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(The Vast Star Vs... the Hooded Figure...)
The Vast Star rushed toward the Grand Library, weaving through the panicked crowd as chaos erupted around them. Umi, staying mobile, fired arrow after arrow at the hulking figure in the sky, but each shot bounced off its skin harmlessly. Her brows furrowed in frustration as she quickly switched to specialized mana-coated arrows. However, the figure continued to read the ominous dark-red tome, unfazed, as it effortlessly deflected spells from the kingdom's mages back at them, sending some crashing into buildings and leaving others unconscious on the ground.
"I'll break off and reposition," Umi called to her team.
The others nodded in agreement, allowing her to dash rightward through the alleyways while keeping the floating figure within her sights. Lala, Chisa, and Toma, meanwhile, arrived at the wrecked Grand Library, where they found the Grand Sage and several mages sprawled across the ground, some barely conscious, others completely out cold.
"You go check on them, Chisa," Lala ordered while gripping her spear tightly. "Toma and I will take care of that bastard."
Chisa nodded and immediately knelt beside the Grand Sage to check his pulse. He was alive but gravely injured. She then glanced at the others. They were in similar conditions, groaning in pain but still breathing.
"Good, they're alive, but they won't be fighting anytime soon," Chisa called back.
Toma adjusted his glasses and glared up at the floating figure. Without another word, he sprinted toward the half-shattered Grand Library, leaping onto its crumbling structure and running along the jagged wall with his twin Shadow Shard Daggers at the ready. Lala, using her agility, leaped onto a nearby rooftop, raising her spear and pointing Fervent directly at the ominous figure.
"You! Surrender yourself, or we'll take you down by force!" she declared.
The figure did not respond, continuing to read the tome as if their presence was beneath its concern. That irked Lala.
"Tch, ignoring me? Fine, let's see you ignore this!" She poured mana into Fervent, the spear's length extending and thickening with energy. With a deep bend of her knees, she launched herself high into the air, the spear tip aimed straight for the figure's chest. "MIND YOUR MANNERS, ASSHOLE!"
With a sonic boom, she delivered a Mach Thrust that slammed the figure against the Grand Library's wall. Before the dust could settle, Toma was already closing in, unleashing a rapid flurry of Black Shadow Slashes. His daggers carved through the air, striking the figure with precise, lethal intent.
In the midst of his attack, Toma's quick hands snatched the dark-red tome from the figure's grasp. With a victorious smirk, he snapped the tome shut and, with a powerful kick, sent the figure crashing through the library wall. He stabbed one dagger into the surface and hung there, holding up the stolen tome to Lala in triumph.
Lala grinned and gave a nod. But her eyes suddenly widened.
"Toma! ABOVE YOU!"
Toma barely had time to glance up before the figure emerged from the smoke, swinging its massive battleaxe downward. He reacted just in time, crossing his daggers to block the devastating blow. But the impact sent him flying, smashing through some of the remaining library walls before tumbling across the rubble.
Lala wasted no time. She leaped forward, delivering a relentless barrage of spear thrusts. The figure dodged and parried with its greataxe, its movements deceptively fast for its size. Lala clicked her tongue in frustration and activated one of Fervent's weapon skill.
"Blossoming Spearhead"
Fervent's spearhead split into multiple jagged edges, resembling a fully bloomed flower. She twisted her body mid-air and unleashed a spinning slash that forced the figure onto the defensive.
At that moment, Chisa appeared from behind the figure, katana flashing as she delivered precise, rapid slashes along the figure's back. the figure then swung its greataxe in a wide arc, but Chisa, with perfect timing, used the axe's own momentum against it. She used the wall behind her as a foothold, planted her foot on the greataxe blade, and launched herself higher into the air. Twisting mid-flip, as she unleashed a volley of Wind Slashes, the crescent-shaped blades forcing the figure to step back and guard against the assault.
Seeing an opportunity, Lala activated another weapon skill.
"Duplicating Vine Shaft"
Fervent's upper shaft split into four, creating multiple spear tips. She let out a battle cry and lunged forward, unleashing a Mach Thrust Barrage. The rapid-fire spears struck like a storm, breaking the figure's guard and sending it crashing through the Grand Library's interior.
Inside, a battered but determined Toma stood waiting. He narrowed his eyes, gripped his daggers tightly, and positioned himself. As the figure came hurtling toward him, he activated his weapon skill.
"Blackened Pierce"
With perfect precision, he drove his dagger deep into the figure's back. A burst of dark energy erupted from the impact point, causing a guttural growl to escape from the figure's lips.
Toma adjusted his glasses. "Not so tough now, are you—"
He didn't get to finish. The figure twisted around, despite a dagger still embedded in its back, and delivered a brutal spinning clothesline. The sheer force sent Toma flying. He barely managed to recover, activating Shadow Shift just in time, disappearing into the darkness and reappearing safely away from the wreckage.
The figure slowly reached down and picked up the tome once more. Just as it tried to float back up, a new barrage of high-speed, mana-infused bullets rained down upon it.
From a rooftop, Umi had repositioned herself, gripping her brand-new weapon—the '
Chisa and Lala moved in tandem, launching a pincer attack on the cloaked figure. Chisa's katana swung in a vicious arc, only to be caught by the greataxe's blade, while Lala's spear thrust was halted by just the figure's thumb and index finger. With frightening strength, he shoved Chisa away before delivering a devastating kick to Lala's gut, launching her into a nearby wall. Umi took immediate notice of Lala's condition and swiftly changed her position, taking aim from a higher vantage point.
Chisa, undeterred, leaped back into action, unleashing a rapid flurry of Wild Wind Slashes. The figure expertly deflected most of the attacks with his greataxe, its massive form moving with unnatural speed. Thinking quickly, Chisa planted her foot onto the weapon's blade, using it as leverage to kick herself backward into a safer position. However, from behind, dark chains erupted from the figure's back—
While the figure was distracted, Lala, bruised but determined, slipped behind him and launched a barrage of Mach Thrusts aimed at his back. Annoyed, the figure retaliated with a mighty Turnaround Axe Cleave, using the momentum of his swing to strike her down. Lala, however, ducked nimbly under the attack, evading by a hair's breadth before countering with a Hardened Leaf Thrust to his gut, the impact sending him stumbling backward. Seizing the opportunity, Chisa leaped onto his back, blade poised to decapitate him. But in that brief moment, she caught a glimpse of his face beneath the hood—and what she saw made her hesitate. The momentary lapse cost her, as the figure delivered a bone-rattling swat that sent her crashing unto the ground.
Yet the assault did not let up. From her repositioned vantage point, Umi lined up her Mana1 Garand and fired a relentless barrage of mana-infused rounds. The figure, forced on the defensive, crossed his arms to shield himself from the continuous hail of bullets. Meanwhile, Lala drove Fervent's spearhead into the ground and activated her weapon skill:
The figure snarled in defiance, his body trembling with raw power. Then, with a guttural, ear-piercing roar, an explosive wave of mana burst outward, obliterating everything within its radius. The upper levels of the Grand Library shattered, books, scrolls, and tomes sent flying as shelves were obliterated into splinters. The sheer force of the blast sent Umi and Toma plummeting to the ground, forcing them to roll upon impact.
As the dust settled, only two sides remained still standing: the Vast Star, battered yet unyielding, and the hooded figure, his presence as menacing as ever.
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(ROUND 2)
The towering figure raised his greataxe to the sky, a surge of ominous red energy enveloping its blade as the top of the weapon expanded unnaturally. With a guttural roar, he brought the axe crashing down upon the Vast Star. The team reacted instantly, dispersing in every direction.
Toma vanished into the shadows, using Shadow Shift to hide behind debris. Chisa activated
Seizing the opening, Chisa dashed in, her katana a blur as she delivered a flurry of calculated slashes against the behemoth's colossal frame. Lala followed up, launching a relentless series of piercing thrusts at his chest and gut. Toma, weaving in and out of the shadows, used Shadow Shift to reposition himself at various angles, striking with deadly precision before vanishing again.
From afar, Umi continued her suppressive fire, her mana bullets peppering the figure, though she noticed a troubling pattern—the enemy was adapting. The figure suddenly lashed out, catching Lala's spear mid-thrust and flinging her into the air. He then swung his axe in wild but devastating arcs, forcing Chisa into a defensive retreat. His strikes grew more reckless yet dangerously powerful, his overwhelming strength making up for his lack of technique.
Toma, spotting an opening, shifted above the figure and drove both Twin Shadow Shard Daggers into his back—one piercing near the nape, the other embedding deep into his shoulder. The sudden pain momentarily halted the assault, and Chisa capitalized on it. She executed
Silence hung in the air.
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Then—the figure let out a deafening roar.
A brutal spin sent Chisa and Toma hurtling away, their weapons wrenched from his flesh as his mana expelled them violently. As her katana clattered to the ground, Chisa scrambled to reclaim it, only for the figure to punch her away with monstrous strength. However, he had overlooked Umi, who never ceased her barrage. One of her mana bullets struck true—piercing his left eye. The figure howled, momentarily disoriented.
Umi didn't waste the moment. With relentless determination, she dropped her Mana1 Garand onto the rubble, firing with her right hand while reaching into her pocket with her left. Her fingers grasped a smooth, compact object—a
A powerful explosion engulfed the enemy, staggering him.
Toma, seeing his chance, retrieved one of his daggers and charged. From above, Lala, who had regained her composure, prepared to unleash her mightiest attack yet. As Toma reached the figure's back, he roared, "One more time! BLACKENED PIERCE!" His dagger pulsed with dark energy before he plunged it deep into the enemy's back, staggering him further. Umi's mana bullets landed in rapid succession, hammering him with unrelenting force. Then, Lala struck.
Fervent radiated with vibrant green light as she unleashed her full arsenal: Blossoming Spore, Rain of Thorns, Storm of Storms! With a tremendous thrust, glowing spears rained down, impaling the enemy's massive frame. Toma, undeterred, held the figure down, forcing him to endure the onslaught.
The combined force of Umi's gunfire, Toma's dagger strike, the CMB's explosion, and Lala's devastating spear assault overwhelmed the enemy… but something was wrong.
With a roar that shook the battlefield, the figure's Spark had unfortunately awakened—
A wave of dark energy repelled their attacks, stopping them cold. As the enemy's hood fell, their eyes widened in collective horror.
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His eyes—once familiar and normal—were now an eerie, glowing white.
"Hiro?!" they all thought in unison, frozen by shock. Their hesitation cost them dearly—Hiro struck first. A single backhand sent Toma flying, though he managed to cling onto his dagger. Then, without pause, Hiro turned toward the dark red tome lying before him. With a decisive swing of his greataxe, he shattered the tome. The red glyphs within, surged, consuming him entirely.
"Hiro, why are you doing this?!" Chisa cried out, desperation in her voice.
Hiro remained silent, his eyes still white, blank and lifeless, like it wasn't him.
"He's lost his damn mind..." Lala muttered.
Dark Chaos Chains erupted, ensnaring Hiro's entire form as his body became clad in red spiky spectral transparent samurai armor, pulsating with pure red energy. His greataxe, now coated in the same energy, emanated an even more terrifying aura. His glowing gold eyes locked onto them with ruthless intent.
Lala descended at blinding speed, aiming to strike—but Hiro was faster. His axe was already raised, and with one devastating motion, he brought it crashing down, slamming Lala into the ground. He moved to finish her off, but Chisa arrived just in time, intercepting the attack with a
Umi, using Engine Burst, closed the distance, leaped in front of Hiro's face, and switched her ammo to Explosive Mana Bullets—firing point-blank. Chisa, struggling, noticed with growing horror—her katana was cracking. If her blade broke now, Lala was doomed.
Toma recovered, thinking fast, activated Shadow Shift, grabbed Lala and Fervent, and teleported them away. With the burden lifted, Chisa sighed with relief then roared, pushing herself beyond her limits—
Her body transformed. Her blade pulsed violently with devastating winds pushing back the greataxe, and her physical form became more fox-like—taller, sleeker, deadlier. With a fierce glare, she sheathed her katana, preparing her ultimate technique—
Umi, retreating to higher ground, switched her ammo again—this time to Multi-Elemental Bullets. Her Mana1 Garand surged with chaotic elemental energy, prepared to deliver a decisive strike.
But just before they could unleash their attacks, Hiro raised his palm.
A sphere of Black and Red energy formed in his grasp.
In a chilling whisper, he uttered but not in his usual voice, "Havoc."
A blinding explosion of dark energy engulfed Chisa and Umi, inflicting Heavy Blinding, Heavy Confusion, Heavy Paralysis, and Heavy Delusion for a full minute. Their thoughts clouded, bodies numbed, they both gritted their teeth in frustration.
"Damn it..." they thought in unison.
Hiro's hand rose again. "
A towering black stone figure, infused with surging red energy, materialized before them, its massive spear poised for a killing blow.
In the last moment, Toma arrived with Shadow Shift—still carrying the barely-conscious Lala—activated his most costly ability.
Darkness enveloped them, spiriting them away.
As they traveled through the void, Toma clenched his fist, his resolve unwavering.
"We're not running away. This is a retreat... Hiro, we'll bring you back—no... take you down."
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