"Stop wasting time and transform already," Gorga snapped at his brother.
The two of them began to change. Their bodies grew even larger, jagged spikes burst from their backs, and massive horns sprouted from their heads. They were identical in every way—except for the color.
"Must be nature's idea of a joke," Toru said with a smirk.
"Alright, guys—let's transform too!" Shinya ordered.
The moment everyone finished transforming, the battle erupted.
Garga was massive, but that size came at a cost—he was slow. His attacks were easy to read, easy to dodge. He charged at them, but the team scattered in time. As he turned around, he suddenly found himself unable to move—Toru had entangled his legs with thick vines.
"What the…?!"
"Now! Hit him hard!" Shinya shouted. "But don't kill him—we need him alive!"
Yuu focused flames into his right fist. While Garga struggled to tear off the vines, Yuu dashed forward and drove his burning fist straight into Garga's chest.
The Governor doubled over in pain, but before he could recover, Keiji appeared with his sword and struck him with a flurry of lightning.
Garga crashed to the ground, smoke rising from his scorched body. For a moment, it seemed he was down for good—but seconds later, he was already back on his feet.
Mira threw a series of trap cards across the field to restrain him. Garga managed to avoid stepping on them—but he didn't sense Shinya sneaking up behind him. With a single touch to the head, Shinya put him to sleep.
"Well, that was easy," Keiji muttered.
"Yeah, but that one's not going down so easily," Yuu said, his eyes turning to the other team.
Their attacks had no effect on Gorga. His steel body deflected every blow like it was nothing. And when his eyes locked onto them, Yuu saw the fury blazing within.
"That idiot! Defeated by a bunch of kids in under five minutes?!" Gorga roared.
His body melted into molten steel and slithered toward his unconscious brother, bypassing both teams in an instant. Without hesitation, he merged with Governor Garga.
Garga stirred awake. "Sorry, brother…"
"Shut up, idiot," Gorga growled. "You focus on the attack. I'll handle the defense."
The fusion was complete! The resulting body was monstrous—easily ten meters tall. Its form was still recognizable, but now the skin was split: half brown, half blue.
"What even are these monsters…?" Toru trembled.
"On his own, Garga's way weaker than Raxis," Yuu admitted. "But together, they're a real problem."
"Try attacking us now!" Gorga's voice thundered—not from the mouth, but from somewhere else within the body. Garga had control of the movements.
"Your attacks are like mosquito bites to us!" the younger brother laughed.
Erich flew up near their head and launched a barrage of feathers—but they all bounced off harmlessly.
"He's invulnerable," Erich reported as he landed again.
Katia activated Vitalis. Her skin turned silvery, her hair and eyes turned pitch black, crackling with electricity.
"Keiji, his body's made of steel. Let's try to channel electricity through it," she said.
"Right!" Keiji nodded—though he flinched slightly at her intense new form.
She caught the reaction. "Got a problem with my transformation?!" she snapped, flustered.
"No… Nothing," he muttered, turning away.
Despite the awkward moment, they quickly refocused. Together, they launched bolts of lightning at the enemy.
Just as Katia predicted, the electricity coursed through Garga's steel body—but the monster was simply too big. The attacks barely made a dent.
They had to leap aside as a massive foot came crashing down where they'd stood.
"You've got no chance! Just get squashed like the bugs you are!" Garga bellowed.
Everyone scattered in different directions.
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Kaito had returned to Misuto and removed his magical cuffs.
"Why are you setting me free?" Misuto, the guard of Kana, asked, confused.
"I don't want you to get involved," Kaito replied. "I wanted to talk to you, but there never was a good time. You're free to go back to Kana if you want. I'm going to help my friends."
"I'm your enemy. Why do you care about me?" Misuto pressed, still uncertain.
"Because to Kana, you're just a slave. But to me, you were and will always be a friend," Kaito said, turning back to join the battle.
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"Damn it, if we could just hit the head with lightning, we could knock it out!" Katia shouted.
She launched another barrage of lightning—some arcing from the chain she wielded, others firing straight from her glowing eyes—but nothing worked.
"We're helpless right now… all we can do is hope the Captains arrive," said Shinya, gritting his teeth.
Yuu, however, refused to give in. "Flame of Purgatory!"
Fire exploded from the glowing scales on his body, surging forward and crashing against the steel hide of the enemy. This time, the metal melted slightly—a wound appeared.
"Damn fire Esper!" Gorga roared, and Garga raised his massive foot to crush Yuu beneath it.
There was no time to move. Yuu froze. He felt like an ant under a mountain. But just then—the ground beneath the monster gave way. The colossal beast slipped, sinking into a massive pit until only its neck and head remained above the surface. The earth shifted again—trapping him in place.
"What the hell is happening?!" Garga shouted, struggling uselessly.
"Now! Attack now!" Misuto yelled.
Everyone turned—stunned.
Misuto was kneeling on the ground, his left hand pressed to the soil, his right clenched into a tight fist. He was an Esper, one who could control the very earth—creating rock, forming traps, opening chasms.
"Hurry! I can't hold him like this for long!"
Keiji and Katia didn't waste a second. They gathered their energy once more and unleashed a synchronized burst of lightning. The twin strikes hit the monster's head dead-on—and in that instant, electricity surged through it.
The fused body the brothers shared began to melt—turning into a mass of molten metal. When it cooled and hardened, it split back into two distinct men.
"Damn it… Because of your weakness, I got hit too," Gorga growled, gasping. "We share pain in that form…"
"I didn't think that guy would side with them," Garga muttered. "Wasn't he Kana's guard? Looks like he betrayed us…"
Gorga, now reduced to molten steel once again, slithered back into his brother's body.
"I'm returning to your bloodstream to absorb more iron. I should recover soon."
"No! If he recovers, we'll have to fight them again!" Yuu shouted.
"We have to pull him out of there," Gilbert said urgently.
"I could strike him again," Katia said hesitantly, "but I'm afraid I'll kill them both—they're barely holding together."
Gilbert stepped forward and quickly cuffed Garga with new anti-Esper restraints.
"Kyorano really has the best timing, huh?" Toru muttered.
"Thank you, Misuto," Kaito said quietly.
Misuto broke into tears. "Can you ever forgive me? Because of me… Kenta and Daisuke were killed…"
"I forgave you that same day," Kaito replied. "So did they."
He pulled Misuto to his feet and embraced him.
Suddenly… Snow began to fall!
"Snow?" Yuu whispered, stunned.
"That's impossible. Not this suddenly—not in this season," said Shinya. Snow wasn't unusual in Esios—but here, in Astalia, it was nearly unheard of. The region had mountain ranges, yes—but they weren't at high altitudes.
"Be careful. This isn't natural snow—it's the work of an Esper," Geist warned.
Yuu felt it then. A powerful aura. An Esper like no other.
The once-clear sky had turned white, cloaked in soft clouds. Snowflakes began to fall—beautiful and silent.
"Look—up there!" Mira shouted.
Descending from the sky was a breathtaking young woman with light blue hair and strange wings made of ice. A small braid hung to the side of her face. She wore heavy armor—silver pauldrons, gloves, boots, and a bright blue chestplate. In her hand, she held a long spear tipped with sharp, glimmering frost.
"Yuki!" Garga cried out with relief, breaking into a grin. "Thank goodness you're here! Hurry—free me!"
The girl landed softly beside him. But instead of releasing him— she drove her spear straight through his chest.
"Wha… What is the meaning of this?" Garga gasped, falling forward.
"The General has no use for weaklings like you," Yuki said coldly. "A new Governor has already been appointed to Astalia. You're no longer needed."
She pulled her lance from his chest—and from the wound, a wave of ice burst forth, spreading rapidly across his entire body.
Garga screamed and tried to tear the frost off—but within seconds, under the horrified gazes of everyone present, he was completely frozen.
Then—
he shattered into a thousand pieces!
"No!" Yuu screamed. "After everything… after all the sacrifices…! We were supposed to interrogate him…"
At first, Yuu had believed the deaths of those children had been a tragic but necessary part of Kyorano's plan. But now… now that even that plan had failed—
Their sacrifice had been in vain!
Tears streamed down his face. He clenched his fists and stepped forward until he stood face-to-face with Yuki—his body frozen in place. He couldn't move. The tip of her icy spear hovered just below his throat... A cold unlike anything he had ever felt seeped into his skin.
"Libertas. I've received no orders to eliminate you today," Yuki said. Her voice was cold—like the snow, like her spear. "Now that my mission is complete, I have no reason to stay."
She pulled her weapon back and leapt into the sky. The snowfall ceased. The clouds slowly began to fade—leaving behind a clear, blue sky.
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Kyorano and the other Captains arrived shortly after.
"Damn it... snow falling that suddenly could only mean one thing: Yuki," said the leader of Libertas, his expression darkening.
"That girl…" Shinya began, his voice trembling as tears welled in his eyes. "She killed Garga. Just when we finally had him back in chains…"
"Better him than all of you," Kyorano replied, though his tone carried a bitter edge. "Still… it was a low blow."
He looked toward the sky, where the last flakes had vanished.
"She's one of the General's personal bodyguards."