On the lowest of the three towers, Keiji was locked in battle with Yara. His opponent wore a sleek yellow dress and an elegant mask that hid her eyes.
Keiji was carefully studying her movements. It was his first time facing an Esper who had won so many battles. Yara didn't even try to get close—she simply hurled small electric orbs at him from a distance.
Keiji made a bold choice: he decided to absorb the next one: he stood his ground and took the hit.
He managed to absorb part of the electricity, but as it surged through his body, he was overcome by unbearable pain. Since becoming an Esper, he had never felt electricity as something foreign to his body.
"Hahaha," Yara laughed. "You can't absorb my lightning. I modified it just for this reason—to have no weakness, even against other electric Espers."
Keiji said nothing, letting her boast while he endured the pain. Then he struck back with a bolt of lightning—but Yara absorbed it with ease.
"Hahaha! Don't think your attacks work the same way mine do. On the contrary, your electricity tastes delicious! Hahaha!"
"Even for Electro-type Espers, there's always a limit to what the body can handle," Keiji said quietly.
"Sure," Yara replied, "but your pitiful lightning, while tasty, will never reach that limit."
Despite the pain, Keiji had absorbed enough of her energy to push forward. "Vitalis!"
The lightning he had taken in surged around him, reforming his armor. An electric aura wrapped his body like a storm.
"What?!" Yara froze in shock—and Keiji struck, landing a powerful punch straight to her chest.
"I don't normally hit women... but I'll make an exception this time," he muttered as she hit the ground.
"'Woman'? That word's for old ladies, and I'm still young!" Yara snapped, coughing up blood."Repent in the afterlife for what you've done to me! Ethereum!"
Electricity exploded around her as she transformed—her body grew more muscular, her skin turned pure white, streaked with glowing yellow cracks. Dozens of small electric orbs materialized around her, much smaller than the ones before.
"Taste my photons!" she shouted, launching them all at once.
Keiji dodged as many as he could, but there were too many. Each tiny orb carried the same charge as the earlier attacks—too much, even for an electric Esper. Maybe even too much for someone using Vitalis too!
By the time the barrage ended, Keiji lay motionless on the rooftop, barely clinging to life.
"Impressive," Yara said, approaching him. "You're the first to survive my photons. That Vitalis of yours saved you. But tell me... will you survive another round?"
She stood over him—untouched, unfazed. Keiji, meanwhile, was on the brink.
Then he thought of Yuu. His best friend. He was about to die... and he would never see him again.
"I'm sorry, Yuu," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
"You can still do it, Keiji!"Yuu's voice echoed in his mind.
"You're right," Keiji smiled, forcing himself to stand. "It's not over yet!"
Yara's grin disappeared.
"Today... we will win!" Keiji roared, channeling every last drop of energy he had into his sword—and firing it straight at her.
Yara tried to absorb the attack. "You fool! What do you think this will do? You're just recharging me!"
She unleashed another wave of photons, all of them homing in on Keiji.
But Keiji didn't flinch. He let the photons hit him—and at the same time, released all his energy through his sword in one final attack.
The electricity from Yara's photons rushed into him— but then surged back out, carried by the energy he was already pushing into her.
All that lightning—every charge—returned to its master.
Yara absorbed it all at once. She had no time to react.
Keiji heard her scream for just a moment before a massive explosion swallowed the tower.
He lay on the rooftop, breathing faintly. A few meters away, Yara's charred body was standing still.
"…Thanks, Yuu," he whispered— and closed his eyes.
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Toru summoned his roots, but Jingrou responded by sending out electric wires from his armor."Oh, looks like we're specialists of the same kind even with different elements," laughed the Lightstorm member.
"Yeah," Toru replied. "Alright, let's get started!"
Jingrou lunged into the thick roots that clung to the tower walls like wild tentacles. Roots and wires clashed fiercely; whenever one was cut, another immediately took its place.
"This is going to be a long night," Toru muttered.
"Hahaha, never thought a rebellious flea could be right about something," Jingrou chuckled. Toru dodged a dozen wires aimed at his chest and kept moving. The entire base of the main tower was covered in climbing vines.
"Damn, this is a tough situation," Jingrou said, bored. "Time to get serious. Ethereum!"
The Lightstorm's armor opened at the chest and back, releasing thousands upon thousands of wires. "With all these wires, I look like a puppet, hahaha," Jingrou laughed.
"That's troublesome," Toru thought.
Thousands of wires were converging on him. His roots formed a shield against the first onslaught, but the wires were far too many. Electricity surged through him, and after just one shock, he collapsed to the ground.
"Already done? No match for Ethereum, huh?"
Toru didn't listen. He was too busy recalling Mira's words: "Try to focus all your energy and release it slowly. While doing that, hold onto a positive emotion."
For a moment, he imagined Mira in a swimsuit, beckoning him.
"Hehe," he smirked, then quickly pushed the thought away. "Definitely not what she meant by 'positive emotion.'"
His mind drifted back several years…
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He was just walking down the street when, in the dim light, he spotted a little girl sitting alone in a corner. She wore strange, dirty clothes, but had a pure white scarf wrapped around her neck.
"Hi, who are you? My name's Toru," he introduced himself. The girl eyed him suspiciously, then lowered her gaze. "I'm Mira."
He remembered his grandfather always telling him to compliment girls.
"That's a beautiful name, Mira," he said, sitting down beside her on the curb. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm waiting for my parents," she whispered.
"I see. If you want, I can wait with you. How long have they been gone?"
"Two weeks."
Toru's expression darkened.
"They usually come back after a few days from work. They've never left me alone for this long," the girl said, her mouth hidden behind the scarf.
Toru said nothing. Those parents probably suffered the same fate as his own.
"You know, I used to wait for my parents too… but they never came back."
She stayed silent, avoiding his eyes.
"After a while, even my grandfather died, and I was left alone. At night, I heard thieves breaking into the house, and I'd hide under the blankets, letting them take whatever they wanted. Eventually, I decided to run away. Along with other orphaned kids, we formed a little group, with a secret hideout where we protect each other — like a family."
She replied coldly, "I'm not an orphan. And all the thieves who tried to break into my house are dead."
Toru shivered for a moment. How had this little girl managed to kill grown adults?
"My family is a clan of ninjas. We learn everything from a young age. My parents will come back. Leave me alone!"
Without a word, Toru stood up and walked to the end of the street. He looked back one last time. "If you ever want to come with us, our hideout is in the house next to the old bakery."
A few days later, Toru was heading back to the hideout again when something stopped him.Mira was holding him tightly, barely holding back tears.
"A ninja must be strong all the time, can't show weakness, can't cry… but I…" She swallowed a sob. "Is there room for me in your hideout?" she asked softly.
Toru smiled at her. "Of course!"
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That was the first—and only—time Toru saw Mira cry. He smiled, thinking about his ninja girl.
All the roots gathered around him, cocooning him as Jingrou watched, trying to figure out what was happening. A moment later, Toru emerged—wearing only a skirt made of leaves and grass, completely unscathed. In his hand, he held a strange staff.
"Wow," Jingrou said. "Now that is an unexpected twist. Nice look!"
"I'm ready for round two," Toru declared.
"Bring it on, Jungle Man!" shouted the Lightstorm.
Now, Toru could feel energy flowing through his body like never before, releasing it slowly just as Mira had told him.
He swung the staff, and hundreds of roots clung to the tower, transforming the inside into a full-fledged jungle. Roots, trunks, and all kinds of plants attacked Jingrou from every direction—but his enemy's wires were just as many and quickly replaced as they were cut.
Toru let one root sneak unnoticed beneath his opponent, continuing to strike with relentless persistence.
The root rapidly grew, turning into a giant carnivorous plant that swallowed Jingrou whole.
Unfortunately, the armor protected him.
"I need something tougher," Toru thought.
Meanwhile, Jingrou was tearing at the giant plant's mouth from the inside; he would break free in seconds.
"Got it!" Toru focused power into his staff, transforming it into a wooden spear. He then hurled it at the carnivorous plant, striking the spot where Jingrou was trapped. Victory was confirmed when his enemy let out one final scream—then silence.
All the electricity wires scattered through the small jungle went limp.
Even Toru's plants began to wither.
"Looks like I used too much energy. I'll take a little break here. Thanks, Mira."
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"I feel like someone's thinking about me," Mira said with a smirk.
Fred said nothing but waited in silence.
Mira laughed. "Relax, let's keep going."
The leader of the Lightstorm was calm, but fast. With his sword, he had closed the distance multiple times, yet hadn't landed a single blow. Mira, meanwhile, was keeping him at bay with every trick she had—turning the air into whistling blades.
Several small air arrows shot toward Fred, but he dodged each of them at the very last second.
Mira didn't let up, attacking from all angles until finally, one arrow grazed his arm.
"You're really skilled," Fred admitted.
"Of course I am. I'm a ninja."
Fred sighed, then drove his sword into the ground. "I have no other choice. I'll stop playing around. Ethereum!"
His body began to grow, tearing through his elegant red uniform. His muscles tripled in size, his skin turned pitch black, fangs erupted from his mouth, and two horns pierced out of his head.
Mira grimaced. "I used to think you were cute, but now you're just gross."
"I sacrifice appearance for power and speed."
Just as he finished speaking, two black wings burst from his back.
"Okay, now that's just cheating," Mira huffed.
Fred charged forward—and before she could react, punched her square in the face. The blow launched her into the air before she crashed to the ground.
Mira coughed up blood. "Damn, you almost broke my jaw."
Air gathered around her, and in the blink of an eye, she unleashed her Vitalis. Fred stayed alert.
"Now it's my turn, darling." Mira got to her feet, leaning on her spear. She scattered what looked like playing cards all over the top of the tower. As they hit the ground, they exploded—but Fred shot into the air, diving straight back down toward her.
But Mira had predicted that.
She leapt up toward him and drove her spear clean through his right arm.
Fred roared in pain, but didn't scream. He tore the spear from his bleeding arm and tossed it off the tower before hovering midair to recover.
"Hey! You can't just throw away my weapon like that!" Mira snapped, summoning it back to her hand.
Fred clutched his wounded arm. "Your talent's wasted with the Libertas. Join the Kingdom, and the General will surely give you a top position."
"No thanks," she replied flatly.
Suddenly, Fred lunged forward again—but just as Mira grabbed her spear, he halted and launched a bolt of lightning. Once more, Mira was sent flying, crashing to the floor while clutching her spear.
"I can't lose. I won't leave Shinya alone in a team with three guys!"
She summoned a full arsenal made entirely of wind—dozens of swords, arrows, and spears materialized in front of her.
"Now it's my turn!"
Winds gathered above, spinning so violently they formed a small tornado around the tower.
"I see," Fred said. "You're limiting my ability to fly."
"Yeah, and with this move, I'm betting everything. I've burned too much energy already," Mira laughed. "If you manage to dodge all my wind weapons, the win's yours."
Fred moved, and Mira launched her assault.
Hundreds of air-formed weapons slammed into the top of the tower, each one dispersing on contact. Fred dodged the first wave with ease, deflected another using lightning, then began sprinting to evade the rest.
Mira was beginning to lose strength. "I can't lose," she whispered to herself.
Her attacks failed to land. Only three blades remained. The tornado had vanished.
She had just three shots left. Fred was only a few meters away.
She threw the first blade—he sidestepped...She spun the second mid-air—he ducked...The third she aimed at his legs—but he leapt back, avoiding it with ease.
Fred smirked in triumph as Mira dropped to her knees, exhausted.
But the moment he stepped toward her—snap—a trap was sprung. A bubble of air snapped shut around him.
He looked stunned.
"Oh, so that one didn't explode with the others," Mira muttered, slowly getting to her feet.
"What is this?" Fred asked.
"Among those exploding cards, I hid a few traps. I was hoping you'd step on one and trigger it."
Fred shot lightning at the bubble—but it had no effect.
"It's useless. From the inside, it's indestructible. The trap lasts five minutes."
Fred kept hurling lightning, but Mira had an idea.
"Maybe… I can combine my ninja techniques with my Esper abilities."
Fred paused, listening.
"Normally, even if I move air out of a space, more air just replaces it. But now… You are in a closed space and I can remove all the air from that bubble!"
Fred's eyes widened.
Mira smiled—and snapped her fingers.
The air vanished from inside the bubble. Fred gasped, fell to his knees, clutching his throat. The beast writhed on the ground for a moment—then went still.
As the Ethereum faded away, Mira collapsed to the ground, drawing in the surrounding air.
"Tch, what a waste. He was so cute," she muttered, glancing at the lifeless body of her enemy. Then she laid down to rest.
"Hope you guys are done too..." she thought, her mind drifting to Toru. "I should go find him."