We’ve made a severe mistake. As the purple-haired stranger started strolling towards Jad and Val, Luc forced his head to turn. Behind him, it seemed that Matthias had had a similar reaction. His eyes were spread wide, shoulders heaving and sweat beading his brow. Dante’s face remained expressionless, but his knuckles had turned white from the fists his hands made at this sides.

“I-is that your sister?” Luc asked Matthias, trying to keep his voice steady.

After a moment, Matthias gave a single shake of his head.

No.

“W-we should get going then,” said Luc. But despite his words, his body would not listen. Instead, he found himself turning back to the scene at hand.

The stranger had come to a stop in front of Jad, flashing his pearly whites in a smile.

“Why are you here, Yata?” asked Jad, eyes narrowed and mouth set. Despite his determined expression, Luc could see his hands trembling at his sides. “I was so close to finding it!”

“It has been exactly one year,” said Yata, the purple-haired man. “Your time is up.”

“I just need one more day!” shouted Jad. “I promise I will find it by the end of tomorrow!”

“Find it?” Yata tilted his head to the side. “It is already gone.”

“What do you mean already gone?” said Jad. “We did not even find the coffin yet!”

Yata laughed. “Do not worry. I saved you the trouble. The coffin is open and what we seek is missing.”

Jad’s jaw dropped. “Y-you…you already…”

“I wonder why my master entrusted you with finding it,” said Yata. “That term for people like yourself…what is it again?”

Jad didn’t reply.

“Nighthawk, was it not?” said Yata. “You said you were one of the best in the land. But from what I see now, your methods are nothing but deprecated and slow.”

Jad simply stared at the ground, still silent.

“That reminds me!” said Yata, holding up a finger. “My master told me to tell you that the girl that is so precious to you – she will be in better hands now.”

“No!” said Jad, breaking from his stupor. He fell to his hands and knees, groveling at Yata’s feet. “You cannot do this! You promised to leave her alone!”

Yata stared down at Jad, smile growing wider by the second.

Jad looked up at Yata, eyes filled with tears of desperation. “Please! Give me one more day! I beg of you! I will do anything you ask! Just leave her out of this!”

“If it were up to me, I would give you that day,” said Yata, extending on open palm towards Jad’s chest. “But the Way says that once a promise is made, it must be kept.”

Purple lightning detonated from Yata’s palm, blasting through Jad’s chest in an instant. Val screamed and turned away, trying desperately to pull herself out from under the wooden beam. Smoke wafted from the hole in Jad’s torso, and his body collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Yata stepped over the fallen body, walking up to Val. As he knelt by her side, she glared up at him, contempt written over her face.

“Do not be upset,” said Yata, extending a hand towards her. “All you have to do is - ”

Val spat in his face. The globule of saliva smacked into Yata’s white mask, slowly sliding down its length. Yata was frozen for a moment, not a muscle in his body twitching. Then the smile dropped from his mouth, lips curling into a dreadful snarl. Lunging out, he latched onto Val’s face with his palm, fingers flexing underneath his white glove.

A figure burst out from besides Luc.

“Matthias, no!” shouted Dante, dashing out after Matthias. But before Dante could stop Matthias, the wounds took their toll, dropping Dante to a knee.

Matthias charged towards Yata with a battle cry, eyes morphing into [The Eyes of Gorgon]. Yata released Val and looked up at his incoming attacker. As their eyes met, Yata’s face froze with a look of shock, body immobilized by Matthias’ skill.

“Get away from her!” screamed Matthias, throwing a punch at Yata’s face.

Right before the fist made contact with Yata, the look of shock on the purple-haired man’s face shifted into a lazy smile. Purple light crackling around him, Yata dropped into a crouch faster than Luc’s eyes could follow. Matthias’ punch sailed over Yata’s head, propelling his body straight into Yata’s own fist.

From Luc’s perspective, Yata’s arm suddenly shone with a piercing light, purple lightning engulfing the entirety of his arm up to his elbow. There was nowhere for Matthias to go. Yata’s arm pierced Matthias’ chest, fist shooting cleanly through his torso. As he stood there, slumped on top of Yata’s arm, Matthias coughed once, rivulets of blood leaking down his chin.

“Your Bloodline is weak,” said Yata, withdrawing his arm and letting Matthias fall to the ground. As the purple lightning fizzled out, Luc saw that Yata’s sleeve and glove remained unblemished. “Even if it was level 200, your paralysis still would not do a thing to me.”

“YATA!”

Luc tore his eyes away from the bloody body of Matthias. Dante had finally made it to the scene, standing with his hands on his knees twenty or so feet away from Yata. Catching his breath, Dante stood up straight, facing Yata. Watching the two men standing there, Luc saw that Yata was tall – almost as tall as Dante.

“Dante,” said Yata, smiling once more. “So you were actually here, traipsing with this lot of good for nothing sops. I thought they were just rumors, but as always, you surprise me.”

“Get out of here,” said Dante, panting. Blood was seeping into the bandages binding his wounds. “You already did what you came here to do.”

Yata’s eyes flickered down to the bandages. “Why are you putting on that act? Do you really think you can stop me with those injuries you force yourself to bear?”

Dante stood silent for a moment. Then his entire body erupted into an inferno of turquoise flames. The flames covered his body from head to toe, blurring the air around him with its hazy heat. The hair on his head, originally a bright red, had changed into a deep blue, mirroring the color of the flames around him. As the blue fire flickered around Dante, the bandages fell off his body and the wounds began to seal. After only a matter of seconds, Dante’s skin was as smooth and unblemished as before.

“I know you hate a mess, Yata,” said Dante. “Do not make me remind you what happened the last time we fought.”

For the first time, Yata’s smile seemed forced. He reached up to touch the mask covering the left side of his face. “Trust me. You do not have to remind me.”

For a moment, the two of them stared each other down in silence. From behind the corner, Luc had to hold up a hand in front of his face to block the pure heat that Dante was emanating. Guess he was lying about only being able to create a small flame.

“You are right,” said Yata, finally breaking the impasse. “The mess is not worth the trouble.”

With just those words, Yata turned. But before he left, he paused.

“Master told me to give you message if I saw you,” said Yata. “She said that wherever or whoever you hide, you will never be able to truly escape her.”

Dante’s face was unreadable.

“Farewell, old friend,” said Yata. “We will meet again.”

Then he vanished, air crackling with purple sparks where he had been standing.

For a short while, Dante stood there, flames still surrounding his body. Then the flames extinguished, and he hurried over to Matthias’ side. After double checking to make sure that Yata was actually gone, Luc finally crept out of his hiding spot. Slowly, he made his way over to where Dante was crouched by Matthias’ side.

The gaping hole in Matthias’ chest seeped blood, but his eyes remained open. They flickered up, passing over the faces of Dante and Luc.

“I…I’m a fool…” said Matthias, voice barely audible. Staring at the man, on the edge of death, Luc couldn’t help but speak.

“Why did you do it?” said Luc. “You said she’s not even your sister.”

“Heh…” said Matthias, closing his eyes. “A fool…right? I…just thought…how it would feel…if she also had an older sibling…who came back from a long journey…just to find her dead. It would…it would feel worse…than death.”

Luc didn’t reply. Wouldn’t it feel just as bad if that older sibling never came back to find her? But he knew he couldn’t say that.

“Promise me…” said Matthias, voice fading. “Promise me…tell Erie…I said…sorry.”

“Rest easy,” said Dante. “We will tell her.”

A small smile spread across Matthias’ lips. His body relaxed and fell limp, sagging in Dante’s arms.

“Help!” shouted Val from behind them. “Help!”

“Go,” said Dante, glancing up at Luc. “I will take care of Matthias.”

Luc nodded and hurried over to where Val was.

“You!” said Val, eyes widening. After a second, she shook off the shock and pointed at Jad, who was lying face down on the ground several feet away from her. “He might still be alive. Ya gotta help him.”

Luc shuffled over to where Jad lay. Kneeling by the old man, Luc grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him over. As he did so, the pendant slipped out from Luc’s ragged robes and dangled in front of Jad’s face. Jad’s eyes, barely open, widened at the sight of it.

“You had it!” hissed Jad, suddenly invigorated despite his condition. “You had it all along!”

“Hold still!” said Luc, trying to find a way to stop the bleeding. Having watched Dante and Matthias treat wounds, it seemed like the most logical first step. Tearing yet another piece off his tattered robes, he pressed the cloth against the hole. “If you keep moving, this - ”

“Listen to me!” said Jad, grabbing Luc by the collar. The tone of the old man’s voice made Luc stop what he was doing. When Luc raised his head to listen, Jad continued.

“You must not let them get that pendant,” whispered Jad. “Whatever you do, you cannot let them get it.”

“I don’t understand,” said Luc. “I thought you said it was worthless.”

Jad ignored him, instead pulling Luc closer. “You said you need to go to Tosa. Go to the city of Notori, on the banks of the Green River. Find a girl named Tamia and show her this. She will handle the rest.”

Jad coughed, spraying blood over his chin. Hands trembling, he pulled a silver ring off his finger and slipped it into Luc’s hand.

“Listen, boy,” said Jad. His skin was growing pallid, and his voice grew fainter by the second. “Do not show that pendant to anyone. Do not even talk about it. What you need to do is keep it with you at all times. Never, ever, let it leave your neck.”

Luc swallowed, hand wrapping around the pendant.

“They will hunt you,” whispered Jad. “They will hunt you to the ends of the world. But only if they know you have it.”

Jad’s eyes grew glossy and unfocused. Luc pressed down harder on the wound with his hands, but he knew that it was too late. There was no way anyone could survive with this type of injury.

“Stay strong,” said Jad, voice softer than whisper. “Good luck.”

Jad’s hand released Luc’s tunic and flopped to the ground. The old man’s head rolled to the side, eyes no longer seeing. As he released his last breath, Luc heard his voice one final time.

“And do not trust anyone.”