Ethan froze, his eyes searching the woods around him in a state of absolute confusion. Selina stopped as well, looking curious. “That was an odd noise,” she said. “You know, people don’t talk about the sounds that monsters make that often. Well, they mention growling and roars and whatnot, but the rest?” She looked at him, still frozen. “Ethan? Do you know the monster that makes that sound? Is it the lutumstrider?”

  “No,” he managed, barely more than a whisper. Then he took off, moving through the trees as quickly as he could. It was an odd instinct to follow, the drive to run toward gunfire. Nevermind how much time he’d spent running toward danger since arriving here, there was still something in his mind telling him that bullets were a ‘real life’ fear, whereas magic and monsters were still somehow fairytales.

  Still, he ran. More gunfire echoed from up ahead, and he adjusted his course slightly to intercept it. He needed to know. He needed to understand how this was possible. Every time silence returned he’d begin to doubt. Maybe it was just a monster? I have exploding powers, certainly others do as well. Then he’d hear the sound again.

  Ethan was no stranger to the sound. He’d been to the range with his brothers, and gone hunting, though avoiding guns had eventually become a part of his personal quest to become a doctor. There was no mistaking what this was. Short, controlled bursts, no doubt from a rifle. He moved faster.

  Selina was behind him, lacking his Dawn rank speed, and needing to navigate more carefully, but she wisely didn’t call out. Ethan knew he should have said something, but in that moment he’d simply reacted. Finally he saw the trees thinning ahead, and forced himself to slow.

  Whatever world he was on, gunfire wasn’t a great indication of safety.

  He slid to a stop, then proceeded forward at a crouch. For the moment he didn’t send out Deevee to scout–Tomo had warned him that some Bonded would be able to sense or even see the Familiar, regardless of whether it moved in its incorporeal form. He moved up to some thick bushes, and looked through.

  He was overlooking another river flowing out of the forest, and leading South toward Corvale. Here the landscape seemed to open up, providing a direct path out of the woods. The river had likely been larger once upon a time, carving out this little valley, and it had left a series of waist-high rocks deposited in what was now a grassy field surrounding the water.

  “Big empty area with lots of cover,” he muttered. “It’s like a goddamned bossfight.” Surprisingly though, he didn’t see anyone in the valley, and it had been some time since the last echo of gunfire.

  Selina finally caught up, moving to crouch next to him. “What’s going on?” she asked between panting. “What are we chasing?”

  “Honestly I’m not sure,” he said, still searching. “I recognize the sound though, it’s from–”

  “There she is!” a man’s voice called out from the trees on the other side of the river. A moment later a woman burst out of the forest, bow in one hand, and a jaguar running by her side. From behind bullets flew out from the forest, peppering the land around her, one even flashing through her arm.

  “Cara…” Ethan said, still trying to process everything he was seeing. He’d hoped to run into the Hunter after seeing the name ‘Stalker’ on two of the Notices he’d taken. At the very least it would be good to see her again, but he’d also thought Selina would benefit from a more experienced Hunter’s perspective. This though…he wasn’t prepared for.

  She jumped behind one of the exposed rocks seeming to grow out of the flat ground. Bullets sparked from it as a group emerged from the trees. Most were dressed in simple commoner’s clothing, in shades of unassuming brown, but two others wore good leather armor, and had their faces covered. There was no mistaking what they held: rifles.

  From this distance Ethan couldn’t see them clearly, but the shapes were clear. He even witnessed a few of them swapping out clips in a familiar–if clumsy–method of reloading. What the hell is this? he thought. “Selina, have you seen weapons like that before?” he looked over when she didn’t answer, seeing her wide-eyed with shock.

  Down below, Talia the runic jaguar charged out from behind cover, leaping into the center of the group, and knocking a couple of the gunmen down. Cara used the distraction to fire a few arrows, but collapsed in pain as Talia was mercilessly gunned down. Familiars didn’t bleed when injured, instead, magic in the form of light poured out of them until they faded away.

  “Stay here,” Ethan commanded, as Deevee split up and flew downward to the battle. He’d counted thirteen total, with at least two appearing to be Bonded, though Talia and Cara’s attack had downed three of the Unbound. The remaining ten raced into cover of their own, and went back to firing.

  Ethan managed two rifts, closing half the distance before he was noticed and one of the Bonded pointed at him. From behind the dark mask a feminine voice called out, and several of the gunmen started firing–at Deevee. Ethan immediately recalled the Familiar, having lost the hydra in far too recent a battle to be willing to risk it again.

  He swapped to tossing dimensionally charged daggers, but that always ate through his mana at a dangerous rate. He slid to a halt behind another boulder a few dozen paces from cara, only taking the time to make eye contact with her before preparing his assault. She knew she wasn’t alone, and that would have to be enough for now.

  Ethan had never truly prepared for using his skills against someone with guns, but it wasn’t too far removed from some of the monsters he’d faced. They could fire quickly and a lot, but he could do this. First he tried hurling two daggers, charged with explosive energy, a spectral Tomo rose up from behind cover to watch the results. The little demon had been fairly quiet since their shared torment in the cell, but he wouldn’t abandon Ethan in combat.

  From where he was ducking, Ethan heard an odd metallic sound, followed by the expected explosions, then Tomo lowered back down. “Two of the attackers are Bonded, Dawn rank,” he confirmed, obviously having looked into the Astral–something that wasn’t yet second nature to Ethan. “One of them used its weapon to deflect your knives.”

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  “Shit,” Ethan said. He hadn’t considered what a Dawn rank body could do for aiming and reacting with a rifle. “We’re doing this the hard way then.” He took a few calming breaths, ignoring the small voice in his mind.

  If they have guns, what if they’re from Earth? What are you about to do?

  “Kill them all,” he whispered in a hollow voice. The memories of the slaughter in the village came back. Something he hadn’t truly begun to process. Worse, his time in the Deep Cell had only layered trauma on top of that darkness. He had suppressed it because he wasn’t ready to think about who he’d become, but now the mask was off.

  The Assassin was loose.

  Five men in white coats burst from cover, charging erratically toward the group. They leapt and sometimes ran on all fours, scrambling across the ground, and dashing behind cover as they moved ever closer. Bullets followed them all as the group called out in confusion and frustration. Some of the attacks seemed to land, leaving the white coats stained with red blood.

  Others seemed to disappear into blue white light that rolled across the Assassin in waves. When one finally burst out in front of the three of the men, they all fired in unison, dozens of bullets appearing to shred the blank-faced man into pieces. And yet when he landed among them, he suddenly burst apart, becoming a cloud of pink-red bullets which tore into each of the gunmen. They fell into a bloody, unmoving pile.

  Ghost Among the Reeds had shown what it could do, and now there were seven let alive.

  “Illusions!” one of the Bonded called out, turning away from the copies to resume firing at Cara. When one of the white coated men approached, he ignored it, suspecting that fighting back would only lead to it exploding as the other one had. Some instinct made him dodge when a short blade went right for his heart, however, and instead it dug deeply into his shoulder.

  He howled in pain, but still managed to turn his rifle onto what had to be the real attacker, unloading his full clip into the man’s gut. Each disappeared into blue-white light, clearing doing no harm. He quickly changed tactics, dropping his weapon as his hands burst into flames. He reached out to grapple with the man, only to feel something push into his back.

  He looked down just in time to see two blades, covered in his blood erupt from his chest, followed by an explosion of black death. “Six…” a voice hissed from behind him, and then the Bonded was down.

  Cara didn’t waste this opportunity. Ignoring the pain of several wounds, she stood and began firing arrows as rapidly as she could. The other Bonded ducked behind cover, and she kept the woman there with a steady stream of projectiles, each imbued with deadly magic.

  Nearby, there was another odd sound as one of the Ghosts was ripped apart. This time only one gunman fell from the eruption of Mystic bullets that fired out, and the rest turned their focus on the final copy, managing to take it down before it reached the group.

  They had no Bonded to protect them, though, when more charged daggers dug into the ground at their feet. Twin pillars of fire erupted upward, leaving two more of the gunmen as nothing more than ash. The last three turned and ran, their morale utterly shattered. They didn’t make the treeline before a burning panther appeared as if from nowhere.

  Two went down in a heartbeat, one managing to scramble up as the third turned his rifle of the black and red beast. He didn’t even feel himself die as black, Ruinous energy tore through his body. The sole remaining Unbound looked at the man in white, backing away, one arm shredded from Revan’s claws.

  “Two…” the Assassin whispered, as a sickle and chain appeared in his hands. The man turned and ran, but the sickle ended his life a heartbeat later. The Assassin turned back to where Cara was still firing arrows, knowing that he still had one to Hunt.

  He became a trick of the light as he moved rapidly across the blood-stained grass. He intended to end this quickly, surprised the remaining Bonded hadn’t acted against Cara–given she was obviously wounded and down a Familiar. He ducked into the woods, intending to surprise the final target, only to stop short as she came into view.

  She was surrounded by Rune Circles, their glow already starting to fade. Her body quivered with some unseen power, and the Assassin realized she was growing. Much like Valanor had, the woman had used some powerful ability, and when she stood up to her full height, she had to be over ten feet. Arrows crashed into her–and fell to the ground, unable to pierce deeply enough into her flesh.

  The now giant woman was still wearing the mask, only her eyes visible, which were red with fury. She leaned forward, ripping the boulder she’d been using as cover out of the ground, and hurled it at Cara. The archer danced backward just in time, somehow managing to unleash a few more arrows even while dodging.

  The empowered Bonded wasn’t done though. Strengthened by multiple spells she moved forward, slow but powerful, grabbing more boulders to throw. Then the Assassin was there, a Knife in the Dark slashing at an achilles tendon. It didn’t bite deeply, but it was enough to slow the woman further.

  She turned in anger, arms searching for the man in white. Arrows continued to dig into her, some going far enough in to cause minor wounds. Whatever spells she’d cast appeared to be wearing off, each hit succeeding a little more. Still, she stomped her feet and swung wildly, trying to catch the elusive man whose blades kept slashing away, leaving countless, tiny wounds.

  Those wounds began to glow ominously, the enlarged woman burning from the inside. She roared in pain, finally rushing to the edge of the woods, as if in retreat. The Assassin followed, blades lashing out again and again. When she reached the trees, however, she stopped.

  Bending down, she effortlessly lifted a fallen tree, easily a dozen feet long. She swung it with surprising speed, catching the Assassin off guard and sending him sprawling backward. She moved toward him as he struggled to regain his senses, gasping for air, and finding a length of splintered wood piercing through his side, right through his armor.

  He realized the arrows had stopped, Cara having finally run out of energy. The Assassin forced himself up, finding another boulder at this back. He coughed up blood, and looked dizzily at the approaching giant, the tree held like a club, looking much like a reflection of the gigas he’d so recently fought.

  As he tried to push through the pain, he considered the wise words Valanor had told him about Assassins the night they watched Prince Calevaro fight. ‘You lean too hard into the strengths, and sure, you can take down half the monster’s in the kingdom in one good strike. But the other half will kill you a second later.’

  This woman was definitely a monster. That’s what the Assassin saw as stalked toward him, her entire body glowing with countless stacks of [Internal Combustion]. He’d burned through so much mana getting across the killing field, making copies, using his reflection and Dimensional Mantle to survive. He could make a rift, but not enough to escape, he could–

  Light blasted out from behind him, searing directly into the enormous woman’s eyes. She’d been focused on him, and somehow allowed Selina to get close. The beam didn’t stop, blinding the Bonded and causing her to stagger back, dropping the tree. That gave the Assassin some room. Just enough room.

  “Heaven’s judgment and earth’s burning tears, be joined forever in a symphony of destruction.”

  A bolt of lighting struck down from a clear sky, crashing into the woman with devastating force. Its damage was not only amplified by the stacks of [Internal Combustion], but also in turn multiplied those stacks again. The woman couldn’t even scream, her throat and flesh burned beyond to ash. She simply collapsed into a heap.

  From her back a rifle fell, partly melted by the Assassin’s bolt, and it slid across the ground, still smoking. It left a single question, burning as brightly as the fallen giant.

  Who were these people?