Weston's vision blurred as he staggered back, disbelief gripping his voice.
"No… it can't be. How did he escape?"
Without waiting another second, he turned and launched himself forward, chasing after Michael.
Lyra's voice cut through the air.
"Stop. This is our fight. You already gave up, Weston."
He didn't slow down.
"I need to stop him before he opens it!"
Lyra stepped forward, her tone turning cold.
"Weston… this is your end."
Still, he kept moving — driven by desperation.
Lyra's eyes narrowed.
"I said stop it."
For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath.
Her irises ignited into a deep emerald green.
Her expression shifted — no longer the girl who had been fighting… but something far more lethal.
A surge of green energy erupted from her body.
The sky darkened.
Winds howled.
Clouds twisted violently as thunder roared across the heavens.
Lightning split the storm apart.
The energy shot forward like living chains — wrapping around Weston's massive robotic body mid-air.
The machine shuddered.
Cracks spread.
Then—
It shattered.
Metal tore apart piece by piece, exploding into fragments that scattered across the storm-filled sky.
Weston hung suspended in the air…
Bound tightly in glowing green energy.
His body broken.
His breath weak.
Injured —
…but still alive.
The air trembled.
A deep, violent rumble rolled beneath their feet—GRRRRRAAAAAHHHHM! The ground cracked as if something ancient had awakened beneath it.
Hiyori steadied herself, eyes sharp.
"What happened here? The ground is shaking—"
The stone floor split open.
From the darkness of a shattered locker, something massive slithered out. Scales scraped against metal with a chilling SHHHHHK… KRRRRSSSHHH…
A serpent.
Its body coiled like living armor, eyes glowing with cold intelligence.
Hina inhaled sharply. "I forgot to mention… there is a guardian. It protects this book."
Hiyori didn't look away from the creature. "Why is this book so important? Why does Lyra need it?"
Yuki's voice trembled. "She didn't tell us. She only said, 'Find the Book of Power.' So we searched… and then—"
The serpent moved.
In a blur of scales and shadow—WHOOSSH!—it lunged.
Its massive coils wrapped around Yuki.
"Ahh—!" she gasped as she was lifted into the air. "Why can't I use my power?!"
The serpent's eyes flared.
Hina's expression hardened. "It absorbs energy."
With a violent flick—THRAAAAM!—the serpent hurled Yuki across the chamber. She crashed against the wall and fell.
Hiyori rushed to her side. "Are you alright?"
Yuki winced. "When it grabbed me… my powers disappeared."
Hina stepped forward, fists clenched. "If we want to defeat it, we must attack with raw force."
Hiyori glanced at her. "You mean… a physical fight?"
"Yes."
Silence fell for half a second.
Then Hiyori stood.
"Fine," she said softly. "But if you touch someone close to me…"
Her eyes darkened.
"…you'll regret it."
She sprinted forward.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Her foot collided with the serpent's scaled body—BAM!
No scratch.
She punched its face—CRACK!
Nothing.
The serpent's jaws opened with a monstrous hiss. In an instant, it seized her.
A freezing numbness spread through her limbs.
"My body… I can't move…"
Its power drained her strength. Darkness crept at the edge of her vision.
I have two options, she thought. And it seems… I must choose.
With trembling fingers, she reached into her hair.
Hidden within her long black strands was a slender blade—disguised as an elegant Chinese hair stick.
With a sudden burst of will—
SHHHHK!
Steel flashed.
She slashed across the serpent's body.
For the first time—
It bled.
Dark crimson splattered across the floor—SPLAAASH!
The serpent recoiled with a deafening roar.
Hiyori dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. The sword dripped in her hand, coated in blood.
Slowly… she stood.
Her hair fell free around her shoulders, no longer tied back. Her eyes burned with something far more dangerous than fear.
Fury.
"When someone hurts my family… my friends…" her voice trembled with restrained rage, "or the ones I love…"
The serpent hissed, wounded.
She lifted the blood-soaked blade.
"I don't forgive."
The air grew still.
"I destroy their lives."
Her gaze locked onto the creature.
"And this time… it's you."
The chamber echoed with the sound of steel tightening in her grip.
CLIIIING.Hina's breath caught in her throat.
"Hiyori…"
Hiyori slowly lifted her head.
The serpent's torn flesh began to twist and mend before her eyes. The deep wound she had carved only seconds ago sealed itself with a sickening sound—SSSSSHHHHKKK… CRRRRKKK… Scales reformed. Blood vanished. Skin hardened once more.
Hiyori's eyes widened. "That's impossible… How can it regenerate?"
Yuki forced herself up, voice weak. "The energy it absorbed from me… it's using it to heal."
Hiyori's mind raced. "The energy it absorbs… can it use it endlessly? Or does it run out after one use?"
There was no time to calculate.
She dashed forward again—THUD! WHOOSH!—her blade slicing through the air. Steel met scale with a violent CLANG! SHRRRAK! She cut, spun, struck from different angles.
Suddenly—
WHAM!
The serpent's massive tail lashed toward her.
Hiyori twisted mid-air and dodged, landing lightly. "Hina! Take Yuki! She can't move right now!"
Hina rushed to Yuki's side, but her eyes flickered toward Hiyori—silent question, silent worry.
Hiyori smirked despite the danger. "You oversized snake… take this!"
She leapt and drove a kick into its face—BOOM!
Nothing.
The serpent's jaws opened wide.
A dark sphere formed in its throat.
"Wait—"
FOOOOSSSHHH!
A cloud of poisonous smoke exploded across the chamber, swallowing the room in thick violet haze.
"Hina!" Hiyori shouted. "Run! Take Yuki with you! I'll handle this!"
Yuki coughed. "I can't leave! He released poison gas—how will you escape? Come with us!"
Hiyori's silhouette stood firm within the smoke.
"I don't step back from a fight."
Her voice was calm. Final.
"You go. I'll kill him."
Hina clenched her jaw. "Yuki, we have one chance to get the book. We can bring the man who owns this snake."
Yuki looked confused. "But isn't he our enemy? Why would he help us?"
Hina shook her head. "He's not our enemy. Not truly. He's inside Zero's body. Let's go. I trust Hiyori."
Before Yuki could protest again, Hina pulled her away, disappearing into the smoke-filled corridor toward the laboratory—to find Michael.
Back in the chamber—
Hiyori closed her eyes.
A soft pink glow began to radiate from her body.
HMMMMM…
Energy pulsed like a heartbeat. The poison burns faded. Her wounds sealed. The pink aura wrapped around her like living petals, restoring her strength.
She opened her eyes.
"Round two."
She rushed the serpent again, blade flashing in precise arcs. She shifted styles—low stance, spinning strike, upward slash—each movement sharper than before.
CLANG! SHHHK! THRRAAASH!
But every wound she created began to mend.
"You're stubborn," she muttered.
The pink aura intensified.
Her sword began to shine, coated in radiant energy. The air vibrated around her.
"Now… take this."
She stepped forward, drawing the blade back.
"Blossom Cut."
The energy exploded outward as she slashed.
SHHHHIIIIIIIIING!
A crescent of pink light tore through the serpent's body.
The upper half of its massive torso split open—blood spraying across the walls—SPLAAAT!
For the first time—
The serpent screamed.
It tried to regenerate.
But nothing happened.
Its body trembled.
It felt pain.
Fury overtook it.
With a savage roar, its tail whipped forward—WHOOOM!—striking Hiyori's sword and sending it flying across the chamber. The blade clattered far away—CLIIIING!
Before she could react—
The serpent coiled around her completely.
CRRRRKKK!
It tightened its grip, crushing the air from her lungs.
Then it began to drain.
Her pink aura flickered violently.
Energy flowed from her body into the serpent like light being swallowed by darkness.
Hiyori's vision blurred.
Her arms fell limp.
The glow around her faded.
Her breathing slowed.
The strength in her eyes dimmed as her body weakened in the serpent's crushing hold.
For the first time—
Hiyori looked like she might lose.