As they neared the facility, they noticed a slow stream of scholars and researchers exiting the main hall, tired eyes and cluttered bags hinting at a long day's work. Most gave polite nods to the passing adventurers.
The Silver Star party entered the facility and made their way down the familiar hallways to the workshop. The soft glow of crystal lanterns lit their path, their footsteps echoing faintly.
Shuri's workshop door was slightly ajar. Rein knocked once before pushing it open.
Inside, Shuri was still at her desk, surrounded by scrolls and tools. She looked up as they entered.
Outside, high above the city, the four cloaked figures had reached the facility perimeter—silent as shadows.
Rein stepped forward. "We came to ask—did you figure anything out from the cuff?"
CRASH!
The sharp, violent sound of glass shattering tore through the facility. Somewhere in the main hall, a second-story window had been broken from the outside—forcefully. The echoes of the impact reverberated down the stone halls, followed by hurried, coordinated footsteps.
Inside Shuri's workshop, the Silver Star party jumped to their feet. Shuri paused mid-sentence, her gaze snapping toward the door.
"What was that?" Faren muttered, already moving.
Rein pushed open the door, leading them into the hallway. From there, they stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked the open central atrium below.
The sight was immediate—and chilling.
Four cloaked figures had just entered through the shattered window, shards of glass glittering midair as they dropped inside.
A lone researcher at the reception desk looked up, eyes wide in horror.
"H-Hey! Who—" But he never finished. One of the intruders lunged forward in a flash, blade slicing clean through the air. The researcher fell without a sound, crimson blood spilling across the marble.
"No—Korin!" Shuri gasped, her voice breaking as she gripped the balcony railing.
At the sound, one of the cloaked figures snapped their head up, eyes locking onto the group above.
In one swift motion, the figure pulled a handful of gleaming daggers and flung them upward with deadly precision.
"Get back!" Rein barked.
The group sprang into motion. The daggers embedded into the railing and wall with violent force, missing them by mere inches.
"Faren, Elin—take Shuri and fall back. Now," Rein ordered, his voice steady but sharp as he drew his longsword in one fluid motion. "Don't let them near her."
Faren nodded. "Come on, Shuri—move!"
Elin reached out and grabbed Shuri's wrist, pulling her back toward the workshop. "Let's go, Shuri-tan! Don't argue!"
Shuri nodded quickly, eyes flicking once more toward the attackers before retreating.
As the door sealed shut behind them, Rein turned back toward the balcony edge. Below, masked figures have spread out.only three intruders stood at the ready—positions spread strategically across the vast chamber.
"Wait—only three?"
"One of them's missing…" Rein muttered, tightening his grip on his sword.
There was no time to search. The enemy advanced.
Rein stepped onto the railing—and jumped.
His coat fluttered behind him as he dropped down and landed in a crouch, sword in hand. Without hesitation, he charged forward, blade gleaming in the moonlight that streamed through the broken window.
Above, Lysa and Sylvi moved along the sides, choosing the safer path down—curved stairways on either side of the hall.
"We didn't bring our staves," Lysa muttered as she moved.
Sylvi gave a small nod beside her. "Still better than nothing. Let's focus."
Lysa channeled fire and earth; Sylvi's affinity was wind and water. They didn't have their casting tools, but they were still experienced mages, and even limited magic was more than enough for most fights.
At the bottom, Rein clashed with one of the cloaked figures. Steel rang out as blades collided—the figure wielded twin curved daggers, moving with a fluid, almost animal-like agility.
Rein matched their pace, pushing forward with practiced strikes and footwork. He was focused, calm—but his eyes burned with intensity.
As Lysa and Sylvi joined the fight from opposite sides, the air around them began to shimmer, gathering elemental energy.
Lysa thrust her hand forward, a swirling fireball erupting from her palm and racing toward the masked intruder. But the enemy moved with sharp agility, sidestepping the attack with ease before retaliating in kind—a blazing fireball hurled back at her.
She raised a quick stone barrier, the fire crashing against it and sending sparks flying.
On the other side, Sylvi extended her arm, water beginning to swirl in her palm. Just as the spell started to take shape, a glint of silver caught her eye.
A dagger—fast.
She gasped and twisted away, the blade slicing through the air where she'd just stood. She tumbled to the side, hitting the ground with a roll and scrambling to her feet, the water spell collapsing unfinished.
Rein adjusted his grip on the longsword, steadying his stance. Across from him, the masked dagger wielder crouched low, blades held in a reverse grip, his posture coiled like a serpent ready to strike.
The enemy moved with blinding speed—Rein barely had time to shift his weight before the first blade came at his neck. He twisted to the side, the metal edge grazing past his shoulder.
Clang!
He brought his sword around just in time to deflect the second dagger. The impact sent vibrations up his arm. Rein gritted his teeth, stepping back, but the attacker pressed in, a flurry of slashes aimed at joints, throat, ribs—any weak spot exposed by motion.
"Damn—" Rein swung horizontally to create space, but the dagger wielder ducked low and kicked his shin.
He staggered.
The enemy twisted behind him in a blink, slashing downward toward his ribs.
Rein turned just in time—steel met steel with a clang that rang through the courtyard. But the impact jarred his grip, and the dagger slid down, carving a thin line across his side.
Blood seeped through his shirt.
"Rein!" Lysa's voice echoed faintly across the battle.
But he didn't look away.
He couldn't.
Still, he growled, bracing himself again.
On the other side of the hall.
Sylvi spun to the side as a steel blade slashed past her face, the air whistling with the force. Her attacker advanced without pause.
With her staff, she could've conjured a full wind barrier, maybe even blew him away.
But now—
She lifted both hands, summoning a pulse of wind to slow him down. The gust caught him mid-step—but he didn't stop. He powered through it like walking through a breeze, and swung his blade in a wide arc.
Sylvi leapt back, barely keeping her footing. As she began to gather water, she saw it—a glint.
A dagger.
Thrown.
Eyes wide, she twisted to the side and dropped low.
The dagger scraped past her cheek and embedded itself into the stone wall behind her with a thunk.
She panted, fingers trembling, and scrambled backward as the figure approached with terrifying calm.
"Not good, not good—" she whispered, trying to conjure something, anything.
At the far side of the courtyard, Lysa stood locked in a duel of spells with the masked mage. Her hands burned with magic, flickers of flame licking her fingertips as she conjured a fireball.
The masked mage countered without hesitation—a precise, silent incantation followed by a sharp thrust of his palm. A ball of flame surged forward to meet hers, slamming into it midair.
The courtyard flashed orange as both spells exploded in a plume of fire and smoke.
Lysa shielded her eyes and staggered back. The enemy had already moved—raising stone spikes from the ground, sharp and fast like fangs.
"Earth too?!" she spat, throwing up a wall of flame.
The stone spikes shattered through the edge of it, and one struck her shoulder, ripping into her light robe.
She cried out and stumbled back, smoke curling around her.
Half her magic flow was distorted.
She gritted her teeth and raised her hands again.
Each of the three members of Silver Star was pushed, bloodied, breath heaving.
Rein stood alone against a dagger storm.
Sylvi crouched behind a broken pillar, trying to focus her mana.
Lysa clutched her burned shoulder, staring down a mage.