Dark walls, forming like flames of shadow, close in around Aurra, trapping her in a labyrinth. Shuu's laughter echoes, irritating the girl.
"Didn't feel that, you little brat?" she growled under her breath.
As she tried to move forward, Akira's body suddenly grew heavier.
"You asked for help, and now you can barely maintain our connection... pathetic," she said, barely clinging to consciousness within Akira's body.
Aurra took a few deep breaths and got back on her feet, regaining full control.
"If you want our deal to reach the end — I suggest you don't drift off now!" she shouted, destroying one of the walls.
Meanwhile, in the elven village, Gamble entered the chief's chamber. He bowed low and said:
"Forgive the intrusion, my queen, but I come bearing our need."
"I'm listening, Hero of the Shield," the queen said as she sat down solemnly.
Gamble rose and continued:
"In roughly two weeks, a clash with a god will begin. We need a young elf to acquire the bark of the Source Tree."
Before he could finish, the queen interrupted him with a wave of her hand.
"It will do you no good."
It sounded cold — almost irritated.
"Why?" Gamble asked, surprised.
The queen stood up, approached him, and said:
"The bark of the Source Tree burns away once it falls... You think no elf has tried to harvest it?"
Gamble froze. Doubt flashed in his eyes... and then suddenly, an explosion rang out.
"You brought them here?" the queen asked sharply.
Gamble summoned his shield and firmly denied it:
"No... Honestly, I don't even know who they are!"
At that moment, Shawn burst into the room, knocked Gamble over, and pressed a knife to his throat.
"You're not getting away this time."
Noa, sharpening his rapier with a stone, looked Gamble straight in the eyes.
"Ahh, I get it. You're a black cat — you bring misfortune," he laughed, releasing mana from his body to relax.
"Know that this power has two sides," Gamble said, activating Seraume.
Meanwhile, Kaido and Hana emerged from a cave in the middle of nowhere. They collapsed from exhaustion, gasping for air. In the distance, they spotted a black glow — and moments later, an explosion.
"Think they're over there?" Kaido asked, panting.
Hana nodded and, despite her fatigue, started running, using the last of her strength.
Aurra, still destroying the walls of the dark labyrinth, grew more lost with each step. She'd destroy one — only for it to rebuild itself moments later.
"What happened?! You were supposed to burn down this labyrinth!" Shuu screamed.
Aurra turned and smirked under her breath.
"Is that what you want?!"
Suddenly, blue flames erupted from Akira's body, shattering the walls and forming a small exit. Aurra darted toward it — but Shuu grabbed her and flung her into the forest.
"Now I really don't get it... First you imprison me, now you throw me out?" Aurra muttered, wiping blood from her face.
Shuu responded with a psychotic laugh:
"A trick Gamble showed me. Kinda cool, huh?"
Suddenly, Akira's voice echoed in Aurra's mind:
"He analyzed my body. Every barrier magic scans everything inside. You can use that — like I did in the bar — by using physical force, the only thing that worked on that ogre."
Standing up, Aurra smiled and activated Akira's Flame Master Mode. She lunged at Shuu, who conjured a black circle.
Aurra fell into it — and suddenly dropped from a nearby tree.
"Portal magic too..." she muttered through clenched teeth, charging again.
She began circling Shuu rapidly, creating a small vortex. He surprised her from behind and knocked her out. Just a second later, Akira regained control of his body and struck Shuu with an explosive punch, throwing him backward.
Shuu staggered, unable to stand.
"My legs... they're shaking..." he thought, trying to find a way to kill Akira.
Akira, catching his breath, summoned his sword in its Lucifer Blade form. He aimed it at Shuu and said:
"You didn't expect the alliance I made, did you?"
At that moment, Kaido and Hana burst from the bushes. Smiling, they ran toward Akira, unaware of Shuu.
"You let your guard down!" Shuu shouted, launching a small black orb toward Akira.
As the orb nearly struck him, an explosion erupted in front of his face.
"So you did have something up your sleeve..." Akira said in pain, rubbing his eyes.
"If not for the chameleon skin spell, I'd be toast... gotta thank Aurra for that one," he thought, trying to heal the burn on his face.
Gritting his teeth, he prepared one more attack — aiming at the defenseless Akira. But Hana kicked a rock toward the orb. It obliterated it, as if erasing it from existence.
"Any tips?" Hana asked, picking up her sword — but Akira stopped her.
"Turn around and run. Don't stop until you see the village."
Hana wanted to argue, but Kaido grabbed her hand and they began running in the direction he'd pointed.
"Round three?" Akira asked with a provoking grin.
Shuu, regaining strength in his legs, stood up and replied with a wide smile:
"Yeah... but this fight, you won't survive."
The wind began swirling around Shuu, and black energy gathered around his body. Suddenly, he shouted:
"Negative. REVERSE ZERO!"