They argued for a while longer that night.
Mostly about what Vessra meant by dark.
Rex tried to logic it.
Lilee tried to rationalize it.
Vessra kept saying variations of "No, you don't understand" without fully explaining.
Eventually, exhaustion won.
The fire burned low. The ocean stayed quiet. Too quiet—but nothing happened.
They slept.
Lilee woke first.
She sat up, stretched, and began packing their things, humming softly to herself. The morning air was cool, the ocean calm, sunlight filtering through the trees—
Then she saw it.
A flash of red.
Just at the edge of her vision.
She froze.
"…Huh."
She squinted, slowly turning her head toward the opposite shore.
At first, she thought it was just debris. Driftwood. Logs.
Then she saw structure.
Crates. Banners. Cut timber arranged too neatly to be natural.
"…Oh."
She immediately woke the others.
Minutes later, all three of them were moving quickly but cautiously through the trees, gear packed, weapons ready.
Rex and Lilee whispered back and forth as they walked.
"Could be traders?" Lilee said.
"Traders don't usually camp like they're preparing for a siege," Rex replied.
"…Fair."
But the moment they reached the clearing—
They stopped talking.
The campsite was unmistakable.
Crates stacked in rows. Weapon racks. Logs forming half-built barricades.
And banners.
Red banners.
Rex stepped forward and grabbed one.
The moment he turned it toward himself, he froze.
A red field.
A single purple eye in the center.
His stomach dropped.
"…Guys," Rex said quietly. "Come here."
Lilee and Vessra walked over.
"What is it?" Lilee asked.
Rex pointed at the banner.
"Vessra," he said. "Remember when you asked the name of the cult last night?"
Her breath caught.
"…Yes."
"That's their insignia."
Lilee nodded once—then her brain caught up.
"Oh."
She paused.
"…OH."
Rex exhaled sharply. "Lilee—did you see any people?"
"No," she said. "Just a red flash."
"…Okay," Rex muttered. "That's bad. That's very bad."
"This could still be random," Lilee said weakly. "Like… an eye is just an eye, right?"
Vessra didn't answer.
She had already opened a crate.
She reached in—and pulled out a red battle-mage robe.
Same insignia.
"…Yeah," Vessra said flatly. "I don't think it's random."
They opened more crates.
Battle-mage armor. Knight armor. Swords. Staves. Bows.
A full arsenal.
Lilee swallowed. "That's… a lot."
Then she found a book.
"Guys," she said. "I found a book."
Rex turned, took one look—
And his expression snapped.
"Oh hell nah."
He slotted his fire focus instantly.
"Ignis."
The book burst into flame and disintegrated into ash midair.
Lilee stared. "…That was a bit aggressive."
"Oh, trust me," Rex said darkly. "You don't even know. I'll explain later."
They continued searching.
Every book Rex found, he burned.
Every single one.
Finally, they paused.
"…Okay," Lilee said. "This is officially very interesting."
That's when they heard footsteps.
They went silent.
A whistle of air—
An arrow flew straight at Vessra.
She caught it.
Barehanded.
A man stepped out from behind a crate.
"Huh," he said. "You're smarter than the other creature."
Then he looked at all of them.
"Listen here, cultists," he said coldly. "You're going to peacefully give up, let yourselves be captured—"
He pointed at Vessra.
"—and let us kill that thing."
Lilee immediately raised her hands. "Whoa—no. We're not cultists. We just found this place."
"Yeah," the man said flatly. "Totally."
He snapped his fingers.
More soldiers stepped out from the trees—white armor, weapons drawn.
Rex sighed. "Lilee. I don't think we can talk our way out of this."
He pulled out the lightning gloves and shoved them into her hands.
"Wear these."
She put them on. "Okay… now what?"
Rex stepped in front of her and looked at the man.
"Are you going to let us talk," Rex said, "or not?"
"If you give up and leave that creature," the man said, "sure."
Rex nodded. "Then that's a no."
He turned slightly. "Lilee. Vessra. Get ready."
"…Wait," Lilee said. "Really?"
"Yep."
"Uh—how do I—"
"Say fulgur," Rex said. "And punch things."
"…What?"
He didn't wait.
He slotted his earth focus, grabbed his hammer, and faced the enemy.
"One last chance," Rex said. "Sure there isn't a way we can talk without violence and killing?"
The man laughed. "That's a lot of talk for a cultist that's about to die."
Rex looked at the enemy line.
Sighed.
"Well," he said. "If a fight's inevitable…"
"Terra. Aer."
He slammed the hammer into the ground.
A wall of stone spikes erupted upward, splitting the enemy formation in half.
"OH—" Lilee yelped. "Okay! Fulgur!"
Lightning cracked around her gloves.
A soldier charged her.
She punched him.
He spasmed, screamed, and collapsed.
"…Okay," she said. "I'm ready."
Vessra moved next—tentacles lashing out, grabbing, holding, slamming enemies into the ground without killing them.
Rex?
Rex did not care.
He switched focuses mid-swing—fire explosions, ice freezes, lightning surges, earth shattering blows.
Laughing.
Actually laughing.
The battlefield turned into chaos.
The man cursed. "Damn it—these cultists are crazier than normal!"
He pulled out a dagger and charged—fast.
Too fast.
He slashed Rex's hand.
Blood sprayed.
The man laughed. "What are you supposed to be—some kind of demon?"
Rex looked at his bleeding hand.
Then smiled.
"I don't know," he said cheerfully.
"I'm still figuring that out."
He activated Ignis.
And sent the man flying through three of his own soldiers.
Within minutes, the fight was over.
Everyone else was unconscious.
Or worse.
The man lay on the ground, staring at Rex in absolute terror.
Rex stood over him, hammer smoking, eyes bright with magic.
The man was sure of it now.
He hadn't fought a mage.
He'd fought a monster.