Everything froze in place as Evan's kinetic energy took hold. Psionic lightning flew past Evan and Keng, landing on the seeker. The seeker howled in fury as it tried to move. Keng lashed forward, releasing a large celestial dragon from Hydrosphere. The seeker erupted in smoke as the bullies fled to the right of Liz.
"Did we do it?" Liz whispered.
"GRAA!" The seeker's arms flew forward, punting Keng as three more arms flew out of the smoke for Evan.
'How did it—' Evan grunted as the hands grabbed him and immediately tightened its grip around him.
"Evan!" Liz shouted. Three dark green beams blasted out of the smoke towards Liz. The beams exploded around Liz, knocking her backwards into a hall.
'Liz!' Keng telepathically shouted. Keng flew into the smoke, slashing the arms that came at him. They quickly regrew as he slowed his progress to the seeker's face. 'Runeweaver: Protective Shield.' Keng broke the rune as all of the energy stored in Hydrosphere exploded as Keng swung the dagger downwards. Silver flames exploded, filling the halls.
'Ah!' Evan threw his arms up, watching the silver crest of the Saviors appear in front of him. Keng had simultaneously protected him and Liz while also attacking. The seeker shrieked in pain as the flames ate at it. Keng sucked in a breath and watched as the seeker quickly burned away.
'It was more potent this time.' Keng thought. His mind flashed to the first time he had tried to attack this thing. 'Whatever this thing is, it was thick with aura. I devoured parts of the aura but it wasn't enough. I put everything into that strike, so if it doesn't take major damage, I don't know what will—'
"Grah!" A flaming hand flew out and pinned Keng against the wall. He grunted as monsters tightened around him.
"Keng!" Evan threw his hand up and tried to hold the monster in place. He could feel the monster slipping away his grasp.
"Release…" Keng grunted. "Stored Runes…"
[All stored runes will be released. Are you sure?]
"Do… it…!"
'We're almost there! Hold on!' Manny shouted through the comms device. Liz lifted up into the air and gathered all her energy.
'All or nothing.' Liz thought.
"All of the energies gather to a single focal point…" Liz put her hands together slowly growing the ball of lightning. "And let it take its course…!" She released the orb, watching as lightning flew outwards in every direction. The orb connected with the arm of the seeker, blowing it to pieces as all of the energy exploded.
The monster howled in pain as Keng dropped. Runes grew all around Keng as Evan pushed out of the protection of the silver shield and grabbed Keng.
"Go…!" Keng pointed the runes at the seeker. "Kill it!" Flames, gravity blasts, cosmic wisps, blades of light, and the elements fired at the seeker. Evan moved them back into the safety of Keng's fading barrier. Liz waved her hand as she dropped beside them, watching the psionic barrier take effect.
Evan set Keng down and planted his shield onto the ground, directing it to box the monster. They listened as howls erupted from the box. The seeker slammed against the box, crying as it tried to blast its way out of the box.
Eventually the screams died and the three members stared at the box with anxious eyes. "Did we… do it?" Liz asked, breaking the silence.
"I don't know." Evan whispered.
"Hey guys!" Manny shouted. "Are you okay?" Liz and Evan looked behind them and watched Olivia and Manny join them. Manny's eyes scanned his members, noticing some of them were hurt.
"Did you kill it?" Olivia asked. Manny moved over to the group and released a large orb of healing energy. The orb was slower at healing wounds, but with some time, they'd be back to normal.
"I don't know." Evan shrugged. He turned back to look at it, catching Keng's eyes. The Fox Spirit watched and listened carefully as the remnants of music and energy began to fade. Keng slowly pushed himself onto his feet and let out a sigh of relief.
[A Hell Seeker has been slain! You've gained 100,000 souls! Relink with the Vessel to allocate the souls.]
Keng ignored the new pop-up as he pushed himself towards the box. Without a word, Evan motioned for the box to fall, revealing a tiny body in ashes.
"What's that…?" Olivia asked. "That can't be the seeker, right?" Keng lifted himself up into the air and made his way over to the small body. It was the body of a child.
"How much time has passed?" Keng asked the AI.
[Hide and Seek duration is 20 hours. You currently have 1 hour left.]
'How's that possible? We just landed here not too long ago…' Keng thought.
"What is it?" Manny asked, standing at the edge of the mountain of ash. The smoldering body of the child caught his eye.
"How long has it been since the game started?" Keng asked, looking over his shoulder.
"It's been…" Manny opened his comm controls. His eyes widened. "Wait… We couldn't have been here for that long. H-how is it…"
"What do you mean? It's only been, maybe, a couple hours?" Liz commented. The rest of the group moved over to Manny. Evan, Liz and Olivia pulled up their comm devices. They realized it was the next day already.
"We're already…" Evan stuttered.
"How?" Olivia asked. Keng looked down at the child and sighed. The faint waves of energy caught Keng's attention. He looked up and noticed it was fluctuating.
"Something's happening." Keng whispered. The academy lit up in red lights. "A spell to distort our reality…" He floated higher, reaching for the energy and pulling at it. Everything faded, revealing a half-destroyed Academy building.
[A strange spell fades away, restoring time.]
"What time is it now?" Keng asked.
"Wa-wait! The time's different!" Liz gasped. Keng pulled his comm screen up. Only five hours had passed since they initially got into the Academy district. A large boom caught their attention.
"Attention all students, faculty members and guests. This is the fluctuating response system. Please exit the building as a high amount of unstable energy has been detected. The building will lock down in ten minutes. Follow the designated arrows to the nearest exit." The System spoke. Broken red energies lit up in the broken hallway, leading behind the group and to the right.
Another boom snapped Keng out of it. He turned, instantly catching the energy. It was a very familiar feeling he had felt before… 'No, I didn't feel this energy before… Lee did.' Keng thought.
"What's the boom noise?" Olivia asked.
"Do you think that's a seeker? Is someone fighting another one right now?" Liz asked.
"I don't know what it is, but it feels… familiar." Manny started to move forward. Keng moved through the air, slowly turning to look right.
"The kid…" Keng whispered almost as if he was telling himself what to do. Another boom went off, releasing a gust of wind. Ash flew past Liz, Evan, and Olivia as Keng fought between two different choices. "But that…"
"That feels like Lee Seng." Manny finished Keng's thought. He pulled up the map and refreshed it. Another dot appeared on the map. It was a gold dot. "It is Lee! What's he doing here? Where's Ritsuka…?"
'Hello?!?' Ritsuka's voice broke through the comms. 'Is anyone there? Hello?!?'
"Ritsuka!" Evan gasped. "What even happened?"
'Finally! Someone responded!' Ritsuka sighed in relief. 'Why are you all in the Fourth Year Academy building?!? I was trying to track Lee Seng, but he kept blinking everywhere!'
"Where are you?" Manny asked.
'I'm with my brother. We went to the building in the back of Fourth District because we needed to disrupt the strange spell holding us here. Lee Seng disappeared when we split and now he's in the Academy building. Do you guys know what's happening?'
"No, but there's something odd about this other energy I'm feeling." Manny replied. "It's something I've felt before. Someone I know."
"Who?" Liz asked.
'I'm coming over to the Academy building! Shit's going crazy! The Deimons are attacking and some cars are leaving the Academy district as we speak!' Ritsuka informed his friends.
"I need to find that kid." Keng told the group. "But Lee Seng…"
"I'll go with you to find the kid. The rest of you try to find Lee Seng! Hopefully we can get outta here together! Ritsuka, we'll meet you outside the Academy!" Manny gave orders and the group immediately nodded. "Where's the kid, Keng? Keng?" He snapped his fingers and clapped his hands.
Keng shook out of his daze and led Manny in the direction of the kid.
"Go!" Manny motioned to the other members. "We'll see you there!"
'Be careful of Deimons!' Ritsuka shouted. 'Argh! Jiro!'
"Ritsuka? Ritsuka?" Evan shouted. He glanced at the comm connection. "It got cut off again. What do we do now?"
"Let's focus on finding Lee Seng." Olivia motioned. Liz, Evan and Olivia rushed around the ash, going forward, leaving the smoldering body behind.
"This is so fucked up." Liz shook her head. "Why would they turn a little kid into that thing?"
"I have a feeling they don't care." Olivia responded. "Let's focus. We'll need it in order to get outta this place."
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