The World Association of Sorcerers' Headquarters, Hazen.

  TENTH FLOOR.

  The elevator's bell chimed as the doors swung open.

  "Sir Zoldrak," Arthur greeted with a slight bow as Sir Zoldrak and Lady Anastasia stepped out. He held a black suitcase in hand.

  "What's the current status?" Sir Zoldrak asked while the three strode down the corridor, their footsteps echoing off the walls.

  "Glock Harbinger has infiltrated the building, but his location is still unknown," Arthur replied.

  "I felt a rise in Anti-tenzen density earlier," Lady Anastasia said. "He didn't come alone, did he?"

  "Yes," Arthur confirmed. "He's here with several other demons."

  "Damn that coward!" Sir Zoldrak muttered through clenched teeth as they reached the corner. "If he wanted the key, then I'm the only one he should bother with. Involving innocent civilians is..."

  "Bad," a voice finished as they turned the corner. "Or maybe cowardly?"

  Their gazes lifted.

  "Harbinger!" Sir Zoldrak shouted, his jaw tightening as veins bulged in his neck.

  "Haha, take it easy. I'm not a fan of that kind of greeting," Glock chuckled. "A handshake isn't asking for too much."

  "Hmm." Lady Anastasia tensed, her eyes narrowing.

  "Oh, if it isn't the Duchess of Kaida," Glock said, his tone brightening as he smiled. "It's truly an honor to be in your presence." He bowed courteously.

  "Save it," Lady Anastasia replied indifferently.

  "Hoho. As upfront as ever." Glock laughed.

  "Arthur!" Sir Zoldrak called, his gaze never leaving Glock.

  "Yes, sir." Arthur stepped forward and opened the suitcase.

  Inside lay a mallet and dozens of long steel nails. Every part of the mallet, including its handle, was made of iron.

  "Hey, wait a minute," Glock cautioned, taking a step backward. "Are we resorting to violence that fast? I'm not a fan of that, you know. I stand for peace."

  "Don't make me laugh," Sir Zoldrak replied. "No amount of talk can make up for the lives you wasted, Harbinger!" His voice echoed as he roared.

  "Jeez," Glock sighed, his gaze dropping. "Can you believe it? I actually thought we could settle this amicably. Man, me and my jokes," he added with another laugh, then his expression turned deadly. "I'm going to ask one last time, Sorcerer-General of Eldrid," he muttered, his tone icy. "Where, or better yet, who is the key to the Vesta barrier?"

  "You'll have to defeat me if you want an answer to that question," Sir Zoldrak replied, grabbing the mallet in one hand and the nails in the other.

  "Arrgh, I thought as much," Glock sighed. "Then I guess I've to go the path I didn't want to," he announced.

  "Tch." Sir Zoldrak clicked his tongue.

  "Uh, one sec," Glock called. "This feels kinda unfair." He pointed at Lady Anastasia.

  "Huh?" Lady Anastasia blinked.

  "See, I prefer fair fights," Glock continued. "Dealing with your annoying sealing powers while fighting the old man feels like a drag."

  "Old man?" Sir Zoldrak repeated, anger flaring in his eyes.

  "Hahaha. No harm intended," Glock chuckled, waving it away. "Anyway, as I was saying, I think I've got a better opponent for you, my lady," he added with a bow. "A royal like you shouldn't soil your hands."

  "I don't remember asking for your empathy," Lady Anastasia replied. Then she tilted her head, a smirk tugging at her lips. "Or wait. Don't tell me you're scared."

  "I am?" Glock asked, an expression of mock self-doubt spreading across his face. "Well, if that's how you interpret it, then what can I do? Your thinking is your business."

  "Tsk." Lady Anastasia clicked her tongue.

  "Good grief, that's enough banter," Glock announced, raising his fingers and flicking them.

  "What the..." Lady Anastasia started, but before she could finish, she vanished in a flash.

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  Only Sir Zoldrak and Arthur remained.

  Glock grinned, swinging his arms sideways and taking the stance of a divine being. "Now that we're even, let's begin!"

  Sir Zoldrak tensed, his eyes narrowing. "Yeah," he whispered.

  ........

  ACKERMAN HOUSE, AZURA.

  Night fell over the mansion, the peaceful silence punctuated by the chirping of birds.

  "Suu..." A puff of smoke drifted into the air. Ken stood on the balcony, his eyes fixed lazily on the setting sun. "What a peaceful life," he whispered.

  Inside one of the rooms, Hina lay on the bed, her chest rising and falling peacefully.

  SPIRITUAL REALM OF LINKAGE

  "Oi, don't you think it's time you let me go?" Hina asked, her voice piercing the thick darkness. She sat on the floor, her back resting against Aralyss's lap. Aralyss sat on her throne, her hands busy tying Hina's hair.

  "I don't wanna," Aralyss purred, tugging Hina's hair.

  "Ou-ouch, that hurts!" Hina yelped.

  "Hahaha." Aralyss chuckled.

  ...

  Training Hall A.

  Tenzen swirled into the fire orb as it sparked and flared, floating above Ryūma's forefinger. Sweat glistened on his forehead while his eyes remained shut in concentration.

  Code, on the other hand, sat at the center of the hall, eyes closed. "Hmm...heut," he breathed calmly, his body glowing with a pale red light.

  'Almost there. Almost there. Almost—'

  His heart thudded again, as Code's eyes snapped open, coughing blood out of his mouth.

  "Gaahh!!" He yelped, wincing, and rolling on the floor.

  ...

  'If only things could remain this peaceful,' Ken exhaled toward the rumbling dark clouds in the approaching night. 'Dead sure they can't.'

  ........

  FIFTH FLOOR, W.A.S HEADQUARTERS.

  A flash tore through the windows of the office before the sound arrived; white and blinding, as heat slammed across the room. The floor lurched, desks lifted, twisted, and vanished in a storm of splintered wood and shattering glass.

  Wind howled as Terror emerged from the thick dust cloud, landing on one hand while balancing with push effect. His other hand directed into the cloud.

  The haze quickly thinned as Nico burst out, splitting the air into ripples as she closed in on Terror.

  'Martial Sorcery...' Nico crouched low with her right fist clenched and drawn back.

  'Anti-reaction!!' She threw her fist forward with air-splitting force, aiming for Terror's neck.

  Terror instinctively raised his arm to block. As the blow connected with his arm, time seemed to slow.

  "Whaaa?" Terror's teeth clenched as he watched the punch shatter his bones. His skin twisted and his neck bent inward.

  "Ah!" Nico roared as she released the hurtle. The floor ripped apart as a catastrophic burst of wind unleashed, sending Terror smashing through numerous rooms in less than a second. 'Anti-reaction doubles the effect of my punches. By negating the law of action and reaction, it causes the reaction to my action to occur in the same direction as my action, thereby doubling the force,' she thought, scanning the terrain.

  'This force,' Terror winced, his body hauling backward, and slamming through the clearing. "What?" He looked up and instantly spotted Sage Harlan standing far away.

  Sage's trousers were torn and blood dripped from his face. He stood in stance, fingers interlocked with his right forefinger pointed toward Terror. A black sorcery circle laced with ancient writings lay beneath his foot.

  The chant started: 'By bone and blood, by fang and claw, I shed the cage of flesh and law. Spirit of the wild, hear my call, I take your form, I become all.'

  "Transformation Sorcery: Beast Form!" Sage shouted. Black lines lashed out of his skin as white hair burst forth. His canines sharpened, veins bulged, and muscles hardened. His pupils changed to deep red vertical slits while claws tore out of his fists.

  He transformed into a humanoid beast. "Wooos..." Sage exhaled and fell into stance. "Damn you," he muttered, his eyes locking on Terror before he vanished.

  "Where did..." Terror started, but mid-sentence... "Where're you looking, fucker!" Sage boomed, already upon him.

  Terror raised his left palm toward Sage and spoke: "Push." A catastrophic shockwave unleashed, firing forward at blinding velocity. But just as it was about to collide with Sage, a whisper came from a distance.

  "Shadow Gate," Blaise announced, stamping his arms on the ground. A surge of darkness burst from his body, blistering through the ground until it reached the spot beneath Terror. A huge mass of darkness shot upward, transforming into a rectangular wall directly in front of Terror's face.

  "What's this?" Terror mouthed as his push force ripped into the shadow and disappeared from existence.

  "Bisection!!" Sage roared, now inches away, his claws descending from above as the claws struck, slashing Terror's body from shoulder to waist.

  Blood gushed out with a splursh as Terror jerked backward.

  Blaise looked up, sighting the shadow formed by the lamp on the ceiling. "Now," Blaise whispered as another shadow gate formed above Terror.

  A loud noise emanated from it. Terror's eyes rolled upward. "Shit," he hissed, already aware of what was coming.

  Before he could react, the same push force that had been absorbed earlier ripped downward, descending upon Terror in a cataclysmic decimation. The tremor pulverized the ground as the force sent Terror barrelling into the floor below. Metallic impacts echoed, as vibrations ruptured through the air.

  'Shadow Gate lets me manipulate any lingering shadows and turn it into a dimensional gate to absorb any attack...' Blaise thought, as he rose to his feet, gasping for breath.

  "Arrgh arrgh." Sage exhaled heavily and landed weakly. Dust stung their eyes and filled their mouths as the walls exploded outward.

  "Did we get him?" Nico asked, emerging from the debris behind them.

  "I... I think so," Sage stammered, walking toward the gaping hole that led to the lower floor. 'Damn motherfucker. How dare you kill my guild members?!' he rasped internally, blood flowing down his forehead as he reached the edge.

  He looked inside and froze. Terror's palm stuck out from the debris he was buried under, a translucent field shimmering above it.

  "Oblivion Blast."

  "Fuck!" Sage muttered as the force closed in, already centimeters from his face.

  "Move," a dark voice declared. In the millisecond before impact, Sage shifted his body and spotted Nico behind him, her fist blazing forward.

  Nico's muscles flexed, bones cracked, as her punch bent the laws of physics around itself. Force connected with punch, but the punch overcame it.

  Nico's blow redirected the force, sending it hurtling away. It ripped through the dark, empty hallway ahead before connecting with the glass walls of the building and shattering them. The headquarters' walls obliterated outward as the force zapped into the night air.

  "Haarh!" Nico wheezed, straightening up.

  Blaise's jaw dropped. 'Nico's strength is really unmatched.'

  The debris covering Terror scattered as dust howled about. He walked out, dusting his robe..Blaise, Nico, and Sage descended, locking death stares with him.

  "We're just getting started," Nico said.