In an unknown land…
Aoki looked around the dark area she was transported to, but she couldn't make out anything. She took a few steps forward.
"Where the hell am I?"
She looked behind her, but the portal was already long gone. "Shit, I need to get back! They won't last long without me!"
She noticed a faint blue light in the distance, and she began to cautiously walk toward it. As she got closer, it began to take the shape of a man with icy blue hair.
"General?"
Fujii turned around, giving her a smile. "Well, well! Long time no see, Aoki! How have you been doing?"
She relaxed slightly. "How are you here? This place isn't exactly wide-open."
"I've got my methods. Now enough about me! I see you've still been using that katana I gave you! Nice!"
"Yes," she said, holding it up. "It serves me well, thank you."
He clapped his hands together. "Right then! Let's go check this place out!"
He walked forward, and Aoki hesitated before following. "Check it out? There's nothing TO check out, it's all just a dark abyss."
Fujii patted her on the head and gave her a wink. "That's the fun of it! Let's go, soldier, let's go!"
The longer they walked, the more suspicious Aoki became.
"Something's not right…" she thought. "And the air…it smells funny…"
Eventually, they reached a glowing white door, which Fujii knocked on. "Hello? Anyone home?"
"Sir, I don't think we should—-"
Just then, the door opened, and a bright grassland was behind it. Fujii motioned for Aoki to enter.
"Come on in, Aoki! Let's go home."
Meanwhile, in the Underground…
"Ready? Set? RACE!"
As soon as the horns sounded, Dachii's team tried to run, but Ayana threw a ball at them, which released a massive amount of black smoke.
"What the hell?" Dachii exclaimed, confused.
"Sorry, but I can't make this TOO easy!" Ayana replied, leaving Dachii's team in the dust.
Tetsuya began coughing. "That's…not fair…where did she get that?"
As the smoke began to clear up, Dachii looked back at Venus, who was waving at them. "I have a few ideas…"
Tsugumi touched her arm, and with a wave, the smoke was forcefully dispersed. "Doesn't matter. Don't let them win."
She put a hand on her leg, letting her magic surge through it, and then in the next second…
BOOM.
She took off like a bullet, spiraling down the path and leaving the others to watch in shock.
"Woah, she's FAST!" Dachii noted.
"Yeah, but we don't have time to waste!" Tetsuya pointed out. "We gotta move!"
Dachii got into a running stance, his body beginning to glow gray, and then he disappeared in a blur of speed as well. "Right."
"Wait up!" Tetsuya called out.
Dachii accelerated down the path, but eventually, a large wall appeared out of the ground, making him slow down. Tetsuya and Kazue stopped next to him, breathing hard.
"Phew, you guys…you guys are too much," Kazue muttered.
"What's the deal with this wall?" Tetsuya asked. "Do we knock it down?"
"Only one way to find out," Dachii said, pulling his fist back.
He delivered a punch square in the center of it, causing it to shatter. "Huh, that was easier than I thought."
"There!" Kazue pointed. "I see more signs! They point to the right!"
They took a right turn and came to a narrow bridge, which was hanging over a pool of lava. The straps were beginning to break.
"A bridge?" Tetsuya questioned. "Do we all run at once?"
"It's fragile," Kazue realized. "Maybe if I reinforce it with some licorice…"
Dachii grabbed Tetsuya and Kazue before preparing to jump. "Both of you might wanna hold on!"
"Wait, what are you——?"
In the next moment, he jumped over the gap, and they all landed on the other side. "Done!"
Kazue got up, visibly jealous. "Aww, Elemental Powers are so cool!"
"I know!" Tetsuya added.
"Where'd your sister go?" Dachii asked. "I hope she didn't just ditch us!"
Tetsuya brushed the dirt off his pants. "She's fast, but this is a long race! If we hurry, we might catch up to her!"
The group ran down the path, following the signs and turns. As they got closer to the mountain range, they noticed the signs leading them into a large forest.
"Well, isn't THAT new?" Dachii remarked.
They crept inside, noticing the dark environment and the smell of ash. Tetsuya began to cover his nose as they advanced deeper.
"Yuck, it smells like someone died in here," Tetsuya stated. "Can we please hurry and leave?"
Kazue hid behind the other two, anxiously looking around. "There's something off about this place! Are we sure Tsugumi made it here?"
Dachii saw a sign in front of them, instructing them to head deeper. "Well, the sign says go forward, so I guess that's our direction."
Just then, they heard a noise behind them, making Kazue jump. "EEK! What was that?"
Dachii began to slowly back away. "I HOPE it was just a squirrel. PLEASE be a squirrel."
In the distance, Dachii could hear sounds of fighting and laughing. A body fell from the trees, twitching before it lay still.
"AHH! What is THAT?" Kazue screamed.
Tetsuya slowly approached the body, poking it with his finger. "Looks like a monster. It's been slashed to all hell, though."
"Ayana?" Dachii thought. "Is she nearby?"
A few more dead monsters fell from the trees. As Dachii and the others navigated around them, they saw the body of a monster heading right for them.
"Guys, get down!" Tetsuya cried.
They ducked, and it collided with a tree, knocking it out of place. When they looked back in the direction it came from, they saw Zok, laughing manically.
"Little runts! Watch out for the BIG BOY!"
Before they could say a word, he had already run off. Dachii scratched his head. "That orc is…a character alright."
"Big boy…the way he said it, it can't be something pleasant," Tetsuya said.
"We should follow him," Kazue suggested.
They saw Zok's footprints in the ground and they used them to guide the way. Once they reached another sign, they took a short break.
THUD.
"Did one of you make that sound?" Dachii asked.
They both shook their heads.
THUD.
"Uhh, that is DEFINITELY NOT a squirrel."
THUD.
They all fell silent, checking the arena for any trace of the noise. Dachii gulped, preparing to activate his power. "Don't be scary, don't be scary, please don't be scary—-!"
And then a wave of trees collapsed, revealing a giant humanoid with a disgusting grey face and yellow teeth.
"FRESH MEAT!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
They all screamed and bolted as fast as they could.
"That thing's disgusting!" Dachii remarked. "What is that?"
"It looks like a troll!" Tetsuya answered. "Nasty monsters!"
Kazue glanced back, and she almost had a heart attack. "Guys…guys….GUYS?"
They turned around and saw the troll take one step, then two, and then it instantly started running after them, a giant wooden club in its hand.
"…Crap," Dachii said.
"AHHHHH!"
Dachii grabbed Tetsuya and Kazue by the arms as he ran faster, with the troll violently swinging its club.
"MEAT! COME! JOIN THE OTHERS!"
"No thanks!" Dachii yelled back.
They dodged fallen tree branches, monster corpses, and rocks that the troll threw at them, but with a grunt, the troll jumped into the air and landed right in front of them.
"HELLO."
"Incoming!" Tetsuya exclaimed.
The troll swung its club, sending all three of them flying in different directions. Tetsuya crashed into a tree, rubbing the back of his head.
"Ow…"
Kazue hid behind a bush, and the troll began to walk towards Dachii, who was backing away from it.
"You smell GREAT! COME!"
Without hesitation, Dachii ripped a tree out of the ground and tossed it at the troll, who batted it away with ease.
"Stay away, you ugly freak!"
Dachii jumped up and punched it hard in the face, making it stumble back and fall to the ground. "BAD FOOD!"
It sat up. "I'LL TEACH YOU LESSON!"
When Dachii tried to retreat, it reached out and grabbed him, forcefully squeezing him in its grasp.
"Hey! My bones…are delicate! Let go!"
Inside the Arena, Grishna and Hikari watched with concern.
"Oh no…" Hikari realized. "They're already in trouble, and it's just the start of the race!"
"Trolls aren't things to play with, can't believe they'd use one for something like this…" Grishna remarked.
Despite this, Himeka began to cheer. "Come on guys! They've got this! Believe in your hearts!"
"Looks like Ayana's team has a noticeable headstart!" Venus commented. "Will Dachii's team catch up?"
In the forest, Kazue threw a jelly bean at the troll, which exploded and caused him to grunt in pain. "NOT NICE!"
Tetsuya mustered up his courage and hit himself in the face before punching the troll in the knee, making it raise its foot and kick him.
Dachii tried to pry his body from the troll's grip, but when it didn't work, he prepared to summon one of his gauntlets.
"Wait, that's risky…" he thought. "Every time I bring them out, they go haywire…"
He instead delivered a punch to the troll's arm, and when it brought him close enough, he kicked in it the face, making it let him go.
"Okay, now we can run!" Dachii said.
The troll recovered, now angry. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
It began spinning in a circle with its club, knocking over trees and heading right for them.
"This thing won't go down!" Tetsuya moaned. "I hate to say it, but wish my sister was here!"
As the troll approached, they heard a voice coming from the trees. "Really?"
Just before the club got to them, a figure rushed in front of them and grabbed the club, stopping it in place.
"Sister?"
Tsugumi used one hand to stop the club, before looking back at Tetusya. "So, you've finally realized how worthless you are?"
The troll pulled its club back, studying Tsugumi. "YOU LOOK NICE, HOW ABOUT YOU—-?"
"Not interested," Tsugumi said, dodging its attempt to grab her and retaliating with a powerful punch to its stomach. "Now die."
The troll vomited blood and stumbled back before falling to the ground, unconscious. Kazue and Dachii watched the scene, completely stunned.
"NOW THAT, that is cool," Dachii blurted out. "Why are all these girls so FREAKISHLY strong?"
Tsugumi took one look at the troll before rounding on the others. "So disappointing. Put some more force into it."
She walked right up to Dachii, putting a finger in his face. "Especially you."
"Me? What'd I do?"
She rolled her eyes before stepping in front of her brother. "Useless. Come on."
As she walked away, Tetsuya balled his fists, his face turning red. "She's so damn annoying…damn her!"
Dachii put a hand on his shoulder. "Look man, you two should probably try to get along. You never know when you might lose each other."
He turned to look at Dachii. "Huh?"
Dachii shook his head. "Nevermind. We should…uh…go."
As Dachii started to head off, Tetsuya watched him for a moment. "There's more to him than I thought…what's up with him?"
A few minutes later, they were at the exit to the forest, overlooking a path leading to the mountain range. Tsugumi pointed toward a gate in between the mountains.
"That's the next spot. Everyone make haste."
Meanwhile, in an unknown place…
Aoki stepped into the grassland, admiring the clear blue sky and lush landscape before her.
"Isn't it great?" Fujii asked, lying back in the grass. "Just like the old days, long before any of this stuff."
Aoki turned to look at him before staring up at the sky. "It HAS been a long time…"
A giant ice dragon flew over them, landing next to Fujii.
"Seems you've finally met the holder of Deity. What do you think of him?"
Aoki took a long while before she responded. "He's…unique. Unlike anyone I've ever met, human or Voltian."
Fujii laughed. "You got that right! I wonder what that power really is. It's such a mystery."
"I've been studying it, but no record of it exists. It's like…it's just a myth."
"Lots of myths and tales start from some truth," Fujii pointed out. "It's only a matter of finding it."
"I know…" Aoki replied.
Fujii sat up, his face suddenly more serious. "Hey, can you do me a favor?"
Aoki immediately sat up as well. "Yes? What is it?"
"Take a long, deep breath."
She smelled the air, making note of its sweet aroma and the pleasant whiff of strawberries. "It smells nice…"
Then Fujii stood up, his back turned. "Mmm? Sniff again."
As she did, the smell immediately changed to one of rotten eggs, and her throat began to burn. She started coughing, dropping to the ground.
"General! Sir? What is this?"
Fujii's form began to disappear, and green gas began to fill the area, making Aoki pass out…
…and when she woke, there was a giant shadow being sitting in front of her, covered from head to toe in dark armor.
"Who…?"
The man looked down at her, the purple eyes on his mask glowing. Aoki felt a tinge of unease, but she tightened her grip on her blade, pointing it at the man.
"How do I leave this place? What's going on? Tell me who you are!"
As the blade got closer to him, the next moment…
SLASH.
Aoki dropped to the ground, holding her shoulder, which was cut deeply. Her katana was split in half, and her face had a deep cut that ran from the tip of her right eye to the bottom of her lip.
"Don't you dare raise that blade at me, DEMON…" the man said, standing up.
She started to back away, fear in her eyes as she recognized the man. "It's…you!"
The man grabbed her by her collar, holding her up so his eyes could see. "Tell me…Aoki…"
"…what are you, REALLY?"
—-