Tristan arrived at the café mentioned in the message, accompanied by a junior member named Taosho. As they entered, he immediately spotted two elite members—Karaido and Caesar—seated inside. Standing near a bound and seated Rin was a young female rookie named Maria.
As soon as Tristan stepped in, Karaido, always the impatient one, turned to Maria and ordered curtly,
"Release Rin's restraints."
Without hesitation, Maria obeyed. She quickly unfastened the bindings and stepped away, leaving Rin free to stagger forward. Tristan hurried to him, concern clear in his voice.
"Are you alright, Rin?" Tristan asked.
"Yeah," Rin replied weakly, "they got the better of me, Tristan. And now they're going to kill you because of me."
"At least if I die, you won't be kidnapped again."
"That's not funny."
"I know. It's tragic."
Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by Karaido's sharp voice.
"We don't have time for feelings. Maria, Taosho, take this 'Rin' back to his home—now."
Rin tried to resist as Maria and Taosho moved to escort him out of the café but Taosho struck him with a swift blow that rendered him unconscious. Tristan glared furiously.
"You bastard! I told you not to hurt him!" he snapped.
"He wasn't hurt much," Taosho replied defensively. "I just knocked him out. He wasn't going willingly."
Tristan's anger simmered. He turned to the elite men, his voice low and threatening.
"Listen, you bastards. The deal was that Rin gets home safely, unharmed. I've kept my end of this damn agreement—you better keep yours."
"Alright, alright, calm down, Danson," Caesar said, raising a placating hand. "It won't happen again, I swear."
He turned toward Maria and Taosho and added firmly:
"You both heard him. Don't harm Rin no matter what. Make sure he gets home safely."
"Understood, sir," the two replied in unison.
With that, Maria and Taosho carried Rin outside and placed him in a car.
"So," Maria asked, adjusting her gloves, "do I take him while you stay, or the other way around?"
"I'll go," Taosho answered casually. "You just stay here with the gentlemen—though frankly, I doubt they'll need your help."
"You jerk," Maria hissed, smacking him over the head.
Taosho laughed. "Kidding! Just kidding!"
"Even if you are joking, it's still true," she muttered, sighing. "Anyway, get this boy home like Caesar instructed."
"Got it. Later!"
Taosho got in the driver's seat and started the car, heading toward Rin's home. But he hadn't gone far when something in the rearview mirror caught his eye.
The café was on fire.
He slammed the brakes and jumped out of the car. Just then, a barbed wire whip lashed around him from behind, constricting his body with painful force. He couldn't even draw his weapon.
Behind him stood a masked figure—Clara—her weapon, a whip, now binding him tightly.
Taosho struggled, trying to release a jolt of his lightning energy to break the wires but before he could act, a sharp blow to his head knocked him out cold.
Clara didn't waste time. She stormed to the car, ripped the door open and pulled Rin out.
He began to stir, groggy and startled to see a masked figure in broad, padded clothes. Not realizing it was Clara—and that she was here to rescue him—he threw a punch. She dodged , He kicked . This time she blocked it and said quickly:
"Stop, Rin Slyzer! I'm on your side! I'm with Tristan!"
Rin eyed her warily. "I want to believe that, I really do—but I can't because..."
Another voice cut in from behind.
"She's telling the truth, Rin."
Rin spun around to find tristan then asked
"Tristan! he's with you?"
Tristan : "Yes and it's a girl . she's my teammate , Now take my hand—we need to get out of here."
"Alright."
Both Clara and Rin grasped Tristan's arms. In a flash, he activated large-scale instant teleportation, vanishing with the two of them and reappearing far away—specifically, inside an old, abandoned stadium.
Rin turned to Clara, ashamed.
"I'm really sorry for attacking you earlier."
"It's fine," she said, waving it off. "Honestly, I would've done the same in your shoes."
"Still, I owe you thanks—for saving me. Truly, thank you."
"You're welcome."
Rin turned to Tristan.
"Thanks to you too. That was a brilliant plan."
"It wasn't mine," Tristan replied. "It came from our team's strategist. I need to go now—he needs my help."
He looked at Clara.
"Take care of Rin for me. I have to go finish my task."
"I will," Clara nodded.
"Wait, Tristan," Rin called. "Where are you going? What about me? Shouldn't I—"
"Rin," Tristan interrupted gently, "I'll explain everything later. For now, stay with her. I'll handle the rest."
"Alright…"
With that, Tristan vanished again in a flurry of teleportations, leaving Clara and Rin alone.
Rin looked at her, curious.
"That outfit you're wearing—it even hides the fact that you're a girl. Even your voice sounds like a guy's."
"This suit's made to conceal everything," Clara explained. "And under this mask, there's a device that changes my voice too."
"Impressive disguise."
"Thanks. Now let's just hope Tristan reaches our teammate in time."
The team's plan had been clear: escape, not fight. That's why air-element users had the upper hand—they could execute wide-range teleportation and flee swiftly. However, there was a logistical issue—there were five destinations, but only four air-users.
Tristan's assigned zone was between the western and southern areas, meaning he had to reach either Merrick or Chris after his own escape. Given that Chris was with his elderly grandmother—who might be harmed during the getaway—it was decided that Merrick would be the one to wait for Tristan's help.
Merrick had arrived at his location with the help of a Fauvism member. Like the others, he found his relative—in this case, his aunt—tied up. Standing near her were two elites: Emilio and Tatsuka, along with a rookie girl named Kiki.
"Well, well… Merrick Isaburo," Emilio greeted him.
"Save the greetings," Merrick replied coolly. "Release her so we can finish this."
"No need to be rude. I was just trying to be polite."
Emilio untied Merrick's aunt, and the boy rushed to her side.
"Merrick! Where am I? What's going on? Who are these people?"
"Auntie, listen—everything's going to be alright. They're taking you home. I'll stay behind—I have something I must do."
"Stay here? No—I can't leave you here!"
"Please… just trust me."
Tatsuka stepped forward.
"Enough talk. Kiki, take the woman home. We'll continue here with Merrick Isaburo."
"Yes, ma'am," Kiki said, grabbing the aunt and dragging her to the car. She tied her up again, as the woman resisted fiercely—she didn't want to abandon her nephew in this den of criminals.
Not long after Kiki drove off, a loud crash echoed behind her. A thunderstorm had erupted inside the warehouse, demolishing it completely. Staring through the window in disbelief, Kiki was suddenly attacked from the front windshield. She barely had time to react, drawing out her hunting rifle in defense—but it was too late. A powerful blow knocked her unconscious.
The attacker was Salvador, heir of the lightning stone, dressed in a disguise with a mask and thick clothes. She broke the car door and lifted Merrick's aunt onto her shoulder.
Suddenly, Merrick appeared beside her.
Merrick : "Quick—we need to get to the rendezvous point with Tristan."
Salvador : " You carry your aunt , She'll be terrified if she sees me dressed like this."
"Good point."
He gently took his aunt and they hurried off.
Meanwhile, Emilio and Tatsuka had narrowly survived the warehouse's lightning collapse. But one of their followers had taken heavy damage.
"He's badly hurt," Tatsuka said, kneeling beside him. "I'll treat his wounds."
"You're too soft," Emilio muttered. "Just give him some meds. That lightning storm wasn't a surprise. I'm sure that bastard Isaburo caused it—and I think someone helped him."
"You're right. And I noticed something else," Tatsuka added.
"What?"
"When Isaburo entered with Kiki, I felt dampness in the air. I believe he smuggled in water—then used it during the attack."
"But how?"
She began tending the injured man wounds as she explained.
"He hide it underground and moved it slowly with him. Once inside, he manipulated it to seep into the warehouse walls… then…"
"Then the accomplice helped bring it down," Emilio finished.
"Exactly."
"Clever kid… We should catch up. I can still feel his energy—he's not far."
"Then let's move!"
Together, Emilio and Tatsuka raced after Merrick and Salvador.
Would Merrick and his aunt escape safely and reach Tristan in time? Or would the elite duo catch up and put an end to their escape?