The Villain Saves The Male Lead

"Besides, when has there been a dearth of people trying to kill me?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. "How many times have you saved me in these years we've been together?" he demanded.

Fang had no response to that. He knew that Ren was right. Wasn't this why their entire family, even the babies, always had bodyguards? Wasn't this why Fang had been inspired to learn combat training in the first place?

Fang sighed. "I thought my past was a closed chapter," he mumbled. "I never thought..."

Ren hugged him tightly. "It looks like I wasn't thorough enough and got complacent a little too soon," he whispered. "I'm sorry, Fang. We'll check over everything again, all right?"

Fang buried his face in Ren's shoulder in response and allowed himself to be comforted by his warm family around him. All the six babies huddled closer as well.

The furballs had grown quite big in their animal forms now, and Ray's dragon form had grown to be the size of a cow at the moment (which was quite small compared to his expected full grown size, according to the Dragon Queen), but thanks to Sylvia's training, they had also learnt to control their size at will. Thus, when it was only Ren, Fang, Pax and Wolf in the room, the furballs often turned into pups and a kitten and climbed up on their parents' laps. Sylvia and Ray did the same, too. Especially when the babies wanted something and Fang and Ren weren't inclined to agree.

They definitely got their way more often in their smaller forms. Ren simply couldn't resist their big, round eyes and their cute little faces, and Fang, who was generally stricter and more level-headed than Ren, would also find it very difficult to say no to the little furballs (especially with Ren changing sides).

And the babies knew perfectly well how to use this massive weakness of their two beloved fathers as leverage and get them to agree to whatever they wanted. They also had enough sense not to overuse these kinds of tactics, because they knew very well that once Papa and Daddy got used to it a little too much, the strategy would lose its effectiveness.

Ren used his magic to put Fang to sleep, and the six babies kept their Papa company when Ren went downstairs to speak with Pax and Wolf.

It was quite late when Pax and Wolf arrived, and both of them looked exhausted. Ren immediately brought them his special cups of hot chocolate, and the twin brothers took the huge cups gratefully.

"It's all settled," Pax said. "They won't create trouble for you ever again. They are in police custody now."

"And the source?" Ren asked.

Wolf pursed his lips. "It seems there's something wrong with their memory," he said. "They clearly remember being given the balls and being asked to avenge their parents by killing you...but they have no memory of who gave it to them. They possess not even the slightest iota of magic themselves, so..."

Ren tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Looks like we've got a new enemy..." he murmured.

Both Wolf and Pax nodded seriously.

"What about those acid balls, Ren?" Pax asked. "What were those?"

Ren sighed. "It wasn't acid, that's for sure," he murmured. "It was dark magic, and if it hadn't been for Fang's fast reflexes and your quick actions and the protection magic being activated, that dark magic would have turned whoever it touched into a puppet. Your soul would have been chained up and the control of your mind would have been taken over by someone else. It is a good thing that the dark magic was not very powerful since it was meant to be administered second hand, and so I was able to neutralise it immediately with just a little bit of my magic. But if the dark magic master who had created those balls was present in person, I would have had to fight him properly."

Wolf and Pax stared at Ren in shock. The two brothers knew that Ren was the most powerful magician they had ever seen, and even the biggest masters they knew only had a fraction of Ren's magic. It was very difficult for them to believe that there could be a powerful magical opponent in this world who would be able to make Ren fight them seriously!

"But what could they possibly hope to achieve by attacking you?" Wolf asked. "Do you have a grudge against someone with dark magic?"

Ren shrugged. "Today is the first time I have seen dark magic in this world," he replied. "And as for grudges – you are aware of every single enemy I have ever encountered, aren't you?"

"Could it be directed at Fang instead?" Pax asked, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Or, perhaps, both of you? There is the deposed royal family of the Valley Kingdom as well as the royal family of Dune Country – both have a terrible grudge, and are probably influential enough to be able to get hold of a dark magician."

Ren frowned. "It is possible," he murmured. "In fact, with what happened with Fang's parents back then, there are too many things which are not clear, and I think there is some magic involved there. I hadn't accounted for the fact that there could be dark magic in this world as well, but now that we know there is, it opens up certain new angles of investigation."

"We should speak to the Dragon Queen," Pax suggested. "She is quite knowledgeable about magic."

"Our magic teacher will also bring over the hidden master he found soon enough," Wolf said. "We can ask them as well. Perhaps they will be able to shed some light on this matter."

"Good idea," Ren said.

Since the twin brothers was exhausted, Ren decided that it would be better for them to discuss further in the morning instead, and he shooed them away to bed. Pax and Wolf had their own rooms in his house anyway, and it wasn't unusual for them to stay overnight. Steward Paul had already sent someone to pick up Claw and Myra and Manx earlier, since Ren felt guilty keeping Wolf away from his own family, and currently, Claw and her little ones were fast asleep in Wolf's usual room in the house.

Wolf brightened immediately when he learnt that his wife and children were already at Ren's place.

"Thank you, Ren," he said gratefully.

Ren smiled slightly. "What are you thanking me for? I should be the one thanking you," he murmured. Wolf had proved time and again that he was a reliable big brother to Ren, hadn't he? Besides, his babies were friends with little Myra and Manx – so Ren was always happy to host them.

Ren turned to Pax. "Big Brother Uno is flying in tomorrow morning, and he said to pass on his apologies to you for not being able to come over to you immediately," he said. "He boarded the first flight he could get."

Pax blushed. "There was no need for him to rush back like this," he murmured. "He just got back to Star Nation…"

Ren chuckled. "What could be more important to him than you?" he asked. "Besides, do you think Fang and I would let him go if he didn't treat you well?"

Pax laughed shyly and bid Ren a good night.

Everyone had settled in for the night.

Ren returned to his own bedroom, and assured the babies that he'd take good care of their beloved Papa. Then he took the babies to their own rooms and tucked them in for the night.

He had to reassure each of them again that Fang would be all right.

Ren's heart ached. Every time something happened to Fang or him, it was their precious little babies who were the worst affected. And this time, he didn't want their babies to know what had happened with Fang in the past until they were old enough to understand, and until Fang was ready to tell them about it.

So, Ren could only hope desperately that Fang would feel a bit better by the morning.

Besides, Ren was quite worried about Fang himself. He had hoped that Fang's scars would heal slowly and steadily over time...he hadn't expected that a single incident like this would cause Fang to nearly have a breakdown.

Fang was sitting by the window in their bedroom and gazing out of the window with unseeing eyes when Ren returned after tucking the babies in. The blank look on his face frightened Ren and he rushed to Fang, taking care not to make too much noise in case he startled the man.

"Fang?" he called softly. "You are awake?" Anxiety pooled in his heart. How had the sleep magic he had cast on Fang lost its effect so quickly?

Fang blinked confusedly and looked up at Ren. "Ren....?" he asked in a daze, as if he was unable to recognise Ren.