-38-

The wind howled around him. A slight drizzle pattered down the overcast skies, that only bringing the atmosphere of doom. Tien lay on the bloody ground, staring at the horror before him. Every single one of his guild member was tied to a stake, but they did not put up any form of struggle. They were not conscious at all.

Surrounding the stakes were the four great superiors: Stormy Knight, Abyss Knight, Doppelganger and Lord of Death. The monk seemed to be insubstantial; no one saw him, and he could not move his body at all. It was as if his body was immobilized by some sort of magical bindings. He even tried to shout, but he had no voice. Watching the sight before him in resignation, the four cackled as they expunged the victims.

'Noooo!'

Tien sprang up in fright. Beads of sweat rolled down his scarred cheek unceasingly, his heart refusing to stay calm. Once again, he thought about his guild members who had died so unexpectedly. A fire flared suddenly, drawing his gaze to the fireplace. Pay stood looking worriedly at him.

"I've slept past dusk," Tien realized.

"Its midnight already, if you must know," Pay said. "You've been murmuring non-stop in your sleep."

"I can't take this lying down. I need to avenge what's taken away from me. I need to…"

Pay sighed and took a seat beside the monk.

"What bad dreams are you having again?"

Tien's dreamy look suddenly focused on the hunter.

"The four bastards took my passion away from me, my blood and my sweat…"

"Are you not thinking about it again? Till now you're still harping on it!"

"Don't let the euphoria of Moonlight's defeat get the better of you," Tien answered. "It has only just begun. The four's dominion over Rune-Midgard is what everybody should look out for."

"I'm well aware of it. This crisis in the town… is just a mere speck of dust as compared to what threatens the world."

"Nevertheless, this evil streaming from the cave is unlikely to cease permanently. We have to protect Payon despite the bigger danger," Tien said matter-of-factly.

"Prontera is what the four that target. With the strongest fortress's fall, the others would definitely succumb one by one, until they were being worshipped."

The straw on the roof shuffled as a wind went by. The stars were absent this night, as if too hiding from the inevitable danger like any other civilians in other cities. The temperature was rather low, and Pay was forced to dump more firewood into the furnace to augment the temperature.

"Assuming Prontera had found a few alliances, that may not be sufficient. It is right that we sacrifice our men to their aid."

Tien absent-mindedly rubbed his prickly chin.

"You already said it. What can an assumption do? Our men are dwindling by the day, and those damned beings in the caverns are multiplying. I'm afraid we could not offer even a warrior to Prontera."

"The townsmen are always caught in the danger," Pay said as he fiddled with a piece of firewood. "After all we must still ensure their safety."

"I'm thinking we might request for reprive over from Alberta."

"No, they should and they must be fighting for Prontera's cause. Ours are second to that."

"It is necessary for the townsmen to migrate to safer cities temporarily. What worries me may be the men's traditional way of thinking. They may disapprove of the move."

"What do you have in mind?" Pay asked.

"I'm thinking Comodo."

Pay stopped rubbing himself when the house became warmer. He threw another firewood into the furnace, the flames flaring up briefly.

"Very well. I guess the cave demons' pace of attack would decrease tremendously, considering the death of Moonlight Flower and the newly formed security outside the caves."

The wooden door to the hunter's house burst open without a warning, startling both men. Elemire ran frantically into the house and tugged at both of them.

"What's wrong?" Pay asked in exasperation. "Its already past midnight!"

"The demons are coming on us again! The small security force is dying by groups!"

Now they did not need the huntress to tug them off. Looking at each other in horror, Tien and Pay bolted off after Elemire. As Tien ran, a strange feeling overwhelmed him. He had a feeling that this night he would determine if Moonlight was truly eliminated for good, or not.