Xers and the others celebrated all night after founding Tshusenkai. Drinks and wine were flying everywhere. They had managed to gather all Kurotsume sorcerers spread across Shadowia under a single banner. During the party, a conversation took place between Hanken and Xers:
"Are we sure we didn't make a mistake by fully formalizing Tshusenkai, Xers? Making it official that we've founded a clan basically gives our enemies free information."
"Don't worry, Hanken. I calculated everything in advance. Even if Kurogiri has nearly 45,000 people, we still have 24,000 sorcerers. Each of us is already worth hundreds of ordinary sorcerers. So don't overthink it—just enjoy the night."
The parties continued as the night went on, eventually reaching dawn. Xers left the party early and slept elsewhere to clear his head. Hanken had come along with Xers as well. Kiminage, on the other hand, kept partying.
Xers got out of bed and began to get dressed.
"I hate parties, but they were necessary for my clan's morale…"
As soon as Xers stepped out of his cabin, he headed toward the castle. Everyone, including Kiminage, was passed out. Xers shouted and woke them all up.
"WHAT IS THIS STATE YOU'RE IN?! GET UP! THE ENEMY DOESN'T SLEEP! YOU NEED TO STAY ALERT!"
After Xers' shouting, everyone woke up and pulled themselves together.
"Yes, Captain!"
After organizing the army, Xers met up with Hanken.
"What's next, Xers?"
"We're going to the 15th Army's fortress. There's a man named Xandoru Meikatsu. Apparently, he can manipulate shadows. This one's going to be a tough nut to crack."
"Alright then, should I call Kiminage?"
"No. Kiminage is going to the 11th Army's fortress. We decided to split up to speed things up. But you and I will stay together."
"Understood, Xers. Let's move."
Xers, Hanken, and the army arrived at the 16th Army's fortress. Xers and Hanken stepped forward to the front. At that moment, Meikatsu noticed them.
"Xers and Hanken, huh? I've been looking forward to the day you'd come knocking on my door. Nystral has devised a plan involving all of you, Xers. I won't waste time on empty dialogue. Both of you, come at me. I'LL LET ALL OF YOU TASTE THE POWER OF SHADOWS."
Name: Xandoru MeikatsuNation: ShadowiaAge: 20Skills: G-Technic Stage 3, Shadow Dream
"So that's how it is, huh? Come on then, let's see how good you really are… Hanken, stay with me, alright?"
"Got it, Xers."
Xers suddenly lunged at Meikatsu, and Meikatsu swiftly drew his sword to block the attack. Their blades clashed.
"Gomerai!"
Gomerai burst out from underground and lunged toward Meikatsu.
"You're slow! Cyro!"
In an instant, Meikatsu hid himself inside Xers' shadow. Xers noticed faint laughter echoing from within his shadow.
"He must've activated his ability. He's hiding inside my shadow right now, waiting to catch me off guard. Gomerai!"
Gomerai attacked Xers' shadow, tearing through the ground where the shadow lay.
"You can't destroy shadows, Xers! Take this!"
Meikatsu leapt out of Xers' shadow and charged at him.
"H-He came out?! Ghost Step!"
Xers teleported behind Meikatsu and struck from behind with his sword. Meikatsu managed to block at the last second, but the force of the blow sent him flying out of the castle.
"Hanken, come with me!"
Xers and Hanken chased after Meikatsu. At that moment, Meikatsu fell into a forested area. Most of the surroundings were almost entirely covered in shadows, giving him a massive advantage.
"Hanken, listen to me. He's hiding inside one of the shadows right now. Keep Chronosis ready. Even if I can't attack, you do it. He doesn't know you still have power left."
"Alright, Xers. I'm waiting…"
Meikatsu's voice echoed from within the shadows.
"Nystral will bring about the end of all of you. The potential of The Comp Evolved is limitless. Starting from the weakest among you, he'll kill every last one of you."
"We're powerful sorcerers, Meikatsu, so don't worry. Right now, you're the one hiding behind shadows out of fear."
"Hahaha! You fools. Are you trying to provoke me? (If you'd just use that Gomerai of yours, I'd come out and cut your head off.)"
"Did you just call me an idiot?! Gomerai! Tear everything apart! (He's probably waiting for me to use Gomerai, but he doesn't know about Hanken's ability.)"
Gomerai destroyed the trees and the surroundings indiscriminately.
"Hahahaha! Now you're in my grasp!"
Meikatsu emerged from the shadows and lunged at Xers.
"Hanken, now!"
"CHRONOSIS!"
Hanken reduced the vibration of the atoms around him to zero, stopping time itself.
"I caught you off guard, Meikatsu. My limit is five seconds now. I pushed myself to reach five seconds, but I don't know if I can go further. Xers is frozen, you're frozen. Right now, I'm the only one moving."
Hanken gripped his white scythe and took a step toward Meikatsu.
"Four seconds left."
He took another step.
"Three seconds left."
Hanken raised his scythe and plunged it into Meikatsu's chest.
"Two seconds left. I still have time, but to avoid draining my stamina any further, I should end it he—"
As Hanken turned around, he noticed something horrifying. The Kurogiri army had completely annihilated the Tshusenkai army. On top of that, a sorcerer was about to plunge a sword into Xers, and countless others were rushing toward them.
"WHAAAAAT?! WHAT IS GOING ON?! I-I-I HAVE TWO SECONDS LEFT! I HAVE TO SAVE XERS! DAMN IT!"
Hanken grabbed Xers by the shoulder and pulled him toward himself.
"One second left. I can't use G-Technic while time is stopped. At the very least, I have to take one more step forward and fight them."
Hanken took his final step.
The atoms began to vibrate once more, and time resumed its flow. Hanken swung his scythe recklessly at the Kurogiri sorcerers. Blood sprayed everywhere as they were cut down.
"To stop time again, my stamina needs to recover! For now, I'll have to rely on raw power alone—but there are too many of them!"
"HANKEN, WHAT'S GOING ON?! GOMERAI!"
Xers summoned Gomerai and began hurling the Kurogiri soldiers away. At that moment, Meikatsu, using his last remaining strength, launched a shadow orb.
"H-H-Hanken, you bastard! I should've known about your ability. I-I-I'll use my last strength to fire a shadow orb. Y-You'll all be crushed…"
A massive black sphere formed in the air and began falling toward Xers and Hanken.
"W-What is that?! It's too big to escape with Gomerai!"
Just then, someone appeared from behind them.
"YELLOW!"
It was Gein. Gein had returned to Xers and Hanken at the perfect moment, saving them just in time. A wall formed from Gein's yellow ability protected them from the shadow orb. The orb shattered upon impact with the yellow barrier, scattering its fragments into the sea.
"Did you think it was over? CHROMA!"
Gein followed up by activating his Chroma ability, causing an enormous explosion. Every last Kurogiri soldier was wiped out.
"G-G-G-GEIN?!"
"N-NO WAY, IS THAT REALLY GEIN?!"
Author's Note:Dear readers, I've been sick for the past week, so I couldn't produce chapters at the quality I wanted, but I also didn't want to leave you without updates. Unfortunately, I have to take a break. I have school exams for the next two weeks and really need to focus on studying. That's why I decided to take this hiatus. When I return, Season 3 will be far better than you expect.