The spiritual drain from Artemis's Trial left the Vanguard team unnerved and exhausted. Rin and Aiden were the worst affected, their synchronized mana cores humming with a discordant, shared rhythm. The tether, while invisible, felt like a heavy, cold band around their hearts.
"This is a tactical setback," Aiden announced, his voice regaining its usual detached authority despite the pallor of his skin. He spoke to the assembled Vanguard, but his eyes were locked on Rin's retreating back. "The Goddess's intervention has depleted our reserves. We are entering a phase where the Cult of Mephistopheles will attempt to exploit our spiritual damage."
"And you think the cultists care about your spiritual damage?" Rin countered, stopping just at the edge of the abandoned bank building, his hands gripping his sword.
"They care about blood and offerings. Less talk, more hunting."
Aiden simply raised an eyebrow. "They care about what Shaitan cares about, Hunter. Exploitation of emotional weakness. The greater the spiritual wound, the more palatable the soul. Your vengeance makes you a luminous target."
He had recognized the secondary sigils of the initial ambush—the subtle, ephemeral marks of the Lord of Temptation, Shaitan, a major Duke of Hell, who always worked in concert with Mephistopheles to break the minds of Hunters.
Before the Vanguard could process the gravity of that name, the attack began.
It didn't come from the ground. It came from the air—a sudden, deafening scream of distorted noise, a sonic attack that wasn't sound, but pure emotional trauma weaponized. It targeted the weak spots Artemis had exposed.
The eight other Hunters immediately dropped to their knees, clutching their heads, their minds flooded with flashes of regret, fear, and failure. Even Rin staggered, the betrayal memory from the trial hitting him with renewed force.
Only Aiden, the Arbiter, remained standing perfectly still. His mind, trained for absolute calculation, instantly identified the source: a single, high-tier Siren Disciple perched on the crumbling rooftop two hundred meters away, empowered by Shaitan's manipulation magic.
Aiden didn't hesitate. He raised his hands, and the sapphire light of Chronos flared, not to slow the world, but to accelerate his own perception.
"Temporal Acceleration: Self-Applied."
The world around Aiden seemed to stop. The Siren Disciple's scream, which would have taken three seconds to reach full power, took an eternity. The Vanguard's cries of pain were frozen on their lips. The entire scene was a stopped photograph, and Aiden was the only one moving in real-time.
He couldn't attack the Siren directly—it was too far and too well-shielded—but he could save Rin.
Rin was still standing, but his Rending Gale energy was stuttering, his rage-filled spiritual core the perfect conductor for the Siren's attack. Rin was fighting a memory, not the sound.
Aiden ran to Rin, moving with supernatural speed across the broken cobblestones. He reached him in what felt like a single heartbeat. He didn't speak. He slammed his body against Rin's, grabbing the swordsman's wrist and pulling the Blade of the Rending Gale across Rin's chest.
He wasn't trying to hurt him; he was using the blade as a massive, mana-conducting lightning rod. The pure, kinetic energy of the Rending Gale, once flowing through Rin's body, became a shield against the Siren's mental assault.
Rin, frozen in the accelerated moment, felt Aiden's solid, warm presence pressed against his back. He felt the familiar, strong grip on his wrist. It was the way Aiden used to position him during high-level raids—a tactical embrace that always ended in victory, and always ended with a kiss.
The Siren's scream peaked. Rin let out a gasp as the pain in his head suddenly diverted, channeled down his own blade and into the ground.
Aiden released the Temporal Acceleration. The world snapped back to normal.
The Siren Disciple, noticing the failure of its initial blast, launched three glowing, black arrows infused with pure dread.
Rin, now free of the psychic attack, spun immediately, his blade a blur. The Rending Gale caught the arrows, atomizing them before they could reach the group.
The Siren Disciple, realizing it had failed, vanished.
Rin was breathing heavily, his back still tingling from the contact. He whirled around, facing Aiden, who had stumbled backward, his own body now shaking violently from the mana cost of the Temporal Acceleration.
"What in the hell was that, Arbiter?" Rin snarled, his eyes blazing with humiliation and unwanted familiarity. "You used me as a shield! Just like you always do!"
Aiden steadied himself, forcing his voice to remain level and cold. "You were the largest conductor of wind-elemental mana. The Siren's attack was sonic and psychic. You were the only viable counter. It was the fastest, most effective way to neutralize the threat to the unit."
He refused to acknowledge the desperate relief of holding Rin, even for a millisecond. He refused to admit the memory of their past embrace.
Rin walked right up to him, his sword still thrumming with contained energy. Their eyes met—Rin's warm, wounded fury clashing with Aiden's cold, absolute devotion. They were so close that Rin could feel the tremor of exhaustion running through Aiden's body.
"Don't you dare call me a tool again," Rin warned, his voice a lethal whisper. "Don't you dare treat my life as a calculated risk. I may be tethered to you, but I will not be your pawn."
"Then learn to fight smart, not just strong," Aiden retorted, pushing his cold persona past the point of pain. "Your personal code of honor is a tactical flaw. It is the scar the Lord of Temptation, Shaitan, will exploit to ensure your death. And I won't let that happen."
He spoke Shaitan's name with grim authority, revealing a depth of knowledge that terrified Rin more than the Siren's scream. This wasn't just a strategist; this was a man who had fought and lost this exact battle before.
Rin stepped back, the invisible chain between them pulling taught, a painful reminder of the Goddess's decree. "You're just buying time, Arbiter. Time until you have to explain the greatest flaw of all—why you chose to betray me."