Night had barely settled over the desert camp.
Most of the Flame Resistance were asleep.
A few guards watched the dunes from the cliffs.
Juvy sat alone near the fire, staring into the flames.
Something felt wrong.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Pressure.
Like the sky itself was watching them.
Then A distant hum.
Low.
Mechanical.
One of the guards shouted from the ridge.
"LIGHTS IN THE SKY!"
Everyone looked up.
Three massive hunter ships descended through the clouds, their engines glowing blue.
Mara cursed.
"Glass City…"
Juvy's eyes narrowed.
"No."
She felt the energy inside them.
Stronger.
More focused.
"This isn't just Glass City."
High above the ships, a voice echoed through their speakers.
Cold.
Controlled.
"Target confirmed.
Bright Sister located."
Juvy's chest tightened.
Mother Cain.
The ground shook as armored troops dropped from the ships.
Not ordinary soldiers.
Elite Hunters.
White armor with glowing soul circuits running through their bodies.
Weapons designed for one purpose:
Kill Significants.
"MOVE!" Juvy shouted.
The camp exploded into chaos.
Resistance fighters grabbed weapons.
Freed prisoners ran for cover.
The hunters advanced in formation.
Precise.
Silent.
Deadly.
One raised his rifle and fired.
A beam of blue energy sliced through three tents instantly.
People screamed.
Mara fired back.
Bullets bounced harmlessly off the armor.
"Those things are tanking everything!" she yelled.
Juvy stepped forward.
Crystal rose from the sand around her.
"Fall back!"
Lightning cracked across the sky as she slammed her hands down.
Stone walls shot upward, blocking the first wave of hunters.
But more kept dropping from the sky.
Too many.
Miles away…
Maxruell heard the explosions.
He stopped walking instantly.
The red stone in his chest burned like fire.
She's there.
He didn't hesitate.
Shadows wrapped around his legs.
And then, He ran.
Faster than any human.
Across the desert.
Across the dark.
Toward the battle.
Back at the camp…
The hunters pushed through the stone walls.
Their commander stepped forward.
A tall figure wearing black armor instead of white.
A capture specialist.
He raised a device.
A circular cage of energy expanded around Juvy.
Blue chains of light snapped toward her.
She tried to blast them away but the chains wrapped around her arms instantly.
Her powers flickered.
"What… is this?" she gasped.
The commander spoke calmly.
"Anti-Significant restraints."
Eli ran toward her.
"LET HER GO!"
A hunter knocked him to the ground.
Juvy struggled against the chains.
Her light flickered violently.
"Run!" she shouted.
But the Resistance fighters were overwhelmed.
One by one they were pinned down.
The commander activated the cage.
Energy tightened around Juvy's body.
"You are being detained by order of the World Authority."
Juvy spat at him.
"Tell Cain to come herself."
Suddenly Darkness spread across the sand.
Not natural darkness.
Living shadow.
The hunters froze.
The commander turned slowly.
Something was approaching across the desert.
Fast.
Too fast.
One of the soldiers whispered:
"What the hell is that?"
The shadows exploded upward.
A figure landed in the center of the battlefield.
The ground cracked under his feet.
Red light burned through the darkness.
Maxruell slowly lifted his head.
Eyes glowing crimson.
The hunters recognized him instantly.
"SECOND TARGET DETECTED!"
The commander sighed.
"…So the Red King finally arrived."
Maxruell looked around the destroyed camp.
Wounded fighters.
Burning tents.
Juvy chained in energy restraints.
His voice dropped into a quiet growl.
"You touched my sister."
Darkness erupted around him like a storm.
Hunters aimed their weapons.
The commander smiled slightly.
"Perfect."
He activated another device.
A second cage formed around Maxruell.
Blue energy chains shot toward him.
But the shadows devoured them instantly.
Maxruell stepped forward slowly.
"You really think… that'll stop me?"
The sand began to tremble.
Juvy looked up at him from inside the cage.
Her voice barely a whisper.
"Max… stop."
But he didn't hear her.
Or maybe he didn't care.
The Red King had arrived.
And the battlefield was about to become a massacre.
High above, Mother Cain watched the live feed.
Her smile widened.
"Excellent."
Serah looked uneasy.
"If they fight together, the hunters won't survive."
Cain nodded calmly.
"That was never the goal."
Serah blinked.
"…Then what is?"
Cain leaned forward.
"To see which twin breaks first."