"Senia! Support me!"

"On it!"

Preparing a strong attack, she appeared behind Amelia. As Amelia's chains dropped to the ground, they began a terrifying clash against Orion, who stared at them with a neutral glare.

Amelia leaped forward with Leima and its copy in hands.

Electricity coursed through her veins, pushing her reaction time and movements faster than usual.

She slashed at Orion's limbs to try to incapacitate him, but he simply remained in place while avoiding each strike with ease.

When Amelia realized that her attacks had no effect, a drop of sweat dropped from her forehead.

Giving a moment for Senia to attack, she fainted Orion by attacking his face, only to throw Leima to the side and use its chain to move away.

"I'm sorry!"

A massive flower, shaped in a saucer type and made of water, bloomed in front of Senia.

Out of the center, a light attracted the water from the air, drying the surroundings.

In just a few seconds, Senia gathered enough energy to fire it when Amelia arrived at her spot.

Luckily, Orion remained in place, his eyes glued on Amelia.

The moment the tidal blast erupted from the flower's center, Orion turned to look at it.

It swallowed him entirely, throwing him away while spinning uncontrollably within it.

The vortex effect applied to the water kept him from moving, as he crashed into the ground in the distance.

Rain began to fall on everyone as the energy exploded. The fine shower dissipated rapidly, not enough to soak them.

All that was left was a mist where Orion had crashed.

With expectation, they all looked at where he was.

*PULSE*

Their hearts suddenly began to react to the energy Orion released, increasing their pulses.

Even Elliott frowned at it.

The mist was suddenly pushed back by his energy, revealing him from within.

Orion was leaning forward, his hands on his knees.

"Did we... make it?"

At first, it looked like Orion had recovered his mind. As Nia asked, Mia looked more attentively.

"I don't think so..."

A light erupted from Orion's back, catching them off guard.

"Gah!"

A gasp of pain escaped his mouth as two wings ripped through his flesh. Bony structures appeared over his back before snapping violently.

*CRACK*

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They all felt the nauseating sensation move to their stomachs as the sickening noise of bones snapping echoed.

Henrietta and Titania also looked worriedly at this scene.

The wings that formed behind Orion were incomplete. They were free, floating behind him, but were only in their early development.

"Did he just... power up?"

Karteira opened her eyes wide as he began to straighten.

"Be careful!"

Tetra shouted early as she guessed something powerful was about to happen.

The bony wings stretched widely before Orion's body vanished.

He appeared in front of Olivia instantly after leaping forward, leaving a shockwave behind him.

Going for her throat, he stretched his hand forward.

"Not so fast!"

Her maids stepped in front of their master.

Marie, Eden, and Alice, their expressions filled with anxiety, released the metallic strings from within their rings.

In the blink of an eye, they wrapped Orion in a thick cocoon of metal before he could reach Olivia.

"Good job."

Stretching her arms and rolling her shoulders, Olivia walked past them. Her demonic features were in full view, and her gaze was genuinely horrifying.

The glare in her eyes glowed a dark hue as a dark energy covered her body.

She pointed her finger at the cocoon as it began to crack and shake. At the tip of it, Olivia fired a bubble of water that enveloped her maids' work.

"You will dream for a while. Maybe it'll help you calm down."

The metallic cocoon exploded at the same time as dark fumes filled the bubble.

Orion looked around him before rapidly succumbing to the spell and stopping moving.

His eyes were wide open, but his consciousness, or lack thereof at this point, was away.

But to her surprise, he broke through it in record time, exploding the bubble and leaping at her.

"Olivia!"

Her maids were too late, as his left hand pierced her stomach.

"I'm not that weak. Don't scream."

The image of Olivia being attacked wavered as the real Olivia walked next to her friends.

As Orion glared at her with what appeared to be frustration, chains wrapped around his body.

"I got him!"

Amelia shouted at the others as Leima's chains sealed his movements.

"That's for earlier!"

Karteira, who was thrown away earlier, covered in light, appeared in front of him. She was wearing her full armor, using the full might of the light magic to back her punch.

*BAM*

She punched his left cheek with so much force that a tremor continued behind him, ripping the air apart.

Karteira took a step back and threw an uppercut, which sent Orion flying in the air.

Still sealed by the chains, he couldn't do anything but look at what was happening.

Nia instantly leaped into the air and readied her dual blades. She moved at a diagonal angle higher than Orion while someone else entered her vision.

Smiling at her in response, Stella grasped Catharsis with both hands.

Amelia pulled back her chains, leaving Orion to these two.

Stella took a step forward, cracking the ground as she did. Then she leaped upward diagonally.

Taking this action as the starting sign, Nia dropped toward him, leaving a supersonic boom as her wings pushed her forward.

The two met at the same time and sliced Orion together.

"!"

They both dropped on the ground, looking at the blood on their blades.

Orion fell to the ground violently, blood gushing out of his wounds. He had two wide cuts on his chest and two smaller cuts on his back, which were enough to kill anyone.

Worried that they had gone too far, they turned around.

But as they believed Orion to be lying on the ground, they weren't expecting him to already be attacking them.

"Watch out!"

As Amelia warned them both, Orion was already standing, both arms aimed toward them.

Two beams of void energy ruptured through the air, closing in on them.

"Oops..."

Unable to react in time, Stella smiled dryly.

"It's not the time to look defeated."

Elliott appeared in front of her, holding Vanitas in front of him.

Meeting the beam head on, he used every ability possible to defend her.

On the other side, Nylon appeared from the shadows and pulled Nia out of danger.

After a few seconds, the beam stopped. Everything around them had been erased from existence, leaving only their spot untouched.

Placing Vanitas in its scabbard, Elliott leaped back further away to observe again.

Nylon also dropped Nia closer to her sister before joining him.

"How long is it going to take?!"

"Orion!"

Amelia and Karteira, who were having a rough time battling him with all their might, were starting to become impatient.

There were no signs of Orion ever coming to his senses.

"There's no use. You have to expend his energy until he manages to control it."

"The more he uses his power, the better his chances are."

Tetra walked behind them, coming from who knows where.

"I know... but it's still an awful experience."

She nodded at Amelia's remark.

"Don't think. Just go at it with your full might. I'm sure he's enjoying it deep inside."

"!"

They both opened their eyes wide.

"I... hadn't thought of that."

Karteira looked at her feet, realizing that she had mistaken this matter entirely.

"Going all out..."

Amelia recalled the day she fought him with everything she had.

A wild smile appeared on their faces at the same time, as their thoughts became clearer.

"Let's go, Karteira."

"I'm right there with you, Amelia."

They fist-bumped each other under the warm gaze of Tetra, who was relieved her plan worked out.

These two were the biggest hopes to resolve this entire matter. Their states of mind were more important than anyone else.

And if she could boost their morale, she would go to any length to do so, except lying to them.

With heavy footsteps, the two best friends and greatest rivals walked toward Orion, who was transforming even further.

Muscles were slowly forming over the bones of his wings.

"Do you think he will recover if we let those wings form?"

"Probably. It could be the representation of his power and how much he has under his control."

They stared at him, who noticed their gazes.

Amelia's body was swallowed in a green light, changing into her wind element. Aura, her karambit knife, spun around her finger before she tightly clenched its handle.

Seeing this, Karteira also decided to go all out.

"I haven't used it in a while."

*Clack*

All of her plates fell to the ground, revealing the beauty that was hidden within the armor.

Threads of light left her body as they attached themselves to each plate.

"If he wants a battle, I'll give him everything I've got."

"The power that annihilated five giants, I'll show it to him."

A wild smile, which hadn't been seen in a while from Karteira, altered her face.

As a dome of floating plates floated over and around her, she smiled.

"Even without my plates, I can fight."

Her scorpion tail arched over her right shoulder as she took a fighting stance.

Amelia smiled at her friend before taking an offensive stance.

"Let's show him what we're made of."

They both rushed toward Orion, who stood sideways while glaring at them.

Everyone stood their ground and watched as a devastating battle, short but breathtaking, happened in front of their eyes.