Selina stepped forward a bit more, reaching the edge of the rooftop and carefully looking to both sides.
—"If there's a necromancer, we have to find them. If they have two shadows that strong, we would probably die if we fought. I'd rather leave while passing information to the Hinokami."
Those were Selina's words—her tone serious, fitting for the situation.
Kaede took a few steps forward, determination reflected in her blue eyes.
—"We're supposed to just leave all of this? It's part of my jo—"
—"You're not even in Erithan to consider this your job. Don't act responsible…"
Selina replied, glancing at her from the corner of her eye.
[…]
—"Even so, we still don't have a way to leave. Normally, we'd wait here. Father told me they're on their way."
Kaede placed a hand on her waist, tilting her head slightly.
—"Who are 'they'?"
A sharp, loud sound from the ground interrupted the conversation. The four of them turned their gaze instinctively.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Akira stepped back, his movements soft but precise as he avoided Ignis's flaming greatsword.
—"It's supposed to be a shadow…? It's too fas—"
Ignis didn't hesitate at that moment of distraction. He surged forward into Akira's space instantly, raising the fist that wasn't holding his greatsword.
Akira leaned his back slightly, evading the punch for an instant, raising his right hand to grab the shadow's wrist—
However, Ignis quickly pulled back, repositioning his greatsword toward the sky, ready to continue fighting.
—"I can't let the swordswoman escape, now this counts as our job… Mei, your turn!"
One street away, Amaya kept moving through the air, trying to stay elevated, gradually reaching the rooftop of that building. Her serious gaze reflected a desire to get there as soon as possible…
In the sky, the clouds shifted, giving way to the stars, which began to shine…
They were descending.
The stars fell so fast they turned into thin streaks of light. Amaya dropped to the ground and, with her sword, began cutting them one by one.
—"Stars…? This is the work of someone I haven't taken into account…"
When she blocked the last star, she let out a sigh and looked up again to continue advancing.
The sky began to shine again, light illuminating Amaya's face.
—"Impossible… how can someone gather so much ether in so few moments…?"
Amaya prepared to deflect the thin falling stars—
however, the shadow easily pulled out that massive shield from his back, positioning himself in front of her and bracing it firmly.
The stars struck Gorath's shield with force, which endured the constant barrage.
—"Thanks, Gorath…"
As Amaya prepared to continue moving, she rose into the sky, floating before the shadow of the night, her long black hair with purple edges, silver eyes emanating power—
the middle Hinokami made her appearance.
Amaya clenched her fists, glancing slightly to the sides, searching for signs of something she still couldn't perceive.
—"Two of the three descendants of that family…? This is bad. If the real one is here, he won't hesitate to act…"
Amaya snapped her fingers, a dry sound in the recent silence.
Kurai Mei stared at her, but behind her the sky glowed in purple tones—
a lightning bolt filled with ether descended rapidly.
—"I will rule the sky tonight…"
Mei murmured, raising a hand toward the lightning, and with effort invoked her card, which glowed with a dim yellow, summoning stars and detonating them rapidly in front of them.
The lightning disappeared without causing harmful damage, and the Hinokami turned her attention back to them.
Amaya advanced with light steps, summoning her sword and moving forward, passing Gorath.
—"I'm sorry, but… this part of the city is ours."
The middle Hinokami did not understand at that moment.
At some distance, Akira moved quickly, making light jumps and raising his legs at times to avoid Ignis's lethal strikes…
The youngest Hinokami was able to feel it, and in an instant, without hesitation, he turned his attention to his sister.
—"Mei, get out of there!"
[…]
—"…Huh?" she said, confused—until the tremor began to rise.
It was already too late.
Gorath grabbed Amaya with one hand, while with the other he protected them with debris and propelled them away.
At that instant, the ground beneath Mei exploded violently.
Akira let out a choked shout, extending his palm toward the explosion—
At his side, Ignis appeared instantly, almost teleporting, his greatsword colliding with the young Hinokami. The impact was sharp and overwhelming.
Akira was dragged by the force into a building, glass shattering, followed by a wall, then another, then another—repeated heavy impacts overwhelming him.
Each impact felt as if his heart stopped for a moment, as if the oxygen left him, gasping in pain.
And when it finally stopped, his body fell among rubble and pillars, his left arm injured and bleeding slightly, his shoulder faintly burning.
Around him, smoke dominated.
The impact had been overwhelming.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Back on the rooftop, Calius approached Selina. The chaos below was beyond comprehension.
—"That shadow was able to stop Mei's attacks…" Kaede murmured from the side, attentive to everything.
—"The one with the greatsword… don't tell me it defeated Akira… is that possible…?" Selina murmured.
A bit away from the others, Shiro sat down, having silently watched both battles.
"I can't follow them with my eyes… those shadows… what exactly are they supposed to be…?"
Beside his head, Alma Rigel's card was present.
—"By the way, it would've been nice if you told me you could manifest…"
—"It wasn't necessary, I didn't see it as appropriate, but… let me give you some advice."
Shiro looked calmly at the card, which floated and emitted green flames.
—"I would say… fight. It's very likely your friends will go. If you don't go out of fear, you will die here."
—"F-fight those things…?"
Shiro's eyes narrowed slightly, his lips moving with discomfort. Alma Rigel understood what he felt.
—"Shiro… it's now or never. Survive, or not survive… it depends on you."
—"If I fight, what will I gain…?"
—"Have you ever desired anything? Until now you've been following Kaede… if you want something, to obtain it, you first have to get out of here. By fighting."
Shiro stood up and adjusted his jacket. The view of the city was beautiful, but this wasn't the time to stay watching.
He swallowed and walked toward the three of them.
They looked at him approaching, and Kaede stepped closer with a smile.
—"We have to fight," Shiro said, somewhat serious and nervous.
Kaede was the most surprised by his answer, but she smiled defiantly right away, glancing at Calius and Selina.
—"There was no need to explain the situation to him…" Calius murmured, standing up alongside Selina.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The four of them slowly moved back toward the edge. The metropolis shone before their eyes.
Shiro clenched his fists and exhaled.
"Seriously… I'm the only one taking orders from a card… my past life is nothing compared to what I feel now…"
Shiro raised his left hand, pressing his chest. His clothes moved with the wind, his heart beating rapidly.
—"I feel like, if I do what I know how to do… I'm invincible…"
Kaede, at his right side, took his other hand and smiled at him.
—"Our first real fight together… a real one."
For the first time, Shiro tightened his grip on Kaede's hand. Even if his hand trembled slightly, he wouldn't turn back.
Kaede smiled with determination and looked him in the eyes.
—"Let's connect, Shiro!"
To their side, Calius and Selina stared into the abyss below.
—"If Akira took a hit like that, I don't know what awaits me…" Calius murmured to himself, invoking his black card with dark blue flame edges.
Selina, beside him, laughed lightly with pride, summoning her rifle.
—"We haven't even started fighting and you're already stating conclusions… typical…" Selina murmured mockingly, adjusting her hair.
The first to act was Selina, letting herself fall, allowing the wind to guide her… she closed her eyes as she dropped from the rooftop.
—"This will be a great fight…"
Calius didn't hesitate and followed, opening his arms as he fell.
—"No matter how much ether I have left… I'll endure…"
Kaede got excited seeing them jump, pulling Shiro with her. Even though he tried to resist, both fell as she laughed.
Shiro raised the hand where his ring was, summoning the thread, which shot toward the glass of the building ahead, anchoring itself.
Kaede wrapped her arms around Shiro's neck to hold on.
"This is… complicated…"
The wind grew stronger due to their movement, until finally, they let themselves fall to fight.
The four descended near each other, looking downward, searching for targets.
Calius looked at Selina, signaling with his palm to get her attention.
—"Which one are you going for?!" he shouted to be heard.
—"Isn't it obvious?! The swordsman!"
Calius sighed silently, drifting slightly away.
—"I'll take the one with the shield…" he murmured to himself.
Kaede clung slightly to Shiro, shouting into his ear:
—"We're taking the lightning lunatic!"
And just like that, the battles were set.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
—"…From here I can hear… h-how those kids are going down to fight…"
Akira tried to stand.
—"The adaptation phase… is over."
Selina, before hitting the ground, fired a strong shot that slowed her fall for a moment, landing gracefully. In front of her, Ignis walked calmly.
Selina's expression turned serious.
—"If this were my last fight… how would I fight…?" she murmured, stretching her back.
Selina advanced at the same speed as Ignis, slowly closing the distance, until Ignis moved slightly—
activating all of Selina's senses. She raised her rifle instinctively—
blocking the greatsword.
She hadn't noticed when he advanced, when he disappeared, or when he raised the weapon.
Ignis had taken a forward burst she couldn't perceive—
but instead of being overwhelmed, she smiled confidently.
—"Damn it, I can follow you…!"
Selina retreated midair and raised her rifle, aiming directly at Ignis, but before she could shoot, she had no time—Ignis slid from side to side until reaching her flank.
—"Damn… his reactions are too high… change of plan."
Selina retreated, firing warning shots.
"How do I attack him…? I don't see any weak point… he looks relaxed, but he shows none…"
Selina retreated further, natural fear creeping in, hidden under determination.
"Weak point… come on, I can't see it… I can attack from different angles and follow him by instinct… I need to find one…"
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Calius descended calmly toward the ground. Seeing Gorath, he threw his card, which exploded around him, forcing a reaction.
—"From what little I've seen… you fight with brute force."
Gorath raised his shield proudly and slammed it down toward Calius, who slid aside and summoned his ether pistol, firing while moving.
—"Ether bullets don't work… relying on the card will be difficult. I have to fight thinking of a weak point… right?"
Calius ran toward him, appearing like an easy target.
The shield ignited with green flames and was about to crush him—
but with overwhelming speed, Calius moved behind him.
—"As I thought, you fight on impulse…"
Calius slid his card toward Gorath, about to detonate it—
but Gorath turned and crushed the card with his free hand.
"…He has better reflexes than I thought."
Calius summoned another card—
—but Gorath was already about to crush him again.
—"His size doesn't match his speed… can he really move that fast with that armor? …No, he's a shadow, that logic doesn't apply."
Calius threw the card toward the shield—
The clash was overwhelming.
Even so, the force sent Calius flying.
He struggled to land properly, still thinking.
"Strong, fast, agile… how do I fight something I can't understand…? That just shows I still have work to do…"
He remembered—
"You're only fourteen. I forbid you from working in combat."
It had been a year since Selina said those words.
Was she suppressing his potential?
Calius stood again, ready to keep fighting.
Gorath walked toward him.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Kaede, with a small shout, raised her hand, summoning her card and throwing it at Amaya—
Amaya stood calmly on the ground, glancing at her with a murderous look—
The card was about to hit—
She disappeared like a phantom.
—"She… damn it, she disappeared again…!" Kaede muttered in frustration.
Shiro and Kaede tried to locate her.
—"How do you plan to defeat me if you can't follow my movements…?"
Amaya moved between them, visible only for milliseconds.
—"You must be too proud to think you could win…"
She appeared at their side—her voice didn't match her position—
She thrust toward Kaede's heart.
Kaede reacted quickly, summoning her abyssal card and blocking the blade.
Amaya tried to apply more force—
but it didn't work.
—"Interesting… did you spend a long time refining that technique…?"
Kaede's eyes widened slightly, as if she had touched a fragile point.
Kaede raised her free hand to strike—
Amaya countered, aiming directly at her heart with her purple, electricity-filled card—
That technique felt familiar.
A faint release sound—
Shiro's thread wrapped around Kaede's waist—
pulling her back into his arms.
—"If you stay that close, you become more vulnerable than anyone…"
Amaya surged forward instantly.
She raised her sword, filling it with purple ether particles—
electricity crackling.
Kaede's eyes widened.
—"That technique… it's different, but… it's the same as hers…"
Kaede summoned her card by instinct—
trying to deflect—
The impact sent her upward.
Before she could stabilize—
Amaya appeared in front of her midair—
and kicked her without mercy.
Kaede was launched into a building.
Glass shattered—
she crossed a long hallway—
another window shattered—
—"…It hurts…" she murmured.
Shiro circled the building with his thread, trying to catch her—
but the force was too strong.
They both crashed.
Shiro protected her as best as he could.
Kaede stood, frustrated, helping Shiro up.
She walked forward into the street.
Amaya approached with a look of contempt.
Kaede summoned her card.
The fight would continue.
—"Step aside, and I'll let you live," Amaya murmured.
—"No. You step aside, and I'll let you live," Kaede replied loudly, charging forward.