The canyon air turned cold and heavy, thick with the tension of impending battle.
Fifteen Rossetti guild members stood blocking the path ahead, their red and black armor gleaming in the dim light, weapons drawn and ready. The cloaked archer at their front twirled the tattered scroll scrap between his fingers, his smile sharp and mocking.
Behind Karen, the Wings of Liberty core team tensed up. Tank shifted his shield into a firmer position, his muscles coiled like a spring. Hawk nocked an arrow, his eyes locked on the enemy archer's throat. Blaze and Frost raised their hands, magic already gathering at their fingertips. Jason and Sophia moved to either side of Karen, their blades glinting.
No one stepped back. No one trembled.
Ella's voice came softly through the communicator, quiet but unshaken. "You can win. I know you can."
Karen's grip on Firebrand tightened. The sword's faint warmth seeped into his palm, a steady reminder of every fight he had survived, every promise he intended to keep.
"You shouldn't have come here, Ghost Wolf," the Rossetti archer said, his voice echoing across the stone canyon. "The mountains belong to us. The clue belongs to us. And the truth about the virus… you're better off never finding it."
"You work for the Consortium," Karen stated, his voice low and clear. "You're not just chasing the relic. You're covering up what they made."
The archer's smile faded. "Smart. But still stupid. You think a bunch of rejects and runaway heirs can stand against the power that runs this world?"
He nodded toward the trees.
Another ten Rossetti players emerged from the shadows, flanking both sides of the canyon. They were completely surrounded.
Sophia's jaw tightened. "They outnumber us two to one."
"Not if we fight smart," Karen said. He did not look away from the enemy. "Tank, hold the front line. Do not let them break through. Hawk, take out their mages first—they're the biggest threat. Blaze, cover the left. Frost, cover the right. Jason, stick with me. We cut off their leader."
Jason frowned. "You sure that's wise? They have a trap set. We don't know what else they're hiding."
Before Karen could reply, a sharp, pained gasp came from the guild's rear.
Everyone turned.
Frost stood there, her body stiff, a dagger buried deep in her back.
Behind her, one of the newly joined guild members—an apprentice mage they had accepted only that morning—pulled his hand away, his face cold and empty. A small red serpent tattoo peeked out from his sleeve.
Rossetti.
A spy.
"You…" Blaze stared in shock, rage and disbelief twisting his face.
"Sorry, pretty boy," the spy sneered. "Orders are orders. You never should have let strangers into the guild."
Frost collapsed to her knees, her health bar dropping rapidly. The ice magic around her hands flickered and died.
"Betrayal," Sophia whispered, her voice sharp with anger.
The Rossetti archer laughed. "You think you can build a guild overnight and trust everyone? Naive. Just like your dead parents, Ghost Wolf. Just like the little sister you're trying so hard to save."
Something snapped inside Karen.
Rage burned through him, hot and blinding, but his movements did not falter. They only became faster. Colder. Deadlier.
He activated Rage Fire in an instant. Firebrand blazed crimson, casting a savage red light across the canyon.
"Blaze, heal Frost. Now," he ordered, his voice icy. "Everyone else—kill them all."
The battle erupted.
Tank charged forward, slamming his shield into the nearest Rossetti warrior, sending the man flying. Hawk loosed three arrows in quick succession, taking down two enemy mages before they could cast a single spell. Blaze ignored the spy for a split second, hurling a rapid healing burst toward Frost, stabilizing her fading health bar.
The spy mage cackled and raised his hands, preparing to unleash a fireball.
Jason appeared behind him in a blur, his dagger sliding across the spy's throat.
The traitor's body dissolved before it hit the ground.
"Traitors don't get second chances," Jason muttered coldly.
Karen did not hesitate. He rushed straight for the Rossetti leader, his sword a streak of fire. Arc Slash tore through two guards who tried to block him. Full Strike slammed into the archer's shoulder, sending him stumbling backward, his bow clattering to the stone.
"You little—" the archer snarled.
Karen pressed forward, not giving him an inch to breathe. Every strike was precise, every dodge calculated. He had fought in underground arenas where betrayal was common, where death waited around every corner. He knew how to fight dirty. He knew how to win.
The Rossetti leader was strong, but he was arrogant. He relied on numbers, on traps, on spies. He did not understand real combat.
He did not understand survival.
Karen ducked under a wild swing, drove his elbow into the man's stomach, then slammed Firebrand into his chest.
-298
CRITICAL STRIKE.
The archer's eyes widened. His body collapsed, dissolving into black smoke. The scroll scrap fluttered to the ground at Karen's feet.
The remaining Rossetti players froze.
Their leader was dead. Their spy was dead. Their trap had failed.
Without another word, they turned and fled into the mountains, their red tags vanishing into the distance.
The canyon fell silent again.
Blaze knelt beside Frost, casting continuous healing spells. Her color slowly returned, and her breathing steadied.
"I'm… okay," she whispered weakly. "Thank you."
Hawk spat on the ground. "Traitors. I should've seen it."
Sophia walked over to Karen, her expression heavy. "This isn't over. They'll keep coming. The Consortium will keep coming."
Karen bent down and picked up the scroll scrap. He unfolded it, matching it to the piece from the village elder. The two parts fit together perfectly, revealing a partial map toward a hidden underground bunker deep within the Ironspine Mountains.
A research bunker.
The one that held the truth about GCV.
"The betrayal just showed us one thing," Karen said, staring at the map. "We're getting close. Too close for them to tolerate."
He looked back toward the direction of the slum, toward the small clinic where Ella waited.
"They're scared of the truth. And that means we're on the right path."
Tank slammed his axe into his shield once, a silent vow.
"Then we keep going."
Karen nodded.
He tucked the completed scroll piece into his inventory, his mind already racing ahead. The spy, the ambush, the trap—all of it was a warning.
But warnings would not stop him.
Fate would not stop him.
Not when a real cure was within reach.
Not when Ella's life was on the line.
The sun began to break through the gray clouds, casting long shadows across the canyon.
The team regrouped, healed, and checked their equipment.
No one spoke of fear. No one spoke of doubt.
They only prepared.
Because they knew the next hunt would be deadlier.
The next betrayal would be closer.
And the truth ahead would change everything they thought they knew.
Karen raised Firebrand toward the mountains.
"Move out."