That was why her sister intervened, carrying Luna as well and pulling her away from the burning street—

A street now consumed by an overwhelming sea of fire.

With Ethan over her left shoulder while supporting Luna against her right side, Moon ran while carrying both of them toward safety, where the remaining hunters were gathered.

Everyone stood there in stunned silence after witnessing the destructive power unleashed by a single mage.

At that moment, they finally understood why Luna Heart had been assigned to the Second Hunting Squad from her very first day as a hunter.

The older sister, Moon, was talented.

But the younger sister, Luna, was no inferior to her in the slightest.

"Stop standing there in shock! We need treatment immediately!"

Moon shouted, snapping everyone out of their daze.

Responding to her call, the only priest among them hurried over, intending to heal Ethan.

But Moon stopped him midway and asked for one of the healing flasks instead.

The priest was confused by her refusal, but he handed it over regardless.

The moment Ethan drank the flask, his demonic body immediately began recovering color, his previously pale skin regaining life as the wounds covering him slowly stabilized.

Meanwhile, her teammates approached together with Gustav Heart and the members of the First Squad.

Gustav glanced at Ethan briefly before turning toward Moon with visible confusion.

"Wouldn’t it have been more efficient to let the priest heal him instead of wasting one of our few remaining flasks?"

he asked with a frown.

Moon shook her head.

"The flask works faster than the priest’s healing. You can deduct it from my squad’s supplies if you want. I don’t mind."

She answered while attempting to conceal what she had just done, since nobody present knew the truth about Ethan’s demonic body—

A body completely unaffected by healing miracles.

Despite all the damage he had suffered, Ethan still remained conscious somehow.

His endurance was monstrous beyond reason.

His exhausted crimson eyes drifted slowly across the gathered hunters before finally settling on Luna, who herself was barely conscious after unleashing High-Tier magic.

"You shouldn’t focus on healing me... suppress my curse first..."

Ethan spoke while staring directly at Luna.

"If you don’t suppress it... more monsters will come here soon... looking for me."

His words immediately darkened the expressions of everyone present.

Only then did they remember that his Blood Eclipse Curse was still active.

And among everyone gathered there, the only person capable of suppressing it was Luna alone.

"Can you suppress it?"

Moon asked her sister immediately.

Luna nodded weakly, though there was one major issue.

"I can suppress it... my teacher’s barrier is still there..."

"But I’ll need my full mana reserves to reinforce it again, and after casting that High-Tier fire spell... recovering enough mana will take time."

Even with her extraordinary blessing allowing her to constantly regenerate mana, Luna had exhausted herself severely during the previous battle.

Returning to peak condition would not happen instantly.

"How much time exactly?"

Gustav Heart asked anxiously.

Luna’s answer was anything but reassuring.

"One hour... at the very least."

Silence fell the moment she stated the required time.

An entire hour was far too long.

Especially with Ethan’s Blood Eclipse Curse still active, meaning the monsters could descend upon them again at any moment.

"We won’t be able to hold them off for a full hour. Everyone’s exhausted after the last battle..."

Gustav said while looking over the remaining hunters.

Most of them were barely capable of fighting anymore.

Judging from their expressions, nearly all the hunters seemed to be thinking the exact same thing.

Moon noticed it immediately, and her expression darkened little by little.

"We all would’ve died if he hadn’t come and dragged those monsters away from you."

She spoke firmly, directing her words toward Gustav above everyone else.

"And now you’re going to abandon him after he saved all of your lives?!"

No one answered her question.

None of them dared meet her gaze directly—

Except for Gustav Heart, who remained completely calm, his nerves unwavering.

"Act like a leader, Moon Heart, and put your personal feelings aside."

"As the leader here, it’s my responsibility to minimize casualties. If we stay with him, we’ll all die the moment the next wave arrives."

Gustav argued that abandoning Ethan was the only way for the majority of them to survive.

He claimed he was trying to preserve as many lives as possible.

But his words only fueled Moon’s anger further.

"If preserving lives was truly your goal, then you should’ve listened to me when I begged you to stop the hunt."

"Because of your decision, we already lost half our people. So what right do you have to abandon the one person who saved us from the consequences of your mistake?!"

Moon’s voice turned openly hostile as she pointed directly at Gustav.

The members of the First Hunting Squad visibly bristled after seeing their leader insulted in front of everyone.

They stepped forward and took Gustav’s side.

At the same time, the members of the Third Squad gathered protectively around Moon, Ethan, and Luna.

And just like that—

A fracture began forming between the hunters.

"This isn’t the time for infighting, Moon Heart..."

Gustav said while trying to suppress the conflict.

"I admit I made a mistake before. I’m trying to avoid repeating it now. I refuse to lose even more hunters."

But his attempt failed completely.

Moon refused to yield.

"Then you can run away without the Third Squad."

"We don’t abandon our comrades."

It seemed stubbornness ran through the blood of the Asterion Heart family.

None of them ever backed down once they had made up their minds.

The conflict between Gustav and Moon reached a complete deadlock.

And division among the hunters now seemed inevitable.

Which was exactly the outcome Gustav wanted to avoid at all costs.

Because if the hunters split apart now—

They would merely hasten their own deaths.

This was the worst possible scenario.

A path none of them knew how to avoid.

But the giant man did.

"You don’t need to do anything."

"I’ll protect him until the mage succeeds in sealing his curse."

From above, Jackson descended with his usual smile stretched across his face—

Bringing with him the solution to their dilemma.