Yukki tosses Kaito and Dante into his dorm room. "LOW PROFILE!?" Yukki yells at them.
Kaito scoffs. "He was messing with Dante!"
Dante nervously looks away. Yukki furrows his brow. "Yeah Dennis is a piece of work, but he has favors with Kenta, he was personally admitted to this school, what if he found out you were wanted, the whole plan goes sky high!"
Rika raises her hand. "Right, what was the plan again?" She asks.
Yukki groans, rubbing his face in an attempt to hold back his anger. "I'll take the crown hand it over to the headmaster when you guys are gone, You guys go over to Renji with the teleporter across town get Nyla, and show Onslaught had nothing to do with this, and boom."
Kaito stands atop Yukki's table. "And I whoop Renji!" Yukki calmly pulls Kaito from on top of the table with a nod.
The door opens, and everyone turns as Nanami is frantically pacing around. Rika giggles pointing. "Look she's in thinking mode again!"
Nanami goes over to Yukki, expression serious. "Is their a chance he would attack the school directly?" She asks.
Yukki opens his mouth to answer, but Nanami answers before him. "Right of course not, what C rank mage would be dumb enough to attack a place, crawling with evolved fighters?" Nanami continues.
Yukki nods and goes to answer once more before Nanami starts again. "But what if the evolvers had to go away, for something that would leave the place vulnerable!" She finally finishes.
Yukki looks at her and slowly nods. "Because facility has to do a mandatory meeting with the empire, so if he was going to show..."
He begins and Nanami nods along as he puts it together.
Yukki and the others burst out of the dorm building, boots pounding against stone.
"I didn't think about this," Yukki muttered, teeth clenched. "I figured we'd be safe inside the school walls."
They weren't.
Within minutes, they were off campus and swallowed by the heart of Arsaw, towering buildings, narrow streets, and the echo of distant crowds pressing in from all sides. There was nowhere left to run.
"Whatever you guys were getting ready for," Yukki said quickly, already reaching out, "now's the time. Give me the crown, I'll teleport you to Kuni."
Kaito grinned, nerves hidden behind confidence. "I've learned a bunch. We're gonna win this!" he declared.
"Is that so?"
The voice came from behind them.
They turned.
Con stood in the street, hands casually tucked into his pockets, a crooked smile on his face.
Yukki snarled. "You again!" The memory of their first encounter burned fresh in his mind, too fresh.
Con chuckled. "Man, you've got terrible luck. Every time I'm doing my job, you're the one who has to lose."
He glanced over his shoulder. "Yo, Isamu! They're over here!"
A moment later, Isamu jogged up beside him, red hair blazing like a warning sign.
Yukki drew his sword, steel ringing through the street. "You should've stayed away. I'm not like these adventurers."
Rika raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Rude."
"Focus!" Yukki snapped.
Nanami scanned the rooftops and alleyways, anxiety creeping into her voice. "Just the two of you? Even if you're stronger, you're outnumbered!"
A low, rough laugh answered her, from behind.
Yukki's grip tightened.
Renji stepped forward from the shadows, flanked by the other man from before. His eyes were cold, impatient.
"I'm done playing games," Renji said. "I'm running out of time. Hand over the crown, or get out of my way."
Dante groaned. "Nanami… everyone knows you never say that."
Kaito cracked his knuckles, smiling anyway. "Heck yeah. Round two!" While also, stuffing the crown back into his bag.
More footsteps echoed down the street...slow, uneven.
Another enemy?
No.
"Oh dang! Sorry I'm late, friend!" Toni staggered into view, leaning against a wall, panting. "I was talkin' to that..." He froze. "Oh crap. Is that Renji?!"
He straightened instantly, hand going to his weapon.
Yukki shakes his head at the entire group. This was seriously all that stood between, liberty region empire forces, and the master guild onslaught?
Nanami grits her teeth. "You're entire plan is baseless, there's nothing for you to gain in a war, even if the stronger parties kill each other, what room does that give someone like you to do anything!"
Renji begins laughing. "Exactly right, what would a C rank gain from evolvers killing one another, if they lost their seats of power, they'd just put another evolver in the seat."
Kaito and the others tense up, no way was he about to explain his entire plan, just like that?
"That would be unless, that low tier that everyone looked right over, could somehow harness the power of the fallen power."
Kaito didn't understand what he meant. Neither did Rika apparently. "You're such an idiot, why do you monologue!?"
Renji laughs once more. "Don't you see, i've made no attempt to hide anything, truth be told, i'm not worried about a possibility that any of you are capable of stopping me, also, do you really think the empire would take a claim that a C tier was behind this seriously?"
They all then came to a realization. If his plan did work. It was plausible for him to actually become a figure of power.
Yukki slams his boot into the ground. "Not a chance, Elysian first year, Yukki Reitz, all of you are under arrest."
WHOOSH!
Renji launched himself straight at Kaito, the ground cracking beneath his feet.
"TRY AND STOP ME!"
Kaito twisted aside just in time. Renji's punch missed by inches—and Kaito countered, driving his fist hard into Renji's ribs.
The impact thundered.
Renji didn't even flinch.
He laughed.
"That tickled."
Renji clamped down on Kaito's arm, veins bulging, and swung him like a ragdoll. Kaito smashed through a nearby building, stone and wood erupting outward. Screams rang through the street as townsfolk scattered.
"This is bad, cover's blown! We end this now!" Yukki barked.
Con lunged at him, sword flashing in a wide arc. Yukki met it head-on, steel screaming against steel. With a sharp stomp, Yukki triggered his magic.
The ground beneath Con exploded upward into a spear of stone.
"WOAH!"
Con barely flipped clear before it impaled the space he'd been standing in.
He didn't get a second to breathe. "Getting some new tricks are we-"
A point-blank energy blast slammed into his chest, hurling him through a wall. Rubble rained down. Yukki didn't pause, guess he wasn't one for in battle banter.
Isamu seized the opening.
A surge of flame crashed into Yukki's back. Yukki snarled, teeth grinding as he spun, cloak burning at the edges. He leapt, blade flashing downward.
Isamu blocked, but Con was already back in motion.
He charged, only for Dante to intercept, steel clashing as Dante countered aggressively. Con raised a hand, magic twisting.
Dante's blade ripped free from his grip and yanked him forward. Con stepped in and drove a brutal punch into Dante's face, nearly dropping him.
Dante skidded back, slammed his palm down.
Ice spread instantly across the street.
He slid across it, regaining balance, then rocketed forward, skating into a slashing attack aimed straight at Con.
"Jay! Take the others!" Renji shouted.
The massive man answered immediately.
Jay charged Rika, and suddenly stood before a towering dragon.
Rika smirked.
Jay didn't hesitate. "Illusions won't fool me."
He reached out to dispel it.
CRACK.
A massive hammer smashed him square in the face. Jay flew.
Rika didn't wait around.
"Now, Toni!" Nanami shouted, sprinting in.
"Ain't gotta tell me twice N!" Toni struck a chord. The air vibrated as magic surged, empowering Nanami with every step.
Nanami thrust her arm forward. "GURA!" She yelled she blasted a sphere from her arm. (Her new weapon, instead of pulling pure elara straight from the air, this sphere now held it in to a certain amount, than after it was fully charged it can be released as an attack.)
The blast struck Jay mid-rise and sent him hurtling across the street.
Toni whistled. "That thing's nasty."
Nanami reset her stance. "He's not finished."
She was smiling anyway.
Jay came flying back into the fight. Rika instantly cast another illusion. Jay tore straight through it, charging Nanami.
"GURA!"
The sphere snapped back into Nanami's hand instead of firing.
Jay braced.
Nothing hit him.
Rika did.
She slammed a knee into his temple mid-air. "BAM!" She called.
Nanami stepped forward. "Just as anticipated, you lack any actual kinds of offensive magic, I guess you posses some form of defensive amplification, because despite the heavy attacks that have landed you remain unharmed."
Jay laughed as he pushed himself up."Smart, but not smart enough!"
He surged forward, fist crashing into Nanami's guard. The impact launched her backward, boots scraping across stone.
"You only landed hits 'cause I wasn't ready!"
Jay turned and charged Toni.
Rika burst from another illusion.
Jay grinned. "Got you!"
He spun, swinging wide. Rika dodged with wind magic, but the force threw her off balance. She collided with Toni.
The music stopped.
The magic faded.
Jay turned back to Nanami, eyes burning.
"Thought brains were enough?!"
Nanami raised her guard.
Jay feinted high and drove a crushing blow into her side. Pain tore through her body, nearly knocking her unconscious.
Elsewhere, Yukki dominated.
Isamu was fast, but Yukki was faster. Stronger. Ruthless.
Yukki slipped under another wild swing and slammed Isamu into the ground. His blade hovered inches from Isamu's face.
"It's over," Yukki said coldly. "You're under arrest."
Kaito was thrown beside them, rolling to a stop in the rubble.
Isamu stared at the destruction around him.
The pain.The failure.The way Yukki looked down at him.
Something broke.
He lifted his hand.
Yukki braced, but Kaito felt it surge, a crushing wave of power that made his vision blur.
"YUKKI, GET BACK!" Kaito shouted.
Isamu unleashed it.
A blinding explosion swallowed the street, annihilating everything within a three-block radius.