"Hello, Luna. Do you still remember me?" Tom stepped closer — there was no way Luna would suddenly forget him.
From a distance, Luna caught sight of a flame, not too far from where they were. The glow was visible, and Luna could see it.
She knew she was surrounded — trapped between two sides that offered no advantage for her or Rhea. In front of her stood a group of bandits, ready to kill her whenever they pleased. Behind her were more of their comrades. Luna could be struck by an arrow at any moment — or face any number of terrifying possibilities.
Luna's chest was pounding. She pulled Rhea closer and hugged her little sister. Her body couldn't hide the fear she felt. Luna, of course, knew how Tom worked to kill every target ordered by King Finn.
And Luna was his next target.
Luna gently stroked Rhea's hair, trying to calm the girl who now hugged her tightly. Rhea was scared, not much different from Luna, who was trembling as she saw the seven other bandits approaching the two of them.
"Back off!" shouted Luna when she realized none of her friends had regained consciousness. Even Elric didn't listen to Luna when she told him not to drink anything given by them. Whether Elric avoided this chaos on purpose or he was just careless, Luna didn't know which one was true.
Luna raised a knife in her hand, threatening anyone who tried to approach her and Rhea. She pointed the knife at everyone, as if ready to strike them all at any moment.
"Hey, just yesterday you were still part of us, right?" asked Tom as he tried to get closer to Luna, but the girl almost stabbed Tom's eye. "Ow! Relax. We just came to check on you and your new family." Tom glanced at all his friends before speaking again. "Right, guys?"
"Come on, Luna. Isn't it a bit much to threaten us with that knife? You've known Tom well all this time, haven't you?" said one of the men Luna didn't recognize. He was one of the bandits who came with Tom and sat in the wagon.
Luna knew how Tom worked. He often made his enemies lower their guard first. He would talk to them about all sorts of things before finishing off any of his enemies.
"I know there are two possibilities why you came here. Either Uncle John or King Finn sent you," Luna shouted, trying to make them step back, though it seemed useless. The bandits were unlikely to be afraid of her.
"Yeah," Tom replied, but his voice was uncertain. "Could be."
Tom pulled a rope out of his pocket; this time, the rope might be his tool for killing. Luna took a few steps back with Rhea and approached one of the horses nearby.
"Is that King Finn's horse? It looks like one of the many horses that went missing, right?" Tom spoke again, this time stepping forward, following Luna as she kept retreating. "That horse must be very important since Darren and one of his friends decided to go to Mierre-Park."
"I said back off!" Luna shouted again before she bumped into the horse.
She would help Rhea get on the horse. Letting her sister return to Mierre-Park alone, she wanted Rhea to be safe in the hands of Darren and Evan. At least, Mia and Thalia were still alive. Meanwhile, Luna would take down all these bandits here, including Tom, who had threatened her and scared Rhea.
"I don't know if you came to kill me or to kill everyone here," Luna spoke boldly, not wanting to show fear in front of them even though she felt it. "But let Rhea go home."
"Which home do you mean? The one with the abandoned vineyard?" Tom mocked Luna's neglected home. "They're probably all dead—King Finn sent ten bandits to that house."
Luna wasn't surprised to hear that the King of Mierre-Park was causing trouble that sounded foolish. He had killed a child of the reigning Emperor while the child was being hidden to protect Darren from the Empire's drama.
"Is he expecting the throne in Brisstol? He lost his sanity after killing the Emperor's child. I don't guarantee any of you will survive after this," Luna laughed mockingly, knowing there would be big drama after Darren's death.
Besides, why should she die if Darren was the main character in this drama? Luna thought.
Luna saw out of the corner of her eye one of the bandits nearly stabbing her in the stomach before she dodged. She pulled Rhea back. She couldn't protect Rhea if her sister was in front of her.
Luna's hand stabbed her knife into the man who had just tried to stab her. Her hand quickly moved to the man beside him before she stepped back as everyone suddenly attacked her.
Among the six remaining, Luna focused on the one at the front. She kicked him in the stomach before stabbing his neck. Three men were already writhing in pain on the ground. Five others still needed to be dealt with.
Tom's applause made Luna careless. Her chest heaved as she listened to Tom praising her after injuring three men. Tom only approached, without any intention to attack her.
A knife from another hand on Luna's left was about to hit Rhea. Luna quickly pulled Rhea away to safety. However, the sudden pull caused Luna to lose her grip. Rhea was immediately grabbed by one of the bandits who had been looking for an opening to threaten Luna from the start.
They couldn't do it unless they used Rhea as a hostage.
Luna immediately raised both her hands as Rhea cried, held by one of the bandits. The woman surrendered; she would no longer fight, especially if Rhea was their captive. Everything was dark, and Luna couldn't read Tom's reaction, especially without any light like this.
She had to rely on the moonlight and her instincts as a fighter.
It was true that she was an intelligence agent. Luna was used to investigating many things, especially regarding world-class crimes. However, facing a criminal like Tom, who was an expert in martial arts, was certainly not her expertise.
Besides, she was usually armed with a pistol, not holding a knife in minimal lighting like today.
"Put down your knife," Tom spoke softly, as if inviting Luna to talk. The woman dropped her knife to the ground, wanting peace as long as Tom didn't hurt Rhea. "I came here for two reasons. First, I was sent to spy on this place. Second, I have to take you and your siblings. Where are Thalia and Mia?"
"They're not here," she replied quietly.
"Are they with the two people I met this morning?" Tom asked again. "If so, maybe some of the bandits took them. Or maybe they killed Mia and Thalia."
"Don't ever involve my siblings in this!" Luna shouted, trying to negotiate with Tom.
"AAA!" The bandit holding Rhea screamed, drawing everyone's attention. Rhea bit the hand, but Luna's little sister couldn't free herself at all.
Though the hard bite hurt the bandit, Rhea remained trapped, unable to run toward Luna, who was rushing to save her.
The sound of a horse broke the silence of the night. It was already midnight; everyone should have been asleep rather than fighting in the middle of the camp. A horse approached Luna, who was no longer holding any weapons.
"Aha! It's time for us to go home now!" Before Luna could turn to see who had arrived.
Luna caught the face of another bandit still holding Rhea tightly with both hands. The bandit looked panicked. He seemed to know who had come with the horse from Narima Beach.
Luna saw an arrow pierce through a bandit standing near her. She froze, unable to move as she watched the bandit collapse with the arrow in his body.
Tom quickly ran with Rhea in front of him, using her as a shield to block any further arrows. One of the horses Darren had left behind was now untied—clearly, Tom planned to escape using that horse.
"Don't move or I'll kill Rhea!" Tom's shout brought everything to a standstill. Neither Luna nor the archer dared to move, not wanting to risk Rhea's life as she was now mounted on the horse. "If you chase me, I'll kill her right now!"
Luna rushed toward the horse, trying to stop Tom from escaping with Rhea. Panicked, she turned to the archer behind her, but the man silently disappeared, as if he already knew Luna needed to chase Tom.
Not wanting to waste another second, Luna ran to untie one of the remaining horses. But the knot was too tight, and she spent precious time struggling to loosen it. Her cheeks were wet—this time, she was truly crying from the pain of losing Rhea.