Twilight stared at the moon for a long moment after leaving the shed.
The cold silver light fell over his bruised face while the forest wind moved through his black hair. Blood still stained the side of his forehead, but he looked completely unbothered by it.
Behind him, one of the guards suddenly came running out of the shed.
"Twilight!" the guard shouted breathlessly.
Twilight stopped walking. He closed his eyes for a second and sighed heavily before turning around slowly.
The guard finally reached him, panting badly.
"I know right now you are angry for whatever we did…" the guard spoke carefully. "But we did it all on orders. Please come with us. If you don't… they will kill us."
Twilight stared at him silently.
The forest became quiet.
Only insects could be heard somewhere far away.
The guard lowered his head.
"We had no choice."
Twilight's expression darkened slightly.
"Not my fault," he replied coldly. "And I'm leaving. I need to catch up with my friends."
The guard clenched his fists desperately.
"Please—"
"I already told them," Twilight interrupted. "I'm not gonna do that for them."
His glowing eyes slowly lifted toward the guard.
"I'll never kill an innocent girl for a crime she never did."
The guard froze.
Twilight turned back around and continued walking into the jungle without another word.
The moonlight followed behind him like a shadow.
Meanwhile, at the tree house, tension had swallowed the atmosphere completely.
Nobody was speaking.
Chris, Lily, Henry, Beau, and Haru all stood alert.
The forest around them felt… wrong.
Then something moved.
A branch shook somewhere in the darkness.
Everyone looked toward the sound instantly.
Again.
Another movement.
Again.
Again.
The sounds circled around the tree house like predators surrounding prey.
Chris unconsciously stepped closer to Lily.
Henry slowly clenched his fists.
Even Beau's fox ears appeared slightly on his head from nervousness.
Then suddenly—
Silence.
Complete silence.
No wind.
No insects.
Nothing.
And then a figure appeared beneath the tree house.
Haru looked down immediately.
It was the same cloaked man he had met earlier.
The man wore a dark black cloak and a grey mask covering his face. A massive sword hung behind his back.
Without wasting a second, Haru jumped down from the tree house gracefully.
He landed softly in front of the man.
The cloaked figure looked at him calmly.
"Haru," he spoke, "I don't want any argument. So please accept the invitation from the Queen. That would be a good idea."
As soon as he finished speaking, dozens of shadows appeared on nearby branches.
Warriors.
Masked.
Armed.
Watching.
Chris quietly gasped from above.
There were too many.
Haru calmly looked around at every single one of them.
Then he slightly moved two fingers behind his back.
Beau immediately understood the signal.
"If I won't?" Haru asked calmly while turning back toward the cloaked man.
The man chuckled softly.
"If you don't…" he replied, slowly unsheathing his sword, "…then sorry. This is the only way."
The moment his sword came out—
All the warriors attacked.
Some jumped toward the tree house while the cloaked man himself rushed directly at Haru.
Steel clashed instantly.
Haru dodged the first strike effortlessly.
At the same time, the warriors burst into the tree house—
Only to find it empty.
No one.
Not a single person.
The warriors searched every corner quickly.
Nothing.
It looked like everyone had vanished into thin air.
One of the men rushed back outside.
"No one's here!"
The cloaked man looked stunned for a moment.
Then suddenly—
Haru laughed.
Not loudly.
Just enough to humiliate them.
"Come on," Haru said with amusement. "You really thought I'm such a fool?"
The cloaked man narrowed his eyes.
Haru sighed softly and finally pulled his sword fully out.
"Let's end this."
The battle exploded instantly.
Hidden beneath the tree house, Chris, Lily, Henry, and Beau watched everything through small openings between the wooden walls.
The hidden place was perfectly camouflaged.
No one could notice it from outside.
Chris stared at Haru fighting with widened eyes.
He moved unbelievably fast.
Every attack directed toward him failed.
One warrior attacked from behind—
Haru blocked without even looking.
Another came from above—
He kicked him away mid-air.
Three more attacked together.
Haru simply stepped sideways and all three crashed into each other.
Henry looked completely stunned.
"He's fighting fifty people alone…"
Lily whispered, "And he's not even serious."
It was true.
Haru wasn't even using his full strength.
His sword remained partially covered as if he didn't consider any of them worthy enough.
Every move he made looked smooth.
Controlled.
Unreadable.
Like he already knew what they were going to do before they even attacked.
One warrior rushed toward him with twin blades.
Haru stepped forward once.
Slash.
The warrior collapsed instantly.
Another tried attacking his blind side.
Haru grabbed his wrist, twisted it brutally, and kicked him into two others.
Bodies started falling everywhere.
Chris couldn't even follow Haru's movements properly anymore.
Meanwhile, somewhere deep in the jungle—
Twilight suddenly stopped walking.
A strange heaviness hit his chest.
He slowly looked around.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Then something moved nearby.
Twilight's eyes narrowed.
Again.
Another movement.
The bushes rustled.
Then silence.
Suddenly—
Several figures jumped out from the trees together.
Warriors.
Twilight instantly pushed the first attacker away before his blade could reach him.
More landed around him.
Within seconds, he was completely surrounded.
The warriors slowly circled him.
Twilight looked around calmly.
His glowing eyes reflected under the moonlight.
"So annoying," he muttered quietly.
One warrior attacked first.
Twilight dodged and punched him straight into a tree.
Another came from behind—
Twilight ducked low and swept his legs.
The warrior crashed hard onto the ground.
But more kept coming.
Back at the tree house battle, the ground was now filled with unconscious warriors.
Haru stood in the middle of them completely unharmed.
The cloaked man was the only one still standing.
Breathing heavily.
Haru slowly walked toward him.
The man quickly raised a hand.
"Wait."
Haru stopped.
"Before you attack me too… there's something for you."
Haru's eyes narrowed slightly.
The cloaked man slowly reached into his pocket.
"I found it from yur—"
"Don't take her name from your mouth."
Haru's voice instantly turned deadly serious.
The air itself felt colder.
Even hidden inside, Chris and the others felt the sudden pressure in his voice.
The cloaked man carefully nodded.
"Give me that," Haru said.
The man immediately handed him the item.
It was a small envelope.
Old.
Slightly damaged.
Haru opened it slowly.
Inside was a tiny silky pouch.
His fingers froze for a second.
Carefully, he opened the pouch.
And then—
Silence.
Haru simply stared inside it.
Nobody could see his expression behind the mask.
But for the first time—
His hand slightly trembled.
Slowly, he closed the pouch again and placed it carefully inside his coat pocket like it was the most precious thing in the world.
"Where did you find it?" Haru asked quietly.
"The Queen found it," the cloaked man replied carefully. "She said it was in…"
He paused, remembering Haru's warning.
"…in her locker."
Haru's fingers clenched tightly around his sword.
The forest went silent again.
Then Haru looked at him.
"You know why I didn't kill any of you today?"
The cloaked man stayed silent.
Haru turned away slightly.
"Thank the person you stole from me."
His voice sounded calm.
But broken.
Then Haru simply walked away from the battlefield.
Leaving every defeated warrior behind.
Far away, outside the jungle—
Chris, Lily, Henry, and Beau waited nervously for Haru to return.
And somewhere deeper in the darkness—
Twilight stood surrounded by warriors under the moonlight, his glowing eyes slowly becoming more dangerous with every passing second.