Akihiro regained his senses, his heart racing, and frantically checked on his mother. As the haze of confusion lifted, he turned to find Pengo standing next to Amelia and Noah.
Amelia and Noah froze, "What the-"
Pengo loomed over them, his presence an ominous shadow. "I told you, I don't play well with others," he hissed.
"Noah! Amelia!" Akihiro screamed, his voice echoing as he watched Pengo kick both of them, sending them hurtling to where Akihiro and Sarah stood.
"DAMN YOU!" Akihiro shouted, taking a defiant stance to protect his family.
"I may not bear a stigmata, but I'll defend my family against any odds, using every skill Stella ever taught me,"
Pengo fixed Akihiro with a cold gaze. "You know, boy, all of this could have been avoided if you'd cooperated... but no! You want to play hero," Pengo sneered.
"What do you want with me?"
"Me? ... nothing. But my Master does," Pengo replied ominously.
Sarah, having regained her senses, stepped forward, "Leave him alone. I won't let you have him,"
"So then, what will you do? Cry until I decide to end your pitiful lives? Please," Pengo taunted, a cruel laughter piercing the air.
In a surge of anger, Akihiro lunged toward Pengo, throwing a punch, but Pengo vanished into thin air.
"Where... where is he? I can't see him... Wait! No!" Akihiro's mind raced as he turned, only to find Pengo standing menacingly next to his vulnerable family.
"You coward!!!… face me!!"
Pengo, taunted by Akihiro's fury, finds himself kicked in the chest from an unexpected direction, staggering backward. "Grr!! Who did that?" Pengo demands, shaken but unrattled.
"Luke and Rukh?," Akihiro identifies, realizing the origin of the surprise attack.
"Child's play again… very well then," Pengo responds with a sinister grin.
"Guys!.. don't hold back. This guy is on another level, he took Amelia and Noah out with only one kick," Akihiro urges.
"What!!..one kick?" the twins exclaim simultaneously, astonished by the efficiency of Pengo's brutal attack.
"Yes… one kick… he didn't even power up… he is very strong. I couldn't land a single punch on him,"
"Playtime is over, kids. Let me introduce you to adulthood," Pengo declares, dashing in front of Akihiro and landing a forceful blow that sends him sliding backward. Pengo seizes Akihiro by his hair, hurling him into the air before launching a devastating attack, causing a dramatic crash next to the twins.
As the dust settles, Akihiro, struggling to rise, wheezes, "I can't… give up… not now."
"Akihiro!" Shouted Luke.
"This kid… he is strong. I'd say he is the strongest among these kids… none of them can take a full force of my punch, yet he did," Pengo contemplates, stunned by Akihiro's resilience.
Suddenly, a commanding voice resonates in a roar from a distance. "Why are you toying with them? Did you forget our mission?" The voice belongs to none other than Captain Tac.
As Pengo turns to acknowledge Tac's presence, a warm rush of fear floods him, realizing the gravity of his captain's inquiry.
"Captain!!!… but what are you… I have everything under control,"
"Then hurry, we don't have all day," Tac commands, confronting Pengo forcefully.
"Right!" Pengo ruminates, torn by concern, "Why did they send him?"
"Hey Rukh, it's time we show him what we can do," Luke rallies, taking a step towards Pengo.
"Right, whoever thought I was going to release my full power this early? I was saving it for the Royal Academy selection" Rukh responds.
"Mom… you need to keep Noah and Amelia away from this battle,"
"But what about you, son?" Sarah questions.
Akihiro smiles, "I'll be fine"
"Fire elemental-release!" the twins fervently scream, unleashing their full power, igniting a maelstrom of elemental force.
"Argh!!... This is incredible… these kids!!... ha-ha-ha… that's more like it," Pengo exclaims, thirsting for a fearsome battle.
As the twins reveal their full might, Akihiro joins them, standing united as one powerful unit.
"So… this is your full power, huh… impressive. Now I will respond!!.." Pengo declares, amplifying his own power.
"What!!... that… the stigma… pressure is… crazy," the twins react in unison, overwhelmed by the sheer force surrounding them.
"Wait!!... This stigma energy, it can't be, it's the same as the one from the forest" Akihiro freezes in fear, realizing the chilling truth.
"Come at me!" Pengo goads, walking confidently towards the twins and Akihiro.
The twins launched a fierce assault on Pengo, darting in front of him with swift, precision punches. But Pengo effortlessly sidestepped their attacks. As he prepared to counter, Rukh unleashed a blazing fireball, forcing Pengo to swiftly block the Onslaught.
An eruption ensued, hurtling Pengo backward. He flipped through the air twice before landing safely. However, it quickly became apparent that it was a trap—Luke had already anticipated Pengo's move, and he unleashed a searing torrent of flame.
In the heat of the moment, Pengo, recovering from the impact, raised his arms only to realize that he had fallen into Luke' cunning trap. As Luke continued to channel his stigma energy, he chanted, "Fire Eruption!"
A circle surrounding Pengo erupted, unleashing a colossal wave of fire that engulfed him. The intense blaze surged into the dark, night sky, with Pengo's bewildered voice echoing, "Wha!!... What!!"
The colossal explosion rocked the area, sending a shockwave surging through the surroundings.
"It seems this will take longer than I thought. I might have to intervene. Besides, I can't let them escape," Tac muttered, his gaze fixed on Sarah as she carried her son and daughter to safety.
"They… they did it," Akihiro uttered in disbelief.
"Yeah… no one can survive that," Rukh responded.
"Oh, you think so? Then I am truly sorry to disappoint you, doubles," Pengo's voice boomed from the sea of dust in the dark night sky.
"No way!" Akihiro exclaimed as he finally saw Pengo.
"Darn it! I used almost all of my energy from that attack alone. Why is he still standing? What's worse, he has no scratch on him," Luke thought to himself, feeling a surge of frustration.
"Was that it? I really like to hang around and have fun, but when duty calls, duty calls, don't you think," Pengo taunted as he strode towards Rukh and Luke.
Pengo's presence grew more imposing as he approached the twins. Akihiro felt his resolve shatter into a million pieces, realizing that indeed, the monster from the forest stood before them.
"Huh… the other one is coming too. Got it… get ready, brother," Luke murmured as he glanced at his sibling.
As Rukh assumed his fighting stance, Akihiro struggled to remain standing, his gaze fixed on his family from a near distance. "This is bad. I've got to do something!" he silently urged, his mind racing for a solution.
An unusual stigma pressure emanated, even catching Pengo off guard, causing him to pause momentarily as he turned to look to his left. Tac appeared, hurtling past at a blinding speed, seemingly teleporting from where he had been standing.
Tac vanished, leaving everyone bewildered, then reappeared in front of Akihiro. "Where… where is he?!" the twins shouted in unison.
"He's interfering with my battle? Done with him! I better finish them fast," Pengo plotted to himself.
"Akihiro! Look out!" Luke's warning pierced the skirmish, causing Akihiro to turn his gaze from his family's safety, only to realize that Tac stood right beside him.
"What the—!" Akihiro gasped in astonishment.