Luna entered the parking garage with Dalia, just as they had planned.
Dalia announced coldly, "I brought one of the twins—the heir of the wonder stone."
The three men inside turned their attention toward Luna. One of them stepped forward, eyeing her with a smirk.
"So you're the troublemaker who took out our men last time."
"I killed them because they tried to kill me. That's all there is to it," Luna replied firmly.
"Brave and bold, huh? You're standing here alone against four of us—and we have a hostage. Yet you still dare to mock me?"
"Well, if you want me to shut up, fine. I won't speak. Happy now?"
"Yes, obedient little crap you—"
Before he could finish, Luna drove her fist into his gut, forcing a painful grunt from him. Dalia reacted instantly, striking Luna across the back but Luna only laughed as she watched the man double over in pain.
He rose, seething with rage and summoned his weapon—a flaming spear. He charged at Luna, murder in his eyes but one of the elite men stepped in.
"Lucien, stop. We don't have time for games," the man said sternly.
"But Lord Warren, that girl hit me hard—I'm not letting her get away with that!"
The other elite, Shiro, interjected. "You deserved it, Lucien. You insulted her."
"You too, Lord Shiro? You're defending her?"
"I respect women—even my enemies. Consider her punch your punishment for your foul mouth."
"But I—"
"Are you defying me?" Shiro's tone sharpened like ice.
Lucien swallowed nervously. "N-no, sir. Forgive me."
"Good. That was your last warning. Now let's move on."
Warren turned to Luna. "Luna Ribwan. Our mission is to extract your power after killing you. We sent three novices before, but they failed. Now we, the elite of the Fauvism's Fighter Division , will finish the job."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "So, you have Divisions now? That's new."
"There are two: the Fighter Division and the national Division. But that knowledge won't help you—you're going to die."
"Funny, you seem to have forgotten something. Release Liam and return him safely, as the message demanded."
"Fine. As you wish."
Warren removed the chains binding Liam, who had been sitting on the ground, terrified. His wide eyes scanned the room until they landed on Luna and he rushed toward her.
"Luna! I'm sorry... They caught me. And now you might—"
"Don't blame yourself, Liam," Luna interrupted. "Blame these bastard scum who kidnapped you."
Lucien, enraged by her words, hurled his fire-infused spear at Luna and Liam. In a flash, Luna shoved Liam behind her and unleashed sonic waves . The fire vanished, the spear fell harmlessly and the elite trio jumped back to avoid the blast. Dalia stood quietly beside Luna, simply watching.
Luna walked over to Lucien's spear and crushed it beneath her foot, infusing the strike with pressure. Lucien's rage intensified and he summoned the spear again, which reappeared in his hand. He, like other stone heirs, could summon and recall weapons at will.
He stared at Luna, both impressed and furious. "You're strong. But I'll—"
Before he could finish, Shiro struck him across the face. Lucien hit the ground hard, only to receive several angry kicks.
Liam, confused, leaned toward Luna and whispered, "Why is he hurting his own teammate?"
"I'm not sure," Luna replied, "but let them destroy each other. They're all bastards anyway."
Shiro stopped when he saw blood from Lucien's nose. "Next time, the punishment will be worse."
"I—I'm sorry, sir. I lost my temper... She insulted all of us..."
"Never disobey me again."
"Y-yes, sir."
Warren walked up beside Shiro. "Was that for insulting a lady or for defying your order?"
"Both."
Then Shiro turned to Luna. "Miss Luna Ribwan, heir of the air stone—please allow us to complete our mission."
"You mean kill me and drain my power?"
"Yes. And in return, we'll send your friend Liam safely home."
"Alright."
Dalia blinked. "Wait, really? You're not going to fight?"
"I could kill at least two of you . But I don't want Liam getting hurt."
"Luna!!" Liam yelled.
He glared at Warren and Shiro. "How can you do this? Didn't you say you respect women? And now you want to kill one?"
Shiro answered calmly, "This is a mission, Liam. I don't want to hurt her. That's why I asked her to surrender so we could end it quickly."
"You're a hypocrite and a—"
"Liam, stop," Luna cut in.
"But they want to kill you!"
"It's okay. If my death saves someone I love, then I'll die with no regrets."
Tears welled in Liam's eyes as he looked at her. Dalia, watching them both, felt something stir inside her—a strange feeling, just like earlier when Luna had spoken to her on the way here.
Warren noticed Dalia's expression. "Dalia, what's wrong?"
"N-nothing."
"Do you pity them?"
"No."
"If you do, you can leave. Escort Liam home and we'll handle the girl."
"Fine."
She approached Liam and grabbed his shoulder. "Let's go. It's over."
Liam yanked his arm away. "No! Stay away from her, you bastards!"
"Liam, stop. Just go with her," Luna said.
"I can't! I won't leave you to die!"
Luna struck Liam on the head, knocking him unconscious. She handed him to Dalia.
"Take him home."
"Alright," Dalia nodded.
Carrying Liam on her shoulder, Dalia exited the garage, waiting for the car that would take him home. But as she walked out—
A massive fireball struck the garage.
Everyone inside—Lucien, Warren, Shiro—felt it.
The garage was engulfed in flames. They scattered, escaping the blast. At that moment, Luna appeared behind Dalia, using teleportation . She struck Dalia and grabbed Liam.
Warren and Shiro weren't about to stand idle. Noticing Luna's suspicious movement, they launched a coordinated attack—Shiro summoned a freezing blizzard while Warren unleashed slicing winds. Both were expert-level techniques.
Luna couldn't dodge them both, so she retaliated with a counterstrike—this time, fusing her air power with the Bone Separator technique.
When the dust cleared, both attacks had been neutralized—an even clash.
The elites were stunned.
"I didn't expect you to counter my slicing winds with an attack like that," Warren said.
"And don't forget," Shiro added, "my freezing blizzard was also part of that strike."
Luna smiled. "Surprised? Don't tell me you hate surprises."
Warren and Shiro both grinned and summoned their weapons. Shiro wielded a diamond shield that covered his entire body. Warren's weapon was a set of razor-sharp metallic threads.
Luna summoned her metal staff but didn't attack. Instead, she grabbed Liam and used instant teleportation to escape.
Warren pursued—he too was an heir of the air stone and could teleport. But as he followed, he was suddenly attacked from behind.
It was William.
He wore a helmet and mask that obscured his identity. In his hands, he held a newly forged double-headed spear. Despite being elite, Warren struggled as William's spear clashed with his metallic threads. Warren infused them with pressure, aiming to crush William's body—but William, well-trained, surrounded himself with a fiery shield and escaped.
Luna reappeared, grabbing William's arm with one hand and carrying Liam on her shoulder. Together, they vanished again using instant teleportation —this time, far enough that Warren could no longer sense them. She had exhausted all her strength.
That had been the plan from the start—don't fight. Just run. Just save the ones they loved.
---
Two days earlier...
Jayden: "You got a plan, Merrick?"
Merrick: "Yeah. We'll go to the locations listed, but we're not fighting—we grab the hostages and escape as fast as possible."
"What?! You mean we're going to run like cowards?"
"It's not cowardice. I'm certain they've sent elite fighters for each of us, along with multiple novices. We're outnumbered. They've realized we're no rookies—so now they're playing dirty."
Chris: "He's right, Jayden. This isn't like before. If you resist, they'll hurt your friend Rossi . Maybe even kill him."
Jayden punched the nearby tree in anger.
Luna: "Could you not break things every time you're mad, Jayden?"
Jayden: "It's just a tree. Why do you care?"
"Because Yuna and I planted that apple tree. We were waiting for it to bloom."
"...Sorry."
Merrick: "Listen. They'll make sure each of us is alone. If they detect backup or another stone heir hiding nearby, they'll kill the hostage."
Tristan: "Then what do we do? If we go alone, we can't win or rescue anyone."
"Exactly. But if each of us has one partner—someone who arrives first and not after—we can pull it off."
Yuna : "But you said they'll be watching everything. If they see anyone helping, they'll kill the hostages!"
"They can't follow—they have to lead."
The five members not mentioned in the enemy message went ahead of the targeted ones, scouting the enemy locations early.
Each one was tasked with creating a distraction—like William did by setting fire to the garage. He'd located Luna through a special monocle.
Fortunately, the enemies didn't realize that the Kaos Team had ten members—not five. Which meant each of the five marked targets had backup.
---
Back to the present...
Luna collapsed, gasping for air, completely drained. William approached her.
William : "Are you alright?"
Luna : "Barely. I need to rest."
He pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket and handed it to her. She took it and ate it without a word of thanks.
William: "Glad our plan worked."
Luna: "Me too. But I'm still worried about Yuna and the others."
"We just have to wait."
"I hate waiting."
"No one likes waiting."
Luna and William had succeeded in their mission—and they'd saved Liam.
But will the others succeed?
And how will they pull it off?