A little earlier, deep in the stands of the stadium, someone was watching the battle unfold while the crunch of popcorn filled the air.
*Nom nom nom…*
From behind the person eating popcorn, Trickster approached quietly.
"Ma chérie Zumi, excuse my late arrival."
The person turned to face Trickster, unveiling her identity—it was the girl Sato had met on the way to the stadium.
"Took you long enough!" she yelled at him. "Where have you been until now? And stop calling me 'ma chérie', you pervert."
"Un moment, chérie,"
Zumi threw the bucket of popcorn at him the moment she heard him call her chérie again, only for him to dodge effortlessly.
"I can explain."
"Go on."
As she spoke, small throwing knives materialized in Zumi's hands.
"You see, ma chérie,"
She threw one of her knives at his shoulder. Trickster simply took a step to the right, dodging it.
"Although the main scene is here, on the way, I witnessed a spectacle hard to come by," he said proudly, each word making space for even more excitement in his voice.
"And why should I care?"
"Ma chérie,"
She threw another knife upon hearing him, this time aiming for his heart. With an elegant sidestep, he dodged again.
"Don't be like that. You know well that we still need to find a person to bet on."
Zumi sighed, defeated, before she dropped the last knife she held, dissipating into mana in mid-air before even hitting the floor.
Seeing her unarmed, Trickster sat next to her.
"Très bien, ma chérie!"
Hearing him again, her eyes suddenly filled with killing intent. She materialized the knife again and repeatedly tried to stab him.
Sitting still without a worry in the world, Trickster kept his eyes closed as he parried each strike with ease.
"I. Told. You. To. Stop. Calling. Me. That!"
Every word punctuated a failed attempt to hit him, until her hand was suddenly caught just as she pointed her knife at his hat.
"Ma chérie, spare the hat at least," Trickster said nonchalantly.
Zumi yanked her hand back and dropped the knife again, letting it disappear.
"Whatever…"
Zumi quickly changed her demeanor, turning away from him in her chair, pouting like a child who had lost an argument.
"So, chérie, did you think about someone to bet on while you were here?"
Just as fast as she had started sulking, she shifted into a tired, disappointed mood, checking her nails bored.
"No, not really. Everyone is disappointing."
"Is that so…" Trickster put a hand to his chin, watching the battle from afar.
At that moment, Sato emerged from his cover, shouting to everyone that in order to beat Eryon, they needed to exhaust his mana.
Seconds later, they witnessed how he was saved by Killa's shot and scrambled back to safety.
"How about that gentleman?"
Zumi looked at Trickster, confused for a second.
"You want to bet… on a human?"
Her expression suddenly turned serious, frowning at him.
"How much did Future tell you in order for you to become an Observer?"
"Ma chérie, leave mademoiselle Future out of this. She told me just enough, leaving out the important spoilers, of course."
"Huh…"
Relaxing in her chair, she let out a long sigh.
"Sure, we will bet on that that bitch's exis then."
"Oh my, oh my, did you have the pleasure of meeting him?"
"Just messed with him a little. He is not impressive at all."
Zumi manifested a bucket of popcorn from thin air again and started chewing.
"I wonder."
Trickster raised his hand to reach for a piece of popcorn, but Zumi slapped it away.
"No."
"Cold, ma chérie… So, do you accept my challenge?"
"Sure, *nom, nom, nom*, I b't S'to is go'na lo's," Zumi said with her mouth full.
"Manners, ma chérie… In this case, I bet Sato is gonna win this competition."
In the stadium, Irina arrived where Sato and the others were hiding.
"We are going."
As she said that, she approached Megumi.
"What are you saying? We can't just—"
Megumi's objection was cut short. With a swift strike to the back of her neck, Irina knocked her out cold.
"Megumi!"
Sato dashed forward, catching her just before she hit the ground.
"Why did you do that?!"
"She wouldn't cooperate right now, regardless of what I told her. Now, we need to move."
Sato passed the unconscious girl to Shigure, who caught her carefully.
"We are not going anywhere. We need to help Butterfly."
He stood firm, showing no intention of following Irina.
"Then go on. Go and help her. I am sure you can do a lot."
Once again, Irina reminded Sato of his weakness, mocking his inability to defend those in danger.
"What, did the cat get your tongue? Where is your bravado now?"
Irina went all out, giving Sato no room to breathe.
"Did you finally understand? You are weak. People like you need to know when to run."
Sato's blood boiled in frustration. He clenched his fists, staring down at the cracked floor.
Assuming it was over and that she had persuaded him, Irina turned her back and headed toward the exit, expecting them to follow.
"Then what are you?" Sato murmured under his breath.
"What did you say?"
Irina stopped and turned halfway, frowning at him.
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU?" Sato yelled.
"YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE STRONG, ARE YOU NOT? IF SO, WHY ARE YOU RUNNING INSTEAD OF DOING SOMETHING?"
"How dare you… To imply that I am anything like a weakling like you!"
With determined steps, Irina marched toward Sato. Purple flames ignited in her hand, raised to strike him. Yet, Sato stood still, flinching at nothing, looking directly into her eyes.
When BANG!
A bullet smashed into the concrete right in front of Irina's feet, forcing her to freeze.
Tsk. He knew that bitch was still watching.
On the rooftop, smoke dissipated from the barrel of Killa's sniper.
"Don't you dare raise your hand at him."
Back at the stadium, Irina lowered her hand and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as she stared at Sato.
"That bug told me she had a plan. But for it to work, I needed to annoy that monster a little. After that,she told me to take you all to safety. Pleased now?"
"Did she tell you that?"
"I think we should listen to her. Eryon is my hero, but even so, staying here will only put us in danger."
From behind Sato, Shigure stepped in to reassure him.
"Very well, let's get out of here."
They all headed for the exit. As they ran, a thought crossed Sato's mind.
"Now that I think about it, Dr. Shigure… the power of a hero depends on how far an exis is from them. If we take you far enough away, wouldn't that mean Eryon would lose his power?"
Actually, that is a good point. Why didn't I think of that?
Irina glanced at him while running, slightly surprised by his sharp question.
"I am afraid that wouldn't work. I tested this already when I went to the other side of the city before seeing the news of Eryon rampaging in the park. My hypothesis is that the greatsword acts as an independent mana source for him now."
"I see…"
They continued down the hallway of the stadium, putting distance between themselves and the battle.
On the rooftop, Killa watched through her scope as the group headed toward the exit.
"It seems like our fight is over."
Standing up, she looked down at the street below, watching cars pass by.
"And now?"
Kaito stood leaning against a wall, arms crossed.
"Now, I am going to check if he is okay."
"Huh? And me?"
"The stairs are over there."
Killa pointed to the doorway that looked like it had been blown open, then casually jumped off the edge, leaving Kaito alone.
"Amazing. Now I need to go down nine floors… and the elevator is broken…"
She landed on the street with a heavy impact.
At that moment a motorbike came speeding her way, braking abruptly to avoid hitting her. The driver losing his balance and falling over.
"What do you think you are doing, falling from the sky like that?!" the driver yelled, frustrated.
Hmm… that motorbike looks nice.
Killa thought, paying absolutely no attention to the outraged man. She stared at the sleek black motorbike..
"Alright," she said suddenly.
"What?"
The man asked, confused, until he noticed the massive sniper rifle on her back, realizing immediately that she was a hero.
"I am going to take your motorbike."
"WHAT? Please no, I still have installments to pay on it!"
The man who was outraged a moment ago was now groveling on the ground, begging Killa to spare his bike.
"Is that so…"
What would Sato do in this situation?… I really want that bike though, I don't want to just leave it.
She tapped her chin in thought, looking around until she spotted an ATM nearby. An idea sparked instantly.
Materializing her knife, she stabbed the machine. Sparks flew, and the ATM began to spew cash like a fountain the next instant.
"Here. This should be enough."
Saying this, Killa picked the motorbike up from the ground and revved the engine.
"Yes! Yes, this is more than enough!"
Hearing the man's delight as he frantically began collecting money from the pavement, she sped off.
Wait for me, Sato. I am coming.