Chapter 40: Volcanic Invasion (3)

"Hey, Clyde? What do you think is in that box?" Quint inquired, as they ran into the depths of the volcano.

"I am not certain, but I assume it will become apparent once we open it. Though, I'm worried. Rein seemed very shaken when we left him… I just hope that he's not bitten off more than he can chew."

They continued down the long, narrowing tunnel until they reached an opening in the cave, revealing a large, stone door, decorated with cinnabar ore.

"This is it. Xenia's through here, I can tell."

"Indeed. And he's here too," Clyde tightened his grip on his sword.

"Huh? Who're you talking about?"

Without answering Quint's question, Clyde opened the door aggressively. The room's walls were filled with cinnabar ore, glimmering across the sides, filling the room with a red light. They saw an orange-haired girl, wearing hospital garments tied up and blindfolded in a chair atop a large circular plate in the back of the room. The plate was emanating a pale blue light under her, which mixed with the orange light of the pool of lava surrounding the plate.

"Xenia! We're here! Don't worry, we'll get you out of there!" Quin ran at full speed towards the plate, wanting to save his twin sister.

"Quint? *cough*, no please don't come any closer… The man will…"

Clyde's senses twitched. "Quint! Get back!"

Something flew down from the ceiling in front of Quint, then bulleted towards him at an extreme speed. Quint closed his eyes and braced for contact, but heard a loud clank, the sound of metal colliding. He opened his eyes, seeing Clyde standing in front of him, having deflected the bullet. Clyde looked up, and yelled sternly:

"Galo, reveal yourself!"

Quint looked up, seeing a floating platform made out of gold descending to meet them. A man with brown hair and green eyes stood on the floating platform, wearing a black suit, with green outlines around the outsides of the suit, a green tie, and green gloves.

"Hmph, long time no see Clyde. What are you doing here?" The man descended, frowning at Clyde and meeting him dead in the eyes.

"Do not speak so casually to me, dark elf."

"I'm not interested in you. Where's the white-haired kid? I was already notified that he passed Riskel's squad."

"Why do you need to know. Like hell we'd tell you…" Clyde pointed his tachi at the man.

"You know this guy Clyde?" Asked Quint.

"..."

"Oh? He hasn't told you? Clyde used to be one of us. Granted, he wasn't on my squad, he was on the red squad with Roki—" As Galo uttered those words, he felt his face get scratched, Clyde having grazed his cheek with his sword.

"Do not utter that name in my presence…" Clyde gazed into his eyes with an intimidating glow in his orange iris.

"Tch, looks like you've gotten faster," said Galo unenthusiastically. "Sorry kid, forgot you had beef with him. Anyways, if you won't tell me where the white-haired kid is, then I guess I'm gonna have to beat it outta you. Sheesh, what a hassle."

"Be careful Quint! He's incredibly strong!" Xenia warned, as both of them braced themselves for battle.

*************************************************************************************************************

"Chloe, to your rear, fend them off without using your Spring. Reggie, cover her square with a barrage. D8, attack their second line of defense from above. Try and get as close as you can to Riskel," Core and Riskel have been going at it, despite the difference in power, Core has been keeping up with Riskel's troops.

"Hahaha! Your pieces are beginning to weaken Core! Meanwhile, mine are thriving! And I've yet to unleash their full power!" Riskel gloated, not giving his soldiers any commands as their sheer strength outperformed Core's strategies.

"The three of you regroup! I have a plan," he ordered them, then began thinking to himself. "If we want to beat him, we have to figure out what makes his Spring work. To do that, we need to somehow directly attack him…"

"Hey, Core? The hell should we do? Their getting closer!" Reggie panicked.

"Chloe, give Reggie an air current to the ceiling. Make it subtle, so they don't notice your Spring. We've gotta keep that a secret. Reggie, when you get there, punch one of the spikes down," he commanded, his directions being fulfilled shortly after.

Chloe provided a current of air, which lifted Reggie to the ceiling. From there, Reggie dropped an enormous spike, falling down to the ground.

"D8, don't let that spike hit the ground! Capture it!"

The black-haired woman jumped up to the falling spike, putting her hands on it, turning it into a marble-shaped object.

"Perfect. Chloe, make another air current. Fifteen meters north, then about four meters east. Carry that marble through the current, and on my mark, release your Spring," Core ordered.

Chloe waved her sword, creating a current of air that lead to Core's directions. D8 inserted the marble through the air current, sending it flying through the air to the precise location. Reggie was holding off the troops that came, struggling by himself. Core carefully watched the marble as it soared through the air.

"Wait for it… Now!"

Suddenly, the large spike appeared over Riskel's head, causing a heavy wind to blow from the sudden expansion.

"EEEK!" Riskel ran with all of his speed, barely dodging the falling rock. With their overwhelming speed, the other soldiers were able to easily dodge the rock. Rubble was splashed onto Riskel's robe, causing him to go into a large fit of distress.

"AHHH! Soldiers! Clean the dust off my robe immediately!" He panicked, ordering his soldiers for the first time in the battle while sweating profusely.

"But sir, shouldn't we keep up the offense? We've got them on the ropes…"

"Silence! My robe takes priority! Don't think you can win without my Spring you fool!" Riskel commanded, short of breath from screaming.

"Damn, we barely missed. We almost got him though," Reggie remarked, disappointed.

"Nah, we got 'em. We got 'em real good…" Core smiled from ear to ear, putting his arms over each other in confidence.

"Did you figure something out Core?" Asked Chloe.

"I think so… This plan is gonna rely on you princess. I know you have your gripes with me, so it's fine if you don't want anything to do with it. I don't even know if it's gonna work…" Core proposed.

"I'll do it. No matter what my feelings say, there's no denying your strategic ability. And besides, if Rein's forgiven you, then I've gotta try too," she replied sternly, ready to follow his plan. Core smiled.

"Alright then, it's time to checkmate him!"

*************************************************************************************************************

Meanwhile, back in the Hasbin gulf.

"*Yawn*, I'm so boooored. There's nothing to do!" Complained Emria, laying down on the couch in the living room.

"Indeed. I am also finding it difficult to keep myself entertained," concurred Saphrilla, sitting up straight beside her, staring off into the wall.

"Right?! Rein could've at least given us something to do! We didn't even bring the crafting station and materials from back home so we could make it here on time!"

"Yes, it was quite a shame. I simply wish there was something to do. Do you think we should go mining for materials?" Saphrilla proposed.

"We could… But Rein told us not to leave the town... "

The two girls simultaneously gave off a long sigh, embracing their boredom to the maximum. A few seconds passed of complete silence when suddenly, the door barged open, a brown-haired woman walking through.

"You girls need something to do? Then come with me!"

"Principal Julianne?!" The two girls reacted in a confused and surprised tone, jumping up from their seats.