Liana's cannon continued to charge, the crackling electricity reaching its apex, signifying it was ready to fire. With a smug grin, she raised her slender, socked feet high up, wiggling her toes before slamming both feet down on the pedal beneath her seat.

  "Firing!" Liana declared, her eyes gleaming with smug anticipation as the cannon became encased in a blinding blue light, raising a hand high in the air, the light at its brightest yet. And finally, in sync with the cannon...she threw her hand back down in time for the blast that erupted from the cannon.

  A colossal bolt of superheated plasma, crackling with a bluish-purple hue, surged towards Gabrielle, tearing through the air and cutting through the void with its immense size. It was like a thunderbolt on steroids, a manifestation of Liana's Void Magic power. The enormous blast slammed into Gabrielle's aura shield with colossal force, the impact sending tremors through the void. She grunted as her aura struggled to hold its ground, the sheer power behind Liana's attack nearly forcing her to kneel.

  "Dammit...I wasn't expecting that level of power," she said through gritted teeth, the effort leaving her slightly winded.

  The other two IOTAs present, except for Jax—who had his back turned—watched as the attack battered Gabrielle's quickly-weakening aura shield, all but certain of her defeat under its overwhelming might.

  Liana observed the impact of the attack, her confidence unwavering as she witnessed Gabrielle's aura shield being pushed to its brink. She chuckled, her voice oozing with smug satisfaction while she wiggled her cat ears. "Hehe...looks like your shield is holding on by a thread there, you know."

  She leaned forward, her smirk widening as she saw the strain on Gabrielle's face as the oversized plasma beam kept on going with no sign of let-up. "You can only hold it for so long, dear. Better start accepting your fate, nya~”

  Gabrielle's teeth clenched as her aura shield was rapidly depleted, the purple-hued bubble flickering like a dying ember. "Shut up...you damn cat," she growled through her teeth at the android, the strain on both her body and her aura shield evident as she stood her ground. "There's still...a chance I can turn this around..."

  Liana couldn't help but snicker at Gabrielle's determination, her tone dripping with mockery. "Oh, really, nya? A chance? Let's see about that, shall we~?”

  As Liana taunted her, Gabrielle's expression hardened, her resolve unwavering despite the dire situation. "Shut. Your. Mouth." she snapped, her eyes narrowing in sheer determination. "Your little toy won't be the reason I lose."

  Liana, witnessing Gabrielle's fierce determination, found her even more amusing. "Ah, how cute," she mocked, her cat ears perking up with a hint of condescension. "Stubbornly fighting to the bitter end like a cornered lion. You're tenacious, nya, I'll give you that.”

  Gabrielle's defiant expression remained unmoved by Liana's taunts, her resolve unwavering. "Damn right I am," she retorted, her voice tinged with defiance. "I won't go down without a fight, and you'll have to do far more than that to break me, you little machine."

  Gabrielle's aura shield was now low enough for her to begin being physically affected by the beam, the superheated plasma beginning to slowly sear her skin.

  Liana observed the signs of strain on Gabrielle's face with a sadistic smirk. "Oh-ho, starting to feel a bit heated now, are we~?" she teased, her voice dripping with mockery as she kept up her cannon's barrage, although beginning to break a sweat as her aura reserves dwindled from the intensity. "Feeling the heat yet, darling? Feeling tired, nya~?”

  Gabrielle gritted her teeth further as the searing hot plasma continued to batter the weakening shield. Sweat trickled down her face, each second of enduring the attack feeling like an eternity. "Shut...the hell up..." she spat through clenched teeth, barely fighting back a hiss of pain. "I'm not...letting some...damn android cat-girl get the best of me…”

  Liana chuckled at Gabrielle's defiance, her smirk widening as she savored the scene. "Aww, look at you, trying to tough it out," she taunted, relishing in the sight of Gabrielle's strained expression. "But let's be honest. You're not looking so hot right now, nya~"

  Gabrielle clenched her fists tighter, determination and anger burning within her as she tried her best to hold her ground. "I-I can take it," she grunted, her body trembling from the effort. "But you...I can see the sweat on your face, you can't keep this going forever.”

  Liana, noticing the subtle signs of fatigue in her own form, chuckled as if amused by the observation. Nevertheless, she pushed forth with her attack, her smirk unfazed by the strain evident in her voice as her feet remained firmly on the pedal beneath her.

  "Ah, so you think you can outlast me, huh?" she taunted, her tone laced with mockery as the plasma cannon's beam continued to barrage the nearly depleted aura shield. "Don't get ahead of yourself, dear. I'm more durable than you think, nya.”

  Gabrielle's grip on her teeth only intensified at Liana's response, a mix of pain and anger etched on her face. "You think I'm an idiot? I can tell you're getting tired as well," she retorted, grunting with effort as she held her ground. "But you're right about one thing. I'm a stubborn ass, and I'm not going down so easily…”

  Liana, unable to suppress a slight pant, responded through her strained voice, the tension visible in her form as her cat ears perked up in irritation. "Tch, stubborn and determined," she retorted, her smirk fading slightly. "Quite the annoying combination. But I won't give you the satisfaction of victory. You're still going to lose, no matter how long this goes on, nya~”

  Gabrielle clenched her teeth, her resolve unwavering despite the pain and exhaustion creeping in. "You're the one who's gonna lose," she growled back, her voice strained yet defiant.

  As if emphasizing her words, Liana's cannon abruptly fizzled out. But the damage was already done, with Gabrielle's aura shield being extremely low and her skin littered with burn marks.

  Breathing heavily, Liana observed Gabrielle's exhausted state as she took her foot off of the pedal, the plasma cannon fading away as she hopped back down on the checkered floor, which was decimated in the aftermath. She leaned back in her seat, wiping the sweat off her brow, her eyes locked on Gabrielle with a mix of satisfaction and annoyance. "Looks like you actually managed to last quite a while, I'll admit," she panted. "A few more seconds, nya, and that shield would've completely been obliterated.”

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  Gabrielle's breaths came in labored gasps, her body trembling from the strain of enduring the onslaught. Her skin, now covered in burn marks, stung as the cool, empty air of the void touched her wounds. "Bastard..." she seethed between breaths, her anger still burning within despite her weakened state. "I...I outlasted you, though.”

  Liana smirked, her breathing gradually returning to normal as she observed Gabrielle's condition up close. The sight of the burn marks and the way Gabrielle was struggling to maintain her composure only fueled her smugness. "Oh, you held on alright," she conceded, her tone tinged with a hint of arrogance. "But don't get too cocky. You may have survived, but you're barely standing, are you, nya~?”

  Gabrielle's gaze remained sharp, her expression hardening as she struggled to stand straight. "Stop nya-ing...you're already insufferable as is," she retorted, her voice filled with strained defiance. "And I can still fight, you dumb-ass cat. Don't get it twisted.”

  Liana chuckled, enjoying the sight of Gabrielle's stubbornness despite her dire condition. "Oh, really? Can you now? From where I'm standing, you look more like a burnt piece of meat than a fighter," she taunted, her tone dripping with smug mockery. "You're standing, sure, but for how long? You look like you're about to collapse, nya~.”

  Despite Gabrielle's defiant response, Liana couldn't help but laugh at her stubbornness, her cat tail flicking behind her. "Aww, still got some fire left in you, huh?" she teased, her smirk growing wider. "But let's be realistic, sweetie. You can barely stand, let alone fight. You're in no condition to throw hands, nya~”

  Gabrielle's eyes narrowed at Liana's mockery, her gaze filled with a mix of defiance and pain. The physical toll of enduring Liana's attack was evident on her face, but her will to fight back remained unwavering.

  Clenching her fists, she mustered up the strength to maintain her defiant stance. "I said...stop fucking nya-ing," she gritted out, her breathing still labored.

  Liana chuckled again, her amusement not letting up at Gabrielle's tenacity. "Oh, trying to order me around now, are we?" she taunted, her cat ears perking up in delight. "How cute. You're still trying to sound intimidating, even when you're standing there all battered and bruised, nya~”

  Gabrielle's glare intensified at Liana's mocking laughter. Despite her weakened state, she refused to show any signs of surrender. Her body may have been on the verge of collapsing, but her spirit remained unbroken.

  She took a labored step forward, trying her best to appear defiant even as the pain and fatigue weighed heavily upon her. "Shut your damn cat mouth," she seethed through clenched teeth, her voice hoarse yet filled with determination. "I'm not down for the count yet, you pompous robotic feline.”

  Liana watched as Gabrielle managed to take a wobbly step forward, her cat ears twitching in response to the defiant display. Despite the clear signs of physical exhaustion and pain, Gabrielle's determination refused to let go.

  Liana let out a soft chuckle, her smirk growing wider as she observed Gabrielle's determined yet weakened state. "Oh, really now?" she taunted, her tone filled with amusement. "Look at you, pretending to be all tough and resilient. You can barely stand on your own two feet, and you're still trying to act like a threat, nya~?"

  "I'll show you—" Gabrielle began, before the crater beneath her collapsed, making her and Liana fall down into a white void as opposed to the black one above.

  ...

  The two found themselves back in the real world, Jax and Hikaru both present on either side of them. Elara, seeing Liana resurface with Gabrielle, felt her heart sink.

  ...Couldn't quite get her, huh? she thought with a sigh.

  Liana sat up, dusting herself off and rolling her shoulders. "Damn, she really held out," she muttered, a mix of irritation and respect in her voice. "I was sure I had her on the ropes, but the blasted girl just kept going."

  Jax, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. "The girl put up a helluva fight, I'll give her that. She took that blast like a champ. Only Adeyemi could take one of those and live to tell the story.”

  Iritscen, standing beside Jax, agreed with a nod. "Yeah, she's one tough cookie. Took a lot more than I would've expected, that's for sure. Must have one hell of an aura pool to shield herself from...ahem, THAT."

  Elara, watching the conversation from her hiding spot, couldn't help but feel a pang of worry and disappointment upon hearing that Gabrielle had managed to escape Liana's attack. "Damn it," she muttered quietly, her expression downcast.

  Charlotte nodded, understanding the sentiment. She knew all too well the frustration of dealing with elusive targets that seemed hell-bent on defying the odds. "Yeah, I know the feeling," she replied, her voice sympathetic.

  Elara let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "It feels like every time you think you're getting close, they just...just slip right through your grasp. It's maddening.”

  "I know how you feel," Charlotte mumbled, her focus still on maintaining the time stop spell. "It's always frustrating when targets manage to slip away like that. Makes you feel like nothing you did made a difference."

  Elara's hands curled into fists. "Yeah, exactly," she replied, her voice laced with frustration.

  Charlotte's eyes began to bleed, straining with all her might to keep her time spell going on the Cabal members. "Ngh... These people I'm freezing are very powerful...so I'm losing lots of aura keeping this going…”

  Elara's eyes darted to Charlotte, worry etched on her face as she took in her strained expression. She could sense the toll the time-stop spell was taking on her friend.

  "Charlotte," Elara said with concern in her voice, "you can't keep doing this for much longer. You'll overexert yourself and burn through your aura too quickly.”

  Charlotte, her face taut with exertion, nodded in acknowledgment. "I...I know, but...we haven't got much choice," she managed to say, panting softly. "They're powerful. If we let them move, they will destroy us."

  Elara's gaze shifted to the Cabal members, her expression hardening. "I know, but...damn it, you'll exhaust yourself, and then where will you be when we need your time powers later?

  Charlotte gritted her teeth, knowing Elara had a point. The strain on her aura was starting to become overwhelming, and she realized she couldn't keep maintaining the time stop spell indefinitely.

  "You're right," she admitted reluctantly, her voice strained. "I...I need to conserve my aura for later. I can't keep this up forever."

  "Good call," Elara replied, "I have a plan if they see us after you unfreeze them. IF. Hikaru seems to be able to teleport people. Can't they do the same to those guys?”

  Charlotte considered the suggestion. "Yeah, Hikaru has portal powers. They can possibly move those individuals a safe distance away," she agreed, her voice still slightly labored. "But still, we need to be careful. Those guys are extremely powerful, and we don't know what they're fully capable of."

  Elara nodded, understanding the potential risks. "Right, we can't underestimate them," she stated. "We need to make sure Hikaru's portals are precise and that they're taken somewhere secure and contained. No room for mistakes.”

  Charlotte, still catching her breath, agreed with Elara's words. "Absolutely, precision is key. One slip-up, and it could cost us dearly." She took a deep breath, gathering her composure as best as she could while maintaining the time stop.

  "Alright," she said, her voice steadier now. "Once I drop this spell, we need to act fast. I'll have to rest and get my aura back afterwards, so it's all up to Hikaru to maneuver those people somewhere safe.”

  Elara nodded firmly, her eyes filled with determination. "Got it. As soon as you give the signal, Hikaru can step in and transport those bastards somewhere secure."

  "And we need to be careful," Elara continued, a hint of caution in her voice. "Those bastards might have tricks up their sleeves we don't know about." she warned before pointing at Gabrielle, "Besides, if anyone can boss HER around, then this group she's with must really be a nightmare to face off against. We have to be ready for anything.”

  Charlotte nodded, taking in Elara's words of caution. "You're right. We must stay vigilant. They seem to be the sort of Void Mages who could pull a hidden ace from thin air. Better not to let our guard down for even a second."

  Elara put her hands on her hips, her expression resolute. "Don't worry, we won't," she responded firmly. "I've personally been in tough situations before, and I'm sure you and the other IOTA members have as well. We can handle this. We're prepared, and we've got Hikaru on our side. So...very well then, unfreeze those people.”

  Charlotte nodded once more, her concentration focused as she prepared to end the time-stop spell…