Under the starry night sky, Hayato's mini-airship flies over the ocean. He and Princess Reiko have been chasing the airship of the hooded men who captured Vektor for some time now.

After Reiko contacts her father, Hayato spots a small deserted island on the horizon.

"Looks like we're getting closer to our destination..."

"I just reported the current situation to my father. Netern Island should return to normal very soon. However, we can't say that everything will return to normal until we save all the missing people."

"So it all depends on the two of us... I admit it doesn't feel as good as I thought it would. I think it's better to continue investing in my career as an evildoer."

"You can think about that later. For now, focus on the rescue."

"Okay... Hey, look! There's a tower on that island!"

Looking towards the deserted island ahead, Reiko notices the existence of a cylindrical metallic tower in the center of the island.

"Is that the... Sun Tower?!"

"Sun Tower? Shouldn't that place be deserted? Why would they go there?"

"They're probably using the area around the tower as a hideout. If the kidnapping was premeditated, it would make perfect sense if that were the case."

"I'll land at the top of the tower. Let's investigate the island from there."

The mini-airship lands carefully on top of the tower, where the kidnappers' airship is parked. The top has a perfectly flat metal floor.

"Their airship is here... Did they get into the tower? But how? No one has ever been able to discover the entrance to the Sun Tower..."

As Reiko thinks aloud, the central platform at the top of the tower opens. Hayato and Reiko stand guard as they watch the two hooded men ascending a floating platform used as an elevator.

Before they are noticed, Hayato and Reiko discreetly use their Etykiran powers to attack the men in their blind spots and knock them out. Hayato simply runs with his super speed, while Reiko creates a light clone and switches places with it.

After knocking out the hooded men, the two carry their bodies to the enemy airship and steal some type of remote control used by them to control the elevator.

They then take the elevator down to the interior of the Sun Tower, and find themselves on the top floor of the tower, a large room that automatically lights up upon their arrival.

In this room, there are 20 separate capsules for sealing people, with 9 of them being used. Only one of these capsules has a transparent visor, as it has not yet been clouded by the humidity inside the capsule. The one being held inside is Vektor Drenn. The princess does not hide her astonishment:

"So that's why they brought him here... how horrendous."

"What do we do? Call for backup?"

"No... That would take too long. We don't know what's going on in these capsules, and more of those men could show up at any moment. For now, let's free Vektor and analyze his condition. If there's no problem, we'll free everyone else and escape from here as soon as possible."

"So we'll use him as a guinea pig... Well, I'm not against it."

Hayato and Reiko then open Vektor's capsule, which releases low-temperature water vapor, presumably to keep his body in a healthy condition. The two free him from the capsule and remove all the equipment connected to his body.

After laying Vektor's body on the ground, the two check his vital functions. His heart is beating, and his breathing is steady. Reiko feels relieved:

"Thanks goodness, he's alive."

"His body also seems to be in good condition... but how can we guarantee he'll wake up?"

"He fainted after a battle, similar to the outcome of the battle of a month ago... I'm not sure what the cause is, but it's likely an external factor that caused him to become exhausted. His body should recover after hours of rest. Considering his body is functioning perfectly, he's probably just sleeping."

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"Why didn't you say that sooner?! Leave the rest to me!"

Hayato starts slapping Vektor, who in a few seconds shows that he is irritated by the expression on his face, which doesn't make him stop:

"Hey! Wake up, Vektor Drenn! There's no time to sleep!"

Hayato only stops when reprimanded by Reiko:

"Hey, stop that! You'll just make his condition worse!"

"A slap or two won't kill anyone! Besides, remember how much damage this guy has caused us! A few slaps are nothing in comparison!"

"Like I said, think about that later!"

As the two argue, Vektor regains consciousness, groaning in pain from the slaps:

"Ugh!"

Hayato and Reiko get startled and look at Vektor, who slowly starts to move:

"My face... Huh...?"

Opening his eyes, he sees the faces of apprentices Noogard and Sorang staring at him.

"Reiko...? Hayato...?! What are you...?"

The princess interrupts:

"Calm down, we're not here to hurt you. Just relax and see if you can get up."

Gradually, Vektor raises his upper body and sits on the floor.

"I'm fine... I guess. My face just hurts a little, and my skin feels a little clammy... Could you explain what happened?"

"Don't be impatient, we'll tell you everything little by little."

"Alright... By the way, what is this place? A secret chamber in the castle?"

"No... The truth is that we are quite far from Netern Island."

"Got it... Looks like we're in trouble..."

"If you can, get up. We'll take you out of here and explain the situation."

"Okay."

Vektor stands up and is guided by Hayato and Reiko to the elevator, which begins to rise. As the platform rises, the lights in the hall go out as Reiko reveals:

"We are in the mysterious tower called Sun Tower, a place abandoned since ancient times. Few people know about this place because it is located on a deserted island and the tower is permanently inactive and impenetrable, at least publicly."

At the top of the tower, Vektor finds himself under the starry sky, contemplating the small deserted island without being able to understand the situation due to the sudden change in scenery.

"How did we end up here...? While I was unconscious... what happened...?!"

Hayato is willing to explain:

"It's actually a long and confusing story... I can tell you everything you want to know. Where should I start...?"

"Tell me the entire story."

"If that's the case, we need to go back all the way to the beginning... Remember when the party at Wind Hills was attacked?"

"Yes... That's when everyone was kidnapped."

"So, while all that confusion was going on, I warned Reiko about the attack and fled to the castle in my mini-airship."

"Wait, so you ran away?! Why didn't you fight with me?!"

"I don't risk my life for nothing. Even if I fought, the result would be the same, and I might as well be taken hostage for free."

"If you were there, we would had a better chance of winning!"

"Do you really believe that?"

"..."

"As I imagined. Besides, if they didn't come after me, it means they were just after those at the party, I didn't even have to fight my way out."

"...Still, that doesn't sit well with me..."

Reiko defends Hayato as she explains her side of the story:

"He made the right decision, though. By escaping, we were able to minimize the number of casualties while keeping the people of Netern Island alert. Furthermore, it made our rescue operation much easier."

"I see... That's really a relief."

"The next afternoon, we saw you fighting on the Dawn Plateau from afar and decided to investigate. When we got there, the battle was already over, and we saw you faint."

"And the same story repeats itself... Well, I won't be surprised anymore."

"After you passed out, two men appeared and captured you. They took you here, and we followed them in hopes of finding the whereabouts of the other victims. Then we defeated them both and freed you."

"Got it... You guys did a great job. But what now? What do we do from here?"

"For now, we shall just watch you while we keep watch over the island. After a while, we..."

Hayato interrupts Reiko:

"Wait, hold up, we still haven't heard what happened from his point of view. We can't proceed without at least hearing from his side. He might know something important."

Vektor agrees and decides to cooperate:

"You're right, it would be bad if I hid my part of the story. Well, how can I summarize it in a practical way...? Let's see... Kder used the Netern Crystals to take me to a parallel universe on the other side of Netern... I met some people there, and they're very nice people, by the way..."

"Wait, to the other side of Netern?! Is that even possible?!"

Reiko confirms:

"Yes, using the Netern Crystals, it's possible, but... If you went there, then..."

Vektor quickly responds:

"I went after my family's ancient power. After meeting Mythbird, I went straight to where that power was sealed."

"Mythbird?"

"Ah, it's a giant bird that I can call at any time. I can climb on his back and fly wherever I want."

"You mean we can escape from here with his help?!"

"That's right, do you want me to call him?"

"No, not yet. We need to free everyone first."

"Oh, I see..."

"What about your ancient power? Did you actually manage to get it?"

"Yes! Take a look."

Vektor shows the back of his head to Hayato and Reiko.

"Can you see some tattoo there?"

Reiko answers:

"The Scarlet Tulip..."

"That's what represents the ancient power I acquired. I don't know how to explain very well how it works, but in short, I can transform whenever I want, and apparently I gained some new abilities as well."

"That's quite convenient..."

Hayato just comments:

"Sounds way too OP... It's too good to be true..."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, I just find it a bit strange that this power seems invincible like this."

"Ah, but when I first fought with this power, it still hurt like hell when I was attacked, I don't think it's right to call this OP. Kder summoned me back right when I managed to accomplish my objective so I didn't even have much of a chance to feel that powerful."

Reiko fidgets for a moment:

"Wait! Ka... Kder was with you?! And where did he go?!"

"I don't know... He had already been defeated, and disappeared during the battle..."

"So he was captured along with you...? We have to save him...! ...No, not yet... We have to proceed as planned."

"Right... So let's get this over with and get off this island. I'm starting to get bored of this place."

"Yes. Now let's begin the escape plan!"