The Red Hands were on the move, searching with purpose. After the destruction of their safe zone, Thomas and his crew had become high-priority targets. Names were circulating. Descriptions were passed around.
More than ten Red Hands members spread through the settlement, handing out flyers with Thomas's face drawn and photocopied. Yet it wasn't the grunts who stood out. The real attention was on the four men standing nearby, talking among themselves while watching the work. Their presence alone made it obvious they were higher-ranking officers in the organization.
"I hope you're right, Ethan," one of them said, his arms crossed as he scanned the crowd. "You dragged us out here to search for someone, feels like hunting a needle in a haystack."
"Don't worry, Darius. My intel is solid," Ethan replied calmly. "They haven't passed through yet. This is the largest settlement after Oyster Bay, where they were last seen."
"You'd better be sure," another man added. "My whole team's here. Darius, our boss, his left-hand Tobias, and me, his right hand." He smirked.
Tobias shot him a look. "Since when were you the right hand, Felix? Last I checked, we're the same rank."
Felix straightened his back. "Look, Darius is an underboss. Of course he needs a right hand, and I volunteered."
"When?" Tobias asked flatly.
"Just now," Felix admitted without hesitation.
"Not counted," Tobias said, unwilling to let it slide.
"Enough, both of you," Darius cut in, raising a hand. "You're both high-ranking officers under my command. There's no need to argue over titles."
Still, his gaze shifted back to Ethan. "But they are right about one thing. I hope we're not wasting time. I still find it hard to believe your story, that someone lifted and destroyed a meteor fragment as big as himself while in human form. Maybe you didn't see clearly. Maybe he used tools."
Ethan had been the Minotaur who surrendered to Thomas during the raid that saved the old man, Harry. He slipped away from Fred's small settlement after Thomas destroyed it.
That settlement mattered little in itself. What stung was the humiliation. The place was a known Red Hands base and Thomas had wrecked it. The Red Hands wanted an example, something to warn anyone thinking of rising up.
For Ethan, this was personal. He knew Darius personally and had asked him for help. Technically, he still held the same rank as Tobias and Felix, but after his defeat to Thomas he felt like an embarrassment. He hadn't been demoted, not yet, but he was already acting like a subordinate. His reputation was tainted, and the only way to redeem himself was to bring Thomas down.
"We find him and his crew, we finish them," Darius said, voice flat and hard. "No mistakes."
Ethan clenched his fists. "Help me kill Thomas. I don't care about the others." His eyes burned with determination. He had failed once. He would not run this time.
A Red Hands scout ran up, out of breath. "Boss! Travelers coming in near the west sector. Might be them."
Darius cracked his knuckles. "Then let's pay them a visit."
What they didn't know was that Thomas and his crew had already moved on. They weren't far, just a short distance from the settlement, resting at a small waypoint station for explorers.
Waypoints were common near large safe zones. Each held a small meteor with just enough radius to push back the Pink Fog. They weren't full safe zones, but they gave Glints a place to revert to human form and reset their timers. Every Glint had a limit on how long they could stay transformed in the fog. No one knew exactly what would happen if that timer ran out, but no one wanted to find out either. That made waypoints essential. They worked like rest stops, giving explorers somewhere to reset before heading deeper into the fog.
For safe zones that sent expeditions far from their borders, waypoints or mobile bases like the Hammer truck were the only way to explore safely.
The waypoint Thomas's crew stopped at was nothing more than a ruined building. The walls were half-collapsed, the entrances covered with makeshift barricades. A few survivors were stationed there, doing their best to maintain the place. It wasn't much, but it served its purpose.
They weren't planning to stay long. Marcus had already advised avoiding direct conflict with the Red Hands, and the group had no intention of drawing attention. For now, it was just a few minutes of rest before moving on.
Then they saw her.
A girl, no older than ten, sprinting straight toward the Pink Fog.
"What the hell is she doing?" Nevin asked, eyes wide as she darted past a group of stunned survivors.
Thomas rolled his neck. "Is that kid seriously running into the Pink Fog?"
Before anyone else could react, Thomas was already moving. His footsteps hit hard and fast, pounding against the ground as he closed the gap in seconds.
The girl was a breath away from the fog when Thomas caught her by the collar and lifted her clean off the ground.
"Whoa there, kid. Running into the fog is a good way to get yourself killed."
She kicked and squirmed in his grip. "Let me go! I have to find my brother!"
Thomas blinked, then raised a brow. "Oh. Family thing. That explains the reckless charge."
Bryan stepped forward, hands on his hips. "Careful, Thomas. Put her down easy. She's just a kid."
Thomas lowered her gently, but the moment her feet touched the ground she tried to dart past again. He blocked her with one massive arm, unmoving.
The girl glared up at him, her eyes sharp and unyielding. "He went into the fog and never came back! I have to find him!"
Iris crouched to her level, voice soft but steady. "What's your name?"
"Mira."
Iris gave a small nod. "Mira, if your brother didn't come back, then…"
"He's still out there!" Mira cut her off, fists clenched tight. "He told me never to go into the fog. But he also promised he'd always come back!"
The crew exchanged glances. They all knew the truth. Anyone who stayed in the Pink Fog too long either died or turned into something else.
Bryan let out a slow breath. "Look, I get it. You want to find him. But if you go in there alone, you won't make it five steps."
Mira's eyes burned with stubborn fire. "Then help me!"
The group went quiet.
Thomas let out a long sigh. "Alright."
Everyone turned to him.
"Thomas, really?" Bryan frowned.
"She's got guts. Can't let her charge in alone, right?" Thomas shrugged.
"So what's the plan, big guy?" Iris crossed her arms.
"We give her a front-row seat in the Hammer." Thomas grinned.
The plan was simple. Mira would ride in the Hammer, with Thomas at the wheel and Iris staying close to her. Bryan and Nevin would move outside, scouting the fog and keeping an eye on the surroundings. They had handled tougher situations before. What they didn't expect was to bring a child with them into the Pink Fog.
As they pushed deeper into the fog, shapes flickered in the distance, moving where the mist was thickest.
Bryan, in his Glint form and scouting ahead of the Hammer, narrowed his eyes. Something was out there. His wings slowed. "We've got company."
A reply came almost immediately. Laughter. Then a smooth, taunting voice. Felix. "Going somewhere, boys?"
Nearly twenty Red Hands stepped out from the ruins, spreading across the road to block their path.
"You destroyed one of Red Hands bases. I hope you're prepared to face the consequences of your actions," Darius said, crossing his arms, his voice flat.
"Nice to see you again," Ethan said, eyes locked on Thomas, fury clear in his gaze.
"Who are you again? Sorry, don't remember you," Thomas groaned.
Ethan twitched. "I REMEMBER YOU."
"Ow? Alright. Let's make this quick," Thomas said, cracking his knuckles.
He stepped out of the Hammer and into the Pink Fog. His body reshaped instantly, runes lighting up as he grew into his Oni form, towering and ready to charge.
"So, it really is you. The giant devil," Darius muttered. All doubt in Ethan's story disappeared the moment he saw Thomas standing before him.
But Tobias, one of the officers, moved first. He ripped a weapon from his belt, a modified gun the size of a mini shotgun, metallic and heavy with a glowing core pulsing at its center. Without hesitation, he raised it, aimed straight at Thomas, and pulled the trigger.
PHWOOOM!
A wave of white energy erupted, tearing through the Pink Fog. In seconds the mist was gone, leaving a wide circle of clear air across the ruins.
Thomas froze. His glowing form flickered, then vanished. The runes, the horns, the raw power were gone. Without the fog, his Oni form collapsed instantly, leaving only his human body standing there.
His fists clenched. "What the hell…"
"Okay… I don't like that," Nevin said, staggering slightly as his own Glint faltered.
Iris's eyes widened as she looked around at the sudden emptiness. "The fog… it's gone?"