The skeleton, with a feral growl, leaped up and landed between Takahashi and Izuki, the impact sending a powerful wave of frost that forced them both to retreat.
The creature's face was a mask of frenzy as steam billowed from its mouth.
Suddenly, a lasso, manifested by Saya, shot out and wrapped around the creature's arm. It turned, snarling, but in a blur, Tetsu appeared from behind and snatched the robe.
The creature's head whipped back, its hollow eyes widening as it saw Tetsu running away with its prize. It roared, using a claw-like hand to sever the rope, and gave chase.
Just as the creature was about to reach Tetsu, a rope manifested beneath it, created by Saya, causing it to trip and fall to the ground. Tetsu didn't waste the opportunity.
He launched a powerful heel kick backward, connecting with the creature's face and sending it flying.
As it was airborne and began to descend, Izuki appeared above it, his bat raised for a strike. Its descent slowed to a crawl as Izuki's power took hold.
His bat smashed into the creature's face, sending it crashing to the ground. Izuki landed, his bat pulled back, ready for another blow. The strike came, a whoosh of wind pressure, and the creature was knocked away, bouncing off one tree, then another, before finally hitting the ground in the snowy forest.
It slowly stood up, a low growl rumbling in its chest. It stomped its foot, and several icicles rose from the ground, launching themselves toward Tetsu, Saya, Izuki, and Takahashi.
Takahashi watched, his eyes fixed on Izuki, who seemed to slow down the icicles before dodging them, completely ignoring that Tetsu and Saya were also avoiding the onslaught.
Izuki spat his lollipop out and turned, his lollipop fly and shatter an icicle aimed directly at him.
That ability again, Takahashi thought. He had felt it when Izuki had halted his descent.
That ability seems to slow or stop any movements.
Takahashi parried the incoming icicles with his hands. Once the barrage was over, he and Izuki both rushed toward the monster.
As they found themselves running side-by-side, Izuki swung his bat at Takahashi, who blocked it with ease. Izuki struck again and again, each one blocked.
"Wait, let's have a truce for now," Takahashi said, still running.
"That Anomaly should be the top priority, yeah?"
"Nah," Izuki replied.
"You made me want to smack your head first before anything."
Izuki spun, blocking Takahashi's path. He brought his bat down in a powerful strike, but Takahashi chopped his hand on the swinging bat, stopping it and creating a powerful rush of wind. Both men's arms were shaking from the force.
"Yo, calm down. I really mean it," Takahashi said.
"EERF and Anomaly are equivalent enemies," Izuki replied, his eyes narrowed.
"But I guess..."
Takahashi's body suddenly halted, frozen by Izuki's power. Izuki seized the chance, moving behind him and raising his bat.
"You've a point there."
The bat smashed into Takahashi's back, sending him flying straight toward the creature. As he glided through the air, he groaned.
"Jeez. I called for a truce, and this is how I'm being treated." He looked at the creature, and his face hardened.
"Anyways..."
Takahashi launched a punch, hitting the Anomaly square in the face. It took the hit, received some injuries, but immediately counterattacked.
A series of ice spikes rose from the ground. Takahashi kicked the Anomaly's face, using the force to send him rolling backward in the air, away from the ice spikes.
The ice spikes continued to spread in a straight line toward him. As Takahashi, upside down, saw the incoming spikes, he launched another punch, shattering the ice.
As the wall of ice broke, he saw the creature's face in the shattered fragments.
Suddenly, a figure shot through the air, barely visible. The monster went motionless as Izuki's power activated, halting the entire area.
The figure was Izuki, who was now side-dashing, using each ice spike as a launchpad to push himself in a zig-zag motion toward the creature.
He landed next to it, his bat low at his waist. He then smashed the bat into the creature's back, before launching another strike from above into its head. This time, the monster's skull let out a small crack.
Takahashi walked toward the creature and Izuki.
"That's it, huh?" he said, looking at the grounded monster.
As the monster was pinned to the ground, its face to the front, its hollow eyes glowed in a resonating blue.
In the monster's view, a blue aura in the shape of a robe appeared.
The creature groaned, emitting a force that pushed the bat stuck on its skull away. The force erupted, pushing Izuki and Takahashi back.
The creature burst from the ground, rushing toward the location of the robe. Izuki quickly gave chase, but the creature conjured an ice wall behind it, blocking him. Izuki slammed his bat against the wall, but it held firm.
"Damn it!" he yelled.
Takahashi walked toward the ice wall, a resigned expression on his face.
"Too bad. It escaped."
The ice was transparent, and Izuki could see the creature running away, but he was powerless to stop it. Then, through the ice, electrical sparks appeared.
Tetsu, in a sprint, was chasing the monster, his electrified legs pushing him faster with every step. The distance between him and the creature began to close.
"As expected... you're aiming for that robe," Tetsu said, thinking of the mission.
He reached for the creature's shoulder, but a wave of extreme fatigue washed over him, and he instinctively retracted his hand.
Damn it. Right now? His electricity weakened, and he slowed down. As his eyes began to shut from exhaustion, he saw Saya holding the robe, guarding the tied-up people.
They looked on in shock at the approaching creature.
No, not yet. I almost got it... cannot give up now, he thought, forcing his eyes to open.
A strange vision appeared before him. The creature, the trees, Saya—everyone was surrounded by a faint white aura.
What's that? he wondered.
His eyes wavered, and each time, he saw a different scene: Saya, the trees, Izuki, and Takahashi behind the ice wall. The only thing that remained was the white aura around each of them.
Time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, his body was also enveloped in the white aura, and the surrounding environment resonated. The white aura from everyone flowed toward him, and as it touched him, he felt a strange surge of energy.
It felt warm... and gentle, he thought.
Time returned to normal, and Tetsu was sprinting again, a faint spark of electricity coursing through his body.
He accelerated, his leg stomping hard on the ground.
Time froze for a moment, and then his speed doubled. He shot forward, appearing in front of the creature in an instant.
He turned his body, his shoes skidding on the ground, creating a cloud of steam.
Ouch, that's hot. Too much friction, he thought, taking a moment to control it before launching a kick at the creature's face.
The impact created a fierce sound, but the Anomaly blocked it with a clawed hand. It opened its mouth, launching a wave of cold air. Everything instantly turned to frost, and Tetsu was encased in a block of ice.
Seeing Tetsu's helpless form, the Anomaly began to sprint again, heading toward Saya and the robe.
It thrust a claw forward, the distance between them closing. Saya's weapon was broken, so she braced herself for a bare-handed defense.
Just as the claw was about to reach her, Izuki's voice rang out.
"No. Not so soon."
From above, the metallic bat smashed into the creature, its skull finally cracking completely. It was pinned to the ground.
"Finally got you..." Izuki said, "And your snow rampage ended."
He retracted his bat.
Jeez.
Izuki's mind flashed back. As Tetsu was being encased in ice, he had channeled a final surge of energy, summoning a lightning bolt that struck the ice wall, melting it and freeing Izuki.
He still helped me in the end, Izuki thought.
"Thank you for saving us, um..." Saya said, her voice filled with admiration.
"Sakamoto Izuki," he replied.
"Thank you for saving us, Sakamoto Izuki," Saya said, a cheerful expression on her face.
"That was amazing. You defeated that Anomaly."
Izuki blushed, looking away.
"Nothing. That was just... too easy."
"Yeah, amazing..." a voice cut in. It was Takahashi who had lightly kicked Saya in the back, sending her forward.
Izuki panicked.
"Wait, what. What?" he thought. He caught her, preventing her from falling. He smelled something pleasant.
She smells good... is it orange fragrant? he thought, before shaking his head.
No, no. This is not the time for admiration.
"Thank you... again," Saya said.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Izuki yelled at Takahashi.
Takahashi simply smiled, pulling his cap down over his eyes. A cold aura enveloped the entire area. Izuki looked and saw the crawling skeletal Anomaly with the robe on its back.
The skeleton and the robe began to glow. Takahashi turned his back on them.
"What am I doing? Our temporary truce ended, right?"
"Huh?" Izuki asked.
"We held a truce to deal with that Anomaly and now it's ended, from the moment you defeated that Anomaly," Takahashi finished. "So now..."
The skeleton and the robe began to fuse. "...you're going to fight this yourself."
Takahashi ran past them, toward the ice-encased Tetsu. He smashed his hand against the ice, freeing Tetsu before grabbing his hands and locking them behind his back.
"Alright, good luck. I'm leaving."
Izuki immediately stood up and gave chase.
"You can't run away!" he yelled.
Takahashi, holding Tetsu, ran toward his tied-up teammates. They looked at him with hope.
"Mr. Takahashi! We can't untie ourselves. Please help us, it's getting cold."
Takahashi smiled maliciously. "Don't worry. I'll end your suffering right now."
"What?" they said, confused.
Takahashi took out a small controller and pressed a red button. A series of digital ticking sounds filled the air, and a massive explosion devoured them all. Tetsu thrashed in his grip.
"You... you killed your own teammates?" he screamed.
"Getting emotional over a bunch of strangers?" Takahashi replied. "You must be very generous. Are you being hypocritical?"
"Your organization erases people's memories to cover information. This is another way we do it to protect our confidentiality. We just chose a more reliable way... a direct elimination."
Tetsu gritted his teeth, furious. A sub-zero aura enveloped the entire area.
"By the way, there's something worth more concern, right?" Takahashi said.
Tetsu looked. The two Anomalies had fused, forming a new glowing figure with long hair. Izuki leaped toward Takahashi, but Takahashi countered with a kick. Takahashi then dashed backward, waving at Izuki.
"Well then, I'll be leaving. Good luck."
Izuki charged again, but an ice wall suddenly formed, blocking him. The ice wall expanded, forming a circular prison around Izuki and Saya. In the middle stood the new Anomaly, a figure with long silver hair and Eastern armor.
"Help me clean everything up, okay?"
Takahashi said from outside the prison. A helicopter descended, lowering a rope.
"Oh, more importantly, you should survive, right?" Takahashi grabbed Tetsu and began to climb, Tetsu still struggling in his grasp.
"Stay silent for a bit," Takahashi said, chopping Tetsu's neck. Tetsu's vision went black, and he fainted.
After he had climbed into the helicopter, Takahashi said, "Tie this guy up."
Below, Izuki and Saya faced the awakened Anomaly. The snow intensified, and the Anomaly's eyes glowed blue. It roared and charged at Izuki, its claw enhanced with a layer of blue ice.
Izuki opened his hand, ready to use his power, but the world went black, and a wave of exhaustion hit him.
Damn it. I've reached my limit, he thought. He could only watch as the creature's icy claw came toward him.