"You're ruining my fun! DON'T GET IN MY WAY!!!"
As Garrot swung his whip, Yuuki and Shiki nod at each other. Suddenly the two boys jumped in different directions. Just as the whip was going after Shiki, the boy used his Ether Gear to fall in different directions. While Garrot was struggling to hit Shiki, the boy smirked.
"You made a big mistake. After all...the strongest person here....IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU!"
"Sound Domination:Sound Palm!!!"
The moment Garrot turned around, he saw Yuuki glaring daggers at him. The moment Yuuki's left hand made contact with Garrot's back, he transmitted a very powerful sound wave from his palm into his victim's body, causing Garrot to be sent flying to the ceiling.
"By the way...this is for hurting Shiki and Mura earlier. Sound Domination:Machine Gun Voice!!"
The moment Garrot's body was getting closer to the ceiling, Yuuki shoots a lot of small voice "bullets" using a staccato shout as they collided with Garrot's body. Soon Garrot's head crashed into the ceiling as his blood was dripping to the ground. As Yuuki turned around, he saw Shiki undoing the ropes around Homura's wrists.
"Why didn't you use your Ether Gear, Homura?"
"I couldn't. Apparently one can't use Ether Gear when their wrists are bound."
"Really?! Homura, tie me u-"
Just as Shiki was about to ask Homura to tie him up, Yuuki kicked the boy in his back, causing him to fall down. When Shiki got up and looked at Yuuki, the boy was simply shaking his head.
"We don't have time to do this. Especially when Whippy is still alive. So Mura, you got something on your mind?"
"Yeah. I need to ask him about where Valkyrie is. I doubt he knows of her, but just in case...."
"Valkyrie? I know her."
As Homura, Shiki, and Yuuki looked towards the ceiling, they saw Garrot removing his head from the ceiling. As blood was dripping from his head, he lands on the ground with a smirk on his face.
"She was a fine woman."
~Meanwhile~
Rebecca, Pino and Happy were seen walking through a secret tunnel. When Shiki and the others were transported away, they ran into Labilia. After being forced to cosplay and have slime fall all over her body in order to get to the labor district, Rebecca was helped by one person, after Labilia ran off after lying to her about knowing how to get there.
"Thank you for the help, Nino."
"Heh. Don't worry about it."
"That's when I wanted to help you guys!"
"Won't you get in trouble for going against this Madame Kurenai?"
"I have no intention of going against that terrifying woman. That's why i'll say I couldn't find you. The slums are a terrible place, once you find your friends, escape from this place how I showed you."
"Sure."
"Though we don't plan on leaving til we find Valkyrie."
"Hmph. Remember....Anime will save the universe!!!!"
As Nino walked away, Rebecca smiled as her, Happy, and Pino walked forward to enter the slums. As they entered, they saw a city filled with destroyed buildings. When Rebecca looked upwards, she saw a mechanical bird flying in a circle as if saying to follow it.
"Does it want us to follow it?"
"It could be a trap."
"Follow it with caution."
As Rebecca and the two androids followed the bird, they heard it chirping. By the time they caught up to it, they saw it landing on the ground. Right next to it was a single man who was on his head.
"Steal!!!!!"
As the man passed by her, Rebecca looked towards the stranger. Her eyes widen in shock as she saw her B-Cube in the man's hand. She didn't even notice it was stolen even though it was around her neck.
"My B-Cube! When did you get it?!"
"That's the power of my Ether Gear, Steal Hand. I can teleport objects as far as 10cm. Which means I can take things from other people. Thus I was convicted and ended up here."
As the man said this, he returned the B-Cube back to Rebecca. He knew that the group was looking for Valkyrie since he saw them through Flappy, his mechanical bird. Soon Pino was the first to ask him questions.
"Are you an acquaintance of Ms.Valkyrie?"
"I am Paul, Lady Valkyrie's disciple. Though I have never met Homura. I only know of her through Valkyrie. I didn't think she'd come all this way to find her...i've been contemplating over whether to give her this or not, but I feel like I must."
~With Yuuki~
"You're talking about that tan android, right? She's famous around here."
Yuuki, Homura, and Shiki all looked towards Garrot in surprise. Just as she heard this news, Homura asked Garrot if he knew where she was. As he nods his head, a smirk formed on his face as a he looked at the group.
"I'm not telling you a damn thing."
"Fine then."
The moment Garrot heard this, Yuuki was suddenly in front of him as he slammed his right fist into his face. As Garrot was on the ground, he felt Yuuki stomping his right foot on his skull.
"You better get to talking. Unlike the others, i'm not nice enough to give you mercy after you got beat in a fight. A tooth? An eye? Maybe I should break one of your limbs. I won't kill you, but I assure you, you'll wish I did."
As Garrot felt a shiver from the tone of Yuuki's voice, he saw something on the boy's chest. It was a barcode, just like how Rui had one on her neck. That's when he realized it. This boy was a Code Breaker. Soon a smile formed on his face.
"Those collars on your necks aren't just for keeping count. As long as you have them, they mark you as prisoners. And the warden can treat prisoners anyway he likes. I can take away your food, put you in solitary jail, punish you, and send you to the lair of the most ferocious of Stones."
As Garrot said this, he snapped his fingers as the trio in front of him were now bathed in a scarlet light. Since he was the warden, he has the authority to use some of Oculus Kurenai's functions. Just as Shiki, Yuuki, and Homura were sent into the cave with the Stones, Garrot smiled.
"So long suckers."
~With Yuuki~
As he landed inside of the cave, Yuuki looked around as he saw Homura and Shiki not too far away from him. Homura quickly got on her feet. Garrot knew about Valkyrie, so they have to go back. Before the group could move, Yuuki heard something approaching them.
"Guys. It seems we got a large guest."
When they heard Yuuki say this, Homura and Shiki heard loud footsteps themselves. As they turned around, their eyes widen in shock. Standing right before them was a giant quadruped Stone. It has an eyeless, funnel-shaped head with concave, glowing "mouth" lined with additional scales on the inside.
"The heck is this?!"
"It's not a bug! Get a hold of yourself. See...look closely! It's a cat."
"Those two should be a comedy duo. But strange, that thing has black scales everywhere except its underbelly......"
While Yuuki was trying to think of a plan, he saw Homura and Shiki lunge towards the beast. The moment their attacks connected, Shiki hissed in pain as his punch only hurt himself while Homura's sword broke upon contact. Just as the large Stone was about to attack, Homura and Shiki blinked as they saw they were no longer in front of it, but behind some rocks.
"What the- how did we get here?!"
"Simple. I grabbed your hands and dashed over here, Mura."
"Wow!!! Sound is so cool!!!!!"
As Shiki said this, he looked upwards and suddenly fell onto his back. When Homura and Yuuki turned around, they saw a swarm of insect like Stones flying towards them. Just as Yuuki was about to take them out, he suddenly heard rushing footsteps as he saw the stones being blasted.
"Kept ya waiting, huh. I always wanted to say that!!!!!"
"0/10, Becky. You weren't in a box when you said that."
"Rebecca!!! Happy and Pino are with you too...but who is he?"
"Homura, this is Paul. He's the one who led us here."
"My mind is made up and I will proceed. That's what my Master taught me!!!"
As Homura said this, her and everyone else jumped out of the way as the Black Rock stomped upon their former location. Soon Yuuki looked towards Pino as if searching for an answer.
"Pino, did you analyze that thing?"
"Yes. It's body is made up of Black Crystal, an ore of extreme hardness. A spot on its back appears to be less durable than the rest, not to mention its underbelly. A large amount of concentrated ether might possibly...."
"Underbelly and that one spot on its back. Got it."
As Yuuki said this he began to stretch his body a bit. When he looked at Black Rock, Homura and the rest of the gang looked at him in surprise. Was he really going to fight this thing on his own?
"Mura....., you made up your mind in that thing's defeat. Though you can't take it out on your own. So i'll beat it for you....through proxy."
"Hold on! Black Rock is the strongest stone here. No one has ever defeated! You can't do it on your own."
As Paul said this, Yuuki just kept walking towards Black Rock. While he was doing so, he activated his Ether Gear as he was ready to fight. Just before he began to attack, he had one thing to say to Paul.
"You say that as if someone stronger than me has fought it. Just sit back and watch!!!"
"!!!!!"
The moment Black Rock became aware of Yuuki's presence, it quickly tried to slam down one of it's feet on top of him. However, the moment it tried to do this, Yuuki was already in the air as he jumped over its body.
"Sound Domination:Voice Cutter!!!"
As Yuuki was using his Ether Gear, he was manipulating high sound frequency vibrations. Rather than a shockwave, the vibrations produce thin 'blades' of sound. When the attack made contact with Black Rock's back, Paul's eyes widen in shock as he saw Black Rock falling onto the ground as some of its scales were falling off of it's body.
"He broke some of the scales on the Black Rock's body with just one attack. Who is he?!"
"Sound Domination:Noise Crush!"
Yuuki places his hand to the ground and causes vibrations to form, destroying the ground as Black Rock was now in a giant crater as multiple rocks from the top of the cave began to fall on it. The Black Rock let out a cry of pain as it felt the full force of Yuuki's attack. With a smirk on his face, Yuuki jumped on top of the creature's body.
"Let's end this. Sound Domination:Voice Press!"
Yuuki opens his mouth widely and generates a powerful short range sound attack. Rather than 'blasting' the opponent like many of his attacks, this one creates a very powerful crushing force right in front of him. As a result of being so close to Yuuki, Black Rock's skull began to cave in before it's entire head was crushed into its chest. The moment this happened, Yuuki jumped away from it as its body began to glow scarlet.
"What's happening?"
"All the ore is being sent to Madame Kurenai."
As Paul said this, Yuuki looked towards Shiki and Homura. When all three of them looked at each others collars, they saw their numbers reach zero. However, they couldn't celebrate as their number went back to 100,000.
"What the hell?!"
"She never had any intention of letting you go. Prisoners sent to the labor district live their whole lives here. Lining her pockets. STEAL!!!!!"
As Paul went pass the trio, they all saw that their collars were no longer on their necks. While Paul threw their collars on the ground, he took an object out of his glove. A single B-Cube.
"I could've removed these and escape anytime I liked. But I thought we might meet, so I stayed and I waited for you, Homura."
As Paul said this, he hands the B-Cube to Homura. This small cube was going to reveal the truth behind Valkyrie. As Homura activated the B-Cube, Yuuki thought to himself.
"Mura. Be careful....I have a bad feeling about what we're about to witness."
~Meanwhile~
Rui was seen walking with Garrot, Baku, and Nino as Kurenai requested for a meeting. The moment the Code Breaker opened the door, her and everyone else saw a naked man with a helmet covering his entire head as he was being held by a chain connected to a collar. Soon Nino was the first of the group to speak up.
"What the heck is that, Madame Kurenai?"
"He was a candidate to be my attendant. He was cute so I decided to keep him as a pet."
"That's disgusting."
"I...I wouldn't mind being your pet."
As Nino and Baku gave their responses, Garrot was silent as Rui approached Kurenai. When the Code Breaker took a knee, she looked towards the woman.
"Madame Kurenai, it is my understanding that you're in a bad mood. Why is that the case?"
"Simple, Rui. I've heard that Valkyrie's followers are planning another uprising. I've found another source of revenue. So then, let us use the Oculus Kurenai to burn the labor district to ash!!!!!"