NOVPUBA few days after the mafia leaders reunited to devise a new plan against the cartel, the teams were scheduled to go back to their territories to prepare.
The day before the GTS and the Azure Rebels returned home, Camille decided to throw a bonfire party for everyone at the Jade Palace.
The plan they came up with wasn't going to be easy, and the risks were quite high, so the handler wanted to give everyone a brief moment of respite before the storm.
After the mafia factions gathered in the backyard of the Jade Palace, a large bonfire was lit up in the center. Sophia and the other cooks were making burgers on the grills, and the servants walked around serving drinks to everyone.
It was a relaxed and fun event for the mafia members to socialize with each other, considering they would be working together for the unforeseeable future.
That same night, Zac only had a couple of drinks, but the redhead still felt slightly dizzy, so he decided to walk it off and took a stroll around the mansion.
"Hmm, Zac? Where are you going?" Victoria asked, approaching the redhead with two cups in her hands.
"I think I might be getting drunk already…" Zac replied.
Victoria chuckled. "That's adorable," she said, prompting Zac's face to turn red with embarrassment.
"W-what!? I'm just not a heavy drinker!" Zac exclaimed.
"Heehee, I know. But I still think it's adorable that a berserker would get drunk with two drinks," Victoria continued.
"That's the first time you call me that," Zac replied, slightly surprised that the woman called him a berserker.
"You don't like it?" she pondered.
"No, no—I do. It just caught me by surprise," said the redhead with a smile on his face.
Victoria, who was holding two cups—one for Zac and one for her—realized that it would be a bit too much for the redhead, so she left them aside on a table and accompanied Zac on his walk around the mansion.
As the duo walked along the lone hallway, Victoria went ahead and hugged Zac's arm, making the somewhat drunk redhead flush and stop momentarily.
"I just want to make sure you don't trip and fall!" Victoria said, and while she knew that Zac wasn't drunk enough to simply fall, she needed an excuse to hold his hand.
"O-okay then… Thanks!" Zac nervously replied.
"I've been talking a lot with Saris… It seems your next mission is going to be the most dangerous one," Victoria muttered as they kept walking together.
"I guess so… I wasn't here when the cartel attacked, so I don't have a good reference to how strong the enemy is," Zac replied.
Suddenly, Victoria stopped walking and tugged Zac's arm closer to her, locking her eyes with the redhead's.
"P-please promise me that you'll come back…" Victoria muttered under her breath, seemingly afraid to speak up.
"Tori…" Zac replied, and as his sight adjusted on the woman's frame, he could see a faint trail of umbra flowing from her body.
The redhead didn't know if the alcohol was making him see things, but he could see Tori's umbra almost perfectly, and he deduced that the woman was worried about him.
When Victoria placed her arms around Zac's shoulders with a loving embrace, Zac hugged her by the waist and pulled her closer until their lips touched.
It wasn't a long kiss, but the two were clearly passionate, and as their lips separated, Zac promised that he would return no matter what.
Later that evening, when the bonfire party was over, Saris walked to her room and noticed that Victoria wasn't there.
At first, the banshee got a little worried as she hadn't seen her roommate for a few hours, and when she took a quick walk around the common area in front of the bedrooms, she sensed Victoria's umbra nearby.
"Hmmm?" Saris pondered aloud, slowly approaching Zac's bedroom door.
"What are you doing?" Dante interrupted the banshee.
"I was looking for Tori, but it seems she is with the berserker boy," Saris casually replied.
"Oh…? —Ohhhh!" Dante said, realizing what was truly happening when he could sense the aura from both Zac and Tori inside the bedroom, and it seemed like they were having fun.
"Saris… Do NOT interrupt them," Dante said with a serious tone, covering his best friend from an embarrassing situation.
"Hey, I just wanted to check on her!" Saris replied.
"Yeah… You might have to sleep alone tonight," Dante continued.
The banshee placed a hand on her chin and rubbed it inquisitively. "So, I get the bed all to myself, huh?" she muttered with a somewhat evil smile.
After the banshee left the matter alone, she went to her room with a smile on her face, prompting Dante to enter his own bedroom, where Sophia was already fast asleep while Megan scrolled through her phone.
"Was that Saris out there?" Megan asked.
"Yeah. It looks like Tori won't be sleeping with her tonight," Dante replied, taking off his shirt as he prepared to jump into the bed.
"Oh, so they finally got together?" Good for them," Megan commented.
The mafia groups only had a few days left before one of the most crucial missions in their lives would begin, so everyone felt a bit nervous and unsettled.
Dante wasn't much different from the others, as he knew that Netherius was as powerful or even more powerful than him.
It was easy for him to feel confident when his opponents were demons, but whenever his enemies were stronger than him, he felt nervous, just like any other human.
Nevertheless, when the warlock lay on his bed beside Sophia, who always took the middle, both Megan and him hugged the blonde, interlocking their arms above her.
At that moment, Dante could feel his worries slowly decreasing. His body relaxed thanks to Sophia's soft and smooth skin. Still, it was Megan's caresses on his arm that made the warlock feel wholly at peace, even if it was a momentary feeling.
