The chimera immediately headed after Genni, only to be stopped by a sudden swing from the back. Ingo's club crashed against its massive legs, and it turned, furious. This quickly led to the mutant following him instead.

He gulped, grinding his teeth and letting them chase him around the hole in the ground.

"Jyuzou!" Genni yelled out, throwing the boomerang forward, and creating a trail of water.

"I don't have pebbles!" Jyuzou reached into his empty pockets, right as one hit him in the face. Genni picked up a few more, before treading towards him.

Ingo leapt forward, stomach-first to the ground, and the mutant jumped above, shifting its focus to the white-haired, angrily staring into its shining pupils.

"M-Morio!" Jyuzou reached his hand out, but Morio wouldn't have listened to his advice either way. With one swift move, he zapped into the air, soaring above and landing on one of its viney arms. With a heave, he ran along. Its leaves tried wrapping and trapping him atop, each defeated by a slash coming from Gloria's sharp edge.

Soon, he managed to reach the top, jumping off its rocky spine and onto its head. He continuously smashed his weapon at its back, but nothing happened. No lightning, no magic, no zap. No fear.

He gritted his teeth, looking upwards, one hand holding onto the side. He spotted it, the same red flower. The other palm immediately reached, trying to rip it off, but with one touch of three fingers, they were full of little spikes, exploding into big wounds on his frail skin.

Morio screamed out, shocked by the sudden outburst, and tumbled.

Jyuzou threw the pebble forward, as the created gust pushed Morio elsewhere, giving Ingo just enough time to act on his own accord.

Ingo smashed the ground with his club, flying upwards and meeting the creature's gaze. In the face of life and death itself, he smiled, grasping the situation.

"I-If it's guarded, the flower must be its weak point," Jyuzou explained.

"Weak point? We can't kill it!" Genni added.

"It must be some sort of heart or brain, I don't know!" Jyuzou continued, covering his head with his journal, quickly skipping through the pages afterwards."You can't kill them, but you can weaken and wear them out," he repeated Koyote's words. "If we can't do the former, f-focus on the latter!"

Either way, both had virtually no time. Despite Ingo slowly soaring towards its head, the creature sent shockwaves through the ground with its feet, hurling towards Genni.

"Move!" Jyuzou screamed, reaching his hand out, as the chimera huffed, speeding up in front of the Morian. Another rumble of the ground pushed her elsewhere, sliding along the brown dirt and further away from the Morian. "Genni!"

Genni rolled around, before looking up with a determined glance. If the creature were to step forward, she would be dead.

"GEN-"

The creature stepped on Genni.

Jyuzou's eyes shrunk, and his breath was immediately halted.

Ingo tumbled to the ground, finally finding a step after a few rolls, and his eyes shrunk. Morio slowly got back to his feet, breathing heavily, observing from afar.

Olala gasped, putting a hand on her mouth. "Genni?" she asked.

The rain slowly turned heavier. Koyote turned, scratching her neck, peering at something in the distance.

Suddenly, a scream sounded. Genni yelled, pushing something from below, raising the foot of the mutant without as much effort as one would think. Ingo peeked, his widened eyes leading into a sure grin.

The invisible wall from above once again shielded Genni from death. Jyuzou moved back, relieved, and Genni jumped to the side with a snap. The barrier broke into a thousand translucent pieces, and the mutant growled, raising both hands with a loud bellow. Genni ran, but the creature followed once more.

A small pebble hit its face. It stopped, slowly turning.

Jyuzou gulped, looking forward. "D-Damn it. What now?"

The mutant sprinted at the Morian. Jyuzou screamed out, but Genni quickly grabbed his handle, running to the side.

Ingo shrieked, soaring up and striking its back with his club, sending a shockwave to its head. The creature almost collapsed, if it wasn't for its leg creating a dent in the dirt that stopped its demise. It turned its head, reaching its hand out, just as Ingo flew up above and reached his hand towards the thorned flower atop.

Morio stood afar, his eyes widened.

Genni pushed her palm onto an open wound on her forearm. "If Ingo won't do it now, we'll have to weaken it."

"How?" Jyuzou shook his head.

"Keep running away. It's already getting slower." Genni muttered. "The first punch was a snap, but it hesitated before stomping me down."

Jyuzou opened his mouth a little, gulping, then shaking his head.

The wind passed and effortlessly flew by Ingo. "Weak point." Ingo clenched his jaw.

Out of the blue, something zapped through the air, pushing Ingo away from his goal. Two bodies thrashed in the air before sliding along the ground and creating a dent in the dirt. Olala took a step forward, concerned.

A cloud of dust revealed both Morio and Ingo, with the former immediately standing and sprinting towards the chimera.

"What?" Olala opened her mouth, gasping. "What are they doing?"

"Gh!" Ingo sat up, eyes closed, one hand immediately landing on his aching shoulder. He peered at Morio, sprinting forward. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Ingo screamed out. With a dash and a zap, Morio was already halfway towards reaching the creature.

"What happened?" Jyuzou asked, and Genni shook her head, holding onto her boomerang.

Avoiding spots that earlier hurt him, he sped up, holding the Victis sword between his teeth. Ingo furrowed his brows, before leaping forwards with the club. The mutant thrashed around, trying to get both Morians off its body. Sliding down its shoulder with a weak grasp on its rocky side, Morio intensely stared into Ingo's eyes.

"I won't let you win!" Morio uttered.

Ingo's eyes were wide open and full of hell-driven fury. Instead of focusing on the task, the Morian angrily leapt at Morio, sticking both hands out. Soon, the two were off the prize and on the soils of what once was the Suna Valley. The Gallian Mutant headed at Genni and Jyuzou, who jumped to either side, avoiding its charge.

"What's wrong with you?!" Ingo yelled out, sitting up on his legs and punching Morio's face three times with his fists.

Morio caught Ingo's fourth punch and moved his elbow up so that it would strike his face instead. The Morian tumbled, lifting his sword, ready to attack the Morian instead, and the other party responded promptly. The first strike was matched, but the next hit coming from Ingo's club reached Morio's stomach. The latter coughed out blood, moving downwards, yet, still determined to settle this spur.

Olala put her hand near her mouth, biting her nails in stress. She looked back, and it seemed like Koyote wasn't there to resolve this problem. She closed her eyes, clenching her jaw in frustration.

"It can dash, it can punch, but it can't stand still forever!" Genni announced, fixing her glasses.

As per earlier predictions, the chimera started moving slower, with each punch not serving as much force as the other, opening up an opportunity for them to run again or perhaps jump up and head for the flower. If it wasn't going to die, it was to be weakened.

Jyuzou threw the pebble, creating a powerful gust of wind as it passed through Genni's boomerang trail, throwing the mutant to the earth with a powerful rumble.

One fist raised, two weapons in both hands. Morio slashed through Ingo's chest, leaving a nasty wound, right as the club hit his fingers, both swords now on the ground.

With one halted breath, Ingo ran forward, ready to smash Morio's face in.

Olala leapt forward and into the valley at high speeds. The mutant, the challenge, explanations to one's motivations. They didn't matter in the face of Koyote trusting Olala to resolve the conflict.

Olala landed between two fists and separated them with the simple force of both hands. Jyuzou and Genni turned their heads.

She pulled hard, and Morio's gasp was halted with a sudden cough, while Ingo continuously moved, even punching Olala's side. The woman, in retaliation and anger, looked up, serving a kick to his stomach, sending him flying elsewhere.

Morio breathed heavily. Ingo lay unconscious, covered in blood.

Olala sighed, straightening up, glimpsing at the ground.

Morio pointed, opening his mouth. "I only wanted to-"

Olala punched his chest, sending him down.

"You whole lot take years off my life!" Olala raised her voice. "What on Errarion were you two fighting for?!"

Morio's jaw was shaky, and his eyes kept scanning back and forth. His heart was beating so fast, that it could perhaps pop right out of his chest. He looked at his own bloodied hands and then gritted his teeth. "I only wanted to win! This one time!" he punched the ground, and Jyuzou covered his mouth.

Just as Morio edged forward, eager to explain the situation, the brown soil beneath changed its hue into a greener, lighter shade. He looked down, and then turned to the right, heaving.

The chimera shrunk in size, weakened from the fight, its vines turning back into the greenery of the basin, right as the one flower dwindled below the two Morians. Jyuzou glanced at the herb, before staring forwards in disbelief.

"No." Olala snickered. "You were to defeat the chimera from the beginning," Olala informed, fixing her jacket. "Not fight your ally." she brushed sweat off her forehead, turning to the edge of the hill where Koyote would watch everything unfold.

The woman was absent, however.

Olala closed her eyes, thinking. "Jyuzou and Genni are the winners."

Morio stood up, trembling. The simple words almost lodged a sword right in his heart.

He put one hand on his other forearm, breathing in and out, all while Jyuzou found the courage to speed up his walk. Second, after second, minute after minute, and both Morians were now staring at each other in relative silence.

Genni ran up to Ingo, helping him up, just as his eyes opened. Olala immediately aided, seldom glancing at the other two.

Morio muttered, shaking his head. "Jyuzou, I-"

"What's wrong with you?" Jyuzou pointed, taking a step back.

Morio looked completely wrecked. "I just... want to be strong."

"You're still not over that?!" Jyuzou raised his voice. "Grow up already, Morio! Push those foolish dreams out of your stupid pea-size brain!"

Morio quickly blinked. "They're not dreams, they're goals! I want to be the-"

"When will you learn?!" Jyuzou pushed him. "You're never going to be the strongest! NEVER!" he screamed right into his face. "GET OVER IT BEFORE YOU HURT EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOURSELF!"

Morio huffed, in anger. He clenched his fist, ready to serve another punch with his bloodied hand but let go. His fury turned to tears instead. They dropped to the ground and eventually mixed with all the rain falling from the sky. Little, insignificant drops soon turned into a downpour, and while the others scattered elsewhere and out of the Suna Valley, Morio stood still, indulging in his weakness.

"I promise, Mama! I'll become the greatest Demonear there is!"

***

The rain, as earlier established, continued pouring through the night. While the fortress was nestled in complete silence and darkness, one resident was missing from its humble corridors and rather cramped rooms. Olala opened her tired eyes, watching as water flew down the glass, reflecting the distant moon.

She placed one hand over her forehead and turned around.

Roaming through the streets of Omer Narrows, Koyote found herself moving between small buildings, bigger ports and quiet streets, eventually finding traces of people scattering around town. However, her goals were far off from what she promised herself to do.

With a few yells directed at no one in particular, Koyote turned her attention to a few uncharacteristic noises peaking through the rain. After all, whenever it hit the cobbled ground, a cacophony was heard, obscuring any earlier thoughts.

She squinted both eyes, following a shadow. Soon enough, one black shade turned into multiple, and she moved further away from the main streets of Omer Narrows. Shop fronts were closed, lights eventually dimmed out, and the further she moved away from the canal, the more distant and unrecognizable the streets were.

"Linda's Sun Massages." Koyote read a sign. "Yeah, I've been here once. Five hundred Pies for the most relaxing day of my life. I ought to take Olala here after today's fiasco." she muttered, putting her hand on the thick end of the cross. "...but one more step and I'm into unknown terrain." she thought, closing her eyes, as a few puddles in the front were stepped through, followed by a quiet scream.

She lifted her eyelids, moving through the streets, following alongside the cherry-red walls of various houses. The road was narrow, heading downwards and seemingly below the canal towards something lodged below the ground. Seeing as the lampposts weren't present, the darkness wasn't to be defeated by anything.

Heading down, she stuck her back to the wall, sneakily moving through the gloomy corridor, following noises without sight. A few more steps, peeks behind the corner, and a light unearthed itself ras a black silhouette revealed it in the distance.

The sound of the rain faded away, replaced by the muffled canal from above and sharpened by her footsteps. Pushing her entire body against the corner, she seldom caught words and sights. People bearing masks and dressed in black robes.

A whisper sounded, from the one standing in the middle. Their face was covered with something resembling the skull of a crow. "When picking between water and fire, what would you say is more dangerous?"

"None." Someone else added. "They form a contrasting bond."

"Precisely. Do you think the same applies to humans and demons?"

"No." Someone else added. "Demons are stronger."

"...but so is fire," he replied. "Much like the waters above, both the canal, and the island's volcano can kill you if you're not careful. Humans, demons, both sides of the same coin."

"Rusty coin." Koyote thought. "You and Swannes are both the same. Fire, water. It doesn't matter."

Candles were suddenly lit up, changing the one dim light of the room into many smaller sources. One more squint and Koyote could make out a bloody sign splattered on the ground, with each member at its edges. It was a triangle, with a vertical line going down the middle.

"Oh, satan," he spoke, lodging something in the middle, stepping back and revealing a bloated corpse, with blueish skin and pierced-out eyes. He put his hands together, one bearing dark sharp nails, the other, missing a finger. "Much like when water drowns you, your sons will meet on the day when the volcano erupts. Where your disciples lay, where your power..." he whispered. "Leads them astray."

He stood up.

"For once in our lives, through their will, we will become united. We'll learn, see, and feel it on our skins. Together."

Koyote's eyes widened, as she moved back, breathing out.

"As we will trust all solutions."