“A translocation bomb,” Director El Acerbia watched at his monitor, slack-jawed. “Alcra, that bastard, you actually perfected that invention.”

On the spot where the forest stood, only flat lands remained. It looked like someone just sliced through the top portion of the forest in that flash of light. Dirt and tree stumps decorated the flatland, utterly leveled without millimeter difference.

“Traced the area,” Acerbia ordered his employees. “I want to know where they are transported. There must be a registered space-quake after that mass teleportation. We can trace the teleport location from there.”

After that order, every available hand started moving on the keyboard. But the situation wasn’t improving for Director Acerbia.

“Sir, Representative Jule Breaker from Seven Continental Alliance demands to see manager and Lightwell is calling to check the situation.”

“Tell them we are meeting a technical difficulty! Now get me some result. They couldn’t get far.”

…

Remus Breaker absorbed their current location — particularly the ceiling. The area they were in answered so many questions. The white light swallowed and deposited them in a new environment. The top layer, those earthen brown soil, was still here, but the trees surrounding them already started collapsing. The fresh air of the forest intermixed with the sour of metal and saltiness of sea water. Yet, despite all the evidence of the ocean, Rem noted the lack of melody from familiar crashing waves.

“Where are we?” Cytortia said, looking lost amongst uprooted trees and scattered soil.

Rem pointed up to the glass dome reinforced by steel structures which replaced blue skies and clouds. Schools of fishes swam outside the architecture like they were under a gigantic undersea aquarium. Inside the lightless dark blue water, only artificial light illuminated the situation to the current member of the Dawn.

“Roughly 20 meters under the Ocean,” Rem estimated. “That explains the concentration of salt in those bug-robots.”

Melody whistled.

“So, our enemy is here this whole time, huh.” Melody asked. “What is the next step?”

“We split into two groups,” Rem dictated. “You should reunite with Hikma and control the situation. Meanwhile, I and Cytortia will try to cheat whatever game our mastermind is playing.”

Melody huffed in exasperation.

“Rem, come on, you are acting all mysterious. You already worked out what we are fighting against, right? Stop acting mysterious and tell me.”

“I only have a hunch,” Rem replied. “I need more evidence.”

“Fine! Tell me your hunch!”

“You won’t like it.”

“How bad can it be?”

Rem telepathically told her. And Melody predictably hated his prediction.

…

Hikma concealed himself with [Tenshou]. Convincing member to seize initiative within healthy margin was a major problem in every team. Take the interesting read of Ramayana as an example. Rama got the perfect plan. Sent his best soldier and drinking buddy — good old Hanuman — to check Lanka and make sure the hostage/wife was still breathing. Dear Hanuman gave 140%, got captured, taunted the enemy king then torched the entire city.

Rama wasn’t a happy camper afterward, and that escalation really did fan the flames.

Hikma knew history well, so he opted to perform a job in a subtler manner, tailing and eavesdropping on the potential threat.

Namely, the stooges of losers that could avoid this plot.

“Where the hell is this?” Amitate Aztellic yelled.

“Shut up, brother,” Emily replied, exasperatedly. “We are obviously teleported.”

Next to them, the elf was losing their minds.

“Water! We are under water!”

“Am I dead? Is this heaven?”

“Everyone keep calm,” Artos Sevar was at his wit's end. That proclamation seemed to deplete his remaining energy. “Help me here, Magnolia.”

Magnolia wasn’t fiddling with a scroll she took from her rings.

“Help you with what? The entire trip already went sideways ever since that masked guy showed up.”

“Hey, isn’t that the Scroll of Navigation?” Amitate sounded impress. “For once, you actually surprised me.”

“Yes, with this we should know where we are,” Magnolia unfurled the scroll to reveal a map. “We are near Aurora continent a few kilometers from shore.” Magnolia reached into her ring and took out a whistle. “Let me launch the emergency signal.”

The elf blew, but no sound came out.

“Fail?” Emily asked.

“No…” Magnolia denied uncomfortably before the stares overcame her lie. “Fine! The message got blocked. Are you happy now?”

Emily didn’t respond.

“Great, the elves are useless…”

Emily elbowed Amitate so hard he doubled over.

“Shush, brother,” Emily thought back to the mysterious man. “Maybe that guy was right?”

“The masked freak?” Artos’s face scrunched with doubt.

That moment, several bushes behind the entourage rustled, and several newcomers emerged.

There the 33 Star reunited.

Amitate whistled at the sorry shambled groups. Sun Senwei was the first man out. His clothing was torn, and his gentlemanly styled black hair was sprinkled with dirt. Bruised mostly faded from him, but the weary ways he trudged forward depicted the story of a man who barely crawled from a fight. Sorin limped after the disgruntle Senwei in an even worst state. His wounds had mostly recovered, but his pride was in critical condition. The entourage noticed the bloods splattered on his robe. Sorin was an egotistical freak he won’t tolerate a commoner blood on his boot. The glorious splatter must be tainted there forcefully. Finally, Mamacia and Holyworth emerged from the darkness. Their hair was a mess and their face were dirty with soot. The girls’ clothing forgot none of their meeting with the forest floor and lightning bolts.

Medicinal pill and recovery magic could hide much, but brutal one-sided beating weren’t that easy to bury.

“You lost a fight,” Artos stated, but corrected his conclusion after brief reassessment. “Cross-that. All of you got annihilated.”

“Shut up, pointy-ear freak,” Sorin growled, but did a quick look around. Fear was visible in his eyes.

“Relax, if she is here, I doubt we would recover,” Sun Senwei placated Sorin. The beastman was painful to work with but beggar couldn’t be a chooser.

“She?” Emily Aztellic felt a hidden information. “Who are you talking about? Tai Hua is in Tengen. Sonya and Lunaro are attending a conference in Balperia.”

Aryssa Holyworth growled with frustration.

“None of your business!”

Her reaction showed there was more to the story. The 33 Stars may be arrogant, but they weren’t stupid. The trashing by Hikma and the sudden teleportation served as enough warning to sort their information and potential threats.

“Did you run into a supreme elder or some old freaks from a generation ago?” Artos probed deeper. “No, the treaty keeping the older generation from directly interfering with us should still be in effect. The Divine Fists are obviously out of question for obvious reason. Don’t tell me you lost to someone utterly unknown.”

“We lost because of a fluke,” Aryssa insisted through gritted teeth.

Mamacia breathed in resignation.

“Why are you insisting on hiding the obvious?” The half-elf entered the conversation. “It is clear we lost. Should we even bother putting up a such a hopeless excuse?”

“I don’t recall you being such a graceful loser!”

Cocogar laughed maliciously. The shadow created by her leaf-green hair enhanced the burning ambition in her glares.

“I am not. I will let that masked bitch enjoy the taste of victory, but the moment I know who she is, I will make her regret being born.”

The entourages of elves and demons finally received the word they wanted.

“Masked? A black one? And a woman?” Emily dug deeper.

“You knew her?” Sun Senwei admitted that the conversation finally got interesting.

“No. But the guy who met us matches that description?” Artos said. “I fought nothing like him. He was still weaker than our elders, but he fends off my moves with no special skills.”

“Fend off?” Amitate snorted. “That bucket-head kicked your ass. ‘Generation finest swordman’ my ass! A no-name, no-face rando ran a circuit around you.”

“You get your ass kick by him in a single spell.”

“You got done in a single spell too, pointy ear bastard. You and your entire henchmen got both of us screw.”

“You are the one who gave him the opening. How did it feel to have your so precious [Devil Flame] redirected back at you? It must hurt, isn’t it Amitate? How did you feel when your sister needs to beg for your pathetic life?”

“Oh, say that again…”

“SHUT UP!!!” Magnolia finally hit the limit of her patience.

From his hiding spot, Hikma whistled. Guess Magnolia and Luxinna relate to each other.

“We are running in circles!” Magnolia ranted. “All of us are in the same boat! We got our behind firmly kicked by the masked weirdos in Halloween costume. I admit I also got floored in a single spell! Now yell, complain or vent however you want, but admit we lost and stop pretending the last hour never happened. After that we must work out how to escape this place, if not we can say goodbye to getting our revenge. Anyone want to argue?”

Sorin raised his finger to protect his ego, but Mamacia and Sun Senwei cooperated with a dual backhand in his face.

Hikma sagged. They were so slow. If this was Horizon, Rem would remobilize within seconds instead of trying to smooth ego. How could any group this inefficient still live?

…

Deep in the other section of underwater base, a woman in a leather hood grimaced as she pulled a few of the many golden swords from her body.

“Owwww,” Commander Serina cried in an adorable voice mix with traces of tears. It was a total flip from the fearsome and dreaded image of a race of continental plague. Serina lipped clenched, as the blades she was pulling grazed her bone. “Ouch, Ouch, Ouch. It hurt!”

Clank!

Serina threw the troublesome golden sword into the pile of discard blades. She glanced at the next sword sticking to the right of her abdomen and grimaced. This sword made breathing really difficult.

She breathed in a rapid pace to distract herself with a self-made sea-shanty.

“The mother of the lord couldn’t save your cord. Red is the place your wallet arrives. How much is this year's expense? Duck, duck, as we sing. This shanty to ward shipwreck ghost. Holy bless of arcane sang. False god command and Joshua blasted a stupid angel… Arrgh!!!”

Serina sang herself to distract her abrupt sword removal.

“IT HURT! YURICA, YOU IDIOT! IT DIDN’T HELP AT ALL. I AM GOING DOCK YOUR SALARY FOR THIS!”

Commander Serina watched her vampiric regeneration kicked in with disgust, sealing the wound with no remaining scars. With grim determination, she reached to the sixteenth and final golden blades, plucking the sword from her thigh with teary eyes.

“Yowl!”

Clang!

Serina fell to her back. Any trace of domineering authority evaporated, leaving a girl lying spread eagle on the ground.

“Owww, at least they weren’t barbed,” Serina the girl gratefully whispered. She turned to the girl by her side. “I will admit this. You are damn strong.”

What laid beside Serina was a body encased in golden crystalline coffin. Luxinna Latoria’s body laid inside the golden solid, frozen and unmoving in a depth of trance. The vampire vaguely recalled the light engulfing them before they finished their strike. Serina sensed the disjointed motion of space twisting around them. What happened next was bizarre. The masked girl's entire existence flickered like a glitch in a video. She fainted as golden solid began encasing her like insect inside an amber.

Those light faded in a second, depositing them inside his darkened corridor of metal and pipes. Serina guessed they must be in some maintenance space.

Having an unconscious elf around presented a rare opportunity for Serina to open her heart to another being with no repercussion. In contrary to her professional stern veneer, Serina was quite a chatterbox.

“I know I am impressive, but it quite tiring when everyone asks you for guidance!” Serina complained. “Do you think I have all knowing wisdom or something? I am already scrapping by the skin of my teeth. The best I can do is acting like I know what to do next and try not to let them march to their doom. Do you know how suicidal my underlings are? Joshua tried to assassinate me once, before picking a fight with a vampire. He would have died if I didn’t make it in time. Yurica is a bad example. Good god! Stop asking for a raise to burn on those handbags! God damn it! I hate being a Commander! Are there any job in the world with high authority and low stress? A girl couldn’t have what she wants, can’t she!?”

Once Serina unbottled her grievance, she couldn’t stop.

“Then there is this entire year! That asshole, Hush, invited me to rob some rich lady’s treasure warehouse. A simple job, right? Guess what? Sun Senwei appeared out of nowhere. That creepy mother-fucker bailed on me and left me to deal with a 33 Stars. Well, I kicked his ass, then his back-up’s ass, but it is still not cool! Then there is that Silence. Would it kill her to leave me alone? What is the point of those snarky remarks in a criminal syndicate? Then Supreme Commander went: ‘Drop everything! Venistalis just get nuked’. All my training plans for this year got wiped out for slates of back-to-back mission! I am done! Why did this have to happen to me? To top it off, Joshua and Yurica have to celebrate getting hook-up. Why? Do you want to tear my heart from my chest too? I don’t even have a single friend, and you two ungrateful bastards are having dates. That is it! I am going to table relationship ban in the next meeting. Why can’t I have a boyfriend? I want a boyfriend! Some handsome, gentlemanly billionaire who can help me think my way out of life. Hell, I can even do with a partner, but just give me a shoulder to cry on!”

Serina huffed. Her expression slowly turned morose as something more than frustration leaked.

“I know what you are thinking. How could a girl from a race of man-eating rapist ever get a friend? Heh, I know my entire existence is a curse. A mistake who got the only person who ever loved me killed. Those evil motherfuckers are right part at least. I shouldn’t be born. An utter disgrace… Geez, I am the worst, falling back to monologuing when I should be complaining about changing job. But seriously, is there any job for vampires outside of being a criminal?”

Tears trickled down Serina’s cheek.

“Can’t blame anyone for not giving me a chance. Vampires are cancers in the universe. Me included. We should be burned at the stake for the good of the world. The youngest Commander of the Wolf Hoard? The Strongest Race in Phantasia? What is the point? The only I am good at is hurting people. Why did mom have to die for worthless, murderous piece of garbage like me? I couldn’t even keep a promise not to drink blood. I know I am disappointment who isn’t worthy of her hope.”

Serina’s eyes lit with dark fire.

“But I make a vow. I won’t allow myself to die until those bastards and the last of my man-eating relatives lay dead at my feet. I will become the strongest and sent every single vampire to the grave, including myself. I won’t let my mother die in vain, and those sons of bitches weren’t worthy enough to fulfill that goal. I will avenge mom, even if I have to wade through blood or corpses to do it.”

The vampire stood, turning toward the sleeping elf one more time.

“You know, those stabs aside, I enjoy crossing sword with you. You are damn strong. I know I have no right to ask this, but can we be friend in another life?”

Serina chuckled in self-depreciation.

“Of course, you will say no. It is just a wishful dream on my part. No one wants to befriend a monster.”

The youngest Commander of the Wolf Hoard trudges off to another battle. Her heart felt slightly lighter in her chest.