[Isaac's Side]
They scoured the crumbling ruins of the stadium for Llyne, but all they found was dust and silence. Isaac wiped his sleeve across his forehead, his nerves fraying thin. He turned toward Rona and asked grimly, "Found her yet?"
Rona shook her head, her twin tails drooping. "Rona didn't see anything."
Isaac gritted his teeth. He turned toward Ronald, grasping at the last thread of hope. "What about you, Ronald?"
Ronald shook his head slowly. "Not yet."
The sinking feeling in Isaac's chest deepened. He sat down heavily on the cracked ground, burying his face into his hands. "Where could she be...?"
Rona quietly sat beside him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Her warmth barely pushed back the cold dread gnawing at him.
Then—
Ronald squinted into the distance. Something flickered at the edge of the stadium. A shift in the light. A blur of movement. "Hmm? What's that?"
He called out, his voice sharp with urgency. "Isaac! I think there's something over there. I can't see that far. Your eyes are better—can you check?"
Isaac scrambled to his feet, heart thudding. "Where?"
Ronald pointed to the far side of the stadium.
Isaac followed his finger... and froze.
A familiar figure.
"Jinx..." he whispered, voice cracking.
He let out a weak laugh—then collapsed with a splatter of foam from his mouth.
"ISAAC!" Ronald shouted, diving forward to catch him before he hit the ground.
Panic gripped Ronald. "What do I do? What do I do?"
Rona poked Isaac's cheek. "Rona thinks TsunTsun is dead. Death confirmed at—"
"He's not dead!" Ronald snapped, trembling. "He just fainted!"
Rona nodded sagely as if that explained everything.
Without wasting another second, Ronald slung Isaac over his shoulder like a sack of rice. "Come on. I think Isaac saw Llyne over there."
Rona skipped along behind him, and together they raced toward the edge of the stadium.
[Llyne's Side]
Mr. James continued to prance around me, flailing his arms in a dance that could only be described as painfully cursed.
Ugh... I want to punch him so badly.
I sprawled on the ground, groaning in defeat. "Fine! I give up!"
Mr. James immediately stopped and sat cross-legged in front of me, wearing the smuggest grin known to mankind.
I scowled. "Wipe that smug face off."
"Nuuuu," he sang.
I had had enough. With lightning speed, I jabbed my index and middle fingers right into his gleaming eyes.
"GAH!" Mr. James shrieked, clutching his face. "How could you poke my seductive eyes?!"
I huffed and brushed dirt off my pants. "I never dated before, but I know someone who's had a parade of exes. I can give you some tips on what not to do."
At once, Mr. James perked up. "I'm all ears, sensei!"
Step.
Step.
My body stiffened.
Footsteps.
I whirled around—and my heart leapt.
Isaac, Ronald, and Rona were trudging toward me, Ronald carrying Isaac over his shoulder like a trophy.
Without thinking, I sprinted toward them and scooped Rona into a bear hug. "I missed you guys! Especially after dealing with Mr. Annoying over there." I jerked my thumb back toward Mr. James.
Mr. James waddled over and wrapped all of us in a crushing hug. "Oh, my fuzzy bunnies! I'm so relieved you're all safe. If anything had happened to you—"
SMACK!
Isaac, still unconscious, slapped Mr. James across the face with such force that he was launched backward like a ragdoll.
We gaped, frozen in place.
Isaac, meanwhile, remained limp and snoring.
We looked at Isaac, still dangling unconscious over Ronald's shoulder. I frowned and asked, "How did he just...?"
Ronald raised both his shoulders helplessly. "Beats me."
Meanwhile, Mr. James clutched his cheeks dramatically, as if he had been betrayed by the world itself. "I have never been slapped like that before... No, no one has ever slapped me before!" His eyes twinkled with twisted delight. "I knew it... bunny no.2 is my fate!"
Without warning, he bolted toward us like a madman.
"AHH!" We screamed and staggered backward, dragging Isaac's limp body with us.
"Rona thinks Isaac's death is at—" Rona started, pale-faced.
"He's not dead! He's not dead!" Ronald cut her off, sweating bullets.
But Mr. James was fast—too fast.
He closed the distance in a blink and grabbed Ronald's other shoulder with an iron grip. His voice dripped with mischief. "Where do you think you're going, bunny no.4?"
Ronald turned pale as a ghost, stammering, "N-No w-where..."
Without mercy, Mr. James snatched Isaac straight from Ronald's grasp. Rona shrieked and covered her ears.
"Eek!"
I gritted my teeth. Enough!
I rushed forward without hesitation, my fist cocked back, ready to wipe that creepy grin off Mr. James's face.
But just as I reached him—
WHOOSH—
Mr. James grabbed Isaac with both hands like he had just picked up the grand prize. His voice echoed across the eerie silence.
"I want him to be my disciple. Announce it, Mr. Ogre."
The words barely left his mouth before I darted forward, trying to snatch Isaac back—
—and immediately tripped face-first onto the ground like some cartoon character.
"Argh!" I spat dirt from my mouth, feeling my pride shatter faster than my fall.
"Ptooh! Disciple? Did I hear that right?"
Before I could get up, Rona and Ronald hurried closer to Mr. James, questions firing from their mouths.
"Mr. James, I thought only the 10 Masters could have a disciple?"
Their voices were tense—because all of us knew what it meant to be chosen by a Master. It was a privilege reserved for the top of the top... and also a life chained to their insane rules.
"That's right, you cockroach," a guttural, beast-like voice snarled from above.
Before we could react, a colossal hand slammed into the ground next to us, sending a shockwave that rattled our bones and lifted us clean off the ground.
"Now bow down to the 10 Masters," the hoarse voice bellowed, each word dripping with raw malice.
I staggered backward, clutching my ringing ears.
A towering creature loomed behind Mr. James. Its shadow swallowed us whole.
Slowly, we looked up—
And up—
And up.
A monstrous cyclops glared down at us, its grotesque face twisted in a sneer.