You fixed your cloak and mask as you landed silently atop an inconspicuous building. With a swift glance around, you ensured your position was secure.

Tweet.

"Keep hidden," you whispered. The little hummingbird nodded and flew towards your cloak, transforming back into its original wooden form.

You surveyed the area, committing the terrain to memory. A sigh escaped your lips-lately, you felt off your game. But moping wasn't an option. Not now.

You summoned your flute, exhaling your troubles. You'll find a way to deal with them later. For now... You smiled, eyes glinting with a mischievous light.

Perhaps a little break wouldn't be so bad.

Grinning, you leaped from the building, melting into the shadows of the narrow alleys.

According to the report, wild witches lived in this part of Bonesborough. Despite their harmless and quiet existence, some witches couldn't tolerate wild witches and had sold them out.

As you navigated through the alleys, silent and swift, your thoughts wandered to the resistance's information network. Raine's tavern was a hub of information trading, meticulously built without the emperor or any coven head's knowledge. It was the resistance's secret weapon.

Even more impressive, Raine had sources within the emperor's castle itself. The resistance was like a sprawling root system, hidden but extensive.

"My, oh my, this shall simply be a feather's weight on mine," you muttered with a smile.

Arriving at your destination, you observed from the shadows as coven scouts forcefully dragged wild witches from their home. The edge of the city loomed, a cliff mere yards away.

"Get off of me!" The woman struggled, trying to free herself from the scouts' grasp.

"Let her go, you imbeciles! We have done no wrong!" The man shouted as he was pinned to the ground.

"You have the right to remain silent!" barked the coven official.

"We have the right to remain free!" the woman spat back.

Slap. "QUIET!" The coven official roared as he slapped the woman hard.

"You damned FUCKER!" The man seethed as the woman's cheek swelled from the brutal strike.

"Heinous..." you muttered coldly. The emperor's coven knew no bounds to making you feel disgusted of their actions. Over and over, you had seen them trample innocent witches, under the guise of their so called justice or the Titan's will. Bullshit.

"MOM! DAD!" A child's voice rang out as a little girl, no older than five, ran from the house, crying for her parents. She held a small teddy bear, clutching it tightly as she sobbed with crocodile tears.

"S-Sir, what should we..." A scout hesitated, watching the child futilely punch the scouts pinning down her father. The scene was heart-wrenching.

"Get the kid out of here," the coven official ordered coldly.

"Yes, sir..." The scout sighed and approached the child. But before he could reach her...

Everyone froze at the sound of a light snap.

Then came a piercing flute melody, fast and chaotic.

"THE REBELS! BLOCK YOUR EARS!" The coven scouts shouted. They scrambled for their noise-cancelling headphones, fumbling to put them on.

You giggled. They were getting smarter.

The man broke free and tackled the coven official. The child's cries grew louder as the scouts frantically searched for you.

Seizing the chaos, you threw a smoke potion, shrouding the area in thick fog.

"The silence where no ears can hear and darkness where no eyes appear," you recited with a maniacal smile, spreading your arms and gazing skyward with closed eyes.

Swish!

You twisted, ducking low to sweep a scout's legs from under him, sending him crashing down. "Tyrants who know no fear..."

With all your strength, you kicked up with your right leg, knocking down another scout. The frantic shouts grew louder in the swirling smoke.

As the smoke began to dissipate, you stood ready, flute in hand. "Shall crumble 'neath the weight of tears." Your cold gaze locked onto the remaining scouts.

"ATTACK!"

Your hands moved faster than their spells. You dodged and twisted, evading every strike with ease. A little sidestep, a quick tilt of your head, another back step and a dramatic twirl. You could read their movements too easily.

Your flute sang an enchanting tune, summoning vines that erupted from the ground, encasing the scouts and pinning them down, rendering them useless to the fight.

Swish! You narrowly avoided the coven official's blade. With a quick, precise glide of your fingers, you sent a powerful soundwave that knocked him sprawling.

Your music was flawless-each change in rhythm and tune smooth and enchanting. A stark contrast to your chaotic battle style, your music was perfect, precise, and captivating.

You played a low tune, the breeze that passed by becoming cold and bringing an ominous feeling to the coven scouts.

"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" The coven official coughed as he struggled to stand.

The coven scouts marched in a line, creating circles to cast a spell. Honestly, who in the world had trained these nobodies? Even the kids at Hexside could cast a spell instantly without drawing a giant circle spell in the air. Their battle tactics were severely outdated.

A massive fireball roared down the street, giving no area to dodge.

"Mom!" The child clung to her mother, eyes squeezed shut. The man and woman held their breath, embracing each other.

You stood your ground, continuing to play your flute. The fire was close, so close to burning you.

You sharply opened your eyes, pupils reflecting the approaching inferno.

Raine sighed deeply, the weight of the stack of documents heavy in their hands as they set it down on their cluttered desk. The door creaked open with subtle footsteps going inside the office without notice.

As Raine's tired gaze lifted, they saw four familiar figures standing hesitantly at the doorway. Amber's worried expression stood out the most, her brow furrowed with concern as she looked at Raine. "Is everything... okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Everything is alright," Raine replied with a smile that didn't quite reach their eyes. The effort to mask their true feelings was evident, betraying their unease. Raine had never been good at hiding their emotions, especially not from those they cared about the most.

"We know that something is wrong," Katya said firmly, stepping closer. Her eyes, sharp and perceptive, followed Raine's guilty glance towards the far corner of the office.

"We're worried," Derwin added.

Gilbert, ever the nonchalant one, whistled softly and looked away. He didn't know why he was even here. For emotional support, he guessed?

"It's just..." Raine began, searching for the right words. They settles with vague explanation, feeling the weight of the children's concern. "Me and (Name) are having some disagreements."

"Disagreements?" Amber's head tilted, her eyes filled with curiosity and concern.

"Yes..." Raine sighed again, their shoulders slumping. "It's... complicated."

"We won't pry," Derwin said softly, offering a supportive nod.

"You know, avoiding each other isn't going to do anything," Katya chimed in.

Raine scratched their cheek, a small, nervous gesture. They hadn't meant to avoid (Name), merely thought that perhaps some space was needed.

"If anything, you and (Name) should really talk it out, instead of avoiding each other and letting your unsaid words dry in your chests. We may not know what the both of you are dealing with, but we do know that you shouldn't avoid your problems," Amber said, her words carrying comfort that made Raine smile warmly despite their inner turmoil.

"I don't think it's a matter that can be resolved with words but... I'll try," Raine replied, their smile now tinged with genuine warmth and gratitude.

CRACK!

SQUAAAAACK!

The sudden noise shattered the atmosphere, as a crow burst through the window, glass splintering and scattering across the room. Everyone jumped, their eyes wide with shock as the bird landed heavily on Raine's desk, its feathers ruffled and breaths heavy.

Raine's frown deepened as they noticed the rolled-up piece of paper attached to the crow's leg. Carefully, they unwrapped it, their expression turning cold and serious.

"It's the captain," Raine said, their voice icy and controlled, instantly shifting the room's focus. The others exchanged worried glances, understanding the gravity of the situation.

From Captain.

Ambush, 36th street of Bonesborough, far end of the city.

Raine's hands trembled slightly as they read the letter, the words searing into their mind. Without a moment's hesitation, they stood up abruptly, the chair scraping loudly against the worn wooden floor.

They knew exactly who was deployed to the far end of the city.

"(Name) is in danger."

BAM!

Smoke and mist covered the entire area as you summoned a wall of ice within an instant, stopping the roaring fire.

"Get out of the city if you want to live," you said.

The man nodded with a determined gaze, carrying his child with him.

You turned around. But a small voice called out to you, "Thank you!" The child cried out with all her might, gazing at you with teary eyes. She waved her small teddy bear as they left the area.

A small smile crept its way to your lips as you faced the mist.

Swish!

"AgH!" A coven scout exclaimed as they were knocked down with a powerful kick in their gut.

You moved through the steam like a ghost, silently taking down scouts with precise strikes. You disarmed one, delivering a quick elbow to his ribs and a swift kick to his knee, sending him crumpling.

You dashed into their midst, using the chaos to your advantage. With a series of swift, fluid movements, you knocked down two more scouts. One tried to grab you from behind, but you twisted free, delivering a crushing blow to his sternum.

Soon, more screams ensued as the shadow of scouts fell down one by one, blurred by the mist.

"REGROUP! REGROUP!" The coven official shouted nervously.

The sound of his squad falling down one by one made his nerves go up his throat.

"SCOUTS!" The coven official shouted as the mist started clearing.

Quiet. It was too quiet. The noise-cancelling cotton headphones that he wore had already fallen off, lost in the chaos.

The mist dissipated, revealing the horrific sight of the entire area covered with shards of ice, burnt materials and rubbles. The coven scouts laid lifeless on the ground, some attempting to stand but finding it too hard to move.

The once peaceful street was now a battlefield with chaos and destruction. Walls of nearby buildings were marked with blast marks and scorch trails, windows shattered into tiny glistening fragments. The ground itself was scarred with deep craters from explosive spells.

A chilling giggle began to resound from behind the coven official. He felt a light tap on his shoulder.

Demon. No. It was worse than a demon. It was the devil of the deepest pits of the afterlife itself. The coven scout turned his head with hitched breaths. "D-Devil..." He whispered, seeing your smile under the bat mask.

"IT'S THE DEVIL-"

BOOM.

The coven scout was knocked down from the powerful pink glittery blast that emanated from his shoulder.

You flicked your cloak, spreading your arms sophisticatedly, and bowing down with flare. "Thank you for watching," you said with a light smile as the battle ended with your usual signature glitter bombs.

You stood up and scanned your chaotic masterpiece. But you felt like you were missing something.

You frowned.

Something was off.

It was easy. Too easy. Dealing with the scouts had always been easy but today was different. It was as if your gut was telling you that the fight was not over yet.

You scanned the entire area, finding no pedestrians nor any other demons or witches around. There weren't anyone around right now. You felt like you were missing something important.

Unbeknownst to you, multiple figures had already flooded the shadows.

You widened your eyes. The ground rumbled as you instantly jumped out of the way, barely avoiding the spiky vines that had shot up from the ground. You winced as you landed, the scratch on your leg starting to bleed instantly.

The shadows finally revealed themselves from the corners of the buildings, surrounding you.

"An ambush?" you clicked your tongue as you realized. You cursed, why couldn't you have noticed it sooner?

You summoned your flute once more, running away from your position as various spells were cast to shoot you down.

Rumble.

Large, spiky vines cracked the cement floor, shooting upwards from all directions and covering your entire surroundings, enclosing you, and trying to squish you into a bloody mush. You can't stress how much you honestly hated these types of vines. It reminded you of that damned plant lady so much.

You played your flute, quickly gliding your hands and casting a wide range of wind slashes, effectively cutting down the vines and creating an opening for you to escape from above.

"(Palisman)!" you shouted. The little hummingbird spared no time and instantly turned itself into a staff. You jumped on the staff on your feet and flew out of the enclosure of spiky vines.

You gasped as you were instantly hit by ice shards from the coven scouts, making you lose balance and fall down on the ground.

Tweet! Your palisman flew up the sky and glanced down at you with worry.

Your shoulder bled from the initial contact. You landed on the ground on your feet, silently wincing as your leg started to hurt once more.

Swish! Those damned spiky vines grew once more, yet not aiming towards you, but the palisman flying high up in the air.

You quickly blew your flute with a high note, cutting down the vines with a bolt of lightning. "Get back!" you shouted. Your palisman instantly dived behind your cloak without delay.

You held your flute with alarm, seeing the unfamiliar figures that surrounded you. You narrowed your eyes. Some of them were undoubtedly from the emperor's coven, it wasn't hard to guess from their usual masks and boring uniforms. But the others...

"Hah," you scoffed with malice. "So the emperor's coven had finally decided to use the forces of that damned plant lady." You taunted, clearly realizing that some of these witches and demons were a part of the plant coven, led by Terra Snapdragon, that damned old plant lady.

"READY!" The presumed leader of the ambush squad shouted.

You held your flute and readied your stance, putting your hand behind your back, touching the vials on your waist. Your eyes darted, carefully memorizing their positions.

"ATTACK!"

BANG! You threw a few small glass vials on the ground, effectively creating a wide range smoke bomb that covered the entire area.

Despite the smoke, the series of attacks did not cease. In fact, they had started to blindly attack the area from where you stood.

You ran away, dodging the fireballs, ice shards, or whatever it was that was thrown on the ground.

"Shit!" You cursed as you lost your balance, vines erupting from the entire area, not sparing your sorry ass. Despite the long lasting smoke covering their sights, they did not remain idle and continued to search for your figure.

As you tumbled, you quickly drew a symbol on the ground. With a snap of your hand, you disappeared from sight completely.

You laughed lightly. "Now this is a fight," you said with a smile, feeling the adrenaline kick in to your body.

You snapped your fingers, summoning countless yellow glass bottles from your hammerspace. An ominous feeling pressed down the hearts of those with instincts.

"Au revoir," you said, your eyes glinting with malice as you smiled from ear to ear.

BANG!

A series of loud bangs ensued, destroying the entire area and turning it into a chaotic pieces of rubble. There weren't any innocent bystanders around, giving you the freedom to create massive explosions without worry.

You spread your arms, feeling the song of havoc with every skin of your body in delight. How you loved the music of chaos.

"HEALING WITCHES! HEAL THE INJURED ONES. THOSE WHO CAN STILL ATTACK, FIGHT!" Their leader shouted.

You jumped on the ground, holding your flute. You started playing, walking towards their leader with light and measured steps.

The leader widened his eyes in horror as you treaded closer towards him.

"Ha!" A burly demon attacked you from behind.

With a flick of your hand on your flute, the demon was pushed back with a powerful soundwave.

You glanced at their leader with a smile. The leader stepped back, but tripped, falling on his butt. It was the devil's incarnate before him. "He-Help..."

But before you could do anything...

Swish! You widened your eye, feeling a gust of wind behind you as your eyes caught a flicker of red.

Clang! You used your flute to black the red beam, pushing you back. Though your platinum flute remained undamaged, your hands surely was hurt, burnt and seared from the initial clash.

"G-Golden guard!" The leader shouted in glee.

Your breath hitched upon hearing the familiar title, as your painfully injured hands trembled. Of all the days you had to face him, it just had to be today.

He stood there menacingly, glancing down at you with red crimson eyes behind his mask. His cape flowed flawlessly behind his back as he stood like a hero to the wounded scouts.

You had no time to do anything as you saw the red flicker once more. You cursed in your mind as you blew your flute with a high pitch while dodging a red beam from your side and casting an attack to where he had teleported. He dodged, teleporting to a different direction once more.

He was as fast as usual. But this time, infuriatingly fast.

The scouts watched in awe as their superior evenly matched with the devil. Your figures were like shadows to their eyes, clashing with different colors from the battle. Was this the power of their superior?

Hunter hardened his gaze as he felt the feeling of familiarity bubbling deep within him. The rebel seemed to be familiar with his movements, predicting where he would teleport and attack, as if they had seen his movements before.

What was bothering him was that he knew the witch in front of him too well. He knew the familiar chaotic attacks. No. He couldn't be too sure. Such coincidences can occur at times. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true.

Crack! You threw a bottle on the ground, creating an explosion and separating the both of you from the heated fight.

You gasped for air. Your legs and shoulder bleeding painfully, and your hands and arms burning. Why did it have to be Hunter of all people? If anything, you would be much more glad to face a coven head at this time.

"Who are you, really?" His voice was cold, distant. Yet his words seemed like a question to you, not your rebel persona but to the witch that he knew, (Name) Whispers.

You continued to gasp for air, refusing to answer a single question and shaking your head. Your wrist started to burn and cackle.

You cursed once more as you ran from where you had