In the stands, the view of the girl is suddenly obstructed. A boy stands up, blocking the line of sight. He has eyes the same striking color as hers, but where hers are fierce, his are cold and dead. He stares down, a silent warning burning in his gaze: Don't you dare.
Down in the arena, Moto notices Aemon's gaze drifting and follows his line of sight. "Whoa," Moto breathes.
The girl is a blur of motion. She dashes toward her next opponents, her movements so swift and precise that she slashes through them before her brother can even close the distance.
"She looks like she might even be as skilled as Andzani," Moto mutters, impressed.
But the battlefield waits for no one. Moto hears the heavy crunch of boots charging behind him and snaps his attention back. He steps back, weaving past a wild haymaker, but Aemon is still frozen, staring up at the stands.
Thwack.
A heavy blow connects with Aemon's jaw, sending him crumpling to the dirt.
"Dude!" Moto yells, dodging another strike. "I thought you had that!"
Aemon scrambles up, eyes watering, clutching his jaw. He looks at the floating weapon beside him. "Grillet! Why didn't you block that?"
"I have my hands full here!" the sword snaps, parrying a stray dagger on its own accord.
"I'm sorry, Aemon, but you've got to keep moving!" Moto shouts, ducking under a swinging mace. "We can do this, just stay with me!"
Aemon takes a breath, looking at Moto's focused back. Right. Trust him. He scrambles to his feet. Moto catches an incoming punch in his palm and wrenches the attacker's arm, forcing him off balance. "Now!" Moto signals. Aemon doesn't hesitate. He steps into the opening, striking clean and true. Grillet remains silent, but floats closer, sensing the boy finally finding his rhythm.
Across the arena, Najo and Tanaka are executing their strategy: pick off the weak, avoid the strong. But their efficiency has drawn attention.
A pair of fighters—one covered in thick, chitinous armor like a beetle, the other a lizard-man with a heavy, bullet-shaped tail—lock onto them.
The Lizard-man, Lizzo, scoffs. "You campers are annoying. Time to end this."
He whips around, firing a large, scaly projectile from his tail. Najo spots it just in time, stomping his foot to raise a chunk of earth that neutralizes the shot mid-air.
"If you want a fight," Najo says, stepping in front of Tanaka, "I'm your opponent."
"Take the Lizard out first," Tanaka whispers behind him.
The pair rushes in. Najo weaves through a tail sweep, flinging a jagged rock at Beetle to keep him back. It bounces harmlessly off the armored exoskeleton.
Only Lizzo seems to feel Najo's counters. Najo shifts the earth beneath their feet, keeping them off balance, but the duo is coordinated. They force Najo into a defensive block against Beetle's heavy charge.
The moment Najo commits to the block, Lizzo smirks. He spins, firing his tail-bullet not at Najo—but at the unguarded Tanaka.
There is no boulder to stop it this time.
Thud.
Najo hears a sharp gasp, then the sound of a body hitting the dirt. He whips his head around to see Tanaka on the ground, her green shirt rapidly staining red at the shoulder.
Panic flares in his chest. His muscles tense, the familiar sensation of summoning lightning sparking in his nerves—but nothing happens. The block is still there. Cursing, he rushes to her side as Beetle moves to guard Lizzo.
"Are you okay?" Najo asks, his voice trembling. "That… hurt," Tanaka grimaces, trying to push herself up. "Wait, don't move!" "No, I'll be fine." She pauses, seeing the genuine terror in his eyes. Her expression softens. "You really don't know, do you?" "Know what?" "I guess two weeks of education doesn't cover everything," she groans, clutching her shoulder. "Hey! Is this how you treat people trying to be nice to you?" "I'm sorry… I'm just annoyed at myself," she admits. "But that was sweet. Rushing to my side like that. And here I thought you didn't care." "Okay, don't push it," Najo grumbles, ears turning pink.
Tanaka sits up, wiping a speck of blood from her chin. Najo's eyes widen. The bleeding has already stopped. The wound is knitting itself together. "You're healing already?" "Yes. It's the innate ability of people born under the Human Ore. Rapid cellular regeneration," Tanaka explains casually. "That's how the Crimson Creed just got up and walked away after that beating earlier." "Oh." "Yep. Now, let's take these two down. The Lizard gets weaker after firing his tail—that's why Beetle is guarding him." "So we take the Lizard out?" "No," Tanaka's eyes narrow on the armored giant. "Let's figure out how to beat the tank first. He's the one taking up all your attention."
Najo nods and engages Beetle again. His earth projectiles shatter against the armor, and his punches bruise his own knuckles more than the enemy's. It's a stalemate.
From the corner of his eye, Najo sees Lizzo slam his tail into the ground, coating it in jagged shards of stone. He's reloading.
He's going to shoot at her again.
Lizzo fires. The stone-covered tail rocket screams through the air.
But before it connects, a blur of motion intercepts it. Najo slides into the path of the projectile, not blocking it with a wall, but catching it.
He skids backward, heels digging trenches in the dirt. The jagged rocks on the tail slice into his palms, blood dripping freely, but he doesn't let go. He glares at Lizzo with a fire he hasn't felt before.
"You should have let me take it!" Tanaka yells. "You won't heal as fast as me!"
Najo ignores the pain. He thinks of Andzani pushing him to use his earth at a higher level. He thinks of Moto introducing him as a rival. He remembers Moto's insane pain tolerance and clenches his bleeding fists tighter around the projectile.
I won't lose to him. I won't be the weak link.
He tosses the tail aside and looks at Tanaka. "Quit complaining. What's the plan?"
Tanaka blinks, stunned for a split second. He's actually serious. "Okay," she says, voice steady. "If I can just touch the big guy, we should get an opening. But he won't let us try it again if we fail." "So I gotta finish him in one hit, huh?" "Pretty much."
Tanaka dashes at the pair, feigning a frontal assault. Beetle lunges, cocking a massive armored fist back to crush her. Najo, shocked by her recklessness, reacts on instinct. He violently thrusts his hands upward, and a pillar of earth shoots up beneath Beetle, knocking his aim off.
As Beetle stumbles, Tanaka slaps her hand against his chest plate. "Soften."
In an instant, the rock-hard exoskeleton ripples and turns into a soft, pliable lump of muscle. The armor is gone.
"Now!"
Najo doesn't hesitate. He coats his fist in jagged rocks—mimicking what Lizzo did earlier—and delivers a devastating, earth-enhanced uppercut directly into Beetle's exposed ribs.
CRACK.
Beetle folds, eyes rolling back as he collapses, unconscious.
Najo stands over him, chest heaving. "That… was reckless," Tanaka smirks, dusting herself off. "Well, based on how you reacted earlier, I figured you'd jump in to save me again." Najo scowls. "Are you using me?" "No," she smiles, genuine this time. "I think it's cute."
Najo flushes red, pouting and looking away. "Whatever."
"Ohh, look at that," a smooth, teasing voice interrupts them. "Looks like we get to fight another couple."
Najo stiffens. "We're not a couple!" He turns and freezes. Standing there is a girl with fiery red hair and large wings on her back. Next to her is the guy with the snake tattoos from earlier.
The tattoo guy exudes a casual, lazy confidence that makes the hair on Najo's neck stand up. It reminds him unsettlingly of Asher.
"Well," the boy says, stretching his neck. "Let's see what they've got."
As he speaks, the ink on his skin begins to move. The snake tattoos slither up his torso, peeling off his skin until his entire left arm transforms into a living, hissing serpent.