"Violet, stand down," Xander commanded.
Violet did not turn. Her amber eyes remained locked on Jane, unblinking, predatory, as if measuring how many seconds it would take to end her if the order had not come. The air around her felt tight, coiled.
"Understood," Violet replied.
In the same instant, she vanished.
There was no sound. No distortion. One heartbeat she stood poised to kill, the next she was beside Xander, as though space itself had folded to accommodate her obedience.
"JANE, LYNIS, COME HELP ME WITH THIS BITCH!" Porpo roared.
Her face was flushed deep red with fury and fear as she shoved Jagger's limp body off her chest and scrambled upright. She hooked her arms under his shoulders and began dragging him backward across the asphalt, boots skidding as she put distance between him and Xander's group.
Jane tried to move.
Her legs buckled.
Pain, exhaustion, and adrenaline crash hit her all at once. The street tilted violently, her vision narrowing as her knees gave way. Before she could fall, Lynis was there.
"Oi, easy, easy," Lynis muttered, slipping an arm around her waist before she could fall. Pain flared through his own body as he took her weight, but he ignored it, teeth clenched. "You don't play hero now, boss. Later then brave."
He hauled her upright, grimacing as pain shot through his own battered body, and half-carried her toward Porpo. His eyes never left Xander, Park, or Violet, tracking every movement with open suspicion.
"This was an unexpected development," Xander said calmly.
He regarded Jane's group with quiet interest, as though they were no longer nuisances but variables worth remembering.
"It seems you have a far more interesting party than we initially thought," he continued. His gaze slid to Lynis, noting how he supported Jane without hesitation, how his stance placed himself subtly between her and danger. "And you..." Xander added, "Have loyal members."
Lynis snorted under his breath, jaw clenched. "Yeah, well. Loyalty doesn't grow on trees, old man. It's earned."
Porpo snarled.
"You try to pull that shit again," she spat, eyes blazing on Park as she tightened her grip on Jagger's arm, "and I will personally rip out your balls and put a hole in your head."
Her gaze bored into Park like a blade. Her knuckles were white, shaking with restrained violence.
"We only wanted to help your friend," Xander replied, unbothered. "The boy was in a lot of pain, you must have hear it. My methods were in good intention, but lacking in etiquette."
"Your methods are a way to trap him in debt," Jane shot back.
Her voice was strained, breath still unsteady, but the steel in it remained intact. She straightened slightly with Lynis's support, forcing herself to meet Xander's gaze.
"We know how hunters like you work."
Xander smiled faintly, the expression knowing and cold. "Perhaps. Or perhaps we simply value strength. And your friend there... demonstrated a kind that is... rare." His eyes flicked briefly to Jagger's unmoving form. "A shame it comes with its downside."
"Go fuck yourself," Porpo snarled. "We don't need your fucking wisdom here, you old cunt."
Xander's smile vanished.
He raised his staff a few centimeters off the ground.
The air changed instantly.
Pressure rolled outward in a slow, suffocating wave, slamming into Jane's squad like an invisible wall. It pressed against their chests, stole breath from their lungs, forced knees to bend. Dust and loose debris rattled across the street as if the city itself recoiled.
"You are a foolish little girl," Xander said, his voice no longer amused. "Is that how you speak to your elders? You have no idea what you are up against, if you make me your enemy."
Lynis stepped forward half a pace despite the pressure, teeth clenched.
"Maybe," he growled, "but I know this. Touch them again, and I don't care how strong you are or how close to death I am. I'll still try to take your head off."
The pressure held for another suffocating second.
Then Violet's hand closed around Xander's arm.
"Old Man Xander," she said quietly, urgency threading through her tone, "we have lingered here for too long. Park has gotten everything. We must go."
Xander exhaled once.
"Indeed."
He lowered his staff. The pressure vanished as abruptly as it had come, leaving Jane's group gasping, hearts hammering.
In the distance, glass shattered.
Feral snickering echoed between buildings. Rapid footsteps scraped against concrete.
Monsters were converging.
"It seems we have reached an impasse," Xander said as he turned away. "So, it is goodbye for now. Until we see each other again."
Violet and Park followed without another word. Their presence receded into the ruined city, swallowed by smoke, shadow, and the approaching chaos. Like a nightmare dissolving at dawn, leaving only dread behind.
Jane finally let out a shaky breath.
Her whole body trembled as the adrenaline drained away, leaving behind pain and exhaustion. She turned toward Porpo, eyes immediately dropping to Jagger's still form.
"Are you okay?" Jane asked softly.
"I'm fine," Porpo snapped automatically.
Then her voice broke.
"Fuck…"
Her shoulders sagged. Tears welled and spilled over as she sucked in a trembling breath.
"That was fucking scaryyyyyy~," she wailed.
She crumpled down beside Jagger, shaking as the fear finally caught up to her. "That huge man didn't even blink. He could've ended me like nothing." Her gaze dropped to Jagger's face, pale and unmoving then back to Jane. "And you… you were gone. I thought I lost youuuu~ wahhhhh~"
Jane knelt beside her, ignoring the pain screaming through her own body. She wrapped Porpo in a tight embrace.
"But you didn't," Jane whispered. "I'm right here. We're still here."
Porpo clutched at her, sobbing openly now hitching with each short breath. Jane's own eyes burned as she held her together.
Lynis stood guard over them, shoulders squared, scanning the surrounding ruins. His jaw tightened as distant noises grew louder.
"Alright," he said quietly but firmly. "Cry later. We gotta move now."
He glanced toward the shadows where Xander had disappeared, then toward the approaching sounds of monsters.
"This place is about to get real ugly. And I don't fancy fighting a horde of minion and brute threat leveled monsters with half my ribs brusied."
Jane nodded, wiping at her face as she steadied herself as she also did for Porpo.
"I agree," she said. "We need to find somewhere safe to hide. And fast."
"What... is going on?" a weak voice cut through their panic.
They all turned.
Jagger was awake.
His eyes fluttered, and he got punched square on the jaw, pain flaring. "ARGH!"
"PORPO?!" Jane and Lynis screamed in unison.