“W-Wha… but how…” Acaya muttered in shock, not wanting to believe the people who were supposed to be their allies had sabotaged them.

“It’s simple,” Iris continued, picking up where Qi Ling left off. “They passed through this path before us, so they knew those Ghosts were going to emerge out of the ground and start attacking. Because of that, they barricaded the exit on purpose in the hopes of getting us killed.”

“I… I can’t believe it…” Acaya groaned, crouching down and rubbing his forehead. “Why would… why would they do that…”

“U-Um, maybe they were trying to use the barricade to prevent the Phantoms from getting inside, like we just were…?” Iyesha suggested.

“Stop being delusional,” Finn said harshly. “One, setting up this barricade takes time, and two, they could have simply removed it after the Ghosts all retreated — but they didn’t. Why do you think that is?”

“…” At this, everyone who originally still had a sliver of hope for the House of Crimson Moons fell silent, unable to argue for them anymore even if they wanted to.

“I don’t understand, though,” Ashika murmured, bending down and picking up a sharp shard of a broken bookshelf that had been part of the barricade in her delicate hands. “How does this benefit them in any way?”

At this, Finn and Iris both fell silent, knowing the reason all too well. Qi Ling noticed their reactions and closed her beautiful eyes, folding her arms beneath her ample chest.

“Perhaps they are just that evil. The House of Crimson Moons, Squadron 7, has always had an… unsightly reputation.”

“Yeah… I suppose that’s true,” Acaya muttered, clenching his fists. “Still… they need to be taught a lesson. I won’t let this go unpunished.”

“Heheh… ain’t that true.” Ashika grinned and stood back up, tossing the piece of wood she had been holding back onto the ground. “I’m not a very forgiving person.”

“Bastards…” Abdol gritted his teeth and cracked his knuckles.

“We shall convert them to the Lord… he will show mercy,” the Healer by the name of Chisis who healed Qi Ling earlier said, closing his eyes and making a praying posture.

Finn snorted and muttered under his breath.

“Your Lord may show mercy… but I sure won’t.”

– Meanwhile, Where Hurricane’s Team Was –

The group sat around in a room of the cathedral, lined with luxurious couches and beautiful decorations. When they first came across this place, they thought it was a trap, but they’d been here for a few minutes now and nothing has happened, so they assumed this was just a safe zone of sorts within this Temple. As such, they decided to just a take a short break here.

“Hurricane… you sure that was the right call back there?” The Brawler Angelica user, Duke (real name: Cameron Zill) asked.

“What? Worried they’ll try to get revenge on us or something?” Hurricane laughed darkly.

“Nah, I’m sure we can beat them with ease,” Duke replied. “After all, we have the special blood training the patriarch gave to us. But what I’m saying is… what if they died back there? The patriarch wanted you to bring back the blind one alive, right?”

“Relax,” Hurricane said. “That was just a little test I set for him. If he can’t even get past that… then there’s no reason for the patriarch to be interested in him, is there?”

“… I guess,” Duke said with a shrug. The other three didn’t seem to have any complaints either, since two of them were busy taking a nap. They had, after all, stayed up the whole night cultivating their blood as part of the training Heartbeat forced them to undergo.

Hurricane, seeing that he had convinced his four teammates, smirked in his heart.

‘A test? Ha… bunch of idiots,’ he thought. ‘Heartbeat thinks I don’t know what he’s planning? I knew from the moment he asked me to keep that bastard Finn alive. Heartbeat is only using me as a tool to get closer to him, and does not see me for my true worth just like everyone else.

But it’s fine… since he’s providing me with good help to get stronger, I’ll tolerate it for now. But letting Finn get out of this place alive? Think again, Heartbeat. I’m not just some pawn you can manipulate to your will. One day… I’ll overthrow even you and take your place.’

As Hurricane smiled ambitiously while thinking these thoughts, Duke looked at the time on a grandfather clock placed in the room.

“It’s been 15 minutes. We should get going, if we don’t want those morons to catch up to us.”

Hurricane nodded and stood up from his seat, then glanced at his three other teammates, who were still sound asleep, snoring loudly.

“Oi, Shadow, Ripple, Jester. Wake up. We’re going.”

The three, however, continued to sleep soundly, completely ignoring his command.

Duke chuckled. “Like hell a quiet-ass sentence like that’s gonna wake them up. In situations like these, you need a good punch to their face.”

He moved up and was about to sink his fist into one of the three’s snoring, relaxed faces, but Hurricane stopped him.

“Your punches will knock them out cold, not wake them up. Let me handle this.”

As Duke laughed and said “damn straight,” Hurricane lifted his own arm, opened his palm, and pointed it towards the three sleeping figures.

“Now then… let’s see how good my control has become, with the help of the blood training.”

He channeled mana through his own body and to his fingertips, then let it flow out without chanting at all. This caused the energy to be raw and disorganized, but that was fine for Hurricane. The best Stormbringers out there were able to control their lightning to their will, even though this would make it extremely weak.

Blue sparks of electricity formed at the tips of Storm’s fingers, then suddenly shot out towards the three sleeping figures, one bolt each. The strands of lightning were so thin that one could barely see them soaring through the air, but it was enough.

“B-Blllllegh!” The three sleeping Hunters jolted awake with a shock, electricity rippling through their bodies. They all turned to Hurricane, eyes widened and blinking several times in rapid succession.

“Don’t look at me like that. I tried waking you guys up normally, but you wouldn’t respond. That’s why I resorted to doing this — and besides, would you rather have been clobbered by Duke?”

“N-Nah, you’re right… sorry,” Ripple said. “I was just too tired. Let’s go.”

Saying this, the boy whose alias was Ripple headed for the door, but-

SLAM!

“Wha-!”

“Careful!” Shadow yelled, narrowing his deep black eyes and wrinkling the mask that covered his nose and mouth. He pulled his oversized hoodie over his head and drew two dark knives glowing black particles from his belt, holding one in each hand.

The five immediately got into fighting positions and formed a circle so that they all their backs to each other, as the furniture all around them began shaking. The floor itself wasn’t shaking — the furniture were.

Then, they morphed.

The couches, the chandelier, the grandfather clock, the bookshelves, the glass table, the wooden desk — everything morphed. Their bodies distorted and turned into a humanoid shape, while any color they had were erased to reveal the ghastly and unmistakable white of Phantoms.

The Ghosts, now in their original forms, squirmed their tentacles and revealed their creepy smiles, edging closer and closer to the group.

“Shit… so it was a trap after all, huh?” Duke muttered, cracking his knuckles and bracing himself for a fight.

“Heheh… too bad… they’re Ghosts… I can’t drink their blood…” Jester whispered softly, licking the blade of his own dagger with a crazed look in his eyes.

“… Calm down,” Hurricane said, being the leader of the group. “It’s just a couple of Morpher-classes. We can take them on easily, just watch your back. Everyone — split!”