87 Crimson Tears II

Casper, lifting his tear-streaked face from Willan's comforting fur, met Meadow's gaze. With a hoarse voice, he echoed the unsettling truth: "They were hunting us instead."

A sigh escaped Meadow as she directed her gaze toward Willow's lifeless body. "They outsmarted us this time," she concluded, a sense of defeat evident in her tone.

Refusing to succumb to despair, Casper shook his head vehemently, a declaration rising within him: "This won't do... We can't lose any more team members. They will pay." His eyes sparkled with a mixture of determination and anger, signaling a shift from mourning to a resolute stance against those responsible.

Willan and Meadow both nodded in solemn agreement.

***

Isolde's wide-eyed gaze fixated on Celestia, the shock of discovering that the woman she considered a mother-like figure was the one orchestrating her downfall left her mind blank; she was not prepared to accept such a betrayal.