[FLASHBACK: LAST NIGHT'S PARTY]Everyone was enjoying themselves as they had organized a city-wide banquet over their triumphant success.Grover had a dance-off with Race.Riley listened to the other envoys as they shared their own adventures as a guild.Vladimir had passed out after entering a beer-drinking contest against Justin.They each chugged twelve cups of beer as Justin remained unfazed by the surplus amount of beer he had consumed."Guess the big man can't hold down his bear."Kazami and Krystal were having a conversation from the balcony of a building as they watched everyone have a good time."Haha. Justin's going for his thirteenth cup; heh, he might give Ernie a run for his money."The two shared a drink as well."..." A brief silence overcame the place as Krystal decided to break the silence."So... when are you leaving?"Kazami raised an eyebrow. "You knew?""I'm the captain. Of course, I knew you wouldn't be staying with us for long.""The base is almost done. The Eas
Kazami had made his way back to the carriage given to him by Vladimir.He made a stop at Nohland Market to clarify certain things about Jester."Honestly though. How strong are the vagrants? If we had faced the original Jester...""Oy! Where do you think you're going?""I can ask you the same thing."Kazami looked at Agnus Reigns, who was carrying his luggage around his back."I meant, where do you think you're going without me?"Kazami tilted his head."Huh?""You're returning to the Eastern Continent, are you not?"Kazami nods."Good, take me with you.""As much as I hate going there, I have to report my findings to those old fossils."The two rode off.Meanwhile..."Ahhhh!""Sir Krystal, do something!""Guys, hold on!"The Dragon Heart was descended at a fastening rate as a red alarm beebs on the deck."Brace yourselves!"Grover was chewing his fingers as Riley and Justin clutched each other in fright. Krystal was struggling to steer the Ark to a safe spot for a crash landing.Boom
"This place has everything!" Krystal exclaimed as he and Vladimir were awestruck after arriving at the battle dome. It was a section of the tower. A stadium with all sorts of fields for combat. "Those two seemed to have forgotten why we came here in the first place." Grover face-palmed.Rex walked up to the bunch. "Hey!" Grover and Riley gave a murderous stare to the man as he flinched a little. "Tck. I'll make you bastards pay; just wait." "Move aside, you wannabes. I'm here to speak with that guy." He points at Krystal. "Captain to Captain." "What did you just say?" Grover rolls up his sleeves as Rex finishes. "It's okay, Grover."Krystal walked up to Rex. "So, how may I help you?" "I take it; you fancy this here battle dome... Want to compete with us in a 3-on-3 fight?""What's this runt up to?" Grover could smell something fishy going on. "Sure. Let's fight!" "Haha! I've been itching to duke it out with someone here." Vladimir chimed in on the conversation. Rex l
"Huff. Huff." "Hey! big chunk of meat. Look what you did to Coby!"A vein popped on Rex's head."What's wrong, little runt?"Grover sneered. "Oh, don't tell me you actually thought your friend over there would win just because he could read minds." Rex widened his eyes as he gently laid Coby on the ground."Stay put." He said this to the unconscious mind reader as he looked at his other clanmate. "Deen! Look after him." Deen nodded as Rex turned his attention to Grover. He points at him. "Sit tight and wait for me; you're next just as soon as I put your oversized friend here in his place." "How are they so strong?"Rex had underestimated the Shadow Guild. That had always been his issue in the first place.He lacks the intuition to scale a person's power. Even when he witnessed them take out a hundred artifact beasts, he merely saw that as a team effort."Nonetheless, he beat up my clanmate, and I intend to make him pay!"Rex walked into the ring to stand face-to-face against
Blue was a color that represented calmness and gentleness. But from what Rex saw, there was nothing calm about it. "As captain, you're strong enough to take a few of my best shots, aren't you?" Rex tried punching Krystal, but the latter instantly merged with his shadow once again as he moved to his back. "Your disappearing tricks won't help you!" "Blaze on!" He exclaimed as an explosive aura enveloped him. "This runt... is strong, really strong." "Sir Krystal did commend his strengths just now." "It's hopeless, although," Vladimir said to the two as they all nodded their heads. They each had a single thought as Rex's hair became longer and covered in flames. "He can move mountains or run on water... He won't land a hand on him when he's this serious." "Ohh." Krystal emerged from his shadow, having witnessed Rex's new form. "You condensed your emotional aura to such a point that the very air around you is burning up." "It's getting hot in here, and rapidly too." Riley sa
In a separate chamber within the tower, an individual observed the entirety of the battle unfold on a monitor. He casually took sips from his coffee cup before reaching for his phone and dialing a number. "Greetings. They have arrived..."With that, he uttered the incantation, "Shadow Arts: Black Guillotine!" The resulting impact between his X-shaped slash wave and the fireball caused an immense explosion that engulfed not only the ring but also portions of the stadium, sending Krystal and Rex flying out of bounds in its wake. Chaos ensued as various voices rang out in alarm: "Krystal!" "Sir Krystal!" "Captain!" and even insults such as "Demon spawn!" However, to everyone's surprise, Krystal emerged from beneath the debris completely unscathed, though regrettably for him, his coat had suffered severe burns throughout.Krystal emerged from the debris completely unscathed, although the same could not be said of his coat as it was burned all over. "My coat!" Krystal wailed as he brushed
On the break of a new day, Krystal and Grover wake up first. Gover goes ahead to wake the others.“Come on guys, it's morning already,” he said as he shook Justin and Vladimir to wake up.“We will be doing hard-core training today. You guys saw what happened at the ring. We won, but we're not strong enough.” Krystal added with a smirk on his face.“Alright, let's get to it already,” Vladimir responded, as he is always eager for some violence, even if it is a training session like this.“You beast of war of a man,” added Justin, shifting away from him.“Hahahaha… that is what keeps me going, boy,” Vladimir replied. “That's enough, guys. So, Krystal, how will we go about this? What style should we use in training?” Grover asked.“Finally, some true readiness,” Krystal answered with a broad smile on his face.“This smile is not a good one," Grover added, laughing too. "Oh, you shouldn't worry; you are a great Grover who saved us from doom,” Krystal mockingly added.Krystal continued by
“Gosh, Grover, are you okay?” Krystal said as he rushed over to where Grover was kneeling. As soon as he got hold of Grover, Grover fainted in his arms. “This looks bad, really bad,” Krystal said to himself. “Why did he make me do it? Why did I even listen to him? Wish I didn't charge up so much,” Krystal kept thinking to himself. Krystal suddenly realized that Grover was losing more consciousness. He used his shadow power to cover and carry him to keep him alive until they could find a healer for him.Vladimir and Justin are approaching from the other side of the bush, where they are training. “Krystal! Grover!” Justin kept calling until they saw Krystal with an activated shadow power. “Are they still training?” Justin paused as he asked. “That is not his shadow power for fight or defense,” Vladimir quickly added as he ran towards Krystal.Justin joined him too. Getting close to Krystal.“What is the matter, Krystal?” Vladimir asked.Before Krystal could utter a word,. Justin