Hanken and Fukaru stood face to face. Their eyes were locked onto one another with complete focus.
''I've heard that you can stop time... How strange, isn't it...?''
''Don't try to manipulate me with empty words. Take this!''
Hanken lunged at Fukaru. His scythe and Fukaru's sword began clashing in midair.
Meanwhile, Varaichi slowly got back to her feet.
''Ahh! That hit left my head spinning... I need to help Hanken!''
Varaichi gripped her sword once again and joined the battle.
Even against two opponents, Fukaru fought with remarkable ease. There wasn't the slightest sign of struggle on his face as he swung his sword. At that moment, Fukaru activated a G-Technic.
''GQ#82! Dark Magic Volcano!''
Dark magic erupted from Fukaru's sword. Not everyone could learn this G-Technic. It normally required nearly 300 years of training to master, but thanks to Re-verse, Fukaru had perfected it with ease.
Varaichi immediately launched a counterattack.
''Fire's Descendant: Flame Arrows!''
Flames shaped like arrows shot toward Fukaru.
''GQ#14! Black Mist!''
A dense black mist instantly spread across the ground, and Fukaru disappeared into it.
''T-This guy is unbelievably talented with G-Technic! I've never seen abilities like these in my life!''
Fukaru slowly emerged from the mist, silently approaching Varaichi from behind. However, his sword was gone. It had transformed into a dagger glowing with a brilliant azure light.
''Goodbye...''
Hanken shouted with all his strength.
''V-VARAICHI! CHRONOSIS!''
The atoms instantly stopped vibrating, and time came to a complete halt. Hanken had ten seconds.
''This guy is seriously dangerous! There's no telling what he'll do next... Well then... Farewell, ENDO FUKARU!''
Five seconds remained.
Hanken drove his scythe toward Fukaru's neck. But a golden light suddenly shimmered around Fukaru.
''T-That's a Spiritual Pressure (SP) Shield! So he has one too. He must have incredible control over his own soul...''
Two seconds remained.
''M-MY STAMINA'S RUNNING OUT! I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING OR VARAICHI WILL DIE!''
A plan suddenly came to Hanken's mind.
''I-I'm sorry, Varaichi... This is going to hurt, but I have to do it.''
With the last of his strength, Hanken kicked Varaichi away.
The atoms began vibrating once again, and time resumed.
Varaichi was launched forward by the force of the kick.
''Ahh!''
Fukaru stared in shock.
''W-WHAT?!''
Hanken glared at Fukaru.
''WHAT DID YOU EXPECT FROM ME?!''
Hanken and Fukaru immediately resumed their battle.
Meanwhile...
Xers was tearing through the Nyxian sorcerers at an unbelievable speed. Before anyone trapped inside the dimensional box could even understand what was happening, they were already being cut to pieces. Only two hundred sorcerers remained. Within another twenty seconds, Xers completely annihilated the rest.
''N-Now... it's time to send all of you into the sea...''
Xers spun rapidly inside the box, creating a tornado-like vortex. The corpses of every sorcerer were pulled together into one massive pile.
''TIME TO FINISH THIS! TAKE THIS!''
Both of Xers' swords began glowing brilliantly. Swinging both blades simultaneously, he unleashed one final strike at the entire mass. The dimensional box instantly shattered, sending the bodies of all ten thousand Nyxian sorcerers flying into the sea at tremendous speed.
Xers immediately dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
''Huff... T-That was exhausting... But it's fine. I wonder how the others are doing... I should go find them.''
Xers quickly made his way toward the center of the island.
When he arrived, he saw Hanken fighting someone.
''W-Who is that guy...?''
Fukaru's eyes instantly shifted toward Xers. His expression suddenly turned serious.
''T-That's Xers... N-Not now... Re-verse!''
The dimension immediately began to tear apart. Using the atomic data stored within his mask, Fukaru overlaid it onto the newly formed dimension, turning time back by two minutes. Varaichi had not yet been knocked away. Hanken had not yet activated Chronosis. Fukaru returned to the exact moment he had released the Black Mist.
In reality, Fukaru had intentionally stalled Hanken with pointless conversation from the very beginning, waiting for Re-verse's cooldown to end. Xers, meanwhile, had unknowingly stepped into Re-verse's effective range and was sent roughly thirty to forty meters back to his previous position.
Then Fukaru disappeared into the Black Mist.
Varaichi shouted,
''HANKEN, HE USED IT AGAIN!''
Hanken's eyes widened.
''S-SO THIS IS WHAT HIS TIME REVERSAL REALLY DOES!''
Xers stood frozen in shock.
''W-WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! WHY WAS I SUDDENLY TELEPORTED BACK HERE?! I REMEMBER MAKING EYE CONTACT WITH FUKARU!''
Xers rushed over to Hanken and Varaichi.
''What happened, Hanken?!''
''Calm down, Xers... This is Fukaru's ability. Re-verse. He can rewind time by a certain amount.''
''R-Rewinding time, huh... As long as I'm alive, this world is never going to stop surprising me...''
Varaichi stepped forward from behind.
''B-By the way... Did you clear the island of the Nyxian sorcerers?''
Xers confidently stepped forward.
''Every last one of them is lying at the bottom of the sea now... Don't worry.''
Hanken shouted,
''W-WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR THEN?! LET'S GO CATCH FUKARU!''
''Alright then! Let's ride Gomerai! Gomerai!''
Gomerai emerged from beneath the ground. Xers, Hanken, and Varaichi climbed onto Gomerai's back and took to the skies, beginning their search for Fukaru from above.