"Jordan, we can't afford any mistakes…" Koby said in an unusually serious tone, his hand firmly holding Alice's. "This isn't training anymore. Can you summon Heartless to reinforce the defense around her?"
Alice gave him a gentle smile, as if to ease his worry, which made him blush slightly without lowering his guard. In another situation, I would have teased Koby mercilessly… but the oppressive atmosphere of this place killed any urge to joke.
I nodded without answering and raised my hand.
Eight Expert-level Round Bodies emerged from my shadow, their massive forms materializing in heavy silence. Their eyes briefly glowed before they took position, forming a perfect defensive circle around Koby and Alice.
"You stay here. Last line of defense," I said, fixing my gaze on Koby. "Use your talent and take the abilities of the King of Diamonds. You're going to need defense."
He nodded immediately.
"Understood."
His body lit up with an intense white glow. The energy enveloped him completely, reshaping his silhouette. When it faded, Koby now wore elegant armor adorned with diamond motifs, along with a perfectly fitted shield.
Only his face remained unchanged… and it clearly showed his astonishment.
"This is… incredible…" he murmured, looking at his hands.
He slowly raised his shield, testing its weight.
Alice wasn't indifferent.
Her eyes lit up slightly as she looked at him, clearly impressed by this transformation worthy of a fairytale knight.
At that moment, Nami quietly approached her and leaned in to whisper something in her ear.
Neither Koby nor I heard exactly what she said…
But the result was immediate.
Alice turned bright red.
"N-Nami!" she stammered, completely flustered.
Koby, meanwhile, didn't understand anything and looked back and forth between the two women, completely lost.
I let out a small laugh.
"Nami… if you're done traumatizing poor Alice…" I said with a smirk.
She straightened up with a perfectly innocent expression.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
I sighed, amused despite everything, then shifted back to a more serious tone.
"Can you summon your army? We're going to have to clear this place quickly."
Nami nodded, her expression becoming focused again.
She raised her hand.
Her silver tiara glowed softly.
The air around us vibrated.
And in a flash of light… the Card Army appeared once more.
I immediately took to the skies, my body rising above our troops as the wind whistled around me. With a simple gesture, I opened my shadow and released my reinforcements.
A hundred Flying Soldiers surged into the sky, accompanied by a hundred Red Nocturnes, Yellow Operas, and Blue Rhapsodies. Their colorful silhouettes briefly lit up the dark circus atmosphere… before we crossed its exit.
My suspicion was confirmed.
We emerged into a vast plain, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Entirely covered in Heartless.
A black, shifting tide, denser than anything we had faced so far.
I narrowed my eyes.
"…There are more of them…"
And not just that.
Even if their appearance had only slightly changed, their presence was different. Heavier. More oppressive.
"The same as in Expert mode…" I muttered. "But twice as many… and all gathered in one place."
In the distance, beyond that monstrous army…
I saw her.
The tall woman with green flames.
She stood still, right in front of a massive, distorted door, her silhouette flickering under the influence of her own flames. Beside her, the talking wrist seemed to be whispering something, its voice inaudible from this distance.
"…This won't be easy," I muttered.
Without waiting, I reinforced our lines. More waves of Heartless burst from my shadow, filling out Nami's formations and my aerial squad.
I briefly turned toward them.
"Nami, Koby! Your priority is Alice!" I called out loudly. "There's no time limit. Clear from a distance and let the Heartless tear each other apart. I'll handle that woman."
Nami looked up at me, worried.
"Be careful, Jordan… you might not be immune to her flames."
I nodded seriously.
Then I transformed.
My hybrid form took over, my powerful wings keeping me airborne as I dove with my troops into the aerial clash.
The impact was immediate.
The enemy elementals rushed toward us.
I struck.
Once.
Then a second time.
It was only on the second hit that one of them broke.
My expression hardened.
"…They're much tougher."
Around me, my troops engaged in battle… but the difference in power was obvious.
The Expert-level Heartless I had summoned were being completely overwhelmed. Some exploded under a single enemy spell, others were torn apart mid-air before they could even attack.
The situation was holding—for now.
Nami had taken control of the ground battlefield.
Massive lightning strikes rained down continuously, hitting Shadows and Round Bodies by the dozens. Her attacks covered a wide area, methodically clearing the enemy waves trying to approach Alice.
The card soldiers held their positions, perfectly coordinated, forming a living wall around Koby.
And Koby himself had become a true bulwark.
His shield absorbed the most violent impacts, while his new power allowed him to redistribute the pressure around him.
But even so…
We were slowly being pushed back.
In the air, my troops were being wiped out.
I clenched my teeth.
"…Alright."
My gaze darkened.
"We stop playing."
I dove slightly, stabilizing myself above the battlefield.
Then I opened my shadow wide.
It spread beneath me like an abyss.
And this time…
I held nothing back.
Thousands of Heartless began to emerge.
A true army.
The result of all my battles, all my training with the crew… accumulated slowly, patiently.
Still, I took one precaution.
I kept one of each type within my shadow, preserving their unique abilities.
But everything else, I released.
A black tide rose into the sky before crashing down onto the plain with a deep rumble, like a living wave breaking over a doomed shore.
Tens of thousands of my own Heartless spread instantly, covering the ground in every direction. Shadows multiplied at a terrifying speed, swallowing enemy ranks, while opposing Round Bodies were quickly overwhelmed and annihilated by sheer numbers. Even some flying enemies, too close to the ground, were dragged into the black mass and vanished within seconds.
But the advantage didn't last.
Very quickly…
The Master-level elementals reacted.
Hundreds of them raised their hands in unison.
And hell descended.
Torrents of fire, blasts of ice, and storms of lightning tore through the battlefield. The air itself seemed to explode under the violence of their combined attacks.
My troops were hit head-on.
Thousands of Heartless were annihilated in seconds, wiped out before they could even retaliate. The losses were massive, brutal, almost instantaneous.
Only the Shadows managed to partially survive, diving into the ground at the last second to evade the elemental onslaught, then reappearing elsewhere to continue attacking.
I gritted my teeth.
"…They're well organized…"
I immediately changed strategy.
I focused my flying soldiers—and my own movement—on a precise target.
"Priority on the Yellow Operas!"
The enemy Yellow Operas were the key. As long as they remained active, they severely limited Nami's ability to intervene.
I dove with my troops.
The aerial battle turned into total chaos.
Lightning shot in every direction, tearing through my formations, obliterating my flying soldiers one after another. I lost almost all of them in moments… but I kept advancing, untouched, my immunity allowing me to pass through the electrical storms without slowing down.
"One more!"
I shattered a Yellow Opera.
Then another.
Then another.
Below, Nami understood immediately.
"Now!"
Freed from the pressure, she raised her arms and unleashed her power.
A massive electrical storm crashed down across the battlefield, covering nearly half the plain. My surviving Yellow Operas relayed her attack, amplifying the range and density of the lightning even further.
The Red Nocturnes were struck head-on, their flames unable to withstand the overload. The Blue Rhapsodies tried to form ice shields… but they shattered under the pressure.
In moments, the enemy elementals were wiped out.
On the ground, the Tower Masters were already no longer an issue.
Since the beginning of the fight, my Darksides in Hard Mode had been continuously spawning waves of Shadows. Individually weak, yet infinite… and their numbers had eventually overwhelmed the gigantic enemies.
The Tower Masters were swallowed by the mass, unable to resist the constant pressure coming from every direction.
The battlefield shifted.
Once again.
And yet…
She hadn't moved.
The tall woman with green flames still stood before the door.
Motionless.
Watching.
Then, slowly, she raised her hand.
Her green flames intensified.
A wall of corrupted fire rose in front of her.
Every Heartless that tried to approach was instantly consumed, reduced to ashes in a moment, with no chance of regeneration.
My troops, countless as they were…
Stopped dead in front of that barrier.
I hovered about a hundred meters away from her, suspended in the air, the wind whipping against my face while the battlefield roared below.
"So… you're the final boss?" I said with a slight smile.
I didn't get the chance to say more.
A jet of green flames sliced through the air toward me.
I pivoted sharply, disappearing into the Path of Air just in time to avoid the attack, the heat passing so close it nearly burned my skin.
Her voice echoed, cold and contemptuous.
"Leave me the Princess of Heart… and disappear, vermin."
She raised her hand.
The flames around her intensified… then took shape.
A dragon of green fire erupted behind her, roaring silently before diving toward me at terrifying speed.
"Seriously…" I muttered as I barely dodged.
The dragon chased me through the air, each beat of its wings igniting the atmosphere. The heat it emitted was unnatural… corrosive.
When its flames brushed against me…
I understood immediately.
"…I'm not immune to that."
Below, Nami reacted without hesitation.
"Not on my watch!"
Dozens of lightning creatures burst forth and rushed the woman, striking all at once.
But she simply raised her hand.
And shattered them.
As if they were nothing.
"Tch…" I gritted, steadying myself in the air.
I had no choice anymore.
I coated my body in Armament Haki, a glossy black layer covering my arms and torso. My Keyblade transformed into a steel Chocobo, which I reinforced with Haki as well.
Her gaze changed.
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
Then she let out a cold laugh.
My Observation Haki flared instantly.
"She's moving…"
Too late.
She vanished.
She was elsewhere.
She was next to Alice.
Her hand snapped shut around the girl's arm.
"I found you…"
"ALICE!" Koby shouted.
Without thinking, he launched himself forward.
He arrived in a fraction of a second. But the woman raised her hand and struck him with a monstrously violent slap.
Koby was sent flying, rolling across the ground for several meters.
Silence.
He got back up.
His gaze had changed.
A cold anger radiated from him.
Like during normal mode.
Like when he had stopped the executioner's blade.
"…I won't let you do this."
In an instant, he vanished from her sight and reappeared in front of her.
"HAA!"
His shield slammed into her face with brutal force.
BOOM.
Her head snapped back.
Her grip on Alice loosened.
At the same moment, Nami raised her hand, her body coursing with the last reserves of mana she had gathered. The air around her vibrated violently, charged with electricity at an almost unstable level. Her eyes narrowed, completely focused on her target.
"Take this!"
A single bolt shot from her fingers.
Condensed to the extreme.
Pure.
A spear of lightning carrying five million volts tore across the battlefield in a perfectly straight line, burning the air in its wake. It struck the woman head-on, piercing her body without the slightest resistance, as if she were nothing more than a fragile illusion before such power.
Her body froze instantly.
I didn't wait.
I dove.
In a fraction of a second, I closed the distance between us, the air exploding behind me from my speed. My Keyblade, transformed into a steel Chocobo and coated in Armament Haki, gleamed with a dense, dark aura.
"Game over."
I struck without hesitation.
The blade pierced her heart with surgical precision. The impact was clean, perfect. My Haki confirmed it immediately: no resistance, no attempt to evade.
A fatal blow.
Everything said it was over.
…
But something was wrong.
A laugh rose.
A deranged laugh.
Her body, still impaled on my blade, began to tremble… then crack, like a statue about to collapse.
Lines of green flames spread across her entire form.
And in an instant—
She scattered.
Her body exploded into a cloud of corrupted flames that evaporated into the air, as if she had never been real.
I froze for a moment, suspended in the air, my Keyblade still extended into nothingness.
"…What?"
The last flames slowly faded, leaving behind a heavy silence.
No trace.
Nothing.
I slowly lifted my head, my breath short, my gaze sweeping across the battlefield.
And what I saw tightened my chest.
My troops…
Decimated.
The massive black tide I had unleashed moments ago was now nothing but a remnant. Barely a thousand Heartless, across all types, were still standing, scattered across the ravaged plain.
The rest were gone.
Consumed.
Erased by the sheer violence of the enemy's attacks.
I clenched my teeth, my fists tightening slowly.
"…All that power…"
My gaze hardened.
"…And that was only a clone."
"Jordan, it's going to be okay…" Nami said softly, placing a hand on my arm. "Even if you lost a lot, you can get it back… and even better with future rewards."
I let out a slow breath, then gave her a faint apologetic smile. Without another word, I raised my hand and recalled my remaining troops into my shadow. The last Heartless still standing dissolved into dark strands before vanishing, leaving behind an empty battlefield… and silence.
I walked up to Nami and briefly pulled her into my arms.
"Thanks…"
Without waiting, I lifted her in a princess carry, taking advantage of her obvious exhaustion. She flinched slightly, then immediately blushed.
"H-Hey! You could at least warn me!"
"You wouldn't make it to the exit on your feet," I replied simply with a smile.
Beside us, Koby watched the scene… then cast a hesitant glance toward Alice.
The reaction was immediate.
Alice blushed faintly, but gently wrapped her arms around Koby's neck, nestling against him without protest.
Koby turned bright red.
"I-I'll be careful…" he stammered, carrying her awkwardly but with determination.
We moved forward like that toward the door.
Strangely…
The handle said nothing.
No riddle.
No trap.
It simply opened, revealing the strange room we had already passed through.
Without wasting time, we each grabbed a potion.
We drank it.
And within seconds, our bodies returned to their normal size. The vials disappeared immediately after use, as if they had never existed.
"We're almost there," I said.
We started running.
The scenery around us began to crack, the colors fading slowly like a dream dissolving.
Alice clung tightly to Koby, her fingers gripping his clothes.
The system message appeared.
You have brought Alice back safely. The world "Wonderland" is now free. The world will appear as an island near Heartless Island. It will produce flying soldiers and master-rank Large Bodies for its resident Heartless.
Nami gains the ability Corrosive Magic. She can attach corrosion to her magical attacks, rendering immunities ineffective.
Koby gains Alice's Heart. As her designated companion, Alice can, at any time and regardless of distance, enlarge Koby into a giant and return him to normal size using Wonderland potions.
Jordan gains Maleficent's Flame and obtains two random Master-mode Heartless. Red Nocturnes and Tower Masters are upgraded to Master rank.
The world completely collapsed around us.
And the next instant—
We burst out onto the warm sand of Heartless Island.
I rolled slightly upon landing before getting back up, while Koby did the same, protecting Alice as he hit the ground.
The sea breeze hit us immediately, a sharp contrast to the oppressive atmosphere we had just left behind.
I stood still for a few seconds.
Then I raised my arms to the sky.
"…MY TROOPS…"
I pretended to cry, imaginary tears streaming down my cheeks.
"TENS OF THOUSANDS… GONE UP IN SMOKE…"
Nami looked at me, half amused, half exhausted.
"You'll get over it."
I slowly lowered my arms, regaining my composure.
"…Yeah."
I placed a hand on my shadow, feeling the remaining presences.
Only one Tower Master remained.
The one I had deliberately kept.
"At least… I kept the essentials. On top of gigantification and the jester ability, I can now produce two new types of magic based on explosions and fireworks—one works like traps, kind of like mines, and the other is a fragmentation bomb made of fireworks."
I briefly closed my eyes.
"And now that the world is closed…" I murmured. "I won't be able to produce any more," I added, regretting the spectacle it could have been to have hundreds of them launching fireworks bombs.
I raised my head, looking toward the horizon.
"I'll have to run Traverse Town on hard mode many times to maximize my gains for expert mode… and my only available Master rank."
Behind me, Alice gazed at the sea in wonder, still in Koby's arms.
(Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to give rewards that fit the world, and I left the island fully explorable ^^ we'll see next week, maybe.)