In the square-like room, the mist at their feet began to evaporate in the Ashkari's presence.
Most of the Iskari stared at the crystalline object holding both hosts.
Except for captain Nero and the girl hugging Koji.
Nero's eyes widened at the sight of Sato, his fingers twitching slightly.
Almost as if he were hesitating.
The girl didn't look at the crystalline object. She didn't even look at the opposing group.
Her attention remained on the floor, where most of the mist had already evaporated
What remained dissipated into the air.
The girl gently squeezed Koji's hand, her gaze unsteady.
Her body began to tremble
Sato didn't even look at her. He watched Nero hesitate.
Nero's lips parted slightly
"K-ki-" Nero's words never came out
"K-Ki-" he tried again, still stuttering.
Finally, the words came. But Sato spoke at the same moment.
"Kill them!" they said at the same time
One shouted. The other remained calm.
Instantly, everyone moved.
Iskari and Ashkari clashed
The room erupted into a burst of colors and shifting temperatures.
Everyone became a blur of motion
"Wait!" The girl shouted, yanking Koji's arm back as he lunged forward
One side of the rooms burst open, the walla collapsing under the force of battle
The came the limp bodies, hitting the floor one after another.
All of them Iskari, even as ice flew all around them room.
Two bodies burned in Edd's smoke.
Another lay with a hole burned straight through his chest.
Len stood over him, watching as blood seeped from the Iskari's lips.
It was the same man with the burnt face.
Throughout the brief clash, Sato hadn't moved once.
He watched as Nero, Ricky, and the buzz-cut man escape through the hole in the collapsed wall
Sato's team didn't chase them
In the middle of the room, untouched by Sato's team stood the girl and Koji
Koji blinked twice.
Then he saw his surviving comrades all burning to ash.
He snapped from his confusion
"Tsk!" he hissed, his teeth clenched
He charged at Sato, an ice blade wrapped around his arm.
"You bastard!" he shouted.
Sato tilted his head toward Koji. He didn't even flinch.
Before he could get halfway to Sato, something struck his blade.
It was the girl. Her own ice blade blocking Koji's attack.
"Lin?" Koji muttered.
Lin held his gaze.
"Please don't."
Koji's blade deconstructed
"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice soft
"I saved us," Lin answered
Her gaze fell to the floor
"We're free to go," she added
Sato calmly moved from the doorway and gave a brief nod.
Edd, Kado, and Len watched the two
Seeing Sato nod, Koji's eyes narrowed
"Lin, explain. now," Koji said
She didn't answer
"I did this for us," she finally said.
"Lin!?" Koji shouted
"Why do we always have to be fighting against them?" she muttered, her eyes beginning to water.
"I'm tired."
"Lin, what are you saying?" Koji asked
Sato sighed
"In other words, she gave me your location in the hopes of sparing you both," he said.
Koji turned back to Lin again
"You ratted us out?" he asked
"I had to. It's the only way to save us," she said. "They were gonna find us anyway."
"No." Koji shook his head. "You killed our people."
"You can hate me all you want. Just don't make me watch you die too," Lin said
Koji clenched his fist
"You don't get to decide that for me," he muttered
"I know," She muttered
Silence settled between them as they stared into each other's eyes
"Let's go... Please," Lin muttered
Koji didn't move for several seconds,
Then
Then, slowly, he began walking toward the door
Lin followed, her head lowered.
They walked past Sato and exited
Disappearing down the hallway
Silence
Everyone in the room remained still
Sato walked into the middle of the room and crouched, rubbing his hand against the floor.
"You sure about this, Sir?" Edd asked, leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
"No," Sato answered, his hand still rubbing against the floor.
"I hate loose ends," he said.
His hand brushed over the smooth ground.
Then-
He stopped, briefly looking up at Craig.
"Kill them," He said." Don't let them leave the building."
Craig nodded quickly before exiting the room.
There were just four of them in the room.
Sato crouched in the middle, still feeling the ground
Kado stood near the hole where the Iskari escaped.
Edd remained against the wall, while Len stood beside the limp body with a hole through its chest
They watched as Sato rubbed his hand against the floor, as if searching for a hidden mechanic.
Suddenly-
Sato stopped rubbing his hand against the floor
He kept it pressed against one spof
"Its here, alright," he muttered
Sato raised his hand, flames engulfing it
He slammed it into the ground
Cracks spread slowly beneath his hand, branching outward across the floor.
They travelled up the walls
The cracks in the ground glowed a deep crimson.
Sato stood, clutching the crystalline object.
He looked at his team
"Hold tight," he said
Before anyone else could respond, the ground collapsed.
They fell into a wide, squared-shape opening.
But the farther they fell, the wider and darker it became.
The men didn't use their flames to slow their fall. At least, not yet.
Soon, a faint glow appeared below, A mix of red and blue.
That's when they propelled themselves, flames slowing their descent.
They landed on the ground.
"Holy shit," Len muttered, eyes widening.
"So many embers," Kado muttered
Edd didn't say anything, a dead cigarette between his lips.
Beneath the earth lay a huge hollow, almost like a miniature world.
Jagged rock formations stretched across the darkness, their surfaces covered in the same crystals Leo had been forced to pick.
Even the natural rocks seemed to have fused with them.
The entire place was dark, almost like night.
The ground was laced with the same crystals Leo's had been forced to pick.
Even the natural rocks seemed to have been fused with crystals
And in the centre of the underground structure...
A crater remained.
Sato began walking toward it, the crystalline object in his hand.
The rest of his team followed behind.
With each step closer to the crater, the object vibrated more violently
Thomas and Marquez visibly twitched inside the object
Their eyes dragging across the glass-like structure that trapped them
The red and blue aura began to rise from the crystalline object
Both Thomas and Marquez's eyes shifted into a hollow blank stare that reflect their colors
Even the octagonal runes in Sato's eyes began to spin
Just as Sato reached the crater, the continuos hum from the crystal seized
Complete silence
He stood directly over the crater
A blue and red glow shone up from him below.
Inside the crater, rocks and embers had already formed an octagonal pattern
Just like Sato's eyes.
At the center of the octagon, a black spherical crystal hovered
Sato tightened his grip around the crystalline object.
Tears began to flow from his multicolored eyes.
He wasn't crying.
Inside the crystal, Thomas and Marquez remained motionless, but tears also flowed from their hollow eyes.
Briefly a small crack ran its way to one side of the crystalline object
But no one saw
End