With no time left to recover, they all stood ready to face the final wave. The Alpha Wretch they confronted took the form of a two-meter-tall suit of armor—its fists ending in spikes, its "face" shattered to reveal rows of teeth and a grotesque purple tongue.
—Shit— Their situation was dire. The armor's sturdy defense would be hard to pierce with the golden sword, limiting Sein's offensive power—(On top of that, Robin and Joy are running low on reserves, and Sein's restricted. Perfect. Should I call Kaze?... For now, let's see if we can handle this)— Turning to his companions, the young man barked orders—This is it. We can do this. Robin, cover me from the Canids. Joy, focus on support spells to hinder the enemy—what we need most right now is time. Sein, find a way to back me up, whether by killing Canids or disrupting the boars.
—Leave it to me!— Though the others didn't voice it, they agreed. Without hesitation, Sein and Shoun charged into the stampede of vestiges. The young man used Balance Voltage Impulse to gain height, vaulting over the horde. The first line of monsters was halted by Sein, who began cutting down Canids and dodging boars.
—(Sein's barely handling that... Guess I can lend a hand)— Channeling electricity through his legs again, he launched toward the second line with a Balance Voltage Tornado Kick, severely wounding them all. Briefly unsheathing Iron Fang, Shoun closed the distance and began cutting—chunks of flesh and liters of blood spilled across the streets before dissolving into dust.
By now, exhaustion weighed on everyone after the prolonged battle. Yet despite the fatigue, the young man remained focused. When something blocked his path, he cut it down. When something couldn't be cut, he kicked it to death. Simple. Brutal. Draining.
—(Think I got carried away)— Before he realized it, he'd decimated the entire second line. Sein was still finishing the first, even with Robin and Joy's support. As more vestiges lunged at him, an unexpected guest joined the fray— The Alpha!
The colossal armor charged to crush him. Shoun dodged with Balance Voltage Impulse, but boars moved to intercept—until a human cannonball slammed into them, clearing his path.
—Told you I'd cover you, Shoun!— the youngest declared, rising to hold back the enemy horde. Meanwhile, Robin and their drones unleashed a barrage of lasers at the creatures, all amplified by one of Joy's spells, leaving Shoun face-to-face with the Alpha.
Without another word, Shoun sheathed Iron Fang. The giant armor charged, aiming to crush him in a heavy embrace, but the young man dodged effortlessly. He followed up with an electric discharge to paralyze it... yet the vestige didn't even flinch.
—(Oh, I see)— Adapting on the fly, Shoun darted to the armor's blind spot. The moment it turned, he unleashed his strongest attack:
Balance Voltage Strike!
A massive cone of electricity and brute force slammed into the armor's chest—but only left a dent. Before he could react, a devastating right hook sent him flying into the pavement.
—Tch... ptoo— Spitting blood, gravel, and saliva, he glared at the approaching armor— Fine. Not the first time I've fought something immune to my hits!
Shoun rose to his feet and charged head-on at the creature. Channeling even more electricity, he began pummeling the heavy vestige relentlessly. Each strike left deeper dents in its black armor, but the monster retaliated with equal ferocity—every punch aimed to kill. Unable to dodge them all, Shoun had to either block or deflect, leaving his face bloodied and uniform torn. Yet he refused to stop.
—Let's go again!— Another brutal exchange ensued. The vestige threw a lethal right hook, one that could decapitate Shoun if it landed clean. But to him, the punch moved in slow motion. He sidestepped and hammered the creature's chest again. It tried countering with a left swing, but Shoun had already repositioned to make the angle impossible. His onslaught continued— Die! Die!
The vestige's armor was now thoroughly mangled, purple blood oozing through newly formed cracks. Desperate, the monster played its trump card: just as Shoun wound up for a finishing blow, a blue sphere materialized at its core. In seconds, the sphere expanded into a barrier that slammed Shoun to the ground.
This move flipped the battle's momentum instantly. Without hesitation, the vestige raised its foot to crush Shoun's skull, only for a massive energy orb to crash into it at the last second, hurling the armor away.
Shoun quickly scrambled to his feet and saw Joy smile at him before collapsing to her knees, still gripping her staff. That last move had saved him from death—at the cost of draining her core's remaining energy, evident as the connection from her ability vanished.
—Thanks!— After shouting his gratitude, Shoun surged forward to finish the armor—(Now that we're down one, we'll be overwhelmed easily! I need to end this fast!)— He sprinted while glancing sideways: Robin was barely holding on, their drones littering the ground from energy depletion. Then he spotted Sein running beside him— Sein!? What are you doing!?
—Helping you kill that thing! If we take it down quick, we can mop up the horde. Robin can buy us seconds—and you don't have Joy to save your ass anymore!— Shoun paused mid-stride. In his periphery, Robin was already luring the remaining Wretches away as a distraction.
—You've grown a lot, Sein. Let's slaughter this bastard!
—Hell yeah!— The boy sheathed his sword, arms blazing with golden light. They flanked the armor, Shoun at its front, Sein at its back.
Enraged, the vestige swung a one-armed punch at Shoun—but before impact, it lost balance as Sein delivered a brutal kick to its knee from behind. The creature collapsed just in time for both Shoun and Sein to unleash a final, simultaneous punch to its massive head. Under the force of their combined strikes, it exploded, prompting the Codex to declare:
[You have slain "Living Armor", an Alpha Wretch]
From a distance, Joy watched the short but intense battle between the duo and the armor in awe. Their strikes were devastating, their techniques flawless, their teamwork unparalleled.
—(Even their abilities are extraordinary)— The mage observed with a mix of envy and relief at their victory. But then, the unthinkable happened.
As Shoun and Sein turned to aid Robin against the remaining Wretches, a sound froze their blood:
—Aaaah!— A scream tore from Joy's core. A Putrid Canid was charging her. With no spiritual energy left, she could barely move—completely at the monster's mercy. The boys sprinted toward her, but they knew: they wouldn't make it in time. She was going to—
~Click Click~
The sound of slicing wind cut through the air, the vestige threatening Joy was bisected mid-lunge. Standing before the mage was none other than Kaze. The masked one turned to face her directly, but the moment their eyes met, her expression twisted into pure horror. She scrambled backward with renewed desperation.
—Good to see you, Kaze! You really saved us this time!— Shoun called out gratefully as he arrived.
—No big deal— Kaze dismissed, as usual, before approaching the young man.
—Are you okay, Joy?— Sein knelt to check his friend for injuries. The mage didn't move, every ounce of strength had left her body. She didn't speak either, her voice trapped in her throat.
—If it's not too much trouble, could you handle the rest? We're all spent. The Alpha's dead, so once those last few are gone, the rift will close.
—No problem— The masked one dashed toward the remaining vestiges, draping his mantle over his sword. Seeing this, the scientist smirked and stepped back, giving Kaze full reign to unleash his power. The monsters were carved apart under his blade, whirlwinds forming in his wake. Against Kaze's evolved strength, they stood no chance.
—W-who is he?— The mage asked, face pale as she witnessed the masked one's slaughter.
—Oh...he's Kaze, our friend. We asked him to come here but he could only arrive now—Shoun told the frightened Joy the truth, though obviously not all of it.
—Yeah, plus Kaze made such a heroic entrance! Don't you think so, Shoun!?
—Eh, I guess—The small one and the young man chatted casually while watching Kaze's fight, while the mage still hadn't spoken a word. Noticing this, the scientist quickly joked.
—What's with that face? Must be from witnessing the monstrous performance of all these Codex bearers with Major-grade abilities. Relax, friend, we share the wretched fate of bearing a C-grade ability—He joked cheerfully, but when he tried to continue, he saw the mage's expression still hadn't changed. So he left her be, assuming she needed time to recover.
In no more than a couple minutes, Kaze emerged somewhat drenched in the blood of the vestiges, calmly approaching while cleaning Cutting Wind.
—You did great!—Sein raised his hand for a high-five, which the masked one returned. Behind them, the white rift finally compressed into itself and vanished from space.
—Phew, that was tough but we made it —the young man cheered while looking at the scientist.
—Indeed. Now I need to call my department to report in.
—Uh... Do we have to answer to someone?
—More or less. Pay taxes and such. Don't worry, I'll handle it. That said, reporters will be here soon since we closed the rift with just the four of us—well, with Kaze's help at the end, but details. So I suggest you get going.
—Right. See you at home —the masked one pulled up his cloak and vanished from the scene.
—He never changes. By the way, Joy, are you...—the young man turned to ask the mage something, but to his surprise, she was no longer there —Oh, she's already gone.
—How odd... Well, we'll get her share to her later!
—Of course! Now help me gather our treasures. I don't want anyone stealing our money —under Shoun's orders, they quickly began rummaging through the wreckage for potential profits.