An ori-tandemon clutched behind a boulder with its eyes closed and legs crossed— almost as if it was meditating.
It murmured under its breath, voice thick with annoyance. "Why do I have to be the one to take care of the barrier?"
Behind the boulder, Augustine and Kocho sprinted away.
The demon groaned. "I'm letting two kids off because of this stupid job."
A voice broke through his thoughts. "Shut up! It's not like you're the only one who's taking care of the barrier."
A second ori-tandemon hid behind in the same mediative posture. It had a calm expression on its face and a girly figure. "I'm here too, you know? And I'm also letting two kids get away."
Behind the tree, Lawrence and Royal disappeared into the distance.
The first demon—the one behind the boulder—groaned again. "That doesn't make me feel any better."
"Relax." The second demon replied. "You can go on a rampage later. Right now, let's focus on keeping the masters out."
The first demon sighed. "But these kids are strong. I wanted to have some fun with them."
"Focus!" The second ori-tandemon snapped. "Or do you want the barrier to collapse?"
The first demon sighed. "Fine."
Silence settled between them as both demons concentrated, energy humming subtly through the air as the barrier held.
The first demon's eyes slowly opened.
"Hey."
The second demon also opened its eyes. "Yeah. I felt it too."
The first demon looked slightly to its left. "A group has entered the barrier." It frowned a little. "And their energy level is—"
Its eyes widened.
"That's..."
The second demon punched the ground. "That's master class energy." It lifted its gaze skyward. "Which means the barrier is useless now."
The first demon glanced in the direction Lawrence and Royal went through. "Tch. I can't believe I let my chance to have fun slip off for nothing."
Both demons rose to their feet.
"Dammit."
In a blur of motion, they bolted off.
— —
Desmond and Augustus stood back to back, staring at an ori-tandemon each. The air between them felt heavy, coiled tight with intent.
Desmond exhaled. "I think we should split up."
Augustus clicked his tongue. "Figures."
"From what I've heard, those things can copy the abilities of anyone they touch." Desmond added. "So don't fight mine."
Augustus' eyes narrowed. "Wasn't planning to."
Desmond veered left and charged toward the trees, eyes fixated on the demon that touched him.
Augustus's head turned sharply in Desmond's direction. "Hey idiot. Watch out."
Desmond turned a bit too late. A wind drill—larger, denser than Augustus's— ripped through the air in his way.
Lightning flashed around him instinctively, his sword snapped in his hands and he sliced through attack as it distinguished instantly.
But something else followed closely—the ori-tandemon that touched Augustus—towering over Desmond.
It grinned mischievously, wind spiraling around its limbs violenly. "I'd rather fight someone with a different ability."
Then—
Swoosh
Its right leg sliced through the air at Desmond who barely raised his sword to block.
The attack slammed hard, making the bones in his arms rattle while the pressure following hurled him backwards, crushing through the trees.
The demon leaped after him.
Augustus tried running after them. "Hold it." But then he saw the other ori-tandemon—the one that touched Desmond—stepped in his path making him stop abruptly.
Lightning flashed around the demon, a sword materialized in its grip as it swung the weapon in a brutal arc.
Augustus deflected the attack with one wind drill arm but then, another sword formed in the demon's other hand.
Lightning crawled on the weapon as the demon thrusted it at Augustus who brought his other arm—wind spiraling furiously around it in a drill—just in time to block it.
The demon grinned, eyes flashing evilly with electricity.
And then—
The two clashed on.
The demon rained quick lightning laced slashes with its swords at Augustus, giving him no breathing space while Augustus countered sharply, wind drills snapping forward.
— —
Desmond had barely recovered from the last attack when he leaped through tree branches, lightning snapping faintly around his limbs.
He glanced back, seeing the ori-tandemon that touched Augustus following him.
"Shit. Why'd I end up with this demon?"
He caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of one eye.
He looked back ahead to get a clear view and saw a girl—his age—slumped against a tree. Blood ran down one shoulder as her free hand pressed hard against the wound.
A dar-tandemon towered over her, its grin wide, crimson dripping from the blade it dragged along the ground.
Desmond noticed the mixture of pain and fear in the girl's expression.
Lightning crackled around him as he vaulted over, katana flashing into his grip, lightning crawling over its edge.
He got to the dar-tandemon and—
With one downward swing, the demon fell into two halves and Desmond landed on swift toes, back to the demon.
Then he straightened. "What the heck are you doing?"
The girl slid down the tree and collapsed at its base, staring up at his fearless expression in stunned silence, jaw tight as she forced her breathing under control.
Desmond's gaze flicked to her wound. Then back to the forest.
"How do you think warriors survive?" He said coldly. "Freezing up when evil's in front of you?"
The girl lowered her gaze, not bothering to argue back.
"Tch!" Desmond turned back to the ori-tandemon bursting through the trees. "Get out of here... now." The girl flinched at the command his tone carried.
"Go look for any masters. I'm sure they're on the island right now. You'll be safe with them."
The girl stared at Desmond who jumped and clashed with the ori-tandemon—katana with lightning crawling on it crashing against wind drills.
She slowly pushed herself up, hand still clutching her bleeding shoulder and hurried off.
— —
Rexford and his opponent fought on, multiple water torrents from each side lashing out so fast it could barely be seen.
Rexford clutched his sword, pointed down at the river, a water whip from its tip directed into the river.
He gritted his teeth, a frown creasing on his face. "So fast." He thought, eyes moving faster than he could calculate. "His whips. I can barely see them."
At one point, he stopped and jumped back as whips from the ori-tandemon thrusted into the river where he previously stood.
Before his feet could touch the surface again, the ori-tandemon burst from the water behind him, dragging a straight line across the river's skin before retreating.
Rexford's breath hitched—
Don't land there.
He twisted midair, slashing a perpendicular line across the mark.
A curtain of water surged upward, splitting cleanly in two at the point Rexford hovered—one wall rising on either side of him.
He made it safely through the curtain, a water whip trailing at the tip of his sword.
The demon grinned as a second sword appeared in its grip.
Rexford sprinted towards it, lashing at it with his whip.
The demon joined the hilts of his swords and spun it as the water beneath him rose, circulating and spinning along with the blades into a circular shield, blocking the whip.
Rexford backflipped thrice in a row before landing.
"Damnit. His techniques are more powerful. And he can use techniques even I haven't learned."
The demon rushed at him, not giving him enough breathing space. Rexford also moved forward, not having much of a choice.
— —
Emmanuel darted left as a torrent of fire roared past him, heat chasing at his heels.
An ori-tandemon stood several meters away, exhaling another stream of blazing fury.
"Ugh. How is his flames hotter than mine? He's just a copy cat." Emmanuel growled, dashing sideways to avoid another blast.
The flames stopped and so did Emmanuel, turning sharply and skidding to a stop.
Without wasting any time, he lunged at the demon, arm guard and sword igniting.
The demon also rushed forward, sword blazing as he and Emmanuel crossed collided.
Steel met steel.
Clang!
Swords bounced back, forcing both opponents half a step back—they surged forward again.
Clang! Clang-Clang!
They stopped, face to face with each other, weapons pushing back on each other.
Emmanuel pushed forward. "Damn... you."
The demon also pushed back, chuckling.
Flames burst from the crown of its head, trailing down the back of its skull to its neck. Its limbs also flared as its flaming sword blazed brighter.
The pressure increased instantly.
Emmanuel started being pushed back as his boots scraped backward across the ground.
"S–such insane strength…"
Heat battered his face.
"How the heck am I supposed to beat this guy?"
...
All four boys—Augustus, Desmond , Rexford and Emmanuel—were now in deep trouble, facing off against opponents that stood on an entirely different level.
But then, right at that moment, something shifted. All four boys grinned from where they stood.
"Finally a real opponent I can test my full strength on."
The energy pressure around them flared up, eyes glowing bright as they chanted.
"Now, I'm all fired up."