A lie, a fake scenery full of pretension, that's the best way to describe the environment inside the Protectors' headquarters.

Stefan had never seen the members try so hard to put a mask on their faces. Throughout the morning, all he encountered were false smiles and empty talks. The truth, though, remained intact in their eyes, where their fear made contact with the outside world. The leader could hear them silently asking for help, asking for a solution he didn't have.

"You should stop pacing, the kids are getting nervous," Gellert warned his friend as they observed the training. "As Clio says to me all the time, take a chill pill."

The leader let out a laugh, the first one of the day. "I don't know how you manage to be her boss."

"The same way you do as her leader, and she's not that bad. Her occurrences are funny, except when she acts like I'm not her chief in front of the other firefighters. What's the matter with you?"

"I'm thinking—"

"Overthinking."

"You get the point," complained Stefan. A stain of ink danced around his exposed arm. "I can't figure out the next moves, not without the whole picture and that's eating me inside."

"You can't always be in control, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Work with what you have, there's nothing else you can do. If we're lucky enough, and the kids find the information, then we'll see how to keep going."

"I hate to work in the dark."

"Did you hear that?" Asked Gellert in a sudden change of topic.

The question diverted Stefan's attention, which allowed him to distinguish the faint sounds coming from the hallways.

Lured by the noises, the trainees piled up around the two men.

"Are those screams?" One of them murmured. An agonizing cry provided her the answer before any of the presents could speak.

"Be ready to fight. Follow our lead and you'll be okay," said Stefan. The tone of his voice was immaculate as usual, even though the pain running through his arms announced a tragedy.

As soon as the leader pronounced the last word, a blast of energy sent them flying to the back of the room. A ringing took over the member's ears while they attempted to get up,  maintaining a defensive position turned out to be more strenuous than they expected.

Two demons crossed the threshold. The sound of their steps grew stronger every time they crushed the door's splinters with their feet. One of them had eight, long tentacles coming from his back; the other one repelled everything that was on his way with an energy field.

"It seems like we hit the jackpot. Hello Mr. Leader," said the first one, the orange extremities waving behind his body.

"Asmo, look at that cute, fresh meat," added the second one, pointing to the trainees. "They won't stop trembling."

Ink spread, commanded by Stefan, and took the shape of a dome to hide the inexperienced members.

Gellert positioned himself on the right side of his friend. Using the micro knife hiding in his ring, he made a small cut on both of his hands, allowing his blood to drop on the floor. Once his ritual came to an end, he unsheathed his twin daggers.

The firefighter jumped against Asmo. They clashed against each other multiple times, the demon using his tentacles to attack, and Gellert cutting him with his weapons.

Stefan observed his partner's movements, his attempt to reach his opponent's body, striking from various angles. From the corner of his left eye, he watched the second demon who, after some minutes, began to advance.

A sword of ink formed in the leader's hand, it was as sharp as one of steel, but his weight was lighter. He didn't get a chance to charge. A blast of energy was sent in his direction forcing him to build a wall with his power. Stefan could barely hold it, he was utilizing plenty of ink for the dome, and the numerous messages he was receiving from the members in danger added more pressure on the control of his ability.

The fourth energy wave was the winner, the wall came crashing down, and the leader was stamped against the dome.

Step by step, the demon eliminated their distance, never leaving his prey out of his gaze. He didn't notice the stains of ink on the floor, also he didn't see them moving, and he neither sensed their presence close to his feet. 

"Now!" Screamed Stefan.

From the other side of the room, Gellert threw one of his daggers and lifted his hand. As he closed his fist, the blood he had been spreading in specific areas of the floor started to rise, until it transformed into crimson spikes. Similar to spears catapulted against a target and they went through the demons' bodies. A second later, only the ashes remained from them.

"You ok?" The man asked Stefan while he cleaned the blood from his hands.

"I'm good," answered the leader. His breathing was still loud and fast because of the fight.

Stefan took a moment to clear his mind, in that time he analyzed the messages he got from the members. A quick look was enough to comprehend that the ambush exceeded the headquarters territory, people were asking for help throughout the village. Even Flora and Momotaro tried to communicate with him.

The image of his members dying at the hand of the monsters was the key to winning the battle against exhaustion. He could hear the voices coming from inside the dome, the never-ending questions demanding to be resolved. The longer he waited to respond, the louder they got. They kept growing and growing, until he couldn't hear a thing.

All the noises faded away, and they took the light with them. The darkness spread so fast that no one saw it coming, and devoured everything in his path.

Stefan never felt anything similar, so lost.  The leader was taken back, no reaction came out of him at that moment. He didn't know how much time he spent disoriented in the dark. When the light returned it seemed like hours had passed. 

"Do you need a ride?" Asked Stella, her face could be clearly seen thanks to the rays that danced around her extender hands.

"Do you have enough space for all of us?"  Questioned Stefan as he pointed towards the dome and Gellert.

"I think we can manage, after all, I'm the only source of light. Some tried to use candles or lanterns, but nothing worked," replied the woman.

"I tried to use my lighter, it's completely useless."

Afraid of wasting more time, the leader ordered everyone to get under Stella's light. He put down the dome to give the ink a more suitable use: to build walls to the sides and back of the group.

The walk towards the exit could be described as agonizing. Laying on the ground, alone and cold, were the bodies of the members who died fighting for the Protectors. The number of the falling exceeded what Stefan could have imagined, and judging from the cries coming behind him, the others didn't expect it either.

They crossed paths with more members, they clashed against more demons. The journey appeared to be infinite, every step was heavier than the previous one. One might think that in that kind of situation anyone would be rewinding their life, yet Stefan couldn't stop replaying the voice of the last girl that joined them: "we weren't attacked by demons, they were humans."