"Aren't you a quick one?" Finitevus puckered his lips, avoiding another hit.

Amy didn't allow him to stand still for more than a second.

"I'll give you 6.5/10," Finitevus said once Amy had to stop to catch a breath.

"What?" She clenched her teeth. Was her whole assault seen as a joke?

"No worries!" He put his hands in front of himself, pushing them close to his chest. "That's a good score. I usually give D to F." He tilted his head, sticking out his tongue as if he was a hangman. "They explode before I even touch them."

"You!" Amy shrieked, and he blocked his ears. His eyes widened as the next hit burned his skin by the sheer air force.

'No! Not just that!' He locked his gaze onto her weapon, seeing as thin streams of light ran across it. 'She can put her inner energy into objects?'

It wasn't like he didn't see other agents do the same. Most of the A-class and higher had this ability. Yet something bugged him about her. Deflecting the next hit, he watched her.

"It's faster!" he screamed, realizing why she was different.

He hadn't met somebody who would have such a tight grasp over their spiritual stream system. The thinner the threads were, the less likely it could provide the needed output. Yet, her energy flew in those thin strings with tremendous speed, allowing her to increase her output by a dozen times compared to thicker lines.

Deep in his calculation, she landed a full hit in his stomach, sending him flying.

"Yes!" She barked, sweat rushing down her forehead.

The clouds of dust obscured her vision. Her knees almost buckled as the adrenaline washed over her body.

"Aren't you a feisty specimen?"

"What?" Amy almost bit her tongue.

She poured everything into that mace, yet he stepped forward, dusting his hands and shoulders as if that was just a feather.

"Correction, 8.5/10. You make A-grade material." He rubbed his hands.

Clenching her teeth, the pink hedgehog girl tried to calm her breathing to allow her inner energy to restore. Yet her heart refused to settle down.

"What a poor thing. Don't be scared. I treat my precious material with utmost care—Aagh!" he roared as piercing pain shot through his shoulder. Turning his head, he saw Shadow dashing his way, shooting more projectiles.

The scientist retreated. "It's one thing after another!"

Shadow didn't stop aiming his way as he stood next to Amy. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, give me a minute, and I'm ready to go. How about you?"

"It's all set," the priest whispered.

"Okay, I'll give you a point for persistence," Finitevus mumbled, almost yawning. "But I have an operation I'm looking forward to, so excuse me from—"

Shadow didn't let him finish leaping forward. Finitevus jumped back, but Shadow smashed the ground into pieces.

The scientist turned furious. "Lord dammit! I almost search my ass off looking for a suitable specimen, finding one failure after another! And you are telling me I just needed to wait for you two to show up?" He lifted his twitching fingers before going all wobbly. "I missed so many tea times."

If they didn't stand against a madman, they would facepalm. Shadow returned his gun into the holder and jumped in to keep the echidna at arm's length.

The rocks crunched under his hits, yet only some scratched Finitevus, as if he could see where Shadow aimed. The ebony hedgehog had to keep his powers in check, or he could smash Finitevus into a bloody mess.

The scientist smiled, but his eyes trailed towards Amy, widening in shock, and his jaws dropped. She lifted her mace that grew into enormous size, expanded and materialized by her spiritual energy.

With a war cry, she slammed the ground, sending a tremendous shock wave and stone avalanche.

Finitevus' face twisted, and he peeped, "Ouch."

Shadow got out of the way before he could get caught in it. Dust and rain of pebbles obscured their vision. Amy collapsed onto her knees, drained. She still had a lot of work in front of herself if she wanted to wield pure energy weapons.

Shadow took a deep breath. Could this be over? He hoped Finitevus wasn't dead, so they could interrogate him, but not in fighting shape.

"That was fun," Finitevus said from behind them.

Before they could turn, bright boxes enclosed them. Both of them shrieked in pain as the blinding light pierced their eyes. Shadow punched the wall, but it sent a scorching pain through his body.

"Now, now, we don't destroy the interior in this house." Finitevus again snickered, amused by his joke. "Be nice lab pets, and I can guarantee you a decent living." His eyes trailed to Silver. "Sorry for the delay. Let's head to our honeymoon."

Finitevus stopped above Silver, bending down to take him into arms bride style when electric whips slashed his body. This time he suffered more hits, as it caught him off guard.

"What?" he staggered back, holding his scorned shoulder.

Inscription pattern lit up, protecting Silver from outside threats. Finitevus' eyes darkened. Yet another obstacle stood in his way.

"This one is quite complex, I see." In his mind, he added, 'Almost at my level. It's going to be a pain in my tail to decode it.'

The light faded, hiding the seal.

Finitevus picked up the agents' attempts to break free, but he paid them no attention. He designed those light boxes to hold Silver, just in case his first attack failed to meet his expectations.

"How frustrating, but doable." He cracked his fingers, and with a simple movement of his fingers, light boxes holographic panels and screens rose from the ground. "Time to do some cracking."

Activating the protective barrier without hurting himself, he proceeded with taking it apart bit by bit.

In one of the tunnels, without anybody's notice, Eclipse peeked out.

>See? A feast is in front of you.<

Eclipse gulped, leaning his body forward. No chains bind him as he listened to Ashyss voice like an obedient dog.

>And you can do more than just following the trails as I showed you.<

The demon's eyes lit up with excitement, turning his daze Ashyss' way. The Eternal Eater blushed, but his cloud form masked it completely.

>Let me demonstrate.< Ashyss moved forward, and he licked the golden trail that led to Finitevus.

The scientist shivered, jerking his body away. His head snapped left and right, but he was unable to determine what caused that disturbing feeling.

>See? Exceptionally tasty individuals leave this golden trail wherever they go. You can trace them no matter what they use, be it a boat or a vehicle.< Ashyss' voice turned a bit sour. >Well, theoretically, since there are means that make the golden trail so slim it turns almost invisible.<

He directed Eclipse's head toward the boxes, so he could see.

>Looking good, right? Seals like this are no problem. All I need to do is to suck them dry, and no distance is too far for me.<

Ashyss dug his claws into another thread, and his demonic energy flew into it, coloring it deep red. It spread like a thin stream of lava, reaching both of the boxes.

>Just time it well. It's a pain in the tail to re-establish the connection if you get interrupted.<

Finitevus bristled. 'What is this feeling? Is something here?' He was sure none of his prisoners were behind this, yet something invaded his network he established to detect everybody in his territory.

The crimson spread around the light prison, climbing it like poison ivy.

>Bone appetite.< Ashyss snickered, taking the string into his mouth, slurping.

Finitevus' eyes widened. His top-notch seal was dissolving right in front of his eyes. At the same moment, Shadow slammed the light wall, shattering it together with Ashyss' threads, cutting the connection. The priest had no idea what he achieved, his full concentration on Finitevus.

"You!" he roared, startling the mad scientist as he leaped to burrow him.

The white echidna spread his limbs, revealing golden rings around his ankles and wrists. They shone and propelled him into the air.

"I was so nice to you! And this is how you repay me? Destroying my hard work!" Finitevus fumed. They did enough damage, but the fact they perhaps outsmarted him by destroying his perfect barrier ticked the scales toward his insanity side.

"Amy! Take care of Silver! Get out!" Shadow grasped the cross around his neck. "I'll take care of him!"

"But!" Amy objected, but Shadow unhooked his cross and attached it by his waist to not lose it.

The scientist observed this gesture with a raising curiosity. What meaning it had?

The answer exploded into his face, as dark flames enveloped Shadow, and he rocketed toward him. The echidna had no time to avoid this attack, losing his left arm. His blood gushed out, but the scientist didn't scream.

Whether for not feeling any pain or for being numbed by his curiosity.

'Why is a demon working for The Order?' The simple thought flashed through his mind as his body rammed the stone wall. Blood pushed through his clenched teeth.

Shadow roared, swiping down to finish him.

However, Finitevus had a different plan. His ankle rings lit up, propelling him up into one of the many tunnels.

"You can't escape me!" Flapping his wings, the ebony hedgehog followed.

Amy on the ground cough, stumbling over the stones and cracked floor. "That was... amazing!" She had heard Shadow had tremendous strength when transformed, but this exceeded her imagination.

Shaking her head, she concentrated on her task. Silver laid on the floor, his body still trembling.

"Don't worry! I'll get you to safety."

Her teammate mumbled something, but she didn't recognize a single syllable. Bypassing the barrier that recognized her as an ally, she lifted Silver under his armpit. Struggling to get up, she heard a stone rolling down.

A shiver ran down her spine. The all too familiar feeling rushed through her body. She turned her head, glancing at the number of Black Arms. Their enormous bodies and spikes from back refreshed her unpleasant memories.

"Guess, we can't leave so easily." She laid Silver down, grabbed her mace, and took a fighting stance while her legs shook.

Six of them walked closer, their shining eyes focusing on her.

Swirling her wrist, she unleashed her mace-whip. The blunt weapon hit the weak spot from the last time. The creature didn't bother to defend itself.

Yet the smile on Amy's face had no time to blossom.

"Nothing?" Repeating her last attack on the throat of another Black Arms, she got the same result. "But they had fallen last time!" Her voice shivered as her knees send a vibration through her body.

>Sheesh! Figures they upgraded them.< Ashyss rolled his eyes, seeing five pulsating spots on each of the monsters. >What a dumb girl.<

Eclipse growled, sneaking forward.

>Oh right, you had to hold himself back for far too long.< Ashyss patted Eclipse. >Go have fun. You deserve—<

If Ashyss had a tongue, he would bite it as Eclipse darted down. The Eternal Eater concealed himself, letting the small demon listen to the inner voice he shooed for years. His nimble body flew above the surface, overcoming boulders like they were pebbles.

His small claws dug into the neck of the nearest monster from behind, crushing the shining ball. The affected Black Arms, staggered, its muscular arms reaching to grab the intruder. However, this type wasn't made for quick movements, acting more like defense walls.

Eclipse crushed the other spots on its back, buttock, and left shoulder with ease, and the monster collapsed. Its body turned into a mist, leaving nothing behind.

"Eclipse!" Amy shouted, her face brightening up. Her familiar couldn't come at in better time.

His transformed eyes dug into her soul, sending a shiver down her spine. This wasn't Eclipse she knew. He jumped from one Black Arms to another, spilling the blood, ripping their limbs, and cutting them to pieces as he destroyed their weakness.

Eclipse watched as the leftover of body fluids evaporated from his claws. Not even the faintest smell remained.

>Disappointing, isn't this?< Ashyss spoke through his mind. >What useless creatures. They didn't scream or bleed, nor they had the audacity to leave their gutted body behind. I'll tell you, in my younger days, victims were more cooperative.< The sarcasm resonated in his voice one could call it joking.

If it wasn't for a sinister gleam in his eyes.

>But let's take it from the bright side.<

Eclipse directed his gaze Amy's way.

>We have here two tender meals. And one tortured you in the past, right?< Ashyss clicked with his tongue. >What a perfect opportunity to get even.<

On all fours, Eclipse made a step forward. His eyes locked on sitting Amy.

Her legs refused to listen. Her breath raspy and dry, and she could barely speak.

"Eclipse," she whispered, clearing her throat. "Eclipse." She repeated his name, and the demon came closer. "Thank you for saving me."

>Look at this, how naïve.< Ashyss shook his head. >Let's take care of her before somebody snatches her.<

Eclipse growled, his tongue licking his exposed fangs.

"It's me. Amy! Don't you recognize me?"

>No worries! He knows well who you are.< The inner demon snickered. >And that's why you shall die.<

Leaping over the last meters, Eclipse aimed at Amy. She shrieked, waving her hammer, hitting the demon in the face.

"Eclipse! Snap out of it!"

She cried as she saw something swirling inside of Eclipse's soul. It was slowly devouring the gentle light he emitted.

The small demon did a somersault, getting back onto his legs.

>That hurt!< Ashyss held his cheek as the pain transferred to him too. >You are gonna pay! Let's rip her apart... slowly.<