Aki and Megumin froze in shock and confusion. They hadn't expected a little girl to be standing there in the middle of the abandoned city.
The girl: "Oh, hello, my dear friends."
She said it with a grin, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips.
Megumi: "W-who are you?"
Her voice trembled slightly. She was alert, but at the same time, a deep terror bubbled up inside her. Something about this girl's presence felt… unnatural.
Aki: "I've seen you before… you're—"
Before he could finish, a black, smoky hand shot toward Megumi—but Aki reacted instantly, pulling her back.
The girl tilted her head, confused. "Wait… you can see it?"
Then, with a sly smirk, she released even more black smoke. Suddenly, their surroundings warped, twisting into horrifying hallucinations.
Aki felt himself drowning, swallowed by an endless ocean of black water. Panic clawed at his chest, his limbs thrashing as if reality itself had betrayed him.
Megumi, on the other hand, found herself in a suffocating darkness. Voices echoed around her, cruel and familiar:
> "You're useless."
"Why were you even born?"
"You should've died."
The hallucinations threatened to consume her completely—but then she remembered her friends.
Megumi: "You think you can manipulate someone who's already a master of manipulation? Think again… Collapse!"
With her chant, the hallucinations shattered. She blinked and saw Aki, running toward him, grounding both of them back in reality.
Aki: "Ah… thanks."
Megumi: "Phew… I thought we might actually lose."
The girl let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh… you two are so annoying. Fine, I'll end this quickly. From the Seven Elements, I shall open the Dark Element Realm."
As she chanted, a separate, terrifying dimension of pure darkness tore open. Megumi fainted under the overwhelming pressure of the girl's dark element—but Aki caught her just in time.
Aki: "You're seriously testing my patience, little girl… Anti-Realm, Absorption!"
As he chanted, the dark realm slowly began to collapse. Aki absorbed every ounce of elemental energy into himself.
The girl: "Wait… what? That's impossible—"
Aki gently put Megumi down, then in an instant, teleported in front of the girl, passing right through her. She felt… nothing. Seconds later, she coughed blood, realizing that Aki had forced all the energy from her own realm into her brain, overwhelming it. Just as she tried to strike him, he dodged.
The girl: "You're smart… but you'll still be defeated by me!"
She smirked, summoning a black energy ball in her hand—anything it touched would turn to ash.
Aki: "Oh no… not again. With the Gates of Heaven to Hell… from North to South… rise through the darkness of this world… White!"
He moved his hands in opposite vertical directions. A brilliant white energy ball formed in the center as he closed his hands into the shape of a gun, aiming at her. The ball absorbed everything in its path.
The two fired simultaneously. From outside, the abandoned city looked like a scene from a movie—the golden sunset painting the ruins in cinematic light. The collision of their attacks caused a blast so massive it obliterated everything within a five-kilometer radius.
Through the smoke, Aki emerged, holding Megumi in one arm, and Yuta and Yuki in the other. He landed gracefully, scanning the devastation around him.
Aki: "Well… I'm working while you three are still sleeping. Sigh."
The girl attacked again, sending out multiple black veins, but Aki dodged each one effortlessly.
The girl: "You'll see my true power one day…"
Aki smirked, already holding her elemental core. "You really think you can leave?"
The girl froze. "You…!"