Chapter One Hundred Forty-Four: Betrayal

Inside Titan's Castle, months ago…

"You want me to infiltrate their ranks, Master?"

Runea was at the foot of Titan's throne, looking up as her Master sat there, quiet. Before long, he spoke, his voice as deep and ancient as ever.

"Yes. However it must be done, do it…"

His eyes opened. "May…you also track…the Cult of Falasuna…for me…?"

"What's that, Master?"

"A cult…trying to bring back our old enemy…they must be thwarted…"

She bowed. "Will do."

As she turned, Titan raised a hand. "Your opinion…of Dachii?"

She paused for a moment. "I think he's a pretty good person. As childish as he might be. I don't want to fight him, I hope I can bring him here willingly. If I show him this cult, would you think that could spur his decision?"

"Unclear…but be careful…Ritsuka Hoshigami…"

Runea froze at the mention of her name.

"I do not wish to lose you…like your sister…"

"I won't fail, Master. I promise," she declared.

Present Day…

Once Dachii opened his eyes and noticed the wreckage of the ice cream shop, he found his hands folded behind his back by the three Zharians that infiltrated.

"No…no…no, no!"

Ayana—-no, Runea, advanced on him, wearing black battle armor around her body. She put a hand on his head. "I'm sorry. Please come with us. You'll understand everything soon."

"One of them!" he thought. "She…Ayana…no…this entire time! She's…a Zharian! Like Ionix…like Ravos! She's an Elite! Morino…did she PLAN IT?"

Dachii's eyes began to turn black, and with a roar, he knocked the Zharians holding him away.

"You lying BITCH!"

He swung at her, but to his shock, she was no longer there. He felt the butt of a sword hit the back of his head, and he fell to the ground.

"Dachii! Stop! I don't wanna fight you!"

Dachii jumped back, regaining himself. "Clearly you did! Dragging me away to trap me! You're Rank 10 of the Order! You're an Elite! Like your pal Ravos!"

Dachii summoned a gauntlet, his eyes burning with rage. "Now DIE!"

He took another swing at her, and she sighed.

"Fine. You're my friend. But I'll teach you a lesson first."

She easily deflected his attack with one hand. Dachii swung again and attacked using a barrage of punches and kicks, but Runea threw her blade into the ceiling and easily blocked and evaded all of Dachii's attacks before kicking him into the wall.

"Now STOP."

Haruto got up from the rubble. "Dachii! We can't fight her! If she really is an Elite, the power gap is too big for us to brave it alone!"

Dachii got up, burning determination in his eyes. "Get the others. I'll handle her."

He reared back a punch and sent it spiraling at Runea, who formed a shield and blocked but still went flying out of the destroyed building.

"Now, to find out where she went…"

BOOM.

She appeared to the side of Dachii in an instant and sent him flying with a powerful kick of her own.

"Dachii!" Haruto called out.

"Stay there, Haruto," Runea ordered. "Once I'm done, I'll take you both back home."

"How could you do this?" Haruto exclaimed. "I thought we were friends!"

"We are," Runea confirmed. "But some things must come first."

With that, she leapt into the air after Dachii, leaving Haruto to stare at the destroyed remains of the shop. "I've gotta tell everyone! And fast!"

He hurried to the castle as quickly as he could.

Meanwhile, deeper in Aleora…

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Buildings collapsed as civilians stared in shock, all to find Dachii being thrown from a collapsing building into the street.

"Hey! It's that kid!" one man recognized. "What's going on?"

"You all need to leave," Dachii insisted. "There's a psychopath in these streets."

Runea carved the remains of the building into dust, stepping out from it. "Psychopath? You don't know what I've been through to get here! You don't know me like you think you do!"

"No," Dachii said, coldly. "I don't."

"Good," Runea said. "At least we both agree!"

He lunged at her but she easily side-stepped, and as he threw more attacks at her, she countered them all before delivering a hand-to-hand combo of her own, leaving Dachii on the ground.

"Shit," Dachii thought. "She's good. How much was she holding back?"

She picked Dachii up with one hand, and as he tried to slam her head with a gauntlet, she blocked it with her free hand. He tried to slam her again and again and again, but she blocked it with the trained prowess of a martial arts master.

"She's not just GOOD, she might be the most skilled one yet!" Dachii realized. "Or at least near the top!"

"Are you done?" Runea asked.

"Sure," Dachii remarked. "Density Punch!"

He used his gauntlet and made his arm as heavy as he could, preparing to punch Runea directly in the face, but once he swung, she was gone.

"Huh—?"

A chain wrapped around his body, pulling him into the air and slamming him into the next building. When the dust cleared, he saw Runea watching him from another rooftop.

"You can't beat me, Dachii!" Runea called out. "I've spent over 1000 years honing myself for one purpose! Vengeance!"

"On who?" Dachii demanded. "None of us were even alive back then!"

"Your leader was," Runea scornfully admitted. "Do you fall for his mask? His lies? His icy charm? It's a lie! It's always been a lie! He's a heartless monster, who has stripped us Zharians of everything we hold dear! Now come with me, or I will MAKE YOU!"

"I see," Dachii said softly. "Well then. Once you're a bloody pile of Zharian, you can tell that to him yourself."

Dachii's body began to glow. "Bullet Mode!"

He moved so fast he formed a massive shockwave behind him, but by the time he reached her, she was already on the next roof.

"Damn it!"

And with a few slashes, the building he was on top of collapsed.

The bright lights of the Masquerade could be seen in the near distance, and Dachii reached out to them.

"Haruto…don't bring them here…she's crazy…"

Runea walked over to Dachii, who was still lying in the rubble. "Cease this. In your current state, you cannot beat me."

A rock hit Runea in the head, and she turned in the direction of the attack, and a little Voltian was standing there, defiant. "Hey! Leave him alone! He's ours, not yours!"

Runea ignored the girl. "Brainwashed brat."

Soon, the girl's brother, mom, and dad appeared next to her. The dad pulled her away. "Get away from that freak, Miwa!"

"Yeah," the brother agreed. "That thing could never consider itself a living being."

The mother stared in disgust. "I feel bad for whatever resemblance of a family it's got. They all need to burn in hell!"

Runea's eyes turned dark, and with one slash of her blade, the entire family was sliced to pieces, along with the closest 4 city blocks to her.

BOOM.

"Don't ever talk about my family," Runea growled.

Dachii got up. "Okay, clearly anger won't work. I'll need a different approach. She IS a girl, maybe I can convince her to relax…?"

He stood up. "Ayana! Stop, we can—-!"

"No," Runea interrupted.

"Okay," Dachii affirmed. "Fists it is—-"

She sent him flying with a single punch, causing him to destroy an old shopkeeper's shop.

"Oy!" the man grumbled. "One of you better be paying for that!"

Runea slashed the man to pieces before turning her attention back to Dachii. "We've wasted enough time. Come on, it's time to bring you home."

"I decline," Dachii said, casually.

"Fine," Runea replied. "Since violence is the only language you speak..."

She held her hands out, and a large metal gauntlets appeared, resembling Dachii's own. "We'll FIGHT."

Dachii sprang up. "Okay."

He rushed at her once more, tackling her deeper into the city.

Meanwhile, inside the Ballroom…

Fujii was busy chugging beer after beer at the table with his squad, and Aoki gave him an unimpressed look as she took away his next bottle.

"Sir, you're already over your limit," Aoki stated. "Please stop."

"Hahaha! Come on, Aoki! I'll show you how to dance!"

She winced. "No! Please. Anything but that."

Marachii came over to the table, a bit concerned. "You guys seen my brother anywhere? He left with Ayana and they haven't been back since!"

"Nope," Luca said. "No clue."

"Need our help to find him?" Hikari asked.

"I might," Marachii admitted. "I'll check nearby, if I can't spot him I'll let you guys know."

"Okay," Aoki said. "Now if you'll excuse us, we need to handle…"

She gestured to Fujii, who was passed out on the table.

"Right…" Marachii laughed, awkwardly. "Well, be right back!"

He exited the castle and headed outside. As usual, there were high-class citizens outside, mingling with one another. Marachii scanned the area and looked for any trace of Dachii.

"Not here…maybe he's a bit farther out."

Marachii prepared to head into the outskirts of Aleora, but one well-dressed man stopped him. "Hey, kid. I saw your brother head near the ice cream shop in that direction with some crippled girl."

He pointed to the left. "Probably still there if you're looking for him."

"Got it! Thanks!"

Marachii made his way over to the place the man suggested. "Okay, it should be fine. After all, he's in the capital and the only other people around are Ayana and the guards. I'm probably overthinking this."

And as soon as he reached the shop, he almost hurled. "Not overthinking!"

He scanned the carnage, which included bodies torn to pieces and rubble all over the place. "What happened?"

"Marachii!"

Marachii turned around to find Haruto running toward him. "Haruto? What's going on?"

"Get the others! Ayana…Ayana! She's going to take Dachii! She's an Order member, we need to gather the forces!"

"WHAT—?"

THUD.

Dachii's body landed between the two, blood on his face that began to heal.

"Dachii!"

"Marachii?" he realized. "Go back to the castle! It's not safe!"

"What—?"

Runea dropped from the sky, landing as gracefully as a ballerina, dual swords in her hand. She paused when she saw Marachii. "Marachii…? How did you…?"

Haruto got in front of Dachii and Marachii. "Leave them alone, Ayana!"

She paused. "I told you, that's not my name."

Marachii stared at her in disbelief. "Ayana! You're a Zharian? No! It has to be a trick!"

She temporarily shifted back to her human state. "I'm sorry, Marachii. Don't get involved."

Marachii's right arm shifted into a plasma cannon. "Don't get involved? You're trying to kidnap my brother! Are you crazy?"

Before he could fire, his entire arm was slashed off. "Crap! How fast is she?"

He began to sweat, but calmed himself down.

"It doesn't matter! You're not taking Dachii!"

"Yeah!" Haruto agreed.

"That so?" she inquired. "I see."

As the three boys stood together, she lifted her arm. "Weapon Mastery: Flying Blades."

In an instant, a barrage of spears, swords, and scythes was released from her body, violently flying around the area as she directed them toward the three.

"Flying weapons?" Dachii thought. "What IS this girl?"

Dachii and Marachii used their powers to deflect the blades coming for them, while Haruto narrowly dodged the ones aimed for him.

"If I have to draw my sword on you," Haruto mused. "Then I will!"

He pulled a blade out of his shirt and tried to swing it at Runea, but a barrage of blades blocked his way, nearly slicing him. "Haruto. Stop."

Her voice came out ancient, powerful, making all three boys tremble. "That's enough. Proceed any further, and you WILL get hurt."

"That's fine!" Haruto declared. "We're not scared, do your worst!"

"As you wish," Runea obliged.

Her eyes began to glow. "Weapon Mastery: Infinite Chains."

Her body began to violently shake, and dozens of chains the size of buildings violently thrashed around, causing Marachii to form his techno-car around himself, Haruto, and Dachii.

"Elara! Drive!"

"Where?" the AI asked.

"Anywhere but here! Kick it in gear!"

"Kicking."

The car took off as the chains tore apart building after building, rising so high they could even be seen from other districts. One chain leveled the street near the castle, while the others wreaked havoc on other parts of town.

Marachii's car swerved corner after corner, chains hot on their heels. Once the Shonora District was visible, the car stopped, and Elara's voice rang out. "Sufficient distance acquired. No hostiles in range."

Marachii then deactivated his car form. "Okay, I think I bought us some time!"

"Not for long," Haurto worried. "I saw what she's capable of back in her homeland. We might have bought a minute, maybe less."

"So what do we do?" Marachii wondered.

"We stop her," Dachii answered. "Before she kills us all."

"That's wonderful and all, but we need a plan. Elara, scan for—-!"

BOOM.

A powerful force crashed into the ground between the boys, sending them all flying. As Dachii flew in the air, he saw Runea on the ground, a massive hammer in her hands.

"Does she ever run out of tricks?" Dachii thought.

She aimed a harpoon gun at Dachii, but Marachii used a metal tendril to pull him out of the way before the harpoon hit, and they both crashed onto another street, breathing hard.

"Not how I expected this day to go…" Marachii groaned. "Can we even beat her without the others?"

"Only one way to find out," Dachii replied.

Runea landed on their street, slowly walking to them. "Congratulations, boys. You've made me mad."

Her face was a mask of fury. "Now the training wheels come off."

Once she took another step, a giant white energy blast nearly hit her foot, causing her to jump back. A bright white light landed in front of Dachii and Marachii, and once it cleared, she saw a familiar face.

"Akari?"

Akari lifted her head, tears in her eyes. "I'm impressed, Ayana…"

Runea narrowed her eyes as the girl wiped her tears.

"…you actually had me fooled."

—-