The ground exploded where they were all standing.

As their senses were sharp, they all moved away from the origin of the impact with an intense sense of dread.

"The air..."

Amelia dragged her hair back behind her ear as she stopped sliding on the grass.

"Something strange is happening. I have to agree."

Olivia, who had avoided the attack in the same direction, looked around.

"!"

The air was stagnant, void of wind, and the reason for it was the barrier erected in the blink of an eye.

"We don't have a chance to escape, is what Orion is telling us."

Frowning, the two women turned to the cloud of dust that was about to settle.

Slowly, a figure appeared from within the dust.

A white-haired man, acting far too different from his previous berserk state, looked around him.

His eyes were a pure white. The Remnant power mixed with the void element, creating a link that miraculously stood the violent energy swirling inside him.

It wasn't Orion, but something close to himself. The entity that was in front of them was smart and thought of what to do carefully instead of rushing them like the monster he turned into before.

"Shit... this doesn't look good."

Karteira, who stood next to the twins, smiled dryly while sweating.

"Let me guess? This isn't what you were expecting?"

She nodded at Mia's comment.

"There's never a thing to expect with him. You should know that."

Nia frowned while preparing herself to save Orion from this awful state.

Standing her ground, she waited for her sister and the others to get ready.

Orion looked at them for a brief instant before turning around, where Senia, May, and Tetra were standing. Next to them, Elliott stood, ready to pull them out of danger.

"I'm not participating. This is your battle."

He glanced toward Tetra, who appeared anxious.

"You've already made the mistake of attacking him once, so you feel guilty?"

"Don't read my mind."

A frustrated smile escaped his control as he shrugged.

"There's a part of it, but as he said, this is a battle to help him control the dangerous power within him."

"If I were to meddle, I fear I won't be of use toward that goal."

"All I can do is be a shield to all of you."

She nodded.

"I understand why he trusts you. You've changed."

"I owe this to him."

Looking at his friend staring daggers at him with the same eyes his father once had, he felt conflicted.

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"Are you done talking?"

"That's right. We don't know when he is going to attack again..."

May and Senia asked them while keeping their eyes glued on Orion.

The moment they asked, Orion looked toward the last group.

Stella, Deveralna, and Nylon. Far behind them, close to the barrier, Henrietta and Titania were standing, but he entirely ignored them.

"Can you support us?"

"I can."

Nylon heard Deveralna before immediately nodding at her request.

"I'm going to do my own thing. Depending on the situation, I'll act as a decoy, too."

Stella pulled out the weapon that was entrusted by her mother from her core. Catharsis trembled, responding to its master's wish to help her father.

"But I won't do anything too risky. We have no idea how Orion is going to react as of now. Since it's early in the fight, we should observe for now."

What she said made sense. They both nodded in acknowledgement.

"He's moving..."

Suddenly, Orion lifted his hand. Aiming the palm of his left hand toward them, a pulse of energy gathered in front of it.

"Move!"

A flurry of beams, flying out of his hand in arcs, rapidly traveled toward them.

Nylon vanished into Deveralna's shadow before she flew away.

Stella stood her ground with Catharsis in hand. Sliding her left foot behind her, she anchored her body like a rock.

"I'm here!"

The beams all merged into one point, right on Stella.

In horror, they all stared at her as a large explosion engulfed the young woman.

"That's a lot of magic!"

Gritting her teeth, she had erected a barrier between her and the attack with Catharsis. Slowly, the energy was absorbed, boosting her power for a brief moment.

"I hope you don't mind if I use your magic against you, Orion."

With a slick smile, she aimed Catharsis' tip at him. When the last of the energy was drawn into the blade, it released it instantly.

The massive counter returned to Orion, who simply stood there, the light of his own attack reflecting in his eyes.

But with a movement of his wrist, he slapped the attack with the back of his hand upward.

The attack disappeared on contact with the barrier, not even creating an explosion.

"Wha-"

Shocked, they couldn't believe Orion simply brushed the attack so effortlessly.

"Let's go!"

Amelia's body flashed into a blue light as Dana appeared in her hand. The scythe ripped through the heavy atmosphere, leading the group to act now that Orion had attacked.

Olivia stood further away, acting as support.

The ones who acted as a vanguard were Amelia, Karteira, May, and Nia, while Olivia, Deveralna, Senia, Tetra, and Mia all stood behind them to attack or support the others.

Stella performed in both roles. She was closer to being like her father than anyone else.

Orion watched with a neutral expression as Amelia's scythe reached his face.

Lifting his hand upward, he caught her blade with two fingers.

"Karteira!"

"On it!"

Covered in light, she appeared behind him, ready to kick his back.

But just like with Amelia, he turned his back halfway and grabbed her leg before using Karteira to attack Amelia.

"Woah!"

The two were sent flying backward as they crashed into one another.

At the same time, a fairy, flying like a cannonball, and wrapped in a whirlwind created by her sister, stabbed two metallic swords into his shoulders.

"Got you!"

Nia smiled as she felt the resistance.

"Huh-?"

But before she understood anything, she was alone. Immediately, she turned around to where her sister was.

"You little-"

She flew at top speed and stood in front of Mia, who was preparing a powerful attack.

Orion grabbed Nia's head with one hand and tried to slam her on the ground.

"GHH!"

But the small fairy was tough. She managed to resist the pressure, giving time for the others to act.

"Take that!"

May slashed her fire sword at his back, while Senia prepared a powerful magic of her own.

Tetra, who wasn't one to fight, stood ready to help anyone who would suffer heavy injuries. Her power wasn't useful in such situations.

But, just like before, Orion vanished. May's sword fell on Nia, who defended against it.

*Cling*

The double blade met the sword, releasing sparks as they clashed.

Reappearing behind May, Orion kicked her side.

"Ah!"

Then, this time, Orion grabbed Nia's blades with his bare hands and spun her around.

Sent flying, Nia rolled on the ground.

"Sis!"

Worried about her sister, she recovered mid-roll and looked in her direction.

Mia was under attack, just as her magic entered its full potential.

"You want some?! I won't hold back!"

A cyclone formation swallowed Orion before he could touch her. She took this chance to return next to her sister before someone else attacked Orion.

Above them, Deveralna was focusing a massive amount of magic between her hands. Looking into the eye of the cyclone, she glared at Orion.

"When are you going to control your power?!"

Sending a powerful beam of plasma straight down, Deveralna screamed.

Orion lifted his head and looked at her.

Unaffected by the rough wind, his hair remained still. As his body vanished into the light, a massive explosion ripped the cyclone apart.

"Deveralna! That's overkill!"

"Tetra said my power won't do much against him! I'm just tryi-"

As she answered Amelia, Orion warped in front of her.

He grabbed her tail and sent her toward the ground with his full strength, where she crashed violently.

She slammed her tail on the ground and recovered from the impact with barely any injury.

"Shit! We can't look away for a second!"

Ophion reacted to her cursing, rapidly awakening. It moved away from her arms and grew into a larger size.

*BZZT*

Plasma began to gather in its mouth as it aimed at Orion, still in the air.

Before it fired, a hand dropped over its mouth, forcing it to swallow the energy.

Orion grabbed Ophion's nose and shook him from left to right before releasing it.

"Ophion! Damn it!"

She noticed a dangerous amount of energy coming from Orion as he aimed his hand at her.

Deveralna tried to make some distance, but she was unable to.

Suddenly, a spear fell from the sky, right in front of him.

Just as Orion was about to unleash a beam of energy, Amelia appeared in front of him.

She was in her fire 'Elemental Mastery', the spear Vesta planted in the ground.

In a split second, she spun around her weapon and kicked his hand from below. He fired the beam into the sky, which, again, disappeared into the barrier.

Taking this chance, Deveralna slammed her tail on Orion's side, sending him away.

"That was close! Thanks!"

"Don't mind it."

Amelia glanced over her shoulder and nodded.

After saying that, she rushed forward, leaving a trail of fire behind her. She met with Karteira, who was in her armored state, her four limbs on the ground.

Her tail was arched over her back, aimed at Orion, who was only recovering from the impact that knocked him away.

Placing her hand on her back, Amelia shared some of her magic with Karteira.

"I've improved this! Eat it!"

A devastating blast of fire left the tip of her tail, creating a flamethrower that spewed blue flames toward him.

Orion slammed his foot on the ground, creating a small shield around him with his dark magic.

*Crack*

The power of Karteira's flames was far stronger than his shield, which began to crack.

Flames entered the inner part of the protection, devouring what was inside.

Appearing above her, Orion stepped on her back with such force that her entire body sank to the ground.

"Kha!"

"Karteira!"

Blood spewed from her mouth as he crushed her scales. To worsen it, he kicked her off the ground, sending her rolling away.

Amelia took a step back before her fire element changed to lightning.

She knew Karteira would recover with light magic, so she focused on stopping Orion.