Inside the Underground...
On top of the wrecked citadel, Dachii stood up as he heard the victory horn from the arena.
"Woah...we did it! We actually won! Everyone thank me right now!"
Kazue nervously laughed, while Tetsuya and Tsugumi collapsed to the ground.
"You...you did great, Dachii!" Kazue said. "I think we'll need to drag them back now..."
"Not it!"
Before she could even react, Dachii had already jumped off the mountain. "Damn it! Boys..."
Soon, both teams headed back to the arena, regrouping in the middle. Ayana's team stood in front of Dachii, a mix of disappointed and frustrated expressions on their faces.
"Man, we were so close!" Haruto moaned. "That last ditch move was so unfair! But SO COOL!"
Zok grumbled. "Lost again...I swear, if these cameras and lights shut off, it'll be a MASSACRE!"
Ayana walked up to Dachii, giving him a playful punch to his shoulder. "Nice job! No hard feelings, right?"
Dachii scoffed. "Where was this when you were trying to KILL me?"
She laughed. "I was just having fun! It was nothing dangerous!"
"Your fun scares me," Dachii replied.
"Guys!"
Dachii to see Hikari running up to them, a bright smile on her face. "You won! I almost was worried for a moment!"
"Yep, Race King Dachii, at your service—"
Hikari wrapped Dachii and Kazue in a hug, while Tetsuya and Tsugumi groaned on the floor.
"Oh...right."
She touched both of their foreheads, healing the damage done to their bodies. As soon as they began to glow pink, they both started coughing and sat up.
"Wait..." Tetsuya muttered. "We got the job done?"
He noticed the crowd cheering for them, and the board marking their victory.
"Hell YES! I knew we'd be an amazing team! Look who was right, Tsugumi!"
She took a moment to look around before getting up and walking away, folding her arms. "Idiot."
"That's okay, you barely did anything anyway!"
Dachii shook his head. "Sheesh. I thought humans could be toxic, I wonder what their dinner conversations are like..."
Just then, Venus approached both teams, a few medals in her hands. "Dachii's team has won the race! That means Ayana's team is eliminated from the Tournament!"
"Well, you don't have to say it so bluntly," Ayana said, looking away.
Venus handed Dachii a golden medal. "As winner of the race, you guys have earned your team this Medal of Victory! There's one last event you must partake in before you can declare yourself the winners of the Raijin Games, however."
Dachii lifted an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound good."
Venus clapped her hands together. "Now go ahead! Take a moment to relax, because the final event will leave you SHOCKED!"
"I'm sure whatever it is, we can handle it," Hikari said. "Maybe you guys should sit this last event out, and let me, my sister, and Grishna handle it."
"Yes, yes, PLEASE DO," Dachii remarked. "My body can only take so many death games."
By the common room, Himeka jumped up and down, waving to get their attention. "Hey, hey! Over here!"
Before Dachii could start walking, Ayana put a hand on his shoulder. "Keep up the good work, we'll be rooting for you from the stands!"
"Thanks...?"
Hikari pulled him by his arm, quickly separating him from her. "Please, ignore that strange girl."
"Ow! Why is your grip so strong?"
Ayana watched him go before turning back to Haruto. "Well, nothing left for us here. Let's hit the stands."
They left, and Zok walked into a corner of the arena, punching it in a fury. "To hell with this stupid event!"
Meanwhile, inside of an office...
Venus walked inside a secure office room within the arena, where Ionix was pacing around, deep in thought.
"What happened?" Ionix asked, stopping in place.
"As expected, Dachii's team secured the victory. The drama remains between the Izanagi girl and her brother, however."
"All is going to plan then," Ionix stated. "With only Sir Triune and Dachii's team left, the end is near."
"Yes, but what should we do about the princess?" Venus asked. "She could very well be a threat to us, which would contradict our reason for bringing her here."
"We can leave her for now, she's been transported elsewhere," Ionix replied. "If we're lucky, she and that swordswoman will kill each other."
He turned away, heading outside of the office. "I think it's time."
"Really?" Venus asked.
"Yes. No more of this charade. I'll begin the Final Game."
Venus rubbed her arm. "Alright, but you know that once you do this, there's no going back."
"Trust me, Venire, there never was any choice in the matter."
He walked out of the room, electricity crackling off of him.
Inside of the Common Room...
Grishna gave Dachii a heavy pat on the back as they and the others walked the halls back to the room. "Nice showing, lad! Haven't seen a move like yours in all my days at sea!"
"All I did was jump up," Dachii pointed out. "But thanks."
Kanai stepped in front of them, pointing to the kitchen. "We've made a feast in support of your victory! Don't eat too much now, especially you, Himeka! Uh, Himeka?"
She turned around, finding Himeka with a giant pot of food in her hands. "Hmm?"
Kanai slapped her forehead. "Put it back, NOW."
Himeka dumped some food in her mouth before setting the pot down. "Ahh...so GOOD!"
"She eats almost like me, and that's saying something," Grishna said.
Tetsuya noticed Tsugumi sitting in a corner by herself, seemingly meditating. "There she goes again, all upset."
"Why would she be upset?" Kazue asked. "We just won!"
"Pride," Tetsuya answered, with an annoyed look on his face. "Just pride."
While he and Kazue went to get food, Hikari pulled Himeka aside. "I need to ask, how did you get here, Himeka?"
Himeka tapped her chin a moment before responding. "Hmm...I think a giant portal!"
Hikari sighed. "Well, I know THAT!"
"And then, when I jumped inside, I ended up down here, as part of the Underground! And my entire squad came with me!"
Hikari just blankly stared at her sister. "Yeah, that sums it up nicely."
Dachii looked around the common room, noticing everyone wrapped up in their own activities and conversations. "They're all so calm, I guess that's what happens when your little brother isn't missing."
But immediately, he felt a cold presence behind him, breathing on his neck. "Dachii..."
He slowly turned around to find Ionix in his human form, starting daggers into him.
"Come with me, we need to have a talk."
A few minutes later, Grishna, with a plate of food in her hands, took note of the room.
"Aye, has anyone seen Dachii?"
An unknown place...
A portal opened, dropping Dachii and Ionix to the ground. Dachii got to his feet, slightly backing away.
"Where are we, and why did you want to talk to me?" Dachii asked.
Ionix touched the ground with a spark of electricity, which lit the entire place up. When Dachii could see, it almost appeared like a roundtable surrounded by pillars and covered by a roof, with statues of massive beings all around it.
"This...is the Roundtable of the Gods," Ionix explained. "It's said that many years ago, various powerful gods used this table to discuss the fate of the universe."
Dachii took in the sight, and Ionix pointed to two chairs directly across the roundtable. "You should sit. I have some things to tell you."
"This guy is definitely scary," Dachii thought. "But I might as well sit, who knows what he might do."
As soon as Dachii sat down, Ionix began speaking.
"You've already met Ossix, Nullus, Raylon, Alterna, Prismar, and Vapron," Ionix mentioned. "You probably thought they all were powerful, didn't you?"
"Well, yeah?" Dachii said.
"That's without adding Fernyx, Polarix, Venire, or myself into the mix," Ionix continued. "You may have lots of questions about what we are, what we do, and where we come from."
"Actually," Dachii corrected. "My only question is why won't you guys leave me ALONE?"
Ionix took a seat. "It's simple. The Element you possess is the entire purpose of our mission. The matter becomes much more urgent when taking into account the faction that currently has possession over you."
"Well, that's a long story," Dachii stated.
"For many years, we have searched for this power. It is crucial in ending the Voltian threat once and for all, and bringing peace to this land," Ionix said. "That's been the sole purpose, the driving factor of us, the Obsidian Order."
"The Obsidian Order," Dachii repeated. "So you want to hunt me so you can kill every Voltian?"
Ionix closed his eyes. "Yes, and no. We do seek to end them all, but we also seek opportunity."
"What?"
"We're only but a small piece of the puzzle. Everyone you've faced until now, is just a pale imitation, a liability, a placeholder in these ranks. Us Order members are ranked by strength, but I myself am only ranked 11th."
He looked directly into Dachii's eyes. "That means, if you manage to escape this predicament, you'll face beings with far greater power than you could ever imagine."
Dachii gulped. "What do you mean by THAT?"
"Anything above my rank is considered an Elite Rank. And if they, as they've been so often trying, were to come after you, we wouldn't even have reached this point. You'd be captured in seconds."
Dachii nervously laughed. "Yeah...I don't like this story..."
Ionix slammed his hand down on the table. "And that's the problem! They see anything not on par with them as below them. Inferior. If it wasn't for our Master, we would have been kicked out years ago. So that's where you come in."
He pointed a finger at Dachii. "My goal is to bring you back to our Nation, and reclaim honor among us Bottom Ranks."
"Uhh...okay? So what does my brother have to do with all this?"
"Measures had to be taken," Ionix replied. "The man you see before you now is the result of decades of violence, oppression, and abuse. No one you've faced this far started this way, not the dwarves, not the monsters, not even me. For millennia, those horrid beings have roamed, taking what they want and killing what they don't. Us children grew up orphans, marooned with no place to go, and when I thought, for one moment, that I could trust one of them, she stabbed a blade right into my heart."
"Man, is that true?" Dachii thought.
"This entire tournament was never about glory, or rewards, or anything like that. It was about turning you against each other. Gauging your strengths, finding your weaknesses, making you weaker as a unit. Sure, I would have preferred a different general other than that self-absorbed, immature little brat, but there's no changing it now."
"Wait," Dachii realized. "We're not going up against Sir Triune, are we?"
Ionix shook his head. "He's only there as insurance. To keep your colleagues busy. Even now, he watches them, blissful and ignorant. So self-assured of victory. So overly optimistic. So very EVIL."
He held out his hands, opening a portal that showed Dachii the common room, where people began to search around. "It seems they've noticed you're gone."
"Well, duh! I'm kinda a big deal in their eyes!"
"It's fine, they'll never find this place in time."
Dachii immediately went on edge. "What do you mean by that? And where's Aoki and Akari?"
"Trapped. I had hoped the Princess would have killed that damn psycho. She's more intelligent than I thought. Regardless, none of it matters now. The games, the ploys, I should have just done what needed to be done."
He slammed his hands on the table again. "Just like you, I want to go home, I want to go back and have everything be normal again..."
Dachii appeared taken aback. "Really? Then why not do it?"
"Because I have a duty to do. I swore I would do everything in my power to bring the Master's vision to light. And that, is what I've spent the last 170 years trying to achieve."
He gave Dachii a curious look. "But to my surprise, just like your brother, they haven't corrupted you yet."
And with a sympathetic look, he gave Dachii a genuine smile. "That's good. Embrace it, enjoy your humanity..."
And as they stared at each other, Ionix's eyes began to glow yellow.
"...for all of mine is GONE."
And with that, a massive explosion of electricity exploded out of him, forcing Dachii to summon his gauntlets to block.
"Shit!"
And way off in the distance, inside the Underground Arena, the entire stadium heard the loud noise as the explosion went off.
BOOM.
—-