The next morning, they were packed and ready before the sun fully broke the horizon.

"Luna," Jin said, turning his back to her. "Jump on."

"Huh?"

"Look, we have a lot of time to make up. I can move much faster than you can walk. If you and Minou get on my back, I can use Ki to enhance my speed. We can cut the travel time in half."

"Um... okay. If you're sure."

Luna climbed onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Minou nestled into her hood. Jin adjusted his grip on her legs, and with a burst of power, he took off running.

He was fast. Inhumanly fast. Trees blurred past them.

He is really strong, Luna thought, feeling the hard muscle of his back through his shirt. He's carrying me like I weigh nothing. She needed to distract herself.

"So, Jin," she shouted over the wind. "You never told me. What's Toji Village like?"

"It's home," Jin replied without slowing down. "It's nothing like the city. It's a small settlement deep in the forest, built along a river. Everyone has a purpose. From the moment you wake up, you are training, working, or meditating. It is a life of perfect discipline. I love it there."

"What's your purpose?" Luna asked.

"I am a graduated Guardian. My purpose is missions. The village receives requests-surveillance, protection, hunting demons. We go out, we handle it. When we aren't on missions, we train."

"Doesn't sound very fun."

"Fun isn't a luxury Guardians can afford," Jin said seriously. "We are tasked with keeping the human world safe."

"Isn't that the Protection Force's job?"

Jin scoffed. "The Protection Force is a first line of defense for the major cities. They are normal humans with some weapons. Look around you. All we've seen for miles is wilderness. Do you think the Protection Force come out here? Guardians are Ki sensitive. We are the elite. And alongside us are the Sorcerer Villages, who use magic. We handle the threats the humans can't even see."

"Oh," Luna said quietly. "I guess it's pretty important... Sorry for not taking it seriously before."

"The fact that you didn't know how serious it is... that shows how good we are at our jobs," Jin said. "Our greatest duty is to let people like you live normal lives, unaware of the war happening in the shadows."

"War?"

"It is a constant war. Every hour of every day, a Guardian or a Sorcerer is fighting something."

"Okay," Jin said abruptly, slowing down. "Hop off. We are almost there. Just through these trees."

Luna slid off his back. As her feet hit the ground, Minou began to growl low in his throat.

"What's wrong, Minou?" Luna asked. "Calm down."

Jin stiffened. His hand went to his sword hilt. "He is right to be acting that way."

"What do you mean?"

"The air..." Jin sniffed. "It smells like smoke. And... blood!"

"What?"

"Something is wrong," Jin whispered, his face losing all color. "Something is very, very wrong. STAY HERE!"

"Jin!"

Jin ignored her, bursting through the tree line at full speed. Minou squirmed free from Luna's arms and bolted after him.

"Minou! Get back here!" Luna yelled, chasing after them. "Jin told us to stay back!"

She pushed through the dense foliage, branches whipping her face. She stumbled into a clearing and stopped dead.

Jin was on his knees in the dirt, his hands gripping his hair, a sound of pure agony ripping from his throat.

"Jin! Jin, what is it?" Luna rushed to his side. "What's wrong?"

"It's gone..." Jin choked out, tears streaming down his face. "It's all gone."

Luna looked up.

There was no village. There were no houses. There were no people training by the river.

There was only a crater of scorched earth, smoldering ruins, and silence. Toji Village had been wiped off the face of the earth.