The next moments were an utter blur.

As Lyn ran through the charred grounds, the swarm of werewolves lunged towards her, a couple at a time, sometimes even a dozen at a time. The wide-open terrain gave her an advantage, however; with a few swings of her hands, she directed streams of lightning towards the wolves, blasting them away.

To her right, Irene was blowing up the giant wolves with her explosive fireballs. On the other side, Clay was controlling what was left of the scorched forest, binding the enemies with vines before stabbing them right in the heart with tree branches. The three of them stood in front, fending off the majority of the attack with their destructive powers.

Behind them, Emily and Freya slashed and hacked away at any werewolves that managed to sneak past the wall of fire, lightning, and vines. Dylan, the illusionist, had also created fake illusions to lure some of the enemies away, while the tigers controlled by Elena were having the time of their lives gnawing at the wolves.

Their defenses were formidable and impenetrable, but it was obvious that everyone was holding back as they fought—they had to be wary of the wolves' teeth, and their cursed venom. Even with healers around, nobody could afford to be bitten and poisoned.

Fighting their way forward and inching slowly towards the castle, Lyn was exhausted by the time they had neared the entrance.

"How many more of these stupid werewolves are there?" she roared as she summoned another streak of lightning from across the sky.

"I don't know, but I'm so sick of them!" Irene shot a bolt of fire towards an approaching werewolf. She was drenched in sweat; beads of perspiration speckled her charcoal face and glistened under the glare of the explosion.

Lyn had never seen Irene this sweaty before. "You exhausted? Burning down the forest took a toll on you, huh?"

The black woman snorted. "I can do this all day. Give me ten more forests to burn."

"Watch out!" Emily appeared between them, slicing through a werewolf that had jumped at Lyn. "Listen, Lyn, we're gonna create an opening for you. Run in with Raph and find Cydney!"

Before Lyn could respond, Emily threw up a few canisters and yelled, "Blast it up, Irene!"

"As you wish!" Irene raised her arms. A large ball of fire hurled into the air and struck the metal cans. They combusted, sending a layer of smoke throughout the entire battlefield.

"Dylan, now!"

At Emily's command, Lyn's vision cleared, along with the path towards the castle entrance. However, no one was beside her, not Irene, not Emily, not Clay. She spun around. Muffled voices and annoyed grunts surrounded her, but she could see no one, except Raph, who was standing behind her and looking as confused as she was.

"What the hell?" Lyn blurted.

"It's an illusion." Raph made his way next to her. "Let's go before the effects wear off."

They exchanged a knowing nod before running into the building. The inside of the castle was deserted and empty—a stark contrast to the Armageddon outside. It seemed that Irene's fire had alerted everyone to their presence, and they had all flocked out to fight them.

The two of them sprinted across corridors after corridors, crashing into every door and looking into every room. Occasionally, a couple of werewolves would appear, but Lyn would easily strike them down before moving on. She had no idea how long they were running for, but Raph was slowly becoming out of breath.

They reached a door that wafted a strong smell of blood. Renewed with a sense of urgency, Lyn slammed her body into the wooden door. When she smashed it open, the pungent odor hit her like a wall of bricks. She held back a gag as she scanned the cavernous room. Large pillars held up the tall ceilings, while the walls were lined with exquisitely painted stained glass windows.

And on the floor were two motionless bodies. One of them was a small figure with a familiar bed of black, silky hair sprawled from her head.

"Cinna!" Lyn cried, rushing over to flip the woman over.

Cydney's face was the palest it had ever been; her lips were almost the same shade as her porcelain face. Strands of hair—wet with blood and tears—stuck to her face as she gasped for air. Her chest heaved up and down, as if it hurt to breathe, while her lower body... her legs...

"Lyn..."

Lyn's heart shattered into a million pieces. "Cinna, I'm here... I'm here, Cinna, I'm here," she muttered as she caressed the hair out of the petite woman's face.

Raph knelt next to them and placed a finger on Cydney's neck. "Her pulse is weak, but it's stable."

He shifted towards the part of Cydney's body Lyn had been keeping her eyes away from. "She- She did a really good job sealing the wounds... It's a little messy, but- but I can help clean that up..." His voice was trembling as he took out various bottles and bandages from his backpack.

"Lyn..." Cydney whispered again, tugging at Lyn's shirt.

Once again, Lyn's heart crumbled. She pulled Cydney closer, letting the panting head slump into her body. "Hey, I'm here, Cinnamon Pie, I'm here... You're safe now, I'm going to take you home..."

"Lyn..." The whisper turned into a small sob. "My leg..."

"I- I know, Cinna, it's okay, it's okay..." Lyn said as she planted a few kisses on Cydney's hair. "I'm here, Raph is here, we'll heal you right back. I'll take you home and we'll heal you right back, okay?"

Cinna shook her head. "No, no... It's gone, Lyn, it's gone forever..." Her voice was shaking as much as her body. "Lyn, my leg is gone..."

"That's not true, that won't be true!" Flustered, Lyn's eyes darted over to Raph. "Raph, please, tell her it's not true, please."

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Raph stopped bandaging Cydney's foot. He glanced at Lyn, before bringing his gaze back down. "Lyn, I can't heal Cydney. I never was able to. I can- I can help, with- with disinfecting, or relieving..."

"Bullshit!" Lyn yelled. She lifted Cydney up and brushed her teary eyes. "I'll help you, Cinna, we'll figure out how to heal it back, don't worry, I'll—"

"I know what I did!" Cydney screamed, collapsing back into Lyn's chest. "I had to- I had to seal the blood vessels, and- and- I had to... I can't, Lyn, i- it's gone now! It's permanent! I lost it! I lost it forever!"

Lyn didn't know what to say. She wrapped her hand around Cydney and turned to Raph. The man gave her a grim nod of confirmation—and her broken heart shattered even more.

"Cinna..." She buried her face into the nest of black hair. The growing intensity of Cydney's cries was muddling her mind even more. Why was it that she's always so utterly useless? Why was she never able to help Cydney? Time and time again, she could do nothing but sit there in silence, just like this.

Raph's soft voice broke Lyn's spiraling thoughts. "I'm done here. It's all wrapped up and she's... not gonna be infected, at least." He let out a sigh and peered to the side. "I'm gonna help this other guy now, I guess."

Lyn frowned. That was right; there had been another person in the room. She turned around—and saw red.

Han.

That lanky, slimy man was standing across the hall. His tattered clothes were covered in blood, while his face was so bruised that it was almost unrecognizable. But Lyn would recognize that expression anywhere. Those demented eyes staring at Cydney with a maniacal fervor, and that contorted smile that sent shivers down Lyn's spine—it was the same expression from the cave a few weeks ago.

"You," Lyn growled.

Han's smile widened as he staggered towards them like a living corpse. "Oh hey, look who it is," he said with a strained chuckle, blood smearing his teeth after every word. "The great Sīn-Sīn is here."

Electricity grappled against her skin, but Lyn used every bit of her willpower to suppress it. "Stay away, Raph. I'm gonna kill him," she declared, peeling Cydney off of her and standing up.

A tug on her hand held her back.

"Lyn, don't," came Cydney's lowered voice.

"Cinna, after what he did, he deserves to—" The rest of the sentence caught in Lyn's throat when she saw Cydney's fierce eyes.

"Let me finish him."

Lyn blinked, taken aback. Then, she nodded. "Wait here."

She marched over to the bleeding man, who was still laughing to himself and swaying on the spot. Han was no longer the strong, confident man from the cave, but a weak, defeated failure of a person. Without much effort, Lyn grabbed his collar and dragged him over to Cydney. He tried to put up a fight, but he quickly gave up and geared his attention towards the petite woman.

"You bitch..." he grumbled under his breath. "It's all your fault... This is all your fault..."

"Keep your mouth shut!" Lyn shoved him towards the ground. With one hand pushing down on his neck, and the other pulling his hands back, she pinned him to the floor, firm and merciless. She looked up at her friends. Raph was pale and scowling, while Cydney's raging glare intensified.

"Do you have a sword, Cinna?" Lyn asked.

Cydney gulped, before reaching into her pocket and digging out a coin. With a flick of her fingers, the coin spun in the air and transformed into a dagger by the time it fell back onto her hand.

Lyn pressed down on the body harder; he groaned in pain. "Do it, Cinna. Finish him."

"You wouldn't fucking dare!" Han bellowed as he struggled against Lyn's grip. "This is all your fault, and you want to kill me? You should die, you fucking bitch!"

"Don't you dare call her that!" Lyn shut him up with a hard punch in his face.

Han coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood, but he was relentless. "It's the truth! You brought me here, you little bitch! You caused everything! You think your life is ruined? Mine is ruined too and it's all because of you! You caused this mess, Yēn Sīn-Ní, you ruined everything!"

Lyn slammed Han's head down. "Shut the fuck up, asshole!"

"You shut the hell up!" His voice was muffled by the ground, but it still echoed throughout the room. "I built this life from scratch, you bitch, I worked my way up! And now you want to ruin my new life too? Why do you have to take everything away from me? You already have everything, what more do you want, you elitist bitch? You think I want you to be here? You think I wanted this to happen? This is all you, you stupid bitch. You took my life away, and you ruined my new one!"

That was the last straw. "Shut the hell up, shut the hell up, shut the hell up!" Lyn let out a roar as she struck Han's face, over and over and over. She punched him even after he stopped struggling, even after his groans subsided, even after he was slumped onto the floor, still and lifeless.

Finally, she sat on the ground, breathing heavily as her bloodied fists throbbed and ached. She raised her head to give Cydney a triumphant smile, only to see the previous fury and determination in Cydney's eyes replaced by tears.

"Cinna?"

"He's... He's right, Lyn..."

"No, he's a fucking idiot. Don't listen to him," Lyn reassured her. "I shut him up now, so just do it. Kill this motherfucker."

"No, no, he's... I ruined his life too... I did this to him... I don't... I shouldn't..."

"Don't listen to him, Cinna! Remember what he tried to do to you? Multiple times? Remember how many people he killed in the cave? And how many more he's willing to kill?"

Cydney nodded hesitantly. She was gripping the handle of her dagger so hard that her knuckles turned white.

"Baba..." A gasp escaped Han's throat. "Baba, stop..."

Cydney's face fell. Her lips quivered while her grip loosened.

"Baba..." the raspy voice continued, as if in a trance. "Please stop hitting me... please... I promise, I promise to work harder..."

The sword slipped out of Cydney's grasp completely, crashing down on the floor with a loud clang. "I can't do it, Lyn... I can't..."

Lyn stared at Cydney. Tears were streaming down her face; those eyes—dark, round, and pained, so pained—reminded Lyn of everything Cydney had been through. The memories flooded into Lyn; they weren't even hers, but they stabbed and pierced and wrecked her heart in every possible way. After everything she had been through, Cydney was still the same: kind, sweet, and filled with empathy.

After everything, Cydney still could not bear to kill.

And Lyn could not bear to let her kill.

"I'll do it, Cinna."

Cydney did not respond. She turned her head away as Lyn walked over to pick up the knife and walked back over to the unconscious Han.

Gritting her teeth, Lyn plunged the blade into his neck.

A crack. The body went limp completely.

Lyn pulled out the weapon and slowly stood up. Blood had splattered all over her, but she didn't care; as long as they didn't taint Cydney, as long as Cydney wasn't the one bleeding.

She knelt next to Cydney, who had broken into another sob. "It's okay now, Cinna. He can't hurt you anymore."

Cydney buried her head into Lyn's chest. "I didn't want any of this to happen... I didn't, I really didn't..."

"I know." Lyn wrapped her arm around Cydney. "Blame me. It's me, it's all me. I killed him because I wanted to." Smoothing her hair, she whispered into her ears, "I'm your executioner, Cinna, just sit back as I kill every one of your enemies."

"Lyn... I'm sorry..."

"It's okay, it's okay—"

"Neil?" Raph's perplexed voice jolted Lyn out from her own world.

She spun around, her chest soaring with hope. "Yo Neil! You're here! I thought they were saying they couldn't reach you and—"

"Lyn, stop," Cydney cut her off. Her fingers trembled as they tugged on her shirt. "It's him... He took me here. He's- He's the Masked Ninja..."

The world crashed down on Lyn. That light of hope vanished, and darkness devoured her instead. Her face contorted as she muttered, "Neil, it was you?"

"Sorry, Lyn," he said nonchalantly, brandishing his sword. "You should leave. You can't beat me."

Neil's confirmation sent rage fueling through Lyn's body. She gently pushed Cydney away and rose to her feet. The sun had set outside the castle, but the thunderclouds were lighting up the sky; as they boomed, her blood burned along with them. She gripped her crimson weapon and allowed lightning to ripple through her skin, her clothes, and everywhere around her.

"No, I will beat you. I will beat the fuck out of you, Masked Ninja."