The first strike came from Selene.
Fast.
The curved blades flashed beneath the red lantern light as she rushed forward across the stone road.
Deepika moved instantly.
CLANG.
Steel collided.
Sparks burst between them.
Selene’s eyes widened slightly the moment Deepika blocked her second strike.
“You’re quick.”
Deepika twisted sideways, forcing Selene’s blades away before driving her knee directly toward Selene’s ribs.
Selene jumped backward just in time.
Across the road, Brakk charged like a moving wall.
The giant hunter slammed one gauntlet into the stone path hard enough to crack it apart.
Deep barely rolled away.
“WHY ARE BIG PEOPLE ALWAYS SO VIOLENT?!”
Brakk swung again.
Deep threw one of his metallic spheres directly into the giant’s face.
FLASH.
White light exploded.
Brakk staggered backward roaring.
Dhruv’s eyes shifted toward Kael immediately.
Leader against leader.
Kael calmly unsheathed his sword.
The sound alone felt sharp.
Cold silver steel reflected the hanging lanterns overhead while the forest wind moved quietly between the trees.
Then Kael disappeared forward.
Fast.
Dhruv barely reacted in time.
CLANG.
A nearby lantern pole split in half behind him.
Kael’s sword had missed Dhruv’s neck by inches.
Dhruv immediately jumped backward.
Invisible.
The air shimmered softly.
Kael stopped moving.
Not surprised.
Observing.
The lanterns swayed overhead while silence returned briefly to the battlefield.
Then Kael tilted his head slightly.
“Invisibility.”
Dhruv circled quietly through the forest edge.
Leaves crunched softly beneath his shoes.
Too loud.
Kael heard it instantly.
His blade swung sideways.
Dhruv ducked barely in time as the sword sliced through branches above him.
Sharp.
Too sharp.
Kael smiled faintly.
“You hide your presence badly.”
Dhruv reappeared near another lantern post.
“Still hit me though.”
Kael slowly adjusted his stance.
“Not yet.”
Behind them, Robin raised one hand calmly.
The books beneath her coat suddenly opened by themselves.
Loose pages exploded outward through the air.
The papers spun around Lior violently, blocking his vision completely.
“What the hell?!”
The pages wrapped around his arms and crossbow like chains.
Robin’s eyes remained perfectly calm.
“You rely too much on sight.”
Lior struggled angrily.
“You used to train with us!”
“I researched with you,” Robin corrected coldly.
“You only called it training.”
The words hit harder than the paper restraints.
Robin turned away from him immediately afterward.
Done speaking.
Done explaining herself.
Deep suddenly sprinted between trees holding something covered in wires.
“BRING HIM HERE!”
Dhruv immediately understood.
Dangerous sentence.
Probably explosive.
Perfect.
Dhruv vanished again.
Kael moved fast this time, slashing through the space where Dhruv should’ve appeared.
Nothing.
Then suddenly Dhruv grabbed Kael’s wrist from behind and tried pulling him sideways toward Deep’s position.
Kael reacted instantly.
His elbow slammed backward into Dhruv’s ribs.
Pain exploded through Dhruv’s chest.
He lost invisibility immediately.
Kael turned sharply and kicked him backward across the stone road.
Dhruv rolled hard against the ground.
Fast.
Way too fast.
Kael walked forward calmly.
“You’re relying on your ability too much.”
Dhruv stood slowly while catching his breath.
Kael continued:
“You disappear.”
“You surprise.”
“You strike.”
His blade lowered slightly.
“But your body still fights like an amateur.”
Dhruv’s jaw tightened.
Because he knew Kael was right.
Kael’s stance alone revealed experience Dhruv didn’t have yet.
Real experience.
Not street fights.
Not instinct.
Actual trained combat.
Behind them, Deep finally screamed:
“NOW!”
Dhruv immediately ducked.
Invisible again.
Deep threw the wired device directly toward Kael.
Kael sliced it instantly.
Huge mistake.
BOOOOOM.
The explosion blasted lanterns apart across the road while smoke erupted violently between the trees.
Kael jumped backward through the smoke cloud.
Deep raised both fists proudly.
“SCIENCE PREVAILS AGAIN.”
Then Deep realized something.
“…Wait.”
Smoke.
Dhruv’s invisibility vanished immediately.
Kael noticed too.
His sharp eyes narrowed slightly.
“So smoke disables it.”
Dhruv cursed internally.
Another weakness discovered.
Kael stepped forward through the smoke slowly now.
More dangerous than before.
Meanwhile Deepika and Selene clashed across the forest edge with terrifying speed.
Selene spun both curved blades toward Deepika’s shoulders.
Deepika leaned backward just enough for the steel to pass inches from her face before driving two knives toward Selene’s stomach.
Selene twisted away barely in time.
Both girls separated again.
Breathing heavier now.
“You’re good,” Selene admitted quietly.
Deepika kept her knives raised.
Brakk suddenly charged toward Robin through the smoke.
Massive mistake.
Robin calmly raised her hand.
Every loose lantern chain overhead suddenly snapped free.
The chains wrapped violently around Brakk’s arms and neck before slamming him directly into a tree.
CRAAASH.
The entire trunk shook.
Brakk groaned painfully beneath tangled metal.
Deep stared in amazement.
“…Book witch is terrifying.”
Robin ignored him while controlling more chains through the air around her.
Elegant.
Precise.
Dangerous.
Kael glanced toward Robin briefly.
Then toward Dhruv again.
“You gathered interesting people.”
Dhruv smirked slightly despite the pain in his ribs.
“Yeah.”
Kael suddenly stopped moving.
Completely.
The atmosphere shifted.
Even Selene noticed.
“…Kael?”
Kael’s eyes slowly moved past the Red Threads.
Toward the road behind them.
Someone else was there.
Footsteps echoed softly beneath the lanterns.
Slow.
Calm.
No fear at all.
Everyone turned.
An older man walked along the Lantern Road carrying a wooden tea container in one hand and a long wrapped sword across his back.
Dark robes.
Messy grey hair.
Sharp golden eyes.
He looked more like a wandering traveler than a hunter.
The old man stopped near the broken lanterns scattered across the road.
Then looked around at:
– cracked stone
– smoke clouds
– unconscious Brakk
– damaged trees
Silence.
The old man sighed deeply.
“…You children destroyed my tea.”
Nobody moved.
Even Kael seemed cautious suddenly.
Interesting.
The old man’s eyes slowly shifted toward Dhruv.
Then toward the red thread around his wrist.
Then lower… toward the hidden map partially visible beneath Dhruv’s coat.
Everything became quiet.
Really quiet.
The old man stared for several seconds.
Then softly whispered:
“…Harun?”
Dhruv froze slightly.
Kael’s expression changed instantly.
Recognition.
The old man slowly walked closer now.
The lantern light reflected against his sharp eyes while the wind moved gently through the forest around them.
Then he stopped directly in front of Dhruv.
And smiled faintly.
“You have his eyes.”
END OF CHAPTER 16