Deaf Boy Is Abused By The World Until He Becomes A Bloodthirsty Swordsman

In a dirty alleyway of the city of Ergastulum, a  man beats up a woman for not bringing in enough money. The woman, whose name is Alex, looks up  at the sound of a phone ringing coming from the building across the street. In the windows, a man  looks curiously at her. That man is Nicolas Brown, and while it's his phone ringing, he doesn’t  answer it, nor will he ever. Instead his partner, Worick Arcangelo, answers. It’s a call from one  of their clients asking for their services. Nic and Worick

go to Granny Joel to take  out the nuisances around her tobacco shop, for it’s her who called earlier. She thanks the  boys for their service, and says she has another job for them. But Worick says they won’t be able  to take it since they have an appointment with Inspector Chad Adkins. While they talk, they hear  a disgruntled man coming out of a nearby alley, closing his belt buckle as he walks away.  Following him is the same woman from earlier, Alex, whose nose is now bloodied. Granny  Joel

chides the woman to go somewhere else to do her business, as she claims it  disrupts hers. Alex simply looks at them before walking away. Worick notices she’s  a new face in town, and Granny Joel agrees, saying there has been a surge of unfamiliar  faces coming and going lately. Worick looks at Alex with pure male appreciation. Alex doesn’t  see this, but she feels something soft fall on top of her head. It’s a white handkerchief. When  she looks up, the men are not there anymore. Meanwhile, in

another part of the city, a  meeting is about to be concluded. Daniel Monroe, Uranos Corsica, and Loretta Cristiano Amodio are  there, along with their bodyguards. A fourth chair is empty, indicating there should be another one  with them. Together, they are the powerhouses that control the city of Ergastulum. As Corsica  stands up, Monroe brings up the topic of a group that’s causing trouble around District 7, and asks  whether they belong to Corsica’s faction. Instead of answering, Corsica put

s down a bundle of money,  and asks him not to make any accusations. Marco, Loretta’s right-hand man, also brings out a bundle  of money and puts it on the table. It’s understood among the three of them that Monroe will be in  charge of dealing with the matter. Monroes says he’ll take care of the arrangements so it’ll  be a neutral party who’ll take care of it. That neutral party he’s referring to is now  having their meal at Constance Raveau’s gun shop. She’s an acquaintance of Nic and Worick, 

and the granddaughter of Granny Joel. After the quick meal, they proceed to meet Inspector  Chad Adkins. He’s accompanied by his junior, Cody. Chad tells the pair to take out Barry  Abbot and his organization. He’s a pimp whose sphere of activities has increased lately, and  has been conducting business in the off-limits area. Chad wants them to take out the pimp,  his subordinates, and all the prostitutes in his organization. And after that, the police  will dispose of the bodies. He offers th

em the first half of their payment. Worick looks  at the file and sees a picture of Alex. He doesn’t like terminating women, so he points  out that the police have a protective custody system. But the inspector says they already  have enough women and children in their care, they don’t need prostitutes to add to their  numbers. Nic uses sign language to negotiate, and Worick translates it. He asks if they can  take a trophy for themselves. Chad says they can, but warns them not to do anything st

upid,  or else the Four Fathers will be after their neck. He sends the men off, calling  them the Handymen for their services. After this meeting, Cody asks his superior  about Nic. He initially thinks Nic is a man of few words, but now realizes he may have  some physical disability. Chad confirms it, saying he may not have good hearing, but he  has sharp eyes that can see everything. Indeed, Nic is looking over Barry’s headquarters, with the  pimp accepting a case full of illegal drugs. Barry A

bbot is an ambitious man. He’s currently taking  orders from Corsica to wreak havoc at District 3, which is Monroe’s turf. He plans to  take down the Monroe family first, then the Cristianos, then the Corsicas. With  the three superpowers gone, Ergastulum will be his. He and his men walk out confidently,  not knowing it’ll be their last words. Worick waits for Alex at that alleyway she  frequents. Alex knows he and his partner are called the Handymen who do odd jobs for  a price. She thanks him

for the handkerchief, but Worick says it’s Nic’s. He asks her why she  chose to work for Barry, to which she answers she has nowhere to go. She tells him to leave her,  or else Barry might get mad. Worick walks away, with an ominous statement that her pimp will  not be around anymore. Alex gets scared, and she follows him. Worick finds Nic almost  done with the job, leaving the pimp negotiating for his life. Instead, he shoots him on  the knees. The Handymen walk to Barry, who keeps on offering

them his prostitutes  and drugs in exchange for his life. Worick bends down and clarifies that people like him who  break the law and scumbags that treat women badly are the type they love the most. To death. And  with that, he sends Barry to the afterlife. Alex arrives just as Nic is putting the bodies  aside. She’s in shock at first, before a surge of wrath takes over her body. She picks up a gun and  empties its barrel on the pimp’s lifeless body. She walks away after that, before Worick foll

ows  her. Later, the Handymen, together with Alex, meet Chad again for the rest of the payment. At  first, Chad is angry about them taking one of the prostitutes in. But Nic kicks the police car  to make a point. That even if they’re indebted to the police officer, it doesn’t mean he can  control them. With no choice, Chad allows them to take Alex, saying this is why he hates Tags.  Alex doesn't know what they’re talking about, but she’ll learn about them soon. For now, she accepts  Worick’s off

er of work and temporary shelter. We’ve now met the central characters  of Ergastulum, and many others will be introduced as we go along the story. To  understand the dynamics between the characters, there are two things to remember: the word  “Tag”, and the city of Ergastulum itself. A few days after the incident, Alex slowly gets  used to her role as the unofficial secretary to the Handymen. She’s also becoming more comfortable  living with them, although there are a lot of things about them t

hat she’s curious about. When  someone knocks on the door, Alex opens it to find a girl who looks startled upon seeing her. Worick  appears and greets the girl as Nina. Wearing only his shorts, and with Alex’s comfortable clothes,  it sends a specific message to anyone who doesn’t know their setup, and poor Nina gets shocked about  it. She runs away but she bumps into Nic, who is happy to see her even if he doesn’t look like it.  Upon clearing the situation, Worick introduces the girl to Alex. N

ina is an assistant to Dr. Theo,  the latter being in charge of Nic’s and Worick’s health. Alex can see that the girl is close to  the two men who saved her. Nina says she’s there to ask for help. She says the doctor is involved  in some trouble with a Tag. She adds that this Tag is someone normal people can’t easily subdue,  probably a B rank or higher. Alex doesn’t know what to make of this conversation. What confuses  her even more is the medication that Nina hands over to Nic. Nic doesn’t lo

ok sick at all, so  Alex wonders what the medication is for. Worick tells Nic to go ahead with Nina.  He’ll follow after taking care of an errand. After the two leave, he asks Alex for  a favor. Nic and Nina walk along the streets, unaware that a few men have been looking at  the girl. They’re about to follow them when Alex distracts them and offers  her “services”. The men refuse, not knowing that they’ve already fallen for the  trap. Worick comes up behind them and shoots them one by one. Alex

shakes at the idea that Worick  simply terminates the men without asking them, but she doesn’t hold it against him. Instead,  she asks a question. What is a Tag? The two start walking towards Dr. Theo’s  clinic. Worick answers her question, since he has confirmed that Alex is not a  native of Ergastulum. He says he doesn’t know how to explain it properly, but Tags are  a unique breed of people who have enhanced physical abilities. They wear tags that contain  their name, affiliation, and their

rank, thus, the label. Due to their strength, Tags tend  to be violent and destructive, causing fear and reverence among the Normal population. When  a Tag kills, it becomes a body count for them, and the number of the body count determines the  rank. The ranking system consists of a class, starting from D as the weakest, C, B,  A, and S as the strongest, and a number, starting with 5 as the weakest, 4,  3, 2, 1, and 0 as the strongest. Meanwhile, Nic and Nina arrive at the clinic,  where Dr. Th

eo is surrounded and intimidated by thugs. Leading them is a Tag named Arnold,  who is much taller than Nic. Upon seeing the girl with one of the Handymen, Arnold rages  and punches one of his henchmen. Then he challenges Nic to a brawl. It’s customary  for a Tag to show his badge in a fight, but Nic doesn’t show his. As for Dr. Theo, he  sees that Arnold is ranked B2, and reflects that he made the right call by calling Nic. He  calls Nina to his side, then instructs her to enter the clinic thro

ugh a rear window and call  Inspector Adkins. He can’t open the door because he lost his keys. Theo protects his nurse from  the thugs who are still trying to capture her. Nic and Arnold start their brawl. Arnold is  obviously muscular and physically stronger, but Nic’s advantage is in his lightning-fast moves  and his small stature compared to his opponent. For Dr. Theo, he knows Nic is simply playing with  his prey. But when he almost gets hit by a pipe thrown by Arnold, he threatens Nic with

a syringe  and orders him to finish the fight. With that, Nic draws out his sword, his signature weapon,  and brings out his tag. His rank is A0. The fight becomes more brutal, but eventually,  it becomes Arnold’s downfall. Nic slashes him across his chest, making him fall in front of  Worick and Alex who just arrived at the area. After the fight, Chad comes and scolds  both Nic and Worick. It’s implied that fights between Tags must be made known to  the police. Due to their volatile behavior, t

he police must control the situation  as soon as possible. Inside the clinic, Nina tries to calm Alex down. She’s in shock  after witnessing how barbaric a Tag can get. She starts to feel scared, and she asks Nina  if she feels the same. Nina becomes solemn and says Alex may not fully understand the Twilights.  But she clarifies that Nic is not scary at all. Dr. Theo hires the Handymen to make some  deliveries on his behalf, and gives them the paper bags labeled with their recipients.  And with

that, the trio leaves the clinic. Later that night, in an abandoned warehouse,  Arnold pleads for a second chance. He’s been patched up from his injuries, but at that  moment, he’s at the mercy of the one who hired him to recruit the doctor. It turns out,  he planned to kidnap Nina to intimidate Dr. Theo, but it ultimately failed. And now, he’ll face  the consequences of his failure. The last thing he sees are two pairs of maniacal eyes, and the  last thing he hears is the slash of a sword. The

next day, Worick wakes up from  a nightmare from his childhood. Him, clutching his bloodied left eye, horrified at the  scene in front of him. Standing between him and the corpse of his father is Nic. Worick lies awake  on his bed, noting that he dreamt of it again. Outside his room, Alex wakes up as well. She  smiles as she looks out the window, remembering the days when she had to loiter around that  familiar alley just to get customers. But now, two unconventionally kind men have taken her in

  and offered her something to do. It’s not much, but it’s a start. She sees Nic entering the  room. He doesn’t appear to have seen her, or perhaps he simply doesn’t acknowledge  any person aside from those close to him. Between the two men, it’s Nic whom Alex is a  bit wary of. Worick comes out of his room and tells them he won’t come with them to deliver  until later, as he needs to do his real job first. He puts money inside Alex’s clothes and  asks her to buy his usual cigarettes. Confused,

Alex has no choice but to come with Nic  despite her uneasiness around him. She tries to have some small talk  with Nic by asking Worick’s real job, but he doesn’t respond. She knows that he’s  deaf, and that he mainly communicates using sign language. When forced, he can talk,  albeit in a manner similar to that of a toddler. But he’s not insensitive, and  he doesn’t dislike Alex. Eventually, he tells her that Worick works as a  gigolo, which greatly surprises her. Their first stop is someone w

ho is a neighbor to  Granny Joel. Nic delivers a case that contains a handgun. While waiting, Alex buys the cigarettes  from the old woman. In the newspaper that Granny Joel is reading, she sees the article about the  unsolved massacre of the Arcangelo family that happened 22 years ago. After the brutal death of  Domineco Arcangelo, his wife, and his eldest son, the second son, Wallace Arcangelo was kidnapped.  It was suspected that the crime was carried out by the young mercenary employed by th

e family. Granny  Joel sees the article and remarks how long has passed since then. She remembers the case shocking  the world, in the middle of the Anti-Twilight riots. She implies that the kidnapped son and the  young mercenary may have settled in Ergastulum and have been staying here since. Then she warns Alex  to not stay too long with the Handymen, especially with that Tag. Soon Nic finishes his delivery  there, and the pair leaves Granny Joel. They move to the next recipient. While waiting

for  Nic, Worick arrives, who is driven there by his lady client. With the three of them, they continue  their delivery. This chore is a good activity for Alex to learn more about the city of Ergastulum.  Even though it’s not explicitly explained in the show, it’s important to know the context  of the setting where the story happens. Ergastulum is a city full of Tags, more  commonly known as Twilights. There are also normal people living in the city, but  the higher-ranked Tags mainly inhabit t

he darker and obscure alleyways. The city is  under the control of four mafia families: Corsica, Monroe, Cristiano, and Paulklee. All  four of them maintain the balance within the city. The packages that the trio is delivering  contain a medicine known as Celebrer. It’s a vital medication for the Tags, for it keeps  their violent tendencies under control. The first family they deliver to is the  Cristiano family. Marco and Galahad, two high-rank members of the family, greet them  as they accept

their medicine. Their next stop is the Monroe family. They happen to witness Daniel  Monroe’s men, Delico and Yang, executing someone, much to Alex’s horror. After this rather gruesome  encounter, Worick hands over the medicine to one of Daniel’s men. From their conversation,  it seems like the head of the Monroe family has a soft spot for the Handymen. He offers  Nic a job and a place in his ranks, and even allows his contract holder to come, referring to  Worick. But Nic coolly declines the of

fer. Their last stop for deliveries is a brothel run  by Georgiana, also known as Big Mama. She’s a member of the Corsica family. While waiting for  her, Alex notices that the women working there are fawning over Worick. She also notices the  disdainful looks they give Nic. It turns out, Worick used to work there when he was young. One  of the prostitutes asks Worick why he’s still hanging out with that “Tag”. If he discards him,  then he can walk along the roads. Alex protests this, but just th

en, Worick pins the prostitute  against the wall and warns her to shut her mouth, to everyone’s surprise. Big Mama  appears right at that time. She apologizes to the Handymen for the way  her “daughters” behaved. She explains that since this brothel is Corsica’s turf, the  workers share the same negative sentiments against the Tags as the head of the family. At  least Georgiana is polite and still accepts some under her employment. In fact, the medicine that  Worick is delivering is for someone

they used to know. As they leave, Worick instructs Alex to  come home with Nic. When she looks for him, she finds him inside a room, looking at a  bedridden woman. It isn’t stated explicitly in the show, but the woman may have been  a Tag that used to live with the Handymen, until her unidentified illness took over  her body. Alex reflects, remembering what Granny Joel said earlier. Is it really  dangerous to live with someone like Nic? Alex sleeps off the rest of the day until  the next morning

. She sees Worick sleeping peacefully in his room. Still troubled by her  thoughts, she goes back to the alleyway where she used to hang out. She hums a song, before  realizing that Worick is walking towards her. He tells her to get out of Ergastulum before it’s  too late. Instead of reacting to this advice, she asks him about when he started working as a  gigolo. He recalls he started when he was young, back when Big Mama first recruited him. Alex  asks him about the why questions in his life,

and Worick seems to reflect  on it as a good question. A few days later, horrifying news breaks  all over Ergastulum, about the discovery of several mutilated bodies in an abandoned  warehouse at District 6. The police are still working on identifying the bodies. Chad  and Cody have detained Nic and Worick at the police station. Everyone thinks they  have something to do with the warehouse case, but Chad has other ideas in his mind. As  Cody painstakingly interrogates a cool Nic, he looks at Wor

ick and remembers  when he first took them in, when they were still teens. He wonders if  anything has changed for these two. Chad decides to switch with Cody. He instructs  his subordinate to give the files to Worick and let him scan them, while he himself stays  with Nic. Worick gets the book, opens it, and starts scanning it at a fast rate. As per  Cody, the faces of the bodies are so mutilated that the forensics have a hard time identifying  them. But some other bodily marks like tattoos or

piercings are still visible, and that’s what  Worick uses to recall the faces and identify where he’d seen them before. That will give the police  a big break in finding out the motive behind this massacre. After he’s done identifying them, he  returns the files to a stunned Cody, who asks how he managed to recall all the details. Worick  casually says he’s that good at memorizing. However, he has always been that way. We see  a flashback of a younger Worick scanning a book and remembering its c

ontents. The  flashbacks offer more depth to Worick’s and Nic's characters, as they reveal the  truth behind the present situation. We see that Worick belonged to  an affluent family in the past, and used to be called Wallace Arcangelo. He had  his own tutor, who taught him about the origins of the drug Celebrer. The drug was created as  an enhancer of physical abilities. Soldiers who consumed them maximized their strengths  and were deployed in combat. However, it was addictive and toxic when i

ngested in high  dosages. Cases of memory loss and eventual deaths led to its ban. Continuing his lectures about the  Celebrer, the tutor explains that the descendants of those who used the drugs showed pronounced  genetic aftereffects. In exchange for unusually developed physical abilities, they were deficient  in mental capacities. In most cases, they require daily doses of Celebrer to combat the strong  withdrawal effects of the drug. In general, their lifetimes were much shorter than the ave

rage,  which gave them the label “Twilights”. When Wallace isn’t studying, he spends his time  smoking outside the mansion’s gate. That’s when he met Nicolas Brown for the first time.  He’s introduced as the son of Gaston Brown, the leader of the Westgate Mercenaries. They were  employed by his father to protect the family from the worsening Anti-Twilights riots. Gaston says  Nicolas would be his new bodyguard. Wallace wasn’t happy about it. But he wasn’t happy in the mansion  at all. There were

rumors that he was the bastard child of Domineco Arcangelo, and it had made his  life a misery. Giving him a bodyguard the same age as him, who happened to be deaf and a Twilight,  wouldn’t make things better. But he noticed the scratches Nic gets every day, and was reminded of  his own bruises. He softened towards the boy. In the present, Chad receives a call from  Daniel Monroe, who seems to be in the middle of a gunfight. He calmly demands the  help of the Handymen to protect him, just as he

shoots one of the snipers aiming for  his head. Chad has no choice but to let Nic and Worick go. They run around the city to find Daniel  Monroe. At a turn, they discover the sliced, mutilated bodies of Monroe’s men. Worick  is stunned to realize that the wounds were cleanly cut, just like the ones found in the  warehouse case. He comprehends that the person who’s after Monroe might be the same culprit.  They continue following the trail of blood. Meanwhile, Delico, one of Monroe’s men, has  ma

naged to subdue one of the teams that attacked them. Ivan Glaziev, another Monroe subordinate,  looks relaxed as the trouble seems to be over. But then, they are approached by a sobbing  boy, who turns out to be the one behind the attack. He easily slices the other men with his  kukri knives. Ivan runs and hides in an alley, while Delico manages to defend himself from  the attack. The boy, or rather the short man, smiles in appreciation. But his target is Daniel  Monroe, so he jumps away to look

for his prey. Delico immediately calls Yang, who is with  their boss along with Miles and Diego. However, it’s too late, as the man with the kukri knives  has already caught up with them. To their horror, he’s a Twilight, and based on his combat  skills, he must be a high-ranking one. While the Twilight wreaks havoc on Monroe’s  men, two henchmen of another family observe the situation. They don’t notice that Worick  and Nic have already subdued their comrades, until Worick shoots one of them.

He leaves one  alive for interrogation. After tying his hostage, Worick warns Nic to be careful. The attacker may  be the same culprit behind the warehouse case, a fearless being who’s ignoring the Three  Laws. Nic only looks at him, before walking away. When he’s alone, he gulps a large dose  of Celebrer to get ready for the fight. Back on the streets, the Twilight runs straight  for Monroe. But Delico runs in time to protect his boss, injuring himself in the process  and tearing the chain of h

is tag. Yes, Delico is another Twilight, whose rank  is D0. The Twilight taunts Delico, but he senses someone incoming. Just in time,  he dodges Nic’s sword and sacrifices one of his knives. The Twilight smiles as he finally  realizes he’s facing an equal. He shows his tag, which bears the rank A0, the same one as Nic. A  fierce fight ensues between the two Twilights. Delico watches in awe as his boss and other  comrades place their bets on who will win. Meanwhile, in another part of the city, a

  red-head girl runs frantically to her boss. Her name is Ginger, and she urgently needs  to talk to Sir Paulklee. Upon reaching her, Ginger nervously tells about one  of their men, whose name is Doug, who has apparently taken a job without  approval. When Sir Paulklee asks about the job, Ginger says it’s about taking Monroe’s  head, which greatly surprises her. Nic and Doug continue to fight. Each  one of them is on par with the other, which makes it an entertaining spectacle for those  who wat

ch. Monroe recalls a time when a low-rank Twilight attacked the headquarters. He was a young  boy, with a C3 rank. Monroe still finds it funny that the C3 Twilight managed to wreak havoc at his  headquarters for a petty reason. Before Monroe can continue his story, Worick walks to them and  supplies the rest of the details. Apparently, the C3 Twilight was out to get revenge for his  friend. Everyone greets Worick, and the latter informs them of what he’s found out from his  hostage earlier. He r

eveals they’re working for the Corsica family, and they hired Doug to  go after Monroe’s head. This is unbelievable, as the Corsicans are known to hate Twilights.  Worick explains they were new recruits, and wanted to set themselves apart from the rest  of the family. They look back at the two Tags who are now fighting on top of the roofs. Each attack  is getting more vicious, with each strike aiming to land a fatal blow. Eventually, Doug manages to  throw four knives towards Nic, which the latt

er wards off with his arms. Taking advantage of  his opponent’s distraction, Doug jumps towards Monroe. Delico runs to cover his boss with his  body. Before Doug can strike with his kukri, Nic jumps on him, and then tosses him inside a window  while he lands on a pile of garbage bags. Doug immediately escapes before he can be caught.  Worick walks to Nic, who doesn’t seem to be fazed about his injuries or his surroundings. Worick  realizes that Nic may have overdosed on Celebrer, enhancing his p

hysical resilience and suppressing  his pain receptors. Nic jumps back to the rooftops to go after Doug. He needs to end the fight  before the Celebrer wears off. Worick sighs in resignation. He requests Miles to contact  the Paulklee Guild, as it happens that Doug is a Twilight affiliated with them. The fight  must stop. If Nic manages to finish Doug, it will spell trouble for all of them. He also  asks Monroe to move on and leave everything to him. Before leaving, Monroe clarifies his  story.

The C3 Twilight who retaliated on his family did not say he was doing it for a  friend, but rather for his contract holder. Worick smiles and says he considers Nic as  a friend, whether the latter does or not. Delico realizes that the Twilight his boss was  referring to earlier was Nicolas Brown. This implies that Nic and Worick may be sharing a more  technical relationship than being friends. Once alone, he follows the two  Twilights who are still fighting. He must stop them before Paulklee  ar

rives. However, it’s too late. Nic corners Doug, who is now feeling fatigued  after all the fighting. He recognizes that his opponent may have overdosed on medication. He  attempts to stop him, but Nic won’t listen. Nic swings his sword, destroying Doug’s last  kukri. He swings it again for the final blow, but his prey suddenly goes missing. Ginger has  arrived just in the nick of time and saves Doug from going to the afterlife. Carrying the small  man, Ginger looks at Nic and stutters her words

about stopping the fight. Nic won’t listen,  though. He walks towards them, and this time he’s stopped by Worick. He struggles, and  Worick is forced to say it’s an order. Walking towards them is a strong, muscular woman  with striking features. She’s Sir Gina Paulklee, the head of the Paulklee Guild and one of the Four  Fathers of Ergastulum. She recites the Three Laws for Twilights, which state the following: Do not  take action against normals. Obey your masters. Defend yourself. The Laws we

re put in place by the  Four Fathers to release Twilights from slavery. And yet, Doug dares to break them. The Paulklee  Guild is in charge of managing the Twilights in the city, therefore, it’s up to them to employ  sanctions on those who break the Laws. She brings out a pistol, and shoots a Celebrer bullet  onto Doug. She reiterates that Monroe is under the protection of the Three Laws, and his demise  will mean the loss of balance in Ergastulum. Gina also shoots Nic with the Celebrer bullet. 

This makes Worick nervous. He reaches for his gun, but Ginger quickly pulls it out of its holster  and points it at him. Her whole demeanor has changed from super shy, to super dangerous. Gina  assures Worick she’s only there to sanction the Twilights. She walks towards Nic and picks  him up. Nic seems to have greatly weakened, which suggests that Gina has used a type of  Celebrer known as a “downer”. She reminds him to not overdose on his medication,  especially on the stimulant variant known

as the “upper”. She tells him it’s fine  doing it for himself, but she can’t have him upsetting his contract holder. And with that,  he shoots three more bullets into him. Once the Paulklee members leave, Worick has no  choice but to bring the two Twilights to Dr. Theo’s clinic. Nina has just finished attending  to a patient when Worick arrives, dragging Nic and Doug with him. Nina immediately attends to  them. Since the bullets used are actually glass syringes that contain the liquid medication

,  it’s easy for her to treat her patients. After the events of the attack, Daniel Monroe  orders his men to gather the bodies of those who perished earlier. He asks Delico about his  injuries. Delico says he doesn’t need to go to Dr. Theo so he has asked Yang to patch him up.  Monroe, in an avuncular manner, tells Delico he needs to be his impenetrable shield so he can  live a longer life. Delico can’t do it if he doesn’t take care of his wounds the proper way.  And with that, he dismisses the

two men. Then, he contemplates the information Worick  shared earlier. If it’s true that Corsica has a hand in the attacks, then it will lead to an  all-out war. Monroe recognizes this possibility, in the same way he recognizes Ergastulum as  a city where a war would be inevitable. In another part of the city, Ivan talks to a man  hidden in the shadows. From their conversations, it seems like Ivan is a mole sent by  another family to spy on Monroe and to help in terminating him. Ivan admits he d

idn’t  expect the Twilight, and he was almost killed earlier. It was lucky then that he managed to  get away. As for the bodies in the warehouse, the other man in the shadows worries that the  inspector may connect the case to him. But Ivan assures him that won’t happen, as he has his  own mole in the police department to interfere with the investigation. It looks like trouble  is brewing in Ergastulum at a fast rate. Soon, the power balance may be disrupted before  anyone realizes what is happe

ning. In another set of flashbacks, we see more details  on how Nic and Worick developed their friendship, and the similar dilemmas they shared about their  respective fathers. Gaston gives Nic a Celebrar tablet. One of the mercenaries commented on how  obedient Nic was, to which Gaston replied he’s a Twilight which left him no choice. It was evident  that Gaston didn’t care much about his son, and it can be implied that he was physically abusing  him as well. He also revealed that he terminated

Nic’s mother. Meanwhile, Wallace had decided to  teach Nic how to read or write. He spotted some bruising on Nic’s arm, and asked how he got it.  Nic answered he fell. Wallace looked melancholic as he shared his frequent falling as well. They  were disturbed by a noise coming from the garden. It looked like some intruders had infiltrated  the garden. Wallace overheard his father issuing orders to keep his family safe, except for him. A  sound by the window made him turn around. To his surprise,

Nic had jumped off the window, which  was three stories tall, and into the lawn, where he managed to kill the intruder. Later, Domineco  reprimands Gaston and his son for staining his garden with blood. Then, after drinking too much  alcohol, he turned his anger toward Wallace and accused him of plotting to kill him. Young Wallace  denied everything, but his father wouldn’t lend him an ear. Domineco smashed a wine bottle near  his son’s head, and left him to his weeping. It’s safe to say that b

oth Nic and Worick  experienced abuse from their respective fathers at a young age. Their situation  as a master and bodyguard had made them close to each other, and relate  in a way that no one else can. In the present, Nic’s condition has stabilized  thanks to Nina’s ministrations. Worick expresses his relief, then informs him that he’ll go back  to their office to check on Alex. Before leaving, he says two things to Nic. First, he  shouldn’t make him say the word “order”, as it doesn’t sit ri

ght with him. Second,  he reveals that Corsica plans to upset the balance in Ergastulum. His next target is the  Cristiano family. He also shares his discovery about the bodies found in the warehouse case.  They were all Twilights, including Arnold whom Nic fought with earlier. Somebody is targeting  the Twilights, and it’s not yet clear whether Corsica is directly involved. Whatever the case,  it’s clear that Monroe is the target, the vital figure in the pro-Twilight movement. The Cristiano  fa

mily is closely tied to him, and an attack on them will mean an attack on the Monroe family.  Worick says he owes Monroe a lot, so he promises to do his best to protect the family. All wants  is assurance from Nic to stick up with him. After Worick leaves, Nic sits up and thinks about what his partner said. He ruefully smiles  as he accepts his fate as a Twilight. Worick walks back to the office. He’s been  worrying about Alex who hasn't answered his calls for the day. To his surprise, instead o

f  Alex, he finds Dr. Theo there. As it turns out, while they are fighting Doug, Alex is having  hallucinations about Barry coming back to life. The doctor says it’s one of the withdrawal  symptoms from the TB pills she used to take. Apparently, Barry made her take those pills  so he could keep her and other prostitutes under his control. And now, Alex is suffering  by showing brutal symptoms of her withdrawal. Worick runs out to look for her. He finds her  in the alleyway. Alex attempts to sedu

ce him, which means she’s still experiencing  hallucinations. He headbutts her, causing both of them great pain in their heads. But this  is effective, as Alex wakes up and apologizes for her behavior. Worick assures her it’s alright, and  jokes about having his worse day become better by touching her derriere. Alex pretends to scold  him, but she’s grateful for being saved by him. We continue the tale of the Handymen  Nicolas Brown and Worick Arcangelo, and the brewing trouble that is bound  to

shake the city of Ergastulum. Worick continues to have nightmares about his  childhood, specifically around the time when he was learning about Nic’s condition as a Twilight.  Since the stigma of having short life spans was unshakeable, it was no wonder that doctors didn’t  hold any hope for curing them. Worick was adamant at that time that Nic should be attended to, and  refused to believe nothing could be done. When Worick wakes up, he’s surprised to  do so in the arms of Alex. She’s heard hi

s whimpers and has thought she may be able to  comfort him. He’s grateful for her presence, although he’s still shaken by his dreams.  He remembers her asking him about his whys, the reasons for living in such a manner. He  tells her no answer had come to him when he asked the same question as a child.  Even now, it still eludes him. Meanwhile, back at Dr. Theo’s clinic, Nic is up  and about, along with Doug. Nina is glad that both of her patients have made full recovery  from their fighting day

s ago. Doug finds out that Nic is deaf, as a sort of compensation  for being physically strong as a Twilight, and that he’s from the West Gate, an outsider  just like him. As for Doug, his compensation is his stunted growth. He’s actually 21 years old,  and originates from South Gate. Inspector Chad Adkins arrives, interrupting their conversation.  Chad informs Doug that the Paulklee Guild will be grounding him for his actions. He offers to drive  the Twilight back home. But before that, he talk

s to Dr. Theo first about the autopsies he made on  the corpses involved in the warehouse case. While Nic and Nina are playing, jumping  from roof to roof, the doctor tells the inspector about the important findings of  the autopsy. He confirms that all victims were Twilights. He posits the following: all  victims were at the prime of their lives, lack of defensive wounds meant the victims  were restrained against their will, and the mutilations happened while they were still  alive. Distressed,

the inspector says it’ll be hard to identify them all without their tags,  but Worick has immensely helped in taking the first step. He’s afraid that the warehouse case,  and the attack on Daniel Monroe the other day, will be the precursor to another anti-Twilights  riots, similar to what happened years ago. Speaking of the attack, the Four Fathers of  Ergastulum gather together to discuss it. In attendance are Daniel Monroe, Uranus  Corsica, Loretta Cristiano Amodio, and Gina Paulklee. Loretta

accuses Corsica of  masterminding the attack and hiring a Twilight. It’s well-known among them and the whole city that  Corsica is not a fan of Twilights. He hates them with a passion. But Corsica adamantly denies this.  Conspiring with Twilights? He’d rather crawl in sewage than have his name associated with those  monsters. Monroe calms everyone down. He seems relaxed even after the unsuccessful attempt on  his life. He is thinking about something, and he shares it with others. With the recen

t warehouse  case, the rising numbers of Twilights victims, and the attack on his life, it’s safe to assume  that some forces outside Ergastulum are involved. As for the reason, there’s no definitive answer,  but it seems like someone is trying to destroy the balance in the city. This announcement causes  ominous feelings among the other Fathers. Back at the clinic, Alex visits Dr. Theo for  a follow-up checkup. She’s remorseful about the scratches she gave the doctor during her  episode of with

drawal. But the doctor waves it, saying it’s only natural. He prescribes her  medication in case the symptoms get stronger. When Alex offers to give back something  in return for his kindness, Dr. Theo says that making candy for Nina will be payment  enough. And with that, she and Nic leave. Alex, using sign language, expresses her  gratitude to Nic for taking her in. But she asks if she can stay longer while she looks  for a new residence. In response, Nic tells her to improve her sign language

. She can learn more  from the book that he used before to learn. The same book that Worick gave him when  they were young. He remembers that it was him who encouraged him to read and write.  Back then, Worick was known as Wallace, and Nic was assigned to be his bodyguard. It was  around the time when the anti-Twilights riots were getting intense, and the mercenaries  hired by Wallace’s family were hard at work protecting them. He got sick one time,  and had to stay in to recover. When he did, h

e found out Wallace had bought him from  his father. It might be for his benefit, as his father was abusive to him. He was  catatonic when he learned about it. Wallace’s father was no better. He treated  his son poorly, just because he’s a bastard child. The turning point was when his father  caught him smoking. He beat him so badly, and decided to put out the cigarette on  his eye. Wallace looked by the door to see Nic watching. He mouthed something,  but the pain from the cigarette made him fo

rget everything else. The next thing he  knew, his father was lying on the ground, bloody and lifeless. His mother and half-brother  were next. When Nic attempted to end his life, he stopped him. He was angry about everything.  He wouldn’t let Nic get away. He owes him. The memory of his family’s massacre comes back  to Worick, making his blind eye tingle. Delico approaches him. They talk about the recent attacks  on Twilights. Delico warns him about Nic’s safety. After all, Worick is Nic’s cont

ract holder. Worick  pretends to be nonchalant about it. But in truth, he does worry about him. He’s his friend,  no matter what anyone thinks about them. Perhaps Worick should take Delico’s warning  seriously. The real perpetrators behind the attacks are on the move again. Erika  and Mikhail have just eliminated their latest victims, and are on their way  to find more. In a chance encounter, Erika walks by Nic and Alex. Alex doesn’t  notice, but Nic’s animal instincts tell him that he’ll be in

for a terrific and  brutal treat in the coming days. Attacks on Twilights continue the next day.  Even the Normals - common people who don’t depend on Celebrer - have joined the fray. Their  works are more crude than the perpetrators who cleanly cut their prey. Chad and his junior  Cody can only collect bodies and pile them in the morgue. On the other side of the  city, the Handymen, together with Alex, come and repair Constance’s shop. Since she runs  a gun shop, it’s not surprising that hot-he

aded customers can lose their control. Worick informs  Alex that they’ll be attending the soiree hosted by the Cristiano family that night. Before she  can react or ask about it, Constance invites her inside to have some tea. While the two women talk,  the two men outside also have their conversation. Nic inquires how much they are charging the  Cristianos for their service that night, and Worick names an amount that’s about lower than  Nic expects. Worick says the Cristianos are not as well-off

as the other families despite being one  of the Fathers of the city. They also discuss what Monroe told Worick the day he was attacked. When  Monroe said that Nic referred to Worick as his “contract holder”. In technical terms, it’s true  since he “bought” Nic from his father. However, Worick doesn't like the term, and prefers to call  their relationship partners, or even friends. Granny Joel arrives at that point to supervise  the repairs on her granddaughter’s shop. When she enters, she’s sur

prised to see Alex. After  her warning before, she expects the girl to have left the Handymen. Constance learns that  Alex used to be a prostitute, but Granny Joel sagely says she’ll return to it soon. Constance  assures Alex that her grandmother doesn’t mean anything by that remark. Then she asks her if  she has plans to go back to her family. It’s as if something snaps inside Alex. She  suddenly sees images of a young boy in her head. Alex realizes she has a younger brother. The  more she reme

mbers, the more the hallucination of Barry hovering over her becomes stronger. Despite  shaking, she recognizes that it’s another attack of her symptoms. She reaches for her medication,  but she finds it hard to open it. Thankfully, Nic is there to do it for her. She calms down  and inhales gratefully for the support. When the repairs are done, Granny Joel  invites them in to eat some snacks. Constance pulls Nic inside, leaving  Worick and Alex. After a few beats, Worick starts by apologizing fo

r not  looking after her. Alex says it’s okay, and relays the memory of her younger brother  finally coming back to her. He assures her that the memories suppressed by the TB  pill will come back, sooner or later. Later that night, they attend the soiree.  Worick and Alex enter a club called “Bastard”, an establishment owned by the Cristiano  family. He brings flowers for Loretta, who notices Alex and calls her by her full name,  Alex Benedetto. Worick introduces the girl as the head of the fami

ly. Alex is surprised. She  doesn’t expect a small girl to be heading such an influential family. Marco Adriano steps in  and explains some important things to her. Loretta has taken over her father’s position  after he passed away. Despite her age, she’s intelligent enough to understand the role  of her family, as well as the roles of others, in balancing the powers in Ergastulum. The  Paulklee Guild dispatches mercenary Twilights for each family’s protection. The Cristiano family  provides sup

ply routes for Celebrer inside the city. The Monroe family deals with commerce and  provides business opportunities for Twilights not associated with the Paulklee Guild, while the  Corsica family handles weapons and vices. After that brief lesson, Marco, along with Galahad  Woeher, takes pleasure in introducing themselves to Alex. Alex is flustered, but Loretta isn’t  having any of it. She playfully kicks Galahad on the shins. Worick joins in on the joke and  charges Galahad a hundred bucks for

“peeking”, which earns him a slap from Alex. These kinds of  interactions are so ordinary and feel wholesome, no one would even think that disturbances are  already happening within the vicinity. Nic is on the rooftop, looking over the commotion happening  on the streets. Many people are running, either to get away or to chase. Worick walks up to him and  comments about their job. Even if the Cristianos won’t pay them a hefty sum for their service, at  least they get a hot meal for it. Their job

for that night is to direct all the targeted Twilights  into the club. In response to the recent attacks, Loretta has decided to host a soiree to at  least provide shelter for the Twilights. And the Handymen are the better candidates to  help ensure that nothing will go awry. Nic and Worick set to work, and they start by saving  a group of Tags hunted by the Normals. Left in the club, Alex muses how the night seems  so peaceful. She reflects that it’s been so long since she experienced somethin

g like this, and  she rarely gets to appreciate such moments. Looking relaxed, she hums a tune that Galahad  overhears. But, not all good things last. She hears a gunshot not so far from the club. She’s  about to call for help when Galahad stops her. He orders her to feign ignorance, then points at the  windows of the building across them. Silhouettes of men stand there, seemingly watching. Galahad  explains that the family has been under constant surveillance from the government, and due to  th

is, they can’t be seen directly helping the Twilights. They can only depend on the Handymen  to do the job, but even with their expertise, they can only do so much. Galahad also directs  Alex to look at the dance floor. That’s when she realizes most of the patrons were Twilights, and  the club is offering a refuge in a discreet way. To distract her, Galahad announces to everyone  that Alex will be offering them a performance. She’s reluctant at first, but with encouragement  from Loretta and the

audience, Alex gives in. She sings blues that capture her audience. Alex  doesn’t aim to be a singer, but she has a voice that soothes one’s soul. She sings, remembering  the time she used to sing this as a lullaby to her younger brother. Outside the club, a man wearing  a hoodie hears the melody, and attempts to come inside. The melody brings him recollections  from when he was young and his older sister used to sing it to calm him. But the bouncers  won’t let him in without an invitation. Som

ewhere nearby, Nic and Worick are  hard at work defending the Twilights from their hunters. These Tagged people  are low-ranked, of D class and number 5. They don’t differ that much from the  Normals, and yet the discrimination against them is too high and dangerous. After  ensuring that the Normals have been subdued, the Handymen lead them to the club. One of  them, a mother holding her infant child, looks back in uncertainty. Worick sends her  a wink and a salute as a reassurance. When Alex’s

performance ends, everyone cheers for  her. It’s her first time performing in front of a crowd, and she feels humbled knowing the people  appreciate her song. Loretta approaches her and congratulates her on a well-done performance.  She offers her a job to be a songstress in her club. Loretta says she reminds her of her late  mother, who was also a prostitute before marrying her father and becoming a singer in the club.  Their conversation is cut when someone informs Loretta about the arrival of

Ivan Glatziel from  the Monroe family. As she walks towards Ivan, she doesn’t see a Twilight look ominously  at her. The man remembers that he’s there, not to enjoy the peaceful refuge, but  to save his daughter from slaughter. Ivan is there to deliver the promised  money to Loretta. After the transaction, Ivan walks over to the Twilight and discreetly  shows him a cut ear. The morbid item seems to agitate the man, who suddenly stands up and cuts  the person near him. Then he goes for Loretta,

but Galahad punches him. Four more Twilights come  after the girl. Marco swings down and subdues them. The Cristiano family is perplexed. Why would  a Twilight attack someone who is taking them in? Loretta walks over to the man who started the  trouble. She still shows compassion towards him, and in return, she asks to know who is  the mastermind behind all the attacks. The man, too afraid to speak, chooses to run away.  But not before Mikhail gets his claws on him - literally. The young boy is

part of the duo who  are the perpetrators behind the recent Twilight killings. The bloodlust shown by Mikhail causes  panic among the club’s patrons, and everyone runs for their lives. Someone pushes Loretta, and  she would’ve landed on broken glass had it not been for Alex catching her. In the chaos, no one  sees Ivan calmly walking out of the club. He meets Erika, the other member of the duo, outside,  and gives her an order: kill them all. Nic and Worick are talking about going  back to the c

lub, when Nic’s nose perks up, and suddenly he’s on a hunt. Worick follows, and  in doing so, he meets a woman running away from something. That’s when he learns that the club  is under attack. The woman is in disbelief to have witnessed a boy terminate all the Twilights  and collect their tags like nothing. It dawns on Worick that the attackers on the club may be the  same ones responsible for the warehouse case. He instructs Nic to go ahead and buy him some  time. With a devilish smile, Nic ag

rees. In the club, Loretta and Alex are in the hallway  of the exit route. The girl gives Alex a loaded gun and instructs her to leave, before she  herself runs back inside to help her men. Alex is frightened, especially when she starts  seeing visions of her younger brother running after Loretta. Instead of succumbing to her  fears and her symptoms, Alex follows her. The club is now empty except for Marco and  Galahad fighting Mikhail. He’s only a boy, but he proves to be a worthy adversary for

these  men. They have recovered the tags Mikhail has taken from his victims, which infuriates the boy  and makes them his target instead. At one point, the two manage to trap him using Marco’s  wires. But Mikhail’s partner, Erika, comes in time to free him. The fight becomes 2  vs 2, but the Cristianos are greatly overwhelmed by Erika’s speed. She cuts Marco’s necklace,  which holds a ring that’s important to him. Mikhail goes after Galahad and easily  subdues him. Then, he goes after Marco, wh

o is also down on the floor. The boy would’ve  mutilated Marco with a broken bottle if not for Loretta shooting at him. Erika parries the bullets  with her sword, and jumps up to the second floor where Loretta is. But Alex comes in time to  shoot her bullets at the perpetrator, making her Erika’s next target. Just as she’s about to slice  Alex’s neck, Nic comes and holds her down. Nic is surprised once he’s gotten a good look  at the woman. Erika, with her blonde hair, ice-blue eyes, and cold de

meanor, is the  spitting image of Delico. Nic recognizes her to be Delico’s younger sister who has  been missing for many years. In a few moves, he assesses that Erika has gained  high-level skills as an assassin. Nic smiles, as he thinks this should be  an interesting fight to buy some time. Meanwhile, Worick is climbing up the stairs  to the rooftop. If his hunch is correct, that the attackers at the club are the same  ones responsible for the Twilight killings, then he needs to call for help.

He shoots a flare  gun, which immediately lights up the sky. Every important character in the city sees the signal,  and those needed for backup rush to his aid. After that, Worick goes straight to the club, where  he sees the bodies of both Twilights and guards, scattered on the ground. There’s no  doubt about it now. He looks up the window and sees Nic fighting one of the  attackers. He, too, recognizes Erika. Inside, she manages to stab Nic. Thankfully,  Ginger and Doug arrive, with Ginger e

asily pinning Erika to the ground. Outside, Inspector Adkins  instructs his men to seal off all possible exits. Erika knows they’re cornered, and she senses that  Ginger isn’t someone to take on lightly. Knowing that they’ve done what they can, she and Mikhail  escape through the window. Later, she meets with Ivan, enjoying his light touch on her hair.  Ivan is talking to Corsica and updates him on what has happened. Satisfied with the report,  Corsica ends the call and faces individuals whom he

calls the Esminets. Among them is the young  man from earlier, who tried to get into the club upon hearing Alex’s singing. It turns out, he’s  Emilio Benedetto, Alex’s younger brother. The next morning, the attack on the  Cristiano family’s club becomes the breaking news. Emilio sits on the rooftop,  along with his comrades. They smile as they listen to the news, knowing they’re about  to bring chaos to the city soon. Nic, Alex, Galahad, and Marco visit Dr. Theo to  treat their injuries. The do

ctor isn’t at all thrilled to find out that Nic overdosed on his  medication again. He shows a certain brutality towards him that has got Alex concerned. She asks  Nina about the doctor. The young nurse explains that it’s only the doctor’s way to show concern.  Dr. Theo is the only physician in the city, and he cares for the Twilights very much. He  creates his own formulation of Celebrer using ingredients from the black market, and sells them  at a low price for the poor Twilights in the city.

The government-approved medication is just too  expensive, so many people rely on the doctor. One can say he’s gained respect from these people  who are already destined to suffer in life. Alex absorbs all the information.  Being an outsider, almost everything is new to her. She’s only learning about  Twilights, the Four Fathers of the city, and the way of living there. She also just finds  out that Marco is actually engaged to Constance. If the latter hadn’t come to the clinic to check  on her

fiancé, Alex wouldn’t have known. Later, the two women meet, and Constance gives Alex a  key. She doesn’t explicitly say what it opens, but one may presume it’s a key to an  apartment. She warns Alex that things will be more complicated later on, and it’ll  be better if she gets out of the city soon. Meanwhile, Worick is in the morgue near the police  station. He’s helping identify the Twilights whose tags were taken by Erika and Mikhail. Chad and  Cody watch him through a two-way mirror. Cody i

s curious about Worick’s ability to remember things  exactly. Chad says it’s called hyperthymesia, a super-memory syndrome. He points out that this  is the reason Worick can be both an asset and a liability if he ever allies himself with one  of the families. Not to mention his partnership with Nic, whom Chad considers a walking  murder machine. After helping the police, Worick goes to the Monroe mansion to discuss  Erika. No one has expected her to be alive. Not even Delico, who is keeping quie

t  about this shocking discovery. He remembers the day when he thought he had lost  his sister. Back then, Nic and Worick used to be part of the Monroe family. They were there  to rescue the victims of the attack on the institution that housed many Twilight children.  Chad was also there, issuing instructions to his men. Worick picked up a younger Yang, who said  the attack was too fast, and that many children were taken, including Erika. Not far from them  was Nic, who was looking over young De

lico. The kid was holding a bunny toy that used to belong  to his sister. In the present, Delico can only close his eyes as the grave implication  of Erika’s presence looms over them. After this visit, Worick goes home. Looking at  him walk away is Daniel Monroe. He thinks it’s time to go. Behind him is Ivan, who seems to be  waiting for him. It’s implied that Daniel knows who Ivan really is, and who he’s working  for. Perhaps, for the sake of his family, he’s keeping quiet about all these. When

  Worick comes home, he finds Alex cradling a baby. As it happens, Loretta has decided  to stay at the Handymen for her protection, and she took the baby with her. It was the same  baby carried by the mother mentioned earlier, who unfortunately perished in  the attack last night. Worick tells Alex that he needs to do something,  therefore, he must go. He’s confident that Nic will be enough to protect both Alex and Loretta.  With that said, he leaves. As he walks along the street, he bumps into a

n unfamiliar man. The man  has silver hair and a tribal tattoo on his arm. Worick gets a foreboding feeling from him, but he  doesn’t make a move until he’s sure. Of course, he’s right on mark, because the man  he bumped into is known as Striker, one of the Esminets. And his comrades are  already wreaking havoc on their target. Hausen of the Paulklee Guild calls Galahad to  check on the club’s clean-up progress. So far, everything’s going smoothly. Hausen tells him he’s  going to send Doug for r

einforcements. But their call gets cut. Galahad doesn’t think much of it  and decides to come to the guild himself to visit his friends. But he’s not yet aware that the guild  is already under attack. Hausen receives a report about an intrusion in one of their territories.  A young woman seems to be the perpetrator. In addition, all of their lines have been cut. His  instincts tell him this is no ordinary incident, so he calls those available to prepare the armory  and expect an imminent attack.

As for Doug, he still sends him out with two escorts, to  check the situation. Little does he know, the same woman from earlier, whose name is Sig, is  already waiting to ambush them. She easily takes out the escorts, before her companion, Colt, comes  after Doug and slashes him on the chest. Without warning, explosions shake the city  of Ergastulum. More than the explosions, the people are shocked that the explosions  happened around the area of the Paulklee guild, one of the strongholds of th

e Four Fathers, and  the main institutions that control the Twilights. Common folks know how insanely strong the Tagged  people are, so knowing that someone courageously attacked the guild means an act of war. Hausen  remains calm despite the fact that half of the guards have fallen into the hands of Sig, their  attacker. He goes to Gina Paulklee’s quarters, and reports about the situation. They  have identified three perpetrators, but the smoke from explosions cleverly masks their  smell. Based

on the skills and finesses shown in terminating the Twilights, there’s no doubt  that they are Hunters. Gina has just gotten up, while Ginger is still dressing. She opens  a huge metal sliding door on one wall, and from there she can see the carnage of  her men, and Sig, who’s been waiting to see her. As a greeting, she calls Gina ‘a filthy  old hag’. Out of nowhere, Colt attacks Gina. Ginger easily breaks Colt’s knife, while  Gina remains cool and indifferent. Gina asks another of her men, Tri

s, for the  accounting report. Tris says he’ll prepare the repair estimates by tomorrow. Sighing, Gina  decides to sleep it off, as if this is just another day of Twilight carnage. Sig protests,  but one look from Gina shuts her, and even Colt, up. Suffice it to say that more than Ginger, Gina  is that person they shouldn’t mess with. Gina says that killing 50 or 100 of her men doesn’t make her  feel any different. She turns her back on Sig and instructs Hausen to take care of them. Sig wants  t

o attack, but Emilio stops her by blowing up the roof near her. He reminds her it’s too soon  to attack. Reluctantly, Sig and Colt leave, but not before Hausen asks them who they are.  It’s Colt who tells them that their group is called Tretiy Esminets, and they work for Uranos  Corsica. Now this information affects Gina. Clueless about what’s happening, Alex  remains at the Handymen’s office, reading more materials about Twilights. Loretta  comes out of the room, preparing to leave. She intends

to go back to her club, but before  that, she ensures that someone will take care of the baby she brought there last night.  Thankfully, someone offers to foster the baby, which makes Alex happy. She mistakenly calls  the baby Emilio, which triggers another episode of her symptom withdrawal. This time, she  remembers her brother’s name. She feels weak and disoriented. Loretta has no choice but to leave  her sleeping in bed and go back to her place. Along the streets, the people are still lookin

g  at the smoke coming out of the targeted buildings. Among them is Granny Joel. Galahad walks into  them, and sees the numerous bodies piling on the sidewalks. He ran as fast as he could when he  first heard the explosions, but all he could do was warn the Normals to never get involved with a  Twilight. He instructs Granny Joel to go somewhere safe. Galahad continues to walk towards the guild  when, along the way, he meets Doug. Doug has stubbornly clung to his life even after a major  blood lo

ss due to the cuts on his chest. He wants to find someone he can trust with the information  about the attackers, and when he sees Galahad, he feels relieved. He collapses into the big man’s  arms, and offers him his tag. Galahad assures him that he and the others will be right behind him  soon. And with that, Doug breathes his last. In Monroe’s headquarters, Delico decides to look  for his sister. After learning from Worick that she’s alive, he hopes to reunite with her and  save her from any p

ossible brainwashing that may have happened to her. Yang comes with him,  and sending them off from the gate are Diego and Miles. They empathize with his need to find his  sister. They walk along the streets of the city, where they hear the explosions. But they continue  their search. They get a big break when a small girl recklessly attacks Delico, mistaking  him for Erika. Delico captures the girl, whose name is Heather, and gently asks her  for any information she knows. Thankfully, Heather k

nows something. She saw Erika  kill her sister. She followed her to avenge her sister. With that information,  Heather leads Delico and Yang. In another part of the city, Marco secures  a crate of weapons from his fiance, Constance. They share a kiss before separating,  with Marco going back to the club and Constance to her grandmother’s tobacco shop. Upon arriving  there, Constance sees a customer waiting. Had she known that this customer was Beretta, one of  the Esminets, she would have run aw

ay. But then, knowing the Esminets, it’s doubtful that Constance  would’ve gotten one step away. Beretta buys a pack of cigarettes, but when she gets a whiff of  Constance’s scent, she immediately knows who she is. There’s a sick look in her eyes as she  grabs Constance’s wrists and tells her she smells like that old man she once knew. After that, it’s  anybody’s guess what happened to Constance. In the club, one of the staff receives  a call about the attack on the guild, and the confirmation t

hat they were Hunters.  Marco gets agitated upon knowing who they are. He immediately asks if one of them is a  tall man with silver hair and a tribal tattoo, but the staff says the descriptions are that  of a young woman and a young man. Marco runs out of the club and into Granny Joel’s  shop, where Constance should be. But the shop is empty. Fearing for the worst-case  scenario, he goes back to the club. Rain has fallen on the city, quelling any possible  fires that the rain may have caused. T

he Esminets have retreated, but they’ve done what they came  for. They have shaken the powers of Ergastulum. Alex wakes up, groggy from her withdrawal episode  earlier. Beside her is Nic. Alex looks at him and says he’s familiar. Another memory, albeit blurry,  came to her while she was asleep. She saw Nic’s silhouette saving her before. Perhaps that’s the  reason why she stayed near the Handymen’s office before, why she would often look up at their  window. But Nic never acknowledges that. A kn

ock on the door prompts him to stand and open it. They  are Loretta’s men, asking Nic if he can stand as her bodyguard. Galahad still hasn’t returned  from the club, and Marco is still feeling down after his fiance’s disappearance. Nic agrees,  but he instructs Alex to stay at the office. It’s probably the safest place in Ergastulum after  the recent incidents. Reluctantly, Alex stays. Granny Joel has heard of what happened  to her granddaughter. fuming with anger, she goes to the club, finds Ma

rco, and hits him  with her cane. She says something interesting while doing so. She asks Marco if he also plans to  take Constance, just like how he took her parents from her. She asks if the Esminets won’t ever stop  causing suffering to people. From her questions, it can be said that Marco has a prior connection  with the Esminets. Granny Joel only stops beating him when Nic arrives and grabs her cane. The old  woman walks out in the rain, but she knows Nic has followed her. Feeling desperate

, she tells Nic  it doesn’t matter whether it’s Constance’s head, or her finger, that returns, as long as she  returns. Nic simply keeps his silence. In the Monroe headquarters, Worick finally  arrives there. Miles welcomes him, and together, they discuss the recent events. They know that  the guild has been attacked by a group called Tretiy Esminets. From their conversation, we  learn that this terrorist group has existed before. Their name, Tretiy Esminets, is Russian  for “Third Destroyers”,

which implies that it’s the third revival of a group that is far stronger  than the Twilights. At the same time, in the club, Marco also reminisces about his time when  he was still a Hunter and used to belong to Vtoroy Esminets, or “Second Destroyers”.  He describes the Hunters as superhumans. Their only difference from Twilights is that  they don’t have any dependence on Celebrer, which allows them more freedom. Marco  says that even among the Hunters, one of them is crazily strong, and his na

me is  Striker. He believes Striker may have something to do with Constance’s disappearance.  If not him, then it’s surely one of his former colleagues. And the reason is to  pay him back for leaving them before. Speaking of Striker, he’s already at the  Monroe headquarters. He declares he wants to see “old man Monroe”. Worick and Miles  see him. They run into the boss’s office, only to find it empty. Miles says he may be with  Ivan. But when Worick says he doesn't know Ivan, suspicions start to

rise. Only then do they  realize that this Ivan is a mole planted in their organization. And if the boss is with him, it may  be too late. But Miles expresses his fate that the boss is still alive. Armed with this conviction,  they brace themselves to face Striker. Striker walks through the mansion’s corridors  like he’s walking in a park. When he gets in front of a door, he opens it, only to find Miles  sitting behind a desk. This is a perfect setup for Worick to ambush him, along with the sim

ple  booby trap he set by the door. But Striker is not to be underestimated. He easily overpowers Worick  and Miles. When Striker holds Worick by his neck, Miles takes the chance to stab Striker from  behind. He kicks him, and stabs Worick using the knife. It’s too late when he realizes  Worick has injected him with a “downer”, a depressant type of Celebrer. Enraged,  he throws him through the window. It's unclear what happens next to the citizens of  Ergastulum. The Esminets are still walking f

ree, as well as Erika and Mikhail. In fact,  Erika reminds Mikhail that it’s time, and both of them leave the warehouse that they  use as their hideout. As fate would have it, Heather has led Delico and Yang to District  6 where she last saw Erika. When he looks up, Delico finally sees his sister  jumping from one roof to another. In another place in the city, Monroe gives  one last sorrowful look over Ergastulum, before following Ivan into a tunnel.  It’s unknown what he plans in his mind, and

there’s no indication if  he’ll get out of there alive. Everything hangs in a standstill in Ergastulum.  As he lay on the grass, injured and bleeding, Worick wonders what could have been if he  had the same super physical strength as Nic.