Swarms of metal feathers pierced through the air, glowing a molten orange as they let out serpent-like sizzles. Vivo spread his wings out in the shape of an X and, as it was on the cusp of melting, fired a relentless rain of large super-heated feathers; the feathers pierced through the torrent of energy bolts from the Ancient Tower's turrets before crashing into the turrets and exploding. While Vivo continued to dispatch the turrets, Zalroth guided the ice surfboard down the slanted tunnel, using it to duck and weave around the falling turret debris.
"Ssss... I sense a s-" Maru managed to utter before Chronia cut him off with a loud agitated groan.
"Zalroth, he's about to make a pun; yeet his... tail," Chonia requested as she twirled her monocle around her finger. Zalroth rolled his eyes at Chronia's request and picked Maru off from his tails. Zalroth stared off into the distance at a reinforced bolt door before he coiled back his arm.
"Mind doing something about that door?" Zalroth said politely, and before Maru could vocalize a response Zalroth flexed his arm and hurled Maru straight at the reinforced door. Maru frowned as he soared through the air, flying between the flurry of metal feathers and energy bolts. Maru glared at the rapidly approaching door, sighing to himself as he curled up into a doughnut and enshrouded his body in purple qi (Soul Energy).
The qi sphere expanded as the silhouette of Maru morphed into a small humanoid shape. The sphere slammed into the garage-sized door before the sphere dispersed and revealed Maru's humanoid form: he looked like a short child version of Zalroth with pale purple hair tips, purple spiral-shaped eyes, and his body (apart from his head) was covered in purple snake scales; he's also wearing a black trench coat made of dragon scales.
Maru stretched out his arms, stretching his arms so far one of his feet lifted off the door he was standing on. Maru interlocked his fingers together before pulling his hands apart and cracking all his fingers simultaneously. Maru's fingers twitched as he lowered his foot back onto the door before lightly tapping his foot on it. The spot on the door Maru tapped bulked up, followed by vine-like dents sprouting all over the door, along with some purple Hallucinogenic Flora vines (bio-luminescent) puncturing through the door.
"Prepare to be uprooted.". Maru snickered at his double pun as he plunged his hand through the reinforced door. Maru pulled his hand out of the door ripping the Hallucinogenic Flora vines out of it and completely shredding the reinforced door into large pieces. Maru heard the screeching of the ice surfboard rapidly approaching, and he leapt into the air while dragging the door pieces with the Hallucinogenic Flora vines behind him right. The others on the ice surfboard skated through the newly empty garage-sized doorway as Maru hurled the metal door chunks into the air and destroyed the remaining defence turrets.
Maru released his grasp on his Hallucinogenic Flora vines and was caught mid-air by Vivo before he swan-dived and flew the two of them through the empty doorway. Vivo trailed behind Zalroth and co as the ice surfboard carried them across a metal walkway over a large drop. As the ice surfboard continued to slide over the walkway, Destiny gazed up at the large metalic pillar at the centre of the large sphere shape-space, which extended up to the ceiling and into the unseeable terrain below.
Zalroth picked up Chronia and Kara before he jumped off the ice surfboard and made it melt away. Zalroth placed Chronia and Kara back on his tails in mid-air before landing on the wide circular walkway connected to the central pillar. Vivo let go of Maru, and Maru landed face-first into the walkway directly in front of Zalroth. Mimi snickered at Maru as he sat up and rubbed his forehead.
"You could've given me a heads up before dropping me," Maru complained as Vivo descended next to Zalroth before he wrapped his wings around his body like a cloak.
"My apologies it was a force of habit," Vivo said.
"And what might that habit be?" Maru inquired as he shot Vivo a resentful glare.
"Dropping wannabe comedians, duh," Mimi (in mini hydra form) snarked as she sat on Kara's head and gave Maru a cheeky stare. Maru rolled his eyes, and he stood up as Destiny popped her head around the side of Zalroth.
"Say, Mr Zalroth, is that thing supposed to be doing that?" Destiny asked with an innocent tone. Zalroth questioned Destiny on what she meant, and Destiny pointed upwards. The others looked up in the direction Destiny pointed, and Zalroth let out a low huh sound.
"How'd I not notice that?" Chronia asked rhetorically as she stared at the exposed large spherical energy core in the gap between the metal pillar spewing out red lightning-like energy.
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"Your snarkiness is always appreciated, Nia," Zalina (fox cub form) said as she hopped onto Chronia's head. Zalroth shook his head in disbelief and scratched his ear before both his ears suddenly twitched. Zalroth swung his arm into the air, conjuring a wide magic barrier and covering Destiny and Kara's eyes before a large red lightning strike slammed into the magic barrier with a thunderous roar.
Destiny and Kara clasped their hands over their ears while Zalina frantically leapt into the air and clung to Zalroth's face as all her fur spiked up. The lightning continued to ooze out of the Ancient Tower's energy core and relentlessly target Zalroth's magic barrier. Zalroth scoffed and pointed his arm upwards.
"Two can play," Zalroth remarked as purple lightning trails coiled around his outreached arm. Zalroth dispelled his magic barrier and immediately fired off his own purple lightning strike at the red lightning strike. The lightning strikes fought for dominance before the red one ultimately lost and was pushed back into the energy core. Zalroth arced his lightning strike to avoid the power core and allowed it to disperse without hitting anything.
"What was that?" Zalina shouted as she quivered while adamantly clinging to Zalroth's face.
"Not actual lightning for your information, so can you get off my face?". Zalina slowly brought her quivering to a mild jitter and slyly climbed on top of Zalroth's head. Zallino stared at the red lightning coming out from the energy core before looking at Zalroth.
"Lord Zalroth, It appears to be energy from alchemy, and its energy signature matches the alchemy used by Kukorama," Zallino explained.
"So, Kukorama must have used this place and alchemy to revive Kyubi... but that could only mean...," Zalroth mindlessly uttered to himself aloud.
"Indeed, Kyubi is the altered reanimated being you and your old allies defeated by dropping the Tower of The Ancients, ones are currently residing in, through their mana core," Kara said in direct response to Zalroth's verbal thinking. Zalroth sighed in defeat at hearing Kara's words but quickly purged the thoughts from his mind as a new thought took its place.
"Say, Kara, what was the question you wanted to ask, though I can probably guess what it is.". Kara opened her mouth in anticipation to speak but was interrupted before she could speak by a loud thunderclap. Everyone in the group frowned in unison at the seemingly malicious thunderclaps followed by four red lightning bolts crashing onto the walk.
"It's almost like the tower is being an intentional a... butt to Kara," Mimi mentioned, which the others didn't oppose the idea of, but Vivo asked Mimi if she could work on having a little more class in the way she phrases things.
"I'd rather not be a pompous butler, thank you," Mimi stated, making her refusal to Vivo's suggestion known with her tactless tone.
"Could you two put your views on manners to one side; can't you see the enemies forming over there?" Xelphia asked, to which Vivo and Mimi looked over at where the lightning bolts struck. The lightning bolts spun like mini tornados, drawing in various energies from their surroundings before they took on physical forms.
The monsters had the appearance of vaguely animal shapes with wildly exaggerated proportions and were made of black gelatin with red lightning coursing through their bodies: two of the monsters were tall bipedal rabbits with monstrously long arms and legs with large lightning blades protruding out of their forearms; one of the monsters was a large bear of an unidentifiable type with traits from all three popular bear types and elephant trunks for ears; and the final monster was an anthropomorphic insect with harden gelatin all over their body and significantly more lightning coursing through their body than the other monsters.
"Looks like we'll-". Zalroth was cut off by Chronia placing a finger over his mouth.
"Oh no, you don't; you're still recovering, so you'll sit this particular fight out," Chronia demanded. Zalroth sighed disappointedly but didn't oppose Chronia's demands.
"Alright, let me think... Maru, Zallino, Mimi, and...,". Zalroth paused for a second and pondered who the last person should be.
"Me!" Destiny proclaimed proudly. Kara gave Destiny a dumbfounded stare at her even believing Zalroth and Chronia would even consider letting her do it, which Destiny could tell Kara thought given her expression.
"Or... maybe not.".
"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I'd rather not have the entire Zelkio Empire on my back for letting their princess fight S-ranked monsters," Chronia said with a reserved tone.
"O-ok...," Destiny disappointedly murmured as Zalroth finally came to a decision.
"Alright, Maru, Zallino, Kunai, and Xelphia; you four will get to fight the zlimtning monsters," The four agreed and jumped over to the zlimtning monsters while Kunai slightly increased her size while Xelphia transformed into her half/half form. Zalroth jumped back onto the walkway connecting the ring walkway and the entrance doorway as the combatants were moments away from fighting.
"Zlimtning monsters... really?" Chronia asked intriguedly as she rested the back of her head against Zalroth's back as she led down on Zalroth's tails.
"Yeah... you know, the letter z looks like lightning, pulse slime combines with lightning.". Zalroth continued to go over the other names he came up with; however, Chronia wasn't fully paying attention as she had starry eyes and a content smile on her face whilst listening to Zalroth's voice.