The Northern Abyss was no longer a tomb; it was a dining hall. Gudmaro stood at the center of the slaughter, his red aura reaching out like oily tentacles, dragging screaming adventurers and fleeing humans into his core.
"Yes... I can feel it," Gudmaro rasped, his cracked armor beginning to glow with a sickly, organic light. "The biological fuel is perfect. Just a few more... and I will regain my Second Form. After that, the 'Perfect Form' is only a heartbeat away."
[Scene Shift: The Tree of Life]
The Arcon of Life suddenly gasped, her hand flying to her throat. "He... he used it. He sealed Yoru."
"What?!" Neweland shouted, his hydro-aura flaring. "That's your prison! Can you break it from here? Use your authority!"
"I cannot," she whispered, her eyes wide with dread. "The barrier is a physical anchor. Anyone could break it with a single, focused hit from the outside, but I cannot reach it from this distance. Someone has to be physically there to shatter the seal."
"I'll do it," Alya said immediately, her hand gripping her weapon. "I'll go right now."
"No," Neweland stepped beside her. "You aren't going alone. I'm coming with you. We cannot risk losing another guardian."
Just then, a blur of blue and white lightning skidded into the clearing. Techyon appeared, carrying the scorched and broken body of Lapis.
"Heal him!" Techyon barked, his voice raw with urgency. "He's almost dead. His core is leaking!"
The Arcon of Life immediately knelt beside lapis, her green mana flowing like a river into his wounds. Techyon didn't wait. He turned back toward the horizon, his sparks intensifying.
"I'm going back to the battlefield," Techyon growled. "I have to help Yoru."
"Techyon, wait!" the Arcon of Life called out. "Gudmaro... he trapped her. She's been sealed in the Abyss."
Techyon froze, his eyes wide. "What? But... she's stronger than him! I saw her crush his attack with one hand!"
"She is stronger," the Arcon replied sadly, "but Gudmaro is ancient. He didn't use power, Techyon. He used Tactics. He played on her speed and used her own momentum to cage her."
Techyon's fist clenched until his knuckles turned white. "Then he's even more dangerous than I thought. I'm going. I'll break the seal and we'll finish him together."
"Listen to me carefully," the Arcon of Life said, her voice turning sharp and commanding. "Techyon, Neweland—you two are the distraction. You must throw everything you have at Gudmaro. Keep his eyes on you, keep his tentacles busy. Alya, you are the real mission. You must reach that prison and shatter the seal. Everything depends on Yoru being free."
Alya nodded, her face set in grim determination. "I understand. I won't fail."
Techyon cracked his neck, blue sparks dancing across his skin. "Distraction? Got it. We're going to defeat him easily anyway."
Neweland placed a heavy hand on Techyon's shoulder. "Techyon, listen to me. Do not let overconfidence be your grave. Even now, I am significantly stronger than his current state—but he is a parasite. He will drain our energy to fuel his second form. Even if I remain stronger, we will be exhausted, and he will Adapt. Every move you show him now is a move that won't work later. Be careful."
Techyon looked at the horizon, then turned to Alya. "Get on my back. I'm the fastest one here—I'll drop you at the prison before he even knows we've arrived."
Alya climbed on, gripping Techyon's shoulders. Techyon crouched, ready to explode into motion, then paused.
"One small problem," Techyon muttered, looking around. "Can anyone actually tell me where this prison is? I don't exactly have a map to a 300-year-old hole in the ground."
Neweland pointed toward the jagged silhouette of the Northern Abyss, where a faint, pulsing golden light was struggling against a growing storm of red void energy.
"Look for the golden pillar," Neweland said. "That is the Arcon of Life's barrier. It's fading. If that light goes out, Yoru will be trapped in the void forever. Go!"
"Wait," Techyon said, his sparks flickering as he paused for a split second. "If that prison can seal Yoru forever... why didn't it work on Gudmaro? How did he just walk out?"
The Arcon of Life looked toward the Abyss, her expression grim. "Because he adapts, Techyon. For three hundred years, his cells were learning the frequency of that barrier. He didn't break out—he became a key that fit the lock. But Yoru?. She has nothing to adapt with. To her, that prison is an absolute wall."
"Then we don't have a second to lose," Techyon growled.
[Scene Shift: The Edge of the Northern Abyss]
Gudmaro ceased his harvest of the local adventurers and tilted his head. His sensors picked up two massive signatures approaching from the clouds.
"I know this mana," he chuckled, the sound like grinding stones. "The Hydro Arcon. And he's brought the brat with him... Wait." He narrowed his eyes as the signatures split. "Why did they separate? Do they think they can flank a virus?"
"HYDRO CANNON!"
A massive pillar of pressurized water erupted from the sky, slamming into Gudmaro with the force of a falling ocean. The ground shattered, and a thick mist covered the battlefield.
Gudmaro stood at the center of the crater, the water swirling around his feet. He looked up at Neweland, who was hovering in the air, his hands glowing with azure light.
"Again with this water?" Gudmaro mocked, shaking his head as he began to absorb the kinetic energy of the impact. "But thank you. I haven't had a proper bath since I was sealed. It's quite refreshing."
Neweland didn't reply, but his breath was coming in short, heavy bursts. 'Faster, Techyon...' he thought, his eyes tracking the red veins of energy pulsing in Gudmaro's armor. 'I can already feel it. Every second I spend in his presence, my mana is being sucked into the air itself. I'm a battery, and he's draining me dry.'