REONE
The cave trembled with the echoes of the multiplying Extractor boss. Lhanak tightened his grip on his weapon.
"What's the plan now?"
Reone's eyes hardened. "We can't let him get to the Diviners' Nest. We have to fight."
"Or we die trying," Lyrian added quietly, her powers igniting like a living thing around her.
Reone turned toward her—and she toward him. One look. One silent connection. One shared fear.
Reone's chest tightened.
He had already almost lost her today. Unlike her, he wasn't willing to let it happen again.
"He's right," Primi said, pulling out his blade. "For the Nest."
No sooner had he spoken than the Extractor boss and his twenty clones charged, roaring like beasts. The cave erupted into chaos.
Lyrian leapt into the air, wings beating hard. A clone grabbed at her ankle—she twisted mid-air and shrieked, "Sonic blast!" A wave of sound exploded outward. The clone slammed into the rock wall, immobilized. She twisted again, firing cutting sound-waves. Another clone staggered, clutching its ears as blood poured from ruptured eardrums before collapsing to the cave floor. Before she could breathe, more clones swarmed around her, unrelenting.
Reone fought like a man possessed. His blade flashed—clean, precise. He caught one clone in the heart. It fell as he spun to block a rifle strike from another, head-butting it back. He dodged a swing, then slashed the exposed throat of another. Two down. Sixteen more to go.
Lhanak tore through two clones in seconds, his raw strength shattering bone, crushing windpipes. But one clipped him, and he let out a small grunt before quickly shaking it off. He engaged the clone again. Feya moved like a ninja, leaping onto walls, sliding under a clone, slicing upward, taking it down in a single fluid motion.
But even with all their combined power, the clones just kept coming. And they were starting to herd them inward.
"They're surrounding us," said Lhanak.
"Back-to-back!" Reone shouted. They started to form a tight protective circle and continued to fend off their enemy. Lyrian fired sound bursts, Lhanak and Reone slashing in deadly arcs, Feya and Primi blocking and countering faster than the eye could follow. But they could feel themselves being overwhelmed.
"We can't keep this up for long!" Feya shouted.
And as if summoned by her words, a massive clone slammed into her side. She screamed as she hit the ground, rolling across the dirt.
"FEYA!" Lhanak roared, rushing to her—but he was slammed down too. One by one, they fell.
Primi hit the floor with a grunt, rising only to be stomped back down.
Reone saw Lyrian about to be struck from behind. Without thinking, he pushed her out of the way—but he wasn't so lucky. The blow slammed him into the cave wall.
"REONE!" Lyrian cried, scared for him. She wanted to rush to Reone, but a clone was closing in. She blocked the first attack—then was struck again, which sent her sprawling to the cave floor. Pain ripped across her ribs, and she went to one knee, gripping her side.
"Shoot…" she hissed through clenched teeth. Trembling, she forced herself upright, body quaking but determined. She couldn't afford to go down—not when she was Reone's only protection.
The real boss stepped forward, moving slow, smug, unhurried.
"Why not just stay down with your buddies, Sylph?" he said, voice dripping with triumph. "I mean, the Diviners are the only ones I'm taking alive, for now—but for the rest of you, I can make your deaths quick and painless this time, unlike what I hear Randall did to you earlier."
Lyrian didn't understand what the guy was talking about. What did he mean by that?
Reone had told her that Randall had only hurt her earlier—so why was this Extractor talking about death?
Not for the first time that day, things weren't making sense to Lyrian. But she didn't have time to ponder it as the Extractor approached her.
Chest heaving, she said, "You can forget about any of that happening."
"Oh? I was hoping you'd say that," he said darkly. "You annoying Sylph girl."
He and his clones charged.
Lyrian panicked—she knew she couldn't last another second in close combat. So she did the only thing she could. She thrust both hands outward.
"Barrier of Sound!"
A shimmering dome erupted, encasing her, Reone, and the rest of the team. The clones crashed into it, pounding claws and fists, the impact shaking the dome violently.
Lyrian gritted her teeth from the effort of keeping it up, tears stinging her eyes, legs trembling. Her whole body quaked under the strain, but she refused to drop the shield.
"Stay up!" she gasped, forcing every ounce of power into it.
But the next moment—cracks spiderwebbed across the barrier.
"No… please don't break," she whispered, voice shaking.
The shield shattered anyway. The force hurled Lyrian back, and she slammed into the stone wall—right beside a barely conscious Reone. Both slumped, dazed.
When Lyrian's vision cleared, she looked at the evil bastard in front of her. Terror froze her—because the boss was coming to kill them. She crawled to her knees and slid in front of Reone, arms spread protectively.
The boss grinned cruelly.
"That's not going to be of any help, Sylph. I'll just take both of you down."
One of his clones stepped forward, hand raised. Lyrian looked around. No weapons. No power left. And no cards left to play.
This is it, she thought, bracing herself.
The clone swung—and froze.
A voice rang out behind Lyrian.
"Fireball!"
A thunderous crack split the air. The clone jerked forward as a blazing sphere of fire slammed into its back. It hit the ground next to Lyrian, unmoving.
Lyrian's eyes snapped open. "What—?"
She looked up. The boss and all his clones turned, stunned.
At the tunnel entrance, a group of young men and women stood, battle-ready, weapons drawn, faces fierce. Front and center—a red-haired girl, eyes glowing molten steel, fire coiling around her like a living aura, expression murderous.
"Mia!" Lyrian gasped, disbelief and relief flooding her voice. Her friends fell into formation behind her.
She smiled.
"Girls—everyone… you're here!"
Mia stepped forward, flames coiling tightly around her fists.
"Oh, we're here. And we're going to make this Extractor a lot uglier if he tries to mess with you again."
"And who are you supposed to be?" the Extractor boss demanded, fury twisting his features.
"We're their friends," Diamond said, pointing straight at him. "And your problem—if you don't do exactly what she says."
"Never," the Extractor sneered.
Sire's voice was calm, almost perfectly controlled.
"Then prepare to get crushed."
The boss snarled, rage twisting his face.
"We'll see who crushes who!" he shouted, charging with a battle cry.
The battle raged on, a chaotic symphony of crashing steel, screams, and clashing powers. But the arrival of Lyrian's friends had shifted the tide.
Mia went toe-to-toe with the real Extractor boss.Behind her, Diamond, Nova, and Seren moved like lightning,using their affinities to cut through the remaining Extractor clones with precision and raw force.
Diamond's light flared and seared through the air, blinding the enemy. Nova twisted and flipped, striking with pinpoint accuracy. Seren whipped torrents of water at the Extractors, each lash sharp and precise, making them scream in pain. Sire and Mickey moved without faltering, slashing through every Extractor in their path.
Inspired by her friends, Lyrian pushed herself up, brushing dirt and blood from her clothes. Her powers were still weak, but she refused to stay down—not when she could still fight.
With a sharp inhale, she dove back into the fray. Her fists and boots became instruments of her resolve, striking clones from every angle. Each punch and kick sent a clone staggering or flying back. Adrenaline surged through her veins, giving her a sense of strength.
Mia's focus never wavered, locked on the Extractor boss. She dodged a wild swing and countered with a precise blast to his face. He screamed, staggering back.
"You were saying something about crushing us earlier?" Mia taunted, her eyes smiling.
Anger twisted the boss's face as he lunged again. His movements were sloppy now, a dangerous contrast to Mia's controlled precision. She sidestepped, parried, and struck in perfect rhythm, each hit weakening him further. A crack opened in his defense, and Mia seized it, knocking him off his feet.
She advanced slowly, a dark smile playing on her lips.
She was no longer the victim bride.
"Dont," the Extractor hissed, eyes wide at her expression."No."
"Yes," she whispered.
"Magma Storm!"
Her hands ignited in roaring flames. Liquid fire licked and twisted like living serpents, consuming the Extractor entirely. His screams echoed through the cave, fading as hot magma engulfed him.
The remaining clones blinked out, disappearing like mist in the wind.
Everyone paused, breathing heavily, eyes scanning the cave.
"Where did they go?" Diamond asked, a light cataclysm simmering in her palm, ready for action.
"They're gone… it's over," Lyrian said, glancing at the charred remains of the Extractor boss and then at Mia, grimacing slightly at what she had done.
Diamond's lips curved into a small grin.
"And my outfit is still intact this time."
Lyrian couldn't help but smile at all of them, relief washing over her.
"I can't believe it… you guys are really here."
"We came as fast as we could," Seren said, stepping forward and wrapping Lyrian in a warm embrace.
"Sorry we're late," Nova added, joining with Mickey at Lyrian's side.
One by one, the others fell into formation around them, a combination of joy and exhaustion etched on their faces.
"You guys were just in time," Lyrian said between breaths, tears of joy stinging her eyes.
"Wait, where's—damn.Is that Reone," Seren said, looking at the unconscious form, fear in her voice.
Lyrian's expression shifted abruptly—her gaze fell to Reone, whom she had forgotten about in the moment. She broke free from Seren's hug, feeling more than a little guilty about that and panicking about his condition,which didnt look good.
"Reone!" she cried, rushing to his side, her hands shaking as she knelt beside him.