Stalor: "I'll wait outside. If you're about to die, you can scream or something."
He leaned against the wall of a mansion. Yuna held a new chainsaw, speechless.
Yuna: "Shouldn't you, you know... train us?"
Stalor: "Ria gave me these instructions. Kara doesn't know me, so she'll obviously underestimate my presence here. You three will fight her and the butler, without my help, unless you're about to die."
Mitone: "Sounds dangerous... I mean, I know we're a lot stronger now, but she's a Level 7, no?"
Stalor: "That's the point; your life is at stake. If you die, it's uncertain whether we can save you, so the decision is yours, Eraser."
Eraser: "My power... What if I'm not fast enough to activate it?"
Yuna: "Wait a minute, this is madness..."
Stalar: "She said she'll only let you fight alongside us if you survive. And that you're not that valuable to her. Those weren't my words, to be clear."
Yuna: "What?! Who does she think she is?!"
She jumped over the wall impatiently. Eraser and Mitone smiled awkwardly.
Mitone: "I guess Ria's words were effective..."
Stalor: "Beware: I won't get there that quickly. So if it seems impossible to win, you must let me know as soon as possible."
Mitone: "Thank you, man."
Stalor: "Good luck."
They jumped over the wall and followed Yuna. They stopped in front of the massive front door.
Eraser: "They don't have any security here. I think we can just break down the door."
Yuna: "She's confident she can kill any intruder personally... What a stupid joke."
Mitone: "If we break down the door, she might get a little mad."
Yuna: "So be it!"
Mitone: "No, I mean... do you think she would personally repair any damage done to this mansion? Either the butler would fix it, or she would force someone else to do the work."
Eraser: "Are you afraid she'll take her anger out on the civilians? I don't think Ria plans to leave her alive, regardless of whether we win or not. That's why Stalor is here; he'll make sure she dies."
Yuna: "I'm ready to kick her ass regardless."
Mitone: "She has that butler with her all the time."
Yuna: "Heh..."
She gave a smirk and kicked the door open.
Yuna: "Which makes this even more interesting."
They entered. The first room was a spacious hall, with stairs leading to the second floor. The walls were painted red and gold, giving the place an elegant feel. At the top of stairs was Quincy, Kara's butler.
Quincy: "What you're doing is illegal."
Yuna: "Shut up and bring the main course."
Quincy: "I won't let you disturb her sleep. Turn around and leave, for all our sakes."
Yuna: "So she's sleeping? What is she, a baby? At her age, I was killing to survive."
Quincy: "You are not superior to her in any way."
Yuna: "This is not about who's superior. It's about who's inferior."
Quincy: "Don't you dare disrespect her!"
He clasped his hands together; two concrete walls crushed Yuna. Or so he thought. Eraser and she disappeared at the same time and then reappeared unscathed.
Eraser: "We must end this quickly."
Mitone ran upstairs. A metal cube fell on him. He swung his orange axe and erased it. A stretchy pink plastic wall surprised him and pushed him back. Eraser flew in, firing plasma bolts, which Quincy deflected with a copper wall, then hurled it at him.
Yuna pointed her chainsaw upward and flew with it, similar to Chainsycho. As she advanced, a wooden cubic cage was created to trap her. Her clone, however, snuck up behind Quincy and punched him as hard as she could, pushing him against the wall. He created steel floors to keep himself close to the ceiling.
Yuna switched consciousness with the clone outside the cage, effectively escaping. Mitone threw her red axe at Quincy, who dodged at the last second, having part of his hair erased. Eraser made himself and the steel platform disappear, while Yuna flew in to cut the old man in half with her chainsaw. As Quincy fell, Mitone also threw his red axe again and spun the orange one to throw it as fast as he could.
A plastic wall appeared behind Quincy and pushed him back to the top of the stairs. He opened one of the doors and ran away.
Yuna: "Running away already?!"
They followed him. At every corner, two concrete walls crashed into them, and Eraser saved them at the last second with his power. Then the attacks stopped when they were near a luxurious room.
Eraser: "This must be Kara's bedroom..."
Mitone: "It's a trap."
Yuna: "I don't give a damn whether it's a trap or not. Let's go."
She kicked the door open. Something went straight through her leg. She only realized it when Kara was close enough to punch her in the face. Eraser made them both disappear, leaving Mitone alone with Quincy. He threw both axes at the butler, who dodged and pinned two walls together, trapping Mitone.
The others reappeared at the same places, the punch landing on Yuna's face. Eraser flew toward Kara and dragged her body across the floor. Yuna kicked the stone wall trapping Mitone toward the butler, and flew along with her chainsaw. The old man made the walls disappear, a red axe flying towards him at an impressive speed.
Just as Yuna was about to reach him, Quincy threw a wall at her from the side, trapping her and Mitone. He sensed someone behind him and dodged the attack. Yuna's clone, however, was quick enough to swing the red axe and sever his arm.
Eraser flew through the wall, destroying the one holding his friends. Kara walked between the broken walls and saw the injured Quincy.
Kara: "How did..."
Quincy: "I'm deeply sorry, Ms. Kara; I was caught off guard."
Kara: "You have nothing to apologize for, Quincy. These three, on the other hand..."
The three friends were injured and struggled to get up. Yuna's chainsaw was broken. Kara gave a sadistic smile as she stepped on Yuna's hand.
Kara: "...are playing with fire."
Yuna: "To be honest, I thought you would be stronger."
Kara: "Huh? Are you trying to make me kill you quickly and painlessly? Don't worry, we have plenty of time."
Yuna: "No, I mean... you're supposed to be a Level 7, but you can't even destroy your own mansion."
She stepped harder, a little irritated.
Kara: "For your information, we were holding back because we didn't want to destroy our own home. If we were out there, you wouldn't even be able to talk right now."
Yuna gave a wry smile.
Yuna: "Then I just need to lure you out, right?"
Mitone threw his red axe at her, which she dodged effortlessly. Then he stood up and turned to swing his orange axe at the wall. Behind it stood a clone of Kara, whom the axe struck diagonally, obliterating part of her heart. Because the damage reflex was reduced, Kara suffered a lesser but fatal cut to her torso.
Kara: "What?!"
Quincy joined four concrete walls together, trapping and crushing the trio. When he made the walls disappear, however, they weren't there. Outside stood a clone of Yuna, holding small parts of Eraser's and Mitone's bodies. When they reappeared, they were pulled toward the clone, effectively teleporting.
Kara: "How are you doing this?!"
She pulled needles from her dress pockets and threw them into the air. They were redirected toward each of the three. They disappeared again. After reappearing in the same spot, a wall pushed them toward Quincy, who punched Yuna in the face, knocking her unconscious. Mitone tried to hit him with both axes, to no avail. The butler had far more combat experience, so he effortlessly dodged all the predictable attacks.
Eraser fired plasma bolts and flew behind Kara to punch her. A steel wall blocked the projectiles, while Eraser was thrown in a random direction, breaking through walls. Kara kicked off her heel and redirected it toward Mitone's back, piercing his heart. He fell to the ground, defeated.
Yuna made a clone before being knocked out, but both were unconscious for a few seconds. The clone woke up and stood up, feeling nauseous and dizzy. Kara glared at her, as she was the only one conscious there.
Kara: "You finally understand our power gap?! We've been holding back until now, and that's how you managed to get to us! But that will never happen again!"
She walked slowly toward Yuna, prattling on about her superiority.
Kara: "What did you gain by invading my mansion?! Now you and your friends will die! But I'll make a special case for you: I won't end your petty life until I'm satisfied."
Then someone entered the room. Kara caught a glimpse of the figure, then thought it was Eraser, the only one who wasn't there.
Kara: "You could have escaped... Do you want to die alongside your friends? Go ahead, I have a special place for you."
Stalor: "I never understood why some people don't just finish off their enemies as quickly as possible."
He stood before them, revealing his sinister presence. Quincy looked at Mitone again, but he was gone. Yuna fainted after using her power for a last time.
Quincy: "How did he..."
Stalor: "Yuna has grown stronger again. Now she can swap consciousnesses between clones of other people."
Kara: "Who are you?"
Quincy: "He was outside; I didn't have time to warn you about him. I'm sorry."
Kara: "Everything's more than alright."
She smiled, even though she knew she could die at any moment from her injury.
Kara: "You don't look strong. Do you want to die with them? Or maybe you're lost?"
Stalor: "Seriously, the Level 7s have gotten way too cocky these last years."
Kara: "Are you a hero? What's your Level? You seem 3 at most."
Stalor: "I was number 3, but not as in Level."
He walked toward the butler.
Stalor: "Let's take out the support first."
Two walls slammed together. Stalor was unfazed, as his power allowed him to phase through walls. More walls of different materials appeared, but nothing could touch him. Kara was terrified.
Kara: "Don't get cocky!"
She picked up more needles from her dress and released them.
They're filled with poison and sleeping serum. He won't wake up until I start ripping his limbs off one by one!
The needles turned into bubbles when they got close enough to his body.
What is happening?! If his power is defensive, he's not strong enough to hurt us!
Stalor approached Quincy and slowly brought his hand to his face. He dodged and tried to kick the former Level 7. His leg, however, turned into air. Stalor finished the job by swinging his arm and cutting the old man in two. He then stepped on his face to make a point.
Stalor: "See? You shouldn't leave your enemies unconscious lying around. If they can still be a problem for you, you should eliminate them."
He erased Quincy's head, confirming his death. Kara stood motionless, trying to come to terms with the fact that they'd both lost to a seemingly normal guy.
This is a dream, this is a dream... We couldn't have lost so easily, right? We're Level 7...
Stalor: "I feel like I'm talking to a wall. Kids should be easier to teach, right? Unless you're stubborn, which seems to be the case."
He began walking toward her. Her guardian and savior was dead, and she was about to join him. There was nothing she could do. Except...
She looked at Yuna's body lying on the ground.
Eliminate my opponents...? That's right, why do I keep leaving them all alive? I just need one for information and to have fun with!
She kicked her heel and redirected it towards Yuna, but her body suddenly disappeared.
What? How did she...
Stalor: "Have you forgotten the powers of your opponents? That's underestimation and pure ignorance. You let them live, so it's all your fault."
The blue-haired guy...? What was his power again?
Stalor approached her from behind. She turned and staggered back, sitting on the ground in terror.
Kara: "Wait a minute, you're a hero, right? Heroes don't kill..."
Stalor: "You still have the nerve to say that, after the history of deaths this city has? Not just this city, not just this world. Hero or villain, everyone kills whoever they deem unworthy."
Kara: "B-But I'm not a villain! I've saved many people..."
She was buying time and calculating her escape route.
Stalor: "Any last words?"
She silently ripped off a piece of her dress and released it towards the chandelier above them, causing it to fall. Stalor sighed.
Stalor: "Useless."
He kicked her, erasing her body from top to bottom. Or so he thought. The chandelier turned into thin air, without even hitting him. But he couldn't hit her. For some reason, she vanished, leaving a barely discernible trail of pink and yellow light, which faded after a few seconds.
In an endless ocean with a starry sky...
— Such a disgusting being... but you can still prove yourself useful.
Kara: "W-What happened? Who are you?!"
— I have a mission for you. You cannot refuse.
Kara: "Answer me! What happened to my mansion?!"
— Stubborn little child, I just saved your life. So show me some gratitude, will you?
Kara: "I did not need any help! Take me back!"
— A fairly large object will fall on your planet soon. Your power is to redirect falling objects, right? I want you to speed up the fall, but don't change its direction.
Kara: "I do not take orders from you! I'm the one who gives orders! Give me Quincy back!"
— Heh, this will be interesting. Stubborn humans are the most exciting to tame.