"Okay, now I go. You girls should get ready just in case," Kairo added. The duo of beautiful girls nodded and stood slightly behind him.
Standing in front of the hole in the wall, Kairo took a deep breath. The girl had vanished exactly here, so it was highly probable that the door to that realm was here. Kairo raised his left hand and then, with a simple thought, the first card was ejected from his wrist.
Kairo caught the card in hand, flickering it between his fingers. There was a subtle pull from the card, as if it was sucking into his very soul. This was the card fueling itself with his aura. "A real glutton, this card," Kairo laughed inwardly.
Then the circuitry of the void began rippling, like waves of white energy drawing lines in the space. "Tactical Brilliance," Kairo activated the card. His body was devoured by white aura, acting like a shield around him.
Everything instantly became clearer, as if Kairo had a new pair of eyes—eyes that could see and react way faster. "Look, Kairo," Leli commented in shock.
In front of them, the hole in the wall was reacting to his card. It started rippling like waves in water, and then a dark hole appeared. A portal, to be precise. "As expected," Kairo smiled. "Let's go now," he said. Without taking time to think about a plan, Kairo dashed into the hole.
Nyx and Leli glanced at each other and followed instantly.
....
"Wow!" Kairo screamed, almost stumbling back. But Nyx and Leli held him from behind. "What is this place?"
"A card realm, Kairo. A world of its own created by card magic. They obey the rules of their owner and have absolutely nothing to do with common logic," Leli said.
Kairo caught himself back, straightening his shoulders and taking a glance underneath. "Nothing," he murmured. Everywhere below was completely dark—it was like they had entered the void. But strangely, there was a certain path all over this place. This path could hold at least two people side by side at a time—more like platforms suspended in the darkness.
Kairo then tilted his head to the side. It looked like they could see through the walls, and the teammates of Leli were currently searching for them with panicked expressions. "We are in the walls!" Kairo said with a stunned smile.
"That means the culprit is hiding somewhere here. We should find him now, Kairo. We can't stay indefinitely in the card realm," Nyx urged them.
The trio started moving down the path, careful not to fall off into the abyssal darkness. "Kairo, how did you know activating Tactical Brilliance would reveal the door to this place? Was it just a hunch, or you really...?" Leli sounded really interested, walking next to Kairo with Nyx behind.
"Tactical Brilliance can only be activated when something abnormal is around. Otherwise, it's as good as useless. I guessed if the culprit was still here, it would react to his magic," Kairo explained his judgment. After some time walking, he was getting heavy, as if his body had gained weight. "I won't be able to hold this thing for long," he commented.
As the trio moved ahead, the darkness underneath started shaking. "Evade!" Kairo said. His body was acting on instinct. Gripping the girls by their waists, he bounced across the void, evading the lash that destroyed the previous path.
From underneath, a monster rose—formed of amalgamated shadows. Its numerous tentacles floated in the space, covering the entire breathing area. Atop its head was a figure holding a little girl in his arms.
"Shit, you sneaky officer. Can't keep your mouth away from our things. To think I hid here thinking I'd have to deal with a veteran officer... but just a bunch of kids too stupid to think before they act," he spat angrily.
"Will you get us down, Kairo? This is embarrassing," Nyx was the first to comment. Only then did Kairo notice he was still holding them by the waist.
"I don't mind you holding me, Kairo," Leli added with a ravishing smile.
Already used to her antics, he didn't take her seriously.
"Hum..., yeah, sorry," he said, letting them down. He had been so absorbed in the action he almost forgot this little detail.
"Now let's deal with this one. Kairo, you're faster than both of us—you'll have the task of getting the girl. Nyx, you'll keep the criminal distracted, and I'll settle the monster. This way, we should effectively neutralize the threat in no time," Leli quickly resumed her usual leading nature. Without even letting them answer, she was already drawing her next card.
"Miracle Swords," she echoed, unleashing her next card into the circuitry of the void.
Within the dark space, purple waves rose like tides, siphoning the space above them. One after another, swords began materializing above their heads—seventeen swords to be exact. But strangely, the swords just stood there without any sign of attacking or even falling.
"An offensive card. It's the first I've seen after the Void Cannon. What's its use?... Looks cool. Leli is an interesting girl. Still, focus, Kairo," Kairo tapped his jaw, returning his attention to the monster.
"Come, I shall crush all of you one after the other—and then add you to the collection. 'He' will certainly be happy to have new toys to play with. The girls, I'll keep them for myself," the criminal smirked and violently gripped the little girl's hand, causing her to scream in pain.
Kairo's face darkened.
"You perverted bastard. Wait for me."
Leaning forward, he shot like a cannonball toward the monster, enraged. Who knew what the monster was, but it began slamming its tentacles around, agitated by the girl's screams. But Kairo, blessed by Tactical Brilliance, had unmatched agility. He danced around the tentacles, running toward the criminal at lightning speed.
But the monster grew more and more agitated the louder the girl cried—as if they were linked. It lifted all its tentacles at once, slamming them toward Kairo. Bracing for impact, Kairo prepared to move when the Miracle Swords went into action.
The first sword moved, shooting like an arrow let loose. It maneuvered through the void with unmatched precision and perfectly sliced open a path for Kairo.
"The Miracle Swords have no offensive power, but are ideal for creating openings where there are none."
Kairo smiled in amazement. It was a tactical card, not an offensive one.
Armed with this new knowledge, he shot through the space, sliding into the hole to avoid the storm of tentacles hammering the area. The entire card realm trembled, as if threatening to break at any moment.
Kairo kept moving forward, his fist cracking with all his accumulated anger. With a sickening impact, it dislocated the criminal's jaw so fast that his eyes rolled back, sending him crashing against the uneven paths underneath.
Nyx appeared by his side. Holding a strange card in hand, she murmured, "Sifa."
The circuitry of the void responded with a halo of golden lines. From within the card, it escaped—a scarf painted in snow white, so soft it seemed to be from another world.
With a wave of her hand, the scarf came to life, humming as it entangled the criminal in no time. He cried out in shock, but to no avail. Sifa squeezed him so hard that he was slowly regaining his senses.
"You seem less arrogant from down here. What do you think?" Nyx asked with a devilish smirk.
"Ahh... stop this... you fools. She will die anyway. It's useless. You've wasted your time and energy. By now, the others must have escaped with the rest of the family while you were fooling around here... hahahaha! You fools!"
Nyx knocked him out before he could say anything more—causing the card realm to eject them back into reality.
…
Kairo and his group waited patiently in front of the special Card Mage hospital door. After the incident, they had rushed here with the little girl, hoping everything would be fine with her.
The criminal had been transported to the Card Mage Police for interrogation.
When the doctor stepped out of the room, Kairo and his group approached, all carrying worried looks.
"She is fine… but," the doctor hesitated.
"But?" Kairo's heart was getting heavier. Not only had they allowed the other criminals to escape with the other family members—if the girl was still in danger, then their little escapade would have been a complete disaster.
"It will be better for you to take a look," the doctor waved at them to get inside.
"Don't be too harsh on yourself. We naively thought the criminal was alone—the corpse had just been a lure to trick us," Nyx patted his shoulder.
"She is right, Kairo. You were great, although we could have done better," Leli said with a resigned sigh.
Swallowing his guilt, Kairo entered the room with the others. There was nothing to be done for now. The criminals had escaped—but not for long, he vowed to himself. Inside was Danzan, already waiting for them.
On the bed was a striking little beauty, dressed in all white. If it wasn't for her painful expression, Kairo would have mistaken her for an angel.
Danzan glanced at them and opened his mouth...