Kou and Bow stood still. They learned something that at first sight seemed unimportant for them to take part in. From trying to dispose of one villain, they came across another. "You can't be serious. What am I supposed to do now?"
Kou was stressed out. He tried to think of a proper way to handle it, but the more he tried to think, the less efficient it was. "Don't be like that, Kou." Claimed Bow, bugging in. "Just because you got deceived that doesn't mean she isn't your friend. Look at her."
Kou raised his chin and noticed Koume utterly defeated. "Don't you see that masked sorrow in her eyes? She's been through a lot, and now she finds out that one of her friends was an impostor." Koume's arms were limb. She didn't act, and her thoughts didn't run.
She learned a horrible truth about a person who deceived her. The only twitching part of her body was her eyes which shivered the more she reminded herself. "I was... tricked?" her hands trembled. "N-No, Harry... He was there for me when I needed him the most. He couldn't have pretended to care about me. He shouldn't..., he... shouldn't."
The guards' grasp on Louisa became lighter, and they finally started dragging her knees toward the house. Kou shouted in worry. "Stop! Why do you have to do this?! She was, tricked! Does that mean anything to you?! Why would you choose her to be put behind bars?! Do you people have any sympathy?"
Kou was sweating more, his fingers shaking wildly. He only managed to see Koume getting pulled closer to the mansion. She would soon end up in a cell.
Rosi repeatedly circled her arm and played with her long chain. "Isn't it obvious? She's not needed anymore. Now that we have both the swords and the artifact without anyone interrupting us, we can simply put a worthless brat like her into a cell, where she'll rot and decay." She explained. She was messing around with Kou's emotions.
His face became aggressive. He couldn't be stopped and intended to safe Koume. "I thought you people weren't as bad as those at the Harventona's City, but now that I see the real you, it's clear that you're even worse," Kou said, holding a grudge against them.
"You've betrayed her. You've ruined her life. You rendered her hopeless! There's no way I can let something so devilish escape when I have the chance to fix it. I'm really, really mad! And you're going to pay for what you did!!"
Kou shouted out louder than an explosion. His voice pulsed and boomed through the air. His hair spiked up, and his body started to be encircled by a massive amount of mint energy that made his skin look somewhat close to boiling water or high heat.
His eyes glowed, and a sudden veil of energy swiftly towered in the air. His body was starting to release electrical currents that rapidly sparked an ongoing chain reaction that started kicking up a ginormous windstorm. Once it reached its highest energy it unleashed a massive ring that spread further. It tore apart buildings' walls by its mass and deleted a circular crater below him.
The wind that blew about began to rip out the chains from the ground. It detached them and caused them to start swinging behind Rosi who tried to withstand the pressure, but the forceful wind was too aggressive and started to push her back. "Kou! You're going to destroy everything! Get your act together!" shouted Bow.
The wind continued to toss around objects, rocks, dust, and bricks. Kou lowered his stance and locked his enraged face on Rosi. His mouth continued to tremble, and soon his hair dropped back down. The energy around him dissipated and the hurricane finally ended. The objects dropped back to the ground.
Rosi and Bow were befuddled and remained in disbelief. Kou managed to restrain his powers inside, knowing that going wild could cause corruption. "Urgh, I can't. I hate that I can't make anything right! Every time I try to help somebody, all I end up doing is selfish reactions. I want to be like Tim who protects others and doesn't give up. He was the one who gave me this chance to sail the ocean, but all I've been doing is holding everyone back. Others are probably already done with their fights while I'm still stuck here being helpless."
Bow looked at Kou. He was able to tell that Kou was doing his best to help, even if he wasn't very efficient at it. "Kou. What matters is that your heart is on the right track. It doesn't make you any more helpless. As long as you try, that's what matters the most, and I'm sure that your friend noticed that as well." Bow directed Kou to look at the entrance, and he noticed Koume's eyes shivering in disbelief.
"Kou." She whispered in amazement. She smiled and allowed her tears to slip down her cheeks. Instead of becoming hopeless, she still had a flame inside her that burned bright and gave her the hope she needed; the hope that Kou had been showing.
"Koume. I..." He became embarrassed and looked away, blushing. "Sorry." But instead of Koume being scared or disappointed, she was appreciative. She shook her head in denial. "Thank you, Kou."
Kou felt embarrassed but became courageous. "Koume! Listen to me! Just wait for me! I promise that I'll get you out of that cell! Just know that I'll do whatever it takes to help you! You can count on me!" he put his whole heart into that shout. It made Koume blush. "I know you will." She shared her final words, and then the door shut right in front of her, separating Kou and her.
Rosi's chain fully wrapped around her whole arm, and she was finally ready to continue. "You kids are brainless. If you want to save her, you would need to get through me. And as you can see, I'm not one of those goons that take part in guard duty. I'm a skilled fighter and Lord Niklas' secretary."
She spread her legs and arms to create a sturdy stance, and the tip of her chain hung under her wrist. Kou opened his eyes and copied Tim's signature stance; the front-limb-back-step offense position. "Bow, could I ask you a favor?" Bow looked at him from the side. "Let me take her on myself. I want to prove useful so that I won't hold back the crew anymore. Thanks." He stated.
He firmed his stance and surrounded himself with mint energy. "I feel like I'm not strong enough to deserve a rank on the crew, and if we intend to keep progressing through the ocean, then I need to get stronger. Strong enough to rescue Louisa and Chiaki." Bow agreed, smiled, crossed his arms, and prepared to spectate the duel.
Tim managed to spot everything that happened at the top of the hill. He was in his battle stance. "That was Kou's energy. That's good. I guess there's at least somebody who's close to the mansion, but I need to hurry up and catch up." He locked his eyes back on Peter. "I need to end this quick." He thought for himself.
To be continued...