Reaching the bay, Tomoe watches how the lower plains have been flooded, even to a higher level than the usual thanks to the downpour. From the end of the Red District, she can see the citadel doors lighting up, indicating that Lady Aquamarine has just opened the doors. A blue Aura can be seen flaring a bit before the citadel, besides the firewalls, as if it were a flame dancing, hard to make if there is actually one or two.

No… Lia…

Tomoe’s heart sinks deeper into anxiety.

Lorelei stands besides Tomoe, putting a hand to her shoulder. Turning, she makes a sign to her team, to get into the water already. Coming closer to Tomoe’s ear, she says “Come on. I can already see the styx sea from here, our time is running out.”

Raising her eyes, she catches the red waters that a day before were a mere point in the horizon, now it is a small radiant red circle. At this sight, many muscles in Tomoe’s body tense up and she bites her lower lip without realizing.

“I’ll keep the boy with me and Priscilla. You go ahead and open a way for us. Let's also take advantage of the water walls, soon they are going to drop them and we will lose cover, making it impossible for us to reach the citadel on time.” Adds Lorelei.

“I understand.” Answers Tomoe.

“Good. Then, let's get going.”

Nodding, Tomoe engages her Aura and enters into the dark waters of the flood. Diving in, the levels of the flood is so high that Tomoe’s entire body entered without a problem, and still having space to spare. Looking forward, she can see the Auras of the rest of the team present in the dark, and the Auras of Lorelei and Priscilla behind her.

With this, the Beheaders start swimming, moving further down the lower plains. Tomoe follows, sticking herself to the dark waters, and getting into position to enter right behind the water walls that the Beheaders by the citadel are keeping up. Looking to her right, she can see enemy soldiers, flaring their fire taming abilities in order to keep evaporating the water beside them, and in doing so keeping safe ground for the entire army. The flame walls also rise high, but Tomoe already realizes that they are getting shorter little by little.

They are desperate, trying to stop us from entering the citadel…

Pushing off the water walls, the firewalls also become more fierce, and the battle turns more savage, throwing light into the dark. Inside the dark waters, Tomoe can see the bodies of the many soldiers and Beheaders that have fallen in the skirmish here in the lower plains. Only the ones that have fallen here.

How many more are back there in the city?

There in the darkness, surrounded by the Auras of Lorelei’s team, the thought of everyone at the Citadel comes through Tomoe’s mind. Thinking about what she just went through at the Red District, an emotion fills Tomoe’s chest, something she then struggles to contain. Tomoe knows she must focus on the moment, yet the realization that she has the chance to see everyone again after that grim situation is tying her throat.

My job isn’t done until I come back… right, mom?

A tinge of shame flusters her. No matter how she looks at it, she failed back there, not only to the boy but to herself. Now that she has had the time to collect herself, the unbearable truth that she was quite useless doesn’t escape her. As she swims across the dark waters, Tomoe resolves to not be completely useless and get back alive.

Suddenly, a shake can be felt alongside the water wall. The water wall is losing power, losing form. It is becoming harder to swim alongside it. New light flares ahead of their destination, and with it, the water wall comes crashing down against their firewall.

Tomoe is thrown by the momentum towards the safe ground, behind enemy lines. Turning, she manages to see Lorelei and Priscilla behind her, with the boy still safe. In front of her, the rest of the Beheaders are already standing up and fighting the soldiers of the enemy army.

Flames and electrical arcs are thrown left and right, accompanied by some of them applying stronger lasers than what she saw two days ago.

A flare of red catches the corner of her right eye. Reacting by instinct, Tomoe raises her right arm and deflects the coming surprise attack by the soldier. Taking the water that was still tamed, then she perforates the enemy soldier with it, breaking its red Aura in the process.

As she turns to face the citadel, she is met with two streams of fire instead. Tomoe ducks and rolls to the side, using the water that she has tamed in order to reach the water outside of the firewall, tame it, and bring it back to her side, while she is running around the two attackers. Creating another stream of pressured water, Tomoe attacks sideways, hitting one of the enemy soldiers, while the other evade to the side. Concentrating the flames in one point, the soldier that evaded creates a laser and fires it, hitting Tomoe right at the center, sending her flying pretty close to the firewall, having taken a large chunk of the blue Aura she put up to defend herself. Seeing that soldier having lost that laser and focusing into making another one, Tomoe struggles to get up but to no avail, as the laser is about to fire again. Then, without having even thought about it, the soldier loses the laser once more and goes limp to the ground.

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You should have managed your Aura more.

Getting back on feet, she catches three more soldiers coming her way, yellow and red Auras flaring, not before being taken away by a large stream of water coming from behind her. Turning, Lorelei and Priscilla reach her side.

“Any idea on how to get to the front?!” Priscilla yells.

Watching over the battlefield, a smug appears on Lorelei’s face “I… actually have one idea” turning to Tomoe, she directs “defend our position, and be ready for a ride.”

“Sure.”

“You too Priscilla, defend my back.”

“You sure it will work?”

“It will. Don’t worry. Now, stop delaying things. Move!” says Lorelei, as she slaps both Tomoe’s and Priscilla’s butts.

“Now you have done it!” says Priscilla, pointing towards Lorelei as she moves to her back “wait until we are safe, it will be your downfall!”

“I’ll personally ask mom to not let you get a day free for the next three months!” yells Tomoe, as she moves in front of Lorelei.

Tomoe can only hear Lorelei’s laugher at the same time twelve other soldiers come attacking in front of her, a mix of fire and electrical tamers. Taking a cue from Oscar, she rises bubbles of water into the air, from which she, using pressure, starts firing little needles of water right into the bodies of the enemy soldiers, and with infusing their blood, she starts picking them up and throwing them to the sides, to the dark waters.

As always, aiming these is hard, but this works wonders against many enemies grouped together…

Another group comes forward, this time larger than the one before, about twenty. Tomoe does the same thing again, taking out seventeen before three manage to reach her.

The fire tamer that is in front of her plunged forward, now being right in the air, and before she lands, Tomoe brings water to where she would land, making the fire tamer lose her footing, falling. Tomoe then uses water taming and throws her against the second fire tamer that was coming right after her, breaking the red Aura of both fire tamers in the process. The third one manages to reach in front of her, electrical arcs coming of her arms.

Raising her arms, these electrical arcs come forward in an instant. Engaging her Aura, Tomoe blocks these electrical arcs, trying to evade them but to no avail, the electricity is faster than her reflexes.

Surely Lia could’ve handled this back then!

Images of a time that will never come back race through her mind, while she struggles to focus on the fight and her Aura being chipped away by chunks.

The electrical tamer suddenly gives a smug, and electrical arcs come running down his legs, reaching the ground, and using it to reach Tomoe by her legs. Being reached by the electrical arcs, Tomoe’s body trembles violently, as she tries to endure by enhancing her own body and resisting. Gathering her focus, she gathers the water she still has tamed behind the electrical tamer, rises it in a bubble, and in one strong thrust, spears the electrical tamer’s head.

Falling into the ground, Tomoe can feel her entire body being numb.

My Aura… almost gone…

Tomoe struggles with, as she keeps taking deep breaths, just to not fall into the ground.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she turns to see Priscilla as she hears “Time to go!”. Grabbing Tomoe by the arms, she pulls her back, as more soldiers start getting closer to them. Tomoe fells how she is pulled into the water, and turning back, she can see, as she is entering it, a big bubble of water. Reaching the center of it, she sees Lorelei and Reyson by her side.

With a smug on her face, Lorelei says “be sure to tow Tomoe properly Priscilla!”

Still a smug smile even in this situation…

Tomoe lets a chuckle escape.

Nodding, Priscilla envelops Tomoe in a bubble of water that she is taming and replies “Everything is ready!”

“Good!” Lorelei says as she grabs Reyson’s hand “also grab my leg boy, with all the force you can muster!”. Reyson just nods.

Getting besides Lorelei, she compresses the bubble, and by ripping it apart a bit on the front, a large stream of water is thrown forward, making them cross in an instant the entire battlefield.

As she is moving closer, Tomoe catches the glimpse of Amelia, fighting a large man on her own, as almost all the Beheaders have crossed the elevated bridge and entered the citadel. Passing by her side, Amelia catches a glimpse of them, giving what Tomoe could swear was a wry smile. She is wrapped in her yellow Aura.

Still, Tomoe thought that from far away there were two blue Auras fighting out.

Getting right behind the last Beheaders, Lorelei, Priscilla and Reyson enter the citadel. Tomoe, giving a glimpse back, stands in the doorway.

Amelia runs towards the large man lacking a right arm. Putting the sword in a low posture, the large man puts his spear on the way of the strike, in order to defend from it. Amelia then enhances her own body strength, enough so that the large man is taken out of balance, something that she takes advantage of, putting a kick, sending him back, putting space between them.

Taking advantage of this, Amelia envelops herself in her Aura and starts shining. Seeing this, Tomoe makes a sigh of relief, entering the citadel, finally letting the doors to close. Amelia then disappears in her own Aura, being replaced by a huge knife instead, that falls, stabbing the ground.