After his short meal, Kairo left the kitchen, rushing for Donsentos' office. Via his tablet, he called out Nyx and the others. "We need to regroup now. This is our chance to get him — or should I say her, I can't be certain," Kairo said.
"You mean the mind controller can change appearance from male to female?" Nyx asked with a worried expression.
Kairo nodded. They were not only dealing with a mind controller but also some sort of metamorph. "The officer who signaled us about the murder had been acting strangely, way too affected. Now that I think of it, he must have been pretending. For officers who have reached three stars and above, blood should not cause such a reaction. And if he was really from the Card Mage Police, he or she would have known moving our jackets is against protocol."
"If you found who it was, why didn't you catch him — or her, I don't even know at this point. Now if it changes again to a male or something else, how do we get it?" Donsentos asked.
"Simple — because Kairo understands everything is just a careful setup for what is coming. The plan will need some restructuring for now if…" Danzan was talking when Kairo's expression took a drastic turn, as if he had suddenly seen a ghost.
"What?"
"His eyes," Kairo said, pulling Nyx aside and jumping back in a hurry. Donsentos slammed his hands in a wide arc, with so much strength that the air whistled as it moved. Danzan, who was closer to him, barely had time to react, lifting his hands to block the impact.
With a clear cracking sound, he was sent flying backward, sliding several meters away from the table.
"Too late, fools. You should have stopped me when you could, Kairo," a very disturbing voice echoed from Donsentos' mouth. It was like he had morphed into a completely new person. His eyes were like shards of abyssal red.
"Kairo, it's your turn now. Find the culprit. Because the mind control card has a special condition — he cannot be metamorphed and controlling someone at the same time. That's why he hides. Find the odd woman or odd officer. All you need to do is figure out who is hiding now," Danzan explained. "It took me some observing to understand how this card functions, but now I'm clear. Good you didn't act rashly, Kairo — now we are clear on his abilities."
"Oh, I get it. So this was the real plan. Good job, Kairo. The Dictator is a fascinating card. The victims are perfectly conscious of what they are doing but can't hold their bodies in place, nor do they even remember doing what they did. With Crystal Metamorph, these two cards would have allowed me to finish this job clean. Still, they are coming — no need to worry. In the meantime, I will get rid of all of you." In his hand, he flicked a card ejected from his card launcher.
The circuitry of the void responded with a roar, painting the entire sky with chain-like patterns spreading outward. One after another, the air began spinning and coiling around like dragons to form bubbles that popped all over the area. "Bubble Switch," Donsentos said.
"Behind you, Kairo!" Nyx flipped Sifa on her finger. The living scarf shot out, trying to catch Donsentos' arms, but he simply jumped into the bubble to the side — and his figure vanished, appearing just above them with a spinning downward kick.
Kairo, already basking in the aura of tactical brilliance, had his reflexes snap — he jumped back, barely evading the crazy attack. The table was smashed to pieces, its debris flying all over the place. Donsentos smiled with an amused expression, and from his belt pocket, he pulled out a card.
"An auxiliary card… damn," Kairo's face darkened.
Flipping the card into the void, Donsentos' figure was engulfed in a fiery storm of energy, spreading outward and forcing Kairo and the others to distance themselves. His body was cracking with energy, like it was going to burst at any moment. Donsentos held a sort of staff above his neck, his hands on either side as he stared at them.
"Leave him to me, Kairo. The Bubble Switch and the Inquisitor Staff—these two cards have been his signature move for over a decade. Barely losing to anyone with them. I haven't had entertaining sport for some time already," Danzan said, flipping a card between his fingers.
Before anyone knew what had happened, the area had shifted as if they had entered a completely new world. Above them was a droplet of water sliding in the void, about to detach itself from the main mass.
"Bubble Switch is interesting, but do you really think it will be enough?" Danzan asked, letting the bubble touch the ground. Kairo and Nyx were frozen on the spot, feeling a ripple of water pass through their legs—and Danzan was nowhere to be found.
The next thing they heard was a loud impact as his fist locked into Donsentos's stomach, snatching away his arrogant smile in an instant. Staggering several steps back, he spat a mouthful of blood, his eyes flickering back to normal before returning to the bestial red.
"The one thing I love about the Dictator's card is it allows the puppet to make full use of its power. All I do is give the order, and the body reacts with the skills it has. You shouldn't underestimate a four-star officer, Danzan," Donsentos or perhaps the metamorph said
But Danzan wasn't listening. The moment the next droplet touched the ground, he was nowhere to be found again—the familiar ripples moving outward from his last location.
This time around, Donsentos flipped his thunder staff and stepped back, evading the spinning back kick that zipped past his face. Jumping into the bubble, he stepped to the left of his opponent. His staff whipped outward, striking for Danzan's head. Danzan lifted his arms to block, and his finger was sent flying, smashed brutally into the hard wall.
"The Bubble Switch doesn't rely on speed but on timing and positioning, giving Donsentos an edge in close combat. While the Echo of Tears of Danzan gives him incredible speed, it ends when the ripple passes through the opponent, leaving him vulnerable. These abilities are incredible," Kairo analyzed.
"Kairo, didn't you hear what she said? They are coming. I don't know how, but we should do something," Nyx warned.
"Find the culprit and organize the defense with the other officers. Activate the emergency locks of the cells and protect Camilla at all cost. I will keep Donsentos occupied for the meantime," Danzan rose back to his feet, wiping the trace of blood from his lips.
After observing the fight, Kairo was clear he would be more of a nuisance to Danzan here than anything. Furthermore, they needed to handle the chaos that was going to spread because of this fight. That was without forgetting the prisoners, which—if their cells were miraculously opened—they would be doomed in this submarine.
"Okay, be careful. We will find him," Kairo rushed away, activating the Sand Paladin by the way. When the stoic and disciplined warrior condensed into an impressive sand warrior, he wielded his lance in an arc, waiting for orders.
"If we are three, we might be faster. I want you to serve your justice on the person we are looking for," Kairo said simply. The Sand Paladin was an avid fighter of justice. Kairo guessed he would definitely find the odd person on the submarine first. Furthermore, he never listened exactly to what Kairo said, thus he wasn't very specific on his commands. Now that he had Wind Slayer, he could afford to separate himself from his Paladin.
Nodding his head, the Sand Paladin swung his lance, creating a clean way into the walls as he moved without care toward his destination.
"The Sand Paladin and I will find the culprit. Nyx, I want you to go to the control rooms and activate the emergency cell. Camilla should be there—keep her safe, please. Can I count on your support for that?" Kairo asked.
"You can trust me," she said with a smile. "I will protect them with my life."
Kairo was well aware he couldn't do everything alone. He could only trust her on this. Although he was worried—with the Dead Mark on her, a single wound and...
As if feeling his worry, Nyx leaned forward and their lips met in an instant.
"Be careful," she said, then moved in the other direction.
"You too," he said, following after the Sand Paladin.