The broken quartz roof of the collapsed infrastructure that once made out the foundation of the auction hall provided numerous dust clouds swallowing the air as the echoes of constant pained groans and footsteps littered the area. Countless enslaved victims stood motionlessly outside it in the green grass of the hills. Not too long ago, these people were either a member of the Marked Mercenary support unit or of the military from the Cryohara government. Now they had blank empty expressions, with strange lustrous metal collars that had materialized out of thin air.
Luca was standing in the centre, polishing the blade of his beautiful saber with a solemn look, his stunning face half hidden behind his dark blue hair. Taking a communicator chip from underneath his armored leather sleeve, he spoke into it: "This is Luca, we are requesting backup…"
**On the quartz roof of the Auction Hall**
Laticia was standing menacingly in the centre of the rubble, her clothing half torn but her scowl strengthened. Her blood-red scarlet hair flowed like numerous tentacles of a deranged octopus as they complicated her stunning figure. Her eyes darted to Riko in front of her who was protecting Albert.
Laticia's eyes narrowed further. "You still seriously think someone like you could kill me? Really?" she said in a mockingly low tone.
"Riko! Don't be stupid!" Albert interrupted, only for Riko to offer a smile before looking back at the Witch of Chains with a dark expression, his goggles sitting comfortably on his brown hair.
"Obviously I do. What the hell do you mean by 'people like me'?" Riko replied.
The question made everyone on the roof pause as the tension rose, except for Trish who watched with a complicated expression, her eyes focused on Riko. Albert struggled to his knee, looking at Riko's back. He had trouble fathoming if this really was Riko or not. After all, the figure in front of him was unmistakably his naive yet talented friend; however, he was missing the hint of childish curiosity in his tone that he usually had, and his expression was close to the one he had during his battle with Felix during the selection.
Laticia grinned creepily as her chain whip clunked around. She threw her head back, her red hair waving as she let out a torturous laugh before answering Riko: "Do you still don't get it, brat? There's a reason the world knows me as the Witch of Chains. There's a reason none of your associates have been able to stop me. There's a reason why my business has never ended. It's simple really! I'm a god!"
Riko's legs moved as he walked closer to the deranged imposing woman, his blue eyes piercing her as if they were mocking. "A god, huh? Is that also why you play with people's lives? Because they're toys to you?!" he shouted, causing Laticia to pause, her expression becoming a grim scowl before smiling.
"Of course a nobody like you wouldn't get it, so I'll tell you, brat. It's simply something the world accepts and rejoices in—domination! The innate will that all living things crave! It's just how the world works. The strong decide what's right and wrong, and the weak have no choice but to follow suit and grovel! That's also the backbone of justice. The people are right, and the ones without it are wrong. So in a sense… I'M IN THE RIGHT! YOU'RE THE CRIMINALS!" Laticia's voice echoed an aura of energy from her oppressive Second Tier Passion Mark, causing the air to vibrate.
Even Seracore almost lost his footing, holding up his projected shield with the power of his Passion Mark. "She's lost it…" he hissed.
Behind him, Kiera shook with fear, a single wet tear in her eye as she saw Riko standing face to face with Laticia Sendorlitch, the Witch of Chains, with no hint of fear.
Riko was silent for a moment before a dangerous grin appeared on his face which irritated Laticia. "If that's true, then the weak grovel in front of the strong, right? So then… why aren't you groveling before me?!" Riko said with a dark excited tone.
In an instant, the bluish enchanted veins on Laticia's body bulged with anger, reflecting the glow of her growing two Passion Marks. "BASTARD!" she shouted, swinging her wrist as the chain whip shredded through the air and slashed forward.
Riko reacted immediately in response. The Mark of the Engineer on his cheek glowed blue as his ability activated. Riko's right foot pivoted before transforming as bolts and screws appeared, assembling themselves and shifting Riko's foot into metallic boots with exhaust as flames burst like lightning. Riko swiftly kicked off, dragging the disheveled Albert with him as they dodged the chain.
The metallic whip slashed through the rubble, destroying it instantly. Laticia's eyes peered up to see Riko who flipped and propelled himself before gently throwing Albert toward the others.
"Riko! What are yo—" Albert started, but Riko talked over him.
"Heads up!"
Albert suddenly tumbled down, probably internally cursing Riko as he crashed to where Maddeline and Kran were, behind Seracore's shield, just in time as a Chain of Subjugation slammed into the projected shield, its target likely being Albert.
"Riko! Whatever you do, don't touch those reddish chains coming out of her! They're part of her Second Tier ability! If they touch you then it's the same effect as if she touched you—you'd get enslaved!" Maddeline yelled out, seeing that everyone else was too stunned.
Riko blinked at the mention before dodging several of the Chains of Subjugation. "Thanks," he said as he flashed through the air.
Laticia clicked her tongue and dashed forward, cracking the ground. Suddenly she appeared in front of Riko who was still landing back from his stunt. "Careful what you wish for, brat!" she spat, her voice full of venom as she kicked forward.
Reacting quickly, Riko threw up his arms. "6-X Shield!" he yelled, naming his technique as his arms suddenly merged and transformed into a small mechanical shield with intricate tech patterns and wings as Laticia's heel crashed into them.
Riko's eyes widened as he coughed saliva. His shield was destroyed in an instant, the shockwave causing the place to break more as the force repelled Riko backwards. *Shit! I'm gonna get hit!* he thought in mid-air as he strained his head to see one of Laticia's long Chains of Subjugation twisting toward him.
Laticia merely smirked with cruelty. Suddenly however, to everyone's shock, a glowing pink arrow shot forward and pierced Riko's shoulder. However, it did not draw blood. In fact, it sunk into Riko's shoulder as if swallowed. Riko's body glowed for a second, engulfed by a pinkish aura as the inertia acting on him ground to a halt. Riko's body flew upwards in the last second, causing the devious red-tinted chain to narrowly miss his head.
Laticia's eyes twitched. "How did—" she started but failed to say as she turned her head to see where the strange arrow had come from. She then saw Trish standing there holding out the strange mechanical bow, her pose suggesting she was the one who shot the arrow.
Trish merely smirked confidently at Laticia. "Don't forget about me. I have a record to set straight with you!" she declared.
Laticia had in fact noticed Trish earlier but chose to ignore her. She'd already guessed after all that Riko had freed her the moment they arrived together, but the reason wasn't something she even wanted to know. Only seeing her former captive properly now did Laticia's blood boil.
"So you found it? How sad. And after all the plans I had for that beautiful bow and you. You know, I was slightly worried that you'd died down in the fortress. It would've been tragic to lose my most precious items so quickly!" Laticia mocked, though her irritated tone made her emotion clear.
Maddeline, who was carefully supporting Kran, looked in shock. Riko was floating around in the air before jumping down, nearly stumbling as he dodged another Chain of Subjugation before looking at Trish with awe.
"You never said you could do that! What the hell is that? Now you need to let me take it apart! What kinda tech is that bow?" Riko said in astonishment and intrusive interest, as if his engineering-crazed brain had forgotten the terrifying situation—something that caused Seracore and Albert to collectively groan.
In a distance, on the quartz roof, Malikar was panting on rubble, having barely dodged the Chains of Subjugation that assaulted him, a feat that would've been easy if not for his wounded leg. His eyes were focused on Trish and the bow she wielded. *No fucking way…* he thought.
"Riko, who is that girl?" Maddeline asked in a hurried tone, but before Riko could reply, Trish walked forward, her cloak flowing as she glared at Laticia, who was patiently standing off.
"You should've thought twice before messing with me, bitch," Trish said as Riko stared at her from a distance. *She's… so cool… Wait! This isn't the time!* Riko thought as he shook his head and regained focus before smirking.
"This is Trish. She's a Marked One like us, but she was also one of the red-haired freak's captives. A lot of crap happened, but she's our ally," Riko casually mentioned, causing the other Marked Mercenaries to pause.
Trish's eyes twitched. "Temporary ally," she corrected with slight annoyance in her tone.
"Why would you trust her? She could be a plant for all you knew!" Albert shouted from behind Seracore, who was losing his patience.
"Shut it, you stupid silver-haired idiot! I don't give a crap what you think! I'm only here for myself, and what I want is to kill her. Your annoying friend's gonna help me with that," Trish said, causing Riko to blink as he dodged another stray red-tinted chain.
Suddenly, the brief moment of clarity was erased by a mocking smile as Laticia walked forward, done with sitting and watching the mess. "I see, so reluctant allies? Whatever you think it'll take, but know that you're still going to die. And I can't have you taking the blondie—she's my bargaining chip with the damn Shadow Wounds! And I need that bow she has especially! It's not just any fancy weapon… it's one of the twenty great scientific weapons… the *Tóxo tou Ouranoú*! Can you fools even comprehend how valuable of an item she is?!" Laticia said, only to be met by a laser blast from Riko's fist that had become a cannon.
Laticia pivoted her head and dodged the shot with ease, her grin remaining. "Was that supposed to—" she started, but Riko's sudden hardened tone interrupted her immediately.
"Shut up. You said it again—you keep talking about people like you own them," Riko said in a cold voice. The atmosphere shifted as eyes focused on him again.
Trish paused. "Hey, I didn't ask you to—" she started, only for Riko's interruption again.
"This ain't about you!"
Laticia's eyes narrowed as she spun her wrist, the broken chain whip slashing and spinning as if preparing to slash him apart. "Oh? Then what is it, brat?" she said with a cold smile as more red-tinted Chains of Subjugation descended on them.
Suddenly, jet wings grew from Riko's back as he flashed forward. "An engineer never claims he owns something he never made! I'll show you… the resolve you don't have… because I'm gonna be the greatest engineer! One day I'll build things that'll make people happy in the new world! And in this world… YOU WON'T BE AROUND!" Riko shouted in anger as he flashed toward Laticia, dodging a network of spiraling Chains of Subjugation.
Trish scoffed and held up the bow which was revealed to be Flowmouth's treasure that she had fought with. Ethereal light strings appeared as she strung its strange black drawstring, creating a golden shape of an arrow as she drew it on the bow, pointing it.
Laticia laughed before flashing toward Riko and Trish. "IS THAT SO?! THEN TRY IT! BRAT! COME AND CHALLENGE THE SYSTEM THAT'S MADE HUMANITY WHAT IT IS!" she shouted.