She sprung from the ground to regain her footing.

Her expression trembled as she gazed at the human before her. Was this the same timid girl from before? No way, no way in hell it was. She was wearing white and black armor that reminded her of the panda-like creature from before. Not to mention the abnormal heat that emitted from her. For a moment, it felt as if she were standing next to the sun.

(Where did that armor come from…?) Arboria thought, trying to remain calm. (…Does it have something to do with that creature from before?)

Arboria briefly glanced back, checking to see if the beast from before had slipped through the entrance without her knowing. But there were no signs that it had. And with the intense flames just outside the cave’s entrance, she couldn’t be entirely sure it died either.

(The best thing I can do right now is create some space. From her earlier attack, I know she’s capable of close-range counters. There’s also the possibility that half-spirit or deity could regain consciousness… But damn, even from here I can feel the heat. Just what is that armor?)

Alice gasped as the words "it's so hot" tumbling from her lips. Steam enveloped her, causing her ears to flush with warmth. The air shimmered around her, thick with humidity and the acrid scent of smoke. But what exactly was burning?

(My power is running dangerously low. Any more attacks in this state and I could risk damaging my soul… Should I risk it? …No, what am I saying? I am the chief. Right here and now… I’ll destroy this girl.)

Arboria channeled the last of her power, unleashing another violet beam at Alice. Except her eyes flickered in disbelief as a wall of flames consumed her attack and reduced it to ash. It was as if the flames of hell surrounded Alice, and anything that dared step close would fall victim to its wrath.

With a palm strike, Alice retaliated, sending forth a massive torrent of flames that seared through the air. It incinerated everything in its wake, including Arboria’s left side as well as the wall behind her.

The hole allowed the accumulated smoke to clear through, but by now the cave had reached its limit. The walls around them rumbled as dust and debris began falling. This, however, did not stop Alice. Her eyes were lit with a burning flame, one that hungered for Arboria’s life.

Her situation was dire. It wasn’t just her left side that had felt the blow of that attack, but her entire body. Not to mention her power had now been drained. There was one way she could recover, but did she really want to waste it here? The first time she healed (when Arthur severed her arm) was simply her way of bluffing, to leave that possibility within the trio’s minds. But now, she had to find a way to bring that bluff to life…

(If I don’t use it, then I’m going to die… Is this it…?)

Just as she asked herself that question, Alice toppled over.

“It’s… so hot.” She muttered before collapsing to the ground.

Her armor released another powerful wave of steam and started to peel away. Gradually, the peeled scraps combined into the small panda from before.

The battlefield almost fell silent, the only noise spurring from the rumbling cave as large debris began to fall. Arboria’s heart started to ease as she processed the sight before her. The once mighty adversary was now reduced to a small, helpless panda and the powerless timid girl from before.

“To think you, a human, out of all people pushed me to this point. And I was almost about to transform too… Chalk it up to misfortune.”

A heavy stillness settled in the cave, Arboria still a bit uncertain about her victory.

“I guess I should be leaving. The collapse of the cave should finish you all off. And frankly put, I don’t have the power to do it myself… Plus it’s not like the crystal will be damaged by something like this…”

Her eyes found themselves glued to the small panda beside Alice. She decapitated it and even gutted it with her strongest attack. And yet, here it was, almost unscathed. Was it immortal? Maybe something else entirely? What really was that thing? And was leaving it alive an option she wanted to risk…?

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For a moment, thoughts of finishing it off echoed through her head, until the pungent odor of burning flesh strangled her throat. It was feint but she could also hear the cries of woman, Amazonian woman to be specific. Maybe it was out of confusion, or curiosity -perhaps even both- but something compelled Arboria to chase after that stench.

She figured that the cave would finish the trio off anyways, so she darted off into the flames at the cave’s entrance and returned to her village.

Not before long, a large chuck of the cave’s ceiling chipped away, falling on top of Rin and Alice. It crushed them, packaging their bones into paper… Or that’s what should’ve happened. Instead, the piece of debris stopped just before landing on the two and hovered in thin air. Actually, all of the debris within the cave hovered in mid-air, even the small piece that was about to hit Arthur.

In moments, the cave was decorated with brilliant white stars, their light bouncing across the suspended debris.

“You think this cave will finish off my friends, huh? …I wouldn’t be so certain of that.”

His voice was calm, strangely calm seeing as he saw everything that transpired in the cave. He stepped out of the flames that seemed to guard the cave’s entrance without a single burn on his jacket or sweats. He hadn’t unfurled his wings, but a slanted halo could be seen above his head.

“Who’s to say debris falls anyways? For all we know, they could float in midair… Or…”

With a snap of his fingers, the debris returned to their original location.

“…They could go right back up. You really can’t be certain about anything.”

While stepping over the unconscious bodies of his allies he reflected on the careful planning that brough him to this moment.

“Boy am I glad I put some thought into all this. Had I rushed in here blind, I’d have been fighting a fruitless battle. I might’ve been able to kill Arboria, but then I’d risk putting those kids in danger. And I wouldn’t want that. I plan on saving everyone… Seeing as I am a hero.”

Akuma’s eyes fixed on the girl encased withing the crystal, its surface glimmering ominously as he reached out his palm. He placed his hand on the crystal and began generating starlites.

“Now then. It’s time for you to die… You parasite.”

***

About twenty minutes later, Rin managed to regain consciousness.

She didn’t have the energy to continuously heal herself, so she compressed it all in one bullet and fired it through her own head. She struggled her way up and questioned how much tame had passed since their battle with Arboria. She also questioned how they were still alive and why Arboria didn’t finish them off.

She conjured two guns and fired at Arthur and Alice, healing the two. She even fired on at Karna just in case. Alice was the first to awaken, having only passed out from a heat stroke. The first thing she noticed was Karna being alive, the second was that the large crystal in the back of the cave had somehow disappeared.

“I hadn’t noticed…” Rin replied. “…I wonder what could have move it… Also, do you have any idea why Arboria didn’t finish us off?”

Alice thought back on the events just before she passed out.

“I don’t remember much before passing out. But I think the cave was starting to collapse. Maybe she wanted to save her power and let that finish us off instead.”

Rin glanced around, trying to spot any debris around them.

“Seems pretty stable to me.”

“Something or someone must have prevented it.”

“Any chance it could’ve been that panda? It does have that ability to grow. It could have some other power we don’t know about.”

“I don’t think so. I can’t tell you why, but I feel like Karna passed out with me. It was almost like we were connected somehow… Whoever it was, they must’ve been the person that moved the crystal too.”

A strange feeling washed over Alice, and she found herself holding her palm above her chest, feeling the rhythm of her heartbeat.

“Akuma.” She muttered.

“Hm? What’s that?”

“Huh? Oh, ah, for some reason I was just thinking about Akuma. He always seems to rescue me when I’m in danger. For as long as I’ve known him, he’s always been like that. He used to go on and on about saving everything in the world… Y’know, one time he tried to convince me that we should even save criminals.”

A feint giggle escaped her as she reminisced about the past.

“Well, I haven’t known him for long, but I think that hero stuff runs in the family. Even when an Asura attacked us, his brother just wouldn’t let me die. He’s so annoying sometimes… Wait, I thought you said you forgot your memories.”

“Huh… You’re right… So then why do I remember that stuff…?”

“Don’t ask me, girl. Might just be what we call love.”

Rin’s comment caused Alice to brighten up with embarrassment. And it was that embarrassment that finally awoke Arthur. The ability to sense embarrassed girls. This too, was one of his many talents.

“Finally awake, are you…” Rin remarked, helping the embarrassed Alice off the floor. “…We were getting ready to leave without you.”

“Sorry to spoil your fun then, Rin.” Arthur replied as he looked for his blade that had flown off after his earlier blow. “I’m not sure how much time has passed, but I can smell the feint stench of burning flesh. And unlike you, I prefer to help people. So, we need to go.”