The moon bathed the streets of the Capital in pale silver light as the enormous church doors burst open and a flood of nobles poured out, shoving and trampling over one another.

The screams, the clanging of armor, and the panic caused by the darkness turned the elegant Night of Candles into a complete disaster.

Amid the chaos, Nox walked calmly.

Beside him were Dawn, the marks of her chains still visible around her wrists, along with Tessa, Misty, and Catherine, all blending into the crowd while pretending to be frightened guests fleeing the church.

No one paid any attention to five more people escaping the building.

And that was exactly what they needed.

Just before leaving the grand staircase behind, Nox looked up.

On the rooftop of the building beside the church, two figures remained perfectly still.

Audrey and Claws.

The huntress already had her bow fully drawn as she scanned the entire plaza from above. Beside her, the massive four-armed bear crouched low, following every movement in the crowd.

When Audrey’s eyes met Nox’s, he subtly raised two fingers.

A simple signal.

She understood immediately.

She nodded once.

She’s still covering us...

Nox smiled faintly.

Misty moved a little closer.

"So... what do we do now?"

Dawn quickly surveyed the streets.

"We can’t take the main avenue. The guards have probably already been deployed."

She pointed toward a narrow alley between two buildings.

"I know another route. It’s not exactly safe, but it connects to the slums. If we hurry, we’ll disappear before they find us."

Nox smiled.

"Perfect."

"Tonight, we follow the princess."

Dawn let out a quiet laugh.

"Don’t call me Princess."

"At the moment, I’d say I’m the Capital’s most wanted criminal."

"I don’t see much of a difference."

Everyone broke into a run.

Above them, Audrey let out a soft whistle.

Claws answered with a low growl.

A second later, the two of them began leaping across the rooftops, following the group from above.

Always several meters behind.

Always watching.

Always protecting their backs.

◇◆◇

Behind them...

The plaza remained in complete chaos.

Senna moved through the crowd, struggling to remain calm.

Her eyes desperately searched for Tessa.

Where is she...?

What have they done this time...?

Please... don’t get yourselves into more trouble...

She couldn’t call out to her.

If she shouted Tessa’s name...

Everyone would discover that the hero they believed dead was still alive.

Suddenly, she bumped into someone.

"I’m sorry..."

Gentle hands caught her shoulders before she could lose her balance.

"Mother."

Senna slowly looked up.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Leo..."

The hero smiled tiredly.

He was still carrying his black ash sword.

"Don’t worry."

He discreetly glanced toward the street where Nox and the others had escaped.

"They’re heading home."

"They’ll be fine."

A tremendous weight lifted from Senna’s chest.

"You helped them...?"

Leo lowered his head slightly.

"I couldn’t do anything else."

"We’ll talk later."

"For now..."

"I have to stay here."

The woman gently cupped her son’s cheek.

"I don’t care which side you’re on..."

"...as long as you continue protecting your sister."

Leo closed his eyes for a moment.

"I always will."

For the first time that entire night, Senna smiled.

Knowing that both of her children were still alive...

And that they still protected one another...

Was enough to bring her a little peace.

◇◆◇

The five of them moved faster and faster through the narrow stone alleys.

The chaos of the church had long since faded behind them.

Out here...

Only the sound of their footsteps remained.

Misty was the first to remove her black mask.

"What a relief..."

"I was getting tired of pretending."

She tossed it onto a stack of barrels.

Tessa removed her feathered mask next.

Then Catherine.

Finally, Nox slowly took off the black leather mask covering the upper half of his face.

He also removed his top hat, revealing his demon horns once again.

"Much better."

Dawn watched them with amusement.

"So..."

"I guess you don’t need to hide anymore."

"No."

Nox answered.

"Now comes the fun part."

The princess looked upward.

Across the rooftops, she watched Audrey sprint with astonishing agility while Claws bounded effortlessly from roof to roof as though his enormous body weighed nothing at all.

"They’re with you?"

she asked, pointing toward them.

Nox smiled.

"Don’t worry."

"They’re covering our backs."

Dawn watched them silently for several seconds.

"Good team."

Then she turned her attention toward Tessa.

She studied her carefully.

Red hair.

Golden spear.

Those eyes...

She would recognize them anywhere.

"So..."

"It’s really you."

Tessa raised an eyebrow.

"The Phoenix Inquisitor."

"The one who’s supposed to be dead."

The young woman smiled bitterly.

"It’s a long story."

"And that title doesn’t belong to me anymore."

Dawn chuckled softly.

"I can already guess the rest."

"If you’re traveling with a demon..."

"...the Church probably invented everything else."

Tessa smiled.

"More or less."

Before anyone could continue...

A tiny voice echoed from Catherine’s chest.

"Danger... is coming."

Everyone turned.

Felix poked one of his tiny spirit ears out from inside Catherine’s body.

"Something’s coming..."

Nox frowned.

"I can feel it too."

His new ability...

Danger Sense.

Every muscle in his body tightened.

Then...

A woman’s laughter echoed from the end of the alley.

Mocking.

"Hehehe... what an interesting gathering."

Everyone looked up.

At the far end of the deserted street...

A blonde woman stood motionless.

She wore the silver armor of the royal guards.

In her hands rested an enormous spear wrapped in flames.

She smiled as though she were enjoying every second of it.

"Little sister Tessa..."

Her voice dripped with mockery.

"You should’ve stayed dead."

The smile vanished from Tessa’s face.

Ava slowly spun her spear in her hands.

"So..."

"You didn’t like the farewell we gave your beautiful red candle..."

"...the one you snuffed out in the middle of the ceremony?"

An icy silence settled over the alley.

Tessa stepped forward.

Her eyes burned with rage.

At that exact moment...

Footsteps echoed across the rooftops.

Many of them.

Fast.

Growing closer with every second.

Audrey appeared atop one of the buildings.

Bow in hand.

Claws roared beside her.

"Nox."

The huntress never took her eyes off the shadows racing across the rooftops.

"We’ll handle the ones above."

"The enemy’s coming from the roofs."

The enormous bear planted all four of his front paws against the edge of the building.

Waiting.

Nox let out a long sigh.

"Seriously...?"

He rubbed a hand across his forehead.

"Can’t we have just one peaceful night..."

"...and go to bed without getting blood on our hands?"

Dawn burst into laughter.

Misty started laughing as well.

In front of them, flames began engulfing Tessa’s body.

She gripped her golden spear firmly.

The Phoenix’s fire illuminated the entire alley.

Her eyes locked onto Ava.

Filled with undisguised contempt.

"Please..."

she said without looking away from her successor.

"Let me deal with this idiot."

Ava’s smile only widened.

The flames surrounding her own spear flared even brighter, lighting up the night.

"That’s exactly what I wanted to hear."

And above the rooftops...

The shadows finally closed in around them.