City Guild — Cafeteria
The room is crowded.
Voices overlap.Trays clatter.
But Zodiac sits together.
Steam rises from their plates.Hands still a little unsteady.
No one mentions the dogs.
Not yet.
Maru stares at his food.
Picks up a spoon.Puts it back.
"…Anyone else feel weird eating meat right now?"
Silence.
Then—
Tara:"Argh… why did you say that?""I was trying not to think about it."
Maya lets out a small, awkward giggle.
No one really laughs.
Bete sets his spoon down.
Careful. Deliberate.
"Sain… why did you become a hunter?"
The table grows quiet.
Sain exhales.
Shrugs slightly.
"I was just another corporate guy.""Corporate majdoor, you know."
A small laugh escapes him.
(In his mind: …and an excellent crypto trader too.)
"When the attacks started and the internet, electricity—everything went down…""I got laid off."
He pauses.
"Honestly? I was already fed up.""I didn't want that life anymore."
A strange smile creeps onto his face.
"I probably shouldn't say this… but lucky me.""Facing monsters like this… it feels surreal."
He looks around the table.
"The Guild pays well.""But more than that… I wanted power."
His expression hardens.
"Power to protect my family.""That's why I told you all I'd choose them over anything else."
He rolls the glass slowly between his fingers.
"And doing something that actually helps people…""It feels real.""Not like the emptiness of staring at a screen all day."
Fugu nods slowly.
"Yeah… it's kind of the same for everyone, isn't it?"
He gestures around the table.
"Internet down. Power down.""Old lives gone."
A small grin.
"And yet… none of us looks unhappy doing this."
He tilts his head.
"Or am I wrong?"
Vyan
Vyan doesn't hesitate.
"Hell nah."
He planted his fork on his next bite.
"I wanted to smash monsters."
A wild grin spreads across his face.
"And here I am.""I absolutely love it."
Maru's eyes light up.
"I KNOW, RIGHT?!"
He nearly stands.
"Killing monsters, saving people—""I can finally be a hero!"
He laughs, breathless.
"Since childhood, I dreamed about this.""I can't believe it's actually happening."
The table goes quiet.
Everyone stares at him.
Tara bursts out laughing.
"you never mentioned that earlier"
Maru freezes.
Reva :"that sounds childish"
Reva exhales, softer.
"But… I get it."
She looks away.
"People thanking you for helping them…""It feels better than likes or comments ever did."
Maya speaks hesitantly.
"I don't enjoy violence.""And today… those dogs scared me to death."
She swallows.
"But I want people to walk down the street without fear.""And if fighting helps with that…"
A faint smile.
"…then it feels worth it."
She adds quickly:
"Sorry. That probably sounds too idealistic."
Anya shakes her head.
"No.""It makes sense."
She leans back.
"Everything was running smoothly before.""Sure, there were problems"
Her tone hardens.
"But now it's just chaos.""I want things to settle down again."
A pause.
"And I'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.""As long as the Guild pays fairly, I've got no complaints."
Grim speaks without looking up.
"If you ask me…""It's only going to get worse from here."
Silence.
"I'm grateful we survived today."
His eyes sharpen.
"But I don't plan on stopping until the monsters are gone."
Kaal nods once.
"We're alive today because we fought together."
He looks around.
"We had each other's backs.""And whatever comes next… will be worse."
His voice is firm.
"So we need to prepare.""We need to improve our teamwork."
Lily adjusts her grip on her cup.
"I agree."
She looks thoughtful.
"Our coordination definitely needs work"" Numbers alone won't save us"
Her eyes sharpen.
"We'll need strategy.""plans we can execute even in chaos."
Everyone nods.
No arguments.
No jokes.
Just understanding.
They begin eating.