The battle with Yúzé had come to an end. With the victory being on the friends side, thanks to the help from Augustus.

His hands were bright red, with a deep black smoke coming out of his knuckles. Augustus gave a slight chuckle. He relished in his own victory, as it was the first time he had ever saved someone.

“I did something for once.” Augustus cheered, giving a massive smile.

“We were able to hold off a harbinger. This is the utmost celebration. Congratulate yourselves.” Augustus laughed.

“And there’s ten more of them!” Miyuki snarled.

“No doubt the Xinyang will have their eyes on us.” Augustus sighed.

“Thank you for your assistance. We shall part ways here, though. I have a feeling this shall not be the last meeting.” Augustus gave a smile as he walked away. The friends watched his steps as he slowly disappeared into the horizon.

The blue sky above deeply contrasted with the destruction below. The loud atmosphere fell silent. The friends looked at each other, but no words left their mouths; instead, they burrowed into their own thoughts. The only sounds were the gusts of wind and the birds chirping.

Elijah was the first to intervene in the silence.

“We have no car.” Elijah sighed, breaking the tension.

“Goddamnit.” Miyuki shouted, stomping her foot on the ground. The impact caused a small explosion of dirt and dust.

After another moment of silence, the fury of the blue-haired woman was about to strike yet again.

“Why’d he even need our help?!” Miyuki shouted.

“He could’ve done this himself!!” Miyuki followed up.

She crossed her arms and frowned.

Itzozu let out a small chuckle. His horns gave off a slight shine as they reflected the bright sun. He reached over to Miyuki; she looked at him inquisitively, but her gaze shifted to a glare as Itzozu gave a couple pats to her head.

“Stop doing that,” pouted Miyuki, while she slapped his hand away.

“He probably wanted back up, y'know, just in case.” Itzozu theorised.

“Itzozu! Did you not see how easily?” she shouted.

The friends were surrounded by the ruined palace grounds. Behind them was the palace, with large parts of stone and brick scattered across the grass.

“Let’s just calm down, Miyuki.” Itzozu attempted to calm Miyuki.

“NO! This was all pointless because Mr. Royal could’ve just one-tapped everyone!” argued Miyuki.

“Stop using game terms, for god sake.” Itzozu sighed, realising the mistake of teaching Miyuki those words.

“Plus, he said it was luck.” Itzozu refuted.

“Hmph, whatever,” fumed Miyuki, taking it upon herself to wander off. Leaving the palace grounds and walking back into the streets of Chthonia. The friends looked dumbfounded as they watched her leave so suddenly.

They all looked at each other back and forth.

“This woman is going to kill me mentally.” Itzozu sighed.

“Guess we should just find a car.” Elijah added

“Surely, there’s a car SOMEWHERE here!” Asher giggled.

The friends walked out of the palace grounds, leaving the pearly-white gate wide open. Each step they took down the stone-paved stairs felt relieving, and soon they would go back to their adventure towards Orion.

There was a breeze of warm air that slowly brushed against their backs as they stepped down. They had come face-to-face with another gate; this one was also unlocked. With the tug of the bolt, they walked forward.

As Asher happened to look up at the sky, he noticed a camera hidden in the bushes that complimented the streets. "Hm,” Asher thought, but decided to shrug it off.

As they walked back into the streets of Chthonia, they noticed how much more lively it was than when they arrived. People crowded the streets, and vendors set up their shops on the sides. Though the state of the city was still terrible,.

“Maybe down here?” Asher wondered, passing by an alley that led to what looked like an abandoned garage. Asher walked down the alley, with Elijah and Itzozu following behind. When they reached the garage, they gave it a quick examination.

The garage was coated in a thick layer of rust and dirt, like it hadn’t been cleaned for decades. It looked like it was made with scrap metal. On each side was a large handle that could fit Asher’s hand seven times.

Asher attempted to open it but was only met with a loud clunk noise. He pulled it with all his might to no avail.

Itzozu walked over to the other side, grasping the handle, feeling how cold the handle was, and synchronised with Asher’s movement. The two of them pulled it off with all their might. The door was pulled open, crashing to the ground.

Inside the dirty garage was a plethora of junk, large bags of rotting food dumped into the corner, and black mould coating the ceiling. The air felt hazardous.

Elijah sighed as his eyes looked into the centre of the garage; it was a completely totaled car. It had a massive buildup of rust on it, and it looked like the left door had been kicked in. The back left and right doors were missing as well.

“It’s better than nothing.” Asher attempted to speak, looking at Elijah.

“What are we supposed to do with this junk?”

“Good question… I don’t know!”

“Any way you could fix it?” Itzozu asked, joining in on the conversation.

“Well… This looks terrible. Let’s hope it’s better on the inside.” Elijah sighed.

Eijah used Liminal Space to open a portal, then boldly stuck his arm inside. He frantically moved his hand around before he grabbed someone and then pulled his arm out.

In his hand was a strange tool. It was like a blunt knife. This stool had the same steel look and black shine that dark steel has. Elijah slowly inserted the tool into the gap in the hood, then moved it back and forth to leverage the opening, eventually propping it open.

He leaned in to see the engine. The friends looked as his expression changed from normal to looking like he was seeing an otherworldly contraption.

“Huh.” "Hm.” "Hmmm,” he thought out loud.

He gave it a moment, inspecting each inch of the engine to see if there were any faults. Eventually, he turned back around and confronted the group about the state of this car. “This is horrible.” He sighed.

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“This engine is totaled,” Elijah stated as he was about to touch it. The contact with the engine sent a shock through his nervous system. The pain wasn’t bad, but it wasn't what Elijah expected.

Elijah brought his hand towards his chin, giving it a long thought about what to do.

“We can substitute the engine for an essence circulator. Something I learned from Foundation Hunters. “ Elijah gave an idea.

An essence circulator is a device that utilises the kinetic energy of high-speed essence. It was widely adopted for early cars until the invention of the modern engine. Elijah proposed the idea of making one using the parts of the engine.

“Could you do it on this scale, though?” Itzozu questioned.

“My boss said something about them. I think she said they are efficient at generating power. It should be on scale if we use the parts of the engine. Though we do more.” Elijah replied.

“Guess I learned something.” Itzozu followed up.

Both Itzozu and Asher started walking off, in search of any parts that could make this device. They were looking for sheets of high-quality steel. Itzozu turned to the left, while Asher went to the right.

With his tool in his hand, Elijah slowly pries the engine open, making sure not to trigger any shocks. He gazed at the bunch of red, yellow, and blue wires. He took a sigh as he leaned in, slowly making an incision into the yellow wire. Nothing happened. Elijah let out a sigh of relief.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead as he finished cutting through the wires, revealing the rest of the engine. With a slight grip on the top of the engine, he lifted the engine up and managed to put it on the ground. He left the casing inside the car to serve as the basis for the essence circulator.

“Help!” Someone faintly shouted.

Elijah looked behind him upon hearing distant screaming. He saw someone run at him, and he felt his mood drop as he realised who was running towards him. Blue hair, blue eyes, and extremely short. No doubt, it was Miyuki.

“How’d you even find me?” Elijah thought to himself.

“ELIJAH, THEY’RE AFTER ME!!!” Miyuki shouted, running away from a horde of people chasing after her. She sought refuge behind Elijah.

“What?” Elijah was blankly questioned.

“Those goddamn sons of a-.” cursed Miyuki.

“Trying to overcharge me for a sword, and then they call the police when I threaten them???” scoffed Miyuki.

“Uh-huh, whatever you say.“ Elijah sighed.

“Sounds like this ain’t my problem.”

Elijah took a deliberate and slow step to the right, revealing Miyuki to the angry crowd. The moment she saw them and their hateful eyes, she instantly ran with all her might, jumping above a wall and disappearing.

“How does she do this?” Elijah pondered before going back to his work.

2.

Miyuki looked behind her; she saw the endless number of people chasing after her with no signs of relenting. She was pushing and forcing her way through the crowds, even tripping some up as she ran with all her might.

“Over there,” Miyuki thought as she realised there was a break in the crowd. She used their confusion to her advantage and turned a sharp corner into an alleyway. The alley was pitch black due to the height of the buildings that surrounded it, making a perfect disguise for her.

She clutched her heart and held her breath. She saw the crowd run right past her, giving a sigh of relief. Miyuki looked up and noticed a camera, but she was too focused on the situation at hand.

“Thank Vesta, they passed.” Miyuki gave a sigh of relief as her breath slowly returned to normal. She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a few pieces of a dark steel sword.

“Elijah was making something from that engine, and I picked this up from a guard.” She thought to herself, deciding the best thing was to give these pieces of metal to Elijah, in the hope they would assist him.

Miyuki turned the corner; she saw the same lively streets but didn’t see the crowd of people. She was about to leave the alley, taking a few steps, but was caught off guard when she heard two people whispering. These people didn’t know Miyuki was here, so their whispering was able to be heard.

“This ain’t lookin’ great.”

“These goddamn people live in the luxury while we have the scraps”

“Haha! The knights have been struggling recently…It’s only a matter of time before this sorry country implodes.”

“That Julius ain’t gonna know what hit 'em.”

Miyuki attempted to piece together what they were saying, and she immediately thought of the Xinyang as they were operating inside of Chthonia until the friends and Augustus put a stop to them, permanently or temporarily.

When she looked back at the people in the alleyway, they had disappeared, leaving Miyuki all the more confused. She decided that the best course of action was to return to Elijah and give him the metal.

Miyuki walks out of the alley; she briefly looks around, making sure no one stays behind to look out for her, and then quickly walks back to Elijah.

On the way there, she found that the streets were littered with a thick layer of mud, which squelched as she attempted to walk in it. “What the hell is with this?” She questioned

She got stuck in the ground and had to push and pull her way through the path. Then, without knowing what was happening, she heard the gurgling of something somewhere around the corner. This noise didn’t sound human; instead, it sounded like a mix of animal noises.

“What.” Miyuki fretted.

She peaked at the corner; her eyes looked in shock as she came to terms with what she was

seeing. This thing was a large, slimy, pure black creature with long tendrils coming out of it.

The creature looked like a series of blobs, and it had multiple mouths that bore no resemblance to any animals with several eyes.

One of its eyes darted at Miyuki and then attempted to attack. Swinging one of its tendrils at Miyuki.

“What the hell is that thing?” She shouted.

Miyuki opted to run away, swinging from the ground to the roof of the building. Each step she took only took the energy out of her. She dodged and weaved through the benches and tables laid out on the street but was caught in a dead end.

Miyuki shifted her back to the other side, facing the cursed parasite.

She took a long gulp and unsheathed her other sword, her sword, towards the cursed parasite, shouting every word she could think of at it. She charged at it and swung her sword, but the sword didn’t do anything, with the cursed parasite simply regenerating all of the damage.

“You gotta get its brain out,” Elijah said.

“Ahh, thanks for the advice." Miyuki replied, not realising Elijah was there.

“ELIJAH?!” She shouted.

“Sup. Don’t question it.” Elijah hushed.

“Sure.”

“The hell is this weird, disgusting, terrible, awful thing?”

“It’s a cursed parasite. Abhorrent beings that are fueled by essence.” Elijah explained.

“Their bodies regenerate fast, so you gotta rip the brain out.” He followed up.

Miyuki and Elijah charge at the cursed parasite. Miyuki uses an extremely quick burst of slashes to hopefully immobilise it temporarily. The cursed parasite shrieks out in pain as Elijah reaches into its brain and pulls it out.

“There we go.” Elijah deadpanned, his arm dripping with a reddish-black liquid.

“That was easier than I thought. I guess no one is a match for us!” Miyuki laughed.

“Believe what ya wanna believe.”

“I thought most of them were exterminated. We lead a worldwide manhunt against them,” he muttered.

Elijah opened a liminal space portal to the left of them. Its black and yellow aura was inviting to both of them. Elijah walked through, with Miyuki following behind.

Arriving back at the heap of junk. Elijah had made a plethora of improvements to the car. He had sanded down the rust; the car still had that rusty look to it, but it wasn’t as strong, and the engine was completely transformed. Elijah only needed a couple more sheets of metal.

“Elijah?” Miyuki asked

“Hmm?”

“It’s broken, but I picked up one of the guards' dark steel sword.” Miyuki told Elijah.

“Essence-infused metal. Huh. Yeah, that’d work.” Elijah gave it some thought and accepted the dark steel.

Elijah uses the tool to fuse the metal together with the contraption he put together from the discarded engine.

“There we go. All we need now is someone with a lot of essence. Maybe Itzozu or Asher.”

“Speaking off, where are they?” MIyuki questioned.

“Huh. I guess we should wait here.” ELijah suggested.

Miyuki and Elijah wait around for Asher and Itzozu to come back. Miyuki sits on the trunk of the car while Elijah leans on the door.

“I was in an alley to hide from those crazy people, and I heard some people talking about how Chthonia will fall soon.” Miyuki broke the silence.

“No surprise. This place sucks.” Elijah replied.

“It sounded like this rebellion shit is gonna happen very soon.”

“We’ll be out by then…”

“Where are they?! It’s been like 2 hours!””

Elijah and Miyuki were waiting until they saw someone approach them; they looked menacing as they slowly approached them.

“Greetings.”

“We have met before.”

“You think you can take our family without consequence?”

“It is I, Julius, and I will destroy you and reclaim my brother.” Julius announced himself, as he wasted no time in attacking.

Julius’ sword slammed against Miyuki’s armour; if it had sliced her without it, the wound would’ve been fatal.

Elijah sued Liminal Space to get a hand on Julius, trying to teleport as many times as possible to throw him off.

Julius was an expert swordmaster and was easily able to adapt to Elijah’s Liminal Space. Miyuki kneeled down and slashed at his knee; the sword barely grazed him.

“Hm. I underestimated you.“ Julius laughed as he grasped his hands together, laughing menacingly.

“Essence Technique, Royal Guard.” Julius shouted.

Royal Guard is a technique that allows for an instant dodge, like an instinct. It is near impossible to hit someone in this state. There is an additional benefit to extreme endurance. The downside to this technique is that after the effects wear off, the user’s endurance drops significantly.

Julius kicked Miyuki in the stomach. She felt her armour take a heavy hit and her stomach sink as she was thrown to the other side of the garage.

Both of them got overwhelmed by the amount of attacks Julius was throwing at them. Both of them decided to focus on defence, until Miyuki came up with an idea.

“Elijah, can you back me up?” Miyuki asked.

Elijah uses his liminal space to try and capture Julius and then send him elsewhere in the arena to try and throw him off. Miyuki catches up to him and throws her sword at him, while Elijah empties a whole cartridge of lead into him.

Julius was stopped dead in his tracks when he heard the massive sound of an explosion at the palace, followed by the sounds of thousands of people screaming. Julius sighed.

“Tch, you’re lucky. I’ll be back for you later.”

Without warning, Julius runs towards the palace with his sword in hand.

“What just happened?” Miyuki questioned.