Tianzhu turned his head to look at Noa. He didn't have any knowledge of this Twilight Group, making him wonder whether this was some local dark guild. But he still asked her, "What is it?"
Noa let out a breath, her eyes scanning the surroundings in response. For a few seconds, she stayed silent.
"Until a decade ago, Twilight used to be one of the top guilds in the City of Edo," she explained in the end, seriousness creeping into her tone. "They had not one but three S-rank Hunters. Even the Conqueror guild, currently known as the undisputed number one guild in this continent, had five S-rank Hunters. You can imagine how strong Twilight would have been, in its prime."
As Tianzhu gave a faint nod, she continued, lowering her voice. "Back in the earlier 00s, Twilight created and used to monopolize the dungeons using Spiralwood Essence. Originally, it was used to gather monsters at one spot using this incense and take them out with an AOE-type skill. But in one of the grade-3 dungeons they used, it gathered too many monsters, and it went out of control. Over three hundred people died, and nearly two thousand were severely injured in that incident."
She rubbed the back of her neck, clearly uncomfortable as she further went into the topic. "Eventually, the authorities stepped in. Set up a commission and did a full investigation. Turned out that Twilight wasn't just doing dungeon runs. They were taking assassination jobs, too."
She looked down, voice dropping a bit. "To kill one target, they would use the Essence… wipe out entire groups of people in the process, you know, hiding their real motive. They were practically committing genocide."
Tianzhu's facial expression hardened at that. It is not like he had some righteous past. He was in a syndicate and committed numerous assassinations, but the act of mass killing disgusted him to the core. Without knowing, he clenched his fist tightly.
Meanwhile, Noa continued. "After that, they issued warrants. Some of the members got arrested. Some disappeared. Others just went underground."
Her eyes then flicked up toward the skyline. "And now? We've found out they're still active, hiding as merc groups. We recently received news that a big shipment of Spiralwood had just been smuggled into Hangzhou, and one of my colleagues was suspected of being involved in this matter. They sent me to investigate the matter." She took a brief pause and looked at him. "I'm not a fighter, but I have powers, you know. I can read the last memories of the dead. In the investigation, we found a strong lead to apprehend the suspect, but it looked like I was exposed. And now, everyone is paying for it." *Sigh*
"So, you're saying…" Tianzhu's brow furrowed as he stared at her. "You were the target?"
Noa shrugged nonchalantly; through her eyes held a flicker of doubt. "Can't say for sure. There could be another important VIP hiding here somewhere."
Tianzhun's eyes darted to the side, left and right. He wondered whether he should be involved or not.
While he was still in thought, suddenly, the vibrations grew stronger and louder, like the building itself was about to snap as it does in an earthquake. His gaze snapped upward instinctively.
Then, in the next moment, a deafening sound erupted from above, followed by the sharp, echoing crash of stone as chunks fell from the third floor.
"Ka—!" The scream from the crowd cut through the noise, and chaos instantly spread in all directions. People scattered, and a wave of panic surged through the building like wildfire.
"No… Theo…" Tianzhu's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes wandered over once again.
But the situation went out of control as the Red Ogre appeared on the balcony of the third floor, looming over the atrium.
"Everyone, move away…" The leader of Haze Guild, an A-rank Hunter, bellowed using a large horn loudspeaker. "Gather at one spot and give us the space."
Panic exploded.
People shoved and trampled over each other, running for the exits without caring about anything else.
"Kyaaa…"
Tianzhu's grip tightened around Vera as the incoming crowd pushed them around.
Faces pressed against theirs, bodies squeezed them from all sides. His jaw clenched, his eyes wandered, but Theo couldn't be seen. And neither was his friend, who was supposed to protect him. "Theo…" he shouted, but it was swallowed up in the screams of the crowd.
*Graaaa*
The massive Ogre let out another ear-splitting roar, shaking the walls as it stood tall on the balcony, its eyes locking onto the crowds below. With a mighty leap, it descended from the third floor, landing in the atrium with a deafening crash.
"Raaahhh!" The Red Ogre roared as it hit the ground.
The beast landed right in the middle of the atrium, where purple smoke was being emitted. Haze guild hunters quickly surrounded the monster. The area is being cleared up.
And behind them, among some of the volunteers, Theo was seen with the violin.
*Graaaa* *Graaa*
It let out another deafening roar, shaking loose bits of ceiling and stone from the upper floors.
"Stay focused! Show no fear. Charge!" Bai Xuanming, the leader of the Haze guild, shouted, led the assault, and charged at the Ogre. His body was enveloped by a golden aura, and his gaze carried no fear.
Motivated by their leader's actions, the hunters of the Haze Guild gritted their teeth and charged.
Xuangming moved at blurring speeds as his fists glowed with concentrated energy. He landed a powerful punch across the Ogre's wounded thigh; the monster staggered slightly but didn't receive much damage.
Then came the counterstrike.
With one brutal swing of its third massive arm, faster than one naked eye can capture, the Red Ogre sent him flying across the hall. He hit a pillar and crumpled to the ground, lying unconscious.
The Haze guild hunters couldn't help but momentarily halt in their movements when they saw their leader blasted away, just like that.
Nevertheless, they knew they couldn't stop now and continued their assault.
Theo, in the meantime, calming down his heart, took the violin, placing it on his shoulders, and he was about to play something, but a hunter nearby grabbed him and pushed him away, shouting. "Don't cause trouble here, brat. Join the others. Leave."
Theo pushed away to the back, his eyes widened in surprise.
Meanwhile, the monster swung its enormous fists, knocking several hunters off their feet.
One of them was crushed by the brute force, blood spraying across the floor as he screamed in pain.
A second hunter tried to retaliate, his sword flashing, but the Ogre grabbed him mid-strike, tossing him like a rag doll.
Another hunter screamed as he was caught mid-spell, crushed under the creature's foot.
The fifth tried to run in and distract it from behind, but the Ogre's backhand sent her spinning through the air like a doll.
Some hunters fired poisonous arrows, magic spells, and Spears, and hurled whatever they could at the creature, but it barely flinched.
Its entire body oozed streams of blood, but as if it didn't feel any pain or whatever, the Red Ogre continued its assault again, intending to wipe out everything in its sight.
"No!" Many in the crowd screamed. Shouts of terror filled the air, people scrambling for exits once again, pushing and shoving to get away from the rampaging monster.
"They're losing…"
"They can't beat it…"
"Where are the other guilds?!"
"Why do I have to come to this god-forsaken land, of all times?"
"What about the Starlight Guild? Were they done in?"
"Will we die here?"
With about a couple of dozen injured in the stampede and fortunately no dead, many of those left the atrium and went to hide, hoping that they would stay safe for a bit longer.
Meanwhile, some 'awakeners' stepped forward to help out the Haze guild, including a couple of staff members.
Theo also picked up the violin and started playing.
Mana surged out of his body, the energy turned into visible musical notes as a melodic music filled the entire atrium.
Just a few notes, and the intense battle almost paused.
"Hmm?" Sungjun, who swiftly dodged again and again, making way to a safe corner from the panicked public, felt something strike him.
*Ding!