"Quit it, he's not that mysterious ally of ours," Kristine declared.
"But that girl was Elise, the one he saved in the governor's mansion," Michelle said.
"Yes, but his scent is different from that guy," Kristine reasoned. "And he doesn't seem strong either. I can't even sense a strong aura from him," she added.
"I agree about his scent," Calista chimed in. "Our super senses couldn't be mistaken. Although those toned abs, I can't resist them," Calista added, her cheeks turning red.
"But can we still have dinner with them later, right?" Mika asked.
"Yes, they seem nice," Kristine replied, sighing. "And you're all right, Eijin is so cute," her cheeks turning pink as well.
All of them dropped their jaws. They didn't see that coming. Their strict and cold leader was blushing.
A few hours had passed, and after enjoying the sunset, Eijin and the group went to the grand hotel. It was a different experience for them, as they were able to see the sunset with the backdrop of small islands, unlike at Eijin's mansion.
"Hey, look! There's an arcade!" Elise exclaimed with excitement. "Can we play before we have dinner?" she asked eagerly.
"Of course, bestie!" Mara agreed. She then turned to Eijin and asked, "Right, babe?"
"Yes!" Eijin replied enthusiastically, his eyes scanning all the gaming facilities. Growing up, he was familiar with all these things.
"You guys go ahead. I'm not familiar with those things," Rachel said modestly.
Elise ran towards the arcade like an excited child, dragging Rachel along. "Come on, I'll teach you."
"Say, babe, how about we make a bet?" Mara declared with a mischievous smile.
"Sure!" Eijin immediately responded, his voice filled with confidence. After all, he was an expert in video games when he was young. "What's our bet?" he asked, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.
Mara smirked even more naughtily. "If I win, I get to sleep in your room tonight."
"Deal!" Eijin confidently accepted the bet. "But what if you lose?" he asked.
"Then I'll allow you to sleep in my room," Mara declared, acting modest and shy with her hands behind her back. A slight shade of pink appeared on her cheeks as her eyes rolled playfully.
"WTF!" Eijin almost lost his balance, realizing that the outcome was the same either way around.
Meanwhile, inside the Shadowstrike lodge, all the girls were resting and chatting when they heard the doorbell ring.
"Did anyone order food?" Kristine asked. "I thought we were all going to have dinner at the grand hotel."
Nobody answered, but Mika stood up and went to the door anyway.
Kristine and Calista suddenly became alert, their eyes sharpening as they looked out the window. They noticed something sparkling not too far from their lodge.
"Mika, wait!" Kristine shouted.
Suddenly, a crashing sound filled the air. The door in front of Mika exploded as if it had been hit by a truck. It was followed by a rain of arrow-like lights piercing everything in their path.
All of them skillfully evaded the projectiles, except for Mika, who lay unconscious on the floor, pinned down by a seemingly large bear-like creature, growling menacingly.
Kristine desperately dashed towards Mika to help her, her clothes rapidly transforming into battle armor.
Meanwhile, Calista witnessed her friend, who was lying unconscious, suddenly snap and go berserk in her feral mode. Although she didn't fully transform into a werewolf, her arms elongated with sharp claws, her legs and feet transformed, and large fangs emerged in her mouth. With a powerful leap, she lunged towards the large bear-like creature.
Calista swung her claws at the large bear-like creature, slashing it across the face with lightning speed. The creature staggered back, freeing Mika underneath its paws. As Calista landed, Kristine swiftly grabbed Mika and carried her to safety.
Thinking it was safe, Kristine was taken by surprise when a crimson-bladed weapon came hurtling towards them. She leaped to evade, still holding the unconscious Mika in her arms. The crimson blades were incredibly fast, and Kristine calculated that she wouldn't be able to dodge them. However, she couldn't let go of Mika. Bracing herself for impact, she was surprised to see that all the crimson blades were blocked by laser-like projectiles. It was Michelle, now clad in her battle armor, who had come to their rescue. Her expression was fierce as she deflected the attacks, but she was soon bombarded by a barrage of laser-like and bullet-like projectiles. Thankfully, her battle suit was able to withstand the onslaughts.
As the battle started to intensify, Rinoah rushes towards their belongings and grabs her weapon—a short stick. She then quickly reaches for her team's weapons and throws them to her team mates except for Mika, who is still unconscious. With her heart pounding, she dashes towards the source of the light arrows, her clothes rapidly transforming into her battle suit and the sticks morphing into a trident.
Her intention is to aim and throw her trident like a spear at the dark elf Jorcelle, but the elf is too fast and begins generating arrows, raining them down upon Rinoah. Taken aback, she twirls her trident rapidly to block the arrows that are about to hit her."
The light arrows, swift and relentless, manage to breach Rinoah's defenses. Staggering, she feels a sharp pain as one of the arrows pierces through her battle armor. She doesn't understand, the armor wasn't cut or anything so how does she feel the pain. With no other choice, she retreats back to the now half-destroyed lodge, seeking cover. The rest of the team gathers at a corner, where Kristine places herself in front of Mika to protect her. They find themselves seemingly cornered.
Rinoah and Calista take positions to block the left and right flanks, while Kristine brandishes her katana to defend the front. Michelle hovers above, providing aerial support. Their sole focus is protecting Mika, their teammate in need.
"I don't understand why Mistress Jovelene and Mistress Zephyra still need our combined might to destroy these weaklings," Divina said in a disappointed tone, her steps slow and deliberate as she approached the Shadowstrike team. "I alone can defeat these lowlifes," she declared, her crimson armor gleaming and her crimson-bladed weapons swirling around her, gripping two long swords tightly in each hand.
"Don't underestimate them," Saguitaria said, walking beside Divina. "They won't be able to destroy my pack if they are weak."
Divina couldn't help but think to herself, "Duh!... as if your packs are strong either." However, she knew she couldn't afford to offend anyone within their group. They had to remain united as a team, just as King Azrael had instructed them. Divina couldn't disobey their King's orders.
Suddenly, Jorcelle executed a backflip and landed gracefully beside Divina on her left, joining their side. Airag followed closely behind, completing the group.