The northern woods were too quiet.
Luis and the others had spent hours pushing through underbrush, clearing out packs of Rustfang Hares and the occasional Shade Stalker, but there was no sign of the Silver-class beast they'd come for.
"This is bull," Rudo grunted, kicking a rock. "We've been walking in circles for hours."
"Maybe it saw your face and ran," Jun quipped, spinning a dagger between his fingers.
Rico shook his head. "Or maybe it's smarter than we thought."
Then Del froze. "There," he said, pointing.
Tucked behind a curtain of moss and roots was a golden pillar—runes coiled across its surface, glowing faintly beneath the grime.
"Pillar of Challenge," Lani muttered, stepping closer. "Golden tier. That's a bad idea in twenty different ways."
"Yeah, we're not that stupid," Rico said, already backing up. "Leave it."
But then—gunfire.
Distant, rapid. Too structured for a random fight. Too real.
The group crept up a ridge and dropped to their bellies. Below, in a clearing battered and blackened, five GFH Hosts and a squad of soldiers were locked in combat with a monster the size of a van.
A Rampaging Agmorant.
Eight feet tall, plated like a medieval tank, its horned head slammed through trees like they were straw. Every step sent tremors through the earth. Soldiers scrambled, shouts and gunfire echoing in the clearing.
Mira, the medic, was on her knees, palms glowing as she tried to close the chest wound of a soldier gasping for air. "I—I'm almost tapped!"
Aya's katana slashed through the beast's leg, leaving a gash that oozed black ichor—but the monster barely stumbled.
"Fall back!" she barked.
Rico clenched his jaw. "We leave now, no one sees us. They won't trace us back to the village."
Luis didn't move. "They're dying."
"They're GFH," Rico snapped. "If they find us—"
"I don't care."
Silence.
Then Taro stepped forward, planting his shield. "We don't abandon people."
A reluctant breath escaped Rico's nose. "Fine. In and out. No names. No trail."
The Battle
Taro struck first, slamming his shield into the earth. "SHIELD WALL!" he shouted. His Tidal Guard shimmered to life—a semi-transparent barrier of rippling water that caught the Agmorant's first charge and held.
Sergeant Voss—a heavy-set man with thunder-crack gauntlets—darted in from the GFH flank. His fists crackled with electricity as he punched the beast's shoulder, making it grunt and stumble.
Lani raised her arms skyward. "Lightning incoming!"
Three bolts struck the monster's shell, searing it with black streaks. It roared and stumbled just enough for Del, now in stag form, to ram its underbelly with an echoing crack.
Up on the ridge, Corporal Mei adjusted her scope. One clean shot pierced the Agmorant's eye, and it howled. "Got it!" she shouted.
Private Dawson lobbed a grenade that exploded against the beast's side, coating it in fire.
Rudo yelled and charged, blood trailing from his nose. With a savage leap, he buried his axe into the monster's front leg and rolled away before the tail could catch him.
Yuna began to sing.
Her voice carried over the battlefield like a rising tide—notes thick with resolve and strength. Soldiers steadied. Rico's grip on his spear tightened. Even the air felt clearer.
"Flank left!" Rico called. Jun duplicated herself twice—illusions that raced around the Agmorant in opposite directions, drawing its eyes.
From behind, Pim sprinted through debris, tossing potions at wounded men. "Chug this! No guarantees it won't make you see colors!"
Luis waited, breathing steady. The beast lifted its foot.
Now.
[MISFORTUNE'S TOUCH]
The stomp misfired. The Agmorant's leg buckled awkwardly.
"NOW!" Luis roared.
Aya blurred forward—her katana struck like a storm, carving down the creature's neck in a blur of strikes. Rico stabbed into its other eye, wrenching his spear with a wet crunch.
One last howl tore through the trees—then the Agmorant collapsed, its body unraveling into mist.
Silence fell.
Breathing came in gasps. Smoke curled above blackened soil. The GFH team began regrouping, tending to wounds, reloading weapons.
Then—the click of rifles.
Luis barely turned when cold steel was at his neck. Aya's katana gleamed inches from Rico's chest.
"Who are you?" she demanded. Behind her, red lasers danced across Luis's team.
Rico's group tensed instantly. Mara vanished into shadow. Taro stepped in front of Lani. Pim's fingers hovered over a fizzing vial.
Luis stepped forward, slow and steady. "Don't."
Aya's blade stayed where it was.
"You remember me," he said. "Few days ago. Edge of the forest. You let me walk."
Aya's eyes narrowed. Then flickered.
Zyx popped into the air beside him, grinning wide. "Quick! Remind her you're the guy who didn't stab her."
A muscle in Aya's jaw twitched. "...You're the Engineer."
Luis nodded. "These people—my people—we're not with any guild. We protect each other. That's it."
Mira stepped between two soldiers. "They helped us, Aya. That weird plague guy saved Ren's life."
Pim gave a thumbs up. "Yup. Might grow a tail, but he's alive!"
A GFH sergeant—cybernetic implants lit across his face—grunted. "Unregistered Hosts are a risk. Protocol says we—"
"Stand down," Aya cut in. "For now."
Her blade lowered—but her gaze stayed sharp. "You fight like a soldier," she said to Rico.
"And you point swords at people who save your skin," he shot back.
Zyx fake-swooned in midair. "Oooh, the tension. I sense enemies-to-lovers brewing."
Luis elbowed him.
Aya sheathed her blade. "We're hunting a Golden-tier sighted nearby. Stay clear."
Lani scoffed. "Golden-tier? That's suicide."
The sergeant grinned. "Not for us."
Rico didn't like the way he said that.
As the GFH team turned to leave, Mira lingered. "Thanks. Even if your 'healer' is a hazard."
Pim bowed. "My work here is never legally verified!"
Aya paused before disappearing into the trees. "That offer still stands. GFH could use someone like you."
Rico gripped Luis's shoulder. "He's fine where he is."
Aya nodded once. "Your loss."
Then they were gone.
Rico didn't speak for a long time.
Luis finally broke the silence. "We should head back."
Zyx flipped a coin made of smoke. "Well. That went better than expected. Only mostly almost got killed."
Luis smirked tiredly. "Let's go. Before that Golden-class decides we're next."