Kibō held her arms out in front of the three. Her mana started to flow out, visible even to Matsumi who was still an amateur.
It started to envelope the three, and they could feel large amounts of energy. Even with the sleep they received before consuming them. Their veins started to bulge, Their hair started to flow. The three had clearly received some kind of amplification in strength, that of maybe twice the strength they normally had.
"Woah! What's this?! I feel…super awesome!"
Matsumi clenched his fists. His white and black hair now flowing smoothly.
"It's my Tokubetsu. I am no fighter admittedly. However, I act as a support to buff and up your skills. This is only the first level…but growing stronger with others…that is what i've always dreamed of! They say your Tokubetsu is a reflection of your soul. A reflection of your true identity!….So matsumi…let's continue to fight huh?"
"Haha! Let's do it!"
He tapped the gem on his chest as the crackle of lighting surrounded him, this time outside of his visions. He felt a rush of energy sweep through his body before he would explode forward to deliver a dive kick to the bug in front of him.
Kibō's power continued to surge through Matsumi and the girls as they ripped through the bugs in front of them.
However, Kibō's ears perked up soon afterwards. And her power stopped to an extent as it did. She looked to Matsumi with a worried expression and yelled out.
"Hey! Wait! Something isn't right guys!"
"What do you mean? This feels pretty right to me!"
A strange figure stood atop one of the roofs in the area, Looking down on the chaos from the three ripping through the bugs. He smiled as he watched the bloodshed continue.
"Ah. I see my children aren't enough for the likes of this generation. There is no wonder why such a creature like Barghest would invest in such foolery."
He snarled at the three, more specifically Matsumi and Eraba for both of their unique qualities in what they had become so far. He jumped down into the street, and at the snap of a finger the cockroaches all dissapeared, leaving only him across from the four.
Tānlán didn't want to waste his resources. Not now that he likely had to take on all four at once.
"One of the sins…that's one of the people that are holding Barghest Captive with the other man!"
Kibō got on guard as soon as he made his appearance. She knew there was something off about the floor they were currently on. What she didn't know was that the sins had planned ahead so much to the point where they had changed the entire structure of the tower in order to gain an advantage against the crew, who were clearly amongst some of the best of the best when it came to the lower floors.
Floor Twelve was a set up for an attack from someone far more powerful than any of the enemies that existed within the confines of its lower half.
His eyes snapped to Tānlán, his demeanor completely changed.
"That's him?"
Matsumi only stood back for a second, not even thinking about it before dashing over to the man, traces of lighting following behind him.
Tānlán's coat that he wore over his neck and shoulders flew in the wind before his hands shined a dark red aura, snatching at Matsumi as the lightning came to a halt and disappeared immediately. He looked at Matsumi as the two were face to face, an implication that he too had moved at that moment.
"Foolish Boy."
He slammed his hand in the back of Matsumi's skull, Matsumi's same lightning followed and amplified the force of his attack, only that his was red instead of the blue that matsumi's housed.
Matsumi was completely stopped in that moment, his grip way too strong.
The strike at the back of his head hurt, it hurt like nothing else he'd felt before.
And unlike his peers, Matsumi was not very durable. The strike made him dizzy for a few moments.
"M-Matsumi!"
Kurai zipped in and grabbed him, moving him out of the way of a devastating attack that would have likely resulted in Matsumi taking a critical blow.
She stopped a few feet away from Tānlán, holding him and helping him keep his composure from the former attack.
"I've yet to actually understand what your exact position is with Barghest and Kibō the witch of hope. They are primordial beings that transcend such concepts as connection and friendship. It couldn't possibly be business because you are all rather weak in comparison to their prime…What made them take interest in people like you? Are humans so interesting that they must be analyzed by such creatures?…Perhaps i'll never know…I can not think from these women's perspectives. All I can do is exist as I am currently. As the embodiment of Greed itself…"
Matsumi used Kurai to balance himself, holding her shoulder. His brows furrowed in annoyance and anger at being hit, it was fun to have the danger of being hit, but to actually get hit was another story.
"Where's Barghest and your stinking group?!"
"You already know where we are. On the twentieth floor. We've managed to corrupt floors twelve to nineteen. If you make it to the twentieth floor you'll have whatever it is you want from her…that is if you survive my fellow sister and brethren…as well as me."
"I see. That explains the weird atmosphere we were getting from this floor. It's no longer normal like the others we encountered. They have rigged the tower against us and the other competitors..and it's perfect because they'll buy time to use Barghest's vessel."
Eraba looked on in worry at the mention of the sins and their control over the tower. She moved her hair out of her face and let out a deep breath.
"Not to mention the fact that the sins are incredibly strong."
"Corrupted them?"
He rubbed the back of his head for a moment to try and ease the pain.
"I don't care! Why don't all of you just come down here and get it over with?! Hiding on a floor is super lame! Because I'm gonna get up there anyway!"
"…We're working on using Barghest's vessel to revive our mother and creator, the witch of despair. We don't have any interest in battling you, only that you intend on stopping us so we must use force. The ritual requires at least one of us to stay on the twentieth floor and takes fourty-eight hours. You only have about thirty-five hours and counting to stop us before she is gone forever."
Eraba stood tall and circled around Tānlán, watching his movements closely as he spoke. She knew that with the limited time now she had no choice but to go all out for the next day and a half, a large amount of humanity, including her remaining family members lives were on the line.