The group gathered inside a bar X frequented, a small, quiet place on the outskirts of the city—a small hole in the wall with cozy, dimly lit interiors, and an owner infamous for his fiery temper.

They were joined by Joseph and Arthur, along with two of Arthur's squad mates, Dalas and Victor. A duo of elite demon hunters who had worked as a two-man team before Arthur joined them. They were both melee combat specialists. Dalas was a large, heavily armored wielder of a cyber greatsword, while Victor was a small and fast dual-weapon specialist.

Drinks began to flow. X treated everyone to a pint of beer, buying the same brand for everyone, as only one brand was left after the cataclysm, brewed by a company known as Harvest.

"So tell me, how did you know we were going out?" X murmured, asking Joseph.

"Matilda invited us to make sure you don't go overboard. Well, to be completely honest, she sent invites out to everyone in outpost 15, but most were too intimidated to join," Joseph explained.

"I'm glad she's being her usual spiteful self," X remarked, glaring at Dalas while slurping the foam off the top of his beer.

"Ahhh, the infamous X, how nice to see you again!" Dalas exclaimed.

"Oh, hey Vic, how are the kids?" X asked with a mischievous smile.

"Fine, how are yours?" Victor responded in his usual calm tone.

"Did you not hear me?" Dalas slammed his pint on the table, interrupting the two.

"I heard you. It's just that I was curious about Vic's children," X responded, avoiding eye contact.

"I have children too!" Dalas loudly declared.

"Yeah, but I don't care about yours," X murmured, continuing to sip his beer.

Suddenly, a loud argument ensued. Maddie and Calvin scuffled across the bar, tugging at each other's clothes, shouting incomprehensible profanities.

"Boys! Calm down, we're in a public place. What's the matter?" Joseph intervened, pulling Maddie away from Calvin, trying to stop the argument.

"Oh, the usual," Calvin retorted. "Maddie's being a big baby!" He laughed, then downed an entire pint in one go.

"What I'm saying is that we better be careful tomorrow. We shouldn't rush in. After all, Phoenix is a known Invoke-class contractor," Maddie explained, slamming the table.

"Yeah, and who made you boss? We go in like we always do—me, you, and the boss at the front, Jeb and George at the back!" Calvin screamed, tilting his head toward Maddie in an aggressive manner.

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"This entire predicament seems fishy! You mean to say that after searching for their outpost all this time, some random criminal job-hunter suddenly knows where it is? Doesn't that seem fishy?!" Maddie shouted, voicing his concerns.

"X, take care of this!" Joseph shoved X by the shoulder.

Rebeca suddenly walked in, watching the conversation from behind a corner.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, watch how a true leader resolves conflict," X said, playfully gesturing with his hands as he climbed on top of the table. "Oh hi, Bec!" he waved after noticing her standing in the doorway.

Rebeca waved back.

"Rock, paper, scissors. The winner decides how we approach," X explained, crouching down in front of the two.

"Let's do this!" Calvin and Maddie shouted in unison.

"That's the spirit!" X yelled.

Meanwhile, Arthur, Joseph, and Dalas were having a conversation.

"What a bunch of savages," Dalas frowned with seeming disgust.

"X seems to have them figured out," Arthur replied, watching the unfolding mess.

"Rookie, he's one of them. In fact, he's probably the biggest savage out of all of them." Dalas closed his eyes for a brief moment before looking back at X.

"He might appear rough at first glance, but X has everything under control, in his own way," Joseph stated, attempting to make eye contact with Dalas, who didn't notice.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from a demon," Dalas retorted as silence filled the bar.

"What was that?" X turned his head back, looking directly at Dalas. He made his way to the other end of the table before crouching in front of him, staring him down with just a few inches separating them. "You were saying?"

"So, what made you cross the border, anyway? Weren't you human before that? I can't imagine what made you want to become a demon," Dalas asked, leaning back in an attempt to put some distance between himself and X.

X frowned momentarily.

"Are you an idiot? There is no border. You don't suddenly become different when you achieve a demonic transformation," X remarked, signaling for the bartender to bring him another pint.

"I don't think that's quite right. Who's to say that you haven't been influenced by your demon to think the way you do? There is a reason we consider all demons a threat. It's because they can no longer be reasoned with." Dalas placed his hand on his chin and smiled.

"You're a bit of a dickhead, aren'cha?" X asked, confronting Dalas.

"What X was trying to say," Joseph cleared his throat, "is that corruption is not as dependent on demonic energy as you might think. When bad people attain power, they become evil. And hell, sometimes even good people who attain power become evil, but that has less to do with the nature of power and more to do with the nature of the person wielding it," he explained, trying to break up the argument.

"Nah, what I wanted to say was that he's a dickhead." X paused briefly. "Now let's drink," he climbed down from the table, grabbed his beer, and approached Rebeca.

"You don't get drunk anyway. Why would you want to drink so badly?" Dalas asked in a last attempt to provoke X.

"Because it tastes good," X smiled. "Plus, I want to see you get shitfaced and make an absolute ass out of yourself," he said, turning his head back before continuing to approach Rebeca.

"Bec! What are you doing here? I thought you weren't one for parties!" X exclaimed with open arms.

"I'm not, but seeing as Mattie invited me just to spite you, I couldn't let her down," Rebeca explained, sipping a cocktail.

A few hours passed. The group continued arguing, drinking, dancing, and making a scene to the point that they scared away all the other customers. The owner didn't mind, though, since their tab was already double the amount the pub usually made every night.

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