Neoma grew disgusted by the look on their faces and shifted her attention to Luna, hoping to think straight.

But to her despair, it only worsened.

Her eyes widened in overwhelming shock.

Her Majesty was crying violently, her knotted hands shivering beside her chest.

Before Neoma knew it, an intense urge to attack everyone arose, nearly consuming her thoughts.

But at the touch of Luna’s gentle hand, she halted in place.

The intense snowstorm had nothing compared to her sweet warmth.

“Damn it, what am I supposed to do?” Neoma asked herself in a whisper, stressing about the approaching criminal. 

The thoughts grew heavier.

Her pupils shook violently as her fangs began to show.

Then, a hand rested on her shoulder.

“Neoma,” Elena said, looking at them with a gentle gaze. “I promise you this is all a misunderstanding.”

Neoma paused, taking this moment to catch her breath.

“Yeah, put your trust in us just as you did with Kaito!” Souta cheered, flexing his average muscles in hopes of lightening up the mood.

Neoma sighed in relief, then looked at them with a smile.

“Okay, please buy me some time.”

“You’ve got it.” 

Neoma grabbed Luna by her shoulders and began their retreat, running past Aki, who carried a giant tactical bag. 

Each passing second sent another shiver down her spine.

“Here’s the plan,” Neoma instructed hurriedly, readjusting her grip on Luna. “I’ll take you back to the kingdom while I return to help them. I know that’s not like me, but this is the Crimson Blood we’re talking about. No one has ever died on Lunar Province’s land, and I intend to keep it that way.”

Luna pushed against Neoma and broke free, almost losing balance.

She wiped her remaining tears, placing her hands on her knees.

“What’s the matter, Your Majesty?”

The winds began to roar, conjuring up a wall of snow between them and the distant confrontation.

“I’ll head back on my own and send you reinforcements.” She said, gathering her breath before forcing herself to look into Neoma’s eyes.

“But you don’t look so good.”

Neoma tried to reach for her shoulder, but Luna slapped it away.

She blinked, shocked.

Luna lifted her head with a weighty frown, her wings peeking out.

“That’s an order, dear Sister.” She demanded in a serious tone, standing up tall as if denying her any chance to resist. 

This time, they couldn’t even look at each other face-to-face. 

They didn’t move at all.

Back at the campsite, Aki regrouped with the other two and reached into the bag.

He tossed Souta some chains and Elena a bag of seeds, pulling out a giant gun for himself.

“So you followed us all the way here?” Elena asked with a scowl, placing the seeds in her utility belt.

“How could I not?” She traced her chin with her finger. “My gut feelings were louder than ever before.”

“Let me guess.” Elena crossed her arms, snickering. “The information wasn’t what you were after, right?” 

She didn’t take her eyes off Elena; instead, her words seemed to please her. 

“Ooh, we’ve got some smarty pants here.”

She lifted her hand, and out came sharp streams of blood, spiraling around her palm. Within just a second, a long scythe now rested in her grasp.

“How about you leave us alone?” Souta shouted over the rushing wind, half-nervous.

Her smile grew even wider, her red hair jumping in joy.

“With how many limbs are ripe for slicing, I don’t think so.”

Souta bounced back in disgust, shivering from both the declaration and the cold.

“Akane, what happened with the generosity?” Aki shook his head in disappointment and put the glowing magazine into his gun.

“Isn’t it obvious?” She spun her scythe around, lips puckered. “You let the main dish get away.”

“If I remember correctly,” Elena intertwined her hands and stretched as best as she could. “Doesn’t this very kingdom have a bounty on your kind?” 

“Ironic, isn’t it?” Souta laughed, pointing at her mockingly.

“Now, that I can get behind,” Elena smirked at her, raising an eyebrow as if to mock her as well.

Akane’s smile vanished; her eyes narrowed with anger.

“Alright then, I’m done talking.”

The three braced themselves, Souta and Aki tightening their grip on their weapons.

“Team,” Elena exclaimed, steadying her feet. “Now!”

Fwoosh!

Souta raced in first, coating himself and the chains in blue lightning.

Akane swung her scythe from below, aiming for his legs.

But a huge gust of wind stopped her attack.

Aki reloaded his gun from afar, sighing in relief.

Zrck! 

Souta’s kick made contact with her face, sending a dozen shocks across her face.

And with no second to spare, he used the scythe to leap to the side, wrapping her in his chains.

Another electrifying wave burst to every corner of her body.

Just as Souta lunged in for another attack, blood burst from her foot, acting as an extended kick.

Vines burst from beneath the snow and caught Souta, a few breaking free from the net and pursuing Akane.

Past the shock, Akane sliced and diced the vines, regaining distance toward Souta.

Souta took a quick breath, then coated himself again and shot a glance at Aki.

She noticed and turned toward him, hoping to counter, but to her surprise, Aki wasn’t there anymore.

As she turned back, she was greeted by a punch right to her stomach.

She dug the scythe into the snow, keeping the distance between them. short 

Souta tried to leap backward, but her foot struck his chin, leaving him vulnerable.

His head was grabbed by her hand and pulled down.

Her knee struck and broke his nose.

She wound up her other arm and brought forth the scythe.

But halfway, it sprang back.

A ton of vines grew onto the blade, holding it still.

She smirked and withdrew it, reshaping it outside of the vine's grasp.

But Souta smiled, holding out his chains.

A giant blast of wind brought her face down into the snow.

But before she could recover– 

Aki jumped out from behind the wall of vines, tossed the gun aside, and coated his fist in a fierce vortex.

Souta tied the chain around Akane’s arm and pulled, revealing her face.

Fwoosh!

His fist dug into her face, sending her soaring towards Elena.

With a few more thrown seeds, another pair of vines grabbed Akane, sending her into another spiral.

Elena used her last seeds to trap her scythe, then walked toward the snow cloud.

The three spread out, covering every corner of the vanishing mist.

Elena stopped, terrified, and turned around instantly.

She held out her hands, stopping the scythe from reaching her skull.

The agonizing scream distracted Souta, leaving him open to an attack.

Akane burst out of the mist and grabbed his head with both hands.

She slammed his face into her rising knee, sprouting more blood from his nostrils.

Aki rolled over to the gun, stopping his inertia with his foot, and fired another vortex.

She dragged Souta in front of her, making him take the attack.

He rolled through the snow and landed beside the bleeding Elena.

Aki ground his teeth, reloaded his weapon, and raised both his hands.

His bare hand blasted wind against her, slowing her down.

And with the other, he fired another shot.

She tore her arm off and used all the pouring blood to create a shield.

She blocked most of the sharp winds and lunged toward him with a loud laugh.

With a swing of her hand, the shield turned into many spears.

Aki managed to push the upper ones away with his wind, but his legs weren’t so lucky.

As he fell to his knees, a fierce kick met his face.

He, too, was knocked unconscious. 

Her hand regenerated as she grew closer to him, ready to finish him off.

“We’re not done yet.” Elena gasped from behind, holding onto Souta’s chains.

“Oh, please,” Akane giggled, placing her hand on her hip. “What are you going to do on your own?”

“You’re the one who's on your own.”

“Is that so?” Akane squinted, summoning her scythe once more.