Sako led the little child toward the main hall.
Upon arriving in the main hall, Sako told the child to leave immediately. However, shortly after, Aruta appeared there.
"Hey, everyone," greeted Aruta.
"Well, I thought you'd already become Junoi's lunch earlier," Sako said with a frown.
"Why you seems not thrilled that I'm alive?" Aruta replied.
Sako turned back to the little child.
"You should leave now. The door's over there," Sako said gently, patting the child's head.
"Okay! Thank you, everyone!" the little child said before running toward the door and exiting.
Aruta walked over to Sako and said, "You're so nice to kids. I wish you'd treat me like that once in a while."
"Stop flirting!" Sako retorted, immediately punching Aruta in the cheek.
"Hey, no need to hit me!" Aruta groaned, holding his bruised cheek.
Not long after, Mono's voice called out, "Hey, you two!"
Aruta and Sako turned to see Mono standing in the upper hallway.
Mono quickly descended the stairs and approached them.
"I heard a child's voice earlier. Did you two save someone?" Mono asked.
"Yeah. A little kid," Sako answered.
"The others probably turned into skeleton," Aruta said, showing a skull he had picked up after fighting Junoi earlier.
"Why the hell are you carrying that around?" Mono asked.
"Oh, right," Aruta said, tossing the skull aside. "Anyway, since Sako and I are back, and you're here too, let's go home."
"Okay," Mono agreed.
They then walked toward the exit.
As they walked, Mono asked, "Did you find any magic object?"
Aruta and Sako both shook their heads.
"Alright, then this must be the center of this magic field," Mono said, pulling an Arabes Seal from his pocket.
"Whoa, how did you find that?" Aruta asked in surprise.
Mono glanced at Aruta and answered, "Earlier, I ran into a swarm of Junoi. After taking them all out, I found this seal. We just need to take it out, and the magical field will disappear. Mission complete."
"Finally, we can go home," Sako muttered.
Mono turned forward again. But then, he saw three floating cards hovering right in front of his face, each bearing two diamond symbols. Mono didn't remember seeing these cards before. Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation.
"LOOK OUT!!" Mono shouted, immediately leaping forward and shoving Aruta and Sako down with him.
Suddenly, the three cards exploded, blasting the three of them away.
"What just happened?" Aruta asked, dazed.
Mono quickly stood up and said, "Be careful. There might be more Junoi comi-" Before he could finish his sentence, a Junoi came charging at him at blinding speed. The Junoi slammed into Mono, sending him crashing through the second-floor wall. That creature then lunged after him.
"Mono!" Aruta shouted.
"Aruta!" Sako called out. Aruta turned to her. "No time to worry about Mono! He can handle that Junoi himself!" Sako urged.
Aruta hesitated for a moment before saying, "Alright." He then stood up.
Suddenly, from the smoke of the explosion, a fireball shot straight toward Sako.
"Sako, watch out!" Aruta leaped forward, coating his right hand with LYNK energy, and punched the fireball head-on. The moment his fist collided with it, the fireball exploded, sending Aruta flying backward.
"Aruta!" Sako yelled, watching him crash. "Damn it!" She summoned lightning spears in both hands and charged into the smoke.
Suddenly, a barrage of sharp ice shards shot toward her. Sako barely managed to dodge them all. But as she evaded, a stream of strange green liquid sprayed at her. Unable to dodge, Sako crossed her spears, channeling lightning to clash against the liquid. The electricity crackled violently before exploding, destroying the green spray.
However, after her lightning spears detonated, a massive chunk of ice came hurtling toward her. But Aruta quickly appeared, his right fist blazing with LYNK energy, and smashed the ice block, shattering it into smaller pieces.
"Phew, that was close," Aruta sighed.
"Aruta, we can't keep this up. We need to retreat!" Sako shouted.
"Got it!"
Aruta and Sako sprinted back into the house, racing through the hallway they had entered earlier. As they ran, they were pursued by sharp ice shards, streams of green liquid, and fireballs. Two fireballs shot toward Aruta, but with quick reflexes, he ducked, letting them fly over his head and explode against the floor ahead. The blast was strong enough to collapse part of the hallway wall. Aruta barely slipped through a narrow gap beneath the falling debris before it fully collapsed, while Sako kicked away a crumbling wall that nearly crushed her.
Soon after, multiple streams of green liquid sprayed toward them. Sako and Aruta managed to evade them all, but the liquid melted the walls and floor on contact. Alongside the liquid, countless sharp ice shards rained down on them, but they still held their ground. Aruta leaped over a collapsed wall, letting some ice shards embed themselves into it. Meanwhile, Sako ducked another barrage, summoned a lightning spear, spun around, and hurled it at one of the ice shards before continuing to run.
After a while, the barrage of attacks finally stopped.
"Is it over?" Aruta asked, still running.
"Of course not, idiot! Since when does a Junoi lose just because none of its attacks hit?" Sako snapped.
Suddenly, the floor beneath them trembled violently. The hallway floor shattered, and a giant three-headed serpent emerged from below. One head lunged at Aruta, while another aimed for Sako.
"Wooaahh! I'm too young to die!" Aruta screamed, staring into the gaping maw of the Junoi beneath him.
"YOU DAMN BASTARD!!" Sako's eyes flashed brightly as three enormous lightning spears materialized around her. She thrust her hands forward, and the spears shot straight into the Junoi's three heads. A surge of lightning erupted, followed by a massive explosion that sent the creature reeling.
However, the massive hole left by the Junoi's emergence sent Aruta and Sako plummeting downward. As they fell, Aruta spotted the dazed three-headed serpent Junoi below, still recovering from Sako's attack.
"Now's my chance!" Aruta thought.
He coated his legs with LYNK energy and aimed for one of the Junoi's heads as a landing point. The blue-eyed serpent head looked up in shock as Aruta descended. With a powerful stomp, Aruta's foot exploded against the creature's skull, sending it crashing to the ground.
The impact launched Aruta back upward. As he fell again, he aimed to land on the serpent's body, successfully latching onto its coiled form. He clambered across its scales, leaping toward another head—this one with green eyes.
The green-eyed head thrashed violently, trying to shake Aruta off. He clung desperately but was eventually flung into the air—only to land right on top of the green-eyed head.
"Haha, another chance!" Aruta grinned.
He propelled himself downward, his right leg blazing with LYNK energy. But just before impact, a bolt of lightning struck the green-eyed head, sending it sprawling. Aruta, now with no footing, crashed straight into the floor.
"Ouch ouch ouch" Aruta groaned, pulling his legs free from the cracked ground. "Hey, that one was mine!"
"Like you could've even scratched it," Sako scoffed, landing in front of him.
"You underestimating me?" Aruta shot back, his face reddening.
Before they could argue further, the third head, this one with red eyes, loomed over them. Its maw opening wide to reveal raging flames inside.
"Look out!" Aruta yanked Sako aside just as the Junoi unleashed a massive fireball.
The blast missed, exploding behind them. Without hesitation, Aruta charged forward, dodging multiple fireballs. When he got close enough, Aruta leaped and coated his legs with LYNK energy. The moment his foot touched the ground, the LYNK energy exploded, propelling Aruta straight toward the Junoi's head. His fist crackling with LYNK energy. But just as he was about to strike, Sako suddenly shot in from the side, slamming a lightning-charged punch into the Junoi's head. The impact sent the creature reeling but also left Aruta with no target. Unable to stop, he crashed straight into Sako.
"Ow! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sako yelled.
"Me?! You're the one who stole my target!" Aruta retorted.
"You shit!"
Unfortunately, Sako's attack wasn't enough to defeat the Junoi. That junoi rose again, its maw gaping wide as it turned toward Aruta and Sako.
"Behind you!" Aruta warned, pointing.
"Huh?"
Sako turned and froze at the sight of an enormous inferno roaring straight toward them.