Basil stands before a glowing digital screen, watching a playback of what happened after his death. His eyes widen as he sees a digital figure rescuing Yunbam and the others.
He begins pacing, muttering under his breath.
"There can only be one explanation… she must be from the Restricted Area. But even so, why would they help us?"
Meanwhile, back in the slums in front of the towering prison gates, Kairo and Zion regroup—each flanked by squads of noble soldiers. Dust swirls in the air as they exchange tense glances.
Kairo breaks the silence.
"Tell me you've got some good news."
Zion shakes his head.
"We've swept the entire slums. They're nowhere to be found."
Kairo turns his gaze toward the massive prison looming ahead.
"Then this is the last place."
Zion nods.
"There was a noble working here—a peace officer named Hank. He betrayed us. Used to guide the prison miners. During the war, he joined Boa's side. I fought him myself."
He glances up at the gates.
"He must've helped them find a hideout here."
As the gates creak open, Kairo steps forward.
"Your theory might be right."
Moments later, inside the cold, grim walls of the prison, they stand in front of the head warden—who trembles under their gaze. The man stammers, his voice barely steady.
"I-I swear, I don't know anything…"
Zion folds his arms.
"Then we'll talk to the mining warden below. He spent more time with Boa and Hank than anyone else."
He turns to Kairo.
"We've already interrogated all the prisoners here. None of them are talking."
Kairo's eyes narrow, scanning the prison halls.
They then arrive at the prison sector. Kairo signals the warden, who presses a button, as all the cell doors slide open. One by one, the prisoners step out, cautious and tense.
Kairo steps forward and announces,
"First one to tell me where the Boas went will become the very first slummer to be granted the title of official noble. Or else..."
He flicks his wrist, and a digital spear instantly forms—then it flies in the speed of light! It impales one prisoner against the wall, killing them instantly.
"You all will receive death," Kairo adds coldly.
Tempted, a few prisoners step forward... but they quickly hesitate and fall back. Then, one bold prisoner shouts,
"We will not give in! We'll all die with our honor intact! We do not fear death, you noble scum!"
He charges at Kairo with a fist raised—but he's immediately vaporized by a wave of digital pixels.
"Death it shall be, then," Kairo replies.
He waves his hand, unleashing a wave of digital pixels that tears through the crowd. Prisoners explode into bloody gory bits. The warden drops to his knees, horrified.
"Please, Gem Noble! You can't kill them all! We won't have any miners left!" the warden pleads.
Kairo halts, eyes scanning the survivors. The remaining prisoners glare back with fury and defiance burning in their eyes.
"You're all so loyal..." Kairo mutters. "But what honor is there in this dump?!"
The prisoners roar and charge.
Kairo, without hesitation, massacres them all—his digital waves painting the halls red. Bodies fall, the silence afterward unnerving.
The warden stares in shock as Zion steps up beside Kairo.
"Then down below we go," Zion says.
"Not yet," Kairo replies. "Their deaths will provide us information."
He raises his hand. The digital pixels swirl around, collecting fragments of brains and nerves, gathering into a massive, pulsating brain construct in the center of the prison.
Even Zion looks shocked.
"You're pulling brain data from all of them… even I couldn't analyze this much that fast."
Kairo's hand glows with coding energy. The massive brain opens, firing countless laser lines that generate dozens of floating digital screens, each showing the prisoners' memories.
Kairo's eyes flood with streams of code and data. His pupils glow as he processes everything at once.
Zion watches the memories flash by rapidly—images of Boa defeating the digital dragon, prisoners cheering him, praising him like a hero.
More screens flicker—memories flying past too quickly to count. Then one by one, the screens begin to shut down. Steam bursts from Kairo's head as he drops to one knee, gripping his temple.
"This is ridiculous," he growls.
With a wave of his hand, the screens stabilize and replay key memories. Dozens show the prisoners interacting with Hank—smiling, saluting him, calling him honorable. Then one image zooms in: Hank stands in an elevator cart, waving to a group of prisoners.
The screen freezes. Kairo zooms in on Hank's belt—and there it is: a faint shimmer of noble-grade tech.
Kairo's eyes light up as he scans it.
"A Link Teleporter Pad..." he mutters. "How did someone with such a low noble title obtain this kind of tech?"
Blueprints overlay the screen, confirming it.
"That answers our question," he adds.
Zion nods.
"Their hideout is in the mines."
"Indeed it is," Kairo replies. "He must have used the Link Teleporter to connect with Basil's old lab in the undercity. From there, they could funnel resources and construct a hidden base underground."
Kairo pockets his hands in his coat.
"We'll find it."
They descend into the underground prison, swarming the station. Noble soldiers pin down miner prisoners and even fellow noble officers. The miner noble warden stumbles out, spotting Kairo and Zion. His eyes widen in fear as he drops to his knees.
Kairo steps forward."I've heard you spent a lot of time with Boa in these mines. You even let him spread false hope to these slum rats. Tell me where they are, or I'll wipe out this entire noble unit—and the prisoner workers too."
The miner warden slowly raises his head."Then who else will do your dirty work?"
Kairo growls and stomps his boot down on the warden's head, smashing it into the dirt."You're all replaceable. We Gem Nobles have more important things to do. That's why we allow rats and low-ranking nobles like you to work here—to keep our hands elsewhere. But we have options. Other Gem Nobles will my part while I'm gone because Isha is in need of correction. We'll replace you all with noble robots. Simple as that."
He lifts his boot."This is your final chance. Where are they?"
The miner warden wipes blood from his mouth as he gets back up."This... this is what I feared most. But for change to happen, great sacrifices must be made. If it helps Isha become a better place!"
Suddenly, all the noble officers around them turn and raise their laser rifles—firing at Kairo, Zion, and the loyal noble soldiers. The prisoner miners join the uprising, charging in with pickaxes raised high.
Kairo snarls, then lunges forward and stabs the miner warden in the gut with his digital spear."I can't believe you chose this path... What kind of noble lowers himself beneath slum rats? All for some twisted idea of honor?!"
The miner warden's body glows."For a new Isha..."
He explodes in a flash of light.
Chaos erupts as Kairo and Zion are forced to fight their own kind—noble officers turned rebels and loyal prisoners desperate to keep their honor.
Moments after the battle, Kairo activates his tech once more, causing the scattered brains to merge into a single system. A glowing field surrounds him as he analyzes their memories in rapid succession.
Zion waves his hand, opening a digital portal. Dozens of noble robots march through and begin cleaning the wreckage.
Kairo chuckles as the scan finishes.
"I've found them!" he declares.
He and Zion head deeper into the mines. Before long, they reach a wall of digital dirt.
With one punch, Kairo smashes through it. The wall crumbles, revealing a passage, and they press forward.
Meanwhile, at the B&B Hideout HQ...
A swarm of robots rushes into Basil's control chamber.
"The entire prison has been taken over," one reports. "The nobles have found us!"
Basil slams his fingers against the keyboard.
"Of course they found us this fast! They've got a Gem Noble with them!"
He glares at the screens. "Prep for battle! I'll get the retreat system online!"
The robots scatter, alarms blaring. Red units storm out of the HQ and head to the mine tunnels, rallying by the hundreds. The gates open.
The army rushes in.
Kairo meets them head-on—his data conversion field swallows the first wave, disintegrating them with ease. Basil watches from the HQ, eyes locked on a digital feed showing the slaughter.
"God damn it!" Basil shouts. "Just give me one minute!"
Kairo crushes the final red bot and arrives at the hideout gates. As they begin to shut, forming a giant drill, he scoffs.
"Ahh, I see... They've got their own data conversion field in here."
The drill fires—Kairo shatters it with one hand.
With a casual kick, he bursts through the fortified gates. His digital aura collides with the hideout's, data conversion field.
"Too bad for you—my data conversion field's on another level. You can't override me."
Inside, civilians scream and scatter. Kairo steps forward—
—but Basil flies in from above with a jet-powered kick.
Kairo catches it one-handed.
"Ahh, Basil. You're still alive..." Kairo grins. "I can't believe you were the first noble from Oasis to figure out soul transfer. Impressive. You might've made a fine student of a Gem Noble. But you—"
"Ultimate Jet Kicker!" Basil roars.
His robotic leg unfolds, revealing ten glowing Nova Crystals. They ignite in unison—surging power into the kick. A massive explosion follows, launching Kairo backward through the air. He crashes deep into the tunnels—landing right in front of Zion.
Zion's eyes widen.
"Basil..."
Basil slams a few buttons on his arm.
"Now!"
Gears whir. The town begins to move away—digging deeper and further into Isha.
Kairo staggers up, just as the tunnel begins collapsing ahead of him. The hideout vanishes deeper underground.
"You won't get away!" he yells, expanding his data conversion aura. It halts the falling debris, allowing him to pursue the retreating hideout.
Inside, Basil stares at the digital map. A red icon—Kairo—gains on them fast.
"God dang... he's so annoying!"
A robot rushes over.
"Master Basil! The Gem Noble's speed exceeds the town's. He'll catch up soon. What are we to do?"
Basil fixes his leg as he gets up.
"I've got no choice... I'll fight him head-on to buy the town more time."
He opens the gates. Kairo is visible—gliding closer, pushing aside the falling debris step by step.
Basil prepares to leap.
Suddenly—a monstrous roar echoes, the entire town then trembles.
"What was that?!" Basil asks.
Another robot answers, voice trembling.
"A massive data creature has been detected—bigger than the entire town! It's coming from below!"
Basil freezes.
"WHAT?!!?!"
He turns toward the screen—his eyes widen in disbelief.
From deep beneath Isha's surface, a gigantic data beast emerges, its form crackling and distorting space as it charges straight for them.
The data creature begins to take shape—its colossal body forming into that of a Leviathan. With a deafening roar, it swallows the entire town whole. Kairo skids to a stop, barely avoiding the monstrous attack, his eyes wide as he watches the enormous digital scales rise and shimmer.
He lunges forward, trying to grab hold of the Leviathan, but its entire body begins to fade into the air—leaving behind only a massive crater in its wake.
Kairo peers into the dark pit below and mutters, "Looks like I'm going to stay on Isha a bit longer than we planned."
Moments later, he emerges from the collapsed tunnel, where Zion is already waiting for him.
"I'm taking over your position," Kairo says coldly. "You've disappointed me... but I don't blame you. We Gem Nobles should've seen this coming."
He places his hand on Zion's chest. A glowing green dot appears, pulsing.
"You may resume whatever you were doing. You're only going to hold me back," Kairo continues. "But you are still being punished."
Zion jolts violently as energy courses through him. He drops to his knees, groaning.
"I apologize, Sir Kairo," Zion gasps. "I'll make it up to you. My son… he's going to win the Star Games. We'll make you proud."
He opens a portal and stumbles through it, landing back inside his sleek spaceship. Sunny rushes over to him, concern etched on his face.
But Zion shoves him aside and snaps, "Head back to God Arena. I must watch my son."
Meanwhile, in the town, the rumbling finally comes to a stop. Basil walks up to the gates and looks out—his eyes widen as a massive, breathtaking city stretches before him. A towering sign greets them in glowing letters:
"WELCOME TO BLACK PARADISE."
Gasps ripple through the crowd behind him. Basil stares in awe, but his attention is quickly drawn to a flickering figure forming before him—Susan's digital form materializes in the air. She bows politely.
"The others said I needed to come get you too," she says. "But it wasn't going to be an easy task since you had an entire town with you."
Basil, still stunned, asks, "Who are you?"
"I am an AI called Susan," she replies. "The assistant of King Nox. Welcome to Black Paradise."
Basil narrows his eyes. "Why are you helping us?"
Before Susan can answer, Hank, Owlbear, and Duckworm rush in from behind her. Owlbear and Duckworm tackle Basil's legs, hugging him tightly.
"I'm glad you're still alive!" Owlbear shouts.
"I'm sorry, Basil," Duckworm adds with digital tears. "If I wasn't so greedy, maybe you wouldn't have had to become a battle robot too!"
Hank steps forward, his voice calm. "Susan's here to help our cause."
Susan nods. "King Nox predicted that eventually the slums would rebel and rise up against the nobles. When that day came, I was ordered to assist those who seek to change the world."
Basil turns to Susan and asks, "Where are Wade and New Boa?"
Moments later, they step into a large city building. Inside, soft green lights pulse from a healing chamber, where Yunbam floats suspended in a cocoon of shimmering data pixels. His body slowly regenerates. In the adjacent room, Wade's robotic body rests on a repair platform, with mechanical arms working carefully to restore his damaged parts.
Basil exhales in relief.
Hank speaks up beside him. "They're both still alive... Now all we can do is wait for Boa to finish the rest of the plan."
Basil nods—but then, Yunbam's chest begins to glow.
A magical blade slowly emerges from his chest, phasing through the healing chamber's glass window. Hank reacts quickly, catching the blade with both hands. The air grows quiet as his body begins to glow in yellow magic.
Basil's eyes widen. "That's right! I remember... in Boa's plan, if anything happened to New Boa, then it would be up to you to carry on the task."
Hank nods slowly. "Yeah... the final task is to gather all of the fallen ones. Once that's done, this power will return to Boa."
He closes his eyes, holding the blade close to his chest. His voice softens to a prayer.
"For all those who have fallen... can you hear my voice?"