After the intense conversation with Nr. 2, Roter and the others headed to the race track as another race was about to begin. When they arrived, they noticed Erol already waiting for them.
Erol grinned mockingly. "Well, if it isn't the Dark Eco freak?"
"Where's Red?" Roter asked directly.
Erol laughed arrogantly. "Don't worry, I've got a close eye on her. The elite soldiers are looking for you, Roter! They're causing quite a commotion over someone like you... how pathetic. I would have loved to kill you in prison, but finishing you and your friends off on the racetrack in front of everyone is even better. I can already hear the outcry when the crowd sees their hope die. You know, Red LOVES winners. Soon, she'll be under my command."
"Stay away from her!" Roter retorted angrily.
Erol laughed arrogantly and walked away triumphantly.
"Mhm, Erol is the coolest soldier I've ever seen," Keira said.
Roter: "You're mistaken about him."
Keira looked at Roter doubtfully. "You think you're good at reading people?! HA! Look at yourselves! I heard that when Roter gets angry, he changes. Besides, I would never work for someone like Krew!"
Roter: "We need Krew to fight the Baron! Ah, forget it... I don't need to hear this."
Sick tried to calm Roter down. "Wait, Roter!" he called after him and hurried to catch up with him.
The stadium filled with tension as the announcement sounded, "Attention, drivers! The races of the second class will begin shortly!"
Keira: "Win this, Zäck! We need this victory to qualify for the championship!"
Roter and Zäck made their way to the race track and focused on the upcoming race. The engines roared as the race began. They fought hard on the track, and in the end, Zäck reached first place, followed by Roter in second.
The joy and relief were palpable as Keira approached Zäck and congratulated him. "Well done, Zäck! You secured the qualification for the big race!" she exclaimed excitedly.
Zäck, with a confident grin, teased her. "Did you ever doubt it?" he jokingly asked Keira. "When do I get my winner's kiss?"
"After, I promise," she replied joyfully.
Zäck said goodbye to Keira and made his way to the others. "I should get going now. The others are waiting. See you later, Keira!" he called out and left.
The group was urgently summoned to the underground hideout, where Samos was already waiting for them.
Samos explained, "The Baron is still trying the same old tricks. The Underground has learned that several Krimzon Guard Destroyer robots are approaching our hideout here. They're like targeted bombs. If one of these destroyers reaches this place, we're dead! Please disable all the robots before they reach the hideout. They have proximity shields, so be extremely careful. Good hunting!"
Roter, exhausted from the previous battles, sat down next to Samos to catch his breath. He felt the weight of the task ahead of them and gathered his strength for the upcoming fight.
Sick and Zäck prepared to battle the robots. They knew they had to act quickly and precisely to eliminate the threat.
The duo plunged into the fight against the approaching destroyers. Using their skills, they did everything in their power to take out the robots before they reached the hideout. It was a race against time as they diminished the mechanical threats.
Finally, they destroyed the last destroyer, and for a moment, the danger seemed to be averted. But suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by the Krimzon Guard. Confused and surprised, Sick and Zäck looked at their new adversaries.
Sick could hardly believe what he saw. "What the hell?!"
Then, Nr. 2 appeared. "Is this for real? As if you weren't aware that the robots were just a distraction."
Zäck: "Nr. 2!"
Nr2: "Today, we settle the score, boys. I have permission."
Sick: "Permission from whom?"
Nr2 smiled. "Yes, to kill you."
Zäck could hardly believe what he was hearing. "What?!"
Nr2 looked challengingly at the two friends. "Surrender and die. Where's Roter, by the way?"
"That's none of your business!" Sick said determinedly.
Nr2 smiled triumphantly. "He's probably at your hideout, taking a rest."
Zäck scoffed, "How perceptive of you..."
Sick and Zäck bravely attacked Nr2, but they quickly realized that they couldn't match her overwhelming strength. The opponent was far superior to them.
In the midst of the hopeless battle, a gunshot suddenly echoed through the air, hitting Nr2.
"Am I interrupting?" a unfamiliar voice sounded.
"Looks like you could use some help," Kliflie replied.
Nr2 reacted angrily, "What are you doing here? Number 0."
Sick and Zäck were confused. "NUMBER 0?!" they exclaimed in unison.
Kliflie remained calm. "Hey, I'll take care of them. Can you handle the soldiers?"
"Well... yeah, but is that okay with you?" Sick asked cautiously.
"Sure. I can handle them easily," Kliflie replied confidently.
Nr2 aimed at Kliflie and fired a lightning bolt at him. With impressive skill, Kliflie deflected the attack with his Peacekeeper. But Nr2 didn't give up and now shot a regular lightning bolt at him.
Kliflie narrowly dodged the lightning attack, leaving everyone present impressed by the speed of the lightning. Without hesitation, Kliflie ran towards Nr2 and struck her with the Peacekeeper. A loud impact filled the air as the blow hit Nr2.
But Nr2 wasn't easily intimidated. "Why aren't you using your powers?! You have the best ones!" she challenged.
Kliflie smiled calmly. "Because I no longer wish to use them."
Nr2 became faster and delivered multiple electric shocks to Kliflie. Kliflie could barely react as Nr2 was too fast for him. "Okay, I admit, without my powers, I'm too weak," Kliflie finally conceded.
Nr2 triumphed. "Of course you are. Without powers, you're nothing in this world."
Kliflie composed himself and took a determined stance. "Alright, then I'll use them for you..."
Nr2 charged at Kliflie, but he dodged at the same speed. Suddenly, Kliflie jumped into the air and sent a powerful gust of wind towards Nr2. Within the gust, he shot a small fireball that merged with the wind, creating a fiery gust. The attack approached Nr2 threateningly close.
Sick was astonished. "What was that?!"
Zäck could hardly believe it. "Did he just use two Eco powers?!"
Nr2 grinned challengingly. "Well, well, someone is using their powers after all."
Kliflie confidently countered, "And look who's about to feel the impact of those powers."
Suddenly, Kliflie exhaled cold air, forming an ice mallet. He also formed an ice ball and forcefully hurled it at Nr2. She easily dodged the first attack.
But with the next ice ball, Kliflie added additional air to make it fly faster. This time, the ball hit Nr2, who had to dodge in surprise. "Home run!" Kliflie exclaimed triumphantly.
Nr2 stood up annoyed and thought to herself
, "He's just toying with me... He knows perfectly well that he's stronger... How humiliating."
Nr2 grew furious and shot a massive lightning bolt at Kliflie. But Kliflie skillfully evaded with his own lightning and attacked Nr2 with a fist. Nr2 countered the punch, and both fists collided. But Nr2 was thrown away by the force of the impact.
"How is this possible?! I have the original lightning power! And yours is just a copy!" Nr2 exclaimed indignantly.
Kliflie calmly replied, "How do you know that your power is the original? You obtained it artificially, just like I did."
"Shut up!" Nr2 shouted, and a massive wave of lightning spread, heading towards everyone.
Kliflie rose into the air, his eyes glowing white, and he combined his four elements into a sphere. With great force, he fired the sphere at Nr2.
The sphere hit Nr2, and as the smoke cleared, she had disappeared without a trace.
Sick couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. "Tell me... who or what are you?" he asked Kliflie.
Kliflie calmly replied, "I am Kliflie, a former Krimzon Guard. I resigned."
Zäck was surprised. "And why do you have multiple Eco powers?!"
"The Baron gives his best soldiers artificial Eco powers. You've probably seen the other elite soldiers, right? Their powers are all artificial," Kliflie explained.
Sick wanted further clarification. "And why are you helping us?"
"I heard about the underground and wanted to join," Kliflie said with a smile.
Zäck was thrilled. "So you're joining our group?"
Kliflie eagerly replied, "Yes, that would be great. I would love to be a part of it."
Sick could hardly contain his joy. "Yes! With Kliflie and Roter, we won't lose to anyone anymore!"
Zäck nodded in agreement. "Come on, we need to go to the hideout."
Upon reaching the hideout, Kliflie encountered Roter.
Roter was surprised. "What is he doing here?"
Sick asked in astonishment, "You know each other?"
"Yeah, he was also part of the training," Roter confirmed.
Kliflie turned to Roter. "Long time no see, Roter. You look pretty injured."
Roter was amazed. "Aren't you still with the Guard?"
Kliflie shook his head. "Nope, I quit."
Roter nodded approvingly. "Good. Then you can help us."
Kliflie smiled. "That's why I'm here."
After the intense battle against Nr2, the new group of four made their way to the rendezvous point with Krew. In the club, Sick sat at the bar, flirting with Tess.
Krew, the club owner, interrupted them with a stern tone. "Hey! Get back to work, doll."
Sick defended Tess, saying, "She is working, shrimp! Stop nagging!"
Krew threatened with a cynical smile, "Careful! Otherwise, you'll end up as a trophy on this wall! Zäck, I want you to lose the championship. Let Erol win..."
Roter exclaimed, "You're betting against us?!"
Krew replied calmly, "Roter... Zäck... that's just how it goes. You're a symbol for these city folks. They would put everything on a glimmer of hope. The ideal time to make money. What do you say, guys?"
Roter and Zäck looked at each other and smiled confidently.
Zäck explained determinedly, "We say you're going to lose a lot of money. Because we will compete... and we will win!"
Krew exclaimed, "Argh! You little... You're causing more trouble than you're worth! Don't get too comfortable. Everyone is replaceable!"
Suddenly, Erol emerged from one of the back seats of the bar and interjected, "So, you have a death wish, huh? We don't have to wait for the big race! We can settle this now! Just the three of us, through the city, using accelerator rings. If you miss a single ring from start to finish, it's over! Keira already thinks you're a failure, Roter. And I'll provide the proof."
Roter and Zäck looked at each other with determination and replied simultaneously, "Agreed!"
The race began, and initially, Zäck took the lead while Roter held the second position. But suddenly, Erol caught up and rammed Zäck's vehicle
, throwing it off balance, and Zäck crashed into a building. Roter was furious but could only finish the race in second place.
Erol grinned triumphantly and taunted, "See, I told you. You're losers! It's just you and me next time, Roter. We'll race for a prize! And your head will be my trophy!"
On the way back, Roter took Zäck to the hideout, where Sick and Kliflie were already waiting.
Sick concernedly asked, "What happened?!"
Roter replied bitterly, "Erol cheated. Zäck took the brunt of it. This race was just a way to neutralize Zäck... damn it."
Sick gritted his teeth. "That..."
"Looks like you're the only one who can beat him in the championship, am I right?" Kliflie asked.
Roter sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. I saw that Vin needs help. Can you two check on her? I'll take Zäck to the Shadow to heal him."
Sick nodded determinedly, "Sure!"
Kliflie agreed, "See you later."
Sick and Kliflie made their way to Vin, who was already waiting for them.
Sick provocatively said, "Hey there, bundle of nerves! How's the bzzzt-stuff going?"
Vin responded with a hint of stress, "I have good and bad news. The good news is that according to Kor, we have enough energy to maintain the protective barriers. So, for now, the city is safe. But I don't know how long the system will hold."
"And the bad news?" Kliflie asked with concern.
Vin hesitated for a moment, "We've discovered a bunch of Metal Head eggs over at the strip mine. You'll have to go back there and try to destroy the eggs before a new army of those dreadful creatures hatches."
Kliflie pondered for a moment, "As far as I know, the crane lifted a large metal container earlier. If we jump on the container, we could drop it from up there."
Sick skeptically said, "Jumping? From up high? Dropping stuff? Why do I not like the sound of that?!"
Kliflie replied, "Come on, Sick, let's go!" The two of them headed to the strip mine and climbed up. Once on top, they jumped on the metal container and dropped it onto the Metal Head eggs. Thanks to Kliflie's control over wind, they descended safely.
Relieved and filled with strength, they looked back at their successful mission.