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Following Russell's unspoken command, Kaneki launched himself at Mogi once more. A furious whirlwind of his Rinkaku kagune and the powerful centipede tail rained down blows, but the pirate leader, with his massive spiked mace, blocked every single strike. It was like watching a storm break against a mountain; for all its fury, it could not leave a scratch.
A wave of frustration washed over Russell. He could feel Kaneki's desperation, and it was getting them nowhere. Mogi, however, merely seemed angered by what he perceived as a ticklish, desperate assault. His face twisted into a ferocious snarl.
"Don't get so arrogant, you little whelp!" he roared.
As the roar echoed, a colossal, phantom image of his mace materialized in the air beside him. When he brought his own weapon crashing down from above, the spectral mace slammed down in perfect unison, wreathed in a terrifying aura.
This is bad, Russell thought, his heart sinking.
Kaneki crossed all his kagune in front of him, forming a desperate, layered shield of hardened flesh. It was not enough.
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion of force and dust erupted from the point of impact. When the smoke cleared, Kaneki was gone. The Shrimp Soldier, recovering its spear, charged bravely toward Mogi, only to be swatted out of the air like a common fly, dissolving into motes of light.
Yara's face went white. "It's over," she murmured, her voice hollow with despair.
At that moment, a grim certainty settled over Russell. He had already summoned Yoriichi Tsugikuni to stand before him, preparing for a final, hopeless stand. So this is it, he thought, his hand clenching into a fist. But I'll take him down with me.
But then, he felt it. A flicker of connection in the back of his mind. Twisted, frayed, but undeniably there. Kaneki hadn't been severed. He hadn't returned. A dreadful, yet powerful, possibility bloomed in his thoughts. Wait… he's still on the field. Could it be… that transformation?
"Get back!" he yelled, grabbing Yara and Caleb and yanking them backward with all his strength.
Mogi, a bloodthirsty grin spreading across his face, stalked toward them. "Nowhere to run, little mice."
Yara and Caleb looked at Russell, confused by his sudden action but grimly resolute. They knew they couldn't outrun Mogi; a last stand was their only option. A terrible, noble resolve hardened Yara's features. She looked at Russell, her voice low but firm. "Rookie. Caleb and I will hold him off. You run. Don't worry about us."
Caleb gave a silent, grim nod of agreement beside her.
Just as Russell was about to explain, a burst of insane, cackling laughter echoed from the smoke cloud. From within the dust, a vague figure began to rise, its body bent and twisted to a terrifying, inhuman degree. Yara and Caleb's pupils shrank to pinpricks. "What… what is that?" they muttered in unison.
It was Kaneki—but it was a completely unhinged Kaneki, one that had fallen into the berserker state of a half-kakuja. The transformation is a double-edged sword, Russell thought, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow. I'm safe as the cardholder, but its rage is mindless. It will attack anyone else. This was why he had pulled them back.
Four centipede-like kagune, far thicker and more menacing than the single tail from before, now writhed and pulsed behind this new form like living armor. His four Rinkaku kagune had multiplied to eight, each one sharpened to a lethal point like the legs of a monstrous spider.
Mogi halted his advance, staring back at the transformed ghoul. "Why couldn't you just stay dead, you little pest!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Kaneki's enormous centipede tails tore up the ground, propelling him forward in a devastating charge.
"A pointless struggle," Mogi sneered, preparing to swat him aside with the same overwhelming attack.
But when his mace connected with the centipede kagune, a look of pure shock flashed across his face. This was not the same attack. The force behind it was on an entirely different level. He felt a tremendous, irresistible power travel up the shaft of his mace, and a sudden, cold dread filled him. This is bad.
His underestimation was his undoing. The mace was ripped from his grasp, sent flying far into the distance. Mogi's face darkened. Without his weapon, his combat effectiveness was halved. But the half-ghoul gave him no time to recover. With another insane laugh, Kaneki was on him. The eight razor-sharp spider kagune flashed in the sun, glinting with predatory light, while the two thickest centipede tails hammered at Mogi relentlessly, creating openings for the main body to close the distance.
Soon, they were face-to-face.
Mogi, though struggling to fend off the centipede tails, saw Kaneki get within arm's reach and let out a triumphant laugh. "You're too careless, kid!"
He thrust his right fist forward in a devastating punch aimed straight at Kaneki's heart. No! Russell's mind screamed. He's too close!
In that split second, a desperate command flashed through his thoughts. Three Treasures, activate!
The instant before the blow landed, a faint, translucent barrier materialized over Kaneki's chest. Mogi's punch connected, and nothing happened. The defensive prop, its daily uses still intact, had absorbed the full force of the bronze-level attack.
Mogi looked up in astonishment, his mouth opening to say something, but Kaneki's sharp Rinkaku kagune had already pierced clean through his body from every direction.
"Gaaah!"
With a single, brutal exertion of force, Kaneki tore Mogi apart. He was split in two, and a rain of blood and viscera fell around the triumphant, monstrous ghoul.
Caleb and Yara stared, utterly amazed. "He… he actually won?" Just moments ago, they had been mentally prepared for their own deaths. Now, the battle had turned 180 degrees in the blink of an eye.
Bronze-rank [Elite Pirate] (Purple) x1.
Russell instantly condensed the material from Mogi's remains, his mind already shifting to the next crisis. He rejoined his team just as Zane appeared beside them, his face grim. "Hurry! Chen Tuan can't hold him for much longer!"
Only then did Russell see that Zane's ethereal card, locked in a desperate battle with Moore, now had several wounds so deep they showed the bone. Leo stumbled over, his face deathly pale. "I've used the last of my mental strength to keep those two locked down," he gasped. "We have to go now, or it's too late." He gestured to the [Red Rose] and [Night Owl] representatives, who were standing dazed and unresponsive, trapped in his final illusion.
The team didn't hesitate, breaking into a desperate sprint towards the coast. But when they arrived, a cold dread washed over them. The dock was empty. Every single ship was gone.
"How can this be?" Yara said in disbelief.
Zane's expression was dark, a bitter smile on his lips. "It seems they knew we were here the moment we set foot on this island." He then turned, his gaze falling on Russell. "Russell, go. Get out of here. Don't worry about us."
"But—" Russell started to protest, but in the next moment, Zane shoved him hard.
A white blade of energy sliced through the air where he had been standing. A severed, bloody arm was thrown high into the air. It was Zane's.
"GO!" Zane roared, his voice a low, desperate command. At the same time, he summoned several of his remaining Black Iron-level cards, forming a desperate defensive line.
A wave of grief, sharp and sudden, pierced Russell's chest, but he knew he couldn't hesitate. He left Kaneki and Yoriichi on the dock to buy what little time they could, then summoned Pidgeot, soaring into the sky. Another white energy blade slashed across the dock, but it was blocked by the sacrifice of Zane's cards.
"Caleb, take Leo and get out of here!" Zane ordered, his back still to them.
Caleb silently summoned his own flying mount, pulled the exhausted Leo aboard, and took to the skies.
Zane watched the three of them become small white dots in the distance. He glanced at Yara, who stood faithfully by his side. "Yara," he said quietly, "do you hate me?"
She reached up and touched the jagged scar on her face, a nonchalant smile playing on her lips. "You saved my life once, Captain. Everything since then has been a bonus. I've earned enough."
Hearing this, Zane smiled helplessly. "In the end, I couldn't avenge my parents. But… that's okay. I can go and be with them now."
"Boring." An indifferent voice drifted over, followed by a final, blinding flash of white light that swept across the two of them.
High above, sitting on Pidgeot, Russell stared numbly at the new materials in his hand.
Iron-level material [Rookie Pirate] (green) x11, Bronze-level [Elite Pirate] (purple).
Normally, acquiring so many resources would have made him ecstatic. But now, as he felt the psychic connections to Kaneki and Yoriichi go cold, snapping one after the other, his expression grew dark and heavy with a grief that felt like a physical weight.
"Zane…"
I. Ranks (Power Tiers)
This is the primary measure of a Cardmaker's or creature's overall power level. It is a linear progression from the most common to the most powerful and legendary.
Iron
The starting rank for all new Cardmakers, typically achieved in high school.
Bronze
The first major advancement, marking a Cardmaker as having true potential.
Silver
The rank of established, professional field Cardmakers within the Association.
Gold
A high rank, usually held by powerful figures and regional leaders within the Association.
Emerald
An advanced rank representing a significant level of power and influence.
Diamond
An exceptionally high rank held by top-tier leaders. Entities at this level can influence entire cities.
Master
A near-legendary rank for the most powerful active Cardmakers, often treated as national-level strategic assets.
Palace
A mythical rank considered the absolute pinnacle of power, seemingly held by only one individual in the entire Federation.
II. Card Quality (Rarity Tiers)
This is a secondary system that determines the potential and power of a specific card within its Rank. A card with a higher quality is significantly stronger than a card of a lower quality at the same rank.
White
The most basic and weakest quality.
Green
A common, standard quality.
Blue
A solid, above-average quality.
Purple
A very high quality, indicating significant talent in the card's creation.
Gold
An exceptionally rare and powerful quality, the mark of a genius Cardmaker.
Red
The highest known quality, representing unprecedented and monstrous talent in card creation.
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