Inside the mansion—
the atmosphere was tense.
Doctors hurried in and out of a room carrying bandages, medicine, and healing tools.
Rick lay on a bed inside, his chest wrapped in blood-soaked cloth.
Several doctors worked around him.
One of them placed his hands over the wound.
Auris flowed from his palms into Rick's body.
The room glowed faintly.
Outside the room—
Saito, Gein, Fiona, and several others waited anxiously.
The door suddenly opened.
One of the doctors stepped out.
Everyone immediately looked at him.
"How is he?"
The doctor wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Don't worry."
"The wound is severe..."
"...but he can still be saved."
Fiona visibly relaxed.
Saito let out a long breath.
"Thank goodness."
The doctor nodded before returning to the room.
Silence followed.
Saito leaned against the wall.
"...I didn't know they'd attack like this."
Gein crossed his arms.
His armor was still stained from battle.
"No."
"They planned this well."
The convoy.
The ambush.
The officers.
Everything had been coordinated.
Gein looked toward the window.
"Our only hope now..."
"...is that the other villages are safe."
Saito nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Because if Hollow Gang had attacked more than one village—
this battle was only the beginning.
At Bypass Village—
the battle had already begun.
Gangsters wearing the red scythe symbol rushed toward the village walls, shouting as they charged.
At their front stood a massive man carrying a heavy hammer over his shoulder.
Matt.
He looked at the defenses and grinned.
"Destroy their wall!"
The Hollow Gang members roared and surged forward.
But before they could reach it—
BOOM!
A blast of fire erupted in front of them.
Several gangsters were thrown backward.
"Agh!"
"What was that?!"
More flames followed.
The attackers stumbled as fire users appeared on top of the walls.
Standing at their center was Mayor John.
His coat fluttered in the heat as flames danced around his hands.
John smirked.
"Heh."
"You better think twice before attacking us."
The Bypass Invokers behind him raised their hands.
Dozens of fireballs formed at once.
The Hollow Gang members hesitated.
Matt, however, simply laughed.
"Good."
He rested his hammer on the ground.
"I was hoping for a fight."
John's smile faded slightly.
The giant took a step forward.
The ground shook beneath his feet.
Then another.
And another.
The Hollow Gang members began charging again behind him.
John raised his hand.
"Fire!"
A wave of flames shot from the wall toward the advancing enemies.
And the battle for Bypass Village erupted into chaos.
While John and the Bypass Invokers rained fire onto the attackers—
Bomb was nowhere near the wall.
Instead, he moved quietly through the village outskirts.
Earlier, he had hidden dozens of small bombs around the defensive perimeter.
Kuro watched him from a rooftop and crossed his arms.
"This will work?"
Bomb grinned.
"Just watch and learn."
The sounds of battle echoed from the front gate.
More Hollow Gang members began appearing from the sides of the village.
Some tried to circle around the walls.
Others rushed through blind spots.
One gangster pointed ahead.
"There!"
"The side wall!"
The group charged.
More enemies followed from another direction.
They had no idea what was waiting for them.
Bomb watched calmly.
"...Almost."
The gangsters got closer.
Closer.
A few were already reaching for the wall.
Then Bomb snapped his fingers.
"Watch my explosion art."
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted beneath the attackers.
The ground shook violently.
Gangsters were launched into the air.
Before they could recover—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
More hidden bombs detonated one after another.
Fire and smoke erupted around the village perimeter.
The Hollow Gang attack instantly collapsed into confusion.
"Aaaaah!"
"Where are they coming from?!"
"Watch your feet!"
Kuro burst out laughing.
"Hahaha!"
"That's actually genius!"
Bomb smirked proudly.
"Told you."
Below them, the surviving attackers scrambled away from the walls as explosions continued to erupt around their positions.
And for the first time since the assault began—
the momentum shifted toward Bypass Village.
At Hiraki Village—
the battlefield was split between the open road and the forest edge.
Ling moved first.
He pulled a set of small glass vials from his belt and hurled them onto the ground.
CRASH! CRASH!
Dark smoke erupted instantly.
The smoke spread rapidly across the battlefield, swallowing visibility.
"Grr… what is this?!"
"I can't see!"
Panic spread through the Hollow Gang ranks.
From within the forest—
movement flashed through the trees.
Kaito and Jori were already inside the smoke-covered battlefield.
Fast.
Silent.
Deadly.
A gang member stumbled forward—
SLASH!
He dropped before he could even react.
Another turned—
THUD!
Taken down instantly.
Kaito's voice cut through the chaos.
"Don't lose formation!"
Jori's voice followed from deeper in the forest.
"They're blinded. Finish them quickly!"
At the edge of the battlefield—
one of Gein's commanders raised his hand.
"Archers ready!"
A line of soldiers stepped forward, drawing their bows.
The commander's eyes narrowed.
"Fire!"
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
A rain of arrows shot into the smoke.
Inside the chaos, Hollow Gang members screamed as they were struck one after another.
"Argh!"
"From where?!"
Ling stood at the edge of the smoke, watching it all unfold.
He smirked.
"Take that, gangsters."
The battlefield at Hiraki was quickly turning into a coordinated trap—smoke, blades, and arrows working together to wipe out the invading force.
At Kor Village—
the battlefield was already collapsing for the Hollow Gang.
Their formation was broken.
Their retreat routes were cut off.
And in front of them—
a very different kind of army was advancing.
The Wolfbeast unit from Lorum.
Takeru stood at the center of the formation, watching calmly.
Then he raised his hand.
"Kill them all."
"Don't let anyone live."
A roar answered him.
"ROOOOAAAR!"
The Wolfbeasts surged forward like a tide.
Fast. Ferocious. Unrelenting.
They didn't fight like soldiers.
They hunted.
One gang member tried to raise his weapon—
A Wolfbeast slammed into him mid-charge.
CRACK!
Another was dragged down into the dirt.
Claws. Fangs. Raw strength.
The Hollow Gang barely had time to react before their formation completely shattered.
From a safe distance, Fein watched silently.
"…I kinda feel chills watching this."
Takeru didn't look away from the battlefield.
"This is normal."
He adjusted his stance slightly.
"These are Wolfbeasts from Lorum."
"We don't show pity to enemies who invade our land."
A loud scream echoed as another gang member was overwhelmed by multiple Wolfbeasts at once.
Fein exhaled slowly.
"…Noted."
Takeru's eyes stayed sharp.
"Finish the rest quickly."
And the battlefield at Kor Village became a brutal wave of coordinated aggression, wiping out the remaining Hollow Gang forces without hesitation.
Deep in the forest—
Rin stood with his scythe resting on his shoulder.
Beside him, Selena dragged Fern's lifeless body across the ground.
His body left a faint trail through the dirt.
Rin glanced at it casually.
"How about Matt?"
Selena didn't stop walking.
"He already launched an attack at Bypass Village."
Rin nodded.
"Good."
He waved his hand slightly.
"Throw that body away."
Selena obeyed without hesitation, tossing Fern's corpse deeper into the forest.
It landed with a dull thud among the trees.
Then—
a new presence arrived.
A man stepped out from the shadows.
His expression was calm, but cold.
"I heard your assault on Lorum failed."
Rin tilted his head.
"Failed?"
He smirked.
"It was a test."
"One sacrifice for information."
The man stared at him silently.
Then—
metallic movement echoed behind him.
SHINK… SHINK…
Machine-like tentacles slowly extended from his back.
They twisted and flexed like living metal.
His voice dropped.
"Make sure you understand something."
"I don't want mistakes."
The air grew heavier.
His eyes locked onto Rin.
"To defeat that rookie…"
"…you need to kill him."
Rin let out a small laugh.
"Relax, Scrapper."
"I'm just enjoying the game."
Scrapper's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Don't enjoy it too much."
The tension between the two lingered in the forest—
while across every village, the war against Hollow Gang was still burning.