Hal's eyes widened as all this occurred.

'...Vincent... come on... just... don't... say anything stupid.' he thought.

"H-Hollie?" Vincent stammered.

"I... what do... I mean..." he stuttered further, before shaking his head swiftly.

"I'm just trying to PROTECT you!" he exclaimed in response.

'....idiot.' Hal thought, bracing himself mentally.

Vincent was silent as Hollie said what she did, and threatened what she did.

"Hollie?" he mumbled.

'...4...' Hal thought, counting down mentally.

"Hollie, I'm just looking out for you, I swear." Vincent protested.

'...3...2...' Hal continued to count down.

"I don't want anything to happen to you!" Vincent then exclaimed.

'...1... and 0.' Hal concluded.

Hal just sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Damn it." he cursed.

"Just... damn it." he sighed.

"Sorry, Rowena." he said to the Fyrane.

"Tonight should have gone a lot better." he went on.

"I'd really hoped so, anyway."

"....divorce?" Hal muttered after Rowena left.

"....oh my..." he said quietly, shaking his head and leaning forward on his elbows.

"This is a fine mess." he mumbled further.

Meanwhile, as Rowena was looking for Vincent, she discovered where he was by hearing him. She heard him climb out of the pool in the backyard, and then heard his steps approaching the manor.

Vincent froze where he was, seeming to be stunned.

"D... divorce?" he asked.

"What!?" he exclaimed.

"What do you mean!?" he asked Rowena.

"Rowena, what are you talking about?" he asked her.

"How is this marriage a farce!?"

"What? No, no, no." Vincent replied.

"Your nature isn't about death and murder." he told her.

"That's just the madness of the Fyrane curse." he said.

"You're not like that any longer." he went on.

"And Racquel isn't like that at all."

By the time Rowena had finished what she was saying, Vincent was feeling a tad overwhelmed. He was filled with confusion, irritation, and anger.

And it all came out when he shot her a glare.

"Just... shut up!" he yelled, as he thrust a hand at her... which resulted in a blast of powerful mana shooting past her, missing her by mere millimetres.

Which was when Vincent froze once more... this time looking absolutely horrified.

Sure enough, someone was home. It was Lindsay.

"Mom?" he asked.

"...you look like you need to seriously talk." he mumbled, before stepping out of the way so she could step inside.

-A couple of days later-

"...I still think you should talk to Vincent before going to Kalin." Ash told his mother as they ate lunch.

"At least... if you're going to go through with the divorce... let him know calmly, so he knows the terms." he reasoned.

"I agree." Lindsay said.

"Leaving things as you did, regardless of how justified it might have been, is a recipe for a storm." he sighed.

"I guess nobody's perfect." Ash replied.

"Do you want one of us to go with you?" Lindsay asked.

"Just for some support, or anything like that?" he asked further.

"We can both go." Ash said.

"The three of us can confront him about this."

The boys were silent as their mother disappeared.

"...this could end very badly." Lindsay said.

"Ya think??" Ash asked in response.

"Ugh, this is stress that nobody needs right now." he murmured, shaking his head a little.

Meanwhile, when Rowena appeared back in the manor, she found it empty.

No signs of life at all.

Rocky not being there was expected, as she was probably still away, gathering materials, but she didn't sense any part of Vincent there, except for trace remnants of his mana, and what was embued into the manor for security reasons.