After a brief reunion, everyone—except Seko—agreed that staying together would be the key to victory.With Akemi Takahashi's return, the group was finally whole again.
Her eyes immediately caught the unfamiliar face among them—Daisuke, the newest member who had entered the contest alone.Naturally, Akemi wasted no time turning up the charm.
"Well, well... hello, handsome~" she purred, strolling closer. "You seem cold... deliciously cold."
Kiyomi and Seko answered at the same time, flatly:"He actually is cold—"
They glanced at each other mid-sentence.Seko looked away awkwardly while Kiyomi finished the thought smoothly."His name's Daisuke. He manipulates ice and stuff."
Akemi smirked, biting her lip. Under her breath, she muttered,"I hope he can extend it with ice too~ I wouldn't mind a little chill inside me."
Meanwhile, Seko had already tuned her out, focused instead on Izanami's briefing. She spoke with the calm authority of a tactician:"Our goal is simple—enter Terra with as few consequences as possible."
Violet hovered nearby, loyal as ever. He floated in slow circles around Izanami, offering her various flowers with a lovestruck expression.Raven and Crow nodded, though Crow itched for a fight.
Daisuke said nothing.Kiyomi didn't seem to dwell on it either.
Then Seko's voice cut through the calm.Flat. Quiet. Firm.
"I disagree."
All heads turned.
Izanami narrowed her eyes. "Why? You want to know what happened to your family. To Sujay. Once we win, we can access that in—"
Seko interrupted her.
"And then what?"His gaze swept over them. "After we find out? Then what? We just train, grow stronger... only to realize they've already grown stronger too?"
A heavy silence followed.
Raven spoke next. "Then what are you suggesting, Seko?"
Most of them nodded, eyes on him.But Daisuke was the first to answer.
"We split up. Work individually. If anyone runs into trouble... we send a signal."
Violet frowned and stepped forward. "What if it's too late for that signal?"
Daisuke's reply was cold, emotionless."Then they weren't fit to survive."
Violet narrowed his eyes. He moved toward Daisuke, step by step."You're new here. So you don't care if they die.But we're not like that."
Daisuke didn't flinch. "If it were my own family, I'd say the same."
The tension thickened as their eyes locked.
Seko stepped in.
"We'll move in pairs. Randomly assigned. Keep it rough, unpredictable.If anything goes wrong, Akemi's bots will pick it up and alert the rest of us."
Crow's eyes lit up. "Now that's more like it."
Crow grinned, slamming his fist into his palm.
"Finally, something that isn't a sugar-coated plan. Let's tear some faces."
Raven groaned, "We're supposed to survive, not start a war."
Kiyomi rolled her eyes, "You'll probably enjoy the blood more than the win anyway."
Akemi flipped her hair, still side-eyeing Daisuke with a smirk.
"Fine by me. I call dibs on the frost king~"She winked, not waiting for a reply.
Daisuke sighed, "Don't slow me down."But his voice was so neutral, it was impossible to tell if he was annoyed or indifferent. Maybe both.
Seko spoke again, this time firmer.
"We'll rotate pairings every phase. No permanent teams. No patterns.""That way, if anyone gets tracked, they can't trace the whole group."
Izanami nodded, slowly impressed. "Smart. Chaotic. Dangerous. I like it."
Violet, who'd stopped circling Izanami for once, glanced at Seko.
"And what if someone betrays the team?"A subtle dig at Daisuke. Or maybe just paranoia.
Seko's expression didn't change.
"Then we deal with them. Together."
Silence settled.
Then Crow raised his hand, grinning wildly.
"I vote I go with Kiyomi first. I wanna see her crack a mountain again."
Kiyomi didn't even blink.
"Try not to get crushed under it."
Raven huffed. "Fine. I'll go with Violet. Might keep him from flirting with every tree and boulder on the path."
Violet: "Hey—! That boulder had curves."
Akemi clung onto Daisuke's arm dramatically.
"Guess I'm left with my chilly knight~ What a tragedy~"
Daisuke: "You're not."
Which left Seko and Izanami standing in silence.
Izanami raised a brow.
"We're pairing, huh?"
Seko: "Looks like it."
She smirked.
"You better not hold back, Vampire."
He glanced at her, eyes slightly narrowed.
"You better not burn the map again."
As the group finalized their pairings, the sun dimmed slightly. A cold wind swept across the torn land.
Somewhere, out there, Terra was waiting.
So were the others.
And not all of them would make it.
THE DUOS THAT VOTED FOR EACH OTHER:
Crow & Kiyomi (battle-hyped duo)
Raven & Violet (chaos-control & chaos-creator)
Akemi & Daisuke (flirt meets frost)
Seko & Izanami (vampire & volcano)