– The Next Morning –

The members of Squadron 154 and the Big Five (Four) gathered in the front hall once again, where Lei, Elder Hua, and Jim were. It was the day of the Temple Raid, the day to get rid of this accursed Emperor-level Ghost hiding within District A once and for all.

Raiju was now residing within Finn’s body, since he would be coming along for this mission as a final trump card. He normally hated doing this since it ‘gave him no leg space’, but Finn did not want the other teams they would be working with to find out about his ‘pet’ if possible. There would be no reason to bring a baby tiger to a Temple Raid, so this was the only way to do so without getting questioned.

“Mornin’, fellas,” Jim called out cheerily once they arrived, completely relaxed as usual. “How y’all doin’ this fine day?”

An awkward silence ensued — clearly, no one was going humor Jim’s easy-going attitude. Elder Hua sighed in disappointment, and Lei took over from there to steer the conversation onto its proper course.

“Since you are all up and ready, I will now explain what’s going to happen.” He cleared his throat. “On this mission, there will be three other teams joining us, sending their elite. We cannot send too many, for if we do, the Emperor will merely escape without even trying to meet the challenge. We have to make him think he has a chance at winning against us — that is why, a few elite is better than an army of soldiers.”

Finn noticed that Lei used the term ‘teams’ rather than ‘squadrons’, but didn’t comment on it. Qi Ling, however, did.

“Master. You mentioned ‘teams’ just now, not ‘squadrons’. Does this mean… one of the other guilds will be helping us?”

“Correct,” Lei replied, causing the others to drop their jaws in shock.

“W-Wait, that means… this Temple… it has more than just Phantoms?!” Octane cried.

Lei nodded firmly, a grim expression on his face. “According to reliable sources, there are not only Phantoms in this Temple, but also Wraiths. That means…”

“Invisible bastards,” Jim muttered. “Bloody hell.”

“… Do you have experience fighting them, Jim?” Iris asked.

“Aye. I’m a freelance Ghost Hunter, so I’ve dealt with every bloody Ghost archetype in the past,” Jim replied. “Eidolons are the strongest of them, but the most annoyin’ ones have gotta be Wraiths. Little bastards love bein’ invisible. One minute ya see them, next minute yer gettin’ bloody blasted by magic in the back.”

“Wait, magic?” Tian Long interrupted, confused.

“Yes. According to the books I’ve read, Wraiths are like the mages of Ghosts,” Fanatic replied. “They have low defense are are easy to kill, but their invisibility makes it difficult to land a hit. The Theocracy of Light, however, possesses special enchanted pendants that allows wearers to detect Wraiths in their invisible state. No other technology or magic is able to do that.”

“And they haven’t spread that to the other guilds?” Irirs murmured. “How selfish.”

“That’s not quite it,” Lei cut in. “The stone required to make the pendants is extremely rare — you can hardly blame them for wanting to keep it to themselves only… but that is beside the point. Everyone, follow me.”

Lei stood up and brushed past everyone else, walking out of the building. The rest followed obediently.

“During this mission, there will be two Phantom Slayer Squadrons and two Theocracy Regiments to balance it out,” Lei explained as they walked. “Pick a leader amongst yourselves right now, just to make decision-making easier. You won’t have time to argue inside the Temple.”

“Are you and Jim not going to go in with us?” Octane asked, scratching his head.

“No. Should you fail, we will take care of things ourselves, but the higher-ups at the GHO want to see what the new generation is capable of. These were direct orders from above, I cannot disobey them. Therefore… keep in mind: if you fall into danger in there, you only have yourselves to count on.”

“Wait,” Iris interrupted, narrowing her eyes. “If we are one Phantom Slayer Squadron… then who’s the other?”

Lei, after some hesitation, sighed.

“… You’ll see soon enough.”

Lei led the group into a building behind the main hall, an area the others had never explored before. Inside was a teleporter device, similar to the one within Kasfield’s Outfitters and the 154th Squadron’s mansion, but bigger — enough to fit all of them.

“So this is where the teleporter is…” Octane murmured.

“Um… actually, this is Master’s personal one…” Yun Xin said hesitantly. “The one the other disciples use is near the middle of the sect.”

“O-Oh.” Octane scratched his hair, blushing and looking away awkwardly. Iris, who was in her wheelchair, noticed this and laughed softly.

“W-What?” Octane shot her a sideways glance of discontent.

“No, it’s nothing,” Iris replied with a smile. “Don’t mind me.”

Octane pursed his lips and turned away, cheeks red from embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Lei stepped onto the platform first, and the others following silently. No instructions were needed, as they all knew how this functioned. With a bright white flash, they were warped to their target destination… which appeared to be

When the group opened their eyes once more, they found themselves on the roof of a tall building. More specifically, it was the tallest skyscraper in District A. But what caught Squadron 154’s eyes more than their surroundings… were the people standing in front of them.

“… Y-You… you’re…” Octane croaked, voice quivering in fear and shock.

The figure, who sat behind a clean table laid out with white cloth, tilted his head and smiled, shaking the glass of wine in his hand.

“Greetings, Squadron 154. Or should I say… Archon’s saviors?”

Fanatic’s eyes widened. “H-He knows… but who…”

“Who betrayed you all, you ask?” The figure — Heartbeat — laughed darkly. “Heh… do you really not know… or are you just lying to yourself?”

The truth was, the five of them all knew. They knew, but they didn’t want to believe it.

“Oh, well…” Heartbeat smiled sinisterly and glanced behind him at one of the five men standing there. “Don’t you think you should say hi to your old friends already? They look very eager to see you again.”

“Yes… seems so,” the figure said quietly.

Octane gulped at the familiarity of the voice. “N-No… there’s no way…”

The man who Heartbeat had been talking to smirked and pushed himself off the wall of the staircase leading up to the roof, emerging from the shadows. He had a familiar figure and voice, but most importantly of all…

… Those striking blue eyes were unmistakable.

As the members of Archon’s family descended into a chaos of emotions, the figure — Storm, Derek McLan — smiled arrogantly.

“Short time no see… 154th Squadron.”