Elliott's eyes were filled with bravery as he stood in the midst of the Prismatic Lightning's remnants. They were shivering, though, as a result of the massive amount of energy he had expended in the battle against Marienne.
Elliott sank to the floor as the rainbow colors gradually faded into transparency. The colors of his power faded, and the ache he had felt during the conflict intensified. He was struck unconscious shortly after, with Marienne's defeated body lying next to him, as he struggled to think clearly.
Despite his success, he came dangerously near to passing away. His ribs were completely broken and his head cracked. Nina had finally made it inside the kingdom, with Ayuka's body resting on her shoulders, and he desperately needed a doctor.
"Elliott!"
Despite the weight on her back, she went toward him and peered down at Elliott's comatose form. Because she was the only one living, there was no way she could take them to the doctor when good luck struck.
A young woman stepped out of one of the doors and shouted their names. "Do those two require immediate medical attention?" Nina nodded enthusiastically, unsure who the woman was and even seeking assistance.
"Please help us find a doctor as quickly as possible! The girl on my back developed desert fever, and her old wounds reopened. She will die if she is not treated! Please take us to the doctor with you!"
With a swift shake of her head, the woman moved closer to them. She knelt beside Elliott and took his blood pressure. She also examined his wounds before hastily transferring Elliott on her back. "Please enter. You're quite fortunate. I'm the medical professional you've been seeking for."
Nina's eyes brightened with delight and she nodded enthusiastically. She followed the woman inside one of the buildings, and the two injured pals were promptly placed on the bed by both girls. Their treatment began very immediately.
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Tim and Byron, who were still fighting furiously, exchanged glances. Tim's sword, which had previously corroded, was no longer useful, and there was no way to restore it to its original state. Tim noticed that Tomomi and Kou were still staring out the window, and together with Tomomi, Kou tried to persuade Tomomi to go.
"Tomomi! Something is certainly wrong with you! We must withdraw and locate the doctor! I'll drive you there!"
Tomomi continued to cover her right arm behind her back, and despite concealing her current body problem, she still displayed signs of exhaustion and inability to breathe properly, but she tried to keep active and solemn, even attempting to persuade Kou to return.
"I'm fine... I'm just feeling cold..."
Finally, Kou decided to call Tim's name. He gave a brief wave to get Tim's attention and then asked a question. "Tim! Something is seriously wrong with Tomomi! She's been acting odd lately! Her right arm started to become increasingly more transparent, and her breathing has gotten heavier!"
Tomomi turned to face Kou, her eyes, trembling as she listened to Kou, who had divulged her secret seemingly out of nowhere, and expressed some wrath toward him. "I told you... I'm fine!"
Tim's eyes, shook with stress and fear as he heard Kou's warning, then he stared at the pile that had been created by his sword turning to sand. "This only adds to it! The sword is totally shattered. Because Tomomi's spirit is linked to that sword, she only has a limited time before she vanishes forever. If that happens, we'll never see or remember her again! Everything's going wrong! What was I thinking when I chose to sacrifice my weapon rather than my one limb?!"
Tim suddenly returned his sight to Kou and promptly shouted out. He didn't hesitate and was completely focused on the combat. His only concern was getting Tomomi to safety as quickly as possible. Her sole chance of survival remained uncertain, which is why Tim quickly assigned Kou to his next task.
"Kou! I'd like you to take her to the doctor you mentioned before! Make your way through the temple and make it there safely! Everything that is happening to her is a result of my sword completely vanishing from existence! Don't even try to avoid my request! Tomomi is my friend, and there is nothing else I would rather keep in the world than her! You better hurry, you got that?! Whatever happens, don't stop running and trust me!!"
Tim exerted pressure on Kou, causing him to grow stressed, yet despite this, he pondered listening and seized Tomomi by the wrist.. "Let's go Tomomi! We've got no time to waste! Good luck, Tim!" The two of them dashed through the temple's corridor and were about to approach the stairwell when Byron smirked and learned something that would almost certainly wreck Tim's life.
"Ah, I see... He cares about that girl, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps I should focus on eliminating her first, and then return to where I left off with him."
Byron burst out laughing and ran for the hole. Tim's determination to focus on the battle and trust Kou to get Tomomi to safety was shattered. He knelt, and flames erupted from the soles of his feet. While Byron pursued Kou down at the shrine, he rushed off at breakneck speed.
"Kou, oh, Kou. Don't flee too hastily. Why don't you simply hand her over to me? I'll get her taken care of in no time!" After understanding that there was no other way to escape than to rely on his running pace, Byron began to catch up to Kou, who had been racing with Tomomi and sweated.
"There's no way! I won't let her or Tim down!"
He followed Tim's orders and kept running. He was unwilling to quit, though, and soon noticed how Byron's hand began to reach for his. It would decompose him on contact, but in the flash of an eye, Tim shot through the air with amazing speed, thanks to his fire boost, and followed Byron.
"Keep your hands off her!"
He lit his right arm on fire by swinging it behind him. The flames began to swirl around his palm and wrist, lightening up the corridor, as he quickly made a fist with his hand. Tim was faster than Byron's flight due to the projection of his Burning Boost, and when he caught up to him, hurriedly punched through Byron's body, which erupted into sand and fell to the ground. "Damn it! Stupid sand!"
Tim's body lost control in mid-air and rolled down the corridor onto his shoulder. He twisted his palm on the ground to completely spin his body around, then used his fingertips to slow down and come to a halt directly behind Kou, looking away. "Keep going, Kou!"
"Yeah! Got it!"
Tim returned his view onto Byron whose body formed back to his human form. Byron's look seemed to have made him grow agitated and furious. He lost sight of Kou and Tomomi and only noticed Tim stand before him in confrontation.
"You are seriously persistent, aren't you kid? Whatever I try to do, you just ruin. I've had enough of you and you fire! It's time to go to sleep, it's your bedtime, kid!"
Byron went for the temple's external wall and began decaying it immediately. He instantly pulled the arm back after transforming the stone into sand that he could manipulate to his heart's desire. He swung a fury of sand whips toward Tim, who braced himself.
Tim took a step forward and crossed his arms, forming a big fist with the whips. Tim's body was grasped and dragged high into the air by the enormous fist. Tim's body began to be slammed left and right by the sand fist as he was unable to break free. The enormous fist, like Byron's right arm, swung behind him.
He tossed Tim's body straight into the corridor and let go, causing his body to hurriedly spin on the ground from the impact, which resulted in him slamming against one of the temple's walls outside. As Tim's body dropped through the air toward the ground, the wall erupted into pieces. Byron pursued Tim, threatening to kill him as soon as possible.
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Karisa and Ireene dashed down the winding stairwell, heading for the cellar where her father or King Artemis was supposed to be imprisoned. "We're nearly there! Just beyond this wall!" Ireene slammed the door in her face and forced it open. She was promptly greeted by a single cell upon entering, but she arrived too late. King Artemis had already vanished, and they had no idea where he had been taken.
"He was supposed to be here! Where is he?! Father!"
Ireene tried calling out for her father several times, but he was nowhere to be seen. The room was deafeningly silent as they glanced around, with Karisa approaching the cell and discovering that it was locked.
"Well the cell is locked. Maybe they didn't imprison him after all."
Ireene watched someone drop down from the cage just as she was about to fall to her knees. Tubby, who was supposed to have stayed back in Hatly, greeted her, and she was astonished.
"Tubby? Y-You're here? When did you- I'm so glad you're okay."
Tubby nodded and began peeping. He was recounting everything he knew and had heard about King Artemis' abduction. "Ira dragged him up to the room in the clock tower? We didn't see her anywhere in the corridor, so this means we were too slow to cross paths with her. Tubby, thank you so much. I wasn't expecting you to show up, but I'm glad you did and that nothing bad happened."
*peep* *peep, peep*
"Okay. Karisa, let's hurry. Now that we know where they took my father, there's no way I'll waste any more seconds."
Karisa nodded in return, her confidence obvious on her face. Ireene took Tubby in her arms and hurried back up the steps to the clock tower's room with Karisa.
To be continued...