The same dark room, four figures in their seats.
"Kakos, I shall see his form erased from existence. There is no cause for your intervention," Aequees proclaims, running a hand through his hair.
"You are the one who should not interfere, Aequees. This is my conflict, the settling of our long-held score," Kakos strikes back, his voice as sharp as his flame-coated trident as he wipes it clean.
"It is not very wise of you, Kakos," a feminine voice says with a sigh, her tone heavy with the weight of eons, agreeing with Aequees.
"Agreed," a second feminine voice, more ancient and profound, adds. "Visara and I are of the same mind as Aequees."
"Aw, you all act as if Aretia and you are more suited to these situations," Kakos scoffs. "Without my hand, Orber I would have long since perished." He knows the remaining three are too soft, too easily swayed. After all, it was his judgment that kept the Orber I from the Starbuster in the first place.
Knowing his words carry the truth, they fall into silence—a silent accord to let Kakos alone in his dealings with the Starbuster.
The Glacier Region, Village of Moonlight.
"Hey! Give that back!"
"Your Highness, not again!"
"No!!!"
An average Sunday, an average chaos. The village is filled with a cacophony of sounds: some laughter, some groans, and some cries.
"It's mine, it's also mine, that's also mine!" a small, cute, and high-pitched voice declares, followed by a laugh.
"C'mon, little Jenny. Don't cause any trouble," a mature and soft voice tries to calm her down.
This is Elaine Moonlock, the Moonlight Maiden of Moonlight Village. And her niece, Jenny Moonlock.
"That was supposed to be mine, you big idiot," Jenny murmurs in annoyance after she lets go of the big sword she was taking from the blacksmith at Elaine's urging.
"I'll buy you one, Jenny. Let's go now, okay?" Elaine, with two maids on each side, leads Jenny back to her mansion. The mansion is covered in shadow, yet there is no apparent object or structure large enough to cast such a massive silhouette.
"Those brats are always talking about my mother! I'm not going to let them disrespect her like that! So I took their most valued things," Jenny crosses her arms and pouts slightly in annoyance.
"That's not a solution, little Jenny. It's basically stealing. You don't want to be called a bad daughter, do you?" Elainechuckles and walks into the living room.
"Anyway, Maids! I'm hungry," Jenny shouts as she's lying on the couch, playing with small orbs of Fire, Water, and Wind.
"You really get your personality from your mom," Elainemurmurs and looks at the maids, who are smiling at Jenny. Ever since her mother passed away, Elaine has taken care of her niece, fulfilling the promise she made to her sister.
"You'll surely take my place as Moonlight Maiden, just as your mother once was," Elaine thinks to herself before leaving for the kitchen with the maids to prepare dinner.
Tonight is the Full Moon, the day when the villagers of Moonlight celebrate The Holiday.
"Quick! The ritual is starting!"
"The food is better than anything I've eaten in my entire life!"
"The lights are everywhere!"
It's a day when every single villager smiles, remains happy, and is at peace. Even mortal enemies, sworn to kill each other with deep hatreds, drink together happily.
The darkness that once enveloped Elaine's mansion is gone, replaced with a beautiful, shining light of blue and purple.
"This is delicious!" Jenny shouts in awe as she devours the food on the table, which makes every guest and villager laugh in amusement, positivity covering the entire ground.
But, of course, peace and happiness never come without a cost.
A maid grabs a bowl of nutritious food and walks into a deeper part of the mansion—a dark room where the only light comes from roots emerging from the ground. In the center lies Elaine, unconscious on a wooden bed, with two human-like plants' fingers gently massaging her temples.
"It must be very tiring, Ms. Elaine," the maid says. She attaches a tentacle to the bowl, and the tentacle then devours the food.
"But for the village, I must," the two human-like plants speak at once, their voices echoing her thoughts. They are Elaine's mind-receivers.
"Sacrificing your own happiness and freedom for the village. The Moonlock Family is truly a divine gift," the maid murmurs before leaving the room.
Of course, this is what goes on behind the scenes. In some cases, no one should know what's behind the curtain—including this one.
Inside the Cave, Wyrmwood Company and Chris.
"WOO! This guy is sure huge!" Chris laughs, pointing at the "Core."
The "Core" is a massive, pulsating mass of flesh located at the center of the large cave, with black tentacles attached to its head-like part. With many veins, it's seemingly releasing Majestic Yin illusions.
"Don't be cocky, Chris. You might get caught in an illusion," Kaji warns Chris as he looks up at the core, trying to analyze its weak points.
"Nah, not really. Microchip said my body is immune to any of those," Chris says as he raises his fist.
"Wait, did you say Microchip? Isn't he dead?" Kaji frowns. During their glory days, Microchip was announced 'dead' after an attack that occurred near his lab.
"Nope, it was all a lie," Chris confirms before shooting a small piece of burnt wood through the Core's head, which makes blood splash out and causes the Core to cry out with strange noises.
"The head, specifically the veins. Be careful, the tentacles are alive," Orion says before glancing back at the crew, making a motion for them to back up.
"Ferru, step to the front. Help Kaji and Chris," he commands before combining his two pistols to form a gun nearly the size of a machine gun.
"Got it," Ferruccionods in acknowledgment as he stands between Kaji and Chris, ready to face whatever challenge comes and listen to the commands of his seniors.
"Chris," Kaji calls out before dashing toward one of the tentacles and cutting it off with a Petrification Slash.
"Bombastic Bullet!" Chris puts his index and middle fingers together, folding his remaining fingers to imitate a pistol, before shooting a burnt piece of wood coated with Magma toward another vein of the Core.
"Orion!" Chris shouts as he prepares his other hand, coated with Wood and Magma, and holds ten tentacles at bay as they prepare to attack them at once.
"Oi, Ferru. Prepare the final smash," Orion orders before dashing toward the head of the Core and shooting his acid-bubble gun at it, tearing its skin apart.
"Falcon's Claws!" Ferruccio jumps into the air and lunges toward the wound of the Core with his cestus, tearing its brain apart and causing the Core to release the Majestic Yin energy as its blood gushes out.
"Gotcha, sucker," Chris dashes onto the Core and takes the sample in the syringe.
"Chris, take me to Microchip afterward. I want to meet with him before Ferruccio re-does the Dead Rebringer," Kaji says as he jumps off the Core. The Core begins to leak even more Majestic Yin energy, about to explode.
"Brace for impact, everyone!" Ferruccioshouts as he takes cover behind a large stone. This is the second time they've been so close to death.
The Ancient Yin as a physical fluid or object is incredibly dangerous. It can trap any living thing it touches in an illusion world for eternity while also devouring its physical body, making it one of the most brutal deaths imaginable.
The Core explodes, spreading the Ancient Yin-fused blood everywhere. The fluid devours every guardian and small creature nearby.
"Is everyone safe?" Chris asks as he comes out of his hiding spot, looking around.
"Yes, Boss! We've made it out of this place," the Supervisor answers, panting heavily, exhausted from the running and fighting against the guardians.
"I'd get a gallon of this if I could, but this is just too much," Chris says as he walks toward the crew.
"Chris," Kaji says as he looks at Chris, who is waiting for Kaji's words.
"Take us to the Moonlight Festival, before Ferruccio re-does the Dead Rebringer. I need to check on Elaine," Kajirequests seriously, with everyone else listening to their conversation.
Chrissighs, as if he knows something they don't, and nods reluctantly. "Alright, Kaji. I'll take you to her. Keep in mind, she's the Moonlight Maiden now," Chris says with another sigh before storing the syringe back in his stomach compartment before they all leave the cave.
"Alright, Ferruccio. Did you hear that? Let's go to Moonlight Village! Take a break from work, kid. We're going to have some fun!" Orionexclaims cheerfully as he also followsKaji and Chris.
The following evening, the crew spent the entire time drinking, eating, and partying, again... It seems working this late is a normal thing for them.
In Ferruccio's tent.
"Why the Moonlight Village specifically, Senior?" Ferruccio asks as he pours drinks for the other three.
"Nothing... their monthly festival is just too unique to ignore. Besides, their village is near this mountain," Kaji answers while drinking. Chris, who knows the whole story, remains silent.
"I heard their festival brings people a limitless joy. Is that true?" Orion asks as he grabs a smaller rib of Gulin.
"To my knowledge, their festival occurs once every Full Moon, which their village believes to be the Celestially Beautiful Days of the Year. The moon's energy shines brightest on these days, and its beams purify their hatreds and negative energies so they can celebrate with the cleanest souls," Chris explains to Orion and Ferruccio.
"Celestially? I think I remember that word from a certain book I read..." Orion's head falls as he tries to remember.
"Element Encyclopedia, yeah. They describe that word very clearly in there," Kaji points out. Ferruccio just listens to his seniors talk while drinking on his own. After all, he's just a child when it comes to experience and knowledge compared to the three of them, so he remains silent.
"Ferruccio, how's your mother?" Chris asks as he, Kaji, and Orion glance at Ferruccio.
"Sadly, she passed away shortly after my father was assassinated. Dr. Jay told me it was suicide," Ferrucciosighs as he remembers something he tried very hard to bury.
"I hate to break this to you, Ferru, but it was not suicide," Chris says with a serious expression.
"That's impossible," Ferruccioscoffs, his mind reeling. It's unbelievable.