The alleyways of Luminberg were not as crowded as the main roads, particularly for an occasion meant to be celebrated by everyone outside their homes. The lack of litter bins or stray animals was quite the opposite of busier cities such as Blaurosen. Nothing but the low hum of the Wizards' Wall could be heard everywhere; even the soles of running men were muffled by the overpowering sound.

Winston Norton's face felt warmer than usual; the occasional tingling on some parts of his head caused his eyes to lose focus at times. Random colors appeared as flashes and spots and got in the way at some points that he needed to pause after a few steps before resuming in a jogging pace. He had fifteen men behind him; beams of light served as their eyes in search of the shadow that kicked the syndicate commander. Their search brought them to a section of the city where buildings were larger and higher than the residential areas near the Southwestern Tower. A voice echoed by the time the group arrived at a clearing surrounded by an open warehouse and closed buildings. It said:

"You've always been no fun, Green Eye." The source sounded like a youth; raspy laughter interrupted his speech at times. "...you just keep calling for more people to join in. You should be a little selfish at times, but I can make this a little more exciting."

The glow of Winston's eye was stronger than before. All he saw inside the open warehouse were stacks of crates and larger metal boxes. He continued to scan the surroundings; his eyes came across the upstairs platforms where pulleys were operated from. Chains were tipped, causing ringing and jingling sounds to bounce everywhere. Winston's men moved in groups of four; backs facing each other while attempting to form a protective screen for their squad leader.

There was a puff of air, followed by a thunk; one of Winston's men lay on his back to the floor. He examined the fallen body; there was a dent on the man's helmet. Not far was the stone used to knock him out.

"Split up and find cover!"

Winston dived behind one of the larger metal boxes. Some of his men ran outside and took aim while the rest found their own places of concealment. This opponent knew his way in the dark, and hiding too long would let that enemy pick them off slowly but surely. Winston found the staircase leading to the upper platforms, and he tapped four of the men closest to him to follow suit.

"I can see you, Green Eye." The target seemed to be speaking from one of the warehouse's upper rooms.

Winston's men were following him to the staircase that led to the upper floors. A flash was seen from the left corner, followed by a disdainful crack that echoed inside the warehouse; the last man to come up fell to his face on the stairs. Norton's men did not waste time to return fire at the source; sparks flew when bullets struck the metal portions of the door and the walls.

"No fair." The voice trailed off. Sounds of footsteps were heard at one moment and faded, only to be heard again from irregular places.

The ascent to the second level of the warehouse came through unimpeded; two men from the ground level dragged the corpse of another fallen comrade-in-arms, into the outside. Winston stood at the edge of the platforms where he waited for two other men to screen him. The flash from his artificial eye was slightly brighter than usual; he was trying to find where this unknown assailant had been hiding. Winston saw a trail of blue in the dark, but they were cut off at random rooms in the facility.

There was a thud from the shadows, followed by a rush of forced air cut into a cry of pain from one of Winston's men who went ahead. Shattered glass echoed from one of the rooms, followed by a long scream of somebody who was dropped out of the warehouse.

"No wonder you like these."

The voice spoke again. There was a short huff of laughter before Winston saw muzzle flashes that faced his way. He quickly ducked away from the bullets; sparks erupted from the wall where his face was supposed to be. The gunman beside Norton tried to return fire, only to be cut down when he revealed his silhouette to the assailant.

"These new toys are nice. I wish you liked us the way you like these guns now."

"What are you... talking about?" Winston crouched as he advanced; the steel plates of the platform's safety rails were his only protection from being shot at like his henchmen.

"You really didn't care for any of us after all. Doctor Halloween even gave fancy names hoping that you'll find us special. Bishop, Knight, Queen, King..."

Those names. He have surely heard of them somewhere before. It was probably from one of his travels in foreign countries to recruit men for the Gray Fox.

There was no time to think of that now. He inched closer to the edge of the safety rails. Winston prepared to spring up; he wouldn't need to take aim if he were close enough to the unseen attacker. Hoping to distract the person further, he talked a bit more as his finger reached for the trigger.

"What do you want from me now?"

"Want, Green Eye? You had Doctor Halloween killed, hadn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The figure was in sight. It looked like a short man, maybe one of boyish built. His figure was concealed by the half-coat he was wearing. It would take him seconds before his rifle could take aim at the attacker.

He had to take the shot. Winston wouldn't be leaving this unscathed if he stayed hidden.

He leaped and made a short burst; his bullets hitting the wall instead of his target. How could have that shadow been out of his sights?

Winston heard something fluttering in the darkness of the ceiling, followed by a solid rush of downward air that struck his right shoulder. He dropped his firearm on impact, but he was still not able to see the attacker. Someone whispered:

"Too fast for you, Green Eye? You're getting old."

A strike to his right leg caused Winston to lose his balance, and he soon found his way falling off the platform. There was a crash, followed by pieces of wood and cloth flying in all directions.

The remaining gunmen attempted to track and shoot the attacker; only the sounds of ricochets and erupting stonework echoed inside the warehouse. Winston removed himself from the clutter pile that he fell into. He limped his way out of the warehouse and into one of the lit streetlamps outside. Bullets were poured on the upper sections, either in hopes of a lucky hit or more of a distraction to divert the assailant from his target.

But that attempt ended with a short burst of gunfire from above, and the falling bodies of the five remaining henchmen.

"That took a while. You should really tell your henchmen to not get in the way of our business. But I guess I've taken care of that for you. Now where were we...?"

Winston pulled out a pistol from a holster on his left leg. He probed the warehouse entrance, putting all his focus for a shot that would kill this demon after him. A figure wearing a black coat formed. He was about to shoot when a wall of fire stood between Winston and his would-be killer.

A cloaked individual appeared from behind him. It seemed that the mana-draining mechanism of the Southwest Tower stopped working for good, or the field was too weak that the suits were no longer needed. Winston erred on his guess; the man was wearing a specialized version of the vitality preservation suit that allowed a person to wear clothes on top of it. The harsh atmosphere must have weakened or completely worn off probably sometime after witnessing the destruction of the Gray Fox's machines at Tower 7, but the hunt for the mysterious intruder made him not notice it.

"You don't seem to be in good shape, Master Winston."

"I... didn't expect that... I would run across a... very determined... boy." Winston grinned, dropped his pistol and had his left arm hold onto his right shoulder.

"A few of my men are with me. I'll have you pulled out of this place. Let me deal with your hunter."

"You have... my thanks, Mister Guildenstern."