As the group exited the train station, they saw cars on fire, streets filled with leaves, and destroyed buildings. The sky was grey, as there were lots of smoke in the air.
"What the hell happened here?" Ruby asked.
"Don't say Selena succeeded in invading the region!?" Alucard said.
"We're too late." Gusion said. "But then why is this place so quiet?"
Suddenly a grenade was thrown beside one of the cars near them. Gusion and the others immidiately went for cover.
"Get down!"
And boom! The car went flying in the air, as blazing fire slowly consumed it. Lesley and Claude took out their guns and scouted the area. They saw a group of masked people carrying guns and swords.
"Hostiles!"
And a huge firefight began. Claude started handing guns, which he found on the train. Everyone, started shooting, and the enemy traded fire.
"Come out! The fun is just beggining!" one of the guys shouted.
"Make yourselves better citizens!" another one said.
Lesley ran over to Gusion, as she was holding her rifle.
"What do these guys want?" she whispered.
"I don't know! Maybe terrorists or raiders, maybe workers of Selena." Gusion replied.
As the gunfight continued, Gusion took his holy blade, and took Ruby's hand quickly.
"Gus! What are you doing?" she asked.
"Ruby, on the count of three, you slash your scythe, while I throw my sword okay?"
"Wait, what?..."
"One, two, three!"
And Gusion with his super fast speed, took down the targets with his sword skills. Ruby on the other hand, delivered heavy attacks with her scythe. And everyone was down.
"Who are these people?"
"Look out! There's more of them."
More masked enemies made bullets rain on the sky. Gusion and Ruby hid under a barricade for cover.
"We're outnumbered! What to do we do Gus?"
And as the enemies came forward, another grenade exploded out of nowhere. Most of the enemies got knocked down, the remaining others tried to run away.
"Huh? What's happening?"
Two gunmen started chasing the other raiders, one of them wore a hat, and the other one wore a yellow jacket. They had old fashioned guns and cigarettes on their mouths.
"W-Wait a minute! T-That's..."
The two strangers shot the final enemy, and they walked away. Ruby had recognized Roger, the man who had helped her during her childhood. She dropped her scythe, and quickly ran over to him.
"Master Roger, master Roger!"
Roger looked behind him and saw her running. The two embraced each other tightly. Ruby's eyes filled with tears of joy.
"Master Roger... I missed you." Ruby said.
"I missed you too Ruby." Roger replied.
As the others were watching, baffled and confused on what was happening, Layla saw Clint, her boyfriend who was abducted here in Eruditio. She began running towards him, as tears were dripping from her eyes.
"Clint-kun! Clint-kun!"
"Layla-chan? Oh my god, Layla!"
The two hugged each other tightly. Clint kissed her on the lips, as Layla put her arms behind him.
"I thought I'd never see you again!" Layla said, as her tears dropped onto his chest.
"You came. I'm so glad you came." Clint said.
The others were just watching, standing on the sandy road. They took down all their weapons and approached the four of them.
"Clint! Long time no see!" Alucard said.
"Yeah. I've been here for so long, I don't know what's happening in the Empire." Clint replied
"It's a very long story. Don't worry, I'll tell you everything."
Meanwhile on Roger's side, Granger and Claude talked to him, introducing themselves. As they were chit-chatting, Clint and Roger saw the Paxley Crest on Gusion's shirt. They approached Gusion.
"Uhm... Gusion Paxley? Correct?" Clint asked.
"I'm pretty sure that's him. The one responsible for ending the Marquis Dynasty." Roger said.
"Wait, what?" Gusion replied. "How do you guys know me?"
"Because you're a Paxley. The Paxleys are said to be the strongest mages in the land."
"Yeah. You have a talent of using dark and light magic at the same time."
" So? What's with it?"
"You're a Twilight. Twilights dominated every opponent with their magic. They're famous here in Eruditio and in other places."
"Uhm, we have to go! Commander Yi and Dr. Rooney are waiting for you in the Lab!" Claude said.
And Roger and Clint came with the group, leading them to Dr. Rooney's secret lab.