In Voltiana…
Morino and Kia approached the Asuka Gate, observing the area. They could see a trail of black powder on the ground, but nothing else. Morino knelt down and touched it.
"Hmm, it feels strange…"
He stood up, following the black powder trail. It led to the middle of a street, where the portal had opened.
"It's the same spot," he noted. "There has to be a way to track this powder."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic bag, scooping some of the powder into it. Kia watched as he did, her face worried.
"Do you think they're okay?" Kia asked. "I doubt that man had any good intentions for them…"
Morino stood up, his face hopeful. "I think they are fine, for now. Zharians don't seem particularly hostile to humans, so there'd be no reason to kill them."
Kia folded her arms, thinking. "But you know who ARE hostile to us? Those things you work with! Look what happened, all because of them!"
Morino tensed up, his face slightly guilty. "Well, I—"
"Father, when will you LEARN? They aren't your friends! They aren't your allies! They're just using you guys for their own selfish purposes! Did you see how that girl was quick to put Dachii in danger for her own sake, or how NONE of your colleagues acted with any sort of urgency to SAVE MY SON?"
"That's true, but—-"
Kia shook her head. "I keep telling you, they only give a damn about humans who are worth something to them. As soon as you can't fight, or if my kids lose their abilities, they'll go back to abusing and ridiculing you."
Morino put the bag in his pocket. "Kia, I'll…talk this over with them. Maybe we can add some changes?"
Kia immediately shut him down. "No, no, no! There's nothing to talk about! They've abused my kids, forced them into the military against their will, and as you see, they are willing to use them as bait! I want us to leave this place, and I don't ever want to come back!"
She stormed off, leaving Morino to reluctantly follow. "Man…I'm too old for this…"
Behind a nearby building, Nakada and Oyakawa were listening in.
"Should we help them, General?" Oyakawa asked.
Nakada peeped around the building, watching them both leave. "Soon, but we should leave them for right now. Their frustration is understandable."
Once Morino and Kia were out of sight, Nakada inspected the area herself. "Oyakawa, see if you can find any evidence, and send it to Kenshi immediately."
Oyakawa nodded. "On it!"
Meanwhile, in Raijin Arena…
A large amount of dust rose up, blocking everyone's sight. The crowd was completely silent as they waited for the dust to clear, and Grishna called out to Dachii.
"Dachii! Mate, are you alright?"
Once everyone could see again, they saw Dachii, sitting on the ground, with glowing purple handcuffs around his arms.
"Huh?"
Immediately, his form shifted back to normal, and all traces of his power disappeared.
Venus emerged from the dust, completely unscathed. "Well! That got a little out of hand, so I'm calling this round over! Both teams advance, since it's a draw!"
Dachii's vision cleared and he took in the crowd, which was cheering his name. "DACHII! DACHII! DACHII! DACHII!"
"I…did it?"
The dwarf backed away, pointing at Dachii. "What? No way he won, he's a monster!"
Dachii stared at him, confused, but Venus simply snapped her fingers, and both the handcuffs fell off and the area floor returned to normal.
"Nonsense!" she said. "Both of you did great, so we'll keep you both for Round Two!"
The crowd continued to cheer, and Grishna hopped down from the stands and ran over to Dachii.
"That was some power, mate! You're not hurt, are you?"
Dachii got up. "I don't think so…but at least we didn't lose…"
She gave him a hard pat on the back. "Right you are! I knew joining your team was a good bet!"
Dachii looked at the floor. "Speaking of our team, half of it is missing! We can't advance without them!"
Venus waved him off. "They'll be fine, as long as they navigate the maze, they'll find their way back to you in time for Round Two."
As Venus began to walk away, she glanced back at Dachii one more time. "Oh, and Dachii? Come with me, I have something to show you."
She headed into one of the tunnels, but not before lifting the microphone to her lips.
"EVERYONE, return to Raijin City! Round Two will begin shortly!"
Grishna put a hand on Dachii's shoulder. "Venus rarely ever talks to folks alone, mate! Whatever she wants, it must be important!"
Dachii sighed. "I'm sure it is."
Grishna strapped her warhammer to her back. "Want me to tag along?"
"…Sure."
They followed Venus into the tunnel, and once they reached the end, they were in a large office, with a shadowy desk in the middle.
Venus was busy holding the handcuffs in her hands, and she looked up when the pair entered the room.
"Oh," she said. "You brought the orc."
"Yep, she wanted to come," Dachii remarked.
Venus went back to examining the handcuffs. "Well, I guess it's fine. Do you see these, Dachii?"
She held them up so he could see, and he noticed they resembled something familiar. "That looks just like Nullus's power!"
Venus clapped. "You're right! How perceptive."
"Is that how you stopped my powers?"
She nodded. "Indeed. As you may have known, the Null Element cancels out all Elemental Abilities."
Grishna leaned into Dachii's ear. "Who's Nullus?"
"That's a long story."
Venus set them down. "But we aren't here to talk about that! We're here to talk about you! Say, is it true you have two Elemental Powers?"
He scratched his head. "I guess…"
"You GUESS? Have you not used your second Element?"
"Well, in the battle against Nullus, I think I did? I wasn't really…all there."
Venus shook him by his shoulders. "Tell me EVERYTHING!"
Dachii focused his mind, trying to recall the battle. "I think Nullus hurt Marachii, and something in my head, or someone, was telling me to move, and my body did. Then my fist turned orange and I punched right through his chest."
Venus shook him even harder. "Orange? That's it! The power is a golden-orange color! Do you know how important this is?"
Grishna and Dachii both appeared confused.
"Grishna, do you know what Deity is?" Dachii asked.
She stepped back, shaking her head. "Nope, lad! This is all out of my wheelhouse."
Venus sighed. "It's a GAME-CHANGER. Don't you know your father, Kuroten Jones, was looking for it as well?"
Dachii's eyes widened. "My father…?"
Venus sat on her desk. "Yes, your father. He was obsessed with it, trying to figure out its secrets, what made it so special, and basically all the ins and outs. Didn't he ever say anything about it to you?"
"My father…my father's dead…" Dachii muttered, almost shaking.
Venus gave him a wink. "Oh? That's too bad, I'm sure there's a lot he can teach you! Especially since you're the one with the Element coursing through your veins."
Grishna looked between Dachii and Venus, as the room remained silent.
Venus got up off the desk. "Well, if you win the games, you'll be able to learn more about your father and SAVE your brother! Won't that be great!"
Dachii continued to stand in place, and Venus patted him on the head. "Now then, I'll go set up the next event. But before I go, take this!"
She opened her desk, pulling out a shadowy box. "It belonged to your father! Maybe you'll have use for it?"
With that, she turned and walked out of the tunnel, leaving Dachii and Grishna alone.
Grishna stretched and yawned. "Well, best we head back to the lodge, mate. Restlessness is setting in."
Dachii looked at the box, mind racing. "Father…?"
And just like that, the box seemed to speak to him. "Dachii…DACHII…"
Grishna shook him. "Dachii?"
He snapped out of the trance, slapping himself in the face. "Oh, sorry! Yeah, we should get back."
As they left the arena, Venus secretly watched them with a smile on her face.
Meanwhile, underneath the arena…
Aoki stood over the shadow spider, which had her blade impaled in its head. It twitched for a minute before falling still.
"Come, girl," Aoki ordered. "We're crossing the bridge."
Hikari watched in awe before putting one foot on the bridge. It began to shake.
"That's very unsafe!"
Aoki rolled her eyes and took her blade out of the spider's skull. "Children."
In the blink of an eye, she was across the bridge. "Come! You should be fast enough to make it without any issues. If not, I'm leaving you."
Hikari took a deep breath and readied herself. "I got this, I got this. 3…2…1."
She took off, narrowly landing on the safe parts of the bridge. Once she got to the end, she nearly made the jump, but the bridge snapped below her.
"No, no, no!"
Aoki grabbed her hand just before she could fall too far, with a disdainful look on her face. "Sad."
She forcefully pulled Hikari up and set her down before looking at the door in front of them. "This should be the exit. Come on."
Meanwhile, in an unknown office…
Venus walked inside a cold, dark office room, and she saw Ionix waiting for her, sitting on a couch.
"Hello, Venire. Or should I say, Venus?"
Venus laughed, before sitting down. "Don't blow my cover."
Ionix took a cup of coffee on the desk in front of him. "Well, not like they aren't suspicious of you already."
Venus's eyes began to glow green. "That's fine. All it takes is a little tension, and they won't be able to focus on me. The Holder doesn't even know of his father's secret, or the true nature of his power."
Ionix took a sip. "Good. What's your idea for the next round of the Games? Aoki is still a problem, and that healer girl could be a major annoyance."
"It should be something safe enough that won't hurt him, but enough to start eliminating his team. I know just the thing."
Ionix lifted an eyebrow, and Venus smirked. "Round Two will begin the 1 on 1 fights. One team selects a member to fight per match."
"How will that handle his team?" Ionix asked.
Venus stood up. "Don't worry I've already got it covered. If you want Aoki gone, we'll just need someone to match."
Ionix smiled. "I like the way you think."
Meanwhile, in Voltiana…
Fujii and the others were busy searching the library for clues. Saori held up a blue book.
"Hey! I think this is it!"
Akari took a look at it. "Saori, that's a book on dragons."
"Yeah! I love dragons!" she exclaimed.
Fujii laughed. "So do I, Saori. So do I."
She went back to searching shelves and she encountered Luca, eating beef jerky. "Seriously, Luca?"
"What? I'm hungry!"
She slapped her forehead, and she continued on. "Portals, portals, what could help open a portal?"
But to everyone in the room's shock, they heard a cold and chilling voice.
"You want a portal? I'm happy to OBLIGE!"
Fujii immediately drew his sword. "Everyone, stay sharp! That's the guy who took Marachii!"
He looked around the room, but couldn't find any trace of Ionix. "Where…?"
The voice continued ringing through the room. "Luca Mori…Saori Nakamura…Kenshi Fujii… all tempting choices…"
Then, Ionix's voice began to laugh. "But I know exactly who I need. AKARI ASATO!"
Before anyone could react, a portal opened below Akari's feet. "What on earth?"
And she fell through it, right before Fujii or the others could reach her. "Akari!"
She began falling through the vast void, and a portal opened below. "What's happening?"
She passed through the portal, and the next thing she knew, she was in Raijin Arena. She landed on her face, struggling to get up.
Ionix and Venus watched her from above, laughing. Ionix raised a hand out to her, and the entire arena began to glow yellow.
"Prepare the Second Round, Venire. Let all the fans know, we'll begin with a spectacle."
Just as he spoke, Aoki and Hikari emerged from one of the tunnels.
"Match One: Aoki VS Akari."
—-