The sky over Giggleburg was the color of iron.
By the time Mireina's team reached the southern quarter, the smell of burning crystal already hung in the air. Streets once filled with merchants and laughter now echoed with the hollow tramp of Valerian patrols. Every alley had eyes. Every roof whispered danger.
Fukugen crouched beside a toppled wagon, fingers tracing fresh tracks through the dirt. "Too late," he murmured. "Every shard caravan's already left. Bound for the Frostholm route."
Mireina's jaw tightened. "Then we make sure they've got nothing left to come back to."
She pulled a small glass flask from her satchel. The liquid inside shimmered like molten rubies. "Volcanic Essence," she said quietly. "Unstable. One spark will turn a whole block to slag."
Fukugen gave a low whistle. "Then let's give them fireworks."
---
A. The Last Plan
They worked quickly, silently—Sabotage instead of recovery. Fukugen lashed together a crude catapult from his spear and a broken crossbeam. Mireina calibrated the flask's alchemical seal.
Seikaku's voice crackled over the whisperlink charm. "Thirty seconds till patrol rotates. Make it count."
Mireina smiled thinly. "Always do."
With a flex of muscle and wind-assisted precision, Fukugen launched the red flask in a graceful arc across the square.
It shattered in the center of a Valerian supply line.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the world became red.
The explosion roared like an awakening god, a crimson inferno swallowing carts, soldiers, and walls alike. Shockwaves tore through the market stalls, scattering burning debris skyward.
A flare of black smoke rose into the air—their signal.
Enemy horns answered seconds later.
"Alarm triggered," Seikaku reported. "They're converging on your quadrant."
Mireina smirked. "Perfect. Now they'll chase shadows."
---
B. The Silent Execution
They moved through the chaos like wraiths. Screams and clanging armor filled the night as soldiers scrambled to organize.
On the western lane, Anzuyi melted into the shadows, body half-dissolved into darkness. Her eyes fixed on a figure directing the panicked troops—a tall man in Ostorian armor.
Her breath caught. "Rick Kaiser…"
He was supposed to be in Bustleburg. Somehow he had crossed here—betrayal or duty, it didn't matter.
Her dagger whispered free of its sheath.
Skill: Shadow World – Heart Stopper.
Reality dimmed around her. She slipped through the veil and reappeared behind him, one hand covering his mouth, the other sliding cold steel through his chest.
He jerked once, then went limp.
No pain. No expression. Just silence.
She lowered him to the ground gently and vanished again before the blood cooled.
---
C. Controlled Chaos
Mireina's group regrouped near the eastern arch. The fire from the square had spread, painting the city walls orange.
"Everyone clear?" she asked.
Anzuyi nodded. "All done."
Kenji's voice came from the rooftops. "We've got pursuit. Twenty at least."
Fukugen grunted. "Then time for the encore."
Mireina handed him another flask—this one darker, swirling with black-and-purple vapors. "Throw it far. Don't look back."
Fukugen hurled it over his shoulder just as they passed through the main gate.
The flask shattered somewhere in the city's heart.
The resulting blast split the night apart. The ground shook; rooftops collapsed like dominoes. A column of crimson flame erupted skyward, spiraling like a vengeful dragon.
Even from the outer road, they could feel the heat chasing their heels.
---
D. The Archers' Stand
"Company approaching fast!" Seikaku called, eyes on the horizon. Dust rose behind them—Valerian cavalry.
Kenji stopped, drawing his bow. "We can't let them reach the others."
Seikaku dropped to one knee beside him, nocking an arrow. "We'll make it quick."
Kenji's mana flared gold. "Overcharged Shot—"
Seikaku's arrow shimmered azure. "Bull's Eye—"
Kenji's eyes narrowed. "Meteorite Shot!"
Seikaku grinned. "Raging Arrow!"
Their attacks loosed simultaneously—two comets of light, one gold, one blue, screaming across the plains.
The twin projectiles slammed into the gate of Giggleburg.
For a moment, the entire horizon vanished in a blinding bloom. A tidal wave of heat and dust swept outward, flattening trees, tearing banners, and silencing the city's alarms in a single, thunderous instant.
When the glow faded, the gate was gone—melted into slag, the walls split like clay.
Behind them, Giggleburg burned.
---
The team stood at the ridge overlooking the destruction. Wind tugged at their cloaks. Smoke rolled skyward in great black plumes, blotting the stars.
Mikage's voice came low, half awe, half sorrow. "We really did it."
"No," Mireina said, eyes fixed on the inferno. "We only finished what they started."
Anzuyi looked away. "Then what now?"
Kenji turned from the burning ruins, voice steady. "Now we move. Frostholm awaits."
They walked into the darkness together, not looking back.
Behind them, Giggleburg burned like a silent promise.