A long, heavy silence hung in the air. The Hunters, Chayse, and Elma stood face to face with Maur--the man that turned the peaceful town of Eirene into a battlefield. When confronted and questions, the Hunters were flummoxed by his unusual response.

“Mother’s arrival?” Elma questioned the man. She slowly lowered her bow.

“That is correct,” Maur nodded his head in confirmation before dramatically tossing his arms in the air, “mother’s arrival is soon upon us! Can you not sense her presence? Her unrivaled power resonates in the very air tonight!”

“What are you blabbering on about?" Chayse demanded.

The dreadful smile on Maur's face vanished. His arms lowered to his sides as he said, "Of course, someone as close-minded as you would not understand. An illusion has been cast over your eyes, preventing you from seeing the truth of this country, the world even." He reached into his robes and pulled out several dark orbs. “Fear not! This one shall cast away with that illusion with the help of the Varvara! The New Path dictates that this one shall offer mercy and salvation!”

The frantic ravings of the man alarmed Chayse and Elma. The Hunters raised their bows and aimed.

"I thought as much! You're one of them!" Elma declared. "These Varvara attacks have been your doing!"

Maur moved his hand to his chest and mockingly bowed to the Hunters. "This one cannot take all the credit. These attacks have been a long time coming. You Soterians should realize that your walls cannot protect you from the chaos outside. Hiding like this only traps you in a nest of chaos."

“This whack job is seriously bad news,” Chayse commented.

"Let's put an arrow in him and be done with it," Elma ordered.

Just when the Hunters started to ease their holds on the arrows, Maur dropped the orbs onto the floor. Plumes of smoke erupted from the shattered pieces until it eventually disappeared; Lycan’s immediately taking its place.

Elma's eyes widened in shock while Chayse narrowed his. It wasn't his first time witnessing Maur's unusual method of summoning Varvara. He showed no hesitance as he fired his arrow and shot one of the Lycan's down. Elma regained her composure and shot down the remaining monsters.

Maur stood still and watched as the creatures evaporated into nothingness before him. His expression remained the same.

"Resistance is futile. Fear not, Hunters. Although your lives will be sacrificed to Mother, you may die knowing that your deaths will go to a good cause."

"Good cause?! Look at what you've done!" Elma waved her arm out, indicating to the destruction of the area from their previous battle. "You've killed innocent people! Unleashed monsters of destruction upon this country! What part of this is a good cause?!"

In a fit of rage, the white-haired Huntress fired multiple arrows at the man. Maur grabbed one of his daggers secured to his side and deflected all of them with ease.

“Stubborn. A common trait shared by you Hunters.” Maur complained as he grabbed his second dagger. The moment he removed it from the sheath, an ominous pressure propelled from his body and reached the senses of the Hunters. They immediately understood the gravity of their situation. "This one offers you salvation, and yet, you so rudely discard it. Rejecting an offer from this one is like rejecting an offer from Mother. That cannot be forgiven."

For once throughout the entire confrontation; Maur displayed his anger. The intensity of the pressure around the area increased. Beads of sweat traced down the faces of the Hunters. The longer they stood in front of Maur, the more turbulent the feeling got.

It felt as though they stood before a tornado of murderous intent. And at the center of that tornado was Maur.

However, before that massive amount of killing intent, neither Chayse or Elma felt the need to run. Their hearts and bodies remained steadfast, even in front of such adversity. Despite Maur's fury, the Hunters believed he had no right to express it.

Not after everything he had done to the country and its people.

In spite of the pressure, Chayse and Elma stepped forward with their bows raised.

"As if we give a damn about being forgiven by someone like you!" Elma yelled.

"Now drop your weapons and surrender," Chayse demanded. "You don't want to fight us."

Maur's smile disappeared once again. Another silence hung in the air for a moment. It broke when a small chuckled escaped from the man's lips. He covered his mouth with his sleeve. However, his humble attempt to hide his amusement failed.

He threw his head back and laughed.

"You Hunters are right. This one does not wish to fight you. This one wishes to kill you." Maur revealed. He lowered his head and displayed a sinister smile.

Chayse and Elma immediately launched their arrows. Maur stepped forward and sliced the projectiles in half with incredible speed. Afterward, he raised his leg and crushed the arrowheads mercilessly beneath his foot.

"Just like those arrows, your country will suffer the same fate. No matter how much you struggle, the Varvara will overwhelm you. Why must you insist on fighting it?"

“Because that’s our job as human beings!” Elma angrily responded as she approached Maur while firing off multiple arrows at him.

Maur stood his ground, deflecting each arrow away from him with his daggers. When Elma halted with her arrows, she and Chayse rushed him and attacked from both sides with blades of their own. With swift movements once again, he blocked their blades with his.

The Hunters leaned in and added pressure to their weapons from both sides, engaging Maur in a power struggle.

He came out as the victor of that struggle by spinning around rapidly, knocking the Hunters off their balance. He took advantage of that moment and performed expertly placed kicks that sent them sprawling across the rooftop. By the time the Hunters sprung back to their feet; Maur had already closed the distance.

Chayse's face met the end of Maur's boot, knocking him back even further across the rooftop. The Hunter's head throbbed like crazy.

Meanwhile, Elma rushed the man alone and swung away at him with her dagger. Her motions were rash and reckless, but her swings were considerably nimble. Even Maur had difficulty evading her blade. Only his robes suffered damage.

He was pushed back all the way over to end of the rooftop. Any further retreat would result in his plummet to the ground below. Elma thrust her dagger towards him, aiming to impale the man through the stomach.

The blade was stopped inches away from his belly after Maur grabbed hold of Elma's wrist. He tightened his grip, instantly forming a bruise on the woman's skin. Elma painfully exclaimed and dropped her knife.

In her moment of defenselessness, Maur capitalized and drove his knee into her stomach. Elma dropped down to all fours and coughed violently.

"Pathetic," Maur raised his leg in preparation to crush the woman under his foot. Before he could, an arrow pierced his shoulder. The man exclaimed and looked ahead. He spotted Chayse, grinning triumphantly after his spectacular shot.

"Sturdy bastard," Chayse complained as he prepared another arrow.

Elma quickly recovered and entered her way back into the fight. She jumped up and landed a fierce uppercut to Maur's chin. The unsuspecting blow knocked him off his feet and into the air. The Huntress followed up with a spinning back kick.

Maur flew over the edge and hit the street below. When Chayse returned to his partner's side, he spotted Maur already on his feet with his arrow removed.

"This guy's gonna be tough," Chayse noted.

"Let's take him down," Elma demanded. The Hunters fired more arrows at Maur. The black-haired man stepped back and watched the projectiles lodge themselves into the ground.

"Those arrows are pointless," Maur claimed. His attention moved to the arrows once he heard a constant beeping sound resonate from them. Before the man could react, the arrows exploded and released a bright flash of light. He covered his eyes and roared out in pain.

Chayse and Elma jumped down from their building and rushed their blinded enemy. The first to attack was Chayse.

The brown-haired Hunter landed several blows across Maur's face. He weaved out of the way once the man furiously swung his arm out in a desperate attempt to counterattack. Elma jumped in and planted a kick across his chest, knocking him down.My partner jumped in then planted a boot to his chest, knocking him down.

Maur rolled back and recovered to his feet. The moment he opened his eyes he leaped into the air. Elma aimed and launched her arrows. As expected of an unmatched archer, all arrows hit. One in his stomach and the other two in each of his shoulders.

Maur grabbed the shaft of the arrows in his shoulders and attempted to pull them out. Volts of electricity coursed through his body the moment he touched them. He convulsed violently in mid-air until he came crashing down to the ground.

The Hunters shielded their eyes as dust the dust kicked up into the air the moment he hit the ground. Even though Maur was down, the Hunters weren’t confident that he was out. They remained on their guard and carefully approached him with their arrows at the ready.

"Today wasn't your lucky day," Elma taunted the downed man. Her face exuded great confidence as she switched from her bow to her dagger. She knelt and pressed the blade against Maur's neck. "Now you’re going to tell us how you’ve been transforming people into Varvara."

Maur slowly opened his eyes once Elma spoke to him. His eyes shifted back and forth between the dagger and Elma. His lips curved upward into the shape of a crescent moon before a small chuckle escaped. He sensed no genuine danger from Elma's threat.

Elma gritted her teeth and pressed the blade closer to the man's throat and drew blood. There was something peculiar about the color of the blood. It was black.

Not red.

Black.

"What the hell?" Chayse exclaimed.

While the Hunters were distracted, Maur grabbed onto Elma’s wrist and guided the blade into her abdomen. It tore through her flesh with little effort. Blood gushed from the wound and splattered onto Maur’s cloak. Though her mouth was left agape, nothing but ragged gasps escaped.

Horror quickly spread across Chayse's face as he stood there, watching Maur slowly remove the dagger from Elma's body. Unlike Maur's; Elma's blood was indeed red.

Elma placed her hands on the wound to prevent as much blood from exiting her body as possible. But her attempts were futile. Blood seeped through the cracks in her fingers and sullied her clothes. Eventually, the shock and blood loss was too much for her. Her eyes closed shut as the strength left her body.

“Elma!” Chayse snapped out of his frozen state and caught his partner before she could hit the ground. He gently set her down and inspected the injury. So much blood exited from the would. Her Praus couldn't activate and stabilize the wound in her condition.

Chayse placed his hands over the wound and concentrated. A bright, red-orange light radiated around him then it passed over to Elma. It was his Praus.

To preserve the life of his partner, he had to give her some of his own. It worked. The blood stopped, and the wound closed. It would take only a matter of minutes for her to return to the fight.

But, Maur wouldn't allow that.

The black-haired man rushed Chayse with Elma's dagger in hand. Chayse stood and grabbed the man's wrist, flipped him over his shoulder, then disarmed him when he hit the ground.

Maur rolled to his feet and pulled out his daggers.

"Do not worry, Hunter. This one will make sure you suffer the same fate as your partner." He taunted.

With steady conviction, Chayse grabbed his knife and engaged his enemy in combat. The Hunter attacked with vicious slashes and swift kicks. All were either blocked or evaded.

When Chayse spotted an opportunity, he moved in for a jumping knee strike. Maur sidestepped and slammed the butt of his knife into Chayse's side. A loud cracking sound resonated.

Once a moment presented itself, I moved in for a jumping knee strike. That too was evaded. He stepped to the side then slammed the butt of his knife into his side. A loud cracking sound resonated.

Chayse doubled over and hollered in agonizing pain.

"What happened to all that confidence you Hunters had earlier?" Maur taunted. He approached the downed Hunter and kicked him in the same spot. Chayse fell to his side and curled in a defensive position while Maur continued his assault.

With each kick that Chayse suffered, he felt his consciousness and confidence fade. For a moment, only a moment, he wondered if he and his partner would survive the encounter. It pained him to admit it, but Maur possessed a terrifying talent for combat.

All that Chayse and Elma went through for years would come to an end by Maur's hands. Determination swelled inside of Chayse's body at the mere thought of it. The moment Maur went in for another kick, he rolled out of the way.

Afterward, he lodged the blade of his dagger into Maur's foot. His screams of pain felt like music to Chayse's ears. But, it didn't stop there.

Chayse stood up and swung away at Maur with his fists. Each hit landed. Each one was heavier than the last. The sight of his partner getting stabbed right in front of him flashed through his mind repeatedly, only fueling the rage he felt toward the bastard.

His barrage of punches came to an end once Maur captured Chayse's fists in the palm of his hands. He reeled his head back and smashed his forehead against the brim of the Hunter's nose. Chayse hit the ground and gripped his nose.

"Archers should stick to long-range combat. Close range does not suit you," Maur eyed the dagger in his foot. A bright light emitted from his hand. The entire weapon disintegrated seconds later; reduced to nothing but dust. "Time for you to die," He took a step forward with his daggers at the ready.

However, he stopped the moment his Milo went off. The black-haired man sighed and answered the communication device. A holographic image of Taurian appeared.

"About damn time you answered, Maur! Did you destroy the village already or what?!" Taurian yelled.

Maur's face twisted in annoyance at the sight of the Beastia. "This one has not yet managed to do it. Complications have arisen.” He answered in a monotone.

“The same goes for me as well, unfortunately. Some wolf Beastia and muscle guy attacked me while I was busy dealing with the army.”

“Were they affiliated with the army?”

“I don’t think so. They didn’t appear to even be from this kingdom. Enough about that. How are things going on your end?"

“As of right now, this one is currently in a little battle with two Hunters. Well to be exact, one Hunter. But, he will be dead soon enough.” Maur looked over at Chayse and smirked. "Unlike you, it will only further prove that this one is far more capable of accomplishing my assignments."

"Bastard! You only won last time because you used your powers and--"

“Was there a point to this call?” Maur inquired.

“I’m calling to tell you not to bother with the village anymore. The Soterian Army should be there soon, and we cannot afford to have you captured as of now.”

“This one will not be seized by some pawns of Soteria. With this one’s power, destroying this village would only take…”

“I told you not to bother with the village anymore. Melanie wants us to move on with the schedule. We’ve wasted enough time already.”

Maur glanced back and forth between the Bull Beastia and Chayse, contemplating whether to follow orders.

“Well…if the orders are coming from Melanie.” Maur hung up the Milo and lowered his arms down to his side while keeping a close eye on Chayse. “It is your lucky day, Hunters. This one has been ordered to move on. So, this one shall spare your lives today. However, if we are to cross paths ever again, you will die for sure.”

"Damn it! Don't think I'll let you get away!" Chayse aimed his arrow and fired a shot. Maur tilted his head to the side and smirked as the projectile passed him.

"Should you wish to continue, this one has no qualms with that. However, do you not wish to save your partner?" Maur pointed to the wounded Elma. Chayse gritted his teeth and turned to face his partner. By the time he came back to his senses, he had found that Maur had long vanished.

"Elma!" Chayse rushed to Elma's side and returned to healing her with his Prause. Elma slowly opened her eyes and looked around.

"Chayse? What are you doing?" She groaned.

"Healing you. You took a bad hit." Chayse answered. A broad smile painted on his face.

"What happened to Maur?"

"He escaped."

"Idiot. What are you doing healing me, then? I can do that myself. Go after him." Elma weakly pointed in any direction.

“There’s no way I’m leaving you behind like this! You’ll die if I leave you untreated!” Chayse disobeyed the order.

“More innocent people are going to die if you leave him to do as he pleases.” She immediately countered. “We’ve finally found the bastard responsible for the attacks. We can't let him escape. Hurry up and go after him. I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t, Elma! I’m not going to leave you to die!”

Elma looked up at Chayse and frowned. But that frown eventually turned into a smile. “You’re such an idiot you know that? If our positions had been switched I wouldn’t have hesitated to leave you behind.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s what makes us so different.” Chayse forced a laugh, hoping that she was joking. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Elma. You’re going to be fine. I’ll keep giving you my Praus to heal you, even if it takes all of it.”

She shook her head. “Don’t do that, Chayse. I’m not worried about me. I’m more concerned about Maur.”

“We’ll catch up to him eventually.”

“What does that man want? Why is he doing things like this to the kingdom? These people have done nothing wrong.”

“I don’t care what that man wants. In the end, we will stop him and whatever he’s planning. Now that we know what kind of enemy we’re up against…we can plan things out.” Chayse assured her.

Before she could respond, their attention was brought down the road where the military could be seen finally arriving. However, despite the arrival of their salvation, their defeat and failure would be engraved in their hearts for a long time.

Defeat was something the duo rarely experienced. But, each loss made them stronger. It pushed them to get better so that failure would never happen again. It wasn't the end of them.

The Hunters swore to confront Maur someday again and defeat him.