Briar and the others begin their search for the ID Card that is hidden in one of the cages.

"The staffer said the beast and crustacean Phantoms are in cages numbered in the 800s... What kind do you think is in this one?" Vil says.

He soon approaches the cage that's labeled "PTM-881", Rook and the others approach the cage as well. Then Rook knocks on it. Suddenly, the cage begins to rattle.

"Oh la la! It responded to my knock," Rook says with a smile.

"I don't think it liked it so much," Serai says.

Then Epel says, "It sounds pretty sturdy. That's gotta be a crustacean, right?"

"Ah, but it could be a wild beast going berserk," Vil says.

Then Rook says, "It would appear I'm nor the only one excited by the prospect of an encounter with the unknown. Let's find out the answer together, shall we?"

"Yes, sir/Certainly," Everyone responds.

With that, Rook uses his magic to bust open the cage, allowing the Phantom to escape. Then begins to fire their magic at the Phantom without a second thought. After a few attacks, the Phantom has been defeated.

"No ID card here," Epel says.

"That really wasn't the one? Considering how much trouble it gave us, I thought it might be," Vil says.

"This one was quite formidable. It may portend even more fearsome fights to come," Rook says.

Vil turns to Rook, "Your words and your expression are entirely at odds. Why do you find this so exciting?"

"Yeah Rook, we're practically fighting for our lives," Briar adds.

"Well, I'm with you all, aren't I? How could I possibly be bored?" Rook responds. "We're growing more in sync with every battle. And more to the point..."

Everyone remains silent by Rook's statement.

Then Rook says, "Heh. I look forward to what lies ahead."

The group continues searching until Epel finds the cage that is labeled, "PTM-832'.

"Found it!" Epel calls out, "This cage is in the 800s!"

Suddenly, the cage begins rattling and moving.

"Sounds like a lively Phantom," Vil says, "I wouldn't be surprised if it rushed us the moment we opened the door. I'll do the honors this time. Rook, would mind intercepting it?

"Oui, as you wish," Rook says.

Vil steps forward in front of the cage, "Here goes..." And casts his magic, "Harh!" and breaks the lock to open the door.

The Phantom inside lets out a, "SHAAARGH!"

Rook then begins to cast his magic, "Hnh!" and strikes the Phantom.

The Phantom screams, "GYAAAH!"

And the Phantom charges at them.

"It's still charging?!" Rook responds.

And see that it's heading right towards Vil.

"Vi,, watch out!" Rook cries out.

Then tries to protect him.

Then Epel comes in, "HAAAH!" and uses his magic to attack the Phantom.

The Phantom is hit by the Phantom and ends up getting defeated as it melted.

"Yes, you got it!" Sereia cheers.

"That was great," Briar says.

Vil then says, "Epel, that was an excellent strike. I might've taken a direct hit if you hadn't landed that follow-up."

"Allow me to thank you as well, Epel," Rook says. "We're all intact thanks to your quick thinking."

Then Epel says, "The enemies just keep getting stronger. I guess preparing for the worst was the way to go."

"As much as I'd prefer to conserve our energy, it appears we no longer have that luxury," Vil says.

"Getting injured in the name of preparedness would defeat the purpose. Let us prioritize bringing down our foes from now on," Rook says.

"Right. I'll stay focused," Epel says.

Then turns to Briar, "Briar, you and the girls gotta be more careful than ever, okay?"

"Okay," Briar says.

"Of course," Sereia says.

Trinket nods in reply.

Vil sighs, "Ugh. How many more of these must we deal with? We need to reach the 'boss' as quickly as we can."

"My guess is still a few more we need to find," Briar says.

"Then we should continue searching right now," Epel says.

The gang soon begins to search around.

"You can see how heavy-duty this cage is," Vil says, looking at the next cage.

The cage is labeled 'PTM-889.'

"Hmm. I assume it contains a Phantom epic proportions," Rook says.

"A giant bast or crustacean... Maybe it'll be something out of a kaiju movie," Epel says.

"What's a kaiju?" Sereia asks.

"It's supposed to be a very large beast," Briar says.

Then Vil says to Epel, "Epel, you look rather excited, much like Rook did earlier."

"I do?!" Epel questions.

Rook chuckles, "Heh. I think it'll take the door this time. Everyone, are you ready?"

Everyone agrees and ready themselves to fight back.

"Then here goes..." Rook says. And with that, Rook uses his magic, "Hah!" and breaks the lock.

That causes the door to open and they wait for the Phantom to come out, but...

"That's weird..." Briar says, confused.

"We've opened the door, but the Phantom shows no signs of coming out," Vil says.

Epel becomes annoyed and shouts, "What a big ol' chicken! Ah'll drag it out maself!"

Epel then decides to march into the cage and blasts the inside of the cage. Then the Phantom lets out a screeching sound in pain.

"I don't think it liked that," Sereia says.

"It appears so," Vil says.

Epel continues to attack the Phantom with all his might, repeatedly. Soon, the Phantom turns into a puddle of ink.

Vil looks around and says, "No ID card in here."

"It appears so," Briar says.

Then Vil turns to Epel, "But all that aside-what got into you, Epel?"

"Sorry, sir..." Epel apologizes. "The Phantom wasn't coming out, and I just lost my patience.

"I suppose after the string of battles we've had, I can hardly blame you for an emotional outburst," Vil says. "But mental discipline is of paramount importance right now. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Epel says.

Soon, everyone approaches the next cage, 'PTM-859.' but notices the door to the cage is already open.

"Ah, what have we here...?" Rook, questions. Then turns to Vil, "Vil, stay close to the girls."

"That cage is already open. The Phantom may have escaped," Rook says.

"All right. Everyone be careful," Vil says.

Everyone approaches the cage carefully. Vil and Rook peek inside the cage to see no one there.

"It doesn't appear to be in the cage," Rook says, "Where could it be hiding?"

"We'd better find it quick, or..." Epel says, but quickly notices something, "Hey, wait. I think something just moved in the cage's shadow."

Vil and the others look at the cage to see something moving.

Epel quickly spots it, "...Found it! Take this!"

And Epel strikes the Phantom with his magic with full force.

The Phantom screams, "GYAH!"

"Nicely done, Epel! Let's finish it off while it's stunned!" Rook says.

Soon, Rook, Vil, and Epel fire their magic at the same time. All the magic hit the Phantom at once, causing it to be defeated and turned into Ink. Once the Phantom is gone, Rook searches the cage for the ID card.

"I checked around, but didn't find an ID card," Rook says. "If this Phantom had it, it might've dropped it somewhere hard to spot."

"We'll look here again if we don't turn up anything in the other cages. I must say, though..." Vil says. Then says, "That was a very clear hit, Epel. I'm impressed you hit something scurry about that fast."

"It was bigger than a Spelldrive disc, so I just did what I do at practice, and it worked out," Epel says.

"Speaking of Spelldrive, I'm told that Epel's flying prowess is even greater than Leona's," Rook says.

"Really?" Briar asks, surprised.

"Better than Leona, you say?" Vil asks, amazed. "You know, I'm glad you brought this up. I'd like to hear all about what you do in your club."

"You wanna hear about the Spelldrive club?" Epel asks, surprised. He then smiles, "I'd be more than happy to share!"

"I like to hear about it as well," Briar says.

"Me too," Sereia says.

Trinket nods her head.

Epel explains to the group about his time in the Spelldrive Club. After sharing the details, the group continues to search around for another cage.

"I know Phantoms come in all different kinds..." Vil says, "But I wonder what I wouldn't look like, had I gone full Phantom."

"Don't talk like that, Vil," Epel says.

Vil then says, "Some are like jewels, and some are like beasts... I suspect they embody the essence and ambitions of the mages who've overblotted. And when I overblotted... The manifestation that appeared behind me took the form of an old woman clad in long robes. Her hair was white and disheveled, and fingers were gnarled like branches. Perhaps deep down, I associate youth with beauty and dread the idea of getting older. If that's true... it's rather awful, isn't it?"

"We have yet to experience growing old," Rook says, "It's natural for people to fear what they haven't been through. You're hardly the first. And we must not avert our eyes from the forms these Phantoms take, no matter how much they frighten us.

"Quite right," Vil says, "If nothing else, they're a healthy reminder of what we don't want to become."

Soon, they found the next cage, 'PTM-854."

"Hey, I see a cage with the number 854 on it," Epel says.

"That fits the researcher's description," Vil says.

"Let's open it and see if the ID Card is in there," Briar says.

"I'll open the door. Get back everyone," Rook says.

Everyone stands back, then Rook casts his magic, "...Hrah!"

Rook then casts his magic and makes the lock break and the cage open.

Suddenly, they hear the voice of the Phantom, "I'M... HUNGRY... FEED ME... FLESH!"

Everyone holds out their magepens and begins to fight off against the Phantom. They continue to blast the Phantoms with their magic until the Phantoms begin to turn into a puddle.

As it melts, the Phantom says, "SO HUNGRY... SOOO... HUNGRYYY..."

Soon, the Phantom melted and it ended up dropping something.

"It dropped an ID card!" Epel says.

"We must thank our researcher friend. This would've taken far longer if not for his help," Rook says.

"Certainly. Now let's grab him and get out of here," Vil says.

The group then rushed to the door where the researcher is waiting for them. They used the ID Card and the door opened. That gives them time to get out of the facility.

Once out of the room, the researcher says, "Thank you all so much. You saved my life!" He then asks, "Are you sure you don't want to come with me? All the Phantoms past the point are the really dangerous ones. A-rank or higher. There's no guarantee you'll make it through unharmed."

"Thank you for the warning, but we'll be continuing on," Rook says.

"We can't let them reset the world," Briar says.

"And we still need to find Grim," Sereia says.

"I simply MUST reach Idia and Ortho first so I can give them a good slap on the face. Which means we can't let the other teams get ahead of us. We need to hurry on."

The researcher reluctantly agrees, "Well... all right. Just be careful, okay?"

"You as well. Quite a few Phantoms are thawing in the upper containment facilities," Rook says.

"Hey, I've been researching Phantoms for 20 years. I'm an old hand," The researcher says. "I know all about their habits. I'll figure out a way through."

"All right. I trust we'll all give this our best efforts then," Vil says.

And with that, the group continues forward to reach where Idia and Ortho are. Of course, they still have ways to go.