Chapter 146: Allies Against Arrogance

Cyrus slumped onto the debris-covered couch, his shoulders sagging under the weight of what had just transpired.

The molten red in his eyes flickered like dying embers.

Mochi disappeared from the backroom. He returned moments later carrying three plastic cups of bubble tea, complete with oversized straws.

"Here we go," he announced cheerfully, as if his shop hadn’t just been decimated by draconic fury.

"One jasmine for the angry dragon, one roasted milk tea for snake boy, and classic milk tea for me."

He handed Cyrus the green concoction, then offered the second cup to Ginsei.

Ginsei stared at the cat spirit in disbelief. "You’re... bringing us bubble tea? After he just torched half your inventory?"

Mochi shrugged, slurping his drink with characteristic enthusiasm. A tapioca pearl shot up his straw.

"It’s no big deal. Scaley Daddy’s money can more than cover the damages." He gestured at the wreckage with surprising nonchalance.

"Besides, I’ve been looking for an excuse to refurbish this place anyway. Maybe get some newer arcade cabinets, upgrade the lighting..."

He settled into his patched leather chair, completely unbothered by the chaos surrounding them.

"Trust me, the insurance payout alone will fund my dream renovation. Sometimes destruction is just redecoration with extra steps."

Ginsei accepted the bubble tea hesitantly, still processing Mochi’s casual attitude toward the supernatural tantrum that had just demolished his livelihood.

"You’re either incredibly zen or completely insane," Ginsei muttered.

"Little bit of both," Mochi grinned. "Now, what exactly has our favorite dragon so worked up?"

Cyrus dragged his hands through his damp hair, water from Mochi’s impromptu intervention still dripping down his face.

"Elias has Kane."

The words fell into the ruined shop like stones into still water.

Ginsei’s serpentine composure cracked, ice-blue eyes widening in genuine shock.

"What? How is that even—"

"He kidnapped him," Cyrus continued, his voice hollow.

Mochi’s bubble tea slipped from suddenly nerveless fingers, clattering against the debris-strewn floor.

"But why would Elias target Kane? The fox is Bureau, not—"

"Kane isn’t the target." Cyrus lifted his head, crimson eyes blazing with renewed fury.

"I am. Kane is just bait."

The admission tasted like ash in his mouth.

Ginsei leaned forward, confusion replacing shock. "Bait for what? What does Thorne want with you?"

"It’s a long story," Cyrus said, his jaw clenching.

"But the short version is that Elias blames me for everything that went wrong in his life. His clan’s destruction, his isolation, his father’s death—all of it."

He stood abruptly, pacing through the wreckage like a caged predator.

"He’s been planning this for years."

Mochi’s whiskers twitched nervously. "And Kane just happened to get caught in the crossfire?"

"No." Cyrus’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.

"Kane was specifically chosen because Elias knows exactly how much he means to me."

Ginsei and Mochi exchanged a loaded glance, uncertainty flickering between them like a shared secret.

"Look, we don’t fully understand what’s going on here," Ginsei said slowly, his serpentine grace coiled with tension.

"But Kane is Bureau. He’s one of ours."

Mochi nodded vigorously, his ears flattening against his skull. "And he’s my friend. Annoying as hell, but still my friend."

"We’re helping you get him back," Ginsei declared with surprising conviction.

Cyrus shook his head sharply, that ancient draconic pride surfacing like armor around his wounded heart.

"No."

The word cut through the air with finality.

"This is my fault. Kane is in danger because of me, because I let him get close." His hands clenched into fists.

"I won’t drag anyone else into this mess."

He turned toward the door, his movements sharp and predatory.

"Elias has an entire pack of wolf spirits backing him at Moonfall Industries. They’re territorial and vicious; they’ll tear apart anyone who crosses them."

His crimson eyes burned with self-recrimination.

"I don’t expect either of you to go against creatures like that. This is my responsibility."

"But Cyrus—" Mochi started.

"I work alone," Cyrus growled, his dragon nature asserting dominance over any attempt at cooperation.

Ginsei’s ice-blue eyes flashed with serpentine fury, and his tail materialized in a blur of pale scales, whipping across the doorway to block Cyrus’s exit.

"Excuse me?"

The temperature in the room dropped as Ginsei’s true nature surfaced, coils of mist beginning to curl around his feet.

"Did you just dismiss me like some common street spirit?"

His voice carried the deadly whisper of winter wind through bare branches.

"I’m a mythic-class white serpent, dragon. I’ve been hunting rogue spirits since before your precious fox learned to tie his shoes."

The mist thickened, and Ginsei’s human facade began to blur at the edges.

"A few mangy wolves don’t scare me."

Mochi bounced to his feet, his usual playful demeanor replaced by something dangerous.

His pupils dilated into vertical slits, and when he grinned, his canines had elongated into genuine fangs.

"And while we’re setting the record straight, Scaley Daddy, I didn’t survive twenty years in Feilun’s supernatural underground on my devastating good looks and irresistible cat charm alone."

His claws extended with a soft snick.

"Though those certainly didn’t hurt."

He tilted his head, studying Cyrus with predatory calculation.

"You think I run the curiosity shop without knowing how to handle troublemakers? Some of my regular customers would eat those Moonfall mutts for breakfast."

Cyrus turned around slowly, his crimson eyes reassessing the two spirits who stood between him and the door.

Ginsei’s serpentine composure had sharpened into something lethal, while Mochi’s playful facade had peeled away to reveal the predator beneath.

"You’re right," Ginsei continued, his voice cutting through the tension like ice.

"Elias knows you, dragon. He’s counting on your arrogance, your need to handle everything alone."

The white serpent’s tail swayed hypnotically as he spoke.

"He’s expecting you to charge in there like some ancient legend, all fire and fury and wounded pride. That’s exactly what he wants—you, isolated and emotional, walking straight into whatever trap he’s prepared."

Cyrus’s jaw clenched as the words hit their mark.

"But he won’t be expecting allies," Mochi added, his claws still extended.

"Especially not a Bureau investigator and a black market dealer working together."

The dragon’s silence stretched, crimson eyes burning as if weighing their worth. Finally, he exhaled like steam from a volcano’s mouth.

"Then we hunt together."