Hours passed at the party, Kaito and all his friends rather tired now.
The music had faded into murmurs. The guests had mostly gone. Embers in lanterns flickered low, casting warm shadows across marble floors.
Kaito stood by the balcony, still in formal wear, the weight of the night settling in. He didn't expect Nyla's father to appear behind him.
"You're still carrying that book," the older man said.
Kaito glanced down at the weathered tome resting upon the strap on his backpack, the same one he'd kept since the beginning. "I always do."
"Come with me."
They descended a winding staircase behind the estate's main hall, deeper than Kaito expected. The light dimmed with each step until only the hum of magic illuminated the path.
At the base, a sealed chamber waited, lined with old banners, faded portraits, and thick silence. Nyla's father stepped to the center.
"The Unifates," he began, "is not a legend. Not anymore."
"I never thought I'd see one of the tomes in person, truly a marvel to behold."
This caught Kaito's ear. "One of?" He questioned.
He turned to Kaito, his expression harder now. "But if you're going to pursue them, you need to understand what you're stepping into."
Kaito's eyes widened. "You've studied it, it's really true?" Kaito struggled to hold back his excitement.
"I've lost a lot because of it. My personal guard. My reputation. I kept one piece hidden, not for pride... but because I knew the danger it carried."
He stepped toward a sealed pedestal, voice low.
"There are others who seek these relics," the old man said, his voice low and steady. "Beings with power far beyond anything you've faced. Some of them don't want the Unifates for noble purposes… They want it because it can do anything."
He fixed his gaze on Kaito. "If you take this… you will be hunted."
Kaito didn't flinch. He looked the man in the eye and said, "I've been hunted my whole life. My family is used to it."
The old man nodded slowly. "If you thought Renji was powerful, the ones who come next will make him seem small. You'll face forces that defy understanding. Trials you may not survive. To claim this shard is to inherit every danger that follows it."
Kaito's lips curled into a fearless smile. "Good. I was never did like running."
Silence. A moment suspended in time.
Then the man turned to the pedestal. He raised his hand. The seal flared to life, ancient runes glowing and unraveling with a sharp hiss.
He reached forward and lifted the artifact, a crystal pulsing with raw, barely-contained energy. The very air hummed around it.
He held it out.
"Then take it."
Kaito stepped forward.
And held the book.
The shard didn't wait.
It slammed into the page, blinding light flaring out, and locked itself into one of the four empty slots. The book flew into the air, pages turning wildly and then, the book snapped shut with a final click, and a low hum echoed from its spine.
Kaito's breath caught. His heart raced. "It's real. It's all real." He jumped up and down in the air like a happy kid. "Kaid's gonna need to shut his big mouth when he sees this, I can't wait to run it in!"
Nyla's father didn't smile.
"That piece cost me every top-ranked soldier I had. You won't be so lucky."
Kaito nodded, a little too eagerly.
The man held out his hand. "Thank you. For saving my treasure… and my daughter."
Kaito shook it firmly. Then turned and ran right back up the stairs.
Upstairs, he saw all of his friends in the empty party hall, they were all sitting around looking like they were waiting for him.
Dante looked up immediately. "You alright?"
Kaito nodded, but his eyes scanned the room. "Where's Rika?"
Silence.
It was Dante who spoke first. "Her guild came. They took her. She didn't fight it."
"She… she wanted to have one last dance," Nanami added softly. "But I think she knew it was time."
Toni looked away. "Didn't even get to say goodbye."
Kaito stared at the floor for a long moment. "I wanted to start a guild with you," he said to Dante. "But not without her."
Toni stepped forward. "Then we get her back."
Nanami nodded. "She's one of us. That hasn't changed."
Dante cracked his knuckles. "Then that's our next mission."
Kaito lifted the book, now warm in his hand. "Let's bring her home."
Nyla taps Kaito on his arm. "Oh, and Kaito one more thing,"
"What is it?" He asks.
"You've been pardoned for only some of your crimes, you're all still wanted for destroying that bridge, and the chaos in Mozam." Nyla smiles.
"And those guards were only waiting for after the party to hunt you." She says before hugging him tightly. "So i think you should start running." She says with a Koi smile.
"Enjoy your adventure's, Kaito." She says as she holds her umbrella. "Tell me all about them when you're done, ok?"
Kaito smiles brightly. "Of course!"
As the guards began chase Kaito and his friends ran away smiling. At the edge of the estate, his team beside him.
Nyla smiled watching them run off to their next adventure, "oh Kaito, if only I had the ability to go on a grand adventure, i'd love to be by your side, as you grow."
"What would I do if I were you, it must be so nice to be free, living by your own standards, oh I shouldn't be thinking of all this."
The Unifates search had only just begun.
This time though that wasn't the goal. Kaito and the group had one thing in mind, get Rika back. Only then could this truly be a guild.
Elsewhere
Rika walked with her fellow guild memeber. "It's so nice to have you back again trickster." He said.
She walked alongside him, silently nodding.
He noticed her silence and nodded along. "Don't be sore about it, you knew you were never supposed to get attached to anyone, you had one job, get some money and report back."
Rika turned away. "I would've if you all remembered me." She murmured.
They entered a small building in the lower quarter of an unknown town.
Atop the building sat a man. Who smiled brightly looking down at her, though the smile was large, it held no kindness. "Welcome back, though it seems like you've been busy."
He stepped towards her and she hid from his touch. "You're gonna get put through hell for this, you little troublemaker."
Season 1 end.