Getting into position, Lazaro exclaims,
"I didn't spend all that time training for nothing! Time to put it to use!"
Aiming towards the ground, Lazaro pulls back on his bowstring and releases a flurry of frozen arrows.
They fly out, surrounding Krivol and transforming the terrain to ice. Growing out from each arrow, pillars of ice extend upwards, congregating into the shape of a cage as Lazaro chants,
"Glacial Arctic Birdcage!"
He reminisces,
"I still get chills thinking about that time... I was like a little bird being hunted by a scary lion..."
He breaks out in a cold sweat as a roaring vision of Laine echoes in his mind.
A blanket of mist flows on the ground, clearing to reveal the empty ice cage.
In shock, Lazaro shouts,
"Wh-Where'd he go!?"
Feeling something touch his back, Lazaro quickly averts his gaze, seeing Krivol standing behind him. With half of his body looking like liquid, the old [Kobold] mutters,
"My apologizes, young one. Something like that won't work on me."
Lazaro instinctively dashes away while releasing another icy attack and chanting,
"Piercing Polar Screech!"
Flying through the air, small diamond-shaped shards of ice speed towards Krivol, making noises akin to screeching birds.
Krivol calmly leans on his cane as a wall of flame appears before him, melting the frozen projectiles.
Lazaro grits his teeth as he mutters,
"Swiftfoot!"
He feels his body lighten, powered up by the strength of the wind. Lightly hopping up and down, Lazaro speeds forward towards Krivol.
Upon arrival, Krivol is nowhere to be seen, only a gust of wind blowing towards Lazaro is left in his stead.
Quickly glancing around, Lazaro spots the old [Kobold] standing calmly in the same pose, but in a changed position. With a different, fiercer look in his aged eyes, Krivol mentions,
"Hm... I regret to inform you, but this battle was decided before it even began..."
Lazaro shouts back,
"Decided before it began? Like I'd let you do that!"
Without warning, Krivol digs his cane into the ground as a wave of tremors travel towards Lazaro. Reacting quickly, Lazaro leaps into the air, assisted by [Swiftfoot].
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes down through Lazaro as he falls to the ground. Recovering, Lazaro shouts,
"I was raised around the strongest currents! A puny charge like this is nothing!"
He tries to move his body, but he stays stiff. Krivol questions,
"You've noticed, haven't you?"
Lazaro thinks,
"No way... Is this like Aldrich's Skill!? I'm paralyzed from the neck down!"
Krivol explains,
"I've lived for quite a while, young boy... I've been allowed to learn a multitude of [Skills] of different types... [Liquidation], [Flame Wall], [Gust Step], [Tremor], [Deep Paralysis]... You put up a good fight and it's quite a shame that we had to meet under these circumstances..."
Lazaro just stares in contempt, frozen in place.
On the other hand, Lily dashes around Rechsis as the spider monster stands still, looking very scared.
Rechsis points two of her limbs towards Lily and shouts,
"P-Poison Shot..!"
A dripping ball of purple sludge shoots towards Lily as she glances at it quickly before increasing her speed and letting the attack fizzle out behind her. Terrified, Rechsis yelps,
"Eek! P-Please don't hurt me..!"
Lily swoops behind Rechsis as Rechsis hears her and instinctively hops away. With her back turned to Lily, she forms a web, creating a barrier between the two.
Lily focuses her attention towards Rechsis and swiftly runs through the web as if there was nothing there. Rechsis mutters,
"Wh-What..!? My webs are supposed to be stronger than steel..! To run through them so easily... Who is this girl..!?"
Lily holds her weapon out as it glows, brighter than it ever had before. With her behind still turned towards Lily, Rechsis takes large steps back, making webs as she goes.
Lily simply passes through each of them, her speed slightly increasing as she goes. Rechsis' movements slow as the fatigue is getting to her.
Lily catches up to Rechsis, her blade gleaming with white brilliance as Rechsis stops and peeks behind her.
(Thud)
Rechsis falls to the ground, fainting from shock.
Lily stops in her tracks and lets out a sigh as she wipes some sweat off of her forehead. Looking around, she notices Lazaro on the ground and thinks,
"That idiot!"
Meanwhile, in the castle, Saiba sits, eyes glued to the cloud screens and foot restlessly tapping against the floor. He thinks hard,
"I wanna go fight! But I can't get out! But I wanna go! Augh! Wait!"
He fumbles around in his chair and stands up. Closing his eyes and tensing his stomach, he makes an expression as if he was trying to let a large poop out.
He pushes hard before feeling something tap his shoulder. A childlike voice questions,
"Master, what are you doing..?"
Saiba releases all his tension as he stumbles forward in shock.
Turning around, Saiba shouts,
"How long have you been there!?"
In all his dark glory, Roman answers,
"Long enough!"
Saiba scratches the back of his head, noticeably embarrassed from someone seeing him in that state. Looking up at the floating Roman, Saiba mentions,
"Anyways, I summoned you he-"
He gets cut off as Roman shouts,
"Oh right! YOU summoned me! It's such an honor! Truly a role fit for my Master's best servant!"
Roman beams with a face of delight as Saiba clears his throat and continues,
"Ahem. As I was saying, I called you over 'cause I need your help with something."
Roman nods his head, eagerly awaiting orders. Saiba instructs,
"I need you to break down the door. Mr. Gladius put some kind of trap on it that might kill me if I touch it and I don't really feel like dying. I thought you could do it since you're like a spirit or something."
Roman thinks and replies,
"I guess I am a spirit, so I can't get hurt by physical things... Sure! It's my duty to follow my Master's orders after all!"
Saiba fist-pumps while shouting,
"Alright!"
Together, they move towards the large front door, preparing to knock it down. Roman clenches his fist and winds it back. It glows in an aura of darkness as he focuses his strength on that location.
All of a sudden,
(Crash!)
The door is flung forward, colliding with Saiba and slamming his body against the wall behind him.