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Chapter Text

1

Hansung took a sip from his coffee. He had just dismissed Lero Ro to perform the crown game and was now smiling at his own geniusness. Suddenly, two figures appeared in front of him. One was a man with spiky black hair and a black mask with gold and red highlights on it. He donned a black cloak with red swirls on it and a gold bracelet with a symbol of open doors on his right wrist. Next to him was a taller woman with long brown hair and tips dyed a deep red. She donned a gold short dress with a red jacket with the same open door symbol on her right shoulder. She had a long scar running down diagonally on her left leg and covered her eyes with a gold mask with paler brown highlights on it. Hansung perked up, “Ah, what a pleasant sight to see, Ms. E and Mr. H. What a surprise to see two FUG members here. Now, why shouldn’t I report you two for intruding on testing grounds?”

E crossed her arms, voice constantly shifting due to the voice modifier on her pocket, “Because, deep sea fish, we’re both allies for the same goal of defeating Jahad and unlocking the way to the 135th floor. Would you relax? We have no interest in doing anything drastic, we just want to watch the tests and we’ll even help to take care of any intruders. Or have our centuries of loyalty to the organization not proven ourselves yet?” Even behind her mask, she was carrying a bone-chilling glare that almost scared the other man. 

Hansung sighed, “How demanding of a woman who won’t even share their real voice or upper half of their face. If I may ask, what are you planning on doing?”

 E replied, “We may disagree on the idea of how to handle Jue Viole Grace, but there’s no need to worry. We won’t interfere in your plans. We’re simply going to act to protect the two princesses in these tests. Nothing more.”

Hansung turned to H, “Is this true, Mr. H?” H nodded, remaining stoically silent. Slowly, Hansung got to his feet, causing H to summon his inventory instinctively. E also raised her fists, but Hansung simply walked over to his coffee machine, “I do have to say, the two of you hold much mystery among those in FUG. Two figures who seem to have no past before their appearance 5 centuries ago. You hold extreme powers and seem to know more than you lead on. The two of you even are able to enter Regular areas without much trouble, how come? How can you go against the tower’s rules so easily without the guardians batting an eye? I have to admit I’m curious.”

E grinned, hiding a tint of nervousness behind her words, “A woman has to have her secrets, you know? Men like you don’t understand, that’s what makes us attractive beyond just looks. Otherwise things are just too boring.” She spun around, her hair swaying behind her like itself was turning it back to the blond. Without another word, she strutted out of the room. After another beat of staring at Hansung with caution, H turned as well and followed after her. 

Once they left, Hansung smiled as well, a more genuine smile than he had before, “Well then, that could throw a wrench into things.” Calmly, he picked up his coffee and took a sip and set it back down, shattering the cup to bits. Unfazed, he sighed, “Ah, what a mess. I really should learn to control myself better.”   

Staring out to the fake shinsu sky, E felt a pressure on her shoulder from behind. Glancing behind her, she spotted the source being none other than H, who showed worry underneath his mask. After so many years of donning these masks, the two got good at reading each other’s silent expressions even without seeing the upper half of their heads. E smiled softly and assured, “I’m totally fine, H. Just got zoned out with the past is all! You seriously worry too much, you know.” She summoned her pocket and brought up an ID only labeled ‘W’. Hitting call, she informed the man on the other end, “E to W, we convinced the Deep Sea Fish. We’re in. We’ll continue as planned.” Hanging up, she turned back to look at the sky, Finally, things are gonna get fun. 

An hour later, the crown game had ended and the two received permission to visit the Regulars on the floor. Almost subconsciously, E found herself wandering through the halls, reaching a door labeled ‘The 25th Bam’. Hesitantly, E caught herself before she could grab the doorknob, No, it’s too dangerous to act too soon. I can’t risk things or I’ll never hear the end of it from the others. As she turned to leave, her eyes darted to a familiar blond with freckles and a dirt colored cloak. Forcing a smile, she walked over to the girl, “Ah, you must be Rachel, or er- Michelle, I guess. Hansung mentioned you to me when I arrived. Glad to see you’ve survived this far.”

Confused, the girl peered up at her, “Are you… also here to help me climb? Like Hansung and Hwaryun?”

E assured, “Don’t worry, my partner and I are her to ensure that both you and the boy will receive everything you both deserve.” Behind her back, she snapped a pen, spilling the ink all over her hand. Attempting to hide her mess and keeping herself from breaking her act, she bowed her head, “I cannot wait to see what our main character can accomplish. If you have the guts to do it, of course.”

Rachel narrowed her gaze, an offended tone sharpening her words, “I can. You have no need to doubt me. Now if you’d excuse me, I have something I need to do.” Roughly, she shoved past the Ranker and rang the other Irregular’s doorbell. 

Scowling, E took that as her opportunity to leave, going back to her task of wandering through the halls of the Regulars. Her eyes darted down the hall to two small girls, a green skinned lizard girl and a taller girl with brunette hair cut in a bob. Using shinsu, E cloaked herself in shadows to get within earshot. The brunette girl, Endorsi Jahad, pushed off the wall to ask the other girl, “Do you… even know who the owner of the Black March is?”

The lizard girl, Anaak, replied, “I don’t care.”

Endorsi continued, ignoring her, “Yuri Jahad. She’s one of Jahad’s princesses to receive one of the 13 Month Series in the past five centuries. She’s a prodigy fisherman who became a high Ranker in less than a century after becoming a Ranker. She’s feared by young Rankers because of her vicious temper… Did you know that? Don’t get killed acting cocky. I know who you are. You fake.” Anaak spun to punch her, but the girl flipped out of the way. She turned and walked off, waving to Anaak, “I warned you. Don’t blame me later.”

Before she could leave, Anaak spoke up, “Hey, spooky eyes. One question.” 

She spun around, snapping, “Who’s - Who’s spooky eyes?”

Anaak grumbled, “You, jerk. Anyway, I’ve got a question. That girl, Rachel, on your team. Who is she? Bam seemed to know her…”

“I don’t know. I first saw her during the test and we just happened to team up. The huge guy had already been with her. Anyway, when I first met her, I felt that I shouldn’t fight her. That’s why I decided to team up with her for now.”

Anaak repeated, “You felt that you shouldn’t fight her?” 

“Yeah. It’s hard to explain.”

“Is she that strong?”

The girl shook her head, “No, not really. The huge one is strong, but Rachel… Well, I guess I should say… She’s different. She feels like someone who lived in a different world. ”

Hearing this, E chuckled to herself, Oh yeah, absolutely. In several ways. After a second, Anaak stomped off, leaving Endorsi behind. Taking the opening, E stepped out from the shadows, “Hey girl. We need to talk.” 

Surprised, Endorsi spun around, “Who are you? Were you eavesdropping on us?”

E smirked, “Wouldn’t you like to know? Look, as a Ranker I’m here to offer advice. Make sure whatever you do, you do with a clear head.”

“Hm? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Oh, but you do. Anaak’s orphan. You’re on the fence between turning her in or helping her up the tower, aren’t you?” Endorsi paused, clearly startled, causing E’s smile to grow, “You Regulars are so easy to read, it’s almost amusing. Look, I’ll be blunt. I have friends in FUG. If you’re not going to help her, they can. She can be a useful tool against Jahad. A stain that can’t be removed, it’ll be a good way to mock him, don’t you think?” Endorsi’s surprise morphed into a more bothered expression, but remained silent. E sighed, waving her hand, “Figures. A Jahad princess can’t risk her title over a stain on the family. After all, in the tower, you can’t afford to care about anyone except yourself, just like a bad guy would. Oh well, it’ll be fun to break her.” With that, E brushed past the Regular. 

Behind her, she could faintly make out Endorsi scowling, “Good. That imposter had it too easy. She deserves to suffer more for receiving the power of Jahad the easy way.” But her tone revealed her true feelings being more hesitant to believe those words. E grinned, Hook line and sinker. Regulars are just too easy, especially the princesses. 

Meanwhile, H stood out on the balcony, running through his martial arts skills, though even those are second nature to him by this point. From the door, a voice spoke up, “Hey, you wanted to speak to me?” Spinning around, H spotted the source of the voice, Hatz. H simply nodded as Hatz walked over, “Ignoring the fact you somehow already have my pocket information despite the fact we’ve never met, what could you want with me?” H summoned his pocket, confusing the Regular. A second later, a ding rang out, causing the boy to summon his own pocket. Reading it, Hatz glanced up to the Ranker, “You want to train me in exchange for a favor later on? Why should I trust you, a Ranker who’s not even supposed to be here? Why are you here? Who are you?” H summoned his pocket to reply, but Hatz cut him off, “And why won’t you just tell me with your own words? Your pocket clearly works.” H shook his head and pointed to his neck, namely the faint scar that ran horizontally along the front. Looking at it, Hatz realized, “You’re mute? But you’re a Ranker, why not use shinsu to heal it?” H shook his head, his lips pursed in a frown that almost seemed… sad. 

A message appeared that read, ‘No, it is my punishment for my weakness… my failure. I keep it as a reminder.’ Despite it being the truth, H also said it because he knew it would win over the Regular’s trust. After one more second of hesitation, Hatz agreed without any of his other questions being answered. H sighed, He’s still too trusting if that’s all it took. How naive. 

The next week passed with the two Rankers doing nothing super important. H mainly trained Hatz to not be so dependent on his blade alone and E just kept edging on the two princesses and spied on the wave controller class. She could see Hoh’s growing frustration much clearer and the bastard Ren train Bam. One of the days, as Bam left class to find Khun, E approached him, “Hey! Bam, right?”

Bam perked up, “Oh! You’re the Ranker woman Endorsi and Anaak are with!”

E chuckled nervously, “Yeah, well, we don’t really get along… like… at all… But I wanted to talk to you. You're pretty interesting with how gifted you are with shinsu. Can I talk to you privately?” Hesitantly, Bam nodded. The two entered E’s room, given to her by Hansung and shared with H, and took a seat on the bed. 

Bam blinked, “So, what did you want to talk about miss…”

E finished, “E. You can just call me E. My partner is H.”

“Ms. E, what do you want to talk to me about?”

“Well, I just wanted to come out and say, we both know you and Rachel are Irregulars.”

Bam shot up, “What? How-”

E smiled and assured, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. H would have my head if I sold you two out. He’s too boring to want to stir trouble like that. But I won’t tell you how we know, that would remove what little fun I can have left. I’ll tell you one day. When you’re ready.” Bam let out a breath of relief and sat back down. E crossed her arms, leaning towards him with a grin, “But I have to ask, why did you choose to follow Rachel into a place as dangerous as the tower? Surely Headon told you what you’d be getting into, right?” 

Bam lowered his head, “I know. It’s super dangerous. But that doesn’t matter if I can just stay by Rachel! She’s… my everything. All I knew was darkness before she came. So I'll do anything to be with my light.”

E sighed, “How innocent. But I get it, she’s your beginning. Without her you wouldn’t be who you are. I have someone in my life who made me feel the same way. Just… make sure you understand what you may have to sacrifice to stay by her side, alright? In my time climbing I’ve seen betrayal too many times to count and I’ve… annoyingly had to clean up the messes they’ve left behind.” Her voice faded off towards the end as she felt herself fall back into her past, her chest aching for reasons she could place. 

Noticing this, Bam spoke up, “Um… Ms. E, who was your star? What happened to them?” 

Snapping back to reality, E forced a smile, “Oh nothing super tragic! We just grew apart is all. He probably doesn’t even remember me, heh. He had so much greater things to achieve than some girl like me.” 

Bam smiled, “Well I hope he realizes his mistake for leaving behind such a fantastic person like you, Ms. E. I have to go find Khun now, but it was nice talking to you!” He stood up and ran out of the room.

E smiled and waved goodbye, but her smile dropped the moment he left her view, “Oh Bam… if only you knew how wrong you are.” 

The next day, she walked out to find Endorsi ordering food in the cafeteria. Putting on her classic confident cocky smile, E strutted over to the princess, who was glaring at Bam’s group. E teased, “Oh? Is the cold hearted princess longing for the friendship that peasants bathe in? Well isn’t this a sight.” 

Endorsi growled, “Oh great. It’s you. Here to make fun of me being weak again?”

E shook her head, “No. No, that would be way too easy. I’m here to encourage you. Go make some friends. They’ll be useful to achieve your goals of going up the tower. Whether as a rebel or a loyalist, they’d be willing to stand by you.”

Endorsi narrowed her gaze, “And how do you know that?”

“Because I take the time to talk to them,” retorted E, “Like a normal person. Trust me, I tried to think of everyone as enemies. Almost failed immediately. Luckily they were stubborn as hell to help me, so it worked out in the end. Save yourself the headache and go.” She shoved the other girl forward towards the table before turning to the chefs to order. Scowling, Endorsi walked over to the table to take a seat next to Bam.

Damn bitch, but if I don’t do it she’ll just bother me more. She’s not gonna be fucking right, I just have to fake it. She forced a smile and got lost in the conversation, soon finding herself not having to fake interest in moments. Dammit that bitch has a point. These guys are annoying, but they’re actually decent people. Too bad I’ll have to step over them if I want to climb. Oh well, it’ll be easier to gain their trust this way. Little did she know, E was watching the scene from a table nearby, smiling with a glimmer of success. 

After a couple weeks, E was placed in charge of the fisherman test for Hex to make her visit useful to Hansung and the other Rankers. Flying over the Regulars, E instructed, “Alright Regulars, my name is E, your instructor for this test today. The aim of the test is to be the last one standing. You get it? Starting now, jump from pillar to pillar and make the others fall until only 8 of you remain on the pillars. The only weapon you can use is the needle that I gave you, and the result of the test will have a big impact on your final results. So, any questions?”

Endorsi raised her hand, “I’ve got a question! People could die if they fall from this height. Is there any protection?”

“There is, but it’s not perfect. If you fall, there’s a high chance that you’ll become so injured that you won’t be able to take the next class. In other words, if you fail this test, it’s almost the same as failing the class. Let’s start the test! Ready, go!” Yawning, E condensed the shinsu beneath her and sat down on it. Bored, she watched as few conflicts emerged, but many remained in place, too scared to try anything. After a few seconds, however, things became interesting as smoke rose from one of the platforms where Anaak stood across from Endorsi. 

On the platform, Endorsi asked, “Gosh… Do you have the IQ of a lizard, too? You know I’m a princess of Jahad and yet you challenge me?”

Anaak charged at her, leaping to strike from above, “Don’t you get it? I’m here because you are a princess of Jahad. Everytime I see the symbol of Jahad in your hair I just want to break you into pieces!” She went for the strike, but the princess sped out of the way and to the other end of the platform. 

Staring her down, Endorsi asked, “Do you think you can beat me without the Green April? Don’t look down on a real princess of Jahad.”

Anaak mocked, “Real princess? Was there ever a real one among the princesses of Jahad? You’re also a fake, Endorsi Jahad.”

Glaring, Endorsi tossed aside her needle, a bright glow of shinsu forming around her feet, “That’s absurd. You call me a fake? I don’t care about you calling yourself a daughter of Jahad. But if you’re doing it because you don’t know the difference between the fake and real one, you need a lesson.” She straightened herself up to charge, “I don’t know how good a fake you are, but be prepared. A real luxury good is obvious when you try it on.”   

The two girls zipped across platforms, Anaak scoffing, “Didn’t you say you’ll show me what a true princess is? Stop running from me!” 

Endorsi turned to the guy with the large ponytail from before and nudged him. Instinctively, he went for a swing, but Anaak punched him off the platform as Endorsi warned nearby, a sweet smile on her face, “Be careful.”

Anaak turned back to the taller girl, “You jerk!” The two kept leaping across platforms until they reached Deod’s, who tried to swing at Endorsi, but the girl sped behind him.

She grabbed his arm, “That’s not how you use the needle, Mr. Swordsman.”

Deod panicked, “What… are you doing?”

She guided him to stab at Anaak repeatedly, the other girl narrowly dodging, “There. Hold it like this. Softly, but simply! Using your strength, aim at a spot. Like this.”

Meanwhile, Deod awed, Her strength… gosh!

Endorsi continued attacking Anaak using Deod, “Like how the eels swim in the shinsu. With poise and beauty. Turn.” She spun him around just in time to take a kick from Anaak to the face. With that, he flew over the edge, screaming. Endorsi gasped with fake guilt, “Oh my. How could I dump a guy after fooling around with him? What a sinful girl, Endorsi.” The camera followed her as she reached a bird man and casually kicked him over the edge. Her, and the camera, turned back to Anaak. “Nine more left?” 

Anaak glared, “You.. Are you planning to run away until 8 are left?” 

Glancing up to where E was watching, Endorsi realized, If she chose to watch over this test, there must be a reason. Does that mean… is this where i’m gonna have to choose? Whether I go up with this imposter or hand her over to Jahad or the terrorists to play with? Dammit… Endorsi called out, “Hey, you’re Anaak Jahad’s orphan, aren’t you? My only niece in this tower. Anaak Jahad. After she was chosen as the princess, she rushed to be a Ranker, and she received the Green April due to her prowess. But after a while, she fell in love with a guy. They loved each other in secret, but a problem arose. She had a baby. But she couldn’t give up her baby, so she decided to give birth to it. So the two ran away and lived with the baby. Jahad became furious when he learned of this and he ordered them to be found and killed. They were found soon after and were killed. But Anak Jahad’s Green April was never recovered. So there was this rumor in the castle. That Anaak’s daughter was alive, and that she had taken the Green April. I didn’t really believe in that rumor. But when I found you at the crown game, I discovered that the rumor was true. And I decided to give up on the crown game and take the test with you. Well… there was someone that asked me to do so, as well. I wanted to meet you. If you were alive and I could meet you, I wanted to ask you something. Why did my sister choose misfortune, my niece?” 

Surprised, Anaak found herself falling quiet, clearly thinking back to her time in the past with her parents before they were captured and killed. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke, “My mom was happy. She liked chicken pies. She lived with the only cook in our town who knew how to make chicken pies. The only misfortune for my mom… was that her favorite chicken pie cook died at the hands of her own sisters. I’m here to avenge the chicken pie cook, Endorsi Jahad. I’m going to kill every Jahad in this tower to get my revenge. That’s my only goal. Because I’m Anaak Jahad.” 

She bent over to attack, but Endorsi cut her off, “Then I want to help you.” Both girls stiffened with surprise. What am I doing? Ah whatever, guess I’m gonna have to follow through. Endorsi continued, trying to explain to both her conscience and Anaak, “Anaak was my sister too! I wasn’t a princess when she was attacked, so I have no part in her death! Besides, I’m too interesting to be the same old rule-following princess, but climbing with my only niece will certainly stir up the drama and attention that I deserve.”

Anaak growled, “So it’s only to benefit yourself.”

“Man you really are an idiot, brat. Here I am offering my help as a real princess and you’re turning me away?” Endorsi facepalmed, “You think the other princesses will give you the time of day? You’re weak, but fake or not you’re family so I wanna go up the tower with you. So get that through that thick lizard skull of yours!” 

Anaak shot out, using shinsu to enforce her movements, “What kind of bullshit lie is that?” 

Endorsi’s eyes widened, She’s strengthening her body using shinsu? Can she already use it? We learned it just yesterday! She barely managed to dodge out of the way, shouting, “It’s the truth!” Her eyes darted up to where E watched with an amused smirk and an idea struck the Regular, “If you let me help you, I can find out which Ranker killed your mom!”

Again, Anaak stuiffened, her eyes going wide with surprise and shock, “...What?”  

Bingo, simple lizard brat. Endorsi grinned, “There’s someone on this floor who is very likely to know who was responsible for the assassination. So stop being stupid and let me help you!” 

A few seconds passed of tense silence, Anaak unmoving with her face hidden in shadows. Finally, she spoke, her voice the quietest Endorsi’s ever heard her speak, “...Deal… but if you’re lying you’re the first princess I’ll kill, understood?”

Endorsi scoffed, putting a hand on her hip, “Uh-huh, if you think you can, sure brat. Believe that. Now, let’s finish this stupid test.” On cue, a red needle flew towards them from one of the other platforms. 

A man with silver hair burst out laughing, “Stupid princesses! You let down your guard and now I can take you down.” Annoyed, Endorsi and Anaak exchanged a look. Without wasting another second, Endorsi leapt onto the platform of the man.

Grinning, she leaned into him, “Hm, you look like a strong man, right? May I have the honor of hearing your name?” 

“Ryan of course, princess! The last name you’ll hear before you fa-” Before he could finish talking, she kicked him over the edge. 

“Ah man, I’m such a foul woman to keep manipulating men like that,” Endorsi frowned, faking guilt. With that, the test ended and Endorsi dragged the other girl through the halls until she found the woman she was looking for, for once. She called out, “E! E you bitch stop walking and get over here, we need to ask you something.”

With a polite smile, E turned back to the two girls, “Now, now, that’s no way to talk to your superior. Shouldn’t the princesses hold some sense of manners? They are royalty after all.”

Annoyed already, Endorsi argued, “We’re respectful to people who deserve it. Anyway, we need to ask you about-”

“Anaak sr.'s murderer,” E finished, surprising the two girls. She turned and gestured for the girls to follow, “Now, this is no place for that. Follow me.” Silently, she led the two girls back to her room and gestured for them to take a seat. As they did so, she walked over to a drink machine, grabbing the pack of instant coffee and… throwing it across the room and into the trash. As she fiddled with the machine, she asked the girls, “So, I see you two decided to be allies now. That’s interesting, something rare in the tower, you know? What made you two become friends?”

Scowling, Endorsi snickered, “Us? Friends? Oh please, I’m just here out of duty, nothing more. So, are you going to tell us, cocky bitch, or not?”

“How crude,” E turned around and took a seat across from the girls, sipping at her drink. She sighed, “So you’re after Anaak’s murderer. Well, you came to the right girl, but I don’t do anything for free.”

Anaak scowled, “What do you want?” Grinning, E revealed Hatz’ friendship sheet. Shocked, Anaak sneered, “Excuse me? You want us to sign that stupid thing? Why do you care?”

E explained, keeping her smile on unfazed, “H took a liking to the swordsman boy, and would being friends with him really hurt? I mean it’s not like he’s ugly or weak. Or do you not want information I have?” Reluctantly, Anaak snatched the sheet and scribbled her name in the slot. Equally annoyed, Endorsi did the same, drawing an arrow to put her name in the first slot. Taking the sheet back, E informed the girls, “Alright, now that’s over with, let’s get to the juicy stuff. You’re lucky, you know, you don’t even have to travel far to find the murderer. His name is Ren from the Lo Po Bia family, and he’s currently posing as Yuga, the wave controller teacher.”

“What?” Anaak shot up, making her way to the door, “That bastard! I’ll go kill him right now!”

Endorsi shot up as well, calling out to her, “Hey lizard! Wait!” Anaak ignored her, but as she walked out the door, the green girl slammed into a dense shinsu barrier, falling back onto her tail.

E set down her cup, “Honestly, you’re denser than that barrier, Regular. !st or 2nd generation princess or not, are you so naive to think a second floor Regular can stand a chance against a Ranker in Jahad’s army? You’ll last at most a minute solely so he can toy with you before he’ll kill you with one blow.”

“Like hell he could!” snapped Anaak, but her hands began shaking with nerves. 

Noticing this, E hid a smile, Glad to see she has some sense of survival. E sighed again, getting to her feet, Good. “Follow me, girls.” Confused, the two followed the Ranker onto the roof, where H and Hatz were sparring. Surprised, H perked up to look at E, who ordered, “Leave, H. We need the space now.” H nodded, putting away his weapon.

Hatz glanced between them, “What are you doing?”

Anaak sneered, “None of your business.”

“We’re teammates, it is my business.” 

Rolling her eyes under her mask, E thought to herself He never changes, does he? Shoving his sheet into the Regular’s hands, E repeated, intimidation seeping into her tone, “Leave. I don’t like repeating myself.” Feeling a chill sprint over his spine, Hatz nodded and took the chance to leave the girls alone. H passed by E, grabbing her wrist. Peering at him through the mask, E assured, “Don’t worry, I won’t hurt them. You really think I, of all people, will be the one to do that? I’m almost offended.” Roughly, she yanked her wrist free and shooed him out the door, leaving the three girls alone. Frustrated, she put her hand on her hip and sighed, “Worrywort.” Spinning back around to the girls, she pointed to them, “You really want to fight Ren? Fine. I’ll let you go fight Ren right now on one condition. Land a hit on me.”

Anaak blinked, “What?” 

“Land a single hit on me,” repeated E, “If you go as you are now, he’ll beat you in seconds and kill you without batting an eye. And if you make the first move, he’ll be in the right because he can claim it was out of self defense. However, if both of you can land a single blow on me, you may stand a chance against the Ranker.” 

Endorsi scoffed, “Is that all? That’ll be easy.” She grabbed her string tool and threw it out, but, to her surprise, it was wildly off mark, flying loosely through the air. A single, heart like shape, formed by E’s ear and shout out, swirling around the string and tearing it to bits. Shocked, Endorsi stumbled back, allowing Anaak to leap past her and throw out the Green April. E summoned a shinsu barrier, blocking the blow with ease. 

Anaak whined, “What? That’s not fair. How could I hit you through a shinsu barrier?”

“Are you stupid?” E sneered, “You really think Ren would hold back against you? I don’t think so. Real fighting isn’t like the floor of tests. Killing is often and no fight will be fair. If you can’t understand that, you have no chance of going against Ren, the Jahads, or anyone to avenge your mother.” Pissed, Anaak withdrew her weapon and leapt high into the air, igniting the weapon and causing it to split into pieces. Unfazed, E dodged back and forth out of the way of the attacks, leaping high into the air to kick the lizard to the ground. Before she could, a yellow and black shield piece came between them. Surprised, E glanced down to see Endorsi standing on the ground, hand held out to the two girls. 

Endorsi boomed, “Don’t even try it!” With an amused smile, E landed on the shields and stomped her foot, crushing the item to pieces. She flew towards the falling lizard and caught the Green April. 

As the two hovered in the air, Anaak struggling to keep her grip, E declared, “You’re done. You’re too weak to stand a chance against Ren.” She yanked the girl into the air before throwing her to the ground, creating a giant crater. Calmly, she landed back on the ground, running a hand through her hair, “Aw man, I’m so glad that the administrator didn’t step in to scold me for fighting like this in a Regular’s area. I was even cautious and everything… man…” She dropped her hand and peered over the exhausted girls, “Don’t be suicidal and act too soon. Waiting is annoying as hell, trust me I am well aware. But if you jump the gun, all you’ll accomplish is a pointless, forgettable death.” Flicking back her hair, E stated, “But I’ll train you two. You’re weak, annoying, and bratty, but not completely a lost cause… yet.” With that, she left the girls alone. 

Watching her leave, Endorses cowled, “Bitch.” She glanced down at Anaak on the ground, “You alright, lizard?”

“...Am I in over my head?” Anaak pondered, genuinely scared. She spoke so highly of herself, being able to fight the princesses and all those who hurt her family. Yet here she was, broken on the ground after being basically one shotted by a Ranker that she couldn’t even lay a scratch on. Was she actually doomed? 

Abruptly, she was snapped by reality by the brunette’s hand chopping her forward, “Man you really are just a stupid lizard. Weren’t you listening? She said we’ll have a chance against those assholes. Don’t make up your mind so soon, idiot.” 

A few days later, Lero Ro sat across from Hansung, “Are you sure about this, director? He’s not an official test administrator and we don’t even know if we can trust him.”

“He’s trustworthy, I swear,” assured, Hansung, sipping from his drink, “Or would you rather have Quant performing the test instead?” Lero Ro stiffened, internally panicking. It was between a rock and a hard place, both were recipes for disaster in his mind. Suddenly, the door flew open, revealing H standing there. Silently, H walked over and threw the instant coffee in the director’s face. 

Lero Ro narrowed his gaze at the silent Ranker, “So, you’re the one who’s going to run the joint test? How can I trust you won’t badly injure the students?” H opened his mouth to respond, paused, and turned to Hansung. Noticing this, Lero Ro asked, “What’s wrong?”

Realization hitting the director, Hansung offered, “Oh, I can translate.” As H pulled out his pocket, Hansung subtly gestured to H, more specifically the scar on his throat. A moment later, his own pocket appeared with a beep and he read out, “You can trust me. I swear that I will do all within my power to follow the rules and ensure no Regulars die during the test.” 

Lero Ro glared, “And how can I take the word of someone who hides his face?”

Another message read out, “I pride myself on my word, Lero Ro. It is one of the few things that no one can take away from you in the tower.”

Reluctantly, Lero Ro admitted, “Well, it’s still better than Quant, to say the least.” H nodded, standing up and accidentally crushing the instant coffee. 

The director whined, “No! Not the coffee! You need to be more careful.” H rolled his eyes under his mask and walked off. As he walked off, Lero Ro’s eyes lingered on him, namely the wing badge hidden at the bottom of his cloak. 

He paused, ...Wolhaiksong? Here? 

Walking out of the room, H summoned his pocket and saw a message from Hatz, ‘We’re waiting on the roof.’ H smiled softly as he put his pocket away and grabbed E, both heading to the roof where Endorsi and Hatz were lingering. 

Endorsi scowled, kicking a piece of rubble from the fight that was never fixed, “So, what do you two want now?”

E explained, “We have a favor to ask. Endorsi, you’ve been watching Bam like a schoolgirl with a crush recently, so surely you’ve noticed it right? Hoh’s heavy distaste to him?”

“I have not been-” Endorsi began, but cut herself, grumbling, “...Yes. So what?”

E ordered, “H has been placed in charge of the joint test, so he knows what the teams are. And you two are on the same team as Bam, Hoh, and Ra- Michelle. We need you two keep an eye on them.” 

Hatz nodded, “Alright. I owe Bam for helping me pass my test.” 

Endorsi countered, “But I don’t! Why should I care?”

E cleared her throat, “Because, despite your claims otherwise, you’re not an evil enough person to not help your friend when you know he’s in danger. Or can you live with the fact that you’d have an innocent boy’s blood on your hands?” Endorsi scowled, looking back down to the rubble.

Looking at her with sympathetic eyes, Hatz frowned but turned back to the Rankers and declared calmly, “We’re in. We’ll come up with a plan to keep an eye on him, right princess?” Crossing her arms, Endorsi nodded. 

Once they left, E smiled and put her hand to H’s chest, “He can already read her as well as you can, babe. They are so meant for each other.” Softly, H leaned in and the two exchanged a soft kiss. Abruptly, E pulled away and revealed a wallet, “But you still are bad at keeping your guard up around dangerous women, H!” She sped through the door as H began chasing after her, her laughter ringing through the halls. 

Soon enough, the day of the joint position test came and, after Hansung explained the test, Shibisu asked, “Um, but who is the other It?” On cue, H stepped into view for all of the Regulars to see. 

Hatz gasped, “Wait… it’s you?”

Serena recalled, “Aren’t you one of those two Rankers that are wandering around and training a few Regulars? Why are you handling this test?”

Hansung explained, “These two have been here in case of emergencies and to take care of any intruders or troublemakers. And for now H has offered to be the It for this test.” H nodded and waved to the group.

Cancho frowned, “Great. A Ranker we know nothing about. That’ll be fun.”  

Soon, the time came for H to be sitting on the stairs in pure darkness, waiting for team A to make their move out of the safety zone. Taking a seat in the zone, Shibisu sighed, “Isn’t this test a bit unfair? Although he’s alone, he’s still a Ranker…”

Khun scowled, “And when I tried to look up his name, nothing came up at all. It’s almost like he and that E woman are trying to keep any and all information about them hidden. But we still are in the advantage because we have all the positions on our team. He may be a Ranker, but he can’t use items or strengthen his body. He’s also limited to using the shinsu only once. It’s not that bad.”

Shibisu reminded, “But he’s still a Ranker.”

Khun stood up, “Well, I suppose that’s true. But now, to overcome our despair… shouldn’t we pick a leader? How should we do it? Should we vote?”

Shibisu looked among the group, “I think you should be the leader. Plus, you’re a light bearer… I think they’ll agree with me too.” Reluctantly, the group agreed. 

Khun smiled, “Ok. all of you may now refer to me as the leader.”

Someone shouted, “That was fast! Did you already know you’d be the leader?”

Khun continued, “Then, to commemorate my becoming the leader, let me ask you a question… How should we plan to catch the seeker?”

Cancho snapped, “What? What are you talking about? He’s a Ranker! We should just run to the exit-”

Khun countered, “No. We’ll catch him. If he’s the seeker, that would be easier, don’t you think?”

Rozeal asked, “What do you mean?”

Shibisu explained, “Hatz has been trained by him, so he does know some information on him. He’s a scout so if he’s on the offensive we won’t be able to hide from him. However, he does specialize in weapons so that fact he has to rely on hand to hand means he’ll be at a disadvantage. Along with that, he’s very true to his word, so if he says he’ll hold back, he will.” 

Khun added, “And, on top of that, he would never even have imagined we’d try to catch him.”

“What?”

“He thinks he won’t lose to Regulars and only will think of ways to catch us. On the other hand, he assumes that Regulars wouldn’t even dare try to catch him. He wouldn’t have planned for what to do if we tried to catch him. He underestimates us. Because he’s a Ranker who has been up the tower. We are nothing compared to that.” 

As people around them agreed to the plan simultaneously, Shibisu concluded, “We’ve reached a conclusion, Khun.”

Said boy slipped his hand in his pocket, “Ok. Then, let’s go catch that Ranker. First… we need some bait.” 

Soon enough, Shibisu found himself alone with only the comfort of Khun’s lighthouse glowing nearby, So I’m the bait… It’s so dark… It feels like he could pop out at any time… It’s scary… The scouts aren’t good… Should I change my position? 

Just then, Khun’s voice came through, “Hey! Do you hear me?” 

Shibisu let out a scream, “Ah! Hey bastard! You scared me! You.. did that on purpose!” His expression drooped, “But it’s too bad… that Bam is on the other team.”

“Well, too bad. But what can we do? It was designated.”

Shibisu glanced at the lighthouse, “Did you know? If we catch the seeker, there is almost no chance for Bam to pass.” 

Inside his lighthouse, Khun lowered his gaze, “...I know. But we can’t give up on our test because of him. Don’t you agree?”

“...You’re cold-hearted.”

“Thank you.”

“What about the Ranker? Do you see him?”

Shibisu guessed, “I don’t think he will come if I walk around with the light showing that I’m the bait.” 

“No. He will come for sure. Just don’t cry when he comes.”

Shibisu opened his mouth to retort, but something caught his attention, making him look forward, “Hey, Khun.” The red glow of a mask emitted from the shadows as Shibisu declared, “The Ranker’s here.” H emerged from the shadows and shot out towards Shibisu without a breath of hesitation. Just as Shibisu moved to dodge, H leapt onto Shibisu’s chest and pushed off him onto the lighthouse, sending the Regular falling back. He kicked the block into the ground and turned towards where Amigo was waiting with a spear. He could faintly hear Khun shout to the spear bearer, followed by the spear being launched at impressive speed. But it was too slow, for H simply stepped backwards out of the way. H leapt backwards into the shadows. Shibisu growled, “Dammit, where did he go? How is he sto strong?” On cue, H reappeared behind him. 

But instead of panicking, Shibisu turned back and smirked at him, he and Khun saying at the same time, “Checkmate.” Just then, another lighthouse lit up from a nearby ledge, revealing Anaak with her Green April.  

Anaak laughed, throwing out a strike, “Surprise!” H smiled and dodged out of the way of the strike with ease, grabbing the weapon to yank Anaak to the ground. 

Hiding in the shadows, H smiled, So this was the plan they came up with. I remember now. Impressive for anyone else, but to be expected of these guys. Turning on the audio read out of his pocket, he typed in a message, ‘Surely this is not your only plan, no? Since you Regulars are slow, I will give you 30 minutes exactly to run and get into position.’ 

Khun closed his eyes, “...We have no choice. Let’s switch to plan B. 30 minutes is enough. Run.” At that, all the members scattered in separate directions.

In the director’s room, Lero Ro sighed, relieved, “What a relief… I didn’t know whether or not that man would be more violent to react. But it’s a bit weird… Although H’s got some restrictions, he’s still a ranker. A Ranker isn’t so weak as to get caught in such a simple trap. Something like that could only be thought up by someone who does not know much about Rankers. The other Regulars wouldn’t know much about Rankers, but Mr. Khun is on team A. He should know what Rankers are like. And the Rankers in the Khun family are possibly stronger than him. I can’t believe he made such a lousy plan…”

Hansung countered, “Well… I think he’s doing well on this test.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Let’s see how he does…” On the screen, Khun smirked deviously. 

The camera cut to moments later, where Khun shouted, “Times up! Everyone in your positions! Of the two exits in this stage, the closest one is the one that is on the other side of the bridge connected to the second circle. If we fail to catch the Ranker, we have to help whoever’s “It” through that exit. On the route to the exit, there are two points where we can stop him. The first one is the stairs that pass through the first circle. They’re long and narrow, which is good for a group attack. We have to hold him there for at least five minutes.”

Within the red lighthouse that hovered in place over the stairs, Leeron 3 informed, “He’s coming. I have to keep the lighthouse fixed because of the distance, so keep that in mind.”

From the shadows, H emerged, grinning. Might as well have some fun, I’ve been growing stiff with all the laziness. Especially since I have to hold back. He cloaked himself in shadows using shinsu.

The students panicked mentally, trying to prepare themselves to defend, What? The light can’t reach him. Is that what he used when he escaped? But he can’t use shinsu anymore. No… he can! He still has the one baang he used when he dodged us!

Rozeal yelled, starting to fire shots from her wand, “Damn it! Then… Let’s just… attack anywhere!” Cancho charged down the steps with a scream, but H reappeared and punched the boy in the stomach and flipped the boy over his shoulder. With ease, the man dodged around the spears and shinsu shots. Just then, Amigo leapt down from the ledge above and shattered the ground where H stood the second before. The Ranker dodged around a punch and jumped back. With ease, H sped to the other’s back and chopped him in the neck, knocking him unconscious. 

Rozeal asked, “Leeron 3, how long has it been?”

Leeron 3 paused, “...One minute.” 

Meanwhile, Shibisu and Khun were strategizing when an idea struck Shibisu, “Laure! He might be able to stop him! Where’s Laure, Khun?”

“He’s sleeping in the safety zone. Because he will pass regardless of the results of this test.”

Shibisu scowled, “Argh! Jerk! What can we do? I’ll try my best to stop him here, Khun! I have to stop him before he gets to the second circle elevator! Now! Let’s do our best! Let’s stop that bastard from going any farther!” As he said this, he failed to notice H standing there directly behind him, pissed off. Noticing the others’ scared gazes, Shibisu stiffened, “...Huh? Why are you all…” H cleared his throat, causing the Regular to stiffen in fear and spin around. As screams rang out, Anaak stopped running, much to Khun’s protests, “What are you doing, Anaak? You’re almost there! Run!”

Anaak summoned her inventory, “I’ll fight. Anywhere is better than the bridge.”

“Anaak! No, Anaak! You can’t win! Just run! Anaak? Anaak! Anaak! Hey! You stupid lizard!”

Just then, Shibisu’s voice rang out through the lighthouse from where H was stepping on him, trying to get the boy to let go, “Anaak! Trust Khun and run! We will stop the Ranker here while you run to the exit! Run! My cutie! This daddy trusts in you! I heard from Khun! That you’re hiding something from us! And that we shouldn’t care because it’s dangerous! But I do care! Damn! Khun, you jerk, you should have been upfront with me or kept your mouth shut! Jerk! Anyway, listen Anaak! I don’t know what you’re hiding, but what I do know is that we’re in the same boat! And also on the same team! I don’t know what you went through in the past, or what you’ll go through in the future! But right now there’s someone who can help you! It’s me!”

H’s pocket spoke up, “That was sweet. Are you done?” 

“...Yes.” 

H smiled apologetically and immediately kicked the man in the head, knocking him unconscious. Narae whined, “Seriously? That’s him without shinsu and holding back?”

“I won’t attack a child, so run,” declared H. Scared, Narae ran off into the darkness, sobbing. The rest of the defense tried to shoot out attacks, but H dodged around them and took them each out with ease. With that, he sprinted off towards the bridge, thinking to himself, If I’m right, then Khun and Anaak should be right… A moment later, he arrived in the center of the bridge, where Khun was waiting with a lighthouse, ...Here. Khun opened his mouth to speak, but H’s pocket rang out, “Your It is hidden on a lighthouse beneath the bridge, isn’t she? I can sense the lighthouse and I recognize the smell of one of the 13 Month Series.” Khun’s eyes widened, surprised. H turned off his pocket and sent Khun a message, which read, ‘You want me to pull you off so that Anaak goes up and Laure and you can push me back up so A team fails and Bam can climb up, am I wrong?’ Khun glanced between the pocket and H, shocked. 

In the director room, Lero Ro questioned, “What are they doing?”

Hansung smiled, “Hm… this game may end up being more interesting than I thought.” In the background, E watched the action with a content smile. 

Back in the testing area, H sent another message, ‘I’ve been involved in more Khun plans than you think. I’ll play along with your plan, but you cannot ask me questions why. All you need to know is I want Bam to pass as well.’ 

Khun glared, sending a message in reply, ‘What reason do I have to trust you?’

‘Either trust me or I throw you over the edge. Alone. And leap down to steal the it’s badge.’ 

Scowling, Khun relented, ‘...Fine. You have a deal.’ With a relieved smile, H grabbed Khun’s wrist and turned on his pocket audio mode.

It read out, “You forgot one thing. Your lighthouse only floats because of the control of its bearer. And that isn’t the best for a 2nd floor Regular, great family member or not. So all I need to do is pull you off with me and the three of us will fall together, letting me take the girl’s badge before she can run to the exit.” Before Khun could even fake a protest, H and him fell back over the edge and into the abyss. After a few seconds of fake screaming, Khun yanked himself free, grabbing Anaak’s Green April and letting the Ranker fall into the darkness alone. 

In the Ranker room, Yuga laughed, “Hahaha! That Ranker lost this one! How can he be so calm in front of a Ranker? He is indeed from a great family.”

Hex sighed dreamily, “Wow, he’s my type. Too bad he’s not a fisherman. I would’ve been nice to him.”

Bok sat up, He was quite good, but his style doesn’t suit my taste. I thought there would be a fight. Guys should be more powerful…” 

“So you want to fail him?”

“...No, he passed. I don’t like it, but he is talented. But where did he get all those tools he has?”

Hansung informed, “He said he stole them all from his dad’s treasure warehouse. Isn’t he one gutsy Regular?”

“...Surprising he’s still alive…”

Lero Ro smiled, “Wow, even I got tricked. I didn’t expect him to win the game this way… He never lets me down. But I do wonder what they were talking about. I guess it didn’t matter in the end, though.”

E walked over to the others, making her presence soon, “Isn’t it too soon to draw conclusions? The test isn’t over yet, Mr. Lero Ro.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Ms. E? Even though he’s a Ranker, it’s impossible to climb back up without shinsu…” But upon the woman’s unshifting smile, Lero Ro narrowed his gaze and turned back to the screen. 

Back in the arena, H landed on his feet with ease and looked back up to the darkness, scanning the area for a way up. Hm… I can’t use shinsu. I may not have thought this all the way through… Perhaps if- 

Suddenly, a voice came through the shadows behind him, “Seems like you could use some help.” H turned to see Laure emerge and inform H, “I'm a wave controller. I have enough power to push you up to the bridge.”

Meanwhile, Anaak reached towards the edge of the bridge, spotting the bright light at the end, It’s the exit! Great! I’ll be able to make it! The victory… is ours! But out of nowhere, H emerged from the door and sped past Anaak before she could even react. Shocked, she turned to see H running away, her badge in hand. The Ranker? He climbed up that height? But how?

“The one who’s “It” from team A was caught! The test is over! Team A failed!”

Soon enough, the time came for the team B test. E and H passed each other as H made his way to the field, Here we go. 

Chapter Text

2

In the B team safety area, the members of the group argued over who should be leader while Hatz approached Endorsi, “So, I know I guessed you would, but are you actually-”

“Sure, whatever,” muttered Endorsi, a scowl on her face, “But it isn’t because of those two, they piss me off. I’m just doing it because that Rachel girl and Bam are hiding something big and if this gets me in their good graces they might tell me. Being curious is annoying.” She walked over to the others and announced, “Alright! So everyone would be fine if I was the leader, right?” immediately, people all relented the title to the princess without much struggle. Satisfied, Endorsi ordered, starting off by pointing to the only other fisherman, “Great, so here’s my plan. Swordsman guy-”

Cheonhwa spoke up, “Cheonhwa.”

“-Whatever. Regardless, you, Bam, and I will travel through the elevator towards the exit. I, of course, will be our it. Hatz, you take the morons- er, spear bearers to the stairs to try and lure out the Ranker. Michelle, you’re weak and pathetic so you stay in the safety zone and work on managing information from the two light bearers and to the groups on standby. Got it? Good.”  

Serena spoke up, “But wouldn’t it be dangerous to have the fishermen go alone?”

“Nah,” denied Endorsi, “If we’re alone, it’ll allow us to hide away easier when the Ranker comes. We’ll be taking Bam so he can distract H so we can escape. Now! Let’s get moving!”

After a few minutes of running, Endorsi glanced around, “Alright, this should be far enough for a break. Let’s take a break, we don’t want to tire ourselves out.”

Cheonhwa, albeit reluctant, leaned up against a nearby wall, “...Fine. I still don’t like this plan.”

Endorsi quirked a brow, “Oh? Are you questioning a princess’ judgement? Tell me, wise old knight, what is worrying you so much about this? I think it’s full proof.” 

Cheonhwa elaborated, “It’s reckless. The two of us have targets on our back and you not only put us in one spot, but also with little to no support. Doesn’t that seem careless to you?”

Bam agreed, his voice hesitant and soft, “Yeah… but… I don’t know why you chose me. I’m not that strong. And I don’t think I’ll be that helpful to you…”

Endorsi crossed her arms, “What a weak mindset. Well… I was like you once. Before I became a princess of Jahad, my family was one of the ten great families, but the only ranker we had was the head of my family… our family was ruined… so the head of the family tried to regain power by producing a princess of jahad. He adopted girls who seemed to be talented in his area and trained them. I was one of them. It was a disgusting place. After the training, we gathered in the dining room. But we were seated based on the day’s results. If you were seated up front, you were given an extravagant meal, and if you were the one sitting in the back, you only had stale bread. When I first showed up, I ate cold bread for months. I was the weakest and youngest, so I couldn’t even sit at the table. I knelt on the cold floor and ate tough bread everyday. And one day, fortunately… I beat an older girl way bigger than me. Hidden talent, I guess. The first dinner I had that day tasted so good. Well, I wouldn’t think so now, but it was delicious at the time. During the meal, I looked up the table and thought, “What does their food taste like? How much better must it be?” I had already forgotten the taste of the stale bread. After a few days, I was able to eat anything at that table that I wanted. How about that? Before, I couldn’t even sit at the table with them. Do you know how I did that, Bam?”

Bam suggested, “Did you… share with them?” 

Annoyed, Endorsi reached out and flicked him in the forehead, “Be serious, idiot. I did it by beating all of my sisters and killing them all. That is the way I know how to climb because I’m a bad guy. Now I have a little pest constantly barking in my ear on how childish that mindset is when it comes to climbing, but I don’t know what else to do.”

Scared, Bam frowned, “What… Why are you telling me this?” 

“I’m saying that I got that far because I stayed loyal to the way I’m climbing. So if you want to climb with Rachel, find your own way to climb and stay loyal to it, no matter what. You hear me? No matter how many times you get knocked down, no matter how many obstacles you face, stay true to yourself. That’s what it means to climb the tower.” 

Bam smiled, “Alright… I will.”    

Somewhere else, Serena and Hoh stood in a circle of light, waiting for a signal. Looking back and forth between Hoh’s nervous state and the endless darkness surrounding them, Serena couldn’t help but think back to an event that happened an hour before their test. 

Walking through the halls, Serena groaned to herself, “Aw man, this test is going to be painful, I can feel it already.” As she stretched her hands high above her head, a force pushed past her brutally, causing her to stumble. Pissed, she opened her mouth to snap at the source, but stopped upon seeing her blond teammate, “Oh, hey Hoh.” At first, the blond didn’t seem to hear her, too caught up in his own brain. Serena noted that he was chewing his fingernail, a nervous tick of the man. Concerned, she reached out and touched the man’s shoulder, “Hoh? Are you there?”

Surprised, Hoh snapped out of his own thoughts to look at the lady, “Oh, hey Ms- er, Serena, I didn’t see you there. Are you ready for the test today?”

Serena pulled back her hand, “I should be asking you that. Are you feeling alright?”

Hoh assured, “I’m alright, Serena. J-Just really nervous is all.”

“Heh, I know how that feels. I’m trying to be cool but my hands won’t stop shaking. I hope we can do well today,” chuckled Serena, trying to lighten the tense mood. 

Except, it almost seemed the wrong thing to say, for Hoh instinctively clenched his fists and corrected coldly, “We have to do well. No matter what.”

Sernea opened her mouth to reply, but her eyes moved past the blond to a figure in the shadows that seemed to be staring into her soul behind its mask. 

Almost scared, Serena forced a smile and patted Hoh’s back, “H-Hey, don’t worry about it too much, alright? That’s what the rest of the team is for. I-I’ll meet you in the testing room, alright? I just have to do something real quick.” Silently, Hoh shot her a suspicious glance, but still seemed to be bothered by his own problems to protest. As he left, Serena walked over to the figure, calling out cautiously, “Who are you? Why are you spying on me?” 

 From the shadows, E emerged, hands behind her back like a cutesy schoolgirl, “Oh? You’re a gutsy one to approach a figure that you don’t even recognize who they are.”

“You!” Serena narrowed her gaze, “What do you want?” 

Pressing a finger to her mouth, E pondered, almost mockingly to the Regular, “Hm… Now, what could I want from a Regular like you?” After a second, she lit up and clapped her hands together, “Oh! I know! Things have been too boring around here. I want some chaos, and you can be the spark.”

“What are you-”

“I want you…” E leaned close to Serena’s ear, “...To kill Hoh.” 

As the Ranker leaned back, Serena snapped, “What? Why would I do that? Hoh’s my friend!”

E offered, “Oh don’t worry, if you do, I can give you the power to go up the tower. That’s what you want… right?” Serena hesitated, crossing her arms and staring down to the floor in confliction.  

After a second, she lifted her head again and refused sharply, “No. Hoh has been my teammate, my friend, this whole time on the 2nd floor and I won’t betray him for the chance at some power.”

“How boring,” sighed E, throwing her hands up. Dropping them, she grinned, “But it doesn’t look that friend of yours shares the same belief.” Serena opened her mouth to respond, but E cut her off by revealing a memo, “After all, look what I found in the blondie’s room.” 

Snatching it from the Ranker, Serena read through it, “Do you want to make Bam fail? I’ve got an idea! Make Michelle Light fail the test! She’s the reason Bam’s going up the tower. And she’s not your friend! P.S. Nobody will suspect you even if you make her fail.” Her eyes widened, So this is what Hoh was so bothered about! Is he actually…

Once again, E cut her short, brushing past the Regular, “You can believe me or not, but I didn’t put the memo there. Do what you will with this information. Either way, the B team game will be a match all too fun to watch.” Waving behind herm she walked off, “Oh, and good luck or whatever on the test today!” Serena watched her leave before her eyes darted back to the memo, crushing it in her hand and shoving it in the pocket of her clothes. 

Back in the present, Serena glanced down at the pocket, where the edge of the note was peaking out, “Hey, Hoh, why do you want to go up the tower? It’s just… watching team A taking the test… It made me think a lot. I feel… so.. down… You know what? I was just an ordinary girl. I stole goods being shipped from the middle area to the outer tower. I was a thief. And one day, I snuck onto a merchant’s boat. Unfortunately, a Ranker was there. And I watched in horror as my friends were slaughtered in seconds. It was then I realized I didn’t want to die, not like this. Then, a real “God” appeared. And I didn’t hesitate one bit to take his hand and enter the tower. I wanted to be a Ranker. I wanted to kill everyone that got in my way. I wanted to reach the top of the tower and achieve everything. During that first brutal test to cut us down to 200, I didn’t hesitate because I had so much anger. Everyone was an enemy! Every time I killed, I felt like I was regaining control of my life, so I was thrilled. And when that was over, I said to myself, “Yes! I did it! I made it!” the next round, and the next, I was lucky enough to pass. The fact that I was getting closer to the next floor made me so happy. But while I was watching team A, I found myself cheering for them. All of them were taking the test so earnestly… and they are such nice guys. I imagined myself using them as stepping stones to the next floor. And I realized that to use the others… sucks.”

Expression darkened, Hoh spoke up, voice dark and cold, “Everyone… Everyone had to prepare for that moment when they came into the tower. They all understand… so don’t worry. Isn’t that how it is from day one here?”

Serena’s eyes widened, He’s… really going to try and kill her. He thinks it’s right… But… what am I supposed to do?  

Hatz stood above the two rebellious spearmen with their weapons in hands. Mauchi muttered, “Our spear bearer revolution died… Ugh… how do I get up?”

Hatz dropped the spears, “I’ve wasted my energy.” Suddenly, he turned at the sound of noise. He summoned out his swords and looked down at the Spear bearers, “Run.” Confused, the two looked at each other, picking up their spears and running off. Hatz narrowed his gaze as he peered into the darkness, I’m at a disadvantage since he knows my fighting style well, but regardless, I have to buy time. 

  Over the pocket, Serena heard a voice from one of the lightbearers, “RANKER FOUND!” 

Serena shot up, “Finally! Where?” 

“The swordsman and the spear bearers made contact!”

Serena turned towards Hoh, “Hoh! Let’s go!” But when she turned back to the man, he was nowhere to be seen, having ran the other direction as soon as the announcement was heard. “Hoh? Where is he? Hoh! Hey! Hoh!”             

Hatz readied his sword and managed to block a punch from H. He’s fast! Hatz blocked another punch with his arm, which he countered with a downward swing, but H dodged with ease. He punched me with all his weight… and he took a small step backwards to avoid my sword at such a close range… and landed again on the same foot. After facing him directly, I began to understand. He really had been holding back while we were sparring. Although he was born a human, he’s no longer human. He’s a different creature than all of the races in the tower. The Ranker.

Meanwhile, once they ran a bit further, Endorsi declared, “Alright, let’s wait here a bit.”

“Why?” questioned Cheonhwa, not a hint of hesitance in his tone. His eyes were narrowed and his words sharp as he stepped towards the princess, “We’re not weak, you know that. Yet you keep trying to make us take breaks to catch our breaths. You’re not trying to make it to the exit at all, are you? You’re just trying to buy time for something. What? What’s your real goal?” 

Bam stuttered, “U-Uh, Mr. Cheonhwa, maybe you shouldn’t be m-making rude assumptions like that.” 

Endorsi smirked, “No. He’s right. I have no intention of making it to the exit. I was just buying time for-”

She was cut off by their lightbearer, a name Endorsi didn’t bother remembering, shouting, “Ranker found! And to make matters worse, Michelle turned off her lighthouse for some reason!” 

Bam perked up, “What?”

Endorsi frowned, “So that bitch was right, dammit.” Sighing, she ordered, “Bam, go with the light bearer to see what Ra-Michelle is doing. We’re going after the Ranker.” Hesitantly, Bam nodded and ran off into the shadows with the lighthouse beside him. Once he left, Endorsi scowled, “What a pain. He’s lucky he’s cute.” 

Cheonhwa narrowed his gaze, “Why did you send him off?”

Turning back to the knight, she held out her hand, “That sword of yours, is it powerful?”

Pulling it close, he informed, “It’s an ignition sword. It’s name is Narumada, but why do you want to know.”

Endorsi explained, “An… ally of mine said that the blond wave controller, Hoh, was going to make a move against Bam using his connection to Michelle. So my plan was to use that to my advantage. The Ranker is too noble to let the Regulars kill each other. So he’ll be too distracted to try and save her and I could use that chance to take him down. So. Give me your sword. I’ll use it better than you. Or would you rather me run to the exit and risk an innocent girl dying? Wouldn’t that be against your knightly code, or whatever?” Hesitantly, Cheonhwa handed her the blade. Smugly, she grinned, “Now, was that so hard? Don’t worry, I’ll return it once I steal the Ranker’s badge.”

“I hate you.”

“Get in line, sweetie,” replied Endorsi, walking off after Bam. 

Meanwhile, Hatz and H were exchanging blows, both toying with each other to buy time. Suddenly, a voice came from Hatz’s pocket, “Hey swordsman, the blondie made his move against Michelle. Are you two going to keep playing games or are we doing this stupid thing?” 

H nodded and his pocket spoke, ‘They’re close to the safety zone, right? I need to take care of something, but you head down there.’ Reluctantly, Hatz nodded and sprinted into the shadows. H sighed, Now time to take care of the cowards. He burst up the steps and spotted the two spear bearers laughing and chatting away while running. One of them seemed to notice H, but he was too slow to respond, for H already reached them and kicked the green one in the head, sending him flying into a wall. Scared, the other Regular raised his spear to H, but the Ranker grabbed it and snapped it in two. Pissed, he grabbed the man by the throat and shoved him into the nearby wall, knocking him out and threw his body into the other spear bearer, sending him tumbling down the steps. Demonically, he grinned, That… felt better than I’d like to admit.

In the Ranker’s room, E chuckled, “My, I knew H had a capability for a gurde, but this…”

Lero Ro turned to her, “A grudge? What are you talking about?”

Giggling, E shook her head, “Nice try, but I won’t say anything. Let’s just say he’s not a fan of Regulars who willingly trick their teammates to abandon them.” 

Meanwhile, Hoh stood on the edge of the safety zone with a knife pressed to Michelle’s neck, keeping her close to his chest. Grinning psychotically, he hissed, “Don’t move, or I'll kill you. So, you and Bam knew each other. I have a question, Ms. Light. Who is Bam… that monster? Isn’t it weird? How he can learn shinsu so fast? Was he blessed or something? Huh? Tell me. Ms. Light. What did god take from him in exchange for that talent? I lost everything and all I got was enough power to do some parlor tricks. Don’t you think he deserves a bit of misery?” Hoh tightened his grip on Rachel’s mouth, “Don’t you agree? Isn’t that fair? This is the right thing. I’ll do what god should have done.”

From the shadows, Hatz emerged, pointing his blade at Hoh, “The right thing? You know nothing of fairness or justice. All you’re doing is punishing an innocent because of your own weakness.”

Terrified, Hoh turned to him, “Y-You! Stay b-back! You’re a monster, so you wouldn’t understand how it feels! S-So you better stay out of this, or I’ll kill her right here! I-I don’t care if you kill me while I do so, I’m j-just doing God’s work.” 

Hatz scowled, Dammit, I can’t attack him without risking Michelle getting hurt. What to do? 

Nearby, H emerged, a scowl on his lips as his pocket spoke, ‘You say you’ll do what god should have done? A mere Regular like you? You should know better. The god of this test is me.’

Hoh panicked, “H-How are… you here?” 

Hatz replied, “Do you really think no one would notice if one of the light bearers suddenly went quiet for seemingly no reason?” Hatz glanced to H, “You were right, he’s planning on killing Michelle to hurt Bam as some sort of “fairness”. I can’t attack without risking the girl getting hurt.” 

Hoh’s eyes widened, Wait… What is he saying? Did he… He knew… all my plans ahead of time? Cautiously, H began to approach him. Panicked, Hoh grabbed Rachel and started to run, Was that memmo a trap? No… No way. How? Then, who? Why? Why me? 

Before H could reach them, the barrier of the safety zone banged him back, sending him to the ground. Damn it! They went back into the safety zone! Where are you, Endorsi, Bam!

On cue, Bam appeared with the final lighthouse, asking, his expression both confused and terrified, “Mr. Hoh? What are you doing? Why are you holding Rachel?”

Panicked, Hoh lied, “Mr. Bam! It - It’s - n-nothing!”

Hatz spoke up, “Nothing? Then why are you holding Ms. Light?” 

Frustrated, he pressed the blade to Rachel’s throat and threatened, “M-Mr. Bam. Hold down that Ranker… If you don’t… she’s going to stop… breathing…”

Bam stuttered, “W-What are talking about, mr. Hoh? How could you?” 

“Don’t come any closer! If you do, I will kill her! You monster! Damn it! All this! All of this is because of you! It’s all your fault! I know - I know people like you! Born naturally talented and who’ll soon become arrogant! I can tell! You’re going to become just like them! You monster! Why are you just standing there? Go get the Ranker! Or else-” He stabbed the knife in Rachel’s back in a non-fatal spot. “- Do you want her to die?” 

Bam turned towards H and hesitantly raised his fists. H asked, again using his pocket, ‘...Hey. Boy. Are you really going to do this? Do you really think any of this will get better if you fight me?’ Still, Bam kept his fists raised, ready to move. But before moving a single step, H sped up to him and punched him in the gut, causing him to let out a pained cough and a ball of shinsu to form around him like a bubble before bursting. 

Bam mentally panicked, My body… won’t move!

A message appeared on Bam’s pocket which read, ‘Listen. Boy. The shinsu I just gave you can freeze a target for a little while. Feel it? The shinsu flowing in your body. Keep the flow going and aim for one baang. Strike the idiot inside the safety zone. Then, save the girl while he can’t move. I can’t go into the safety zone. So… do you think you can do it?’ Bam nodded. ‘Good. then, just… run!’ Watching Bam spur into action, H smirked, Let’s see you in action, Irregular. Bam hit Hoh with the same shinsu burst and snatched up Rachel, causing Hoh to fall back onto the ground. 

Bam pulled Rachel close, crying out to her, “Rachel! Rachel! Rachel! Are you ok, Rachel?”

Painfully, Rachel strained her voice, eyes dim, “Bam… why… Why did you follow me? I… told… you not to come… Told you not to… follow… me.”

As she passed out, Bam cried, “Rachel! Rachel! Please wake up! Why? Why did you do this to Rachel? Why Rachel?”

Pissed, a small smile formed on Hoh’s lips as he sat up, “I told you. It’s all your fault. I did it to stop you from continuing up the tower. You’ll give up if she isn’t there to follow. I knew that you were going up because of her.”

“...Who… told you that?”

He giggled, “Well… I wonder who? But I’ve gotta congratulate you. You do have a lot of power. But I won’t be able to keep going after this. I betrayed the team… I even failed to hurt my teammate… Everything… is over.”

Anger creeping on his face, Bam stood up, “Why did you have to do that? To go up the tower… we were friends.”

With insanity coloring his voice, Hoh burst out laughing, “Ha... Hahahahahahahahahaha! Friends? You thought we were friends because I signed a piece of paper? Hahahahahahahahahahaha!”

“I… thought so.”

“We’re not friends, Bam. And there are no friends here in the tower. Everyone in the tower is an enemy. We beat each other…” Hoh tilted his head back and reminisced, “Everyone I cherished… died before I got here. I ask myself this all the time… why did god give that thing such power? Why didn’t he give me the power to save them? The power you and Mr. Laure have. If only I had that power, they wouldn’t have died. Yeah… I didn’t go up the tower. And I didn’t do it because you were my rival… I… just… I just hated you so much Bam.” He reached for the knife next to him, but was surprised to find his hand empty, “...What?”

Sitting up, he noticed Hatz standing in a new position, twirling the knife, “While you were distracted, I grabbed the blade. I was going to let you die, but there’s too many who care about you to let that happen.” 

Hoh sneered, “What are you talking about? There’s no one who does.” 

“I do,” from around the corner, Serena emerged, her eyes almost glassy from overhearing the conversation. She found so many similarities in their stories it was almost unbelievable. So that was why E came to her, the Ranker knew Hoh would try to end it all. Cautiously, Serena approached the blond and knelt next to him, “Hoh, weren’t you listening? I know how it feels to lose it all to a Ranker and climb the tower for revenge. But do you really think your family wants this? Taking out your anger on an innocent boy and then taking your life because you failed?” Hoh didn’t reply, just lowered his head. “I didn’t think so. They would want you to keep living. So what if you fail here, maybe you don’t need to climb to keep living.”

Hoh mumbled, “Then what am I supposed to do?”

“Come with me. I’m leaving this stupid place, I can’t live with climbing over others. We can find a way to keep going together,” offered Serena, getting to her feet and holding out her hand. Hesitantly, Hoh nodded and took it. 

Guiltily, Hoh turned to Bam, “Bam… I’m so sorry… Michelle… is she?”

Bam blinked through his tears, “She’s breathing.” 

Hoh knelt down on the other side of the girl, tearing off a piece of his dress, “Here, let’s use this as a bandage over the wound for now.” Carefully, the two worked together to cover the girl’s wound. 

Suddenly, a female voice spoke up, “Aw man, over already? I was getting excited.” From nearby, Endorsi emerged, the sword resting on her shoulder and a smirk resting on her face.    

Hatz scowled, “Took you long enough.” 

Serena shot up, “You! Where have you been? Where’s Cheonhwa? Why do you have his sword?”

Calmly, Endorsi explained, “He’s fine. He let me borrow it. Now you can get upset with me later, unless you want that girl to die.” She turned to Bam, “Bam, remember what I said? I do what I know best so I can go up the tower with someone I know on this floor. You’re in the same situation with Rachel, right? Neither of us really understand the other’s desire, but we will do what we know best to help them and stay by them anyways. So if you want to stay by Rachel, you have to do what your heart tells you. If you beat the Ranker here, you and Rachel can continue up the tower together. But you’ll suffer like you did today again in the future. If you betray your team and help the Ranker, you can leave this tower with Rachel. But her dream will be forfeited. Whatever you decide, it’s your choice.”  

As her and H walked over to another area nearby to fight, she grinned, “Thanks for waiting. Though I guess that’s par for the course for you, right? How about I knock off that mask of yours?” H shook his head and gestured to his badge. Understanding, Endorsi opened up her jacket, “My badge is right here.” Suddenly, she shot forward, dodging around to his back and igniting the blade to strike him. Smoke filled the room like a wave, disappearing just as fast. H stood there, clutching the blade in his hand. Grinning, he used the blade to toss the girl back, but she flipped through the air to land on her feet. Somehow, her smile unwavered, “Knew it would be that easy.” H launched towards her, sweeping around a swing and going for a punch, only for Endorsi to jump out of dodge. Again, she tried to ignite the blade to swing, but missed and hit the ground instead, creating a wall of smoke between them. In the center, H and Endorsi tried to meet each other’s attacks in the middle, him a kick and her the sword.

But before their attacks could meet, Bam held up his hand at H, “Stop.” A bubble appeared around H, bursting and stopping him.   

Endorsi turned towards Bam, “Bam, did you do this?” H only smiled, not surprised or shocked in the slightest. 

Good to see you in action, Viole. Grinning happily, H leapt away from Endorsi and raised his fists. 

With an equally wide grin, Endorsi raised her blade, “What are you smiling about? You’re going to lose here.” Unfazed, H launched towards her to attack again. 

Watching the fight, Serena sat down next to Hoh, commenting, “They are real monsters, those guys.” 

Hoh nodded, “Totally, are they really even mortal like us?”

“Who knows?” The woman stared off into the distance, eyes clouded, “Doesn’t life suck, Hoh? The world didn’t care when I was losing. But when I try to force others to lose, it just stops me… Isn’t that unfair? Don’t you think so, Hoh?” Hoh glanced at her with wide eyes, but chose to remain silent.

During the fight, H was again stopped. As he glanced at Bam, Endorsi raised her blade at a new grip, “Nice. So it’s like this. Now I get it.” She charged at him, grinning, “I think it’s time for you to give me that badge! Mr. Ranker!” H rolled his eyes under his mask.

Serena continued, “Actually, I can’t remember a time I had to fight this desperately. I always made excuses, saying the world was unfair. I never risked my life. Then I always regretted it after I lost something.”

Meanwhile, just as H was about to reach Endorsi, Bam stopped him. Endorsi yelled, about to touch the badge, “Nice! I got-” But H dodged out of the way at the last second, speeding by her and grabbing her jacket. No way! He got faster? Does that mean he was holding back this entire time? 

Serena tucked her knees closer, “What would have happened if I had tried despite the risks? It might have been a life full of losses, but if I had at least tried, my heart wouldn’t be this empty right now.” 

H smiled, lifting up the jacket as his pocket read out, ‘Sorry princess, but the game is over.’

Hoh paused, “Serena… I’m sorry. I was going to leave you alone like this.”

But Serena ignored him, “So we need to keep on living. If we do, we’ll probably find one or two reasons to keep going, won’t we? Like them.”

Endorsi chuckled, “You’re right. It is.” She held up two red badges in her hand, “Because I took your badge.” Above them, Hansung announced team B the winners as H smiled and nodded approvingly. 

After the test, Rachel was made sure to be given proper treatment as Endorsi walked back over to where Cheonhwa was waiting to give him the sword back. Cheonhwa smiled, “So you did it to save the girl, you’re a good person, Endorsi.”

Endorsi scoffed, “Oh please, I was just in a good mood because I’ve been doing well in my test. Don’t expect this to be a constant thing.” 

A couple hours later, Serena walked through the halls, her face of a woman on a mission. Finally, she spotted the object of her search at the end of a hall, “Hey! Ranker woman!” 

E rolled her eyes under her mask, turning to the other woman, “Well isn’t that a nice way to address your superior. What’s to keep me from killing you right here and now for that disrespect? I’m not under the same rules as the teachers or director, you know?”

Serena smirked, “Rankers can’t harm Regulars in the Regulars area, don’t you know? Besides… you clearly aren’t heartless enough to do that.”

Taken aback, E questioned, “Oh? And do tell how you reached that conclusion.”

Feeling brave, Serena elaborated, “You told me to kill Hoh because he was going to do something to Michelle and Bam, but you really did it because you knew he was contemplating suicide, right? And I overheard that you’ve been training the princesses to help them go up the tower. That doesn’t line up with someone who would kill a Regular just for being rude.”

“Is that so?” E stepped closer to Serena, a sudden chill filling the room like a flash bomb. Instantly, Serena felt a sudden urge to take off running resonate in every cell of her body, but her feet were cement. 

What… is… this?

With an eerie aura radiating off her, E leaned into the Regular’s face, “How naive of you to think I didn’t do this for my own enjoyment. Don’t you remember? I thought things were too boring, that’s why I wanted you to kill Hoh. I just wanted Hoh to live to keep the boy’s innocence because it’ll be more interesting if he breaks on a higher floor when a real friend dies in his arms, don’t you agree? As for the baby princesses, all I care about is the fact that the stain of the Jahad family would bring drama no matter where she goes. So that certainly will be a fun show, and by being their mentor, it guarantees me a spot in the front row. I’m just so excited to see how big the ripples will get from those two babies swimming around in this tiny fishbowl. Too bad you won’t be there to see it. All you’ll hear is the glass breaking along the edges.” The aura faded from her, allowing Serena to let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. E brushed past the Regular, taking a few steps before stopping and turning back to the shorter woman, “Oh, I nearly forgot.” E summoned her pocket, pulled out a box, and she tossed it to the other girl. Seeing the Regular’s confusion, E explained, “You did what I wanted, even if you didn’t realize it. I thought it might help you climb, but I guess you can give it to someone else. You decide who, I don’t really care.” Now she actually left, leaving the extremely confused and disturbed woman alone. 

What the fuck? Is that woman sane? Serena blinked, more emotions fluttering around in her mind than makes sense. Curiously, she peered down at the box in her hands, “What even is this? Who should I give it to? Bam? No…” Making up her mind, she marched down the halls towards a certain Regular’s room. 

Meanwhile, H took a seat on his bed and pulled out his pocket, bringing up a long and almost endless list. As he tapped one of the points, causing a line to cross through it, a knock rang out from his door. The door opened to reveal Hatz standing there. Hatz asked, “Excuse me, can I come in?” A nod. Hatz entered the room and took a seat, “I wanted to ask you… how did you know Hoh would do that? You couldn’t just get that accurate from a few dirty looks. Somehow you knew that Hoh would attack Michelle.” H smiled, amused, and pulled out the crumpled up memo he pickpocketed off Serena while leaving the testing arena. H handed Hatz the memo, and he watched stoically as Hatz read the page. Shocked, Hatz questioned, “What is this? Did you write this?”

H shook his head, ‘No, but I have a theory of who did. But this is Ranker business. Your help ends here. Now leave, I need to meet with the director before they have to go decide who passes with the teachers.’ He led Hatz back out of the room, and the two split off in seperate directions. Almost angered, the Ranker made his way to the director’s room and knocked on the door. 

He could hear Hansung on the other side speak up, “Come in.” Taking a deep breath, H opened the door and walked inside. With his sickening smile, Hansung greeted him, “Ah, H. What a surprise. Where is E? I’ve rarely seen the two of you without one another.” H narrowed his gaze behind his mask, scanning the director for nervousness. He noticed a slight quiver in the blond’s hands and the edge of a broken cup peeking out of the trash nearby. Skeptical, H took a seat across from the director, who asked, “What did you need? I do have to go meet with the other Administrators, you know. It’s a very important process.” With a  flick of his wrist, H revealed the memo. That received an immediate reaction from the director, “How do you have that?”

‘Hoh dropped it in all the chaos during the test,’ lied H, ‘But what matters is why you wrote the memo. Don’t lie, I know your handwriting and your reaction also checks out. So, why did you write it? It wouldn’t give Jue Viole Grace a reason to leave his friends, all it did was cause chaos.’   

Hansung recalled, “But he did unlock his power because of that chaos. Who knows if he was actually Jue Viole Grace, the weapon we need to slay the king?” 

‘That’s bullshit and we both know it. You knew full well he was.’

Hansung’s brow furrowed and he spoke, a cold underlying to his tone, “H, I let you two stay here but don’t misunderstand. I am still the one in charge here, so you don’t question me. Understood?” 

Unfazed, H typed another message, ‘Apologies. I don’t mean to challenge your authority. I just hope you don’t act careless and sacrifice this opportunity for us. Careless, like allowing one of Jahad’s assassins to access the final test.’

Hansung smiled, picking up his coffee, “Well if he decides to cause trouble, that’s what you two are here for, aren’t you? I don’t see the problem.” 

That bastard- Calmly, H stood up, ‘Of course. Let us hope it all plays out in the end.’ He turned and walked out the door, a deadly scowl on his face. 

 Serena reached his door and reached out to ring the bell. For s second, she hesitated, unsure of what words to say. Then, closing her eyes, she quickly pressed the button before she could change her mind. From the other side, a voice called out, “Come in!” Forcing a smile, Serena threw open the door, revealing Shibisu and Anaak on the other side.

Surprised, Serena blinked, “Hm? You finally managed to win over a princess, tracksuit?”

Shibisu scowled, “As if I’d try that on my daughter, you old hag. We were talking.” He glanced back to Anaak, “Thank you for trusting me with this information, Anaak.”

Anaak rolled her eyes, “Whatever. I just thought if you were going to climb with us, you deserve to know the mess you’re going to get into. It’s nothing personal.” With that, she brushed past Serena and marched out the door. 

Shibisu turned to Serena, “What you want? To get drunk again?” his eyes went to the bottle of alcohol in Serena’s hand. 

Serena rolled her eyes, taking a seat across from the man, “And so what if I did? But actually I came to give you this.” She handed him the package. 

Confused, Shibisu took it, “What’s this? A gift?” Serena explained everything that happened with E. Surprised, Shibisu examined the box, “So it’s a gift to help climb the tower? Why’d you give it to me? Why not keep it?”

Serena shook her head, “Hoh and I are leaving the inner tower. He’s not going to pass and I don’t really care if I do. I can’t handle what it takes to climb and I don’t want to leave Hoh alone. So you’re the only scout I know will pass and need this the most.”

“Really? I guess I have to respect your choice. Gonna miss you though, you alcoholic,” admitted Shibisu as he opened the package. As he removed the lid, a round sphere floated into the air. It was the size of a head with a dark purple outer shell save the lens on the front. Attached to it was a note, which Shibisu pulled off and read, “Woah! This is a Ranker level observer! It’s almost indestructible and has several abilities: cloaking anything up to the size of a small floating ship from any sensors, deactivating lighthouses and observers within the range of the owner’s control of shinsu, and can even freeze an object or person for a limited time relative to the controller and frozen item’s power. This’ll be insanely useful!” 

Serena grinned, “I guess she wasn’t lying when she said she’d give me a power that would be a huge help in the tower. Why’s it so small, though?” 

Shibisu scanned the note, “Oh, it’s under a compression license. I guess I should go talk to E to transfer ownership to me.”

Serena began to get up, “Well if that isn’t broken as hell. Guess I should give you some time to mess-”

“Wait,” Shibisu grabbed his wrist, “You brought that bottle of alcohol for a reason, didn’t you?” In spite of herself, Serena found herself no longer having to force a grin. 

  Soon enough, it was time for the announcement of who passed and E and H found themselves alone again during the process. They went up to the roof and sparred together with boring old hand to hand, no shinsu combat. Somehow, they still caused a huge mess of rubble and several craters, earning them both a scolding from several of the teachers. Later, they heard word of the situation where the Regulars who passed chose to take the guardian exam. Over the next few days, things passed without much excitement. Serena and Hoh made their exit, saying their goodbyes and making Laure and Shibisu promise to visit them after the two boys became Rankers. 

While the Regulars all gathered to learn about their final test, E snuck into the testing area and hunted down Ren, using shinsu to stay in the shadows along the ceiling, hiding her presence from the Ranker while watching his childish actions. This is super boring, but I’m not going to let you pull any shit on me, you sick fuck. 

An hour later, Shibisu watched the dolphins, falling on his butt, “...Ha… I’m so tired of being nervous when nothing’s really happening.”

Khun spoke up, his voice quieted, “Hey… Shibisu. The other day, when we gathered in the hall to decide which test to take… Did you all know that I was acting?” 

Shibisu answered, “Well, yes… it was obvious from the beginning.”

“Then, why did you say you’d help Bam?”

“You know I was dragged by Anaak.”

“But if you had told her the truth, you wouldn’t have had to.” Shibisu didn’t reply, only sat there in silence for a few seconds, pondering his next words. “Shibisu?”

Shibisu replied, “When we were all drinking, Serena told me something. ‘The reason why Bam stands out… is because he still has what we lost before we entered the tower.’”

Khun added, “Hoh didn’t envy Bam for his powers or talents, but because Bam still had something to protect with his powers.”

Shibisu admitted, “I agree with that. I also envy Bam a bit. But… I don’t want him to lose that. Because the ones who took what was important to me did so because they also lost what was important to them.”

“You’re a better person than I thought.”

“...So are you.” 

Suddenly, something rang out and made the scout jump to attention. Shibisu asked Khun, “Did you hear that?”

Khun nodded, “I got their location. It isn’t that far from where you are. Be careful, Shibisu.”

Shibisu stood up, seeing a light in the darkness, “...It’s here.” He stood up to try and run when the Bull emerged from the darkness and tried to bite him. 

As he managed to dodge out of the way, Khun yelled, “Shibisu! Run!” 

Shibisu’s eyes settled on something near the Bull, a dolphin, he replied, “I wish I could, but…” Unfortunately, he’s not the only one who noticed, for the Bull had turned to start going after the little creature. Scowling, Shibisu thought to himself, Looks like I’m gonna have to use this after all. He pulled out the Ranker observer and sent it out to scan the Bull, freezing it in place 

Khun blinked, “Shibisu? What is that?”

Struggling to answer without breaking his focus, Shibisu choked out, “A-A… A gift… from… E-E.” After a minute, Shibisu finally collapsed to his knees and the Bull broke free, choosing to chase the scout instead. 

“Shibisu, run!” Khun yelled, almost scared for the man. Exhausted, Shibisu scrambled to his feet and took off running, crying out for help. 

The Bull grabbed him and tossed him into the air, ready to bite down on him. When at the last second, Anaak’s Green April shot out and hit the beast, allowing Shibisu to fall to the ground safely. 

From the shadows, Anaak emerged with a grin, “Don’t eat him, you monster. You’ll get sick for sure.”

“Ah! Anaak!”

Next to her, Endorsi emerged, “True, true. Definitely not worth it. You have poor taste. If you’re really hungry, I recommend you try this lizard. She’s good for your health.”

Anaak growled, “Shut up. You witch.”

“Who are you calling a witch?”

“You, cake face.” 

Shibisu managed to get to his feet, T-The princesses of Jahad are here together! The strongest pair has arrived! 

Endorsi snapped, “I don’t wear that much makeup! I’m a natural beauty!”

Anaak retorted, “Ha! I can’t recognize you after you wash your face!”

“How dare you spout such lies, you little brat?”

“Why do you wear makeup for a fight? Is it your shield or something?”

“You… creep! Wanna die?”

“Come at me!”

Shibisu deadpanned, But are fighting each other…  Khun… I don’t think this was a good idea…

Endorsi sat down, tucking her knees close, “I’m out! It’s damp, annoying, dark, smelly, and disgusting! Why do I have to hunt that monster?” She turned towards Anaak, “You look just like it. You take care of it, Lizard.” 

Annoyed, Anaak sat down as well, “I won’t.” 

Shibisu barked, “Hey! Hey! What are you two doing? Do you want me to fight it and die?” To respond, both girls just looked away, annoyed. Just then, the Bull got up and started to chase after Shibisu, running back and forth.

While he ran, Anaak asked Endorsi, “Be honest. You’re scared, aren’t you?”

Endorsi scoffed, “Ha, yeah right. Don’t you just feel bad about killing it because it feels like family?”

“I really want to kill you know.” 

Endorsi turned towards her and smiled, “Then, let’s see who can kill it first. Every five minutes, we’ll take turns hunting it down and see who catches it first.”

“Okay, what’s the prize?”

“The Black March. In return, I can bet everything I’ve got.”

Anaak grinned, “Ok. Let’s do it. If you lose, you’ll be my slave. You’ll have to do everything I tell you to, and there’s no getting out of it. You’ll be my slave until I let you die. How’s that?”

Endorsi stood up, stretching, “Fine! But I’ll go first! Won’t you regret it?”

Anaak countered, “I think you will.” 

Endorsi walked over to the Bull and called out, stopping it from attacking Shibisu, “Wouldn’t it be better to try fresh meat like me, than stale like him?” She gestured for it to come, “Come on. A five minute meal.”

Shibisu turned towards Endorsi, “E-Endorsi! Fighting this thing alone is dangerous! Even for you! Fight together! Endorsi! Hey!”

But the girl ignored him, laughing, “In five minutes, the Black March will be mine!” She launched towards the Bull, dodging around its mouth to kick it in the head. The monster stumbled back and went to swipe at the girl with its tail, but the girl used shinsu to leap high into the air, pulling out her own gift from the Ranker woman, a small dagger with a watery gemstone. She used shinsu to push off the air and grab onto the beast’s head. The dagger began to glow a pale blue as she stabbed the beast in the air. Frantically, the beast cried out in pain, shaking the girl off and revealing a dark and thin cord. The cord grabbed the girl’s ankle and threw her into a pillar. Endorsi flipped to push off the pillar with both feet and bury her feet in its body, sending it flying back as well. 

The fighting continued for a couple more minutes until Khun’s voice spoke up, “Shibisu! The Thieves started moving! How’s it going over there? Are they doing ok?”

Shibisu hesitated, shocked, “...Uh… Um… Khun… It’s… I think it ended sooner than we thought it would.” In front of him, the Bull laid on the ground with Endorsi standing in front of it, unharmed. 

Confused, Khun asked, “Sooner? What do you mean?” 

“Khun. I think we miscalculated. We didn’t even need both of them. She handled it by herself.”

“Really? Was the Bull that weak?”

Shibisu answered, “No. Not at all. Compared to its size, it’s quick and nimble. Its skin is so thick that it absorbs almost all attacks. I felt it during the short fight. He’s definitely strong. But… she’s way stronger! I didn’t really believe that she tied with a Ranker in a fight. But now, I do. So that’s the power of Jahad!”

Endorsi smiled and stood over the beast, “What’s this? So weak!” She kicked its body, hands on hips, “Huh, how disappointing. Did you bring me all the way out here because you were afraid of this thing? Lame. I’m almost impressed that those three struggled against him.” She kicked it repeatedly, “I think it’ll be more fun to fight with Bam than this thing.” Kick. “Boring.” Kick. “Hey, wimp.” Kick. “Wake up.” Suddenly, the tentacle thing from before flew up and wrapped around her torso. “Huh? What?” It slowly started to crush her, getting tighter and tighter.

Shibisu cried out, “Endorsi!”

Pissed, Endorsi struggled, “W-What’s this? It’s really disgusting! Damn! Let me go! Ugh! You’re…” Her expression morphed back into a smirk as she broke free, “...so easy.” She leapt off a nearby pillar and flew down on it, kicking in back into the ground and creating a crater beneath the two of them. She mocked, “This is for being disgusting.” 

While Anaak scowled, Shibisu lit up, “Endorsi!” 

Endorsi joked, “We will now commence the death ceremony of the Bull!” she summoned her pocket to check the time, “There’s still one minute left. But I can’t wait! I want the Black March in my hands as soon as possible! Hehe! So, should I start the countdown? Let’s go! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!” But as she said the last number, the Bull’s eyes shot open and tripped Endorsi on the ground. Surprised, she whined, turning back towards Anaak, “You… You sneaky lizard! What the hell was that? Look at me! I know you did this! You cheated! Don’t pretend you know nothing about this!” 

But while the sisters fought, Shibisu turned back and noticed the Bull start to stir, “Hey! The Bull! The Bull! The bull is running away!” 

Anaak lit up and shoved Endorsi away, chasing after the giant beast, “Oh! Time’s up! It’s my turn now!”

Endorsi chased after her, “Who said so? You cheated! You’re disqualified!” 

Anaak snapped back, “Who made that rule, idiot!” 

Shibisu yelled after them, “Wait! Anaak! Endorsi! It’s dangerous to go into such a dark place without any light! Hey! Anaak! Endorsi! Hey!” Shibisu stopped when the girls disappeared, “...Khun? It might take much longer than we thought. The girls chased after the Bull and vanished.”

The scene switched to somewhere else, where Ren took a bite of his pizza, “They took the bait.”

Above him, E grinned demonically, “So did you.” Ren began to move away from his hiding spot and into a wider crater, unaware that E was tailing behind him. Scanning around, she sensed her other target and leapt off into the distance. She reached a long corridor filled with pillars and water dripping from above and the walls. Nearby, there was a shallow lake that seemed to be connected to the wine glass. From the water, the Bull emerged, carrying the brunette princess with it. E gestured to the beast, “Hey, drop it. That isn’t a toy.” The beast didn’t reply, just ignored th eRanker to move through the corridor towards where E came from. Rolling her eyes under her mask, E summoned a pointed heart spear and shot it out towards the Bull, “I wasn’t asking!” The spear pierced through the tentacle with surprising ease, dropping the girl. E held out her palm to the bull, creating a baang that pierced the beast through the chest. She summoned a glowing red cord that wrapped around the beast's body and threw it into the ceiling, causing pieces of rock to fall to the ground. The cord vanished, allowing the Bull to fall. E leapt into the air and kicked the Bull, sending it flying. Flipping back down next to Endorsi, she nudged the girl, “Hey, brat. Wake up.” Reluctantly, the girl stirred awake.

Groggily, Endorsi asked, “Hm…? What… happened? E? Did you… defeat the Bull?” 

E scolded, “Did you seriously think you could beat it on your own? Princess or not, it’s too strong for 2nd floor Regulars. Now, come on. Anaak ignored my warning and is probably fighting Ren alien right now.”

“ What? ”

 Meanwhile, Anaak struggled to reach for her weapon, limping along the ground, “D-Damn it…” But Ren came in and kicked it further out of her reach, catching it and shoving it into his mouth. 

He grinned, “The Green April has been retrieved.” 

Anaak hissed, “Give it back… Bastard…”

“Yum! I won’t.” Ren walked over to Anaak and towered over her, “Hehhe. Aren’t you a dumb one. If you had just minded your own business, you could have lived a little longer. But you came into the tower…” He straightened up, “Well, it won’t be fun to just kill you like this… So I’ve brought a special guest.”

“See what happens when you ignore me, lizard? You know I know,” boomed E, emerging from the shadows with Endorsi behind her. 

The princess ran towards the green skinned girl, “Brat!” But E stopped her. 

Anaak’s eyes widened, “W-Witch! B-Bitch!”

With fury sharpening his every word, Ren seethed, “Who are you? What did you do to my Bull?”

E smirked, putting a hand on her hip, “I should be asking you that, fur ball. How about you answer me first then I’ll tell you?”

What the hell? She’s acting all cocky, but her aura power is barely stronger than the normal Ranker teachers. Ah well, might as well not be rude, Ren introduced himself, “Ah, excuse my rudeness, I’m Loh Po Bia Ren. Of the royal enforcement division unit no. 67. I came here to eliminate Anaak Jahad and retrieve the Green April and Black March.”

“RED, huh?” E scoffed and chuckled, “Sorry, but you’re out of your league, Loh Po Bia.”

“Who are you to say that? I wouldn’t underestimate me if I were you.”

E pointed to herself, not even bothering to hide her smugness, “You know me as E, High Ranker of FUG. I stopped your pathetic Bull because I came here on the mission to protect Anaak Jahad.”

Anaak glanced up at her, “F-FUG? You were FUG?”

Endorsi’s eyes widened, frozen in shock behind the Ranker, She was FUG? Then why would she help me, an enemy of FUG? Was it all a trick?

Scared, Ren stiffened, “E-E? One of FUGs demons came all the way here to protect some disgusting Regular?” 

“And who are you to question my choices?” E crossed her arms, anger leaking into her words, “I don’t know what your mission is and, to be honest, I don’t care. I took a liking to these girls, so leave. Or I will make you leave.” 

Suddenly, a voice spoke up nearby, “Huh. Never thought I would agree with a FUG about something.” From the shadows on the other side of Ren, Yuri Jahad emerged with Shibisu following behind. Yuri narrowed her gaze, intimidating aura flowing off her in waves and choking the Regulars around the group, “I heard everything. So you’re a RED, huh Ren? But a Ranker harming a Regular during a test, that’s against the rules of the tower. Since when did RED earn the right to break the tower’s rules, even if it is to do their job? I’ll retrieve the Green April and the Black March. Leave before the supervisor notices.”

Ren hesitated, “Are you telling me to let that fake go? I’m sorry. But you know what the existence of that fake means? And why we should eliminate her, right? It’s a shame. I thought princess Endorsi was too young to understand, but I didn’t imagine princess Yuri, the owner of the Black March, would say that. How sad King Jahad will be when he hears of this. Hehehe…”

E spoke up, sharp and powerful, “Enough. Both of you. Yuri Jahad, there is no need to risk your title, I can handle this guy. Just get the Regulars out of range. Don’t bicker about this, I called dibs on this asshole first.” 

Reluctantly, Yuri scowled, “...Fine.” Yuri leapt towards Ren, kicking him back to give herself the opening to grab Anaak. Endorsi and Shibisu chased after her as the four moved to the shadows. Ren opened his mouth to attack the princess, but a red dart shot out and sliced off one of the yellow horns. 

E grinned, approaching Ren slowly, “Come on, RED. A soldier in Jahad’s forces should be able to identify who’s their enemy in a situation. Or have they become so weak and pathetic in these past centuries that one can’t even do that?” 

Ren’s grin became more creepily cheerful, The famous E! She gives me goosebumps. But I’m from RED. I can’t leave like this. Besides, oh! I can’t contain it! All these fish inside the BOWL are excited by the threat of the High Ranker from FUG! The excitement! The ecstasy! N-No! I can’t… Stand it any longer! His mouth flew open and a group of various types of giant fish shot out at E all at once. Meanwhile, Ren squealed dreamily, Oh… I did it… 

His glee was cut off by E’s calm voice, “Hey, fur ball. Are you done?” To his surprise, she stood in place, completely unharmed with a large spray of blood on the ground around her, no fish in sight. 

She pointed a finger gun at him, grinning in almost a childish manner, “This was fun, Ren from RED.” A small tube-shaped baang formed at the tip of her finger, shooting out towards Ren, spinning and growing with each second. The blast formed a giant, long crater, cracking up all the pillars and spikes nearby. But, to her surprise, Ren merely leapt out of the way. E pouted, “Aw man, why did you dodge? That ruins my epic ending. I don’t like that.” Ren opened his mouth to fire a laser blast, but E brushed it off and stepped forward with her foot glowing red. From the ground around Ren, glowing, blood red wires shot out and wrapped themselves around the Ranker, restraining him tightly. “There. No more of that silly dodging,” huffed E. With a sassy snap of her fingers, a bright light shot out from her fingertips and struck Ren in the chest, overwhelming the male Ranker with power and electricity. As the wires faded, Ren fell back on his back, blood seeping out from his costume. Calmly, E marched over to tower over him, “See? I didn’t underestimate you at all. Oh, and I know about your actual body. That’s where H went.” As the life left the assassin’s body, E pried open the mouth of the costume and pulled out the Green April. 

“Hey! That’s-” Anaak shot out past Yuri, who had healed her and grabbed the Black March during the fight. 

E cut her off, leaping past the Regular and landed in front of Yuri, “Here. Consider it thanks for the help.” 

Taking it, Yuri grinned, “Are you kidding? You made this way easier for me. I thought I would have to get my hands dirty.”

E shrugged, “Better for an anti-Jahad to take care of a Jahad assassin than a prissy princess. Now go, I’ll tell Bam you visited after he finishes his test.” 

Yuri quirked a brow, surprised, “You’re letting a princess go without a fight? Aren’t we enemies?”

Calmly, E shook her head, “I’ve got no problem with the troublemaker Yuri Jahad. I actually find your antics a fantastic show in the tower news. We both want the same thing, don’t we? To not be bored. I don’t see that as a reason to fight.” She brushed her hair back and turned away from the princess, “Now go before you give that guide of yours a heart attack.” 

Anaak cried out, “Wait! No! Give that back! Give me the Green April back!” 

Yuri ignored her and began to walk off before she recalled something, “Oh right.” She turned to Shibisu and tossed him something, “Hey, fashion terrorist. Take this.” 

As Shibisu caught it and opened his hand to see what the item was, he looked over and realized, This is the Wing Tree badge! 

Yuri ordered, “Keep it. And when Bam comes back, tell him to come to the 77th floor when he becomes a Ranker. Urek Mazino is waiting. Did you hear that?” A nod. Yuri lifted up the Green April and turned towards Anaak, “This is too heavy for you to carry. When you’re ready for it, come see me with these Irregulars, kid.” She walked off as Anaak cried out after her. Yuri declared, “Evan! Let’s head back! Guide the way!” 

Evan let out a relieved reply, “YES! My lady!”

Anaak cried out, “NO!” But it fell on deaf ears. 

Yuri glanced back at E, noticing the wing tree badge at the bottom of the woman’s dress, “I’m curious why a FUG High Ranker has a badge like that, but I guess I can ask another time.” E nodded, and with that Yuri left. 

As Anaak fell on her back, E walked over to her, “Hey kid, don’t worry, Yuri’s on your side. One day you’ll be glad that you got rid of that handicap and was really given the chance to grow.”

Nearby, Endorsi scowled, “You’re one to talk, FUG. How could you lie to us? Were you just trying to use us?”

Yawning, E straightened up and stretched her arms above her head, “Nah, I’m just with FUG because Jahad’s too boring. FUG’ll let me get involved in all the interesting drama. I don’t actually hate the princesses or families or anything. Didn’t you hear what I told that idiot? I trained you two cause I like you. I wanna see what you can do further up the tower, and I don’t want some useless Ranker taking that chance away.” E glanced over to Shibisu, “How you liking the observer?”

Caught off guard, Shibisu jumped a little, “Me? Oh, it’s really nice. Super draining, but it sure is strong.”  

E smiled, “Good. Glad the alcoholic girl chose the right person. An old friend of mine was an information scout, that was his.” 

Brow softening, Shibisu quietly asked, “What happened to him?”

“What do you think?” E replied, her voice going uncharacteristically soft and quiet, “What’s worse is we always gave him shit over being the weakest member of our crew. He was our leader and strategist, but outside of the battlefield we would constantly bully him for his idiotic and immature personality. Now… Now I would do anything to go back to those simpler times where his annoyingness would lighten the mood.” Shaking her head, she turned to Endorsi, “That’s why I told you to go sit with the others and make friends, no matter how annoying they seem. Those stupid and annoying times may seem like nothing more than a headache now, but once they’re gone, all you’ll want is more of them.” E walked off into the shadows and called out, “I need to contact H to make sure he’s all good on his end. Good luck with the test, Regulars!” 

E leapt out of the arena and landed on the roof of the mothership, where H was waiting. Like a curious child, she snuck up behind him and leaned over his shoulder towards his tablet, “Hm? Whatcha doing, love? Did you take care of the pest problem?” Rolling his eyes under the mask, H put away his tablet and revealed a necklace with a green gemstone in his hand. E lit up, “Great! That guy made me want to puke just being on the same floor as him. I’m so glad we don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Getting to his feet, he tossed the necklace to her, which she caught with ease and slipped in her pocket. The two walked back into the ship, towards Rachel’s room. As they walked, Lero Ro passed by them, a scowl on his face and determination in his eyes. H glanced back at the blond, but E assured, “Hey come on now, if he actually does something, it’ll just make things more interesting. But Ro’s got a stick way too far up to actually do anything super risky.” Hesitantly, H turned away from Lero Ro and to the door to Rachel’s room. He stepped forward and rang the bell. A beat passed until the door flew open, revealing all the Regulars who passed, save Rak, inside. 

Anaak scowled, “What do you want, FUG?”

Hatz perked up, “What? They’re FUG?”

Khun realized, “Of course, FUG would love to get their hands on an Irregular. But… you’re too late. Bam’s-”

“Not dead,” corrected E, putting a hand on her hip. Seeing the group’s surprised expressions, E explained, “Hansung, a loyal member of FUG, made a deal with Rachel to allow her to climb. Fake being paralyzed from the waist down, push Bam out of the bubble, and pass onto the next floor with Bam’s friends. She thinks he’s dead, but all it did was announce his death to the tower. Which means you guys can’t reveal that you know about Bam’s death. H and I protested greatly to the plan, of course. A tool that is forced to be one against his will is faulty because emotions will get in the way. However, our voices were greatly outnumbered by the amount of elders and slayers who were all for the plan.”

Shibisu spoke up, “Then why are you here? Telling us this?” 

E grinned, pulling out an extra pocket, “Because we’re not done fighting yet. If the Irregular is really going to slay the king’s throat, he needs a willing team to do so, not one that he’s put in against his will. And he’s gonna have to want to do it, not because people are threatening to make him. So we’re going to get Bam away from the clutches of FUG and we’re going to need willing participants to help.”  

Khun stepped forward, “I will. I’ll do it. Alone. I’m not afraid to get another target on my back and I love messing with those in charge.”

Endorsi scowled, “Like hell you will. I’m gonna help you, you annoying blue bastard. This will be way more fun.”

Cheonhwa agreed, “Me as well. As a knight, it would be dishonorable to turn away from someone in need.”

The smile on E’s lips only grew wider, “Good. Then take this pocket. It’s gonna be a long game, sadly. But man it will be a fun and risky plan, I’ll tell you. We’ll be working with Bam on our end, coercing him to follow the plan so he can escape FUG when the time is right, but also to keep FUG away from realizing we’re on to them.” She tossed the pocket to Cheonhwa before turning to the others, “The rest of you will continue to go up the tower together. You’ll have to be a powerful and loyal team if you want to stand a chance against the team that FUG wants to create. Don’t worry, your time for fun will come eventually, but you have to be strong enough to stay in the tower to that point. You hear me?”

Khun grinned, “Sounds like trouble. This’ll be exciting.” 

Endorsi clapped her hands together, “I can’t wait.”

Hatz cleared his throat, “Understood loud and clear, but what about her?” He gestured rudely to the bitch still sleeping in bed. 

Narae stuttered, “U-Uh, right! We were going to take her up the tower, but if she really killed Bam, then…” 

E shrugged, “I don’t care. FUG likes her for her connection to Bam, but whether she stays on your team or not doesn’t really matter to us.”

Pissed, Khun growled, “Then we’ll ditch her. I say we leave her alive out of respect for Bam, but I won't help his attempted murderer go any further.” Around him, people nodded in agreement. E and H exchanged a look, their emotions unclear with the masks, but a glimmer of excitement was there.

After all was said and done, E and H left the room and walked down the halls, finally removing their masks for once. Overdramatically, E threw up her hands and put them behind her head, “Aw man! Things are going to be way more different and exciting this time around! My nerves are practically giggling with excitement, I don’t think I can wait seven whole years! Can you, Hatz?” E turned back, her orangy golden eyes glimmering in the light as they were met with onyx black ones, equally eager.    

Hatz nodded, ‘Likewise, Endorsi.’ 

Later that night, Rachel’s door was lightly pushed open, a figure with a long ponytail entering to stand over Rachel, “Hello there, you must be Rachel. How do you feel?”

Rachel sat up, growling, “Are you with FUG? How could you lie to me? This wasn’t supposed to happen. They were supposed to be mine. My teammates! My sword and shield! But you guys sold me out! How dare you? This wasn’t supposed to happen! It isn’t fair!” 

The woman waved her hand, smiling beneath her black and blue mask, “Ah yes, but that just means they weren’t worthy of being teammates to a star such as yourself. Don’t worry, it’ll be my job to give you the perfect team to get you wherever you want to go and give you whatever you want, just as you deserve. You’ll be treated like a princess without even needing to pretend to be paralyzed.” 

Smiling, Rachel sat up, “Ah, that’s a relief. But… who are you?” 

The woman stretched out her hand, which was covered by a dark blue glove, “You may call me Y.”  

Chapter Text

3

Walking into the palace of Repellista Jahad, Yuri could hear a voice announce, “The Great Princess of the 13th Month Series! Yuri Jahad is here! In line!” On either side of a long aisle, tall soldiers straightened up, spears in front of their faces. At the end, the source of the voice, a shorter brunette man ordered, “Salute to Yuri Jahad! For the eternal glory of Jahad!” From the other end, Yuri strolled in, reaching the butler and guide, Alumik Edrok, who bowed, “Welcome. Princess Yuri.”

Yuri put her hands on her hips, “Don’t you think it’s silly to make so much noise everytime I visit my sister?”

Alumik bowed again, “I’ll keep that in mind, princess.”

Just then, another voice cut in from the steps, a taller woman with long blue hair and a blue dress, “If you don’t like all this fuss, just give up being a princess. Then the whole tower will stay quiet about you.” This woman was Khun Maschenny Jahad, the owner of “Yellow May”. 

Yuri perked up, “Maschenny! When did you get here?”

The other girl smiled, “Well, a while ago. Congrats, Yuri. You got the Green April back! Father is so proud of you.”

Nervously, Yuri giggled, “Haha, it was just a coincidence.” I can’t exactly mention I got help from a FUG to retrieve it.

“To find one of the 13 Month Series by chance, how lucky are you? But isn’t it too heavy for a kid like you to carry two of them? I can carry one for you, if you want.”

Yuri narrowed her gaze, smile remaining, “I think you’re too old for that. Why don’t you give the may to me?”

Maschenny chuckled, a similar expression on her face, “How can you say that to your older sister?” 

Yuri put a hand on her hip, “I learned it from you.” Tense silence hung in the air between the two of them.

Which Alumik gladly broke, nervousness in his words, “Haha… you still seem to get along so well together. Why don’t you move to the living room and have some tea? I’ll prepare it right away.”

Maschenny started to walk off, “No thanks. I have some work that needs to be done.” At the last second, she turned back to the guide, smirking, “Why don’t you prepare some hot chocolate for Yuri, Alumik? She’s too young to drink anything bitter.” 

“Yes, princess.”

With that, the bluenette left, “See you next time, Yuri. If you’re still alive.”    

Alumik turned back to Yuri, “Isn’t she always so energetic?”

Yuri’s smile softened, “Yeah… that makes me hate her more. Oh, and where’s my sister? Is she still stuck in her room?”

“Yes. It looks like it got worse. I’m worried.”

“I see.” 

The two weaved through the halls until they reached a giant door with clouds painted on it, Alumik knocking, “Princess, princess Yuri is here… Princess?”

A voice spoke up from the other side, “Oh! Let her in!” 

Alumik bowed, “Well, I’ll be back when the tea’s ready.”

Yuri turned to him, “Alright. Thanks, Alumik.” But before he got far, she added, “Oh, Alumik, wait. Cafe Mocha for me. With lots of syrup and whipped cream.”

The man replied, “I’ll just get hot chocolate for you.” 

Waiting inside the room was a girl with pink hair, looking at a lighthouse while snacking away in complete darkness. Yuri walked over to her and took a seat in a nearby chair, “Hey, I’m here. You haven’t changed. Can’t you at least turn on the lights?” 

The other girl whined, “I can’t. It’s hard to concentrate.”

Yuri sighed, “...Whatever.”

Repellista congratulated, “Congrats, Yuri. You retrieved the Green April, huh? Heehee. You’re the first princess to get two of the 13 Month Series weapons since Garam. Why don’t you try to gather them all?”

Yuri shook her head, “No thanks. You know I’m not interested in that.”

“Heehee. No? By the way, what brings you here?”

Yuri perked up, “Oh. I got a favor to ask.”

Repellista guessed, “Is it to find an Irregular that you were personally looking for? The boy that came into the tower five years ago, but died while taking the test on “The Floor of the Tests”? But he’s dead!”

Yuri lowered her gaze, saddened, “...No… he wouldn’t die like that.” She shot up and begged, “Please, I beg you! I’m sure you can find him! I really want to find him! That boy… That boy! Is! Super cute!” 

Reluctantly, Repellista sighed, “Fine, if you insist, I’ll give it a try. Oh! But I also have a favor to ask. I also have something I want so much. You should get it for me. How’s that? Sounds fair?”

Pondering her reply, Yuri surrendered, “Darn it. Alright…”

Alumik announced from outside, “Princess. The tea is ready in the dining room.” 

As Yuri ran towards the door, she turned back to Repellista, “Ok! Don’t take too long finding him!” With that, she left.

From the shadows, a voice spoke up, shifting with every word, “Sis, that was bull just to get Yuri to play your game, wasn’t it?” The source belonged to a man with golden blond hair, his face covered in a blood red mask, save gold symbols where his eyes would be. He wore finer gold and red clothes as well as a gold band with the symbol of glowing golden open doors on one wrist and a green bracelet with the outline of an outstretched hand on the other. His very presence radiated both power, but also a calming presence, as if you could trust him to have your back and stab it simultaneously. His hands were covered by black gloves, save a red ring on his right hand with a symbol of three eyes on it. The man grinned, a fang peeking out from his mouth, “You know exactly where the 25th Bam is, don’t you?”  

Repellista grinned childishly, “Aw man, you got me. But if you knew that, why did you want to see me, big brother?”

With a flick of his wrist, the blond revealed a slip of paper, “I want you to find someone for me. If you refuse, I’ll tell Yuri where the Irregular is and you won’t get your item.”

Taking the slip from him, Repellista asked, “Someone even you can’t find? Who is it?”

“Her name is Arie Adalin Hon. I want you to track her down and tell her that the Prince of the Red Light District has what she entered the tower for,” informed the blond, leaving the room and walking out into a smaller hall with dimmer lighting. 

“Isn’t it a risky play to bring that piece in too soon, W?” A more feminie voice spoke, the source taking shape in the blond’s shadow. It was a shorter girl with flowing brown hair, save the purple and dark blue tips, tucked back behind a headband with a Yeon flower on it. Her eyes were hidden behind a pale pink mask with gold highlights, which almost seemed to glow in the darkness. She carried a sliver and pink umbrella over her shoulder, and a dark look on her face. Her dress was tight with darker magenta colors and a gold ribbon across her waist. The handle of her weapon had the same hand symbol and she donned the same gold bracelet with the open doors symbol. She smiled eerily, “The others will be upset if you compromise everything because of emotions, you know.”

W smiled, lowering his head, “Don’t worry, M. I know what I’m doing, or have you lost faith after all these years? Just tell the others it’s finally time for the two of us to make our move as well.” M nodded, vanishing back into the shadows. Chuckling, W reached up and removed his mask, revealing the glowing gold eyes with a red ring around the edge of the irises. He peered up to the mural of a fake night sky, “The day is peaceful and bright, but it is never eternal. After all these years, it’s finally time for the sun to set and night to return once again. Aren’t you excited, Viole?” 

On the 25th floor, a voice spoke, “Hey A.A., have you heard the news?”

“What?”

“ He’s made an appearance on the 20th floor as a slayer nominee.” 

“A slayer nominee? I suppose that makes sense. What made him catch the news’ attention?”

“They say he beat a Ranker in a fight one-on-one. Though E and H say that it was a game of sorts instead of an actual fight.”

“Regardless, that’s a huge improvement. Which family is the Ranker from?”

“Mule, apparently. Have you heard of them?”

“Mule family? I’ve never heard of that lame family,” replied Khun Aguero Agnis, setting down his cup. He donned a new outfit resembling that of a boy scout with knee high socks and hair tied back in a ponytail. 

Another voice spoke up, a feminine one, “Hey Khun! How are you expecting to win over that scout while looking like a fashion disaster, you idiot? You better not be risking the chance for me to be with my boyfriend because of your terrible sense of style.”

Khun huffed, “Your one to talk, cake-face. This is the fashion style of this floor. Would it kill you to look into those things every once in a while.”

“Whatever, you better not scare this guy away. I knew I should’ve gone and won him over instead.”

The first male voice cut in, “It doesn’t matter who went, we ended this scout. Khun has more dishonorable recruitment tactics, but he’s effective and that’s what matters.”

Khun cut in, “He’s here now, so I have to hang up. Don’t you kill each other while I’m gone.” The other two began to protest, but Khun abruptly cut them off before they could. 

Suddenly, A new voice spoke up, the chair across the table being taken by the source, “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m the scout, Edin Dan.” The voice belonged to a man in orange, Dan. He poured himself a drink in the other cup, asking, “So, is it the silver fish that you’re looking for? Silver fish can be quite difficult to find. They don’t come out during spawning season. And that’s almost half of the year! They’re even harder to catch when in a mated pair. I’m the only Regular in the area who knows how to catch one. You found the right person. But - I’m just a bit expensive. You look like you are in a rush, so how about 2,000 points?”

Khun pondered, “2,000 points… that’s not too bad. Then, how much would you need to have you join my team?”

Dan closed his eyes, sighing, “...Darn… I thought this would be a good business deal… but you came to recruit me…” He began to get up, “If you’re not here to ask me to catch the fish, I’ll get going. I’m not planning to go up the tower yet.” 

Khun ignored his denial, “I’m Khun Aguero Agnes. Just call me Khun. Edin Dan. the speedster who has never been caught on an enemy’s lighthouse all the way up to the 25th floor. Because of his talent, many Regulars have asked him to go up the tower together, but he turned them all down and lives his life as a hunter. Why aren’t you going up?”

Dan leaned back in his seat, “It’s none of your business.”

Khun retorted, “It is. I want to put you in my team. Join my team and go up the tower with us.” 

Distant, Dan looked down, “No way. I’m sick… of watching Regulars get killed…”

“So you’re suffering from “20th floor disorder”. That’s lame. Well… if that’s how you feel… Let’s make a wager to decide. That’s only fair…”

“Why do you get to decide all by yourself? What’s so fair about it?”

“If you can get out of the cafe without getting caught, you win. If I catch you, I win. If I win, you join me. And if you win, I give you this.” Khun pulled out a blue stone and set it on the table.

Seeing it, Dan’s eyes widened, S-Suspendium! Where did he get one of that size?

Khun smirked, “So you’re in, right?”

Dan lit up, “Of course! I am!” Moron! Do you think you can beat me with speed?   

Khun rested his hand on his chin, “Alright. Now - try your best to get out of here… avoiding all these people.”

Dan stiffened, “What?”

“I actually played a little trick on you before you arrived. I hired all the Regulars in this cafe. Even if you’re fast, do you think you’ll be able to escape from all of these people?”

Dan hesitated, nervous, “Don’t bluff… How could you have hired all of them?”

Khun chuckled, “Then try to get out, if you don’t believe me. They are all strong Regulars. I’m worried I might have a corpse as my new teammate. Why don’t you give up and just join our team?”

Jerk… Dan looked around and noticed the door sitting behind Khun, slightly down the hall. An idea came to mind, grabbing the tablecloth, That’s! I think you prepared well… He threw over the cloth, causing the stone to go flying in the air, “But you missed something huge son of the Khun family!” In the chaos, he snatched up the stone and sped out the door in a blur, “I’ll take this!” In the hallway, he laughed as he ran, Haha… stupid boy. What’s the point of having all those people in the cafe if you sit at the table right beside the exit? But, to his surprise, he only reached a dead end. Shocked, he slid to a stop, “W...What? Why is it blocked?” 

Behind him, Khun approached, “You’re trapped, Dan. Why didn’t you think that I was trying to lure you here? Moron. I didn’t hire anyone in the cafe. I lied to corner you here. Why did you trust me? You should give up now.”

But instead of doing so, Dan just shoved his hands in his pockets, “Ha… Did you - really think you could trap me here? I’m sorry, but I’m faster than you think. Way faster.” As soon as the last word left his mouth, he sped past Khun in an orange blur and back the way he came, shouting, “Nice plan! Young man! Your only mistake was that you underestimated me! Since I won, I’ll take this.” He lifted the stone with a sinister smirk. With that, he walked through the cafe and towards the front, Haha - so stupid. He was too cocky in front of the speedster. Thanks to you, I’m a billionaire now! He turned to the cashier and informed, “The blue-haired guy in the back will pay.” But before he could take another step, the other man turned and shot him in the neck with a tranq dart. Shocked, he felt his body collapse to the ground, dropping the stone, What’s… this?

Once again, Khun appeared, almost reading his mind, “It’s an anaesthetic strong enough to make eels sleep. Looks like it hit your vein, so you’ll fall asleep soon.”

Dan choked, “You… son of… you said you hadn’t hired anyone here!”

Khun reached over and picked up the stone, “Heh. You trusted me?” With that, he shoved Dan into his lighthouse and took a seal taxi back to his house across the wide sky. 

Stepping inside, he immediately was greeted by  a tall man in green and black, who stood up, “You’re back, Khun.”

Khun nodded, “Yes. Nothing new?”

The other man sighed, “I wish.” He turned to the thudding sound on an unconscious Dan falling to the ground. “Did you get this guy?”

Khun explained, walking down the hall, “He was getting cheeky with me, so I got rough. He’ll wake up soon so teach him a lesson.”

The other man picked up the body, walking down a different hall, thinking, Another one knocked senseless. 

After a few minutes, Dan stirred awake, murmuring, “Aw… my… head… where… am?” He noticed the man in black and shot up, “Who! Who are you?”

The other man cleared his throat, “You’re awake. I’m Novick, the spear bearer of Khun’s team. Nice to meet you.”

Dan realized, “Darn… Are you on that jerk’s team? Then this is...”

Novick answered, “Yes. This is our lodging. You were brought here after being tranquilized.” 

Realizing his mistake, Dan facepalmed, “Darn it. I was blinded by that suspendium… And now I have to go up the tower with that swindler…”

Novick stood up and reached out his hand, “Haha. Have you given up then? Welcome to our team. I’m a spear bearer. The name’s Novick. Hurling is my speciality.”

Taking the hand, Dan got to his feet, “...Damn… I’m a scout. My name’s Edin Dan and I’m a speedster.” Feeling the other’s grip, Dan narrowed his gaze, ...He’s… strong!

Novick informed, “All the other members are waiting outside… So I’ll introduce them to you in a minute. Let me warn you first… They’re all dangerous, so be careful. Well, I’ve heard that you are pretty good, but… you… shouldn’t show off here. Before we leave, got any questions?”

So many! But Dan only asked, “Why is that Khun guy going up the tower this way? Forcing teammates to join him…”

Novick began to bite his nails, “That’s… There’s… a boy, we don’t know where he is and or what the details of the situation are, only Khun and two of his most trusted teammates know that information. He’s building a team to find the boy and take him away from whatever situation he’s in.” 

Dan smiled, spinning his finger vertically, “That’s… surprisingly sweet. I never knew that the blue bastard could have a heart like that.”  

Calmly, Novick warned, “...One more warning. If you do that in front of Khun… that finger will be gone by the next day.”

Dan narrowed his gaze, “What a complicated man.”

Novick ordered, “What I just told you stays between us. Don’t talk about it with anyone else. Now let’s go. I’ll introduce you to our teammates.” He led Dan into an open field, where a group waited. The group consisted of Cheonhwa, now in much more flexible armor with his sword on his back, Endorsi, now in a paler blue dress with knee high black boots and a black and dark blue belt around her waist, and a short Khun. 

Cheonhwa stood up, “You must be Dan, the scout, right? Good to finally meet you. Sorry if Khun was aggressive.”

Endorsi rolled her eyes, “I told you that we should have just sent me.” 

Dan realized, “Y-You’re-”

Novick cut him off,  “Let me introduce everyone to you, Dan. They are our teammates. He’s,” He gestured to Cheonhwa, “Cheonhwa Hong, fisherman.” He gestured to the chick, “Spear bearer and cook, Gyetang. He’s here because of princess Endorsi.” He gestured to the quiet Khun in the distance, “Fisherman, Ran.” He gestured to Endorsi, “And she’s princess Endorsi.”

Dan stuttered, “Y-You’re really Endorsi J-Jahad! I-I can’t believe you’re really here!”

Endorsi giggled, “Aw, but don’t fangirl over me too much, I want teammates, not subjects.”

“U-Understood!” 

Novick cut in, “Anyway, … now that all of us are here… should we start?”

Dan repeated, “S...Start? What?” 

Novick explained, “There’s always… a hierarchy in every group. We rank… the power of our members.” 

Confused, Dan clarified, “We’re going to rank each other? You mean… we should fight right here and now?”

Endorsi corrected, “Nah, mainly Ran, Novick, and new members. The rest of us never participate. It would be too easy to beat you losers.”

Cheonhwa crossed his arms, “And I never enjoy pointless fighting. Especially against allies.”

 Novick cut in, “You can give up if you want to.” 

Excited, Dan lit up, “Hmph! You’re underestimating me! Let’s fight! I’ll show you my powers!”

Behind him, the remaining members, minus Ran and Novick, raised their hands, “I give up.” 

Surprised, Dan paused, ...Huh? Um… I have a bad feeling… about this… 

Novick filled the screen with raw power as he clenched his fist, “Alright. The new member has got guts.” 

Scared, Dan raised his hand, “Um.. can I give up too?” But it was too late, for Novick already went to hit him so hard that he buried the man in a crater in seconds. 

While the others, save Endorsi, went to help Dan recover, Novick turned to Ran, “Finally, it’s the two of us. Stand up, Ran. Let’s see who’s stronger between the two of us.”

As the three watched from the crater, Dan weakly climbed up to see, “Ugh… Darn… Huh? What’s up with them? Have they always been on bad terms?”

Cheonhwa explained, “Well the two fought when Novick first joined and he lost to Ran. He always uses new members as an excuse to fight Ran, but Mr. Novick has never beaten Ran. I think he’s only here on this team to fight Ran.”

“R… Really? Is that kid that strong?” 

“Yes, maybe… He’s likely one of the top five strongest among E-class Regulars, along with Endorsi, of course… And Novick is probably among the top ten.”

Dan realized, “Wait, who’s stronger between Ran and Endorsi?”

Endorsi giggled, “Why, me of course.”

Gyetang shrugged, “No one knows, Endorsi refuses to fight him. I bet it’s because she’ll beat him too easily.”

“Of course I would!”

Cheonhwa countered, “Nope. She’s afraid she’ll lose for once.”

“Why you-!” 

Ran leapt off of his rock, “Doesn’t this get tiring? You’ll never beat me.”

Novick summoned his weapon, going for an immediate attack, “You’re too confident. This time, I’ll beat you, Ran!”

But Ran leapt down from above, charging electricity, “You’re annoying!” Their attacks met in the middle, creating a giant explosion. 

Watching the fight, Endorsi sighed, “Bam… this is such a pain… I just wanna find you and go on our date already, dammit…” 

One the 21st floor, Wangnan walked through the market area, fetching groceries and mumbling to himself, when a figure appeared in front of him, “Hey, it’s been a while.” 

Surprised, Wangnan jumped back, looking up to the source, which was W himself, “Oh! It’s you again! How many years has it been since you came to visit?”

W shrugged, “A decade, but who’s counting?”

Ten years ago, Wangnan entered his apartment, tossing aside his jacket and collapsing back on the couch, “Dammit… Failed again. But this time…” He closed his eyes, thinking back to all his lost teammates. Sniffling, he bit back tears and shook his head, “Wangnan… dammit you have to focus on passing. You can’t change the past, so you have to keep climbing… for their sake.”

“That’s a good mentality to have, kid.” Sitting in the open window was a taller blond man, eating a chocolate bar. Immediately, Wangnan let out a fearful cry so W assured, “Don’t worry, I’m not the debtor guys. I’m just a travelling Ranker and saw you sulking after leaving the testing area, So I thought I would pay a visit to encourage you. Here, got you a chocolate bar.” He tossed the younger blond another candy bar.

Skeptically, Wangnan caught it, glancing between it and the man, This man… he gives me almost a… familiar feeling. His aura screams someone extremely powerful and important, but… I don’t feel afraid of him. Just who is he?

 Seeing the other’s skepticism, W hopped down from the window and bowed, “My name’s W, Prince Wangnan Jah.” Before the other could even speak, W held up his hand, revealing a matching red ring. 

Wangnan gasped, “You’re the other-”

W shook his head, “I’m not the other owner of the red ring that the man mentioned to you all those years ago. If you want to find him, you’re just going to have to keep climbing. Unless you’re giving up already.” 

Wangnan scowled, “Not a chance. I’m just getting started.” 

W grinned devilishly, “Good.” He summoned an extravagant weapons inventory, littered with weapons of all shapes and sizes. Reaching out, he grabbed a simple gold needle with a fancy handle made of red spirals similar to the red horns peeking out of the younger blond’s neck. He handed it to the Regular, “Start training with this. We’ll meet again when the time is right.” 

W turned to leave, But Wangnan called out, “Wait1 Who are you? Why won’t you use your real voice?” 

W smirked with a new, unclear emotion, “Daring, aren’t we? Good, that’s a good quality for a leader. Don’t worry, you’ll find out who I am when the time is right. But you should focus on just passing the test first. Get good teammates to go up the tower with, Wangnan Jah. Then we’ll meet again.” 

Wangnan chuckled nervously, “Hehe… yeah… B-But why are you here now? Are you finally going to tell me who you are and what you know?” 

Putting a finger on his chin, W pondered jokingly, “Hm… Nah.” He reached out and ruffled the shorter blond’s hair, “Stop worrying about that. All you need to know is I'm an ally of yours who wants to accompany you guys as you climb the tower.” 

“W-Why? Why would-” Wangnan replied, shocked.

“If you think it’s because of Jue Viole Grace, you’re wrong,” from Wangnan’s shadow, M emerged. She smiled at him with the innocent warmth of a child rather than a Ranker. M put her hands behind her back and assured, “Don’t worry, we’re not FUG nor do we have any personal things to gain from Viole. He’s just a simple E-class Regular, after all. Why should we care about him? No, no. We want to stay with you guys because we’ve always taken an interest in the defectives, and your whole team is full of them!” 

Without hesitation, Wangnan opened his mouth to retort, but W beat him to it, “M, that was rude.” He appeared behind the girl and whacked her in the back of her head, “Sorry, she’s lost her brain to mouth filter a long time ago.”

M snickered, “Bold of you to assume I ever had one.” 

W shoved her head down, “Can it, you.” He looked back up at Wangnan, “What she means is, the super powerful guys like most of the great family teams are predictable. A bunch of guys who are average in power, but backgrounds are anything but, however? Now that’ll be a much more interesting thing to witness.” He let go of M and ordered, “Go get the sweets I told you about and meet me in the spot in twenty minutes.” M nodded and ran off into the nearby alley. W turned back to Wangnan and continued, “Actually, M saw the two kids and took a liking to them since she was also fairly young when she climbed the tower. And I wanna train you with that needle I gave you. We want to join you guys because we like teams who feel more like families than teams who are only in it for their own interests. So, can we join you guys?” 

Wangnan hesitated, “Um… Well that would be nice, but you’d have to talk to my other teammates first.” W nodded. 

After M came back, the three returned to where Wangnan’s team were staying. It took some convincing, but the two managed to win over the rest of the team. As M stayed behind to chat with Arkraptor and Goseng, W made his way to the roof, where Viole was peering at the sky. W waved to him, “You must be the famous Jue Viole Grace. E and H told me about you.” 

Viole didn’t turn to him, “So… you know them?”

W scoffed, “You could say that. No one really knows those two, especially E. But, I’m surprised you do. They weren’t too harsh on you when you were training in FUG, I hope?” 

Viole shook his head, “No, not at all. They teased me a lot, especially E. But they were also really kind to me, making sure I was okay and updating me about my old friends. They always assured me that they were doing whatever they could to get me back to where I belong.” 

W nodded, “That’s a relief. And, I can assure you that we are. I can’t tell you what we’re doing, though. Sorry about that. And I know that no one could really be to you what your old teammates were, but hopefully you can feel safe with these guys, at least.”

Viole turned to him, “It’s alright… They’re good people who don’t see me as a god like several people in FUG want me to be.” He paused, then spoke, “Why… do the four of you hide your identities? Is there someone holding people dear to you hostage as well.”

W smiled and shook his head, “Not at all. It’s not a matter of trust, either. It’s just… our identities would complicate things if people knew. So we stay hidden to avoid that. None of us enjoy it, these masks are so itchy it’s definitely a con all by itself. Maybe one day I’ll tell you. Why don’t you worry about yourself, Viole?”

He turned to walk off, but Viole called out to him, “Hey W!” Curious, W turned back to him, “I hope… you guys reach the day you don’t have to hide anymore.” 

W smiled softly, “Me too, Viole. Me too.” 

A week passed and W and M were returning from exploring the floor as Ehwa shoved past them, fury rolling off her in waves. Beneath his mask, W quirked a brow and entered the apartment, “Wangnan what did you do?”

Wangnan whined, “Why do you automatically assume it’s my fault?” Somehow, W still managed to shoot him a deadpanned look despite no one being able to see his eyes. Sheepishly, Wangnan admitted, “Alright, it’s partially my fault.” 

M shrugged, “Whatever. It’s just Yeon being a stubborn brat again. She was like that for the first couple days with us, remember?” It’s only because she saw my flower that she trusted us. She turned to the two kids, “Hey kids, let’s go train!”

Miseng whined, “Aw come on, can we finish this round? Please?”

Prince protested, “Besides I don’t need your stupid training! I’m way stronger than whatever you could teach me!”

“Uh-huh, I doubt that loan shark’s son,” countered M, putting a hand on her hip. She turned to leave and waved to the kids, “If you want to train, meet me in the hall in five minutes. Decide whether you want to be stronger or play games.” With that, she walked out of the apartment.

Prince scowled, “What a jerk.” 

Miseng, on the other hand, quietly put down her controllers and turned to follow M, “I’m gonna go train, Prince.”

Surprised, Prince sneered, “Eh? You’re really going to work with that girl? I doubt she can teach you anything.”

“I need to get stronger. So if she can make me stronger, I’ll do it.” 

Seeing the longing and distant look in the girl’s eyes, Prince set down his own controllers, “Alright, fine. Then I’ll come with you. I don’t like that woman so it’s my job as a grown up to protect you from strangers.”

Miseng lit up and nodded, “Okay! Then let’s go!”     

In the elevator, Yeon growled, What’s wrong with them? They’re all on Viole’s side! They must have been tricked because he’s pretending to be a nice guy! Although… it’s true that his food is better than mine! Darn I have to admit it! Darn! I have no choice but to uncover your crimes myself, Viole! She began to flare up, causing those around her to move away in disgust and fear. She followed Viole who now donned a blue shirt and brown jeans, into the marketplace, laughing to herself, Hoho… I registered a tracking service on your device just in case. Wherever you go, you can’t get away from me, Viole. It’s time to show your true self. Evil Jue Viole Grace! Ho ho. She followed him into a karaoke place, confusing her, Karaoke at this hour? Is he a bagman? Suddenly, a scream rang out, causing the boy to rush inside in a panic. 

Inside, a giant man with a bat yelled, “What? You little jerk! So you aren’t going to pay?” 

A blond girl with ears whimpered, “Um… Well… we’re employees… we just… work… We don’t… have money…” 

“Huh? Are you playing me for a fool? Give me your money if you want to keep this place in one piece! Before I, Jue Viole Grace, get angry!” 

But instead of being scared, Hwaryun moved past the shorter girl and mocked, smirking like a jerk, “Jue Viole Grace… I’m disappointed. I wasn’t expecting the new slayer to be a smelly pig like you. Is FUG really this lame?”

At a table behind them, E yawned, “Come on, Hwaryun. Aren’t you being mean? That’s totally offensive to the cute pigs to compare them to that guy.” Across from her, H bit his lip to contain a chuckle. 

The man slammed his fist on the table, “What? A pig? Did you just call me a pig?”

Unfazed, Hwaryun leaned on the table, “That’s right. Pig pig pig pig pig pig pig pig pig pig pig pig.” 

The man screamed, scaring the small girl next to Hwaryun, “Do you wanna die here?” But before he could attack, a blast of shinsu shot through and came between the two, knocking the large man against the far wall. 

One man nearby cried out, “Mr… Mr. Viole! You bastard! How dare you shoot Mr. Viole?” 

Moments later, all of the Regulars, minus Hwaryun and Viole, ran out of the building, crying and screaming in pure fear. Seeing this, Yeon ran into the building and yelled, “Viole! What have you done?” 

To her surprise, the only people she saw with him were Hwaryun, E and H. The guide greeted her with a smile, “Hello.” H simply waved. 

E grinned, leaning on her hand, “Now what do we have here?”  

Yeon narrowed her gaze at Hwaryun, Who’s that creepy girl? Is she close to Viole?And who are those two? They have the same symbol and mask like W and M. 

Behind her, the door opened and a tall, terrifying man appeared, looking down at her, “Huh? Who’s this girl? Hey, Ryun. didn’t you say it’s just the three of us today? Is she a new member? Hmm. She’s pretty.”

A new member? Yeon clenched her fist in realization, “...I get it… You’re from… FUG!” 

The new man narrowed his gaze, fury in the redness of his eyes, “By the way, lady… I’ve seen that hair pin before… isn’t that the crest of the Yeon family? Are you their spy?” 

Immediately, Viole stepped in, “Mr. Jinsung, stop! She’s not a spy!”

At first, that didn’t seem to affect his heavy tension, before he lit up and smiled, “...Oh. Are you Viole’s teammate? I apologize.”

But Yeon just freaked out at Viole, “Who’s your teammate? Don’t lie! You fooled your teammates by coming here secretly to meet with the FUG! What are you planning with them huh? You trick us like this and you call us teammates? How ridiculous! You’re worse than dirt! You pretended you were so nice and-”

The man cut in, intimidating aura flowing off him in dark waves, “Hey, girl. Isn’t that enough?”

Yeon started to shout, but Viole warned her, “Stop, Ms. Ehwa! He’s a high Ranker!” She seemed unfazed, so he wacked her in the back of her head, sending her collapsing to the ground. Viole assured, “That’s enough. I knocked her out.”

E walked over and leaned over Yeon’s body, “So harsh with girls… just how do you ever expect to get a girlfriend, Viole?”

Viole retorted, “Do I ever need one?” E immediately opened her mouth to argue, but H stepped in and slapped a hand over his partner’s mouth, promptly shutting her up.

Jinsung cut in, “That’s all well and good, but what will we do with her? We can’t just leave her here.”

Hwaryun suggested, “How about we go to Viole’s house together? It’s quiet there and we can take her home.”

The man immediately brightened up, raising his hand, “Oh! I’m in! Good idea! What should we buy as a housewarming gift?” 

H deadpanned under his mask, That’s a terrible idea.

With that, the four left before Viole could protest. They walked back to Viole’s house and Jinsung, Viole and Hwaryun sat on the couch across from Wangnan and Goseng while E and H made their way to the kitchen.

Nervously, Wangnan concluded, “Haha… so… you’re… friends… of Viole?”

The man took a piece of fruit from the plate in front of him, “Yes. I’m Jinsung Ha. I’m a FUG member but I’m not a bad guy. Don’t look at me like that…” Wangnan laughed nervously as the two family members silently panicked. 

Wangnan repeated, “Ahahaha… I see… You’re a FUG member, but you’re not a bad guy! Haha… But why are you here?”

Jinsung answered, “Well… I came to see if my slayer nominee was doing ok. I was his martial arts teacher. I’ve been wondering about his teammates. I heard that it wasn’t his choice to form the team. How did you trick a slayer nominee? You’ve got guts, huh? And where are your other teammates? I heard there were seven.”

Goseng informed, “Some were training then were going to check on our rivals for the next exam. It starts this week.”

“Oh, is the exam this week? I’m glad the team seems to be harmonious. I was wondering cause he’s too gloomy. It’s nice to have bright teammates. I’m just worried that you’ll bully Viole.”

Wangnan hissed mentally, I'm not crazy enough to do that!

As they continued to talk, Arkraptor and Yeon sat in the next room, the former admitting, “They are more talkative than I thought. They aren’t like what I had imagined.”

Yeon groaned, “Don’t be tricked. They look friendly, but they are capable of anything.”

E spoke up, “Why thank you. I feel so loved around you, Yeon girl.” 

Yeon snapped, “Well you shouldn’t, evil FUG!” 

H asked, ‘Why are you even here if you hate FUG so much? You can leave, you know.’

Arkraptor guessed, “It’s because of Viole, isn’t it?”

E smirked, “Oh? Does a great family member have a crush on the enemy? How cliche and romantic. I would root for you guys if I didn’t know that Viole had eyes for another.” 

Yeon seethed, “I would rather die than have a crush on him!” 

Arkraptor corrected, “No, it’s because she’s afraid to join another team.”

Yeon’s eyes shot over to him, “W-What? No way, I’m not-” 

“I heard from Wangnan that during your first test you couldn’t control your powers. No one wanted to team up with you. Aren’t you afraid to reveal the fact that you can’t control your powers? As a member of the Yeon family?”

Yeon closed her eyes, “...If so… what will you do? Will you laugh at me? Because I’m an idiot who can’t even control her own powers? Because I’m defective?”

“Not really. I’ve got too many defective team members. You’re great in comparison. Viole can stop you anyway. So I wanted to tell you to stay if you want to. Because you need him.”

E blinked, whispering to her partner, “I… feel like we weren’t supposed to hear that.” He shot her a look that just read, ‘Yeah, no shit’. 

Arkraptor looked up at them, “Hey, I noticed that you have the same symbol and mask that two of our newer Ranker allies. Are you guys friends?” E opened her mouth to reply when the sound of screaming interrupted her. From the window behind the counter, a blur flew through and kicked the woman in the back, sending her to the ground. The source was revealed to be none other than M, who stood over the woman and stomped on her. 

Stomping her foot, M snapped, “E! I! Told! You! That! I! Called! Dibs! On! Training! Them! Why! Are! Your! Sorry! Asses! Even! Here!” From another door, W emerged and grabbed M, but he struggled greatly to restrain her.

W hissed, “M! Control your murderous tendencies a little bit!” He looked up at H and E, “Sorry guys. She’s fast.” 

E giggled, getting to her feet, “Man, what a lousy leader. You can’t even control your own teammates.”

W argued, “I think everyone’s given up on controlling M a long time ago. I just have the best chance of her actually listening to me.” 

M whined, “But why are you two here?” 

Yeon stood up, “Wait, are you four teammates? You two are FUG?”

M burst out laughing, “W? FUG? No way! We were teammates but these two ditched us to join FUG because they were bored. Not that I blame them.”

W elaborated, “We were friends as Regulars, so when we became Rankers we stayed in contact. We're not FUG, but we were friends before FUG, so we didn’t care when they did join.” 

Ehwa gestured to M’s headband, “But you’re a Yeon! You’re supposed to be more honorable than to associate with those guys!”

M reached up to her band, “Oh this? N-No, I’m not a Yeon.” She grabbed the hairband and looked at it with a distant, sad expression, “This w-was… my friend’s… I wear it… In her memory.”

Ehwa’s expression softened, “Oh… I’m so sorry. W-What was she like?”

“She… was a lot like you. Didn’t like or trust FUG… jumped to conclusions… But… still a good person.”

W spoke up, “Um… M… Where are the children you were training?”

“...Fuck.” 

That night, W and E were sitting on a higher roof, overlooking Wangnan, Viole, and Ehwa interacting. W removed his mask, revealing the same gold eyes as Wangnan’s, but slightly narrower with age. E removed her mask as well. E asked, “So, when do you want to take the next step?” 

W shook his head, “Not yet. Let him process the information he received today, then we’ll play that card. If he gains even more information on top of what he already learned, his brain will fry.”

E shrugged, “It’s not my fault you're weak.” She leaned back, “And what of the Hand of Arlene?”

W waved his hand, “No need for all that mess. If Khun can take his entire team, then they can save Horyang from his fate.”

E scoffed, “You think all of them can beat Viole?”

W shook his head, “Possibly, but wouldn’t it be better if they didn’t? I guess we’ll have to leave it up to Khun’s clever ass to figure something out.” 

E rolled her eyes, “Whatever. We shouldn’t talk in more detail. He’s listening.” She gestured her head over to where glowing gold eyes were watching in the shadows. The two were careful to use shinsu to hide their faces, but Karaka could still see and hear them all from across the rooftop.

W narrowed his gaze, Hello there, Karaka. 

Four days later, while the Regulars made their way to the exam, W and M traveled out to the middle area. Looking out over the edge of the boat and into the distance, W noted, “Wow, I was so amazed by this sight before, but compared to what we’ve seen it’s… lackluster, y’know? Maybe I’m just being stupid again.” 

“You’re just being stupid again,” replied M, leaning over the edge of the railing.

W glanced down at her, “Were you actually listening to what I was saying or did you just hear that part?” Silence. Sighing, W dropped his head, “Figures. Anyway, do you even know where to go? We need to beat the others.”

M shooed him away from her, “Now who’s the one with no faith? Give it time, give it time. We’re really close.”

W gestured out towards the empty sea, “Where is it then? It’s a giant beast, shouldn’t be that hard to miss!” 

Reaching up, M tugged at one of his neck horns, “You have to wait for it to surface, idiot! How can you lead and be this stupid?” Angry, he shoved her away just as a giant shadow rose up behind them, cloaking them in darkness. They tilted their heads back to look all the way up to the giant beast towering over their ship. M smirked, “You doubted me?” 

He glared at her, slipping on his mask, “Not. A. Word. Let’s just go.” With a burst of shinsu beneath him, he zipped off the boat and towards the surface of the beast. Rolling her eyes, putting on her mask, M bent down and shot off the boat after him. In a matter of minutes, the two landed on the belly of the beast, inches away from the blowhole. Approaching the hole, W asked, “You got-”

“-The map? Already ahead of you,” finished M, pulling up a map on her pale pink lighthouse. Nodding, W jumped inside, flipping to land on his feet at the bottom. A second later, M followed, cringing at her soft landing, “This is. So gross.”

Ignoring her comment, W crossed his arms, “Where to?” Glancing between the map and the insides, M gestured to a wide cavern at the end of the hall. As she started to walk in that direction, she summoned her inventory and grabbed her umbrella. Behind her, W did the same, grabbing a simple silver needle with a green handle. 

As they reached the cavern, a voice called out, “Who’s there? More Rankers?” 

Stepping past M, W called out, “Urek Mazino? We’re not here to fight you.”

Urek sat up in the shadows, “You dare call my name? Wanna die sooner?”

W held up his hands, smiling and suppressing a shiver, “Now now, I mean no harm. If I may, I’ll introduce myself. My name is W. My partner here is M. Perhaps you’ve heard of us?”

Urek questioned, “You mean your friends of Yuri? Why are you here? To fight?”

“Ah, so you have heard of us. No, we are not here to fight if we can avoid it, but instead came here to bear a warning. A team of Regulars will arrive moments from now. They were given a test to retrieve the jewel of Zigena in order to pass. You cannot kill them, even if they refuse to surrender. One of them, a slayer candidate by the name of Jue Viole Grace, is the Irregular Yuri is looking for. She cannot know he’s alive just yet, but if you kill him or his teammates, I’ll tell her.” 

Urek narrowed his gaze, “Are you… threatening me?”

W waved his hands defensively, “Are you kidding? I’m way too much of a coward to do something like that! I just came to warn you.” Nearby, the voices of team Sweet and Sour rang out as they entered the beast. W waved goodbye and turned to leave, “Well, I can’t speak for the greatest active Ranker in the tower, but I wouldn’t be very proud of myself if I resorted to killing Regulars who were forced into a situation they didn’t want to be in.” He looked down at M, “You brought the teleporter?” 

M sneered, “Oh? Now you acknowledge my existence? I was starting to wonder why you brought me.”

“Aw come on M, you know I’m better at winning over people. You’re too childish and blunt,” W countered. At that, M stuck out her tongue, bringing out a small glassy orb that filled the area around them in a faint pink glow before the duo vanished all together.

Urek blinked, “...Strange duo. They left before I could even ask them anything.” 

Chapter Text

4

The two made their way back to the apartment, stopping for food on the way. By the time they got back, the others arrived from their test minutes later. Playing dumb, W and M panicked and immediately took Viole from Horyang’s arms. M summoned her lighthouse and pulled out several medical supplies, the girls overlooking her shoulder. While doing so, she called up E, telling her about Viole’s condition. W, remained silent, but shot the other teammates a dark glare under his mask, causing them to shiver. After a few seconds of glaring, W sighed, “I’m not going to bother asking what happened because clearly it was a bothersome experience for you guys.” He glanced at his pocket, “I need to make a call. You guys have fun explaining it to the FUG guys, they’re very protective of Viole.”  

“Wait, what, no, don’t leave us-” 

W shut the door in their face and made his way towards the market district, pulling out his pocket. Closing his eyes, he spoke, “Contact Princess Repellista.” 

A moment later, the princess’s voice came through, “W! My lovely brother, how are you doing? What a surprise for you to call me!”

W cut her off, sighing, “Hey sis, can you get to the point? Viole got badly hurt on his last test and I’m not really in the best mood.” 

“Snappy. How rude, and even after I did what you asked me for.”

W’s eyes widened, “You found her? Where is she?”

Repellista informed, “She’s currently a C-class Regular on the 51st floor. Do you want me to send her to you now?” Immediately, W opened his mouth to reply, but found himself hesitating. Debating his plans and possible risks, he shook his head.

Realizing that she can’t hear him, he replied, “No, give her my pocket contact information and tell her that I’ll contact her with the information she wants a few years from now. It’s too risky if she joins the team this early on.”

Surprised, the princess grinned, her smile obvious in her tone, “Oh? What are you planning, my lovely brother? Care to let me know? Just hearing possible plans is getting me all excited. I'm bouncing in my seat!”

 Feeling the same contagious grin, W shoved his hands in his pockets, “Well then, you’ll be bouncing for a while. Did you get my thank you gift? Hopefully you know what to do with it.”

“Of course! I can’t wait, brother!”      

Meanwhile, a few minutes later, Prince and Miseng were sitting on the couch, Prince assuring the smaller, shaking girl. Suddenly, the door flew off of it’s hinges, nearly hitting the chair in front of it. A voice boomed, “What the fuck did you do?” E stood there in the doorway, radiating cold, intimidation aura. H appeared next to her and grabbed her shoulder, relaxing the Ranker slightly. 

Jinsung came in on the other side of her, “We heard from M that our slayer candidate got hurt. Where is he?” 

Terrified, Miseng gestured to Viole’s room, “In there. He’s unconscious but M’s keeping an eye on him.” With a nod, Jinsung silently left the group and made his way to the boy’s room. 

With a layer of cold fury, E approached the two kids, “I ask again. What did you do? ” 

Wangnan entered, “Aw come on, lay off the kids, would you? It wasn’t their fault. We ran into Urek Mazino himself, there wasn’t much we could do.”

H perked up, ‘You fought Urek Mazino. Mazino actually fought you guys?’

Prince scowled, “Fought us? We totally were going to beat him but then he and Viole wanted to go one on one. It’s not our fault he turned tail and ran after knocking FUG unconscious.” 

Suppressing an eyeroll, H admitted, ‘That must be a shock, then. It’s not everyday that someone of that power just appears on the 21st floor. I admit, I’m curious what he’s doing on such a low floor. But I know better than to hunt him down and ask.’

E stood up, somehow becoming even scarier and dark, “So it was Urek Mazino, huh? Dammit, W, what good are you if you can’t even do something as simple as that.” She turned to leaving, marching over to the door. 

H immediately stood up to stop her, but the target of her fury beat him to it, “What could I do, E? Fight him myself instead of Viole doing it? I told him what he’d do if he killed Viole, there’s not much else I could’ve done.”

E immediately began, “Yes there was-”

But again, she was interrupted by another, “It was enough.” M emerged from the door, closing it behind her, “The wound is shallow. He’s mainly unconscious due to the fall rather than any significant damage internally. So it’s very obvious that Urek was holding back against him. My guess was the attack was meant to knock him unconscious rather than kill him so he can question him.” 

Prince narrowed his gaze, “Why would he want to question Viole? Urek Mazino’s never shown interest in FUG.”

W spoke up, “It’s because Viole’s an Irregular. That’s why he became a slayer so early and why he’s so powerful.”

“What?” 

W brushed past the Regulars, “I would tell you the details. But Wangnan could put it better than I could.”

Prince turned to the blond, “What? What is he talking about?” 

Wangnan scowled, “Thanks a lot.” 

In retaliation, W just grinned, “You will mean that soon enough. Now, if you’d excuse me, I have to comfort your girlfriend.” 

As W passed him towards Ehwa’s room, Wangnan’s face turned bright red, “W-Wait, what are you on about?” But his words fell on deaf ears. 

Goseng emerged, “I heard yelling, what’s going on?” 

Guess it’s time for me to tell them. Sighing, Wangnan ran a hand through his hair, “Guys… Take a seat.” 

As the rest of the team gathered to talk, save M who went back to treating Viole’s wound, W reached out to Yeon’s door. Just as his finger grazed the doorknob, he hesitated. What do I even say? Sorry that your family turned out to be filled with assholes? Taking a deep breath, he threw open the door and stepped into the darkness, “Wow, never knew a Yeon was capable of looking discouraged. Aren’t you guys known for having more pride than you know what to do with?”

In response, Ehwa muttered, “Really not in the mood.”

Expression softening, W walked over to her and took a seat at the foot of the bed, “You know, I don’t really get all that pride that comes with being an elite. So you have a pretty symbol and people recognize your name. So what? Why does that entitle them to act like they can get away with judging someone they haven’t even taken the time to meet and abusing a race just for a pretty jewel? If anything, the fact that they are elite should mean they get away with less and should be setting an example, you know? I mean, just hearing about all that messed up stuff just wants me to take action to change it, but I can’t even do anything cause I’m just some Ranker. Why should some average joe like me have to change the tower? Shouldn’t that be the job of those so-called elites? It really pisses me off.” Seeing Yeon’s eyes widened, W hopped to his feet, “What am I doing? Talking to a little rich girl who gets defensive about the smallest things and can’t even cook.” 

As he left the room, E grinned at him, “You’re evil. That just reminded me why I decided to agree to this.” 

W asked, “Where’s the others?”

E replied, putting her hands behind her head, “Jinsung’s on the roof, the boys went shopping, the girls are watching over Viole, and H left a minute ago.” 

W crossed his arms, “You are… surprisingly calm. Didn’t you have the biggest crush on Viole before?”

Dropping her arms, E kept her grin, now sharpened with boiling fury, “Oh I am definitely going to kill you later. But I moved on from that crush centuries ago, unlike some people.” Scowling, W punched her in the arm, causing her to flinch away instinctively. A tense second passed before both burst out laughing. It was a short moment, but it relieved a lot of pressure neither realized had been placed on them before it had left. 

A short while later, after E left, W sat on the couch when he heard Yeon’s door fly open. She shot out of her room, joining the rest of the girls and a sleeping Viole, announcing to the group, “Hey guys! I’ve made up my mind! To be a real elite of the great family! I will bear witness to all the dark sides of the ten great families as I go up the tower with Mr. Viole! Then after I become a Ranker, I’ll return to my family and correct their mistakes! To show my will… I’ll take up the cooking duties Mr. Viole had taken on for me! A real elite should know how to cook for oneself! I’ll be the cook starting today!” 

“Y-Yeon! I’ll make the meal! Why don’t you…”

“No! I’ll do it!”

“Waaaaaaaaaah!”

“Why? Why are you crying?”

“Miseng I’m back! Huh? Why is she crying?”

“Well… Yeon said she would cook today…”

“What? Are you nuts?”  

In the other room, W sipped away at his drink, amused.  

That night, W snuck out onto the roof and hid himself in the shadows. From what he could make out, Wangnan and Jisnung were talking about something W took effort to not listen in on. Only when Wangnan turned to leave did W make his presence known, “Wangnan, wait.” Grabbing the smaller blonde’s wrist, he turned towards the far shadows and called out, “Come out, Karaka. I have something that may catch your attention.” Jinsung opened his mouth to protest, but W held up a hand, not even glancing up to the man. From the shadows, a man with glowing gold eyes and covered head to toe in silver armor, save the slayer robes. He held his hand over his chest, revealing the shining red ring with the symbol of Jahad on it. In W’s grip, Wangnan went suspiciously still. 

Muffled by the armor, Karaka asked, “Who are you? What could you possibly have that interests me? Do you even understand who I am?” 

 Rolling his eyes, Dramatic as ever, he threw up Wangnan’s hand, revealing a matching ring, “Just this. Thought you two should meet and have a talk.” Before either of the boys could move, W glanced up to Jinsung, “Why don’t we leave them alone? I’m guessing they’ll have a lot to talk about.” Despite his seemingly relaxed tone, his words held a sense of sharpness that made Jinsung listen to him and follow the blond into the building. As they walked through the empty halls, Jinsung opened his mouth to speak, but W beat him to it, spinning to face the taller man, “You wanna know why I let them know about each other, don’t you? But what I’m asking is why FUG would clearly know about the two but not let them meet. Care to answer that?”  

Jinsung growled, “We had our plans. Plans that you just fucked up more than you even realize. Plans-”

“-To pit your students against each other? That’s not very honorable for a martial arts teacher, don’t you think?” Silence. “...Whatever. Honestly, I don’t know why Karaka doesn’t- didn’t know about Wangnan, and, to be honest, I don’t care. I let them know because I know how it feels to be kept in the dark and, to do that to someone else… Would be the worst mistake I’ve ever made.” With one, final, frustrated huff, W turned his back to the other and walked off. 

Meanwhile, Wangnan followed Karaka into a giant red hall held up by black and red pillars, the far walls hidden in shadow. To be honest, he couldn’t bother to focus on the scenery with all the thoughts running through his brain. Karaka, the slayer Karaka, is the other owner of this ring? Wh- How? Why is he in FUG if- 

Karaka turned back to him, taking a seat on a nearby stool, “Before I begin to answer your questions, tell me what you know. Do you know about-”

“The ‘Red-Light District’? Yes,” Wangnan finished, causing the other’s eyes to widen. Wangnan continued, “But… I have no recollection of that place.” He launched into a huge spiel about his past with his nanny, the ring, and a mysterious man. 

Afterwards, Karaka sighed and replied, “Alright, so you basically know next to nothing. That’ll make things… harder. Before I start to answer your questions, let me inform you that even I do not have all the answers. There is a third of us that is the only one who I know has all the answers.”

Wangnan questioned, “Then where is he?”

“He’s dead.” Karaka retorted, a slight hint of sadness in his tone. Closing his eyes, he continued, “Regardless, I’m sure any new information will be sufficient for the time being. First, let me start with the rings. Do you know about the key to the 135th floor?” A nod. “Those who know about the key believe that the fragments are only in the thirteen months, but the truth is they only have half of the key. The other half are in these rings. As for your “nanny”, she was not some kind of nanny. She was…” 

Later that night, Wangnan opened the door to the apartment to see Arkraptor sitting on the couch. The grey-haired man perked up, “You’re finally back. Goseng left out a plate for you in the kitchen.”

Wangnan smiled weakly, “Tell her thanks. And thanks for waiting for me, sorry I was gone so long. Where’s W and M?”

Arkraptor waved his hand absentmindedly, “Asleep.” Wangnan nodded, clearly dazed as he made his way to the kitchen. Closing his eyes, Arkraptor asked, “Where did you go so suddenly? W told us that you were visited by someone. Care to tell us who?” Wangnan shook his head, a guilty look crossing over his expression. Again, Arkraptor only sighed, “...Fine. You’re probably hungry and tired.” He stood up and walked towards the door, but glanced back, “...Wangnan. Remember our conversation earlier today? You can trust us with your problems too, not just Viole’s.” With that, he walked off, Wangnan’s distant eyes following him out the door. 

Sorry, Arkraptor. Not with this… not yet. 

Walking through the hall, Karaka called out, “...Poken. Find some trustworthy Regulars… and tell them to keep an eye on Viole and his teammates. And if they act the least bit suspicious… kill them all. Except, don’t touch that blond boy, no matter what.”

“...Understood, my lord.”

The next day, Wangnan sat across from W. W grinned, “What’s up, Wangnan? Why’d you want to talk to me privately?”

Wangnan narrowed his gaze, “How do I get Viole back to his friends?”

His grin only grew wider, “Ah, so that’s it. Alright, I guess I should spoil that surprise in return for withholding that… other information for so long. Oh, and before you ask, the guy Karaka mentioned isn’t me either, so don’t even bother.” Silence. “Anyway, that’s not what we were talking about, so let me get back on topic. Since you’re a Regular, you must have heard of the workshop.”

“Workshop? Well… Yes… Isn’t that where they make items and inventories?”

“Yes, that’s right. All the items in the tower, like pockets, lighthouses, and needles are made at this workshop. They have 7 main workshops, one being on the 30th floor. Here, an item battle is held every five years for E-class Regulars.”

“An item battle?”

“Yes, the battle is between Regulars and the winner takes the items made in the workshop. Aka ‘the Workshop Battle’. You have two years until the next battle. If you can get there in two years… and join the battle… you can meet Viole’s friends.” In the boy’s room, the two girls perked up as Viole’s eyes fluttered open. 

Khun’s voice came through the purple pocket, “Hey - did you pass the test?” 

Shibisu replied, “Unfortunately no, we failed.”

Endorsi laughed, “Ha! I bet that’s because you don’t have your strongest player. With me, you would have won with ease.”

 Anaak scowled, “Are you kidding, witch? With your lazy ass, things would have only been harder.”

“Excuse me?”

Anaak snapped, “Come up here already! I wanna fight you!” 

Endorsi sneered, “You sound like you got stronger, brat.”

Shibisu agreed, “I do wanna see our two teams spar.”

Khun snickered, “Come on, like you don’t already know the outcome. Wait right there so I can give you a beating.”

Shibisu grinned, “All right, don’t be late. Come up soon! Let’s meet in two years… at the workshop.” 

Two years after that day, M glared down at the phone in her hand before glancing up at Miseng, “What’s this?”

Miseng explained, “This is Emily! She’s a chatting robot that you can have a conversation with! She knows a lot of things, like you!”

Oh you poor innocent thing- “Wait, why would I need this? If I want to talk to people, I can just talk to you guys, W, H, or E.”

Miseng frowned, “But she can help you make hard choices and talk about things you may not want to talk to the boys about!”

Smiling weakly, M knelt down to look at Miseng in the eyes, “Oh Miseng, you don’t need a bunch of 1s and 0s to have those kinds of things. That’s what a team is for. We’re not such a lame team to need to rely on this thing instead of basic communication. How about this? Instead of going to Emily to talk about girl things, just come to me! We’re both girls who were very young when we entered the tower, so we have a lot in common.” Miseng lit up, nodding before running off. Once she left, M casually threw the phone at a wall, shattering it.  

In the shadows, W spoke up, “Anger problems much?”

“Shut the fuck up.” 

Somewhere else, E laid back on her bed, staring up at the small machine, “Hey H? Why the fuck did you give this to me?”

H sent a message to her pocket, ‘It’s not evil, it’s a machine. It saved my life and allowed us to know the plans about Bam so don’t be salty.’

“But it was manipulated by the bitch.”

‘But if our plans go correctly, it’ll be our best tool to fuck said bitch over.’

E lit up, grinning demonically, “You just reminded me why I love you.” 

Floating above the testing area, Khun typed away at his lighthouse, “Darn it. Where are they? They just disappeared. How’s your end, Novick?”

Novick informed, “Nothing much yet. There’s nothing I can do if I don’t know where the enemy is. I never imagined they could tunnel underground. They’re the worst type of enemy to face at a march battle. We don’t know where they’ll pop up in this vast area… We might lose without even getting to try anything.” Behind him, Gyetang jumped away from a blast, his feather burning up slightly. 

Khun questioned, “What about you, Cheonhwa?” 

Cheonhwa scowled, kneeling down against a wall and pressing his hand to it, “Luckily, my time with lady Narae before we separated allowed me to learn some sensing tricks.” He closed his eyes, sending a thin wave of shinsu through the ground. 

Endorsi scoffed, “I still refuse to trust any anima.”

“Lady Narae is not evil, you stubborn princess. Just because you were dumb enough to fight a Ranker anima does not change that fact.” After a second, his eyes flew open, “One of the mole guys are digging this direction on the far left side.” 

Endorsi pumped her fist, “Yes! Finally something to fight.” She launched off in that direction even before either of the boys could reply.

Sighing, Khun began, “...Cheonhwa…”

Cheonhwa straightened up, pulling out his sword, “I’m on it, Khun.” 

Nodding Khun closed his eyes, “That’s one of the mole people down. But where is the other one? And what are Dan and Ran doing?” 

In their area, Dan slid against the wall and cried out, “R-Ran? What’s wrong? Even though I made a slight mistake, we’re still a team! Let’s… not do this during the test, huh?”

Ran countered, “Who was the one playing with a toy during the test, huh?” Dan opened his mouth to reply, but the wall next to him suddenly burst open, causing him to leap out of the way and next to Ran. The source was a mole person, who emerged from the smoke, coughing. 

Seeing this, Dan smirked, “See? Emily was right!”

Ran countered, “That’s a coincidence.”

The mole man noticed them and barked, “You… You! How did you know I’d pop through here? It would’ve been impossible to track me down by sound because of the bombing!”

Dan cracked his knuckles, “Teehee. It’s thanks to Emily. Anyway, there’s no time to talk. You’re dead, Mr. Mole. Come on… don’t run away.” But before he could move, a giant needle shot out from the tunnel, making him jump further back and out of the way. The source was a giant, four-armed man who walked out and stood behind Mole, smirking. 

Mole laughed, “Hehe. Did you think I would be by myself? I think you are the ones who are dead!” 

Dan paused, unfazed, before glancing to Ran, “Mole or baldy?”

Ran replied, equally unimpressed, “Both. You just run.” And with that, the orange man vanished in a blur, zooming down the tunnel.  

The giant man tried to swing at Ran repeated, shouting, “Running won’t help! There’s no delay in my attack! You’re just a sorry piece of dead meat that will struggle and die in my trap!”  

“Troublesome.” Ran leapt into the air and threw out a lightning fist, shattering the man’s needle and knocking him out. 

Scared, Mole cried out, “D-Darn! A-Anyway, we won this test! Heh! There’s another mole man on our team! Unfortunately we were caught by you, but my other teammates must be near your cannons! As soon as we hit the button, the game is over!”

Ran lifted his head, “I’m not worried. He’ll get there first. That hole is connected to your cannons, right? Our scout went into that hole. He’ll soon get to your cannons. He’s got plenty of time. He sucks at everything, except being fast.” Dan shot out of the tunnel and to two members of the other team. But before the other two could react, he sped past them and hit the button. 

Above the field, a voice announced, “A team’s cannons have been seized! B team wins the test!” 

Afterwards, Khun rested Dan’s Emily phone across the table from said man, asking emotionlessly, “So, did you really trust this chatting robot Emily without informing the light bearer? Did you just decide on your own, Dan?”

Dan chuckled nervously, “U-Um… You don’t know because you were in the Regulars area, but Emily’s really famous here. She answers everything you ask. Some people say Emily found someone who was believed to be dead for hundreds of years… And anyway, we won as a result!”

“If she’s wrong, who will take responsibility? We’re not such a lame team that we have to rely on such uncertain information, Dan. You know this, don’t you? Were you thinking that even if you made a mistake, your teammates would help you fix it?”

Dan closed his eyes and began to get up, “...Sorry. I guess you’re right. I’m sorry.” 

As Dan walked off, Khun asked, “Can I have this device? You don’t need to use this outside the test area anyway.”

“Ok. You can.”
  In the hall, Cheonhwa was waiting, leaning against a wall, “Hey Dan, was waiting for you. Wanted to see if Khun gave you a hard time.”

Dan shrugged, “Nah… I deserved it.”

Cheonhwa admitted, “I mean to trust a machine for the fate of a test was stupid. But don’t worry, we all have gotten eaten out by Khun before. The blue bastard acts like he hasn’t done anything wrong, but then chews out all of his teammates for the littlest things. So, even though what you did was extremely stupid, you’re not the only one who’s done something that dumb.” His mind flashed back to the testing floor, namely the mess which was their hide-and-seek test. He patted the other man on the back, “But hey, if your mistake was really that bad, Khun probably would have kicked you off the team.”

Dan smiled, “...Thanks, man. I’m gonna go talk with Gyetang.” With that, he walked off, leaving Cheonhwa alone. 

Inside the room, Khun stared down at the phone, mumbling to himself, “It really happened… It really happened, just as E and H wrote in their stupid pocket plans. How could they even…” Cautiously, Khun typed in, ‘Who is E?’ 

Emily replied, ‘A High Ranker that has proven to be an ally of FUG!’ 

‘What is her full name?’ Silence. Khun sighed, frustrated at his own stupidity, How could I think- His thoughts were cut off by a chime from Emily, causing him to glance at the screen. Reading the answer, Khun’s eyes widened way more than he thought was possible.

‘Endorsi Jahad.’  

On the 28 floor, in the third test spot, a tanned man swinging through the trees, spotting Miseng bolting through the foliage below. He shot down towards her, going for a stab, but it phased through the young girl, surprising him. Confused, he looked around to see a bright light from a branch above. The light faded to reveal Miseng standing there, two observers floating behind her. Without thinking, he launched up towards her, but she leapt down towards him, sticking out her foot to kick him in the face and sending him flying back to the ground. Panickily, she controlled one of the observers to fly underneath her, catching the small girl and breaking her fall. She floated to the ground, next to the man, and kicked him in the head again, knocking him unconscious. Brightening up, Miseng thought to herself, Thank you M for teaching me shinsu bursts and giving me those observers! They’re really letting me be useful these past tests! She pulled out her pocket, “Um… Mr. Arkraptor? Did everything work out over there? I took care of the monkey guy that was chasing me.”

In a nearby clearing, Arkraptor complimented, “Wow, nice job kid. That training’s really paid off, huh? We took care of things on our end too.” 

Arkraptor counted, “One. Two. Three. Four. We already eliminated their lightbearer… So two more to go. I think they were headed toward Wangnan. What should we do? They’re the most dangerous.”
Miseng informed, “Viole’s going that way.”

Arkraptor glanced at her, “Is he? But… just in case, let’s follow after him.”

Said blond ran down the pathway, panting, “Ugh I’m dying…”

Just then, a voice called out behind him, “Little chick! Chick!” Immediately, Wangnan ducked into a nearby bush. The voice was a boy with pigtails, Quaetro Blitz, who looked around, “Where are you? My chick? Come here and play with me, chick!”

Wangnan scowled, Darn… Why does he keep following me? There was other bait to follow. Did he notice that I have this key? What should I do? I have to open that box with this key to beat the test. Should I wait for the others? But if he finds me and gets the key, the test is over. 

Quaetro yelled, “Come out… if not, I’ll burn the whole forest!”

Darn it! I should do something before that crazy bastard really burns everything down. Once Quaetro turned his back, Wangnan ran out, Nice! Now’s my chance! Yes! We won! This test is over! At the last second, a cord came out and snatched up the key, bringing it to a new guy with one eye. 

The new guy, Chang, smirked, pocketing the key, “You were careless, Quaetro.”

Quaetro spun around, “You… chick jerk! You froze me and tried to use the key! You reminded me of my chick that died when I was young… But you dare to betray me? I’ll tear you to pieces!”

Wangnan panicked, Darn it… What do I do now? I used all my bombs and there are two of them… I need to buy time! Hurriedly he pulled out his inventory and pulled out his red and gold needle. Faking confidence, he raised it to Quaetro, “Time for a chick’s revenge.” He charged towards Quaetro, using his training to dodge around a fiery baang. Wangnan leapt for a stab, but Quaetro side stepped out of the way and pulled out a dagger. Their blades met in the middle and Wangnan grinned to himself, All that training with W has paid off! He summoned his inventory to throw out a string around Quaetro’s dagger, yanking it free. Surprised, Quaetro leapt back and summoned two more baangs between them, shooting them towards Wangnan. Shit! 

But before it could make contact, Viole came between them. 

Wangnan ran over to him, putting away his needle, “Y-You’re here! Why are you so late?”

Quaetro huffed, “Are you that famous slayer nominee? Who forgot his place after only fighting weaklings?” Charging forward, Quaetro revealed a dagger, which Viole dodged around with ease. He then weaved Quaetro’s floating fire baangs as their owner yelled, “I’ll show you there are stronger E-class Regulars!”

As Viole jumped back, Wangnan noticed, “That… bastard! He can control three baangs!”

Quaetro smirked, “Why so surprised? Welcome! It’s your first time seeing three baangs, isn’t it?” To reply, Viole summoned five, causing the red headed man to stiffen up. Viole hit him with several attacks, knocking him to the ground.  

Standing over the redhead, Wangnan chuckled, “This is revenge for chick… tomato.”

Quaetro sat up, “What? Sounds like you haven’t been fried enough yet!” 

Watching it all, Chang narrowed his gaze, A blond boy with red horns on the same team as Jue Viole Grace. So that kid must be the one the guy mentioned to us. He spoke up, “Enough, Q. We surrender.” 

Quaetro whined, “What? Why Chang?”

Wangnan chuckled, “Scared you’ll lose?”

 Chang chucked him the key, “Be lucky you have good friends, slayer nominee. But don’t worry, we’re not done yet. We’ll see you at the workshop battle.” 

Quietly, Viole called out, “Wait, what friends?”

A flicker of surprise passed over Chang’s face as he pointed up to his scar, “Don’t know their name. They wear a mask and a symbol of doors. They dress like they’re rich, but insist that they’re not.” 

… That’s all of them. The two boys deadpanned silently. 

Chang shrugged, “Ah well, maybe you don’t know them personally. But, be warned, if it weren’t for them, I would fight you right here, Viole.” With that, he walked off. 

Chasing after him, Quaetro called back, “See you later, chick!” Just then, the rest of the team arrived, calling out to the blond.

Horyang asked, “What happened?”

Viole explained, “They… surrendered. I think either M or W talked to them.”

Wangnan glanced over to him, “Not E or H?”

He shook his head, “No, they always encourage me to fight worthy opponents. I guess to make sure I’m actually improving.” Accepting that response, Wangnan went to finish the game.  

Goseng asked, as they began to relax, “I’ve been wondering this for a while now, but who are they? Why do they care about us and why do they seem to know so much?”

Ehwa agreed, “Yeah, we all accepted their presence without question because they’ve been helpful, but if they knew about Quaetro and Chang even before we did…”

Miseng chirped, “I don’t think they’re bad people! Miss M is always supportive of training me!”

Prince scowled, “Are you kidding? Both of them are so immature, it’s a surprise they survived to become Rankers.”

Viole shook his head, “I disagree. They’re powerful. I don’t see any issue in them becoming Rankers, especially if it were all four of them together.”

Ehwa sat back on the bench next to the box, “But… W and M are wearing super nice clothes all the time, yet they claim their nobodies? It just… doesn't add up.”

Arkraptor tossed her a bag of snacks from the box, “Why does it matter? They’re good people and because of them, we passed this test without many problems.” Reluctantly, the others dropped the topic, though the question still nagged in the back of their minds. As they all chose to relax, Arkraptor turned to Wangnan, “Hey, shouldn’t we slow down a bit? We haven’t had time to rest in a long while. I’m not worried about morale, but they must be tired. We need time to rest and recharge.” 

Unbothered, Wangnan put his hands behind his head, “Let’s keep pushing a bit more. Until we reach the 30th floor.”

“Why the 30th floor?”

The blond sat up, “The workshop battle is on the 30th floor in two months.”

“Workshop battle? That’s the battle among Regulars to fight for items?”

“Yes. We’ll join the battle… and get all the good items.”  

Shocked, Khun’s eyes scanned over the answer over and over, Endorsi… Jahad? How is that possible? Is this some sort of joke? A fake name in case anyone tried to look into her actual name? But then… why pick someone who’s a Jahad and a known Regular? Narrowing his gaze, he typed in, ‘Who is H?’

A moment later, Emily dinged, ‘Hatsu’. 

Frustrated, Khun’s grip on the phone tightened, “Dammit…” How could it be them? They’re both Regulars! Is it… time travel? No… No that’s not possible! But then… the fact that they seem everything ten steps ahead…

Just then, Khun’s door opened, revealing Cheonhwa, “Hey Khun-” Seeing the other’s frustrated face, Cheonhwa questioned, “-What did you ask Emily? I can come back another time.”

Anger melting off him slowly, Khun set down the device, “No, no, just tell me what you found, Cheonhwa.”

Cheonhwa nodded, “Well, you know the Devil’s Right Arm? The one that beat Hatz?” 

“Yeah? En- E and H said to find him if we really want to test out our team.”

“We found him. He’s on the 28th floor. What do you want to do?”

Khun grinned, “Something to lift my mood. Finally, it’s time to act. Let’s go catch a devil.” 

Later that day, while the team were gathered in the apartments, W stepped out onto the roof of the building. To his surprise not, M was sitting by the railing, drinking a can of beer with two more empty cans, and her mask, on one side of her and a box for a six pack on the other side. Sighing, W walked over to her and grabbed the six pack, “And… you’re done.” 

Pissed, M slurred, “Eh? W...What you on ‘bout? I-uh, I’m fine.” 

With softened eyes, W sat down next to her, removing his mask to look at her directly, “M. Are you going to be alright? At the workshop? …With Cassano?” 

Loosely, M waved her hand in his  face, “I’m… ugh… I’m g-gonna beh fine… Besides… shouldn’t I beh… askin’ you ‘at? Y-You did g-get stabbed… Hehehe…” 

W countered, taking the can from her hand before she spilled it on her dress, “But I’m not the one who resorted to alcohol just thinking about it.” Finally, the forced joy faded away from M, her body stiffening and brain sobering up immediately. Through rapid blinking, tears surfaced in her eyes. She almost seemed like a statue, if it weren’t for the water streaming down her face. Somehow, her eyes were both void and overflowing with emotions at the same time. With a pained expression, he grabbed her sleeved and pulled her into a hug, “Oh Miseng… I know. I know… it hurts…”

In his shoulder, she sobbed, “I miss them. I miss them so much. I thought the pain would vanish by being with their younger selves, but it’s… it’s not the same, Wangnan. There’s a wall now… one that won’t go away no matter how hard I try… I-It’s hard… to look at them a-and not see… their-” Her words became incoherent among her sobbing. Blinking back the tears in his own glassy eyes, he ran his hand through her hair, whispering silent comfort words… to both himself and the girl in his arms. Little did either know, standing on the inside of the doorframe, Prince stood, visibly shaking after hearing the whole interaction. 

Covering his mouth to keep silent, Prince clenched his other hand in a  fist, Miseng… That’s why you were so insistent on being with us? You damn hypocrites, telling us to come to you for problems but won’t even trust your teammates with your own problems. 

That night, W began to leave after Viole, but Wangnan stopped him, “...W? Are you going after them?”

W turned, forcing a smile, “Ah, Wangnan! Whatcha doing?” 

 Wangnan scowled, “You really take me as the type of guy who relaxes after I know Horyang and Viole left?” W’s smile softened at the leader’s action. Wangnan guessed, gaze darkening, “Horyang’s… going to leave, isn’t he? To… protect us?” 

W walked over to him, bending down to look him in the eye, “Why would you think like that?”

“Because… that’s what-”

“-You debated doing when you found out?” 

  Two years ago, W stood out on the roof, looking out to the fake sky, mumbling to himself, “This really doesn’t compare does it?”     

“W?” Nearby, Wangnan emerged, a distant look in his eyes. Cautiously, he approached the older blond and crossed his arms, a sheepish tone to his movement, “...Can I talk to you?”

W joked, “Struggling to cope with the fact that your entire life was a life?”

“Yes,” replied Wangnan, not a hint of hesitation in his tone. 

Under his mask, W’s gaze softened, “...Hey, if it helps, you can’t let it change who you are or what you're planning on doing. No matter what happens, don’t lose yourself, alright? There’s no point in dwelling on it, especially because you can’t act on it for now. It’s up to you if you want to talk to anyone about it, but I would recommend you do it soon, before you come to regret it.” 

Wangnan hesitated, “I-I want to, but…”

“You’re afraid for their safety? I… don’t blame you. Just make sure you don’t regret whatever choice you make.”

Back in the present, W closed his eyes, “You can connect well to Viole and Horyang because you, too, have an irremovable target on your back. So you should be able to understand that he isn’t leaving because he wants to. Horyang’s… misguided, but if you act on your instincts too early you’ll scare him off permanently.”

Wangnan glanced to the ground, “Then… what do I do? Acting on instinct is my whole thing.”

W ruffled the younger blonde’s ear, “Then play it by ear, moron. I ha d along day, so I’m going to bed before M chews me out… again.” As W walked off, he failed to notice Wangnan’s lingering gaze on him. 

Somewhere in the desert, a flying ship flew through the darkness, pulling to a stop outside of a desert village. The ship door opened to reveal Khun and his team stepping out. Cheonhwa gripped his handle, “So is this where he’s hiding?” 

Novick glanced down at Ran, “The Devil’s Right Arm is mine. Don’t touch him, Ran.”

Ran growled, “Shut up. Just shoot your spear, you spear bearer.”

Gyetang waved his wings frantically, “Please don’t fight on a mission, you guys!”

Endorsi scoffed, “You guys can have that baby prey, I got my eyes set on a bigger target.”

Dan spoke up, “What are you talking about, Endorsi?”

Gyetang scolded, “Don’t question the princess, Dan!”

Cheonhwa rolled his eyes, “All of you are so childish.”

Khun just grinned and started walking, “It’s time… to hunt the devil.” 

Meanwhile, Wangnan was watching television with Arkraptor when he heard Viole return behind him. Goseng greeted the ponytail boy, asking about Horyang without hesitation. To that, Viole lied, well enough so that eavesdroppers could believe it, but he couldn’t lie to someone who’s experienced in lying like Wangnan. Immediately, the boy began to get up to confront Viole, but recalled W’s words and decided against it. Horyang… be safe with your friend. We’ll be waiting if you want to return. 

In his room, W threw open a window and crawled out. Leaping out, he glided over the wide gap and landed on the hard dirt nearby. Looking around, he called out, “Who’s there?” 

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, chick? I see you haven’t grown at all.” From the shadows, a redheaded man with a scarlet mask and the symbol of closed, gold doors on the shoulder of his black jacket. Even under his mask, the giant scar running across the right side of his face was clear as day. Despite the heat flowing off him in waves, his sweatshirt was clearly made of heavy material and he wore baggy pants and red snow boots. He threw up his hands, insanity coloring his every word, “What an honor that the mighty king remembers his original subject! And here I was thinking that you forgot you chef, chick.”

Without hesitation, W summoned his inventory and grabbed a white sword with a gold handle, “You’re supposed to be dead, Q.”

Confused, Q looked down and checked over part of himself before turning back to W, “Nope. I look pretty alive. But you would have known that if you took the time to check. But no, instead the chick was too caught up in his new title and power to thank his most loyal wave controller for burning his enemies to ash.” Six baangs formed around the redhead, burning a bright red and spinning, ready to strike, “But that’s alright. I lost my taste in chicken anyway.” The baangs fired off in a spiral towards W. The blond lifted his blade and the flames dispersed around him, burning the ground instead. Calmly, W lifted his blade and threw down a single charged slash, destroying the ground and creating a crevice right next to where Q stood. Unfazed, Q’s grin only grew larger, “Looks like you missed, so the mighty king has grown weak after all. Either physically… or mentally.”

With a guilty glimmer in his eyes, W reached up and removed his mask, “Quaetro… please… I don’t want to fight a friend.” 

Ignoring him, Q turned to look towards the night, seemingly lost in thought, “You know what chick? I’ve been eating fried chicken for so long… I’m bored of the same old thing. I wonder… how would fried bear taste, don’t you?” Immediately understanding, W’s eyes widened. 

Horyang!

Outside the Hand of Arlene, Khun peered up at it, his team, save Gyetang, behind him, “The Hand of Arlene. I don’t know how it might’ve looked before… but it looks grotesque like that. It’d be better to just destroy it.”

Novick spoke up, “But, do you guys think he’s in there?”

Endorsi scowled, “Do you doubt us? Perhaps I should punish you for so much injustice.”

Cheonhwa hissed, “Endorsi no. Behave yourself like a princess for once… Please.”

Khun spoke up, “Regardless, I have a plan to eliminate the chance of him escaping. Ran, Novick, and I will head towards the inside of the statue. Gyetang is on standby with a lighthouse as our escape route in case things go haywire. Dan, you and Cheonhwa will search around the statue in case he tries to escape. Endorsi, you’ll check the village.” 

Cheonhwa nodded, “Nice, that’ll leave little room for error.”

Endorsi rolled her eyes, “Whatever.” Without another word, she shot off towards the village. I have had to put up with these idiots for years for you, Bam. So you better be grateful when you come back, you hear me? 

As Dan and Cheonhwa ran off towards the back of the statue, Cheonhwa asked, “What’s bothering you? I know there’s a question that you’re holding back.”

Dan jumped a little, surprised, “W-What are you talking about? H-How do you-”

Cheonhwa cut him off, “I’ve been on a team with Khun and Endorsi for years, who both may seem easy to read but are actually as clear as a foggy day. Compared to them, you’re like glass.”

“Gee, thanks,” Dan scowled, offended. But he sighed, drooping his head, “You’re not wrong, though. And, what I wanted to ask is… something’s going to go wrong tonight, right? You three didn’t want us to come here just to get one over on Hatz. If you did, you wouldn’t have insisted on bringing our entire team. What’s going to happen?”

Cheonhwa smiled, “Huh. You’re surprisingly deductive for an idiot. Guess they didn’t just place you on scout for your speed.” Sort of reminds me of Quant. Sliding to a halt, Cheonhwa answered, “And… yes. We didn’t come here to hunt a devil, we came here to hunt a god. A god of FUG, Jue Viole Grace.”

Dan froze, “What? The Slayer Candidate?”     

Softly, Viole left his room to spot Goseng fast asleep on the couch. Nearby, the door opened to show M stepping out, “She’s been waiting for Horyang to return. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her that he may not be.” Silently, she walked over and covered the other woman with a blanket.

Viole asked, “So… you figured it out?”

Tired, M responded, “It doesn’t take a genius to. W, Wangnan, and Arkraptor all figured it out as well. After all, isn’t that what we all would do in his situation?” Frowning, Viole nodded and began to leave. She cut him off, “You know what this reminds me of, Viole? What E told me about your situation with Rachel. Both of you are torn between your friends of the present, who willingly stay by your side, and the one person from your past, who was your everything. So, before you decide to question Horyang about his decision, let me ask you who you would decide between?” M straightened up and passed by Viole towards where she entered, shooting him a smile, “Oh, I’m not calling you out, though. Just thinking out loud. Ah, but whatever, I’m probably just still hungover from drinking. Go save Horyang, I met that Cassano and he doesn’t seem the most… trustworthy of guys.”  

Viole smiled, “...I will.” He turned to leave, M watching him go.

I’m sorry, Viole. I hope you don’t hate me forever for this. But… maybe one day you can forgive me. M took a seat next to Goseng, cautiously removing the other girl’s glasses. With saddened eyes, M rested a hand on the woman’s hair.

“Are you guys… leaving for the train?” Goseng asked, leaning against the doorframe to the Wolhaiksong hideout. 

Wangnan grinned, “Yeah, sorry Goseng. Luckily, Wolhaiksong was kind enough to keep you two here until we get back. Don’t you worry though! It’ll just be a year or so, then we’ll kick Cassano’s ass and wake Horyang up easily!”

Yeon scoffed, “Who’s this we?” Around the, the others chuckled, but the tension in the air remained thick. Despite it being a month or so, everyone still felt Horyang’s absence strongly. 

With tears in her eyes, Miseng ran over to Goseng and hugged her cousin, “You don’t have to worry about us, sis! I’m a big girl, so I’ll be fine! And Mr. Khun and Mr. Viole will be there, so we’ll be fine! You just make sure we have plenty of sweets for when we return!”

Goseng scolded, “Miseng… what have I told you about eating too much sugar?” 

Chuckling, Arkraptor stepped between the two sisters, “Regardless, stay safe, Goseng. The next time we see each other, it’ll be to wake Horyang up.” With that, the five departed towards where Khun was waiting. Behind them, Goseng watched with longing sadness in her eyes. Saddened, Miseng spared one final glance, sending the older family member a kind smile. 

Little did Miseng know at the time that it would be the last conversation she had the chance to have with the other Yeo girl.          

Outside, W looked up to see a bright streak of a scooter fly above him, the swaying of a long ponytail clear even far away from W’s eyes. Shaking, W tightened his grip on his weapon, A new party’s… after Horyang? Pissed, he turned back to Q, “Why are you bringing them into this? Your anger is at me, isn’t it?” 

Q laughed, “You try to sound brave, chick, but you’re practically shaking! Oh, maybe I haven’t lost my taste after all, because I suddenly feel famished for poultry again!” Holding out a hand, a flaming dagger with a  styled red hand formed in his grip. He spun in a circle, throwing it like a boomerang towards the blond. The other man swiped at the weapon, but the knife split in pieces and twirled in separate directions, coming towards W from either side. Snapping his fingers, an air current shot out from his body, evaporating the flames to nothing by smoke. Fury taking over his thoughts, he held out his blade towards Q, several glowing gold wires shooting out of it and wrapping themselves around Q. Becoming furious himself, Q lit up his whole body in a ball of flames, but they showed to have no effect on the magic cords. 

Slowly approaching the redhead, W growled, “ Answer. The. Question. ” 

Stopping his struggle, Q grinned at the blond man, “Oh the poor little prince. So insecure so he has to have his older self protect him from all his struggles. How will he break when all his plans go up in flames?” 

Scowling, W ran off, pulling out his pocket, “E! H! We have a problem! A new party is going to interfere at the Hand of Arlene! Get over there, stat!” Dammit, what are they going to do? 

Staring down at his map, Khun mumbled, “...I knew things weren’t going to go easily, but I didn’t think part of the problems would come from my own team. What the heck are they up to? Bam… where are you? When will you come?” He sighed, “I guess until I get word from Endorsi, I should send the remaining lighthouses that way. I hope they’re not fighting the wrong person.” 

Standing a good distance away from the statue, Dan cried out, “Are you guys insane? Why would you want to go after Viole? Why would a slayer nominee even show up in a place like this?”

Cheonhwa grabbed his hilt, “He’ll appear… We know he will. And his name isn’t Jue Viole Grace, it’s Bam. The boy we’re looking for.”

Dan gasped, “The reason you formed this team…” 

Suddenly, Cheonhwa’s pocket appeared, E’s shifting voice coming through, “Cheonhwa! There’s a problem! Another group showed up and are going after Viole! Keep your guards up! If he dies, it’s on your heads!”

“Understood,” Scowling he removed unsheathed his sword and called Khun, “Khun. Word from E. Things are changing, another party appeared and might take action.”

In his hiding spot, Khun scowled, “...Dammit. Head towards the statue and if you hear fighting, use the conflict as a chance to carve a way through the back. But do not take further action until we know the situation.” He hung up on Cheonhwa and dialed Gyetang, “Gyetang? Are you ready in case we need to teleport? Things may not be going as planned.” To his surprise, all he got was muffled static, no sounds of the bird’s chirpy voice at all. Narrowing his gaze, Khun glanced at his lighthouse only to see static on the screen. “Huh?”

Just as he reached out for it, a message appeared, ‘You’re caught in a trap.’ Surprised at the message, Khun spun around, failing to notice the sniper shot coming from behind and piercing him through the back, knocking him out.

Chapter Text

5

From the sand, a snake man emerged, peering at Khun’s body in the sand, “Huh? I thought he would be stronger than that. At least the bird guy put up a fight when I killed him. That was too easy.” He slithered towards the body, “She’s paying me a lot of money for someone so weak… She’s got plenty of money, I guess. Well, good for me anyway. Tee-hee.” 

Just as he was about to approach the body, a voice called out, “Narumada… ignition!” A green glowing blast, then as paper, came between the snake man and Khun. 

Caught off guard, the man slithered back, “Wha- Who? She said he would be alone!” Suddenly, an orange blur came behind him, knocking over the snake man and crushing him into the ground. The source of the attacks were none other than Cheonhwa and Dan. 

Dan growled, “Who paid you to kill him?”

Struggling under the scout’s body, the snake man chuckled, “Hehe… you’re too late. The poison went right through his heart, he's as good as dead.” 

Chuckling, Cheonhwa walked over to Khun, “Clearly you don’t know your target very well.” He glanced down at the bluenette, “Are you alright, Khun?” 

Unbothered by the attack, Khun hopped to his feet, “I’m alright.” Over his chest was a blue and white armor inventory, which he removed, “This protected me. Guess it was good that I brought it.” He glared at the snake man, “So… who paid you to kill me and Gyetang?”

The snake man hissed, “Do you think I’ll answer to you guys?” 

Pissed, Dan kicked the guy’s head, “You don’t have a choice, moron. Answer us or we’ll kill you.” 

In a single moment, the snake man completely lost his cool, shaking in place, “I-It was a woman with dark blue hair! S-She wore some sort of mask and hid her voice, so I didn’t know who she was! She didn’t even say her name! Please don’t kill me!” Hesitant, Dan glanced to Cheonhwa, who nodded. Carefully, Dan climbed off of the snake man, allowing him to get to his feet. 

Just as the snake man began to slither away, Cheonhwa raised his blade, “Sorry but only those who are prepared to die should kill.” Igniting his blade, he threw down his sword, chopping the snake man in two. Turning to Khun, the knight asked, “What should we do, Khun?”

Scowling, Khun ordered, “...We wait. If we act too soon, Bam’ll run again. We need to-” Suddenly,a  loud rumble came from the statue. He turned to the two boys, “...Let’s move.” He took off running, the two boys following behind him. 

Meanwhile, Viole and Xia Xia, a girl with a red hood and bunny ears, ran towards the statue as the same rumble rang out. Xia Xia glanced at her bright red lighthouse, “The sound seems to be coming from in the statue!” Without a moment of hesitation, Viole took off running. Surprised, Xia Xia chased after him, “Wait! Let’s go together!” Both were too caught up in the moment to notice a girl standing in the darkness of one of the broken statues, only her grin being clear in the shadows.      

Endorsi leapt after them, missing each trap with ease, Damn, he really did get stronger under FUG’s guidance. Good, that’ll just make him more worthy of the title of dating me. All that we need to do is solidify it in person. Watching the bunny girl, she noticed the girl purposely step on a trap. Furious, Endorsi created a single baang and fired it at the golem, destroying it with ease. Watching the other girl look around, confused, Endorsi’s grin grew wider, That’s what you get for trying to manipulate my man. But, to her horror, Viole only came over to pick up Xia Xia and run off towards the statue together. Somehow, Endorsi’s excitement turned to anger as she screamed to herself, Bam, you idiot! You can’t just do that to any girl! Not when you’re already taken! You’ll give her the wrong idea, you emotionally dense moron! Keeping to the shadows, Endorsi chased after the duo. 

Somewhere else, a woman with a silver mask, silver clothes, and silver hair lifted her silver bow at the ready, her pocket showing a message, ‘The pawns have begun to meet. Be ready.’ With her other hand, she tucked her hair back a loose strand of hair behind a silver, engraved ring. 

Reaching the statue, Khun called out, “Novick! Ran!” Looking inside, he noticed Viole and Xia Xia in the center of the statue, with Ran and Novick lying on a pile of rubble against the far wall. Khun’s eyes widened, It really is him… He really is alive. 

Laying his own eyes on the scene, Cheonhwa mumbled under his breath, “The FUGs weren’t lying to us.” 

Turning to the source of the voice, Viole’s eyes widened with horror, “...Mr. Khun? What is Mr. Khun doing here?” 

Novick turned to Ran, “Hey, wake up, Ran.”

Ran muttered, “Damn… I was relaxing.” 

Just as the boys begun to move, Xia Xia revealed a button from her cloak, “WAAAAAAIT! DON’T TAKE ANOTHER STEP! OR EVERYONE HERE DIES! I installed a bomb inside the Hand of Arlene. If I press the button, the hand will be blown up and we’ll die. So don’t move unless you want to die.” Viole showed visible shock and confusion before a beep rang out, making him fall silent. Xia Xia turned towards a second pile of rubble, “Cassano, come out.” From the rubble, Cassano emerged. 

The team exchanged looks and Ran lifted his finger, zapping the trigger out of Xia Xia’s hand. Novick sped forward and snatched it as Cheonhwa ignited his sword, creating a wall of bright green flames between the two demons. Cassano immediately readied for battle, but Dan was too fast, coming out and grabbing Horyang and speeding out an exit. Viole lifted his hand and froze Novick, readying to attack him when a loud rumbling roared out. From above, Endorsi emerged, “Did you guys get started without me?” Her eyes met a shocked Viole’s. 

Ms. Endorsi? 

Endorsi’s grin grew wider, “Why hello there, Jue Viole Grace.” Viole jumped out of the way of a kick and summoned five baangs. Endorsi chuckled, “Not bad, kid.” She dodged out of the way of three of the baangs and used two of her own to parry the last two. Leaping off of the air, she shot towards Viole and spun to kick him in the head. Frantically, he held up his arms to block, but Endorsi’s strength overwhelmed him, sending him flying back. Xia Xia tried to use her lighthouse field control on Dan, who was nearly out the door, but Ran froze her with electricity. On the other end of the clearing, Cassano sped towards Cheonhwa, but Khun’s lighthouses blocked the attack. Cheonhwa grinned and used his sword swing against the ground to fill the room with smoke. In all the chaos, he made his way out of the building after Dan. While Endorsi and Viole were exchanging blows, he made the mistake of revealing his gold eyes to her, causing her to comment in reply, “My my, I thought those eyes vanished seven years ago. How do you have the same eyes as my new boyfriend, I wonder?” Using his startled hesitation, she flipped behind him and kicked him in the back, sending him into a wall. 

Outside of the building, a message appeared on the archer’s pocket, ‘Things are going downhill. Just stir things up a bit.’ Eagerly, the girl grinned, lifting her bow and summoning a silver arrow.    

“...Understood.” The arrow flew free, shooting through the air with a sonic boom. The arrow pierced through the building, causing everyone inside the stiffen up in the shaking. In the chaos, Novick’s hand holding the trigger slipped, allowing Xia Xia, who was now free from her paralysis, to reach out and grab it. 

Xia Xia laughed, “Yes! You will all die here!” Without a moment’s hesitation, she pressed the trigger. 

Scowling, Khun yelled, “Dammit! We need to get out of here!” He and Endorsi made their ways towards the exit.

As they ran out of the crumbling building, Endorsi called to him, “What about the boys?” 

Clearly pained, Khun scowled, “...They’re strong. They’ll survive. Bam won’t kill them. Not now that he knows we’re teammates. We need to get out of the blast zone.” 

Inside the building, Novick and Ran lost their footing and collapsed into the rising ground, which took the form of a flying golem. Neither of the boys could process their situation, though, as the area of the statue became filled with a blinding light. 

Outside and out of range, the rest of the team watched with a scowl, Dan clenched his fists, “I can’t believe… my fast legs… left behind allies like that… again.”

Frustrated, Khun ran a hand through his hair, “Dammit dammit dammit! We had them! Bam was right there! Right there in my arms!”   

Cheonhwa spoke up, “It’s no one’s fault. Looks like that third party E warned us about ended up getting involved to let them escape. We can’t focus on that now, we have to keep moving forward. So…” His eyes drifted down to the badly injured and unconscious devil, “...What do we do with him?” 

Just as Khun began to answer, a voice called out, “Hey!” From nearby, W ran over to the group, waving to them. Seeing the team immediately go on guard, W explained, “Woah, woah, I’m friends with E and H. I’m friends with the big guy you’re all gathered around. If you’re wondering what to do, his other teammates will be here in moments to take him back home. We can discuss what to do then.”

Scowling with leftover fury from his failure, Khun relented, “...Fine.”

Dan seethed, “Seriously? You’re just going to trust him? Even after what happened?”

Cheonhwa finally sheathed his sword, “...No. He’s trustworthy. I don’t know what about him it is, but he’s giving off an aura that says I can trust him.” 

Endorsi yawned, “Besides, it’s not like we have many other options and I'm really too tired to care about another fight.” 

A few minutes later, the sound of a floating ship echoed out and the team turned to see Wangnan, Prince, Yeon, and Arkraptor step out, all seeing the rubble and freezing up immediately. Shocked, Wangnan asked, “...What… happened in there?”

Dan called out, “A lot.” All four heads whipped towards the team. 

Prince ran forward, seeing the body, “Lord Devil!” Falling to his knees, He glared at the team, “What did you do to him?”

W cut in, “They didn’t do anything. Most of them are Viole’s friends. And, with all due respect, they’re probably exhausted and Horyang needs treatment so can we just head back to the apartment?” 

Reluctantly, Arkraptor agreed, “He’s right. There’s no need to argue all the way out here.”  

The next day, while the two teams exchanged information, M and W stayed in Horyang’s room in case he woke up. While M treated the giant man, she asked, “So… Q’s alive and has his own group that’s targeting the others? But… why? Q was one of your most loyal teammates and even though he’s crazy, he never struck me as the traitor type.”

W hesitated, thinking back to the almost pained sharpness to the redhead’s words, “I… don’t know. Something changed since he vanished. I don’t know what it is yet or what they’re planning, but it isn’t going to be good.” 

Stepping outside, he heard Khun declare, “...Fine. I will train your team to be ready for the test and the workshop battle in one month. From there we’ll enter as one big team in case not all of us pass.”

Behind W, M spoke up, “That actually would be best, considering what the first game at the battle will be.” 

Cheonhwa perked up, “How do you know-”

M giggled, waving her hand innocently, “I have good connections.”

Clearing his throat, W elaborated, “She despises the Workshops, so to mess with them she hacks in and learns what the games are every five years and gives the information to a couple teams every year just as a subtle middle finger to them.”

Endorsi chuckled, “I like her already.”

Khun straightened up, “Then the two of us should talk.” 

After the teams separated, Dan walked onto the roof and stared out to the seemingly endless sky around him. It’s bright light almost seemed to mock him just by existing. Grinding his teeth, Dan stumbled forward and grabbed the railing so tightly his knuckles began to whiten. Nearby, a voice called out, “Dan?” 

Forcing a smile, Dan turned towards the voice, Cheonhwa, “What’s up, Cheonhwa? The bastard has another plan to share with us?” 

Cheonhwa walked over next to him, “No… I know you still feel guilty about leaving Novick and Ran. Everyone on the team bears that guilt, but you’re feeling the worst, aren’t you?”

Weakly chuckling, Dan asked, “Am I really that obvious? … Don’t answer that. But… yeah, this isn’t the first time I pulled something like this. The truth is… on the last exam I took before you guys came… I lost all my teammates. Unfortunately, we met some strong opponents. All my teammates died during the battle and… I… escaped from the test area by myself. At that moment, my fast legs… felt so pathetic that I couldn’t stop myself from weeping. When I was with you guys, I finally thought I had changed. But last night just told me that I haven’t changed at all. My fast legs still lets me be a pathetic coward.”

Cheonhwa countered, “But you’re not. You didn’t run away because you were terrified. Your fast legs let that man return to his team. That isn’t pathetic, it’s noble.” 

Leaning away from the railing, Dan relented, “I guess you have a point… but still, let’s go to the workshop battle, Cheonhwa. I have to prove to myself that my legs can save people, not just myself.” Cheonhwa smiled and patted the scout’s back. 

An hour later, Horyang stirred from his unconscious state, blinking his eyes and sitting up slowly, “...I’m alive.”

M grinned, “So you are! Goseng will be happy!” 

Horyang turned to her, “Did you guys… come after me? Where’s Viole?” With a sad expression, M filled him in on everything that happened. Horyang glanced down at his arm, “Cassano… betrayed me… Dammit… I want to ask him… why?”

Closing her eyes and biting back her raging fury, M informed, “If you want to ask him, you’ll have your chance. He’ll be entering the workshop battle with Viole’s new team. And… I know you wanted to leave the team, but the others will be grateful to have you back. If you’re worried about your presence putting them in danger, I’ll tell you right now that if they cared about that shit they wouldn’t have been teammates with Viole for so long.” She stood up and walked towards the door. Just as she reached to open it, she glanced back, “Oh, and there’s someone who wants to talk to you.” Before Horyang could reply, she threw open the door to reveal Goseng standing there. M chuckled mischievously, “I’ll… let you two talk…” With that, she left the two alone. 

Sheepishly, Goseng walked over to Horyang, “Hey… how are you doing?”

“...It still hurts… But I’ll be fine.” For the first time, the two felt so much awkward tension between them, neither knew what to do with it. 

Taking a seat at the edge of his bed, Goseng apologized, “I’m sorry… for what happened with your friend. I wish I could’ve gone after you with the boys, but I… kind of… fell asleep…” 

Horyang assured her, “Th-That’s alright. I’m grateful for those other guys who saved me… Who knows if I would’ve survived.” Seeing Goseng’s eyes widen and begin to water, he quickly tried to correct himself, “But… I am. And… I’ll enter the workshop battle with you guys.”

Immediately, Goseng perked up, “I’m… grateful to hear that!” After a little bit more awkward talking, Goseng left Horyang alone to train with Khun. 

Watching her go, Horyang clenched his fist, Cassano… why did you betray me? Why are you with FUG? What happened when I became a Regular? He tried to hold some sort of resentment towards his unofficial brother, but seemed surprised to find none. Closing his eyes, he glanced down at his right arm, ...I did leave him first, didn’t I? Is that why? 

After meeting with his new teammates and receiving a new power, Viole made his way towards his room, where E was waiting. Spotting the candidate, she pushed off the wall, waving to him, “Hey!” Despite her cheerful smile, Viole could still sense the uncontrollable fury flowing off her in waves. Part of him wanted to question her about it, but he learned better after his time with the FUG Ranker. 

Passing by her, Viole asked, “Were you the ones… who sent Mr. Khun’s team to the Hand of Arlene? Did you…”

“Tell them about you? Yep!”

“...Why?” His stoic tone quickly melted away to reveal the anger underneath, “Why? What if things turned out even worse? W-What if they died? W-Wh-”

E smiled, a hint of trickery on her tone, “Do you really think the Endorsi Jahad would die so easily? They were a powerful team, you know. A simple bomb wouldn’t have taken them out and we both know it. Or do you not trust me?” Silence. Sighing, E maneuvered to block his path. Reaching up, she removed her mask and turned off the voice manipulator, “...Come on, can’t you trust your old teammate, Bam?” Somehow, one simple move sent more shock and emotions flowing through Viole than he felt in years. 

Softly, he breathed, “M-Ms. Endorsi?” 

Brightening up, E reached out and ruffled his hair, “Yep! I told you we’re on your side no matter what! You were the moron who questioned us!”

Viole stumbled back, “Th-Then is… H… M-Mr. Hatz? Wh-What happened-”

E pointed to her neck, “To his throat? Eh… Not my place to say. I would love to talk gossip, believe me. But… not stuff like that.” Slipping her mask back on, she grinned at him, “How about you just focus on getting back to your friends at the workshop battle? We can talk about whatever you want then, deal?” 

“...Alright.”

A month later, in the Regular’s area on the 29F, M flipped over another of Horyang’s blasts and summoned four baangs, firing them at the main from all sides. Horyang switched the defense mode, swiping his hand and sending out a narrower blast wave. M did a backbend, dodging out of the way before launching off the ground and striking Horyang in the chest with the piercing technique, sending him flying back. As the other fell on his back, exhausted, M stood over him, “You’re still thinking about what happened with Cassano, aren’t you? You’re distracted.” 

Horyang nodded, slightly embarrassed, “...Yes.” 

Sighing, M ran a hand through her hair. “What Cassano did… wasn’t your fault. That guy… isn’t the same one you left when you became a Regular. I don’t know what happened to him, and, to be honest, I really don’t care. But if you want to ask him yourself, you’re going to need to pass the test tomorrow. So go rest your brain.” With that, she walked off, leaving the man to lay on the grass, staring up to the bright sky. As she reached the home, she heard the sounds of the others, so she boomed, “Everyone better be in bed by a decent time or I will personally chain you to the bed myself!” 

W’s voice added, “She is completely serious, she has done it to me before!” Outside, by the back of the house, he and Wangnan were running through movements with the needle. Wangnan has improved in strength and speed, but W noted that he refused to loosen up. W reached out and grabbed the blade of the needle, “...Enough. You’re still too stiff. Until you loosen up, your strikes will always be lacking.” Apparently, that hit a nerve, as Wangnan proceeded to let out a frustrated yell and toss the needle into the wall. Crossing his arms, W pointed out, “You know, kicking and screaming won’t make you stronger.”

Clenching his shirt, Wangnan growled, “I know… But I’m improving way too slowly to keep up with the others. How am I supposed to be a leader when I’m so weak? So… incompetant?” Seeing the other boy’s frustrated state, W shook his head, walked over to the wall, and pulled out the needle. Turning towards the opening he lifted the needle and swiped at the ground repeatedly, tearing up the land and creating a giant crater with several platforms scattered across it. 

Turning back to Wangnan, W explained, “Strength takes time. Time we don’t have. Your talents are bobbing, weaving, and overall parkour. So until we have to sleep, you will be hopping across these platforms and dodging my attacks. Understood?” Surprised, the other boy nodded, turning to the cater and leaping across it to the first platform. 

Nearby, M watched the two blonds train and began to head inside when she heard the sounds of training coming from another side of the house. Out front, she saw Miseng practicing punches and kicks with the air, stirring up the dirt beneath her and creating small dust clouds. With a hint of teasing in her voice, M snuck over to the girl, “Training by yourself? Where’s Prince?” 

Immediately, Miseng spun around, guard raised, but she relaxed just as quickly, “O-Oh, hi M! Prince went inside to get some water for us, so I was just practicing your teachings on my own!” 

M frowned, “But shouldn’t you two be going to bed? Training’s over.” 

Miseng shook her head, “N-No, I wanna keep going. To get Mr.Viole back. I don’t want to lose him…” 

With a saddened sigh, M knelt down and put a hand on the little girl’s shoulder, “Hey, I told you how I was little too when I climbed the tower, right?” A nod. “Well, I used to have a team, just like you. They… They all died when W and I were D-rank Regulars. Because of that, I had to grow up and grow strong extremely quickly, I couldn’t let W risk his life protecting me like our other teammates had to.” 

Miseng’s gaze softened, “Why are you… Why are you telling me this?”

M replied, “I had to grow up quickly because I didn’t have a team that would have given me the freedom to grow up like a normal kid. But you do have a team, so stop trying to suffer alone and enjoy being a kid, alright? Even if it is just for a little while.” Ruffling the little girl’s hair, she straightened up, “I’m not saying it’s bad to want to be stronger, but slow down a little, alright? That’s why your team is here.” Smiling, Miseng nodded. Content with herself, she walked towards the front door, but, to her surprise, Prince stood in her way. With a furious and determined glint in his eye, he made an effort to block her path. Even though both knew that it would fail to be effective, M could tell that Prince was determined to at least not make it easy for the Ranker. 

Prince hissed, “We need to talk. Now .”

With a tired sigh, M waved her hand weakly, “Fine fine. Let’s talk in my room.” Reluctantly, Prince stepped aside to let her inside, but he still followed her closely in fear she might try to run off. Seeing his behavior, M seemed almost impressed at the purple-haired boy’s stubbornness. She led him back to her room, and she fell back on the bed, asking him, “So, what’s up? Shouldn’t you be more worried about the test than talking to me?”

Prince ordered, “Drop the mask. I know who you are.”

“How demanding of the weak little Prince. Do you really know who I am, or are you just faking it to trick me? You’re gonna have to try harder you know if-”

Prince stepped towards her, “ Miseng . It is you, isn’t it?” That one word. The one word she hasn’t heard from his lips, directed at her, in centuries. Her name, such a simple sound she should be used to hearing, somehow completely ripped all words from her mouth. Sitting up, she reached up and removed her mask, revealing empty brown eyes. With wide eyes, Prince walked over to her, lifting his arm slightly but still too hesitant to touch her, “I-It really is you… Miseng…”

Weakly, M chuckled, “Y-Yeah… it’s me. And W’s Wangnan, in case you didn’t figure it out.”

After a beat, the shock in Prince’s eyes softened into a gentle smile as he crossed his arms, “You know, you told the younger Miseng that you grew up, but honestly? I really can’t see the difference between you and her at all. You’re still exactly the same.” 

As Prince took a seat next to the woman, she protested, “H-Hey, are you blind? I’m a High Ranker! I’m way stronger a-and…” Her words were cut off by a sudden coldness on her cheeks. Before she realized her, her vision began to blur slightly. Keeping his smug grin, Prince reached up and wiped her tears, his touch surprisingly gentle. 

He chuckled, “...Yep. Still exactly the same.” Dropping her last constraints, M turned to face him and pulled him into a hug, silently crying on his much smaller shoulder. Surprised at first, Prince returned the hug, rubbing circles in her back. For just a few moments, M was no longer a High Ranking woman, but just a simple little girl in the arms of her unofficial brother. Soon enough, the two fell asleep in each other’s arms.    

Somewhere in the darkness, some time later, a robot pulled up to a man in all white, announcing, “Sir… we’re now ready for the Workshop Battle.” 

The man ordered, “Send invitations to the Regulars.” 

All across the E-class Regulars area, the beeps of messages arriving rang out. Walking out of his building, Shibisu, now in black and purple clothes, glanced at his own invitation, speaking seriously, “Alright. Let’s go… to… capture… Jue Viole Grace.”

Sitting on the roof of the building, W stared out into the distance, fiddling with a printed picture of blurred out figures. Suddenly, Khun’s lighthouse beeped next to him, W smiled, “...Finally. Let’s win. Time for FUG to get fucked.” 

Later that day, on the ship, Wangnan bounced in his seat, “I’m… finally going! To the workshop battle!”

Endorsi grinned, “Does that mean I get an excuse to fight the stupid lizard?” 

Khun rolling his eyes, “Don’t get caught up on that. I do wonder… how much stronger would they have gotten by now?”

Cheonhwa glanced at W, “What about E and H? Are they going to be there?” Khun visibly stiffened at the sound of their names, though it went unnoticed by many.

W crossed his arms, “Unfortunately, E and H’s interference will be limited due to the fact they cannot act independently without risking their position in FUG. And we can’t lose their spots there, or we lose two big guardians keeping Viole safe from the wrath of the more… extreme elders.” 

Dan sighed, “I guess that makes sense.” 

Minutes later, they arrived at the 30F middle area. Looking out, Wangnan gasped, “...A-Awesome…” His eyes settled on the Archimedes, “It’s huge!”

M turned to Horyang, “Were you in this workshop?”

Horyang shook his head, “...No… I was… on a higher floor… I think.”

Shrugging, M turned back to her lighthouse, “Good to know.” As the others looked out the window in awe, M’s gaze settled on the bucket attached at the end of the ship, So they’re sticking with that plan after all… Karaka… 

Once they arrived and the others walked off to their rooms, Khun and W lingered behind. Seeing the bluenette stare off at the giant ship with distant eyes, W walked over, assuring him, “We’re going to get him back. I’m sure of it.” Khun didn’t reply, closing his eyes. Cautiously, W stepped forward, but Khun spun around and revealed a dagger. In the same movement, he tossed the knife straight at W’s forehead. Slightly startled, W caught the blade with ease before it even grazed his mask. Looking between the knife and the Regular, W murmured, “Khun? What- Why did you?”

Khun glared at him, “E and H, they’re Endorsi and Hatz, aren’t they? That means you are also Miseng and Wangnan respectively, right? How are you here? What are you guys planning on doing with Bam?” Chuckling, W reached up and removed his mask. 

Turning off the voice modifier, W spoke, “Figures it wouldn’t take you long to find out. You’re correct. We didn’t come back to use or hurt anyone, we came here to save the ones closest to us.”

Khun reached for another blade, “...From what?”

Smirking and slipping his mask back on, W laughed, “Wouldn’t you like to know? Looks like you’ll just have to put your trust in someone other than yourself for once, Khun Aguero Agnis. But you can have our word that we would never intentionally harm our past selves or our friends.” With that, he walked off, leaving Khun to watch him leave. 

Somewhere else, Shibisu stared out the window and awed, “Amazing! Wow! Hatz! Anaak! It’s the Archimedes! I can’t believe I’m looking at the Archimedes… with my own two eyes… It’s the dream ship among ship geeks! Now I can die without regret!”

Anaak commented, “He seemed serious ever since he got that message from E, but he’s already back to being an idiot.” 

Suddenly, a blade strike shot out, nearly hitting Shibisu and making him spin around towards Hatz, “Argh! W-Were you trying to kill me? Even if you’re just practicing, you could easily kill me!”

Hatz sheathed his blade, “Don’t get excited. We’re not here to have fun. We’re here to defeat FUG and take back what they stole from us.” 

Shibisu visibly relaxed, “...Relax. Relax. I contacted Khun and we already have a plan in mind thanks to that information M sent us.”           

That night, Khun turned on the television to show Anaak being questioned, “The reason I’m participating in the Workshop Battle? Do I need oen, I just want an excuse to kick Endorsi’s ass. She’s definitely my rival, I don’t care how much people love here… Eh? Jue Viole Grace? Why should I care about some FUG? He doesn’t bother me.” 

Behind Khun, Endorsi entered, “Aw man, they’re interviewing the brat? Well, I guess I’m lucky. I love all the fame and attention, but the paparazzi are exhausting.” Watching Anaak’s answer about Viole, her smile saddened slightly, “Dammit… she’s still such a terrible liar as always.” Endorsi put a hand on her hip and spoke to Khun, “I’m going out.”

Khun glanced back at her, “What if the game starts?”

“Can’t you trust me? I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself,” assured Endorsi, walking out of the door. 

Frustrated, Khun sighed, running a hand through his hair, Damn… First W and M are taking their younger selves out to scout out the area, and now Endorsi’s leaving too. His mind wandered back to his conversation with W, He said he wanted to save us… From what? One big threat or a series of events? Looking back, he noted the sad honesty hidden behind the blond’s smugness, so Khun felt inclined to believe him because of it. Yet, thinking of the possibilities of an inevitable disaster made Khun’s skin crawl. Suddenly, the screen cut to static, snapping the bluenette back to reality. 

From the door, Dan ran in, “Khun! Did you do something? All the television cut out!”

In their room, Cheonhwa stood up, “It’s starting.” 

A voice boomed through the entire middle area, “Hello, E-class Regulars at the workshop battle. I’m Io, one of the hosts of this workshop battle. Are you enjoying the beautiful night views of Sephia Island? The beach here is one of the most beautiful places in the 30F middle area, so don’t miss it. But no matter how beautiful night views are, you must be looking forward to your departure. I know this time must be a bit boring for you. So, for your entertainment… we’ve prepared a game. And the prize of this game is… 248 tickets for a ride on the Archimedes that will depart in two days. We only have 248 tickets! Those with tickets will get to ride the Archimedes! Those without tickets will not! Now… use the items we give you! And get your ticket to Archimedes! The rule of the game is… one shot!” As Io went on to explain the game, Khun examined the gun that appeared in his hand.  

He narrowed his gaze, So M was right about that too. I don’t know if she knew that because she was from the future or actually did find out by sneaking in the workshop, but either way she was right. He examined the gun closely, I can only shoot a dark bullet once and if I miss that shot, I fail. It’s too risky. Although it may be hard, shooting my teammates with light bullets is a better bet. I can protect the team for sure and hopefully, I might get the item. With just one shot, I can eliminate a rival and even win an item… This game… could become chaotic. 

Suddenly, as the safety mode hit zero, two screams rang out, causing Khun to hop to his feet and run into the other room. To his surprise, there were two men tied up with Horyang removing the bullets from their guns nearby. Cheonhwa turned to Khun and informed, “These two came charging in, but we overpowered them easily.”

Khun nodded, “Nice going. Any word from M or W?” On cue, his lighthouse dinged.

W’s voice came through, “Hey Khun! Is everyone still there?”

Goseng spoke up, “We’re all fine! Is Miseng there?”

Wangnan’s voice came through, “No, her and M went off on their own! But don’t worry, M’s strong enough to protect her!” 

Arkraptor scowled, “Dammit! What to do…”

Khun perked up, “Guys… I have an idea…”

Running down the path, Shibisu scowled, “Damn it! The number is decreasing so fast already!”

Hatz guessed, “Probably because some are shooting their own team to win the item.”

“Yeah… that’s what I’m thinking too. Being in a team is meaningless in this game.”

“It’s worse if you’re with a team in this game. Because you’ve got a gun that you can use to betray them… Or you could interpret it as… only the teams that gather enough bullets to send all their teammates up are true teams. But why is our lodging so far away? You knew about the game!”

“I didn’t think it would start this soon!” 

“Dammit! If we don’t get any bullets, I’ll shoot you first!” snapped Hatz, pissed. Suddenly, Shibisu slid to a halt, a message appearing on his pocket. Confused, Hatz glanced at him, “What is it?” Shibisu didn’t reply, just called up Narae on his pocket.

“Hey Isu! I found where the FUG guys are staying, just like you want me too!” Rang out Narae’s voice, now slightly less pitchy than it was seven years ago. She stood on a rooftop, now in pale yellow and pink clothes, with her jar on her hip and long, flowing yellow hair bouncing freely on her shoulders. Hovering in front of her was her yellow bird-like fish. Narae informed, “They’re in hotel Silver Blue, I think they rented a whole floor… There’s no one else on it.”

Shibisu replied, “Are you sure?”

Hearing this, Hatz glanced at Shibisu, “What should we do, Shibisu?”

Closing his eyes, Shibisu deduced, The number of tickets is decreasing… and we still need targets and bullets… in order to pass… I should let this slide for now. “...Now… Let’s go and… pay our old friend a visit. Get in position. I’ll give you orders. Time to hunt FUG.” But I can’t… help it.

Meanwhile, Wangnan collapsed in the center of a clearing, unconscious people all around him, “...Dammit! This is too much! Why did you make me fight so many?” His chest felt like it was burning as he panted heavily, grasping for any chance of breath. 

Tossing the bullets up and down in one hand, W approached him, “Aw come on, you’re the one who said you wanted to get stronger, didn’t you? You can’t get stronger just by fighting the same people over and over again.”

“I...hate...you…”

Suddenly, two beams of fire shot out towards the blonds, making them jump back in sync. This aura… Without a second of hesitation, W summoned his inventory and grabbed his needle. Seeing this, Wangnan shakily switched out his needle for his bombs. From the shadows, Quaetro emered, two baangs above him, one on either side.

He grinned, “Hey chick! I came to roast you for real!” 

Dodging around another fire blast, Wangnan cried out, “Why me?” Letting out a breath of relief, W sheathed his blade and walked over to a bench, taking a seat on it. He watched as Wangnan dodged around a blast and threw his bomb at Quaetro, creating a wave of smoke and allowing him to get close enough to grab Quaetro’s wrist and point his gun at the redhead’s head. Wangnan declared, “Game over. Your chick is about to eliminate you.”

Quaetro giggled, “No way!” He summoned a baang, shooting it towards Wangnan and making the blond jump away instinctively. 

Suddenly, Khun’s voice called out, “Hey sweet and sour!” He ran over to the group, Arkraptor, Dan, and Yeon behind him. Khun narrowed his gaze upon seeing Quaetro, “Hey! Where’s Chang?” 

Quaetro chuckled, “Following that little kid and the Ranker woman! He told me I could burn whoever I wanted on my own!” 

W spoke up, “Yo. Where’s the others?”

Khun informed, “We used two of the bullets to send Goseng and Horyang up. Cheonhwa and Prince went after Miseng.” Suddenly, a fiery baang shot out towards W, who diffused it with ease. 

Quaetro whined, “Don’t ignore me! I wanna just burn you!” 

Khun turned to the redhead, “Hey. You’re outnumbered. So how about a deal? You give me all your bullets and I shoot you, and Change when we find him, with a light bullet and send you up. Or we all overpower you and you fail.”

For a second, Quaetro pondered the option before finally pulling out a black bag, “Sure thing! I bet there will be a bunch of fun things to burn on the ship!” He tossed the bag to Khun, who pulled out one of the bullets and shot him with the light bullet. Looking up at the bright blue halo as he faded away, Quaetro reached up to it, “Wow! I’m an angel!”

Wangnan let out a breath of relief, pocketing his own gun, “Glad that’s over. What do we do now, Khun?” 

Khun filled his gun and announced, “We go up.”

“...What?”

Somewhere underground, Viole and a man with orange hair fiddled with a bomb. Turning back, Viole stated, “I think we’re done.”

The other man complimented, “Oh, nice. You’re good at this! Oh, call me the Traveller, by the way. What’s your name?”

Viole turned away, “...The 25th… The 25th Bam.” Well, it’s not a lie. 

Traveller nodded, “Sounds tasty. So what were you trying to tell me?” 

Hesitantly, Viole glanced back, “Um… Why were you… being chased by the patrol bots, Mr. Traveller? Did you do something bad?” 

Traveller sighed, “...That’s… because… I tried to sneak onto the Archimedes.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I need to save someone. My love… is locked in there. I need to save her… before the battle is over. Because… the winning prize of this battle… is a human. ” Just as Viole was about to reply, a loud bang rang out through the room. Both boys turned to the door to see something cutting through it. “Shit! They already found us!” He gestured to Viole, “Mr.Bam, this way! We need to blow it up as soon as it gets in!” As he counted to three, the door fell and revealed a black and blue patrol behind it. Without a moment of hesitation, the orange-haired man hit the switch, creating a small explosion. The two boys turned towards the door to see the patrol with two orbs hovering at either side of it. “A-A shield!” The bot grew to reveal a body made of spikes. “How cool!”

Viole gagged, “Gross!” 

Traveller turned to run, “Damn it! Let’s run away! We can’t fight it!” But instead of running, Viole charged at the robot. Traveller called out to him, “What? What are you doing, Mr. Bam? Run!” Suddenly, the grate above them gave way to reveal Endorsi, who fell onto the patrol. Traveller panicked, “...She...She’s? Endorsi Jahad!” 

Endorsi grinned down at the patrol robot, “What’s this tin can?” In a single spin, she kicked the machine’s head, destroying it, and she summoned two pale pink baangs that destroyed the two orbs. As Viole struggled to remain standing, Endorsi landed on a piece of rubble and pointed a gun at his head, smiling down at him. She greeted him, “Hello Bam, or would you rather go by Viole now?”

Nearby, Traveller froze, “V-Viole, as in Jue Viole Grace?” 

Ignoring him, Endorsi narrowed her gaze, “It was annoying that you ran away from me on the 28th floor, but you won’t get away now, will you?” Before Viole could respond, a gun appeared, distracting her. Using the opportunity, Viole leapt back, freezing Endorsi in the process. That move again! Viole charged for a sweep attack, but lost focus for a second, allowing Endorsi to dodge. Pissed, she flipped to kick him as he tried to hit her, the two attacks meeting in the middle. As Viole fell to the ground, he noticed his head sat right by the gun. In a rush, Viole grabbed it and started to run, Endorsi yelling at him, “Damn! Wait!” 

Ignoring her, Viole ran past Traveller, calling out to him, “Mr. Traveller! Do you have more bombs?”

Caught off guard, Traveller nodded, “O-Oh… Yes! I do!”

“Throw it, quick!”

“H-Huh? Th-This is for the tanks!”

“Throw it now! There’s a tank coming at us!”

“A-Alright!”

Endorsi hopped to her feet and started to charge after the boys, “A tank? You’re so dead!” But before she could reach them, several bombs came flying at her, filling up the hall with explosives and smoke. As the smoke cleared, she coughed, “...Damn it, he ran away again! How dare he call a slender girl like me a tank? Have you forgotten your manners with FUG, Bam? Damn… How annoying…”          

Somewhere by the coast, Miseng and Chang stood across the clearing, guns pointed at each other. Grinning, Chang questioned, “Do you really think you can be faster than me, little girl? I’m one of the strongest E-class Regulars.”

Miseng grinned, “But I bet I’m better at dodging.” Her eyes darted to M, who nodded back at her. 

“Miseng!” Chang and M turned to see Prince and Cheonhwa running towards them. Seeing the scene, Cheonhwa immediately went for his sword. With a grin, Miseng used the distraction to shoot towards Chang. Surprised, Chang turned, but Miseng fired a shot at his head first. To his surprise, a light blue halo appeared above his head. 

Glancing between it and Miseng, Chang questioned, “Why would you…”

Miseng spun her gun, “We keep our word. Quaetro and our team made a deal. I’m just upholding our end of it. But when we’re on the ship, tell me what you promised you would…”

Closing his eyes, Chang grinned, “...Fine. I keep my word too.” With that, he faded. 

Confused, Prince turned to Miseng, “What did he promise?”

Miseng turned to him, “It wasn’t E,H,W, or M who told him about us before the test when we met. The door symbol was different. He promised to give a more detailed description of the person he met with.”

M frowned, “Dammit… This bothers me... “ 

Sheathing his blade, “We can’t do anything about it until we make it onto the Archimedes. M, Where are-”

“We’re here.” Approaching the group were W, Wangnan, and Khun. 

Prince snapped, “Dammit, you bastard! Where are the others?” 

Scowling, Wangnan replied, “Khun shot them all with light bullets. They’re on the ship.” 

“What…?” Wangnan cried out, shocked, “No! What about Miseng and the others?”

Khun shook his head, “No, they’re on their own. We can’t go looking for people who we don’t know where they are. We’ll have to go up first.”

Yeon countered, “Miseng and Prince are children! And M can’t get involved if there’s a fight! They’ll probably get in trouble!”

“They should handle it themselves. Cheonhwa isn’t that weak. Besides, if they can’t even get out of this one their own, how will they win the battle? We;re putting each other in danger like this. How can we call ourselves a team if we’re putting each other in danger? Just trust in them. We’ll go first. That’s the only way we can help each other right now.”

W nodded, “That logic makes sense. They are E-class Regulars as well. They have to prove the right to be here.”

Wangnan hissed, “Are you insane? To be a team is to have each other’s backs!” 

Arkraptor spoke up, “...They’re right. We should go up first. Shoot me.”

Raising his gun to the taller man, Khun smiled, “Wise choice.” One by one, he went through and shot the groupmates until only he and the two blonds remained. Raising a gun to Wangnan, Khun declared, “Your turn.” He fired a light bullet, but, to his surprise, Wangnan side stepped out of the way, causing it to pierced the lamppost behind him instead. 

“ No. I’ll shoot you if you want to go up, but I won’t abandon my teammates.”

“If you keep trying to save everyone like this, you might lose everything. You need to be able to tell the difference between your wishes and reality.”

Wangnan glanced at the ground, saddened, “...But… there’s no meaning for me to go up the tower like that…”

“...Stupid. Fine. Let’s go together, the three of us. You’re too dumb to come up with a plan if they need help.” 

M glanced at W, a soft glimmer in her eyes that the others couldn’t tell was there. She walked over to one of the bodies Miseng knocked out but had yet to fail. Khun shot all of them, including the person so he could go up. That left only the Rankers behind. Frowning, M turned to W, “So… what do you want to do?” 

W cracked his knuckles, “Let’s go spy on some fighting.” Little did they know, a pair of red eyes watched them from the shadows.      

Standing on a roof overlooking the hotel, Shibisu could hear Narae’s voice announce, “Isu, we’re all here with Vespa. We’re waiting at the assigned spot.”

Shibisu nodded, “Ok. Good. We’re almost out of time… So let’s get moving. All positions ready. Spears, start the attack. From now… we’ll dash into their room. The inside of the building will be jammed, so keep that in mind. Our goal is to eliminate our enemies… and capture Bam alive. Let’s show them… who the rulers of the E-class Regular area are...Shoot!” On cue, from the pillar nearby, Anaak launched a giant glowing spear through the air. It flew through the air and pierced the window of the middle floor.      

Running to his floor in the hotel, Viole could hear the sounds of fighting. Feeling the whole building shake, he stumbled to keep his footing and pulled out his gun, now with more bullets. Running around the corner, he spotted Anaak and Ran about to shoot each other and ordered, “Stop it. Both of you.” Before either could react, he shot both of them with light bullets.

Anaak glanced at him, “B-Viole! This- This isn’t ov-” Before she could finish, she vanished. 

As he let out a sigh of relief, Novick approached him from behind, “So the fish fight and the fisherman catches them.”

Surprised, Viole spun towards the taller man, “Mr. Novick! Are you okay?”

Novick assured, rolling his shoulder, “I’m ok. It’s just a scratch. Where have you been? You ruined the game.” 

“Sorry.”

“Well… at least you’re back… But, can I ask? Was the lizard like Khun and Endorsi?”

Before Viole could reply, Xia Xia called out to him from the nearby lighthouse, “Mr. Viole! Two enemies entered through the first floor hall! I think they used the buster to come up from underground! A scout and another unidentified person! They’re heading to the main stairs! They will soon meet us!”

Novick pondered, “If we attack together, we may be able to easily overpower them.”

“No don’t!” Viole spoke up. His eyes settled on a white and pink observer watching them from above the street nearby. Stepping towards the other two, he gestured to it subtly, “See that out there? I know the person behind this, he wouldn’t have just come with the li- I mean Anaak. The observer is clearly connected to another plan.” He glanced up at Novick, “Mr. Novick. Can you do me a favor?”

Novick glanced down at him, “A favor? What is it?”

“Come closer…” He gestured to the other man to lean down so Viole could whisper something in his ear. 

Straightening up, Novick asked, “What about for support?”

Viole brushed past him, “I’ll go by myself. Everyone else, please search around the hotel.”

Xia Xia cried out, “What? You’re going alone?” 

“Yes. Me alone is enough. Then, please do what I ask of you, Mr. Novick.”

Meanwhile, Vespa and a figure in black and red were exchanging blows. As the figure in red leapt back, Shibisu’s two observers sent out synchronized blasts, nearly hitting the woman but hitting the wall behind him instead. Another blast from Vespa quickly followed, which the woman in a red mask dodged as well. Landing back on his feet, the woman glanced up at the damage, A wave controller!

Vespa growled, “How dare you, human? You dare to take your eyes off me?” The bug being sped behind the masked woman, going for a strike, but the woman retaliated and the two met in the middle. 

As the two fought, Shibisu stood off to the side and ordered, “23. 20. 13. Reset the aim. Keep the angle. Hang on a bit more.” As the two fought, the man reached a pause, in which Shibisu ordered, “Now. Shoot!” From the ground, a giant spear came up, nearly hitting the woman. Watching this, Shibisu almost smiled, The attack from above was for show. While she’s focused on that, the spear will attack from the bottom. And block her path… so that she can’t escape… and it’s bye-bye. The woman dodged another blast, her mask chipping slightly. Just as Vespa went in for the final blow, Viole appeared, grabbing the woman and moving out of dodge. Seeing this, Shibisu perked up, “That’s… so they were telling the truth… He really is…” Biting back tears, Shibisu thought to himself, He totally changed, but he still looks like an ordinary boy. I can’t believe FUG was telling the truth! W-What did they do to you… Bam? 

In the shadows of a broken wall, Viole set the woman down, “Are you okay, Mrs. Yuto?”

Yuto glanced up at him, “Sorry, Mr. Viole. I…”

Sparing a glance at Shibisu’s wide eyes, Viole asked, “Can you escape? I can handle these two on my own.” Albeit reluctant, Yuto scrambled to her feet and stumbled down the hall, leaving Viole alone with the other two.

Walking up the stairs, Shibisu asked, “You may be powerful, but I still think you look ordinary, Viole. I’ve been waiting to meet you… for so long.”

Viole spoke up, “Your team was greatly weakened. I don’t think it’s good for either of us to fight here, so you should just leave.”

Closing his eyes, Shibisu ordered quietly, “Narae… Do it.”

Standing on the roof nearby, the blond girl smiled, a giant stingray fish turning visible behind her. It shot towards the window wall on the first floor, spitting out silver goo that covered the windows and holes in the wall. Surprised, Viole spun around to run, but Vespa flew around to block him, a sinister grin on her face. At the same time, Amigo emerged and blocked the stairs with his giant spear in his hands. Shocked, Viole spun back towards Shibisu, “What are you-” They cut off my escape routes! 

Shibisu smiled, “That attack wasn’t just to block off your escape, it’s completely soundproof. If you’re worried about keeping up your act, Bam, you don’t need to.” Viole’s eyes widened, his bangs being brushed aside to reveal his golden eyes. 

Tears formed in his eyes, “Mr. Shibisu…”

“Seven years, Bam. We waited for seven years for the opening to take you back,” spoke Shibisu, his shaky voice clearly revealing every emotion he tried so hard to hide, “I-I… have… so much to talk to you about… But now isn’t the time to steal you just yet, Bam. Can you wait just a little bit longer? We’ll steal you back, I swear.”

Bam opened his mouth, “Mr. Sh-Shibisu! It’s not that simple! You don’t-”

Shibisu cut him off, “We don’t care about the damn risks. We didn’t wait seven years just to let you go, Bam. Don’t you want to come back?” Viole didn’t reply, just glanced away to the ground. But, even through the strands of his hair, Shibisu could see the edges of Viole’s mouth quirk up in a sad smile. 

   Just as Viole opened his mouth to reply, Shibisu’s pocket appeared next to him, Narae’s voice coming through, “I-Isu! Th-There’s-” Her voice cut out with a pained scream. Across the windows, the white, inky substance faded into the air.

Shocked, Shibisu turned towards it, “W-Wait, it’s only supposed to fade like that when the fish d-” He turned back towards his pocket, “Narae!” The call cut out, causing Shibisu’s scowl to deepen further. All of a sudden, all the Regulars stiffened, an intimidating aura filling the chamber. Shibisu spun towards staring across the street, “W-What is this choking presence?” Towering over Narae’s unconscious body was a woman with blue hair and a black and blue mask. On her shoulder, she donned a symbol of gold, closed doors. In one hand, she spun around the stingray-like fish like a toy on a string before tossing it to the street below. In her other hand, she held a staff with sea blue, rope-like cords in a handle that split apart to wrap around a light blue ord on one end. In a single leap, she flew across the gap and through the window, landing in the center of the group. Immediately, Amigo tried to punch, but she merely lifted her staff and the waves of shinsu in the area shifted around her, sending the whole group flying back. In a bright blue flash, she vanished and reappeared behind Vespa. 

“Stupid human! You think you can surprise me?” snapped Vespa, sending out her two singer-like items at the woman.

Desperately, Shibisu cried out, “Vespa, wait!” But it was a second too late, for, like a bolt of lightning, the woman flicked her hand with the staff, destroying the stingers and sending Vespa flying across the chamber and through the far wall, burying her in a pile of rubble. The woman turned her head towards the observer watching the group from outside. She lifted her free hand towards it, summoning a medium-sized, pale blue baang, and the baang shot out and pierced the observer, sending it to the ground. In a single leap, Viole leapt across the gap and landed next to Shibisu and Amigo; he made sure to not let his eyes waver from the figure while doing so. With a fear filled scowl, Shibisu seethed, “The bitch! There’s no way she’s an E-class Regular, right?” Next to him, Viole nodded, three baangs spinning around him at the ready. 

Narrowing his gaze, Viole ordered, “This woman clearly is higher than an E-class Regular, and is after both of our groups. We’ll have to work together to get out of this.”

“Right.”

“Give me your orders,” Viole replied. A few seconds later, after Shibisu shared his plan, Amigo went into action, going for a punch. His movements were considerably slowed in the dense shinsu, biting back the drowning feeling he felt as he tried to punch her. Unfazed, the woman hoped back and forth around his blows, not realizing that her dodging turned her back to the other two boys. Shibisu’s observers flew out and fired two blasts, but the woman made no effort to dodge them, nor did she seem to even react to their blows. No effect at all? Without hesitating, Viole fired his three charged baangs, but they dissipated into the air before they could reach her. Yawning, she lifted her staff, blocking Amigo’s punch with her staff. Using his surprise, she teleported behind him and punched him in the back, making him cough up blood and curl over. She leapt towards Shibisu, but Viole pushed him away and blocked the punch instead. As he lifted his arms, a bright red light formed behind him. To everyone’s surprise, her kick sent him sliding back a few feet and bruising his arms greatly, but he remained standing. 

Shibisu’s eyes widened, He blocked it! Even the woman appeared surprised, straightening up and raising her staff in a defensive position. Just then, another bright light filled the room. 

A familiar voice spoke up, her presence sending some relief through the Regulars, “How annoying. Can’t you idiots go a single game without causing more trouble for me? I was sleeping, dammit!” Standing on the windowsill of the broken window was none other than E, a scowl on her lips and a powerful aura that screamed how pissed she was. Eyes settling on the bluenette, her scowl somehow deepened and her aura changed from furious to downright murderous. She seethed, “You. Why would a Ranker dare interfere with E-class Regulars? You got a deathwish or something, bitch?”As she said the last word, she shot off at lightning speed, kicking the woman in the chest with both of her feet. Desperately, the woman tried to block, but it proved fruitless as a mere millisecond later, she flew across the clearing. In the air, the woman flipped and landed on her feet, breaking the ground as she slid back. Growling, the woman lifted her staff, the glass orb now glowing and flowing with shinsu. The shinsu shot out towards E, but they shattered like glass, dissolving back into the air they came from. Somehow, that only made the woman more furious, shooting out towards E with her staff in her hands like a hammer. Unfazed, E simply sidestepped out of the way, making a note, “Ah, I see. You’re not using any Ranker powers because you know the administrator will step in if you do. But honestly, did you really think you could get away with attacking a slayer candidate without retaliation from someone stronger?” By her ear, a medium sized heart dart appeared, now much darker with  black outline. It shot out towards the woman, but the blue haired woman dodged and three star-shaped baangs formed around her, shooting towards E. Rolling her eyes under her mask, E shot out, “ That trick again? ” With little effort, she dodged around the attack and grabbed the woman’s staff. In a single spin, she pulled the staff free and kicked the woman in the side. As the woman flew back, E ordered, “Enough.” she tossed the staff aside, its impact echoing through the chamber. “You’re outmatched. Surrender, or I’ll have to kill you.” Silently, the woman scrambled to her feet, her mask now chipped, and she charged at E. Annoyed, E simply stepeped to the side, giving the woman the opening to grab her staff and vanish in a flash of blue light. E scoffed, “Tch. What a coward.” She turned to the Regulars and called out, “You two good now?”

Shibisu called back, “Yeah! Thank you so much, E!”

Viole added, “Is she not one of yours?”

E gasped, offended, “What do you take us for? Of course she isn’t.” With a salute, she vanished in a flash of pink light. 

Shibisu shivered, “Rankers… fighting right in front of us… Scary…” burying his face in his hand, Shibisu scowled, “Three of my teammates… badly injured due to Ranker interference…” 

Viole frowned, “But… why did she interfere? She wasn’t FUG because she tried to attack me as well.”

“I have a few ideas, but none to bother you guys with,” spoke M, suddenly appearing on the windowsill with Narae tucked under her arm. Gently, she handed the young girl to Shibisu, “Here, I healed the most severe injuries, but she should be able to recover fully after a couple days.” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the bag of bullets, “Oh, and take these. You guys can split them however you want, I don’t really care.” Glancing down at the blond girl, Shibisu nodded. With that, M hopped back out the way she came, a dangerous glint in her eye. Why didn’t the workshop officials intervene? Just how lazy and heartless are those fools that they can’t even monitor their own game? As she landed on a nearby roof, her pocket appeared, a message on it. Curious, she spared a glance at it, her eyes widening tenfold when she saw who the message was from. 

W stood on the observatory, listening to the sounds of bullets ring through the air as he ate away at a pack of candy. Looking up at the fake night sky, the dinging of the end of the game rang throughout the area as W smiled.

Chapter Text

6       

On the first day on the Archimedes, as the announcement played overhead, Horyang walked through the hall, looking at the empty workshop halls, The workshop… I never thought I’d step foot in here again. 

Behind him, Cassano spoke up, “Illmar.”

Surprised, Horyang spun around and marched over to his “brother”, “Cassano! Why did you attack me? Why are you working with FUG?”

Cassano remained unfazed, “Horyang, follow me. Ms. Sophia is waiting for us.”

“...What?”

Somewhere else, a voice snapped, ‘ What? A Ranker got involved?’ H snapped, the four gathered in their own room. He stood in front of the bed that he and E were sharing. E laid back on the bed, blowing a cloth up over her mouth. W paced back and forth across the room, deep in thought. 

E huffed, “Oh yeah, but she wasn’t anything special. What’s more concerning is what the fiery psycho is planning.” 

M ran a hand through her hair, “Who even knows? He clearly hates us, especially Wangnan. So why would he tell Chang and Quaetro to follow his younger self?”

W spoke up, closing his eyes, “...We need more information. Miseng and I will go visit the one who sent the message. Endorsi, Hatz, you two understand your part of the plan, correct?” Two nods. W pushed off the wall, “FUG and the workshop has eyes and ears everywhere, even you two are not safe. One wrong move and it won’t just be our heads, but everyone’s.” 

As the other two left,  glanced at W, “Up until now was the beginning. We were forced to take a stand from the side. Now we can make real strides, aren’t you excited?”

W slipped on his mask, “This isn’t a game, M. We’re talking about people’s lives.” Watching him walk out of the room, M’s heart tied in a knot as she slipped on her mask and followed. Little did they know, Anaak was watching them leave from around the corner, her eyes narrowed.

Later, Hatz walked through the busy clearing of the 3rd floor. Looking around, he wondered, Is there really going to be a good sword here? Suddenly, a feeling like coming home washed over him. Surprised, he spun towards a dark alley, where he spotted the glint of a familiar red and gold mask. H? Cautiously, he glanced around to make sure he wasn’t being watched before he ran down into the hall. Reaching the taller man, he hissed, “What are you doing here? Did you come to inform me about FUG’s plans?” Calmly, H shook his head, holding out a hand towards Hatz. Before the boy could react, H mouthed something, causing a paired set of swords to appear. Now extremely paranoid and confused, Hatz took it and glanced back up to H. The Ranker summoned his pocket to type something, but…

I heard your sword broke, so I wanted to give you these. The red handled one is an ignition weapon named Dongtae. Do not ignite it. This time around, both were visibly surprised, jumping away from each other.

Hatz stuttered, losing his normally stoic composure, “D-Did I just hear your thoughts? Is that even possible with shinsu skills? Or is it an item?”

H shook his head, closing his eyes behind his mask and transmitting, No… there is a possibility that exists… but I do have another theory… Once again, the Ranker moved before Hatz could even register his words. H yanked him into an empty room of a nearby shop: he turned in the same movement to take out a camera in the corner. 

Yanking his wrist free, Hatz narrowed his gaze, “What are you planning on doing? If you’re trying to annihilate me, you shouldn’t have given me a weapon first. You may be a Ranker, but your power is extremely limited.”

No… No one can know what you are about to learn. I gave my word that I would not make my identity public until our team leader declared it the best time. 

Realization hitting the younger boy, he stumbled back once again, “Your- you mean?” Nodding, H reached up and pulled off his mask, sending a chilled wave of shock through the Regular. H-How is this possible? Somehow, some way, the face beneath the mask, staring Hatz in the eyes, was none other than an older version of himself. Subconsciously, Hatz reached up to his own neck, touching the same part where the scar rested on H’s neck. 

With a saddened smile, H walked over to a stool, Take a seat, younger me. I have a lot to tell you. 

Somewhere else on the same floor, Anaak tailed W as he weaved between the markets, greeting the Regulars on the younger side with a smile. Anaak sneered, Eh? I know his partner’s young, but does he have to be kind to every younger Regular? After a minute, she followed him around the corner into the emptier part of the floor, but she found no sight of him once she did so. What? How could he vanish just like that? He’s a Ranker for sure. Witha  determined and annoyed glint in her eye, she glanced around until her eyes settled on a door on a higher ledge with the sign, ‘Acorn Workshop’. Her lips quirked, “Bingo bastard. That must be where he went.” With ease, she ran over and leapt up, landing in front of it with little residue behind her. Expecting the door to be locked, she reached up to try and open it. To her surprise, it opened with ease. Cautiously, she snuck inside and spotted W being led by two soldiers through the halls and into a glass elevator. Scowling, Anaak murmured, “Dammit, where is he going?” She summoned her inventory, pulling out her own gift from E, an extendable whip reinforced with shinsu. 

“Hey, look M. It’s a peeping Tom,” spoke a voice in the shadows. From behind Anaak, a young boy in a hoodie and covered in blood and bandages, attached to an IV, emerged, M standing behind him with her umbrella resting on her shoulder. Surprised, Anaak spun around to face them as the boy grinned, “Having fun?”

“You!” Without thinking, Anaak went to attack the duo, but M stepped forward and caught the attack with one hand. Despite the shockwave that the attack created, M remained unfazed and unaffected. Dammit! She barely even reacted!

The boy’s smile only grew, “Oh M, I think she wants to play with us! Don’t you, girlie?”

“Beta…” sighed M, a hint of sympathy in her normally haunting voice, “...This is one of your bad days. A princess will just make you crash. Don’t you want to have more fun tomorrow?” 

Beta grumbled, “...Fine.”

Anaak almost let out a sigh of relief, but M stepped towards her, grabbing the false princess’ wrist, “Oh, but I can’t risk anyone knowing of my friendship with Beta, you know? He’s my friend and he’ll be punished if anyone finds out.” She turned back to Beta, who stepped towards one of the doors and opened it. Gently, she tied up Anaak and tossed her inside. With her tone, Anaak could tell M was winking childishly as she spoke, “Now, now, why don’t you just stay in there, alright? Criminals need to be punished no matter what their rank.” With that, she shut the door in Anaak’s face, burying the girl in darkness.

Curiously, Beta asked the Ranker, “Alright, you’re scheming something.”

M stretched her arms out, “Aw come on, where’s the fun if I just tell you? You’ll see soon enough.” She dropped her arms and rested her umbrella back in its position, “So, what’s your plan for tomorrow?”

Beta smirked back at her, “Where’s the fun if I just tell you?” M pouted and Beta bursted out laughing. 

Sitting on the dusty chair with his head in his hands, Hatz’s head felt sore with all the new information running through it. Surprisingly softly, H reached out and rested a hand on his younger self’s shoulder, I… am sorry for telling you this.

Hatz ran a hand through his hair, too many emotions coming to mind for words, but he still whispered, “So… the mistake you mentioned…”

...Was the death of our teammates. My hesitancy between doing the honorable thing and doing the best thing ended up costing me… everything. 

Silently, Hatz nodded, blinking back tears of sadness, unfamiliar, undefined sadness. Closing his eyes, he focused on thinking of what to say to H, Is the reason you came… to fix things? Then why are you with FUG? Why did you not tell us who you were?

To his surprise, the thought transferred to H successfully, the other replying, We joined FUG to keep an eye on Bam. FUG is a powerful constant while we’re climbing, so having two elites in FUG on our side will be helpful. We’ve had to do some… dishonorable things, but being High Rankers means that FUG mostly just lets us do whatever we want outside of the occasional mission. As for why we did not tell you guys, FUG and Jahad have eyes everywhere, especially on the second floor. If people found out our real connection to Vi- Bam, we may have put everyone in more danger. 

Stiffly, Hatz nodded, another question surfacing, Wait… does that mean… E is Endorsi? What’s your guys’ relationship?

We’re a couple.

“ What?”

Oh don’t lie, you’ve had that thought before. And with that, the heavy tension in the air slowly lifted as the two boys continued to “chat” away. But, despite the heavy talks being over, the information still weighed heavy on Hatz’s mind.  

The next day came, where the residents gathered on the fourth floor. While the announcers spoke, their voices echoing throughout the building, the four Rankers gathered in one of the rooms overlooking the stadium. A second later, Goseng, Horyang, Dan, and Yeon entered. M waved to them, “Hey! Where are the others?”

Dan explained, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs, “Cheonhwa’s still watching over Narae, Khun was selected as a gambler, and the others are in the first match.” 

Somewhere else, Shibisu glanced at Hatz, “Where’s Anaak? She hasn’t returned since she went out last night… maybe something happened.” Hatz didn’t reply, his eyes glossed over in thought. Concerned, Shibisu’s brow furrowed, “...Hatz?”

Blinking back to reality, Hatz glanced up at him, “Huh? Oh, Anaak is probably fine. She’s made it this far. Isn’t it better to continue with the rest of us and have faith that she can handle herself?” With that, he returned to his distant state, staring out through the window nearby. 

Concern growing, Shibisu reached out and grabbed his shoulder, “Hey Hatz? Are you alright?”

Forcing a smile, Hatz lied, “Hm? O-Oh, yeah, Shibisu. Just… worried about the plan…” What may have sounded convincing to an outsider, his lie fell flat to Shibisu, who knew his teammate as well as he knew himself. Still, Shibisu knew better than to push a man who could kill him in a single blow. 

Watching the stage as the announcers explained the game and announced the first participants, H couldn’t help but feel uneasy. There were so many variables in the coming game, from the other forces in FUG that he knew were watching somewhere to Mad Dog and his forces to Q’s party and the mystery Rankers in his group. He glanced up to the list, recognizing four members of team Sweet and Sour, but his eyes settled on one name. Or, better put, lack of name. All that was listed was a single letter- A. Immediately, his mind concluded that, once again, a Ranker from Q’s group snuck into the game. A name that starts with A… Anaak, no she died in my arms; Akryung, possibly; Amigo, died in front of me; Angel, no she made peace with us thanks to Miseng and Wangnan… I thought at least; Apple, no Endorsi killed her; Alphine, not a chance; Earrings, no he’d rather die than attack Bam; Aka, also no. Perhaps an Arie? That would be our best shot. 

“And… you’re thinking too much. Again,” E commented, lying on her belly of a beach chair, kicking her legs behind her like a teenage schoolgirl. She rested her chin on her hands, “What happened to the noble act first, think later boy I fell in love with?”

Rolling his eyes under his mask, H sent a message to her, ‘You’re thinking of Bam… again. Despite what it may seem, I do have good deduction and strategy skills without relying on Isu and Earrings all the time.’ Faking offense, E shoved him. ‘Anyway, did you see the list? One of the participants goes by a single letter.’ 

E quirked a brow, surprise and suspicion leaking into her modified voice, “You think it’s a member of Q’s faction again? Wow, what cowards to only step in when they know we can’t interfere. They’re just like the FUG morons who rely on us to grant their wishes.” 

‘Now’s not the time for your rants about FUG’s laziness. This is serious.’ 

E waved her hand nonchalantly, “Ah, don’t worry about it. She can’t use beyond the powers of an E-class Regular without catching everyone’s attention. Don’t underestimate our teammates.”  

H blinked, turning to E, ‘That was surprisingly smart and inspirational for you. Are you alright?’ To respond, E chucked her water bottle at his head. 

Soon, the first match began. The first ones to run out were Wangnan and Arkraptor, followed by Prince and Miseng. Then, the rest emerged, but all eyes settled on one girl in particular. She had long, flowing, silver hair tied loosely on her back with a small ponytail resting on top of it. Her shoulder donned the symbol of closed, gold doors and the upper half of her face was hidden behind a silver and black mask. She wore a silver dress clearly made for nobles and dragged a white plug behind her. Out of all of the Regulars on the stage, her presence resinated the most power by far. Without hesitation, two people charged to attack her, but she summoned two spiked baangs, piercing both through the head. Above them, the announcer boomed, “And as an amazing start, the Regular A shows some irregular skills as she instantly wipes out two competitors!”

Scared, Wangnan lifted his plug in defense when he heard a voice not his own speak in his mind, Careful, Wangnan. She’s not a normal E-class Regular, she’s a Ranker. 

“What?” hissed Wangnan, his eyes daring to dart up to the stands, trying to identify the source of the voice invading his mind. Narrowing his gaze, Wangnan turned back to the scene to see A take out a third Regular. Dammit… Even if she’s holding back, we have no chance of beating her in a fight… Suddenly, his eyes widened, a light bulb going off in his mind.   

Watching from the crowd, W smiled, relieved to see his thought go through. Next to him, M giggled, “Wow, already mastered that skill in a single day? Who are you and what have you done to my partner?”

Rolling his eyes, he chopped her head, “Aw come on, now that’s just mean. You should know I'm very simple-minded, especially as an E-class Regular. It’s not that hard to create a connection of thoughts.”

Blink. Blink. “Did you just insult-”

“Not. A. Word.” 

In the arena, A lowered her bloodied plug and turned to the four remaining Regulars, smiling. After explaining his plan, Wangnan yelled, “She’s coming! Scatter!” He and Miseng darted to the left and Arkraptor ran to the right, leaving Prince to handle A as she charged at him. Shakily, he pulled out his lighthouses and formed a barrier, but three baangs formed around A, shooting at the barrier and shattering it with ease.

Prince’s eyes widened, She broke it that easily? Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the item Wangnan slipped to him moments before, a smoke bomb. Jumping back, he threw down the bomb, filling the stage with smoke. 

As she tried to blow away the smoke, the announcer spoke, “Regular Miseng Yeo has put in her plug! Two spots remain!” 

The girl gasped as Prince laughed, “Ha! Take that, bitch!” Her gasp shifted into a pissed off scowl as she summoned a baang, hitting Prince in the chest and sending him flying back. Bending down, she cracked the cement and shot towards the boy, intending to send him flying. But before she could reach him, Arkraptor came between them and raised his own plug. To everyone’s surprise, A’s plug froze before it could make contact with the man. Suddenly, she visibly shook, suddenly torn.

Wangnan yelled, charging at the slots, “Go! Now’s our chance!” Hearing this, the woman snapped out of her daze to attack the blond. She fired two baangs at him, but he rolled under one and dodged the other. As she did that, she charged at him, but it was too late. A second before she reached him, he slid his plug into place; the announcement of him passing played overhead. Now furious, she spun around to attack the remaining boys, but got caught in Prince’s Boro-Boro catch, a technique that used his string to wrap between his lighthouses and around her plug. And, as she struggled helpless, Arkraptor ran up behind her and slid the final plug into place. 

As the match finished, Arkraptor let go of his plug and turned to A, “Now… let’s see who’s under the-” He reached out to grab her mask, but she leapt back, almost terrified. Silently, she turned and ran out the door she came, dropping her plug in the process. Arkraptor watched her go, why did her presence feel… familiar? 

While E, H, and Khun’s team stayed to hold the seats, team Sweet and Sour went back to their room. Goseng ran over to the four who were in the match, asking them, “Guys! What was that? Who was that woman?” 

M spoke up, leaning against a wall, “A Ranker from Q’s faction. They are clearly planning to interfere in our plans. Why or what their goal is, I have no clue.” 

Horyang spoke up, “Do you have any idea who they are?”

M’s eyes darted to W, who seemed lost in his own thoughts, “We… know who Q is. As for the two other Rankers that have made an appearance, we have… theories that our group are discussing. Speaking of which…” She turned to leave, but Arkraptor stepped in her way. That slightly surprised everyone, for the taller man seemed to be in a silent, contemplative state since running into the silver woman in white. 

Arkraptor stared down at her, “I don’t think so. We brushed it aside because we all agreed to respect your privacy. But the fact that your identities are affecting us and putting our team at risk means we have a right to know who you two are.” Quirking a brow, M glanced over to W, who nodded stoically at her. Sighing tiredly, she stepped to the side to let Arkraptor rejoin the rest of his team. Leaning her back against the wall and W taking the spot next to her, M reached up and removed her mask, revealing an older, worn-down version of Miseng’s eyes. At the same time, W reached up and removed his own mask, revealing his gold eyes, the rims reddened with pure powerful energy. Arkraptor’s eyes widened, “...Kid? Sweet and Sour?” Sheepishly, W hugged his upper torso and pointedly avoided everyone’s gazes. 

Realization struck Wangnan in a single second, That’s why you knew so much! And why you were able to transfer- It’s because you’re an… older me? But how? Why? 

W closed his eyes, Later. Later, I will answer the questions I can on our own. Content, Wangnan nodded.

Cautiously, Miseng walked over to her older self, reaching out and taking her older self’s hand, “That’s why you knew what to say… What happened, older me?” 

Prince scowled, “Isn’t it obvious? In their timeline, we all died. That’s why they came back.”

Yeon ran a hand through her hair, “This… explains a lot of things. But now we have even more questions.” 

M held up a tablet, “We are willing to answer whatever questions we can, but now isn’t the best time. Goseng, Horyang, Ehwa, you three are up.” As she said that, she held up the tablet for those three to read.

Gently, Goseng smiled at Horyang, “Looks like the two of us are together! And I think that powerful one-eyed man will be there too.” Silently, Horyang nodded.

He assured her, “U-Um, you don’t have to w-worry about that Chang guy. I-I can protect you from him.”

Wangnan pumped his fist, “Oh yeah! You two will pass easily! I know it!” 

W assured, “Totally! And you don’t have to worry about Chang, he’s not as… psychotic as he seems. In the future, he and Quaetro are good friends.”

As Yeon walked out silently, Wangnan’s eyes watched her go. Conflicted, he ran out after her, grabbing her shoulder cautiously, “Hey flamethrower, what’s up? You look all conflicted, it’s like you're sick!”

Yeon’s eyes downcasted, “Didn’t you realize? Q is Quaetro. That means somewhere down the line, you pushed that man to be an enemy rather than a potential ally. For now, we don’t know where that line was crossed, so every interaction with him is a risk. Besides, he’s insane and will probably burn everyone, so how can one even try to win over a guy like that?”

Wangnan scoffed, “Seriously? You’re worried about that? Flamethrower, the reason I don’t worry about that stuff is because they’re the future! Why should we worry about what they did? They’re a possibility! Besides, do you really want those psychos as allies? They’re ticking time bombs. So you just go out and win the test so you can go save your love!”

“He’s not my love!”

“Then why are you blushi- hey don’t light me on fire!” 

From the door, W watched the two with a sad, longing look in his eye. The next matches began, with Horyang, Goseng, and Chang passing in their group and Quaetro and Yeon passing in theirs. Everyone’s eyes remained glued on the first place E-class Regular, Varagarv. To everyone else, he seemed like some impressive big shot. But to E and H, both people who fought against him, he seemed much less invincible and badass than he appeared. Out of everyone in the arena, only those two knew the fragile confidence the Regular actually had.  

Meanwhile, Anaak sat on her bed after snapping the cords that were restraining her wrists and legs. Rubbing her wrists she seethed, “That bitch! I am so going to kill her when I get out of here! And why did she tie the restraints so loosely? Did she seriously underestimate my strength since I’m a Regular?” ...Or did she want me to escape? Why? I can’t break through the door and I can’t contact anyone because of the shitty workshop signal. Recalling a conversation with E the day before, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a green phone, Emily already on screen. Choking back a gag, she hissed, “Am I really going to have to use this stupid thing to escape? That’s embarrassing. I’m glad the witch isn’t here to chew me out about this lame solution.” Hastily, she typed in, ‘How do I leave this room?’ 

Immediately, Emily dinged, ‘Look under the bed.’ Suppressing an urge to facepalm at her own stupidity, Anaak hopped to her feet and shoved the bed aside. Underneath rested a trapdoor almost the same shade as the floor. 

Anaak opened the door, a suspicious look taking place on her face, I can sense it… this goes somewhere. Her eyes darted to Emily, How does some stuid collection of ones and zeros know about this? And is the room on the other side… what M wanted me to see? Why? What is the workshop hiding? What do you… want me to do? 

Meanwhile, in the arena, the next few matches passed with Endorsi and Cheonhwa passing their group and Dan and Rak passing for theirs. Now it was time for Viole to enter his match. To everyone’s surprise, a bunch of men instantly took action to protect Viole. Watching with a smile, E sipped at her drink, “How naively stupid of them. Even if Viole was like other slayers, none of them would take an easy win.”

H crossed his arms, ‘Most of them are so egotistical that doing something like this is almost a deathwish. But that’s most of FUG, from my experience. We’re no exception, especially you, love.’ 

E giggled, “Yeah… and you love me for it.” The four Rankers watched with sinister smiles as Viole shot down the false believers and attacked them. 

Wangnan grinned, “Figures.”

Nearby, Chang, he and Quaetro now with the group, commented, “Well then, I admit I wasn’t expecting that.”

Quaetro laughed, “He seems more interesting! Not as fun as you, chick, but fun!” Wangnan pointedly took a step away from him as W and M suppressed chuckles. 

Dan shivere, “Scary man… How are you guys so calm?”

Cheonhwa reminded him, “Those two are FUG, they’re used to stuff like this. And being teammates that means the other two are as well.”

Yeon scowled, “That just proves FUG is evil. And Jue Viole Grace is the worst.”

W scoffed, “Oh please, just wait until you meet the other slayers.” 

“No! No more slayers!” 

Watching the fight in the gambler room, Shibisu frowned, “Ba- Viole… what happened to make you like this?”  

The next match came with Novick and Hatz both passing in their respective groups. While the others stayed to watch, M found herself wandering the halls. Suddenly, she shivered, feeling a shinsu wave that belonged to something that didn’t belong. Scowling, she brushed past a hooded man with a red hat. Without hesitation, she grabbed his arm, “Beta… what are you doing here?”

Beta scowled, “Isn’t obvious? I want to see Viole in action. The workshop is so boring and repetitive. This is the only time I get some action.” M’s eyes remained fixed on him, clearly suspicious and not believing him in the slightest. Still, she let go of his wrist.

As he left, she whispered, “Remember what I told you before you do something you can’t take back, Beta.” 

Soon, it was time for the last three groups to happen and the new rule of going all in for three million points. Surprisingly, not everyone did, but both Khun and Shibisu put all in on Ran. Without any other strong competitors, he passed. But, during the match, he froze up, his eyes darting to the audience, specifically a pair of masked men. One had dark black hair tied back in a low ponytail and donned an orange and black mask with a grey hoodie and sweatpants. The other had the classic Khun hair cut short and clearly unkept. Even behind the mask, which was several shades of blue, Ran could feel the powerful, piercing gaze the man had fixed on him. The man in the hoodie grinned, his smile sending a chill down Ran’s spine somehow. Even across the arena, Ran could sense the powerful, almost inhuman, shinsu waves both emitted. Confused, Ran blinked, but they vanish in a second, no sign of them ever being there in the first place. Shaking his head, Ran snapped back into the game and finished it, him being the only winner of his group. Sighing, he glanced back to where he saw the two men, Who the hell were those two? They… didn’t belong here. 

Meanwhile, Hatz sat on his bed, still lost in the information H told him. One thing in particular rang in his mind, “My hesitancy between doing the honorable thing and doing the best thing ended up costing me… everything.” Hatz ran his hand over the ignition sword. 

This weapon is extremely powerful, I can sense it. Why would he give me this? And… what happened? Hatz leaned back against the wall, My strong belief in fairness and honor is the only thing connecting me to my family besides my blades. Right from the beginning, I made it my mission to not sacrifice that. But… how much longer can I hold onto that mindset in the tower? Am I going to be forced to give that up too, just like my older self did? Thinking back, he could sense the powerful aura from his older self. Right away, he could tell that the Ranker had experienced and learned things that Hatz had never even thought possible. And, based on the emptiness the man had, he could tell that most of the experiences had not been positive, the scars running so deep that Hatz couldn’t tell where they even ended and the man himself began. ...What happened? 

Somewhere else, Anaak slid down the ladder, keeping her eyes fixed below her and on guard, How deep does this stupid thing go? That bitch better not be wrong about there being something or I will hunt her down and kill her myself. A second later, she reached the bottom, glancing around at the wide, empty, dimly lit room. Seriously? This place is fucking huge, but there’s nothing even here! Suddenly, an uncomfortable shinsu presence made itself known. Surprised, she spun around and noticed a giant door with a red target-like symbol on it. Bingo, a way out. She summoned a single baang and fired it at the door. But, to her surprise, it bounced off and vanished helplessly. What? Cautiously, she loomed closer to the door. There’s some sort of hole… a key? But why does this make all my hair stand on end… I don’t like this… In her mind, she could hear a voice, not her own, murmur to her. Like under some sort of spell, she found her feet moving closer and closer to the door, her hand slowly lifting up to touch the door. 

Seconds before it made contact, a loud banging behind her rang out, snapping the princess out of her trance. In a rush, she jumped out of the way of an attack from a crab-like robot. Leaping back to look at the beast properly, she realized, A workshop patrol! The beast shot towards the princess, but she leapt out of the way with ease. Oh you have got to be kidding me. On either side of her, she summoned two baangs and attacked the beast, but it only cracked the shell. She scowled, landing in a running position, “Dammit! Stronger than it looks! Guess I’ll…” She shot out towards the beast, who had leapt in the air to strike her form above. “...Have to get close!” Summoning her whip, she wrapped it around one of the claws to swing onto its back and punched it. Three orb-like devices appeared behind her, firing their lasers. Unfazed, she spun her whip in the air above her, hitting back the lasers and creating a strong wind current that shook up the cannons. Still, the beast shook violently beneath her, throwing her off. Mid air, she recalled Ran using his inventory as a platform. In spite of her fury, she couldn’t help but smile. In a single move, she summoned her inventory and leapt off it, switching her whip for a spear and stabbed it deep into the center of the machine. She grinned, Too easy! To her surprise, the machine wasn’t done yet. It began to shake, fluids flowing out of it and the whole bot began to hiss and glow. Anaak’s eyes widened, It’s… self-destructing! Immediately, she leapt back, but hit against the far wall. I can’t escape in time! Suddenly, a masked man in uniform leapt onto the machine from above. 

Pressing his hand into the machine, he murmured, “Dangan style weapon reinforcement technique… lightning strike!” Suddenly the whole beast became filled with electricity, collapsing to the ground. Surprised, Anaak remained silent, not daring to move in front of the stranger. The man climbed off the machine and walked towards Anaak, removing his helmet, “You’ve improved quite a bit. Although you’re still reckless and impulsive. Figures for your family.”

Anaak yelled, “Wait, you’re-”

The man behind the helmet, Lero Ro, smiled, “Long time no see, Anaak Jahad.”

“Mr. Lero Ro! Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be on the second floor or something?”

Lero Ro replied, “I quit. Right now, I’m… doing something for my part-time job.”

“I knew it! The workshop is planning something big, isn’t it?”

“How did you figure that out?” Asked Lero Ro, surprised. Anaak opened her mouth, but he cut her off, “But, yes, you are right. The workshop battle is working on something dangerous.”  

Anaak scowled, “Damn so that’s why… Well, that isn’t my problem. Hey Ranker, how do I get outta here? I gotta kick that arrogant Khun boy’s ass in the individual tournament.”  

Suddenly, a third voice spoke up, “The individual tournament ended. Ran passed.” From above, the masked man in blue appeared, his very being radiating electricity and power. He smirked, tossing Anaak a workshop helmet, “You wanna get another chance to lose? How about you help us for a bit?” Anaak scowled, pissed at herself for missing the chance. Glancing between the helmet and the two Rankers, she nodded.

She narrowed her gaze, “...Fine. Whatever. But what’s this stupid work?”

Lero Ro spoke up, “It’s to stop them… from making the worst weapon. ”

Meanwhile, in the party area, Wangnan took a seat next to Arkraptor, Quaetro, and Chang. He let out a breath of relief, “Khun and his friend both passed. That’s a relief. Where are they, anyways?” 

Akraptor informed, “They’re with the other four gamblers to learn about the next game.” 

Chang sighed, “I hope it’s not as stupid as the last one.”

Quaetro laughed, “Are you kidding? I gotta burn so many people! That cowardly Yeon girl was such a mood dropper, though.”

Immediately, Wangnan growled, “Don’t insult Ehwa like that. Not every flame thrower has to be a psychotic as you.” 

Nearby, Yeon’s voice spoke up, “I don’t you need to defend me, monkey-face.” The woman approached, now in a fancier dress, and took a seat next to Wangnan. 

Arkraptor greeted her, “Hey. Where’s the couple and the Rankers?” 

Yeon answered calmly, “Apparently W and M were meeting with two different people and Horyang and Goseng are dancing together and being all cute.” 

Suddenly, the sound of cheering rang out and all five turned towards the source, which was none other than Endorsi. Wangnan smiled, “Heh, in that dress she doesn’t look nearly like the time bomb we learned she was.”

Endorsi’s eyes settled on the group and she approached them, “Hey losers, has anyone seen Bam?”  

Yeon perked up, “You mean the FUG? No, I haven’t.”

Arkraptor shrugged, “He’ll probably be around here somewhere.”

“Dammit, you’re useless,” scowled Endorsi, turning to leave.

Yeon shot up, “Wait! Can I join you to look for Viole? I have something to ask him.” Endorsi shot her a look, but didn’t reply which let the other girl take as a response in itself. 

Meanwhile, Hatz leaned against the stairs outside of the party, listening in to the fun. His lips were pursed, staring at Emily, ‘Where is Anaak?’ 

‘Working on something fun!’ 

He bit a growl, Where is my teammate? 

“Hey swordsman boy.” Approaching him was none other than Ran, who had his hands shoved in the pockets of his suit. Ran asked, a suspicious glint in his emotionless eyes, “Do you… know anything about those masked guys?”

Hatz perked up, “W-What- How do you-”

“I’m going to take that as a yes. I saw two of them in the audience. One had black hair and a hoodie while the other was a Khun with a blue mask. The Khun stared right at me, so he must be related to you guys.”

Hatz quirked a brow, “...A Khun?” But neither of the boys are great family members, much less Khuns. Could they be the same group as the girl who attacked Shibisu? 

Noticing the other boy’s expression, Ran rolled his eyes, “Figures. You’re useless too. Whatever, guess I'll have to ask A.A. when he gets back.” With that, he walked off, Hatz watching him go. 

Meanwhile, M and W walked through the halls, M glancing up to W, “Are you sure this is the way?” 

W nodded, “Yeah, he said he would retrieve the item for us and give it to us during the party.” M nodded, but the skepticism and caution didn’t vanish from her aura. The two weaved their ways through the workshop halls until finally they reached the highest floor. The two stepped out of the small elevator and into a narrow hall made of a glass-like material that overlooked the floors below. 

As they walked through, one of the grey armored soldiers approached them, “Are you Mr. W and Ms. M? He is waiting for you.” Silently, W nodded, and the soldier led them down the hall to a small black door on the far end. The soldier excused himself, allowing M and W to step towards the door. 

The second before W’s hand could graze the door, a voice called out, “Come in, W,  M.” Nervous, the two exchanged a look before W pressed the button to open the door. On the other side was a giant penthouse with glass walls and screens layered about. Surprisingly, the room seemed to be almost empty save the single chair and desk, with a radio on it, on the far end of the room. Resting in the chair was a man dressed in elite business-like clothes and radiated pure power, despite his seemingly weak state. He smiled, not even glancing back at the two arrivals, “Hello there Jahad Wangnan Jah, Miseng Yeo. The two of you are free to remove your masks and voice filters here. I have no intention of making an enemy out of the future king of the tower.” 

Removing his mask, W corrected, “I am no king, not anymore. I have stepped down from that role.”

M curtsied, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Gustang.” 

The man, Gustang, turned around to her, setting down his cigarette, “the pleasure is all mine, M.”

W stepped forward, “Sir, with all due respect-”

Gustang held out a hand with a flask-like object, “The compressed flask is why you’re here, is it not? Here you go, just as I promised. I do keep my word.” Cautious, M walked over and took the flask before returning to her place beside W. Gustang rested his chin on his hand, “If I may, I do wonder- why did you choose to come back as Rankers, separated from your younger bodies? You could have easily just taken their places, ensuring to keep your strength and climbing while repeating your successes and preventing your mistakes. The perfect timeline, so to speak.”

W chuckled, slipping his hands into the pockets on his pants, “Aw come on, I’m surprised I have to explain it to a logical man such as yourself. A perfect run? Sure, it’s tempting, but is it even truly possible? Won’t changing major mistakes we made just create new problems down the line that we won’t be prepared for? Gods are very real things so changing so much will just be building up to a worse karma in the end to balance it out. This way, however, allows us to influence the changes we want, but the decisions still fall in someone else’s hands. Besides, where’s the fun in perfection? That’s not how humanity nor society functions. Through imperfections does order manage to exist. So, instead we want to give our younger selves the chance to grow and struggle just as we had. We’ll influence major decisions, but eliminating problems entirely just won’t be as fun.” 

Gustang’s smile grew, “Very well put, you two may go. Enjoy the party.” With a bow, the two left the room and slipped on their masks. Gustang glanced back down out the window, “Order through imperfections, huh? That’s an interesting way to view the world.” 

As they walked back through the halls of the workshop, W stopped out of the blue and turned to M, “Hey, M, go on ahead. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

M shot him a look through her mask, “Are you going to do something stupid that risks the whole plan again?”

Faking offense, W clutched his chest, “Ouch, your severe lack of faith in me burns my soul, M. And to think you may have gained some faith by being by my side all these years…”

Rolling her eyes, M walked off with a wave, “Don’t die!”

He called after her, “You wish!” Once she vanished from view, he dropped his hand, “Come out, Cassano.” From the shadows, Cassano emerged, a glare in his eyes and a silent scowl on his lips. W spoke, his voice growing cold and deadly, “Look. I don’t know what deal you made with FUG, but I have a deal for you myself. I know your target is Horyang, and I’m telling you to stay the hell away from him.”

Cassano sneered, “Seriously? Illmar and I can change this entire pointless tower. And if he’s too weak, I’ll do it myself. I can save all the abandoned bastards within this tower. I can make sure that the human testing is completely eradicated. I am a tsunami wave to the sea of the tower. I can do so much good, and you’re willing to sacrifice it for one friend? Then you have no right to call yourself a real Ranker.”

Unfazed, W sighed, “Just how dumb are you? Ignoring the fact that you want to save those who have been used and abandoned by using and abandoning others, you’re in no place to bring change to anyone. Those who bring change are the leading wolves of their pack, not gullible dogs held on FUG’s leash. You think you can bring change with them? You’re just a pawn they’ll either completely break until you lose your humanity or toss aside the moment they realize they can’t. No one believes that you can do anything. Especially if you act like a complete hypocrite while doing so. A tsunami wave? Please, you’re just a plank teetering on a fence, unable to fall completely to one side or the other.”

Cassano scowled, “Why are you telling me this?”

W smiled, “Weren’t you listening? I have a deal for you. Leave Horyang and Emily alone and there is a man in the Regulars area of this ship capable of granting your wish, even if he doesn’t realize it yet. He’ll have a better bet than FUG, that’s for certain. You don’t even have to do anything.” Cassano’s scowl deepened, his eyes darting to the side as he contemplated his options. 

Finally, he let out a snarl and agreed, “...Fine. But if he fails, I take his life.”

W smiled, crossing his arms, “Yeah, sure. Good luck with that.” 

In another hall, M walked through the empty darkness with her hands behind her head. Suddenly, a powerful aura of shinsu shot through the area, causing her to leap to a defensive position. From a balcony above, a man leapt down, it was the man in orange and black from before. He waved, his voice shifting constantly to signify his modifier being on, “Yo! It’s been a while, M.”

M’s guard fell, albeit only slightly, “D? How are you and R here? We thought we lost contact with you a couple centuries ago! What has happened since then?”

Embarrassed, D chuckled, scratching his neck, “Heh… A lot. But that doesn’t matter, we’re here now, aren’t we? So how about you give me the flask? I can get Emily for you.” Seeing her hesitancy, he added, “Come on, what reason do you have not to trust me?” She only shot him a look that said, ‘Are you fucking kidding me?’ “...Don’t answer that. But come on, it’s me. Dann. I wasn’t exactly recruited for my trickery and betrayal skills, you know? I had more than enough of that climbing the tower.” Reluctantly, M stepped towards him and handed the flask to D. With a grateful smile, he snatched the flask and sped down the hall, leaving the woman alone.

Realizing what she just did, M paused, “...W’s going to kill me.” 

Meanwhile, the remaining 6 gamblers who passed; Shibisu, Khun, Mei, Reflejo, Rodni and Devil Bon, all gathered to wait for the next instructions about the game. Shibisu deadpanned at Mei, “How did you even survive? You had the least amount of points!” 

Mei chuckled, “Guess I got lucky huh?”

“Yeah, no kidding!” 

Khun pondered, “Hm… What could the next game be?”

Shibisu glanced at him, “Maybe two three way matches between teams? Is that even possible?”

Khun shook his head, “I doubt it’s another all out match like the individual tournament. They want to make a show, remember? It would be boring if they made the team tournament too similar to the individual game.”

Shibisu pondered, “I… guess that would make sense.”

Suddenly, one of the two announcers entered, greeting the group, “Gosh, I was so focused on the concert that I’m late! Sorry, gamblers! Who’s excited for the next game? It will certainly be… exciting!” 

Khun narrowed his gaze, “Just explain it to us.”

The announcer smiled through his mask, “It’s called Rebirth Survival. ”

Later that night, Wangnan blinked, “What? Rebirth Survival?”

Khun nodded, “Yes, a free for all of sorts. The rules are simple. First, the leader chooses the spearhead to start the game. They are the only one who can summon more teammates. Along with them, the leader can choose to buy up to four more teammates to start the game with the spearhead. Teammates are eliminated by either surrendering or receiving too much damage to continue. Eliminating enemies gains points to grow the team further. And the spearhead of our team… is you, Wangnan.” Immediately, everyone stiffened in surprise. Khun elaborated, “All Regulars have a price … And you’re the cheapest among us. We have plenty of points, but it would be shameful to waste them. Along with you is Arkraptor, Yeon, the crocodile, and… Quaetro.”

Wangnan shot up, “What? That psychopath? There’s no way he’ll work with us!”

Khun shook his head, “He’s insane, but he’s also insanely powerful. And if you manage to win him over, he’s the only one who can convince Chang. Let’s talk about the details when everyone comes back. Where’s the crocodile?”

Meanwhile, Goseng walked into the apartment, leaving Horyang lingering outside. From above, a voice called out, “How sweet! I’m so glad you guys are finally together.” From above, M floated down, her umbrella slowing her fall. As her feet gently touched the ground, she closed the umbrella and made it vanish into the air. 

Horyang let out a breath, “Oh… it’s just you, Miseng.”

M held up her hand, “Please keep referring to us by our letters, please. It’ll avoid confusion, you know? And before you ask, don’t worry! I wasn’t spying or eavesdropping on you. Goseng is family after all. I just got here and saw you two.”

Horyang nodded, “I know… I trust you. Did you… want to talk to me?”

M smiled, removing her mask, “I know you found out about Emily. I just wanted to let you know, Ms. Sophia isn’t a bad person.”

“But she… continued the experiments. She-”

“Is… a walking disaster. She knows how it feels, she was a middle child as well, after all. She says she got recruited as a scientist because she’s smarter… I doubt it. I know her personally from my… numerous break ins. She genuinely believed that what she was doing is right. She loves you guys and she does the experiments because she wants you guys to be strong and not get walked over.”

“So… she really did care about us? How do you know?”

“Weren’t you listening? I’ve met her and talked to her before. She actually has helped me break in several times because the “experiments” like talking to someone from the outside. So no one is expecting you to become a weapon, a demon, or anything. Just be yourself, and you’ll be doing exactly what she wants.” 

Horyang smiled, “Thank you, M.” 

Somewhere on a ledge overlooking a sea, Beta chuckled, “Haha. It’s finally begun. I’ve waited for too long… to get revenge on those who hurt me… I (we) will make everything fall apart.”

Suddenly, a hook came out and wrapped around his neck, “Do you really think it’ll be that easy? Just shut up and get back in the cage, Beta.”

“This voice…” Beta smiled, pushing away the hook with ease, “...You’re that lizard girl, aren’t you? A friend of M. Hehe… Out of respect for her, I’ll tell you one thing.” He stood up and pointed to the distant island, “That’s where the game will be held. Where Jue Viole Grace will lose everything precious to him. If you want to save him, go there. That’s all I’ll tell you!” With that, he leapt into the water, laughing.  

Anaak scowled, removing her helmet and tossing it to the side, “Dammit! He got away!” Without hesitation, she leapt off the platform and into the water after Beta. 

Somewhere else, D clutched the flask, now filled with a blue liquid. He walked through the halls and reached his partner, R. R pushed off the wall, asking, “Did you get it?” D smiled and held up the flask. R snatched it and pressed a finger to his ear, “Maschenny, this is agents R and D. We retrieved Emily.” 

The next day, the announcer stood on a scooter overlooking the island where the teams were gathered, “Sorry to keep you waiting, ladies and gentlemen! And the Regulars who participated in this workshop battle! Starting now, in this beautiful but dangerous water stadium… the workshop battle’s last tournament begins!” 

Chapter Text

7

The announcer explained, “Sorry to keep everyone waiting! We will finally begin… the team tournament to determine the winner of this workshop battle! I’ll briefly explain the rules of this tournament to you! The teams are scattered across the island in a free for all for the grand prize! Along with them are also orbs holding a various range of points! By eliminating other teams and collecting these orbs, the spearhead can gather points to summon teammates at the calling center or buy items! It’s a treasure hunt and all out tournament to defeat other teams until yours is the only one remaining! If a teammate surrenders or is unable to fight, they are eliminated! If the spearhead is eliminated, all of the team is out and all of their orbs are left for other teams to steal! Only when one team gathers all the orbs or is the only team remaining do they win! Further details of the game have been shared with the leaders through the lighthouses provided! Teams that don’t collect at least one orb or eliminate one opposing team member within 30 minutes are eliminated, so move quickly! And now the Rebirth Survival begins!” 

In the arena, Wangnan sliced through the foliage, Yeon following behind, “Wow, this island is bigger than I thought… is this really an artificial stadium?”

Khun spoke up, hovering nearby, “Well, it’s well-known that the workshop people do crazy stuff. I also heard there’s an artificial territory in the tower.” 

“They’re really talented lunatics.” 

Yeon cringed, “But why did they have to make the foliage so packed?”  

Wangnan scowled, “Can’t you use your flames for something useful and burn a path for us?”

Yeon snapped, “Are you joking? What if I lose control? I could burn this whole forest and us!” 

Wangnan scoffed and returned to cutting a path, “Dammit, your stupid flame is so useful. So a survival game, it’s strange. What do you think, Khun?”

Khun spoke up, “It’s a survival game but it also is a race of sorts to find the orbs. We’re probably not the only group that split in two teams to try and find orbs or enemies. Since it’s a free-for-all, it’s possible for three teams to gang up and attack one team.” 

Ehwa spoke up, “Khun, what do we do? We need to find an enemy or orb in the battlefield.”

“That’s true. But not by the log bridge. If we run into an enemy, Yeon, you won’t be able to use your flames fully and just put us in danger.”

Wangnan put a hand on his hip, “Then?”

Khun continued, “There’s a way to cross through the eastern beach. It’ll take time, but it’ll have less greenery for Yeon to accidentally burn. Less people will likely go that way and there may be an orb there.”    

Somewhere else, Shibisu sighed, “Aw man, I just wanted a touching reunion, but we can’t find the FUG team anywhere.”

Cheonhwa assured, “It’s fine, Shibisu. We just need to find an orb or another enemy to give us time to keep searching. Shouldn’t you be with our spearhead instead of me and Narae?” Next to him, Narae was skipping along, her fish flying far ahead of them to scan the foliage. Despite her cheerful appearance, she still had a bandaid on her forehead and a hint at the sadness brought on by the loss of her friend. 

Shibisu shook his head, “No, Endorsi has Hatz and Laure, they can handle themselves. We’re going to meet up with them the moment either of us encounter our goal.” 

Cheonhwa nodded to Shibisu before kneeling down next to Narae and asking, “Hey, lady Narae, are you alright? Your injuries have yet to fully recover and…” He trailed off before he mentioned what happened to her dear friend.

Narae frowned, “It… hurts. I miss my friend. B-But I miss Mr. Bam more! So let’s just focus on getting him back, okay? That means my friend won’t die in vain!” Suddenly, her fish shot back towards her, squeaking in her face, “And it looks like we found something! Come on!” 

Meanwhile, Viole led Novick and Ran through the trees and down a set of stairs. Novick called out, “What’s the plan?”

Viole explained, “Reflejo and the other two are scanning the northern direction while we’re supposed to head to the south.” 

Ran stopped, his eyes narrowed, “You know that’s not what we mean.”

Viole paused, “...Let’s find an orb. Then I need to head on my own while you two cover for me. I may be able to find something that’ll let me leave this pointless team and return to where I actually belong.”

Novick nodded, “Alright. Then let’s get looking.” Next to him, Ran shot up in the air and flipped onto a higher branch, scanning the area below. At the same time, Novick leapt onto a nearby perch, pulling out his weapon. 

Watching them, Viole smiled, Just wait a little bit longer, everyone! 

Meanwhile, Varagrav walked out of his starting point and glanced at Mei, “Where’s Pandit and Grobin?”

Mei smiled, “They’re already on the move. They looked so serious even though it’s a sure victory.”

Varagrav nodded, walking down the steps, “Let’s get moving.” Suddenly, the sound of rumbling made him stop. 

From the trees, a man with a scuba diving helmet and a club shot out, going to swing at Mei. Hovering nearby, a man laughed, “Hahahaha! I would surrender while you can! Boondawan, the notorious batman from hell, is unbeatable! He was one of the most expensive spearheads! Ahahaha! Who needs other teammates when I just have him? Go! Boondawan!” The man roared and went for a swing at Mei, but Varagrav beat him to it. In a single movement, he yanked Mei back and punched the attacker in the gut, sending him flying through the trees. 

Looking up at the lighthouse with the shocked man inside, Varagrav demanded, his voice cold and emotionless, “Your spearhead is now badly injured. Surrender and save your lives.” Inside, the man growled and directed his lighthouse to chase after his teammate. 

Mei smiled, “Thank you, Varagrav!”

“...Let’s just go.”

Somewhere else, Arkraptor, Rak, and Quaetro ran through the trees after crossing the central bridge. Quaetro whined, “Aw come on, why can’t I burn something?”

Ignoring him, Arkraptor scowled, “We’re running out of time. I haven’t heard a word from Khun that Wangnan and Yeon had found anything. What the hell was he thinking of making that guy the spearhead?”

Rak scoffed, “Don’t doubt blue turtle, he knows what he’s doing. And the curry turtle has the angola turtle, he’ll be fine.” Suddenly, from above, a pale man with a blade stood there, his partner hovering nearby. Immediately, he went to swing at the trio, who all jumped out of the way in sync.

Quaetro caclked, “Hahaha! finally! Something to burn! He’s all mine, so you guys can go on ahead!” 

Arkraptor hesitated, but Rak didn’t, “Alright, crazy turtle! We’ll leave him to you!” In reply, Quaetro just cackled. The man shot out towards Quaetro, but the psycho dodged and summoned a baang, burning the man’s hand and turning his blade to ash. Silently, the man shook his hand and went for a kick, but Quaetro caught his foot and covered it in flames, which spread to the man’s entire body. Landing back on both feet, The man stumbled towards the nearby cliff and fell back into it. Before he did, something shiny slipped out of his pocket and landed on a nearby patch of grass. Curious, Quaetro ran over and knelt down. 

He poked the object, which was a glassy orb with a number printed on it, “Iss this one of those orb thingies? Guess I can’t burn it, aw man.” Picking it up, he read the number 250,000. Running back over to the others, he called out, “Hey! I found one of those orb things!” 

Rak snatched it, “Nice job, crazy turtle!”

Arkraptor glanced at Quaetro, “Why are you helping us? Don’t you hate Viole?”

Quaetro chuckled, “I do! I do! But me and the chick talked and he won me over!”

The night before, Quaetro was cheerfully sipping away at his drink, watching a flame dance on the tip of his finger. Next to him, Wangnan took a seat, “Hey, crazy redhead.”

Quaetro perked up, “Chick! Did you really want to get burned?”

Chang added, sitting nearby, “I thought you didn’t like us, why are you here?”

Wangnan informed, “I came to tell you that you’re one of our starting teammates, Quaetro.” 

Quaetro scoffed, “Isn’t he Viole’s friend? I’m not helping that annoying slayer! He just takes on easy fights!” 

Chang agreed, “Just because he didn’t take the easy win during his match today doesn’t mean he automatically won us over. Why should we help you? Why do you even care about FUG or Viole? He’s not your teammates anymore.”

Wangnan scowled, “Just because he left for a while doesn’t mean I’ll abandon him! He’s my friend, so why should I ditch him just because it might make things more difficult? This stupid tower puts so many walls between people, so I want to tear them down not build up more.” 

Chang smiled, “You really think a weakling like you can change the tower? Don’t make me laugh.”

Wangnan replied, “Who’s to say I’m laying all my cards on the table this early?”

Quaetro giggled, “Hahaha! I like you, chick! Alright, I’ll help you!” 

Little did they know, around the corner, Cassano watched with a narrow gaze. Cassano wondered, Is he the one that the blond guy was talking about? He’s so pathetic, thinking he can tell everyone else how to live when he’s too weak to do anything himself. Despite his skepticism and hatred, he couldn’t help the feeling of trust the blond had emitted. Something about the boy, despite his weak appearance, made Cassano almost trust him enough to believe the mystery man’s words. Who was this guy really?

Once Wangnan left, Chang commented, “He sure is something. Despite being so weak, he talks big. Maybe being around the slayer candidate has made him believe he was anything special. Are you really going to help him, Quaetro?”

Quaetro laughed, “Yeah! I like that chick! I don’t want to burn him to ash before I get more fun out of him.” 

Back in the present, Quaetro put his hands behind his head, “I don’t really care about that slayer, but the chick is interesting! Plus this’ll give me plenty of things to burn.”

Meanwhile, somewhere else, Ran shot across the treeline, dodging around shots from the Mad Dog wave controller and spearman.  They’re not using their power. They’re just buying time for something. But for what? He scowled slightly, “How… annoying.” He summoned a bolt of lightning that shot out and struck them both in one blow. While they coughed and stumbled, struggling to remain standing, Ran grabbed his hook and charged it with electricity. He launched from his treetop and swung the hook, hitting both in the chest and sending them flying. As they flew back, two orbs fell from their bodies like blood, rolling in the dirt. Leaping towards them, Ran noticed that they were labeled with numbers. One had been labeled 100,000 and the other had 50,000. Looking around, he noticed Reflejo flying through a clearing like a ghost. 

Reflejo reached a set of stairs, where Novick waited, “Didn’t Viole tell you to stay with Yuto and Xiaxia? Why are you here, Reflejo?” Novick straightened up, “Could it be that…” Ran leapt down next to him, already crackling with electricity, “...You’re planning on betraying Viole?” 

Reflejo narrowed his gaze, “...How did you figure it out?”

Novick pulled out his spear, “We had… an outside source.” 

Walking through the hall, Novick looked out the window and to the people below. Behind him, a voice spoke up, “Heya, you’re Novick, right?” Surprised, Novick spun around to see a woman with long brown hair and a mask. 

Novick narrowed his gaze, “Who are you?”

The girl outstretched her hand, “You can call me E. A High Ranker sent here to keep an eye on Viole, along with my partner, H. We know Viole is planning on leaving FUG to return to his teammates.” Immediately, Novick hopped on guard, but E giggled, “Oh! So defensive, you’re good. But you don’t have to worry. Who do you think told Khun and his friends about Viole and came up with the whole plan to get him away?”
Novick questioned, “Why would you do that? Doesn’t that go against what FUG wants?”

E waved her hand, “An obedient law is no fun! I would rather see what that monster can do once his leash snaps. Don’t you?”

Novick added, “Why are you telling me this?”

She began to encircle him, “I know you and Mad Dog made a deal to help Viole. I’m here to warn you it’s a bad idea. They’re FUG too, after all. All you’ll do is be betrayed. Instead…” She revealed a phone, “...We’ll help you from the sidelines.”

Novick took the object, “...Emily?”

“No, Emily has gone down since last night. We’ve never trusted a third party anyway. This is just a messenger system of our own designed based on hers. We’ll give some to your real teammates, you just go along with Viole and our instructions.” 

Back in the present, the two boys shot out of the way of Reflejo’s attack. As the shadow man swung at Novick, the latter yelled, “She already knew you were going to betray Viole, and Viole wanted to leave anyway. Your team will fail here… and Viole will go back to his old teammates… After stealing… The Real Needle that you want so desperately.” Reflejo went for a swing, but he was electrocuted by Ran from behind. As they landed side by side, Novick scoffed, “I didn’t need your help.”

Ran countered, “I didn’t do it for you.” 

Novick glanced at Reflejo, “Regardless, it’s too late to get mad. We already eliminated two of Mad Dog’s members. And Viole must have gotten to where the needle is. Your plan is officially over. This game is no longer in your hands, FUG.”

“...How dare… you speak arrogantly?” asked Reflejo. Immediately, Ran shot out to attack him, but a shadow-like substance formed from beneath Reflejo and blacked his strike. Surprised, the small Khun leapt back and flipped onto a tree branch. Reflejo lowered his scythe, “You don’t even know what’s in there… you imbeciles.”          

Somewhere else, Wangnan stared up at the giant building, “Woah… so this is the calling center?” 

Yeon commented, “It’s bigger than I thought.”

As they made their way over, Khun warned, “Be on guard.” Surprised, Wangnan opened his mouth to comment, but Khun cut him off, “Look out!” The three shot off in different directions, avoiding a large shinsu blast. The source was revealed to be a pair of chuckling tiny twins. From behind the twins, Boondawan landed, cracking the ground beneath it. Khun scowled, “I knew it. We still had 6 teams in the game, two on our team and three on FUGs. That left the sixth one completely unaccounted for. And without allegiances like ours and with so little points spent, that means he had to go on the defensive.”

Yeon smiled, “Nice job, Khun. but how did you know there was a third member on FUGs team?” Khun hesitated, glancing at the messenger in his hand from E. 

The man laughed inside his lighthouse, “So what? Boondawan doesn’t need friends! Just because we stumbled a little doesn’t take us out of this game! Fire, Tebo and Lebo!” The two twins fired another giant blast towards the trio, who dodged with ease. 

Running through plans in his mind, two things stuck out, causing him to call out, “Hey flamethrower! If I can distract them and get in close, do you think you can burn them all in one go?”

Ehwa countered, “But I’ll burn you too!”

“I’ll be fine! I already survived one of your burn attacks, remember? Just trust me!” To the other two’s surprise, he charged straight towards the enemies.

The leader laughed, “Ha! Do you wanna die?” Boondawan charged out past the twins and towards Wangnan, who jumped out of the way of a club swing. He ran straight towards the center of the twins with the club man chasing him. At the last second, he slid out of the way of the shinsu blast, causing the twins to hit the club man instead, causing him to stumble. Surprisingly, the two twins stopped completely, confused. Using the enemy team’s distraction, Wangnan dodged around the duo and grabbed the hood of the yellow one. 

Wangnan yelled, “Now flamethrower! With everything you got!”

Hesitant and shocked, Yeon summoned a giant fire baang, shooting it towards the four, “Got it!” 

Before the flames made contact, Wangnan closed his eyes and mumbled, “Reddened Twilight.” All around him, time seemed to freeze. 

A deep voice called out, “I’m surprised you knew to call on me. Though I figure you must have learned about it from the older version of yourself, my master.” Hovering above Wangnan was a man with redeemed hair and tattoos, donning a gold and white noble uniform. 

Wangnan blinked, “Who… are you? Are you… Reddened Twilight? How do you know about W?”

The man smiled, “We have many things to speak about, my master. But now is not the time for that. You may have learned of my presence, but your mind and body are not yet fit to sustain my power, so I may only lend you partial strength for now.” 

Wangnan shrugged frantically, “I’m kinda about to die, so I’ll take anything! I just wanna live!” The man’s smile only sharpened as he murmured something under his breath, restarting time. All of a sudden, Wangnan could feel a warm, familiar presence surrounding him, making his body feel like someone else’s, someone much stronger. Something else seemed to take control of his hand with his ring, the one not holding the yellow guy, lifting it to point his palm at the oncoming flames. To his surprise, the air around him grew denser, bending the flames to avoid his body completely and burn everything else around him. As the flames vanished, the power left also, leaving Wangnan to put his hands on his knees, struggling for breath. What… the hell… was that? Faintly, he could make out the other team surrendering, but it was muffled by the blood pounding in his ears. 

Concerned, Ehwa ran over, “Wangnan, are you okay?”

Khun hovered nearby, “Dammit, sweet and sour! What were you thinking?”

Gasping for breath, Wangnan breathed, “I… was… watching the… matches… with W. H-He wanted me to practice my observation skills. We realized that the giant is strong, but slow minded and wouldn’t be able to dodge in time if caught off guard. And the twins are actually a half-and-half.”

Khun nodded, “Surprisingly smart of you.” Looking around, the blond noticed several colored orbs gathered around. Picking them up, his team collected a total of 750,000p. Khun spoke up, “The others are a couple minutes away. We should summon another couple teammates.” 

Wangnan nodded, “Alright.” They ended up summoning Miseng for her observer skills, Dan for his speed, and Horyang for his power.

Horyang asked, “What now?” 

Khun ordered, “Miseng, Horyang, go towards the north side to rendezvous with Novick and Ran. As for the rest of us, there’s a safe zone towards the center building that we’ll regroup with Shibisu’s team there.” I hope they’re alright. 

In the north, Novick blinked, “The needle to kill the king?”

Reflejo nodded, “Yes. What’s inside is not just an ordinary weapon… but the key to realize FUG’s long-desired dream. We’ve waited so long for its completion. And we finally got the last material. This plan’s been painstakingly in the making… for longer than you can imagine, kids. There isn’t even the slightest error in our plan. My last job is to give this completed weapon to my master.”

Ran started to charge up, “Stop spurring nonsense, you stupid shadow.” 

Behind him, a voice spoke, “What he’s trying to say is that this workshop battle is still under our control. How funny, you knew about us but you were still so dumb to fall into this trap.” Standing there was Mei and her two teammates. She smiled, “Kill him.” 

Novick grinned, “I think you’re the dumb ones here.” He revealed two smoke bombs and tossed them high into the air. Once the smoke filled the clearing, Ran shot towards the two attackers, electrocuting both to death. He began to go for Mei, but Novick grabbed his shoulder, “We don’t have time, Ran. We need to run.” The two took off through the trees. Damn! Viole’s in danger! 

As they ran, Mei turned to Reflejo, “Should I chase after them?”

Reflejo put away his scythe, “No, that’s enough. There is nothing they can do anyway.”

Running through the trees, Miseng on Horyang’s shoulders as he had his wing in speed mode, the man called out, “How much longer until we reach them?”

Miseng informed, looking into her observer, “They’re running in our direction so it should be only a few minutes! Oh, I hope they’re okay!”

Suddenly, they ran into Yuto, who revealed herself to be Hwaryun as she spoke, “Follow me. I’ll show you the way. There;s something the four of you must do.” 

Above the island, the archimedes began to move as the announcer boomed, “News! Breaking news! Results are in from two of the five remaining teams! Four members of team FUG, including Jue Viole Grace, have left the team! So Ron Mei and Varagrav of team Mad Dog will take their places!” 

Somewhere on the eastern part of the island, Endorsi whined, “Aw come on! Why do we have to play this stupid game? Now they say Bam ditched his team? What a bunch of bull! I would never date a man who abandoned people so easily!” Their team had all regrouped, following Narae’s fish towards the central building. 

Cheonhwa growled, “Enough, princess Endorsi. Complaining won’t change anything. Something had to have happened.” 

Hatz agreed, “There’s definitely something more to this. We need to check in with Earrings’ team and see if they know anything.” 

“Shibisu! Witch!” From the trees, Anaak emerged, a scowl on her face and her clothes soaking wet. She was huffing for breath.

Narae perked up, “Anaak!” She blinked, “How did you get here?”

Endorsi scoffed, “You damn lizard! How could you run away from the tournament and then sneak in here?”

Shibisu added, “And what are you wearing? Where were you?”

Anaak snapped, “Goddammit now is not the time for that useless shit! We have to go stop them from making the worst weapon!”

Shibisu flew over, “The… worst weapon? Are you alright? What are you talking about?”

Endorsi scoffed, “Lizard;s talking nonsense, not that I’m surprised.”

Cheonhwa countered, “Let’s actually hear her out.”

Anaak stumbled, falling into Hatz’s arms, “We’re… almost… out of time! Hurry! Bam’s in danger!” 

Somewhere else, while the others were in uproar, Khun grabbed his messenger and saw a message, ‘This is E. The one who holds your answers has made contact with Shibisu’s team. Just head inside and wait for them, alright?’ 

Khun pocketed the device, “Enough everyone. Let’s go into the safety zone first and check what’s going on.” Everyone went in, Khun getting out of his lighthouse. They were greeted by the robot and guide of the building and Khun walked off on his own to check the record of the match.

As Khun left, Wangnan, Arkraptor, Rak, and Dan walked through the hall while the others explored in a different direction. Wangnan repeated, “Viole left his team… why would he do that?”

Rak scoffed, “Black turtle wouldn’t have done that. It’s bullshit. I’m sure the FUG bastards are planning something.”

Wangnan agreed, “Yeah… but why? They made a bet with us.”

Dan shook his head, “I… don’t think all of FUG is in on this plan. E and H knew and are now helping us fight them.”

Arkraptor countered, “Just because we know who M and W are doesn’t automatically make them all trustworthy. A lot can happen to them from being E-class Regulars to being High Rankers.” 

They were cut off by a member of another team brushing past them, chuckling, “Heh, this game is nothing. Isn’t it too easy for us?”

Next to him, his teammate with tattoos agreed, “Yeah, but the snake will give us more money depending on how long we last. So why stop here? By the way, I heard Viole ran away.”

“Haha, right. He’s an overestimated little coward. Maybe he was afraid of the mad dog.”

“Then is the mad dog the new slayer nominee? Mwahahaha!”

Wangnan growled, “Don’t you guys think you’re talking about yourself?”

Dan hissed, “Hey sweet and sour it isn’t-” 

Wangnan  ignored him, turning to the trio, “From what I saw, you all passed by the skin of your teeth or were pitted against nobody opponents and just got lucky. But Viole passed alone, even shooting down the help he got. You talk so highly, but do you think you can challenge the mad dog? Ha! Way to talk big about something you can’t back up!” 

The center one stepped towards the blond, “Why you-! You want to die?” Next to him, his silent teammate in red and black shot out towards Wangnan. He pulled out his double-edged spear and went to stab Wangnan. Panicking, Wangnan leapt back and dodged the blow.

Before the fight could escalate further, the guide appeared, “Attention- member of team Snake. You have broken the rule of no fighting in the safety zone. As such, you have been eliminated from the game.” In a flash of white light, the red guy vanished into thin air.        

As the other two teammates scowled and walked off, Rak complimented, “Nice going, curry turtle! Did you know that would happen?”

Wangnan laughed, putting his hands behind his neck, “Nope! But I’m glad it did!” Around him, the others facepalmed. 

Meanwhile, Khun watched the records of the match and saw Viole talking with Ran and Novick before running off on his own. It’s strange… Bam began to run as soon as the game started and Ran and Novick both knew full well based on the fact the three were on their own. Then all of them disappeared moments later. And team mad dog and team FUG joined forces. Why did they do that? Where did Bam go?

Suddenly a voice yelled, “Khun!” Standing in the door was none other than Shibisu, huffing for breath. He huffed, “We… need to… all talk… Now. ” 

Overlooking a mountain structure, Novick asked, “Viole’s in that mountain?”

Miseng nodded, glancing at the tracker map on her pocket, “Yep!”

Hwaryun guessed, “Probably locked in… the deepest area where the needle is kept.”

Novick questioned, “Why did FUG betray Viole? I thought they entered to give him the needle?”

Horyang guessed, “But FUG isn’t all in sync on the issue, is it? Some are backing Viole and some are against it.” 

Hwaryun nodded, “Right. The opposing force, composed of some slayers and elders, didn’t want Viole to have the power of the thorn… A mere slayer candidate. They hope to become the ones who can use the power of the thorn.”

Ran scowled, “So the two groups worked together to eliminate us. Annoying bastards, they’ll pay for underestimating us.”

Hwaryun continued, “That’s not all. They’re going to make a weapon by dissolving Viole in the needle.” 

Somewhere else, a group of ten gathered, three of them donning masks. The bluenette, Y, smiled, “Is it time yet? It’s only so much fun to watch the show and not be the main act.” The silver haired girl frowned and shook her head. 

Q cackled, “Aw come on! Don’t worry! You know all the fun and action happens in the main act!” 

Little did they know, listening in from the back of the group, H removed the shadows around him and walked off, blending into the crowd. Things are going to get dicey. I should contact the others. 

Somewhere else, Beta overlooked the island below from his perch. Closing his eyes, his mind couldn’t help but wander to the past.

Beta sat on his stool, kicking his legs and fiddling with his bandaids, “I (We) can’t wait… heh… To destroy Viole… for making us suffer… while he gets everything.”

Nearby, M laid on his bed, kicking her legs, “Well isn’t that a bit presumptuous? You know, Emily wasn’t telling you the truth. Your experiments aren’t connected to Jue Viole Grace at all. I looked on the records.”

Beta scowled, “But still! The halves and I had to go through hell while he gets laid off easily?”

M sat up, “So will you kill me, Beta? After all, I’m a friend of Viole.” Seeing Beta’s immediate hesitation, M reached out and pinched his nose, “See? Things aren’t that simple, moron. Revenge won’t satisfy you, especially revenge directed at the wrong person. You really want to flip off someone, flip off the workshop.”

Beta scoffed, “And how exactly do I do that, smartass?”

M giggled, lying back down and opening a book, “Hey! If I give you all the answers, it’ll take the fun out of everything!” 

Back in the present, Beta opened his eyes to a voice, “So! Crazy guy! Are you ready to ignite hell on Viole like you so desperately wanted?” Beta turned to see the voice be a redhead in a mask. 

Beta glared at him, “I got the guy trapped with the needle. That’s what you wanted. Now you better deliver on what you promised, flame-loving freak.”

Q chuckled, “Hehehehe ha ha HA! You! Calling someone else a freak! Hehehehehe you’re fun! This’ll be totally exciting! Hahahaha… Don’t worry, boy! We’ll deliver!”     

Meanwhile, Khun blinked, “Shibisu, what are you-”

He felt a pressure of a gun to his back as a certain lizard ordered, “Don’t move, you annoying blue bastard. I, for once, know more than you.”

Khun raised his hands, “A princess with a gun? Now that doesn’t seem very proper, does it?”

Hatz appeared next to Shibisu, “Hmph. Glad to see you’re still a douche.” 

Anaak tossed her gun to the side, “As much as I want to kick your ass for ditching us, we need to focus on saving Bam first.” 

Khun’s eyes widened, “How do you know-”

“The annoying director, Lero Ro told me. He’s on the Archimedes too.”

Khun stiffened, completely shocked, “What? Did you say Mr. Ro is on the Archimedes?”

Anaak nodded, “Yeah, he and this masked bastard that apparently Ran saw during his match. Apparently, Mr. Ro had to keep an eye on Viole’s movements to join some association. While doing so… he gained a bad feeling about everything. So he got inside the Archimedes pretending to be a guard in order to meet us and Viole. He had help from M, who had been keeping an eye on the workshop for a while. They found out what FUG and the workshop were scheming.”

Hatz continued, “Earrings, you heard of Emily, right? Emily is an ignition weapon created from a human by the workshop. The reason she went down is because someone knew this too and stole her. She’s a victim of the research FUG and the workshop started to achieve a specific purpose. Cassano Beniamino and Horyang are victims too. FUG and the workshop researched how to turn a living human into an ignition weapon and how to melt the living human ignition weapon back into a weapon. FUG is trying to melt Viole into the prize of the workshop battle… to create an ignition weapon with an Irregular’s power. Soon, they’ll pour the solution from Archimedes’ tail… to melt Bam.”

Shibisu stepped in, “Basically, we’re running out of time and need to rescue my boy ASAP!” They gathered the group and explained the situation, causing the others to have mixed reactions about it all.  

Afterwards, Khun went to the bathroom while Hatz waited outside the door. Softly, Hatz asked, “...Earrings. You know, don’t you? About E and H?”

Khun called back, “You too? How’d you guess, swordsman?”

Hatz replied, “That’s the only way your sorry ass will trust someone so heavily. But that’s not the point.”

“Wait… is that why you’ve been acting like a moron? Cause you met your future self? How cliche.”

“That’s easy for you to say, bastard. You didn’t have to face a mute, broken version of yourself! He refused to tell me any details, but kept alluding to something big! Something horrible. So I’m just here thinking that this plan might fail! What if this is where everything goes wrong and something happens to Bam? To us?” 

Silence. Then… laughter, “Hahahaha! That’s what you’ve been so bothered about? Heh, never knew you could be such a worrywart, swordsman. Why does it matter that they fucked up? We have an advantage that they didn’t, their knowledge. We won’t fuck up, not if I have anything to say about it.” Khun threw open the door and faced Hatz, “So how about you just go back to swinging your sword and preaching about honor and leave the brains to me.” 

In spite of himself, Hatz couldn’t help but smile, “...Alright.” 

Khun entered the room with the others and turned to Anaak, “Anaak. How long does it take for the Archimedes to get to the place where Bam is?”

Anaak shrugged, “...Two hours, and it’ll pour the solution when it arrives. Mr. Ro will do whatever he can to slow them down, but we need to rescue Bam first. I don’t trust he can actually be useful.”

Khun turned to the others, “Okay. Let’s get him out of there… but it doesn’t mean we give up the game.”

Narae blinked, “What do you mean, Khun?”

“We will… summon Bam.” 

Chapter Text

8

Somewhere else, the intruders who chased after Emily all broke free. Among them was Traveller, who glanced around, Emily! His eyes settled on a tall Khun with a mask. Something seemed to take control of Traveller, making him turn and run after the Khun, who turned to walk off. He chased after the Khun into a dim alleyway and called out, “Hey! Who are you?”

The Khun paused, “You are… a traveler after Emily? Tch, expected. I heard you got the closest, is that correct?” A sudden dark aura washed over the scene, stealing Traveller’s breath and making his knees shiver, weakened. 

What… is this? Who…? The Khun turned and walked over to the shorter man. Even through the mask, Traveller could still feel the murderous gaze, filled with pure power. 

The Khun’s tone darkened, “Or were you just lucky to receive the help of Jue Viole Grace? How did you convince an enemy of the tower to help you?” Traveller gulped, his hands falling onto his shaking knees. The bluenette sighed, “...Whatever. Your instinct to follow me was correct.” He pulled out a bright blue vial, “This is the Emily that you have been chasing after so moronically.”

Traveller protested, finally finding his voice, “Th-There’s no way! She really told me that she’s alive! And that she’s locked up in the water tank! She begged me to come save her from the workshop!”

The Khun scoffed, pocketing the item, “Are you really that stupid? They were all lies. Nonsense meant to fool either you or herself.”

“It… can’t be…” Traveller’s knees finally gave way, tears splashing against the lens of his goggles, “How could they… be so cruel…” 

The Khun sighed, “You were smart enough to come here, so I’ll tell you this. Emily will now be in the control of the Jahad army. If you come with me, we can put your technological skills to use and help you up the tower in exchange.”

Traveller glanced up at him, “You mean like a sponsor?”  

The Khun shook his head, “No. You will be helped by my partner and I, we don’t manipulate Regulars like the families.” Hesitantly, Traveller nodded, getting to his feet.

“...Ok. I’ll go with you.”    

In the arena, the announcer boomed, “It appears the three teams taking refuge in the safety zone have now left and went their separate ways! Meanwhile, we have yet to hear word of the last team, team FUG! Just what could they be planning, I wonder?”

Ten minutes earlier, in the safety area, Wangnan repeated, “What? Summon Viole?”

Khun nodded, “Yes. We can’t break the rules to rescue Bam. If we do, we give FUG an excuse to intervene. E messaged me that her and H have their eyes on them so their team will also intervene if FUG does, but we can’t risk that regardless. So we have to obey the rules to prevent that. Right, Anaak?”

Anaak nodded, “Yeah, if we can prevent the nosy Rankers, he said he’ll take care of the other consequences.”

Wangnan spoke up, “But how are you gonna summon Viole? He’s trapped.”

Suddenly, a voice came from Khun’s pocket, “Wangnan! Have you forgotten about us?”

“Miseng!” 

Swinging on a tree branch with her observer shooting out towards the structure on the mountain, Miseng nodded, “Yep! We found out where Viole is being trapped so now we just need to break him out! You can count on us!” 

Khun hung up, “It’s difficult, but still possible. If they succeed in rescuing Bam… we can summon him here.” 

Back in the present, Khun explained the plan, “Wangnan and Quaetro will move to the summoning area and begin the summoning process as soon as they’re ready. Crocodile and Ehwa will provide support by getting rid of the enemies as well as collect any orbs on the way. We have to get as many points as possible. Arkraptor and Dan will move in secret… and then attack the enemy at a crucial moment. Hatz, Endorsi, Cheonhwa and Narae will all move to the north to hunt down the mad dog and his partner. The rest of team Shibisu will be on standby. The spearhead of team snake has completely vanished off the radar, so take care of him if he shows up. Ready everyone? Go!” The teams took off running in opposite directions.  

Running through the trees, Cheonhwa glanced at Hatz, “...What are you hiding?”

Hatz glanced back at him, “What are you talking about?”

“Up until now you’ve looked like you were expecting to be jumped at any moment. Now you’re back to normal on a flip of a dime.”

Hatz scowled, “Nothing, I just realized I had to focus more on rescuing Bam right-”

“Bullshit.”

Narae hissed, “My knight! Don’t swear!”

Endorsi waved at her, “No. no, I like this. Mr. Uptight is stepping up to the fray.” 

Cheonhwa ignored her, keeping his gaze fixed on Hatz, “Rescuing Bam has always been our goal. That hasn’t changed. You know something we don’t, don’t you?”

Reluctantly, Hatz broke his gaze, his expression going dark, “I found out who H and E are.” In perfect sync, the other three all stopped in their tracks.

Narae breathed, her voice barely above a whisper, “...W-What? Who-”

Hatz nodded, “They’re… Endorsi and I. A possible older version of ourselves.” 

“What- What did you say?” Endorsi’s eyes widened, completely shocked. Pissed, she stomped over to Hatz and grabbed his collar, “What did you say? Is this some kind of joke, you idiot swordsman? Time travel isn’t a thing!” 

He’s telling the truth, little me! Though I never expected this sort of timing! A voice rang through Endorsi’s mind, making her drop Hatz and stumble back. Her hand flew up to her head as E spoke to her, If you want the details, how about you focus on saving my ex then we’ll talk? Endorsi fell to her knees, tears stinging her eyes at the realization. 

Pursing her lips, a million thoughts ran through Endorsi’s mind. How could her older self be here? Why was she with FUG? Why with Hatz? Where was the rest of her team? And, Wait, what do you mean ex? No way I’ll let Bam get out of dating me!

Maybe you just haven’t realized what I have about your true feelings because of that annoying stubbornness.       

Now it was Hatz who grabbed her shirt, “Endorsi, now isn’t the time to be caught up in that. We need to find the mad dog so he can’t interfere with the plan.” Distantly, Endorsi nodded at him.

Narae murmured to Cheonhwa, “I feel like we just witnessed something we weren’t supposed to.”

Cheonhwa rolled his eyes, “Don’t worry, we were bound to find out anyway. Now that the fog has been cleared over our team, we need to get moving. Lady Narae, can you find the mad dog?” 

Narae smiled and nodded, “Yep! We picked up on his trace before so we can find him easily!” On cue, her sea fish took off, flying through the foliage and weaving around trees, letting out determined squeaks as she flew. 

Somewhere else, Beta leapt down from his perch as someone approached him, speaking, “You’re here. I’ve been waiting for you.”  From the bushes, Devil Bon, the final gambler, emerged, “I’m a gambler that FUG sent. My name is Devil Bon. You are Beta, aren’t you? Your looks are quite frightening.”

Beta scowled, “Not the first time I heard that. Just give me what you promised.”

Pulling out a jar from his pocket, Devil Bon giggled, “How short-tempered you are. Here- this is our spearhead, Medina. If you swallow it… you can participate in the game without violating the rules.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. The Medina is a parasite that preys on the brain of its host, a human. And it’s a Regular with its own will. When you become its host you can join the game… but if you become controlled by it, you could lose yourself and turn into its puppet.” Without hesitation, Beta opened the jar and swallowed the parasite. Surprised, Devil Bon blinked, “How… could you- Well! That makes things easier! Now then, shall we go get revenge on Jue Viole Grace as planned?” Smirking, Beta loomed in towards Devil Bon, eyes sharp like a predator looking at its prey. He pressed his hand to the other man’s chest.

“...No.”

Startled, Devil Bon stiffened, almost like he’s been wrapped in ice, “W-What? B-But he’s the reason you were-”

“Cut the bullshit,” snarled Beta, “That was complete bullshit. I know it. I only went along with your stupid plan to get the key into the game. I may be a monster, but even I have standards. I won’t betray the only woman who showed me true kindness without any strings attached.”

Devil Bon jumped back, gaining access to his limbs again, “Dammit! Medina! Abandon him as a host! The plans have changed.” A beat of silence passed. Nothing happened. 

Beta grinned, “Idiot. Think it’ll really be a problem to control something as pathetic as a parasite? I got what I wanted, so I’ll let you live. But stay the hell out of my way.” He turned his back to the pissed man, walking towards the trees. His eyes settled on a structure to the far north. Somehow, his smile grew. Bending into a running position, Beta murmured to himself, “Partial Ignition: Dionysos.” His entire body became overwhelmed with green electricity as his feet turned pale green, allowing him to shoot into the tree line. 

Once he left, Devil Bon scowled, summoning his pocket, “Damn… this is Devil bon. Plans changed, Beta has gone rouge. Send in the support.”  

Somewhere else, Hwaryun led the other four into the wells, “We are here.” She glanced at Miseng, “Do you think you can do as I told you, little girl?”

Miseng saluted, “Of course! I’ll save Mr. Viole!” Her observer returned to her side as both it and her vanished from view, activating its cloaking mode. 

Once she left, Novick questioned, “Are you sure we can get to Viole if we pass through this well?”

Hwaryun nodded, “Yes. This place was used for experiments, but it’s abandoned now. The enemies don’t know that the wells still work. They’ll help us get to Viole without being seen. Plus I sent that scout to scan our route.” 

They began to walk, but Ran paused and glanced to Horyang, “Hey, fatter devil. There’s a strong electric source resonating from your coat pocket.” Surprised, Horyang reached into his coat to reveal some sort of device that glowed slightly.

Hwaryun grabbed it, “Someone snuck a tracker on you. Any idea who?”

Hroyang pursed his lips, his eyes going dark, “I… have an idea.”

Ran summoned a small bolt of lightning in his finger, “Doesn’t matter, let’s destroy it.”

Before he could, Novick grabbed his shoulder, “No. if we destroy the tracker, they’ll know we found it. We can use it to lead them into a trap.” Understanding, Ran grabbed the tracker and slipped it into his pocket, turning and running back out the door. 

Hwaryun turned to the remaining two, “As for you two, you’ll stick with me. They probably arranged guards at the entrance. But they’ll be slow to react because they don’t know about the wells. You need to rescue Viole and move quickly to the summoning area. Our goal is to rescue Viole, but they’re the strongest regulars. If this plan fails, our lives will be in danger. Do you still want this?”

Hroyang frowned, “I want to stay by my team’s side. If I don’t help Viole, I can’t face them.”

Novick agreed, “Plus, this is the reason Khun formed our team. There’s no need to hesitate.”

Hwaryun spun back around, “Good. Then let’s go.” 

Meanwhile, Yeon ran through the trees after her and Rak’s fight with team snake. Her eyes glanced down to the device in her hand, which read, ‘The moment you and the crocodile finish your fight, head towards the item shop. Make sure you’re alone.’ 

She slipped the phone in her pocket, focusing on the path in front of her, The item shop? Why? If we’re going to summon Viole, wouldn’t I need to go to the summoning area? Closing her eyes, she let out a frustrated sigh, “No Ehwa, a true teammate has to put her trust in others. It’s Wangnan, why would that monkey-faced idiot mislead me?’ 

Somewhere else, A landed on a high perch, pulling out her bow and hooking it. With a smile, she aimed her shot directly towards the item shop, waiting for the perfect opportunity. 

Meanwhile, Wangnan and Quaetro ran through the trees, the blond yelling, “How far is the area?”

Nearby, Khun replied, “We’ll be there within 20 minutes if we run fast!”

Quaetro pumped his fist, “Heh heh! I hope we run into something to burn!”

Wangnan scowled, “That’s not the point, Quaetro!” Behind him, a figure emerged from the shadows, summoning three fire baangs that shot towards the duo. 

“Watch out!” At the last second, Wangnan and Quaetro leapt out of the way of the attack. 

The figure emerged to be Q, who frowned, “Aw man, baby chickling. I thought I’d char you just a little for old times sake!”

Wait… Chick? Wangnan blurted out, “Are you… older Quaetro?” Q didn’t reply, keeping his crazed smile. 

Quaetro yelled, “Hey chick! Get going, I’ll take care of this guy!” Seeing Wangnan’s surprised glance, Quaetro smiled, “If this guy’s older me, then I wanna ask him something! Besides, don’t you need to save your friend?” Wangnan smiled.

He ran off, Khun chasing after, “Alright! We’ll leave him to you!” 

Once they left, Q glanced at Quaetro, “Heh heh, this is interesting. What do you wanna ask me?” 

Quaetro smirked, summoning three baangs, “I wanted to ask you-” He fired the baangs in a collective force, but the older man just brushed it aside. From the flames, Qauetro emerged with a dagger in hand, “-Why did you tell me to follow the chick?” The redhead tried to stab the taller man, but Q summoned a small wave of flames from his palm, melting the metal of the dagger until only the hilt remained.  Surprised, Quaetro leapt back until the two were on opposite ends of the clearing. Quaetro elaborated, “Why tell Chang and me to follow the weak chick if you want to kill him?” 

Q grinned, “Kill him? Hahahahahahahah not at all! I just wanted to mess with the little chickling a little is all! Heh! His reaction was funny! He is still such a whiny baby here!” 

Quaetro scowled, “You didn’t answer the question, me.”

Q threw up his hands, weakly chuckling, “Hey, I’m getting there! I told you to follow the chick because that is one decision I never regretted, not for a second.” 

Somewhere else, E pulled out her pocket, “Heh, looks like the Rankers made their move. Should we make ours?” Next to her, H nodded.

Meanwhile, Shibisu, Anaak, and Lauroe ran through the trees when a figure appeared, it was Y. Shibisu scowled, “You! You’re the one who hurt my teammates!” y smiled, throwing up her staff and summoning three water whips from it, which shot out like heat seeking missiles towards Anaak. The lizard dodged around them and shot towards Y, who vanished in a flash of blue. Y reappeared above Shibisu’s lighthouse, kicking it into a tree. The lighthouse was shattered from the impact, Shibisu being thrown out. Smiling, Y summoned a larger whip, using her staff as its handle to strike at Shibisu. But, before it could make impact, Rak appeared out of nowhere and blocked the attack. 

Rak slid back and hit his back against a tree trunk, This turtle is… strong! 

Y frowned as Rak snapped, “Hey stupid water turtle! What are you doing?” Y remained silent, so Anaak shot out to kick her, but Y blocked the strike with her staff in one hand. A water ring appeared around Anaak’s torso from thin air, yanking Anaak back and throwing her through the nearby cliffside. Y walked over towards Shibisu’s unconscious body, but Anaak shot up and towards her.    

Anaak yelled, “I’m not done yet!” But, before she could land a hit, a water-colored barrier formed around Y, blocking the strike. She… blocked my attack? Scowling, Anaak summoned four baangs to strike the barrier, but Y summoned four baangs herself, meeting each strike in the middle. Grinning, Y swiped her hand, sending the princess flying back. Anaak flipped to land on her feet as Rak threw his spear towards Y. Smiling, Y dodged out of the way of the spear with ease and summoned a sphere of water cords, which shot out and wrapped around Rak, turning to ice. She lowered her wand and began to walk over to them when, suddenly, she froze in place. Silently, she glanced up towards a distant perch before vanishing in a flash of blue light. Anaak scowled, “Dammit! Where did that bitch go?” She got cut off by a weak groan behind her.

Rak spun around as well, seeing Shibisu still on the ground, coughing up blood, “Purple turtle!” 

Anaak ran over to him, “Hey! Shibisu! Are you alright?” The taller man didn’t respond, instead coughing up blood every time he tried. Scowling, she pulled out her pocket, “Witch! Khun! Shibisu’s out of commission! The bitch Ranker team is here!”

“Dammit! Alright! Just get Shibisu to a medic and we’ll send you instructions when the time comes.”  

On cue, Dan emerged from the trees, “Here! I was tailing you guys, I can take him to the medic!” Without hesitation, and with a little help from Rak, Dan threw Shibisu over his shoulders and sped off towards the central building for the medic. 

Rak scowled, “But where did that water turtle teleport to?”

Somewhere else, Viole panted for breath, staring up at the hole far above him. He sighed, This is bad… I can’t free myself from this. Everyone will be in danger if I don’t hurry. I don’t want to just sit tied up to this thing so pathetically… What’s the use of becoming stronger? It’s like… I’m back in the past when I waited endlessly for Rachel to come back… I can’t just sit and wait any more… Even if I have to put blood on my hands. I want to get out of here on my own! 

“U-Um, Mr. Viole?” Viole perked up and glanced towards the voice, which turned out to be Xia Xia, her red lighthouse hovering behind her. Sheepishly, she spoke, “Look, I came to help you break out of here, and I sent out coordinates to Novick and Ran. But I’m not the slayer candidate, so I’m gonna need your help too, alright?” 

Viole perked up, “Ms. Xia Xia? Why are you here? Why are you helping me?”

Xia Xia explained, “The man who hired me was a man by the name of H. He wore this weird mask and said he’d pay me after the workshop battle, but only if I make sure Jue Viole Grace emerges alive. So I tracked you, alright?” She ran towards the far door and started to bang on it, “This must be the way out! We need to get out of here before the solution pours!” Suddenly, a bright red light filled the chamber, making her and Viole turn towards the source, the giant thorn. The thorn’s bondage began to unwrap as the needle shrank down and took its place over Viole’s shoulder. In spite of her fear, Xia Xia smiled, I see why H took an interest in him. He really could be my god. 

Somewhere else, Ran sped through the trees and into a wide open clearing in front of some sort of structure. A voice spoke up with false sweetness, “Oh? So you’re the one with the tracker? Well this could be a problem.” Standing on a platform nearby was Mei, Varagrav behind her. “All it is is just one little kid. I can take care of this.” She shot out her lighthouses, but a bright flaming shinsu strike came between them, breaking two of the lighthouses. A glowing shinsu dagger came and pierced the third lighthouse. Surprised, Mei blinked, “Hm? What’s this now?” Hopping down, Cheonhwa, Hatz, and Endorsi surrounded Ran on all sides. 

Hatz ordered, “Surrender now. You may be the strongest E-class Regular, but do you really think you can take all four of us?” 

Endorsi scoffed, “Let’s just finish this thing so I can go interrogate that bitch!” 

Mei blinked, “Hm? What brings the princess here?”

Endorsi sighed, “Shut up. You guys hurt my boyfriend, you have to pay.” 

“Oh? You have a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, I decided to give him the honor. So leave us alone.” 

Cheonhwa warned, “We have to beat these guys, but it doesn’t mean we can act rashly, Endorsi. Once Narae gives the signal, we escape immediately. And don’t talk gibberish.”         

Endorsi put a hand on her hip, “I know that. Just stand back, would you? You stink.” She turned back towards Mei, “Anyway, you piss me off. I wanna rip off that face of yours, but I’m surrounded with people with standards , so just surrender while you two still can.” 

Mei opened her eyes for the first time, “But are you going to be okay? The princess of Jahad, dating a man? If you’re caught, won’t they snuff you out? Like Anaak’s mom?” Before even Endorsi could move, Ran beat her to the punch, leaping towards her, electrified. 

He murmured, “You’re… too annoying.” He went to punch her, fist charged with electricity, but Varagrav came between them. The mad dog blocked the blows, and, to everyone’s surprise, Ran’s sleeve became torn up, several shallow cuts running along his arm from seemingly nothing.

Varagrav stared at him, “You guys are playing with your lives.”

Meanwhile, Novick broke down a door into another chamber between the entrance and where Viole was. Novick asked, “This was too easy. Is there something they’re counting on?”

Horyang shrugged, “I hope not.” As they entered, they were greeted by a giant patrol bot, level 85. 

Novick sweated nervously, “Damn… I spoke too soon. His eyes settled on the door behind the robot, “That’s where Viole’s trapped? It lines up with Xia Xia’s coordinates.”

Horyang peered up at the patrol, “...I’ll take care of this one. You go inside and get Viole out.”

“Ok! I’ll leave it to you, teddy bear!” shouted Novick, running past the robot and towards the door. The robot went to strike Horyang with his giant fist, but the man blocked, albeit barely. Struggling, Horyang ignited his fist and met the giant metal fist with his own. 

Suddenly, a loud rumbling rang out through the chamber, making all three figures pause. From above, a figure shot through the rocks, landing on the head of the robot. Narrowly dodging the falling rocks, Horyang and Novick glanced up to see the source of the attack. That person being none other than Beta, who scowled, “What a pathetic piece of junk.” Partial ignition: Dionysos! He leapt high into the air, the air around him crackling with pure energy as two giant, sickly green feet appeared beneath him. Like a soccer player to their ball, he spun in the air and kicked the head of the robot, sending it flying into the far wall. In the same move, he pushed off the body, namely the core on the side, shattering it and landing on the ground next to Horyang. 

Watching the robot fall over, Horyang glanced at Beta, “You are-!”

Beta nodded at him, “Hey half. Don’t worry, I have no interest in betraying friends of M.” 

Novick called out, “Hey monster guy! Help me try to open the-” He got cut off by the sound of clicking next to him. Surprisingly, the halves of the door slid apart, revealing Viole and Xia Xia standing there.  

Viole’s eyes widened upon seeing Beta, “You! What are you doing? You’re the one-”

“Hey complete one, let me explain myself, would you?” Beta interrupted. Reluctantly, Viole nodded, allowing Beta to explain, “I only played along with the FUG guys so that they could give me a way to sneak into the tournament. By becoming an official member and being constantly watched by the audience, those workshop bastards can’t sneak me back into the labs without looking suspicious. Heh! And by the time they could, I’ll be long gone!” 

Surprised, Viole repeated, “You did it… for freedom?”

Beta scoffed, “Isn’t that what I said?” His eyes settled on the item hovering next to Viole, “So, M was right. She said that the thorn would just choose you instead of any of those guys from FUG.”

Novick blinked, “Really? That’s what they were after? It’s all wrapped up… and it doesn’t look special to me. Is it really that amazing?”

“It is.” Standing in the doorway was Hwaryun, now without her helmet. She elaborated, “It only looks like that in its container. But nobody knows what kind of power it’ll show once it turns into its real form. Although I’m not sure if our rookie slayer nominee will be able to control it well.”

Viole’s eyes widened, “You were… Mr. Yuto all along?”

Hwaryun shook her head, “No. I’ve just walked Yuto’s path… to give the thorn to you. And changed my voice using the helmet.”

Viole narrowed his gaze, “So… you knew everything from the beginning?”

Hwaryun nodded, “Yes. I knew everything from the beginning. Including what Karaka was planning with some of the elders… and what’s gonna happen to you in this tournament. I disguised myself as Yuto to use their plan against them, waiting for the right time while staying by your side. Although it was a dangerous gamble… You finally got the power. And now I think you’ve become a man… worthy to be my god.”

Viole passed her, “I’m not interested in becoming your god.”

“You’re gonna go back to your friends, huh? Follow me. I’ll show you the way. Your friends have probably arrived near the calling center by now. I told them you got out. E and H explained the plan to them. They’ll summon you soon.” 

“Why would you-!”

“It was the condition. I’ll explain later. Your enemies have begun to move. They’ll be the strongest ones you ever fought… and they’ll stop you from returning at all costs. If you try to go back, you could put your friends in danger. And even if you do go back, it’s meaningless if you don’t win the tournament. Do you still wanna go back?”

“... I do. That’s… where I belong. Even if things get difficult, I have people I have to be with. So, no matter what comes my way… I’ll go back to where I belong.”

Fire… Fire… Fire overwhelmed his every sense. His ears crackled like ash, his nose irritated with the smells of burning skin, his eyes blinded by bright reds and oranges. He was drowning… drowning… drowning in an endless sea of flames of his own creation. Were those sounds calling out to him? Or were they just the usual screams of agony? But… he controlled the flames, so why now was he being lost to them? No… he never did control them, did he? He just created them, the flames were always in control. It was a fragile truce that he had abused, so now the flames retaliated. 

“Quaetro! Careful!” Whose voice had that been? Their voice seemed… cautious, but not out of fear. Was it out of… concern? Care? His own name… yet completely unfamiliar in such a tone. The only man he had ever had the chance of hearing something similar had been long dead, since the 52nd floor. So who? “Hey! Q!” Ah, the blond boy who he thought was nothing at all. The one who won him over almost a hundred floors before, leading him. That was it, the one man who convinced him to use his flames to help instead of destroy. Helping others for once… was that what broke the fragile truce? The change of heart? No… was it the uncertainty behind it? Flames don’t hesitate, never hesitate. So their partners cannot hesitate either, that was the real deal between flames and their masters. And now, the deal had been broken, and the flames that protected him for so long would now be his downfall. Did he regret his choice?... No… he regretted many things, despite what others may think, but following the man he knew would bring his own form of change was not one, would never be one.

“Do you want to continue to live?”

Q closed his eyes, thinking to a past, or was it the future, that he could never fully recall nor ever reach. Softly, Q spoke with an unfamiliar sense of sincerity, “With Chang, all I ever did was burn, burn, burn. And I loved it, just as you do now. Chi- Wangnan, showed me that I could do exactly what I love, and help others while doing so. Chang taught me how to kill, but Wangnan taught me how to save. Even after he left me for dead, even now that I want to punish him for so… so much, I will never regret the things I learned while following him. Does that answer your question, younger me?” Instead of a response, a sea of flames shot out towards the masked man, diverging at the last second to burn up the grass around him. Impressive, little me! Impressive! With a crazed smile, Q waved his hand, turning the flames around him to smoke. But, to his surprise, Quaetro was nowhere to be seen. 

A voice came from Q’s pocket, “A reporting. Jue Viole Grace has escaped the trap. Should I continue with the sniper plan?”

Q scowled, “...Wait until Y is in position, then don’t hesitate to kill whoever fits best. It doesn’t really matter.” Wangnan Jah, the man I chose as my king was a man who never hesitated, like me. Not the coward who hides behind a mask and runs away from his own failures. If this is what it takes to bring that man back, so be it. 

Running towards the building, Wangnan yelled, “Khun! Are you sure that this is the right way?”

Khun nodded, “I’m positive. It is not the team summoning area that summons Viole. The place to summon Viole is the item summoning center aka, the store.” 

Just as they crossed the bridge, Ehwa burst out from the trees, “Guys!” 

Wangnan turned to her, “Flamethrower? What are you doing here? What about those other guys?” 

Ehwa ran over to him, “We took care of them! The alligator went to go help Anaak and Shibisu!” 

Khun repeated, “But why are you here?”

“E told me to come here. I don’t know why.”

Wangnan spoke up, “Well it’s good to have backup! Now come on!” The three charged into the item shop and approached the pond. A screen came up, showing Viole, which made Wangnan smile, “Viole!”

Viole lit up as well on the other side, “Mr. Wangnan! How did you get here?”

“Hwaryun told me that I could see you if I came to the workshop battle. Although it somehow took this long to see you… E and H gave me directions! And Khun and the flamethrower are here too!” 

Viole perked up, “Mr. Khun! Ms. Ehwa! You two are here too?” 

Ehwa perked up, “We are! How dare you run away, Viole? You need to come back here and catch up!” While the other three chatted, Wangnan stiffened suddenly.

He could hear W’s voice warn, Careful, a sniper is aiming for Ehwa’s position. If you’re going to do something, do it when I tell you. Alarmed, Wangnan spun around towards the opening high above. Somewhere else, a shot fired.

Now! In a single split second, Wangnan grabbed Ehwa’s arm and pushed her to the side, sending her to the ground. Just as Ehwa was about to yell at him, a bright silver light came into view, piercing Wangnan through the heart. 

Somewhere else, Rak (with Lauroe on his back) and Anaak were running through the trees as Quaetro and Arkraptor ran towards them. Anaak called out, “Hey! Why are you two away from your positions?”

Arkraptor gestured to Quaetro, “This psycho ran into a Ranker before coming to find me. Safe to say the plan’s gone to shit. Let’s head towards the summoning area to see what’s going on.”

Rak scowled, “The purple turtle got beaten up by a strong water turtle!”

“Hahahaha! I see Y hasn’t finished her job, heh, more for me!” A voice called out. From the trees, Q emerged, chuckling like a madman, “You really think that trick will work on me? How cute, baby me!” He held out his hand, summoning a flaming dagger. Q shinsu technique: Inescapable barrier. As he said that, he threw the dagger past Rak and it hit the bush, catching it on fire. In a split second, the fire roared and shot out in both directions, wrapping the group in a wall of raging fire that reached to the skyline. A demon fresh from hell, Q spoke, “Wanna play, children?” 

Slight surprise crossing Ran’s expression, he managed to leap back in time to avoid a follow up from the mad dog. Hatz narrowed his gaze, He dealt a blow to one of the top five, without even touching him?

Ran landed next to Cheonhwa, who asked him, “Are you alright?”

Ran scoffed, “He’s going to be a pain.” 

Mei giggled, “You see Varagrav was created to be the perfect fighting dog. He’s one of the best results of fusing the bloodlines of many great families. Well, although he can barely catch up to the speed of a princess of Jahad… we have the blood Tamara. Its effect is that it dissolves into the blood of the owner to make his or her body invincible temporarily. With the shadow wolves, the most powerful counter attack of all… and the most powerful defensive equipment, blood Tamara… Varagrav is… an invincible Regular. Can you defeat him? Varagrav as he is now?”

Endorsi spoke up, “Heh. So what? He’s going to challenge me?”

Ran scowled, “Shut up. He’s mine. I don’t need your help.”

… The most powerful defense and counterattack… Hatz began.

Cheonhwa finished, Those two have barely had any challenges… this won’t be easy for either one of them. 

In the item shop, Wangnan fell over, coughing up blood as the other two boys called out to him. Ehwa froze on the ground, How did he… Why did he… No matter how much her body screamed at her to move, to speak, to do something for her dying teammate, but her mind seemed to have too little- no, too much running through it all at once to actually function. 

Khun, however, had no problem calling out, “Dammit! Who did that? Where did it come from?” Before he could continue, a bright blue cord made of water wrapped around his lighthouse, tossing it towards the far wall. Luckily, before it made contact, Khun kicked open the door and jumped onto his own lighthouse, floating safely to the ground. Growling, he glanced around to see Y approaching them, her staff at the ready. 

Bam yelled, “Why are you doing this? You’re part of FUG, right? Isn’t it me you want to stay?” 

Y giggled, “Viole, Viole, Viole. Can’t you think beyond the simplistic answers, you obsessive child? You took everything from me, or you will. So… I’ll just kill everyone close to you to make up for it, doesn’t that seem fair? Starting with the flame-” She paused upon seeing Wangnan on the ground. With a frustrated sigh, her pocket appeared beside her, “A… WHY THE HELL DID YOU HIT THE BLONDIE, YOU STUPID CHILD? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HIT THE FLAMETHROWING BITCH, YOU IDIOT!”

To which the group could hear a woman reply, her voice shifting just the same with the voice modifier, “He pushed her out of the way! What was i supposed to do?” Clearly pissed, Y hung up the call, raising her staff and causing a water spiral to shoot out towards the group. 

“Dodge- no, wait!” Khun realized, “Block the well! She’s trying to destroy it!” Desperately, he threw out his lighthouses to block it, but the water spiral shattered it with ease. Instead of going for the well, Ehwa reached out and tried to grab Wangnan, only to notice his position had moved. 

Wait… 

“Ms. Ehwa!” Hearing Viole’s voice, Ehwa felt her body move before her mind. Her hand shot out towards the water, creating a counter spiral of its own that cancelled out the attack on impact.  

Seeing the smoke and steam, Ehwa snapped out of her trance, “W-What- I did it!” 

“Hehehehe… Disgustingly stubborn girl… Finally… you succeeded… The training… paid off… hee hee… This is all… because of you, Viole. Come out! Summon… Jue Viole Grace!” Wangnan coughed, leaning over the well. Ehwa paused, her mind not even registering the voice of the machine nearby. How did he even manage to survive? Much less move? Or be alive in general? Sure, as a member of the great families, she’s seen the insane regeneration from Rankers and High Rankers, but those were Rankers! The fact that an E-class Regular, especially one as weak as Wangnan, could survive such an attack and be in such a condition… Something didn’t add up, did it? 

Y blinked, “Oh. So you were still alive. Then…” She summoned a whip from her staff, throwing it out towards the blond, who was panting on the pond. 

“Crimson soul fist!” From above, Novick shot down, creating a red barrier of shinsu around him and Wangnan. He turned to the blond, “Hey blondie, are you alive?”          

Weakly, Wangnan could hear a voice from his hand, “Ignite me, I can help you.”

Wangnan denied, No. I need to not become dependent on help. Around him, Horyang and Beta landed, their wings retracting respectively. Wangnan replied weakly, struggling to push onto his knees, “I-I… I’m… alright.” Without hesitation, Horyang picked him up and sped him away from Y’s range. Wangnan raised his voice, “...I’m… not gonna die… after coming all the way… here. So hang in there… for five minutes!” 

Seeing the fear in the four Regular’s eyes, Q burst out laughing, “Hahahahahahahhahahahahha! Look at your fear! Man it will be ecstatic to turn you all to ash!” 

Quaetro shot out, summoning three baangs, “You can’t burn a fellow flamethrower!” But the flames bended around Q, growing in size and forming a whirlpool around Q, pushing Quaetro back. Scowling, Arkraptor attempted to fire a blast into the flames, but the fire beat him to it. Q shinsu technique: Spitfire! The whirlpool of flames condensed and bended in an instant, shooting out towards Arkraptor. Desperately, the paler man tried to block, but the fire turned his weapon to ash. Reflexively, he attempted to close his eyes and leap back, but he felt a sudden gust of wind picking him up, moving him at lightning speed to somewhere else. The next thing he knew, he was facing the back of Q, towards the edge of the makeshift arena. To his surprise, he could recognize instantly the woman standing between them. 

“Endorsi?”

“Witch? You’re E?” 

Standing there was an unmasked, older Endorsi. With a smile, she put her hand on her hip, “Hey lizard. What did I say about picking on Rankers? Looks like I have to save you again.” 

Q growled, “Endorsi Jahad! What a surprise to see you without your mask!”

E lifted her finger, “Yeah, well, it was nice and I didn’t want you to turn it to ash.” With a snap of her fingers, five baangs in the shape of heart arrows formed around her. They bent around Q’s flames and danced around Q, striking him and avoiding blasts of flames. Using the distraction, E vanished in a flash of pink light, reappearing above Q. Bong bong! Pink wings appeared behind her as a giant orb formed in front of her. The orb fired a giant laser at Q, who spotted the attack a millisecond early. Heartened cover! His flames shot out from his arm, spreading out to form a shield that blocked out the blast. Brightened net! The flames shot up to wrap around E, who vanished in a flash and reappeared next to Q, kicking him in the head. But, before it made impact, he threw up his arms to block it. As he went flying back through a cliffside and several trees, burying him in a crater, he summoned a dozen knives and threw them at E, who simply held up her hands and shattered the knives to glass-like sparks. E grinned, “You’re just lucky I have to hold back to not grab attention, psycho.”   

Rak called out, “Hey, masked turtle! Are you really the ghost-eyed turtle?” 

E glanced at him, “What do you think, crocodile? That baby me has an older sister she never mentioned. Though that would be a twist, wouldn’t it?” She stuck out her finger in a gun position, firing a small arrow towards where Q was scrambling to his feet. The arrow spun in the air, creating a spiral of wind around it that pushed away any flames. The arrow nearly hit the redhead, but it caught on fire and evaporated moments before. Four fire baangs appeared around E, who flipped backwards out of the way and pulled out a silver dagger. With ease, she shot it at Q, who tried to burn it. To his surprise, the flames didn’t melt the dagger, but instead were absorbed by the dagger. Catching the blade between two fingers, E smirked, “You like my little gift? I got it from a weapons smith from outside of the tower.” 

Q scowled, “Outside of the tower, you mean your adventures exploring the outside world?” 

E replied, “Of course! And it’s not alone! Hey lizard, why don’t you use my little gift?” Surprised, Anaak pulled out her whip, noticing it glowing a faint red. Realization hitting her, she charged forward and threw her whip into Q’s gut, the whip erupting in bright flames that covered Q head to toe. E smiled, “You really were reckless, weren’t you? The gear that lets us enter Regulars’ areas undetected also limits the strength of our physical and shinsu skills, but it doesn’t say anything about items. Which means you just charged into an area protected by a High Ranker who has Irregular items. Let’s see how you handle it, hm?” 

Beta shot out towards Y, summoning a giant green fist, “Let’s just finish this!” He leapt high into the air and threw down his ignited fist, only to meet a pale blue barrier. Because of the resistance, he screamed out, his fist glowing and breaking apart slightly. With a scowl, he fell back to the ground, summoning three bright green baangs around him. 

Viole called out, “Beta! Guys!” 

Khun scowled as he felt a vibration in his pocket. Pulling out his phone, he saw a message from a new number, ‘This is W. The sniper that hit Wangnan is readjusting her aim.’ Dammit! You have got to be kidding! Desperately, he attempted to reach out to his lighthouses, but they were badly damaged from blocking the Ranker’s attack. 

“Beta!” From the entrance, Sophia ran in with guards around her. Seeing Beta standing across from Y, baangs around him, she called out, “Beta! What’s going on?” Her gaze focused on Beta, “Beta! I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but return to the lab right now! If you ever do this again, you-!” 

Y rolled her eyes under her mask, “Shut up, stupid bitch. This isn’t your fight.” Before anyone could move, an ice spear formed next to Y’s head, hitting Sophia in the shoulder. 

Khun scowled, Dammit! I can’t contact Shibisu, something must have happened to him! And team Snake withdrew, so I can’t hunt them down! Now we don’t have backup and Bam won’t be summoned for 2 minutes! 

One of the guards ordered, “Everyone, take aim!” The couple dozen guards pulled out their guns to aim them at the group. 

Wangnan’s eyes widened, hearing W warn, A’s taking another shot. 

On her perch, A pulled back the string of her bow, arrow glowing at the ready.       

Beta scowled, Partial ignition: phobos! The others also tried to form their own defenses, but they were outnumbered. Y smiled and summoned an orb made up of watery cords. All at once, the attackers made their moves. 

“I don’t think so.” A blur came down from the sky, creating a gust of wind that threw back the bullets while blocking the two attacks from the Rankers. As the smoke cleared, M was revealed to be standing there, her umbrella out in front of her. Cheerfully, she smiled, “Whew, made it just in time.” She rested her umbrella over her shoulder, masked removed to reveal her sparkling eyes. 

Viole’s eyes widened, “That… voice!” 

M glanced back, revealing a mature version of Miseng’s face, “Hey Viole! Sorry I stole your epic entrance.” 

Beta called out, “Took you long enough, M!” 

One of the guards yelled, “Don’t back down. We have to retrieve the test subject Beta!”     

M boomed, her voice shaking the crater, “Leave now. Beta will no longer be under the possession of the workshop. Isn’t he still a contestant of the tournament? So you cannot officially remove him until he is eliminated without attracting the attention of the audience. And do you really want to explain to them that you broke the rules of your own game because one of your experiments on children got out of hand? How do you think they’ll take that?”  

Sophia realized, clutching her shoulder, “It’s you… the one who told Beta the truth about the experiments… and… helped him escape…”

“What?” 

M smiled, “I was the first one to show Beta something other than pain and rage. And, unlike you, I did it with no strings attached.” She glanced at Horyang, “Novick. Horyang. Get Wangnan and Ms. Sophia to safety. See if you can figure out what’s happening with Anaak’s team.” Hesitantly, the two nodded, taking off with little resistance. As they left, M turned her attention back to the guards and Ranker, “Now, shall we play?”

Chapter Text

9

Cheonhwa glanced between Ran, Endorsi, and Varagrav, They’re facing their first real challenge and we haven’t received word from anyone so we can’t escape. 

Hatz closed his eyes, his mind flashing back to the emptiness he saw in his older self’s eyes, and the foreboding threat of a mistake born of hesitation. He let out a frustrated sigh, No. This timeline will not be a repeat of the last one. He ordered, “Let’s just attack them. Cheonhwa and I will cover you two.”

Cheonhwa narrowed his gaze at the two enemies, contemplating his choices, “...Alright.”

Ran rolled his eyes, “As long as I can beat these guys. They’re annoying.”

Endorsi nodded, “Well, I like the plan, but… what happened to the guys who used to say that we should think of the team first?”

Cheonhwa pulled out his sword, “This is for the team, I assure you of that. You’re not the only one who creates a plan without saying their true goals.”

Endorsi scoffed, “It’s been seven years, are you ever going to let that go?”

Cheonhwa raised his sword with a smile, “Not until our group is reunited. Then I might consider it.” 

Endorsi threw up her arms, “Ah man, things are already so tiresome and annoying, stop making it worse. Now that I think about it, it pisses me off… that a traitor with blonde hair is standing… right there, smiling like that.” She glanced at Ran and Cheonhwa, who nodded at her. What happened next all took place almost simultaneously. Cheonhwa ignited his blade, sending a wave of green flames that came between the two FUG members and encircling it around Mei. At the same time, Ran launched high into the air, summoning a spear of electricity, hitting Varagrav in the chest. In response, his shadow dogs shot out towards Ran, but Hatz came between them, attacking the dogs, Demonic Fish Wheel Dance: White Wave Demonic Explosion. The sword attack radiated shinsu in a blast wave that disintegrated the shadows surrounding Varagrav. Using the opening, Endorsi teleported behind Varagrav. 

He glanced back at her, “You are more foolish than I thought, princess. I told you your attacks don’t work on me.” 

She glared at him, “Don’t be arrogant and just come with me. You mutt.” Before he could react, the duo vanished in a flash of pink light, reappearing high above the island. Seeing his confusion, she explained, “Even if you are invincible as you say, you must have limits. If you fall from this height after taking a hit from me… I wonder if you’ll still be fine. The person who survives from this fall will be the winner. In a few minutes… we’ll find out which one of us survives!”

Staring across from Q, E grinned, readying her dagger. She shot out towards Q, using her shinsu to brush aside a wave of flames. Northern Azula! In an instant, several glowing shinsu strikes from her dagger came out at once, slicing up Q’s clothes and making cuts all over his skin. Bong bong! A smaller pink orb appeared behind Q. Heartened Cover! His flames shot backwards from his arms and formed a shield again, blocking the blast. Spear of Desire! A larger version of E’s arrow formed in front of her, shooting out towards Q, who summoned a dagger of flames and tried to cut at the spear, but it split apart and came at Q from both sides. Scowling, Q clenched his fists, Raging Inferno! In an instant, his whole body erupted in flames, shooting out in all directions, incinerating the attack and shooting out towards the watching Regulars. Anaak blocked the blast with her whip while Rak covered Arkraptor from the flames with his body. 

Rak snapped, “Dammit, ghost-eyed turtle, that’s hot! Take care of the other turtle!” 

E rolled her eyes, “You know, you could help!” On cue, Anaak pushed out and sent out a series of strikes towards Q, who blocked most of the strikes with his flames. One of the attacks, luckily, managed to suck in the flames of the defensive move and wrap itself around Q’s wrist. E grinned, “Nice! You’re not useless!” E sped towards Q, slamming her hand into Q’s chest Piercing technique: flare wave explosion! The shinsu within Q erupted, creating a bright blast through his back. He stumbled, but managed to remain standing. E and the other Regulars jumped to the ready, and Q contemplated his choices. With a scowl, he raised his hand, and swiped along the ground, Inescapable barrier! A wall of flames came between them, allowing Q to run into the trees and vanish. 

Anaak began to chase him, “Get back here you coward!” But before she could get far, E grabbed her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. Confused, Anaak scowled, “Why did you stop me?”

E glared at her, “The only reason you managed to even land a hit is because of his limitations and the weapon I gave you, don’t misunderstand that. If you chase him, you’re following him to your death, lizard.” She turned to Rak and Arkraptor, “Are you two alright?” 

Rak repeated, “Are you really the ghost-eyed turtle? How?” 

Arkraptor added, “And during the fight, you mentioned you got those items from outside of the tower. Does that mean you left the whole tower? How?”

E smirked, “Glad to see you’re not dumb enough to ask stupid questions. Well, mostly. And I’ll answer your questions, but when it’s a better time, alright? Hey, foil head. Your weapon got burned up by the psycho, right?” Hesitantly, Arkraptor nodded. With a tired sigh, E summoned a stylish inventory that wrapped around her body with the symbol of open doors carved on it. She grabbed a silver umbrella with a shiny black handle with an orb implanted in its center. She tossed it to the man, explaining, “It’s a bit narrower than yours, but it can adjust how open it is, so you can adjust the size of its blast as well. Oh, and it doesn’t have the same gift I gave the princesses, that’s for family only.” 

As she turned to walk off, Anaak called out to her, “Hey! Where are you going?”

E waved to her, “This is your fight. I did my job. Don’t worry, I’ll be there when you make it out.” 

M turned to the other Regulars, “You guys take care of the guards! I can handle the Ranker! We still have a minute left, so you need to block the pond!” Around her, the Regulars nodded in response. Beta ignited himself, taking out five guards in one fell swoop. Some of the other guards started to fire at him, but Khun’s much weaker barrier blocked several of the shots. Using the opportunity, Ehwa charged up her flames and took out several more guards. 

Meanwhile, M bent down into a running position, M shinsu technique: Speed Boost! In a blur, she sped towards Y, dodging baang after baang and slashing at Y, who struggled to dodge and block around them. Y frowned, Y shinsu technique: Hurricane! A whirlpool of shinsu shot out from her staff towards M, who shoved her open umbrella out to block the blast, using the same momentum to launch into the air, high above Y. M shinsu technique: Beserker mode! Her entire body overwhelmed with physical energy as she shot towards the ground, breaking through Y’s barrier and hitting her into the ground and creating a giant crater. She leapt off the bluenette and caught her umbrella. Y rolled backwards on her feet, Piercing cries! A needle of water and bits of ice formed and shot towards M, who leapt out of the way, Observer skill: Vanishing! Before M’s feet touched the ground, she vanished from view. Surprised, Y scrambled to her feet and glanced around. Raising her staff above her, a water whip formed from the orb, Storm! The water began to spin faster and faster and faster, forming a bunch of water droplets that spread out farther and farther. M came into view, appearing to struggle to remain standing. Y threw down her staff in the other Ranker’s direction, Tsunami! The water all swarmed towards M, only to pass through her harmlessly. She smiled before dissolving, an observer revealed to be in her place. Before Y could react, the real M came into view behind her, kicking the taller woman in the back, a loud crack ringing through the crater as the woman went flying forward towards the well. As she hit the edge of the well, a bright light erupted from its center. 

“Loading complete. Jue Viole Grace has been summoned to this location.” Standing in the center of the well was none other than Viole, who looked over the remains of the fight. 

Beta smiled, “Took you long enough, completed one.” 

Khun lit up, “Bam!” Viole looked down at Y, summoning three baangs around him at the ready. Scowling, Y vanished in a flash of bright blue light. Around them, several soldiers escaped as well, leaving only one behind.

The soldier spoke, “Well, I was afraid I would have to get my hands dirty, but it looked like everything worked out.”

This voice!

He removed his helmet, “It’s been a while, Regulars.”

“Mr. Ro! What are you doing here?” 

“I came here to help my students, of course.” 

From her perch, A watched with surprise as a bright pink blur came down from the sky, slamming into the ground near where she was on standby. Narrowing her gaze, she slipped away her bow and held out her hands, summoning a silver two handed blade at the ready, Q and Y failed, but I will not. Failure is intolerable.        

Standing on the edge of the crater, Endorsi looked towards the center, “You sure have a sturdy body. How troubling. I don’t like men who are too clingy.”

Hatz spoke up, his blade pressed against Mei’s throat, “This is the end, mad dog. Withdraw from the tournament. Or this girl dies.” 

Cheonhwa pressed his blade to Mei’s back, “I told you we had a secondary intention, didn’t we?” 

Varagrav glanced at them, “...You’re taking her hostage?”

Mei spoke up, “Um, Hatz, Mr. Knight. Aren’t your characters the type that likes to win fair and square?” 

Cheonhwa smirked, “What can I say, sticking around that noisy princess has had an influence on me.” 

Endorsi snapped, “Excuse me?”

Mei grinned, “Sorry, but the game isn’t over yet.” Before the boys could respond, a lighthouse came out of hiding, with an unconscious Narae tied on top of it. She grinned, “Maybe you shouldn’t have left your weakest link alone, should you?”

Cheonhwa’s blade lowered slightly, “Lady Narae!”

Keeping her steady smile, Mei ordered, “Let me go, or I’ll activate the explosions in the lighthouse.” Surprisingly, the other two boys appeared unfazed, keeping their blades pressed against her. 

Endorsi called out, “Ran, now!” From the trees on the opposite side of the clearing, Ran zoomed towards the lighthouse, charging up an electric attack. Immediately, Varagrav charged towards him, slightly slowed from the fall. Before their attacks could meet, a blur came down from above, stirring up a wave of dust. The dust cleared to reveal H, unmasked, blocking Varagrav’s punch with ease and holding out his palm towards Ran, deflecting his electricity. Endorsi’s eyes widened, “Holy… you were telling the truth!” 

As Varagrav hopped back, Mei called out, “Wowee, a Ranker? You guys had some big shots on speed dial, huh?”

Before Hatz could speak, H’s voice rang through his mind, I didn’t want to get involved, but there is a sniper Ranker hiding out, so this will spur her to action. 

Mei cut in, “Well, you may be a Ranker, but you’re underestimating Varagrav. I bet he won’t be as easy as you think!” Varagrav charged in for another punch, using more force behind it. The punch hit H in the shoulder and… nothing happened. Instead, a burst of wind shot out towards Varagrav, slicing up the mad dog’s clothes and across his skin. Surprised, Varagrav stumbled back, falling to his knees as blood soaked his clothes. Before he could hit the ground, H pressed a hand to his head, disturbing the shinsu enough to knock him unconscious. While that happened, Ran sped towards Narae and cut her free, leaping away from the lighthouse in the same movement. Cautiously, H leapt away from Varagrav’s unconscious body. As he turned to leave, a white blur shot past his ear and pierced Varagrav in the chest. Caught off guard, H spun around to see a white lance-like arrow sticking out of where the man’s heart was. A beat of tense silence passed through the group, all being too stunned to move. They watched as the man took his final, choking breaths. Quickly, shock became replaced by anger as H spun around towards the direction of the attack. Who dared to get involved and kill an E-class Regular? Was it someone from FUG? Why would they kill one of their own?

Luckily, their questions were answered by a silver woman speeding into view, bow in hand, she grinned, her mask practically glowing, “Before you ask, I was the one who killed him. In FUG we have no room for failures and disappointments like him.” She turned to Mei and the two boys, “Let her go if you value your lives.” Disturbed, the two boys lowered their blades and stepped away from the blonde. 

Cheonhwa called out, “Who are you?” 

A ignored him, walking towards H, “Is it true that, during your time outside of the tower, you trained with a man who could rival Arie Hon himself?” Glaring at her, H nodded, summoning a blade out of shinsu. A raised her own blade at the ready, “Intriguing, well let’s see how the student of a man who could rival my grandfather holds up, shall we?” 

As soon as the tension from the fight dissolved, Bam and Khun tran towards each other, Bam pulling Khun into a hug before he could protest, but he didn’t Bam asked, pulling apart, “Where’s Mr. Rak?” 

Khun opened his mouth, but a voice called out, “Black turtle!” From the door, Rak, with Quaetro, Anaak, and Arkraptor behind him. Immediately, he ran over to Bam and Khun, hugging the brunette. 

While they had their reunion, Ehwa walked over to the other arrivals, “What happened? Why did it take you so long?”

Arkraptor explained, “A Ranker tried to attack us, but we made it out alright. Dan’s checking up on the guys in the medical facility.” 

Hearing their voices, Bam ran over, “Mr. Arkraptor!”

Arkraptor smiled up at him, “Congratulations on your return. You’ve been through some hard times.”

“It’s all thanks to you.”

“We didn’t do anything. I’m just glad you made it out.” 

M glanced over at Beta, “How are you feeling? And where’s the guide?”

Beta replied, “I’m fine, I swear. I didn’t push myself that hard, so don’t worry about me collapsing. As for the guide and that bunny girl, apparently the guide found out about that blondie’s escape plan and the girls are making their way there.”

Khun frowned as Anaak approached him, “Hey Khun, what’s bothering you, you annoying bastard, isn’t this what you wanted?”

Khun dodged the question, “Anaak, where’s Shibisu and Dan?”

Anaak replied, “We got attacked by that annoying bitch and Shibisu got knocked unconscious. So Dan hauled his sorry ass over to a medical facility towards the safety area.”

Nodding, Khun noticed, “It’s weird how FUG hasn’t made a move. I haven’t got word from the team going to fight Mad Dog and it’s bothering me. I feel like something big is going to happen. And why did the hosts go in right after they made the announcement of us leaving the safety zone.”

Lero Ro walked over, “We won’t give them a chance to make a move.” Everyone turned to him as he joined the others, “I’m a little late after taking care of some remaining work. Did you catch up with everyone? Apparently Emily had been stolen and they value that more than anything else, so we probably don’t have to worry about them for a bit. And by now, my colleague should have arrived at the waiting room for the participants. He went there in order to use the summoning system there. He’ll reverse the summoning system to transport your colleagues in the waiting room here. By connecting the portal in the room with the portal in the floating ship that brought me here, we’ll hijack the. Also, your colleagues who were eliminated from the game are already on board. So we’ll escape from here before FUG can make their big move. This is our opportunity for all of us to get out together. Mr. Bam, the winning prize, has been summoned already, so we don’t have any reason to stay here. We have to escape before more Rankers make their moves.”

Khun spoke up, “...Even if we make it out, they’ll catch up with us soon. I know E and H said they’ll do all they can, but they can’t possibly get the other Rankers off our trail forever. Where can we-”

M smiled, “Didn’t you tell them, Mr. Ro? The organization who sent you here in order to join them?”

Anaak replied, “How does that have to do-”

“It’s Wolhaiksong. They’re on standby not far from here, right? My guess is when you fought Urek Mazino on the 21st floor, you made a big impression.”

“I’m sorry, Bam what?” repeated Khun, dumbstruck. He shot Bam a surprisingly dirty glare, “We are talking about this later.” 

Bam spoke up, “I- Uh… But, what about the others? The ones fighting Mad Dog and-” On cue, his pocket began to ring, Miseng’s contact coming up. He spun towards it, “Miseng! Where are you?”

To his horror, Reflejo’s voice came through instead, “You managed to get away safely. Mr. Jue Viole Grace. But in your rush, you forgot a little detail.”

Arkraptor cried out, “Miseng! Don’t hurt her you bastard!”

Reflejo ignored him, “So feisty for her age, so I gave her a lesson on manners one should show their elders.” 

Bam yelled, “Reflejo! What did you do to Miseng?”

Reflejo replied, practically smiling in his tone, “I just gave her a little advice, is all. I do have ethics towards children. But if you don’t come and rescue her, I might just have to break those ethics for once. I’ll kill her in the most painful way possible. Now that the game masters are gone, let’s make our own game. If you save this girl, you get to win. I’ll be waiting at the place where the needle was held, Mr. Jue Viole Grace.”

Khun ran over to Bam, “What was that all about?”

Ehwa cried out, “What are we going to do? We have to save her, right? She’s a child!” 

Bam declared, lifting his head to scan over the group, “I will go get them.”

Lero Ro refused him, “Although I understand how you feel, I don’t encourage you to do so. It’s too risky for you to go there. Besides, we should get going as soon as the Mad Dog group finishes their fight.”

M gasped, “Geez that didn’t sting, asshole!”

Bam shook his head, “I’m going no matter what. This is my problem and I have to take care of it. They’ll kill her if I don’t come. I must go.”

Hearing the others protest, M checked her pocket, “E’s in position above the place where Reflejo is waiting. If she or I get involved, he’ll kill younger me before we get a chance to grab her. But we won’t have to worry about time because the moment you wrap up your fight, she’ll use Bong bong to grab you and get out.”

Khun cut in, “Alright, but you aren’t going alone, Bam. All three of us are going to rescue Miseng.” You haven’t changed a bit, Bam. Thank god. He turned to Lero Ro, “Mr. Ro, how much time do we have at the most?”

Lero Ro estimated, “I can’t say for sure. You may have a 30 minute window at the most. It’s too dangerous if you stay longer.” 

“30 minutes, it’s a narrow window. But we’ll make it work. You guys head to the ship, the three of us will go get that Reflejo guy and save Miseng. Mr. Ro, if we don’t make it in 30 minutes, please take the ones who made it in time with you. I haven’t been feeling good about it, so I guess it’s actually for the better. Let’s beat FUG, win the game, and then escape.” 

Bam stepped towards him, “Mr. Khun, I think it’d be better for me to go on my own.”

“Shut up. You think we’d let you? After it took this long to finally meet you again?” He pulled out his pocket, “Cheonhwa, how is it coming against the Mad Dog.”

Staring out into the lifting smoke, Cheonhwa replied hesitantly, “Th-The mad dog is dead, but we still might not be able to make it for… a bit.”

“Eh? What’s wrong?” 

“Well…” His eyes remained glued on the giant crater in front of them. In the center stood H and A, blades raised and barely damaged. They were both breathing slightly heavier and the winds around them were still much stronger the closer they got to the center. 

A huffed, “Why are you holding back, H? You’re holding back way more than you need to, I can sense it.” H didn’t reply, but she could notice the quivering in his blade. Realization hit her like a train, “No… are you holding back because you still see us as allies? Hahahahahahahaha! How naïve are you?” She pulled her blade close, readying to attack, “Sorry, but I won’t show you the same respect. I was hired for one thing, and I never fail to complete a job.” Angelic Blade: Judgement! Her blade blurred as she moved, sending a few dozen thin shinsu cuts out towards H, who leapt back, swiping at the ground. Shielded Winds! A series of winds came up from his strike, condensing and blocking out the strike. He shot out past the winds, his blade glowing with pure energy. Demonic punishment! Sliding to s to, he fired his blade out to stab, sending out a narrow blast of energy that broke through A’s block, sending her flying back. Letting some blood escape from her lips, A flipped through the air and pushed off the cliffside, repairing her blade and sending out a horizontal slash of energy. H launched into the air, dodging the strike and condensing the shinsu behind him, giving himself a platform to blast off towards A. As he flew, he sent out a series of strikes, which A parried with her own. They met in the middle, their power letting out a shockwave that shook the nature around them and flew up the rubble on the ground. 

Struggling to remain on his feet, Cheonhwa awed, “They’re… really strong.”

Ran pointed out, “And they’re holding back extremely, likely for our sakes.”

Remaining silent, Hatz kept his eyes glued on the fight. It was almost… hypnotizing to see the blades move and clash like some sort of dance only the two of them knew. So was this his potential? Then… how much farther would he need to go before he can truly become stronger? He thought he was strong after what Cassano taught him, but watching his older self fight was just a brutal reminder of how far he needed to go. Subconsciously, his hand rested on the handle of his second blade, Dongtae. As he is right now, he wouldn't be able to control using the blade normally, much less ignited. It hung on his side like dead weight, a constant reminder to get stronger for his teammates. To get stronger so he doesn’t lose his friends… his family, like his older self did.    

Waiting on the roof of the fake volcano, E sighed, “Man… how much longer do I have to wait here? I’m so bored…” Just then, a pale man in purple came flying over, and a jar of sorts came into view above her. 

Noticing her there, the man called out, “Who are you? How dare you get involved in the tournament?”

How annoying. He’s sooner than expected. Saves me time. E hopped to her feet “I should be asking you that. You can leave. My name is E, one of the High Rankers of FUG. I have been sent here by the FUG members who support Jue Viole Grace.”

The man scowled, “How could you get in the way! This will help achieve both our goals if we succeed.”

E pondered, almost mocking the weaker Ranker, “Will it? Even if we did infuse the thorn with Viole’s power like you theorize in your ridiculous scheme, who’s to say the thorn will even accept another slayer? The thorn has proven to choose Jue Viole Grace above anyone else, so tossing him away will just set us back from our goal. Permanently. Or did you not think that far?” Pissed, the man sent out a spiral of purple feathers. Unfazed, E summoned eight arrows around her, sending them out to bend and slice through the petals until they brushed over E harmlessly. With a demon’s smile, she summoned a giant, much darker and stiffer arrow over her shoulder. E repeated, voice much more powerful and threatening, “ Leave. Or I’ll make you leave. ” Scared, the man flew back towards where he came from. Giggling softly, E summoned Bong Bong and wrapped it around the container for the solution. Using some force, Bong Bong vanished with the jar, dropping it in the water nearby. Peering down into the hole, she sees that the fight wrapped up. Smiling, she shot down into the hole and grabbed the three, zooming them towards the escape ship. 

Seeing them arrive, M called H, “Hey, things are wrapping on our end, so get over here.” 

On their end, H stood over A, the smoke still clearing from their fight. Putting away his blade, H reached out her hand to the younger girl. Scowling, A slapped his hand away and flew away in a blur. Tiredly, he sighed and nodded to Endorsi, who understood immediately and teleported their group towards the ship. As all of them rushed on the ship, a group of Rankers rushed towards them, the center one calling out, “That’s as far as you go. Take one more step and I’ll slash all of you. Give up the needle.”

M rushed out, materializing her umbrella in her hand, “Get on the ship! I’ll take care of it.” Scared slightly, the Regulars began to run on the ship. 

Suddenly, a voice called out, “Stop. This is the captain’s order. Stop all your actions and listen. Give up on the needle immediately and return to the base. If you do anything foolish… this man… could destroy our entire trade business. Return.” Hesitantly, the Rankers turned and walked off, giving the group the chance to escape. 

An hour later, Gustang looked out over the Archimedes, “So, I did what you asked.” 

W walked out from the shadows, “Thank you, sir. I do owe you more than I can ever make up for. If you ever need something, my team is there for you.”

Gustang spoke up, “Just answer me one thing. About our conversation earlier, you said that you came back the way you did because you don’t want to connect yourselves to their future. But tell me the truth, is it that, or because you don’t want to connect yourself to your past?”

His vision was blurry from tears. His nose wrinkled with the overwhelming smell of blood. Trying to cry out, his throat throbbed in agony. Distantly, he heard the sobbing of a little girl’s voice and the low murmurs of a man that he could see had bright blue burs on his back. Why? Why? Where did he go wrong? No… No! No! 

W turned towards the door, stopping for a second, but remained silent. With a grim expression, he slipped on his mask and walked out the door.

Afterwards, on the ship, W walked over to M, who was nervously fiddling with her hands, “M, where is Emily.” 

Snapping out of her daze, M jumped, “Gah! O-Oh, W! U-Um… About that… I kind of… accidentally gave the vial away.”

…

“ YOU WHAT? ” W boomed, his voice shaking up the hall in pure energy. He stepped towards M, who cowered slightly, “How could you lose Emily? Do you know how important she was to the plan, M? Are you stupid?” In the middle of his scolding, he paused, noticing the girl’s scared state. Suddenly, his mind flashed back to words he said long ago.

“Miseng… Just because I’m now more powerful than I was when we met, it doesn’t mean we have to change our friendship, alright? I’m still that reckless debtor from the 20th floor. I promise, you will never have to fear me.” 

Dammit… what am I doing? Expression softened, he knelt down to M’s level and pulled her into a hug, “Sorry, kid. You just surprised me, is all.” Hesitantly, she melted into his touch, returning the gesture. Even after centuries, she’s still stuck as a kid at heart. Softly, he asked, “But… who convinced you to hand over the compressed flask?” 

Pulling back from his hug, M whispered, “D… but I don’t know what happened afterwards.” 

Somewhere else, Maschenny walked out to look out over her balcony to the giant hall below. Standing on the ground below was none other than R, who immediately dropped to one knee upon her entrance. Keeping his eyes glued to the ground, he held up a bright blue flask, “Sister, I brought what you requested. The compressed flask containing the ignition weapon Emily.” His voice lacked any emotion and seemed purely robotic.  

Calmly, Maschenny smiled and walked down to him, taking the flask cautiously from his hands, “Thank you, brother. I assure you that this will be majorly beneficial once we get it functioning.” Silently, R stood up, revealing an expressionless, older Ran with void eyes. His whole standing appeared to be in a  dazed, dream-like state, as if he was somehow asleep and fully awake simultaneously. Walking past him, she glanced back, “You’re off the hook for now. Take some time to relax, you and that Dan guy deserve it.” Robotically, Ran nodded, his hand absent-mindedly tracing the bracelet with the Khun symbol on it.

The next morning, M entered Wangnan's room as she spotted Ehwa by his bed, holding something in her hands. Looming closer, she noticed him holding a ring with the crest of Jahad. Even from where she was, M could feel the piece of jewelry humming with powerful energy. Sweetly, M leaned over Ehwa’s shoulder, “What’cha got there? Something that doesn’t belong to you?” Snapping out of her daze, Ehwa yelped, fire sparking at the tips of her fingers and letting the ring fall next to Wangnan’s head. Immediately, M slapped a hand over the other girl’s flames, extinguishing them. M suggested, “Let’s take this outside, alright? We don’t want to wake him up.” Silently, Ehwa nodded. The two girls stepped into another room next door, which M locked behind her. Keeping her back to the flamethrower, M sighed, “...You have questions, don’t you?” 

Without hesitation, Ehwa called out, “Why does Wangnan have a ring with the crest of Jahad? How did he survive that blow? I was looking at his wound, and it’s already mostly gone! How is that possible? Who is he really?”

M turned to her, “I… can’t tell you everything. Both because it’s not my place to say and because I don’t think you’re ready for the truth. And you have to swear that you do NOT speak of this to anyone, you understand?”

Ehwa hesitated, “I - Alright. Fine, just tell me.”

Letting out another frustrated sigh, M took a seat on a nearby table, “First, let me ask you, do you know why people believe the final floor of the tower is the 134th floor?”

Ehwa nodded, “Well, yeah. Because that’s the floor where Jahad lives. It’s the final floor anyone can reach.” 

M shook her head, “It’s because Jahad closed off the actual top of the tower, the 135th floor. He locked the 135th floor and broke the key in two halves.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

M ignored the question, “One half he gave to… whatshisname workshop guy that designed the 13 Month series. That’s why they’re so much stronger than other ignition weapons when they’re ignited, because each of them has a piece of the half of the key. But the other half “vanished”. In reality, it is in the rings, one of which is in Wangnan’s possession. Karaka has another. They both have the blood of Jahad, more than any of the princesses. That’s why Wangnan can keep surviving blows, because he’s under the immortality contract.” She paused, seeing the dumbstruck, almost dazed look in Ehwa’s eyes. One look at the flamethrower’s face could tell she was lost in thoughts, but what those thoughts contained M couldn’t figure out.

Softly, Ehwa asked, “Is that why… he took the hit for me? Because… he knew he’d survive?”

With a sad smile, M shook her head, “Not at all. The guy’s just a self-sacrificing idiot who values the lives of his teammates over his own wellbeing. Trust me, even in the original timeline he’s like that.”

Ehwa’s knuckles turned white, their grip on her skirt so tight, “Why… didn’t he tell us? What else is he hiding?” 

M hopped to her feet, “I wouldn’t look into it further, he has his reasons. At this point in time, he probably doesn’t even know everything about himself, and is trying to hide from what he does know. If you did risk looking into his past, you might find out about the worst mistake Jahad and the ten great families ever made.” Suddenly, she perked up, not giving Ehwa the chance to fully process her words, “Anyway, my turn to ask the questions. Ehwa… why were you taking care of Wangnan? You were by his side since we first arrived at this place. Are you… by chance… worried about him?”

Caught off guard, Ehwa blushed, “Oh please, I-I just owed him for taking that attack for me, a-and I don’t like having a debt to anyone. E-Especially that monkey-faced idiot!” With a huff she brushed past M and left the room. Taking a seat next to Wangnan, she studied his sleeping face. This idiot… is a mistake by Jahad? He… has some connection to the royal family? I never took him as the type to hide secrets, but I guess it makes sense. I was planning on following Mr. Bam… but now my curiosity has peaked. 

She leaned in to grab the ring by his head when he shot up, shouting, “NO!” Blinked and panting heavily, he glanced over to Ehwa, who stiffened. 

Hesitantly, she asked, “W-What is it?” 

His panting stopped, “I’m hungry. Give me some food. Something you didn’t cook.”

“Why you-!”

Wangnan glanced down to look over himself, “Since I’m alive like this… I guess the workshop battle must be over.”

“Yes. The workshop battle ended.”

“And Viole? Has he been summoned?”

“He’s been summoned. He met with his friends… and everyone’s safe.”

“And where are we? It doesn’t seem like the Archimedes.”

“We are in a Wolhaiksong resort. Apparently one of the Rankers’ known Viole for a long time.”

“Okay… so that’s how it turned out. Viole has been summoned… and everyone else is safe…” He kicked back, throwing the blanket on Ehwa, “So that’s how it turned out! It’s over. Everything.” He paused, seeing the bothered, conflicted spark in Ehwa’s gaze. Confused, he questioned, “What’s wrong? Are you hiding something?”

Closing her eyes, Ehwa scowled, “You’re one to talk.”

“Hm? What are you-”

“I saw the ring,” blurted Ehwa, causing the blond to stiffed, horror crossing his expression. Softly, Ehwa continued, “I… saw the ring with the crest of Jahad. M… talked to me. She told me about the key to the 135th floor,  Karaka, the two of you having the blood of the king, and that you’re under the immortality contract.” Wangnan remained silent, his eyes wide and panicked, so Ehwa added hastily, “B-But, I didn’t tell anyone. Wangnan… why didn’t you tell us? Did you really not trust us at all?”

Snapping back to reality, Wangnan shook his head, “N-No! It had nothing to do with trust! Dammit… this makes things complicated…”

“Did you know about Karaka-”

“No… He didn’t tell me anything about his plans in FUG, just subjects involving… our situation.”

“How long have you-”

“21st floor, after the test with Urek Mazino. The day I missed dinner and came home really late. Ever since then I’ve kind of…. Buried the information in my mind, and I didn’t want to face my… fate… the reality of my life.” Expression softening, Ehwa took a seat on the bed, next to Wangnan. 

With a distant look in her eyes, she recalled, “You know… I felt the same way on that day. I found out the dark truth of the family I admired so greatly. I didn’t want to face the reality of my past. Because facing the darkside of my family meant I had to face the darkness of my own past. But then I realized, within the restrictions of the tower, I could only run and hide for so long. Instead, it would be better to just face them head on and fix my family’s sins as best I could. It’s the job of an elite to do that, right? So… shouldn’t it be the same, more so actually, for a member of the royal family?”

A tense silence hung into the air, until finally Wangnan let out a sigh, “...Fine. I’ll tell you. I don’t even know everything, though. And you have to promise not to tell anyone, alright? I don’t… I don’t want to make it public, not until I have all the answers, at least. But… I trust you, Ehwa. I trust that you can know.” Silently, Ehwa nodded, bracing herself for whatever she might learn. Tucking his arms over his chest, Wangnan explained, “I was born in a secret place called the ‘Red-Light District’. It was burned down when I was a baby, so a woman rescued me and took me to a small town on the 93rd floor. She always called me ‘prince’, and I thought of her as a real mother. But everytime I told her that, she always said that she wouldn’t dare be worthy of a title as the prince’s mother. Yet, I loved her anyway… Until she died. I still remember that day so vividly, coming home to see her collapsed on the ground, breathing weakly. As she died, she apologized, saying, ‘I’m sorry for not raising the King’s Seed as well as I should have.’ She never actually loved me, she was just fulfilling a duty to a king.” Tears formed in Wangnan’s eyes as he remembered seeing the light fade from his adopted mother’s eyes. Blinking rapidly, he continued, “Anyway, later that day, a strange man came to take her body away. He knew about the ring and told me that if I ever met anyone wearing the same ring, to only ask him to confirm it, then he left. I don’t know who that man was. I still don’t. But… Now I know a lot more than when I first became a Regular. First, that the woman who took care of me was not a nanny at all.”

Ehwa’s eyes widened, “Then who was-”

“She was a researcher. Not a scientist like Ms. Sophia, but an informant. Her job was to train me to be worthy to replace Jahad, and was reporting to the strange man that took her away. I know that there are three of us, Karaka, myself, and another one who does have all the answers, but vanished from sight centuries ago. He told me that the reason I’m the weakest of our trio is because the powers of Jahad were split among the three of us, so I received the immortality  contract and supposedly the physical skills, he got the shinsu skills and tendril like powers, and the third brother received all the mental skills. For some reason, our talents are locked, limited, but neither of us know why.” Wangnan let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, “And… that’s all I know. I’m a prince with immortality, locked up skills, and a complete failure overall.” 

Ehwa remained silent, leaving a heavy, choking tension in the air. Neither knew what to say, Ehwa struggled to process the information enough to reply and Wangnan sat on edge to hear what that reply would be. Finally, she nudged him, “Well duh, I could’ve figured most of that out, idiot. The whole having a ring and the blood of Jahad kind of gave that away! God, that was so anticlimactic.”

Jokingly, Wangnan threw a hand to his chest, “Flamethrower! That hurt, you know? Here I am, spilling my dark secrets, and you just insult me in return? Ouch, Ehwa! Somehow that burned more than your flames!” The two burst out laughing, as if the conversation prior didn’t happen.

But illusions have to fade back into reality, and the tension returns, just as tiredly heavy as before. The two’s eyes darted away from each other, neither knowing what to say. Softly, Ehwa asked, “So… what are you going to do now?”

Wangnan let out another of his countless sighs, “I… don’t know, to be honest. I’m going to keep climbing, stay by Viole as much as possible. I want to find my oldest brother, figure out everything. I know more than I did before, but it seems like with every answer I just get more questions. Who was that man? If I was meant to be an enemy of Jahad, why do I have his blood? This key?” Taking a deep breath, his eyes shifted from conflicted to determined, “Another thing I know for certain is I’m going to be a real leader, a real prince. I don’t know what the qualifications are, but I can’t tell the others until I can be worthy of my title.” 

Ehwa smiled, “Then you’re going to have to start taking etiquette classes from me. The two of us can face our roles of elites together.”

Wangnan nodded, but his eyes still refused to meet hers, “What… do you think… of me now?”

Ehwa rolled her eyes, “I definitely don’t think the same of you as before, I can’t deny that. But… you’re still the idiotic leader who is all talk. Oh, and if you wanted to win me over, you’re gonna have to try a lot harder than you did at the workshop battle.”

Wangnan gasped, “That wasn’t even my intention! You would want to date someone as destructive as you? And even if it was, how is taking a fatal hit for you not enough?”

“Well now I know that those kids of hits mean nothing to you.”

“Flamethrower! Just because I didn’t die doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt any less.” 

“Uh-huh, sure.” Ehwa got up and walked to the door, “Anyways, come on out. Everyone outside is worried about you.”

He waved to her, “Alright!” 

Watching the duo rejoin the others, W couldn’t help but smile. Hatzling approached, “You. I have a question for you.”

W perked up, “Hm? Why me?”

Hatzling shrugged, “I’d rather ask your teammates with the Wolhaiksong badges, but I can’t find them. So you’ll have to do.”

W returned the gesture, “I guess that makes sense. Whatcha wanna know?”

“So the four of you saw the outside?”

“Yeah, though E and H saw more than M or me. And before you ask, no I’m not telling you how we made it outside.”

“Can you tell me anything about the outside world?”

W pondered his reply, “It’s… huge. Bigger than you can imagine. Most of the world is water and there is so much diverse life. Not everyone’s super powerful like the Irregulars, but there are quite a few. There’s little to no shinsu out there, so those who can use shinsu tend to live at higher altitudes. There are mountains higher than you can imagine, and sights 100 times more beautiful than anywhere in the tower. But that’s all I know.”

Hatzling smirked, “Ah man, that’s just getting me more eager to escape this wretched place.” With that, he walked off to join the others in a meeting. 

Standing on the balcony, looking up at the false sky, Bam felt a presence approach. Surprised, he spun around to see an unmasked H approach him. Silently, H waved. Viole blinked, “Ah, Mr. H. You’re… leaving, right? To go meet with the FUG elders.” H waved his hand absentmindedly, as if saying, ‘later, not now.’ He walked up next to the slayer candidate and pointed to his head. Understanding immediately, Viole glanced back over the balcony, “Oh… I guess I’m just confused about why Ms. Endorsi cancelled our date after waiting seven years.” H shrugged, which told Viole everything he needed to know. Dropping his arms, H shook his head, making a push gesture. Sheepishly, Viole pursed his lips, “I… You got me… I’m wondering where she is. I know that I shouldn’t be looking for someone who only hurts me, but I can’t help it.”

H sent a message, ‘I can tell you where she is going. But first you have to promise me something.’ Seeing Viole’s wide-eyed reaction, H continued, ‘Promise me that you won’t lose control when you see her. You won’t lose yourself and sacrifice those who stayed by your side to return to someone who doesn’t want you.’ 

Hesitantly, Viole swore, “I swear it.”

‘She’s going to be riding the Hell Train a year from now. Ask Hwaryun, she can tell you more.’ 

Sitting in a café, Endorsi took a sip of her drink, staring across from her masked, older self. As the older woman set down her glass, she smiled with bitter sweetness, “So, younger me. What do you want to know?”

Pondering the billion questions in her head, Endorsi decided to start off lightly, “Why the stupid swordsman of all people? Why not Bam? He’s so much better.”

E rolled her eyes under her mask, “Figures that’s the first thing you ask. Well, for one, Bam and Khun are both extremely gay for one another, it’ll just take an annoying amount of time for them to realize so. So look forward to wanting to punch them in the face more than usual. As for why I chose Hatz, well that’s hard to put in words. There’s several possible reasons. Maybe it’s the fact that the two of us spent so much time together outside of the tower, and that growing closer would be natural. Maybe I just like a man with the guts to call me out on my shit and actually squabble with me rather than the emotional awkwardness that came with Bam. Maybe it’s because, around him, I can become a better person at a slower rate rather than try to do a complete 180 like I did with Bam. Maybe it’s some collection of the three, who knows? Just know that, even though he’s my boyfriend, you don’t have to feel obligated to grow close to him. I mean, I was also not his first choice either.”

Curious, Endorsi leaned on the edge of her fork, “Oh? Mister-no-fun-swordsman’s gonna get a crush? Now I’m curious about who could melt that guy’s heart for you to steal.”

E’s smile grew warmer, “I’ll give you two hints. One, you already met them. Two, Hatz is bisexual.” 

Blinking, Endorsi put the pieces together after a single second, “No way.”

“Uh-huh.”

“No. Fucking. Way. Shibisu? Seriously? That’s too- actually…”

“You see it, don’t you?”

“Yeah… Yeah actually that would explain a lot. Huh, go figure. Alright, I can accept being secondary in his heart to Shibisu. I mean the guy’s an annoying idiot, but at least he’s a good leader and the two are close.” 

E set down her silverware, “Now that the fun is over with, why don’t you go ahead and ask me your real questions.” Like a switch had been flipped, the lightness and joyful mood soured like a lemon. Endorsi’s expression darkened and her eyes darted away from E’s prying gaze. 

Softly, Endorsi asked, “Why did you… join FUG? What happened to Hatz? The others? Why did you help Anaak and I on the second floor? You knew we would survive.” 

E sighed sadly, her eyes glossing over in the shadows of their shield, “Figures. I… can’t tell you everything. But I can tell you that H’s scar and the deaths of our teammates are connected to the same incident, as H likely already told his younger self. And our reasons for joining FUG were to keep an eye on Jue Viole Grace, that’s all. As for why I helped the two of you, it’s because I felt like a fucking idiot for challenging a Ranker as a second floor Regular, and I wanted to save you the embarrassment. Besides, I didn’t want to give my sister the satisfaction of saving you and holding it over me forever.” 

Endorsi narrowed her gaze, “But why can’t you tell me what happened? What happened the day they…” She trailed off, seeing E turn to look out the window next to them. 

Fire, endless fire, the causes unknown. The heavy smell of ash and blood in the air. Tears streamed down her face, eyes burning like the flames around them. Her body felt sore, screaming to stop. The shinsu around her felt lighter, voider, like the thinness on the second floor so many centuries before. Around her were bloodied figures, blood soaked green scales, broken blades, shattered observers, and so much disaster. Her whole sense of direction had been sacrificed long ago, was she facing up, down, there was not enough nerves or blood to signal either way. In the distance, in the sky fabove, two powerful, gold-like figures clashed as battleships roared to action around them. The false sky sacrificed its blue color for reds, golds, and blacks. Suddenly, something inside her kicked to life, and she felt a huge wave of shinsu shoot towards her, vibrating with energy. Without thinking, she moved towards someone, somewhere. 

“Hey, older me. Snap out of it,” snapping her fingers in front of the older woman’s face, she hissed frustratedly. Blinking back tears she didn’t even realize had surfaced, E turned back to Endorsi, forcing a porcelain smile. Seeing her shaken state, Endorsi relaxed, relenting, “You… don’t have to tell me, or whatever. But I swear I’ll pry it out of you one day.”

Weakly, E chuckled, “We’ll see about that. At least you understand that you aren’t ready to walk that path… yet.” As if realizing her own words, she slammed her head against the table, “Goddammit, I sound like that sneaky guide bitch.”

Endorsi chuckled, “So you hate her too?”

E waved a hand weakly, “Oh, child, you have no fucking idea. ”

Later, Endorsi left the other woman and spotted Cheonhwa giving a hug to Narae before she ran off. Smirking, she walked over, “You’re not going with her?”

Cheonhwa glanced over to her, “Ah, Endorsi. No, I’m afraid I’m no longer Narae’s knight. She promised me that she’ll find an even better sea fish to show off by the time we reunite. What about you? I heard you’re going with Shibisu’s team.”

Endorsi put a hand on her hip, “Yeah, that lizard’s had it way too easy for my liking. I better remind her of the power of real princesses.”

He crossed his arms, “A real princess? Where are you going to find one of those?” Gasping, she punched his arm in a faked offended manner. 

After sharing a moment of laughter, Endorsi’s smile dimmed, “So… you’re going to climb with Ran’s team instead?”

Cheonhwa shrugged, “The only one who has a level head on that team is Novick, and even he is questionable with his priorities at times. If they don’t have someone more focused, they’ll fall apart after the first month.” Endorsi nodded, glancing away. He took note of the reaction, “Unless… are you going to miss me?” Endorsi didn’t reply, instead walking over and pressing a faint kiss to his cheek. Face beet red, Cheonhwa reached up to the same cheek, “W-What was that?”

Endorsi walked off, turning to look at him over her shoulder, “A thanks for sticking by this princess and a promise that when we reunite, it’ll be a fist instead.”

He rolled his eyes, dropping his hand, “Of course it will.”

Somewhere else, Y pushed through the door, only to be greeted by a familiar blond, who waved to her, “Ah, Y! You came. I was worried that something bad might have happened on the Archimedes. How was your trip?” 

Y smiled sweetly, “Oh, it didn’t go as well as I wanted, but that’s nothing to concern you, Rachel.”

A dark skinned man, Michael revealed himself, “Ah well, us Regulars can be tricky too. I bet those E and H fellows didn’t help.”

Rachel waved her hand, “Regardless, let’s go… rescue the tower from its fate.” 

A few days later, E stepped into a giant room, at least she could assume. Beyond her spotlight was seemingly endless darkness. Of course, the spread of shinsu signaled not just the size, but also the occupancy of the room. She looked up to where the thickest source of the energy centered. Burying her fear with a gulp, she spoke, “Hm? Well this is a surprise. Why did you summon me?”

One of the people boomed, “High Ranker E, you have interfered with a plan made by elders and a slayer from FUG. That is the basis for traitorism. What is your excuse for this?”

Immediately, E kicked into her act, stretching out her arms, “Isn’t obvious? You elders were reckless! You acted without thinking about the consequences, and it wouldn’t be the first time. I warned you that the thorn would only accept Jue Viole Grace, and your first thought was to kill him? How reckless. What if the thorn refused another slayer, then we’ll be left without anyway to succeed with our mission. Trust me, all I did was save you heartache.”

Another voice spoke, “You really think a baby Irregular could slay Jahad?”

E bursted out laughing, “Think? I know! I told you, H and I hold valuable knowledge that benefits all of us, not just myself. We know exactly what that boy is capable of, and it will be a sight to remember! Trust me, this is not a betrayal, it’s a favor!” 

The first voice asked, “And how can we trust a woman who refuses to share even her voice?”

E’s smile dropped, “I think that’s bold to say for those who hide in the shadows and hire mercenaries to accomplish their wishes without them themselves getting their hands dirty.” To most, the sudden flow of anger from the audience would make the speaker shrivel in fear, but not E. No, this was E’s intended reaction. Her smirk reappeared, “Now, if that’s all, H and I will be keeping our eyes on Anaak Jahad.”

The second voice stopped her, “Why do you have such an interest in that team. They are still Jahads, enemies.”

E didn’t glance back, keeping her back to the crowd, “Endorsi is easily swayed by the Irregular’s charm. I can assure you, she’s no threat. As for Anaak, she’s anything but a threat. She is climbing the tower to get her revenge on the Lo Po Bias and Jahad family, is she not? She has the power of Jahad, she is a sharp weapon waiting for the right wielder! Unlike you, I have been in the field. I have seen them in action. So why don’t you just trust me? Or are you going to actually step out of the shadows for once in centuries?” With a flick of her hair, she walked out of the room. Once left, she let out a breath, “God, I hate formalities.”

Chapter Text

10

A month had passed since the workshop battle. After meeting with Hwaryun the group had decided to take the Hell Train, especially since E and H warned them about FUG’s plans on the train before they left. M focused on training Miseng in more combat skills, the latter being more than willing after her performance in her battle. W took on both Wangnan and Ehwa to train them in dual attacks, the girl being much more willing now she had better control and knew neither of the other boys were at risk if she did lose control. While the Regulars had their meeting and decided to split into two teams, which W and M planned on going with Bam’s team. M met with Beta in a small restaurant nearby. Beta informed, “So I decided to climb with the tiny Khun’s team.”

M blinked, surprised, “Hm? I’m surprised. I thought you couldn’t stand people like them.”

Beta rolled his eyes, “They’re annoying, but at least they’re strong. I can’t stand Viole and that other team is too pathetic for me. At least things might be mildly interesting. Besides, I’m taking your advice and making allies. But the problem is I’m not a Regular, so I don’t know if I can get on the Hell Train.” 

M reached into her lighthouse, pulling out an anklet, “Here, it’ll cloak you to spells and other watchers on who can enter the Regulars area. It doesn’t work for testing areas, but it’ll work for the stations and the train itself. Just, also keep in mind your powers may be slightly limited to regulate you to a D-class Regular.” Hesitantly, Beta took it and hooked it around his ankle, seeing it automatically adjust to the size of his ankle. M smiled, “I'm glad you took it and trusted me, I thought you would put up more of a fight.”

Beta scoffed, “Like you’d have the guts to betray me after coming this far. I’ll take any chance I can get to fight people, I’m so bored sitting around after the workshop battle.” 

Returning in time for food, M and the others were eating away when the bell rang. W immediately shot up, “Yes! She’s finally here!”

M banged her fist, “Goddammit, I thought I’d get one more year.”

W warned, glancing back at her, “She is not the same as her future self. So quit it. Don’t make her hate your younger self too.” With that, he left the room.

Chang perked up, “Someone even you don’t get along with? Who is it?”

Grumbling, M began stabbing her food, “Oh, she’s just someone I despise with every bone in my body. But we have a… complicated relationship. You guys will probably get along with her greatly, though.” That caused the others to only look at each other, confused. Who could possibly not get along with the loveable child but do get along with everyone else?

“You really were here? After all this time…” A voice spoke, causing Arkraptor to drop his fork, eyes widening with shock and tears beginning to surface. Standing in the doorway was a woman with long silver hair, tied in a braid that rested on her right shoulder, tucked under a silver ring that matched the one on Arkraptor’s ear. She donned more tomboy, battle clothes, but it seemed to still be made of finer materials. Hanging on her back was a silver bow with a glowing string and several gemstones littered across the metal. Her darker silver eyes glittered with tears, which streamed freely down her pasty cheeks. Silently, Arkraptor stood up, to which the girl immediately dropped her grey bag and ran into his arms. 

With a smile, W gestured to the girl, “Everyone, this is Arie Adalin Hon. Arkraptor’s daughter and currently a C-class Regular on the 53rd floor. I called up a favor to find her.” The two family members didn’t seem to react, even while the others made their ways out of the room to give them a moment. 

Reluctantly, Adalin pulled back, wiping away her remaining tears, “I-I… can’t believe… this is really happening. W-When I… I saw the message… I-” Her words became gargled, choking on her own joyful tears. Smiling, Arkraptor bent down slightly to wipe away her tears. 

He shushed her, “It’s okay, i-it’s okay. I’m here. I finally found you.”

She smiled, leaning into his hand, “Dad… I entered the tower to find you, that’s all I wanted after mom died.” The two spent the next few minutes catching up and exchanging stories, just basking in one another’s presence.

Later, W reentered, “Hey, you guys all caught up.”

Arkraptor looked at the sleeping girl on his shoulder, “Thank you, so much. I don’t know what I could do to-”

W joked, “Don’t mention it, you’ve done more than enough just putting up with younger me’s sorry ass.” His smile shrunk, “And… I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she won’t be able to go to Train City or get on the train. She’s a C-class Regular, not D-class. They are literally harder to sneak on the train than even Rankers. Don’t worry, she plans on sticking with Isu’s team, so she’ll be waiting when you get off.” 

Saddened slightly, Arkraptor glanced back at the girl, “It’s… alright. It won’t be as bad as before, because we both know where we’ll be. So… the separation won’t be as painful. Besides, she’ll be sticking with us until then, right? That’s already more than I could ever ask for.” 

With that, everyone went to bed, preparing for the upcoming trip. The next day, they made their way to the ship, unaware of the eyes watching from the shadows. 

A year later, three people were gathered on one of the trains to Train City. one of them, Hanool, smiled, “We’re finally going to Train City, teacher.”

Across from him, Boro scolded him, “Don’t call me teacher. Just because I have a ticket doesn’t make me a teacher. I’m an ordinary Regular like you guys.”

Felix asked, “Well, you’ve held onto your ticket until now. Doesn’t that prove that you’re a commendable Regular? And that also makes you a mentor to D-class Regulars like us.”

Boro waved his hand absentmindedly, “The only reason why I’m doing this is because I can make some money off of it. I need a lot of money for a train trip. I guide apprentices like you in exchange for money to board the Hell Train.”

Hanool noted, “People who have tickets are different indeed. Have you met Sachi Faker at Train City before, by any chance?”

Boro warned, “...Hey, it would be best for you not to say that name here. Talking about ticket hunters in this train is taboo. You never know when those guys will show up.”

Felix spoke up, “But… you didn’t answer the question.”

Reluctantly, Boro crossed his arms, “...Yes, I know him. Wish I didn’t, though.”

A voice spoke up, “Trust me, the feeling is mutual, Boro.” Stiffening up, Boro shot to his feet and spun around. Approaching the trio was W and a man with a black scar over his right eye. He waved his hand, “Long time no see, Boro.”

Boro narrowed his gaze, “Sachi, you bastard, what are you doing here?”

Hanool perked up, “You’re Sachi Faker? The Sachi Faker?”

Felix glanced between the two men, “You two have a history?”

Sachi scowled, ignoring the duo’s comments, “You’re more of the cowardly bastard out of the two of us, Boro. As for why I’m here, this guy can explain.”

W cleared his throat, “I know you two don’t want to hear this, but FUG wants to awaken Hoaqin.” The duo’s eyes widened in sync. 

Boro realized, “So you wanted to gather us because you know we stopped Hoaqin before.”

W shook his head, “No, I gathered you guys because I think you can save the man being tricked into freeing him.”

“Who-”

“His name is Daniel Hatchid. I’d assume you recognize him?” 

Boro banged his fist on the back of his seat, “No way, that bastard is dead! He’s supposed to be dead!”

Sachi agreed, “There’s no way we’re talking about the same person. He died 200 years ago.” 

W revealed a photograph, handing it to the boys, “Does this look like he’s dead to you?” Sachi’s eye widened, the glowing orange dulling over. 

Boro gasped, “He was really alive. That asshole was really alive.” 

Felix spoke up, “Uh… what’s happening?”

W cleared his throat again, “Excuse me, but I think we should talk about the details when we get to a more private location. We have company.” He gestured to a blue skinned man in a hoodie. 

Rolling his eyes, Sachi grabbed his wand, “I’ll take care of him.” 

Boro shrugged, “Easier for me.” 

W smiled and rested a hand on Sachi’s shoulder, “Hey dude, let me handle this. Just keep the others safe, alright?” Reluctantly, Sachi nodded, taking a seat next to Boro.

Hanool quirked a brow, “So you’re the famous Sachi Faker?”

Felix looked between them, “And how do the two of you know each other?”

Tiredly, Boro sighed, “It’s… a long story.”

Sachi rolled his eye, “That’s definitely one way to put it.”

Boro glanced over to W, “You think he’ll be fine?”

Sachi nodded, “Can’t you sense it? That guy’s hiding something big. I’m curious to see him in action.” The four watched as the blue man walked towards the group, only to have W block his path.

The man paused, “Eh? Excuse me, I need to get past you.”

W’s head gestured towards the man’s weapon handle, where two tickets bounced, “You’re a ticket hunter, I see.” He pulled out a gold needle from his inventory, “See my friend here needs those tickets you have. So I’ll ask you to hand them over if you value your life.”

The man smirked, pulling out a green needle, “Is that so? Sorry, but I think I’ll take yours instead.”

W smirked himself, “Cocky, are we? What’s your ticket numbers?”

“71 and 98. I killed them both with my own two hands. Well, 71 was difficult. At this year’s hell train, I’m gonna make every ticket holder under ten kneel before me.”

Biting his lip to suppress a laugh, W giggled, “You want that when you’re already struggling with the 70s? What a joke.” The man scowled, his needle beginning to glow, as he lifted it. 

Throwing down a giant wave of shinsu, he snapped, “What do you know?” The bright shinsu shot through the cart, tearing up cushions. But W remained unfazed, holding up his hand with the Jahad ring, which glowed and vibrated with power. Coming close, the shinsu from the attack all were pulled into the ring, giving W a faint golden glow. 

W dropped his hand, unbothered by the group’s shocked expression, “I can see why you’re staying a D-class Regular. That move was pathetic. Do you even know how to wield a needle properly?” He glanced at Sachi, “I change my mind. He’s too easy. You can take him.” 

Who the hell is this guy? Sachi shrugged, “Sure, I got what I wanted.” He pulled out his wand and switched positions with W, who rested his head on the table and ignored the eyes of the other three. 

The blue man scowled, “And who the hell are you?”

Sachi lifted his wand, the gem on it beginning to glow, “Sachi Faker, ticket hunter like you.” Beneath him, his shadow turned a bright orange, shooting out towards the man in the shape of vines. The vines encircled and covered the man up to his neck, yanking him to the ground with ease. Unbothered, Sachi walked across the aisle, broke the dropped green needle, and yanked off the tickets with a snap of the metal ring. Turning back to the group, he tossed the tickets to Boro, who caught them with ease. 

The man grumbled, the vines around him vanishing, “Dammit… she never mentioned the two of you monsters being here.”

Sachi blinked, “She?” His eyes settled on the device left on the ground next to the broken needle. Curious, he walked over and picked it up, despite the blue man’s protest. It was on Emily, now with the subtitle ‘Version 1.4’ He read out, “Emily?” 

W perked up, “Hey, let me see that.” Walking back over to the group, Sachi handed the device to the blond, who glanced at it, “Ah, Emily. She’s a chatting device but she’s also an ignition weapon created by the workshop. She is filled with all sorts of knowledge in the tower.” 

A message appeared, ‘Warning: Plans have been revealed that FUG is taking over the Hell Train at Train City. If you have come there for the tournament, evacuate immediately.’ 

Seeing the message, Boro scowled, “Looks like you were right.”

Suddenly, a voice called out, “Mr. W!” Standing in the door was Bam, now in new gear and with his hair cut short. 

Somewhere else, Ran stood among a sea of bodies, dropping the last one, which still sparked with electricity, and pocketing his ticket that was in his other hand. Nearby, Beta called out, “Hey, kid. Why are you standing there? Look for tickets.”

Ran suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, “...How did it go on your side?”

Beta walked over to the bluenette, “I took care of everything. Of course. There were no tickets, though… It was a piece of cake to beat these losers. I’m here for a real challenge, when will one actually arrive?”

Ran warned, “Don’t rush it. We haven’t even arrived at train city yet. And the Hell Train leaves in three days. Anyway, finding the tickets is more important now.”

Beta scowled, “If a challenge doesn’t arrive soon, I’m going to kill you instead.”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t be easy for you.” 

Cheonhwa approached from the other direction, the others behind him, “Hey guys, the children are fighting again.”

“I’m not a kid!”

Sighing, Ran glanced over at Novick, “How’d it go on your end? Did you guys find any tickets?”

Novick shook his head, “We wiped out the whole place. None…” 

Ran pulled out his tickets, “Tsk… As expected, finding the tickets is not easy. We’ve only collected four tickets so far. If we fail to find more tickets, only four of us will be able to board the Hell Train. So in the worst case scenario, we might have to split up and then meet again at the station after going up the tower separately. But that’s for later. Meeting the other teams at Train City comes first. Amongst those teams... meeting the FUG assholes would be the best. Not to mention Emily’s back online, which means those weirdos I saw at the workshop are also scheming something. W and M both knew who they were, so those two hold information like W’s team does.”

Xia Xia pulled out Emily, “I think you’re right. Emily sent out a warning today about FUG’s plan to take over the Hell Train.”

Ran read the message, “They’re trying to ruin FUG’s plans by directing people away from the station. That’s just better for us, less people to get in the way.”

W and the other three all irked up to see Bam walk over to them. W waved, “What’s up, dude?”

Bam glanced over Boro’s team, “Are these the guys?”

W explained, pointing to Boro and Sachi, “These two are. The redhead’s Sachi Faker and the grey-hair is Boro. Those two extras are Boro’s apprentices.” 

Hanool hissed, “Hey! We’re not extras!”

Bam glanced at the other two, “What are your skills?”

Hanool replied, “I’m a doctor.”

Felix added, “And I’m skilled with a dagger.”

Bam nodded, “Those are decent skills.”

Sachi agreed, “Yeah, even if they are shit at combat, having someone skilled in medicine is useful.”

Boro spoke up, “But wait, who are the two of you. Blondie, how are you so strong, and who’s this kid?”

Bam blinked, “Did you not tell them?”

W held up his hands, “I didn’t get a chance yet!”

Bam turned to the others, “W’s a High Ranker, but he has an anklet item that lets him enter areas only for Regulars in exchange for limits on his powers. And my name is Bam, a friend of his. W told me about your past with the FUG guy. We need your help, or everyone on the Hell Train will die.”

In their train, Dan hissed, “Ran, don’t be so cocky. We don’t know what they’re planning.”

Cheonhwa spoke up, “But they don’t know about our team either. So we’re on equal ground. Or are you just scared of Rachel’s unknown teammates? Didn’t you tell me that you’re never going to run away again?”

Dan smiled, putting a hand on his hip, “Of course… I’m the fastest D-class Regular, for sure.” 

Ran glanced over to Xia Xia, “What about A.A?”

Xia Xia glanced at her lighthouse, “Hm… a message just came in… He says he’ll be late.”

Novick started to bite his fingernails, “That’s not like Khun. Did something happen?”

A few hours earlier, at the team Sweet and Sour base, Wangnan finished packing his bag, throwing it over his shoulder. Arkraptor came into his room, “You done packing?”

Wangnan lifted his shoulder with the bright red bag, “All set!” 

Arkraptor stepped aside, allowing Wangnan to slip past, “Go toss it in ship, I’ll check over the base one last time with Khun.” With a smile, he nodded and ran out of the house. 

Reaching the ship, Ehwa popped her head out, “Took you long enough, lazy ass. Here, I’ll take it.” She snatched the bag from Wangnan’s hands before he could protest. Surprisingly, he didn’t, looking past her to something standing among the far trees. In the shadows, the silver gleam of armor and the glow of molten gold eyes stood out. In spite of himself, Wangnan could feel a frown quirk at the corner of his lips. Following his gaze, Ehwa’s eyes settled on the same figure. Understanding, she sighed, “...Go talk to your brother, Wangnan. He’s here for a reason. I’ll cover for you.” Shooting her a thankful look, he ran around the ship and into the trees. 

Spotting Karaka looming, he called out, “You have a lot of guts showing up here after the workshop battle, Karaka.”

Karaka closed his eyes, “My business as a slayer and our relation have nothing to do with one another.”

Wangnan scowled, “He’s my friend and your my brother, so yeah they do fucking relate.”

Annoyed, Karaka sighed, “Regardless, that does not matter now. Your slayer candidate has proven his worth in my mind during the workshop battle. You no longer have to worry about me targeting him. That is why I am here. One of my servants, Pedro, the conductor of the Hell Train, is planning a trap to eliminate him and retrieve his body and the thorn for me. I have attempted to warn him otherwise, but he believes I have gone soft and that it is his “duty as a servant to do what is best for his master, even defying orders in their moments of weakness.” So do not trust the train staff to play fairly, they have no intention of letting you or the FUG slayer on the train live.”

Wangnan narrowed his gaze, “You expect me to trust you? After last time? I’d rather never talk to you again.” To his surprise, Karaka reached up to his helmet and slipped it off, revealing similar, shaggy blond hair and slightly oranger gold eyes.     

Karaka softened his gaze, “We’re brothers, Wangnan. There must be some level of natural trust between us. For both of our survival. I may keep secrets, but I would lie to those I trust.” 

Wangnan’s gaze softened in turn, “...Alright. I’ll believe you. But if you are lying to me, Karaka, don’t expect me to be dumb enough to give you a third chance.”

From the ship, Khun called out, “Hey Wangnan! Where the hell are you? We need to go, you’re going to make us late.”

Sparing Karaka one last hesitant glance, Wangnan ran back towards Khun, “Hang on, Khun! I just received some new information you should hear before we leave!” 

Listening to Bam’s warning, Boro repeated, “What? Everyone on the hell train will die? Dammit, I’m guessing you're talking about Hoaqin.”

Bam nodded, “Yes. They’re planning on hosting a tournament to distract the Regulars at the station to sneak on the train to reform the slayer White. W told me that you two have experience with him and have sealed him before. Can you lend us the strength to stop them again?”

Sachi frowned, “We’re in. We have some unfinished business with that bastard, don’t you agree?”

Boro shrugged, “If I don’t stop him again, I could never face her again.” Hearing that, Sachi’s expression went dark, which didn’t go unnoticed by the others, though they didn’t pry. Boro looked up at Bam, “But who is trying to free him? Besides Daniel, I mean. Even if he really is back, FUG hasn’t cared about that asshole for centuries. Who changed their mind?”

W scowled, “A new D-class Regular. Viole, do you want to explain?” 

Bam frowned, “The girl who pushed me in while working with FUG. My longtime friend… who may now be my enemy. Her name is Rachel.”

Boro repeated, “Rachel? Rachel… I’ve never heard of that name. She’s a new D-class Regular, you said? She doesn’t know what kind of hell she’s getting into by messing with Hoaquin.” 

W scowled, “She’s pathetic, but I wouldn’t underestimate her manipulation and coercion skills.” 

The group all gathered in a corner booth away from people and got into a heavy discussion about their relationships with FUG. Throughout the discussion, it became apparent that both duos knew more than they were letting on, and that the two apprentices felt out of place sitting with them. The two exchanged an uneasy look, questioning their choice to ride the hell train. During the ride, W noticed the pink train barista sitting in an empty booth next to her drink cart, shifting uncomfortably and glancing between their group and the window next to her. Taking it upon himself, W stood up and walked over to her. Casually, he picked up a conversation with her and found out her name was Hana, a light bearer and fan of Yura Ha. Part of him felt bad for the poor girl, knowing the true behavior of the idol. An idea struck him and he summoned his gold lighthouse, rummaging through it and bringing out a notebook and guitar. He held it out to her, “Here, something to start you off. You should start writing your own songs if you want to be an idol.” 

Hana perked up, “Oh! I actually have been practicing singing covers! Here, let me see.” She grabbed the guitar and started to strum and tune it. After a few seconds, she began to sing ‘Shallow’, “ I’m falling. In all the good times I find myself longing for change. And in the bad times I fear myself. I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in! I’ll never meet the ground! Crash through the surface, where they can’t hurt us! We’re far from the shallow now. In the shallow, shallow… ” Her voice, despite her normal slightly high-pitched tone, sang like birds in the early morning. It was clear that she needed practice, but the talent and skill already casted a spell over the chamber, silencing the conversation in the other booth and catching the others’ attention. Each note sung seemed to calm their minds and drive their attention away from the impending doom awaiting them at the station. Little did they know at the time, but those few moments of silence, save her music, was all they needed to steady their souls for the fight to come. In a single second, Felix pulled out a recording device and recorded the pink-haired woman, who didn’t notice, lost in her own song. Opening her eyes, her singing coming to an end with a few last strums, she scanned over her audience. Smiling nervously, she chuckled, “Hehe… I’ve only had a year or so of practice. I still need a lot of work.”

Bam smiled, “That was really good!”

Boro admitted, “You certainly have the voice of a singer, even though you’re not pretty enough for it.”

Sachi chopped the back of his neck, “Stop being an ass, Boro. You definitely have potential, miss.”

Felix perked up, “Yeah, no kidding! I posted your video on the box, and the views are flooding in! People love you!” 

Hana’s eyes began to water, reading over the comments, “Wow! I-I-” She grabbed the notebook and pulled it close, “I’m gonna begin songwriting, sir!”

W snapped a finger gun at her, “Just remember us when you become famous, alright? I wanna see your first concert!”She nodded and ran out of the cart, guitar and notebook in hand. Above them, an announcement played, announcing their arrival at Train City.

Boro glanced up at the speaker, “We’re arriving. Newbies, you should know that there is one last barrier waiting for us.”

Sachi recalled, “Ah, that. I haven’t dealt with that in a while.”

Felix spoke up, “One last barrier?”

Boro pondered, “Well… it’s not too difficult, especially with the two of you here. But, still… You’ve got to be prepared for it. One of us might be killed.” A moment later, the train hurled to a stop, knocking everyone out of their seats, save Boro and Sachi. The group walked out of the station, awing at the station’s size and coming immediately upon an elevator.

Meanwhile, Ran’s team walked out and reached the same elevator. Cheonhwa crossed his arms, “An elevator? I guess having one makes sense, but why is right at the entrance?”

Xia Xia awed, “There are so many buttons! Entrance, residence, restaurant, stadium, control center, and skyscraper. So, what should we do? FUg is likely to make a move during the tournament tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be better to get some rest in the residence for now?”

Beta snapped, “What are you talking about? We’ve got to make the first move against those FUG bastards!”

Xia Xia countered, “You idiot. Do you think it’ll be that easy? I don’t know if we’ll even have a chance even if we thoroughly prepare. It won’t do us any harm to prepare another day. And I want to take a hot bath as soon as possible.” As the group bickered, Cheonhwa felt his sword on his hilt begin to vibrate more violently. Surprised, he glanced down at it.

Narumada? What’s wrong? Cheonhwa’s eyes widened in realization. Without thinking, he grabbed Ran’s wrist before he could press the entrance button.

Ran scowled, “What are you doing?”

Cheonhwa ordered, pressing the button to the residence floor, “We’re going to the residence floor. There’s something I need to check. I think another holy blade is at the station as well.” 

 Meanwhile, Felix read over the buttons and turned to Boro, “Where should we head?”

Bam suggested, “Why don’t we go to the residence floor? My friends might be waiting there.”

W checked his pocket, “M found Aka. They’re on the residence floor and waiting for us.”

Sachi frowned, “I can’t believe I have to meet that greedy bastard again. But if you guys are telling the truth, I have no choice about it.”

Boro scoffed, “You’re one to talk.”

“At least I’m not hiding from the past like a coward.”

Hanool whispered, “This seems like it’ll be a disaster.” Next to him, Felix nodded in agreement.

Bam suggested, “How about the entrance? Is that the entrance to the train?”

Boro warned, “We’d better not go there yet. There will be guardians waiting for us.”

“Guardians?”

“That’s right. They’re incredible. But anyway, let’s meet the rest of your friends.” With that, Boro pressed the button for residence. They entered the elevator, immediately noting its slow speed. Boro explained, “This elevator has a delay for every floor. It will take time to even get to the second floor.”

W crossed his arms, “Anyway, can someone explain what a guardian is? You mentioned it earlier.”

Bam turned to him, “You didn’t meet one while climbing, W? But didn’t you ride the train?”

W suddenly found the far wall highly interesting, “Well…”

Sachi interrupted, “Regardless, the guardian is the guardian of the city that will guard the entrance to the train until tomorrow night.”

Boro changed the subject, “Anyway, didn’t you say your friend had a relationship with FUG back on the train? And that’s how you guys found out about him and Hoaqin. Not to mention W here calls you Viole, are you, by chance, Jue Viole Grace?”

Bam spared a hesitant glance towards W, who walked over and murmured, “We’re dealing with FUG, who all know who you are. They’re bound to find out who you are.”  

 Taking a deep breath, Bam informed, “I am Jue Viole Grace, the slayer candidate that left FUG. I have a friend who is a guide for FUG.” To his surprise, only Hanool and Felix showed any sort of surprise. 

Sachi shrugged, “We could figure that out on our own. But what we’re wondering is why you tried so hard to get out of FUG, only to dive back in?”

Bam narrowed his gaze, not meeting their eyes, “I… have a lot of things to take care of. At this year’s hell train, I hope everything will be resolved.”

Boro frowned, “That we can agree on.” 

Meanwhile, as Ran’s team emerged out of the elevator, Cheonhwa darted out into the giant crowd first. Ignoring the calls of his teammates, he clutched the handle of his sword at his hip, If Narumada senses another blade… it can only be his. After a few seconds, his eyes settled on a man with slightly darker and shaggier hair. He donned a similar outfit to Cheonhwa’s on the second floor, but much looser with a narrower sword on his waist. Brow furrowing, Cheonhwa marched over to the man, “Danhwa! Why are you at Train City? Do you really think you can handle the Hell Train when you had only passed the test by the skin of your teeth?”

Xia Xia approached them, “Do you know this guy?”

Danhwa scowled, “You’re one to talk. The sword barely wanted to accept you as well.” 

Calmly, Cheonhwa informed his approaching teammates, “This is Danhwa, my cousin. He only became a Regular because the sword accepted him, even though he was the weakest of our seven branches.” 

Danhwa scowled, “Clearly I was skilled enough to make it here without help. Unlike you, who only passed the test because you received help from one of the other branches. Even now, did you reach this floor by your own strength or because of those powerful teammates behind you?” Cheonhwa didn’t reply, glancing towards the ground. 

Dan’s eyes settled on his teammate, but Ran beat him to it, “Hey, you’re annoying. If you’re looking for a fight, just pull out your weapon. Otherwise, shut up.”

Danhwa brushed past Cheonhwa, knocking his shoulder, “I’m going to become a Ranker that makes our ancestors proud. Unlike you.” 

Meanwhile, Bam’s team emerged into the Residence and scanned the crowd. While Boro and Sachi explained how the residence floor worked to the others, Bam checked his pocket for a message from Hwaryun. He turned to the others, “My friend just messaged me that they’re in room 52.” 

W nodded, “Right. Let’s head there. We should stick together for now.”

Suddenly, a blue skinned man with grey hair appeared, “Hey there. Do you have a ticket? If you aren’t “main participants”, how about pledging your allegiance to sir Aka? If you pledge your allegiance to sir Aka, he may take you with him to the hell train.”   

A voice spoke up, “You don’t want those guys, Moontari. They’re just assholes and cowards.” Walking towards them was a giant man with long, dirty blond hair. Behind him, M appeared, umbrella over her shoulder and a smile on her lips. 

Sachi waved to him, “Hey Aka. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Aka scoffed, “Not long enough. So the bastard Daniel is back, huh?”

Boro’s eyes glossed over, guilt sparkling in his gaze, “...Yeah, I guess he is. That fucking idiot is gonna get himself killed again.” 

Aka shook his head, “That idiot. Just what could he be planning?”

W cleared his throat, “I have an idea, but let’s head into Viole’s room and I can explain in there.”

Aka nodded, turning to Moontari, “Head back to the others. I’ll join you later.” The group traveled over to room 52, taking out several weaker Regulars that tried to attack them. 

Inside the room, Rak greeted them, “Took you long enough, black turtle!”

Hwaryun waved to the group, “Hello. Are these the guys, W?”

W gestured to the group, “These three are Boro, Sachi, and Aka. They’re the ones I talked to you about before we came here, Hwaryun. The ones who have encountered White on the train before.”

Boro began, “Ah, but I also have-” He turned back to introduce his students, only to find both had vanished, being replaced by Hana from earlier. Boro narrowed his gaze, “What are you doing here? Where are the other two?”

Sheepishly, Hana held up two tickets, “While you guys were talking, the two approached me. Apparently hearing your conversations scared them out of wanting to ride the train, so they gave me their tickets.”

Annoyed, Boro sighed, “Dammit. Ah well, I can’t exactly blame them. They weren’t the strongest. If they really had to go against FUG and especially him, they wouldn’t have stood much of a chance. What’s your position, girl?”

M added, “And do any of you guys not have a ticket?”

W sideglanced at Rak from behind his mask, “You don’t have a ticket, do you alligator?”

Rak huffed, “I can get on the stupid train without a ticket.”

W smirked, “Knew it. Looks like we found the new owner of that ticket.”

Hana handed the crocodile the ticket, replying, “I’m a light bearer! And I can use barriers and even teleportation across short distances! Though I’m not super accurate with it.”

Sachi sighed, “Now that’s over with, W, you had an idea about Daniel?”

W hopped onto a nearby desk, “Yeah, I was thinking about what I heard from Sachi on the train. You guys said that Roen sacrificed herself in order to seal Hoaqin, right? Then, could she have become a part of the souls already killed by Hoaqin? Then, maybe he’s working with White on the condition to bring that Roen girl back?”

Somewhere else, Rachel’s team walked out of the train and on to the station platform. A hooded woman perked up, “Oh… this must be Train City.” She paused at the elevator, “An elevator? There’s quite a lot of floors. Where are we supposed to go? Skyscraper… residence… entrance… restaurant? I’m pretty hungry right now…”

Y frowned, “You’re always hungry.”

The girl crossed her arms, “Not always. I’m not hungry when there are pretty clothes or handsome guys around.”

Another hooded man chuckled, “Ha! So is that why you end up eating them too?”

“Well… In the end I always get sick of them. So, just eating them is a better option. Then how about you, pinky?”

Next to her, a girl with flowing pink hair and long bangs, floating on a giant black pillow, yawned, “You guys are so loud, I just wanna get some sleep.”

The hooded woman scoffed, “Wow. What a boring girl. Well, what about the grandpa?”

Rachel glanced at her pocket, “This is the situation.”

The woman read the message, “Cannot be contacted. I’m pretty sure he’s arrived though. What could he be up to? How annoying, first Emily comes in to reveal our plans, and now our important teammate vanished? What a pain. Come to think of it, what about that girl?”

Y pulled out her pocket tracker, “She’s here, just as planned! Let’s get going!” 

In their room, Beta shoved Cheonhwa against a wall, “Hey, knight boy,. What the fuck was that out there, it looked like you were about to start a fight!”

Cheonhwa glanced away, “It’s nothing that involves you guys. I don’t want to bother you with family drama.”

Dan scowled, “It’s going to be affecting our team so yes, it does involve us.”

Hesitantly, Cheonhwa explained, “My family has seven holy swords. Our ignition blades like Narumada here. We also have seven family branches, one for each blade. But our village has failed to produce worthy Regulars that can wield the blades, much less Rankers to protect us. So whichever branch will bring backa  Ranker first will have more influence and benefits. As such, when Danhwa and I were both chosen, we feud with each other, trying to become a stronger, better Ranker first.”

Novick concluded, “So it’s like the fights between different branches of the great families over producing princesses.”

Cheonhwa shrugged, “In a way. Either way, it’s a matter between Danhwa and I, no one else. It wouldn’t be honorable to drag outsiders into our business.” 

Dan smiled and punched his shoulder, “Shut the fuck up, dude. We’re teammates. If this guy’s a rival to you, he is to us as well.”

Beta scoffed, “Well I don’t really care.”

Ran crossed his arms, “something we can agree on.”

Xia Xia chopped both of their heads, “Shut the fuck up, morons.”

In the hall, Yura walked out and scanned the crowds. Clearing her throat, she boomed, “Hello there, fellow Regulars! Who here would like to play a game?”

One of the Regulars glanced at her, “Who are you?”

A woman hissed, “Are you stupid? That’s the famous idol Yura Ha!”

A third person asked, “What game?”

Yura grinned, “Oh it’s simple! Narrow the people out here to the final eight, not including me, of course. I happen to have an extra ticket and seven boarding passes on me! I don’t care how you narrow each other down, but whoever’s left will get these gifts and form a team with me!” A beat of silence passed, followed by a loud scream, marking the beginning of a massive bloodshed.   

In their room, Hana awed, “Wow! That’s the famous Yura Ha! I can’t believe we’re riding with someone like her!”

Boro scoffed, “You’re a fan of her? She basically just told dozens of people to kill each other.”

W pointed out, “Not exactly. She told them to narrow down the group to have eight remain. That doesn’t automatically mean killing. They could always convince the others to leave or go into the room of a ticketer. Fighting is just the method they turned to because that’s what the bloodthirsty officials encourage.” 

Hwaryun nodded, “An interesting take on the situation. Though I doubt many would agree with you on that train of thought.”

Sachi scowled, “But why would she want to narrow down the Regulars anyway? Because they intend to steal the train to revive Hoaqin’s power?”

Hwaryun nodded, “That’s correct. They’re going to hold a tournament to lure the ticketers at this station to all gather in that stadium so they can sneak onto the train without much conflict.”

Aka countered, “Please, they won’t be able to make it past the guardian.”

M chirped, “They can. Poe and the Conductor are allied with them and gave them a remote to control the guardian.”

Boro frowned, “Figures he would want to help Daniel.”

Hana whined, “Stealing the train? Tricking people? How could they be so cruel?”

Hwaryun scoffed, “That’s nothing to them. They’d do anything in order to achieve their goals. Killing people and stealing are nothing to them. This year’s hell train will be business as usual for them. All so they can get what they want.” 

Watching the fight, Irure yawned. Suddenly, a familiar presence disturbed the shinsu around her, making her open her eyes. A team emerged from the far elevator, but Irure only cared about one person on it, the floating woman with pink hair. Irure hovered close, making the woman perk up and turn in her direction. The smaller girl opened her mouth to speak, but the woman just pressed a finger to her lips and a message appeared on her pocket, reading, ‘You have questions. Get on the train and I may answer them.’ Irure narrowed her gaze, but a call from her teammates forced her to turn back. 

The next day came and the two teams got on a call to strategize. M informed, “W and I can take some of the group to the tournament and to protect the elevator from being damaged. We can’t get on the train because I’m banned from the 36th and 37th floor, so we’ll join you guys later.”

Sachi narrowed his gaze, “Why aren’t you allowed on those floors?”

W glared at M murderously through his mask, “ Yeah M, why aren’t you allowed on those floors? ”

M threw up her hands, “I was bored, alright? So I may have picked a few fights.”

W elaborated, “She picked fights with several test administrators, directors, and floor rulers. So now she’s not allowed on like 10 floors because of her, including the 20th floor, 36th floor, and 37th floor.”

While W took Rak, Boro, and Hana to the tournament, M directed Xia Xia and Bam’s teams through the same path as last time, finding Danhwa and Yura already on the way to the train. Cheonhwa and Bam sneak past one of the guardian’s attacks thanks to the guidance of M’s observer and Hwaryun’s path skills. Chasing after them, Danhwa decided to stay back, letting Yura run ahead. Cheonhwa yelled to Bam and Hwaryun, “You two go ahead, I’ll deal with him myself.”

Bam nodded, “Alright, be safe, mr. Knight!”

Danhwa raised his blade, “I guess it’s time to see which of us is really stronger.” Cheonhwa raised his own blade, nodding in agreement.  

Meanwhile, Ran and Moontari dodged around the guardian’s attack as Ran scowled, “Damn. I can’t find any weak spots.”

M ordered, “I have a plan. Can you three distract that idiot’s spears? When they do, Sachi, break down the door. When I give the signal, Beta you and I will attack the guardian in sync.”

Moontari snapped, “What do you know? Why would attacking the door work?”

Beta snapped, “Just do it! She knows what she’s doing!” Reluctantly, the three did as instructed, watching as the guardian charged up two spears. Aka activated his defensive shinsu, blocking one of the spears while Moontari and Ran worked together to block the other. Without hesitation, Sachi used the opening to activate his shadow vines, slipping them past the guardian and wrapping around the door, crushing it. 

Moontari snapped, “See! That didn’t do anything!”

M grinned, “Did it? Look again, moron.” The group’s eyes became fixated on their enemy, noticing it beginning to flicker.

Beta realized, “Of course! The device controlling his physical state was in the door!” He glanced at M, who nodded. In sync, she activated berserker mode as he activated his ignition in his feet. The two charged in a synchronized leap, hitting the guardian in the torso from either side. Beta grinned, igniting his fist, “This is the end!”

“Wrong.” Behind him, Ran leapt up, summoning a lightning spear and striking the guardian in the chest, killing it. 

Meanwhile, Cheonhwa’s and Danhwa’s blades met in the middle. Danhwa went to swipe out Cheonhwa’s legs, but he leapt up and kicked Danhwa in the stomach instead. Sliding back, Danhwa readjusted his blade and ignited it, going for a narrowed strike, but Cheonhwa dodged out of the way, “Is that the best you can do? Figures that you failed to control the ignited flames.” He ignited the green flames, going for a stab. The flames spiraled around the strike, splitting into three separate slashes that attacked Danhwa from all sides. Without waiting for a counter, Cheonhwa spun his blade, going for a diagonal upward slash, but Danhwa countered it with his own orange flames, The smoke cleared to reveal Cheonhwa charging in clos, knocking Danhwa’s blade out of his hands and sweeping the feet out from Danhwa in the same movement. Cheonhwa narrowed his gaze, pointing the tip to Danhwa’s throat, “I guess we can see which one of us is stronger.”

Danhwa’s fear faded into a smile, “You’ve gotten a lot stronger since I became a Regular, Cheonhwa.”

Cheonhwa kept his blade steady, “How do you think I’ve managed to get this far. I won’t be a burden on anyone anymore. Not our family, not my team. Unlike you, Danhwa.”

Danhwa scowled, moving in an instant. He grabbed the blade and yanked it aside, making Cheonhwa stumble and letting Danhwahop to his feet and kick Cheonhwa’s stomach. Stumbling slightly, he grabbed Krishna and raised it to a ready position. Danhwa declared, “Sorry, cousin. But I can’t let you get to Yura. I’m a knight just like you, so it’s my job to protect the woman I promised to.” He let out a series of diagonal slashes, but Cheonhwa sped around them and once again tried to disarm Danhwa. He smiled, “That won’t work this time!” But, to his surprise, Cheonhwa tossed his blade high into the air. 

Cheonhwa scowled, “Sorry, but I don’t only need my blade to fight like you.” He held out his palm, summoning a baang that struck Danhwa in the chest. Using Danhwa’s stumbling state, he sped around the taller man and knocked out his legs and kicked him in the back with the same move, creating a crater beneath them from the impact. Calmly, Cheonhwa caught Narumada with one hand, keeping his gaze on Danhwa. Cheonhwa declared, “It’s over, Danhwa. Why are you trying so hard for the girl you just met? A Ha can stand on her own even without you.”

Danhwa smiled, “I heard that there was a place where you could go back in time, Cheonhwa. Wouldn’t you like to go there? Go to a place like that?”

M and the two short boys stood over the body of the guardian. Suddenly, M perked up, glancing back to the elevator behind them, “They’re here!”

Prince frowned, “Aw man, it looks like you didn’t leave anything for us!”

Beta ordered, “We need to head towards the train!” The group ran to the stairs, only to see the entire bottom half being taken out. 

Aka scowled, “What the hell did that slayer kid and Daniel do?” His eyes settled on Cheonhwa, who stared up at the stairs nearby, “Hey kid! What happened here?”

Cheonhwa didn’t meet his gaze, “I’m not sure, I got here and this was already like that! Bam and the others were already gone when I got here.”

Beta summoned his wings, “Step aside. I’m going to join that fight.”

Ran walked up next to him, “I

Ll join you.”

Miseng summoned her observer, sending it into a gap between the floor and the stairs, “I’ll go ahead!”

“Kid! What are you-” Arkraptor began, surprised when Miseng shot up high into the air, landing on her observer and using it to leap up to the stairs. Like a blur, she sped up the stairs, Beta and Ran zooming beside her. 

Aka complimented, “They’re strong for kids.”

Prince admitted, “I-I didn’t know she could do that…”

Sachi lifted his wand, “Let’s head after them.” The gem of his wand glowed and the ground in the center of the spiralling steps broke apart, revealing giant orange vines. 

Meanwhile, Khun spotted Rachel’s group and stepped out, Wangnan and Ehwa behind him, “It took so long. What’s happening? Are you guys trying to leave without us?”

Rachel’s eyes widened, “Mr… Khun? How did you… get up here?” 

Khun slipped his hands in his pockets, “Well… I received a little tip from a few allis, so I wasn’t tricked into falling for your tournament trap. They told me how to find the true elevator to take me up to the train. It’s been a while, Rachel.”

Rachel scowled, “Mr. Khun… were you here from the start?”

Khun summoned his lighthouse, “Oh, I arrived a bit late. But I was expecting to be here this evening, so I was also early. Am I lucky or what? You seem to have opened the path to greet a VIP. But thanks to that, it was an easy trip for us to get here. Anyway, from here on, you’ve got to let us on that train as well. Of course, leaving all of you here.” 

Y smiled, “Get on the train, Ms. Yura, they’re mine!” Y shot out, but Wangnan summoned a bomb. He threw it towards Y, but she dodged with ease, “It won’t be that easy!” Desperately, Wangnan pulled out his needle, but Y summoned a water whip and wrapped it around the tip. Y chuckled, “Aw, is that all you got?”

Wangnan returned the smile, “I should be asking you that.” Y’s eyes widened behind the mask, feeling the shinsu around her bend. The bomb Wangnan threw switched directions and exploded, hitting Y’s back. 

Y scowled, kicking Wangnan in the side and summoning baangs around him. She yelled, “I’m a Ranker, sweetie! It won’t be that easy!” But, before the baangs could fire, orange flames surrounded Wangnan, destroying the baangs. 

Nearby, Yeon spoke up, “Yeah, but your power is severely limited, so we have a chance!” She went to fire another wave of flames, but a gust of wind came between them and put out her flames, catching her attention. The pink-haired woman in a similar mask floated over to them.

The woman frowned, “How annoying. I’ll punish you for ruining my sleep.” Ehwa’s hands erupted in flames, forming flaming spirals towards the woman, who solidified the shinsu around her, deflecting the attack. 

Wangnan called out to them, “Flamethrower!” He tried to charge towards Ehwa, but a water whip wrapped around his ankle and threw him into the wall of the elevator. At the last second, he broke free from the shinsu and flipped back onto his feet. Closing his eyes, he called out, Can you support me?

His ring hummed, Of course, my lord. The ring on his finger glowed, the glow spreading to the needle in his hand. Wangnan shot out his needle to stab, creating a bright red shock wave.Y’s smile remained fixed as she summoned a water barrier around her. But, to her surprise, the red and gold shinsu shattered her barrier and sliced off the tip of her blue ponytail. 

Y’s eyes widened, What the hell… is that shinsu? It’s like… his. Already? He shouldn’t know about that skill until at least C-Rank! She summoned waves of water from her staff, using the hurricane skill, but Wangnan grabbed a bomb with his free hand, countering the shinsu with his explosion and filling the area with smoke. In the same movement, Wangnan shot out towards Y, going for another stab. Y raised her staff, forming a water shield in front of it, “I won’t underestimate it this time!” The water wrapped around Wangnan’s needle, rippling like a wave before shattering and sending out a shockwave that threw Wangnan back. The needle clattered to the ground between them, the blade slightly damaged. Scowling, Wangnan summoned his inventory, but Y threw out her staff, creating a whip that split in two and wrapped around both his wrists. Y chuckled, “Now, now, what are you going to do?”

Meanwhile, Yeon and the woman kept exchanging blows, with Ehwa mostly on the offensive and the woman on the defensive. Ehwa called out, “Who are you? Why are you with FUG?”         

The woman raised her hand, “Let’s finish this.” A strong cyclone of wind shinsu shot out from her hand, splitting apart to wrap around Ehwa from all sides. She tried to summon her flames, but found herself only able to create smoke, not a single spark. 

Wangnan snapped, “Let me go, I’ll stop you!”

Y called back her whip, making Wangnan stumble a bit in surprise, “Alright, you could, but don’t you want to help her first?” The blondie paused, confused, before realization struck him. He spun around towards Ehwa, seeing her in glimpses between the winds. From what he could see, she was clawing at her throat, gasping for breath being ripped away from her. Choking, she fell to her knees, gasping desperately. 

Wangnan cried out, charging towards the winds without thinking, “Flamethrower!” He snatched up his needle and growled, throwing it with a blast towards the pink woman. The woman raised her other hand, pausing the needle midair with ease, but it did the trick. The tornado around Ehwa vanished, allowing Wangnan to catch her in his arms. Gaze softening, he asked, “Are you alright?” Ehwa didn’t reply, nothing more than an unconscious weight in his arms. 

Suddenly, all action on the platform stopped, all eyes settling on the new arrival. Bam reached the top of the steps and paused, seeing Rachel in his sights. The group watched in stunned silence as the two interacted. Meanwhile, the other trio arrived on the platform as Sachi’s vines reached up and hooked to the station. Sachi leapt off his vines and spotted Daniel, “Daniel you asshole. So you really were alive. Why are you allying with that demon? Are you really planning on bringing Roen back to life? Come back to your senses! Hoaqin is only using you for himself!”

Daniel scowled, “Sachi, so that must mean the others are here as well. Gross, I never wanted to see you cowards again. Don’t talk as if you know me. I don’t care if Hoaqin is using me. As long as Roen can come back. I don’t have any other choice, Sachi. I can’t live without her. Don’t pretend you all don’t feel the same. That’s why you roam around the train, because you miss her. As a ticket hunter, who kills those who approach the train. As a greedy king of Train City, who hunts comrades and challenges the train. As a guide leading newcomers to the train. Nothing but excuses! You just feel guilty, don’t deny it! The four of us are nothing but ghosts who haunt the train until she returns.” He began to summon his purple soul attack, but stopped upon the whole platform beginning to shake.

Beta stumbled, his wings dissipating behind him, “What the hell is happening? Complete one!” 

Miseng fell to her knees, “I-I can’t move! Bam!” The source of the tremor being a glaring Bam, with his thorn ignited behind him, growing with each passing second.

Bam growled, “ This is unacceptable. ” 

Y turned to Poe nearby, “Poe! Summon the navigator or we can’t get on the train!” Hesitantly, the pudgy man did so, allowing the FUG guys to gather towards the red bird. Angel and the pink woman hopped on, throwing Hwaryun on as well. Daniel turned away from Sachi to save Rachel. Sachi tried to stop him, but found himself struggling to move in the presence of the ignited thorn. They watched as Bam shot out and punched Daniel into the ground, completely pissed off. Wangnan felt trapped between trying to help and keeping the unconscious Ehwa in his arms.   

Watching the fight, Khun’s eyes settled on the tiny trio nearby. He called out, “Guys, I have a plan!” While Bam tried to stop Rachel and the FUG team, Khun pulled out his white heavenly mirror and trapped Miseng and Beta inside. Seeing Bam fall helplessly, passing out from the overwhelming power inside him, he leapt towards the FUG team with Ran’s help, throwing one last attack and grazing Rachel’s cheek. He smiled upon seeing the blade pierce the wall of the inner train car. Below him, he spotted Sachi using his own spell to create a platform of vines to catch Bam, resting him gently on the ground. Khun sighed, feeling helpless and defeated. Those bastards got away… again. 

Chapter Text

11

       After regathering in one of the residential rooms, Khun informed the others of the events that took place while Wangnan and Hana took the two unconscious Regulars to the bedrooms to sleep. Prince scowled, “Where’s that ignition boy and Miseng?”

Khun informed, “I threw them on the train. They’ll be watching Rachel’s team and messaging us whatever they find out. While we can’t contact them, they can contact us.” 

Goseng shot up, “You sent them on the train? What were you thinking? Miseng’s a child!” Horyang reached out, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Khun reminded, “Are you forgetting who she’ll become?”

M cleared her throat, “That doesn’t matter now, either of you. What matters now is what we do next.”

Hana entered the room, “U-Um! Excuse me…” 

Sachi perked up, “Ah, it’s the singer girl. What is it?”

Hana stepped aside, revealing Danhwa standing there, declaring, “Please, take me with you on to the train.”

Boro immediately went to shoot him down, but Cheonhwa beat him to it, “Fine. On one condition, you get your own ticket first.”

Hana wrung her hands together, “Um, about that, you can have my ticket, Mr. Swordsman. I-I can’t handle the hell train. Not like this.” She handed him her ticket and took her leave. 

Meanwhile, Aka scowled, “Is it true Sachi? Did you really see him?”

Sachi frowned, “Yeah… he’s using a strange new power. Something big must have happened since that day.”

Boro questioned, “So what do we do now? To be honest, I didn’t believe that blond guy at first. But now that it’s really happening?” 

Aka declared, “We don’t have a choice, do we? It’s our job to snap that idiot out of his trance and back to reality.”

Sachi agreed, “I hate you guys, but this is our job, no one else’s. We have to beat that asshole and make Daniel realize what he’s really doing to himself.”

While the others discussed their plans moving forward, Wangnan sat in another room, staring down at Ehwa’s unconscious body. He buried his face in his hands, “Dammit… Flamethrower was right there and I couldn’t do anything to help her. And now Miseng’s on the train because I couldn’t move to help.”

“Feeling self-deprecating again?” Standing in the door frame was none other than W. He walked in and rested a hand gently on Ehwa’s forehead, “She’s warm, that’s good. It means her inner flame is returning. Those winds must have just choked them for a moment. That’s gonna be a pain on the train.”

Softly, Wangnan began, “I’m-”

W continued, “You better start working on your shinsu control. The ring can only balance your strength, so it can only help you so often. To be dependent on it will be your weakness. You should work on your orb after I leave. It’ll take you a while, but you should at least be able to manage a weak one by the time you make it to the 37th floor.”

“You’re… not mad that I failed? That Ehwa’s in this state?” 

“You’re a lot stronger than I was. Maybe you’ll be able to protect them.” Wangnan fell silent, seeing the soft look W managed to produce despite the mask covering his face.

Miseng reached down and picked up the dagger, “Hehe, that Khun really took a gamble huh?”

Beta nodded, “Risky move. He’s my style.”

“Let’s go.”

A month has passed since that day. W and M took their leave, saying they’ll get on the train on a later day. M gave Ehwa her teleportation orb and told the Yeon girl to, “Use it when the time is right.” The team made their way past the next two floors.

During that time, Jinsung tried to head towards Bam’s team to stop them, but H and E appeared on his ship. E held up her hand, “I don’t think so, Jinsung.”

Jinsung narrowed his gaze, “You know who’s on the train, don’t you? The slayer White. Viole won’t be able to-”

E countered, “If Viole can’t handle someone as weak as White, how do you expect him to take on the ten great families and Jahad? Can’t you trust me? Viole needs a challenge like White. Besides, it’s not like we don’t have our own hand in this game.”

Jinsung narrowed his gaze, “What’s your plan?”

E elaborated, “W and M are going to make their ways on the train. Not to mention that they’ve gathered a team of Regulars that had proven themselves capable of sealing up Hoaqin before. Besides, Karaka plans on making a deal with White and no longer plans on attacking Viole himself. Anyways, shouldn’t you have faith in Viole? He wasn’t given the title of slayer candidate for nothing.”

Jinsung walked past E and H, “I’ll believe you about this. But I swear if Viole dies on the hell train, I’ll be taking both of your lives as well.” H glanced at the taller man through his mask, eyes narrowed with fury behind them.

Finally the day came for the train to arrive at the 37th floor station. Emily sent out another warning, declaring that anyone who arrives at the 37th station would be destined to die by the hands of a FUG slayer. Because of that, almost everyone evacuated the station except for Boro’s team. That is, except for one girl. Irure floated out of where her team was staying. Behind her, a chubby girl emerged, calling out, “Irure! Where do you think you’re going at this time of night?”

Irure declared, “I’m going to the hell train, Bero. I’ll meet the others at the last station.”

“Are you stupid? Did you not see the warning from Emily? If you go there-”

“-I’ll die. That’s fine. I can handle myself, Bero. just carry our team up. I have to get on the train here. There’s… someone on the train I have to meet no matter what.” 

Frustrated, Bero sighed, “There’s no changing your mind, is there? Fine, then let’s go. I’ll leave a message for the others when they wake up.”

“Bero, I insist I go alone.”

“Don’t be caring now! Like hell I’ll let you die alone!”

“No… you’ll just be in the way.”

“Shut up Irure.”

On the train, a few hours before it arrived at the station, Miseng peered through her observer at Hwaryun, “Please hang in there, Ms. Hwaryun! We’ll save you soon!”

Beta threw up his hands, “You’ve been saying that girl, but what’s the plan? Why don’t I just charge in and take them out?” 

Miseng retorted, “Are you stupid? You may be able to take some of them but not the Rankers! Do you want to die? We don’t have a chance, we have to just tail them and take them out before they awaken that Hoaqin guy.” But why is she not trying to escape? Is it really like what M told me? Can Hwaryun not escape because she can’t see paths on the train? They watched as the group reached a door with a puzzle and used Hwaryun to solve it and slip into the next car. Without thinking, Miseng charged out, “Now’s our chance!” Beta chased after her, but the door closed in their faces.

“Dammit! That’s it, I’m breaking down this stupid door!” Beta stepped forward, beginning to ignite his body.

But, once again, Miseng spoke up as the voice of reason, “Is violence really the only answer in your mind? Give me a minute and I can solve it.” Reluctantly, Beta grumbled and powered down, crossing his arms and stepping back. A few minutes later, Miseng solved the puzzle, but her observer alerted her to another presence before she could open the door. Miseng narrowed her gaze and turned to Beta, “We’re too late. I have a plan, though.” 

On the other side, Hoaqin pushed open the door to see Miseng and Beta standing there on the other side. Hwaryun called out, “Beta! Attack him, you can’t be captured!” Beta immediately ignited her fist, but Hoaqin moved first. He threw down his blade, only to find his strike passing through the other boy uselessly. 

He blinked, “What? How-” His question was answered by a pink observer hovering nearby, zooming around the corner. 

Daniel shot out, Angel flying next to him, “Dammit, they’re getting away!” Angel moved faster, zooming around the corner to see a greenish yellow blur zoom off into the distance. The group tried to chase the duo, but after a few minutes the path changed, allowing the smaller Regulars to escape.

Jumping off Beta’s back, Miseng stumbled against a train car wall, “Thank goodness… we escaped. I’m glad I’ve trained my hologram skills so much.”

Beta nodded, “Not bad observer skills, little girl.”

“Hey I’m the same size as you!”

Beta reminded, “Yeah, but I'm friends with your older self, so you’re just the baby version to me. Anyways, what’s the plan now? I hate just running like a coward like this. I wanna kick those bastards’ asses.”

Just then, a voice called out, “Hoaqin? Vincente? Is that you?” A girl in white and pink walked towards them, clutching a stuffed rabbit in her hands. She blinked, “Who… are you? My name is Anna Arie, Hoaqin’s younger sister. Can either of you help me find my big brothers?” 

Meanwhile, said boy began to walk out onto the station, smiling, “Oh. It has been long since I felt the fresh air.”

Before he could even take a step, Daniel grabbed him, “Hey! Hoaqin! Where do you think you’re going? Come back! Get back in here!” He yanked the white man back inside before he could see the empty station. Daniel hissed, “Did you already forget? The contract you made with the administrator? The contract is valid only within the train, so you can’t leave. So get your ass back in!” As the door slammed behind him, Daniel snapped, “Do you even have a brain? You can’t just get out of here as you please!”

Hoaqin scoffed, “Hmph. Why do I need your permission to get out?”

“Because you’re bound to the train with the contract!”

Another voice spoke up, “Oh Hoaqin, you don’t even want to head out there anyways.” From down the hall, Y approached. She waved, “Did you not see outside, there’s no good souls out there, just a few pathetic Regulars and worse, those trashy new D-class Regulars and Boro’s group.”

Hoaqin scowled, rage of previous failures boiling in his blood, “Did you say Boro?” He turned back to the door, “That’s it, I’m gonna kick that asshole’s ass!” Before either of the other two could stop him, he stepped out and called out, “Boro, you asshole! I know you’re out here! Show yourselves, you cowards!” 

Sachi scowled, “So much for that plan.”

Bero commented, watching nearby, “Who’s that? Is that the FUG guy Emily talked about?” Irure didn’t reply.

She noticed, The woman’s not here. She must be on the train. Irure ordered, “When the others are causing their chaos, we’ll run onto the train, alright, Bero?” Hesitantly, Bero nodded in understanding. 

Aka scowled, “Guess we don’t have that much of a choice. Let’s go.” Their group charged out towards the train at the same time as Bero’s duo. 

Spotting Boro, Hoaqin boomed, “There you are! I’ll kill you, son of a bitch!” To their surprise, an electric strike came from above the train, keeping them from fighting and stopping the train in place. Moments later, Bam’s team appeared. Y watched the fight between the two groups, deciding to stay out of it. The conflict, she noted, proceeded surprisingly similar to the first time around, until the conductor summoned their two groups to his chamber. 

Surprised, Wangnan and his team found themselves watching the interaction from a cage high above. While the others tried to find a way out, Ehwa realized, “Wait, the gift M gave me!” She pulled out the orb and beckoned Wangnan over. They waited until the conflict below reached its peak before they touched the orb in sync. A small light surrounded them and they teleported into a hall. Ehwa glanced around, slipping the orb away, “Where are we? A car on the train?”

Wangnan started running, “Who knows? But if we are, we need to find Miseng and Beta! Let’s go!” 

Suddenly, a voice spoke up behind them, “Hey- you two, running wild and appearing from nowhere. I’m lost because it’s been so long since I’ve been out. Could you lead the way for me? I will give you the honor to help me out.” 

Wangnan paused, “Are you… Hoaqin?”

The boy closed his book, “No, but you do know the other me. That’s good. I was also looking for him. Can you lead me to him? He’s probably looking for me anyway.”

Ehwa opened her mouth, but Wangnan beat her to it, “Actually, are you Vicente? We heard about you. Of course we’ll lead you to Hoaqin!”

Vicente blinked, “How do you know the truth about us? Are you a friend of M?”

“You know M?”

Vicente nodded, “Yes, she came to visit me before the train arrived at Train City this year. She let me out and told me about Hoaqin. If you’re friends with her, then you can be my allies as well. Do you have any snacks, by the way?” Surprised, Ehwa pulled out a bag of chips and handed it to him.

Watching him walk off, Ehwa blinked, “M knows these guys?”

Wangnan shrugged, “She said she knew about a lot of secrets in the tower. And, actually, it was W who told me. I’m guessing because he went through this all before, so he knows about their stories.”

Ehwa shivered, “Kind of freaky that their your and Miseng’s future selves.” 

Wangnan waved her off, “Not important. Let’s follow this guy and figure out some sort of plan in case he ends up meeting Hoaqin.”

Ehwa nodded, encouraged by the determined rare and calculative glimmer in her partner’s eyes, “Alright.”    

Meanwhile, Daniel’s group watched Hoaqin freak out and yell at nothing in pure rage, no one daring to speak to the stronger man. Y glanced over at Daniel, who appeared slightly more bothered than the others, “Hey, boy. What’s bothering you? Did seeing the others upset you that much?”

Daniel scowled, “Yeah, seeing such trash on my eyes fucking burned.”

Y shook her head, “No. You weren’t upset to see them, you were upset that they were all together.” Daniel didn’t speak, which told her everything she needed to know. She continued, “You know, I was wondering something. What would you even tell Roen if she were to come back?”

“When she comes back. I won’t fail.”

“Sure, sure. But I mean, if you’re going to bring Roen back using Hoaqin, isn’t that disgracing her sacrifice? Plus, you’re betraying the friends that she valued so much. And even using the same magic as Hoaqin, won’t you just scare her away?”

“I don’t care what she thinks, as long as she’s alive again.” In spite of his words, he scowled, eyes going dark. 

Somewhere on the train, Rak, Bero, and Irure looked at the approaching trio from Rachel’s team. I lead Angel and Elliot towards the group, yawning. Rak glanced at them, “What are these turtles? For some reason, they don’t seem to be on our side.” 

Elliot scowled, “It’s a shame. Cause that’s also what I was thinking, crocodile.”

Immediately, that stirred a reaction out of Rak, “I am not a crocodile! I’m Rak Wraithraiser!” Elliot shot out a wind blast, but Rak leapt out of the way with ease. Elliot clenched his spear to fire another tornado, but Rak charged his spear and sent it towards Elliot.

Angel approached Bero, “It doesn’t seem fun just to watch, want to play with me, fatso?”

Bero spun around to face her, “You’ll be sorry!” 

While the two groups fought, Irure just remained hovering in place, eyes opening to the older woman, “You… You’re an older me, aren’t you? Why did you come to the past? Why… did you want to talk to me?”

The older woman yawned, “It’s simple, really? You want to climb the tower to satisfy our family’s goal, no?” A nod. I lifted her hand, “Very well, then I must stop you here. There is no joy at the end of this road you travel. So I shall send us down a different one. Save us some pain later.” A small wind baang formed in her palm, turning into a cyclone that shot out, tearing up the ground and throwing the Regulars high into the air. In her other hand, another tornado formed, the winds taking ona  sharper form that shot out towards Bero and Rak, slicing up their clothes and cutting their skin. Pissed, Irure summoned a cyclone of her own, her winds not being nearly strong enough to phase the Ranker, but enough to break her focus to drop the Regulars. 

Nearby, a voice spoke, “Hey, you guys. Do you have any idea how stupid it is to fight so loudly on this dangerous train?” 

I sighed as Irure tried to send out another vibrating wave of winds towards her, but I negated it immediately, “Shush, this must play out as it had before. Looks like our conflict will have to wait for another day.” And, in fact, it did play out almost exactly the same as she remembered, at least until the fighting started again with Vicente and Hoaqin being the instigators. 

Bero turned to irure, “Damn, this is too much! What do we do, Irure?”

Irure opened her eyes, “They are our enemies. Absolutely.” With that, they broke out fighting again, but were stopped by the aftershock of the Arie brothers’ blades. 

The fight continued for several minutes until I cut in, creating a wave of winds that broke up their fight. Hoaqin spun around to her, “Hey! Are you betraying me? What the hell are you doing?”

I yawned, “The two of you are on equal footing, Hoaqin. Fighting now would be nothing more than a waste of energy until you retrieve another clone. And you know this, whether you want to admit it or not.”

Angel snapped, “So what? Do we let them go? Why the hell would we do that?”

I opened her eyes, “Because that is the wisest move. The only real threat here is Vicente, which I already said cannot be taken care of at this moment.”

Daniel, seeing his chance to delay Hoaqin’s reformation, spoke up, “Besides, Hoaqin. Wouldn’t it be better to beat Vicente at the game, where the conductor and Karaka will be watching? They’ll get a proper display of your power and who they made an enemy of.”

Debating his choices, Hoaqin smiled, “Alright. That sounds much more to my liking. Alright! Vicente, just you wait, I’ll make you pay when the time is right! You’ll see what it means to be the center!”

Vicente raised his blade, “Bold of you to assume I’d let you leave.”

Ehwa suggested, “U-Um, Mr. Vicente, wouldn’t the same be for you? Since you’re on equal levels, it would be better to gain more siblings to fuse with or not fuse with Hoaqin?”

Vicente sighed, putting away his sword, “I suppose you have a point.”

As the others walked past her, I waved, “I suppose we’ll have to pick up this matter a month from now.”

Once they left, Ehwa let out a breath, “That’s a relief.”

Vicente spoke, “I admit that picking a fight without a plan was reckless of me. I’ll help you guys pass through the game until I can face Hoaqin. So fill me in on the situation, blondie. And don’t leave out any details.”

Somewhere else, Y asked, “Hoaqin, sir. Why did you let Vicente go? You had one of your clones right there!”

Hoaqin smiled, “Isn’t it obvious? I want to give those fools a false sense of hope. Let them think they’ll be strong enough after a month. That’ll make them tastier when they’re utterly defeated.” 

Rachel smiled sickly, “Alright, I trust your knowledge, Hoaqin, sir! We should find the other siblings to truly remove their chances of victory.”

Daniel scowled, That was close. Perhaps working with Hoaqin won’t be as good of an idea as I thought. This is riskier than I originally planned. 

Somewhere else, Miseng watched Anna play with her doll, snacking on some candy miseng gave her moments before. Beta scowled nearby, “Dammit, I agreed to fighting, not babysitting.”

Miseng scolded, “Beta she’s probably older than both of us. It’s not babysitting, it’s an alliance to find Vicente. Wangnan messaged me that they found her older brother and made him their ally, so we just need them to meet.”

Beta threw up his arms, “But when do I get to kick FUGs ass?” Silence.

Softly, Miseng asked, “Hey… Beta? Why are you so against those FUG guys? And why are you so close with older me?”

Beta rolled his eyes, “I don’t see how it’s any of your business. But whatever. If you wanna know, FUG tried to control me using Emily by lying about my experiments to try and hurt the complete one. So I wanna hunt them down to kick their asses. As for my friendship with M, it’s because she showed me genuine kindness. As well as convinced me the truth about FUG before I could do something I couldn’t take back. I may not be a pathetic normal person like you, but even I can show respect where it is deserved.” He crossed his arms, “Alright, your turn. I heard that you’re climbing the tower to find your parents.”

Miseng nodded, “Yeah, what about it?”

Beta scoffed, “I know that’s bullshit. You wanna tell me the truth or should I spell it out for you?” Miseng paused, stepping back in shock. Nearby, Anna looked up from her rabbit, confused and intrigued in the conversation. 

Reluctantly, Miseng forced a smile, “...Alright. You got me. I know my parents are dead. I’m not climbing to find them, I’m climbing to find out who they were. They died when I was little, and I have a feeling that they weren’t an average couple. I mean, look at my shinsu quality! But don’t tell the others, I think they would hate me if they found out I lied to them.”

Once again, Beta couldn’t help but scoff at the worry and fear in the smaller girl’s eyes, “Seriously? I think a lot of your teammates have a fair share of secrets. Take that undying kid you call your leader. Or the complete one. Or your own cousin, wouldn’t she know something? And you even have a Yeon, those bastards from the ten families are known for their endless secrets. So stop being a stupid child and running from everything.”

Miseng stomped her foot, “I’m not running! I just don’t charge everything head on!”

Beta threw up his hands, “You don’t charge anything head on! You run like the baby you are! If you weren’t, why would you run from Hoaqin and get us involved in this whole stupid game! Why would you insist on hiding that brat,” he gestured to Anna, “instead of taking her to find the others? You’re. A. Coward.” 

Anna spoke up, looking into the darkness of the train car, “Someone’s coming.” Without hesitation, the other two jumped to a defensive mode. Beta ignited his fists and M summoned her observer to her side while raising her own fists at the ready. From the shadows, a hooded man emerged.

The man removed his hood, revealing Daniel, who spotted the knife peeking out of Miseng’s pocket, “Hey little girl, I have an offer for you. That is, if you’re up to it.”

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the train, Yuri snapped, “Ah… shit! Why is the passage so confusing here? It keeps changing so I can’t tell which way is which!” She spun around to the two new figures she picked up in her group, “You two! We got on the way you told us to! Now show us how to get to Bam!”

M smiled and leaned on the handle of her umbrella, “Now, now, princess Yuri, you must have patience on the hell train. Unfortunately, I know many secrets about this train, but even I don’t know every path.”

W offered, crossing his arms, “Why don’t we visit Pedro, the conductor? Surely he’d know the locations of his own passengers, right?”

Yuri scoffed, turning to Evan, “What do you think, Evan? I’m not just paying you to just tag along.”

Evan shrugged, “That seems like a good idea, princess.” Satisfied, Yuri followed after W towards the conductor’s car while M and Evan tailed behind. Once the space between them became wide enough, he glanced at the short girl, “What are the two of you hiding?”

M smiled with a false sense of innocence, “Things look like it’ll be interesting on the train this year, won’t it?”  

Ten days later, a week before the game, the conductor watched his passengers with a sigh, “Sir Karaka…” 

Pedro had called Karaka, informing, “Sir Karaka, I have caught word that Jue Viole Grace has figured out FUG’s plans for the train this year. It’s likely due to the assistance of E and H. This could be beneficial to us, I can ensure both he and the slayer White are eliminated and the Irregular’s body and the thorn can become yours, milord.”

To his surprise, Karaka’s stern voice cut in, an almost hiss to it, “No. Jue Viole Grace has proven himself at the workshop battle. Also, I have received word from E and H that there is little chance that the thorn would work with anyone except Viole, especially in this state. You may do what you want with the slayer White, but leave Viole and his companions alone. In case you need a reminder, E and H are both stronger than you alone, and they have equally powerful allies backing them up.” 

Pedro quirked a brow, knowing that Karaka couldn’t see it, “Are you… sacred, perchance? There’s no need to worry, milord.”

“I am not scared. I am being logical in my planning. I do not want to make unnecessary sacrifices and enemies that could keep us from our goal.” 

Pedro closed his eyes, Milord… I apologize for going against your orders for this. But you will see that it’s for the better when I deliver Jue Viole Grace’s body to you. 

Behind him, Yuri stepped out of the shadows, “Excuse me, do you happen to know where the slayer candidate Jue Viole Grace is? I wanted to lay my eyes on the newest slayer myself.”

Moments before getting on the train, M sighed, “Before we head on the train, there’s something you should know about Bam. We don’t want you to be surprised and it could even help you get away with following Bam onto the train.”

Yuri crossed her arms, “That would make things easier if I don’t have to admit my relationship with an Irregular to the conductor. What is it? What’s with Bam?”

W cleared his throat, “Have you heard of the slayer candidate named Jue Viole Grace? He caught the public eye with his fight on the 20th floor, but vanished after the workshop battle. Tell me, what reason would FUG have to give such a title to a mere Regular? It is a big deal.”

The realization hit Evan first, causing him to blurt out, “You mean that little punk became a slayer candidate for FUG?”

M chirped, clutching her umbrella against the bottom of her back, “Not of his own free will, we can assure you that. But you should ask him in person for the details. Anyway, you can now ask about Bam’s location freely, using his title as a slayer candidate as an excuse.”

W suggested, “You just say as I tell you…”

Yuri grinned, “When I heard word of a slayer candidate making waves against even Rankers, I just had to check it out. It’s not everyday that a slayer gets chosen from the Regulars before even reaching the 20th floor, is it? My friends behind me are here to back me up if I determine he is too much of a threat to leave him alive. And I heard he was on the train thanks to information from my dear little sister, so here I am. So, where is he?”

Pedro hesitated, “So… you’re looking for the Regular Jue Viole Grace. I suppose that is to be expected of the royal family. This is awkward… Although I understand your reason for your arrival, this train is a Regular-only area. I do not know how you got on this train, but interfering with Regulars’ affairs is against the rules of the tower.”

Evan opened his mouth to reply, but W cut him off, stepping towards the conductor boldly, “Is that so? Well then, how do you explain your little game for the title of slayer candidate that is supposed to take place in one week's time? Since you, a Ranker, have proposed this, I feel like that is considered a Ranker interfering with Regular business, don’t you?”  

Pedro narrowed his gaze, “How do you know about that?”

W smiled, “Are you forgetting? While the outside cannot contact those on the train, that isn’t the case for the reverse. The very hostages you hold high above us contacted me and filled us in on the situation.”

High above them, Prince blinked, “Did any of us actually do that?”

Goseng hissed, “He’s lying, moron.”

Pedro narrowed his gaze, So they have connections to Jue Viole Grace’s teammates yet they come here under the claim of eliminating him? It isn’t uncommon for a betrayal to happen, especially between Rankers and Regulars, but something about this doesn’t feel right. A rash decision of mine may bring the worst result. Then, for now, I have no choice but to include this variation into the plan as well. Pedro admitted, “You are correct, I admit to having some interference in the Regulars’ situation. As such, I will not kick you off the train and allow you to watch the game when it takes place. But you can’t interfere with the match.”

Yuri assured, “What? Really? Of course I won’t interfere! I’m just-” an elbow in the chest from W snapped her back into character, “- I’m here just to assess his current threat level is all. If I were to kill him, it wouldn’t be out in the open like this. That would be too messy and annoying.” 

M bowed, “Thank you for your hospitality. May we have a place to stay?”

Pedro nodded, “Of course. I will prepare a place for the four of you to stay.” For some reason, that masked duo bothers me more than the princess. They feel like they shouldn’t even belong here, yet I can’t figure out why. 

A week later, the time came for the game to begin. Hoaqin’s team made it to the arena first. From another direction, Wangnan’s group emerged, looking over the area. Ehwa noted, “Miseng and Beta aren’t here yet…”

On cue, a bright green blue shot down from an opening above. The blur cleared to reveal Beta carrying Anna and Miseng, setting them down next to Wangnan. Miseng let out a breath of relief, falling to her knees, “Oh thank god, we made it.”

Vicente blinked, “Anna? So you allied with them?”

Anna perked up, “Vicente? So they were telling the truth after all. Don’t worry, I want you as our center more than Hoaqin. You actually care about the rest of us.”

Vicente, somehow, managed a smile on his cold lips, patting her head, “Good girl, Anna. I’m relieved you chose to side with me.” A minute later, Bam’s team arrived in a bright cloud of smoke.

In their room, Yuri perked up, “It really is him. So you two were telling the truth after all!”

Evan tightened his grip on the straps of his bag, “So he is really strong enough to be a slayer candidate now? That’s insane.”

M smirked, crossing her arms, “I’m surprised you couldn’t guess that, Evan. Even setting aside your guide status, Bam was still an Irregular. The tower doesn’t open for just anyone, after all. It wouldn’t make sense if he remained as pathetic and weak as he was when you first met him.”

Evan, once again, shot her a sideways glance, “You two know something about this, don’t you? Just what are you hiding?” M didn’t respond, but her silence and unfazed smile told him everything he needed to know.

Yuri couldn’t pay attention, too lost in her own shocked thoughts of seeing Bam alive. W could tell, watching her face light up like a Christmas tree. Part of him longed to join in the match, knowing the fate of the game already. But a bigger part told him to stay watching, for interference could just lead to a worse outcome. Besides, he could get all the satisfaction he needed by just giving Yuri the relief of finding Bam. Her face paralleled his own when he first set sights on his team again- a feeling of coming home. 

Pedro spoke up, “You seem very familiar with Viole for seemingly only seeing him for the first time, princess. Are you acquaintances with your enemy, princess Yuri Jahad?”

Hesitantly, Yuri lied, “W-What? Of course not! How could I be? I’m just so excited because W and M here talked about him so highly I wanted to see what was exaggeration and what was actually true!” 

After the groups reunited and Poe explained the rules, Poe added one final rule, “Ah, one final thing before we start the sweetfish game. Jue Viole Grace, since you are the only one with hostages, if you win this game, you can also get one of the hostages to join your team and receive a portion of the winning 15 dallars. Now, let the game begin.”

Back in the conductor’s room, Yuri clenched her fists, “Well, now that we found Bam, why don’t we just go to him?”

Evan grabbed her arm, “What? Princess, we’re still inside the train!” He turned towards Pedro, murmuring loud enough for only her to hear, “Looks like M told me the truth. He’s FUG, a servant of the slayer Karaka. My guess is those two know how to get to Bam, so they must be choosing to stay here for a reason. We can’t act rashly or we might make things worse for Bam.”

W called out, “Pedro, the death’s eye. I hear from my teammates that you act outside of your master, Karaka’s orders. As we said, we will not interfere in this match. However, in return, if Viole is declared the victor of the match, we wish for you to follow our orders when doing your job on the train. In reality, my partner has spent the last week mapping out the route to get to the arena in which the game takes place, so we will interfere if you do not accept.”

Pedro narrowed his gaze, but relented, “Fine… but if Viole loses, I would like the two of you to answer some questions of mine. Also, I would like princess Yuri’s life.”

Yuri smirked, putting a hand on her hip, “Alright, fine. If you can beat me, that is. I’ll even give you the advantage and not use my weapons if Bam loses.”

Evan snapped, “Princess! Don’t be so rash!”

Yuri chopped him in the head, “Shut up, Evan. I know what I’m doing. In all honesty, I would rather take your life if Bam wins, conductor. But I learned that not all of FUG is pure evil, and understandable instead.”

M smugly grinned up at W, “Wow, talk about subtly. Are you even trying to be secretive anymore?”

W rolled his eyes under his mask and chopped at the back of her neck, “Shut the fuck up. You’re not that much better.” 

Bero closed her eyes, thinking to what Irure told her before she came down. Irure instructed, “Hey Bero, try to fight the guy with the spear. Leave that blond girl to the Khun boy. I can sense that the two have some unfinished business with one another, so it would be better to leave them alone.”

Bero sucked on her lollipop, Dammit Irure, this is why I didn’t want to ride this stupid train. But whatever, I’ll stay out of their drama. She pointed a finger at Elliot, “Hey! Spear guy! Your fight is with me!” Before the other man could respond, she started to pummel him with punches, forcing him to go on the defenses. 

Khun quirked a brow, “Well, that was interesting. I suppose she realized that it would be better if this game was between the two of us, Rachel.” He glanced down at the fish in the water, a plan coming to the surface. He glanced back up at her, a glimmer of anger flickering over his gaze, “Will you try first? It’s nothing much. Frankly speaking, it doesn’t make sense for us to play this without giving you any advantage. Of course I will win this game, but I’ll give you a chance since it seems too easy for me. Cause somehow, I have a feeling that you won’t be able to get it even if I give you the chance. Honestly, when the others decided to leave you on the third floor, I almost disagreed. I wanted to be the one to carry you up the tower.”

Rachel narrowed her gaze, “Is that a joke? There’s no way you’re serious.”

Khun stuffed his hands in his pockets, his classic smirk on his lips, “Nope, completely serious. See, I wanted to carry you up the tower… to kill you on the floor before reaching the top. Little did I know that leaving you would let you get such… powerful … friends. But, upon seeing your group and learning some new information, I’ve learned something. You can’t do anything on your own. You don’t even know how to walk tall and proud on your own. That’s why you never came to face us, why you pretended to be disabled. Your two legs are so lousy and weak that you need to take any help you can get just to keep going. You can’t even catch that small sweetfish in a water tank on your own for sure. Because you are… so incompetant to that point.”

Meanwhile, Bero kept trying to hit at Elliot, who surprisingly struggled to handle her punches. He smiled sickeningly, Dammit, her punches are annoying for someone who seems so weak and pathetic. Yet, I can tell that she’s not trying to kill me, she’s just buying time. But why? What could be happening with that Khun boy and Rachel?

Rachel scoffed, summoning her lighthouses, “What a joke. I understand how much you look down on me. But let me show you clearly. I’ll show you that I’m not as useless as you think.” She sent out her lighthouses, causing the sweetfish to launch high into the air. As it fell towards her, she held out her hand, “Now I can catch a chance with my own strength… only if… it comes to me… I can easily… take it with my own hands!”

Khun narrowed his gaze, “No, you can’t. Because that sweetfish is… too big… for you to catch.” On cue, the sweetfish increased in size, shooting towards Rachel with its sharp teeth peeking out. Desperately, she tried to stop the attack, but Khun’s lighthouses beat her to it. They formed a barrier and forced the sweetfish to return to its original size, falling into Khun’s waiting hand. He smiled, “I told you. You can’t catch it. Never in the future as well- you won’t be able to have anything in your hands. Because… whatever you try to get… I will take them all from you.” Above them, Poe announced Khun the winner. 

As Khun returned to Bam’s group, Poe announced, “As per the rules, since Viole’s team won, his team will be rewarded 15 dollars from the losing team. He will also get a teammate from the hostages that we have chosen. On cue, a bright light formed next to Bam’s group and Arkraptor appeared, stumbling and falling to his knees.

From their group, Wangnan, Ehwa, and Miseng called out, “Arkraptor!”

Arkraptor assured, “I’m alright! That was just sudden!” 

Bam ran over to him, “Mr. Arkraptor, how are the others?”

Arkraptor explained, “They’re fine. Apparently W and M warned Quaetro and Chang about the hostage situation so they brought plenty of stuff to do. Pedro’s been feeding us, so we were just more worried about you guys, Viole. How are you doing?”

Bam let out a breath, “Much better now that I know you guys are all fine.”  

As the teams took a twenty minute break for them to set up the next game, Bam spent the time filling Arkraptor in on the situation so far. Afterwards, Arkraptor apologized, “Sorry, you’re in this situation because of us. And now you got me instead of someone stronger like the teddy bear or Chang.”

Bam assured, “It’s alright! I heard that Hoaqin was strong, so this game could give me a better chance, anyway. Besides, even though Chang is strong, I would much rather have an ally I can trust like you.” 

In Wangnan’s group, Vicente and Anna were talking, Irure was looking over Bero’s exhausted condition, and the sweet and sour trio were gathered in a circle and chatting. Wangnan let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, “I was so worried about the others, but seeing Arkraptor means there’s a good chance that the others are alright as well.”

Ehwa nodded, “We just have to keep playing along until the time arrives.”

Miseng blinked, “What are you two talking about? Playing along?”

Playfully, Wangnan winked, “You’ll see.” 

Meanwhile, in the cage, Prince shouted, “Dammit, save us! We want to get out of here! Why did that foil head get to leave instead of me? I’ve been locked in here for a month! It’s driving me crazy!”

Goseng snapped, “Prince, freaking out won’t change anything.”

Prince ignored her, “Set us free! I want to have some time of my own! Where’s the human rights for a boy in puberty?” 

Goseng glanced over at the others, “What do we do? Prince completely lost it.”

Change waved his hand, not looking up from his cards, “Leave him. She has yet to make an appearance, so it’s not time to act yet.” 

Horyang wondered, “I wonder where Arkraptor went. Maybe he’s with Viole now.” 

Prince grabbed the bars of the cage, “Shit… What’s going on with Viole and the other guys?” 

Soon the time came for the next round of the game. Poe explained the stage and the game thoroughly, before he sent the teams into the stage in separate teams. In their pipe, Miseng glanced between her teammates, Vicente and Wangnan. Gulping, she tightened her grip on the white heavenly mirror in her hand. Miseng waved to Vicente sheepishly, “So… you’re Vicente, right?”

Vicente closed his book, slipping it under his arm, “There’s no need to explain. Blonde over here filled me in a couple days ago on the plan.” 

Miseng nodded, looking back ahead of her, “Alright, then let’s go, Mr. Vicente.”  

Meanwhile, with Bam’s team (him, Monntari, and Arkraptor), Moontari glanced over at Arkraptor, “So you’re part of that team that was late, right? What’s your position?”

Arkraptor nodded, “I am. The name’s Arkraptor. I’m a spear bearer.”

“Moontari. You know, I was wondering something.”

Arkraptor paused, “What is it?”

Moontari looked over Arkraptor, as if searching for something in specific, “...Nothing. Nevermind.” Weird… his presence is completely ordinary. What the hell is he doing with such powerful teammates like Jue Viole Grace, a Yeon, that powerful child and a blondie who apparently can’t die? Does he even know how powerful his teammates are compared to him? Moontari lingered back, watching Bam and Arkraptor exchange casual conversation. He sighed, frustrated, “Whatever, I guess some people just don’t care. I can’t be bothered to call them out about how they choose their teammates anyway. I just wanna find and help Sir Aka.”   

Ahead of him, Arkraptor noted, “It’ll be a problem if we run into Hoaqin. We’re too short on dallars to even manipulate a door if we had to.”

Bam agreed, “Yeah, we are short. At this rate, the chances will be against us. If the enemies find a way to get to the sweetfish team and block the path, it will be hard for us to join them. We ,ust meet our comrades before we get taken down. Even if it’s not much, it will make us more powerful if we gather all of our dallars.” 

In their chamber, Beta scoffed, looking at Anna, “Great, I’m stuck with you. Hey, can you even sense your brothers?”

Anna yawned, “I don’t like you either. You’re just as freaky as me. But I’ll take us to Hoaqin since Vicente wants me to help him.” She brushed past his shoulder with surprising bruteness, almost making him stumble if he weren’t so durable. 

He scowled, “Bitch.” 

Rak looked at Irure, his partner, “Huh? What the hell? Are you dead?”

Irure yawned, “No… This game is just too annoying. I just came on the train to meet someone, not play with money.” Suddenly, her eyes opened and she looked down one of the pipes of the intersection, “Follow me. This way.” Without another word, she hovered down that pipe, ignoring Rak’s calls for her to stop.

He scowled, “Stupid sleepy turtle, giving me orders. Who the hell does she think she is?”

Bero looked up at the pipe, Ehwa beside her, “Hm… what’s this strange looking pipe?”

Ehwa spotted a light coming from near the top, “I can see the exit up there, but… are we supposed to go up there by jumping on those pillars?”

Bero countered, “Aren’t they too far to do that? And they’re too far from each other… I don’t think we can get to them by jumping.”

Suddenly, the door behind them opened, revealing Angel and Elliot standing there behind it. Elliot grinned, charging towards Bero, “Nice! Now I can take back the dallars I lost! Get ready for this, candy!” 

Before he could attack, a spiral of flames flew past Bero and covered him in fire. Ehwa boomed, “Not happening!” Ehwa lit up, looking down at her hands, Nice! My fire is completely back! I haven’t used it that much since that day, so I was concerned. She called out to Bero, “Come on! Let’s run!” The two girls managed to leap up onto the surface of one of the strange surfaces, revealing the surface t be a trampoline that sent them flying. 

Confused, Elliot looked up at the duo bouncing around, “W-What the hell? What’s going on?” 

Angel grinned and flew towards Ehwa, “I don’t know what’s going on, but thank you for the meal!” Frantically, Ehwa spun around towards her. 

Dammit! Without thinking, Ehwa summoned some flames, shooting them towards Angel and using it to propel herself away from the girl. Roughly, she fell onto a nearby platform, huffing for breath.

Angel landed next to her, “Hehehe, you’re finally down. It breaks my heart to see you all messed up. After all, you are a noble lady from the Yeon family. You know what? I never liked you from the first time I laid eyes on you. A girl from the ten families, who’s even pretty- Along with acting all nice and polite when you’re from the ten families… Seriously you piss me off!” With that, she launched her spear towards Ehwa, who narrowly dodged out of the way. 

Scared, Ehwa began to run, What should I do? Ordinary flame attacks won’t do any damage to that woman! What should I do? 

Quaetro blinks, looking at Ehwa’s desperation, “What? You want me to teach you how to control fire? What kinda nonsense is that? Aren’t you from the Yeon family? Why would you ask me to teach you to control fire? Stop joking around, miss. The Yeon family is the flame itself from the moment they are born. No one can teach you how to control fire.”

I’m the flame itself from the moment I was born? You… have no idea… That’s not what I wanted to hear! She stopped in place, summoning a ball of flames in her hands. She spun around and shot the attack towards Angel, I don’t know anything about such a flame! Unfazed, Angel brushed aside the attack, her wings doubling in size behind her. 

Angel smiled, “That was pretty hot! Good. It wouldn’t be fun if you were too weak. It’s been quite a while to have my wings wide open. Let’s have some fun, fire lady.”

Meanwhile, Elliot looked at the scene, debating his choices, as Bam’s trio emerged from the door behind him. Elliot spun around, “Jue Viole Grace!”   

Arkraptor looked past him to see the fight between Angel and Ehwa, “Flamethrower!” 

Moontari glanced at him, “Go help your teammate, Arkraptor. We’ll take care of this guy.” Hesitantly, Arkraptor nodded and ran past Elliot, who was too caught up in Jue Viole Grace to notice. 

Yuri’s eyes widened upon seeing the two teams meet, “He met the enemy! Will he really be alright?” W and M exchanged a nervous look, remembering the fate of the last person to get in Angel’s way when she’s on a revenge streak. 

 Arkraptor leapt up onto a slightly higher platform, aiming his shot towards Angel. His umbrella hummed with electric power before it fired a precise point, grazing Angel’s wing and shoulder. He scowled, “Dammit… I missed it. It’s still hard to aim with this thing sometimes.”

The two girls glanced towards him, Ehwa calling out, “Mr. Arkraptor! Run! She’s too powerful!”

Angel grinned, still trying to strike at Ehwa, “I’m honored for such a  noble lady to acknowledge my strength! Not that it’ll make a difference!”

Arkraptor yelled, “I’m not gonna leave you alone!” Struggling, he tried to re aim for another shot. He narrowed his gaze, Something’s wrong. Why isn’t Ehwa attacking instead of just defending? 

Angel appeared to catch on as well, pausing her attack for a moment, “Hm… What is this? This is too boring. What’s the matter? Show me your power like earlier. Perhaps… do you need some kind of motivation? Alright… now which should I take out first?” On cue, another blast came at her, this time piercing through her shoulder and out through where her wing met her back. Surprised, she stumbled back and clutched her wound with the opposite hand.

Arkraptor lit up, “I got her!” 

She scowled, “That bastard… I hate men who don’t know when to quit it. Well, that answers that question.” She spun around and threw her trident towards Arkraptor, who narrowly dodged out of the way. She launched towards him with surprising speed, grabbing her weapon and going for another swing, but he blocked with his open umbrella. Desperately, he tried to fire a wider blast, but she flew out of the way and ran her spear through his side, not enough for a quick death but enough to make him collapse. She smirked, “Got you. That’s what you get for getting in my way. People like you make me sick. Being so trusting of such a manipulative woman, as if anyone from the ten families could be good. I just wanna kill you all. Now it’s time to finish you off.”

“Step away from him. ” The whole room suddenly filled with a wave of heat, causing Angel to spin around towards the source. Clutching his wound and trying to ignore his quickly fading vision, Arkraptor followed Angel’s gaze. Hovering in the center of the room, Ehwa hovered, completely surrounding in fiery, mesmerizing flames. Her eyes were cold with murder, but alive with pure rage at the scene below her. “ If you lay another hand on him, I'll burn both of your hands off. ”        

Angel smiled, “What’s that flame? Haha! By any chance… are you mad? How cute. Getting mad like that. Don’t be too upset, it’s not like you actually saw him as anything to carry you up the tower, right?” Ehwa didn’t reply, just holding out her hand to summon a blast of flames towards Angel, who flew out of the way. Angel looked at the attack, What the hell? She’s flying? Is she in some sort of trance? No… The flames pointedly swirled around Arkraptor’s unconscious body, not even touching him, She knows what she’s doing. “It’s gotten more interesting than I expected. Your eyes are even looking much better than before. Looking down on the others as if you despise them… Those are indeed the eyes of the fucking ten families!” Instead of replying, the flames from her shot out in a giant spiral, filling the chamber with bright red flames. Angel’s eyes widened, almost in horror, “What’s… that… flame? That flame doesn’t even make any sense…” Scared, she dodge out of the way of a cyclone flame attack. So, this is… the flame of an offspring of the Yeon family? Shit… I think I messed with the wrong person. Angel assessed the damage, ntoing how it burned up everything except Elliot’s fight below, and her other two teammates strewed across the room. She awed, “Amazing. Why didn’t you use such power when you had it all along? That looks like lava in rage. How could she change like this? She only looked like a soft girl before… Hahahahahahahaha! You’re a piece of work! I love it! Your true face is revealed now! Those eyes of yours looking at me like I’m garbage! Doesn’t it piss you off? It must be so gross just by looking at me, right?” She flew directly towards Ehwa, who calmly just lifted her hands and overwhelmed Angel in flames. With a swear slipping from her lips, Angel could feel her feathers burn up and her body fall to the ground below. Weakly, she looked up at what remained of Yeon’s attack, the flames that kept her in the air. Angel smiled, “Haha… You’ve burned everything up, and you’re still not satisfied? You really are… one of a kind. Yeah. Keep looking at me with those eyes. Despise me and look down on me. That is better than disgusting pretense.” 

Suddenly, Bero came flying into Ehwa, cutting off Angel's narration, “That’s enough! I told you to stop, damn girl! Do you plan to stop when everyone here is dead? Come back to your senses! You’re thin! Pretty! Have nice hair! And also have the incredible power being worthy of the 10 families! But, it’s not like I’m jealous of that! You have to eat less to stay slim! Guys are gonna bother you if you’re pretty! And if you’re strong, there should be a lot of things you must take responsibility for! Like protecting your teammate, who’s still breathing! Not burning him further! So stop being so ridiculous!”

A moment later, Ehwa’s eyes fluttered shut, the flames around her disappearing and causing the two girls to fall to the ground. Before they could, Bam came between them, catching the girls on his blue oar. He let out a breath, setting them down next to Arkraptor, “Are you okay?” 

Ehwa blinked, “V-Viole? I’m… fine.”

Yuri gasped, “That kid… what is that power?” 

But W and M couldn’t respond, both stock still upon seeing Arkraptor’s condition. M began violently shaking, stumbling back into the darkness, Not again not again not again not again not again not again not again not again not again not again not again. Her knees gave out beneath her, her hands going up to clutch her chest that squeezed against her too tight clothes. She panted for breath that wouldn’t come, why couldn’t she breathe, was she that weak? Her mind fell back, back into the past, fell back before she could stop it. Blood, blood, blood. Too much blood. Should people have that much blood? Is that all his blood? Is it too late? Did I fail again? How naive, thinking I could change fate. No, not naive, naive is for the young and inexperienced. I was stupid, too stupid, how could I think-? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“ M! ” W grabbed the younger girl’s shoulders, stopping her shaking abruptly. Surprised, she looked up at him, her eyes dazed behind the mask. Cautiously, he pulled her into a hug, whispering comforting words into her ear. Truthfully, he was panicking as much if not more than she was, but it was his job to ensure her well being first. Softly, he assured, “Arkraptor’s alright. He’ll be alright. This is why we taught Viole those healing skills, right? Because we knew, right? He’ll make it long enough for help to come to him, won’t he? Right?” Hesitantly, M nodded, looking up at him and sneaking her finger under her mask to wipe her eyes. It was times like these that W was brutally reminded of M’s real age, both mentally and physically. Silently, the two remained in each other’s arms, earning some glances from the other three that they ignored.  

In the room, Bam hovered over Arkraptor, summoning some cooling shinsu that washed over Arkraptor’s wound. Sheepishly, Ehwa asked, “H-How is he?”

Bam smiled, “He’ll be fine. I’m not good enough at healing yet to fix the wound, but I can at least stop the bleeding from getting worse.”

Ehwa deadpanned, clearly skeptical, “You mean you somehow didn’t instantly master it?”

“Ah, well I can copy the skills I’m hit with. You can’t exactly hit someone with healing shinsu.” 

Bero blinked, “Um.. what do we do now? You have to go after that Hoaqin guy, right Viole?”

Bam nodded, “Right, but Arkraptor…”

Bero offered, “Why don’t I stay behind with him? I-It wouldn’t be safe to carry him around, right? And you’d probably be faster without the extra weight.” Bam hesitated, clearly torn between chasing after Hoaqin and taking care of his teammate. 

Rolling her eyes, Ehwa suggested, “Hey Viole, why don’t I stay behind as well? I can’t do much against that pink haired Ranker, but I can against the others. I’ll stay behind in case anyone else comes through here. Plus…” Her eyes settled on Angel unconscious on the platform below, “...I want to ask her a few questions… about FUG and why she hates us from the families so much.” Bam nodded, understanding her desire for answers. Without another word, he took off on the blue oar, flying up towards the exit at the other end of the pipe. 

Suddenly, a voice coughed, “Ugh… what happened?” Arkraptor tried to sit up, a hand still on his wound. 

Bero hissed, grabbing him to steady him, “Hey! You shouldn’t move around so much, you’ll undo the healing.” 

Ehwa fell to her knees, lowering her head, “Arkraptor… I’m-”

“You know, you always said that you were defective, but that certainly didn’t look so defective to me,” Arkraptor commented, wincing at the pain from his wound. 

Ehwa paused, caught off guard, “You mean… you don’t blame me? For-”

He forced a smile, “Why would I? You didn’t stab me.” Weakly, Ehwa smiled at him, relief washing over her soul. 

Meanwhile, Boro’s trio overlooked a giant fan blade as a voice called out, “Hey! Old man!” From a pipe high above, Beta flew down, Anna on his back. He landed next to them, “Any of you see those FUG bastards?”

Boro hissed, “Shut up or they might appear!”

Sachi teased, “What? Are you scared of Hoaqin, Boro?”

Boro countered, “More like I’m scared of those damn Rankers, moron. Hoaqin we can handle, but we have no idea what those two are capable of.” 

Beta scowled, “I’ve got no time for you cowards. I’ll take on all of those bastards alone if I have to.” 

Suddenly, a voice called out, “Hahaha… Here you were - I didn’t expect you guys to be the first team I’d encounter inside a pipe. Should I say this is fate? Boro!” His eyes settled on Anna, “Come here, Anna. You don’t want to be hanging out with that trash.” Anna refused to respond, scooching closer to Beta and tightening her grip on her rabbit.

Monotone, she spoke, “No… I don’t… Want to be one… again. I want… to live…” She raised her voice slightly, “All of our siblings want to help Vicente! We don’t want to be put back to sleep again for centuries, not when we got a taste of freedom again!” 

Sachi spoke up, “You’re outnumbered, Hoaqin! We still have to take revenge! We won’t run away!” 

Beta summoned his wings and shot up towards Hoaqin, “Let’s just shut up and kick this guy’s ass!” He ignited his fist to punch Hoaqin, but Hoaqin blocked the shot with his sword.

Anna turned to Boro’s trio, “Can you handle that hooded guy? My brothers should be here soon.” With that, she ran off to start climbing towards Hoaqin. 

Aka called out, “Wait, girl! Brothers? Who else is-” He cut himself off, realizing that he would get no answer. Instead, Daniel hopped down between them and Anna instead, raising his hands to attack. 

His purple shinsu began to swirl around him, “Good. I wanted the chance to deal with you trash myself anyways.” 

A few moments later, Anna climbed up to Hoaqin’s platform to see Beta trying to pummel Hoaqin with a series of punches and kicks, dodging around sword swings from Hoaqin’s sword. Although they may have appeared evenly matched on first glance, it was clear that Beta was draining himself a lot more than Hoaqin was. Anna called out, “Hoaqin, I’m sorry, but you must fall here. I will help Vicente be the new center. He cares about us a lot more than you. He’d be a better center.” She threw down her stuffed rabbit, making it grow into a terrifying doll with sewn shut eyes and a narrow and tall sword in its hands. 

Hoaqin snapped, “Seriously? You children think you can beat me with these party tricks?”

“No, that’s why I’m here.” Standing at the other end of the pipe, Vicente stood with his sword in hand and his two teammates behind him, equally prepared to fight. Vicente readied his sword to attack, “Let’s finish this here and now, Hoaqin.” 

Chapter Text

12

Yura peered down to a lower pipe, where Khun led his team and the sweetfish. She gasped, “That’s… the sweetfish team! We found them already… Are we just lucky? Or did the host do this on purpose?”

Rachel, contemplating her options, asked, “Ms. Yura, where’s Ms. I and Ms. Y?”

Yura glanced at her pocket, “I think they’re nearby. Both are skilled at reading shinsu waves to travel, so they should be here shortly.”

Rachel questioned, “Is that so? Then… let’s attack them by the exit. That way, we have the best chance for us.” Soon… I will teach that arrogant Khun… that there is a case where he could be defeated as well.  

Daniel stalked towards the other three, his shinsu glowing around him with life. Aka yelled, “Daniel, what the hell? Did you not care about Roen’s sacrifice at all!” Daniel didn’t reply, just narrowed his gaze and fired a wave of explosive shinsu at them. 

Boro leapt back out of the way of a blast, “Dammit, he’s not listening! Hey Aka, can’t you defend against those blows?”

Aka snapped, “Barely, but not well enough!” 

Sachi rolled his eyes, “You both are pathetic. I see why the others made sure I came.” He lifted his wand and summoned the same shadows technique, tying Daniel in place. Calmly, he walked over to the other man, “Daniel… you’re not the only one who was hurting after Roen. To be honest, we all sort of hated her after she committed a murder. We thought it had to be her, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us moved on after she died. You were right, I did stay close to the train because I missed her. But I didn’t want her to come back, I wanted to not let people make the same mistake I did!”

Daniel summoned two purple living baangs on either side of him, a scowl on his face, “Seriously? Cut the crap, none of you gave any shit about her. You’re only saying that to calm your own guilt.” The baangs fired, causing Sachi to stumble back and start coughing, but his spell on Daniel remained steady. 

Meanwhile, Hoaqin and Vicente exchanged violent blows with Anna’s doll trying to support the best it could. Watching the fight, Beta ran over to Wangnan and Miseng, “Hey girl, sweet and sour, you got a plan? This is too close for my liking, but they’re too strong for me to get any hits in.” 

Miseng lifted the white heavenly mirror, “We do. We just have to wait for the right moment to strike.” Beta opened his mouth to ask, but Wangnan just pressed a finger to his lips and pointed towards the siblings fighting. They watched as the two yelled back and forth about their past in FUG and even before. To be honest, it felt like a conversation the other three shouldn’t be hearing (even Anna tried and failed to block out the conversation with her ears, a regretful glimmer in her eyes), but it was unavoidable. 

Finally, Vicente spoke, “It’s too late, Hoaqin. The others have already accepted me being the center. Anna wasn’t the only one.” On cue, Miseng smiled as a white glow enveloped her. The others watched as her hair shifted to a bleached white, her eyes changing to a silvery shade.

She spoke with a voice not of her gender nor her age, “Well, well… Long time no see, brother.” 

Hoaqin glanced over to her, “David? What are you doing in that little girl’s body?” 

Mi- David spoke, “I wasn’t a participant in the game, so I had to borrow this little girl’s body for a bit. To be honest, I would have preferred someone older… and male… but beggars can’t be choosers, you know? And she so graciously lent me her body so I could deal with our… family… matters.”

Hoaqin repeated, “You borrowed his body? But, how? I didn’t notice it at all…Wait! That knife!” Daniel… that bastard! He tricked me! Mi - David charged forward, stabbing Hoaqin through the back as Vicente and Anna’s doll both crossed their swords over Hoaqin’s neck. “Goddamn… bastards! Fuck! Daniel! David! How dare you betray me?”

Below, Boro perked up, “What’s happening up there?” Secretly, Daniel smiled, catching the attention of the other three boys.

Daniel spoke, “Don’t pretend to act like you know my thoughts or beliefs, you goddamn morons. I’ll always be the cleverest of the group.” 

David grinned, “...No, it’s not betraying, Hoaqin. It’s just a change of heart, is all. We want to live our own lives, so Vicente will only have us become one long enough to get off the train, then he’ll let the rest of us live our own lives, not be trapped as a part of yours.” 

Vicente spoke up, “Hoaqin, give up now. Our brothers and sisters will no longer be fooled by your trickery. After I eat you, I will free the rest of our siblings.” Instead of vanishing, Hoaqin began screaming almost nonsensical things about his real deal with a demon and their spell. Suddenly, he began to glow brightly, filling the whole chamber with light and sucking the souls out of his siblings and into his core. As the light faded, only Miseng’s body remained on the ground and a torn up doll sat against the wall nearby. 

Wangnan called out, “Miseng!”

Hoaqin turned around to them, smiling demonically, “Oh? Do the two of you also want to be consumed for trying to overthrow me?” With a scowl, Wangnan threw a bomb to the ground, filling the chamber with smoke. Beta used the chance to activate his speed and grab Miseng’s body and the knife with her soul. Hoaqin spun towards him, “I don’t think so!” But before he could swing, Wangnan charged out and tried to block the strike with his needle. However, it was too strong, snapping the weapon in two and creating a giant cut across Wangnan’s front, making him collapse onto his knees. But it did the job, buying Beta the time to fly out of Hoaqin’s range.

As he flew, he looked down at Miseng’s body, which almost appeared asleep, “You psycho girl. What the hell were you trying to prove?” He pressed the dagger into her chest, filling her with light and causing her eyes to flutter open. 

Miseng glanced up at him, “Monster boy? What… happened?” 

Beta replied, “We failed, so I grabbed your body and got us out of there before that slayer bastard could retaliate. I like fights, but not ones I know I won’t win.”

Miseng smiled weakly, “Now who’s the coward?”

Hoaqin scowled, “Well, that was annoying. This blondie isn’t even interesting enough to consume. Besides, now I have better prey to eat.” He walked towards the edge and looked down at a horrified Daniel. He boomed, “Hey Daniel, looks like your little plan didn’t work after all! What a pity! Oh well, now I don’t have to worry about bringing that bitch Roen back to life. That was entertaining though, Daniel, I have to admit. Now… to punish you for your treachery!” 

Bam looked up at the pipe he was charging towards, There’s a strong condensation of shinsu running through there. Is that where Hoaqin is? Suddenly, Beta flew through the gap, Miseng curled up in his arms. Bam called out, “Beta! What happened in there? Is Miseng okay?” 

Beta called out, “Dammit complete one, where the hell were you? Forget it, you’re here now, I guess. The bastard, Hoaqin, is almost White. He consumed three of his four siblings and is now retaliating against that guy with the purple shinsu for some reason. The sweet and sour kid got a direct hit, but honestly he’s not what you have to worry about.” 

Miseng whimpered, “I’m sorry, Mr. Viole, I’m sorry I failed.”

Bam smiled, “It’s alright, Miseng, I’ll take over from here.” He looked back up to Beta, “Get her to safety. I’ll fight him.” With an exchange of nods, they flew off in opposite directions. Bam narrowed his gaze with determination, This is going to be bad. I have to stop that monster here and now!

Hoaqin raised his blade, which radiated with intense shinsu, “Now to kill you, you little traitor!” He threw down the strike as Daniel closed his eyes, bracing himself for the strike. Daniel would have dodged, but he knew from experience that it would be pointless, that it would be better to accept his fate. Yet, to his surprise, the hit never came. Surprised, he opened his eyes to see an all to familiar giant blocking the strike, his face to Daniel. 

Daniel yelled, “Aka! What the hell do you think you’re doing? This is my business, so stay out of it!” 

“No!” replied Aka, wincing from the pain of the blow, “I don’t care what your reasons were and honestly I hate your guts, but I refuse to have another person’s death on my hands. I’m our team’s defender, if anyone should have sacrificed themselves, it should have been me.” 

Daniel paused, “Aka…” 

Hoaqin grinned, “Ah, how sweet. Afraid it won’t matter in the end, though. You bastards may have beaten me once, but I won’t let it happen again.”  

Aka snapped, “Guys, we have to work together! Or else we’re all dead!”

Boro and Sachi nodded, “Right!” Hoaqin sent out a series of narrow and condensed shinsu strikes, to which Aka responded with his defensive shinsu skill, blocking most of the strikes and tanking the others. Using the opportunity, Daniel retaliated with a wave of his living shinsu, which swirled around Hoaqin and attempted to strike him repeatedly. It wasn’t enough to do any damage, but it was enough to distract the white haired man, allowing Sachi to summon a giant path of vines for Boro to leap up. Boro pulled out a silver needle and met Hoaqin’s blade in the middle. 

Boro grinned, “Have you forgotten, Hoaqin? You may be physically stronger, but I still have the advantage with reading swords.” Hoaqin didn’t reply, only scowled with boiling fury in his eyes. 

Hoaqin scowled, “How annoying. I didn’t want to play this game and least of all did I want to lose again to you assholes. The only one I wanted to fight was-”

“White!” Behind Boro, Bam appeared, jumping off his blue oar and landing next to Boro. Bam raised his fists, “Your fight is with me.”

In spite of everything, Boro couldn’t help but smile in relief, “Took you long enough, Bam. Did that other boy fill you in?” 

Bam nodded, spotting the unconscious Wangnan bleeding out behind Hoaqin, “Yeah, and I’ll handle him from here. Can you get Wangnan out of here?” Nodding, Boro pushed Hoaqin back and began to run around the Arie man. Hoaqin raised his blade to stop Boro, but a dark blue shinsu blast struck his chest before he could. Bam spoke, “Your fight is with me, Hoaqin.”  

Irure sped through the pipes until she spotted a familiar taller pink haired woman further down the pipe. She called out, “Hey! I found you. Let’s pick up where we left off.” 

I gestured further down the pipe, her voice carrying the usual monotonous to it, “You go down that pipe to the sweetfish. I’ll stay here.” Hesitantly, Y nodded and took off down the pipe. 

Irure waved absentmindedly, “Go… that way too, crocodile. This is my business.”

Rak scowled, “Gah! Whatever! Stupid turtles making everything such a mess.” He gripped his spear and took off past I, who made no attempt to stop him. 

Irure asked, “You didn’t stop him. What’s your goal?”

I smiled, “I told you, didn’t I? I climbed the tower for the goal of our family, but lost everything in the process. By the end I only found misery. As such, I will do whatever it takes to keep you from making the same mistake. Even if it means murder.” She lifted her hand and made several chopping motions, creating strong and sharp gusts of wind. Irure calmly condensed the shinsu in front of her as a shield, but it shivered under the intense pressure, making her open her eyes. 

Irure paused, creating  a tsunami-like wave of wind shinsu to strike at I, This… could be bad… I held up a hand, cancelling out the shinsu attack with ease. But… I have no choice. 

As Boro picked up Wangnan and climbed back down to the others, Bam and Hoaqin stood facing each other. Hoaqin scowled, “I was going to come to you but you came to me much more quickly than I expected, Jue Viole Grace. I saved myself the trouble of looking around. By the way, Mr. White? Seeing as how you used my name from when I was a slayer, it looks like you know who I am too.”

Bam replied, “Well since you’re more than one soul, I didn’t think Hoaqin would be appropriate. I heard about all the people you killed, and I intend to punish you for your crimes!” 

Hoaqin grinned, “What of it? Sacrifices are natural to allow for the birth of a greater being! You should know if you intend to be a slayer. But you’ll never get the chance, because I will cut you down. The legend of me is going to begin here again. And you will be my first target.” He raised the blade to Bam’s throat, an eager and demonic glimmer in his eyes.

“Natural? How can you be so confident?” Bam pushed the blade away, “I don’t need to be a slayer, but don’t you have any appreciation for the people who gave their lives to you?”

Hoaqin quirked a brow, “Appreciation? They were lesser beings. Do you appreciate every bug you step on? Every stone you’ve stepped on? Surely you’ve killed and beaten others to make your way to this floor, so you can’t exactly act like you’re any better, can you? It’s just the way of life, the weak die to make way for the strong like me. As such I will cut down a weak slayer like you to allow for my strong revival.” 

Bam scowled, remembering a certain brunette and blond duo from many floors and many years ago, “You’re a demon. I will do whatever it takes to keep a demon like you from being let loose again.” Hoaqin scowled and threw down his sword, but Bam leapt backwards and out of dodge. He summoned blue oar to zoom towards the taller man to punch him, but Hoaqin parried with his own blade. 

Hoaqin frowned, “I can’t tell what it is, but you sure have changed… But do you really think that’s enough?” He threw out a giant spinning sword strike, the shinsu coming off the strike like swirls. Frantically, Bam bent backwards to use the blue oar as a shield against the strike. As the smoke cleared, he sped towards Hoaqin and leapt off the disk at the last second to try and kick Hoaqin in the back of the head, the impact making Hoaqin stumble forward a couple steps. His sword glowed as he spun around, creating a wider shinsu strike that filled the cavern, tearing up the walls and sending Bam flying back. As he landed on his feet, he ignited the thorn and summoned three baang that shot out towards Hoaqin in sporadic directions, allowing Bam to move in close for a piercing technique. To his surprise, the blast had little to no effect. Hoaqin smiled, “Is that the best you’ve got?” Bam scowled, leaping back before Hoaqin had the chance to retaliate. Hoaqin smirked, “Hey Viole, you are an interesting pest, so you earned a little story. Do you wanna know how I killed all those people?” He launched into a huge spiel about his past and his anger towards the princess that stopped his rule and trapped him on the train. Honestly, it eventually all blurred out to Bam, the ringing of pure anger drowning out the false demon’s words. 

Bam hissed, “Shut the fuck up. It’s one thing to be arrogant and ungrateful, but you are a whole other level of trash!” He raised his fists and started to charge towards Hoaqin, bobbing and weaving around attacks. 

At the last second before he made contact, Poe’s announcement came overhead that Khun’s team made it to their target. Bam paused, debating between continuing the fight and stopping to continue it in the next match. Remembering the hostages, Bam took a deep breath and leapt back towards where Boro stood with Wangnan on his back. Boro asked, “Hey kid, are you alright?”

Bam huffed, “I just want to hurry up to the next round to punish this bastard for his sins. How’s Wangnan?” 

Wangnan spoke, coughing up blood between words, “I’m… fine… don’t… worry… about me…” Subtly, he called upon the skill W taught him, how to enhance his contract’s healing properties. 

Down at the bottom, Aka fell forward, coughing up blood with his body torn up all over. He coughed, “Dammit! We failed…” Daniel knelt over him, checking over his condition. 

Daniel frowned, “Aka. Don’t you fucking die, dammit.” 

Sachi ran over, “What the hell is with your attitude? I thought you hated us because we sacrificed Roen.” 

Daniel shook his head, “I didn’t hate you guys because of Roen, I hated you guys because you wouldn’t let me die with her.”

Boro leapt down, resting Wangnan’s body next to Aka’s, “‘Fraid we can’t share that sentiment, Daniel. We may regret letting Roen die, but none of us regret letting you live.” Daniel paused, his eyes casting downward guiltily. Boro stretched his arms, “Let’s carry these guys to the next area. The final round should start soon.”

“I’ll make it easier for that giant!” From above, Beta flew down, stabbing both Aka and Wangnan in the chest with the mirror blade, making them vanish. Seeing the surprised looks from the others, he explained, “I got Miseng to the next area with the others. It’s not that far from here, so let’s stop the stupid looks and just get moving.” 

Irure and I hovered across from each other. If one took a first glance, it would seem like nothing happened. At least, if it weren’t for the completely ruined pipes to the point that one could see the endless darkness outside of them. As I heard the announcement overhead, she halted her raging storms, pulling them back towards herself, “Well, it seems we’ve run out of time.” 

Irure declared, “This leads nowhere. Every time we end at a stalemate. There must be another option available.” 

I shrugged, "Perhaps there may be. But until you change your mind as to why you climb, I'm afraid violence is our only option." With that, she flew off, leaving Irure behind to ponder the older woman's words.

Meanwhile, Prince stared out into the darkness. His eyes settled on a woman in white and red, who smiled up and him and pressed a finger to her lips. Horyang asked, “What is it?”

Prince let out a sigh, “It’s almost time. I can’t wait to get out of this damn cage!” 

Chang grinned, “Never thought you and I could agree on something, runt.” 

Miseng spotted Arkraptor on the ground and ran over to him, “Mr. Arkraptor! Are you alright? What happened to you?”

Arkraptor coughed, leaning on Ehwa and Bero Bero for support, “I’m fine kid… What about you?” Miseng only smiled and chuckled nervously. 

Meanwhile, Pedro spoke, “The winner will be decided soon. Are you four nervous?” 

“You should be the nervous one, Pedro,” a voice spoke. From the shadows, Karaka emerged, fiddling with his ring, “Care to explain to me your reason for betraying my orders, Pedro?” 

Pedro stiffened, “S-Sir! You arrived. Don’t worry, everything is going as planned. Soon, we will accomplish our goal-”

Karaka narrowed his gaze, “Did I not tell you to no longer target Jue Viole Grace because I have decided to give him more time to prove himself? Who are you to challenge my orders and come to me like you did nothing wrong?” 

Scared, Pedro stood up and fell to one knee, “S-Sir, I apologize, but-”

Karaka glared down at him, “If you truly wish to make up for your act of traitorism, end this pointless game and allow these four to join the other Regulars.”

Yuri stood up, “Hold on, who the hell are you?”

W smirked, “Hello there, slayer Karaka. You’re late.”

M put a hand on her hip, “Or early, depending on who you’re asking.”

Evan turned to them, “You mean the slayer Karaka? The newest one before Ba- Jue Viole Grace?” 

Yuri lifted her fists at the ready, “Great. More enemies. Good, I was getting eager to kick someone’s ass.”

Karaka raised a hand, “Relax, princess. I have no intention of fighting you all. I am simply here to call out my arrogant servant. You have more important things to focus on.” 

Pedro elaborated, “There is a trap installed in their arena. Even now it’s too late for me to undo it.” 

M gestured for the other three to follow, “Come on! The moment the Regulars try to escape the cage, lava will start pouring into the chamber, so we don’t have much time!” 

Above the Regulars, Poe explained the rules and two cages appeared on either side of him. One side held Bam’s teammates while the other held Hoaqin’s team. Poe began, “Alright, let’s begin the ga-”

“No,” a voice interrupted. From above, a flash of white appeared, revealing the same figure Prince saw moments before. The woman smiled, “I’m afraid the game ends now, Hoaqin. My name is Albeda and within me contains the souls of all the people you killed, and they scream for revenge against you. A testament I agree with.” She flew over to Bam and asked, “I have but a single question, Jue Viole Grace. If I were to give you the power of these souls, for what would you use this power? Protect friends, get revenge, or go insane with strength like my original core? Depending on your answer will determine whether we see you worthy of these souls and the strength they will give.” 

Bam clenched his fists, “As much as the desire for power seems great, I would never use it to try and become corrupt like White! I don’t need extreme power, I just don’t want to sacrifice anyone! I don’t want anyone to die, and especially not for my sake!” His mind flashed back to E and H, to W and M, four people who have shown such great power yet looked so lost, so lonely because of the losses they carried. He put a hand to his chest, “I’ve learned that power alone can’t be enough to save everyone. I know those who desired such power, and lost everything. I just want to be able to make sure nobody feels the same way they did! Even if I can’t save everyone, even if I can’t stop all grief, I have to try! I just want the ability to try.”

Albeda smiled, “I see in your eyes that you know those who’ve been through what you’re describing, so you feel lost, unable to help them. I understand, for I hear the souls within me long for their families with the same, lonely sadness you’ve described. We wish to help you reach that goal, the goal of stopping that pain in others. I will grant you their power, as long as you ensure that you do not let that same power corrupt that heart of yours.” She summoned a sword of light and pierced Bam’s chest. A bright glow overwhelmed them and Bam could feel a sudden rush of power take him over. 

He closed his eyes, Their pain… their sadness… their endless rage towards the one who caused their suffering. Albeda flew back looking up to Horyang and nodding at him.

Horyang ignited his arm, “It’s time to finish this.” 

Poe snapped, “Hey! What are you doing?” But it was too late. Horyang used a narrower strike of shinsu to slice through the baars of the cage, allowing the others to break out.  Goseng and Prince summoned their lighthouses, carrying themselves and Horyang. 

Chang raised his hand, “We’re done playing these silly games.” Reinforcing his legs, he leapt down onto the roof of the enemy cage, grabbing his needle to slice through the bars. With ease, he flipped into the cage and picked up Elliot over his shoulders. A moment later, Quaetro landed next to him, throwing Angel over his shoulders. Chang shrugged, “We got what we came here for.” 

Y lifted her wand, “And what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Chang laughed, “Don’t tell me you actually cared about these guys.” 

I raised her hand, “Let them leave, Y. We have bigger things to worry about now that they escaped.” The others looked at her in confusion, but it made sense with what happened next. From all sides, the walls began to crack open and lava began to pour through in waves. 

Poe glanced around, “What’s going on? Why are the hostages escaping? Why is there lava?” 

Daniel glanced over at a grinning Ehwa and Bero Bero, “What were you guys planning?”

Ehwa grinned, “We’re not playing around by someone else’s games. We made our own rules in this game.”

Khun glanced over at her, “Playing by someone else’s rules, you guys are better than I first thought. Now let’s get out of here.” 

Rachel called out, “You’re not leaving!” 

She tried to throw out her lighthouses, but Y landed next to her, “We have to go. Now. They aren’t worth it, my dear.” 

Yura nodded, “Coming! Coming!”

Khun threw out his lighthouses, creating a barrier between them, “I don’t think so. Hey devil!” Horyang leapt down from Goseng’s lighthouse, punching Yura in the back of the head, knocking her out. Khun hurried to shove the unconscious girl in her lighthouse. 

Hoaqin snapped, “Cowards! Why are you running away from this?” He tried to send out a strike towards Khun and Rak, but Bam used a similar blue oar technique to block the strike. That only made Hoaqin’s fury grow, “Why aren’t you using the souls? You have all that power, yet you think you’re better than to use it? You call me arrogant, but you’re more so than me!” Bam paused, glancing down at his hands, feeling the new power hum within him. 

Voices roared in his mind, many voices, a single voice, all as one within him. “Please… use our strength…”

I don’t want to be like him, though. I refuse. 

“Don’t think… of it… as using… us, think… of it as… giving us… a chance… to fight.”

“We have…  no bodies… to return… to… So let… us still… have a…  purpose… And help… please…” 

Hesitantly, Bam closed his eyes and held out his hands, Alright… I will… Focusing the raging emotions of anger and determination, he grasped onto his desire to protect the ones fleeing around him. An orange light formed in his hands, taking the shape of a sword. Yet, the feeling in his hand reminded him more of holding hands with several people rather than holding the coolness of a handle. Bam boomed, “Arie Hoaqin! Take this attack, for it is made of the rage of all the innocents you tricked and slaughtered!” He launched towards Hoaqin, raising the blade to strike.

Hoaqin scowled, “A sword? You have to be joking!” He charged up his sword for a giant swing, but Bam blocked it with his own blade. Bam felt the heat of shinsu wash over him, grazing him enough for his copy skill to kick in. 

Please… lend me your strength… to save those that matter! His orange sword glowed almost symmetrically to Hoaqin’s moments before. Bam summoned his blue oar to push off for support as he threw down the blade with enormous energy, enough to fill the chamber. Those climbing on Sachi’s vines to a higher point even had to stumble and duck to avoid the powerful energy filling the chamber. Hoaqin’s eyes widened, desperately lifting his blade to block, but it was too much at once. He felt his body get thrown back onto a nearby platform, creating a crater from the sheer power. 

Next to him, Y appeared, “We have to go now, Hoaqin. You can have your rematch later.” Without another word, the two became enveloped in watery shinsu and vanished from sight.

Seeing them leave, Bam could hear the souls he called upon burn away, one of them whispering, “Thank you… thank you… so much.”  

Bam frowned, guilt bubbling in the pit of his gut, but directed his attention to the other Regulars. He flew over to them, “What’s the plan for escaping?” 

Albeda smiled, pointing up to a gap in the walls, “They’re our escape plan.” On cue, Yuri appeared, the other three Rankers behind her. 

Yuri lit up, “Hey kiddo! You just can’t seem to stay out of trouble, can you?” She summoned a water droplet that enveloped the Regulars, allowing the group to escape to a safe point higher up. Once they were safe, Yuri and Bam had their classic, cliché reunion. 

While it happened, Khun turned to W, “What’s the plan from here? You ruined my plan to interrogate Rachel of her plan.” 

W waved his hand, “It’s because I already know her plan. She’s heading to the floor of death for another thorn fragment.”

Khun countered, “But what about the possibility of a plan change due to I and Y joining her?”

“The chances are slim considering the possible benefits visiting that floor could  bring the bi- Rachel. Regardless, we should visit that floor anyways for the thorn fragment, right?” W shrugged, “And even if there was a change of plans, that’s why you have the hostage, right? I doubt it was to make a new friend like Bam would want.” Khun scowled, pulling out the lighthouse holding Yura and rudely dropping her unconscious body on the ground. Silently, W pulled out some rope from his pocket and handed it to Khun. W explained, “It's a blessed rope. It's cut off any shinsu use. I would also take her suitcase from her while she can’t resist you. Though… she may not want to leave when she found out Rachel ditched her.” 

Meanwhile, the rest of team sweet and sour crowded around Arkraptor as M treated his wound. Even though her mouth remained steady, the others could see her shaking hands. Beta rested a hand on her shoulder, steadying her body’s movements. M’s eyes remained focused on the death-like state Arkraptor’s sleeping body appeared to be in. Ehwa whimpered, “I’m sorry, if I had been faster.”

M closed her eyes behind her mask, “It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I - We should have acted sooner, rather than agreeing to wait on the sidelines. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Goseng shook her head, “It’s neither of your faults, you two. He’ll live, so there’s no harm done.” 

Daniel glanced away from where Aka and Wangnan were released to look at Albeda, “You said that you contained all the souls sacrificed for Hoaqin, or something like that, right? Does that mean-”

Albeda smiled, her eyes glimmering with sadness, “Yes, Roen was likely one of the souls within me. But there is no way to separate out their individuality among the tempest of souls. I’m sorry… but her death is permanent.” 

Daniel glanced downwards, “I see… can she at least hear me? Can you let her know that… I love her too. I’m sorry that she had to die before I could give her my reply.” Behind him, the other three boys watched him with saddened eyes. The next hour or so was spent chatting among the groups.

Suddenly, Yuri boomed, “What’s this about you guys going to the floor of death? There’s no way in hell that I’ll allow any of you to go! You’re not strong enough for that!”                    

M suggested, “How about this? I doubt you can convince Bam to change his mind, Yuri. And it isn’t going to be impossible to face that floor, especially with the four of us there. So let’s have a deal. You can test the Regulars and only the ones you declare good enough can go to the floor of death. Besides, I don’t think all of them should go regardless, some need to stay behind to care for the injured and watch over our new prisoner.”

Evan agreed, “She has a point, princess. You remember how stubborn that boy is, even when we first met him. This would be an appropriate compromise.”

Bam nodded, “Yeah, it makes sense! I’ll agree to those conditions.” 

Yuri huffed, “Fine… I guess it’s better than trying to convince you by force. This may actually be interesting, I want to properly see the strength of your friends anyways.” 

Somewhere else on the train, Rachel’s group appeared on the center of a platform. Y chirped, “Teleportation has been safely completed! I’m glad I haven’t lost it yet!”

I asked, “But why did you leave behind your younger self? Surely you could have beaten the Khun boy to steal her.”

Rachel countered, “The two of you and Hoaqin were the priority. If she is truly strong enough and wants to be my teammate, she’ll come back to us of her own right. There won’t be the need for us to waste our energy saving her. Not when she values me so highly.” 

Y nodded, “Exactly! You always have the best deduction skills as usual, my dear. Speaking of best, by the way.” A bright flash of blue light appeared next to her, revealing Hoaqin lying on the ground.

He hopped to his feet, “What the hell, you damn bitch! If you’d given me the chance, I could have kicked that Jue Viole Grace’s ass and taken back the souls that are rightfully mine! I should just kill all of you for ruining things for me!” 

Y smiled, unfazed by the threat, “Do you really think you can take us? You’ve only been upgraded for a short time, and even now you’re not at full strength. Meanwhile there’s the both of us who have been training in our skills and power for centuries. We may not be Arie but we’re also from powerful families as well.” 

I yawned, “Speak for yourself, fighting my younger self and participating in the game was too exhausting for me. That’s a reason why I let those two go, because I couldn’t be bothered trying to save them regardless of outside interference or not.” 

Rachel waved her hands, “No! No! There’s no need to fight! Hoaqin, why don’t you join us? You were nearly beaten by Jue Viole Grace on your own, so it would be better to have support while you search for your final piece?” Hoaqin scowled, fury crawling across every inch of his body. Yet, admittedly, the girl provided some point. From what he saw, Jue Viole Grace has gained Ranker allies, so challenging his group alone could provide a challenge, especially when he’s still not complete. So having Ranker allies of his own could be beneficial in the long term. 

Hoaqin relented, “Fine. But the moment I get my final clone, our alliance is over, useless bitch.” 

Pedro looked back at where Karaka overlooked the crumbling arena, “Sir, if I may ask, what caused the change of heart. Are you questioning your desire to accomplish the goal?”

Karaka scowled under his mask, “Not in the slightest. But my master has proven to favor Viole over myself, so I want to test the Regular to see why. And I’[d rather not do so in such pointless, corrupt games such as the one you created. Do not worry, if Viole proves himself too weak or naive to accomplish his destiny, I will take action to eliminate him myself. So… for now, simply do your job as the conductor until I give you further instruction.”

“Understood, milord.” 

As Karaka walked off, he thought back to his deal with the other Rankers moments before they ran off.

“Wait, princess. Before you leave,” began Karaka, holding out his hand to activate the freezing technique on Yuri. He continued, “I know you care about the slayer candidate, so I have a treaty for the moment. It will be likely that the boy will head towards the same destination as myself, so we may interact in that time. As such, I offer a temporary peace. Both sides will stay out of each other’s ways up until the final station. There is no need for unnecessary conflict for either side, don’t you agree?”

Evan relented, “Alright… but if you attempt to target the Regulars of Jue Viole Grace’s group, that will count as conflict between us.” 

Yuri scowled, “How do we know we can trust you?”

W spoke up, “We can. Karaka may be FUG, but he does always make the most logical choices for his own group. He wouldn’t cause conflict or tricks if there’s no benefits for him.” Karaka nodded, stepping to the side to let the four run past him.    

Wangnan watched the other groups interact, fiddling with his fresh bandages and torn shirt. He sighed, “Dammit… I was even more useless this time. Even Miseng, little Miseng, had to step up to action more than me. Why can’t I ever be good enough? Arkraptor almost died and I did nothing.”

“I wouldn’t call nearly dying nothing, little me,” countered W, walking over and taking a seat next to him. Wangnan opened his mouth to counter, but W chopped him on the forehead. Hard. “Hey, do me a favor? If you're going to scream suicidal thoughts at yourself, can you not project them into my mind? M already gives me an earful about my insecurities, so I’d rather avoid an extra lecture for both our sakes.” 

Wangnan scowled, “How are you so calm? One of our friends almost died. DIED. And neither of us did anything.”

W countered, “Once again, you also almost died, but you don’t see the others acting guilty, do you? They don’t know about your… situation, with the exception of the flamethrower but I doubt she would have given a shit anyways to be honest. Anyway, I realized over my years that there’s no point dwelling on the past. You can’t change it, can you?” 

A pause.

.

.

.

“You do realize you-”

“Yes, I know what I said. Shut up.” 

Meanwhile, Yura stirred awake, “Huh? Where am I? Where’s Rachel?” 

Goseng explained, “You were taken captive by our group. In the chaos, Rachel fled and left you behind.”

Yura snapped, “You’re lying! There’s no way she would ever do that! She’s better than that, you bastards!”

Horyang crossed his arms, “Believe us or not, there’s no way you can escape and find them, so you might as well stop fighting.” Yura scowled, but reluctantly quieted down. 

Khun walked over, “Ah, so you awoken, Yura Ha. I’ve got a lot of questions for you.” 

Yura hissed, “You’re a dumbass or insane if you think I’ll give you a single word. Unless you plan on torturing me, but that won’t make you look very good in the eyes of your precious Bam, will it?” 

Khun smirked, summoning his lighthouse, “Oh, what I plan to do with you will certainly not be the most honorable of things, but I don’t have time for it right now. Until I do, you’re going in here.” And before Yura could protest, he abruptly shoved her into a lighthouse to hold her captive inside.  

A few minutes later, the group gathered in the center. Boro asked, “Is everyone here? Looks like breaktime is over now.”    

Sachi explained, “It’s going to be daytime soon on the train. We have to hurry up and complete the test in order to move onto the next floor. The game must have not counted since we ruined the game entirely. So we have no choice but to ride that transport device to take the test. We should part ways with Aka since he’s injured. What about you Daniel?”

Daniel frowned, “You guys got dragged into this because of me. I want the chance to make things up to you guys, if you’ll let me.”

Boro scoffed, “I think we’re done with the senseless blame, Daniel.”

Khun scowled, “I still don’t trust you, but I’ll leave the decision to Bam.”

Bam smiled, “We’ll give you another chance, Daniel. Hopefully you’re genuine about your guilt.”

Daniel nodded, “I am. You’re a lot stronger than FUG seems to think you are, Viole. I want to see how far you manage to go. And the best way to see it is right on the front lines, and not as an enemy to be cut down by you.” 

Boro turned to Aka’s gang, “I contacted Hanool since I know he has access to this floor. He offered to heal Aka and the others for free since he fled from the train back at Train City.” 

Ehwa walked over to Angel, “So the two of you are leaving as well?”

Angel smirked, “Yeah. We’re going to climb with these guys until Elliot here has to report back to the mad dogs. I don’t know what I’ll do when that time comes, though.”

Ehwa offered, “Then how about this? After the train reaches the last station, let’s meet up, the two of us. We can have a proper conversation without the sickening and heavy titles of FUG or Yeon. No rankings, no entitlements, just two young women Regulars having a proper conversation.”

Angel rolled her eyes, “You’re such a weirdo. But… I may end up taking you up on that offer, noble girl.” With that, the two groups parted ways. 

While the Rankers watched the Regulars fight against the monsters of the tests, taking notes of different advantages and disadvantages, Evan asked, “You guys made that offer as if you already were planning something. So what do you have in mind for a test?”

M put her hands behind her head, “How about the name hunt station leader, Kaiser? She’s never been beaten and her name never stolen, even by great family members. Believe it or not, she’s even capable of beating princesses and she’s, by far, the strongest d-rank Regular. If you want a real test for him, at his level, then giving him that challenge would be the best option.” Evan pursed his lips, debating that option, before running over to his princess to relay that information. As he left, M’s eyes darted over to where Arkraptor watched the fight while sitting on one of Goseng’s extra lighthouses, clutching his side. She closed her eyes and clutched her chest, We’re… almost on that floor. It’s time to test if fate really is permanent and unchangeable properly. And I swear it, we will not make the same sacrifice that we did before. 

Meanwhile, at the aforementioned name hunt station, Endorsi teleported into a wide chamber with a single other figure sitting on a throne at the opposite end. She grinned, looking up at the masked, sitting woman, “So you’re the famous Kaiser? Your mask reminds me of a group of people that really piss me off, so this will be a satisfying win.”

Kaiser stood up, “It’s bold of you to accept my offer for a fight, princess, but it’s even bolder to act so overconfident when you don’t even realize my skills. I did not earn my title as the strongest D-Rank Regular for nothing, and I will show you what it takes to have that title.”

Endorsi pulled out her dagger, “Sorry, but I think you’re about to lose that title, as well as your name!” She launched towards Kaiser, but a bright light filled the room, freezing her in place with the overwhelming pressure that came with it. Dammit… Speak of the devil. The light faded to reveal E and H standing between the two Regulars, towering over them with their silent presence.

E spoke, her voice taking on a false sense of properness, “I have heard about this match, and I demand that it is to end right here and now. Endorsi Jahad, it is risky of you to put such an important thing on the line such as your name, don’t you think?” She summoned a needle in her hand, “If you were so desperate for an execution, I can give it to you now.” 

Kaiser slammed her fist on the edge of the chair, “What is the meaning of this? Who are you to intrude on my home without an invitation nor a warning?” She raised her hand to attack, but H pulled out his blade and cut up the area around her in a demonstration of the power difference between them, stopping her movements. 

E explained, turning to Kaiser and curtsying, “Ah, apologies for our rudeness, but we feared that if our presence was known ahead of time, this little princess wouldn’t have shown up like she did. My name is E, a High Ranker from FUG. The man who oh so rudely destroyed your ground and who I will be punishing later is my partner, H. See, we intrude because we have taken an interest in Endorsi Jahad and her teammates, so we would rather not let her act out of line to put their group and our plans at risk. It’s nothing personal.”

Behind her, Endorsi deadpanned, That’s bullshit. 

E raised her hand to Kaiser, “But don’t worry, we do have another reason for coming here. We heard a rumor that a strong member of the Arie family is one of the ten bosses at this station. Inieta, is it? We came here with the wish to purchase his name. So, name your price, money has no value to us.” 

Endorsi scowled, What? They’re seriously giving in to this corruption? But, upon looking into the duo’s stances more, she realized, No, there’s something more that they’re planning.

Kaiser scowled, “Sorry, but he’s not for sale. He’s a valued pawn of mine so I have no intention of giving him up to just anyone who wants him.”

E threw up her hands, “Ah, that’s just a shame. We were even willing to pay ten billion for him. Would that change your mind, by chance?” Kaiser’s eyes widened, the true goal of the duo’s offer coming to surface. 

Kaiser opened her mouth to reply, but another blur came crashing down from above, landing between the Rankers and Kaiser. A man with brown hair, a white mask, and a noticeable horn on his head appeared with a sinister smile on his lips. He gestured to E with the same false drama, as if he were an actor on an invisible stage, “Now, now that would be just too easy, don’t you think? It wouldn’t be any fun if you just presented the answer without them deserving it! That’s just setting up a false entitlement that just can’t survive in the tower!” Immediately, Endorsi jumped to the defensive. Something about this man sent all the wrong signals to the younger girl. As if everything within her screamed to just run and hide as fast as possible. Yet… it also felt familiar in some way, she couldn’t exactly place it. And it seemed she wasn’t alone in that reaction. H immediately drew his blade on the man, while E visibly began to shake violently. He bowed to her, “My goddess, your most humble servant is here to only act your best interests. So I come here not to just cause trouble, but with an offer of my own.” He straightened back up and reached out his hand, “From what I hear, there will soon be three power figures at this here station, Princess Endorsi Jahad, Kaiser herself, and the acclaimed Jue Viole Grace, am I wrong? This could make things more exciting. So why don’t we play a game? Kaiser pulls all of her little pawns out of hiding as well as the two princesses spying from behind her throne. If Jue Viole Grace and Endorsi Jahad manage to retrieve all 12 names with their own allies by the night of the auction, then Kaiser will fight both Endorsi and Viole 2 on 1 for their names. If they fail, they and their teammates will replace the bosses they stole the names of and the remaining teammates will stay as servants. Sound fair, no?” He began walking over to E to embrace her, but she lurched back out of his touch and H raised his blade between them. 

E narrowed her gaze under her mask, resting a hand on H’s shoulder, “It’s alright. We accept your deal. But, in return, you nor us will interfere in the game ourselves. This game is among the Regulars alone, nobody else.”

Once again, the boy bowed, “But of course, my goddess. I am thankful that you headed my words and accepted my offer. I can assure you that I have no interests in mind other than yours.” E shivered, biting back a gag. H pulled his blade back from E to point it at the man’s neck directly. As H’s sword began to glow, the man chuckled, “Ah… H… Is it? I’m… happy… that you’re still acting as my goddess’ guardian, even if you’re not the best option. How are you?” H didn’t reply, silently growling and his blade shaking in uncharacteristic rage. The man smirked at the sight, “Ah… that’s right. You can’t answer me, can you?” At inhuman speed, he leapt over to H, clutching the blade in one hand, whispering just loud enough for H to hear, “ Pathetic trash like you doesn’t deserve to stand next to my perfect goddess. So you’re only buying your time just by being here.”

The two versions of Endorsi readied to fight, but Kaiser spoke up, “It seems all of you have gone on making plans about me without my input. That will be a mistake, I can assure you. I refuse to be a pawn in FUG’s game, or whatever side you stand for. I will accept your game, but on the condition that my strongest bosses, Inieta and Alphine, will not be killed in the process. They’re more valuable alive than dead, to everybody.” 

The man put a hand on his hip, appearing almost feminine, “But of course! It is your decision for their fates, after all. I thank you, Madame Kaiser. I can assure you that, no matter how this game plays, it will not let you down.” 

Damn bastard… why you, of all people, have to appear? Endorsi could hear the shyness even reach her older self’s thoughts, to the point she questioned whether or not E meant for her to hear that thought. Who was this man to elicit pure fear out of two unstoppable forces? 

Afterwards, the groups separated, deciding that Endorsi’s team could get  a head start while Kaiser could inform her teams to go on the defensive. While Endorsi explained the situation to her teammates, E walked through the open fields outside. A voice spoke up behind her, making her stop in her tracks, “What was your real goal of accepting that game?” In the shadow of the trees, Alpine emerged, “What do you plan on doing with lady Elaine?”

“Lady Elaine?” E spun around, faking confusion, “Now… I wonder who that is? I believe the person I challenged went by the name Kaiser, not Elaine.”

Alpine declared, “Cut the crap. We’re alone.”

“Boo. You’re no fun,” pouted E, “And if you think we plan on hurting any of those bosses guys, you’re wrong. We don’t throw away pawns or commit useless acts of murder, that’s just wasteful. We’d probably leave you behind to do whatever you want with this place while Kaiser and Inieta accompany our own Regular companions. As for the others? I’d probably just order them to free their servants and go on their way, banning from the station, of course. I don’t really want to bother with extra baggage.”

Alpine dared to take another step, “So that whole thing was because you think you can help them? I didn’t realize that FUG turned into a charity drive.”

That pulled out a genuine laugh from deep inside E, “Ha! Charity? Don’t misunderstand. It’s nothing more than an investment and a chance to spite those damn families, nothing more. This station is an investment for them, so naturally we want to tear it apart. And Inieta and Elaine are both powerful Regulars, perfect support to the ones we already invested in. Besides, I want to give that new slayer boy a challenge, and this will be the best chance for him to put on a show. I’m practically trembling with excitement already!” Alpine looked closer into E’s eyes behind the mask, trying to detect her sincerity and true intentions among the lies and half-truths she constantly spilled. 

Alpine relented, “Then I will help you. I’ll give that Endorsi girl my name, but I won’t fight for her. I still fight beside milady. I’m only helping you because I have a strange feeling that you’ll be able to change this unchangeable station and free milady from herself.”

E couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her lips, “Is that so? Well I hope my pawns don’t end up disappointing you. I can respect someone who’s willing to follow their lady through hell, I know full well my H feels the same.” With that, Alpine left, allowing E to pull out her pocket, “Hey Jinsung, you wanted to test your student’s current strength, right? Well I have just the show for you to watch… There could even be a fun prize by the end of it.” 

A week later, the time came for Khun Ran’s team to arrive. After Ran killed one of the ten bosses, Cheonhwa stepped forward and rested bent over the shredded body, “Ah crap, did we get the name? Endorsi will be pissed if we lost the name due your recklessness.”

Ran hissed, “It wasn’t recklessness, he just pissed me off. Reminded me of that damn Mad Dog and those stupid Rankers.” 

Dan added, ignoring the small boy’s comment, “And I don’t want to hear more of our dear princess’ screaming in my ear. I already had more than enough to last a lifetime in the short time I knew her.”

Cheonhwa countered, “Try putting up with her for nearly a decade and her spamming your pocket when you don’t answer her calls three times.” 

Dan retorted, “Well you’re her boyfriend, you should have known what you were signing up for, right?” Immediately, Cheonhwa felt himself blush, shooting down the comment with a swift knock to the member of the ten bosses, throwing him into a state of unconsciousness rather than being in between the two states like he was before. Cheonhwa refused to even look at the smug scout while he stole the name. 

Nearby, the man who had accompanied the boss spoke up, “U-Um, would you guys like some help to get to the station? I can fill you in on the station if you’d like.” Immediately, Ran charged himself up, but Cheonhwa responded equally as quickly with an arm stopping the boy.

Cheonhwa glared down at the Khun, “Didn’t you exert yourself in the fight just now? It wouldn’t be smart to pick another fight right now.” Ran huffed, falling back on one of Xia Xia’s lighthouses.  

Novick turned to the man, “We’ll come with you. We would like to learn more about this station.”

The man blinked, “But don’t you guys have a light bearer? Why didn’t they look into the station and tell you about the station before arriving?”

Xia Xia snapped, “Shut up! I refuse to do my job until someone pays me! I only accompanied these guys to this station because one of my potential sources of money is said to be here.” Regardless, the man took them onto a moving island and explained the station to them. 

Suddenly, the island froze mid air. Confused, Dan looked around, “What’s wrong?”

The man frantically fiddled with his lighthouse, scanning the area with his other lighthouse, “I-I don’t know! I think someone hacked into the lighthouse? I-I can’t sense any enemies!” 

Somewhere in the shadows, an orange haired boy with goggles glanced down at a message from Emily, ‘They’re in position, Traveler!’ 

Traveler grinned, pulling out an activation button, It’s finally time to show my stuff! He pressed the button, while sending out an announcement. The message read from Emily’s point of view, ‘Announcement! Anyone who kills at least one of the new arrivals will be freed and given a name back to them. Stealing the name for oneself will result in an ordered suicide.’ He summoned his lighthouses and hooked up Emily to it, allowing him to overview the stations from almost every angle. In spite of himself, Traveler couldn’t help but frown, Sorry… Jue Viole Grace, but I keep my word and repay my debts. I’m afraid we can’t be on the same side anymore.                 

Shibisu overlooked the arriving group with Hatz by his side when he heard an uproar from the nameless station nearby. Shibisu spun towards his other observers, “What’s happening? This wasn’t supposed to have this activity until Bam arrived!”

Narae burst onto the roof, Anaak’s phone in hand, “Shibisu! Anaak got something on Emily!” 

Hatz quirked a brow, “I didn’t know that Emily made announcements.”

Narae nodded, handing the phone for Shibisu to read, “Oh yeah, most announcements have been warnings about FUG’s plans for the train and to stay away. But not this one.”

Shibisu’s eyes widened, nearly dropping the phone, “Shit! This guy had almost the same exact plan that we had! Dammit! Hatz, get Endorsi and the others and take them to help Ran’s team. I have a feeling Ran pushed himself against that boss guy, so they’ll probably need help if too many nameless Regulars try their chance at them at once. Narae, scout out the stations with your… friends. I’ll check the forests to see if any of the bosses jumped at the chance for bloodshed.” The other two nodded and ran back into the building. Shibisu narrowed his gaze, From what E told me, Kaiser is from a member of the great families. And I’m guessing that the ones who stole Emily are in the army. Are they planning on having us lose to keep Kaiser at the station and keep it working? Now that’s just dirty. He smiled, summoning his Ranker observer behind his head, “Well it’s not like we exactly planned on playing fair either.” He cloaked himself and the observer, using it as a platform to leap down from the building and into the trees. Beside him, his other observer alerted him to the sound of voices from a clearing nearby. Moving closer, he spotted a huge group of men in uniforms gathered around a purple octopus woman. Shibisu bit back the urge to gag as he listened in. 

One of the men questioned, “Milady, do you really plan on investing in this game?”

The woman laughed, “But of course! It is what Kaiser requested of me, and I could always use more servants. From the names I heard announced, there must be some powerful and handsome men among them. They will be useful servants. Much more interesting than you peasants.” Shibisu glared at the woman’s pride in her acts of slavery. 

Serena, let’s end this injustice, shall we? From his boot, he pulled out a familiar dagger. With surprising speed he threw out his observers to make illusions of himself, attracting the attention of the group. He called out, “You really encourage having more servants? You take on the titles of ten bosses as if putting yourself on the same level as the ten families, without acknowledging that your titles don’t matter in the eyes of the rest of the tower. To them you’re just trash playing pretend.” The woman cried out almost incoherently in rage. She threw down a tentacle, but only hit an illusion instead. Using the distraction, Shibisu used his Ranker observer to freeze the woman, allowing him to weave past and slice at the pathetic servants and press his hand to the woman’s back. 

The woman scowled, “That was dirty, you ugly boy.”

Shibisu grinned with surprising maliciousness, “I’m teammates with two princesses, why are you surprised? Besides, don’t think I don’t know how you got this many servants. You’re not one to talk about dirty tactics.” With that, he stole her name and ordered her to free her servants before he made his way back to his residence. He wondered, “I wonder how the others are doing?”

Chapter Text

13

Dan glanced around, “I can sense it, a lot of people are coming towards us.”

Xia Xia questioned, “Is it because of Ran?”

Ran scoffed, “Morons.”

Cheonhwa unsheathed his blade, “Regardless of why, let’s just take care of them.” Suddenly, a giant shadow became casted over them. Immediately, everyone moved out of the way, Novick grabbing Ran in the process. 

Dan yelled, “Xia Xia! Their location?”

The rabbit girl replied, “Found it! It’s an observer!” 

Dan nodded, “Got it!” He leapt across the fields in a single leap, crushing the guy in the process. 

Suddenly, a fisherman came down on the group, charging towards Xia Xia, “You’re the weakest link!” But she summoned her barrier, allowing Cheonhwa to sneak behind and slice him down the back. Another blast came down from above, causing the group to separate, but the island below them became destroyed. The man from before and Xia Xia both jumped into action, catching the remaining members of the group. 

Meanwhile, Dan set down the body of the man as he felt another presence from behind. He flipped backwards out of the way of a spear, landing on a branch nearby, A spear bearer? Where? He scanned the shinsu waves and noticed it coming from the direction of the main residence. Once again, he sped towards the place in a blur, getting behind the spear bearer in an instant and knocking him out with a swift kick to the back. Yet, two more fighters took the man’s place, raising their respective weapons to the scout. They keep coming! 

Back with the others, Cheonhwa dodged out of the way of several baang attacks, igniting his weapon and creating a whip-like  flaming cut, hitting the attackers straight across the chest. Novick glanced back as a man tried to sneak up on him, only to get Novick’s spear through the chest. Xia Xia perked up, “There’s something beneath us!” On cue, the ground beneath them erupted in explosions, causing the group to jump back to all sides. 

Cheonhwa asked, “More attackers?” 

Xia Xia shook her head, “No! I think it was built into the ground.” 

Novick countered, “But that doesn’t mean that more attackers aren’t coming.” On cue, a spiral of flames came towards them, but Novick blocked the strike as Xia Xia pinpointed the source, allowing Cheonhwa to take it out. 

Xia Xia cried out, “Why do they keep coming? Dan, are you alright?”

Dan glanced around at the enemies surrounding him, “They’re all weak, so it’s not that bad. But it seems like everytime I take one down, more takes its place.” Suddenly, Dan perked up, This aura is- From the sky, a small ball with wings appeared, creating a laser that pierced through several of the attackers. 

“You’re late, asshole.” 

Xia Xia blocked another explosion, being careful not to use the lighthouse carrying Ran. Suddenly, a giant eel-like fish with scaly red skin and bright blue eyes appeared from the treeline. It weaved between the attackers, hitting each one with its tail and electrocuting them. It stopped in front of Cheonhwa and chirped happily. Cheonhwa realized, “It’s Narae’s! I think it’ll lead us to the others!” The group ran towards the named station, reaching the safe zone inside and taking shelter in Shibisu’s team’s room. Inside, they spotted Dan chatting with Endorsi, who lit up with fury in her eyes upon seeing the new arrivals. 

She stood up and marched over to Cheonhwa, “Hey dumbass, you’re late. I messaged you a whole week ago for our lousy b team’s help and you couldn’t be bothered to show up until now? God you reminded me why I ditched you losers.”

Cheonhwa rolled his eyes, sheathing his blade, “Missed you too, princess, so much.” He walked past her and knelt down to Narae, “I see you got a new sea fish, Lady Narae. Thank you for guiding us.”

Narae chirped, “Of course! And you don’t have to call me lady anymore, I’m not that little kid anymore. If you want to show respect, give me the money.”

Xia Xia smiled behind him, “I like this kid’s way of thinking already.” 

Cheonhwa chuckled nervously, “Heh… sorry, La- Narae, I suppose it’s just become a habit after all these years.” 

Ran spoke up from where he had been laid on the couch, “Someone explain why we were attacked immediately when we got here?” The other group exchanged a look before they explained the game and the message from Emily to them. 

Dan repeated, “So it’s a game for the sake of our freedom versus theirs. We have that Hesse guy’s name- oh, where did that bird guy go?”

Narae admitted, “I… think my fish electrocuted him to death. I told her to electrocute anyone not on your team, so I think that got him.”

Xia Xia rolled her eyes, “Who cares about him anyways? How many bosses did you guys get so far?”  

Shibisu informed, “I just got that octopus woman, and you guys have Hesse, making it a total of five bosses now that we’ve taken out.”

Hatz corrected, “Technically six, that lady serving Kaiser gave us her name but refused to leave Kaiser’s side. It’s almost honorable how much she cares for the lady she serves.” 

Cheonhwa nodded, “Ah, yeah, E told me about Kaiser and Alphine’s relationship. A woman who is willing to go that far for the person they’re loyal to and someone who is noble enough to earn that whole-hearted loyalty deserve to be respected and saved.” He was interrupted by Ran falling sideways onto his shoulder. Cheonhwa sighed, a caring glimmer in his eyes, “Well, we’d like to help, but I think we need rest from that fight. Especially Ran, he pushed himself a lot.”  

Ran mumbled, “Shut up… I’m fine.” 

Despite the smaller boy’s protests, Cheonhwa still threw the Khun on his back, “Nope, you’re gonna take a nap. We’ll need you for our next fight.” 

Shibisu called out to the leaving duo, “Watch out for possible assassin no-namers, alright?” Cheonhwa replied with a simple wave before leaving for another room. 

Xia Xia sighed, “He’s like the big brother of the team.”

Endorsi scowled, “Yeah, it’s really annoying.” 

Dan turned back to the others, “So, what can we do to help?”

Meanwhile, on the train, team sweet and sour were gathered in one of the rooms with Boro’s trio. Boro asked, “So you guys aren’t getting off at the station with us?”

Wangnan shook his head, “Nah, Arkraptor’s-”

Ehwa coughed, “-And yours-”           

“-wounds are still not fully recovered,” he continued, unfazed, “Besides, we’re still not ready for the floor of death. We’d probably just get in the way, to be honest. Bero Bero’s not coming either, and we need people to stay behind to watch Yura while you guys are at the station. She’s tricky, so we need all the help we can get.”  

Boro gagged, “God, I don’t envy you. After Khun finished the interrogation, he asked me to watch over her. She’s so damn loud and annoying.”

Daniel smirked, “Who does that remind me of?”

Boro hissed, “Oh come on, am I really that bad?”

Sachi and Daniel replied, “Yes, yes you are.”

Sachi added, “You’re not that bad in battle, but we all want to kill you when you’re drunk.” That caused a roar of laughter among the group. 

Boro shook his head, “Whatever, back on topic. What about you, Beta?”

Beta shrugged, “I’m going to go to the station, why the hell wouldn’t I? Besides, I wanna see how my stupid teammates are doing, if they even managed to get that far.”

Miseng teased, “So you really did care about Ran and the others.”

“No, I didn’t! That’s why I added the adjective stupid, you deaf girl!” 

Suddenly, Quaetro came barging in throwing a flaming baang towards Wangnan, who jumped out of the way and shouted at the redhead, “What the hell, you psycho flamehead?” 

Quaetro huffed, throwing himself down like a child, “Chang ran off and left me behind like a jerk. Apparently he wants to go find that Elliot guy to do something big on a higher floor that he “doesn’t want to drag me into”. Asshole, we’re partners. No wonder older me came back alone, who would want to remain teammates with a traitor like him? Chick… let me burn you a little and cheer me up.” He tried again to fire a baang at Wangnan, who ducked out of the way.

Horyang asked, “If he left you because of that, then why is he a traitor? Isn’t he doing it to protect you?” 

Quaetro crossed his arms, “He’s underestimating his teammate, calling me a coward! I’m no fucking coward! I’m gonna roast him to ash when I see him again!” 

Ehwa asked, “So what are you going to do now?”

Queatro grinned, “Why I’m gonna keep climbing with my chick, of course! You’re stuck with me now!”

Wangnan groaned, “Great…”

Daniel chuckled, “This group is so childish, it’s almost refreshing.”

Sachi agreed, “Compared to us, who’ve had our fair share of hell, it almost reminds me of the past. Glad to see not everyone’s completely lost their spirits by this point in the towar.”

Boro murmured, “It’ll just make it that much worse when they do finally break.”

Prince glared at him, “What are you three on about?” 

“Nothing!” 

Meanwhile, M and W were planning possible strategies for the future as Evan walked in, “Hey, you two. I want you to tell me who the hell you are.”

M smiled softly, “Ah, you’re a guide, right? I admit, sometimes I forget you’re a white dwarf. What’s the problem with us?”

Evan walked over to them, “Whenever I look at your paths, your crossroads, it’s unlike any normal Regulars or Rankers. It’s not even like the Irregulars, because I can still see something. But it’s like the crossroads are… in knots. Like they’re splitting strings getting tangled rather than the branches of a growing tree.”

M smiled, swinging her feet like her internal child, “Ah, so that’s what you see? I always was curious. And it figures that what you saw wasn’t… exactly… the exact same as what you saw for the others. See, don’t tell your princess this, but…” She took off her mask and smiled with a false innocence she lost long ago, “Don’t I look familiar, Mr. Evan?”

Evan narrowed his gaze, “You… look like that little kid that keeps talking to that ignition weapon boy.” His eyes opened with realization, “You mean you’re from the future? How is that possible?” 

M chirped, “Yep! And why are you surprised about time travel when considering the fact that we are in a giant tower run by sea fish filled with magic water that allows us to not age and create fire and weapons from it.”

Evan scowled, “...Touche.”

M hopped off her seat and threw her open umbrella over her shoulder, “And, in case you haven’t figured it out, my partner’s Wangnan. And that woman Yuri ran into on the 2nd floor merely a decade ago? She’s one of us as well, her real name is Endorsi Jahad.” 

Evan gasped, his eyes somehow even widening forward, “A princess of Jahad? With FUG? Why? Doesn’t she understand how dangerous that is? Why would she ally with the enemy?”

“Says the guy who followed a princess after an Irregular, the enemy of the Jahad family,” countered M, closing her umbrella to lean on the handle, “Look, we all have our reasons for what we do, don’t we? So why don’t you stop prying into other people, I’m sure you’re already stressed enough with that princess of yours.” Evan narrowed his gaze, clearly suspicious, but remained silent. M slipped on her mask and brushed past the man, slipping a clear marble-sized orb into the pocket of his bag.

An hour later, Danhwa walked into where Yura’s being tied up, “I finally found you, Yura. I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

Yura faked a smile, “Hey, swordsman guy! You were right, I really made a mistake. D-Do you think you can be a good knight and free me? It’s the duty of a knight to free a princess from her horrible captors, right? So come on.”

Danhwa took a deep breath, “I can’t do that, Yura.” He recalled a conversation from moments before.”

Danhwa walked through the halls to where Yura had been kept. On his way, Ehwa ran over to him, “Ah, Mr. Swordsman!”

Danhwa corrected, “It’s Danhwa.”

Ehwa waved her hand, “Whatever. I’ve been wanting to ask you something. Why do you keep chasing that bitch? From what I’ve heard, she’s only used and ditched you, she’s never cared about you in the slightest. She only cares about Rachel.” 

Danhwa replied, “Her words really inspired me, I couldn’t do anything but help. Even if my cousin and family don’t agree with my decision.”

Ehwa shook her head, “I was on the same team with that knight guy for a while. Ever think that he was trying to stop you because he knew you deserved better than to spend the time chasing after a woman who will never look back at you no matter how much you tail behind?”  

Calmly, Danhwa closed his eyes, “Since I heard your story on the station, I couldn’t help but be inspired by you. That Khun guy told me that you climbed with Rachel to become a real star, but for a while you already were one in my eyes. Yeah… that would be the most accurate. You’re a star, an inspiration, but you’re hung so far in the sky that I will never reach you no matter how hard I try. So I think I deserve better than to spend my life chasing after a star that I can never capture.” He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a mirror fragment, setting it down near Yura, “So a final piece of advice, Yura? You deserve better than to chase after someone who will never look back at you too.” Yura didn’t reply, her hair hung loosely over her eyes.  

The next day came and the group gathered together. Yuri greeted them, “Did you sleep well, Regulars? Today is finally the day you’ll arrive at the Name Hunt Station. Hm… But doesn’t it seem like we’re missing some people, you three?”

M spoke up, “Well Wangnan’s team and Bero Bero are staying behind to watch Yura, keep Albeda company, and train with us. According to Quaetro, Chang ran off to sneak off the train, and he himself is staying behind with Wangnan’s team as well. Oh, and that Poe guy is with the conductor to help him drive the train.” W didn’t speak, instead staying silent with his hair hung loosely over his face. 

Yuri huffed, “Lame, but I guess I get it. If they didn’t think they were ready, then they probably weren’t. Besides, we don’t have the time to worry about the others right now. The train is pulling into the station. We have until the train leaves tomorrow. Go and bring back Kaiser’s name.” As the Regulars passed her, she whispered, “Did I do well?”

W shot her a pair of finger guns, “Heck yeah, you did. Sounded like a test supervisor!”

Evan facepalmed, “How mature of you two. For about five seconds.”

M giggled, “I thought you’d be used to it by now, Evan. It’s not that bad to not look at everything coldly and seriously, there’s just no fun to living like that. Even that icy Khun boy has a soft heart… sometimes.” With that, the Regulars left the train for the station, leaving the four High Rankers behind and their names being announced overhead. To their surprise, instead of Bam’s name being announced, it was Jue Viole Grace instead.

In the room of the announcer, the mystery man leaned over the edge of the chair and smiled, “Ah, thank you for doing as I asked. You made these things much easier in the long term. Your kindness will not be forgotten.” The announcer opened his mouth to reply, but a bright blue arrow formed from the shinsu next to the masked man, piercing the announcer through the back of tke skull and out the front. As the announcer fell onto the console, the masked man removed his velvet gloves and tossed them into the air behind him, a smaller blue arrow coming out to rip the gloves to shreds. He scowled, “Disgusting trash.”

Meanwhile, in Ran’s team’s room, Xia Xia shook the young boy awake, “Hey! Hey Ran! Emily sent out the same message for Viole’s arrival that it sent for us! That means they’re going to be attacked! We need to go help them!” 

Ran rolled his eyes, “Fine, I’m coming.”

Dan asked, “But didn’t Viole delete that name after the workshop battle?”

Cheonhwa gave his sword one final wipe before sheathing it back on his hip, “He did. I don’t know why the announcer said that, but it probably is with the same person who’s controlling Emily and sending out those announcements targeting our group and Bam’s. Let’s move.” Around him, the others nodded.

Daniel and Beta watched the others discuss the station and take out all of the bear-like creatures guarding the station. Beta crossed his arms, “Hey, creepy souls guy, what do you know about the station?”

Daniel pondered, “Well… I don’t know much, we never really stopped at the station before. But I do know Kaiser isn’t someone to be underestimated.”

Beta nodded, “Well no shit, they’re the strongest D-class Regular. But whoever made the announcer change that name means they want complete one to challenge that title. But for what? Who cares about some station? Though this place does give me the chills, like the others within me are screaming to flee from this damn place as fast as possible.”

Daniel agreed, “Yeah, the spell on me is acting up with all the agony hanging in the air already. I think it’s warning me that something bad’s coming.” 

Upon reaching the station itself, Xia Xia came out, demanding Khun for money and explaining the situation with Endorsi’s game to them. Khun smiled his sinister grin, “So that E and H want to use Bam for their own goals? Those assholes, I’m gonna give them hell the first chance I get. Damn swordsman really doesn’t change even after all these years, does he?”

Bam spoke up, “Well Khun, in fairness, it doesn’t sound like they wanted to play the game at first, but this mystery man didn’t really give them a choice. But Ms. Xia Xia, do you know who this person-” He cut himself off due to a sudden chill running over his body. He spun around and summoned a baang, shooting it off towards the sky. Around him, the others watched with confusion, until an explosion rang out across the sky above. 

Khun scowled, “It’s a trap!” He immediately pulled out his lighthouses to scan the area. He shouted, “Spear bearer! Hey crocodile!” 

Rak shot up into the air, “Got it! Mad Shocker! ” He fired his spear towards where Khun’s lighthouses were targeting, hitting the spot dead on through the chest. Meanwhile, Bam dodged around a thrown needle and shot towards the source, kicking the woman in the side of the head. Boro blocked a blade with ease and ran his silver needle through their shoulder. Sachi scowled, summoning his vine spell to trap the Regulars surrounding them in one fell swoop. 

Beta sped over to one of them and asked, “Hey, loser. Why the fuck are you fighting us? You’re not anyone strong.”

The man choked, “Our names… We just want our names back…” 

Beta’s scowl deepened, but another voice spoke up, “Hey, the boy with the amber eyes. Are you Jue Viole Grace?” From the trees, Kaiser herself emerged. She looked at Sachi, “Sachi Faker. Let them go. I will stop you guys alone.” Reluctantly, he did so, allowing the Regulars to scamper back into the trees like sewer rats traveling back into the pipes they came from. 

Bam spoke up, “Are you Kaiser?” 

Kaiser replied, “I am. I heard that you are planning on ruining this station with the help of the princess Endorsi and her teammates. I refuse to let that happen.” 

Khun smirked, “So the final boss is coming to face us already? Great, it makes things easier for us.” Behind the group, a familiar fish watched from the shadows of the trees before retreating back to its host. 

Standing on a ledge overlooking the forest, Shibisu narrowed his gaze, “So Bam has arrived and the enemy announces him as Viole? That must mean they know about them being the same person. This throws a big wrench in our plan, but hopefully it can still lure out the remaining bosses before tomorrow night.”

Hatz questioned, “Shouldn’t we go help them? They’re strong, but there’s going to be a lot of no-named and maybe even named trying to take them down. They may be overwhelmed, especially if the bosses appear.”

Shibisu nodded, “It’s alright. I sent Ran’s team after them. But it’s strange, Kaiser did send her bosses out of hiding, but that still doesn’t make it any easier to pick up activity from them. And there’s still no reaction, not even now? Did Bam’s arrival really not draw out anything?”  

Suddenly, his pocket lit up as Narae’s voice came through, “U-Uh, Isu! Isu! I-It’s-”

Shibisu glanced over, “What is it, Narae? Did one of the bosses appear?”

“No!” Narae corrected, “Kaiser herself appeared! She’s going to fight Bam by herself!”

“What? So that’s what she intended!” 

Kaiser noted, “You know, when I heard the name Jue Viole Grace, I thought you would be a tall, intimidating man. But you’re more delicate looking than I thought, almost like a child with those crystal eyes of yours. Well… I guess the same goes for me, as a woman. So why did you and the princess take an interest in ruining his station? Jue Viole Grace. I didn’t think either of you would be so interested in justice. It especially surprised me when two High Rankers showed up from FUG to call me out themselves. Just what has FUG been up to these days? What are you after?”   

Bam narrowed his gaze, “I have come… to steal your name.”

“Is that so?” Kaiser frowned behind her mask, “You too…” Before she could continue, one of the no-named charged out to strike her from behind, but his arm burned up before it could make impact and the needle shattered to tiny fragments which scattered helplessly in the wind. Kaiser sighed, “You fool. Have you forgotten the rules of this station? No one on the station can attack Kaiser until they obtain the right to participate in the festival or Kaiser directly requests a match. Anyone who breaks this rule and attacks shall vanish immediately by the order of the administrator. How could you be so consumed with rage that you even forgot the rule? It’s because this is all you are that you never managed to reclaim your name this whole time, no-named.” 

While the others reacted to the rule, Bam’s eyes narrowed. Her tone of voice, and the fact she hides behind a mask. I can’t help it… His mind flashed back to his High Ranker friends. Is she hiding pain, just like they are? She doesn’t sound evil… she sounds like she’s tired. Tired… and trapped within herself. 

Kaiser spoke up, “Do not worry, Jue Viole Grace, you need not wait until the festival. For I will challenge you to a match right here and now. You must now put your name on the line to fight me, Jue Viole Grace.” She fired an invisible blast towards Bam, who used the blue oar to dodge out of the way. 

Khun’s eyes widened, “What kind of attack was that? I couldn’t see it!” Was it not shinsu? Could it be an invisible inventory? 

Kaiser warned, “Stay out of the fight, Khun family. You have been warned. You will disappear.” Khun didn’t listen, instead attempting to track the invisible weapons using his lighthouse and deduct some sort of plan simultaneously.    

Khun yelled, “Be careful! She’s using an invisible weapon!” On cue, several more invisible blasts shot out towards Bam, who held up his arms to block. Using the thorn and blue oar, he dodged around where he sensed the weapons were. 

He yelled back to Khun while doing so, “I’ll be fine! I may not be able to see it but I can sense it! I can figure out where it is!” He condensed a group of baangs and fired them in a spiral towards Kaiser. As the smoke cleared, Kaiser revealed to have an armor inventory covering her. 

Kaiser narrowed her gaze, Seven baangs… looks like he’s just as powerful as that man warned me that he would be. Is he truly an Irregular after all? 

Xia Xia cried out, “An armor inventory for a D-class? T-That’s an extremely expensive item! How did she get her hands on that? It would be hard for even High Rankers to own! An invisible inventory and an armor inventory… That damn Kaiser… She’s the lord of items!”

Khun pondered, Hm… She would’ve had to rob the treasure house of the ten families to get something like those… But I don’t think anyone except me would be crazy enough to do that… Though now that I recall… 

The day before the group left for the station, after Yuri presented the challenge, Khun approached M, “Hey. What do you remember about Bam’s original fight with Kaiser?”

M pondered, “Kaiser? Hm… Well… I can’t say much, I’m afraid. After all, my team separated from you guys on this floor. Oh! But I can say this,” She removed her mask to lean in close to Khun’s face and wink, “There is certainly more to her than is on the surface. You know us masked women like our secrets.” 

Khun crossed his arms, But what did she mean by that? A hint to Kaiser’s real name and identity? But what could she be hiding that keeps her the ruler of this station for so many years? 

Bam’s voice snapped him back to reality, igniting the thorn behind him, “I’ve heard you’ve stolen names from many people and tormented them. I can’t say that I fight on their behalf… I’m going to take your name. Kaiser.” Before the fight could escalate further, a flash of pink light filled the area, clearing up to reveal Endorsi hoving above Bam’s shoulder with wings on her back. Bam’s face lit up, “Endorsi? So you really are here!”

Endorsi smirked, “Long time no see, but what’s with that shocked look on your face? It just doesn’t suit you to look so conflicted.” She landed in front of Bam, “Hey, didn’t you hear the rules? I know both of us were there for it. There would be no fight between us until we collect all the names and fight you two on one. I didn’t take you to be one to break those rules so easily, Kaiser.”

Kaiser frowned, “So it’s true that you really are friends with a slayer candidate. Aren’t you afraid of losing your princess title?”

Endorsi scoffed, “Friends? Oh please. We’re just forced together because of a bitchy Ranker’s incapability to keep her nose out of my business.”

Khun deadpanned, “Does she realize she sort of insulted herself?” 

Endorsi hooked her arm around Bam, “Well anyway, since your fight was against our rules in the first place, I’ll declare it a draw for now. So I’m gonna take this guy with me instead, alright? And you better not follow us! Oh, and tell my sisters that if they’re so upset with me, they can come challenge me themselves. Well, see you tomorrow, Kaiser!” With that, she grabbed Bam, Khun, Xia Xia, and Rak and they vanished in a flash of pink light. 

Boro asked, “Was that princess Endorsi?” There was an excited sparkle in his eyes. 

Daniel opened his mouth to retort when his scar tingled, “Someone else is here. Someone powerful. Hey swordsman dude, follow me. Sachi, Boro, let the others know the situation.” The other three nodded as Daniel and Danhwa took off into the trees in the direction of the strong shinsu. This aura… it’s similar to Hoaqin’s. But not as strong as the five siblings, yet by the fact my tattoo is reacting means it must be an Arie. This could be difficult. 

Ran’s team ran through the trees. Cheonhwa asked, “Ran! Do you even know where you’re going? You’re going to get us lost.”

Ran replied, “I got the coordinates from that rabbit girl. Turns out she can be useful sometimes after all.” 

Nearby, a voice spoke up, “I came here because I heard that a FUG slayer candidate is here… But is that slayer candidate one of you?” From the trees, none other than the acclaimed Arie Inieta emerged, a childish smile on his face. 

Dan called out, “Who are you?” 

The boy’s smile grew, “Ah, no, aren’t you guys that princess’ teammates? I suppose you’ll be worthy for a fight. My name is Arie Inieta.”

Meanwhile, the five landed in their apartment. Narae lit up, “Guys! You’re here! Ugh, Khun’s still here.”

Khun scowled, “Hey there kid, where’s Cheonhwa?”

Narae pouted, “No good to see you? See, this is why you’ll never get a girlfriend, you cocky jerk.” With a huff and a flip of her hair, she left for the kitchen in the other room, her yellow fish chirping on her shoulder. 

Shibisu chuckled, “Wow! Hey guys! How long has it been? Still, I didn’t expect to see you this soon! I thought we would meet at least after the train had ended! I suppose E and H were right when they warned us of your arrival. I’m so happy to see you guys!”

E entered the room, “Hm? Have they arrived? Took them long enough.”

Khun clenched his fist, “E… What the hell were you thinking? Why the hell would you accept this game?” 

E sighed, “Figures, you’re so predictable, Khun. Why don’t you just take a seat, you five? I’ll explain everything.”

Endorsi spoke up, “Where’s H?”

E smirked, “You don’t have to worry about him. He’s doing a very special job after finding out about Emily.” 

Somewhere else, Traveler scanned over the cameras, a scowl on his lips, “Dammit… where did they go? Kaiser… Why did you have to be so impulsive? If you lose…” Behind him, the door flew open, revealing the mystery man standing there, a darkened aura of bloodlust rolling off him in waves. 

The man smiled, “Ah, Regular boy. Care to explain why Kaiser herself appeared and how none of your plans managed to take out a single one of those pathetic fools? They may be strong, but you have all the numbers and tools that you can desire.” 

Traveler stuttered, “W-Well, sir! You see… it’s just that they’re much trickier than we planned. B-But don’t worry! I’m developing the layout for safety measures in Kaiser's building so that even if Viole and the princess try to sneak in, they can’t! It will a-all work out in the end, I-I assure you!” The man grabbed Traveler’s collar and threw him into a wall so hard that the boy coughed up blood. 

The man smiled creepily, “You better. Remember, Jahad’s forces have little use for tools that provide no use. Those are nothing more than trash, and you know what happens to trash, don’t you?” He pulled out a dagger and ran it lightly across Traveler’s cheek, causing a thin trail of blood to spill out. Terrified, Traveler gulped loudly, trying to steady his furiously shaking body. The man spun around, leaving the boy back in his lair of darkness. Shutting the door behind him, the man paused, “As a scout, don’t you think you should be better about cloaking yourself?” A silver dagger came flying towards him, slicing through the man’s attempt to block, causing the man to side step instead, the dagger piercing the wall behind him instead. The man’s smirk reemerged, “Or are you not trying to hide, Hatsu?” From the shadows, H emerged, his sword in hand and raised towards the mystery man. 

Khun asked, “So, who was this man that scared you two so greatly?”

E took a deep breath, taking off her mask to reveal her distant eyes, “He’s… the one who slaughtered our entire team and took Hatz’s voice.” 

Endorsi hovered through the air, the very man of her nightmares hovering over her like a demonic angel. He bent down and caressed her cheek, despite the blood spilling down it, “My perfect goddess, I have no intention of killing you. I am simply doing what is best for your future.”

She coughed out, “Fuck… you…”

Hatz called out behind the man, “Don’t touch her!” 

Endorsi cried out, “No! Leave! Take Isu and anaak and just leave!” Hatz hesitated, glancing between the bodies around him and the enemy ahead of him. His body shook, torn between a lose-lose decision. Even Endorsi could tell, by the way his blade quivered in his hands. Hatz scowled and shot through the air, Demonic Fish Skill- But before he could even finish the attack, a small blue arrow shot through the dense shinsu around him and pierced him in the throat. Coughing violently, Hatz dropped his blade, it dissolving back into the too dense shinsu in which it came from, to clench his wound. He tried to desperately gasp for breath, coughing up more blood in the process. 

The man grinned at the sight, “Don’t you see, my goddess? These fools are not worthy of your perfection. Greedy sinners like them must be punished for even laying their eyes on such perfection.” With that, he sped off in a blur of light, leaving Endorsi and the bleeding bodies behind. Endorsi looked over the bleeding teammates, her whole body shaking. Above her, she could see the monumental fight between a god and a demon, a history changing event that would shake the whole tower into something new. But at the moment, she couldn’t care less. She desperately willed for her body to move, trying to grab one of them, any of them. But who? Taking a deep breath, she shot out and made her decision. 

The man grinned, “Don’t you think it would be better to not attack me on your own? I get that we can’t use our shinsu here beyond a minor amount, but come on, I’m still out of your lead.” In an instant, he appeared next to H, “Or are you that desperate to die? If that's the case, I have no problem granting your wish.” The murderous desire dripping from his sharp words was like blood from a knife, causing H’s blade to quiver slightly. Under his mask, H’s eyes narrowed as his eyes glossed over with a variety of emotions. 

Bam shot up, “He’s the one?”

Shibisu’s eyes widened, “Then, can you tell us his name? We can keep an eye on him while he’s still a-”

“No, you must not hunt him down,” warned E, an uncharacteristic level of seriousness to her voice, “That’s why we accepted the game. Because we knew that he tends to get what he wants, s-so fighting him would o-only cause more problems for us in the long run.”

Khun sighed, “Still, being forced into this stupid game because of a person you can’t even name?” Endorsi’s not known for being threatened and frightened so easily, so this man must clearly be a threat. As much as I want to pry those two for information, it might save us a headache to play along with this stupid game, especially if the bosses had come out of hiding. 

Endorsi spoke up, “Excuse me, I can only listen to that bitch’s fake voice for so long, even without the modifier on, so can I take Bam away?” 

Khun immediately shot her down, “No. How could I leave Bam with a dangerous woman like you?” 

Rak yelled, “Don’t you defile the black turtle! I don’t trust you, ghost-eyed turtle, I can tell you have malicious intentions!”

Bam waved his hand, “It’s alright, guys! Let’s go, Endorsi.”

Novick narrowed his gaze, “So you’re one of the ten bosses? I’m surprised you came straight towards us. Are you here to support Kaiser?”

Inieta blinked, “Kaiser’s here? I just came because I heard the new slayer nominee arrived. I’ve been itching for a fight. None of you are Jue Viole Grace, but you are his allies, right? And that blue-haired kid looks rather fun. I heard he’s the one who beat Hesse. How about I catch you, Khun kid, and make you one of my servants? It’ll be fun to have a challenge for once.” 

Ran scowled, “Fine… You guys stay out of my way. I’ll take this guy on alone. Just make sure nobody interferes with our fight.”

Cheonhwa opened his mouth to protest, but Novick put a hand on the knight’s shoulder, “Alright Ran, you’re on your own.” 

Inieta chuckled, a murderous aura surrounding him, “Giving up you numbers advantage? I don’t think you realize who you’re up against, Khun kid. Still… I was looking forward to fighting you more than the other guys. I wonder what kind of face you’ll make when you lose.”

“Shut up and fight,” interrupted Ran, popping a lightning pill in his mouth. 

Inieta unsheathed his blade, smirk growing, “Oh? Is there a reason you want your loss to come sooner?” 

Ran raised his hand, condensing his electricity shinsu in his hand, “Shutting that irritating mouth of yours would be the perfect reason, you idiot!” They both threw out their strikes, the attacks meeting in the middle and making the woods shake in terror from the force. 

Somewhere on a cliffside, Hatz noticed the bright lights in the distance, “Is that where they are?”

H asked, Did you get the coordinates I sent you? 

Hatz replied, I’m on my way. He turned his attention back towards the building on the end of the path he was on. It was a shabby cabin, nothing special at first sight. Still, Hatz could sense a distinct presence of several lighthouses at use inside. He returned to his sprint towards the building, a hand on his sheath. Suddenly, he felt a strong shinsu presence shoot towards him from a tree nearby. In an instant, he unsheathed the silver blade to block a kick from a familiar pink-haired princess. 

The girl smiled, “Ah! So you’re the one. You’re quick to block my moves. ” She flipped backwards so she could block Hatz from his goal. “The name’s Shilial Jahad from the Lo Po Bia family, friend of Endorsi. Sorry, but I can’t let you go this way,” Shilial replied, summoning her inventory next to her, “So how about this? We bet our names on a sword match?” She pulled out a clear pink rapier and raised it to Hatz, “Sound fair, swordsman? I do have some experience in the blade, but I stopped when I realized I wasn’t that good. So let’s see how you can measure up!”

Ran launched high in the air towards Inieta, trying to punch him several times as inieta tried to swing at him, their attacks meeting in the middle several times. Inieta grinned even more excitedly, Wow, this kid is amazing! I know he boosted his shinsu, but blocking my sword with his bare hands? He’s really fast too! Inieta tried to swing down Ran’s center, only for the boy to doge out of the way and go for a narrowed blast, only for Inieta to block under it. Inieta spun around to cut at him, but Ran blocked the strike with his foot, the force causing him to flip backwards and land on his bent legs. Inieta jumped back, but Ran chased after him, trying to cut at the white-haired boy with his electricity. Inieta giggled madly, He’s so fast, extremely fast! He keeps getting faster! It might be hard to keep up with him! Inieta used his special Arie skill that formed several illusioned swords that sent out their own shinsu strikes from all directions towards Ran. Ran’s eyes widened as he recalled what he knew about the form of attack. He braced himself for the series of attacks, summoning his electricity in his fist as he pushed through and hit Inieta in the chest, sending him back and through several trees. Bleeding out, Inieta chuckled, “Crap… you’re tougher than you look. I never thought you would just take the attack. How sturdy is that body of yours? You must be in the direct line.” Ran didn’t reply, striking him with another electricity attack, but Inieta blocked the strike with his blade. He leapt up to his feet and dodged Ran’s next attack, closing the distance while shouting, “I hate you direct line guys! You’re always so uptight for no reason! I can’t stand direct lines and legitimacy! I want to smash it to bits!” Ran raised his fist as Inieta went for a stab. Ran tried to punch him, but Inieta dodged and managed to get a clean cut across Ran’s chest before the boy could react. Ran scowled and blocked another swing, using it to launch back and slid across the ground. Inieta went for another series of illusioned attacks, only for a spiral of purple shinsu to come towards him from the side, followed by an orange wave of flames. Inieta leapt back out of the way, shouting, “Who dared to interfere?” Nearby, Daniel and Danhwa stood there, battle ready. 

Daniel smirked, “I knew it was another Arie. Hey Khun kid, mind dodging for us?” Ran did a backbend to dodge Danhwa’s narrowed ignited strike, which was supported by Daniel’s shinsu surrounding it. Inieta held up his blade to strike, but the purple shinsu separated from the strike and hit Inieta hard in the back like an explosion.

Inieta’s eyes widen, stumbling forward, What is that shinsu? Is it… alive? Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough time to react as Ran launched towards him, delivering the final blow to Inieta’s chest, filling the area with blue electric light. 

Hatz struggled to block each of Shilial’s stabs with his blade. Shilial awed, “Very impressive! I can’t believe you’re blocking my attacks when you’re not even from the ten great families! Although you’re not using very dignified skills!”

Hatz shouted back, fury bubbling in his gut, “Dignified skills? Don't be ridiculous! What you’re feeling is your family bias! Endorsi doesn’t have any prejudices like you!” He went for a stab, remembering what H taught him to create a synchronized dual attack towards the princess from both sides. 

Shilial flipped backwards out of the way and went for a stab, which Hatz blocked, albeit with difficulty, “Of course! That’s because she has never been a noble like us!” He slid back from the force behind the stab, being pushed to the edge of the cliffside. He scowled, a plan coming to mind.

Thanks to H’s training, the sword isn’t as bad as it could be, but this could still be bad if I don’t end things soon. I need to lure her in. He called out, “Just why do you keep hating on Endorsi? Isn’t she your sister?”

Shilial pointed out, “It appears there’s a misunderstanding. I don’t really despise Endorsi, I can’t say the same for Lilial, though. I wouldn’t refuse to acknowledge her if she acted like a princess, but she never is like that. She’s climbing the tower with Anaak Jahad, the shame of the Jahad family. She’s even friends with a slayer candidate and is receiving open support from two elites in FUG. It makes me wonder whether she even has a right to be a Jahad princess.”

Hatz closed his eyes, “Is that a joke?” He opened his eyes, his gaze narrowed, “You guys are the ones who are fakes to me? You relied on using a failure of the family to do what the two of you are too weak to. If Endorsi is such a joke, then why is she so popular in the eye of the people while nearly nobody knows either of your names?”

Shilial quirked a brow, “The common folk? Why do they make a difference? It’s the opinion of the elites that should matter, right?”

Hatz raised his blade, “You know what it sounds like? It sounds like the two of you are jealous that Endorsi can be bold enough to take such risks rather than be your father’s obedient lapdog, something neither of you have the courage to do yourselves.” Shilial narrowed her gaze.

She filled her blade with shinsu, “You know, I thought you were clever, but here you are speaking so much about stuff you don’t understand swordsman. You still have potential, though, so I might make you my right-hand man.” She charged towards Hatz, who grinned as he sheathed his blade. He ducked under her stab to swipe out her feet, but she grinned, “Did you really think it would be that easy?” She spun around to cut down at him, but he unsheathed Dongtae, the amount of force radiating from the blade was enough to shatter the needle and cause her to stumble back. 

His face glowed with bright orange shinsu as Dongtae quivered in his hands, “You know, you really shouldn’t underestimate us commoners. We know more than you might think.” He went for a stab, barely being able to condense the pure energy enough to send Shilial over the edge of the cliff. Before she hit the ground, she flipped to land on a tree branch instead. But Hatz was too caught up in the power in his hands to notice. 

He could hear a voice say, but it wasn’t H’s for once, I see you finally decide to use me. Though I fear you are not yet strong enough to control me, despite being in a better state than your other self. Hatz could tell, his hands struggling to keep a steady hold on the raw power he held between his hands. This power seemed pure, uncontrollable, almost unstoppable. How did his older self even get ahold of such a weapon, much less wield it? Hatz shook his head, not the time. In front of him, Shilial leapt back into view.

She put a hand on her hip, tossing aside the handle of her broken blade, “My, that was a good trick. Perhaps I underestimated you after all. But what is that blade? An ignition sword?”

Hatz nodded, “Yes, it is an ignition sword, named ‘Dongtae’, but it has yet to be ignited. And when it is ignited, even I cannot control it.” 

Shilial protested, “What? That’s impossible! There’s no way a D-class Regular like you could get your hands on such a weapon, help or no help!” She shot towards Hatz and punched his blade, “Now this will be a fight! Enough toying around, you deserve me trying my hardest!”

Hatz scowled, blocking fist after fist while trying to control the power enough to counter, Dammit… this could be bad! 

Inieta huffed, his entire body covered in blood, his clothes torn and sword tossed aside, “Ah… jeez… I thought I was a goner.”

Daniel complimented, “Wow, I wasn’t even holding back at all, especially with all the souls just lost in the fight earlier fueling me. You’re definitely an Arie, kiddo.”

Inieta snapped, “You cheaters! You’re not allowed to do that in a one-on-one fight!”

Ran crossed his arms, “I said my teammates wouldn’t interfere, I don’t even know who these guys are. Besides, it’s bold to assume a fight for our lives would be played fairly, idiot.”

Inieta scowled, “Dammit! I really don’t like you.”

Cheonhwa complemented, “Those sword skills are truly remarkable, even if you aren’t direct line. How strong is this Kaiser woman?”

Inieta smiled weakly, “Hah… Kaiser? Well… I’ve fought her. I came here because I heard that there was a really strong warrior here. Although I ended up getting stuck. She’s definitely strong. But to be honest, she’s not my type. I didn’t even get to see everything she was capable of before she beat me.”

Dan asked, “What abilities are you talking about?”

Inieta chuckled, “I get what you’re doing, but you’re not going to get much information out of me. So why don’t you just finish me off?”

Cheonhwa spoke up, “Because we aren’t going to kill you. We’re going to steal your name to make you a servant… with a few asterisks. See, both a couple of strong Rankers we know and Kaiser herself both don’t want you to die.” 

“Like I’ll let you,” countered Inieta, trying to grab his sword, but Dan was faster, grabbing it and speeding back out of reach. Daniel used his shinsu to form purple cuffs on the Arie boy’s wrists, allowing him to get in close enough to steal Inieta’s name. Inieta scowled, “You damn assholes, what do you want me to do?”

Dan took the scroll with Inieta’s name, “Free your servants. Then join us at the named station to tell our group everything you know about Kaiser.” With a scowl, Inieta left to do so. 

Ran scowled, “I still hate this. This station disgusts me.”

Cheonhwa scowled, “Stop complaining, we’ll be out of here soon enough.” He turned to Danhwa, “Why the hell are you here? Still chasing that idol girl?”

Danhwa glanced down, saddened, “...No. I gave up on chasing her. Now that I understand her true intentions, I understand that there is no reason for me chasing her any further.”

Cheonhwa rolled his eyes, “Figures it wouldn’t take much to sway you. You’ve always been one of the more simple-minded ones from home.” 

Novick spoke up, “Hey. Xia Xia said that they got back to their room safely. Let’s join them. Cheonhwa, can you grab Ran?”

Ran protested, “I’m fine… I didn’t use-” He cut himself off as he fell on his back, huffing for breath as his shirt turned a deeper and deeper shade of red. 

Cheonhwa chuckled, “Here we go again.” 

In their room, Endorsi sighed, “I see. So you missed Rachel on the train, again. Are you seriously still running after her? You’ve sure been through a lot.”

Bam admitted, “Honestly? I’m… not sure. I want to, but then I keep seeing people who chase after others like I chase after Rachel, and I see their effects on others. I admit, part of my reason for going to the floor of death is because I have things I want to ask her, but W and M also told me that I may get information about myself and the thorn if I go. I have to get Kaiser’s name so I can go there and find out who I am!” 

Endorsi didn’t glance back at him, fixing her ponytail, “Is that so? Well then, be lucky I didn’t get my chance with Kaiser, or you would be in big trouble. Even if I didn’t get the chance to fight her, I could immediately tell her level of strength. How about you? You actually fought her, right? Could you feel it?”

Bam pondered, “Well… I only fought her for a moment, so I’m not sure. She felt strong, but not like someone I couldn’t beat.” 

Endorsi waved her finger, “Well I wouldn’t underestimate her. From what that bi- E told me, she has abilities that are almost unbeatable here. E wouldn’t tell me what those abilities were, said that I had to find a way to get that information myself. Oh, but that Alphine person did tell me something about Kaiser. She was a member of one of the ten families that was going to be a princess, but apparently she was tricked out of earning the title, which landed her in this station. I don’t know the details, and honestly, I don’t care. What’s important is the two of us have to gather the name of the ten bosses and fight Kaiser together for her name tomorrow night. So, will you do it, Bam? I’ll let you take that name and we can bring down this wretched station in one fell swoop.” 

Khun sighed, “So we have to gather the names of four more bosses and the two princesses by tomorrow night in order to have a match for Kaiser’s name, is that right?”

Narae chirped, “Yep! That’s the game!”

Khun pointed out, “But didn’t Bam enter a match declared by Kaiser? Sure, Endorsi ruined it, but does that count?”

Rak snapped, “This game is stupidly complicated! Let’s just go beat the strong turtle and steal her name!” 

Khun scowled, “It’s not that simple, stupid crocodile! Especially not with the administrator’s protection on Kaiser.” He agreed, “Fine, I’m in if Bam is, but on one condition.” His eyes went to E, “If we win this, I want you to tell me exactly who this man is and why you’re so scared of him.”

E began, “Eh? Are you deaf? I already-”

“You told me what he did. I want his name,” Khun countered, “Admittedly, you and the swordsman are not easily frightened to the point you are when his presence is so much as mentioned.” He narrowed his gaze, “You’re hiding something. Something big. And I want to know what it is.”

E opened her mouth to reply when her pocket dinged, “Dammit, this is going to have to be on hold. Hatz ran into one of the princesses and she’s putting up a surprising fight.” 

Shibisu scowled, “Seriously? This is bad, I’ll get Endorsi!” 

Khun scoffed, “Damn swordsman, what would he do without me? Call Sachi Faker.” On the other end, Sachi and Boro spoke up, to which he shut them down to fill them in on the situation. 

Shibisu called out, “Coordinates?”

E nodded, “H just sent them to me, I’ll send it out to those guys.” 

In their room, endorsi saw the message and scowled, “Dammit, Hatz. Looks like we’ll just have to put this conversation on hold, alright? I’ll be back.”

Bam shot up, “Wait, is Hatz in danger? Let me go too!” 

Endorsi waved her hand, “No way! This is a sibling bickering, so leave it to us sisters, alright? Khun’ll kill me if I bring you along, and I'd rather not have anything else for that asshole to hold over my head. List’s long enough as it is.” In a flash of pink light, she vanished out the window. 

Hatz dodged out of the way of a punch, going for a wider form of his skill, Dance of Ghost Fish Seven Shots The Ascent of the Dragon! Shilial held up her arms to block before launching into an attack of her own, Shinsu Boost: Sonic Pierce! She jutted out her pointed foot, creating a major shockwave that made Hatz slide back, even when blocking most of the force in his sword. Shilial tried to follow up with a punch, but Hatz sliced across the ground, creating a wall of flames. Shilial jumped back in shock, giving Hatz an opportunity to attack, Demonic Fish Wheel Dance: Whitewave Explosion! Shilial grabbed the blade, struggling to keep hold enough to kick Hatz in the chest, sending him into a tree. 

Shilial coughed, a thin trail of blood coming from the corner of her mouth, “You have a lot more force now that you wield such a dangerous blade. But that won’t mean you can win against a princess.” 

“Not alone, perhaps,” a voice replied, as giant orange vines came out and wrapped around the woman, leaving her back exposed. Sachi and Boro leapt into view. Sachi raised his wand, “But can you handle the three of us?” 

Shilial sighed, “This has become more of a pain than I was expecting.”

Chapter Text

14

Endorsi landed in what appeared to be the center of the woods, “That bitch, did she send me the wrong coordinates?” 

“Nope!” A blonde in pigtails came down from the trees to kick Endorsi’s head, who did a backbend out of the way.   

Endorsi scowled, “Oh great, it’s you. Why are you here, Lilial Jahad? Here to support Shilial?”

Lilial giggled, “Of course not! My sister can handle herself against your weak teammates. I’m here for you! I’ll steal your name then take out that Jue Viole Grace. It’ll surely impress father! Besides, how could you be so rude to your sister? This is why they shouldn’t choose princesses who lack a basic foundation.”

Endorsi scowled, “Sister? Don’t make me laugh, bitch. Why the hell do you want to target Viole?” 

Lilial laughed, “Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m gonna take him as a servant so he can no longer be a threat to father and I can use him however I want! He was rather cute, now that I got a good look. Plus, I want to know about your guys’ relationship! I saw you two interacting, and I want all the details! This is the mother of all exclusive scoops! I want to tell dad so badly it’s driving me nuts!”

Endorsi narrowed her gaze, Shit. This is bad. She cleared her throat, “then why don’t you tell him if you’re so excited about it? You sure seem eager considering you’re squeaking like a kid with candy. You have the proof to back yourself up, right?” Thanks E, for drilling that idea in my head. 

Lilial paused, but quickly recovered, “Oh, I’ll get the proof! When I capture your names and order a confession out of you!” With that, she launched into the air, flipping over Endorsi to try and press her hands on the brunette’s back, only for the other to teleport away and fly in the air. 

Endorsi smirked, “You really didn’t think this through, did you? I can use Bong Bong to hover out of the way of all of your attacks.” 

Lilial asked, “Aw, but why would you do that? Wouldn’t you rather help us? We can defeat Jue Viole Grace and you can no longer risk being seen as a traitor in the eyes of our family!”

Endorsi smirked, pulling out her dagger from E, “Oh please, as if I did anything to hide it.” She held out her free hand, Focus, focus! Remember the lessons E gave you to shape the shinsu that suits you. Don’t let that bitch have anything over you! In her hand, a small, glassy arrow formed, shooting towards Lilial, who flipped out of the way. 

Lilial giggled, “Is that all you can manage?” But, to her surprise, the arrow bent midair, changing trajectory to cut off part of Lilial’s hair in her attempt to dodge, before it dissolved back into the air. 

Dammit… not good enough. But Endorsi managed to keep a convincing smirk as she called out, “I have way more tricks than you realize.” 

Lilial giggled again, “My, this is exciting! It makes me want to beat you more so I can hurry up and take Viole on as well! After all, a dirty girl like you shouldn’t get the honor, it should go to a proper noble. So I, Lilial Jahad from the Lo Po Bia family will challenge Viole and steal his name!” 

Endorsi frowned, “Have you lost your mind?” 

Lilial shot up in a boost, kicking Endorsi, who tried to block with her arms, “How dare you talk like that to your older sister? You really are rude! Are you worried that I’m going to beat Jue Viole Grace?”

Endorsi frowned, grabbing Lilial’s ankle, “Worried? Why would I be? When you can…” Lilial tried to break free, only to find a surprising amount of strength behind Endorsi’s grip, “...barely beat me!” In one swift movement, Endorsi spun around and threw Lilial into the ground, creating a crater beneath her. Lilial fornwed, her eyes dimming slightly. 

She got to her feet, “You really don’t know anything, do you?” Lilial summoned a giant glowing yellow baang that shot towards Endorsi, who used her knife to absorb the blast. Lilial burst through the smoke to kick Endorsi in the side of her head, the other girl struggling to block the strike. Lilial yelled, “This is why such an inappropriate princess like you deserves to be punished, don’t you agree?” 

Shilial frowned, “Aw man, so many of you are here now.” A bright pink glow enveloped her body as she broke free of the vines and shot wards Sachi, “You’re Sachi Faker, right? Why would a ticket hunter team up with these goody two shoes?” 

Sachi scowled, “Don’t try to act like you understand me, princess.” 

Irure spoke up, “Sachi. Move.”

Sachi glanced at the sleepy girl, “You got a plan?”

Irure nodded, “Yes.” Sachi leapt out of the way of a piercing attack from shilial, which nearly hit Boro. 

Boro scowled, “She’s a hand to hand combat fighter, so I’m afraid I won’t be much help.”

“That’s fine,” replied Irure, who held up her hand to Shilial. A tornado formed around the princess, who tried to escape only to find the breath being sucked from her, sapping her of her strength equally as quickly. Irure explained, “Breath stealer, it sucks the shinsu within its tornado to add back into the winds, making it an unstoppable trap from those trapped within. Not strong enough to kill, but enough to daze a princess. Now, Sachi.” Understanding the plan, Sachi jumped into action, using his rose vine trap to hold Shilial in place. Boro took the chance to rush out and press his hands to Shilial’s back, activating the name stealing process. Ten seconds later, the process was complete, a glowing scroll appearing in Boro’s hands.

He giggled, “Heh, I got a princess’ name.”

Immediately, Sachi snatched it from him and handed it to Hatz, “Here, you did most of the fighting. Are you alright?” Instead of responding, Hatz sheathed Dongtae and fell on his knees, coughing up blood.

Hatz wheezing through the fits, “It… was… all… I could… do to… keep the… sword to…  obey me… along… with… fighting… her.”

Sachi assured, slinging him over his shoulder, “It’s alright. We got you.” 

Shilial scowled, “And what will you do with me? Don’t you know I can lose my life now?”

Hatz glared at her, “You didn’t seem to care about that when you were risking Endorsi’s life. Why should it be any different for you?” 

Sachi informed, “We have no interest in being like the other bastards here. We’ll return your name to you once we’re done. For now, just stay out of our way or we won’t return it to you.” He released the spell, causing Shilial to fall to her knees. 

As they left, Shilial pouted, “Dammit… What a pain. Guess I underestimated them. Aw, they were fun, though.” She messaged Lilial, saying how she lost her name.

Meanwhile, Beta flew over the treeline until he spotted a familiar redhead standing by a cliffside. Beta landed nearby and snapped, “Hey, guide girl! What do you think you’re doing? The others are heading towards the residents area.”

Hwaryun pointed to the wall, “People are coming. They’re some of the ten bosses. Prepare yourself.” 

Beta quirked a brow, “Eh? From a wall? Have you lost it?” On cue, the cliffside began to glow, a door taking form to reveal several hooded figures behind it. 

At the front, a man with black hair and a creepy smirk stepped forward, “Ah, are you coming to offer yourself to us? That’ll make my job easier.”

A Da’an with a cloak and plastic bubble over his face giggled, “Ha! Did they underestimate us? Two of the ten bosses?” 

Beta glanced over to Hwaryun, clearly unimpressed, “You wanna take the bosses or the servants?” 

Hwaryun summoned her gold staff in her hand, “As much as I wouldn’t mind taking the bosses, there’s something in this area that’s messing with my guide abilities, so I’d rather play it safe.” 

Beta quirked a brow, Something is limiting her abilities to see paths? Gah, whatever. He ignitied his body, summoning four baangs around him. 

A moment later, they had beaten the guys and stolen their names, ordering them to free their servants and to leave the duo alone. Beta turned to Hwaryun, “So what’s this about an interception of your guide skills? I know you can’t see paths as well on the train or near the future guys, but that shouldn’t be a problem here, right?”

Hwaryun glanced up to the shack on the hill nearby, “For once, I’m not sure. I have a theory, though. And the answer is up there.” 

Beta rolled his eyes, “Of course there is.”

Meanwhile, Inieta arrived back with the others. Khun immediately questioned him about what he knew of Kaiser and the station, which he filled the team in on Kaiser’s fighting abilities and the auctioning of names. Afterwards, Inieta leaned back in his chair, “And that’s all I know, I swear. So, can I have something to drink?” Narae squeaked and ran off to the kitchen to grab some alcohol for the Arie boy.

Khun pondered, “So she has a ghost wolf that she can switch places with at any time as long as she snaps her fingers, this could be a troublesome enemy.” He turned to E, “I can sort of see why you wanted to try to stop any fighting with her, and I can also see why those Rankers sent us here. This’ll definitely be a challenge for both Bam and Endorsi. I can’t even imagine trying to fight her in the dark with skills like that.”

Inieta asked, “So you’re still going to fight Kaiser? Even after knowing that?”

Bam nodded, his eyes glimmering with determination, “I will. I won’t pretend like I’m doing this for noble reasons, because my reasons are entirely selfish. I want to properly finish things with Rachel, I want to find out more about myself, my power. I need to beat Kaiser to do that, no matter what.”

Inieta smirked, “You’ve got guts. And I already liked that Ran kid for fighting me without hesitation.” These guys… they don’t see monsters in the ten bosses, don’t seem to care much about rankings or titles. He leaned back and put his hands behind his head, “If I may ask, what do you plan on doing with me?”

E pondered, “Well, the original deal was we would buy your name, but that didn’t work out. So I think you’ll just stay with us. What is the highest floor you have access to, Arie boy?”

“49th, I was going to become a C-class Regular when I caught word of Kaiser and the station and decided to climb back down. Why?”

E smiled, a plan forming in her mind, “Ah… nothing, nothing. Just planning on making things more fun, you know?”

Rak snapped, “Whatever! What do we do about the stupid wolf turtle and the other turtles?”

Khun checked his lighthouse, “Hwaryun and Beta got two more of the bosses, so that leaves the toxic guy left. As for the princesses, Hatz got Shilial, so we need that Lilial chick.” 

Suddenly, Endorsi’s voice screeched through E’s mind, Hey! Send some help, would you? This bitch won’t leave me alone!

E stood up, “Endorsi needs some help, so how about this? Bam, you three go find this toxic loser. I’ll take some people to go help the dear princess.”

Shibisu glanced at his own pocket, seeing a message from Hwaryun, “I need to go help Hwaryun. Apparently there’s something in the area blocking her guide abilities, so they want the help of my cloaking observer to help them out. Bam, Khun, I’ll send you the theorized location of that last-” Suddenly, the whole floor began to shake, the entirety of the station rumbling as the farthest building began to rise high into the air. 

Inieta narrowed his gaze, “So the auctioning has begun.”  

On the auction house, H walked through the crowds before spotting someone among them, who he waved to. He ran over to the man, who was none other than Jinsung Ha, who waved to the younger man, “Hey H. If you’re here, I’m guessing E is here too? Care to fill me in on the exciting event?” H nodded. 

After he filled the man in, Jinsung sighed, “I’m glad to see that you two were right about Viole being able to handle White. At least here we can intervene if Viole does go up for auction, but are you saying that’s likely not going to happen, right? What makes you think that things will turn out so peachy, especially if you’re bringing a third party into this fight this time around.”

H’s pocket spoke, ‘Because there is a likely chance that Endorsi will pull out of the fight, leaving Viole to fight Kaiser one on one, and win as a result.’ 

Endorsi dodged out of the way of a spear-like shinsu blast, absorbing the edges of the attack in her knife. Lilial frowned, “Ah come on, stop dodging! I can’t believe cowards like you beat my sister! Now I’m really annoyed.” 

Endorsi smirked, She’s getting worked up, this is my chance! 

But before she could move, Lilial paused, landing on one foot and tucking her hands behind her back, “Anyway, why do you keep acting like you’re so much better? After all, you just use Bam and slow him down in the process, right?”

Endorsi narrowed her gaze, “What are you talking about?”

Lilial grinned, “You want to join him to fight Kaiser, right? If he really is a monster worthy of a title such as slayer candidate, don’t you think it would be better to let him fight on his own? Aren’t you afraid that you’re going to be nothing but deadweight if you just hold him back like this?”

Endorsi narrowed her gaze, her mind flashing back to how E had given up on chasing Bam and settled for Hatz instead. She said it was for several reasons, was one of them her fear of slowing him down? Endorsi flipped out of the way of Lilial’s fist, going for a kick of her own, which Lilial blocked. 

Lilial giggled, “I mean he’s an Irregular! And while you can likely keep up just as well because of your princess power, that can only last for so long, right?” She went for a side kick, which Endorsi blocked, “Seems like to me you just want to slow him down to keep him to yourself!” 

Endorsi scowled, teleporting behind Lilial to throw out a punch, which Lilial met with a fist of her own, “It’s not like that at all!” She paused, remembering the reason for Bam needing Kaiser’s name. If it truly is meant to test his strength, then maybe… 

Suddenly, the pink light of another bong bong appeared, revealing E with Novick and Daniel behind her. She put a hand on her hip, “That’s enough, princess. Aren’t you guys known for your strength, not your mind games?” 

Lilial pouted, “Aw man, there’s too many of you here now. Guess I better get going.” Before anyone could stop her, she sprinted into the trees. 

Novick asked, “You already, Endorsi?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Endorsi replied, half-heartedly, still hung up on Lilial’s words, more so than she would have liked to admit. 

Somewhere else, moments later, Lilial called out, “Hello? I did what you asked.”

From the trees, E emerged, “Yeah yeah, I heard you.” She pulled out a scroll with a familiar name written on it. She waved it around, almost teasing the princess, “Oh, but I’m not gonna give this to you until after you tell me something. Just what is your goal in all of this? What’s the big game plan? Who are you working for?”

Lilial grinned, “Oh, you want to know that? Alright, I’ll tell you.”  

An hour later, Khun and Bam made their way towards the auction house, thinking over their plan and steps moving forward for the night.  

Before leaving, Rak protested, “What? No way I would let my prey go fight the turtles alone without their leader!”

Khun snapped, “Stupid crocodile! Didn’t you listen? Anyone who tries to attack Kaiser vanishes. You and I will be basically useless.”

Dan asked, “What about the remaining boss and princess?”

On the other end of Bam’s pocket, Endorsi spoke up, “Hey Bam? You can… fight Kaiser alone. I still need to hunt down my stupid older sister before Kaiser will let me fight her, how annoying. Go on ahead.”

Bam blinked, “Al...right?”

Narae spoke up, “Something’s bothering her. I can tell from her tone of voice.”

Cheonhwa frowned, “Just what happened with that other princess? I just can’t understand the royal family sometimes.”

Khun concluded, “If that’s the case, then Bam and I will head towards the auction house to hunt down Kaiser when we get the heads up from Shibisu and Hwaryun. According to what Shibisu gathered from Vespa and Anaak, the final boss should be there. If Endorsi manages to get the last princess’ name in time, we can wait for her to join us. Let’s get moving.” 

Bam frowned, “What do you think happened to make Endorsi change her mind? She was so enthusiastic before.”

Khun waved his hand half-heartedly, “Meh, I wouldn’t waste time trying to understand that psycho woman, she probably can’t even understand herself half the time. We just need to focus on what’s ahead of us. Looking at it, I didn’t believe Shibisu at first when he said that the final boss is there already, but there’s already so many people there, it’s very likely that he was right. We need to be careful when we move.” Bam didn’t reply, his eyes clouded over, Khun noticed, “Bam? What is it?”

Bam closed his eyes, “It’s just… experiencing the horribleness of this station, makes me wish that I could use this power to become a god, you know? I mean I’m chasing after this for personal reasons, but I want it to not be the only reason. I just… almost feel lost seeing the desperateness in the people who attacked us. They weren’t evil, not all of them, they just wanted to be freed.”

Khun stepped towards him to put a hand on his shoulder, “Bam… Isn’t it better to be human? It shouldn’t have to be your job to worry about everyone in the tower, not even other people you know. You’re human, so just worry about yourself, and I think that should be enough.” Bam paused, pondering his words.

Bam felt a smile creep on his lips, “Uh-huh! You’re right, Khun. I should just focus on the fight instead of just getting lost in my thoughts like this.”

But Khun noticed that he wasn’t completely won over, “You know what? When this is over, you can just ask E and H. They were there, obviously, so they probably can tell you the future of the station.”

Bam lit up, “That’s a great idea Khun!”

Khun hit him with his knuckles, “But you have to win first, alright?” A cheerful nod was given in response. He glanced at his lighthouse, “Still no reply from Shibisu, what's taking him so long?”

Shibisu cloaked himself, Beta, and Hwaryun, turning to the redhead, “Is now the best time?”

Hwaryun nodded, “Yeah, now that my god and the princess are both in the field, whoever’s inside will have their attention on the defenses and watching those two, their defenses on this place will be lighter.” She felt along the wall, revealing a secret button that pressed in and revealed a cloaked door at the far end of the hallway. She narrowed her gaze, “In there. Be prepared.” Beta ignited his fist and Shibisu pulled out Serena’s dagger as they charged in. 

Shibisu’s observer lit up, “Watch out!” An explosion erupted beneath them, nearly hitting the two as they leapt over it. Shibisu landed in a roll and looked up to a higher platform, where Traveler watched with lighthouses surrounding him, a switch in one hand and Emily in his other. 

Traveler smirked, “Ah, Jue Viole Grace’s teammates, right? Sorry, but I had to shift this room’s design to stop you. You can’t get your hands on this information.” Suddenly, his whole body stiffened as Beta launched out to grab Emily and the switch in one fell swoop. Traveler managed to regain himself to pull out a small shinsu bomb, “Dammit!” 

Beta scowled, “What the hell is he trying to do?”

“If I die, we all die!” Traveler yelled, his mentality clearly being abandoned for fear and desperation. Hwaryun threw her staff, hitting the bomb at the right angle to send it out of the nearby window, exploding the outside instead. Beta scowled and spun around, kicking Traveler in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. 

Beta shut down his ignition as he turned to the others, “Well that’s over with. Should I just kill him?”

Hwaryun shook her head, “No. He’ll have information about Emily and possibly even Jahad’s allies. Let’s take him alive.”

Shibisu typed away at one of the lighthouses, “And I found what we’re looking for. He has a complete map of the auction house along with all of the traps and defenses installed. Wow, I must say he really went in depth with this.”
He pulled out a drive and uploaded the information, forwarding it to Khun.

After taking down the toxic guy with relative ease, Khun and Bam began to make their way through the halls when Khun’s lighthouse dinged. A message came across with an attached file, which read, ‘I got the map, my love! I told you that you could trust me!’

Khun scoffed, “Took him long enough. Hey Bam, we got the information! Shibisu sent me the map!” 

Bam nodded, “Alright, Khun! Let’s go!” They entered the next room to find Alphine waiting for them. Bam blurted out, “Aren’t you Alphine? Didn’t you already give us your name?”

Alpine nodded, “Yes, Jue Viole Grace, but that doesn’t mean I won’t try to stop you. That swordsman boy holds my name, and he said I am allowed to help Kaiser however I please. So I do intend on stopping you here. But first, I must ask, what do you know about Kaiser herself?”

Khun spoke up, “We know she was a member of one of the ten families that was in line to be a princess of Jahad but was tricked out of the title for some reason, so she was sent here to run this station instead.”

Alphine nodded, “That is correct. Her name is Lo Po Bia Elaine.” Alpine went into a long explanation of her and Kaiser’s past, and how they have come to reach that point. Afterwards, Alpine stood up, “When you first got here, I was skeptical of you and your allies. To see if you were fit to fight Kaiser and win. So I must ask you this,” She narrowed her gaze, “By stealing Kaiser’s name, you gain command over her. So, what will you have her do?”

Bam clenched his fists, “To be honest, I hate this whole process. You people treating others as slaves, seeing yourselves as mighty kings when you’re nothing more than drops in the ocean. If I had to choose between helping Kaiser and tearing this station to shreds, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose the latter. Even still, by punishing Kaiser by treating her the same way would make me no better than them.” An idea came to mind and a small smile crossed his lips, “You all deserve to be punished for all the horrible things you’ve done. However, I do have a plan that shouldn’t cause her too much torture or pain.”

Alpine closed her eyes, “Very well.” She pressed a switch underneath her desk, opening the door behind her, “You pass. You may proceed to Kaiser.”

Now it was Khun’s turn to narrow his gaze, “You’re just letting us go? Just like that?”

Yukan begged, “Yes, please! Let us go!”

Alphine’s eyes settled on Yukan, “Not you, cowardly traitor.” She summoned her shadow fox, which ate him up and turned him into pure shinsu. 

Bam cried out, “Mr. Toxic man!”

Alpine narrowed her gaze, “Help him and I’ll sick my fox on you.”

Khun grabbed Bam;s shoulder, “No Bam, we can’t afford picking unnecessary fights. He’s definitely not worth it.”

Bam crossed his arms, a guilty glimmer in his eyes, “Alright… fine.”  

Unfazed, she turned to the other boys, “Honestly, I didn’t want to let you pass. And I still don’t trust or like any of you. But I am sick of watching my master suffer so greatly from her own guilt, and based on what I’ve heard and the answer you gave me, I know I can trust you to help her.” To their surprise, she bowed, “Please, save Kaiser from herself. I beg you.”

Bam smiled, his eyes glinting with sadness, “I will try my best.”

As they ran past her, he could hear her whisper, “Thank you…” Bam didn’t glance back at her.

Watching the fight between Bam and Kaiser, E smiled. Next to her, Endorsi watched, a glimmer of sadness in her eyes, “He… really is excelling quickly.”

E closed her eyes, “There’s a reason I asked you to not participate in this match. Do you see his growing power, little me? Do you understand what he’s capable of?”

Endorsi buried her face in her knees, “You have got to be kidding. I knew he was strong, but something changed on the train.”

E recalled, “Someone I met on the train once told me something. She asked me if I wanted to love Bam as a person or for the change he’ll bring. I think it’s about time I ask you the same question, especially with what you’ll face coming forth.”

Endorsi quirked a brow, “What do you mean?”

E crossed her arms, “Let’s just say that if you think what you’re going through now is difficult, you aren’t prepared for what’s coming.” She stood up, seeing the fight reaching its end, “Think about my words. I expect you to have made a choice sooner rather than later.” With that, she left the younger girl alone.

Endorsi repeated, “Do I care about him as a person or for the change he’ll bring?” She closed her eyes, trying to uncover the feelings she felt back on the second floor all those years ago, the feelings that forced her to put up with that knight and blue bastard for so many years. The feelings that were so dim they were nearly completely forgotten by that point. Endorsi covered her face with her hands and kicked wildly, “Dammit! I don’t know! Damn bitches getting in my fucking head! How dare they try to play mental games with me?”

Her pocket dinged with a message from Choenhwa, ‘Things are all wrapped up. Head back to the residence area.’ With a roll of her eyes, Endorsi teleported away in a pink light. 

As Khun walked back, carrying Bma on his lighthouse, E appeared in front of him, “So? How did the fight go?”

Bam lifted his arm weakly, “I did it!”

E rolled her eyes under her mask, “Yeah, no shit. You’re still here, aren’t you? I had no doubts. So did you make her the offer like I told you, Bam?”

Bam nodded, “I did, but who’s-”

E grinned, “Who else but the known fatherly demon of FUG? Jinsung Ha.”

Bam sat up, much to Khun’s protest, “Master is here?”

E scolded, “Hey watch your wounds! Yes, yes, he’s here. He wanted to check your progress, so I offered to record the match between you and Kaiser if he would buy her and pay off her debt.” 

Khun crossed his arms, “And I’m gonna guess that’s where H is now.” 

E chirped, “Well would you look at that, all that smoke didn’t completely clog up your brain.” 

Khun scowled, “I really don’t like depending on FUG for any of this.”

E chuckled, “Well then think of it as your old teammates paying you back for all the times Bam saved our ass. Or will save our asses, I guess.”

Khun asked, “Isn’t he the cause for half the tr-”

“Details details. ”

Suddenly, something flashed in her mind, “Oh yeah, I found out something while… interrogating the sisters. You know how Shibisu may have mentioned the princess conflict?”

Bam blinked, “Princess conflict?”

Khun recalled, “Ah, he started looking into that before we got on the train. I didn’t really pay attention at the time with FUG taking the center, but I guess it may be more important to research in. What about it?”

E put a hand on her hip, “Well apparently there’s a third party of princesses that’s gaining traction. It’s who the twins are working for.”

Khun narrowed his gaze, “Who-”

“Khun Mascheny Jahad and Khun Maria Jahad.” 

At those names, Khun’s eyes visibly widened with shock and confusion, the most expressive any of them had seen the blunette in a long time. He didn’t speak, choosing to remain silent, and the others decided it would be better not to push him further on the issue.  

Meanwhile, Hatz took the scroll with Shilial’s name and met her in the woods, handing her the parchment as it vanished in the air upon contact. Shilial admitted, “I admit boy, you’ve got guts. I had a hard time with that weapon of yours. But you’re still so arrogant. If it weren’t for your friends, I would’ve killed you.”

Hatz asked, “Can I ask you something? Why do the two of you look so down on the common folk? It’s just, there’s so much proof of non-nobles being able to stand toe to toe with people from the great families, so your bias just feels nonsensical and pure ridiculousness.”

Shilial pondered, “You think so? Well, I admit you are interesting, albeit foolishly bold. I’m not as strong on the issue as Lilial, I have my bias but I need real proof to change it. Ever think about being that person?” She loomed closer, to which Hatz took a firm step backwards.

“Just leave.”

As Bam and Shibisu’s team headed towards the auction house, E crossed her arms, “I don’t like any of this. It’s all going to be a headache.”

Shibisu asked, “But didn’t you have to handle this stuff the first time around? I mean you were a princess too.”

E threw up her arms, “Doesn’t mean it’s not a headache! And anyways, I feel like it’s going to be an even greater mess. I had a theory, and that prisoner you took further confirms it. Remember back at the workshop battle how Ran saw those mystery figures that ended up stealing Emily? If Emily’s here, that means that R and D are connected to them.”

Khun reminded, “Hey En- E.Remember what you promised.”

E waved her hand, “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go to the auction house first.”

After Kaiser had been bought off, she walked outside to greet Jinsung Ha, who was standing in front of a decently sized warship. Kaiser bowed, “Thank you for purchasing me and paying off my debt.”

Jinsung waved his hand, “Nah, don’t do any of that. The name’s Jinsung Ha. I hear you were the acclaimed Kaiser.”

Elaine nodded, “Yes, but I am Elaine now.”

A voice spoke up, “Oh, so that’s your real name?” Elaine shot up, spinning around to see Inieta smiling at her like a child. His smile grew, “It suits you, lord Ka- Elaine.”

Elaine blinked, “Inieta? What are you doing here?”

Jinsung explained, “The kid got his name stolen by some of Viole’s companions. Apparently he’s under orders to follow you and support you. I ain’t no babysitter, but I’d rather not deal with those two headaches if I said no.”

Elaine smiled, “Well, it would be nice to have a familiar companion from my past.”

Inieta commented, “And I’ll enjoy seeing your real self, lord Elaine!”

Elaine shook he rhead, “Just Elaine, please. I want to leave that stuff behind at this station.”

Inieta put his hands behind his head, “Yeah, I feel you there.”

Jinsung called out, “Hey, save the small talk for the ship ride, kiddos.” He scowled, If what those two told me is correct, it’ll be a big trip.

On the steps of the train, Yuri blurted out, “What? You missed the auction item? What do you mean? I told you to buy up whatever they put up for auction!”

The man on the line apologized, “I… I’m sorry, princess. The other person… bid way too much money.”

“What? Too much? I clearly told you to spend as much as you needed to!”

W stepped forward, resting a hand on Yuri’s shoulder, “Princess, let it go. If this man is saying what I think he’s saying, there’s little chance that you would have outbid them.” 

Yuri groaned, “Ah come on! Fine, just hang up.” She hung up the call and turned to M and W, “So who the hell was this Regular?”

W smiled, “Who else? Kaiser herself. Looks like you might have to go to the floor of death after all.”

M huffed, “Well I should still have to give my vote of approval. And in my mind he’s not ready yet.”

Evan quirked a brow, “Seriously? He beat the strongest D-class Regular and Hoaqin at almost full power. What else does he need to do to win you over?”

M smiled, “You wouldn’t know. He has yet to learn one of the strongest skills only Irregulars can learn.”

“Skill only Irregulars could learn?” repeated Evan, shocked, “What are you talking about? What kind of skill is that?”

Yuri whined, “No no no! I had no plans on actually going to that floor!”

Suddenly, her pocket dinged with a message from none other than Khun Mascheny Jahad. W covered his mouth to keep from laughing as Yuri picked up the phone, “Ah, hey. What made you call silly little me?... Hm? Where am I? Well… T-There isn’t really a need for you to know that, right? Why would you suddenly… just be like usual?”

Mascheny’s voice came through from the other end, “Hah… Well, alright. It’s cute hearing you flustered. I’ve actually been a bit bored lately. Would you like to make a bet with me? Yuri.” 

Yuri paused, “A… bet?”

Mascheny spoke up, “Wangnan Jah, Miseng Yeo, also known as W and M. I know the two of you are there as well, right? How about you join in on this bet?” The duo perked up, stepping forward.

M chuckled, “Ah, talking to another princess? I thought talking to princess Yuri was already an honor, but now an even bigger shot wants to talk to us? Well, if this isn’t a big surprise and a miracle!”

Mascheny scowled, “Ah, you don’t have to lie. I know you’re friends with both the Regular, princess Endorsi, and princess Repelista.” That earned a curious look from the other two. Mascheny continued, “Anyway, let’s make a bet. I’ll trade my Yellow May and information about your missing teammates’ conditions for your Green April, and your Reddened Twilight.” 

The mystery man walked over to Traveler’s hideout, assessing the damage, “Well, so much for that toy. This is what I get for trusting garbage to be a sharp tool.” He rested his hand on a lighthouse, “Guess I will have to do this myself.” Under his hand, the lighthouse shattered. 

Yuri blinked, “A bet?”

Mascheny replied, “That’s right. I want to make a bet with my Yellow May and my information for your Green April and Reddened Twilight. Whoever wins keeps both of them.” 

M cried out, “Now hang on, why would we make such a dangerous bet?”

Mascheny recalled, “Don’t you three want change? Isn’t that the goal you’re aiming for? Yuri would have three of the 13 Month Series in her possession, surely she’d have a lot more power than any princess in history. Besides, would you really abandon two teammates you’ve climbed with for so long? That just doesn’t seem like either of you.”

Evan narrowed his gaze, She’s using their compassion against them.

Mascheny continued, “I won’t tell you why I need the Green April or Reddened Twilight. But I’m suggesting this to you because I really need them too. Anyway, think about it. I’m already prepared to send all the necessary information to you three. And if you refuse, I’ll have all four of you kicked off the train at this very moment. Think carefully before you decide. Take care. Have a nice trip, you guys.” With that, she hung up. 

Evan turned to W and M, “What the hell was she talking about? How do the two of you know princess Repelista? What is ‘Reddened Twilight’? Just what are you hiding from us?”

Taking a deep breath, W explained, “Repelista reached out to us first, so it would be better asking her. Our relationship is… complicated, to say the least. As for Reddened Twilight, all you need to know is he is an extremely powerful ignition weapon while in the right hands.” But the rings only ignite for those carrying the king’s DNA. What reason would she have for wanting it?

In the residence, the group was gathered, recovering. E nudged a still unconscious Traveler, “So what are you going to do with him?”

Daniel offered, “Why don’t we lock him in a lighthouse? He doesn’t have a ticket, but we can treat him like an item in the lighthouse until we finish riding the train and can question him properly.” The way he said question caused shivers to run down his teammates spines, as if they had prior experience with his ‘questioning’. 

Boro scowled, “Is he really worth it, though? From what Bam and those three told me, he doesn’t feel worth it.”

Beta waved Emily in his hand, “I think it will be. This bitch won’t stop dinging and I can’t open his chat log. He definitely has something up his sleeve.”

Sachi sighed, “Great. Another hostage. At least he seems like more of a decent person than the other one. ” 

Xia Xia offered, “Since you guys already have one hostage to take care of, we can take him. I have a spare lighthouse I carry around for emergencies that I can store him in.” Without another word, she threw open the hatch of her lighthouse and shoved him inside. 

Meanwhile, Bam, Rak, and Khun were talking about their plans moving forward. H watched them with a sense of nostalgia washing over the older man. He almost regretted how much time he spent training instead of hanging out with his friends like this. Almost. Bam turned to the silent man, “Hey H, will this station be able to change?” H hesitated, but nodded while pointing at his wrist, as if saying it will eventually, which brought some relief to the boy’s heart. 

Khun spoke up, “Let’s not think about that kind of thing, Bam. We’re not gods, you know.”

Bam smiled, “Yeah. You’re right.” But H could tell the younger boy lingered on the thought more than he would like the others to know. Just then, a certain princess came in, demanding to go to the floor of death. Bam blinked, “Why would you go there? It would be better for you to stay off the train.”

Endorsi replied, “Well E told me about how a certain Jahad princess that I’ve been wanting to meet for ages lives on that floor. I certainly wouldn’t be able to make it to that floor alone, but with you guys I could certainly do it.”

Khun rolled his eyes, “are you stupid? You need a ticket to get on the train.”

Endorsi perked up, “No problem! I got one! I pickpocketed it off of one of the people at this station! So what could be the problem? Unless… you don’t want me with you?”

E entered into the doorway, leaning against the frame, “If you’re worried about the princesses meeting, it’s unavoidable, trust me. Don’t worry, younger me will regret her decision soon enough.”

Endorsi spun around, “What the hell do you mean? I’ll never regret this!” E shrugged, grabbing H and yanking him out of the room. 

Bam sighed, “Fine, Endorsi, you can come with us.” The girl immediately let out a resounding cheer, her face glowing with joy.    

In Danhwa and Cheonhwa’s room, Cheonhwa asked, “So if you not chasing after that woman anymore, what are you going to do?”

Danhwa shook his head, “I don’t know, honestly. What about you?”

Cheonhwa leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling, “Well our team arrived at the station to get on the train, but I don’t think they will. Besides Beta, of course. I would like to go with them, but Endorsi stole my ticket.”

On cue, Endorsi threw open the door, “Yes! The boys are taking me with them on the train! I get to go to the floor of death! Thanks for the ticket, knight boy! Guess you still had some use after all!”

Behind her, Bam whined, “Endorsi! You said you got that ticket from someone at the station!”

Endorsi gestured to Cheonhwa, “He’s at the station, isn’t he? I didn’t lie.”

Danhwa cleared his throat, holding out his ticket, “Here Cheonhwa. You can have my ticket. I can’t use this to protect milady anymore, so you can use it to protect your lady instead.”

The other two snapped in sync, “I (she) is not his (my) lady! Fuck you!” 

Danhwa chuckled, “See? You’re even on the same wavelength.” Instead of replying, the two turned to each other to shoot heavy glares. 

Cheonhwa facepalmed, “Well it looks like I’m joining you guys on the train. Will that be a problem, Bam?”

Bam chirped, “Nope, not at all!” Great, someone to help control the princesses. That’ll be helpful. 

Moments later, the group, minus Ran and Hatz, gathered together around E and H. Khun glared at them, “So, care to tell us who that man was?”

E began, “He’s…”

Suddenly, a voice spoke up, the door being thrown off the hinges behind them, “Your worst nightmare, Regulars!” E and H immediately jumped into battle mode upon seeing the figure that haunted their nightmares. He bowed, “Good evening, my goddess and her baby self. My name is P, it is a pleasure.” H summoned his blade and shot out towards P, pressing his blade against the other man’s throat. P pouted, “How rude. Is that how you treat all your guests?” Calmly, he pushed the blade away, grabbing it in his gloved hand and shattering it with ease before elbowing H in the stomach. P shot out around E’s attack, “Let’s take this outside, shall we?” The whole room became filled with gold light. The next thing the Regulars knew, they were all hovering in mid air, just outside the station. The light bearers and wave controllers immediately jumped to attention. Bam caught Rak and the two knights; Laure grabbed Shibisu, Anaak, and Dan; Irure caught Sachi, Boro, and Daniel; and the lightbearers caught the rest. 

E shot out, Bong Bong! As her laser fired, she shouted, “Regulars! Get to the train or station!” The Regulars did so as quickly as they could. 

From the train, the other four High Rankers shot out, Evan asking, “What’s going on? Who is this guy?” 

Recognizing the man, W shouted, “Evan, focus on protecting the guys getting to the train! That’s their target!” Evan nodded, sending out one of his items, Adam’s Gloves! 

On the path, Cheonhwa noticed, “We’re silenced?”

Sachi warned, “Let’s just keep moving with as little shinsu or items as possible.” Around him, the others chimed in agreement. 

Yuri shot out towards P, shouting, “Look! I don’t know who you are, but you can’t touch those Regulars! It’s against the rules!” She buried her fists in P, who held up his arms to block, but it was fruitless. Nuclear Punch! The other boy went flying back, but somehow looked mostly unharmed. He grinned as blue arrows formed around him, Soul Crusher! The arrows shot out towards Yuri, wrapping around her before she could dodged, getting tighter and tighter. H shot out, Demonic Punishment! The narrow shinsu attack grazed P’s shoulder as he shot towards Yuri, but E was faster. E summoned her own arrows, which cut through the ones wrapped around Yuri, allowing the fellow Ranker to catch P’s hand and kick him in the gut, throwing him against the barrier of the station. 

Bam tried to shoot out to help, But Khun stopped him, “No Bam! We have to make it to the train with the others!” Khun held out his hands to the fight, summoning a barrier that blocked a huge piece of rubble that flew towards them. Hesitantly, Bam grabbed Khun and the two chased after the others, who were a few feet ahead of them.

Meanwhile, W raised his hand to the sky, “You made a big mistake messing with 6 High Rankers, man.” Above him, a giant gold orb appeared, Sunny Day! The shinsu shot out in all directions, surrounding P and blinding him with extreme light. Using the chance, M shot off one of her observers, M shinsu technique: Beserker Mode! She could feel her fist become overwhelmed with shinsu enforcement as it made contact with P, who, to her surprise, caught the fist in his hand and smirked demonically. 

He chuckled, “Is that all you could do?” Compression Stomp! He buried his foot in her chest, sending out a shinsu blast with the strength of a compression explosion, only to reveal that it was an illusion from her observer. She grinned at him, summoning her umbrella in one hand. 

Yuri scowled, “This guy’s tougher than I thought.” Her eyes went to the people on the bridge, They’re merely there, but not good enough yet. In a flash of gold light, P vanished, and reappeared in front of the Regulars’ path.

He summoned a baang in one hand and held it out towards Boro’s trio, “I’m bored of this fight. Let’s just finish this now.” Evan tried to step in using his frog fisher, but an observer appeared over P’s shoulder. Item Cancellation. To everyone’s surprise, all items immediately shut down within the area. All observers and lighthouses fell helplessly to the ground, Endorsi’s Bong Bong stopped mid teleport, causing her to be caught by Irure, and Evan’s items all went back into his bag like they had been reset.

Evan’s eyes widened, What just happened?

E growled, “His ace card, Item cancellation.” H shot out next to her, Dance of Ghost Fish Seven Shots The Ascent of the Dragon! Seven strong waves of shinsu shot towards P like a small tornado, forcing him to hold up his arms instinctively. W used the chance to get close, summoning his needle and piercing through P’s gut. P retaliated, though, using the same kick skill as before to send W flying back, though it did little damage to his body. 

Yuri complimented, “Not bad, kid.”

W swung his needle in a downwards motion, throwing off the excess blood, “I’m a lot older than you think I am, princess Yuri.” 

With P’s focus ruined, his oberserv’s light flickered until it went completely dark. Using that chance, Endorsi managed to activate Bong Bong, allowing her to grab the trio and get them on the train. Meanwhile, Khun activated his barrier while Bam grabbed him and Rak, getting them on the train as well. That left Beta, Hwaryun, and Cheonhwa left, who Endorsi immediately went back for. P noticed them being left behind as well, and teleported behind them to grab Hwaryun by the neck. P scowled, “I would have liked to get one of the big shots, but I suppose a stupid guide will have to do.” 

Beta scowled, “Like I’ll let you!” He summoned phobos, creating a giant beast behind him that summoned four baangs that all shot towards P. Seeing that the attacks had no effect, he went for a kick with his giant feet instead, but P held up his hand, turning the ignition skill back into shinsu. P summoned a blue arrow, holding it in his hand like a dart, which he threw towards the flying boy, but Beta ducked out of the way, landing back on the path. 

Bam cried out, “Miss Hwaryun!”

Khun grabbed him, “No Bam! He’ll kill you too!”

E yelled, “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t you know it’s against the rules to kill or harm a Regular?”

P smiled, “You didn’t notice, did you? The rules are wavering. We have been given permission to break whatever rules necessary to eliminate the allies of Jue Viole Grace, as well as the Irregular himself. ” 

The four Rankers from the future felt their eyes widen, That wasn’t supposed to happen yet! Not for almost another year!

P shrugged, “Unfortunately, the thing keeping us off the train is more so a spell rather than a rule, so we still cannot enter the train. But oh well, as long as I can eliminate one, I’m sure my bosses will be happy.” In his hand, Hwaryun flailed for freedom, her breath escaping her. 

Pissed, H summoned his inventory for the first time. It held a wide array of swords of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Some emitted waves of shinsu off them in different forms as well. He grabbed the needle on the stand, which was emitting waves of dark blue shinsu, and pointed it at P. Noticing that, the Ranker chuckled, “What are you going to do, attack me? Any attack you do will more likely hit this woman than myself.” Recognizing the needle, E lit up. H raised the needle, aiming it at P, and fired a spiralling blast of dark blue shinsu from the point. Immediately, P held out Hwaryun to take the hit, but the shinsu bent around her and pierced P through the chest instead. 

Dropping Hwaryun into Cheonhwa’s awaiting arms, P coughed, “Dammit… what kind of weapon is that?” 

E threw out her arms, distracting P so that Endorsi can grab the Regulars, “Have you forgotten? We travelled outside of the tower. You think we wouldn’t have… peculiar items?” P scowled, noticing the other Regulars getting on the train out of the corner of his eye. With a huff, he teleported away in a flash of gold light. Now it was E’s turn to scowl, “Coward.” She turned to Yuri, “Get on the train, you two should keep an eye on the Regulars now that they are being actively targeted. I doubt any Ranker would go to the floor of death normally, but to be on the safe side…” 

Evan asked, “What about the other Regulars from the second floor?”

E assured, “The two of us can handle protecting a few measly Regulars, you four will have the bigger problems, I’m certain.”

On the train a short while later, Bam frowned at the fact he was basically useless during the fight. W noticed and approached him, “Hey, what are you gloomy about? Having self pity is my job, as much as M would like to scold me about it.”

Bam joked weakly, “And here I was thinking that you were so confident.” Bam deflated, “It’s just… I felt so useless during that fight. Hwaryun almost died, and I could barely even move. How could I be so strong but still be so useless?”

W suggested, “You know, M and I planned on having one final task for you to accomplish before getting permission to travel to the floor of death. Learning it may help you feel more secure about your own strength.” Bam perked up, intrigued, giving W the sign to continue, “You know that guy you’ve been visiting in the Rice Pot, God of Guardians, I think M called it? Go visit him and ask him to teach you the skill only Irregulars can use.”

Bam repeated, deep in thought, “The skill… Alright, thank you, W. Where is your younger self and the rest of the team right now?”

W informed, “Goseng, Horyang, Prince, and Miseng are all training together. Arkraptor, Wangnan, and Ehwa are eating food with Yura. Turns out when you manage to shut her up about her begging to be released, she’s not a terrible conversationalist. They’ll be fine, though. M has an observer kept in each of their rooms.” 

In their room, a short ways away from the main crew, Ehwa swallowed her bite of food and turned to Yura, who had been freed enough to eat, but not enough to escape, “So you’re saying you met Rachel through FUG after being promised their help on the train?”

Yura swooned, “Oh she was like an angel from heaven, promising me the ability to become a true idol the way I wanted, so long as I helped her up the tower. She said she would use her abilities to help me out in exchange for my skills, and together we would bring about a bright future to the tower, filling it with endless light. So I am certain that she will come rescue me any time now!”

Arkraptor asked, “How do you know she’s looking for you? To be honest, none of the Rankers seemed that invested, and Rachel didn’t seem strong enough to come here alone.”

Yura defended, “Don’t talk about them like that! It was a lot happening at once, so of course they should have prioritized Rachel and Hoaqin over me! I bet it was all part of a greater plan anyways, so she’ll come here soon and prove all of you wrong! I just know it!”

Ehwa whispered, “Great. She’s completely delusional.”

Wangnan asked, “It’s just, why chase after someone who’s only using you? You don’t need someone else to be a star, an inspiration to others.” Yura paused, not knowing how to reply to his words. 

“My my, well isn’t this a good collection of tasty treats. I really was hungry.” From the shadows, Rachel emerged with Hoaqin and Y behind her. 

Rachel smirked, “I hear you talking about me, so I thought I’d step in.”

Chapter Text

15

Wangnan shot up, “Hoaqin and Rachel.”

Y scowled, “What am I, chopped liver?”

Yura lit up, “Rachel! I knew you came here to save me! Oh thank goodness!” For the first time, the trio glanced over at the younger bluenette. 

Rachel blinked, “Yura? Why are you here?” Five words. Those five words hit the young woman like a warship to the heart. Yura collapsed, falling to her knees as her eyes glossed over. 

Hoaqin rolled his eyes, “Enough chatter.” He pointed his sword at Ehwa, “You’re a Yeon girl, right? I am so glad I listened to this bitch to hunt you guys down. I’ll enjoy eating you.”

Ehwa snapped, “Shut up! Like I’ll let you!” She summoned a baang of fire, but Hoaqin merely looked at the fire to make it vanish in a puff of smoke. Arkraptor and Wangnan both pulled out their weapons at the ready.

Y warned, “Now now, Hoaqin. Remember? We didn’t just come here to feed you. There’s another purpose we hunted you guys down.”

Arkraptor scowled, “Do you really think that?” 

Hoaqin laughed, “Hah! Now that’s a joke.” He raised his blade as he sped towards Ehwa, who tried to attack with her flames that had no success. Time almost slowed as he lifted his blade and buried it in her side, just enough to not kill her. Fury boiling over, Wangnan shot out, Reddened Twilight: Offensive Mode! His needle glowed a dark red as he swiped it downwards towards Hoaqin, who blocked with ease, “What, do you really think you can save your princess? How adorable.” Hoaqin spun his blade, disarming Wangnan and kicking him in the gut. While Arkraptor took his place in the fight, Wangnan flew back, right next to the awaiting Rachel. Dodging out of the way of the blond, Rachel’s eyes went to his hand, noticeably the red ring with a certain symbol standing out clearly. 

Rachel whispered, “Looks like you were telling the truth after all. I thought this blondie was just pathetic, but it looks like he’s no ordinary Regular after all. Far from it, actually.”

Y giggled, “You doubted me? I told you, I only know your best interests, Rachel. Well, who shall we take back with us?”

Rachel scanned over the scene, “Let’s take back the Yeon girl and the blond boy. He’ll be useful and we need her as a hostage.”

Yura begged, “Wait, what about me, Rachel? Aren’t you going to get me away from these guys?”

Y walked over and sneered, “Don’t you understand, younger me? By needing assistance, you failed our precious Rachel, which means you no longer have any use to her or FUG. You are too weak for our purposes, a dull tool.”

Rachel apologized, “Sorry, Yura, but Y’s teleport is better. Hey Hoaqin!” With a scowl, the slayer blocked a blast from Arkraptor, retaliating with a stronger strike of his own, before turning and grabbing Ehwa, who had fallen to her knees. He threw her towards Wangnan, knocking both over. Y pulled out a blue suitcase and snatched them both inside. 

Hoaqin grinned, “Great! And I still get a snack!” Arkraptor opened his umbrella for a wider shot as he fired it towards Hoaqin, narrowing it enough to not hit the suitcase. Hoaqin stepped out of the way and raised his glowing sword to do a giant shinsu slash towards Arkraptor. But, before he could make contact, another figure came between them and blocked the blast. The figure revealed herself to be a grinning M, who held her yellow umbrella in one hand and rested it on her shoulder.

M giggled, “Well, what is this? Are you targeting my dear teammates? You’ve got some nerve, slayer White, Rachel.”

Y threw up her arms, “Are you kidding?”

Arkraptor informed, “M… they took Wangnan and Ehwa.”

M glanced back, “Did they now?” Her eyes went to Arkraptor’s torso, where his white bandages were turning a redder shade, “Rest now. I’ll handle this.” M stepped out, lowering her umbrella and closing it into its offensive form. 

Rachel narrowed her gaze, “That’s an interesting weapon you have there, M. You have a band over the handle, but I can still recognize the thrumming of power from this distance. That’s the Yellow May, isn’t it? You’re holding the Yellow May of the future, are you not? How about this, I’ll trade you your teammates for the weapon.” 

M glanced down at her weapon, almost debating the offer, before shrugging, “Nope. You seriously think I would trust any deal coming from the mouth of a traitorous bitch like you? I’m from the future, I know full well what your sorry ass is capable of.” M shot out towards Hoaqin, their weapons meeting in the middle, “Here’s an offer. Leave. And I’ll let you leave her alive. I warned the other Rankers, they’re on their way. It’s only a matter of time.”

Rachel clenched her fists, “Let’s go, Hoaqin. You aren’t strong enough to fight Jue Viole Grace again, and certainly not other High Rankers.”

Hoaqin began, “Excuse me? Who the hell do you think I am?” But Y stepped in, switching her suitcase for her wand, creating a whirlpool that surrounded the trio and made them vanish into the air. 

Arkraptor asked, “Why the hell did you let them get away? They took Wangnan and Ehwa! You didn’t even try to save them.”

Once again, M’s eyes went to his wound, remembering all too clearly the bodies she saw on this same floor, “... It’s for the better. I want you guys on team Sweet and Sour to leave. Take the others and climb like any other Regular team. Forget you ever met Viole, Wangnan, or us. Please… it’s going to be s-”

Nearby, Prince snapped, “What the hell? You want us to run away?” Standing in the door were the remaining members of the same team, save Bam. Prince stomped out, “First Wangnan back on the 21st floor, and now this? How cowardly do you think we are? We’re not going to run away, no matter what!”

M countered, “You don’t understand, you-”

Miseng spoke up, “Could die? So what? We could die just being Regulars in the tower, so what’s the difference if we climb with them?”

W spoke up behind the group, catching their attention, “You don’t understand. That was an order from High Rankers, not a request from your teammates. Trust me, this will be better for you guys in the long run. It’s not a matter of if you will die, but when you will die by climbing the tower with Wangnan OR Viole. I get that you guys aren’t afraid of death, and I respect that, but there’s a difference between not fearing death and dying a meaningless death. If you continue to climb with us, it will be the latter.” 

Goseng clenched her fists, speaking up, “How do you know that? Didn’t you guys say it yourself? The future is changing. We may not die, whether we climb with you guys or not. Besides, didn’t you say you came back because you wanted to ensure our team could stay together?”

W clenched his fists, “Well that was just arrogance! Clearly, we can’t defy the inevitable forever, we’re not good enough for that.”

Horyang countered, “Remember when I left on the 28th floor? I claimed to leave to protect you guys, but you didn’t give up on me and I was grateful in the end. It would be a joke if I didn’t give you guys the same chance.”

Arkraptor spoke, “You know what it sounds like? It sounds like you two are scared. You’re using your title to scare us away because you don’t want to face the risk of us dying again like we did in the original timeline.”

M took a deep breath, “Fine… But we’re upgrading your training tenfold. If you want a harder climb, then you have to work to keep up, got it? Anyone who wants to bail out of training, bails out of climbing with us, understood?” Around her, the Regulars nodded in understanding. 

A soft voice spoke up from the person left forgotten in more ways than one, “...Include me too.” Yura laid against the corner of the wall, curled up to appear smaller than usual. There were tears down her cheeks and a glassy look in her eyes. The others could tell, her whole world had been shattered, revealing the lost girl trapped within it. Yura repeated, “Please… let me get stronger. You don’t have to give me my suitcase or lighthouses, but please train me.” 

W narrowed his gaze, “First tell me this, can you teleport away without your lighthouses? We don’t want you escaping on us, Khun would scream at me for weeks.”

M quirked a brow, “Khun would? Bold of you to assume I wouldn’t make you deaf first.”

Goseng shivered, “You scare me sometimes, M.”

Yura spoke up, “Well… I can teleport away, but where would I even go? You heard what they said, right? They have no need for me anymore. Rachel, my precious star… s-she…” Yura couldn’t finish her sentence, choking on her own words. Her mind had completely shut down, all attempts to defend Rachel’s actions came up blank. She couldn’t think, couldn’t move. Yura buried her head further in her knees, “I have nowhere to return to. I was abandoned.”

Seeing Yura’s broken state, W bit his lips. Closing his eyes, he activated a skill he rarely could activate on will. Foresight. After a moment, he declared, “Alright. We’ll train you. You’re still going to be kept in Khun’s lighthouse during the floor of death, and we won’t give you your lighthouses yet, but M and I will train you.”

Prince spun around, “What the hell? You’re actually going to believe her bullshit? There has to be something wrong with you.”

M stepped forward, leaning into Yura, “You will train alone with me, understood? Know that one attempt at escape will immediately sentence you to an execution. I trust my partner’s decision, not you.” She grabbed the bluenette by the wrist and pulled her away, “I’ve got questions for you first. W, tell the others about what happened, alright?” With that, the two women left. 

Arkraptor turned to W, “Hey W, Rachel said something about Wangnan. She said he was no ordinary Regular, far from it. Do you know what she meant by that? What are you hiding from us?”

W sighed, “It’s always on the train, isn’t it?” He put his hands behind his head, “Sorry, but I think you should hear it from younger me first. It’s his choice whether or not he wants to spill his guts, not mine.” W turned to the others and assured, “I wouldn’t worry about those two. We were kidnapped the first time around, and I’m still here, aren’t I? They won’t kill people they have a use for.”

Later, they returned to the others and filled them in on what took place. Bam asked, “What? They kidnapped Wangnan and Ehwa?”

Khun narrowed his gaze, “Why them? I understand the flamethrower because she’s a Yeon, but it sounds like they were targeting your group specifically. Plus they took extra interest in Wangnan? Sure, he’s a good leader, but he doesn’t have any remarkable skills.” 

Quaetro giggled, “It’s cause my chick is invincible! I knew he was fun!”

Bero Bero questioned, “What do you mean he’s invincible?”

Beta explained, “Sweet and sour got stabbed through the heart by a Ranker’s arrow at the workshop battle. The next day he was up and walking, completely healed with only his torn clothes and dirty bandages showing any proof of a wound in the first place.” 

Evan crossed his arms, “And that didn’t raise any red flags for you guys at all? Seriously? That shouldn’t even be possible, he shouldn’t have survived, much less recovered that quickly. How could one have such high healing capabilities?” 

Goseng pointed out, “Well, we don’t exactly have the most normal teammates, in our defense. We have two children, a living ignition weapon, a Yeon, an Irregular, and… whatever Queatro is.” 

The redhead pumped his fist, “Hungry flamehead!” 

Khun glanced to Bam, who seemed to be out of it, “Hey Bam, what’s wrong? You’re zoning out again.”

Bam clenched his fists, “Ehwa and Wangnan were captured by someone who I once saw as everything. I don’t care about what answers Rachel has, that’s unforgivable. It’s my fault she even got the chance in the first place, and now I can’t do anything to find them.”

Khun crossed his arms, “Well I’m sure that everyone knew what they were getting into when they followed you this far. You can’t blame yourself.”

Bam nodded, “I… get that. But still… Wangnan saved me, helped me get back to you guys. And yet now, I’m left unable to return the favor. If I can’t even save two people, how could I ever find the real me? If I were stronger, I could find them, I could challenge Hoaqin and Rachel. And not just that, but I was also useless during that fight against P. I had to be protected, despite being seen as so strong by others. If I were actually strong, I would never have to feel this feeling again.” His eyes met his old teammates, who all had fear and concern in their eyes, even if they tried to hide it, “I could get rid of that fear and worry in the eyes of those close to me.” His mind flashed back to W’s suggestion.

“You know that guy you’ve been visiting in the Rice Pot, God of Guardians, I think M called it? Go visit him and ask him to teach you the skill only Irregulars can use.” 

That’s it! Bam stood up, “Khun, I’m going to visit the rice pot. I may not be back for a while.” Before Khun could protest, he took off running away from the group. 

Endorsi called out, “Hey Bam! Where do you think you’re going?”

She tried to chase after him, but Cheonhwa grabbed her wrist, “Leave him. I can tell that he is going to do something only he’s capable of. Us Regulars cannot join him, no matter how much we want to.” Endorsi yanked her wrist free, but did not choose to resume her chase after the amber-eyed boy. 

Wangnan walked in a dark void, endless silence surrounding him. Wangnan called out, “Where am I? Hello?”

A voice spoke up behind him, “What a joke.” Wangnan spun around, coming face to face with none other than Nia. Wangnan called out to him, but Nia just repeated, “What a joke. You claimed you wanted to start acting like your namesake, yet you’ve failed to change at all, Wangnan. Look at your situation, you failed to save your captured teammate and got yourself trapped instead.”

Wangnan clenched his fists, “I’m trying… I’m trying to get stronger! I really did improve since-”

“-Did you, though?” Nia asked, “You keep running from who you are. You are a monster, Wangnan Jah. You always were.” Around the two boys, countless people of all shapes and sizes appeared, all faces that were too familiar to Wangnan, “You use and harm people without a second thought. You throw people to their deaths because of your reckless choices, and continue to smile instead of taking the blame. You haven’t changed at all, don’t you understand?”

Wangnan didn’t reply, tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

Nia continued, “You cannot sleep in your dream forever, Prince of the Red Light District. Your path will force you to walk alone eventually. That is your fate.” Around them, the people vanished. Instead, a formidable presence formed behind Wangnan, towering over him. Wangnan spun around, coming face to face with a giant man with matching physical appearance, except for his size and powerful eyes. It was a figure Wangnan had never seen before, yet Wangnan could recognize him immediately. Nia hissed, “It’s in your DNA.”

King Jahad boomed, “Being a king means cutting off ties to all those close to you. That is what it means to rule this tower.”

Wangnan cried out, “You’re wrong! Being king depends on that connection to your subjects, to those around you! Getting rid of it doesn’t make you a king, it makes you a tyrant!” 

King Jahad narrowed his gaze, “What do you know? You are but a cowardly boy who only knows how to run, lie, and hide.” Wangnan stumbled back, unable to speak, much less be able to come up with a reasonable counter.

Nia spoke again, “Running only brings pain to everyone around you, Wangnan. If you truly wish to bring the change you speak so greatly of, it’s time you stop using weak excuses to flee and start fighting.”

Wangnan’s eyes shot open, finding himself in iron chains. Next to him, Ehwa muttered, “Took you long enough, lazy moron. I almost believed you would never wake up.”

Instead of teasing her like he normally would, he looked around the room, “What happened? Where are we?”

Ehwa raised her tied hands, “Captured. Figures, just my luck for sticking with you.”

Wangnan chuckled weakly, “Well, I warned you to leave.”

Ehwa huffed, “Don’t even start. I can’t even melt these chains because they are shinsu blocking.” She paused, seeing the distant, glassy look in Wangnan’s eyes, “What are you thinking? What did you see in your dream?”

Softly, Wangnan answered, “I… saw Nia.”

Ehwa recalled, “Isn’t that the…” She trailed off, remembering the fact of the young boy, “...Oh, I’m sorry.”

Wangnan shook his head, “It’s… not just that. Did I ever tell you what happened before I met you guys?”

Ehwa replied, “I think Vi- Bam told us. Apparently you kept retaking the test over and over, and all your friends passed or gave up on the test, leaving you behind to keep retaking it.” 

Wangnan lowered his gaze, saddened, “I… lied. I constantly made countless companions on my way up the tower, especially on the 20th floor. But… almost everyone died. They either died or ditched me because of my recklessness. My immortality contract is the only reason I’ve survived.” 

Ehwa’s gaze softened, “Wangnan… I’m so-”

Wangnan shook his head, “No, that’s not the only thing. In my dream… I also saw… my father. ”

Ehwa realized, “You mean… the king? I thought you said that you’ve never seen what he looked like before. How do you know it was him?”

Wangnan hesitated, “I… didn’t think so. Yet, when I saw him, I knew immediately who he was. It was almost like-”

A voice spoke up, “Oh good, you’re awake.” Standing at the entrance was none other than the bi- Rachel herself. With a content smile, she walked over and knelt in front of Wangnan, “Hello there, your highness. Pleasure to see you’ve finally awakened.”

Wangnan growled, “Don’t call me that. How do you even-”

Rachel held up his red ring, her smile growing, “This. I know exactly what this ring means. And I have a feeling that you know as well. At least, a piece of the whole story, like me. Would you like to take this outside and we can trade information?” Her eyes narrowed as she glanced over at Ehwa, who simply glared at her with murder evident in her pink eyes. 

Ehwa growled, “He told me. Whatever you tell him, you can tell me.” Rachel glanced back over at Wangnan, who nodded in agreement with Ehwa.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, Rachel pocketed the ring, “Very well, then I’ll make this simple. Prince of the Red Light District, join forces with me. I plan on procuring the thorn fragment hidden on the floor of death, as well as the other fragments eventually. From there, I can overthrow Jahad. Isn’t that why you teamed up with Bam? So that you can replace Jahad like you were raised to?” Ehwa shot Wangnan a look, but he was too busy scowling at Rachel to notice.

Wangnan asked, “Why the hell would I betray my teammates to join up with you? You can’t even keep a firm hold on your teammates, much less overthrow the king.”

Rachel pulled back out the ring, keeping it just out of reach of Wangnan’s grasp, “I can give this back to you, upon your agreement. Also, I learned about the princes from your oldest one, he who calls himself ‘The Boss’. If you team up with me, I can tell you where he’s been hiding.”

Wangnan paused, more hesitant with his next words, “Let’s assume I believe you. Why would you want to team up with me? I don’t know if you noticed, but I don’t have any special talents or gifts. I’ll be deadweight.”

Rachel’s smile grew to the point her eyes closed, “That’s for me to know, at least until you promise to join my team. Oh, but if you refuse to join, I’ll kill that Yeon girl. She’s too rebellious for my liking.”

Ehwa snarled, “Excuse me, bitch?” 

Debating his choices, Wangnan agreed, “Fine. But I have some conditions. First, our alliance is only temporary, just until you tell me what I want to know or until I can return to the others. Second, the other team cannot know about me being here, I don’t want them to think I don’t hate your guts. Third, I want my ring. Now.” He took a deep breath, “And finally, I want you to give Ehwa a choice to return to the others.” Ehwa stiffened, turning to Wangnan so fast her hair slapped her in the cheek. He continued, “You said it yourself, you have no use for her. Let her return to the others safely… please.”

Rachel scoffed, “You seriously care about one teammate that much? 40 floors later? Whatever… She can leave if she wants to. Y can take her back.” Rachel reached out and unlocked their handcuffs before tossing Wangnan the key, “I agree to your conditions, but know that if you try to trick me, remember who I have as teammates.” With that, she walked off, leaving the two to talk.

Immediately, Wangnan fell forward, his eyes wide, “He’s alive… my oldest brother… is alive.”

Ehwa asked, “I thought you already thought he was alive?”

Wangnan explained, “Karaka was so sure he was dead. I was just too stubborn to believe that immediately. But this confirms it, I can find him.”

A beat of silence passed before Ehwa realized something, her body licking with flames that shout out towards Wangnan. As he let out a cry of pain, she snapped, “What the FUCK, Wangnan Jah?”

Patting down the flames, he winced, “W-What are you talking about?”

Ehwa stomped her foot, flaring up again, “What do you think? You want me to leave? Didn’t we promise to do this together? Did one kidnapping waiver that so easily? Shows how much you care.”

Wangnan countered, “When we promised that, I didn’t expect this! It would be better for both of us, you could go back to the others safe. You can go back and completely forget about me-”

“I don’t want to forget!” Ehwa blurted out. For the first time, Wangnan took a proper look in her eyes. There were tears. Tears that he put there. Ehwa bit her lip, “How could I ever face the others, knowing I willingly left you alone? I knew climbing with you would be dangerous, that’s just the tower. I made a promise to you, Wangnan. And, unlike you, I intend to keep it.”

Wangnan smiled softly, “Alright. I really don’t deserve a teammate or a partner like you, Ehwa.”

Ehwa smirked, putting a hand on her hip, “Of course you don’t. Took you long enough to realize that, monkey-faced moron.”

Standing in front of the God of Guardians, Bam asked, “God of Guardians, teach me the skill only Irregulars can use.” 

God of Guardians paused, “...What? How do you know about that?” Bam didn't reply, his eyes glancing to the ground. The giant man leapt down, shrinking to a proper size, “I don’t know how you heard about such a skill, but first answer something for me. What happened on the outside to cause such a request? Surely whoever told you of such a skill warned you that it wouldn’t be easy to learn.”

Bam paused, “I’m just… sick of needing to be protected. Sick of feeling useless in front of powerful enemies. I heard what that Ranker said! They’ll target anyone who’s friends or allies with me! From now on, my friends are in even more danger and yet I can’t even fight back! I know that greed for absolute power will get nowhere, I’ve seen it right in front of me. But if there really is a powerful skill that only Irregulars, only I can use, then I want to take full advantage of it.”

God of Guardians paused, “I’m glad to see that you understand the risks that come with desiring ultimate power. But understand that you do not have to fight your enemies alone. You do have companions to support you against these enemies, even if your companions are on the weaker side. Very well, I will teach you the skill. Know that there is no turning back from here.”

Bam nodded, raising his fists, “Alright.”    

A few hours later, Endorsi fell back on her bed, groaning, “Dammit Bam, where the hell did you even go for so long?” Suddenly, an observer appeared next to Endorsi, the observer having the same red ribbon bow as its owner. 

Yuri hissed, “What do you think you’re doing? We need to train!”

Endorsi barked, “Like hell am I going to train with you!” 

Yuri put her hands on her hips from where she was watching, “If you want to even go to the floor of death, we need to train. Especially because things may turn out even worse than we originally planned. You can’t depend on Bam saving your ass.”

Endorsi huffed, “I’m not! I just don’t want to listen to your useless lessons. I can train myself, you know.”

Yuri rested her cheek on her hand, “Yeah, I heard all about it from W.”

That snitch. Endorsi growled and teleported away with Bong Bong, but Yuri’s observer chased after her. 

After watching that whole scene take place, Cheonhwa turned to Daniel, “Wanna spar together? I’m interested in that shinsu type you use?”

Daniel glanced down at his tattoo, “You mean my spell with souls?”

“Yeah,” replied Cheonhwa, crossing his arms, “It’s similar to the ignition weapons inside Beta and Horyang.”

A voice spoke up, “Sort of.” Standing in the door was Beta, who walked over and fell back on the bed next to the two men, “I was interested in Daniel’s spell as well. Upon first look, you can see the similarities between us ignition weapons and Daniel’s soul magic. But the closer you look, the more differences you see. Our ignition weapons maintain their individuality, where we combine several human souls into a single, living spirit. But Daniel’s spell doesn’t have that feeling of individuality, it focuses on the collective. As such, it’s much more surface level than the Right Arm Devil, the complete one, and myself.”

Daniel lit up, “You mean… I could remove it?”

Cheonhwa spoke up, “You mean you didn’t think that?”

Daniel admitted, his mood switching to more sheepish, “Well… I sort of accepted my fate when I was lost to my grief. And after I realized my mistake, I still thought that keeping the spell would be a reminder of the damage I’ve caused to our teammates. When I thought of it that way, I didn’t really consider the possibility of removing the spell entirely.”

Beta replied, “Well, theoretically you could. I’m not one for the technical stuff, that whole idea is just useless to me. But, in your case, all you need to do is find someone capable of separating the shinsu of the spell from the owner’s shinsu and you could erase all residue of that spell with little risk or damage.”

Daniel countered, “Couldn’t that be the same for you? Find someone who could separate the shinsu of the monster within you and your original shinsu? All you would need is some extra blood donated to replace the monster’s flow within you. It would be a longer process, but eventually-” He was cut off by Beta’s almost psychotic laughter. Beta fell back, kicking his feet in the air like a child.

Beta snickered, “Are you kidding? It’s not that easy for someone like me. The process could easily kill Horyang, and he’s only a half weapon. For me, I have the monster rooted too deep in my shinsu core that any wrong move could kill me in seconds. At least, that’s what the scientists and Sophia always told me, but who knows if that was another lie or not? Either way, why the hell would I get rid of the weapon within me. All it does is whisper in my mind and make me stronger than almost all Regulars we face. And I’m not even a Regular, so what does that tell you? Nah, I don’t think about fixing me because I don’t have any reason to take such a stupid and useless risk that wouldn’t even do any good.” In spite of his sharp words and sure tone, Beta’s mind lingered on the thought of being without the other voices, other beings, present constantly in his thoughts and actions. He wondered, would he miss them? Or would it become a welcomed silence among his life of madness and chaos? Somehow, he couldn’t find an answer to that question, no matter how much he thought about it. 

Later that day, the God of Guardians looked over Bam, “Alright, that’s it for today. You have a test tomorrow, right? Afterwards, I can begin your real training for learning the skill.”

Bam whined, “What? Why couldn’t we start it today?”

He replied, “Your mentality may be capable of learning the skill, but I wanted to test if your shinsu talent was capable of handling it as well. Now that I am certain it can, we can start training to master the skill after your test. Get going.” Seeing the dejected look in Bam’s eyes, the God of Guardians added, “Oh, and there’s another thing I forgot to mention. Back when you were under the spell of the Rice Pot, you broke yourself out of it on your own. If you want to train more on your own, see if that ability can apply to other spells on humans.”

The next day in the testing area, Boro slammed his hand down on the button, ending the test. He fell back on Sachi’s vines. Bam complimented, “Good work, everyone.”