The girls' gazes fixed on the glowing light coming from the Traveler Bros. The tension in the air was palpable as they waited for whatever was about to happen.

  The men rose in the air one after the other. Alfonso. Luca. Fabio. Then Giovanni. Their auras were flared up to the max, but the men themselves even seemed surprised at this power boost as Alfonso looked down at the Onyx Key in his possession, which glowed brightly, but he focused back on the women before him.

  "Alfonso," Giovanni grunted, "What's this power?!"

  "Beats me, Gio," Alfonso shrugged. "But let's destroy these chicks with our power!”

  The girls bristled at the Traveler Bros's arrogant display.

  "Are you kidding me?!" Alice exclaimed.

  Rachel clenched her fists, her expression hardening. "Like hell you will!"

  Delphina took a step forward, her tail thrashing behind her. "Bring it on, boys. We're not backing down just because you got some power boost outta nowhere.”

  The Traveler Bros smirked, their eyes narrowing.

  "Oh, we're gonna enjoy this," Giovanni scoffed, cracking his knuckles. "You ladies messed with the wrong guys."

  Luca rolled his shoulders back, a cocky grin plastered across his face. "Yeah, you're about to find out what real power looks like."

  The men all revved up their auras and launched themselves at each of the women, their bodies feeling like meteors upon impact as the girls flew through hill after hill after hill, and still flying back throughout the dark forest.

  "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Rachel yelled, groaning as she was sent flying back. "Damn it, these guys hit like trucks now!"

  Delphina grunted, landing in a heap not far away. "Yeah, they've definitely got a power boost. This is getting ridiculous…”

  "This doesn't make any sense," Alice grunted, recovering from the blow. "How did they get so strong all of a sudden?!"

  Rachel staggered to her feet, wincing in pain. "No idea, but we're in trouble if we can't figure out what's powering them up…”

  "Agreed," Delphina nodded, rubbing her sore shoulders. "We need to figure out what's going on with these power boosts, and fast."

  Meanwhile, the Traveler Bros regrouped, their confidence growing.

  "This is too easy," Fabio cackled, flexing his muscles. "They can't keep up with us now."

  "But still," Giovanni muttered, "Where in tarnation did this power come from, eh?"

  "Must be this key we snatched up from the shark chick," Alfonso replied, looking down at the Onyx Key in his hand.

  "Yeah, that Key is the common denominator here," Luca agreed, his eyes narrowing. "But what exactly is it, and how does it give us such a boost in power?"

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  Giovanni grunted, a hint of uncertainty in his voice. "That's what I'd like to know. But whatever it is, it's making us unstoppable. We should take it to our boss for further investigation, yeah?”

  "Good idea, Gio," Luca nodded. "Boss would love to get his hands on this key."

  Alfonso held up the Key, examining it closely. "And if it gives us this big of a power boost, I can't imagine what it'd do in the hands of the boss…”

  Giovanni chuckled, a confident gleam in his eyes. "Exactly. Our boss will definitely get plenty of use out of this Key. And then? We'll be unstoppable."

  "Damn straight, Gio," Alfonso grinned. "These women don't stand a chance against us now. They should just surrender before we get serious.”

  "Know what, forget those girls, let's go straight to Boss," Luca suggested. "Those chicks are wrecked now anyways, and we gotta show Boss this key. He could invent something out of it that'll make us all powerhouses!”

  "Hmm, you make a good point," Giovanni mused. "Alright, let's forget about the women for now and head straight for the boss. He'll be stoked to see this Key and what it can do.”

  "Sweet, let's go then," Alfonso chimed in, pocketing the Onyx Key for himself.

  "I can't wait to see the look on Boss's face when he sees this thing," Luca snickered, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "He'll be thrilled.”

  The girls slowly picked themselves up, bruised and battered.

  "Ugh... I can't believe we got our asses handed to us," Rachel groaned, rubbing the back of her head.

  "Yeah... they're definitely stronger now," Delphina muttered, grimacing in pain.

  "But where the hell did they get all this power from?" Rachel asked, wincing as she massaged her sore ribs. "They were barely a match for us before, now they're like unstoppable freight trains."

  Alice rubbed her cheek as she thought, an idea popping into mind. "That key they stole from Delphina, maybe?”

  Rachel's eyes widened, realization dawning on her. "You think so? It seemed like it was glowing when they were attacking us..."

  Delphina nodded, her expression turning thoughtful. "Yeah, the key was glowing. It's possible that it's powering them up somehow.”

  Alice frowned, trying to piece things together. "But how could the key give them such a huge power boost? It doesn't make sense."

  Delphina pondered, her mind racing for answers. "I don't know... Maybe the key is a catalyst for their dormant powers? Or it's drawing from a source of power we're not aware of.”

  Rachel looked down in contemplation, her fingers lightly tracing the bruise on her arm. "Whatever it is, it's making them nearly invincible. We need to figure out what that key is and how it's powering them up."

  Delphina groaned, using the Scout technique to search for the auras of the Traveler Bros, extending her aura's reach to their previous location and then some. To her shock, no aura was present within her Scout's radius. "Wait, they're gone?”

  Alice, Rachel and Zalgo's expressions mirrored Delphina's confusion.

  "What the...?" Rachel mumbled, her eyes darting around. "They were just there a moment ago. How could they disappear so quickly?"

  Delphina shrugged, uncertainty in her voice as she extended her Scout's radius even further, still detecting no auras from any of the Traveler Bros. "I don't know...but their auras are completely gone. It's like they just vanished into thin air.”

  Alice's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's ridiculous! People can't just disappear like that..."

  Rachel nodded, a hint of fear in her eyes. "Yeah... It's not normal. Maybe they're hiding somewhere, using some kind of concealment ability?"

  Delphina's tail flicked nervously, her frustration growing. "I doubt it. I maxed out my Scout. If they were hiding, I would sense their auras, no matter how faint.”

  Rachel's expression was now filled with worry. "Then... where the hell could they have gone? And how did they get away so quickly without us noticing?"

  Delphina shook her head, her mind racing for answers. "I have no idea. It doesn't make any sense. They must have some kind of trick up their sleeve, or…”

  Delphina paused, her hands clenched. "Wait, they could be leaving with the key! I can't let them get away!"

  Rachel's eyes widened, alarm creeping into her voice. "You don't think they took the Key with them, do you?"

  Alice shook her head, a mix of anger and worry on her face. "If they did, then we're in trouble."

  Delphina cursed under her breath, her frustration spilling over. "Damn it!" she seethed. "Those bastards must have taken the key with them. I can't believe we let them get away."

  Delphina charged up her aura before flying off, leaving the girls all by themselves in the dark forest...