The group has come to a shocking revelation when Ortho's game involves a Styx researcher trapped in one of the cages, and needs to find her before she freezes. The group then rushed to the first cage that marked "PTM-8321."

Vil then casts his magic at the cage, "Hrah!"

The strong magic crashes at the cage, and blows a hole in it.

"Wow..." Epel says, amazed. "You blew a hole in that thick cage wall with one shot!"

"It's hardly anything to celebrate," Vil says.

But Epel notices, "Something's off, though. Usually a Phantom comes rushing out when we open these cages. Maybe this one's empty?" Then walks towards the cage, "I'll go take a peek inside."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Briar asks, concerned.

"I'll be alright. Don't worry," Epel says, and about to walk inside the cage.

But Rook says, "Hold on, Epel. It's hard to see in there because it's so dark, but look closely."

"Oh..." Epel says, looking very carefully.

Suddenly, something begins to move on the ground of the cage.

"Is that a Phantom wriggling on the ground?!" Epel asks, shocked.

"You're right. It looks like it's hurt," Sereia says.

"Vil's spell must've stunned it when he blew the cage open," Briar says.

"Indeed. Let us strike while the iron's hot!" Rook says.

Everyone agrees as they bring out their Magepen and begin to attack the Phantom while they have the chance. Luckily, since it's already taken damage, it's easier to defeat it. Then the Phantom dissolves into ink.

"...No joy there, it seems," Vil says.

"I'm afraid not..." Epel says.

"And no one else is in there either," Briar says.

"But we certainly had the advantage with one. Well, played Roi du Poison," Rook says.

"Actually, it was rather a poor move," Vil points out, "If the researcher had been in that cage, she could've gotten hurt. But caution requires time we don't have, and risks forfeiting any initiative to the Phantoms. There isn't an optimal play here."

"Don't worry! If things get really hairy, I'll protect us with my signature spell," Epel happily says.

"The girls and I can help out as well," Briar says.

"We'll do what we can to help," Sereia says.

"Heh. I applaud your enthusiasm, but didn't you say your success rate was only 30 to 40 percent, Epel?" Vil replies. "I would also add that trump cards are meant to be saved for crucial moments. Now we should move on to the next cage.

"Let's try that one over there," Briar says, and walks to the other cage.

This cage has the label, "PTM-4238" on the side.

Sereia walks over and calls out, "Ma'am, are you in there." and knocks on it.

Just then, the cage begins to rattle like crazy, startling Sereia and hugs Briar's legs in fright.

"That cage is rattlin' up a storm!" Epel says.

"Oh la la! What an energetic Phantom," Rook says.

"It could jump out at any moment," Vil says. "We don't want it pouncing on the girls, so I say we dispose of it first."

"Then allow me to breach the cage," Rook says.

"All right. Epel, are you ready to intercept it?" Vil asks.

"Yes, sir! Good to go!" Epel says.

Then Vil turns to Briar, "Briar, you and Sereia be ready in case the Phantom tries to attack you."

"Right," Briar says.

"Okay," Sereia says.

"Most reassuring!" Rook says, "Then let's get this hunt underway..." and then casts his magic at the cage, "Hrah!"

And with that, the cage bursts open with a hole and the Phantom comes out. Rook is the first to attack it, and the Phantom is hit by the spell. Vil also strikes it with the magic. The Phantom dodge and tries to attack the girls, but Briar acts fast and fires her magic at the Phantom, causing it to fall and crash to the ground. Rook is able to finish it off with the magic, and it dissolves into ink.

"I already knew there was only a Phantom in that cage, but it still felt like a wasted battle," Epel says.

"What's all this now? Why are you so crestfallen?" Rook questions. "We successfully nipped a crisis in the bud. Isn't that worth celebrating?"

"I mean... I guess I just have a hard time celebrating getting the wrong cage," Epel says.

"That's fair. We do want to avoid wasting as much time and energy as possible," Vil says. "Which also means we should cut this little chat short and move on."

Cutting the conversation short, the group arrives at the next cage "PTM-2452."

Upon arriving, they hear a loud banging sound.

"Well, I can safely say a human wouldn't make that sound," Vil says. "Is the Phantom ramming into the cage?"

"So it would seem. The walls are starting to bend and dent. It's only a matter of time before it breaks out," Rook says, seeing the dent and bend on the cage.

"Then let's open the cage and blast that Phantom away before it gets the chance!" Epel says.

"A brilliant idea! Would you do the honors of opening the door, Epel?" Epel says. "I'll wait for our quarry to burst free."

"Sure, I got this," Epel says and casts his magic, "...HRAH!" and with a strong magical cast, Epel bursts the cage open.

The Phantom inside lets out a, "GYAAAH!"

And with that, the Phantom jumps out and begins to attack. Rook and Vil then cast their magic at the Phantom and strike it with a strong blow. Epel and Briar cast their magic at the Phantom with another blow and are able to give it the final blow. Soon, the Phantom dissolves into black ink.

"Well done, everyone. That was some solid teamwork," Vil says.

"We had the initiative because Epel opened the door in a single shot," Rook says.

"I was only able to do it because the cage was already damaged... but I'm glad it all worked out," Epel says. He then takes a breather and says, "But we keep wasting time. We need to find the researcher's cage, fast!"

"I have to agree. We busted three cages open and all we found are phantoms," Seria says.

"But we have to keep trying, until we find her, and I worry that we don't have much time," Briar says.

"Right. Can't stand around chatting all day," Vil says.

"Oui. Let us focus and keep going," Rook says.

The group agrees that they need to find the research, and fear that they're running out of time. They soon find the next cage with the label, "PTM-9561" on the side.

As they approach, they hear a voice "...lp me... So cold..."

"That voice!" Rookn says, shocked.

He then asks, "Madame, are you in there?"

"Yes... In here... Hurry..." The researcher cries out. "Get me out... Please..."

Vil calls out, "Move as far from the door as you can and get down! I'm opening it now!" And Vil casts his magic using his mage pen.

Soon, that creates a hole in the cage.

Epel calls out, "Are you okay, ma'am?!"

Suddenly a frightening voice comes out of it, "Ahhh, i'M fiNally oUT..."

Epel gasps, "Hey, the cage is filled with miasma!"

Briar grows worried, "Uh guys, I think we need to move back. I don't think there's a person inside."

And soon, a large Phantom comes out of the cage and she says, "I'm FREE! Ahaha! HyAaAHAHAHAHA!"

Sereia screams in fright.

Vil calls out, "Epel, get back! Briar's right! That's not a person; it's a Phantom!"

"We need to attack it, now!" Briar says, and casts her magic at the Phantom.

Luckily, the hit is full of strong force. Vil, Rook, and Epel cast their magic and attack the Phantom in the cage. The group continues to fight against the Phantom and is using a lot of force against it. Even Sereia, despite being scared, casts her magic at the Phantom, which ends up being a hard direct hit. Basically, her being scared ends up increasing her magic that it knocks it down.

The Phantom screeches, "I WAs sO SurE I waS FinaLly FrEe..."

And soon the Phantom melts into black ink. As soon as the Phantom is melted, they hear something drop to the ground.

Epel takes deep breaths of exhaustion.

And soon notices, "Look, it dropped an ID card!"

Sereia then picks up the ID card and gives it to Briar.

"Thanks Sereia," Briar says.

"I'm just glad we were able to beat it," Sereia says.

"You did well too, Sereia. You ended up giving the Phantom the final blow," Epel says.

Then turns to the black ink puddle, "It spoke in our language. Was it pretending to be human to trick us?"

"I certainly didn't expect to find a talking Phantom," Vil says, just as shocked.

"There are many beasts and birds that use vocal mimicry to lure their prey. And remember, all Phantoms were once capable mages. It should come as no surprise that they possess a high degree of intelligence." Rook says.

"I still find it hard to believe that all these Phantoms used to be mages, living beings... It's sad that they ended up like this," Briar says

"Yikes, talk about scary..." Epel says.

"It really was. I thought it was going to finish us," Sereia says, still scared.

"The deeper the level, the more dangerous the Phantoms... Now I see," Vil says. "We have our ID card. Let's get out of this place."

"Yeah. Let's go," Briar says.

She then walks to the door and uses the ID card to access the door. Soon, the door is unlocked and Briar opens the door. That allows everyone to exit the facility.