A sudden rumble came from above. The sound spread through the building, and the ground trembled slightly beneath our feet.
My head lifted right away. My attention was focused on the upper floors.
Dust drifted down from the broken glass above, and the people around us looked up with worried expressions.
"Are they fighting something up there?" I asked, looking up at the floors.
Jaspher looked up and listened for a moment, frowning as the rumble echoed again.
"No idea," he said, raising his shoulders, his eyes still fixed on the building.
The lady with a wand stepped toward the crowd and raised her hand to calm everyone. "I think we should move back," she said, motioning for the crowd to step aside.
The crowd began to murmur. People moved nervously, looking up and whispering to one another.
"There they are!" a man suddenly shouted, pointing above the floors.
I followed the direction of his finger. My eyes widened when I saw several figures being carried down by strange white things.
"What are those?" I asked, leaning closer to Jaspher.
Jaspher glanced up and folded his arms. "Those are the doll puppets of our Vice Captain," he said.
The white dolls slowly descended from the rainbow staircase. Some of them held children in their arms, while others carried adults across their backs.
When the dolls reached the ground, they gently placed the unconscious people onto the gravity cushion Jaspher had released earlier.
People in the crowd began whispering in relief, some covering their mouths while others watched closely.
I counted the bodies as they were laid down. There were ten of them, and ten dolls as well.
Once their task was done, the dolls stood still for a moment before their bodies faded away, dissolving into faint light.
Jaspher looked down at the unconscious people and rubbed the back of his neck. "Our healers are not here yet. They should arrive soon," he murmured.
Just then, the lady named Luna walked toward us while holding her phone.
"Emilia and Charlotte are coming now," Luna said, lowering the phone as she spoke to Jaspher.
"I hope they arrive soon. These people need healing. Some of them have deep burns on their skin," Jaspher said, glancing down at the unconscious bodies.
I was about to move toward the unconscious people on the cushion when the burning floor above rumbled again, louder this time. Shards of broken glass fell toward us. People screamed and ducked, shielding their heads as the debris rained down.
"Luna!" Jaspher shouted, pointing toward the upper floor.
Luna lifted her wand and waved it upward. As the glass fell, it turned into shining rainbow shards that spun gently in the air. She snapped her fingers and the bright shards vanished, scattering into light.
A red creature then emerged from the damaged floor, flying straight toward us. It floated gracefully, hovering above the crowd. People gasped and stepped back, eyes wide with awe and fear.
The creature was small, with a pointy tail and wings. Horns curved from its head, and sharp claws reached from its hands. It smirked at us, then blew a large stream of fire straight toward us.
"Whistling Conch!"
Jaspher waved one hand, and a white spiraling shell appeared in his palm. He lifted it to his lips and blew. A gust of wind spiraled out from the tip, twisting and growing larger as it shot forward. It collided with the fire rushing toward us, spinning and hissing as the two forces clashed.
The red flames fought for dominance, but Jaspher didn't hold back. He blew harder, and the wind swirled even stronger. Slowly, the fire was pushed back, weakening and fading, until the wind won.
"It's an imp!" Jaspher shouted.
I spotted a figure glowing with a magenta aura leaping through the air toward us. It was Victor.
"This accident wasn't caused by a person. Imps are the reason," Victor said, landing lightly in front of us.
The imp darted away, wings flashing as it sped off.
"Quick! Don't let it escape!" Jaspher shouted, motioning for us to run.
The three of us sprinted after the imp while Luna stayed behind, keeping an eye on the crowd.
"Both our Vice Captains are still inside fighting. They ordered me to catch that imp and collect some of its memory. I believe it holds something important," Victor explained, glancing between us as he ran.
The imp looked at us and blew forward, sending several fire spheres hurtling in our direction.
"Psion Override!"
Victor thrust both hands forward as psionic energy poured from him. The fire spheres stalled in midair, glowing under the magenta light. He pulled his hands back, and the spheres flew off, smashing into the empty street with a loud crash.
The imp flapped its wings and soared high into the sky.
Victor wrapped himself in psionic force, his body glowing, rising into the air in pursuit of the creature.
Jaspher and I paused for a moment.
"Zephyr Shoes!"
Jaspher glanced down. New shoes had appeared on our feet, each with small wings extending from the sides.
"I assume you can fly," he said, then jumped into the air while the wings on his shoes flapped, lifting him upward.
I stared at my own shoes. I had never flown before. Taking a deep breath, I crouched, braced myself, and leapt.
"Woah!" I shouted, my body wobbling in the air.
I glanced at the others. Victor was ahead, unleashing blasts of psionic energy at the imp, but the creature dodged with a mocking smirk.
"That little demon!" Jaspher growled, propelling himself upward to catch it.
I fell behind, then an idea struck me. I needed to speed up.
"Phase Rift!"
Golden energy surged through me, wrapping around my body. I felt my legs move faster than ever. Releasing more energy, I leapt higher, surging past Victor and Jaspher in a flash.
I was closing in on the imp. The imp didn't notice me surge forward, so I took the chance to use a skill.
"Chrono Shards!"
I released four spinning temporal shards that cut through the air toward the small imp. I guided them toward its wings and feet, aiming to immobilize it.
The sharp shards flew forward, spinning rapidly as they locked onto the points I aimed for.
"Krreek!"
The imp hissed the moment its body began to fall. I aimed for both its wings, creating holes so it couldn't fly.
I hovered down, then surged toward the ground. I saw Victor and Jaspher doing the same after they noticed the imp was falling.
A few seconds later, I hit the concrete. Victor and Jaspher were already closing in on the creature.
Victor approached carefully. The imp crawled backward when he drew near. It spat small flames, but Victor raised a hand, forming an invisible field that blocked the fire. Then he lifted the imp into the air, his hand glowing with energy.
The imp struggled, flapping and twisting, but soon its body was completely covered in psionic energy, leaving it unable to move.
A thought struck me about Victor. At first, I assumed he was using alchemy magic because of the strange glowing glass bottle he had been holding earlier. But that turned out to be wrong. Judging by his magic, it seemed he had telekinesis.
"What are we going to do with it?" Jaspher asked, walking beside Victor.
"For now, I'll make it sleep," Victor said. Psionic energy flowed from him, linking to the small creature's head. Slowly, its eyes began to close.
"Let's return to our companions. I'm sure they've dealt with the other imps," Victor said, moving forward with the imp hovering beside him.