Yunkei lifted the unconscious Varaichi from the ground. He then called for another warship.
"This girl has a lot of potential. And she's also one of Xers' teammates. We'd better make her talk. Command Center, I want a ship sent to Siron Island immediately. We've got a prisoner of war who could be useful to us."
The warship soon arrived. Varaichi was taken aboard and locked inside a cell on the lowest floor of the ship. Then, to prevent her from putting her own mask back on, they placed another mask over her face. It was infused with dark magic, could not be removed without unlocking it, and suppressed the powers of her original mask. The ship then set sail toward the Nyxia capital, carrying Varaichi with it.
Meanwhile, Xers...
Xers was flying above the fleet on his dragon, attacking the warships from the sky. He had already sunk around fifteen ships and heavily damaged eighty more. However, nearly four hundred ships remained, and they continued advancing toward the Shadowian mainland.
"These ships have special magic on them! Attacking them from long range with Gomerai is making this way harder than it should be!"
The Nyxia fleet slowly began dropping anchor near the mainland. The Tshusenkai sorcerers stationed along the coastline immediately began firing at the warships.
"FIRE THE CANNONS!"
"BRING OUT THE LONG-RANGE DARK MAGIC!"
"EVERYONE, GET READY!"
The Nyxia forces prepared their warships and magic. All they were waiting for now was the order from one person.
That person was Endo Fukaru.
"ATTACK!"
Cannon fire began raining down on the Shadowian mainland. Clouds of dust erupted everywhere. Moments later, the Tshusenkai sorcerers launched their own attack.
"PUSH THEM BACK!"
Xers saw the battle unfolding from above while riding Gomerai. He immediately turned his dragon toward the fleet.
"This isn't going to work! I need to get down there and deal with those ships directly! Gomerai! That ship looks bigger than the others. Drop me on top of it!"
Gomerai suddenly accelerated toward the ship where Fukaru was also stationed. He then dropped Xers onto its deck.
"Looks like it's time to start the slaughter..."
Xers put on his mask and drew both of his swords. He rubbed the blades against each other, causing ashes to scatter from them.
Xers quickly made his way inside the ship. Dozens of sorcerers appeared in front of him, but they were cut cleanly in half before they could even blink.
"I need to destroy this ship! Koberai! Heavenly Slashes!"
Koberai descended from the sky and began firing slashes toward the ship. Hundreds of slashes poured down every second. The ship's dark magic began to melt away under the relentless assault.
But suddenly, someone emerged from the shadows behind Xers. The figure was about to plunge his daggers directly into Xers' back when Xers noticed him at the very last moment.
"K-Koberai! Stop Time!"
Koberai stopped the vibration of the atoms, bringing time to a halt. Xers turned around, but there was no one behind him.
"H-HOW?! S-SOMEONE WAS REALLY THERE!"
Xers took a few steps backward. Then the atoms began vibrating again, and time resumed. The moment time started flowing again, the man inside the shadows became visible once more.
"W-WHAT?"
It was Fukaru himself.
He lowered his daggers and looked at Xers with a smile.
"Xers... I was searching for you in the sky, and I ended up finding you on my ship instead. Hah... Fate, huh?"
Xers thought to himself.
"This guy... Don't tell me... Has he gone beyond my ability to stop time?"
Fukaru disappeared again. In an instant, he appeared to Xers' right and attacked him with his dagger. Xers blocked the attack but was knocked backward by the force.
The two immediately began fighting.
Xers fought with both swords in perfect synchronization, while Fukaru unleashed a rapid barrage of strikes with his daggers.
"G-GOMERAI!"
Gomerai attempted to emerge from beneath the ship, but the vessel was extremely heavy due to the special dark magic reinforcing it. Gomerai slammed into the bottom of the ship and couldn't break through.
"G-GOMERAI CAN'T GET IN!"
Xers' attention was momentarily distracted, and Fukaru immediately went on the offensive. He lunged at Xers with his dagger. Xers brought his swords together in an X-shaped guard and blocked the attack.
Then Fukaru disappeared again.
He emerged from Xers' shadow and attacked from behind.
Xers turned around at the last second and blocked the strike, but this blow was far heavier than the previous ones. Xers was sent flying several meters backward, crashing through the ship's windows as he rolled across the floor.
The glass shattered everywhere.
Xers was thrown deeper into the ship and couldn't stop himself. He eventually fell through to the floor below.
The level he landed on was the ship's entertainment room.
He crashed directly into a group of sorcerers who had been drinking beer.
Everyone inside froze in shock.
"W-WHAT?!"
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! WHO ARE YOU?!"
Xers quickly got back on his feet.
"GQ#41!"
A dark slash erupted from Xers' sword and cleaved the sorcerers in half. Xers climbed back up to the upper floor, but Fukaru was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, Fukaru burst out from inside the ship and lunged at Xers. Swords and daggers clashed once again.
Fukaru suddenly used his Shunpo technique, sliding beneath Xers and slipping past him before rapidly moving behind him. Xers immediately focused his strength, gathering a tremendous amount of power into his swords.
He attacked Fukaru instantly.
"Take this!"
Fukaru blocked the strike with both daggers and avoided being cut, but the force behind the collision was so immense that the sound echoed across the sea.
Fukaru tore through the dark-magic-enhanced floor of the ship and fell into the level below. Xers immediately followed after him.
Fukaru had fallen into the basement.
The place was enormous and completely pitch-black.
That meant Fukaru could hide within the shadows.
Xers descended into the storage room, but he couldn't see Fukaru anywhere.
Xers froze.
Fukaru's voice suddenly echoed through the darkness.
"You know, Xers... Re-Verse isn't my only ability. I'm also a sorcerer who can control shadows. And you've fallen into a pitch-black storage room. Right now, I can attack you from anywhere. From the right... From the left... From above... From below... Or perhaps all of them at once."
"So you hide behind the shadows, Fukaru. You know very well that you can't fight me without hiding."
"And you hide behind your dragons, Xers..."
Fukaru suddenly emerged from the shadows and prepared to attack Xers.
But in that instant, the entire wall of the storage room collapsed.
Light flooded into the room as the dawn broke through the destroyed wall.
Fukaru was exposed.
The moment Xers saw him, he immediately activated his ability.
"Koberai! Stop Time!"
Koberai rapidly descended from the sky. By slowing the vibration of the atoms, he brought time to a halt.
"Since you're no longer hiding inside the shadows, I can see you perfectly, Fukaru. B-but who destroyed this wall? Whoever they are, I definitely owe them one."
Xers had five seconds.
He swung both swords at Fukaru repeatedly. However, because Fukaru possessed a Spiritual Pressure shield, Xers couldn't land powerful enough blows to finish him.
Time resumed.
Cuts appeared across Fukaru's arms, and he was suddenly knocked backward, flying into the opposite wall of the storage room.
"Ahhhh!"
Then someone emerged from behind the destroyed wall.
"K-KIROSCHI?"
"Xers..."
"W-Weren't you in the hospital?"
"The doctor discharged me early. And the first thing I did was come here to protect my homeland. Not bad, right?"
"God bless the homeland..."
Kiroschi lowered his head with a solemn expression.
Then both of them turned toward Fukaru.
They began walking toward him.
"So it's two against one, huh? Hmph... You think you'll be able to defeat me. But there's something you've forgotten."
"W-What?"
"Re-Verse."
The dimension suddenly tore apart as a new dimension was inserted into the current one.
That new dimension dragged everyone back two minutes into the past.
Fukaru once again fell into the basement from the impact of the previous attack. This time, however, Xers didn't jump down after him.
"S-so that's what this ability is like... I can't believe my eyes. How magnificent..."
Xers then spotted Kiroschi approaching from afar on a small boat.
Kiroschi and the men aboard the boat were staring with their mouths hanging open as well.
Xers decided not to attack anymore.
He jumped down from the ship.
"Gomerai..."
Gomerai emerged from beneath the sea, and Xers landed on top of him. He then rode Gomerai toward Kiroschi.
"W-WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED, XERS?!"
"That was Fukaru's ultimate ability. He can rewind time. He's figured out all of our tactics now. I decided not to fight him anymore and came back. We lost time. But only the time within a certain area was rewound. So we only lost two minutes here. No one else did."
"Then what are we going to do?"
"It's best if we return to the coast. The landings will probably begin within an hour. We need to set up ambushes at strategic locations. Come on, let's go."
Xers joined Kiroschi on the boat, and the two of them returned to the coast.