Kana pulled out two more cards from her bag and tossed them out: "Prayer Fountain! Thunder of Destiny!"
After freezing the enemy, she followed up with a water and lightning attack. Usually, after this combo, most enemies would be down. Kana particularly loved this move.
But the opponent was Mira, so Kana continued drawing cards while shouting, "Li Li, now's the time!"
No response.
"Li Li?"
Kana looked at her partner in confusion, only to find that Li Li had reverted to the form of a small black cat. The longsword was stuck in the sand, and Li Li crouched next to it, covering his ears and trembling.
"Can't hear, can't hear... it's not real thunder, just Kana's magic, no fear, no fear..."
The transformed Li Li looked so serious, so mighty, so reliable, yet he was afraid of thunder?!
Kana's serious expression suddenly crumbled. She didn't know whether to cry or laugh and shouted at Li Li, "What the heck is that?!"
Crack!
The ice pillar imprisoning Mira cracked and then exploded with a bang. Water and lightning hit her body, and the magical glow made the black crack-like patterns on Mira's face appear even more terrifying.
She walked out from the lightning, her tongue gliding over her upper lip, "That hurt, Kana."
"Ah... um..." Kana awkwardly chuckled, waving her hands in a befuddled manner.
"Thanks for the hospitality. Now it's my turn to repay." Mira smiled, enthrallingly beautiful.
"Whoa!!!"
"Eek—ahhh!!!"
The screams of Li Li and Kana echoed across the beach.
Route A, Kana's team, eliminated.
"Still have to carry them back to camp..." Mira returned to her normal appearance, taking a light breath, "Really not used to being without the Crown of Insight."
It had been two days since she'd last seen Rhode, and Mira was somewhat resentful of the president for not letting the group gather on the island first before starting.
She turned to look at the entrance to the next stage: "He should be fine, wonder how Elfman is doing, and Lisana too, hope they aren't hurt."
...
Route C, Cave.
Elfman and Ibarglin walked side by side in the cave, which was quite bright despite its usual darkness, mainly because there were little glowing insects flying everywhere.
Spirit Light Insects, much brighter than fireflies, could even serve as lighting.
In this quiet and serene environment, the atmosphere between the two was a bit delicate.
They occasionally exchanged glances and then quickly looked away, reminiscent of Alzack and Bisca from before.
After their eyes parted for the third time, Ibarglin's face turned slightly red, and she angrily said, "Pay... pay more attention! Stop looking at me!"
Elfman was confused and instinctively retorted, "You were obviously looking at me first!"
"Idiot! What's so great about someone who's all muscles, not just outside but inside as well?"
"Huh? Muscles are the proof of a real man!"
"A real man wouldn't forget he could fly at critical moments!"
"I only got that ability recently, besides, didn't you forget too?"
Ibarglin defended herself confidently, "I'm not a real man! Plus, I came especially to help you, so pass the exam gratefully!"
"Man... Man!" Elfman looked annoyed. Women are such a hassle, but—even so, he really needed to thank her.
The two seemed to be at odds as they continued forward until they saw a flag with the character 'Battle' on it.
"Battle? So it's a fight against another team," Elfman stepped half a step forward, protectively covering Ibarglin, "Be careful, Ibarglin."
"I don't need your reminder." Ibarglin also stepped half a step forward, indicating she wanted to fight side by side.
"Oh my, look who it is, Ibarglin, and... Man?"
"Ibarglin!"
"Ibarglin!"
"Man!"
"Man!"
As Biguslo's words fell, the puppets flew up and down, repeating in chorus.
"Just as noisy as always," Elfman showed a troubled expression, "So, the opponents are you and Fried?"
"Fried? Not good!" Ibarglin charged forward, shouting, "Elfman, attack immediately!"
"Hmm? Ah!" Elfman was initially stunned but then quickly grasped the situation—if Fried was given time to set up a technique in this terrain, they might as well concede.
"Hey hey... starting out with an attack?" Biguslo withdrew while waving, "Go, Baby, line formation!"
Five puppets (Bibi, Popo, Baba, Bebe, Bubu) lined up neatly and charged toward Ibarglin and Elfman.
"That move won't work on me!" Ibarglin lightly waved her fan, sending five golden light bullets toward the five puppets.
Biguslo laughed wildly, his tongue sticking out, "I'm familiar with your tricks too, Ibarglin!"
The five puppets deftly changed formation, evading the light bullets.
"Is that so?" Ibarglin dodged to the side, making room.
Elfman accelerated forward: "Partial Takeover: Iron Bull Arm!"
Elfman's right arm transformed into a jet-black metal, delivering an uppercut to Bibi, who then knocked into the other four puppets like a bowling ball.
The brute force sent all five crashing into the cave wall together.
"Take this, Biguslo!" Elfman rushed in, throwing a punch at Biguslo.
Given the gap in their melee combat abilities, if this punch hit, Biguslo would be out of the fight.
Unfortunately, a long knife came from the side, resisting Elfman's punch.
The collision of the long knife and metal arm produced a metallic clang.
Fried had to use his other hand to press against the back of the knife to withstand Elfman's power.
"Duck down!"
Ibarglin's voice rang out, and Elfman immediately withdrew his punch and ducked.
Fried looked up and saw Ibarglin in the air, pushing her glasses up onto her forehead: "Damn!"
He hurriedly moved his gaze away, avoiding eye contact with Ibarglin.
But Ibarglin smiled: "It's just as dangerous not to look at me. Fairy Machine Gun - Little Fairy!"
Countless tiny light bullets sprayed toward Fried like machine gun fire.
"Baby, X formation!" Biguslo waved, and the five previously struck puppets flew back, forming an X shape.
The magic power between the puppets interconnected, acting as a shield to block the machine gun bullets for him and Fried.
Just as the puppets wobbled, Elfman stood up again, shattering them with a punch.
Two of the puppets collided with Biguslo, and three hit Fried square in the face.
Both of them groaned in pain, stepping back a few paces.
Biguslo also pushed up his own goggles, staring at Elfman with eyes slightly glowing.
But...
"When did this happen?" Biguslo almost broke character, "Why are you wearing glasses too?!"
Elfman adjusted the sunglasses on his face, grinning, "My brother-in-law gave them to me after you guys caused trouble last time, and I put them on when I ducked just now."