"Dark... Chimera…" Lilith muttered.
"This is bad...!" Flynn said, then he turned to the knights, who remained silent and unmoved. "Knights!"
"?!" They finally moved after Flynn shouted at them. Finally, Flynn ordered the knights to secure everyone in the plaza and Storm of Road.
"You knights, secure everyone in Storm of Road! Don't leave a single one behind!"
Hearing this, they immediately agreed to their captain's order. "Yes, captain!"
The Knightley Queen knights finally had a new task, and they all immediately ran away, leaving Flynn and the others behind.
This time, the situation was dire. They didn't know what would happen when the Dark Chimera attacked them; all they could do was be wary of what might happen next.
Flynn still held his Exceed the Storm sword, gripping its hilt tightly. His gaze was fixed on the flying Dark Chimera, but he quickly looked down. He was staring at Takechi.
Takechi, noticing this, suddenly chuckled, then spoke in a mocking tone.
"What's wrong? Do you want something?"
"Something?"
"Yes, something like…" Takechi then thought for a moment, his head slightly raised with his hand touching his chin. His gaze was now not on Flynn, but on the Dark Chimera, who had suddenly regained consciousness.
Unexpectedly, Takechi moved his right hand, which was still holding the Knightley Road-like object. So the small ball faced upward again, and suddenly the ball glowed darkly and emitted a dark aura.
Flynn and Infori immediately became alert, trying to be careful of Takechi's next move.
Lilith and Iris remained silent. However, Lilith denied this. Throwing a knife at Takechi, the knife shot towards him—but just as the blade was about to hit him—
CLING
The blade seemed to hit something solid, sending it flying. Seeing this shocked everyone. Takechi seemed to be protected by something he couldn't even see directly.
"What?!" Iris exclaimed.
"The knife bounced off...?" Infori whispered.
On the other hand, Takechi's mouth opened and he let out a laugh. His head lifted slightly as he laughed, then turned back to them.
"That means you can no longer move forward," he said, grinning.
Flynn frowned, clenched his teeth, and let them fall open.
"Tch..."
Takechi chuckled.
"Heh, then try this."
He then lowered his hand and stopped in the middle, so that the Knightley Road-like object faced Infori. The small ball then released a dark energy coated with flashes of red lightning, swiftly shooting towards Infori.
"...?!"
"Infori!" Flynn exclaimed.
Flynn tried to move, and Infori even tried to move away from him. However, it was too late.
⟨⟩ ⟨⟩ ⟨⟩
Infori slowly opened her eyes again, before fully opening them. He glimpsed a vast expanse of dark red magical energy radiating upward. But it was only a glimpse.
He then fully opened her eyes, realizing that he was no longer in the Storm of Road. Instead, he was standing on a flat, stone platform, surrounded by dark red magical energy radiating from the bottom up like a wall.
"Where is this...?"
Infori looked around, and indeed, he was alone, with neither Flynn nor Lilith or her friends here.
There were also sounds of magic that Infori didn't recognize; he knew nothing now.
However, a moment later, a circular darkness appeared and exploded, sending a massive wave crashing through the surrounding area, sending Infori flying backwards, crashing into the magic wall.
Infori opened his eyes and saw the Dark Chimera flying through the air. Its lion-like head roared, further confusing Infori.
"What the...?" he muttered.
(Why is the Dark Chimera here...?)