Yumi sat leaning against the dirty wall of the underground chamber, her wounded leg now fully healed thanks to her regeneration. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, occasionally glancing toward Zephyr, who stood not far from her with his bow in hand.

Over the past few days, Yumi had felt confused by her own emotions. Something was strange, something wasn’t right. She felt like she wasn’t being herself. Her mind often wandered somewhere else, and her chest felt tight for no reason. But now, seeing Zephyr before her, that confusion only deepened.

She knew her fate was sealed.

No way out. No chance to escape. Zephyr was here, the Star Witch was somewhere nearby, and all her subordinates were dead. She was alone, wounded, with nowhere to run.

Zephyr stared at her. His heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly.

"You’re quiet," he said, his voice flat.

Yumi flinched. She tried to smile—that flirtatious smile she always used to captivate men. But the smile felt bitter, fake, even to herself.

"Ah, Zephyr... could you let me go this time?" Her voice trembled slightly. "Considering our past relationship... please~"

Zephyr didn’t react. Not a single change in his expression. His eyes remained cold, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Yumi felt something in her chest—pain, maybe. Or disappointment. Back then, whenever she teased him, the man before her would blush and act shy.

"There’s a lot you need to explain to me," Zephyr said, his tone calm but full of threat. "Especially about the Abyss Syndicate. Your plans. Your members. Everything. If you don’t want to talk, I have other ways to make you speak."

Yumi bit her lip. Then, unable to control herself, lewd words began spilling from her mouth.

"Oh my, Zephyr... you want to torture me?" Her voice tried to sound flirtatious, but the bitterness remained. "I’m really looking forward to your punishment. How will you punish me? Will you strip me naked? Chain my hands? Whip me? Or..."

She licked her lips, trying to smile seductively. "Or... will you do naughtier things to me? I can’t wait to find out."

Zephyr sighed. That was all. One long exhale that could have meant fatigue, annoyance, or disappointment.

Yumi fell silent.

She didn’t know why she’d said all that. That was her way—teasing, seducing, using her charm to get what she wanted. But this time, those words felt wrong. Felt dirty. Felt like she was humiliating herself before Zephyr.

She felt terrible.

But why? Why should she feel terrible before this man? The man who was going to capture her, interrogate her, possibly torture her? Why did her chest feel tight when she saw those cold eyes?

Zephyr pulled something from within his robe. A pair of handcuffs, but not ordinary ones—silver cuffs with runes carved into their surface. Energy-restraining cuffs.

He approached. Yumi didn’t move, just stared at him.

Zephyr reached for her hand. His touch was cold, but somehow Yumi felt warmth in her chest. He fastened the cuff around her left wrist.

Yumi tried to smile again.

"Oh my, Zephyr... you want to play cops and robbers?" Her voice was weak, unconvincing.

Zephyr ignored her.

The moment the cuff was secured, Yumi felt something strange. Her power—her energy—suddenly vanished. Like something had sucked it all from within her body. Her body went limp, nearly falling if not for the wall supporting her.

Zephyr took her other hand and fastened it to a metal rod protruding from the wall. The cuff clicked shut with a sharp sound.

Yumi was now chained to the wall, unable to go anywhere.

Zephyr looked at her one last time.

"Wait here quietly," he said. "Don’t try to escape. I can track you."

Yumi could only stare at him. No words came out.

Not long after, the sound of a flying broom was heard. Delilah descended near them, dragging the unconscious, tattooed wolf-man. His body was naked, with gaping wounds on both legs.

"Zephyr," Delilah called. "One captive."

Zephyr nodded. He took another pair of cuffs from his robe, fastened them around the man’s wrists, then attached them to the same metal rod—some distance from Yumi, but still within sight.

The man only groaned softly, unconscious.

Yumi looked at him with pity.

The black smoke around them began to dissipate. The energy chaos created by Ashen Tide slowly faded.

Delilah mounted her broom again. "I’ll chase Ashen Tide," she said. "Give me his location."

Zephyr closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating. When he opened them again, his split pupils flashed.

"North. He’s fleeing north. Almost out of Gatehaven city."

"Good." Delilah nodded. "And you?"

"I’ll chase Eldertree." Zephyr looked in another direction. "He’s fleeing too."

"Alright. See you later."

Delilah shot away on her broom, disappearing behind the building ruins. Zephyr also moved, leaping onto the debris, then vanishing into the darkness.

Leaving Yumi and Wolfgang in the silent underground chamber.

Yumi looked at Wolfgang. Her comrade lay there pathetically—naked, bloodied, cuffed to the same metal rod.

"Wolfgang," she called softly. "Even you got caught."

No answer. Wolfgang was still unconscious.

Yumi sighed. "What’s going to happen to us now?" she whispered to herself.

...

Outside Gatehaven city, in the dark night sky, a mass of black smoke moved swiftly.

Ashen Tide. He had completely transformed into smoke. In this form, he was immune to physical attacks. Swords couldn’t harm him, arrows couldn’t pierce him. Almost nothing could wound him.

But he also couldn’t attack back in this form. His only goal now was to escape. Get away from the Star Witch, get away from the Saint Archer, save himself.

He had flown for miles. Gatehaven city was shrinking in the distance. Soon, he would reach a safe zone, then could return to human form and hide.

Until suddenly, something blocked his path. A transparent golden wall of light stretched wide before him. The moment he touched it, his smoke rebounded, unable to penetrate.

Ashen Tide stopped, filled with anger and frustration.

He spread his smoke in all directions, trying to find a gap. But there was none. The wall of light formed a giant circle around him, trapping him inside.

And beyond that wall, sitting gracefully on a flying broom, the Star Witch stared at him coldly.

Delilah. Her golden hair gently swayed in the night breeze. Her white dress glowed under the moonlight. Around her, gleaming silver spears hovered in the air, ready to launch at any moment.

Ashen Tide gritted his teeth.

He watched as the wall of light began to shrink. Slowly, but surely. His space grew narrower.

NO! He wouldn’t accept it. Someone like him—a leader of the Abyss Syndicate, who had killed hundreds, who had built an underground empire for decades—couldn’t be defeated like this. Couldn’t be captured by this woman.

His black smoke began to gather and condense into something. A massive axe formed from concentrated smoke—so dense it appeared almost solid. Its size was comparable to a truck, with a blade that looked incredibly sharp.

Ashen Tide swung the axe with all his might.

BOOM!

The giant axe struck the wall of light. The wall trembled, fine cracks beginning to appear on its surface. Ashen Tide smiled in satisfaction.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN CAPTURE ME, WOMAN?!"

He created a second axe. A third. A fourth. Five massive axes floated around him, ready to shatter that wall.

But from the sky, stars began to fall.

FWOOSH! FWOOSH! FWOOSH!

Silver spears rained from above, like a meteor shower bombarding the area. One by one, the giant smoke axes shattered into pieces. They couldn’t withstand the power of those spears.

Ashen Tide roared in frustration. He created more weapons—swords, spears, knives, axes again—all from condensed smoke. And he hurled them at the ever-shrinking wall of light.

But the spears from the sky kept falling without end. Every weapon he created was immediately destroyed. Every attempt to escape was instantly thwarted.

Beyond the wall, Delilah sat calmly on her broom. One hand was raised to the sky, summoning those falling star spears. Her expression was cold, merciless.

She remembered Zephyr’s order: kill Ashen Tide. But in her judgment, capturing him alive was more important. His position in the Abyss Syndicate was extremely high. The information he possessed could be invaluable.

The wall of light continued shrinking. Now only twenty meters wide. Fifteen. Ten.

Ashen Tide kept fighting, creating more and more weapons. He struggled desperately to break through that wall. But it all seemed futile.

Five meters. Three meters. One meter.

And finally, his energy ran out. His smoke form could no longer be maintained. His body—his real body—began to materialize. Forming from the smoke, slowly becoming solid.

But as his body emerged, the spears from the sky kept falling.

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

One spear pierced his shoulder. One pierced his stomach. One pierced his thigh. His body was torn apart, drenched in blood, crashing to the ground with a loud BAM.

But he was still alive. Still breathing. Faintly, but alive.

Delilah descended from her broom, approaching the fallen body. Ashen Tide stared at her with eyes full of hatred.

"Kill... kill me..." he whispered, his voice hoarse, full of blood. "I won’t... say anything..."

Delilah looked at him coldly. "Is that so?"

Ashen Tide chuckled. A hoarse, blood-filled chuckle that turned into a cough.

"I’d rather... die than... be a captive..."

Delilah tilted her head. "Are you sure?"

And as those words left her mouth, Ashen Tide smiled. A final, terrifying smile.

"THEN... YOU DIE TOO, STAR WITCH!"

His body—already shattered, drenched in blood—suddenly began to glow. A blazing red light, like a sun about to explode.

Delilah realized too late.

She retreated, activating her shield. But too slow. Too close.

BOOM!

A small-scale nuclear bomb.

That was the only way to describe the explosion. Devastating energy erupted from Ashen Tide’s body, destroying everything around it. The ground was ripped apart, rocks shattered, trees uprooted. A shockwave spread in all directions, sending tremors all the way to Gatehaven city miles away.

And above it all, a giant mushroom cloud billowed into the night sky, illuminating the darkness with terrible red light. Spinning, rising high into the heavens, lighting up the night with the glow of death.

Delilah was hurled back.

The explosion sent an earthquake through all of Gatehaven. In the city center, skyscrapers swayed. People screamed, ran, panicked. Sirens blared everywhere.

In the distance, inside the underground chamber, Yumi felt the tremor. Wolfgang jolted awake from unconsciousness. They both stared toward the explosion, unable to believe what had just happened.

Elsewhere, Zephyr paused momentarily. His split eyes stared toward the explosion. His expression didn’t change, but his jaw tightened.

"Star Witch..."