That changed everything.

William, Lucas, and Thompson exchanged glances. No one spoke a word aloud, but somehow, they all understood each other perfectly.

"We accept the challenge." William stepped forward. "Can you offer any support, or are we going in with just the three of us?"

Zanyi kept sipping his wine.

"I won't enter the portal with you—not until you've scouted what's inside. I'll probably need to go in later to help close it from within." He swirled the glass. "But I can provide some warriors for you to bring along. Always useful to have cannon fodder in a battle like this."

That was more than enough. More than William had expected to receive.

"How long do you think you'll need to prepare the soldiers for us?" Lucas asked.

"Considering I'm swamped with work... tomorrow, if that works. If you can help me out, I'm distributing food to the residents this afternoon."

They weren't in any rush. No reason to refuse.

William wanted to see the city that had been attacked. The Rainy Kingdom had carved out a special place in his heart. He genuinely enjoyed the weather there.

Before they left, Zanyi showed them the rest of the house. It was massive—luxurious. The kind of place a city leader or someone incredibly wealthy would own.

And Zanyi was loaded. Noble families, cities, kings—all kinds of influential people with deep pockets hired him to upgrade their defenses.

He'd even built the defenses for most of the Red Rose Order's bases.

Speaking of the Order—he noticed the rings on their fingers.

"Don't tell me you joined that Order?" Zanyi asked, eyeing Lucas's hand.

"Not exactly. They stopped us, and to avoid a conflict, we reached an agreement for mutual cooperation. Allies, you could say." Lucas shrugged. "Our focus isn't joining an organization—it's creating our own."

Zanyi's eyes went wide.

He wasn't stupid.

"Ah. So you want my help fortifying and hiding your secret base." He nodded slowly, a grin forming. "I like where this is going. Any chance there's a... lighter role I could take in this organization of yours? I've been overworked lately. Need to relax a bit..."

He set his wine glass on the table and sighed. "Thought this job would be easy. But I've been busy day and night for a while now. After this, I need a break from all this chaos."

Lucas had planned to recruit Zanyi from the start. Offering him a position was a no-brainer.

"Just warning you—we can't pay much in the beginning. And you might have more on your plate than expected. Building an organization from scratch is complicated."

"No problem, my friend." Zanyi waved dismissively. "I'm absolutely certain it'll be more relaxed than this."

He paused after saying that. Something flickered in his expression—a question he wanted to ask but decided against.

"Anyway, follow me. Let's grab the supplies and hand them out to the residents who need them." He gestured for them to follow.

Zanyi used his position and wealth to hire people to cook meals for those who'd suffered most from the attacks.

Everything was made with the best quality he could offer. Most of the meals were soups—vegetables and meat. Essential comfort food in this cold, rainy climate.

He sealed the pots tight, using his magic to keep everything warm despite the weather outside.

After that, they left his mansion in a carriage loaded with food.

"We're heading to the city church," Zanyi said. "That's where we're distributing everything. People will start showing up soon. Children, the elderly, anyone in a bad spot after the attacks."

Before leaving Zanyi's mansion, William had no idea how bad the beast attack had been.

But as the carriage rolled through the streets and he watched through the small window, he understood.

This had been serious.

A massive section of the outer wall had been destroyed. Even some of the towers had collapsed.

The city's interior hadn't escaped either. Entire sections lay in ruins. People worked day and night, trying to rebuild what had been shattered.

Everyone walking the streets wore the same frightened expression—like they feared another attack could come at any moment.

But that look shifted to pure admiration the moment Zanyi's carriage passed by.

He'd become a symbol of peace. If not for the barriers he'd rebuilt in record time, the entire city might have been wiped out. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

And the community work he was doing mattered. William didn't know him that well yet, but he seemed like a decent person.

Exactly the kind of person you wanted in an organization.

As soon as they arrived at the church—located right in the city's center, near a square—William could already see a line forming at the entrance.

Faces lit up when Zanyi stepped out with the food. Children jumped with joy. Mothers nearly broke down in tears, some even dropping to their knees.

Zanyi always gestured for them to rise. "No need to kneel. I'm no saint."

He guided the carriage to the side of the church. William, Lucas, and Thompson quickly unloaded the boxes packed with food.

Then the people started filing in.

Despite their hunger, everyone stayed in line. Respect prevailed.

No one wanted to disrespect the help Zanyi was giving them.

Each of them took a position, responsible for a different line of people.

William felt surprisingly good handing those pots of soup to each person who came to him.

The smiles on their faces. The sensation of doing something good in this place.

It felt nice. A stark contrast to all the problems he was used to facing daily.

A rare moment of peace.

But deep down, he knew it wouldn't last. Tomorrow, a journey to a dangerous portal would begin.

Death was inevitable—especially for the weaker soldiers going with them on this mission.

"I'll make the most of this quiet time," William thought. "Because tomorrow, things are going to get tense..."

He didn't know it, but Lucas, Thompson, and even Zanyi were thinking the same thing.

As they handed out food, a guard stationed at the gate came running toward the church.

"Master Zanyi," he said between breaths, "we have a small problem."