Back in Primary City, Sam sat at her desk with Mr. Hermy looming over her. Tragedy ensued sooner than they expected it to. With them being the only licensed Hunters in the city, it was left to them to help the trio out of the situation they were currently in. Sam and Hermy were using the cameras located throughout the forest to pinpoint which speakers to use to communicate with their lost participants. Though, the task grew to be more difficult as time progressed. As the rounds continued, more monsters were released, and just like that, the hunters' roles were reversed.

        Meanwhile, the rest of the contestants sat anxiously in the lounge, worries bouncing through some legs as the T.V showed all the things that could've possibly gone wrong in their battle go wrong in another. Solemnly standing on his own, Neo waited calmly and quietly for his comrades to return. Unwelcome in his home, the feeling of helplessness snuck in through the back window and got comfortable in his living room. Neo had to remind himself he knew what his friends were capable of and there was no way he was wrong about the coward thrown in with them. With the faith he held in his friends unwavering, Neo kicked the feeling of helplessness out of his home.

     "There!" In the corner of her screen, Mr. Hermy pointed out the trio dashing through the trees. With great speed, Sam quickly changed the trajectory of her voice through the speakers so that the trio would be able to hear her instead of the monsters. 

        "Hunters, we see you and are aware of the current error in the round system."

        Startling but calming the out-of-breath trio, they all finally slid to a stop in the next closest clearing. Looking around, Tow was able to spot a speaker with a moving black orb under it on a tree above them. So, she nudged her friend to show him.

        "Please try and make your way back to the tunnel!"

        "Which way?" Tow yelled to the camera that continued to turn in its designated two directions. Though, she didn't get an answer. Instead, flying overhead, a blur sped by and knocked both the camera and speaker right off the tree. Tow quickly jumped to the side to avoid the tiny debris. "Is that a damn Wrinkle?"

        The fear in Xeno's body only continued to build as he finally recognized the name of the monster they were scouting for. A wrinkle was a higher rank of a monster than the ones they just fought. Predominantly staying in the air, the Wrinkle was able to spot the participants a lot faster than they would spot it.

        "Come on, I'll give you a lift, we've got to keep moving!" Springing into action, Rufo placed his hands on the tree that previously held the camera. Like nothing Xeno had ever seen before, the branches and vines attached to the tree started growing in great length and reached for Tow. Lifting her with ease, almost like it had a mind of its own, the branches outlined foot holders so Tow could stand comfortably without losing her balance or burning through the tree. While Tow tried to handle the monster in the sky, Rufo noticed the beast slowly approaching him and his useless comrade. "Hey, rugrat! Don't just stand there, attack the Maji!"

        Glancing at Rufo, Xeno had no idea what he could do. Tow was right, throwing both his weapons cost him the next fight. He had no way to defend or attack. Tow was losing her battle in the air, the Wrinkle being way too fast for her. She was able to move quickly on the ground but the sky was an entirely different story. It didn't take too much longer for the creature to swoop in from behind Tow and break the branches connecting her to Rufo. Right after, it flew back into the trees.

         "And do what? My daggers are still in the other mo-" Unable to finish his sentence, the four-armed monster made it to Xeno and backhanded into a tree behind him. Quickly looking over his shoulder, the Maji wasn't surprised to see Rufo already running off to try and help Tow. Huffing through its deformed mouth, it turned back to where Xeno landed but he was gone too.

        Please don't look for me. Please don't look for me. Please don't look for me! Shuffling quickly, Xeno had simply hidden behind the tree that almost broke his spine. It seemed fortune favored the scared. The four-armed monster turned and made his way back to Rufo and Tow. Xeno was queasy, the sickly familiar feeling of being in his broken home ravaged his body. That's when it occurred to him. Gin. He's waiting for me back in the city. I can't leave him on his own. We started this journey together, we’re ending it together.

        Before rolling out from his hiding spot, another concern crept in at the last moment.

        Aren't there supposed to be three monsters? Should I help them or look for the third? Shit, what can I do against them? The thought of going back to the first clearing struck him to try and retrieve his daggers but the journey was too risky. He could run into a different beast, one stronger than the one they currently faced. Or I could run into an easier one.

        Xeno glanced around the tree just in time to see Rufo start to get hit with jab after jab by the beast. Tow was still conscious but it was clear she was much weaker and closer to passing out. Closing his eyes and trying to calm his racing heart, Xeno stayed where he was to try and think of a plan, one he was sure wouldn't result in all of their deaths.

        "Come out and show yourself or I'll kill your comrades right now." Surprised at first that the beast could communicate, Xeno held his head in his hands and rocked back in forth. His teammates were going to die if he didn't think of something quick. While he was stuck in fear, glued to the ground, the other participants started to get antsy.

        "Just call everything off, they're getting beaten half to death!" one of the other participants yelled.

        "How is this fair? The rounds messed up!" Another yelled. "Is ours going to be like this?"

        The complaints grew louder, loud enough for the instructors in the lobby to hear. Sighing softly, Sam declared there wasn't anything left for them to do to help their contestants. "What do we do now? Maybe we have taken it too far." Waiting patiently for Xeno to make a move, Mr. Hermy shakes his head. "There's not enough instructors to help them back to the city. With the uptick in monster appearances, the sign-up for becoming a hunter has decreased immensely. No one wants to risk it."

        "No, those in battle know this is what it means to be a Hunter. Those who understood aren't complaining," he said. "The ones who came in with Rufo, Tow, and Xeno, they haven't said a word. not a single complaint. They get it. The ones complaining... They're here for themselves. It matters not if we have a hundred men who can take out one monster each. We need one hunter who can take out 100 monsters on their own. This is not a war, this is about survival. We need quality Hunters, then our quantity won't matter. We can still help them." Its been ages since Mr. Hermy and Sam signed up to become Hunters. Since then, the world has changed. Different monsters show up in different areas, more homes and villages get destroyed but by the time any hunters show up, the monsters have already moved on and grown in numbers.

        "Those daggers aren't your only weapon!" Hermy's words repeated in his head, knocking him out of his fear-induced trance. Remembering Rufo's abilities, Xeno remembered Tow also had her own special skill set. So what was his?

        Trying to think quickly, Xeno spotted a rather large rock across from him. It's better than nothing, he thought. Gulping his hesitation down, Xeno slowly moved and grabbed the rock. Glancing back around the rock, Xeno studied the scene. The beast had both Rufo's and Tow's heads in two of its hands. It looked... bored. Xeno noticed that Tow wasn't unconscious but Rufo was. Tow was looking directly at Xeno, her half-closed eyes begging for him to help them.

        Wait a minute. Shooting up from his spot, Xeno ran straight towards the beast and his teammates. "Hey Tow, sorry about your cupcake, by the way!" At that exact moment, Xeno threw the rock directly at the beast and hit him directly in his left eye. But almost like a combo attack, Tow's anger flared within seconds and her hair lit once more. The Maji howled in pain as the flesh of it's hand started to bubble and boil away in nothing until it dropped Tow who folded the moment she hit the ground. She could get out but she couldn't move any more than that. Xeno continued towards the beast and quickly picked Tow up off the ground. The young hunter threw Tow over his shoulder with ease but running with her was a lot harder than he expected it to be.

        Dropping the already unconscious Rufo, the Maji stormed right after Xeno and caught up within seconds. Slamming the right side of its body into Xeno's, Xeno dropped Tow and flew towards the ground face first. Xeno skidded across the ground, scraping open most of his clear skin and hitting his head twice. After having two rock-hard objects slam into his back, the pain finally started to spread through the rest of his body. Unable to even so much as make a fist, Xeno let the pain replace his fear. Sure he suffered from whiplash and a concussion, he closed his eyes and pictured Gin's face for the last time as his consciousness started to slip from him.

        I'm sorry, Gin.

        Just like it did when Tow cremated its hand, the Maji let out another roar of agony. It confused Xeno but part of him hoped it was their savior. The Wrinkle disappeared after knocking Tow out of the air, it could've returned to finish the job. But just as Xeno mustered up enough strength to roll himself onto his back, he passed out.