On the other side, Murphy headed to the address Aiden had written on a scrap of paper. It was near Aiden's old palace, in one of the nearby buildings. Murphy was now in a different country where Aiden's palace didn't exist, so the trip took a long time. Still, he pushed himself to travel as fast as he could. Two hours later, when he reached the building mentioned, he was about to enter when someone called his name from behind
"Hey , Wong."
He turned and found Luna and Yuna standing with Melvin, who was holding Betty bound and unconscious. Murphy drew his weapon — a spear whose element was fire — and walked toward them.
Melvin smirked. "Do you want us to kill your relative?"
Murphy sheathed his spear. "Fine. I won't fight. Just leave her alone "
"Kneel and let me cut off your head — that way we won't have to kill her."
"How can I trust that?"
"I don't know, but trust me. We're not like you and your kind. We keep our promises, unlike you."
"That means there's no guarantee. You might kill her after you kill me."
Murphy drew his spear again, ready for a fight. Luna and Yuna also drew their weapons. Melvin intervened. "No need for that. Let's use this named 'Betty' as a hostage."
Luna: "He doesn't care whether she lives or dies, Melvin. He insists on fighting."
Yuna: "He's willing to risk her life and his own. If that's what he wants, we must kill him."
Melvin: "I'm not sure that's true, but if it is, I'll help fight."
"No. You just guard the named Betty."
"But—"
Luna: "I don't mean to be rude, Captain but Yuna and I are much stronger than you right now. Don't worry about us."
Melvin sighed. "Fine. But be careful. I'll step in if things get out of control."
"Agreed."
The two girls stepped forward to face Murphy. He stared at them sharply; they returned his glare.
The fight began with Yuna firing her lightning arrows at Murphy. He advanced and blocked them all with his fiery spear. Luna leaped and threw her star ; it nearly cut Murphy's neck if he hadn't dodged. He struck back with his spear to parry with the metal staff . His spear was stronger — the staff shattered and Luna jumped back just before the spear could pierce her body.
Yuna moved to stand beside Luna.
Luna: "He's twice as strong as I am."
Yuna: "I can feel it too. That means we must be careful and cooperate to defeat him."
"Right."
Murphy attacked the twins. They worked together: Yuna used her shield and Luna used her staff, merging their powers to repel Murphy's strike. Luna and Yuna used weapons from the same man — Tominako Reed — so they could combine their strengths whenever they wanted, as they did now against Murphy.
Yuna fired arrows and Luna hurled her shuriken at Murphy. He tried to block with his spear but couldn't; the attack was powerful. Luna then teleported behind Murphy and struck him in the face with her staff. The blow angered him. He unleashed intense flames that surrounded him and scorched parts of Luna's body; she stepped back toward Yuna, who began healing her.
Murphy realized something: if he kept fighting both at once, they might overpower him because they were of similar strength. He needed to target one quickly and then the other.
Meanwhile, Melvin sensed the presence of an heir of wonder Stone approaching. He turned and summoned his weapon. The newcomer was masked, so Melvin couldn't see his face. The masked man attacked Melvin with a lightning-powered shield. Melvin parried with his sawblade charged with electricity. The two clashed. Melvin had the upper hand even while holding the drugged Betty; it was clear the masked man was one of Murphy's allies sent to intervene.
Back in the twins' fight with Murphy, he hurled his spear at Yuna. She blocked with her shield, which shattered. He lunged and managed to strike her hard in the body; flames burst from her. He almost killed her if Luna hadn't intervened. Luna used the bone separator on Murphy and hit his left foot. He cried out in pain and stepped back.
Luna caught Yuna, who collapsed from Murphy's strong blow and immediately began treating her.
Luna still had blood thanks to the new jacket's invention
Murphy's left foot had been cut to the bone by Luna; only bone remained. He cauterized the wound to stop the bleeding. Then he summoned his spear and used it as a cane to walk.
Yuna woke after Luna fully healed her.
Yuna: "Thank you."
Luna: "You're welcome, but the battle isn't over."
They looked at Murphy. He was walking toward them on one foot, leaning on his spear. The twins stood to face him and the fight resumed.
Though on one foot, Murphy still fought fiercely. Luna and Yuna had had enough; both decided to use their special techniques: Luna's volcanic bubbles technique and Yuna's flying-arrow technique. Murphy sensed they would use their special moves and decided to use his own special move: the fiery throw. Volcanic energy gathered around him and his spear as he drew heat from the surroundings, then attacked both girls.
The collision was enormous. It shook the place and almost destroyed it. The ground was dug up and debris flew everywhere. Melvin witnessed all this after he defeated the intruder while still carrying Betty, then searched for the twins. He finally found them sitting on the ground, their bodies covered in burns and Murphy sitting not far away with many injuries as well. His condition was pitiful: a quarter of his skin and flesh had been peeled away leaving bone; another quarter had been disintegrated completely; the remainder bore wounds that were serious but not lethal. All of this was because of the Bone separator and the Ice Dismantling combined in Luna and Yuna's techniques.
Despite everything, Murphy stood, barely able to open his eyes and summoned his weapon again. Luna and Yuna were also still able to fight, so they stood despite the burns covering their bodies.
Melvin then intervened, shouting, "Enough of this!"
Everyone turned to the voice. They saw Melvin holding his sawblade to Betty's neck. Murphy stared at him with wide, intense eyes.
"Damn you," Murphy spat.
Melvin : "Listen. I lose nothing if I slit her throat right here in front of you. But I don't know how you'll feel afterward."
"You want me to give up after all this?"
"Yes, you fool. Keep your relative alive and be at ease. Even if you continue fighting now, you won't beat us. We will overwhelm you."
Murphy sheathed his weapon, put his hand on his face and sat on the ground. He felt defeated and utterly hopeless — helpless, with his relative's life in the enemies' hands. He decided to let them kill him.
Luna and Yuna approached the seated Murphy, who looked at the ground with a gaze full of sorrow and defeat. "Do it," he said. "Finish everything."
Luna: "So you've given up your stubbornness and fighting, right?"
"Yes. I love that girl like my own daughter, so I'm ready to sacrifice myself for her."
Yuna: "But I thought you didn't trust us."
"I don't trust you, but I have a feeling you'll keep your promise."
Murphy looked at Yuna and Luna.
"I had a twin brother when I was young too , we were identical twins and so close to eachother but he died."
Luna: "Is Betty the daughter of that twin?"
"No. She's the daughter of my older brother and he's dead too. All the Wongs are gone. Only Betty and I remain. She uses a false family name so I could protect her but I failed."
Everyone was silent for a few seconds. Murphy added,
" It may seem very strange and it's true that I am your enemy but I beg you not to kill her. I also implore you to search my private closet in my winter palace for a will I wrote for her earlier that clarifies some things for her."
Luna: " It seems you sensed your time was near."
"Yes. Will you carry out my request or not?"
Yuna : " Yes, we will "
" Thank you."
Luna then severed Murphy's head with her star, killing him. Yuna scolded her
"Weren't you hasty? We were supposed to take Murphy to be tried first."
"Yosaku told me if he raised his weapon, kill him. He attacked and hurt us — he almost killed you before, idiot."
"Damn you "
Melvin interrupted the girls. "Rest a bit then we move on. We haven't finished our work."
Yuna and Luna used their remaining energy to heal each other . Melvin wrapped Murphy's body in a bag . Betty was still unconscious; Yuna carried her. They all walked to a six-wheeled truck and climbed in. The driver took them quickly to Aiden's new palace, not far from the old one — the truck had powerful engines.
When they arrived at the palace gate, they began to get down. Betty slowly opened her eyes, hearing footsteps and remembered something
Three days earlier she had been with her friend Hinami. They separated after finishing. On her way home, Betty felt someone with the energy of wonder Stone heir following her. She turned to see Melvin raising his weapon. When she saw him, she tried to fend him off. He was stronger and defeated her and kidnapped her.
She also remembered feeling a prick in her neck — she had been injected with a sedative and lost consciousness.
Betty stood up after regaining consciousness. She freed herself from the bindings and ran out of the vehicle to find herself near the gate of Aiden's new palace. Luna, Yuna, and Melvin stared at her. Betty shouted angrily at them, "What did you do to me, you bastards?"
Melvin: "There's no point in you knowing. It might only harm you."
Betty yelled again, "Tell me now, you scoundrels!"
Luna: "Stop screaming as if you're in charge here. Don't you see you're in our hands? We outnumber you and our weakest is stronger than you."
Betty drew her weapon. "If that's the case, then let me die bravely."
Yuna stepped closer, unarmed and said calmly
"We may be enemies in this situation but please stop. This won't help — it will only hurt "
"Don't pretend to be reasonable. I—"
Luna teleported behind Betty and struck her on the head with her staff. Betty fell unconscious.
Yuna : "Did you have to do that?"
Luna: "Yes. Trying to convince stubborn people with logic is a waste of time. I prefer to shorten it this way."
"What a wonderful method," Melvin remarked. "Let's bind her again and decide later what to do with her."
"Right."
They bound Betty again and injected her with the sedative again and left her in the truck
The Ribwan twins and Melvin entered the palace and headed to its clinic. There they found Milo and Klaus with Jayden and Tristan. Aiden was there already, asleep, his body wrapped in bandages — he had been literally tortured and beaten since his abduction and needed rest.
It turned out Aiden had planned things ahead. When Klaus informed him of Murphy's escape, Aiden had secretly ordered Melvin to track down Betty and capture her. With the help of a few informants who were once members of the Fighter Division, Aiden had already confirmed Betty's relation to Murphy.
He expected he would be captured sooner or later. And if not captured then there would surely be war between him, Murphy and Yossan. So he chose the risky path of deliberately exposing himself to capture. Only Melvin and Klaus knew of this plan.
At first, Melvin opposed it but Klaus supported Aiden. He knew Murphy and Yossan wouldn't kill Aiden because they needed him alive to regain the energy of the two cubes — something only Aiden could allow. That meant they would keep him alive. Melvin had no choice but to obey his master and carry out the orders.
Klaus also instructed Yosako to keep watch on Yossan — to know where he went and with whom. If Aiden was kidnapped, they would have a lead. And Klaus's hunch was right: Yossan had organized the secret tunnel and ordered Kuro to restrain Aiden. Murphy, meanwhile, had used some of his loyal followers to ambush and kill Aiden's men and secure the abduction with a flawless plan.
But things didn't go exactly as they wanted. Aiden had also taken Betty captive. Klaus later found Yossan's trail and located Aiden. He also discovered that Yossan planned to restrain Aiden using Kuro, the master of binding powers. That day, when Milo, Jayden and Tristan came to him, Klaus ordered them to capture Kuro. They found him with David near the secret tunnel and stormed the place.
Jayden disabled their communication devices so they couldn't warn Yossan or Murphy. Though David and Kuro were powerful, with unique energy, Jayden, Milo and Tristan were also strong. Together, they managed to defeat both. Once Kuro was unconscious, Aiden was freed from the restraints and could fight Yossan despite his body being covered in wounds.
Murphy and Yossan split because of Betty. Klaus and Milo then arrived to rescue Aiden. It had been a dangerous gamble but in the end, the plan succeeded.
That was what Melvin recounted to the others.
Luna sighed. " That was pure madness."
Melvin : " It's Aiden — our reckless leader. What can we do?"
Yuna : " By the way, where's Yossan now ? "
" Locked away by the Scholars of the Archive, under heavy guard."
"But he's strong. He could escape."
"Don't underestimate Yosako's power. And he isn't alone — the entire Kaos Team is guarding him. Escape is impossible."
"Good. That's reassuring."
When Aiden finally woke, everyone was overjoyed and gathered around him. Melvin scolded him for his reckless stunt. Aiden's right-hand fingers had been broken and bound in a splint; they would take a long time to heal. With good care, the recovery would be faster. The rest of his wounds, too needed time.
Two days later, Yossan's trial was held. The Scholars of the Archive sentenced him to death. His execution was set for the following day.
That night, the Ribwan twins took their turn guarding Yossan's cell. They stood silently by the barred door, watching him
Yossan looked back at them and said, "So, it's your turn to guard me?"
Yuna: "Yes."
Luna: "Not like we wanted to."
Yossan: "I know you've been forced into many things. I hate it too."
" No one forced us, idiot. It's our duty."
"But you were forced when you were children."
The twins fell silent at his words. Yossan continued:
"I know you're from the Smoke City. I even remember the One-Eyed Man used you for evil purposes, until Eliastor Bressol freed you."
Yuna: "How do you know we're from that city?"
"Because I lived in that city for a while and I know a lot about it ."
The twins were stunned. His tone was truthful and with his death looming tomorrow, he had no reason to lie.
"At least Bressol died a natural death, not on the battlefield," Yossan went on. "I think he wanted that after all the suffering he endured."
Yuna : "Yes. The same could have happened to you if you hadn't sided with Murphy against Aiden. Wasn't your goal to reach Kinai ? You could have made it if you'd avoided trouble."
"I admit my mistake. I was blinded by emotions, craving the authority I once had. I tried to reclaim it in the wrong way. I should have dealt with Aiden as I did with Murphy but I didn't."
Luna: "I never thought I'd hear you say this."
"Neither did I. Now, excuse me — I want to sleep."
"Take your time."
The next day, Aiden himself carried out Yossan's execution. That was the end of him.
As for filling the slots beside Aiden, the task fell to Luna and Yuna
Klaus and Yosako had concluded that Yossan, tied to Murphy, was untrustworthy and must be replaced.
Before the tournament, blood samples had been taken from all contestants. The Scholars analyzed them to find rare bloodlines. It turned out Luna and Yuna both carried rare blood and combined with their great strength, they were deemed the successors of Reed.
But there was a problem: the golden cube's energy could not be contained by only one of them. Neither alone was as strong as Reed. They needed each other.
Yosako and Klaus explained this in the facility where the tournament had been held.
Yuna: "So we're the ones to replace Yossan and help Aiden?"
Klaus: "Yes, if you agree."
Luna: "Wait. Even if we agree, the cube's power is meant for only one heir. How can we both wield it?"
Yosako: "Remember, your powers come from Tominako Reed. Both of you inherited from the same person, not two different ones."
"Yes but as you see, we're two people, not one."
"What I mean is — the device we use to channel the golden cube's energy may not recognize that. It's only a guess."
Yuna: "So you're saying we have to try without knowing if it'll work."
Klaus: "Yes. But it isn't mandatory. You can refuse and we'll search for others."
Luna: "Enough. It's obvious we'll accept. The fate of our kind is at stake and we're sitting here debating."
Yuna shoved her. "You're so rude. We're having an important discussion, not chatting."
Klaus: "In any case, let me ask again."
Luna: "Go ahead."
"Answer separately. Do you both willingly and absolutely accept to inherit the golden cube's power?"
Yuna: "Yes, I accept."
Luna: "Yes, I accept."
Klaus: "Good. Thank you both."
Yosako: "But remember, it may not work at all. We must test it first. Come back in two days."
The twins returned home to tell their family. Frodo asked them, "Are you sure about this decision?"
Yuna: "Yes dad. If we don't, there will be serious problems. For example, if the Scholars take too long to find another strong heir with rare blood and we don't fill the vacancies, all wonder Stone heirs will die as their stones decay with age."
"That's brave of you, but be careful."
"Of course."
The next morning, while the twins were watching a movie with Rose, Samantha entered.
"Yuna, Luna — a man named Aiden is here. He wants to see you."
Luna: "What? He came here, now?"
"Yes. He's waiting in the garden."
"All right, we'll go."
They found Aiden in the garden, examining the apple trees. When he noticed them, he turned and said "Sorry for the sudden visit and sorry if I interrupted something important."
Yuna: "Not at all. We were just watching a movie. Honestly, it was boring."
"So I didn't interrupt anything. Good."
Luna: "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you here?"
"I came to hear from you directly."
"What do you mean?"
Aiden fell silent for a moment, then said, "Girls, I'll be honest. You're not forced to become like me. If you want to refuse, refuse."
Luna : "No, Aiden. We're doing this willingly."
Yuna : "Yes. Helping you is an honor. This is a matter of fate, as you know."
Aiden : "Good. But you should know it won't be easy."
"You'll train us, right?"
"Of course."
"Then fine."
"Is that your final decision?"
Luna: "You sound just like Klaus and Yosako, repeating the same question. We've already said yes — we're willing."
Aiden smiled in relief. "Now my heart is at ease. I can sleep peacefully. I just wanted to hear it from you directly and I have."
Luna: "Congratulations, then."
"Now I'll go. See you tomorrow."
"Goodbye."
Yuna: "Farewell, leader."