In an unknown place…
Ayana sat up, the darkness of an endless void around her. She stood, examining her sword.
"Mint condition. Good."
As she took in her surroundings, she heard a voice calling to her from nearby.
"Ayana!"
She spun around to find Haruto, who was visibly anxious and looking around frantically. "Haruto?"
"Ayana, this isn't the tournament! Where are we?"
She closed her eyes. "It seems to be…an alternate realm of sorts? Right now, we're far from Raijin City."
Haruto looked up at the emptiness above them. "So, we're stuck here?"
Ayana closed her eyes even tighter, her ears perking up. "I can't say, but…I hear sounds…of battle. There's a major fight taking place."
"Is it Dachii?"
"Yes, but not just him. Maybe not all hope is lost after all, Haruto. Just maybe…"
Meanwhile, in Raijin Arena…
"Ambition."
As Akari and Aoki came at him, Ionix began to lose himself in his thoughts.
"Nearly everyone possesses it. Even these demons, who kill and conquer as they please…why?"
The air around him seemed to slow down.
"Why are they so cruel? Why do they always come back to pester me? Why am I struggling to wipe them out? Me and Venire, we're the last ones left…the last ones who can do it…"
"…the last ones…"
Some time ago, inside of a castle…
Ionix was sitting inside his room, meditating. As he tried to think about his life, he heard noises of combat upstairs.
"There is it again…who is it now?"
He stepped out of his room and headed down the hallway. Once he walked up the stairs to the next floor, he found a door was open.
"Her…?"
He peeped into the room, and a spear came flying at him, forcing him to duck.
"The HELL?"
Inside the room, he saw a young Zharian woman in a cloak training, slashing dummies to pieces in the blink of an eye, all while blindfolded.
"She's practicing this late at night? Doesn't she ever sleep?"
With almost cordial grace, she used her sword to sever more dummies in half. Ionix turned away, preparing to head back downstairs.
"Ionix…wait."
He immediately tensed up. "Shit, she's caught me!"
He turned around, and she took her cloak and blindfold off, revealing her full appearance.
"Yes…Runea?"
Runea sheathed her blade, scoffing. "Spying on me at this hour? I know you've aspired to reach greater heights, but this is NOT the way to do it."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll take my leave now."
She held up a hand. "Actually, now that you're here, I want to show you something. Would you mind taking a walk with me into the gardens?"
Ionix reluctantly nodded. "Fine. Lead the way."
In no time at all, they were at the castle gardens, a vast, open field of beautiful trees, vibrant plants, and a quiet pond with a bridge running down the middle.
"Why did you bring me here?" Ionix asked.
"Because it's very quiet here," Runea answered, closing her eyes.
Ionix sighed. "You know that's not what I meant."
Runea turned to face him, her gray eyes piercing right through him. "Do you know how to unleash your power?"
"What do you mean by that? Of course I can use—-!"
"No. Not USE. UNLEASH."
Ionix stared at her, completely confused. "What are you talking about?"
"When one is of strong body, mind, and will, they can unleash their power, boosting their speed, strength, and elemental output a hundredfold."
"I've never heard of that…" Ionix remarked. "Is it some new technique?"
"It's as old as the Elements themselves," Runea corrected. "Come, I think that troll by the West is still terrorizing our people. I'll demonstrate for you."
She headed out the exit to the gates, and Ionix, intrigued, followed.
In less than an hour's time, they were at a small village near a cave, which had a group of Zharians huddled beside a fireplace.
"Hey!" a little girl called out. "It's Runea and Ionix!"
"The village of Tsubamehara? I thought they abandoned this village decades ago!" Ionix stated.
"No," Runea replied. "They've simply been living in fear. That will soon change."
Runea knelt in front of the little girl, who stepped away from the crowd to rush to her. "Little one, where is the danger that's been troubling you?"
The girl pointed to a nearby cave, where scratch marks and dead animals could be seen. "Over there!"
Runea got up, drawing her sword. "Wait here, we'll soon be back."
She and Ionix headed into the dark cave that awaited them, and as soon as they entered, they heard a loud growl.
"I hear the sounds of multiple monsters," Ionix noted. "Don't tell me we are walking into an ambush?"
Runea stopped for only a moment. "If that is true, then it is they who are walking into a trap."
After she took another step, the entire cave began to shake, and pebbles began to fall from the ceiling. Runea remained completely still, listening. And then…
"Above!"
Before Ionix had noticed, a creature jumped from the ceiling onto Runea, but she quickly slashed its hand off before it could grab her.
"The troll!" Ionix realized.
"Not just him," Runea said. "There's more on their way."
The troll grabbed its hand and pouted. "You cut me! You'll die! I'll eat every bit of your flesh, you—-!"
Without even looking, Runea effortlessly beheaded the troll.
"NO!" a booming voice yelled from the distance. "BROTHER!"
In quick fashion, 6 trolls quickly surrounded Runea, with anger and hate in their eyes. Ionix moved to step in, but Runea motioned for him to wait.
"Just watch," she said.
The trolls all began attacking her at once, swinging wooden clubs at her, attempting to stomp her, and one even tossed a rock at her, but she evaded all of their attacks. The more she dodged, the stronger the aura radiating off her body became, and Ionix noticed it.
"That look in her eyes…"
After vaulting over the middle troll, she got into a low stance and gripped her blade, eyes glowing.
"Never back down…never surrender…"
And then she looked up, her entire body glowing with suffocating gray energy.
"Now…UNLEASH!"
BOOM.
She delivered a powerful slash in the air that immediately ripped every troll surrounding her into pieces in an instant. Ionix watched the scene with a mix of shock and awe.
"Impressive!"
Runea sheathed her blade, her body returning to normal. "There you go."
"You didn't even need to use that for these trolls, did you?"
She shrugged, walking past him. "Then how would you have witnessed the move?"
"Very funny," Ionix said. "Now how do I do it?"
"You can't," Runea answered, flatly. "Only Zharians who have the power of an Elite can harness it."
"WHAT? Then why even show me?"
"It's like an Element User summoning a weapon," Runea pointed out. "Either you must be very strong, or very blessed. As of right now, you are neither."
Ionix shook his head and walked out of the cave. Once they were both out, the crowd approached them.
"Did you get the monsters?" she asked.
Runea nodded. "Yes. Don't fret, they won't eat any more of you."
"Thank you so much!" the girl said, as she and the other villagers cheered. The entire village began to cheer Runea's name, and Ionix just marched off.
"Should have known it'd be the same old tricks. She is an ELITE."
"Ionix!" Runea called out.
"Now what does she want?"
She stepped out of the crowd, putting a hand on Ionix's shoulder. "Don't be discouraged yet! After all, if the Holder managed to summon a weapon, why can't you?"
"He WHAT?"
"That's right. If you have the will and the determination, you can surpass all limits."
She gave him a brief but warm smile. "After all, you're only one rank below me, aren't you?"
Present Day…
"Surpass…all…limits…"
As Akari and Aoki both tried to attack at the same time, Ionix easily caught both of their arms, slamming them into one another.
"What's wrong with me?" Ionix thought. "I'm still ranked 11th in the Order…and I've still got a duty to DO!"
Aoki tried to slash his neck, but he jumped out of the way.
"THUNDEROUS DANCE."
This time, a wave of explosive currents shot out of his body, creating mini-electric explosions with every passing second.
"Aoki, look out!" Akari yelled, quickly putting up her forcefield around the both of them.
The currents hit the forcefield and exploded, launching Akari and Aoki to where Hikari was.
"Guys? How did you both get here? I thought you were stuck!"
Akari pulled them both out of the way of a lightning blast shot from Ionix. "Long story short, a portal opened in front of us!"
"Did I do that?" Hikari asked, looking at her hands.
Aoki held up her sword. "Who knows, but you fixed the most important thing. I guess I should commend you, or whatever."
"Wow, great way of saying thanks."
On the other side of the arena, Tetsuya and Kazue helped Tsugumi up, who appeared noticeably more healthy.
"All the symptoms are gone…" Tsugumi stated. "You can let me go now."
"Are you sure?" Kazue asked. "We don't want you falling over, now!"
Tetsuya took his hands off her. "It's better to just let go. Last thing we need is her swinging on us."
As both groups faced Ionix and Venire, plumes of flame shot up and the crowd cheered.
"They're back!" Dachii thought. "With all this help, can we actually win this?"
But as he took in the rejuvenated troops, he only noticed Ionix standing behind him at the last minute.
"Crap—-!"
Ionix used an electric-charged punch to send Dachii crashing out of the arena and right into Raijin City.
Without hesitation, Himeka ran past Hikari and the others, chasing after Ionix. "Code red, girls! Let's go, go, go!"
"What the hell's she saying?" Aoki questioned.
"She's saying come on!" Akari replied.
Akari, Hikari, and Aoki ran after Himeka, who followed the electric clashes occurring in the heart of Raijin City.
"They're gone!" Tetsuya exclaimed.
"They've split for now!" Kanai said. "That means we've got to hold Venire and her soldiers off until they get back!"
Venire cackled. "That's easier said than done, honey."
She held up two fingers, and with one swipe of her arm, a greenish liquid started shooting out of her body like bullets.
"ACID!"
One clump of it hit the ground near Kanai, eating it up almost immediately. "Guys, don't let her attacks touch you! It'll be bad!"
"I wasn't planning on it," Tsugumi remarked.
"Then what are you planning on? You've already gone in blind once!" Tetsuya called out.
"I know what I'm doing!"
Kanai knelt on the ground. "I have an idea."
She touched it, making it vibrate even more violently than before, along with everyone else on it.
"Hey! I can't…feel…my limbs…!" Tetsuya yelled.
"It'll only last for a moment! I've just got to direct it to her!"
The vibrations shot right toward Venire, making her body shake and shift in place.
"Not this again!" she moaned.
"Now! Give her everything you've got!"
As Tetsuya, Tsugumi, and Kazue prepared to attack, Venire's eyes glowed.
"ACID WAVE!"
Kanai got up immediately, noticing the giant wave of acid spilling out from Venire's mouth. "Oh no! Run, you three! Run!"
They ran inside one of the tunnels, and the wave of acid followed them all the way.
"Run, run, run away, you ants!" Venire laughed.
Inside Raijin City, Ionix sized up Dachii, who was recovering from his attack.
"You thought these reinforcements would help you? You thought you were safe?"
As thunder sounded in the air, nearby civilians ran into their homes as fast as they could.
"Well, it seems you won't let me go easily, will you?" Dachii commented.
"Hmph, as if a choice was possible. If you have anything else to say, say it now. I'm done toying with you."
Dachii closed his eyes before glaring at Ionix. "I only have one thing to say to you. Where…is…my…brother?"
Ionix smirked. "Closer than you think."
Somewhere nearby…
Inside a dark office room, a single metal tendril could be seen, slung over the desk. And in the next moment, the tendril disappeared, and a pair of glowing red eyes appeared.
—-