*** Chapter 9: In Deep Water ***

Eren and Lyra stared at the door before them. It was a simple wooden door, with a key hanging by a string from a nail on the door.

"So…" Lyra began. "Should we try the key?"

"Yeah, I guess," Eren said, but he didn't reach for the key.

"Well… go on then."

"I'm not doing it. You open the door." Lyra eyed the key suspiciously.

"What if it's a trap?"

"It probably is; this is way too easy," Eren said bluntly.

"Then you should do it. You're the metal man!" Eren frowned; she had a point. He hated when she had a point. He looked through the keyhole, but he couldn't see anything.

Reluctantly, he reached out, taking the key from the hook.

Nothing happened.

Slowly, hesitantly, he put the key in the hole. Nothing happened. Carefully, he turned the key, unlocking the door. Nothing happened.

"Just open it!"

Eren turned to look at her. Slowly. "In my own time." Lyra rolled her eyes.

Eren turned the handle gingerly. Opening the door, he looked into the room. It was dark. Lit only by the flickering ball of lightning in Lyra's hand. Inside, it looked identical to all the other tunnels they had gone through so far.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Eren sighed, finally turning away from the doorway and looking at Lyra.

Lyra walked into the room, taking the lead so her light could guide the way. Eren followed her cautiously, still looking for traps.

The door closed behind them. Then water started leaking from the walls, dripping to the ground.

"Oh, okay, so that's what's going to happen," Eren said, watching as the water slowly gathered around their feet.

"Why aren't you more worried about us drowning?" Lyra asked, eyeing the water nervously.

"Eh, I can just break the door down," Eren said, turning to the door and summoning a sledgehammer. He hit the door with as much force as he could muster, but it didn't even make a dent. "Or... or we could just sprint and make it through the tunnel before the water gets too high."

Lyra rolled her eyes again, but she didn't argue. The aim of the Trial was obvious. They were supposed to rush to get out before the water got too high. Based on the previous tests, they would have thought of any obvious workarounds and prevented them.

It wasn't too bad at first. The polished floor was slippery, but manageable.

But the water kept on rising. Wading through the water, Lyra kept her hands raised in the air.

"If my hands get wet, I won't be able to keep using my magic," Lyra complained.

Her magic would naturally flow through water, shocking Eren if it made contact. Lyra could just let her magic flow through her harmlessly, as she had when fighting the pack wolf; the same could not be said of Eren.

But without it, they wouldn't be able to see. Unfortunately, there was no other light source.

"It shouldn't be too much longer; just keep going," Eren said. He made a mental note to avoid splashing her.

Then they reached a fork in the road. There was a sign. One path leads to freedom, the other to the depths. Choose your path wisely.

They couldn't afford to guess; the water was rising too fast. The water was already up to Lyra's chest. There wasn't enough time to risk getting it wrong.

The paths looked identical.

"Think it's a riddle?" Eren asked, reading the sign aloud to himself.

"If it is, I don't get it."

"Neither do I."

"Damn."

***

For the last trial, the room underwent a dramatic change. The roof opened up, and water started flowing in. It wasn't much, and the room was big. So far, all it had done was flow into the hole Kena had blown into the floor.

But it wasn't stopping. In fact, it was getting faster.

Kena was, simply put, horribly unsuited to this test. As a fire mage, her magic would struggle due to the water. For a lesser fire mage, it would be the end.

"Water, you really think that'll be enough to mess up my magic?" Kena asked, kicking the water around a little. She was annoyed; even after all he had seen, he still underestimated her.

"No. That's not for you," Dominic responded mysteriously.

"What the hell does that mean?"

Her answer came in the form of a man bursting out of the water in front of her.

At least Kena thought it was a man, that or a mutant bipedal octopus. He had six strange, wriggling arms, pink skin, and lips that looked like an octopus's sucker. "Unfortunately, ma'am, you are mistaken. I'll be your opponent for this next challenge; if you'll accept me." His voice was deep but sounded muffled, as if he was underwater.

Smiling, Kena punched her own hand threateningly. "Oh yeah, big boy. I'll take you on. What's the game?"

"Excellent. Remember that we can stop whenever you wish, really just say. Three sharp grunts will be accepted as a forfeit as well. If your mouth is covered at any point in our bout, you can still surrender." Kena grunted noncommittally. Like she would give up when she had come so far. She was going to go three for three. "My name is Achi, and with your consent, I'll be your opponent today. I hope you will be pleased with the simple nature of this next test. You must try to escape this room, and I'll do everything in my power to stop you. Additionally, magic barriers now prevent you from leaving the room via any of the doorways."

"Alright, I'm game. Let's do this!" Kena rushed forward, straight for Achi, her body temperature skyrocketing in anticipation of a good fight. If he was going to be an obstacle, it would be better to eliminate him sooner rather than later. She would worry about escaping after she beat him.

"I'm supposed to be the one who decides when a Trial starts," Dominic muttered, shaking his head. No one listened to him.

Achi sunk into a low stance, six arms positioned seemingly at random. "This should be an excellent bout; I've thoroughly enjoyed your performance until now. You're an amazing warrior!" Kena had never had any opponent praise her during a fight before. She liked it.

"You ain’t seen nothing yet!" Feinting a straight punch to the face, Kena flowed around him and delivered a roundhouse to Achi's back. The blow exploded on impact, blasting the water away in all directions. Unable to block, Achi was knocked end over end. Not stopping when he hit the wall, he scrambled up the wall until he was out of Kena's reach.

"Amazing. I didn't see that coming at all. Such grace and power!" Achi praised from his safe spot on the wall.

"I like your wall climbing thingy too! That's super cool," Kena praised back. She felt like she had to. After receiving so many genuine and excited compliments, she would have to be made of stone to not respond in kind!

"Thank you. It's very useful when I need a breather in an intense fight. Although I imagine getting away from someone like you won't be easy, I bet you already have a plan."

"'Course. The plan's called-" Cupping her hands at her side, Kena began gathering power. When she had enough power built up, she called out, "Fireball!"

"Simple, but effective!" Leaping forward, Achi avoided the fireball by a hair. He landed directly behind Kena. Kena spun around instinctively, but he wasn't there. "Six fists, backbreaker!"

Strong hands seized Kena's limbs, holding her arms in a complicated lock behind her back. Before Kena could even struggle, fists began raining down on her back with unnatural speed.

Kena tried to break herself free but found herself unable to. His lock was too strong, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t break it. It was like he was glued to her body. His extra arms meant he didn't even have to slow down his attacks as she tried in vain to escape.

Worse, she couldn't seem to create any fire from her arms; no matter how hard she tried, she barely got a spark. It had to be something to do with Achi's hold on her.

"You can throw in the towel at any moment, ma'am. It won't make you any less of a warrior," Achi advised, his voice shaking from the beating he was giving her. Snarling like a feral dog, Kena threw her head back, meeting his nose with a powerful explosion. Hearing him grunt in pain was satisfying, as was the feeling of his grip loosening. It was only for a second, but that was all Kena needed.

The moment he slipped, she tore her arms free. Spinning around, she delivered a point-blank fireball to his chest. He was blown clear across the room. "A real warrior never surrenders."

Shakily making his way to his feet, Achi smiled widely. "If that is your choice, I accept it. It truly is impressive. You can use magic from your feet and head, not just your hands. Can you do it from anywhere else?"

Kena grinned proudly, summoning dual flames, one in each hand. "I can breathe fire too!" Throwing the fireballs to either side of Achi, Kena breathed a stream of fire right at him.

Dropping low, Achi hid under the water, using the steam to cover his retreat. "Oh, Achi, here I was thinking you were going to show me a good time tonight," Kena drawled, preparing an explosive strike from each leg and hand. The water would stop her fireballs, but it wouldn't do anything about a point-blank explosion.

Achi burst out of the water behind Kena, dodging out of the way of her kick. Black liquid sprayed out from his mouth like a hose. Not willing to stand around and see what it did, Kena leapt back to avoid the disgusting attack. The water was up to her thighs, delaying her movements just enough for her to be hit. The strange liquid covered her chest and legs, dying the water a murky black.

Achi rushed forward, flowing through the water with the speed and grace of an actual fish. He was getting faster as the room flooded. Kena met him with a charge of her own but was much less graceful.

The strange black liquid was gross and sticky to the touch, making movement awkward as her body and clothes stuck to themselves. Kena tried to burn it off, but it only got thicker and stickier for her trouble. This, combined with the water, meant her movements were clumsy and easy to follow. Achi slipped around her attack with ease.

Once he was behind her, six muscular arms seized Kena. He restrained her in such a way as to immobilise her head and arms. She sputtered as he squeezed her throat.

Kena smirked despite her compromising situation. She still had four explosions set. Sending a mental signal, Kena triggered them all simultaneously. It wouldn't be as strong as if she punched him, but it would be more than enough to break his grip.

Nothing happened. The light faded from her limbs, her power draining away. Not again…

"I would like to remind you that three sharp grunts will constitute a surrender."

***

"Kena's in trouble. Achi's hold makes using magic nearly impossible," Dominic commentated, seemingly for no one's benefit.

"Hmph, you got that right. The brat only got this far by sheer dumb luck," Envi said, standing at his side. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Dominic, hoping to see some evidence of surprise on his face. She often tried to sneak up on Dominic, hoping to surprise him.

Dominic didn't react at all. He knew she was there the entire time. He always did. She had barely gone around the corner before she came back. She didn't want to admit it, but Dominic knew she was impressed with Kena. Envi wanted to see how the fight would play out. "Not entirely. Luck is always a factor in life. But she had to know how to react to the advantages she stumbled across."

Envi growled in frustration; Dominic felt inwardly pleased with himself. He had figured out Kena's trick with the smoke immediately; if his hunch was correct, he had thought to do so before even Kena. Envi still couldn’t figure out how she did it. It wasn't her failing; she was too close to the problem. Eventually, she would figure it out; Dominic didn't want to take that joy away from her. "Well, there's certainly no advantage to be taken advantage of this time."

"True, she didn't realise it. But Achi's early moves and questions were all calculated to get the measure of her abilities." Dominic let it go unsaid that Kena had played right into his hand. She had revealed details of her magic unnecessarily; in doing so, she ensured Achi knew how to counter them. Kena was clever- in a battle sense. But she was also straightforward, and it would be her undoing. Dominic couldn't help but let out a sigh; she had been so promising. Unfortunately, as an examiner, he was bound by the rules; he had to treat her impartially.

"Kick her ass, Achi!" Envi cheered, arms waving emphatically, even though Achi couldn't see her.

***

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Jin wanted to believe Kena could win. She had already surprised her twice; what was a third time? But she just couldn't see how this time.

Achi didn't have a simple gimmick she could take advantage of. He was just strong; overwhelmingly strong. His primary magic seemed to be his extra arms and octopus-like body. This type of bodily alteration magic was called being an Enhancer. All mages did it to an extent, gaining superhuman strength from their mana. But some, like Achi, made it their primary focus, altering their body at a fundamental to make themselves unnaturally strong. The problem with fighting Enhancers was that the simplicity of their magic meant they rarely had any distinct weaknesses like a Conjurer or Enhancer might suffer from. The usual advice would be to keep a distance, but Achi had already proved that wasn't an option against him. Add to that the water that was hampering Kena's movements and fire, and worse seemed to make Achi move with even greater ease...it just wasn't viable. Kena could barely move, and Achi had disabled her magic.

Jin had to do something. The rules were clear. If she broke the barrier without assistance, it was legal… probably. Even if she was wrong, it would hardly make things any worse. So she might as well try.

If only she had any idea how to break the barrier.

The thing was incredibly well designed. Not only could it take any attack that Jin or Kena could throw at it with barely a flash of light for their effort. Worse still, she couldn't even drain its magic. Every time she tried, her plants simply refused to interact with them. It was like it wasn't even there. Except that neither she nor her plants could go through it. It was mind-boggling.

There had to be something she could do to help.

Jin didn't care that Kena would be angry. This was her trial, too; she refused to be a mere bystander!

Creating her largest flower, Flora Giganta Jin pushed as much mana as she could into it. Its roots slammed against the barrier meaninglessly, pushing down further in search of its bottom. No one was casting the barrier. That suggested it was a construct. If that was the case, it would need to have some sort of mana source.

Maybe if she found its mana source, she could attack it that way.

Jin didn't find a mana source. But she did find the pipes the water was travelling through; Flora Giganta was instinctively attracted to the liquid.

Well, it wasn't ideal, but Jin could work with it. Following the pipe down, she found it was only wrapped in the barrier for a few meters, after which it was no different from any other metal pipe. Her roots broke through it with ease, snaking their way up, blocking the water as a side effect.

"Hang in there, Kena. I'm going to save you whether you like it or not!"

***

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Lyra asked, looking up to meet Eren's eye.

"Yeah, I'm wet, but I'm not connected to the water. I won't be affected." Lyra nodded, though she still seemed unsure. Eren really couldn't blame her.

The plan was simple. Lyra was a conjurer like Eren. Although she didn't specialise in maintaining her lightning-like Eren did his iron - she could still feel it. The only issue was the water, as lightning mana naturally flowed through water. To get enough for a proper sense of where each tunnel went, she would need to use a lot of power. But with Eren standing next to her, she would fry him if she did so.

Although iron was good defensively against most magic, lightning was a key exception. Iron magic would be worse than useless against lightning, amplifying it to overwhelming levels. It's part of what made the attack against the Pack Wolf so devastating. Even with his armour inactive, Eren was naturally full of iron mana; he couldn't afford to take a hit.

Eren hung himself from the ceiling, held in place by chains around his waist, neck, and each limb. Although he was wet, he wasn't directly connected to the water at any point, so he shouldn't be shocked by Lyra's lightning.

Hopefully.

***

Kena's vision was going dark. She couldn't believe it, but she was losing. The polite, pink prick was going to choke her out. Or she'd drown; the water was already up to her chest. Idly, she wondered which it would count as. Probably a choking, unless he released her when the water reached her mouth and then let her drown. That would be super lame. She hoped he didn't do that.

Well, what she really hoped was that she would break out of his hold ... somehow. But that didn't seem possible. His grip was rock solid, and his gross black gunk made it even harder to break free. The water was sucking away her heat. The only chance she would have had was to breathe fire, except she was being choked, so that was out.

In short, Kena was screwed.

In a situation like this, a lesser warrior would surrender. Kena could tell Achi wanted her to -he kept saying so after all - a part of her wanted to, too. But she couldn't. She was a warrior. Warriors went down fighting; they didn't give up just because it seemed hopeless. She would keep fighting until the end even if it meant dying.

Just like him.

It was a shame Jin would lose. She would have probably done much better with this test. Water was good for plants; even Kena knew that. This would be like a buffet for the girl. Achi wouldn't know what hit him; he would suddenly have his magic ripped out, leaving him helpless. Kena smiled at the thought.

"Ma'am, why are you smiling? I'm choking you; you shouldn't be enjoying this," Achi asked uncomfortably. Hoping his grip would've loosened, Kena again tried to struggle free, only for his steel hold to redouble. "Ah! So you wished to confuse me with false confidence. Quiet the ploy!"

Kena sagged miserably. Achi was being way too nice. Was she really so little of a threat to him?

"Kena, why are you fighting him?" Kena's frown deepened. What kind of question was that? It was the test. Except, it wasn't the test. Not really, anyway. As if reading Kena's mind, Jin continued, "This whole test, all the tests of this stupid exam, they're about slowing us down. So stop wasting time fighting squid face and focus on escaping!"

"How dare you?" Achi shouted, showing anger for the first time since he arrived. "I am an octopus face, thank-you-very-much!"

Kena just needed some sort of opening.

That opening came courtesy of Jin's vines bursting through the floor, enveloping Achi. The moment his grip loosened, Kena hit him as hard as she could. Which, exhausted as she was, wasn't very hard. But it was hard enough; he released her. Making some distance, she panted for breath.

The water was still up to her chest, forcing her to swim. It was falling now, Jin's plant sucking it up unnaturally fast. Achi was still struggling to free himself, head under the water as he pulled at the vines.

Kena knew better than to try for another bout up close. She had to keep her distance; fighting him wasn't the priority.

Jin's vines wouldn't hold him forever. Kena had to think of some way to break out of this room, and fast.

***

Taking a deep breath, Lyra tried to calm herself down. Focusing hard, she summoned lightning to her hands, holding onto it as it built up. She tried to focus on the feeling of her mana, closing her eyes to block out distractions. The water rising around her chest didn't help. Once she was confident she had enough, she released it into the water surrounding her.

Her awareness exploded out around her. Overwhelmed, she recoiled before catching herself. Taking another breath to calm herself, she continued flowing her mana into the water.

She couldn't feel it in as much detail as she would like. But she got a sense of the shape of the tunnel they were stuck in. Focusing on the fork before her, she tried to notice the difference. Both sides were at an incline; one slowly rose until the water could only lap at its side. The other slowly descended until it was completely submerged. The submerged side also seemed to be a dead end.

Cancelling her spell, she opened her eyes.

"Come down; it's safe." Dismissing his chains, he swung down feet first, joining her.

"Follow me."

***

"Jin’s assistant saved her. But if she doesn't adjust, it won't be enough." Dominic stroked his chin, deep in thought.

"It's a shame; Jin's attempt at supporting her was a stroke of genius." The water was falling, limiting Achi's options to hide. Jin was hampering Achi with her vines, but her attacks were too slow to be completely effective. Working around the barrier was too big of an obstacle for Jin to fight to her fullest.

"You think she can't do it?"

"Obviously, the girl's an idiot!" Envi said, crossing her arms and smacking her lips.

"She outsmarted you," Dominic pointed out.

"Sh-shut up!"

***

Kena searched the room desperately for something that could be a clue to escaping. She was supposed to break the barriers. Brute force wouldn't work, they had endured everything so far, and Kena wasn't even sure they had been damaged.

"Kena, the barriers have to have some kind of power source. I can't find it, so it has to be inside," Jin explained. "Look for a gem or jewel."

"What's the difference?" Kena asked, but even so started looking.

"I'll explain later. Don't worry about it."

All she had to do was find a gem and break it. The only problem was this was a dull, featureless room; it didn't have any places to hide a gem. "What if the gems are protected by the barrier?"

Jin didn't respond.

With a roar, Achi freed himself. The moment he surfaced, Kena shot a fireball at his face. He knew it was coming, leaping over the blast and onto the ceiling, sticking to it with his suckers.

Kena began charging another fireball but was forced to dodge a blast of ink. Her unfinished attack hit the water ineffectually. "Can't you drain this water any faster?"

"Oh wow! Why didn't I think of that? Here I've been going at half speed!" Jin grouched, voice strained from the effort of her spell. Vines moved to the walls, attempting to pursue, only to sag when they touched the barrier. "The barriers are messing with my magic. My vines can't touch him unless he's on the ground."

"Oh-ho, quite the predicament. It seems that we are at a stalemate as long as I stay up here," Achi commented, smiling widely.

Swinging around, Achi gripped the roof with his feet as he reached to grab Kena with his many tentacles.

Kena didn't have time to blast. With the Achi hampering her movements, she didn't even have time to dodge, or at least no ordinary mage would. Shooting fire out behind her, Kena shot across the room, water breaking around her. Achi’s pained cry was music to her ears. "Ain't no way I'm getting another death hug from you."

"Such an excellent technique. Combining evasion and offence," Achi praised as he dropped to the ground, his ink swirling in the surrounding water. Seeing Jin's vines coming in for another attack, he leapt to the ceiling.

Kena grinned viscously, the water around her bubbling. "You haven't seen nothing yet. I'll remind you now: you can surrender any time you like."

"Thank you very much for the reminder. I'm glad that even though we're fighting as rivals, we can still respect each other and allow honourable surrender." Achi's earnest words sucked the power from Kena's. Her grin spread even wider; she wasn't letting him control the fight anymore.

"Rivals? Sorry, tentacles. You're not even in my league." Kena punctuated her statement by firing another blast at Achi. Achi scuttled away, Kena readily giving chase. As she followed, she made sure to coral him away from her, forcing him to abandon his charges and rethink whenever he got close. The closer he got, the faster she could react, making catching her nearly impossible.

"Your confidence is truly amazing. I wish I could feel so sure of my victory in the face of a clearly superior opponent," Achi praised, just a hint of edge leaking into his voice.

Achi tried to compensate with ink shots, but Kena dodged with increasing ease as the water flowed away. But as much as Kena appeared to have the advantage, she knew she didn't. Achi was merely playing with her, forcing her to expend all her mana to keep him at bay. He used little to no mana to stick to the ceiling and shoot his ink.

But Jin was still in the fight; her vines couldn't climb the wall. But her bamboo didn't need to.

It shot from the water, aiming to skewer Achi. Achi avoided it, letting its spear through the ceiling instead, only for another to appear where he dodged to. He swerved. He swerved right into a fireball, blasting him out of his hiding spot.

Twisting in the air, Achi tried to control his fall. Kena didn't let him, lashing out with an explosive kick that-falling through the air as he was-Achi was unable to defend himself. He was sent careening into the doorway.

Kena didn't let up, moving to chase. But she was stopped when Achi passed through the barrier, almost hitting Jin. "Hey, get back here! We're not done yet!"

***

Jin leapt back in shock from Achi's sudden intrusion. He was injured; smoke rolled off his body. His skin was visibly blackened in several areas, but she knew he was still dangerous. Thinking quickly, she coated her body with thorns, assuming a defensive stance. If he tried to grab her, he would regret it.

Strangely, Achi didn't try to attack her. The moment he realised he was no longer in the barrier, he looked panicked for the first time, racing back through to face Kena again.

He was afraid.

Jin couldn't figure out why. Sure, her spikes would make grappling her awkward, but an experienced fighter like him would have dealt with worse. So, if he's not afraid of me. What is he afraid of?

The barrier parted around Achi seamlessly, a light glow clinging to his skin as he did so. Experimentally, Jin sent a vine stalk towards his back. Hearing the attack, Achi leapt forward, relying on the barrier to stop Jin's attack.

The vine kept going, the light of the barrier wrapped tight around it. When he passed through the barrier, he left a gap. Kena can follow him through the gap.

The barrier then cut her vine, the emancipated vine dropping to the water with a splash. She better be fast, though.

Jin needed to tell Kena this. But if she did, Achi would adjust his defence.

"I have a plan; I need you to do exactly what I say."

***

Seeing Achi return, Kena fought the urge to curse. This was not good. She was just too tired. She had been fighting all day, her opponents some of the strongest she had ever met. But Achi was still fresh. He could go as long as he wanted, and they both knew it. It didn't matter how hard Kena fought; Achi would win in the end.

She still had no idea how she was supposed to escape the room.

"I have a plan; I need you to do exactly what I say." Jin sounded so sure of herself, so confident of victory even now. Instinctively, Kena found she believed her; she had to know something. Right?

Kena never liked fighting with a partner; she was a lone wolf. A real warrior didn't need saving; they achieved what they did through their own power. But then, maybe she was thinking about it wrong. Jin wasn't saving her, not really. More like helping, providing support. Assisting Kena with planning and her vines to harass Achi. Kena could hardly be expected to plan during such a hard fight.

"Fine. Let's fry this calamari."

***

Achi dodged Kena's blast, the water splashing around his knees. It was too low to swim in now, making it harder to outmanoeuvre her. Following Jin's advice, Kena kept a distance, harassing Achi with blasts but never committing to a solid attack.

But Achi could see through their plan. Jin's plants hid in the murky water- obscured by his own ink. Kena was trying to lure him into a trap.

It wouldn't work. There was one key factor that Jin had overlooked. Achi had made the ink with his magic; he was a conjurer. Like all conjurers, he could sense his creations, which meant he could tell where Jin's vines were.

Every time Kena tried to force him into a trap, Achi would go somewhere else, careful to avoid being boxed in. All the while, Kena was burning through her mana. Soon she would be tapped dry, and he would strike.

Leaping back, Achi climbed up onto the wall to avoid an attack. Kena followed up with another fireball, forcing him to leap down. Avoiding Jin's vines, he landed facing Kena, ready to strike.

"Now!" Jin yelled. Kena leapt forward, arms outstretched- she was trying to tackle him. Achi almost laughed at the absurdity. Then he felt bamboo trees bursting from the ground. They weren't trying to stab him, however. Just stopping him from dodging.

The barrier, the thought flew through Achi's mind. They had been slowly moving him into position the whole fight. He was standing right in front of the doorway. If she knocked him over, he would phase right through it. Taking her along for the ride.

She would win.

Setting his legs, he prepared to catch her sloppy attack. He had nowhere to dodge, but it wouldn't matter. He could catch her like a ball. Such a weak tackle wasn't a threat; she was just delivering herself to another hold. And this time, he wouldn't let her escape so easily.

Flying flew through the air; Kena shot fire out of her feet. The added power knocked Achi off his feet. The barrier parted around Achi's body obediently.

It didn't matter. Achi had thrown Kena off track. She hit the wall instead, a dull thud marking her failure.

He would have to get back in quickly, but it didn't matter. Now that he knew what they were up to, he wouldn't be so easily tricked a second time.

Achi spun around, and his jaw dropped. Thick bamboo branches held the barrier open, visibly straining from the pressure.

Before he could even climb to his feet, Kena stepped through. "Looks like it's our win. Don't feel bad about losing; it's only natural when you're facing superior opponents."