Reiko scouts the deserted island for any suspicious activity. The enemy airship has disappeared, indicating that the hooded men fled when they had the chance. Meanwhile, Vektor is constantly watched by Hayato...

Hearing only the sound of the wind and Reiko's footsteps on the metallic floor of the Sun Tower, Vektor cannot relax as Hayato remains silent while fixedly staring at him...

"(...Okay, this is actually uncomfortable. When they said Hayato wouldn't take his eyes off me, I didn't think they meant it literally! How long do I have to stand here?! I have to say something, this silence is just too awkward...)

Eh..."

"Hm? What is it?"

"It's just, well... Did you bring anything to eat?"

"We got a small supply of food in the mini-airship. Why, are you hungry?"

"Well, I haven't eaten since morning, so..."

Reiko returns to the mini-airship, saying:

"You need to keep yourself fed. After all, it would be a problem if an enemy appeared while you were weakened. I'll bring some of our supplies."

"Thanks..."

While Reiko gets food, Vektor decides to talk to Hayato so that the uncomfortable atmosphere from before does not return:

"You're... quite different from what I thought, you know?"

"...What do you mean by that?"

"It's just that I thought you were annoying and crazy all the time, but who would have thought that even you can be normal and nice when you want to be."

"Ha, don't be mistaken! I'm only doing this to help restore the status quo of Netern Island! It's all just a plan to give the people a false sense of security! And then, when they least expect it, I shall finally begin my domination! Mwahahahaha!!"

"I should've kept my mouth shut..."

Reiko approaches the two while carrying food and water.

"You two, stop arguing and be quiet! We're in the middle of a serious incident, this is no time for jokes!"

Vektor and Hayato lower their heads and say in unison:

"Right, sorry..."

Reiko continues to observe the island. The Sun Tower is located near the coast of the island, which has a green surface with some bushes and trees. The territory of the island is about 150 km², being 10 km wide and 15 km long.

Trying to ignore Hayato's constant vigilance, Vektor begins to eat and drink water, while trying to talk to Reiko:

"Hey, when did you start getting this serious and responsible? Weren't you all prideful and self-centered when I saw you on Netern Island?"

"What are you talking about? Did you really think I would continue joking in such a serious situation?"

"I guess you're right... No one in this world would be stupid enough to be joking around at a time like this."

Hayato feels a slight discomfort with Vektor's ironic smile:

"...Stop looking at me."

Vektor looks at Reiko again.

"Well then, from what I got, the situation seems more balanced than I expected. Which means it won't be long before everything goes back to the way it was before."

"Yes, but we can't let our guard down just yet. This whole incident happened for a reason. It would be very negligent to ignore it all and pretend that everything is fine."

"You're absolutely right, there's no way to relax at a time like this... Speaking of which, Maken told me that there were two guys working with him, and that I'd see them soon. I have no idea who they are or how and when they'll appear."

"So we have one more reason to be on alert. For now, let's keep observing the surroundings."

"It would really be bad if we were caught off guard. I'll be honest, I didn't expect these last few days to be as chaotic as they have been. It's just one misfortune after..."

"...?"

"...!!"

For a moment, Vektor's breathing fails, causing him to widen his eyes and place his hand on his chest. Hayato immediately becomes alert:

"What happened?!"

Reiko runs worriedly to Vektor.

"Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine... I guess... My body suddenly felt heavier, and I'm having a little trouble breathing..."

"We have to get you off this island and take you to a hospital right away! Hayato! Prepare the mini-airship!"

Hayato quickly stands up to obey Reiko:

"Right!"

"When everything is ready, take Vektor immediately to some hospital on Netern Island! I'll take care of the rest here at the Sun Tower! Now go, quickly!"

"Understood!"

Hayato runs to the mini-airship. Vektor tries to get up, worrying Reiko even more:

"Stop! You should not push your body too hard!"

"I'm fine... I just need to get up and get some more fresh air."

"Are you crazy?! You should wait for help!"

"I already felt something similar in the fight against Maken, it shouldn't be anything serious..."

Meanwhile, Hayato arrives at the mini-airship, but finds a mysterious man of average stature wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and ordinary jeans.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The man is analyzing the mini-airship. Hayato cautiously keeps his distance.

"Who are you...?"

The man then turns to Hayato with a serene expression on his face...

When Vektor manages to stand up and normalize his breathing, the feeling of weight on his body increases as Hayato approaches, followed by the mysterious man. Without really understanding who the man is, Hayato simply says:

"Hey, I found this man near the mini-airship."

Faced with so many sudden events, Reiko is completely confused:

"What do you mean, he appeared out of nowhere? Who is this person?

(...!!!)"

"He said his name was..."

The man interrupts:

"Excuse me, young Hayato, please allow me to introduce myself."

"Okay then, go ahead."

Vektor and Reiko suddenly look in terror at the man who walks towards them. Vektor struggles with his utmost to support the immense weight of his body, while Reiko begins to shiver and lose the strength in her legs due to the terror of the situation.

With a slight smile on his face, the man finally introduces himself:

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I've been ordered to analyze the current situation of the Sun Tower. My name is Kards."

Vektor tries his best to maintain a stable posture while feeling a huge weight on his body, even though his face cannot hide his extreme discomfort.

"What is... this presence?! It's way worse than Maken, and all this coming from an ordinary human?!"

The pressure exerted by Kards is so strong that it affects Vektor's internal organs, causing them to vibrate inside his body.

The intimidating Kards says with complete tranquility:

"I didn't expect to find so many people here. Could you tell me your names?"

The only one of the apprentices who doesn't feel any kind of intimidation answers for the other two:

"These are Vektor Drenn and Reiko Sorang."

"Now look, so we have a Drenn, a Noogard, and a Sorang all gathered in the same place? What a beautiful coincidence, a true work of destiny!"

Kards extends his hand to Vektor without losing his friendly expression.

"It's a pleasure meeting you, Vektor. It's not every day that I get to meet a member of your family, so I hope we can be friends."

"The... The pleasure is all mine..."

Vektor slowly extends his hand to shake Kards'. The difference in power between the two is made obvious by this handshake, with Vektor's hand trembling at the mere touch of Kards' soft hand. This man is a creature on another level, far beyond what his imagination can comprehend.

After letting go of Vektor's hand, Kards looks towards Reiko, who continues to tremble in fear with a terrified look on her face.

"And here we have... Ah, I know you. Long time no see, Princess Reiko. It's been so long since I last saw you, you've grown quite a lot!"

While Vektor is too scared to ask anything, Hayato casually reveals his doubt:

"You know Reiko? Where from?"

"I'm an old acquaintance of the royal family of Netern Island. So much so that's why I know about the Etykiran families and everything. I've known the princess since she was a cute little child. So, princess? Do you remember Uncle Kards?"

Reiko doesn't respond, no words can come out of her mouth. The only thing she can do at the moment is look at him, never stopping to tremble.

"Hahaha, looks like she's too shy to speak. I get it, it must be embarrassing."

Hayato notices Reiko's nervousness and immediately becomes worried, not knowing exactly why she is so shaky.

Gathering as much breath as possible, Vektor asks as directly as possible:

"Sorry for asking, but why are you at this tower?"

"I came here to check out the tower. I received a report that something unusual was happening on this island, so I decided to drop by quickly to check things out."

Once again being Vektor's accidental spokesperson, Hayato continues to reveal his doubts:

"Who gave you this report?"

"Hmm... I shouldn't reveal something like that... Well, I'll tell you just because you're my friends now, but don't spread it around, okay? The truth is, I work for the secret laboratory on Lightning Island, doing reconnaissance missions, forensic research, that kind of thing."

Vektor lets his doubt escape in a weak and harsh voice:

"Lightning Island?"

Hayato answers in Kards' place:

"Didn't they teach you about this in school? Lightning Island is not far from Netern Island, but it's not isolated from the world like our island is."

Kards supplements the answer with additional information:

"Exactly, and the two islands have a special connection, causing the inhabitants of both islands to share their knowledge. Lightning Island is my birthplace and my home, you should stop by sometime. If you go there, you might be unlucky enough to encounter the legendary demon... Haha, just kidding!"

"Demon...?"

"Ah, don't pay too much attention to it, it's just one of the island's legends. It is said that somewhere on the island, there lives a legendary master whose power is so terrifying that he was exiled for fear that such power would threaten the island's people. A power of ancient origin, which when mastered caused him to be called a monster, the island's demon."

Unfortunately, Hayato ends up talking too much this time:

"Ancient power? Look, it's the same power you have, Vektor!"

"(You idiot! Don't just give that guy this information!)"

Kards just goes with the flow and demonstrates ignorance:

"Hahaha! So young Vektor might be a demon in disguise? If so, you should go talk to our demon, maybe you two will become friends, haha! Well, our conversation was good, but it's time to head back. Have you noticed anything unusual on this island?"

"No."

Vektor responds extremely quickly to prevent Hayato from leaking any more unnecessary information.

"We've looked everywhere and found nothing. There's nothing wrong here, so you can return to your island without worry. We're about to leave too."

This last line uses up practically all of Vektor's remaining breath. Upon hearing this, Kards starts speaking more coldly:

"Is that so...? Well, then my work is done. I wish you all a safe trip back."

He surprises the three apprentices by pulling a Shadow Crystal from his pocket. This explains how he also suddenly appeared at the top of the tower. Upon breaking the crystal, the man disappears into his own shadow, teleporting away from the deserted island.

The moment Kards disappears from the Sun Tower, both Vektor and Reiko fall to their knees on the ground, both panting. Hayato runs over to the two in concern.

"Hey! What's wrong, are you guys okay?!"

Vektor responds, breathless with exhaustion:

"The evil pressure from that man... was too heavy... All that effort just to keep me standing... Weren't you feeling it...?"

"Pressure? What are you talking about?! It was just some old guy!"

"(This must be another one of the abilities I gained with my ancient power... What a huge inconvenience I had to obtain, I even felt sick just by the guy's presence. But then if this is just me...)

Hey, Reiko. Were you also feeling that?"

However, the reason for Reiko's state is not the same. She is panting from stress. The intimidation caused by Kards' presence had nothing to do with energy, but rather with her mind, which until now has not been able to understand exactly the reason for so much fear.

"Kards... That man..."

"Reiko...?"

After a few more seconds of breathless silence, the princess suddenly orders the two, raising her voice:

"Let's all get out of here right now! Hayato, go back inside and start freeing everyone from the capsules! Vektor, rest as much as you need! If your condition worsens, it will make our rescue even harder! I'll go and report the current situation to my father right now so we can get everyone back home safely! We can't waste any more seconds!"

Immediately obeying the princess's orders, Hayato hurries back to the capsule room inside the tower. Vektor continues to rest and catch his breath until he manages to stabilize himself and stand up...

"...!!"

It happens once again. Even though this time it's much further away, and seems to be less powerful than with Kards...

"Another evil presence has emerged somewhere on this island...!"

With the same desperation and urgency that Reiko is feeling, Vektor also wastes no time to act. Without any prior preparation, he runs to the edge of the tower, to the princess's surprise:

"Vektor? What do you think you're-"

Before she can finish her line, Vektor jumps from the top of the tower, making the princess stand up in fright. In free fall, Vektor whistles to call Mythbird, who appears seconds later to cushion his fall with his feathers in mid-flight. The princess's fright disappears the moment she sees the two flying over the island, but the fright is replaced by surprise.

Vektor and Mythbird talk for the first time in the universe where the apprentice lives:

"Yo, Mythbird, good to see you again!"

"We did not have the chance to talk during the previous battle, but perhaps it's not a good time to talk yet. This presence..."

"You can feel it too? Ever since that Kards guy appeared, this island seems to have become a very dangerous place. According to Maken, there were two people behind this incident besides him. Those two people are definitely that Kards guy, and whoever is the guy emanating this presence."

"So what do you plan to do?"

"Obviously, the only thing I can do right now. If this guy attacks the tower, we won't be able to escape from here unharmed. So I'm going to deal with this guy with all my power, and make sure we can all go home! I'm not really into this kind of thing, but it's the only solution I can think of right now!"