Chris arrived at the old, abandoned hospital with one of the enemy escorts beside him. There, he found two women and a man standing near his frail, bound grandmother.
His eyes narrowed, fury building inside him.
"Let her go, you bastards! I'm here, just like you wanted!"
One of the women—tall, elegant but clearly dangerous—walked over and removed the restraints from the old woman. Chris rushed to his grandmother, kneeling beside her.
"Are you alright, Grandma?"
"Chris… is that you, my boy?"
"Yes, Grandma, it's me."
"Oh, I'm so scared… please take me home…"
"I will. I promise."
Chris stood up, glaring at the three captors. "You people have no conscience."
The woman who had released his grandmother replied in a strangely calm voice, "Let's not be dramatic. She's fine. We treated her kindly—we fed her and didn't lay a hand on her."
Chris's eyes flared. "First, you stuck that cursed black spider on me. Then you kidnap my grandmother—and you think that's not worth getting dramatic over?"
"Black spider?" The second woman frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Her companion leaned in and whispered, "It must've been the National Division . That's the kind of old trick they'd use."
"You're probably right, Hinami," said the first woman—Betty. "They still cling to those outdated methods."
Chris didn't fully understand what they were talking about—National Division ? Spiders?—but he didn't have time to dwell on it. He could sense it now: Hinami and Betty weren't ordinary fighters. They were elite heirs.
He stepped forward. "Enough. You've done your part of the agreement. Send my grandmother home safely."
Hinami nodded. "You're right. We've kept you waiting."
She turned to the man standing quietly behind her. " escort the young man's grandmother home. We'll continue the mission here."
"Yes, Lady Hinami."
Chris's grandmother clung to him. "No! I won't go! Please don't hurt my grandson!"
The man didn't want to hurt her—she was elderly, after all—but he followed orders and gently pulled her away, even as she cried and resisted.
"Chris! My sweet boy! Don't let them hurt you!"
Chris's expression twisted with sorrow. Even the man holding her looked uneasy as he loaded her into the car, locking the back with a special key—one that only allowed the door to be opened from the outside.
He got into the driver's seat and started down the road. But as the hospital shrank in the distance, a sudden whirlwind erupted behind him.
A massive tornado tore through the old hospital.
The man who was with chris grandmother slammed on the brakes, staring at the chaos in the rearview mirror. He grabbed his communicator, preparing to check on the others—but before he could speak, something struck him from behind.
He blacked out.
The attacker was Sonny—one of the Kaos Team and the one responsible for the destructive whirlwind. He moved swiftly, channeling pressurized force to shatter the locked car door and pulled Chris's grandmother out into his arms.
She protested, struggling at first but he tightened his grip.
Back at the ruins of the hospital, Hinami, Betty and their third teammate had managed to avoid the tornado. But in the chaos, they lost track of Chris. He'd used the icy storm as a distraction, cloaking himself in snow and vanishing into the blizzard.
Chris soon reached Sonny and his grandmother.
"Chris!" she cried with joy, running to him and throwing her arms around him. "You're safe!"
"I'm okay, Grandma," he whispered, holding her tightly.
Sonny stepped in. "Sorry to interrupt but we need to leave now. Take my hand—both of you."
Chris nodded and gently told his grandmother to do the same. The moment they both took Sonny's hand, he activated wide-range instant teleportation, vanishing from the battlefield with his friend and his friend's grandmother.
"We did it," Sonny said, breathing hard. "I can't believe we pulled that off."
Chris exhaled, still holding his grandmother. "Only because they don't know there are ten of us, not five. But we can't celebrate yet. The others… we still have to wait for them."
"Right," Sonny agreed. "It's not over yet."
Meanwhile, Jayden had entered the location he was instructed to visit, guided by one of the enemy's operatives. Inside the dimly lit cabin, he found his friend Rossi—bound, blindfolded and gagged. Three people stood nearby: two men and a woman. The woman, with an air of command, was named Shiori. The man beside her was Senko—both elite members. The third was their subordinate .
Shiori gave a simple nod to the subordinate " unbind the hostage."
The subordinate complied. Once free, Rossi rushed to Jayden.
Rossi : "Boss ! They—they kidnapped me, and—"
Jayden : "They used you to lure me in. I know."
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be. You're going home now."
"What? No—I'm not leaving, sir. I want to—"
"You're leaving."
Shiori cut in coldly, "Enough "
She turned to her subordinate and said " Take him home. Now."
"Yes, Lady Shiori."
The man grabbed Rossi, dragging him away as he struggled.
Shiori turned back to Jayden. "It's a shame, really. A strong young man like you—if you weren't so reckless, you could've been one of us."
"In your dreams. I'll never join your kind."
"That just proves you're an idiot."
"I don't care what you think."
Senko sighed. "Enough talk. Let's get to the point. Jayden Durbin—our mission is to execute you and—"
He didn't finish.
A sudden avalanche roared toward the cabin. The entire structure collapsed under the weight of snow and ice.
Shiori, Senko and their assistant survived—they'd shielded themselves using elemental force barriers.
Senko scanned the wreckage. "Where is that bastard?"
Shiori narrowed her eyes. "That avalanche… It was the work of another stone heir. Jayden has help. Find them."
Elsewhere, Rossi was locked in the back of the car while the man subordinate of Shiori and Senko drove. But as the avalanche struck, the man panicked. He stopped the car and looked back—only to realize the vehicle was falling apart.
He leapt out and searched frantically. Rossi was gone.
A blow struck him from behind, knocking him unconscious.
It was Jayden. He had dismantled the car using his lightning powers and retrieved Rossi himself.
As Jayden carried him on his shoulder, Yuna suddenly appeared in front of him—masked and helmeted.
"Hurry, Jayden. I still have some of Luna's blood on my arm. I can use her air powers for a little while—before it dries."
"Got it. Let's move."
But a voice interrupted.
"Where do you think you're going?"
They turned to see Senko and Shiori approaching fast.
Shiori didn't wait. She summoned her weapon—a spiked mace crackling with electricity—and hurled it at them.
Jayden summoned his own lightning weapon, blocking the attack with one arm while holding Rossi with the other. Yuna backed him up by summoning a frosty shield infused with her ice power.
Senko launched his attack next, wielding a spiked gauntlet imbued with fire. But Yuna acted fast, grabbing Jayden's arm and teleporting them both away with Rossi.
Senko and Shiori were left stunned.
"he used water... and air?! How is that possible?" Senko asked.
They didn't know Yuna's identity—her mask, helmet and oversized clothes concealed everything, even her gender.
Yuna didn't answer. She activated wide-range teleportation, escaping with Jayden and Rossi, leaving her enemies completely baffled.
Rossi woke up to find Jayden sitting beside him.
Rossi : "Boss? What happened? I remember someone hitting me and…"
Jayden : "Relax. It's over. We escaped."
"Are you sure they won't find us? Where will I live now? I don't even have a job. And my fiancée—what about her—?"
"Calm down, Rossi. Just breathe. At least be happy that you're safe."
"O-okay…"
Jayden handed him some food. "Here. Eat. You must be starving."
"I haven't eaten in four days…"
Rossi devoured the food while Jayden turned to Yuna, who was staring at the sky, clearly worried.
He walked over. "What's wrong?"
"I'm scared for Luna… and the others. I just hope everyone managed to pull off their part of the plan."
"I won't lie—I'm worried too. Especially about Merrick and Tristan. Their situations… are the hardest."
"Yeah…"
Now that Chris's grandmother and Rossi—Jayden's friend—have been rescued, only two key missions remain:
Will Tristan be able to save Rin?
And can Merrick rescue his aunt?
Why is their mission the most difficult of all?
The answer lies ahead…