Head of the Dragons!

'I had to do it, you know. For your safety. For our safety. And now...you are free.'

Those were the words spoken by that man. The man with eyes like fiery rubies and a mane of midnight black hair. The very man he'd been hunting for a decade. The same man Shabby had warned him about at Shabby's Little Heaven, urging him not to seek out the red-eyed man. But how could he resist?

This man had turned his life upside down. He craved retribution. He thirsted for vengeance. More than anything, he hungered for blood.

"..ama. Axel-sama."

He was startled back to reality when Nene suddenly halted in her tracks, her expression filled with concern as she looked at him.

She was standing close to him, clutching the hem of her chest anxiously.

"Why are you crying, Axel-sama? I told you about good memories, not bad ones."

Axel blinked in confusion.

"Crying? Who, me?"

She moved closer, her touch gentle as she wiped his eyes with the sleeve of her kimono. It was then that Axel realized his eyes were indeed wet with tears.

'Bad memories.'

He quickly shook himself out of it, wiping away his own tears.

"It's fine, Nene-san."

Her smile, warm and genuine, lit up her face like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. Axel couldn't help but feel a sense of relief in her presence.

Nene seemed to be genuinely kind, someone who didn't trigger his survival instincts like Tetsuaya or that wild girl.

He couldn't help but wonder about the girl's mental state, considering her erratic behavior. It seemed like she was a ticking time bomb, in desperate need of medical attention before she unleashed chaos upon the world.

He took a deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart. A soft hand gently touched his chest, where his heart beat frantically.

"Good thoughts, Axel-sama. Good thoughts only," Nene whispered softly. "That's all we need to survive. Hate and love, good and evil—everything has its limits. But happiness... happiness can take you higher, further than you've ever gone. Remember that."

Nene was right.

'Good thoughts, happy thoughts, good thoughts, happy thoughts.'

His mind suddenly lit up with realization. He felt incredibly foolish for not thinking of it earlier. His happiness wasn't just in his childhood memories—it was right in front of him.

'Byte, that stupid cat. She's my happiness.'

He thought to himself, a wry smile tugging at his lips.

If Byte were here and she heard that he hadn't thought of her when reflecting on happy memories, she would have surely given him a piece of her mind—or ripped a new stream of blood from his face, as she was wont to do.

But really, what was Byte if not his happiness personified? When his days were tough and danger lurked around every corner, it was always her by his side.

When the world seemed to be against him, it was Byte who offered comfort and solace, always ready to cheer him up with her antics and affection.

She was more than just a cat—she was his steadfast companion through thick and thin, his furry beacon of joy in a sometimes bleak world.

The first time he laid eyes on her during the extraction mission, she was nothing more than a scrawny, angry furball, growling fiercely at him. The strange part, or perhaps the most heart-wrenching, was that she resembled a tightly wrapped burrito amidst a spread of tools on the table. With no limbs to speak of, she was simply a tiny head, body, and tail.

While his comrades set off fireworks outside, he remained indoors, his expression a mix of anger, sadness, and pity as he stared down at the diminutive, irate loaf of fur. Seeing such a helpless creature laid out on the table filled him with an overwhelming sense of loathing.

How could anyone stoop so low as to inflict such devilry upon a helpless creature like her? The despair in her eyes as she beheld him, a stranger, advancing towards her, was truly heartrending. She was trapped, unable to flee or even defend herself.

It took all his strength to pry the small creature from the table, enduring her snapping and biting as she fought against him. It was clear to him then that he wouldn't be able to soothe her in that environment. So, he gently wrapped her in a sheet of paper, determined to take her with him.

And three months later, she had become his closest confidante and faithful companion, by his side through thick and thin, day and night.

'Happiness. That's what she is. That's what I'm right now.'

It felt as if his soul was ascending to heaven itself, buoyed by the realization of where his true happiness lay.

As Nene had promised, the staircase seemed to pass by in a blur, much shorter than he had anticipated.

Before he knew it, they were nearing the top, and a grand double door loomed before them. Everything seemed to be happening in a whirlwind, as if time itself were rushing by in a mere second.

"Come on, Axel-sama."

He glanced back, marveling at the sight below. From this vantage point, the double door at the bottom appeared tiny, and the steps seemed to stretch for only about 15 or 20 paces.

"Axel-sama."

Turning his attention back to Nene, Axel followed her lead as she walked ahead and knocked on the grand double door.

After a brief moment, the door swung open on its own accord, beckoning them forward.

Axel's heart raced as he took a deep breath and followed Nene inside.

The room was vast, filled with tatami mats stretching in all directions.

At the far end, a large screen door revealed the moon hanging in the night sky, casting an eerie glow over the scene.

Rows of people sat on the floor on either side, their faces obscured in the dim light.

But it was the figure seated on the throne in the center of the room that captured his attention—the imposing presence of Lord Kuro.