Ashlem gently pushes his brother back, leaving him with the task of exterminating the small enemies alone. With both pistols in hand, he recites a word:
"Dankoy-boom." After saying the word, his eyes return to their original color.
A suspense fills the air at an agonizing speed as he prepares to start shooting at the enemies before him.
He begins shooting at every creature that tries to attack them. His movements are swift and precise. Darkin watches the scene, impressed by his brother's skills.
Suddenly, a strange sound comes from inside the bakery, and the child who had been eating his bread — the one shot in the forehead — begins transforming into a Zralky right in front of Darkin, who continues smoking his cigar. Petrified, he watches the child turn into something he once fought in his own home. The child's eyes turn completely red, then white. Its skin burns away, leaving only raw flesh.
Ashlem is still busy preventing those birds with sharp teeth from entering the bakery. Meanwhile, Darkin discreetly searches his pocket for his weapon, without letting his cigar fall from his mouth. That smoke-spitting object seems like a powerful bond connecting him to something greater.
The child's transformation is complete — it is now fully a Zralky. The search for his father's gift continues, and when the man turns back to the small creature, he realizes he must act quickly before being attacked. However, the freshly transformed child leaps onto Darkin, gripping his neck with a strength that makes the man in the white suit struggle for air.
Darkin starts coughing after releasing a puff of smoke from his cigar toward the creature's face, which recoils, seemingly overwhelmed by pain.
The cigar drops to the right just as Ashlem notices his brother trapped under the Zralky's claws. The hunter turns immediately, executing a precise, calculated move — a direct shot to the creature's face, causing it to collapse onto Darkin's chest. Disgusted, Punkson shoves the creature off, picks up his brother's gift cigar, places it back in his mouth, takes a puff, and stands up, a question forming in his mind as something in the situation strikes him.
Ashlem returns to shooting at the furious birds trying desperately to get inside the bakery, likely to devour the two brothers — or anyone else still inside. The birds' screeching voices are irritating and piercing, enough to unnerve anyone.
Darkin, in silence, recalls the recent memory of blowing cigar smoke into the creature's face, making it scream in pain. The same thing had happened with the first creature he fought at home, which he later discovered was his own grandmother. He concludes that the smoke has a powerful, harmful effect on the Zralkies. He's not entirely sure, but he's willing to risk everything to find out for certain.
Ashlem's shots continue until all the carnivorous birds fall dead at the bakery's entrance.
"Done," says Ashlem, covered in the blood of the damned little flesh-loving creatures.
Darkin is focused on the creature's body lying on the ground — the one that moments before had tried to end his life. He puffs on his cigar, not even hearing what his brother says, still lost in deep thought.
Outside, a huge portal opens, starting to suck everything nearby into it.
Ashlem walks over to his brother and asks:
"Are you okay?" No answer comes from the other's mouth.
Suddenly, Darkin turns to Ashlem, his eyes gleaming, and says:
"I think I've found a solution."
"A solution for what?"
"To wipe out those damn Zralkies."
"And what would that be?"
"The cigar," says Darkin, removing the cigar and holding it up for the other to see, who immediately understands.
"Interesting, but we're going to need something stronger — something that produces much denser smoke."
"Exactly."
They're almost certain now that the cigar is a small-scale solution. What they need is something larger, powerful enough to reach all the Zralkies at once.
"Sorry, but I can't take it anymore — I have to eat. We'll talk more calmly about this later," says Darkin, heading toward a spot where he can see some packages of edible goods.
"Well, let's do it."
"Is this going to be breakfast or lunch?" asks Darkin with a smile.
Ashlem looks at him and smiles too. The two begin eating and chatting about trivial things — strange for Ashlem, who usually isn't one for small talk — when suddenly, the Zralky behind Darkin rises.
Both are distracted. The creature makes no sound as it stealthily approaches Darkin…