflies in our stomachs. It's disgusting."

Kenjiro nodded, a new, cold resolve hardening his features. "Yes," he said, his own mental voice firm, unyielding. "You're right. I'm helping everyone else, but what about me? What happened to my own goals?"

"That's what I like to hear," the shadow said, a slow, cruel smirk spreading across its face. "Who's the monster?"

Bombom's red eyes blazed with a renewed, familiar fire. "I'M THE MONSTER!" he roared, the words a primal, defiant scream that echoed in the void. "IT'S NOT WATER WITH FIBER! BIRL!"

The world snapped back into focus. He was standing in front of the guild hall, Kaito still holding his arm, chattering away about something he hadn't been listening to.

"...and that's why you should never trust a kitsune with your lunch," Kaito was saying. "We're notorious for stealing people's vital life force. And their sandwiches."

Bombom's eyes snapped open, his mind sharp and clear. "W-wait, come again?"

"Yeah," Kaito said with a shrug. "We can steal people's life. I-I mean… I've never tried it, but the strong kitsunes can. It's a whole thing."

Bombom glared at him, a new, cold suspicion in his eyes. "Hmmmm."

Kaito held up his hands, a placating, innocent smile on his face. "I'm not stealing anything from you, Bombom," he said, before his expression shifted, his amber eyes gleaming with a familiar, predatory light. "But I will steal your heart~"

"N-no," Bombom stammered, taking a step back. "Clearly nope."

Just then, the grand doors of the guild burst open. Ryo came running out, his face a mask of pure, unadulterated urgency. "Bombom!" he yelled. "Elara! Sighting in the Red Forest! Now! Now!" He pointed a sharp, commanding finger at the fox femboy. "Kaito, you go with him. I'm calling the rest of the team. Go!"

Without another word, Bombom and Kaito sprinted to the garage, piling into the armored car and speeding away, leaving a cloud of dust and a very stressed-out CEO in their wake.

The journey was a blur of red. The forest they entered lived up to its name. The leaves on the trees were a deep, bloody crimson, the ground was covered in a carpet of scarlet moss, and even the air itself seemed to have a faint, reddish tint.

"Why is the Red Forest red?" Bombom asked, his face pressed against the armored glass of the window, a morbid curiosity in his eyes.

"Well," Kaito said, lounging on the seat opposite him, "some say it's because of the bloody, ancient wars that happened here. That the very soil is stained with the blood of a thousand fallen warriors." He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "But some guys with glasses say it's because of the high concentration of iron oxide in the soil, combined with a unique atmospheric phenomenon that refracts the light. Or something like that."

They finally arrived at the coordinates Ryo had given them. A small, unassuming tent was pitched in a small clearing. It looked completely out of place in the ancient, blood-red forest. Bombom hopped out of the car, his senses on high alert. He cautiously entered the tent. It was empty, save for a small, wooden table. And on that table, a single, large, red button.

Of course, he pressed it.

The ground began to tremble. A section of a nearby lake, its water the color of rust, began to churn and bubble. And then, with a low, hydraulic hiss, a sleek, metallic platform rose from the depths, revealing a hidden elevator. Bombom just shrugged and, with Kaito trailing curiously behind him, he stepped onto the platform. He pressed the only button, and they began to descend into the darkness.

They emerged into a vast, sterile, and eerily silent facility. It was a labyrinth of white corridors and sealed laboratory doors. There was no security, no staff, no sign of life at all. They searched for what felt like an eternity, their footsteps the only sound in the oppressive quiet. And then, a voice, smooth, condescending, and infuriatingly familiar, echoed from hidden speakers.

"Well, well, well. It took you so long to come, Mr. Savior of the World. Or should I say, the cutest Lily with the biggest gyat around here."

Bombom froze. He wasn't sure if he should blush or get angry, so he did both, his face a furious, embarrassed shade of crimson. A holographic projector whirred to life, and a shimmering, translucent image of Elara appeared before them.

"Why are you here?" the rogue scientist asked, a bored, condescending look on his perfect, androgynous face. "Don't you have better things to do? Like… saving more pathetic kingdoms?"

Bombom pointed a trembling finger at the hologram. "No!" he declared, his voice ringing with a renewed, righteous fury. "I want my revenge! And… and what's the rest?" he whispered, turning to Kaito.

The fox femboy sighed. "The Genesis Samples he took? And the plan to awaken the god?"

"Yes!" Bombom nodded, turning back to Elara. "That's it! Give me the samples!"

Elara just threw his head back and laughed, a high, tinkling sound that was full of a cruel, mocking amusement. "Me? Give you the samples I worked so hard for? The key to unlocking true, divine beauty? I think not, Bombom."

"Then get ready for the best beating you will ever take," Bombom smirked, charging forward. His body passed right through the hologram, the shimmering image flickering for a moment before stabilizing.

"Hahahahahaha!" Elara's laughter echoed through the empty facility. "You should look at your face! Priceless! My ninja persona detected your friends the moment they left the guild. I'm already in another facility, miles away. Let's play a game, shall we? A game of cat and mouse."

"Bombom is the cat," Kaito purred, a teasing, foxy grin on his face. "He'll eat you in the end~"

Bombom's face flushed again. "W-what? Don't make it sound weird!"

Kaito just shrugged, his tails swishing with an innocent, playful energy.

"Very well," Elara said, his holographic eyes gleaming with a malicious, competitive light. "If you can find me before I awaken the god of beauty… you can do whatever you want with me. Hahaha."

The hologram vanished, replaced by a massive, red, and rapidly ticking countdown timer on a nearby wall. A synthesized voice, cold and robotic, began to echo through the facility.

"Self-destruct sequence initiated. Detonation in sixty seconds."

"Oh, oh," Bombom said, his eyes wide. "Let's go."

They sprinted back through the white, sterile corridors, their footsteps a frantic, echoing beat against the blaring sirens. They leaped onto the elevator platform just as the doors were closing, ascending through the dark, rumbling earth as the facility below them began to shake violently. They burst out into the Red Forest just as a massive, fiery explosion erupted from the lake, sending a plume of steam and debris high into the crimson sky. The shockwave hit them, knocking them off their feet. They landed in a heap, the countdown timer in their minds hitting zero at the exact same moment. It was a perfect, action-movie escape, missing death by a single, heart-stopping second.

Kaito dropped to the ground, his body trembling with a mixture of adrenaline and relief. "We got lucky," he panted.

Bombom pushed himself to his feet, a cocky, triumphant smirk on his face. "We don't need luck," he declared, puffing out his chest. "I am the luck."

Kaito just laughed. "So we don't need you? Noooo, I need you more than you think~"

Bombom turned away, a furious blush creeping up his neck. "T-that's it," he huffed. "You've already achieved your limit of flirting for today."

Kaito just laughed again as the familiar, comforting rumble of the guild's armored car approached, Ryo at the wheel, ready to take them back home. The game had begun.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.