"Okay," Jin said, his voice hard as flint. "We have to go through them. There is no other way. We move fast, we move smart, and we don't stop."

He pointed a Kodachi at the sea of snarling monsters ahead. "I'm taking point. I’m the spearhead. Maya, before I charge, I need you to thin the herd. Take out the big ones with your Ki arrows. Once I breach their line, Luna, you are right behind me. Glue yourself to my back."

"Are you insane?!" Luna shrieked, staring at the thousands of demon bodies shifting like a nightmare ocean. "I can't fight those things! They look like they eat people for a snack!"

"Nah, really?" Jin smirked, though his eyes were deadly serious. "I don't expect you to fight. We aren't killing them all; we are punching a hole through them. So, stay close. And you," he looked down at the Cabbit. "You dumb cat-rabbit. Earn your keep. Keep her safe."

"Reow," Minou chirped, puffing out his chest.

"Once Luna is in," Jin continued, turning to Maya, "you bring up the rear. Watch our six. Make sure we don't get rushed from behind. Got it?"

Maya swallowed hard, gripping her bow until her knuckles turned white. "Got it."

"You guys are freaking crazy," Luna yelled.

Jin grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Look at me, Luna. I know you're scared. You'd be crazy if you weren't. But we have to do this. Maya and I will protect you."

"Reow!" Minou added.

"And the Cabbit," Jin nodded. "Have some faith in us. I promise we won't let you down. Okay?"

Luna looked into Jin’s dark eyes. There was no fear there, only a cold, calculated resolve. She looked at Maya, who was terrified but standing her ground.

This is mental, Luna thought. Suicidal. But... if anyone can survive this, it's him.

"Okay," Luna breathed.

"Awesome," Jin grinned, spinning around. "Alright, Maya. Light them up."

Maya stepped forward, raising her bow. A pink aura flared around her body. She drew the string back, and a jagged bolt of energy materialized.

THWIP!

The arrow screamed through the air and slammed into the front line of the swarm.

BOOM!

A massive explosion of pink energy ripped five demons apart, sending limbs and black mist flying.

"Another one!" Jin barked.

Maya fired again. BOOM. More demons fell.

"Again!"

Maya gritted her teeth, firing arrow after arrow. Explosions rocked the field, but for every demon that fell, three more scrambled over the bodies to take their place. The black tide wasn't stopping.

"I... I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!" Maya gasped, sweat beading on her forehead. "They’re endless!"

"Damn it," Jin hissed. "Okay, change of plans. Maya, I need a Compact Shot. Straight down the middle."

"A what?!" Maya panicked. "I haven't mastered that yet! It takes too much focus!"

Jin placed a hand on her head, grounding her. "Focus, Maya. Gather every scrap of Ki you can spare. Compress it into one arrow. Shoot it straight down the center. I will run in the slipstream. When you catch your breath, you, Luna, and the Cabbit follow. Do not hesitate."

"Jin, I'm already so tired..."

"MAYA!" Jin roared. "YOU ARE A GUARDIAN OF TOJI VILLAGE! DO YOU WANT TO DIE HERE OR DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT? YOU GOT THIS!"

Maya’s eyes snapped open. "You're right. This one's for the village."

She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. The pink aura around her intensified, condensing into a blinding point of light at the tip of her arrow.

"STEADY..." she whispered. Then, her eyes flew open. "TAKE THIS, YOU UGLY BASTARDS! COMPACT SHOT!"

She released the string.

CRACK-BOOM!

The arrow didn't arc; it flew in a straight, piercing line, screaming like a jet engine. It tore through the swarm, drilling a ten-foot-wide tunnel through the mass of demons, vaporizing everything in its path.

"Perfect!" Jin shouted. "I knew you had it in you! Welp! Don't keep me waiting ladies!"

He drew both Kodachi and sprinted into the smoking tunnel. "BRING IT ON!"

Jin was a whirlwind of steel. He moved faster than Luna could track, his blades flashing in the sunlight. Demons lunged, only to fall in pieces before they could touch him.

"Wow," Luna whispered. "He’s amazing."

"Yeah," Maya panted, leaning on her bow. "It's kinda hot."

"Yeah, it's really ho—WAIT! WHAT?!" Luna blushed.

"Gotcha," Maya grinned tiredly. "I knew it."

"Shut up! We're in a war zone!"

"I'm kidding. Come on, let's go. Ready?"

"Nope."

"Let's move! GO GO GO!"

Minou, Luna, and Maya sprinted into the chaotic path Jin had carved. Ahead, Jin was slaughtering demons with brutal efficiency, limbs and black ichor spraying the air.

"Hello, ladies," Jin called out, slicing a demon in half without looking. "Glad you could join the fun."

"This is crazy!" Luna yelled over the roar of the horde. "We need to go back! There are too many!"

"Just stick close!" Jin shouted, parrying a claw strike and decapitating the attacker.

They pushed deeper into the swarm. But the tunnel Maya had created was closing. The demons were pressing in from all sides, a suffocating wall of claws and teeth.

"Maya, status!" Jin yelled, hacking a path forward.

"I'm doing my best!" Maya shouted, swinging her bow like a staff to crack a demon's skull. "But they’re closing in!"

"Keep moving!"

The pressure was immense. For every step forward, the demons pushed back harder. Jin was a machine, but even machines possess limits.

"Damn it! How many more are there?!" Jin spun, slashing two demons at once. "You guys okay back there?"

Silence.

"Guys...?"

Jin risked a glance backward.

The path behind him was closed. A wall of demons blocked his view.

"LUNA!!" Jin screamed, panic seizing his chest. "MAYA! WHERE IS LUNA?!"

"I CAN'T SEE HER!" Maya’s voice screamed from somewhere in the mass. "THEY CUT US OFF!"

"HELP!" Luna’s terrified scream pierced the noise.

"LUNA!!"

Luna was alone. A circle of demons had isolated her, separating her from the Guardians. They chittered and hissed, closing the circle. Minou leaped from her arms, hissing violently.

A demon lunged. Minou met it mid-air, biting its throat out. He landed, dodged a claw swipe, and leaped onto another demon's back, scratching its eyes. But a third demon backhanded the Cabbit, sending him tumbling into the dirt.

"Minou!" Luna cried.

The demons closed in, smelling fear. Luna backed away until she hit a wall of demon bodies.

I'm gonna die, she thought, tears streaming down her face. I'm gonna die right here.

Suddenly, Minou let out a guttural roar that shook the ground.

A blinding white light erupted from the small creature. The demons recoiled, shielding their eyes.

"Minou?" Luna squinted into the light. "What’s happening?"

The light faded, revealing a monster.

Minou had transformed. He was no longer a small Cabbit; he was a Rigger—a massive, lion-sized beast with powerful muscles and elongated fangs.

"ROAR!"

Minou lunged. He swiped a paw the size of a dinner plate, obliterating a demon instantly. He jumped in front of Luna, his massive body acting as a shield.

"Minou... is that really you?"

Minou didn't answer; he tore into the horde with primal fury. But there were hundreds of them. They swarmed over him, biting and clawing.

"KINETIC PUNCH!"

A red comet dropped from the sky.

Jin landed in the center of the circle, his gauntlet glowing like a dying star. He slammed his fist into the earth.

BOOM!

A shockwave of red energy exploded outward, vaporizing the immediate circle of demons and knocking the rest back ten feet.

"MOVE!" Jin roared.

Minou grabbed Luna by the back of her jacket with his teeth, threw her onto his back, and leaped into the air, landing beside Jin.

"Wow," Jin panted, wiping black blood from his face. "Is that you, ya dumb Cabbit? You’re full of surprises."

"Where the hell were you?!" Luna screamed, clinging to Minou’s fur.

"Traffic was bad," Jin quipped, though he was breathing hard. "I'm here now. That's what matters."

"Your plan sucks!"

"Yeah, I’m starting to have regrets myself," Jin admitted, scanning the wall of monsters surrounding them. "Where’s Maya?"

"Look out behind you!" Luna’s voice rang out.

A demon lunged for Jin’s exposed back. Before it could strike, a pink arrow pierced its skull, and it exploded.

"You’re welcome!" Maya shouted, sliding into the circle, looking battered but alive.

"Nice shot," Jin nodded.

Maya stared up at the giant beast beside Luna. "What the hell is that?"

"It's Minou," Luna said. "He grew up."

"Cool," Maya breathed. Then she shook her head. "Focus. What's the plan?"

"Get behind me," Jin ordered. "KINETIC WAVE!"

He slammed both palms on the ground, sending a ripple of Ki through the ground that pushed the demons back another few yards, buying them a moment of breathing room.

"So," Maya panted. "The plan is screwed. What now?"

"We do the only thing we can do," Jin said grimly. "Back-to-back. We defend Luna. We take these mofos down."

"I don't like that plan," Maya said. "Shouldn't we run?"

"Think about it, Maya," Jin said, gesturing to the endless horde. "Have you ever seen a swarm like this? This isn't random. These are the demons that destroyed Toji. If we run, they will scatter. They will destroy the countryside. Or They will follow us to the city. If we don't end this here, thousands of people die. The blood is on our hands."

He looked at them. "So, do we run? Or do we fight?"

Maya looked at Luna. Luna looked at the terrified faces of her protectors.

"Kick their asses," Luna said firmly.

"That's what I wanted to hear," Jin grinned. "Maya, Minou, surround Luna. Save your energy. Counter-attack only. We bleed them dry."

The battle became a grinder.

For ten minutes, they held the line. Jin was a blur of steel, his Kodachi singing through the air. Maya used her bow as a melee weapon, firing point-blank shots only when necessary. Minou was a wrecking ball of fur and teeth.

But fatigue was setting in.

Maya blocked a claw strike with her bow, but a second demon flanked her, slashing her back.

"AHH!" Maya fell.

"Maya!" Luna screamed.

"Grab her, Luna!" Jin shouted, decapitating the attacker. "Minou, get ready to evac!"

"The heck you are!" Maya struggled to her feet, blood soaking her shirt. "I can still fight!"

She fired three arrows in rapid succession, but her aim was wavering. Minou was limping, covered in bites.

"Okay, that's it," Jin decided. "You guys get out of here. Now."

"No!" Luna cried. "Jin, what about you?"

"Don't worry about me," Jin said, not looking back. "I'll hold them off."

"Jin, NO!"

"MINOU! GET THEM OUT OF HERE! NOW!!"

Minou scooped up Luna and the injured Maya. He tried to break through the line, but the demons blocked the path.

Jin leaped over Minou, landing in the thick of the enemy. He unleashed a furious barrage of strikes, carving a bloody exit.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE, YOU DUMB CABBIT!" Jin screamed.

Minou didn't hesitate. He bounded through the opening, sprinting away from the swarm with powerful strides.

"Good," Jin whispered, watching them disappear over the ridge. "They're safe."

He turned back to the hundreds of demons staring at him.

"Alright, you ugly bastards," Jin spat blood onto the ground. "Let's see what you got."

The demons roared and charged.

Jin slammed his fist into the ground—KINETIC WAVE—knocking the first wave down. But he was alone. There was no one to watch his back. A claw raked his shoulder. Teeth sank into his calf.

He fought like a demon himself. He cut, slashed, and punched, fueled by pure adrenaline. But the numbers were overwhelming.

Miles away, Minou finally slowed to a stop. He collapsed, shrinking back into his small Cabbit form, exhausted.

Luna and Maya slid off, hitting the dirt.

"We need to go back," Luna said immediately.

"We can't," Maya gasped, clutching her bleeding back.

"Maybe you can't," Luna snapped. "But I can."

"Luna, stop!" Maya grabbed her ankle. "Jin was right. Your safety is the mission. He is a Guardian. He knows the cost. He chose this so you could live."

"This is stupid!" Luna cried. "Why didn't he just come with us?"

"They would have followed us," Maya said quietly. "He stayed to draw their attention. To give us a lead."

"I am not letting him die for me!" Luna shouted.

"Fine," Maya relented, wincing. "But wait. We can't go back like this. Minou is down. I'm tapped out. Give it two hours. If he isn't here... we go back."

Back at the swarm, Jin was fading.

He severed a demon's head, but another slashed his back deep. He spun, cutting it in half, but a reptile-like demon shot a spear-tongue through his right shoulder.

"ARGH!" Jin screamed, dropping one Kodachi.

The pain was blinding. He fell to one knee. The demons circled, sensing the end.

Jin looked up. His vision was blurring red.

No. Not yet.

He summoned the last dregs of his Ki. He punched the ground, a weak shockwave knocking the closest demons back. He scrambled for his sword, gripping the hilt with a bloody hand.

Gone was the prodigy. Gone was the technique.

Jin let out a primal scream and threw himself at them. He hacked and slashed wildly, fighting on instinct alone. He was a cornered animal.

Hack. Slash. Scream.

Silence.

Jin stood in a field of corpses. He was swaying. He was covered in black ichor and his own red blood. His breath came in ragged gasps.

A few dozen demons remained, watching him warily.

Jin stared at them, a crazed, blood-soaked smile spreading across his face.

He took a step forward. The demons took a step back.

"No," he rasped, lifting his sword. "None of you will escape.”

"ROAR!"

Two hours later.

"That's it," Luna stood up. "I'm tired of waiting. I'm going back."

"Okay," Maya stood shakily. "I'm coming with you."

Minou perked up. "Reow!"

The Cabbit began hopping excitedly, looking down the road.

"Minou?" Luna squinted against the sun.

In the distance, a figure was cresting the hill. He was limping heavily, using a demon’s leg as a crutch. He was soaked in blood, his clothes in tatters.

"JIN!!"

Luna and Maya sprinted toward him.

"Jin!" Luna cried, grabbing him before he fell. "You made it!"

"Jin, you big idiot!" Maya sobbed. "Thank goodness you're alive!"

Jin looked at them through swollen eyes. He tried to stand straight, flashing a weak, arrogant grin.

"What?" he wheezed. "Did you guys really think I was going to roll over and die for a pathetic swarm like that? Ha... ha..."

His eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed into their arms.