Voltiana

As all of Squad S-2 fled into the tunnels, groups of Zharians began to gather around Venire. Within their ranks, Mar and Eliza came forth.

"What are your orders, Mistress?"

"Find those soldiers and eliminate them," Venire ordered. "We cannot risk them interfering with our mission."

They both nodded, and the Zharian forces marched into each one of the tunnels.

"Also," Venire stated. "Bring the siblings to me."

"As you wish," Eliza replied.

Both she and Mar disappeared into the central tunnel as the crowd quieted down, eagerly waiting. Once Venire was alone, she addressed the crowd.

"My lovely supporters, are you enjoying yourselves? I know I sure am! Sorry for the abrupt shift of events, but it's all in good fun, am I right?"

She snapped her fingers, which shifted all the recording cameras in the direction of Raijin City, where they saw a gigantic burst of lightning shoot up.

"After all, who wouldn't want to witness the Holder of Deity in action?"

The broadcast showed Ionix firing a barrage of lightning strikes at Dachii, who hid behind a nearby lodge.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Dachii thought. "Where do I go? If I step foot out there, he'll blast me to hell!"

"COME OUT AND FIGHT!"

Ionix unleashed a powerful lighting wave from his body, slashing the top half of the lodge right off.

"Aww, come on—-!"

In the next moment, Ionix had Dachii by the scruff of his neck. "Let's go for a ride."

And then they were gone, with only a trail of electricity following behind them.

In the tunnels…

Inside of a locker room, Kanai, Tsugumi, Tetsuya, and Kazue held their breaths while Zharian soldiers scoured the halls.

"Any trace of them?"

"I think I saw something down there!"

"Move, move!"

Once the coast was clear, Tsugumi whispered to the others. "We need to take down their leader. The longer she's around, the more trouble it will be."

"She seems to use portals often," Kanai noted. "But they don't appear to be a part of her powers. They seem more…predictable, timed even."

"What if we can push her into one of those portals? Could that get rid of her?" Tetsuya asked.

"It's worth a try," Kanai answered. "But getting her into one won't be easy, especially with that acid she can summon, so we'll need a plan!"

Outside, they could hear the sounds and voices of more Zharians filling the halls.

"Does anyone have sight of them?"

"Not yet, but Venire wants the brother and sister alive. Kill the rest."

"Roger that."

"Brother and sister…?" Tsugumi whispered, realizing the meaning. "She wants US?"

"Hey, I heard something over there!"

"They're onto us!" Kazue exclaimed. "What do we do? What do we do?"

"Everyone stay calm," Kanai said. "If Venire wants Tsugumi and Tetsuya, why don't we give them to her?"

"WHAT?" Tsugumi and Tetsuya both blurted out.

As footsteps got closer and closer, Kanai lowered her voice.

"You two run towards the arena and keep her busy, and while you do that, Kazue and I can gather up the troops and force her hand."

The footsteps reached the entrance to the locker room.

"Remember guys, we still have to help Himeka and Dachii, so we have to get this done!"

Tsugumi groaned and glared at Tetsuya. "Fine. Don't get me killed, you fool."

"Whatever."

And at once, they both burst out of the locker room and took off, surprising the guards.

"There they are! After them!"

They raced down the hall, guards hot on their tails. Soon, they could see the end of the tunnel, and the bright lights awaiting them outside.

"Keep going!" Tsugumi called out.

Once they got close, the light blinded them, and they heard the sound of clapping.

"Well, well, well…"

Venire was sitting on a floating platform in the middle of the arena, watching the two with an amused look.

"I didn't expect you two to just WALK right up to me, how bold of you!"

"What do you want with us?" Tsugumi asked, stepping forward.

Venire yawned, almost like she was bored. "Your magic, of course. While my colleague handles your VERY special friend, I believe you two can help me with a very important…task."

Tetsuya and Tsugumi looked at each other, baffled.

"Why would YOU need OUR magic?" Tetsuya questioned. "Hell, is that even possible?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I'm not sure you need to know all that."

Her hand began dripping with acid, and she made sure to hold it up so both of them could see. "But if you hand it over, I'll let you go."

"We can't just…hand over magic, can we?" Tetsuya whispered to Tsugumi.

"No, you idiot! Besides, I'd never give my magic to HER."

"Clock's ticking! What's it gonna be?"

"Um…well…" Tetsuya stammered.

Tsugumi scoffed and gave Venire a cold glare. "I'll never hand over my magic to you, you ugly bastard."

The entire crowd gasped at the insult, but Venire merely responded with a disappointed tone.

"Well, that's just too bad, I guess."

She snapped her fingers, and dozens of armed Zharian guards marched out from the tunnels and surrounded the siblings.

"Sis, you shouldn't have said that…" Tetsuya muttered.

"Crowd!" Venus announced. "What should their punishment be?"

At once, a pedestal with three colored buttons appeared in front of each seat in the crowd.

"Pick the green button for Option A, and the red button for Option B! Or you can hit that SPECIAL purple button in the middle for an INTERESTING surprise!"

Each member of the crowd pressed a button while Tetsuya and Tsugumi nervously waited.

"She's not gonna do anything bad to us, right?" Tetsuya worried. "I mean, she does need us to be alive to take our magic, doesn't she?"

With the ring of a bell, Venire stood up. The floor of the arena shifted between the colors red, green, and purple, repeatedly, before finally landing on purple.

"Looks like the purple button wins! Great! That means I get to melt their faces off!"

The crowd cheered and pumped their fists, and Tetsuya and Tsugumi immediately started backing away.

"Wait, I'd appreciate it if I could keep my face, please!" Tetsuya exclaimed.

"Touch me and you'll all die," Tsugumi stated.

Venire's entire hand became coated in acid, and with a malicious grin on her face, she motioned toward the siblings.

"Mar, Eliza! Hold them steady, please."

The two Zharians quickly pinned the pair's arms behind their backs and wrapped them with wires, even as they struggled against them.

"Let go!" Tsugumi yelled.

"Why are they so strong?" Tetsuya noticed.

The platform lowered itself down, and Venire gracefully stepped off of it. "How I hate to ruin such pretty faces…"

"And look who's showing their true face, Venus," Tsugumi spat back. "Was being an announcer too hard for you?"

Venire hesitated for a moment, thinking. "Actually, yes it was. You don't understand how hard it is to manage AND all out an ENTIRE tournament."

She leaned in close to Tsugumi. "But that ends now."

She held both of her hands close to their faces, acid coating her palms. Both siblings flinched as the acid hands got closer and closer…and then…

Venire abruptly turned around, using her acid to melt a large sword thrown at her.

"The audacity!"

Tetsuya looked past her to find the source of the sword, and he saw Kanai, Kazue, and the rest of Squad S-2 flanking them, all armed to the teeth.

"Thanks for buying us time, guys!" Kanai called out.

"Yeah, you're welcome! Now can you PLEASE free us?" Tetsuya asked.

Venire narrowed her eyes. "They're not dead?"

She rounded on Mar, who nervously chuckled. "Well…I thought our men handled the others…"

"It's fine," Venus said, pointing at the squad. "Just render them dead."

"Now or never, guys!" Kanai exclaimed. "Attack!"

Both sides rushed each other, weapons clashing. Venire stood behind, watching as both Zharian and Voltian soldiers went down.

"Don't let them win! Annihilate every single one!"

A trio of guards swarmed Kazue, who tried to use a candy cane axe to fend them off.

"Kanai, there's too many!"

Kanai swung a mace around, tripping a few Zharians in the process. "Hold on, Kazue, I'm coming—-!"

Before she could reach Kazue, Mar dropped in front of her.

"Going somewhere, little girl?"

He brandished his own mace, approaching Kanai with a grin. "Your leader isn't here to save you now, is she? What will you do?"

Kanai swung her mace at him so fast he barely had time to deflect it. "Who the hell do you think I am? Her little servant?"

Mar regained his balance, preparing to whirl his mace around. "You tried it. It won't work again!"

Kanai tried to swing low, but Mar deflected the attack and responded by delivering a strong kick to her gut.

"Child's play."

Kazue summoned a few gumballs in her hands and threw them at her attackers. The gumballs exploded in their faces and covered them with gum, but they ripped it off with ease.

"Let me have this girl."

"No, you got the last one! Get your own!"

"Fine, how about we each get a piece?"

"Get away from me!" Kazue screamed, firing mini jellybeans from her hands, which exploded on impact.

Despite this, the guards just laughed at her and advanced.

"Cute."

"AHHH! Stay back!"

Venire continued to watch the fight, glee evident on her face. Behind her, Tsugumi and Tetsuya struggled against their bonds.

"There's gotta be a way out…" Tetsuya muttered.

"Tetsuya," Tsugumi whispered. "I'm about to headbutt you."

"For what?"

"So you can use your magic, idiot! Now get ready!"

While Venire was still distracted, Tsugumi turned her body to face her brother, and once she did, she lifted her head and brought it down on his, causing a painful CRACK to both of them.

"Ow!" Tetsuya moaned.

"Hush and do your thing!" Tsugumi ordered.

Immediately, Tetsuya could feel strength in his limbs, and after some effort, he managed to pull against his binds and snap them.

"Good. Now free me."

"You can say please, you know."

"Just free me."

He ripped Tsugumi's binds off, just as Venire turned around.

"So you've both escaped? No matter."

She stomped on the ground, and clouds of poison gas rose up, heading straight for the two.

"I'll just put you right back."

Tsugumi pulled Tetsuya out of the way, and the gas hit a group of soldiers, making them collapse to the ground.

"This little freak!" Tsugumi growled. "This needs to end, NOW!"

"We can't beat her in a fight!" Tetsuya pointed out. "Stick to the plan!"

As Tsugumi moved forward, a portal opened in front of her, releasing more Zharian forces.

"Huh…the portals are coming back…maybe this is our opportunity!"

She called out to Kanai. "Kanai! I think now's the time! We need to attack Venire!"

After noticing the portals spawning around the arena, Kanai dodged an attack from Mar and ran straight for Venire.

"What the hell is she planning?" Mar thought. "Gotta stop her!"

"Squad! Put pressure on her!" Kanai ordered.

Venire looked around at the soldiers charging at her and laughed. "What are you gonna do? Use the power of friendship on me? Let's show you a little taste of where you STAND."

She unleashed a wave of acid that hit various soldiers, causing severe damage. Other soldiers continued to come after her, throwing their weapons at her. Tsugumi and Tetsuya tried to repeatedly punch her, but she casually evaded all their attacks.

"HAHAHAHA!"

Even still, more soldiers threw weapons at her, making her continuously stay on the move. Eventually, a portal opened behind her, bringing more Zharians into the arena.

"There!" Kanai pointed. "Give her all you've got!"

She slammed her hands on the ground, making it rapidly vibrate and keeping Venire in place, who looked at her feet with a look of surprise.

"Wait, what are you—-?"

Tsugumi tried to come in with a punch, but Venire backhanded her as soon as she got close. An axe and spear were thrown at her, but she easily caught both.

"What's your plot, you fools?"

She looked behind her, noticing the still-open portal. "No…you wouldn't…"

Kauze noticed the opportunity and used it to ditch the Zharians surrounding her. Once she had a clear shot, she fired a large jawbreaker at Venire.

Ionix, still far away, sensed the danger and immediately made his way back to the arena.

But as the jawbreaker continued on its path, Mar deflected it away.

"What a cheap trick! As if Venire would ever fall for something so primitive!"

The jawbreaker rolled toward Tetsuya, and immediately, he used all his strength and started pushing it into position.

"Not…finished…yet!"

Once it was close enough, he delivered a powerful punch to it and sent it flying in Venire's direction right as multiple Zharians tackled him to the ground.

"POWER PUNCH!"

And it barreled straight at Venire.

"Move…move…move…!"

She looked to her left and saw Ionix, Dachii still in his grip, running as fast as he could toward her, reaching out.

But as she went to take his hand…

…the jawbreaker hit her, sending her flying into the portal, and it closed right behind her.

"NOOOOO!"

A powerful wave of electricity shot out from his body, launching everyone back, including Dachii.

Ionix remained in the spot where Venire disappeared, eerily still.

"That was your last mistake."

"One down!" Kanai announced. "Just one to go!"

Kazue pointed to a tunnel. "Hey, look!"

Coming out of it were Hikari, Akari, Aoki, and Himeka, who all were visibly sweating and breathing hard.

"Caught up just in time!" Himeka said. "Now let's finish this PARTY!"

"They've dealt with Venus," Aoki realized. "That means it's just the final boss left."

"Alright! Let's dance!" Himeka cheered.

Akari and Hikari went to help Dachii, who was still disoriented from the trip with Ionix.

"Dachii, are you okay?" Hikari asked, examining him.

"Yeah…just…need a minute…"

"Take several," Akari replied. "We'll handle this guy."

Hikari looked at her hand before sporting a determined look. "Yeah…yeah! We're gonna destroy him!"

Ionix looked at the faces around him, before looking at the crowd one last time.

"Let's begin the encore."

Without warning, Himeka, Kanai, Tsugumi, Tetsuya, Akari, and Aoki all rushed him at once, but to their shock, he simply turned to look at them.

"Now."

BOOM.

From above, a powerful barrage of missiles dropped, surprising all of the fighters and even the crowd.

"Everyone get back!" Himeka called out.

Once they were clear, they saw a figure drop down, his eyes black and empty and hair long and messy. And once that figure lifted his head, Akari and Hikari's eyes immediately widened…

…and so did Dachii's.

"Right on time, Marachii," Ionix stated.

"B…brother?" Dachii recognized.

Ionix put a hand on Marachii's shoulders, pointing at Dachii. "They've taken Venire down. You're my last hope. Capture your brother by all means, and kill any who would stand in your way."

To the absolute horror of Dachii, Akari, and Hikari, Marachii turned to face Ionix and nodded.

"Yes…Master."

And without a second's hesitation, his eyes began to glow with a red hue.

"Activating Mode: Kill."

—-