East Corridor.
Footsteps echoed across the scene. Loud against the silence of the place.
Takamiya walked with Lilith right by his side, advancing in silence, though their postures were tense.
"...We need to find a safer place," Takamiya murmured, glancing at her over his shoulder for a few seconds. "If we keep moving forward, maybe we'll find some of the other members around here."
Lilith brought her hands to her chest, frowning.
"I know it's hard, Lilith. But we have to keep going," Takamiya said, without looking back. "You need to stay somewhere safe, away from immediate danger."
"But... what about the people? And Nee-sama...?" She pressed her lips together, her eyes shining with held-back tears. "You heard it... Takamiya-san. Everyone's going to die. And I... I can't do anything to help."
She stared at her hands. They were trembling slightly.
"...I just wanted to do something for them..."
Takamiya stopped walking. He sighed and shook his head.
"Look. I can't promise you that everything will be okay. I can't say that everyone will make it out alive... because I'd be lying to you."
He turned to face her.
"But what I can promise for sure is that we'll save everyone we can. Of course... we can't rescue the innocents who fell today... but we can pray that they find a dignified rest."
A small, proud smile formed on his face.
"Besides. We have the captain and our superiors. Even if we fail... they'll still be standing for us. So we can only trust them."
Lilith's eyes widened for a moment. She clasped her hands together and nodded.
"Right. Now we need to hurry. We don't have time to waste—"
A huge shiver ran through his body. He quickly turned toward the corridor ahead, his eyes scanning the area frantically.
"What the hell was that..?!"
Lilith swallowed hard, her brows furrowed.
"...What happened, Takamiya-san...?"
Takamiya placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, his posture tense.
"Stay close to me."
Lilith nodded. Cold sweat trickled down her forehead as her pupils contracted.
Takamiya stared into the depths of the corridor, his gaze serious.
"Come out now. Stop hiding."
Silence.
No sound. Only the breathing of the two could be heard.
Then, something in the gloom stared back at them—literally. Only two points were visible.
Without any warning, the silhouette lunged forward with insane speed, catching him off guard.
"Damn it!—"
He quickly drew his sword.
Shiiing!
That was the only sound, followed by an oppressive silence.
***
South Corridor.
A massive crash echoed through the area.
"That was the last one," Ryo replied, letting out a long sigh.
Below him, there was a pile of inverses that slowly began to disappear.
Hinata was leaning against the wall, eating a piece of apple, her expression relaxed.
"Lucky they were just regular inverses." She brought her hand to her chin. "How do you think they showed up here?"
"This was planned."
Her gaze turned to Kwin and Eldref, who were sitting in the back.
Eldref raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by that, Kwin?"
Kwin adjusted his glasses and straightened his back.
"Didn't you guys find it strange that these inverses appeared right when we were all together?"
Hinata and Ryo exchanged serious glances.
Kwin continued.
"I noticed it a bit earlier..."
Some moments before...
Kwin was leaning against the wall, his eyes observing the entire group gathered.
"Veteran Eldref! I'm so scared!" Félix stared at him with shining eyes.
Eldref rolled his eyes.
"Mmn, sure..."
Light let out an excited laugh, crossing his arms behind his back.
"Felix-kun, you don't even look scared at all."
"But I am!"
"You're not fooling anyone," Eldref sighed. "Contain yourself, kid. We have a bigger problem to deal with."
Félix scratched the back of his neck, flashing a nervous smile.
Kwin, who had been watching until now, brought his hand to his chin, frowning.
"How strange. If a third of the people are going to end up dying... then... why is only one person involved in this? Why close off the escape routes if there's only a single threat to deal with...?"
He closed his eyes.
At that moment, the world lost its color, turning gray.
Several numbers formed before his eyes through his glasses.
"...There's a 20% chance that she's truly involved. It seemed more..." his eyes widened slightly in understanding, "...like it was orchestrated."
Mei, who had been silent until now, glanced toward the corridor.
"There's something here."
That was all. It was enough to put everyone on alert.
The silence that followed was heavy. No one dared move a muscle.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Light forced a tense smile.
"Guys... I think there's nothing there—"
Suddenly, sounds of quick, erratic footsteps could be heard.
And then, several inverses emerged, advancing frantically.
Félix took a step back, swallowing hard.
"I-inverses! There are so many!"
"Focus, kid!"
Eldref advanced, clenching his right fist tightly and delivering a powerful punch to the nearest one, hurling it into the others.
Mei advanced right after, ducking low and sweeping the third one cleanly.
Félix brought his hands to his cheeks, his eyes sparkling.
"Amazing..."
"What? First time seeing a veteran fight?" Light asked with a smile. "It's pretty cool, huh?"
An inverse appeared behind Mei, about to bite her neck.
"Watch out!"
Ryo moved quickly, pulling her aside. When its mouth closed, there was no one there.
Before he could turn completely, Hinata ripped its head off with a powerful kick.
Ryo was face to face with Mei, who was leaning against the wall.
He smiled sideways.
"I guess now you owe me a date after this... what do you think, changed your mind?"
"Thanks. But I still keep my schedule," she said indifferently.
He stepped back, looking away.
"A-ah, sure... just wanted to make sure."
Soon their attention returned to the others.
"Damn, there are too many," Eldref muttered, blocking one's claws. "We need—"
His eyes widened.
Several of the other inverses were retreating, starting to disappear down the corridor.
"We can't let them loose. You guys handle these."
Mei quickly advanced and began following them.
Eldref glanced at Light and Félix.
"You two, help her! Go!"
The two nodded and advanced as well.
Kwin widened his eyes.
"Wait, there's something wrong here..." he murmured, watching from afar. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead.
Moments later...
"And that was it," he concluded, adjusting his glasses.
Hinata crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.
"So you're assuming... that something made them change course to separate us? That's ridiculous!"
"I know," Eldref commented, his expression serious. "But I trust Kwin's deduction, so I believe in this possibility."
Kwin shook his head.
"Thank you very much, Eldref-san. In short... there's not just one person behind this. There are more."
The silence lasted a few seconds.
Ryo let out a long sigh.
"Anyway... we need to focus on closing the routes. We'll leave the rest to the others."
Hinata nodded, taking another bite of her apple.
"I just hope Mei managed to finish them off..."
***
Somewhere in the corridors...
Louis and Juichi ran breathlessly.
"I can't take it anymore..." Louis gasped, his breathing failing.
"Let's stop over there," Juichi pointed to the next turn.
When they arrived, both collapsed completely. Only the sounds of their breathing could be heard.
Juichi supported himself on his knees.
"...We managed to shake them off..." he said, wiping the sweat with the back of his hands.
"...Thank you so much for saving me, Mr. Juichi," Louis murmured, leaning against the wall.
"Just call me Juichi."
He took a deep breath, catching his breath, and brought his hand to his chin.
"Who were those people...? I thought there was only one person involved in this..." He glanced at Louis. "And why did they want to kill you...?"
Louis hesitated before answering.
"...I overheard their conversation. That hooded man... he's the one behind this." He swallowed hard, before continuing, his voice growing shaky. "...And he also said he wanted to finish me and Nii off before completing his final objective..."
Juichi remained silent for a few seconds, processing his words.
"So, that means they're after you two now. This is not good at all."
Louis furrowed his brows, feeling his heart tighten.
But then, a silhouette approached from the shadows.
Both went on alert, their postures tense.
Gradually, the silhouette revealed itself to be Ren, walking with his hands in his pockets.
Both let out a relieved sigh.
"Ah, it's you. Ren, from the Falcons..." Juichi commented, his posture relaxing briefly.
"E-ei, wait for me!"
Marin appeared right after, collapsing from exhaustion.
"...W-why did you leave me behind...?! Mr. Itsuki sent us to get help!" She panted, her chest rising and falling.
Ren huffed, looking away.
Juichi approached.
"Are you guys having problems too?"
Marin shook her head with difficulty.
"...There was a really strong man... he defeated almost all the other groups."
She gripped the hem of her skirt tightly, her hands trembling.
"Itsuki-san and Ryusuke-san stayed behind to give us a chance to escape... but they're in danger!"
Ren gritted his teeth almost imperceptibly, remembering the events that had just happened.
Moments before...
He stared at the man in front of them, feeling an oppressive aura emanating from him.
Ren tried to advance, but Itsuki stopped him, his expression tense.
"Go with the Phoenix Girl, Ren. We'll provide cover."
Ren widened his eyes and clenched his fists.
"You're telling me to run?!" He growled. "Don't treat me like I'm weak!"
He was about to react, but Itsuki shot him a fierce look, making him hesitate.
"This isn't the time to be proud, Ren!" He barked. "What happens if you die here?! Do you think you'll be a hero if everyone dies because of your stubbornness?!"
He looked at him.
"You two are our only way to pass the information to the others. So go!"
Ren opened his mouth, but closed it immediately. His gaze went from Ryusuke, who was breathing heavily, to Marin—her legs were shaking.
He pressed his lips tightly.
".... Fine."
Without another word, he started retreating as far down the corridor as possible.
Marin, reluctant, followed Ren, but cast one last look back, her eyes watery.
Back to the present...
Ren huffed and murmured something unintelligible.
Marin sighed, though her body was still tense.
"We need your help... we don't know how long Itsuki-san and Ryusuke-san will last..."
"Well, well... two more have joined the fun!"
Everyone's attention turned forward upon hearing the voice coming from the darkness.
Diane smiled sideways and clasped her hands together, intrigued.
"Or not, Kios! What do we do now? Shall we play with them too?"
They widened their eyes upon noticing Kios on the other side of the corridor.
He adjusted his shoulder, keeping a bored expression.
"You decide. The boss only wants the boy with the sword alive... so I couldn't care less about the rest."
Juichi took a step back, swallowing hard.
"Damn... what do I do...?" He murmured, sweat starting to trickle down his forehead.
"Hey, mister..." Diane tilted her head slightly. "Why think so much...? You're all going to die because the boy is with you, right?" She gave a soft smile. "So why not hand him over to us?"
Marin widened her eyes.
"H-huh? W-what do you mean we're going to die?! What are you talking about?" She stammered, her voice shaky.
Juichi pressed his lips together, feeling the tension rising.
"What do I do...? They're way stronger than us... if we fight, we'll clearly be killed... come on, think!"
Then his eyes widened and he stared at Louis.
"Wait... I have no reason to protect him. If I hand him over... we might survive..."
Louis widened his eyes, noticing Juichi's look. He lowered his head, clenched his fists tightly, and frowned.
"It's all my fault..."
Kios pointed his hand toward them.
"Let's just end this—"
At that instant, he was surprised by a huge gust of wind coming toward him, but he defended at the last second, being thrown back a few meters. He huffed, flexing his arm.
"I've heard enough. You think you can just decide what to do or not...?" He gritted his teeth, the sound echoing through the corridor. "Don't underestimate me!"
He roared and shot forward like a torpedo, charging toward Kios ready for the first strike.
Kios, on the other hand, didn't move a muscle. His palm began to emanate a terrifying aura.
Louis felt a huge shiver run down his spine.
"Watch out!"
He threw himself toward Ren and pushed him aside.
Something extremely fast passed between them, leaving a huge mark in the center, almost hitting them.
"...Are you okay—"
Louis widened his eyes in shock, seeing the ground where he had been moments before starting to bubble and disappear.
Marin covered her mouth with her hands, horrified.
"Tch. You got lucky..." Kios muttered, flexing his fingers.
"Bastard!"
Ren was about to advance again, but Louis grabbed his arm tightly.
"Please, don't do that, he's too dangerous!"
"Let me go!"
"Watch out!" Marin screamed, but it was too late.
They turned to the slash coming at high speed, about to hit them, when—
"Space Change!"
At the last instant, when all seemed lost, they were teleported right behind Juichi.
The blow hit the nearby area with a huge crash, leaving marks that began to bubble.
"Tch, I forgot he could do that," Kios huffed, crossing his arms.
Diane brought her hands to her face with a genuine look of surprise.
"Oh, you managed to come back! I wasn't expecting that!"
Juichi breathed heavily as he watched Kios approaching.
"Damn... their level is way higher than ours... we need to find some opening to escape."
"I'm not backing down—"
Juichi grabbed the collar of Ren's shirt tightly, his expression serious.
"Are you crazy, man?! Can't you see it's impossible to win?! Why don't you get that into your head?!"
Ren clenched his fists, but hesitated. He huffed and looked away.
The group's attention returned to the opponents.
Juichi raised his hand.
"On my signal..."
Louis and Marin nodded, tense.
Kios advanced like a blur, raising his hand.
"This time, I'll attack to kill," he declared.
A black substance shot out from his hand, fired quickly at them.
At that moment, the world slowed down completely.
"Now! Space Change!"
Instantly, the blow that was about to hit them vanished completely, replaced by Ren.
Kios widened his eyes, but it was too late.
Ren spun in the air, his left foot hitting his stomach squarely, sending him flying back several meters.
Kios prepared another attack, but his face turned stunned—there was only a rock in front of him.
The two quickly turned as they realized the group was running toward the end of the corridor.
Juichi waved at them, flashing a victorious smile.
"See you later, suckers!"
And then, they disappeared into the gloom.
A heavy silence fell over the two.
Diane ran her hand through her hair.
"Ah no, they escaped again!"
Kios, however, just stood there.
"...He tricked me. Right before my blow hit... he made it collide with a wall at the back of the corridor by switching... and only then could I switch right after in the same spot..."
"He fooled you good!"
"Whatever..." he murmured, adjusting his neck. "It's not every day you find someone interesting. Let's go, Diane."
"Okay, okay... you just don't want to admit you were tricked—"
"Let's go, Diane."
"Hmph, fine!" She crossed her arms and pouted.
The two followed down the corridor.