Ana, deeply worried for Mako, left her bed for the Grand Coliseum as soon as she could.
Her muscles still ached, and being bedridden for so long only made her feel weaker. To make matters worse, she couldn't find Igor anywhere to take her in the carriage.
Even so, Ana resolved to go see the fight.
But when she arrived at the Grand Coliseum, a massive crowd was already gathered around one of the main entrances.
Ana pushed through the throng. "Excuse me…" she said as best she could, barely able to squeeze past.
Finally, reaching the front, a group of guards blocked her way.
Stunned, she couldn't believe the battle had ended so quickly. Even more shocked, Ana saw Mako emerging from the coliseum's entrance arch.
She could hardly believe it. Tears of relief streamed down Ana's face as she ran toward Mako.
One of the guards, busy with the crowd, saw her pass and was about to stop her until he witnessed the scene:
Mako ran to her and, wrapping his arms around her, gave her a tight hug.
"I thought the worst. I couldn't stay in bed doing nothing," Ana said, burying her face in Mako's shoulder, sobbing.
"It's okay, Ana. Everything's okay now," Mako replied, overjoyed to see her again.
◇◆◇
Sweet victory, like all beautiful things in life, is fleeting.
Somewhere in the slums of Galandria, Erick walked with his angel.
Erick's face bore a scruffy beard, perhaps a few days without shaving. He looked disheveled.
"You look rough, Erick," the angel said, barely hiding a malicious smirk behind their palm. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Don't pretend you care about me," Erick snapped, wandering through the desolate streets.
"Oh, I care, Erick," the angel said, leaning closer to inspect him. "If something happened to you… who'd pay the debt?"
Erick clicked his tongue, disgusted by the angel.
"I can't even live in my own home anymore. I've got nowhere to go, just bouncing from one seedy hotel to another…" Erick complained, nearing the room where he was staying.
The angel dropped the mocking smile and looked him up and down, but it felt more like judgment than scrutiny.
"Why are you doing all this?" the angel asked, stopping abruptly.
"What?" Erick replied, surprised and annoyed. He wasn't used to personal questions from the angel. "Why do you care?"
"Well, I feel like if you keep down this path, you'll end up dead…" the angel said with a pitying tone, only to add cynically, "You know, dead men can't pay debts."
'Of course it's about the stupid debt,' Erick thought.
"These people wouldn't even talk to you when you had resources and called the shots at the House of the Sun," the angel continued, driving more nails into Erick's coffin. "Why keep trying?"
Erick, knowing ignoring the angel was futile, resigned himself to answering. After all, he knew their questions were never idle.
If an angel doubted a debtor's ability to pay, the consequences would be merciless.
"I'm close to finding out who was responsible for my parents' death," Erick said bluntly.
"I see, I see," the angel replied with feigned surprise.
"If I discover who or what was behind it, I suspect I'll have something to destroy Mako once and for all," Erick explained.
"A suspicion? You're doing all this for a suspicion?" the angel questioned.
Erick stood firm, facing the angel, still outside the hotel.
"Look," Erick said resolutely, "do you want Mako's head on a silver platter or not?"
The angel only smiled, nodding.
"Good," Erick continued, "because the leader of your pathetic House couldn't do a thing."
The angel's smile vanished. "She's not our leader…"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Everyone knows you only make deals through the Lunar House."
In the midst of their petty argument, a bottle shattered into a thousand pieces in a nearby alley, catching both Erick and the angel's attention.
They turned toward the noise.
"Anyway, as I was saying…" Erick began, turning back to face the angel, only to find them gone.
"Huh? Where the hell did they…"
Before Erick could finish, a sharp, explosive pain shot through his knee.
"Damn it!" he screamed as an arrow pierced part of his leg.
In the dark alley, shadows emerged—hooded men, charging toward Erick.
Slowly, Erick's crimson eyes began to glow, on the verge of activating his ability.
But as he clutched his leg, Erick felt his vision blur.
The arrow was laced with something—a poison or intoxicating serum.
Erick collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
◇◆◇
Meanwhile, at the House of the Sun mansion…
"How depressing to celebrate like this," Mako said, ironically, with a smile.
Mako stared at the grand table before him, laden with delicious food and drink. But that wasn't the issue. The issue was how empty the place felt.
"I know…" Ana said, a bit downcast. "This place used to be packed with people, remember?"
Of course Mako remembered. Sometimes it was all he thought about.
"It'll be full again soon," Mako said confidently.
That brought a smile to Ana's face.
Without further ado, they began eating that night, joyful for having climbed a crucial step toward restoring their House's honor.
But then, in the quiet of the night, surrounded by candles and a beautiful dinner…
Ana and Mako heard a curious whoosh, like the fluttering of two tiny hummingbird wings.
Both looked at each other, forks poised near their mouths.
'Already?' they both thought with a spark of joy.
Polifemo, after hearing of Mako's victory, had done the impossible to navigate the endless bureaucratic labyrinth of the underworld. Then, like a cannonball, he flew, ran, and bounced until, at last, he returned to see them.
"MAKO, YOU BASTARD!" Polifemo shouted, bursting through one of the mansion's windows, tears streaming from his single eye.