The flames crackled hungrily, devouring the wooden structures of the Aegis Guild Branch as the night descended into chaos. The once peaceful training grounds were now a burning battlefield, with the sounds of clashing steel, shouts, and dying screams filling the air. The acrid smell of smoke and charred wood permeated everything, searing the lungs of those who hadn’t already fallen to the destruction.

Serena raced down the corridor, her mind whirling as she tried to make sense of what was happening. The familiar, welcoming guild she had trained in for the past week was unrecognizable. Debris littered the ground, flames licked the walls, and blood—so much blood—pooled beneath the bodies of fallen vanguards.

"What happened here?" she whispered under her breath, gripping her tonfas tightly, her heart pounding as her senses sharpened with adrenaline. She needed to find Katsuo, to figure out what was going on, but dread gnawed at her gut with every step.

Bursting out into the open training field, she came to an abrupt halt. The sight that greeted her was worse than she could have imagined.

Bodies littered the ground—some of them she recognized, vanguards she had sparred with, joked with, just hours ago. Now, they lay twisted and broken, their faces contorted in expressions of horror and pain. Their weapons were still clutched in their hands, some having died mid-battle, while others had been slaughtered while trying to flee. Pools of blood seeped into the earth, mixing with the dirt, creating a dark and gruesome scene.

Serena felt bile rise in her throat as she forced herself to move, her boots squelching in the blood-soaked ground. Her hands shook as she stepped over the lifeless bodies, her mind reeling from the sheer scale of the massacre.

The mages had done this.

Her breath hitched as she saw a group of vanguards—their bodies burned, twisted in unnatural ways. The mages hadn't just killed them—they had desecrated them, using dark magic to tear their bodies apart, to freeze their screams in the air.

Serena stumbled, her vision blurring as she took in the horror of it all. Her mind flashed back to the faces of those she had met in the guild—laughing, training, sparring—and now they were gone. The pain and anger were almost too much to bear.

But she couldn't stop.

Where was Katsuo?

She ran further into the training grounds, her breath ragged as the smoke thickened around her. The sky above was ablaze, casting everything in an orange glow. The structures that had once stood tall were now reduced to flaming wrecks, collapsing in on themselves.

And then, she saw him.

Katsuo knelt in the middle of the training ground, his head bowed low as he knelt beside two figures. Serena’s stomach dropped as she recognized them immediately.

Yuu and Dachi.

Her steps slowed, her heart pounding painfully in her chest as she approached. Katsuo’s hands were trembling, his odachi still clutched tightly, the blade stained with blood from battle. But his eyes… his eyes were locked on Yuu and Dachi’s lifeless bodies.

"Yuu… Dachi…" Serena whispered, her voice barely audible over the roar of the flames.

The sight of them was heart-wrenching. Yuu’s once powerful figure lay crumpled, his spear broken beside him. Blood soaked his clothes, and his eyes were open, staring lifelessly into the sky. Dachi wasn’t much better—his body was mangled, his swords scattered just beyond his reach, and his face frozen in a grimace of pain.

Katsuo didn’t move, his jaw clenched tight as he stared down at his fallen comrades. The air around him crackled with tension, his body rigid, barely containing the storm of emotions surging through him.

"I couldn’t save them," Katsuo muttered, his voice thick with grief. "I… I should have been there. I should have protected them."

Serena’s throat tightened, her own grief mixing with rage. "This isn’t your fault, Katsuo. None of us knew… none of us could’ve stopped this."

He slammed his fist into the ground, the impact sending a shockwave through his body. "They didn’t deserve this!" His voice cracked, fury overtaking his sorrow. "They were my friends! And those mages—they’ll pay for this."

The ground trembled as a presence approached, and Serena’s gaze snapped up just in time to see a figure hovering above the training grounds, shrouded in dark, rippling robes.

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The mage responsible.

"You seek vengeance, do you?" the mage said, their voice soft and laced with malice. "Your rage will be your undoing, Vanguard."

Katsuo’s head snapped up, his eyes burning with rage as he locked onto the mage. His hands tightened around the hilt of his odachi, and without another word, he rose to his feet, his grief transforming into something primal and unstoppable.

"Serena," he said, his voice cold and hard. "Go find Natasha. I’ll take care of this."

Serena hesitated. She didn’t want to leave him alone—especially not in this state. But she trusted him. He could handle it. He had to.

"I’ll find her," Serena promised, turning and sprinting toward the forest. But as she ran, her mind raced with fear. What if Natasha had already fallen? What if the forest, like the training grounds, had become a graveyard?

Back at the training grounds, the air between Katsuo and the mage crackled with tension. Flames roared around them, casting their shadows long and distorted against the blood-soaked earth. Katsuo raised his odachi, the blade gleaming in the firelight as he shifted into the 4th Form, The Iron Mountain, his stance unbreakable.

The mage floated above him, their eyes glowing with malevolent power. "You think you can stop me? You’re no different from the rest of these corpses."

Katsuo’s eyes narrowed. "I’m going to cut you down where you stand."

Without waiting for a response, he surged forward, his odachi flashing through the air in a powerful overhead strike. The mage smirked, effortlessly raising a hand to conjure a barrier of ice, blocking the blow. But Katsuo didn’t stop. He swung his sword again, and again, each strike heavier than the last, the force of his blows cracking the barrier.

The mage’s smirk faded as they realized Katsuo’s raw strength was greater than they anticipated. They waved their hand, summoning a volley of ice spears that shot toward Katsuo with blinding speed. He dodged the first, deflected the second with his sword, and spun to avoid the third, his movements fluid despite the weight of his grief.

"You’re strong," the mage admitted, their voice dripping with disdain. "But strength alone won’t save you."

They raised both hands, summoning a whirlwind of frost that engulfed the training grounds, the temperature dropping instantly. Katsuo gritted his teeth as the cold bit into his skin, but he pressed on, slashing through the magic with a roar. His rage was a fire that burned hotter than the frost, and it fueled every swing of his odachi.

The mage conjured more ice spears, hurling them at Katsuo with deadly precision. Katsuo dodged and weaved between the attacks, but the sheer number of them overwhelmed him. One spear grazed his shoulder, another nicked his leg. Blood dripped from his wounds, but he ignored the pain.

His mind was focused on one thing—ending the mage who had killed his friends.

With a burst of speed, Katsuo closed the distance between them, his odachi cutting through the air in a deadly arc. The mage barely had time to conjure another ice barrier before Katsuo’s blade crashed into it, shattering it with a deafening crack.

The mage snarled, their face twisted in anger as they summoned a massive spear of ice, the weapon glowing with dark energy. They hurled it toward Katsuo, but he was ready. He shifted into the 1st Form, his sword moving with blinding speed as he deflected the spear, sending it hurtling into the ground where it exploded in a burst of frost and fire.

Katsuo lunged forward, his sword aimed at the mage’s heart.

But before he could strike, the mage vanished in a swirl of dark energy, reappearing behind him with a cruel smile. "You’re too slow."

The mage raised their hands, summoning a storm of ice shards that rained down on Katsuo from above. He raised his sword, deflecting as many as he could, but there were too many. The shards sliced into his arms and legs, drawing more blood.

But Katsuo didn’t falter. He wouldn’t give up—not until the mage was dead.

With a roar, he charged again, his odachi flashing in the firelight as he swung with all his might.

The mage’s smile faltered as they raised their hands to block the attack.

Serena ran through the forest, her heart pounding in her chest as she dodged fallen branches and burning trees. The smoke was thick, and the heat from the flames was almost unbearable, but she didn’t

stop. She had to find Natasha.

The forest was alive with chaos. Flames crackled around her, and the once-familiar paths were obscured by thick smoke and debris. Every few seconds, the ground beneath her feet trembled from distant explosions, and she could hear the faint screams of the wounded and dying. The destruction was everywhere—another reminder of the horrors the mages had unleashed on the Aegis Guild branch.

Serena’s breath came in ragged gasps as she pushed through the underbrush, her mind racing with fear and uncertainty. Natasha had gone into the woods for some quiet reflection earlier in the night, but now Serena feared the worst. The forest, once serene and filled with life, was now a place of death and fire.

“Natasha!” Serena shouted, her voice hoarse from the smoke and exhaustion. “Where are you?”

She heard nothing in response—only the roar of the flames and the distant sound of battle. She kept moving, her tonfas held tightly in her hands as her eyes scanned the burning landscape. Her heart pounded in her chest, her mind swirling with thoughts of what might have happened to her friend.

Then, through the haze of smoke, she saw something—movement. A shadow darting between the trees.

“Natasha!” Serena called out again, sprinting toward the figure.

As she drew closer, her heart leaped with hope, but it quickly plummeted when she realized the truth. The figure wasn’t Natasha—it was a vanguard, but they were staggering, injured. Serena ran to them, helping them to the ground, their body bloodied and their eyes glazed over from the trauma.

"Are you okay?" Serena asked, her voice laced with desperation.

The vanguard coughed weakly, blood staining their lips. “They… they came out of nowhere… dark mages… we… we tried to fight back but…” Their voice faded, eyes unfocused as they stared into the distance. “I couldn’t… save them…”

Serena’s heart clenched as she watched the life leave the vanguard’s eyes. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to push down the wave of grief that threatened to overtake her. She had to keep moving.

She had to find Natasha.