Everyone from Tem's friends to their foes crept out from behind the debris, including Ralphie. Once they were standing, Ayuka walked over to check on Kou to see whether he was still breathing. Thankfully, he was.
Together with Bow, Codey stood up while holding the back of his head. They turned to face the front and saw that few people had managed to survive, while the whole of the city's frontlines had been destroyed and were now covered in rock piles.
"What was he thinking, exactly? He killed those defenseless individuals in addition to destroying his fortress! I'm so enraged when I consider how many lives were lost!" Codey yelled.
"Even the blacksmith where we had Tomomi's remedy was destroyed by him. We no longer have any possibilities to get her back, and we don't even have experts in this field to assist us!" Ralphie replied, scanning the area to see if anyone was still alive.
Karisa sprinted through the mess and bumped into Ayuka. "How is Kou? He has more wounds than any of us, I saw. What happened, did the blast harm him within this way?"
Kou's hair was pushed to the side of his forehead by Ayuka, who first checked that his heartbeat was beating well. She began concentrating her attention on the wounds on his arm and hastily started to treat them while also responding to Karisa's question.
"No, but the explosion definitely made it worse." she told and sweated from worry, "None of us here were aware that he had some special talent. These injuries that he sustained were because of his own talent. He either acquired his skill at that very moment or he had known it for a while but was forced to use it. But from what I saw and felt, he had absolutely no control over them."
Karisa examined the wounds while worried for Kou's life and made sure Ayuka could somehow reattach his limb.
"You can heal him, right? What are we going to do if you can't? There isn't a qualified doctor nearby or aboard our ship. Even if there was an explosion before to the one, we cannot be certain that a doctor survived."
Kou's skin began to gradually heal itself thanks to the energy that Ayuka had vibrated through her hand.
"I can treat his skin wound, but if he has any broken bones, you may recall, I am unable to do so. However, I believe that this should be more than enough for him to at least survive."
Karisa, who was still unsure of what had transpired within, felt relieved.
As Natan emerged from the rubble, he also discovered Elliott's lifeless body lying on the ground. But he was only sleeping, unlike everyone else who had some injuries.
He knelt down in front of him, sighed, and quickly slapped his face to wake him up. Elliott's body sprang to his feet and yelled loudly in a split second, but as soon as it happened, he felt his body going numb.
He poured down onto the ground like fluid, like a blob.
"Um... H-Hey, Natan. Please tell me, why can't I move my body? I'm not dead, am I?"
Natan softly brushed Elliott's torso with his broom after grabbing it from behind. Elliott was perplexed and soon noticed Natan rolling his body around the rubble while he explained the cause of his numbness.
"While you were sleeping, some needles were used to stab you. It appears that the numbness initiated as early as you woke up. You'll be alright if you just wait a little while."
"Oh... I see, but... why the hell are you rolling me around like I'm some kind of trash?!"
Elliott was forced to put up with Natan's cruel treatment because he was unable to stop him from brooming him across the floor.
"I'm cleaning the mess, don't worry."
"Hey, stop it! Ow, ouch, hey, oof! Stop! Natan!!"
Natan paused for a few moment before giving Elliott a cool glance. "I believed your body was meant to be numb,"
"Ah, I see. Okay, I guess I have no impulses at all. But if you could just carry me instead of rolling me about like you're making a snowman, that would be great."
Muro was frozen to the spot and Tem stood in front of him. He stumbled over his words because he didn't want to accept what he had seen. He was soon so exposed that he would be helpless to flee. He would have to engage Tem in battle until one of them was defeated.
"Girl, I'll say this one final time." Muro asserted incensedly, "I don't want you to keep wasting my time on some wicked fighting because you've already ruined my plans! Let's put a stop to this right away and ensure that this conflict is never forgotten if you want it to end."
The last confrontation between Tem and the assailant of the castle's destruction and the deaths of many people resulted from the act of her warrior spirit. She promised herself, "I won't lose," and got into her trademark front-limb-back-step offense position.
"I'll be honest with you for once; I made the simple error of telling Yumi that I would beat your ass. But regardless how awful they are, I would rather not kill anyone. For someone like you, being imprisoned is a sufficient punishment.
"I'm not scared to say it, but after this struggle, you'll quickly experience what it's like to be imprisoned, unable to use any of your powers because your entire body is trapped inside. Your so-called "Black Shock" won't even be functional because it would be dim and imprisoned by chains."
Muro laughed aloud. He revealed yet another aspect of his abilities when the black lightning emanating from his arms began to be used against Tem's body.
"Fine, I suppose I'll give you some props for surviving, but did you know that I can manipulate shockwaves in other ways as well? The feel is excellent. I can send a terrible shock that will electrocute and obliterate the targeted organ the instant I touch one of your vital parts. Nothing inside of your body will be left behind; all that will be left is your body. Like the fortress behind us, it will all be obliterated!"
Tem shown no signs of surprise or fear; instead, she maintained her offensive stance while her eyes briefly twitched. She saw Muro raise his arm in the air and drive his palm back into the ground at that same moment.
A force that was expanding and a shockwave that pulsed through the ground were released as his fist tore through the surface. The ground vibrated as black electricity was lifted up, giving the impression that he was setting up a field made of lightning.
Tem positioned her right foot behind her left leg and quickly vanished from sight. Muro eventually observed Tem plummeting from the skies with her left arm extended as a pulse of black power pillared up into the sky from where she vanished.
Suddenly, Muro ducked by skidding backward as she dove through the air and proceeded to drive her sole into the ground. A huge eruption of flames erupted from Tem's foot and erupted over her head as her sole struck the ground and instantly demolished the floor beneath her.
Muro slid back, feeling impressed, and his feet touched the floor.
"What in the world? You're traveling at three times your previous speed! You cannot possibly be an enhancer!"
She rose from her crouch and resumed her aggressive position as the flames around her body died down. "Did you find out that I am an enhancer by accident? Nevertheless, my enhancing depends on each of the stances I utilize and doesn't merely get greater with aura.
"I frequently adopt a balanced posture since it works best during a protracted battle. I'll demonstrate something, nonetheless, that I haven't fully mastered only for you.
"I frequently keep this one on hand as a fallback position. And this works great for someone who needs to get a good hold of my body. I appreciate you sharing your secret, even if I already knew it at the time you surprised me and zapped me.
"Try not to lose visual off me."
To be continued...