Trap stood back up when Kou's new personality confronted him. On the higher roof, he observed him standing still and holding back from attacking.
"Who even are you, kid? You... sure know... how to pack a... punch..." Trap said, "You look... rather different... not just on the outside, inside too."
Kou didn't appear to have many opportunities to maintain his footing. His mouth and eyes were trembling. He had eyes closed and was clenching his forehead due to an unexpected headache.
He could feel the difference inside of him and didn't like it one bit. He felt like a helpless child who had no control over the situation, but he was aware that something else had stirred inside of him.
He was forewarned by Tomomi about his secret potential. But as is customary, enormous power also entails immense responsibility.
"How should I know to answer that dumb question? I can't even hold it together," he claimed, "it feels as if my body's going to explode!!!"
Kou's body instantly responded to his loud callout by acting instinctively. He took a stride forward, launched himself through the air, and suddenly dropped to the lower roof.
It appeared as though a different soul had invaded his body and taken over control of his motions. He repeatedly left behind unusual green electrical lines as he rushed over rooftops at high speed.
He could move more quickly than he ever could have envisioned, yet it was extremely beyond his powers to stop him from using them.
He dropped down in front of Trap and kicked obliquely forward at that precise moment. Trap responded quickly and used his palms to launch himself off the roof and onto the air, landing on another roof.
Kou's speed prevented him from stopping, so he ferociously fell on the roof instead. It appeared as though a huge boulder had dropped from a greater height onto the light floor when his feet pierced the brickwork. It gathered the dust and debris and blew it around.
Even after his own use of powers caused his foot to suffer pain and shatter a bone, his body continued to move on its own.
Without having a chance to consider his own health, he leaped through the dust cloud and pursued Trap. He extended his right arm and made a firm fist with it.
Some kind of green pattern started to shine in the arm, as if his veins had lit up. He thought that his own power was too great, even for himself.
When he closed in on Trap, he yanked that arm back and instantly struck forward, feeling his own force wrap around the muscles.
The strike had the potential to instantly destroy any foe, but Trap had the opportunity to dodge before attacking. As he slid to the side, he observed that Kou's fist had halted the punch in midair.
As it came to a standstill, it drew in air and compressed it into a destructive wind pulse. It blasted over the roofs and almost knocked Trap off because of the pressure.
Trap took that opportunity to press aggressively. From beneath Kou's floating form, he raised his foot off the ground and used it to kneel Kou in the stomach.
Kou was subjected to an attack that caused him to spit up saliva and was also the first time he had ever felt being kicked by a powerful force coming from a master fighter.
After slumping into the roof and reaching for his stomach, he felt a cable composed of light wrap around his left ankle.
"You're too reckless with your power," Trap stated, "you lack knowledge in your efforts. You're using too much speed and power; no technique is being used."
"Tell it... to the... one who's... using... my... body... this... power..."
He had trouble speaking. He was then dragged over the edge by the ropes, whereupon he was immediately hanged over the gulf between the towers and rooftops. He gazed down while upside down, as if he were actually clothes dangling from a rope, realizing that falling from that height may be fatal.
Trap approached the edge of the roof and regarded Kou directly. He made careful to hold Kou's body in the air and tied the golden cord around his own wrists.
"Kid, I'll confess it. For someone your age, you have guts. Honestly, I thought this would be a piece of cake, but it seems like you've been hiding some sort of power from me, and that's the only reason you're about to perish right now.
"You are about to be dropped through a 40-meter gap above the third level using my cables. Your head will soon be smashed and your skull will be shattered as you descend and crash to the ground. I appreciate you showing me your strength, and by the time this war is over, you'll be a corpse. I'll see you in the next world."
Kou was about to be dropped to his death when the wire began to slowly untie around his ankles.
Before it could be readily stopped, he had almost been prepared. A female figure appeared to be invisible to the naked eye as she darted through the sky. She appeared over the roofs in an instant, flickering before Trap, whose eyes trembled slightly.
The light cables crossed in front of Trap like a shield, entirely protecting him from being cut as she sliced the blade from behind her and prepared to sever his neck.
"It looks like we meet again, trap-guy. I believe that now is the ideal time to repay the "kindness" that almost cost one of our friends' lives." she claimed, "I've grown tired of waiting, doing nothing while others' were risking their lives that matter the most."
Kou was taken aback by her appearance, and he smiled right away. The first mate of the ship saved him.
"Ayuka! You're here! I am so glad to see you-" Ayuka interrupted him, "Save it! We're not done here!"
Her blade dug into the cables of Trap and started to sever them. In order to prevent that from happening, Trap purposely let go and sprang back to create distance, releasing Kou, who fell to the ground and screamed loudly.
She spun around, swiping her foot behind her, putting Kou's safety before the threat in front of her. In order to connect the rooftops below Kou so that he might land safely, she slid her foot on it and constructed a strong ice platform.
He crawled onto the roof next to Ayuka while holding his stomach and exhaling heavily, taking care not to slip on the ice.
"You okay? You took quite a heavy blow to the stomach..."
"I'm alright. I wasn't expecting to achieve anything, anyway. I have never engaged in actual fight. I've only encountered average-quality opponents who I could easily outmatch, but don't worry—I'll just have to get used to it."
Ayuka at that same time shifted into a middle sword stance and bowed her head forward. She demonstrated to Trap that she had challenged him to a fight as her ponytail fluttered behind her head as she bowed.
"Kou, back off. You used that talent of yours to thoroughly beat him. Don't worry; I'll handle it from this point forward. Others are en route as well. They will arrive shortly, I'm positive."
Kou knew it right once and rose up, making sure to keep as far away from her as he could. Fortunately, the kick he felt in his gut helped him settle down from his devilish state.
Ralphie dodged the arrow by leaping into the air, but as soon as he saw how it turned, he soared back. He was unable to react quickly enough to avoid having his shoulder wounded by the arrow. He supported his knelt leg with one hand while bending his torso forward and holding his wound.
"I'm growing tired of your arrows." Ralphie said. He took a deep breath. "You're incredibly annoying to battle from a distance, not to mention your annoying assortment of arrows, some of which I can't distinguish between having a physical body and others not."
A boy's voice soon intervened their battle. "His arm movements, that's how you can tell which arrow is which. The arrows he makes from nothing more than pure light are the ones you can't touch. He pulls the ones you can touch from his back and surrounds them in light.
"The distinction between the two is actually quite obvious, but he makes it so that you hardly notice. Because of this, all that matters at this time is that you fix your attention on the fingers. Sometimes he'll deceive you into believing he'll actually launch an arrow while surreptitiously creating the arrow behind his back in a way that makes you believe it's the one he dragged from the quiver: physical one."
Ralphie was astounded to see Codey next to him, looking serious. After assisting him in standing up, Codey quickly attracted everyone's attention.
"Codey... I thought we told Ayuka to keep our plan a secret." Ralphie said.
"She did conceal it for a while, but I was able to convince her to come clean. She was acting quite strangely, which was obvious, and she is now heading outside to help Kou."
"So, does that mean she told you about Tim being a girl?"
Codey's body stopped moving at once. He tilted his head slowly to the side while maintaining a puzzled expression. He was obviously shocked to hear Ralphie utter that.
Ralphie even noticed it, recognized that he unintentionally revealed the information, and awkwardly began to notice that Codey's eyelids were twitching and gradually becoming agitated.
"Wha'... W-Wait... a... a woman? H-Hold on... Y-You're telling me that our 19-year old captain of the crew who's been a boy since birth has become... has become... has... h.... has... HAS become a woman?!"
Knowing he had blown the plot, Ralphie grasped his own head. Codey continued to stutter over his words as the reason for keeping others outside of the castle was finally made clear. He was unable to complete a sentence, almost like a toddler. He was hurling letters in all directions.
"I should've just stayed quiet..."
Ralphie finished.
To be continued...