Yumiko's ears could barely make out a female voice calling out to her, "Pick her up," which was the only thing she could make out in her ravaged state.
Close to the dorm, the remainder of crewmates and friends reached their destination. Before they would waste more time, they hurried in on the inside and Ayuka rushed to treat people's wounds to what she was capable of.
"There is a room in the back you can use to treat them." exerted Bow and unlocked the dorm for all of them to enter. She had no other choice but to thank him and then speed inside where others brought the wounded.
"Minor wounds can be treated by me, at least enough to keep them alive." Codey accepted Ayuka's choice and joined the group waiting in the living room for what they hoped would be good news.
Codey started, "I wish I could think of a way to get some type of a pendant that Tim could use to keep Tomomi alive." He concluded, and Ralphie said "I'm not sure, but it would be hard to do that without a blacksmith. We would need to find someone who could assist us, but I don't think anyone will be available given the chaos."
"I can move again!" Ellliott leapt to his feet and started breathing easier right away. Natan kept his arms crossed across his own chest and gave him a serious gaze.
"I don't believe that now is the time to celebrate."
Elliott glanced aside in boredom as a result of his response. Bow asked everyone to give him some time to complete before carrying on the topic. "I think we're engaged in a struggle about your desire. To make the jewelry for your friend, you would need to locate a skilled craftsperson."
"We intended to come here for that until your amusing leader started wrecking everything in his path! Before I lose my cool and start to strike, tell me more about it. Unless you really want to, I'm not in the mood to go on like this." Codey claimed.
"Yes, I sincerely regret that it occurred to each and every one of you. I never did completely wrap up my justification, though. There is a another way you can get the pendant for your friend, but it requires Empress Oriyana because she is the only one who frequently wears one of these.
"However, I'm unsure of how long she can maintain her composure in the face of this carnage. I'll grant that she's not the type of person who would immediately start a war, but she generally tends to avoid outsiders, especially those that she has transfigured into the opposing gender."
They paid close attention to him so they wouldn't miss any of the details till Codey showed interest.
"You're basically urging us to confront the empress and ask her to listen to us, isn't it? We need our captain to get back to his previous state, thus I feel that would be nearly difficult given the circumstances. He used to be our close friend, so I don't like the idea of him now becoming a girl."
Everyone in the group hoped for the best but was at a loss for how to approach Oriyana when the talk came to a halt. They had no idea if she had survived the explosion, thus it might even be harder than engaging in conversation with her than a protracted struggle with Muro.
They were clueless.
Tem and Muro ran at each other at breakneck speed near the castle ruins. Within a split second, they were both face to face and exchanging punches. Both of them were launched backward across the uneven terrain by the shockwave that was produced by the fists slamming into one another.
Tem observed her posture, reacted quickly, and darted behind Muro. He flung his right arm behind as he pivoted and hit both limbs together as soon as he saw her. She applied an incredibly strong pressure while he defended.
He put more pressure on her leg and then quickly wrapped his hand around her ankle while grinning ominously at her. In a split second, he delivered a direct charge to her right limb and felt it begin to eat away at her bones.
Because she was unable to flee at that moment, she kicked with her other leg and smashed her instep into Muro's jaw, instantly forcing him back as she dropped to her left knee while her right leg trembled.
"Do you understand what I meant when I said that even for someone who can move this quickly like you, my talent exceeds your expectations? You've become weary, haven't you, and that's why your offensive posture is only effective for a short while. I'll amputate each of your limbs one at a time if you continue to move in this manner."
Tem slowly stood back up, her electric arm shaking, holding her own chest to ease the weariness ache. She chose to stand solely on her left leg, making sure to avoid utilizing her right.
"On one leg, how do you foresee moving? Even you shouldn't be so stupid as to think you could defeat me using just one of your limbs, with the other that is currently considered worthless."
She instantly started spewing fire from the bottom of her right sole up to her thigh, burning it continually in an effort to reduce the discomfort.
"You completely miss my point. If I didn't have a trick under my sleeve, I wouldn't risk losing my leg. I can control the flames I make to the point where they can cure my own limbs."
Muro froze on the spot at her remark and glared aggressively in her direction. "I won't be lying... That one made me mindless, I haven't fully researched this fire ability!" He witnessed Tem drive her foot into the ground as flames shot out from below, engulfed her body, and then spread out to the side.
"But it makes no difference! I'll utterly electrocute your heart and cause it to erupt into a gory mess if I can get my hands on your chest! Come at me and show me what you're made of, please!"
"You sound like a real pervert just like you are when you say things like that!" Right away, she bent her torso forward and quickly catapulted herself above the ground. She threw her right arm behind her and lit it on fire straight away. It consumed the arm like a never-ending fiery vortex that grew larger as it blazed more furiously
"Just like I did to your female buddy, I will shatter you into pieces. You cannot dispute that my greatest troops have already eliminated her from this world. I will-" His words were cut off when Tem's body caught fire in front of him.
He saw the flaring arm of Tem being dragged squarely into his head from behind. His face was screwed up as her knuckles slammed into his face, causing him to experience excruciating pain. From the point of impact, the flames engulfed his head. He then felt his body being lifted off the hard floor.
Then, his entire body shot through the air, heading directly for the farthest structure. Tem swerved and turned her entire body to the side before Muro could even turn his body upright.
In order to make touch with the floor, she raised her left leg, bent it in front of her so that her knee was at the level of her stomach, and then slammed it back down. A lengthy crack that flashed through the earth in front of her was caused by the impact of her foot, which also caused the ground to fracture and tremble into a linear crack ahead.
Flame pillars first appeared in the crack left by the ground's destruction and then spread outward into the distance like underground spikes.
With each pillar that erupted from below, size increased, and as it advanced, it became hotter and larger. Muro landed by twisting his legs and pointing his soles downward, then crossed his arms in front of him to hide his face.
His limbs were struck by the fire pillar, which instantaneously unleashed a tremendous blow that set his uniform fully on fire. He was further thrown back by the fire explosion that occurred.
He released a powerful burst of black electricity by sliding his palm across the ground, stretching out in Tem's direction before raining down on her like an avalanche.
She immediately responded by spreading her arms wide, spinning herself into the air, and setting herself on fire. She rose into the air with a fire torpedo continuously blazing beneath her, at which point she watched an electrical surge smash into the earth and explode upon contact.
"You think that you are so unique that you will be the first to beat me! Missy, you need help if you want to beat me in a duel!" black lightning began to surge up around him and vibrate outward as he shouted and promptly spread both of his arms to the side.
Tem's eyes tightened with rage in the midst of a great body of fire. "I'm done playing games with you now!" she shouted, "you will rust within a jail and finally realize how it feels to be confined inside a terrible realm with no escape! What you did to these individuals is unforgivable and it will never be forgotten!"
Muro's eyes flared in extreme fury as his head leaned forward. "Oh really?! You believe that? I will never go to prison, not one, not twice, not thrice! I will prove you that I am perfection born in this world!" he yelled, charging electricity.
"It was for the better what I did to those people! When it comes to science, I will prove you the optimism it'll bring! I'll tear you to pieces and see to it that this island realizes the actual torment they are deserving of!"
"For science!!"
Tem made sure that the folks who were remote from the battle would receive her next message. "You're mistaken! You are completely useless to these folks with your science!" Her scream rang out across the air and repeated itself numerous times. Muro became so outraged by it that he started to lose his mind and yell.
'My science is impeccable'
He immediately launched himself in the air at the speed of a missile, his right arm extended behind him and encircled by charged electricity, while the black energy pulsed out into all directions.
When he noticed Tem lifting her left leg high above her head, he let out a war scream. Tem also sent out a war cry as she overstepped her power.
She dove from the highest point of the previously standing castle and got ready to tackle Muro hard. She clenched the muscles in her thigh and kicked down with the intensity of a nuclear bomb as blue flames flared behind her, creating a long path of fire.
"Go to hell!"
Muro yelled and sprang forward with great speed, but before he could strike Tem, he felt her heel crash into the top of his head, sending a terrible jolt through his entire body, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
He suddenly recognized that the blow had spread throughout his entire body and broken his spine as well as feeling his entire skull had been shattered. His entire body began to droop, and darkness filled his vision.
Tem pushed Muro along with her as she accelerated toward the ground. Up until she touched the ground, the wind gusts were rushing around her body and rubbing their winds against her flesh.
As she drove her sole more into his face and slammed him against the ground, the ground shook violently, creating a gaping hole through which a full explosion of flames shot high into the air around her.
The battlefield was completely destroyed as a result of the fierce whirlwind it produced, which expanded into the other houses.
"Hope... it feels good... when getting stepped on... just like the lives of people you worsened..." she loudly panted as she felt her whole body steadily erode and become unable of sustaining herself up. "Like... I said..."
She chuckled, "I never..." she gently slumped onto her hip with her vision gradually becoming fuzzy as Muro's broken body lay next to her,. "... break promises..." was the last of her statement before silence descended.
To be continued...