Arcan surged forward at a blistering speed, matching the pace of the bandits who were still leaping from rooftop to rooftop.
"Hey, thieves, stop right there!" Maya shouted, her voice dripping with menace. "Let's settle this with a fight—I won't go too hard on you!"
As Maya hurled her threats, Aiden zeroed in on one of the three bandits, the one with black hair spilling out from under their hood between jumps.
'That bow on their back… that black hair… could it be…?'
"They're heading for the forest!" Lyra called. "Arcan, swing around!"
The two bandits dropped to the ground, but before Arcan could catch them, they slipped into the dense cluster of trees with alarming speed.
Without warning, an arrow shot between Aiden and Maya, knocking the latter to the ground.
Lyra halted Arcan, and Aiden leapt off the beast to help his companion.
"Maya! You okay?" Aiden asked, ready to pull her up.
"Aiden, watch out!"
Lyra's cry saved Aiden, who barely dodged another arrow that whizzed between him and Maya.
"I suggest you give us what we want if you don't want to get hurt," a female voice said.
Aiden, Lyra, and Maya looked up to the tree branches, where a hooded girl stood poised, ready to fire more arrows.
'That voice… No doubt about it. It's her,' Aiden thought, his heart pounding with a mix of anger and confusion.
Maya got to her feet, grabbing the pair of knives strapped to her thighs and dropping into a fighting stance.
"You'd better come down, or I'll make you," Maya said with a challenging smirk.
The hooded girl obliged, landing on the ground with a single leap.
"Last warning—don't make me hurt you if I don't have to."
"You're awfully confident, girl," Maya replied. "But I've got a payday to claim, and to do that, I need to take you down first."
With nothing left to say, the mysterious girl began firing arrows at Maya, who charged forward, dodging the barrage with precision.
Closing the distance, Maya went on the offensive, slashing with her knives, but the girl evaded each strike with uncanny agility.
'Why? Why is that girl now after that gem?' Aiden thought, struggling to make sense of the fight unfolding before him.
"AIDEN, BEHIND YOU!"
Lyra's warning came just in time as Aiden spun around to face an attack.
A second hooded bandit was closing in fast, wielding a sword with a blade that gleamed sharply.
That very gleam sharpened Aiden's senses, allowing him to dodge the bandit's swing.
But the bandit was quick, landing a kick to Aiden's stomach that sent a gust of wind blasting him backward.
Aiden recovered swiftly, ready to join the fray.
"Why don't you take off that hood?" Aiden said with a defiant grin. "I'd like to see the face of the guy I'm about to thrash."
The figure pulled off their hood, revealing a scarred face and nearly bald head.
"The name's Ruan."
"Didn't ask for your name."
"Consider it a courtesy."
"Didn't know a filthy bandit like you had any courtesy."
"I do—until someone makes me lose it, like you just did. Shame I have to kill you… if only you'd heeded Serena's warnings."
"Serena?"
"That's my partner's name—the one who'll take care of your friend in a few seconds."
'Serena… so that's her name,' Aiden thought.
"What's that?" Ruan asked. "Got a special interest in my partner?"
"Nah… just seems pretty disloyal to rat out your bandit buddy's name, don't you think?"
"Doesn't matter. Not like you'll be alive to spread it."
Ruan dropped into an attack stance, mirrored by Aiden, who slipped a hand into his pocket.
"But before we start, how about we get rid of any distractions, yeah?" Ruan said.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Ruan's sword glowed with a purple aura. He turned toward Lyra and Arcan, slashing the air and unleashing a purple beam.
"LYRA, DODGE IT!" Aiden shouted, terrified of what was coming.
But the beam was too fast. Lyra had no time to evade, and both she and her beast were sent tumbling, their bodies spinning across the ground until they crashed into a tree.
Aiden's heart stopped for a moment as he saw Lyra's scratched and unconscious body.
Without thinking, driven purely by the rage now consuming him, Aiden gripped the crystal orb. Just like before, it awakened his magic power.
But this time, something was different.
The reddish aura enveloping Aiden burned brighter, signaling that his magic power was reaching heights he'd never touched before.
Stronger than when he defeated the demon in his hometown.
Stronger than when he took down those thieves.
A bead of sweat rolled down Ruan's forehead, a reflection of the fear that maybe, just maybe, he'd awakened a monster too tough to beat.