[KATXU'S POV]
We weren't heading to the base.
We were heading away from it. And fast.
Danryu passed the Timeball to Kelly, who tossed it to Poco, who lobbed it right back to me. Over and over. Just enough to keep the drain from sticking to anyone too long.
From the treetops, I caught a flicker—enemy movement. Two. No—three.
"They're following," Danryu said behind me, voice low.
"Good," Poco muttered, smirking. "Means they took the bait."
The wind snapped against my ears as I led the team into the ruins, feet slamming across cracked stone. Behind us, the chasing team grew bolder. Probably thought we were panicking.
Let 'em think that.
Kelly glanced over. "You sure about this?"
"Nope," I said brightly. "But we're committed now."
She looked like she wanted to cry.
Danryu clicked his tongue. "Focus. They're not backing off."
Ahead of us, Poco pressed a palm to the ground.
The stone beneath our feet trembled faintly. I didn't need to ask.
He was building something.
A second route.
A fake path that led nowhere.
Smart.
Behind us, footsteps quickened.
And then—
A pulse.
A heavy, cold pressure swept the field like invisible chains.
Kelly stumbled. Danryu froze mid-run. Poco winced as the pulse hit him mid-spell.
Even my legs locked for a second.
Then I saw him.
A boy stepped out from the treeline, calm as if the chase was beneath him.
Golden eyes. Sharp. Focused. Calculating.
The air around him didn't move right. It was like reality gave him space on purpose.
"Don't stop," I growled, breaking through the pulse. "Move!"
Danryu grunted and shook off the stun. Poco cracked his knuckles, annoyed. "Sealing type."
"Yeah. I noticed."
Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, the golden-eyed boy raised one finger—
And the Timeball vanished from my hands.
"What the—?!"
It was in his palm now. Floating, pulsing.
He tilted his head. "Nice trick," he said. His voice was dry. Calm. Like he was pointing out a typo. "But this is mine now."
Danryu cursed under his breath.
Poco… laughed.
Even Kelly blinked, confused.
Because that wasn't the real Timeball.
The golden-eyed boy had stolen our trap.
And he didn't know it yet.
I smirked.
Behind us, the score hadn't changed.
Not yet.
But it would.
Not because of us.
Because of the ones we sent underground.
The golden-eyed boy didn't flinch as more figures stepped out behind him.
Three enemies now.
One had a sword humming with violet arcs of energy, eyes cold and ready.
The other was a bulky brute with skin like cracked stone. His steps shook the ground.
Lovely.
Danryu grunted. "They're not randoms."
"Nope," Poco said, popping his neck. "Organized. Efficient. Dangerous."
"Perfect," I muttered.
The brute cracked his knuckles, pointing at me. "You look soft. I'll flatten you first."
"Aw," I said, raising my hands. "Flirting already?"
He blinked.
I threw the Timeball at him.
Instinct took over—he caught it midair.
"Nice catch," I said, grinning. "Shame it's empty."
Before he could react—
BOOM.
The Timeball detonated in his hands—Kelly's food bomb baked into a shell of light. The explosion flung him backward like a kicked boulder.
The swordswoman blurred forward, blade dragging lightning. "You tricked us."
I rolled to the side, grabbed a talisman from my belt—"Fire Dragon!"
A blazing serpent erupted between us, splitting the ground and forcing her back.
Poco stomped his foot—earth cracked beneath him as a wall rose behind us. "We split them. Danryu, with me."
Danryu nodded, already launching a Verdant Needle toward the brute, who was rising slowly from the rubble.
"Kelly—time to cook!" I shouted.
She looked terrified but pulled two round bombs from her pouch and threw them. "L-Lunchbox Surprise!"
One landed by the golden-eyed boy. He didn't even move—just raised a hand. A ripple of sealing energy ate the explosion whole.
"Great," I muttered. "He's the smart one."
"Exactly why you don't fight him first," Poco added.
The ground cracked again—Danryu's vines wrapped the brute's ankle, yanking him into a rooted trap.
The brute cursed. "These damn plants—!"
"You allergic?" Danryu asked, deadpan. "Good."
He launched a second volley of needles—piercing armor gaps like a surgeon with anger issues.
The swordswoman charged again—faster this time. Kelly tried to shield me, but her reaction was slow.
I stepped in. "Iron Clasp!"
My hand locked her wrist, and I slammed my foot forward—"Coiled Fang Elbow!"
She reeled, staggering back.
"You okay?" I asked Kelly.
She nodded. "Still scared."
"Good. Means you're thinking."
Poco was still managing the backline, sending tremors under the brute and carving narrow ledges to trap his steps.
Then came the sound we were waiting for—
A faint chime.
The scoreboard updated.
+10.
Our score jumped.
The golden-eyed boy turned. Confused. Calculating.
He looked down at the ball we dropped—the fake, still flickering in his teammate's hand.
Then up at us.
Kelly smiled—tiny and proud.
Poco gave a two-finger salute. "Oops."
And me?
I cracked my knuckles.
"Guess what?" I said.
"You're holding the wrong ball."
The golden-eyed boy stared at the fake Timeball like it had betrayed him.
Because it had.
He turned it in his hand. It flickered.
Then cracked.
The glow vanished.
What remained was a hollow shell—one of Kelly's handmade decoys.
He didn't speak.
Didn't need to.
His eyes twitched. Not with rage.
With realization.
Danryu took a step forward, still wiping blood from his lip. "You chased the wrong team."
The brute was just now breaking out of the vines, dazed and smoking from the earlier blast.
The swordswoman stood tense, blade raised—but unsure now. Off-balance.
And the golden-eyed boy?
He was piecing it together.
"Why didn't the score go up…?" he muttered.
Poco leaned against a tree, smug. "Because we weren't carrying the real one."
I added, "You were too focused on us. Too sure we were the main act."
He stared at me, expression unreadable. "Then who?"
Danryu smirked, tapping the side of his head. "That's what you should've asked from the start."
Then—another chime.
The scoreboard blinked.
+25.
Our score climbed again.
The golden-eyed boy turned toward the floating screen.
Our team name.
Advancing.
His team?
Still stuck.
Still flat.
His brows furrowed.
Kelly blinked up at the screen, stunned. "They… they really did it."
"They?" the brute said, confused.
And that's when I let it out.
The truth.
"The Timeball wasn't with us."
The enemies turned to me, confused.
I continued. "It's underground."
"Dairon," Danryu said, cracking his neck. "Ren. Grimm."
Poco added with a shrug, "Maybe someone else. Who knows?"
I stepped forward, just enough so they could see the dirt on my hands. "While you were chasing sparks…"
I smirked.
"…they carried the flame."
The golden-eyed boy didn't say a word.
He didn't move.
He just stared at me.
At the fake ball.
At the scoreboard.
And for the first time—
He looked uncertain.
I grinned. "Thanks for playing."
Danryu cracked his knuckles. "So… what now?"
Kelly held up another bomb with trembling hands. "We… we can still fight, right?"
Poco smiled without smiling. "We hold them here. They bought us time."
And I? I just raised my fists.
"Round two, anyone?"
***
The Timeball passed swiftly between us, the weight resetting each time we tossed it. Danryu's scowl deepened with each throw, his irritation growing.
"Katxu, if you keep throwing this at me with that dumb grin, I swear—"
I grinned wider. "What? Gonna heal me again? Such a great teammate."
Danryu's eye twitched. "I hate you."
I threw it back at him. Hard.
He caught it but pretended to fumble, nearly dropping it.
"Oops," he said mockingly. "Almost lost it there."
I squinted. "You wanna die, don't you?"
"Honestly? If it means I don't have to keep listening to you, yes."
Poco, who was leaning casually against a rock, chuckled. "You two flirting or fighting? I genuinely can't tell."
Danryu whipped his head toward him. "We are NOT—"
"I mean, he does like attention," I added.
Danryu made a sharp gesture, and suddenly—
Vines shot out from the ground, wrapping around my ankles.
"Hey—HEY! I'M HOLDING THE BALL, YOU IDIOT!"
Danryu smirked. "You'll figure it out."
I yelped as I was yanked off my feet, tumbling onto the ground.
Poco let out a mock whistle. "Damn. If only someone could heal you."
Danryu snapped his fingers, and the vines disappeared just in time for me to get a face full of dirt.
I groaned. "You suck."
Danryu shrugged. "At least I'm not the one eating the floor."
Kelly, trying to stifle a giggle, whispered to herself, "T-this is fine, right?"
Ren and Grimm stood near the entrance, watching silently.
Something still felt off, though.
I sat up, dusting myself off. "Wait… where's Dairon?"
Danryu's teasing faded into a frown. "What?"
Poco's smirk vanished.
We all turned toward where Dairon had been standing.
He was gone.
"When did he leave?" I asked, looking around.
No answer.
A cold breeze swept through the base.
Then—
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the ground.
Poco's voice rang out. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
The air shifted.
A pulse of energy burst through the battlefield, invisible yet overwhelming.
Danryu gasped, clutching his chest.
"My magic—!"
Kelly stumbled, her hands shaking. "M-my… p-powers…"
Poco's hands trembled, his usual confidence flickering. "What the hell is this?"
Ren and Grimm?
Frozen.
A familiar voice cut through the chaos.
"Didn't expect this, did you?"
We all turned.
There, standing at the edge of our ruined defenses, was him.
The golden-eyed sealing user.
But this time, he wasn't smirking.
This time, his eyes burned with vengeance.
I clenched my fists. So this is his real ability.
He took another step forward, raising his hand.
"Welcome to your first taste of true helplessness."
He snapped his fingers.
A second wave of sealing energy erupted outward—stronger, heavier.
The ground itself pulsed, and for the first time in my life, I felt the weight of nothingness.
True silence. True stillness.
Magic was gone.
Completely.
Danryu staggered. "This… this is…"
Poco gritted his teeth. "A total… shutdown."
Kelly was shaking, unable to move. "I-I can't…"
Ren and Grimm? Still unmoving.
I clenched my fists, feeling the air change around me.
Then I realized—
I was still fine.
The golden-eyed user noticed, too.
His gaze flickered to me. "Huh."
Then he smirked.
"Figures. The one with no power wouldn't feel a thing."
I grinned. "Yeah? Lucky me."
The brute cracked his knuckles. "Let's see if your body can keep up without magic."
He charged.
FAST.
I barely had time to duck as his fist crashed into the wall behind me, shattering it into pieces.
I twisted mid-dodge, swinging my elbow into his ribs.
The impact sent a shockwave through his body—but he barely flinched.
Instead, he grinned.
"Not bad."
His other hand came swinging up.
I barely had time to block, crossing my arms over my chest—but the sheer force sent me flying.
I crashed through two layers of stone barricades, rolling across the dirt before stopping myself.
Danryu and Poco were already fighting the swordswoman.
Even without magic, Danryu moved like a trained fighter, dodging her precision strikes.
She swung down—
He twisted his body, catching her wrist and flipping her over his shoulder.
But she recovered mid-air, kicking off his shoulder and landing behind him.
Poco, despite being cut off from his Titan Strength, still had raw power.
He blocked a sword slash with his bare arms, grinning. "That all you got?"
The swordswoman narrowed her eyes.
"Harder than I expected," she muttered.
Kelly, though shaken, was moving behind the chaos.
I caught a glimpse of her hands trembling.
She was trying to make something.
Food bombs? A healing snack?
She had no magic, but she was still fighting.
My attention snapped back just in time—
The brute was charging me again.
I gritted my teeth. Fine. You wanna brawl? We'll brawl.
He charged.
FAST.
I barely had time to duck as his fist crashed into the wall behind me, shattering it into pieces.
I twisted mid-dodge, swinging my elbow into his ribs.
The impact sent a shockwave through his body—but he barely flinched.
Instead, he grinned.
"Not bad."
His other hand came swinging up.
I barely had time to block, crossing my arms over my chest—but the sheer force sent me flying.
I crashed through two layers of stone barricades, rolling across the dirt before stopping myself.
Danryu and Poco were already fighting the swordswoman.
Even without magic, Danryu moved like a trained fighter, dodging her precision strikes.
She swung down—
He twisted his body, catching her wrist and flipping her over his shoulder.
But she recovered mid-air, kicking off his shoulder and landing behind him.
Poco, despite being cut off from his Titan Strength, still had raw power.
He blocked a sword slash with his bare arms, grinning. "That all you got?"
The swordswoman narrowed her eyes.
"Harder than I expected," she muttered.
Kelly, though shaken, was moving behind the chaos.
I caught a glimpse of her hands trembling.
She was trying to make something.
Food bombs? A healing snack?
She had no magic, but she was still fighting.
My attention snapped back just in time—
The brute was charging me again.
I gritted my teeth. Fine. You wanna brawl? We'll brawl.
Silence.
Poco let out a deep breath, rubbing his face. "That… was infuriating."
Danryu kicked a piece of rubble. "Tch. They played us."
Kelly, still catching her breath, lowered her head.
Ren remained silent, eyes watching the distance.
I exhaled.
I hated to admit it.
But they won.
I clenched my fists.
"This isn't over," I muttered.
Danryu sighed. "Obviously. We're gonna crush them next time."
Poco grinned.
"Damn right we are."