Chapter 5
Power of Teamwork

"What do you mean this is all you bought?!" Cain finished emptying the contents of the bag Luna had given him. Nothing but apples rolled on the table they were sitting at."What is this?! You said you had food taken care of!"

"Well, you didn't specify what you wanted!" Luna huffed indignantly."Besides, apples are healthy and good for the body, right? You should be thanking me I considered that for you."

"Actually, I don't really mind apples." Mr. Richard spoke from the four-person couch he was sitting on with Sekke.

"Bah-ha! Whatever Luna-chan decides is the law!" Sekke proclaimed, raising his fist in the air.

Cain gritted his teeth, giving them a death glare that silenced them."Luna, let me see how much money you have on you."

"Huh?!" Luna blushed, her right eye twitching."W-w-what gives you the right to demand such a thing?! I don't have to show you that I have no money on me!"

"So you have no money." Cain grinned as Luna deflated, embarrassed."Why didn't you just say so? You could have just said you forgot your money back at your base."

"Y-yeah! That's exactly what happened!" She stammered, chuckling nervously as she covered her mouth with her hand."I simply miscalculated the amount of money we would require for this mission. I was not expecting you to pick such an expensive apartment and be so demanding, though. I have to admit you have standards worthy of a member of the Golden Dawn."

"Now you're blaming this on me?!" Cain fumed, standing up and walking over to her."You're the one who barely gave me any money, to begin with! I could only afford a cheap apartment like this one!"

"There are PLENTY of other apartments that you could have checked out! Surely this wasn't your only possible choice!" Luna kicked her feet, shooting upwards. She was relatively smaller than Cain, only reaching to his chin.

"I've been looking the WHOLE day, thank you very much! Besides, I did look at other apartments, and either they were too cramped or too dirty! One of them was cheap but they are not allowing anyone new to rent a room. Knowing YOU, you would have complained about it anyway!"

"Know me?! You have some nerve to say that when we just met earlier today! And let me tell you I don't have the best impression of you. You literally came at me and demanded to be in charge of the mission! Not to mention you cheated during our race and I nearly fell to my death!"

"Okay, first of? You were the one who was demanding to be in charge of this mission. Secondly, you are the one who made it into a race, to begin with! And finally, you are the one who wasn't paying attention to what was in front of you!"

"Uh, I think we should-" Sekke rose his hand slowly, receiving a glare from both of them.

"STAY OUT OF IT!" They yelled hotly, their fury changing from themselves to the bronze mage.

"Bah...ha..." Sekke's shoulders slumped, sitting back down on the couch.

Cain and Luna had a staredown for a few seconds before both of them huffed, turning away from each other.

"Fine. Whatever. Let's just keep our attention on the mission." Cain put his hands in his pockets, walking to the middle of the room and observing the trembling man next to Sekke."Okay, let's cut to the chase, you guys. Here's what we'll do. I'll go upstairs and keep an eye out for any enemies. I'm probably the best marksman in the team, so I can keep an eye out from afar."

"Probably?" Luna quirked a brow, urging him to elaborate.

"I don't know Sekke's or Tobias' magic." He explained, scanning around the room, and to his surprise, Toby wasn't in sight."Where is he by the way?"

"As I said, he's a bit shy, so he went to the front to keep guard, bah-ha. I would prefer if I guarded the backdoor."

Cain gave a nod, turning to Luna as he folded his arms."You'll stay here with the witness. In case any enemy goes past Sekke or Tobias, you are fast enough to react and keep the witness safe. I'm trusting in your speed."

"Of course!" Luna puffed her chest proudly."Naturally, I am the fastest one in this room!"

"Yeah, yeah." Cain waved his hand dismissively as he headed upstairs."Anyway..." He stopped, swallowing the lump in his throat as he looked up at the darkness.'Come on, it's just a dark room. All I have to do is light a candle and I should be good.' He hit his cheeks gently, trying to break his body out of his daze. Yet he still couldn't move. Sweat began pouring down his face, his breathing becoming harsher and harsher.' I'm not...it's different from before...I...'

"Are you okay?" Luna made her way over to, hands behind her back."You're taking too long. Just go up already."

"I..." Cain stammered, glancing down at the floor."I'm afraid of the dark..."

Luna got closer, a hand to her ear."I'm sorry, you mumbled. What did you say?"

"I'm afraid of the dark." He repeated, feeling ashamed of admitting it aloud."Go ahead. You can laugh. I don't care. I'm just afraid of the dark, nothing more."

"I'm not laughing."

Cain's eyes widened, turning to meet Luna's. She had a genuine smile on her face that lack any sign of fakeness."Everyone's afraid of something. It doesn't matter how strong they might be, we're humans. Naturally, you are scared. And to be honest, I'm scared as well. In fact, I'm afraid of heights. That's why when my Gravita Star crashed against a tree I couldn't move or react. If it weren't for you, I would have been seriously injured or worse. Granted, you did cause the accident. But that's beside the point."

"You're afraid...of heights?" Cain repeated, his face contorting in confusion."But you were flying really fast today without care."

"All I have to do is not look down." Luna giggled, adjusting her witch hat."But if I do, I am scared beyond belief. You can cope with your fear as well. Maybe try closing your eyes?"

"I would, but honestly, I still have to open them later. Plus, it's dangerous to do something like that when walking upstairs."

"True enough." Luna brought her finger to her chin in thought."Then why don't I go with you until you light a candle to keep you comfortable?"

Cain hid his face behind his robe, his cheeks flushing slightly."I'm not a kid, Luna. I'm a member of the strongest squad in the kingdom. If Vice-Captain Langris were to learn of this, I-"

Luna immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him with her up the stairs, ignoring his protests. She had opened up her Grimoire and created a ball of blue energy of sorts in her hand, lighting their surroundings. She opened the door, guiding Cain inside and opening the curtains for him, allowing the light of the moon to enter the room."There. All set."

"Thank you..." He muttered, grabbing a nearby chair. and setting it up in front of the window. Pulling his Grimoire from his satchel, he manifested his bow in his hand.

"Hey, it's okay. Everyone has the right to be afraid of something. You know my fear now, so let's just call this an equal exchange. Here." Going through the pages of her Grimoire, Luna cast a spell."Constellar Creation Magic: Galactic Telescope." A blue telescope with white dots glowing floated over to Cain, resting on top of the grip."With that, you can increase your vision. Whatever Toby can't see, you'll be able to see."

"Got it." Cain nodded, giving her a grin."Thank you, Luna. You're not as bad as I thought you were."

"And you're more sensible than I gave you credit for." She quipped, walking out of the room and leaving Cain to his own devices. Once she was there, she was met with Sekke, who offered her a paper bag."What's this?"

"We were instructed to give the witness some medicine to help him relax." Sekke supplied, his gaze directed at the man who looked slightly better than before. At least he wasn't fidgeting."I imagine having people after you to kill you is stressful, bah-ha! So give him some medicine whenever he gets too nervous and he'll be just fine. But remember to give him a little or he could overdose."

"Right. Thanks." Luna nodded, pointing with her finger to the backdoor."Get in position. We're good to go. But before that, did Toby eat?"

"I don't think so." Sekke shrugged, playing with his hair as he smirked."He left outside the moment we got here. Bah-ha! He's a bit strange but he attracts girls like crazy. Please do feed him, though."

"Sure thing. I'm curious to see what kind of magic he has." Luna grabbed an apple from the pile she had brought and headed outside, immediately noticing the young man sitting on the ground staring at the dark streets. Luna closed the door, deciding to make some conversation by sitting next to him."Hey, Toby, right? Your friend told me you hadn't eaten so I brought you this."

Toby remained unresponsive, his expression unreadable without budging. His dark eyes fixated on just staring ahead of him without doing so much as moving an inch.

Luna gulped, slowly setting the apple beside him. She scolded herself mentally for thinking this, but she had to admit that while he was handsome, there was something about him that perturbed her. He had an odd aura around him, one that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand out without doing anything.

'He's a fellow Magic Knight...what am I thinking?' Luna tried to reason, allowing a small smile to grace her features."So...I don't think we've introduced ourselves properly. My name is Luna of the Coral Peacocks. You are..."

Luna's blood ran cold once she felt something wrapped itself around her shoulders and moving slowly. Whatever it was, she could feel its hot breathing next to her ear, followed by sniffing. She refused to move from her spot, merely trying to signal Toby with her eyes. Whatever it was that had a hold of her, she feared that if she made the wrong move, it'd be over.

"Sorry...Darling Cobra doesn't really like strangers." Toby drawled, his head finally raising and the phantom of a smile appearing on his face when he made eye contact with whatever Luna had on her shoulders."It's okay, girl. She is a teammate." Stretching his arm out, beckoning the creature over.

"Darling Cobra", as Toby had called it, slithered down Luna's body, wrapping itself around her legs before proceeding to head over to Toby. It was long, probably twice Luna's height. It resembled a snake though its body was green and had two heads, its mouths having two claw-like appendages on the sides and purple eyes.

Toby offered the apple Luna had dropped to the snake-like creature, throwing it in the air before it devoured it in one fell swoop."She's a bit possessive. Good thing I was here...otherwise...she would have shredded you to pieces."

"R-right..." Luna put a hand against her chest, trying to calm herself after such a terrifying experience. What was most disturbing was the wide smile Toby was giving her. His eyes were empty as if he had no soul and his smile went from ear to ear before going back to its poker-face state."Well...if anything happens, do let us know."

No longer wanting to be close to the young man, Luna shakingly opened the door.

"It's Tobias." He called out one last time, staring at her over his shoulder."Not Toby."

"Right." Luna nodded, clumsily closing the door behind her and nearly passing out right then and there."That fool Sekke should have given me a heads up..."


"Shit! These guys are not letting up, Luca!" Patrick cried out as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop."What do we do? We can't lose them like this!"

"I know, you idiot! At this point, we might as well make a stand and fight. If we take them back to our village, everything is screwed!" Luca hissed, separating himself from Luca as he jumped over to a new building, grabbing on the edge and pulling himself up. A crowd had formed down below and were watching from below at the commotion above their heads.

"I'll get Luca!" Johan informed, following the older man as Arthur prepared himself to fight Patrick.

"Damn! I guess there's no other choice then!" Patrick opened his Grimoire, pulling out a double edge sword made of fire."Fire Creation Magic: Double Ember!"

"So, a sword fight, eh? I don't mind that at all! Gold Creation Magic: Caliburn!" Pulling a golden sword from his Grimoire, Arthur gave Patrick a smirk."Let's have some fun, shall we?"

"Fun?! Just leave us the hell alone!"

Johan was using his shield to block the lightning-charged punches Luca was throwing against him."Hiding behind your shield won't save you, boy! You'll have to attack me! Not like I'll give you the chance, of course."

In effect, Luca jumped back and touched the ground as he once had. Electricity in the form of a tidal wave was fired at Johan, who jumped in the air to avoid being damaged like before.

"Big mistake, kid. Lightning Creation Magic: 100 Volt Lasso!"

A rope made of lightning wrapped itself around Johan, shocking him and paralyzing him before being tossed down on the roof.

Using his strength, Johan kicked his shield at Luca, hitting him square in the face, dispersing the spell, and knocked him out of the roof.

Luca grabbed onto a windowsill and broke through it, entering an apartment complex from the last floor.

The Golden Dawn member panicked after hearing the screaming of whoever had gotten their room broken into and dashed to the door leading down the rooftop, running as fast as he could down the stairs.

Once Johan reached the last floor, he kicked the door opened and observed that Luca had made a whole mess of the corridor. People were peeking out of their doors, startled by the sudden commotion.

"Let's see you taking this, schoolboy! Lightning Creation Magic: Thousand Needles!" Thing yet large lightning needles were created around Luca.

Johan gasped, noticing that the people peering out the doors would definitely get hurt if he did not do something about it."Obsidian Creation Magic: Seven Shields!"

A total of seven shields manifested themselves in front of the people, causing them to close their doors after realizing the danger they were in. The needles were shot at great speed, piercing anything in their path. Johan had no time to cast another spell, so he opted by dropping on his knees and hiding behind his shield as he started wobbling his way to Luca.

"What the hell?!" Luca cried out as Johan tackled him to the window, breaking through it and falling out the building, landing on a carriage containing hay, cushioning their fall.

"Luca!" Patrick hollered as he watched his partner fall, soon being forced to block the incoming blade from Arthur."You are too damn persistent!"

Arthur took a step back, avoiding the second edge of Patrick's blade as he started twirling his weapon. The noble met his strikes evenly, his smile never disappearing from his face."Ready to surrender?"

"Like hell!" Patrick thrust his weapon forward, easily being grabbed by Arthur's hand."What?!"

"You know, a double-edged sword like this has a great weakness." Arthur winced, his gold-clad hand beginning to overheat due to the intense fire. With a quick motion, he pushed the blade back and stabbed Patrick in his leg, quickly removing it once he saw the smoke coming off his thigh.

Patrick screamed in agony, headbutting Arthur and gaining some distance."Damn it! My god damn leg!"

"It's over. Gold Creation Magic: Golden Hand of Midas!" A puddle of gold appeared on the floor, quickly expanding itself and creating two hands made of gold.

"Fire Creation Magic: Fire Fist!"

A fist made of fire appeared out of Patrick's Grimoire, slamming itself on the ground and breaking through before Arthur could capture him. The young man rushed over to see the damage, noting that his foe had punched all the way down to the first floor and was now running over to the carriage containing Luca and Johan.

"Out of the damn way!" Patrick hissed at the driver, immediately sending the man running, not wanting to get hurt."Luca! We're leaving!" He screamed, grabbing the reigns and forcing the horses to start moving

On cue, Luca launched a spell and send Johan crashing against a stall selling food."Hurry up and get going!"

Johan groaned in pain, mumbling an apology to the owner of the stall. Arthur came running down the building, gritting his teeth as he observed the bandits escape."What do we do? I don't think we can catch up."

"Oh, yes we can." Arthur smirked, Johan noticing a gleam of excitement in his eyes."Get ready. We're making this an official chase. Gold Creation Magic: Golden Olympian Chariot!"

Johan observed in fascination as a chariot made of gold was created in front of his eyes. To top it all off, a golden horse was also created, seemingly alive and moving like a regular horse. Arthur also had a helmet resembling one of a gladiator."Let's go."

Without wasting time, Johan got on the chariot and they proceeded to follow the bandits, slowly catching up to them."Dude, you're amazing! We're going faster than them!"

"Well, I took inspiration from the books I used to read when I was a kid." Arthur gave him a sideglance."I was in love with gladiator stories. Their tenacity and the way they fought was something I adapted into my own fighting style."

"Still, what are we going to do once we catch up? Their spells are pretty formidable."

"That's because we've been fighting their wrong opponents." Arthur surmised, raising a finger."My Gold Magic is weak against strong fire spells. While I can fight against most of the attacks he throws at me, the particular spell he used at the bar makes him trickier. It melts through my defenses and leaves me vulnerable to attacks. From what I could see, seems like you're more vulnerable to lightning spells."

"It's a bit shameful to admit but you're right." Johan rubbed the back of his neck, giving him an apologetic look."Sorry. Seems like I'm not as strong of a shield as I thought I was."

"That's okay." Arthur shrugged."We can both grow stronger. We still have plenty of room. But for now, let's switch opponents. I'll take on Luca and you take on Patrick."

"That sounds good." Johan nodded at the idea."I'm good against fire spells, so I should be able to handle him."

Arthur held his fist up, confusing the burly man next to him."Let's make this a successful mission, partner."

Johan responded the gesture, returning the smile upon remembering the times he did something similar with Raiden."Let's make the Golden Dawn proud."


Cain sighed for what seemed the tenth time in the past ten minutes. He wasn't particularly tired but bored. The night was quiet and there was no one walking on the street. The only thing that he could do was just observed the dense fog that had formed outside. This could work in their favor but also against them since it kept them hidden but also obscured his vision.

'Way too quiet.' Cain muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Standing up to stretch his limbs, he set his bow down to take a break for a few minutes. Grabbing Luna's homemade lantern, he proceeded to go downstairs, met with a similar dull scene.

Luna was laying down on the couch, reading a book she had brought with her. The witness was seemingly waking from his nap and Sekke and Tobias were presumably outside.

"What are you doing?!" Mr. Richards shouted at him, causing Luna to yelp at the sudden noise."Why are you down here?! You're supposed to be guarding!" This, however, was ignored by the Yang Magic-user.

Luna beckoned Cain to come over, sitting up. The brown-haired teen rolled his eyes, taking a seat next to her."What is it?"

"Here, take this." Luna handed him the bag Sekke had given her."Use this. Pour some water into a cup then put some of this powder medicine. It will help him calm his nerves and hopefully cause him to fall asleep. I gave him a little bit but I think I didn't put enough."

"Right. Leave it to me." Not wasting more time, Cain made his way to the kitchen, ignoring the constant demands the witness was yelling at him. Luna set a bookmark in the page she was currently at and set her book down, heading for the bathroom. To say this was inconvenient was an understatement.

Cain came back into the room and handed the cup of water mixed with medicine. Mr. Richards gulped down and muttered an apology, setting back on the couch. Having done something productive, or so he thought, Cain went up the stairs to return to his post.

Just then, Sekke entered the house, his stomach grumbling, indicating his hunger. With a loud yawn, he headed over to where the apples were, grabbing one to snack on. He checked on the witness, noticing he had his eyes open but wasn't moving.

'I probably should give him some medicine. The more relaxed he is, the better.' He reasoned, taking a bite out of his apple.

Sekke whistled a tune to himself, grabbing the bag of medicine, and headed for the kitchen, preparing it. He came back out, offering it to the witness who took it without even sparing him a glance.

"Bah-ha! A job well done!" He boasted, exiting the door and closing it behind him. Coincidentally, Luna exited the bathroom, heading back to the couch, and laid down, resuming her reading and ignoring the witness as he began to convulse. His body twitched uncontrollably before forcing him to fall on the floor with a loud thud.

"Hey!" Luna dropped her book, rushing to the witness' side and tapping his cheeks."Stay with me! What the hell happened?! CAIN! COME DOWN! I NEED YOU!"

In a matter of seconds, Cain jumped down the stairs and went to her assistance. Kneeling next to her, he placed his head against the witness' chest, listening to his heartbeat."He's alive but he's completely knocked out. Must have been that medicine. How much did you give him?"

"Two spoons full."

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Cain rose his voice, causing her to flinch."I gave him three!"

"And I gave him five, bah-ha!" Sekke had entered the room once more after hearing the screaming."Did something happened?"

"You got that right! We overdosed him!" Cain paced around the room, grabbing his forehead."This is bad. We have to take him to a hospital and fast."

"But we can't." Luna bit her bottom lip."We have to draw out the possible assassins and catch the perpetrator."

A feral growl was heard outside, followed by screams of pain and the sound of something banging against the door."Guess that's our cue."

"Toby must be battling someone right now." Sekke concluded, wiping the sweat in his forehead."He's a force to be reckoned with, buuuut he's a bit too aggressive."

"Okay, here's what we'll do. We have to draw the culprit out. That means we have to incapacitate them but we also have to move Mr. Richards out of here. We can't use your magic, Luna, since you'll either go too fast or go up in the air."

"Leave it to me, bah-ha! Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke's Shooting Star!"

A bicycle-like construct was created inside of the living room. Sekke helped Luna set the witness on it and pushed it out the backdoor.

The Constellar Magic-user turned sharply to Cain."Help Tobias hold them off. Try to restrain them and get any information you can."

"Yes, mom," Cain grumbled, shaking his head before rushing up the stairs once more. Entering the room he was in, he grabbed his bow and created an arrow as he aimed using Luna's telescope.

A man was tossed against the wall next to the window, causing him to cringe."What the...?" A snake-like creature grabbed a man from his leg and tossed again against a tree."Tobias!"

The silver-haired man ignored him, standing motionless as he held a small smile on his face, finding himself surrounded by enemies.

"That kid already took down four of us!" One of the assassins hissed."The target is probably escaping!"

"Relax." Said another one, seemingly not concerned."We outnumber them by a vast amount. Remember how much we're being paid to kill the target. Not to mention that if we fail, we'll be screwed. But we got the others surrounding this area."

"In that case, let's put him down quick! Fire Creation Magic: Great Wave of Heat!"

A giant wave of fire was created from the bandit's Grimoire, rapidly approaching Tobias who simply glanced down at his Grimoire. It was light green and big, possibly containing many spells due to its volume. Its cover was basically a pot and on top of it was a three-leaf clover.

"Predaplant Creation Magic: Roridula Snapper."

Out of nowhere, a plant-like turtle appeared in front of Tobias, using its shell to block the attack with ease. Suddenly, the creature peaked its head outside, revealing a disfigured turtle with a great number of eyes. Opening its mouth, the turtle shot a powerful waterjet to cut through the trees, forcing the mercenaries on the defensive.

"I've never seen a water attack like that!" Cain's eyes widened in disbelief."But how is it possible? People are only supposed to have one magic attribute, right?'

Something shining in the sky caught Cain's attention, noticing that a lightning magic-user was charging up an attack above in the sky as he flew around with his broom. Cain created a new arrow with a flickering of his wrist and aimed, amazed by the increased vision he had thanks to Luna's telescope. Releasing the arrow, Cain shot directly at the bandit's left leg, causing him to lose balance and fall on a tree.

Tobias spared Cain a glance, his emotionless expression staring at his eyes."Cain, was it?"

"Yeah." Cain gave him a nod, feeling somewhat intimidated by his gaze.

"Go help the others out. I don't trust Sekke to handle himself much less handling someone else." Tobias explained, shifting his gaze to the sky. A great number of mercenaries had arrived for backup, vastly outnumbering the Magic Knights."The mission is to get that witness to safety but that will prove impossible with all these guys following us. That and also there's bound to be more ahead. Capture one or two and we can use them to testify against their employer."

Cain had to admit that he was bringing up valid points. For someone he barely knew if not at all and looked completely distant to everything going on around him, he was a quick thinker."But still, there's no way you can take them all down. Even if I stay behind, there's just too many."

"The point isn't defeating them." Tobias remarked, splaying his hands out as his Grimoire flipped through its pages."It's to stall for as much time as possible. Predaplant Magic: Platea Cactus."

A plant standing in the shape of a ball covered in spikes was created from his Grimoire, rolling down until it was close to the mercenaries before spinning in place, launching its spikes as many of them as it could.

Tobias rose his head, watching uninterested as a gust of wind was coming in his direction. Lifting his right arm, a tongue wrapped around it and pulled him out of danger onto a branch. His Darling Cobra hung up from a higher branch, hissing at the mercenaries that were beginning to surround them.

"I do have to say, he has good crowd control spells. I just hope he isn't foolish enough to stay behind and get himself in trouble." Cain marched to the door and grabbed his broom, aiming for the wall behind him."Yang Creation Magic: Explosive Arrow!"

Using his Heaven Piercer to fire the arrow, the wall leading to the backside of the house was blown completely off. Jumping on his broom, he began flying in the direction that Sekke and Luna were most likely going towards. If the many mercenaries flying around the area heading to where his teammates were going wasn't any indication that he was going the right way, he would assume he was lost.

"Yang Magic: Triple Rapid Shot."

Creating three arrows of white energy, he readied his bow and aimed towards the three mercenaries closer to his direction."Fire!"

The mercenaries had no time to react to the arrows breaking the brooms, causing their imminent falls. He accelerated his pace, grabbing one of them by the leg before continuing on his path, letting the other two fall.

"Okay, wise guy, you're going to tell me all you can about your employer, how many of you are there, and how the hell you knew we were here."

"What makes you think I'll tell you anything?!" The bandit retorted, trying to look for his Grimoire, only to realize he had dropped it."Uh..."

"Yeah, I figured as much." Cain sighed, changing course and ascending in the sky."Guess I have no choice."

"What are you doing?!" The man squealed, horror evident in his voice the higher they went up in the sky."You're not going to do what I think you're going to do, right?!"

Unfazed, Cain let go of his leg, listening to the screams slowly get lower and lower the closer to the ground the man got."Yang Creation Magic: Sharp Turn Shot."

Raising his bow and creating an energy arrow, he aimed with the telescope attached to it, carefully following the man falling to adjust his aim. Opening his palm, he released the arrow, shooting it straight down before it suddenly took a curve and horizontally, piercing through the man's right hand and pinning him to a tree high above the ground.

Satisfied by his work, Cain lowered himself, squatting down on his broom."You know, you should probably start talking soon. Your hand won't be able to hold your weight and is definitely going to split it in half."

"Okay! OKAY! I'll talk!" The man howled, his cry of pain growing lower once the arrow dematerialized and made him fall onto the grass."You...y-y-you're crazy! W-w-what can of Magic Knight tortures people!"

"Hey, to be fair, I was pretty lax. I know some people who would have done a whole lot worse. Secondly, I wouldn't call it torture after you sent who-knows how many mercenaries after us. And finally, I lied above your hand being split in half. Well, if you had moved too much, MAYBE. But I don't do it for the fun of it. I need results now."

"Fine...the one who hired us is named Raul Homura..."

"And?"

"He murdered his wife...I don't really know the details, since that's the description we got...we don't really know what this person even looks like, and honestly, if you ask me, that name is more like an alias..."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been working as a freelance assassin for a while, kid...I can tell when someone doesn't want us to know their names. But there's something weird I noticed..." He took a deep breath, composing himself and trying to ignore the pain in his hand."Why would the witness assume he was being followed? And if so, how come he didn't call the authorities much sooner?"

"He didn't?" Now that got Cain intrigued."What do you mean? Didn't they search the neighbor's house?"

"Apparently no." The man answered truthfully."I don't even know where that happened to begin with. I never even heard of it until I received a letter. When I get a client, I usually try to dig up some information to know what I'm getting myself into, but I found nothing. Nothing that could trace me back to him. Meticulous work. Which got me thinking...why would a phantom man that was so careful to cover his steps and to avoid even revealing his real identity be sloppy enough to be caught by a neighbor?"

The brown-haired young man pondered for a moment, recalling that he had gone to a building and tried renting a room, only to be denied. He knew he should have asked the reason, but at the time he was fed up with searching for a cheap apartment. "That should be enough for now." Cain rubbed his chin, absorbing the information given to him."Yang Restraining Magic: Arrowhead."

A rope of energy was engulfed around the man, securing the knot by tying it up around an arrow facing downwards, making it difficult for him to even move his arms."Sit on my broom. We'll catch up with the others and hopefully, you can convince your friends to stop."

The bandit merely chuckled, having no other option but to oblige."I doubt it. If anything, they'll shoot to kill me too. We all received half of the payment, but will receive the other half once we kill you really want your mission done as quickly as possible...you should jus-"

"Yeah, I don't think I asked." Cain jumped on his broom and sped up, heading down the path they were originally going."Hang on you two..."


And with that, the missions are nearing their climaxes. Honestly, Cain's side had at least 3k words more but I decided it would make the chapter even longer. Not to mention I still have to settle how things with Johan and Arthur would go. Of course, next chapter I will focus a bit on Raiden's side to finish up what he started with Magna before concluding the Golden Dawn missions so people won't have to wait. Good thing is, since I cut the chapter, I just have to add Raiden's part and a bit of Cain and write more for Johan's and it should be done. It might take a week or two since I'll be starting college tomorrow and the first few weeks can be a pain.

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and I know it's a bit slow and goofy but I guarantee you that plot will pick up its pace soon and continue to escalate the more chapters I release. So please feel free to review and leave a favorite or a like because it motivates me to continue writing the story and improve. With that being said, until next time!