William had been hesitant at first about sharing Milo's offer with the rest of his companions. But his doubts vanished once he confirmed the truth himself—by digging through the family records, he realized that everything Milo said about his father was real.
And so he told them everything: the story of Lilian Aiden, who sought to bring down the Fauvism. Not only for vengeance against his father's murderers but also to save the lives of the innocent from their cruelty. The question remained—would the heroes join him, or would they refuse?
Meanwhile, in the National Division of the Fauvism , Chris and Merrick had once again crossed paths with Sam, who informed them that Yossan had rejected their conditions. In two days, the National Division would strike their headquarters.
The day arrived, heavy with the weight of an impending war. Both sides gathered, ready for battle. The same members of the National Division who had once come for Clara now stood arrayed for combat. On the other side, every member of Team Kaos was present, armed and prepared—everyone except William and Tristan.
Among the National Division stood warriors with terrifying weapons. Kuro wielded a set of five iron shackles, linked by heavy chains. His weapon was unique and deadly—if those shackles bound a Stone Heir, their powers would be sealed. They would no longer be able to wield their weapon and their elemental energy would be halved. A Stone Heir normally possessed a reservoir of power three times larger than their body, able to double it further at the cost of their vitality. But Kuro's shackles erased that advantage, reducing them to a single raw reservoir and preventing amplification altogether.
David's weapon was no less dreadful. When his hand turned ghostly white and dotted with black static, like a broken television screen, it spelled doom for his foes. If that hand touched another Stone Heir, they would lose all control over their powers, and even risk harming themselves. Once, David had fought an Heir of Lightning—when his hand touched the man, the heir screamed in agony, his lightning bursting wildly from his body until he could no longer control it. Then David had driven his long claws into the man's chest, ending him. His weapon was known as ( Disorder ) , born of the element of Air. Kuro's shackles, meanwhile, bore the name ( Bind ), born of Lightning.
Both weapons stood above ordinary armaments, belonging to the rare class of special weapons. Sam himself possessed one too—a glass barrier forged from Water. It was thanks to David and Kuro, wielders of Disorder and Bind, that the National Division had triumphed in countless missions. Even the Fighter Division knew their importance.
The members of Team Kaos knew all of this. And yet, they stood tall, facing their enemies with courage.
Sam stepped forward, sneering.
"So you prefer the hard way, choosing to hurt yourselves. How foolish. We outnumber you, as you can see—and we will crush you."
Jayden: "If only you cowards fought without your cheap tricks. In a fair fight, you'd be the ones lying in the dirt."
"Cowards? Hardly. We'll fight you eight against eight. And we'll break you."
Hal : "Hold on, Sam. We'll fight however we please—we're not bound to their taunts."
Sam snarled. "He mocks us! I won't let this insult stand."
" Then we fight two against two. No followers, no interference." Hal turned his sharp gaze toward Team Kaos. "What do you say ?"
Merrick : "As if we have a choice. Fine—we accept."
And so the matchups were decided by draw:
Salvador and Chris vs. Kuro and Seran
Yuna and Merrick vs. Hal and Nina
Jayden and Clara vs. David and Sam
Luna and Sony vs. Camilla and Milan
Meanwhile, hidden among the trees, William, Tristan and Dalia observed the battlefield.
William : "We should eliminate those side followers first, or they'll get in the way of our friends' fights."
Dalia : "That's unwise. Those side followers belong to the elite. If we interfere, they'll call for reinforcements and chaos will erupt. Worse still, they could summon soldiers."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes. Back when I was with the Fighter Division , this was our method. I'm almost certain the National Division follows the same rule."
"Damn it. So we just watch?"
Tristan: "We must trust our comrades. We step in only if it becomes necessary."
And so, the battle began.
Luna drew both her weapons—the Starblades and her metal rod—while Sony strapped on his steel gauntlet. Camilla answered with her massive shears and Milan brandished his serrated scythe.
Without hesitation, Luna and Sony used teleportation, launching straight at their opponents. Luna clashed with Milan, while Sony charged Camilla. Both enemies countered swiftly.
Milan infused his scythe with ice, striking at Luna. She met the blow with her Starblade, empowered with wind and the clash ended in perfect balance. But Luna unleashed one of her feared techniques—the Bone separator, a skill that dismantled anything it touched. Milan barely blocked it, fusing water into his weapon to withstand the strike.
Luna: "So you know how to counter my attack. Interesting."
Milan: "You'll lose, arrogant little wretch. You—"
Before he could finish, Luna vanished in a blink, reappearing before him. She slammed her rod, charged with compressed gas, into his face. Teeth shattered, blood spattered and Milan hit the ground with his nose broken.
Before he could recover, she struck again, this time with her rod blazing with fire. He barely deflected with his water-infused scythe. Steam hissed between them as fire met water.
Then Luna was upon him once more with her Starblade and only his quick retreat saved his life. He realized then—this girl was not holding back. That last strike would have taken his head clean off.
Her eyes bored into him, sharp and merciless.
Luna: "Only one of us will walk away alive."
Milan spat blood, clutching his scythe. "I understand now. You're strong. No wonder—you're one of the two heirs of the legendary Tominako Reed. I'll need to be careful."
He gathered ice in his palm, forming a massive sphere and hurled it skyward. From it rained a storm of icy spears. Luna shielded herself with the Bone separator , shattering the arrows around her.
But Milan lunged through the storm, his scythe now brimming with water. He broke through Luna's barrier, slashing her side and drawing blood. She teleported above him, Starblade poised for a killing blow. He blocked with another volley of icy arrows then again parried her wind-forged blade with his scythe.
But Luna's rod struck his face once more, catching him off guard.
Milan roared in rage, blood running down his cheek. "Damn you, whore!"
Luna: "And I'll send you to hell, bastard."
"You're stubborn, I'll give you that. I don't know why your partner chose to fight Camilla instead of me, man to man. He must be a coward."
"You're wrong. He wanted to fight you. I told him to leave you to me."
" Why you choose me ? "
"Because I assume you're stronger than Camilla."
"Yes."
"Exactly. Which means I'm stronger than you. And Sony is stronger than Camilla."
Milan's eyes narrowed. "You're too confident. Don't forget—I am one of the elite. Today, I'll crush your pride."
He attacked in a frenzy but Luna slipped away with teleportation, smiling coldly.
Luna: "Don't lose your temper. Otherwise, this won't be any fun."
Milan snarled. "I know your powers—fire and wind. But your reservoirs are split in half. Half fire, half wind. I, on the other hand, have a reservoir of pure water. I can drown your fire and I can freeze your wind. You can't win."
"I'll show you one of my special techniques. The one that proves the difference in our strength—even if you are one of the elite."
"Then do your best."
Luna drew out her Star and broke it apart. Her Sword Star was made of five blades and each one separated. Flames wrapped around every blade, shaping them into fiery spheres. Soon, those flames turned into volcanic orbs.
Milan thought to himself, "Is she planning to attack me with those volcanic bubbles? If she does, I'll counter with an avalanche. That should work against a volcano without a doubt."
Luna spun the volcanic orbs in the air then added the power of wind to them, making them grow larger. Both Luna and Yuna could combine their powers like this. Now, Luna was mixing fire with wind.
Milan grew nervous at what he saw. Luna's eyes locked on his face while the orbs circled around her. She said, "Get ready now… for my special attack—Volcanic Bubbles!"
She hurled the bubbles and the blades toward him. Milan met them with a desperate counterattack, gathering all of his power into his weapon. This was life or death—he couldn't dodge, so he had to block. His strike weakened Luna's skill but couldn't stop it fully. Burns spread across his body, and he collapsed on the ground from the force of the Volcanic Bubbles.
As he lay there, Luna slowly walked up to him and asked, "Do you believe me now?"
Milan spat back, "Damn you…bitch"
" go to hell Asshole "
Luna raised her Sword Star again, ready to take his head. But suddenly, one of his followers jumped in, throwing a fireball to save his master. Luna dodged it with ease. Another follower appeared through teleportation, grabbed Milan and escaped with him.
Luna wanted to chase and finish Milan but first she needed to check on Sony. She rushed to where he had been fighting—only to be shocked. Both Sony and Camilla were lying on the ground. Their battle had ended in a draw.
She hurried to Sony's side to see if he was alive. He was breathing and after a moment, he opened his eyes with effort.
Luna asked, "Are you alright?"
Sony answered weakly, "Barely… That woman was strong. I underestimated her."
Luna gave him a small smile. "At least you're alive. Don't worry—I'll treat you."
Luna took out a special ointment and bandages from her jacket pocket and began treating his wounds. Then she looked up to see another follower had appeared by Camilla's side, teleporting her away quickly.
Dalia's warning had been true—twelve followers had come to support the elite masters. Eight of them wielded air power stone, while the rest held other elements. It was clear now: these one-on-one battles had been planned from the very beginning.