The roar of steel and monsters filled the air. The streets of Vaelstorm were soaked in water and blood, but the lines of defense finally held.
Will and Willa stood near the front, weapons drawn — Will with his bow gleaming under the rain of lightning, Willa gripping her sword and shield, her breath shaky and uneven.
Hunnt's voice still echoed in their ears.
> "This is why you became hunters — not for fame, not for glory, but to protect your home!"
Those words burned through their fear.
For the first time, the twins fought side by side.
---
Will took aim at a lunging serpent wyvern, releasing a quick volley of arrows that pierced through its slick hide. Beside him, Willa deflected another's strike with her shield, the impact jarring through her arm. The monsters' roars drowned the shouts of the hunters around them, but the twins could hear each other — steadying, trusting.
"Keep shooting!" Willa shouted, bracing herself.
"Just stay up, I'm covering you!" Will answered, firing again.
They moved together like they'd trained all their lives for this — but fear still crept in.
Every roar, every crash of water against stone reminded them that this wasn't training.
It was war.
---
The Guildmaster, standing atop a crumbled wall with his Heavy Bowgun, watched the battle unfold.
He fired another explosive shell that burst through a cluster of sea wyverns, clearing the left flank.
"Reload!" someone shouted.
"Cover fire!" another answered.
But when the Guildmaster looked closer at the streets, his old eyes widened.
The hunters — his hunters — were organized.
He saw them covering one another. Great sword users standing as shields for the Dual Blade hunters, who darted between legs and tails.
Gunners and archers in the backline focused fire, picking off monsters that slipped past the melee.
Medics ran through the field with salves, crouching beside fallen hunters while Hunting Horns sounded from the rooftops — deep tones echoing healing energy through the chaos.
The Guildmaster blinked, disbelief crossing his scarred face. "They're actually… fighting as one."
He spotted a familiar face among them — Will, bowstring drawn tight, and beside him, his sister Willa, holding the line.
He leapt down, boots splashing through seawater, and grabbed Will by the shoulder. "What in the name of the Old World happened here? How are they this organized? Did you do this?"
Will shook his head quickly, panting between shots. "No, sir — it was him!" He pointed toward the plaza, where Hunnt's Iron Longsword gleamed between arcs of lightning.
The Guildmaster followed his gaze.
There — in the heart of the chaos — Hunnt moved.
His blade flowed like water, cutting clean arcs through the oncoming swarm. His stance was steady, his strikes deliberate — Overhead Slash, Right Slash, Left Slash, Thrust, his movements weaving perfectly with the rhythm of battle.
The Guildmaster stared. "That's… not guild form," he muttered.
His finger tightened on the trigger of his bowgun. "Those are refined Spirit techniques — controlled, precise. That's no beginner's stance."
Will nodded. "He's the one who believed me, sir. The one who told us to organize, to fight together."
The old man sighed heavily. "Then we owe him our lives."
He loaded another shell. "If we survive this night, I'll see he's recognized for it."
Then he raised his weapon and fired again, clearing the path ahead for the hunters.
---
Further ahead, the situation worsened.
The lesser monsters — serpent wyverns and coral beasts — were thinning out, but new shapes emerged from the surf. Larger beasts, heavy and scaled, charged onto land.
The hunters faltered. Some froze; others began backing away.
"We can't fight those!" someone shouted.
"They're too big!"
Hunnt turned toward them and shouted, "HOLD THE LINE!"
The front shook but didn't break.
Then one of the larger beasts charged straight at Willa.
She barely had time to raise her shield. The impact sent her skidding backward, her arms shaking. Pain shot up her side as claws raked her shoulder. She stumbled, disoriented, stunned.
"WILLAAA!"
Her brother's voice cut through the ringing in her ears. She blinked, dazed, raising her shield again just in time to block another blow. Her knees trembled.
"Fall back!" Will shouted from behind her, arrows flying past her shoulder. "You can't take it alone!"
"I can!" she shouted back, even though she didn't believe it.
The beast lunged again — she sidestepped clumsily, her blade missing its mark. Her breathing grew erratic, shallow.
Hunnt noticed.
From across the battlefield, he saw her wavering stance, her panic. He knew that feeling — the first real fight, the first real fear.
He cut down two smaller monsters in front of him, then turned his head toward her and shouted, "WILLA! LOOK AT ME!"
Their eyes met. Hunnt exhaled — slow, deliberate — the motion calm amid the storm.
She froze.
He raised his blade again, his movements fluid, rhythm controlled — inhale, exhale, step, strike. The world seemed to slow around him. Each attack flowed with perfect timing, each breath measured.
Then she remembered.
> Balance Breathing.
"That's it…" she whispered. "Breathe."
When the large monster lunged again, she stepped in — not away.
Her shield deflected the blow. Her breath flowed steady.
Overhead Slash. Exhale.
Side Slash. Short breath.
Thrust. Steady inhale.
Shield Bash. Strong exhale.
Rising Slash. Breathe — flow.
Her rhythm returned. Her fear melted.
Will stopped shooting for a second, stunned. "She's… calm."
Her attacks no longer looked like panicked swings. They were deliberate, balanced — every movement synchronized with her breath.
Her strikes didn't look like the Guild's forms. They looked alive.
The large monster reared back to strike again — she pivoted and slammed her shield into its snout, stunning it, then followed with a full combo sequence.
With a final thrust through its gills, the creature collapsed.
Willa stood, breathing hard but steady, her stance unbroken.
A nearby hunter, who had tried helping her earlier, grinned. "You should've done that from the start — but damn good job, girl!"
Willa smiled faintly, raising her shield again. "Thanks. Let's finish this."
The two of them ran toward the next group of monsters.
---
Will fired from behind, covering her flank. His arrows struck true, picking off any creature that tried circling her. When he caught the Guildmaster watching them, he called out between shots, "She's doing it!"
The old man smirked faintly, reloading his bowgun. "Your sister's stronger than half my hunters," he said. "At this rate, she doesn't even need the guild exam."
Will couldn't help but grin. "Yeah," he said, drawing another arrow. "That's my sister."
---
As lightning arced across the sky and the Leviathan's roar echoed from the sea, the hunters of Vaelstorm — frightened, bleeding, inexperienced — stood united for the first time.
Under Hunnt's command, their chaos became order.
Their fear became resolve.
And among them, a new rhythm was born — one forged from courage, breath, and steel.
Willa inhaled deeply, her next swing flowing like the tide.
For the first time in her life, she wasn't afraid to fight.