"So this is what it feels like to die," Kristine thought to herself. "I am so sorry, Mika, Calista, Michelle, Rinoah, Ms. Grace, and Ms. Selene. It's all my fault. If I had been strong enough, I could have saved all of you," she said, filled with emotions.
"Ms. Grace, I hope you make it in time. Please save them."
But then, suddenly, to her surprise the white light vanished, and she found herself cradled by their mysterious ally, Eijin. Kristine's eyes welled up, and tears began to run down her face. She really thought she had died and couldn't utter a single word. She was immensely grateful for their mysterious ally; he had saved them once again. She wanted to embrace the mysterious ally, but she didn't have any strength left in her, not even to lift a finger. She mumbled, "Please save them."
Eijin gently placed her in Elise's lap. Immediately, Elise placed her hands on Kristine's chest, and a white aura enveloped them. A white energy shone from Elise's hands that seem flowing thru Kristine's chest. So, she was a healer all along.
"Go, Eijin, save them!" Mara requested, her voice filled with worry.
And in an instant, Eijin teleported once again in front of Michelle. Nia was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a stranger. She quickly attacked, but to her surprise, before she could grab the handle of her short sword, she was pushed in the abdomen and sent flying. She landed hard on her back against the coconut tree, causing it to fall with the impact.
Nia struggled to get up. "Curse you!" she shouted angrily, ready to launch herself, but blood splattered her mouth, and she fell to her knees.
Eijin immediately embraced Michelle and teleported them to where his team was safely healing Kristine, far enough that the enemy couldn't notice them.
He gently placed her down beside Kristine.
"I am fine," Michelle declared before coughing out blood. "Please save my friends," she requested.
And Eijin teleported once more. But as soon as Eijin vanished, Mara and the others were taken aback when they noticed numerous white lights heading towards them. It was Jorcelle's light arrows.
Jorcelle seems to have a hawk-eyed vision. no wonder she is good at shooting. They didn't expected that from that distance, they could be discovered.
Mara immediately created an invisible force field to protect them. A seemingly ripples of water formed upon contact of the light arrows hitting Mara's force fields.
Eijin was taken aback by the scene where his team is defending from the barrage of light arrows, he quickly puts Rinoah down on the other side of Michelle. His worries are growing, he wanted to return back and save the remaining Shadowstrike team, but his team needs him. He must protect them.
Rachel, sensing his thoughts, spoke up. "Go back and save them, Eijin. I will protect them."
Knowing Rachel's true capabilities, he reluctantly teleported again.
Eijin's eyes widened as he arrived at the devastated lodge, where he found the unconscious Mika and Calista in need of rescue. Nia had Mika held at swordpoint, her sharp gaze fixed on Eijin. "How dare you hurt me," Nia hissed, her voice filled with anger. "I know you wanted to save these pathetic losers, but I won't allow..." However, before she could finish her sentence, she was startled and released her grip on Mika. Sensing imminent danger, she swiftly moved, almost as if teleporting, to put distance between herself and Mika.
Seizing the opportunity, Eijin teleported in front of Calista, gently scooping her up, and then teleported back to his team.
Upon arrival, Eijin placed Calista beside Michelle. Elise seems to stop the bleeding of Michelle and Rinoah so she continues to heal Kristine.
Eijin leaped to Rachel's side, who appeared to be holding her own against Jorcelle. Rachel skillfully countered all of Jorcelle's light arrows with her fireballs.
"Go save the remaining Shadowstrike," Rachel urged. "I can handle this girl, she's really fast but i will do my best to protect our family" she humbly decrlared.
Eijin nodded, acknowledging that Rachel was evenly matched with Jorcelle. He teleported once again, hoping to still rescue Mika.
Once more, Eijin was taken aback by the scene unfolding before him. The Shadow Rippers were on high alert, unable to make sudden moves as they sensed the impending danger.
Mika floated in the air, a dark and crimson aura enveloping her entire body. Black, electricity-like energy crawled across her form. Her eyes were wide open, black and red, and her hair billowed like smoky strands of crimson and black.
In an instant, Mika's gaze locked onto the Shadow Rippers, wearing a sinister smile.
Without warning, Mika dashed towards their enemies, slashing her scythe with blinding speed. Airag swiftly reacted, dashing as well and blocking Mika's attack with her daggers. While Mika was slower compared to Kristine's speed in emergency mode, she was still on par with Airag. However, Nia suddenly joined the fight, and even in Mika's berserk mode, she seemed to struggle. It became apparent that she hadn't fully mastered this new power.
Eijin quickly realized that Mika was at risk of being overwhelmed by her enemies. In an attempt to divert their attention, he swiftly threw bladed projectiles, hoping to catch the attention of at least one of her opponents. His plan worked, as Airag, Saguitaria, and Divina shifted their focus towards him. While Nia foccused her attack on Mika.
Airag leaped with incredible speed, seemingly teleporting in front of Eijin. She immediately aimed her daggers at his neck, but Eijin skillfully dodged and countered with a swift kick to Airag's chin. The impact sent her flying upwards, but she quickly regained her balance and landed gracefully on her feet.
As Eijin landed, Divina unleashed a barrage of floating crimson blades towards him. With his agility, he evaded once more and retaliated by throwing his own bladed projectiles at Divina.
In response, Divina curled her tentacle-like tails to shield her body, crossing her crimson sword to block the incoming attack.
Eijin hadn't even finished his attack on Divina when Saguitaria swiftly appeared at his side, slashing her claws and aiming for his face. Eijin managed to evade by moving to his left, but to his surprise, Saguitaria's mechanical arms were ready and waiting to stab him. Reacting quickly, Eijin teleported and appeared behind Saguitaria, delivering a powerful punch that sent her crashing to the ground, leaving a crater-like hole.
Airag and Divina regrouped beside Saguitaria, providing cover and support.
Remaining cautious, Eijin kept his distance, anticipating another attack. "They are so powerful, no wonder they defeated the Shadowstrike." Eijin thought to himself. "Who are they, who sent them?" he pondered.
Saguitaria struggled to get up, shaking her head. She had assumed her final form for battle, but this new opponent proved to be much more powerful than they had anticipated, even stronger than the Shadowstrike team they had previously defeated.
"He's my type," Divina remarked with a mischievous smile.
Saguitaria, in her feral voice, asked, "What should we do?"
"Hmp! I don't know about you, but we still have this," Divina responded. Both Divina and Airag swallowed the enhancing drugs, and almost instantly, they felt a sudden surge in their power.
Meanwhile, Mika and Nia are engaged in a fierce battle. They seem to be evenly matched, with every clash of their weapons resulting in a burst of explosive energy. As their fight intensifies, Mika starts to gain the upper hand, while Nia's breathing becomes heavy.