The air was thick with tension in the gathering place of the sons of the red moon gang. The boss lumbered to his throne, a fat and repulsive figure adorned with garish jewelry, while a harem of women draped around him like snakes.
"Boss, what are we going to do? Those bastards have a new leader now. You heard the rumors and you saw the scene where blood spilled everywhere," shouted one of the gangsters.
The boss's face twisted into an evil sneer as he reached out with greasy fingers and grabbed one of the women for his amusement. She trembled in fear trying to feign interest, but her disgust was palpable.
"Boss!?" yelled the subordinate again.
"Yeah, I heard you already. Damn these young ones. Back in my day, I would have you executed already. Maybe I should?" threatened the boss as his lip curled into a smirk.
"Please, boss. I... I am sorry," begged the same gangster.
The gangster whimpered pitifully, "Please, boss. I...I'm so sorry."
The leader of the black rat gang smiled wickedly and replied, "No need to be so tense. And about this divine boss of the black rat gang. No worries. We have our own divine protector on our side."
Suddenly, a man stepped out from the shadows, brandishing an enormous sword that seemed almost as tall as him. He had some crude armor covering his body and an aged helmet obscuring his face.
"Money rules all," jeered the boss to his men, "It can even buy you divine power."
"Fat-man.....Watch yourself," snarled the warrior with the long sword, "It'll cost you more for me to take down someone with divinity."
"We have no shortage of money," assured the boss conspiratorially. "Can you handle it?"
The man with the blade let out a low chuckle and declared proudly, "Wouldn't be my first time."
~~
The next morning, Haley forced Rufus to abandon his plan of going back to work at the docks. Stopping him was no easy feat, since he felt a sense of duty to complete his assigned tasks. The trio deliberated their options while making sure to dodge any unnecessary conflict with the Sons of the Red Moon gang.
"So, Leif," Haley inquired, "Can you explain to us how these gang wars usually pan out?"
"From what occurred yesterday," Leif began, "it's safe to say that a confrontation is imminent. No declaration of war will be made, but eventually it can be easily deduced we are at war based on the bodies piling. They will likely target our marketplaces and harass and attack any members of the Black Rat gang. Targeting our robbers would be difficult because they operate discretely in the city. Wars generally end when one side can no longer withstand their losses and accepts the victor's terms. Luckily, due to paying tribute to the other two gangs, there haven't been many violent clashes—until now. Unfortunately, some of our boys began to act arrogance due to our boss' powerful status and started encroaching on the Sons of Red Moons' turf." He concluded, "Conflict is unavoidable now."
Haley pondered the best-case scenario for them. None of them knew where the sons of the red moon gang's hideout were. Their only option was to entrust the entire success of the war to Rufus, who was now determined to fight and get this war over. Reports came early in the morning that groups of the black rat gang were ambushed on the streets. More news came of attacks on black rat gang members around the city. Rufus decided to run out, and Leif and Haley followed him.
"Don't go off on your own, Rufus," yelled Haley to him, desperately trying to catch up to him.
Rufus took a giant leap and jumped three meters high. Both Leif and Haley were surprised by this. Yesterday's training to use Rufus's divine powers had also given him heightened strength and agility. On top of the roof of the building, Rufus tried to get a better view. Haley climbed up to follow him and Leif, but he climbed much clumsier.
"Seems like yesterday's pep talk with the old man helped. You seem stronger now, and you have burning willpower flowing in your eyes," said Haley.
"Look at yourself. You climbed here also pretty fast," smiled and laughed Rufus.
"Hey don't you remember? I was doing cat burglary jobs for the black rat gang earlier. Knowing how to climb on rooftops is a must for us,"
Soon screams were heard. They were coming from the west of the city, so Haley and Rufus ran toward the screams. Leif had just gotten on the rooftop when Haley and Rufus left to where the screams were coming from.
When they reached the location, they found three members of the sons of the red moon gang attacking two black rat gang members. They were not using weapons but instead beating them up with their fists. The three rival gang members were bigger and more intimidating looking than the black rat gang members.
Haley decided to be the faster of the two and jump-kneed one of the rival gang members on his chin. Rufus was surprised at how skilled in fighting Haley was.
"Where did you learn that?" Asked Rufus from Haley.
"Hmph. I feel underestimated. I've asked old man Haufen to teach me some martial arts. Compared to him fighting these chumps is a piece of cake," stated Haley and then thought to herself," I can't let Rufus always do the dangerous parts. I have to do my share and not always be the one being protected."
Another man came with a sledgehammer and tried to hit Haley with it. Just before it was about to make contact, Rufus stepped in to save Haley. He grabbed the sledgehammer, used his divine powers, making the weapon explode into tiny pieces. He then grabbed the arm of the gangster. Blood started to gush out of the arm, and the gangster screamed in agony. Eventually, the hand exploded, leaving the man crying on the ground. The last man was terrified of what he had just seen.
"Do not dare to hurt my sister," said Rufus angrily.
At that moment, steps were heard coming from nearby. The steps were calm.
"So, you are the rumored new boss of the black rat gang," said the man with the long sword.
Rufus didn't know how to respond, but Haley felt uneasy. Haley could somehow sense the divine power coming out of this man. Unlike Adolf Blausaber, who had a malicious aura gushing from him. This person had a calm presence surrounding him.
"Rufus, be careful. He is dangerous," said Haley as a heads-up to Rufus.
The man suddenly burst between Haley and Rufus and said, "You have good instincts."