When was it that the deafening silence that plagued them began to waver? Not in sound, but in the weight it carried. Who could say? Surely not them.
The sound of her iron shell breaking over her shoulder made her freeze in place, and without much resistance, the rod pierced through her shoulder.
The pain shocked her back to her senses. She didn't struggle to escape or whimper from it.
Instead, with the rod still lodged in her shoulder, she drove her palm into his gut, and with a fierce yellow glow she mumbled, "Gamma pulse!"
The light her technique gave off was visible even through his body, and in an instant, he was sent flying, crashing through trees in the distance.
She fell to her knees in the next moment, breathing heavily. Looking out toward the trail of felled trees, she kept her eyes locked in his direction with a grimace.
"Yuriko!" Izumi called out, his expression distressed.
"I'm okay!" she yelled back. "Just keep your eyes peeled. Who knows what can happen next."
The sound of twigs snapping echoed eerily throughout the field. Soon, Takeru came into view. He walked with a slight limp, and pieces of clotted matter peeling off his body were visible.
"You crazy bitch," he said, wiping blood from his cheek. "I could have easily skewered your heart in that moment, but you still abandoned your defense like that."
"This is what I live for!" he yelled. "Taking on crazy idiots like you who don't give a damn about reason."
Yuriko opened her mouth to say something, but an abrupt pain in her shoulder stopped her.
Looking down, she saw a white blade piercing through her shoulder. From over it, she saw Miyuki standing behind her, holding the blade that had stabbed her.
She struggled to speak, but before she could, Miyuki cut in.
"Don't worry, this isn't anything malicious—it's just my release," she said.
As she spoke, Yuriko saw the blade slowly turn black, and as it did, a sense of relief washed over her.
"You had me going there for a second," she said as Miyuki pulled the blackened blade out, then rested its tip against the grass beneath them.
"A release already?" Yuriko thought—but another abrupt thought pushed the question aside.
"If you're here, then where's Takae?!" she shouted, loud enough for Takeru to hear.
At that, he immediately scanned the area in search of her—but found nothing.
Then a chill ran down his spine as he sensed a presence behind him. He turned immediately—but just as he did, a short beam of red light shot toward him, grazing his throat.
Turning fully, he saw Takae, her left index finger pointed at him, steam rising from its tip. She looked different—quieter, colder—her eyes devoid of color.
She said nothing and immediately unsheathed the sword at her waist as she charged.
Takeru didn't confront her. Instead, he leapt back toward the other three. Takae stepped after him in slow, measured motion. Her body gave off steam as she glared at him with empty eyes.
Her behavior caught Miyuki's attention, and it sparked a thought. Could it be what I think it is?
She turned to Yuriko, who stood beside her and Izumi—and they too exhibited the same change, a thin layer of steam beginning to rise from their bodies.
It was then that she remembered something her father had told her.
"To newly ascended or slightly weaker individuals, the subconscious optimization of their source energy output in synchrony with their body brings about an almost drunken state—one where pain dulls and emotions fade, allowing complete focus on the task at hand," he said. "This surreal state has a name—"
"Frenzy blue," Miyuki mumbled.
"If that's what they're undergoing," she said, a faint smile forming on her face, "then we might just win this fight."
But can I keep up?
All three of them began to give off an aura of blue energy that covered their bodies like flames engulfing a sinner at the stake.
Oddly enough, as he saw this, Takeru smirked—and as if to mirror them, he too began to give off an aura of red energy.
Grasping her sword with both hands, Miyuki drove it into the ground, and a large septa-circle formed at her feet.
"Hey you guys!" she yelled. "It's time for the shifting gate formation!"
Her grip on her sword tightened.
"Now go!"
The three charged at him simultaneously, and Takeru stood on guard, ready to intercept them.
But as Izumi charged, a septa-circle formed in his path, facing him. Even then, he didn't slow down—and as he came into contact with it, another one appeared right before Takeru. As if space itself were torn open, the circles formed a bridge that brought Izumi closer to him.
Izumi maintained his charge as if he had expected it, and the moment he crossed through, he swung his sword at Takeru.
A quick parry was all Takeru could manage before leaping into the air—but his attempt at escape was immediately shut down. Right above him, another gate formed from a septa-circle, and Takae came charging through it.
Looking down, he saw Izumi leaping up in pursuit, while from above, Takae closed in just as fast.
Without thinking, Takeru hurled both his rods at them, trying to force them back as he dropped toward the ground.
The attempt worked—the two were forced to halt their advance to block the incoming rods.
As he landed, his eyes immediately searched the ground for Yuriko. When he finally spotted her, she was already moving—rushing toward a septa-circle that had appeared before her.
He took a step back, trying to steady himself for her incoming attack—but instead, he felt as if the ground beneath him had vanished.
Looking down, he saw the septa-circle he had been searching for—but unlike the others, it lay flat against the ground, its gate opening directly toward Yuriko.
It was too late to recover his balance.
He fell through the gate—
—and the moment he emerged, Yuriko swung for his back. The clang her sword made echoed through her.
Red Zone. He used it again—a field of energy that gave off a repulsive force formed from vibrating blood particles, energized by source energy. She swung again immediately, and the wall surrounding him faltered.
He didn't wait for her to strike again. He attacked first, thrusting his rods at her once more—but before they could make contact, a septa-circle appeared between them.
Unable to pull back, he could only watch as a gate formed. From it, Izumi sprang forth, the tip of his sword driving through the left side of his chest as he struck.
Takeru's expression twisted—but he didn't hesitate. He thrust at Izumi.
Without so much as a glance, Izumi stepped back—a septa-circle already formed behind him—and passed through it seamlessly.
In his attempt to give chase, Takeru didn't notice that the gate Izumi passed through led directly behind him.
The sight of his charging silhouette made him freeze the moment he caught it. Izumi turned and attacked without pause.
Almost as if in disbelief, Takeru turned slower than he normally would—and by the time he did, he felt the sharp tip of Izumi's sword slice through his gut.
The pain hit instantly. He gritted his teeth and tried to pull the blade free—but just as he did, his ears twitched.
Then there it was—a swing aimed for his throat.
He immediately hardened his neck with a dense clot and layered a thin Red Zone over it to intercept Yuriko's strike—but this time, she broke through. She struck.
The clot shattered after the impact, breaking away from his neck like fragments of glass.
With the rod in his left hand, he thrust back at her—but she evaded the strike.
Both Izumi and Yuriko pressed forward, but as Takeru slipped back in defense, he lost his footing again and fell into yet another gate positioned beneath him.
In the brief glance he cast behind, he saw Takae charging toward him—and when he looked ahead again, the other two were still closing in.
He couldn't find his footing. The blood clots wouldn't form fast enough.
So he gambled everything on his Red Zone once more.
Then came the strikes—
—and with them, an ear-splitting ring.