"Whew... That was way too easy."

Leone whistled with her hands resting on her head. Around her lay the battered Samiet youths which Leone knocked around in a brief struggle.

After Gura was sent flying, Leone charged in, roundhouse kicking Steve, sending him into the already wounded Gura. Dora tried to use her magic to pin her down, but Leone leaped up, grabbing ahold of her braid, throwing her into Fred before he could react, then finished off by slamming the confused Redwol to the ground.

The entire skirmish was over in just over a minute.

"Uhhrrr...." Dora groaned as got off of Fred, holding her head. "Are you ok?" She asked her partner.

"N-Not sure," Fred said, taking in deep breaths. "Wh-What happened anyway?"

"I... I think we got our asses kicked."

Robin floated to Leone's side. "That was quick. You don't hold back on kids, do ya?"

"What are you talking about? I totally went easy on them." Leone shrugged defensively. "Besides, I'm in a hurry to swipe stuff before bird face's monsters tear this place down."

Resting her hands on her head, Leone turned to leave-

"Wh-wait!"

- when a groan stopped her from leaving. Looking back, Leone saw Steve getting back to his feet while Gura walked over to Redwol to help him up.

"Whoa, quite the resilient little bastards." Leone whistled. "Kinda reminds me of that little brat from before,"

"H-hey! Wait!" Dora spoke out as Steve brought out his blowgun, "We should do what Faust said! If we stay here those things will catch up to us!"

"Then start running," Steve announced, putting his blowgun to his lips. He then crooked his head, shook it while blowing down, sending a crescent wave of compressed air towards Leone.

Grinning, Leone pivoted around, kicking directly into the incoming projectile that instantly dispersed.

"What?!" Steve looked astonished. The crescent wave, which could cut through solid rock, and had done many times before, was countered with just a kick.

"Still wanna play huh?"

Steve was about to retaliate by firing again, but Leone acted first, pivoting back around until her feet was back on the ground then launched herself forwards, grasping ahold of Steve by the neck, slamming him back into the house hoisting him up.

"STEVE!!!" Everyone yelled as Steve was choked.

"Let him go!!" Dora yelled, slamming her hands into the ground. Roots sprung from the ground, combining into a spike as it made its way towards Leone. Before it hit, a silver object intercepted it, blasting it apart as well as part of the building that Steve was pinned against, carrying on to hit the next plateau, which shattered on impact, crumbling into the lake below.

"Wh-What the...?" Dora muttered, stunned by what had happened.

The one who had fired was Robin, who hadn't moved from his position and held his bow out.

"Awww, thanks for the save Robby." Leone said looking back with a grin.

"Robin."

Ignoring him, she looked back to the choking Steve, desperately trying to free himself from Leone's grip. "You know, with all that crap you said to me at the beginning makes me wonder if you've actually been outside this shitty forest," her grip tightened, "if ya have, you'd know that the world ain't as black and white as you seemed to convince yourself. No matter where in the world you are, there are always shitty people like me around."

"Heads up," Robin suddenly warned.

"Huh?" As Leone looked back to Robin, something dropped kicked her in her left side, causing her to lose her grip on Steve as she was sent flying away before righting herself, skidding across the ground while holding her right side.

"Well well, if it ain't the little screwball herself."

Coughing and spluttering, Steve glanced up to his savior. "*Cough* Cough*! Wh-Who are you?!"

Standing between him and Leone was Meracle, staring defiantly at Leone.

"Huh? Wh-Who's that?" Fred whispered to Dora.

"No idea," She admitted, glancing at her and Leone and Meracle, "but... it looks like she's on our side."

Floating in place, Robin narrowed his eyes at Meracle. That girl..... She with the Arch Sage..... that means-

As he thought, a dark shadow loomed over him. Directly behind him, a massive stone hand had grown from the earth, with the palm open flat.

"Uh... Wha-"

Just as Robin looked behind him, the hand lunged forwards, slamming onto the ground as though swatting a fly, hitting hard enough for the hand to shatter itself by the impact.

Dora and Fred looked to the devastation noticing something familiar about it. "H-Hey Dora..." Fred began.

"Is that....?" Dora muttered.

Just above the hand, Robin floated down, positioning directly above it. "Whew, that was a close call." He had been able to dodge the hand right at the last second, flying upwards through the gap in the fingers before being squashed.

That I recognize that move. It belonged to-

As he was evaluating, he spotted a pillar to his right, which suddenly sprung upwards from the ground, only extending a few feet from the ground.

When he took note, a small figure in the air directly behind him with a hammer twice his own size. Before he could float away, the hammer slammed into him, sending him crashing into the second undamaged hut on the plateau.

The newcomer landed on the ground with a large goofy grin as the rocks around his silver hammer shattered.

"Finally got a hit on ya,"

"N-No way...." Steve muttered as Gura and Redwol starred with their mouths agape.

Dora and Fred lit up when they saw who it was, tearing up slightly with both relief and happiness to see their old friend again.

"A real man always settles the score," standing with his hammer resting on his shoulders was none other than Rodger, "and you bastards got a lot ta answer for!"

Strange reunion

"Dora! Dora!" Freya called out again and again through the chaos that rained through the village.

Despite Faust's powerful spell that wiped out a majority of the monsters, there was still a significant number coming through green portals. Even though they were less frequent than before, they nonetheless posed a serious threat.

Amongst the chaos, Freya and Van were searching for their daughter, who they had sent out on errands for them today just before the chaos started.

"Damn it! Where could she be?!" Van yelled as he slammed his hands on the ground, entrapping a human-sized monster with a vertical mouth in its stomach and a tube extending from where its mouth should be with a single eye. After it was caught, the roots continued surrounding it until it was cocooned, then squeezed until blood squirted out from the gaps of the roots.

"I-I sent her to the material store first," Freya said biting on her nails as she tried to recall her conversation with Dora that morning. "She should be there at least..."

Just then, a plateau suddenly shattered and fell into the lake below; the very plateau where the material shops was located.

"What was that....?" Van asked.

"... Please tell me Dora wasn't there?" Freya said nervously.

Just then, another monster with a low body and eight legs crawled onto the plateau, bearing towards Van and Dora with its mouth opened wide. It was interrupted when the ground beneath it suddenly softened into mud, quickly sinking the creature, immobilizing it.

"Are you two alright?!" Someone called out. An old man with a long grey beard was there with his hand pressed on the ground. His name was Bush U. Pluper, Dora's grandfather.

"Dad?!" Freya called out as Van followed up, sending a spiked root to impale the monster, killing it.

"There you are!" Van called out, "Where's Dora? Have you seen her?"

"Dora? She's not with you?" Bush asked.

"I-I sent her out this morning before this started," Freya told him. "Wh-what if those monsters have gotten to her?"

Bush looked uneasy, but he shook his head at his daughter's fear. "Don't worry, I'm sure she would have gotten out safely."

"B-But what if-"

Before Freya could voice her argument, a loud shriek came from above. Directly above then was another monster, a large, bat-like creature, with the only difference being its long face with a vicious mouth.

"Not another one," Van clicked his tongue in annoyance as the monster dived down with its jawline opened up, almost splitting its entire head apart showing two rows of teeth.

Van was about to use his roots to block it, but all of a sudden, a loud bang came from the right, shedding the monsters left-wing while tearing pieces of meat off, causing it to fall to the ground.

The monster thrashed on the ground, flapping its one remaining wing, trying to get air born again. That was until something stomped on its back, plunging a combat knife into its skull's, running the blade though, splitting it open, ultimately killing the monster.

"Whew, that was a close one," Standing above the monster, putting away her knife with her rifle slung was Kira. "You folks ok?"

"A human!!" Freya pointed.

"Finally showed your face did ya!" Van hissed, and was about to slam his hand down when Kira jumped back waving her arms.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, I'm friendly!" She said, raising her arms up.

"Why should we believe you?!" Van snapped.

"Easy," Bush said, trying to calm him down. "She just saved us. If she was with them, I don't she would have bothered,"

"Yeah, what the old guy said." Kira nodded.

Just then, something burst from the earth right behind Kira. Towering over her was a large monster with a human shaped body, with the exception of two massive crab claws and a lack of a head, with its eyes and mouth located in its belly.

As Kira turned to the danger, the monster took a swing at her with its right claw, aiming to decapitate her.

"OH SHIT!!!"

A second later, the claw was swiftly cut from the shoulder, sending it flying up into the sky. The monster's eyes darted upwards to its flying claw, then to the stub, then to the one responsible.

Standing between it and its pray was Allisa with her sword held out. She had teleported directly between them, saving Kira by lobbing off the attacking claw. Kira followed up the momentum, pivoting around with her rifle, letting loose the entire clip into the monster's face which ripped it apart, leaving it a bloodied mess. The monster fell backward on the floor.

"Are you ok?" Allisa asked, turning to Kira.

"Am now," Kira nodded as she let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, really saved my head back there."

"Allisa?"

Allisa heard her name being called. She looked past Kira and noticed Bush standing a few meters from her. "Bush!" She ran to him with Kira behind.

Van and Freya looked very uneasy with their savior. Even though they never really spoke with her, they recognized her as the one who 'poisoned' their daughter's mind like Rodger.

"What are you doing back here?" Bush asked, both relieved and puzzled to see her again.

"Uh.... long story," Allisa when she reached him. "A-Anyway, what's going on? What the heck are these things?"

Bush shook his head. "I'm not sure. I was at the other end of the village when all this happened. All I remember is that something was thrown into the village, then and the barrier was shattered followed by a large section of the wall facing the road was destroyed. After that, all manner of beasts began to appear,"

"Uh... hate to cut this reunion short," Kira interrupted as she loaded another magazine into her rifle. "But we got company."

Above them were three flying monsters similar to the one Kira killed, which were descending on them in a close winged formation. Before they could reach them, Nel appeared above the center one, slamming her foot down onto the monster's head, simultaneously slicing off the left creatures head while stabbing right in the side of its head, keeping up the momentum by slicing through the monster while descending to the ground on the one the center one, stabbing it in the back with both her short bade and dagger.

"Are you alright?" Nel asked.

"Yeah, we're ok," Allisa nodded.

"Yep, thanks for the save, Red," Kira said.

"..... Red?" Nel looked puzzled by her nickname.

Just then, another green portal opened up, just off the base of the plateau. Out of it crawled a large monster with the body of what looked like a spider with a human torso attached to it.

"Fire bolt!" Before it could do anything, a fireball crashed into its head, destroying it. The rest of the body spasmed before walking back into the lake below. "That was close," Melvin walked onto the plateau with smoke pouring from the tip of his wand.

Just then, a second monster, a large slug creature with a mouth in its front slithered up from the side of the plateau, opening its jaws wide to consume the small boy in one bite. As it launched at the seemingly oblivious child, a fist slammed into its right side of its face, shattering its jaw, causing it to lean up with it's ruined face. Standing between it and Melvin was Cliff, who followed up on his attack, slamming his fist into the creature's underbelly. A fountain of bloodshot from the beast's mouth as the punch left an impression, forcing it back into the lake.

"Damn it," Cliff groaned as he backed up to Melvin, wiping his forehead. "Not particularly strong, but there sure are a lot of them."

"Are you guys ok?" Allisa asked as the party reconvened.

"Yeah, where fine but...." Melvin said glancing around at the devastation, "what the hecks going on? This place is in chaos."

"Monster's from the forest?" Kira suggested.

"I highly doubt it." Cliff said grimly, "I bet you it's the doing of one of those guys,"

"But.... who could have done this?" Allisa asked out loud. "Do you.... think it was that guy who was knocked out...."

"The crying guy..." Melvin repeated stroking his chin, "well.... I wouldn't rule it out. We didn't see what he was capable of, and the others seemed desperate for him not to fight."

Nel looked very uneasy, glancing at one of the monster's bodies. The mana these things give off..... It's exactly the same as the homunculi we faced back at the labyrinth.

Bush then walked up, to them. "It's good to see you all again,"

"Oh, Bush," Melvin greeted.

"Good to see you're still in one piece," Cliff nodded.

Bush smiled and nodded. He then glanced around at the group, looking puzzled, "Is Rodger with you?"

"Huh?" Melvin looked puzzled too as he glanced around. "Now that you mention it, he's not here."

"Not just him," Cliff said groaning, "we're down the usual two idiots again."

"Hold on, where's Mary?" Allisa asked.

"I think I saw her running off before we got here. I saw Rodger following after her." Nel said.

"And you didn't think to mention that before?" Allisa asked, narrowing her eyes at her.

"We were busy fighting those things," Nel justified.

"Anyway," Bush coughed to attract the party's attention, "Since you're here, do you know who's responsible?"

"We've got a pretty good idea," Cliff nodded.

"You know who they are?" the one who spoke was Freya, surprising everyone, including Van. "Those twelve humans... you know who they are?"

"Yeah, we- wait... twelve?" Allisa looked puzzled.

Freya quickly gave a description of the ones she saw, including the one responsible for destroying the wall and the one who summoned the monsters that were wreaking havoc throughout the village.

"That's definitely them," Nel nodded, "but.... a white haired man.... A black mummy... and a strange human with an iron mask," She ran through the descriptions.

"Yeah, those three we didn't see before." Cliff nodded.

"Ellie...." Kira muttered quietly, clenching her fist. Allisa glanced over; taking note of Kira's reaction to the news that Ellie was indeed here.

"The one in the iron mask sounds particularly dangerous," Nel evaluated. "Sounds like we're in for a rough fight."

"Yeah, especially if he could summon these things he's no ordinary wizard," Melvin agreed

"But... a mummy?" Cliff pondered.

...... A white-haired man? Nel thought quietly to herself.

Allisa turned to Van and Freya. "Hey, do you know where they went?"

Both looked reluctant to speak at first, but glancing around, Van let out a deep sigh, "No, they slipped away in the chaos."

"So they could be anywhere," Cliff clarified clicking his tongue. "We don't have time to search the entire village for them."

"We won't have to," Nel stated, "there heading to the seal of the Nine-Tails, which is somewhere in the village. If we can find the seal, we'll run into them."

"Oh yeah," Allisa said hopefully.

"The... Nine Tails?" Bush said, confused.

"Do you know anything about it?" Melvin asked.

Bush shook his head, "I'm afraid not." He then glanced down to the ground, stroking his beard, "although.... Gimdo or Junbi might know something."

"Gimdo?" Allisa said.

"That would make sense," Nel said. "If anything, the village chief or someone in the council might now something like that." She then looked to the Samiets. "Where is he?"

"I'm afraid I don't know," Bush said shaking his head, "I haven't seen him since this morning before this all started."

"And you two?" Nel addressed Freya and Van, who looked very reluctant to answer.

"..... What do you plan to do once you find them?" Van asked, not even masking the accusation in his voice.

"Huh?" Allisa looked puzzled.

"How can we be sure you're not with them?" Van continued, scowling at them. "After all, you're the one's who brought calamity to us once, and here you are again, and once again you brought a calamity even worse than before!"

"..... I'm guessing there with that anti-human faction," Cliff said rolling his eyes.

"I forgot about that," Melvin said with a sigh.

"Wh-Where not with them!" Allisa protested. "The girl with the bandage nearly killed me two days ago!"

"And why should we believe you?" Freya snapped. "You're the one's who poisoned our daughter's mind, put her in such danger!"

"D-Daughter?" Allisa repeated, wondering who she was talking about.

"Ahhh!! This is getting nowhere!" Kira suddenly exploded, paced over to Van, grabbed a hold of him and lifted him up from the ground. "The girl with the bandage! Do you know where she is?" She demanded.

"K-Kira!!"

"U-Unhand me human!" Van exclaimed, shaking his feet while trying to wrestle free of Kira's grasp.

"Y-You put him down this instant!" Freya demanded.

".... Who is she?" Bush asked Nel, Cliff and Melvin.

"Someone we weren't planning on taking along," Nel said scowling.

Before the conversation could continue, the ground began to sake, almost knocking them all off their feet.

"Oh what now?" Cliff asked with dread.

As if on cue, something burst from the lake below. Rising above the group was a massive, gray eel.

"Another one!" Allisa said readying her sword.

"Damn this shit...." Kira swore, dropping Van while bringing her rife out, "if these things keep getting in my way of Ellie, I'm gonna tear them limb from limb!"

The monster let out a blood-chilling roar and was about to lunch when a massive, white creature slammed into it, biting into a part of its body, ripping the chunk of meat away. As the eel shrieked in pain, the white creature backed off, swiping at it with its massive paw, removing the lower jaw completely. The creature charged in, biting into the hole it created, tearing out a large chunk of the monster's flesh, killing it.

"Wha-What the?!" Kira exclaimed.

"Wait... is that...." Allisa gasped.

Standing before them, was none other than the behemoth, the King of the Forest. The most powerful monster in all of Sterland Forest, earning the title of king, and somehow was tamed by Max.

"Can't believe I'm actually glad this thing showed up," Cliff said with relief.

"Yeah... but look," Melvin pointed out the horrible wounds that penetrated its skin. "Even that thing’s having a hard time."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Kira interrupted pointing at the king, "you know this thing?"

"It's.... a long story," Melvin said wiry.

Just then, three more eel creatures burst from the lake, biting into the king's skin while more monsters of varying grotesque design gathered on a plateau, ready to lunge towards the king.

Unfazed, the king bit down on the closest eel biting it, tearing it from its skin and pivoted around with the eel in its mouth slamming it into the plateau, crushing the monsters gathered beneath the eel. It then lashed out its hind leg, slamming one of the eel's tail while crushing the other by body-slamming it into the plateau. The final eel released the king in response to the king's attack and the king followed up, grabbing the monster's long body, biting its head off.

The last remaining eel tried to squirm around to strike at the king while under it's large foot, but it was finished off when the king bit into the monster's head, tearing it off and throwing the part away as the rest of the body below went limp.

"We should probably leave," Nel suggested as more monsters converged on the king.

"Yeah... that's probably a good idea," Allisa agreed.

"Gimdo might be heading to his home," Bush spoke out.

"His.... home?" Melvin looked puzzled.

"I don't know the details, but there is a rumor that there is a secret passage nearby known only to the chief of the village."

Startled, Allisa glanced back to her friends. By the looks on their faces, they all came to the same conclusion.

"That must be where they are headed." Nel summarized.

"Where's that house?!" Kira demanded forcefully.

"Kira, wait!" Allisa tried to calm Kira down, but Bush answered before Allisa could even begin.

"It's over there," He pointed off to the north. "At the far end of-"

Before he could finish, Kira charged off in that direction.

"Hey wait!" Allisa ran off after her.

"H-Hold on," Bush began before Melvin and Cliff ran past him.

"Come on," Nel said as she passed by. "We'll explain along the way,"

"W-Wait! What do you mean?! Hold on!" Bush spluttered as he ran after the group of humans.

Van and Freya were left behind, puzzled by what had transpired.

"Should we follow?" Freya asked.

Van shook his head. "Let's keep looking. With the king, those monsters will be distracted for some time."

"R-Right...."

Both left, leaving the king, battling off in the distance against the incoming wave of monsters.

****

Grinning, Leone casually brushed herself off. "Gotta admit, didn't see that one coming." She said, glancing at Meracle.

Meracle tensed, keeping her gaze fixed on Leone.

"You really want to play the hero this time, huh?" Leone continued raising a hand out to the devastation out into town. "Look around you. Even if by some slim chance you guys stop Yensin, this place is doomed either way."

Meracle shook her head. "I didn't come to save this place,"

"Huh?"

"I only came for one reason," Meracle parted her legs, taking a defensive stance, "to settle things with you!"

All the humor present on Leone's face vanished. "You came to settle things?" she let out a dry laugh, "If that's what you want, I guess I can play along,"

Coughing and spluttering, Steve glanced up at Meracle. "Wha-who are you?" He asked once he got his breath back.

"You better get somewhere safe," Meracle instructed him, keeping her eyes on Leone. "I'll take her-"

Before Meracle could finish, Leone had lunged herself towards her. Startled, Meracle ducked as Leone's right leg swept over her head, a gust of wind blasted from the sweep.

Meracle tried to sweep out her legs to knock Leone off her balance, but she jumped at the last second, hovering just above Meracle where she spun herself around like a corkscrew while falling. Meracle only just leaped out of the way as Leone landed, creating a small hole by her drill like foot.

Meracle landed on her hands before pushing herself off to right herself, but Leone was already with her, launching a series of kicks, forcing Meracle onto the defensive, both dodging and blocking with her hands.

Eventually, Leone broke though Meracle's defenses with one kick, which she followed up by pivoting around, slamming her left leg into Meracle's belly, launching her to the nearby drawbridge where she stumbled on it before stopping by grabbing one of the ropes on the bridge.

Leone leaped forwards and was now once again above Meracle spinning around with her legs outstretched, planning to strike Meracle into the lake below.

However, Meracle acted quicker then she expected, grabbing a hold of the wood beneath her and raised her body with her legs bent, and at the right moment when Leone was twirling, sprung herself upwards, striking Leone in her left side, launching her out over the lake.

Startled, Leone recovered in the air and used a sky jump to propel herself to one of the plateaux at the opposite end of the drawbridge.

Meracle charged across the bridge where Leone was waiting, jumping off over the lake, using a sky jump to cross the distance, landing on the plateau, skidding sideways as she faced Leone, keeping her body low to the ground.

"I won't lose, not this time," She said in a low voice as she strengthened herself up, "You got that, Leone!"

Leone faced Meracle again, standing more at ease. All the humor on her face had gone, returning a very serious expression. "Ok, guess playtime is over, huh kitty?"

****

"R-Rodger!" Fred called out.

"Hm..?" Rodger turned around and saw his two old friends running towards him, "Fred! Dora!" Rodger grinned and waved. "Long time no-"

"YOU JERK!!!"

Suddenly, roots shaped into a fist punched him upwards.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?!!" Rodger snapped at Dora who had a hand to the ground. "I haven't been here in ages and the first thing you do is slug me?!"

"Sh-Shut up!" Dora said getting flustered, "You got some explaining to do! What's going on here?!"

"I don't know? Somethin about a fox.... I think,"

"A.... F-Fox?" Fred said looking puzzled, "Th-Then what are those things attacking the village? There clearly not foxes!" He said wailing his arm out to the rest of the village.

"Huh, good point? What are those things?" Rodger asked absentmindedly.

"We should be asking you that!!" Dora snapped.

"What's your deal?! I haven't been back for two seconds and you're already yelling at me!!" Rodger snapped back.

"Sh-Shut!" Dora snapped as she blushed, "When I wanted a reunion, this is not what I had in mind!"

"Can’t you save your lover's spat for later!" Steve interrupted, flanked by Redwol and Gura, "you got a lot to answer for loser!"

"Oh, when'd you get here?" Rodger asked with disdain.

"Oh don't give me that you loser!!" Steve snapped. "What are you doing back here?! And what are those things?!"

"How should I know?! It's not like I've ever seen em before!"

Suddenly, a large tornado burst out from the rubble of the ruined house. Everyone was forced to brace themselves from the powerful backlash of wind and rubble.

"Oww.... That actually hurt." As the tornado died down, Robin floated up from the rubble rubbing the back of his head. He slowly looked down at the Samiet youths below, Rodger in particular. "So it's you guys, huh? Can't say I'm too surprised."

"H-He doesn't even look hurt...." Fred observed, nervously lifting his slingshot.

"Hey, who exactly is this guy?" Dora asked Rodger. By the look on his face, she could tell that Rodger knew him.

".......... You guys better get outta here." Rodger finally said. "Leave this floating kid to me."

"....... HUH?!!!" Both Dora and Fred looked surprised.

"Y-You can't be serious!!" Dora exclaimed. "I don't know what's going on, but I can tell this kid's got nothing on Dolton, who you only 'just' defeated!"

"H-He destroyed a plateau in one shot!!" Fred added, pointing in the direction of the destroyed plateau.

"Yeah, he's pretty strong," Rodger said.

"Then why-" Dora began.

"But a Real man will give his all to protect what's important."

Both Dora and Fred hesitated as Rodger brought up a lesson from his father Graham, the man they respected more than anyone.

"Old man Bush and ya mom are out there somewhere. You find em and keep em safe." Rodger said pointing his hammer at Robin. "In the meantime, I'm gonna do everything I can ta keep my village safe from these assholes, starting with that floating bastard up there."

Dora and Fred glanced at each other, conflicted by what Rodger had told them. They wanted to fight by their leader's side against this powerful adversary, but they couldn't shake off what was happening in the village, to everyone and everything they cared for.

With clenched fists, they turned and ran away to the bridges that lead into town.

"Don't do anything stupid, you hear!" Dora called out, "You still owe us a story about the outside, just like your pa!"

"Y-You better make it through this or I-I'm gonna kick your ass!" Fred blurted out.

Smiling to himself, Rodger nodded. "You got it." He said quietly. He then turned to Steve and his gang, who were watching the events unfold, looking even more lost. "You guys better go to."

"H-Huh?!" Steve gasped.

"Protect the village. That's what you guys stand for, right?"

"I don't take orders from you! And you still owe us an explanation for what's going on!"

Gura placing a hand on his shoulder interrupted Steve. Looking back, he saw his two friends were agreeing with Rodger, both shaking their heads.

Steve looked astonished but eventually conceded to them, lowering his head in shame. In the end, he glanced up and pointed at Rodger. "Y-You better not die on me loser!" He yelled as he charged off towards the village with his two friends.

"And there they go," Robin said as he watched the Samiet youths leaving. He then looked down on Rodger below. "Sure you want to do this? You know what happened last time."

"Yeah, well I just fought a powerful foe before so I want giving it 100% back there," Rodger scoffed as he rested his hammer on his shoulder, "but now that I've had a good night's rest, I can give this my all." He then scowled at Robin, "And there ain't no way in hell I'm gonna forgive you bastards for what ya done to my home,"

Sighing, Robin looked out towards the devastation of the village. "Meh... guess I got some time to kill," He said, bringing out his bow. "At the very least, try to make this interesting."

****

"Ah, here we are at last," Yensin said, mostly to himself as he, Ellie, Lire Lim and the mummy stood before a small ruin located next to the chief's hut. "This is what you were protecting, wasn't it?"

Standing behind the four was Gimdo and Dorian who had only just arrived.

"So that's what this is about..." Gimdo said, clenching his teeth. "Don't you know what will happen?"

"Of course I do," Yensin said casually, "and I suppose you, the brave and noble chief, are here to try and stop me."

Gimdo scowled.

Dorian, who was standing beside, said nothing, not even to ask about what he knew since there was no reason for it, not in the present situation.

"I'll take that as a yes," Yensin sighed as his hands rested in his pockets, "Looks like we won't be walking straight through the front door, aye Lire Lim."

"Bor... Pruuushis..." Lire Lim wheezed as she turned around to face the two sameits before him.

"I know, but what can you do,"

Ellie suddenly walked out in front, drawing her sword. "I'll take care of this." She said in a low voice, her sword resting in her hand.

Gimdo and Dorian looked uneasy as Ellie stood before them.

"As you wish," Yensin said as he, Lire Lim walked off into the passageway. "Don't take too long. You deserve a front-row seat for what is to come."

Gimdo stood with his guard raised as Dorian took out his pistol. "I knew I recognized you." He said to Ellie, recalling when he first met him back at Deadman's End."Is this really as far as you'd go for this freedom you speak of?"

"Of course."

"Even at the cost of our village?! Of so many innocent lives?!"

With no hint of remorse on her face, Ellie raised her left arm, fixing her cold gaze on Gimdo who shuddered in response.

"I made myself clear back then," she spoke in barely a whisper, "I will do everything to achieve that freedom, whether it's slaughtering your people in cold blood, or even killing the one I love,"

Both Gimdo and Dorian took a step back, unnerved by Ellie's cold gaze.

"Someone like you, who hides from the world, would never understand."

****

A strange phenomenon was occurring right in the central plateau of Samiet village. On that plateau only, with the sky blacked out that the sun could never pierce through, it was raining.

It was here the party had stopped, standing uneasily as they faced the obstacles standing before them.

"Welcome. We've been expecting you," One of the people said, "even you, girl."

Allisa tensed up as she knew that she was being addressed, ignoring the unusual rain pattering against her skin.

"If they're here, looks like we're on the right path," Cliff said as he put his guard up.

"Looks that way," Melvin nodded in agreement.

Before the party stood their enemies, to men they had met before at Löwe Höhle, two men who looked distinct from each other, one looking poised and focused with his hands tucked into his sleeves, and the other whimpering, clenching his staff with both hands.

Before them was Ling and Helpono.

"Welcome to the madness, warriors of the Arch Sage."