Voltiana

In the Castle of Voltiana…

King Ayrad was pacing back and forth before his throne when he heard the door open.

"King Ayrad!"

He turned his head, stopping in place. "Mm?"

He saw Fujii and Morino enter, both of them sweating. "You two? Is something wrong?"

"Your daughter," Fujii said. "It seems the same forces that have taken the other 3 have also taken her."

King Ayrad's eyes widened. "What? Are you serious?"

"Sir, the situation is getting desperate. If we don't find a way to act, who knows what they could do next?" Morino pointed out.

King Ayrad clenched his fists. "Whoever these Zharians are, they seem hell-bent on attacking us. I want every General out searching for them! We won't rest until we find their location."

Fujii and Morino gave a nod.

"All we can hope is that Himeka, wherever she is, finds them before trouble does," King Ayrad said.

As they left the castle, Morino stopped Fujii outside.

"What did you see before they took the Princess?"

Fujii pondered for a moment. "There was a portal, just like the ones Marachii, Hikari, and Dachii were pulled into. And the same guy's voice rang out."

"Is that so? Then we need to figure out how he's making these portals. Is it a form of magic?" Morino asked.

Fujii shook his head. "Zharians can't use magic, and he shouldn't be able to make a portal with just lightning alone. Something…or SOMEONE, is helping him out with this."

Morino paused for a moment. "Who do you suspect?"

Fujii's eyes narrowed, almost deep in thought. "I have a few ideas."

Meanwhile, in the Underground…

Dachii rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't dreaming. "You…you're the sister Hikari's been looking for, right?"

She smiled and set him down, patting him on the head. "Yep! What gave it away? Was it our hair color? Was it my face? What? I'm dying to know!"

Dachii sighed. "I've seen you before."

Himeka immediately turned red with embarrassment. "Oh, right! I forgot I'm a complete celebrity!"

Dachii slapped his forehead. "She's one of those…"

"Now that we're here, do you want an autograph—-?"

Just then, they were interrupted.

"Sister!"

Hikari immediately rushed towards Himeka and hugged her, beginning to cry. "I was so scared, I almost thought you died!"

Himeka began to giggle, blushing. "Aww, you were worried about me? That's so sweet, Sis!"

Grishna walked up beside Dachii, sizing up Himeka. "Yep, seems about right. She's that energetic fella everyone's been gossiping about."

Himeka's lit up. "People have been talking about me? What have they said?"

"Yer an interesting kind, young lady."

As Himeka and Hikari finally split, Dachii looked around, noticing the thunderous clouds and the Colosseum overlooking them.

"Man, I sure hope Marachii is somewhere down here…"

"Oh!" Hikari blurted out, nearly forgetting. "We also need to find our Squadmate! You know, Marachii? Have you seen him?"

Himeka shook her head. "Nope! No humans around these parts! Speaking of which, where'd you find that girl? She's so cute!"

Himeka pointed at Ayana, who was dusting herself off. As soon as she noticed the eyes on her, she backed away.

"Uh, please don't stare at me like that."

Haruto nudged her. "Come on, she looks harmless! Besides, I like her hair."

"Her hair is nice…" Dachii thought, before jolting himself back to reality. "Anyway! What do we do now?"

Himeka pointed toward the massive Colosseum. "There! That's where everyone is!"

She got into a running position. "Alright guys, let's…."

And in an instant, she was gone, a trail of dust left in her wake. "GO!"

"Wait up, Himeka!" Hikari called out, running after her.

As the confused competitors watched, Grishna put a hand on Dachii's shoulder. "Best we follow them, mate. I've got no clue what this place is."

They made their way towards the Colosseum, and Ayana and Haruto shared a look before they followed as well, with a grunting Zok behind them.

On the pathway to the Colosseum, they navigated across a bridge that hung over a river of lava.

"This definitely isn't safe," Dachii noted. "I already know nothing good is going to come from this."

And to his surprise, he heard another crowd coming from the Colosseum. "Again? How popular is this event?"

Himeka and Hikari were waiting at the entrance, which was a massive closed door made of concrete and metal.

"Everyone ready?" Himeka asked, giggling and jumping around. "It's about to start!"

"Himeka, what is this place, and why are we here?" Hikari questioned.

She shook Hikari by her shoulders, eyes lighting up. "I'll show you!"

She took a step forward and knocked on the door, and shortly after, it began to slowly split open, revealing the arena and crowd waiting for them, which was much larger than the last.

She stepped inside, and after a moment's hesitation, everyone else did the same. The crowd, which was made up of Zharians, orcs, dwarves, and monsters, began to cheer and clap.

And in the center, residing on a floating platform…

"Welcome, dear guests, to the UNDERGROUND TOURNAMENT! The final stage of the Raijin Games! Whoever wins this, wins the PRIZE!"

The crowd cheered so loud it hurt Dachii's ears.

"Ionix…" Dachii muttered.

Ionix looked down at the gathered competitors with a curious look. "Not that many of you, hmm. We'll simply just have to adjust."

He pointed right at the competitors. "Let's add you to new teams! Dachii, Hikari, and Grishna will be a part of Himeka's team!"

A plume of flame shot out, and the crowd roared.

"WOW, really?" Himeka blurted out, barely able to contain her excitement. "This is gonna be so FUN!"

"Oh boy…" Dachii remarked. "I can see how this is going to go."

Ionix turned his attention to the other competitors. "Ayana and Haruto, I'll pair you two with Zok!"

Zok gave them a look before reluctantly walking next to them. "Fine! Whatever it takes to get the win! Don't fail me!"

"Reminds me of another person…" Dachii thought. "Hate those muscle-heads."

As more fire appeared, Ionix stepped down, a wide grin on his face. "And now for our final team and their leader…"

He stretched out his hand, motioning to one last tunnel. Coming out of it, was Sir Triune, with a pack of dog monsters behind him.

"It's the infamous bandit, SIR TRIUNE!"

Dachii's eyes immediately widened as the giant monster walked towards Ionix, now covered in armor from his neck to his feet.

"Him? I thought he was dead!"

Hikari looked the monster up and down. "Who is that? He looks terrifying."

"Yeah, because he IS!"

Sir Triune cracked his neck. "Let's get this show on the road."

As the crowd got louder and louder, Ionix's eyes began to glow. "We'll begin this event with a special treat! The RAIJIN RACE!"

More flames shot out, and the crowd cheered. "RAIJIN RACE! RAIJIN RACE!"

Dachii sighed. "Let me guess, it's a deadly race that's sure to kill me."

Himeka eagerly nodded. "Mhm! It's also long! It's so fun!"

"Have you done it?" Dachii asked.

"Nope!"

A massive board floated over the arena, showing the contestants footage of a deadly race filled with dangerous traps, lava, and drops.

"Your goal is the top of that mountain," Ionix said, pointing to a mountain that was larger than the others. "Reach the citadel at the top and you win. The team that doesn't make it will lose, and all of its members will be disqualified."

He held out his hand, and electricity crackled through it. "Now for the best part, the TEAMS!"

Then he turned away. "Dachii and Ayana will be going up against each other. Feel free to add any other members to your team as you choose. The race starts in 30 minutes."

And in a flash, he disappeared to more crowd applause, which began to fill the entire arena.

Dachii nearly collapsed, but Ayana caught him.

"Ugh, please tell me I'm dreaming," he muttered.

Ayana gave him a hopeful smile. "Hey, hopefully it won't be that bad! I'll take it easy on you!"

"…Yay."

As Ayana helped Dachii to his feet, Himeka grabbed Hikari and Dachii's hands. "Come, guys! Bring your friend, I'll show you where the others are!"

Dachii didn't have time to protest before Himeka dragged him and her sister into the tunnel, with Grishna stumbling after them.

"We're going to destroy them, aren't we?" Haruto asked.

Ayana nodded. "Yep. I like Dachii and all, but his friends are just so…ugh."

Zok pounded his hand into his fist. "Good! Show them no mercy! Especially that disgrace of an orc!"

Inside the tunnel, the group walked until they could see a room at the end. It smelt of food and had lots of chatter coming from it.

"Is that the cafeteria?" Hikari asked.

"Even better, Sis!" Himeka replied, putting her hands on Hikari's shoulders.

They finally entered the room, and Dachii saw what appeared to be a common room. Inside of it was Squad S-2, each in arena uniforms.

"Here's my Squad, guys!" Himeka announced. "Do you like it?"

There were people playing pranks on each other, people cooking food using the nearby kitchen, and in the corner, Dachii saw a girl giving a boy some candy while patting him on the shoulder.

"It's okay, Tetsuya. Tsugumi will understand," the girl said.

"Whatever. I'm so sick of her!"

Himeka clapped her hands together and everyone turned their attention to her. "Guys, look who I've brought! My sister, a super cool orc, and Dachii himself!"

Everyone stared at them in silence. A young woman stepped forward, trying to give a smile. "Hi! I'm Kanai! I'm Himeka's best friend and Vice-General!"

She held out her hand, and Hikari, Grishna, and Dachii shook it one by one.

Himeka ruffled Dachii's hair, making him look away. "These guys are going to be joining us! Speaking of which, Dachii has a race coming up! Who wants to be part of his team?"

Everyone remained quiet, not moving a muscle. "Come on, no one? But it'll be fun!"

"That's to be expected," Dachii thought. "Just my luck."

But then, Tetsuya raised his hand. "I'll join!"

Kazue looked at him, confused. "Are you sure, Tetsuya? It's dangerous, and I don't think your sister would approve of you joining a human—-!"

"I don't care. I'll show her what I can do!"

He stood in front of Dachii. "Alright, I'm your running mate! We'll beat the race!"

Dachii stared at him with a blank expression. "Wait, who are you again?"

"Come on! I'm Tetsuya! You know, the sister of Tsugumi, the pride and joy of the Izanagi family?"

"Haven't heard of her either," Dachii pointed out. "But thanks for joining."

Himeka put a hand under her chin, studying the boys. "I think we're going to need more if we're gonna win! Kazue, how about you join them?"

"Me? General, I can't go out there!"

"It'll be fun! Bonding time! And you can help out Tetsuya and Dachii with your candy!" Himeka insisted.

"Well…okay…I'll try."

She hesitated before walking up to the boys, making an attempt to look away from Dachii.

"Hi…uh…I'm Kazue…but you probably knew that."

"Nope," Dachii said. "Don't know you either, but you smell sweet, like candy!"

"Thanks…?"

Himeka looked them over once more before giving them a thumbs up. "Perfect! A balanced lineup!"

"Do you really think so?" Hikari asked. "I don't want them getting hurt, now!"

"They won't! Now go out there and kick some butt!"

Just then, the door to the bathroom opened, and a very angry-looking Tsugumi stepped out of it, her hair messed up.

"What is he doing…?" she asked, almost menacingly.

"Great!" Tetsuya moaned. "She's on my case again!"

Tsugumi pushed Tetsuya out of the way before standing in front of Himeka. "General, whatever you do, please take my brother off this team. He'll do nothing but fail and ruin our chances."

"Look, can't you ever believe in me for one second! Out of everything that could happen, you think I'LL be the one to doom us?" Tetsuya snapped back.

"Yes," Tsugumi answered, folding her arms.

Grishna nudged Dachii. "I feel for you, ya got some serious drama to manage!"

"Who said I'm managing it? My job is to not get killed!"

Himeka appeared to consider Tsugumi's words, but then her face lit up. "I have an idea! How about you join him? All four of you, running the race!"

"WHAT?" both siblings blurted out, almost shocked.

"Yep! There's no way we lose! Dachii, Tetsuya, Kazue, and Tsugumi! That's our racing team!"

Kanai leaned in to whisper to Himeka. "You know this is a bad idea, right?"

Himeka addressed her with a smile. "Yep!"

Just then, they heard Ionix on the speakers. "Both teams, head to the center of the arena!"

Himeka basically jumped up and down. "Yes! It's starting! Go, guys, go!"

Soon, all four of them were in the middle of the arena, facing in front of Ayana, Zok, and Haruto.

"Who are they?" Ayana asked.

"They're…my teammates," Dachii answered.

Himeka, Kanai, Hikari, and Grishna were standing by the tunnel, watching as Ionix opened another portal, letting Venus fall out of it.

"The rules are simple. One of you reach the top of the mountain first. Do not venture off course, and don't team up or cheat, but you can attack each other. Venus will ref you all. If you break a rule or leave the course, you're eliminated."

And with that, he put his hand to the ground, sending a course of electricity through it. "Time to start."

The back doors of the arena began to open, and the crowd cheered.

There was a pathway that led out of the doors. "Follow that path. There's signs everywhere that tell you where to go."

Ayana and Dachii's teams lined up at the start of the path, and Venus stepped forward.

"Are you all ready?"

Tsugumi glanced once at her team before scoffing. "Stay behind me."

Ayana looked over at them, before looking back at her own team. "We've got this, guys! They don't have any chemistry!"

Ionix grinned before leaving one last message. "And also, if anyone from Ayana's team can eliminate Dachii, they automatically win."

Dachii's eyes widened, just as Ionix disappeared. Venus put the mic to her lips.

"It's now time for the Raijin Race! On your marks, get set…"

And a massive horn sounded, with plumes of flames accompanying it. "RACE!"

—-