The explosion caught the girls by surprise, with many of the locals shouting and running away from their homes. Felix exchanged a worried gnce with Janette when she reached for her satchel and nodded in return. He closed his eyes and breathed in, feeling his heart beating loudly in his ears. A brief look around showed the surrounding guards kept their composure as some of them held little cages in hand. One raised his crossbow up high, squinting and aiming it toward KuliKuli.

  Her ears fred up and she stepped back, fur standing on end. A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead, her legs trembling as her instincts screamed for her to run away. Being at his crosshairs left her fighting to stand her ground, she was keen on running for cover were it not for her friends and family behind her. It was then that her eyes grew wide when realization struck.

  "Y-You can't shoot me. You guys need me for something." She licked her lips, voice quivering as more guards pointed their weapons to her in return. "This entire thing has been about capturing us. If you wanted us dead, this would have ended before."

  "That's right, you can't harm us!" Dimyri shouted, standing by her sister's side. "You've been hunting us for this long. You've had many opportunities. It's pointless to intimidate us like this."

  The man wielding the crossbow lowered his aim, weighing her words. He licked his lips, bouncing the weapon lightly in his hands before turning it aside and pulling the trigger. KuliKuli gasped, eyes wide with shock as the arrow zoomed past her arm when someone grunted behind her. Time moved slowly for everyone as they turned to look at Janette, eyes wide open, her hands reaching out to her stomach where the shaft of the arrow stuck out. Speechless, she looked at her friends as she fell back into Emyri's arms. Syri screamed and held her arm as KuliKuli charged out with her cws ready.

  The guard was startled and raised crossbow just for her to cut it in three pieces, sshing and denting his chest pte as well. He fell back with his hands out to protect himself when another guard flung a net over the cat girl. The Nekomata sliced through the rope net when she was abruptly tackled by two other soldiers, frantically grabbing and pinning her arms to the dirt.

  "Let go of me!!!" She cried out, kicking and turning to no avail. One man pressed his foot over her forearm, eliciting a scream from the monster girl.

  "Grab the colr!" One of the guards demanded to his peers. He had sat on her waist, hands holding her down by her shoulders. Beneath his metal cap was a man with chapped lips and patchy beard, but what stood out most were the scars. Three pale marks ran along his lip and cheek and joining his left earlobe. KuliKuli narrowed her eyes as this man stared down at her with familiarity.

  He noticing her staring at his scars and gave an ugly grin, fshing his crooked yellowed teeth. "Remember me, puss? Ye left a lot o' marks on me 'n my boys. Bout time you and your cat pack come with us."

  Someone grabbed his shoulder to stop him. He turned around only to be punched in the jaw, his body crumbling down with his loose metal bowl cap joining him. Felix said nothing as he stepped in and threw another punch at an incoming guard, only to be tackled by a third man. But it was enough for the girls to join in, with Na'Vi cutting up their spears and Dimyri kicking and shoving them.

  Syri stood by her mother, feeling helpless as she hugged Janette's arm.

  "Don't touch that arrow!" Emyri cautioned, delicately cutting the arrow down but leaving it in pce.

  "Mom, she's bleeding!"

  "I know that!" She shouted back, her eyes looking around for a solution. "I know it hurts but we need to keep the arrow in pce."

  Janette winced and looked down, chuckling nervously. "Stings, it stings. Like a nasty bite that won't stop."

  Emyri smiled and shook her head. "Syri dear, we need her to y down. Have her sit on your p, keep her comfortable. Tell us if the pain gets worse. You're bleeding but not badly."

  "Lower abdomen, sh-should be fine on the important stuff. Stings like a bitch though." Janette grimaced. Syri scooted around to provide elevation for her head. She smiled, eyes half-closed, observing the stars shining above them with the cat girl's troubled expression at the center of her view. "Sorry we didn't finish that date."

  "Shut up, this isn't funny. We're going to help you. We'll get out of this, right mom?" She gave her mother a pleading look, only for Emyri to say nothing back. "Mom?"

  Emyri offered a subtle nod. "If we can get her to safety..." She paused, breathing in and closing her eyes.

  She licked her lips and offered a hopeful smile to her daughter. "What am I saying, yes of course we will."

  "See? We're getting out." Syri sniffled, wiping tears from her green eyes. She was taken aback when Janette was ughing painfully. "Why are you ughing, this is serious. Are you crazy?"

  "No, just pissed. She's so damn te." Janette muttered, squeezing her eyes shut.

  "Who?" The Nekomata shot up when a carriage turned around the corner of the road, the horses whining as their hooves kicked up a growing cloud of dust behind. It ran through, crashing into a handful of soldiers as they bounced off and tumbled down. The carriage came to an abrupt stop between them and their friends. They were greeted with a rge green fist smming atop the head of one of the guards. Felix looked up to find Zena smiling back, taking her hand as she pulled him to his feet with ease.

  His expression turned serious again when he spotted a pile of wooden scraps and rubble falling apart as the Hunter stood up. He was wounded, bleeding from the side of his head with his once elegant cloak left tattered and ripped apart. His left sleeve hung loosely from his wrist, and his clothes were stained with dust and splinters. His silver white eyes narrowed down, immediately spotting the carriage picking up his prey.

  Felix turned and helped Syri with escorting Janette first, gently ying her on her back in the rear. One of Perdilius' soldiers jumped in after them only to be met with a scowl from the orc sitting in front. She kicked his chest and sent him flying back.

  "Hurry!" She cried out. There was a total of a dozen armed men preventing KuliKuli and Na'Vi from entering the carriage. One wounded man was left prone on the ground, but when Na'Vi stepped near him he made a grab for her ankle. She yelped and lost bance, nding on her butt just as a net was thrown over her. Emyri swept in and stomped on the man, burying his face into the dirt. The mother did her best to help cut the net open when a sso snagged around her neck and yanked her back. Thinking fast, she shrunk into her cat form and ran between the legs of another guard, toward the direction of the carriage.

  Felix had joined with Zena just as the fairy Tootsie emerged from around the orc's shoulder. She cupped her mouth in a high-pitched squeal. "Too many men, too many men!"

  Zena calmly stood up and passed the reins to Felix, patting him on the head. He stared at her quizzingly when she scooped up the fairy and dropped her on his hair. "Keep to pn, go home."

  "Zena-"

  "Will be safe, Go." She repeated herself, walking down the steps. Felix cursed himself and sat in the front, reins in hand. He could only watch as the orc towered over the others, lifting one guard with ease and tossing him against another.

  Na'Vi watched as this woman swung her arm around, knocking the helmets off many heads. The guards were ill-prepared to combat an orc, few were armed with short swords and wooden shields to protect themselves. KuliKuli jumped at the opportunity to free Na'Vi from the net, both girls hurrying back into the carriage. Felix wasted no time as he got the horses to turn away.

  "Wait, what about her?" KuliKuli asked him.

  Felix shook his head, lips sealed shut. He didn't dare look back as they fled from the battle, hearing the cries of the orc fending off the soldiers fading behind them.

  Emyri inspected Janette's wound before directed her youngest to stay by her. She stood up and approached the couple at the front, feeling the cool nightly breeze as the horses began to pick up speed. "We have to go, Kuli. It's not safe here."

  "It's not safe anywhere." KuliKuli replied back.

  She paused just as they rode past the Monster Hunter Leone. His scowl followed her as they zoomed past him, leaving a cloud of dust behind. He watched until they disappeared into the night, sighing loudly and brushing his silver hair away from his eyes. With an eerie calmness to him, he walked toward the ongoing csh between the rge orc and the half dozen conscious soldiers that remained.

  Zena spotted him and raised her fists, but she hesitated, stepping back and eyeing his chest. He gnced down and noticed his chest pte peeking through his shredded cloak. Smiling, he unbuttoned the chain around his colr, allowing his cloak to fall around his feet, fully revealing his armor piece.

  "You recognize what this crest says?" He asked, keeping a hand on his weapon as he cautiously approached her.

  She nodded and proceeded to lower her arms. "Hunter."

  "I ask you once, why intervene? This does not concern you but hurting these... acquaintances make you a hindrance to my mission."

  Zena breathed in and gently responded. "Help friend."

  "Are you friends with the Nekomata?"

  She shook her head. "Don't know her."

  Leone narrowed his eyes with suspicion as Perdilius' soldiers began moving over to his side, hesitating around the orc. "My employer will be joining us shortly. I insist that you stay here until his arrival."

  Zena looked around, realizing that some of the men had retrieved their short swords and regained their courage to surround her once more. She scowled at the hunter, who noticed her hesitation.

  "Lower your weapons." He commanded.

  "We don't answer to you." One of the soldiers spoke back.

  Leone growled. "I'm doing you morons a favor here."

  "Bullshit." Another man joined in, chucking his metal cap in frustration. "You're covering your own sorry arse. Do your job, don't tell us how to do ours."

  "May I remind you that our interests align. My employer asks for the retrieval of those three girls-" Leone stopped midsentence as another carriage turned the corner and began making its way toward them. "Ah, he's here."

  The carriage had pulled to a stop, decorating with the same emblem as their fgs. One guard stepped out from the side door, holding it open as Perdilius was the first to step down. He stood up and breathed in deep, his palm running across his bald head, the wrinkle across his brow softening as he exhaled. He made his way toward the hunter, eyeing him up and down. Raz was the next to step down, closing the door behind him. They were accompanied by two more carriages, one behind the other, coming to a stop as they blocked the road.

  Zena's eyes darted around, fearing her chances.

  Perdilius patted his satin white robe as he stood facing the hunter, towering over him by a foot and a half in height. "Leone, you look well. Where are the beasts?"

  Leone sighed, cocking his head at the woman's direction. "This one interfered with our capture. Pulled in with horses and a carriage."

  "They've escaped? Again?" Raz joined in, raising his brow. "Half our men are unconscious, the other half well on their way. What happened?"

  "I tell ya what happened," One of the wounded soldiers chimed in, stepping forward. "This snowy white prick got his arse handed to by them kitty cats. Had him buried under one of these rotten shelters."

  "Is that so?" Perdilius questioned.

  Leone looked away. "I was going easy on them, and they got the jump on me. My mistake, it won't happen again."

  "Pray that it won't." Raz muttered.

  "We don't need this one, Father." The soldier continued, eyeing the hunter with disgust. "We can chase down a few monsters ourselves. This one is just robbing yer time and coin. Can't get the job done right."

  Leone scoffed. "Were it not for my help, you wouldn't have half the number of monster girls in captivity."

  "With us doing the heavy work." He spat back, kicking dirt onto his boots. "You wouldn't manage shite without us doing the grunt work for ya. We're not just fodder following orders-"

  He froze as a rge hand reached for his shoulder, slowly prying him back. Perdilius then patted his arm with a warm smile. "Please Makov, there be no need for harsh manners. The hunter is correct, we are all following the same path are we not?"

  Makov shook his head in agreement, stepping away as Perdilius approached the orc woman next. His brow raised with interest. "Thou ist a long way from your home, orc."

  Zena eyed him with a puzzled expression. "What?"

  The priest gnced around before clearing his throat. "These formalities, what are you doing here? Never mind that, I'm on mission. Those three beastly creatures are required for some very important work on my behalf, and you aided in their escape. I can overlook this predicament you are in if you simply tell us all you know about them. Point us in their direction, tell us their whereabouts, what they aim to do, anything you can think of."

  Zena scoffed, keeping silent while holding his gaze.

  He sighed, running a hand down his face. "We are so very close, we are on a timer so to speak. Those things are tools that I require, for something that can benefit both you and me. I'm an old man, I have been chasing them for months on end. Won't you have pity for an old man and help him fulfill this dream of his, to satisfy our gods? You can make a world of a difference just by speaking naught but a few words. What do you say?"

  Zena stood up and crossed her arms. "I know nothing, see nothing but bad men hurting others. Leave this pce, don't come back."

  His men snickered behind him until Perdilius raised his hand to silence them. "Of course, I would happily oblige to your request as soon as I recover those fiends. You won't be helping me, will you?"

  She held her ground in silence, waiting idly in retaliation.

  "So be it." He turned around, snapping his fingers and pointing at the middle carriage. "Bring them here."

  Zena watched as some of his followers cautiously retrieved three cages covered in sheets before setting them down. Perdilius stood in front of them, reaching into his robe for his heavy brown book. Flipping it open exposed a rge crimson stone hidden in the pages, to which he dropped onto his palm.

  "Release them." He demanded.

  His men nodded and reached in, removing the tch on each caged door and retreating back. Zena squinted to get a look at what they held inside, when suddenly the ruby glowed brightly as the priest raised it over his head.

  "Divinity, Forgiveness, Strength. These are the very core of our believes, let them guide us through the bckest night."

  "On the weight of our sins, through the blood of our kin." His followers chanted.

  "We tread the path most holy and profound."

  "As the arms of our prophet, as the instruments of our gods."

  "Even to our dying breath!" Perdilius excimed.

  Three cats stepped out of their cages, stretching their backs and staring up at the priest. A subtle rich red glow emanated from the jewels on their colrs, with their eyes matching the same color. Together, they began to grow in size, their furry bodies repced by images of pale feminine beauty. They grew into the size of human women with paws on their limbs, twin tails wavering behind them, and cat ears atop their heads.

  Their master directed their attention at the orc woman, speaking a command to them. "Attack."

  Each Nekomata hissed at the orc, their eyes glimmering with crimson light under their slit-like pupils. Zena raised her arms to shield herself as they pounced on her at once.

  Perdilius shifted his attention toward Raz and Leone while his men cheered and ughed at the rge silhouette being pounced, bitten and cwed. Her cries and struggles only made the men's excited voices even louder.

  Leone stared at his employer with disbelief. "Merde... she could have-"

  "Her words matter naught." Perdilius waved in dismissal. "The blood moon is fast approaching. Tell me you know where they are going?"

  Leone gnced behind him for a brief moment before composing himself. "The ones who helped them escape before are within proximity of these roads, but the direction they fled in is toward the bridge. It is likely that they are going home, they have several wounded after all."

  "Good." Perdilius turned to face Raz. "And the wolf?"

  "This way." Raz ordered, leading them to the abandoned prison. Soon, they were overlooking the sleeping werewolf watching her ear flicker as they stepped inside. "She's been in deep sleep."

  "It's a potion." Leone added, kneeling down and running his hand over her fur. "Werewolves are light sleepers, you wouldn't get this close without getting your throat sshed."

  "This one is a friend of that boy, the one we had under captivity before." Perdilius noted, rubbing his chin. "Felix, I believe his name is. Yes, this is grand. Gentlemen, we are one step closer to reaching the end of the road."

  He turned around and smiled. "Fetch me another colr, would you?"