The robots synchronized their movements with terrifying precision.
Two of them charged forward, their mechanical limbs crashing down on the platform with a deafening roar, while the others fell back. Their maws and chest cannons glowed a blazing red.
Bursts of compressed flame were fired, tearing through the air and melting metal on impact. The platform cracked under the heat, entire slabs ripping away into the void.
Daru and Yamero moved like specters.
They glided between attacks, vanishing and then reappearing a few meters away, their trajectories impossible to predict. Yamero literally ran along the platform's sloping walls, abruptly changing direction at the last moment, while Daru teleported through attack gaps, appearing where no projectile could reach him. A giant claw slammed down on Yamero.
He slipped beneath the mechanical arm, whirled around in a fluid motion, and briefly pressed his palm against the robot's armor. A dry shockwave rippled through the structure, detonating its internal circuits without even cracking the outer armor.
On the other side, Daru swept through a torrent of flames.
Each fireball was cleanly sliced, torn into luminous fragments that vanished before reaching the ground. He ran straight toward a quadruped robot, slid beneath its abdomen, and with a single flick of his wrist, severed its internal joints. The machine collapsed heavily, inert.
But the others didn't let up.
The attacks crisscrossed, overlapped, seeking to close off their evasive zones. The ground exploded, the air burned, the din was incessant.
Yamero burst out laughing amidst the chaos.
"They learn fast... but not fast enough." Daru, focused, briefly observed the attack pattern.
"They're trying to trap us. Bad idea." The robots tightened their formation, ready to launch a coordinated final offensive.
Yamero slowly spread his arms.
The air before him began to roar, compressed by an invisible force. A titanic sphere of plasma took shape, unstable, dazzling, crisscrossed by arcs of energy that twisted the light around it. The heat was so intense that the platform began to melt beneath their feet.
Daru didn't waste a second.
He raised his hand and made a swift gesture in space. A luminous, perfect cube materialized around Yamero's sphere, enclosing the plasma like a captive star. The walls vibrated, cracked by the energy they contained, but held firm.
The two exchanged a glance.
Not a word.
No doubt.
The combined force was unleashed.
The cube suddenly opened forward, hurling the plasma ball at an insane speed. The attack traversed space in absolute silence, as if even sound refused to exist in the face of such power.
The last animal robots didn't have time to react.
They were swallowed whole, disintegrated at the molecular level.
No explosion.
No debris.
Not even a drop of molten metal.
Nothing remained.
The wave of energy continued its course, striking one of the colossal structures of the floating island and piercing it through, opening a gaping hole, gaping like a fresh wound in the fortress. Alarms immediately sounded across the entire island, red, shrill, chaotic.
Fragments of concrete, steel, and glass fell into the void, sucked up by the clouds below.
A new passage had just been created.
Yamero let his arms fall, a predatory smile on his lips.
"This is our gateway." Daru observed the opening, already analyzing the internal corridors, the blind spots, the likely lines of defense.
"A direct infiltration into the heart of the beast… They'll panic." In the distance, sirens wailed incessantly. Figures moved behind the breached walls.
Yamero raised his hand and gestured for Maki and Aika to join them.
In a heartbeat, space bent.
Maki appeared beside Yamero and Daru, pulling Aika with her in an electric glow. The four of them stood before the gaping opening leading into the interior of the floating island.
They were about to advance.
But before them, a living tide rose.
Dozens… then hundreds of heavily armed soldiers, supported by combat robots, formed a perfect defensive line. Rifles aimed, cannons loaded, targeting systems locked onto them. A fortress within a fortress.
Silence fell.
Then, without warning—
An unknown aura was unleashed.
It was neither an explosion nor a visible attack.
Just absolute pressure.
The soldiers were vaporized.
The robots were crushed, their bodies twisted like paper.
Some bodies were dismembered, others pulverized, still others hurled against the walls before falling lifeless.
It all happened in a fraction of a second.
When the smoke slowly cleared, all that remained was a floor littered with smoldering debris, shattered weapons, and figures frozen in death.
Two figures stood amidst the chaos.
Two calm, untouched silhouettes, as if the violence around them had never existed.
One advanced with a confident stride, an aura both sharp and heavy.
The other stood slightly behind, their gaze cold, measured, but dangerous.
Daru frowned slightly.
Yamero offered a faint, incredulous smile.
Maki narrowed her eyes, already on the defensive.
Aika felt a shiver run down her spine.
They recognized them.
…Suka.
— …Miya.
Familiar faces.
Allies from another time.
Or perhaps… something far more complicated.
Suka glanced at the group and a barely perceptible smile flickered across his face.
"You're still as noisy as ever," he said calmly.
Miya stared directly at Aika, her eyes shining with an unreadable light.
"The entire island is on high alert. Griselda will soon realize that something has gone terribly wrong."
Yamero nodded, his gaze hardening.
"Speaking of which… Griselda already knows we're here. She's the one who welcomed us, sort of." Miya gave a slight smirk, completely unsurprised.
"Oh? Anyway, the discretion option is dead and buried. We might as well own up to it."
She paused, then continued sharply:
"Let's get straight to the point. We have to find the Dark Heart relic and stop this madness. Then we'll deal with the leaders of the extremist organization once and for all." Aika frowned.
"Have you located the room where the relic is?" Suka nodded calmly.
"Miya mapped the entire floating island with her device while we exploited their interference to contact you." He tapped his temple lightly. "Every corridor, every room, every defensive position is being monitored. The relic is located in a vast room, several hundred square meters. And most likely…" His gaze darkened.
"…under the direct supervision of one of the leaders. Perhaps even all three at once." A heavy silence fell for a fraction of a second. Miya broke it immediately.
"We don't have a second to lose. If they sense we're getting too close, they'll flee again with the relic. Move. Now." Without waiting, they all rushed into the floating island. Their footsteps echoed heavily in the gutted corridors. Around them, debris littered the floor: torn metal plates, severed cables still crackling with electricity, smoking robot carcasses, deformed monster bodies, and soldiers crushed against the walls.
The island's interior was bathed in a vivid red light, dim yet oppressive. Neon signs flickered intermittently, casting distorted shadows on the walls. Distant alarms wailed in waves, while garbled announcements blared from cracked loudspeakers.
As they cautiously advanced through the dim corridors of the floating island, an oppressive feeling settled over them. The silence was too perfect, almost artificial. Then, in the shadows, two motionless figures gradually emerged as the group approached.
The group stopped abruptly. Facing them were two individuals: a woman and a man. The woman had long, blood-red hair that contrasted sharply with the pallor of her face, and sky-blue eyes, cold and piercing like ice. She held a bow already strung, an arrow ready to be released, its point perfectly aligned with the heart of the group.
Beside her, the man with brown hair and deep black eyes held a drawn medieval sword. The blade reflected the reddish light of the corridor faintly, sharp, without the slightest hint of hesitation.
The man inclined his head slightly, in an almost respectful posture.
"Greetings, young group." My name is Alphonse, Oswald's bodyguard. And the woman beside me is Ilda, Griselda's loyal guardian.
Ilda immediately frowned, tightening her grip on her bowstring.
"Don't call me 'madam' with your rotten gentlemanly manners," she spat irritably.
Alphonse sighed inwardly, without taking his eyes off the group.
Ah… she always overdoes it, lord…
Miya took a step forward, her gaze hard, her voice sharp.
"Let us pass without making a fuss." A slight smile flickered across Alphonse's face, but his eyes remained icy.
"Come now… if we intended to let you pass, we wouldn't be here, facing you. Besides, it's simply impossible for you to go after our leaders directly. It's… unacceptable." Yamero cracked his knuckles, an invisible yet oppressive aura emanating from him. He took a step forward, ready to act.
"In that case…" Before he could finish his sentence, Miya abruptly stepped in front of him. She fixed him with a firm, commanding gaze that left no room for argument. Yamero stopped dead in his tracks, met her gaze for a second, then nodded slowly before stepping back.
"Very well… I'll leave it to you," he said curtly.
At that moment, Maki stepped forward, positioning herself facing the two adversaries, her lightning crackling faintly around her arms.
"Take Aika with you," she said bluntly. "Go ahead. We'll catch up. Go." A brief silence fell. The group nodded without discussion. Yamero gripped Aika's hand firmly, and without wasting another second, they began to run into the depths of the floating island, their footsteps echoing through the metal corridors.
Behind them, Miya and Maki remained motionless, facing Alphonse and Ilda.
Two against two.
The fight was inevitable.
Miya slowly extended her hand. The air around her palm began to vibrate and contract, then a sword of solid energy materialized in a brief but blinding flash. The blade seemed both real and unreal, crisscrossed with unsteady lines of light. She gripped it firmly and immediately assumed a perfect fighting stance, one foot slightly back, the tip of the sword pointing forward.
Without warning.
She vanished.
In a fraction of a second, Miya propelled herself toward Alphonse with superhuman speed. The impact was brutal. Their blades clashed with a deafening crash, and the force of the blow threw Alphonse backward. Miya gave him no chance to regain his footing: she continued her assault, striking with all her might. Their clash literally pierced a reinforced metal wall, which they shattered as if it were mere glass. The two figures were propelled through the structure and landed heavily in a vast circular chamber.
An arena.
The floor was marked with ancient cracks, the walls covered in impact marks and burns. Metal bleachers surrounded the area, silent witnesses to the countless training sessions and executions that had taken place here. The air was heavy, thick with stagnant energy.
Alphonse slid several meters before stabilizing, his sword planted in the ground to slow his descent. He slowly stood up, a tight smile playing at the corners of his lips.
"Interesting…" he murmured. "So that's your answer."
Miya raised her sword, her gaze cold and focused.
"Is this place suitable for you?" she asked. "This will be your grave." Meanwhile, on the other side of the shattered wall, Maki and Ilda faced each other in the now-silent corridor. Ilda loosened the tension on her bow slightly, but the arrow remained pointed straight at Maki. A predatory smile stretched across her lips.
"So... it seems we're alone now," she said mockingly. Lightning began to crackle around Maki, dimly illuminating the red walls of the corridor. Her gaze was calm, almost detached.
"Perfect," she replied. "I just needed to let off some steam." The ground vibrated slightly. Two battles had begun, each in their own hell.
And none of the four intended to back down.