Katie Dee realized quickly that the same attack wouldn't work twice. Even if she let the calcifications pierce her body, the wind from the hurricane would likely shred her before she could recover. Reluctantly, she retreated back to her side, exhaling sharply as she caught her breath.
Susan's force field still held, but the strain on her was obvious. Charles frowned, pressing his temple in thought. "Arlo, what's the situation now?"
Arlo's white eyes blinked back to normal. "The hurricane… it's being generated by the torrent's rotation. I can't control it," she said.
"I'll handle resisting it!" Iceman stepped up, eyes glowing with determination.
He tried to freeze the hurricane, but every patch of ice was ripped away by the storm, even striking Susan's force field. If he persisted, her energy would collapse under the strain. Charles groaned. Attempting to invade the torrent's mind was pointless—the body was spinning too wildly for him to even touch the consciousness, let alone manipulate the brain inside.
The torrent held its ground, spinning relentlessly. Pushing forward now would be catastrophic.
Oluo's eyes whitened again as her power flared. The sky dimmed, and thunder roared overhead. Lightning struck into the hurricane, but it only made the storm more unpredictable.
Lucien "Black King" chuckled nearby. "Before I came here, I did my homework. You can't win this… unless Ryuuto suddenly shows up. Hah! Possible?"
He barked an order. "Torrent! Push forward!"
The hurricane surged toward Charles and the others with terrifying speed. Charles had no chance—he quickly ordered Arlo to take control, while everyone else fell back. Susan refused to leave, still holding her shield against the storm.
"Oluo! Hold the hurricane—leave the rest to me!" she shouted.
Arlo's hurricane collided with the torrent, restraining it momentarily. Lucien didn't dare chase Charles yet; physically strong mutants like Steel made him cautious. He intended to wait until Torrent subdued Arlo, then strike at Charles with full force. If Charles tried to escape, the torrent would level the thirty-year-old school in its wake.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ryuuto faced Emma. She had been trying to dominate his consciousness completely, but his stubbornness was far greater than she expected. What she thought would take five minutes now threatened to drag on for half an hour.
Ryuuto couldn't sense Emma's exact location, and he had to maintain mental stability. He couldn't risk using ninjutsu, not even summoning Rasengan—one momentary lapse would let Emma occupy his mind completely, turning him into her puppet.
"Damn it!" he gritted through clenched teeth. His earlier thoughts of whether Emma looked good or not were gone. Now, all he wanted was to rip her apart. No patience left.
Then an idea struck. Slowly raising his hand, Ryuuto summoned a dark array above him. A jet-black spear descended. In a risky gambit, he deliberately let Emma take partial control of his consciousness as the spear fell. She sensed his mental defense weaken and grinned—half expecting to finish him in seconds.
But the moment the spear struck his chest, piercing through his heart, Emma's smile froze. Pain shot through her mind—the spear had bypassed her control.
Ryuuto yanked the spear free and dashed toward the source of Emma's anguished scream. He kicked open the door and hurled the jet-black spear—only to see the Red Devil flash in front of Emma, whisking both of them away.
Ryuuto knew that if he couldn't locate Emma, her mental attacks would keep him in a chokehold. He retreated strategically, planning to return later to deal with both Emma and the Red Devil.
If he hadn't done this, Susan, Katie Dee, and the others at the school might not have survived the hurricane and torrent's chaos.
Ryuuto's mind was clear: survive, regroup, and crush them both on his terms. That was the way of the Red Mirage.