As we return to Roselle, Runebelle, and Risebelle, we find them in the Mystical forest where Risebelle and Runebelle were resting in the tanks left behind by their creator.

  Risebelle emerged from the tank and stretched her limbs.” Kintovar's technology is something else. She managed to cut down the time we needed to rest in these tanks by a huge amount."

  Roselle nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's incredible. She always thinks of everything, doesn't she?"

  Together, they watched over Runebelle. Roselle opened her eyes wide and placed her hands gently on the tank, "I hope Runebelle recovers soon..."

  Risebelle spoke with a touch of annoyance. "Careful, Roselle. You're going to get the tank dirty like that. I can’t scan inside the tank, so I don’t want the view of our sister smudgy."

  Roselle pulled her hands back for a second, then, mischievously placed them right back on the glass. "Oops," she said with a playful grin. "Guess my hands just gravitate toward concern."

  Risebelle sighed and lowered her eyes. "Idiot.”

  Roselle chuckled but didn’t move her hands. Instead, she traced small circles on the tank absentmindedly while watching Runebelle’s still form inside. "She looks peaceful, at least. I hope she’s actually dreaming about something nice."

  Risebelle crossed her arms. “That’s if she’s even dreaming at all. There’s no way to know if this is actually going to work for her.”

  Roselle’s smile faded into a frown. “You really know how to kill the mood, huh?”

  Before Risebelle could respond, the liquid inside the tank rippled slightly. Then, Runebelle’s eyes began to open.

  Roselle’s breath caught in her throat. Those familiar, sorrowful eyes stared straight at her from within the tank.

  Roselle whispered, “…Runebelle?”

  Runebelle's memories flashed back to her first awakening, the moment when she had come into existence. It was Roselle who had been the first person she saw back then, even before her eyes met Dr. Kintovar. And now, it was the same.

  A very faint smile graced Runebelle's lips. “Roselle..."

  When the tank opened, Roselle immediately jumped onto Runebelle with a tight hold on her.

  Roselle’s words tumbled out in a frantic rush. “You have no idea how worried I was! I mean, you literally hit 0%, and I didn’t know if—” She took a quick breath but didn’t slow down. “And when all of this is over, we should totally do something fun, like—like finding a place where they have cute bunnies! Or maybe get bears! Oh! What if there’s a place that has both bunnies and bears? That’d be amazing, right? We could—”

  “Roselle.”

  Risebelle cut through her rapid-fire excitement like a cold wind.

  Roselle blinked. “Huh?”

  Risebelle gave her a deadpan look. “You’re talking way too fast, you idiot. Give her a moment.”

  Roselle hesitated before glancing back at Runebelle. A sheepish smile crept onto her face. “Oh… right.”

  Runebelle took a slow, careful breath before speaking softly. “Thank you… both of you for taking care of me.”

  Her words were simple, but they made Roselle squeeze her even tighter.

  "Of course!" Roselle beamed. She rocked Runebelle slightly in her arms. "You're our little sister! That’s what family does.”

  She pulled back slightly to look Runebelle in the eyes. “We’ll always be here to catch you when you fall.”

  Runebelle lowered her gaze slightly and became lost in thought. ‘Family…’ The word felt like glass in her hands. She wanted to believe in it, to hold onto it, but a part of her still hesitated. Could she really belong? Could something like this truly be hers?

  Her eyes drifted toward Risebelle.

  Risebelle stood there with her usual serious look and arms crossed, watching quietly, but the moment Runebelle met her gaze, her hardness softened. Just a little.

  Risebelle tilted her head slightly. “You staring at me for a reason, kid?” It didn’t feel like she said it harsh to Runebelle, just steady.

  Runebelle hesitated before shaking her head. “No… not really…”

  Risebelle hummed for a moment. Then, she reached out and ruffled Runebelle’s hair quickly.

  Runebelle’s eyes slowly widened with an almost childlike wonder.

  Risebelle raised a brow. “Oh boy,” she muttered. “You’re giving me the ‘Roselle’ look.”

  Roselle, who had been happily observing the interaction blinked in confusion. “Huh? I have a look?”

  Risebelle shot her a deadpan stare. “Yeah. You do.”

  Roselle gasped. “Is it a cool look? A heroic look? Maybe a—”

  “It’s the same starry-eyed, overly sentimental, about-to-say-something-sappy look,” Risebelle cut in flatly.

  Roselle pouted. “Hey! I do not—”

  “You do,” Risebelle and Runebelle said at the same time.

  Roselle groaned. “This is slander. Absolute slander.”

  Runebelle let out a small giggle. It was quiet, barely there, but it was real.

  Roselle’s eyes immediately widened. They shimmered like twin stars. She clapped her hands together with pure excitement. “Runebelle just giggled!”

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  “That’s nice,” Risebelle said dryly while looking around. “Now, can we focus? We’ve got some serious things to deal with.”

  Roselle puffed her cheeks in frustration. “Wow. Way to kill the moment.”

  Risebelle ignored her and pulled out the map Dr. Kintovar had given her, unfolding it. She studied the markings for their next objective. On the map, it showed the progress both them and Dr.Kintovar made.

  “There’s only one mana extractor left,”Risebelle announced. “That’s where this all ends.”

  Roselle’s excitement faded slightly as reality settled back in.“So this is it, huh?”

  Risebelle gave a firm nod. “Yeah. No more warm-ups. No more small fights. The final battle starts now…. Is what I would say if we weren’t surrounded.”

  Roselle’s head snapped up. “What?”

  Risebelle’s eyes remained sharp. She rose her voice to shout. “Enough lurking. Show yourselves!”

  Almost immediately, five figures leaped from the dense foliage with red cloaks fluttering as they landed in a staggered formation. Each of them locked eyes onto Roselle’s group like predators sizing up prey.

  Before Roselle could react, a familiar voice chimed in—smooth, casual and laced with amusement.

  “Hello.”

  Alan stepped out from the shadows with two fingers lifted in greeting. His confident smirk carried an air of amusement.

  “Hope you all enjoyed your little rest,” he said. His gaze swept over the three of them before landing on Risebelle. “You certainly looked cozy back there.”

  Roselle tensed while glancing toward Runebelle, who now stood beside her. Risebelle’s fingers twitched slightly.

  Alan let out a small chuckle. “I’ll give you credit where it’s due. You three did a hell of a job taking out the other mana extractors. Slipping past me? Impressive.” He clapped his hands together slowly. “But you won’t be getting away from me this time.”

  Risebelle's gaze remained fixed on Alan. "We know you led this group here, and if you managed to sneak up on us like this, it means you've known about this place for a while. Why didn't you destroy Kintovar's technology when you had the chance? You could have avoided fighting us and wipe us out while we were in recovery. Even if Roselle was still active, it would have been smarter to just---"

  Alan interrupted with a lazy wave of his hand. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Taking two of you out early would’ve been the smart move. Would’ve saved me the trouble, right?” He grinned.“But where’s the fun in that?”

  Alan took a step forward with his hands slipping into his pockets. “See, I didn’t just want to take you down—I wanted to get my hands on all three of you. You outsmarted me before, and I don’t let things like that slide. Call it revenge, call it personal entertainment—either way, I’m not leaving empty-handed.”

  His gaze drifted briefly to the tanks behind them, then back to Risebelle. “And destroying Kintovar’s little toys? Not on my agenda.” He smirked. “I’ve got other plans.”

  The mages behind him nodded in agreement.

  Risebelle chuckled at Alan's response. "Well, I have to say, Alan, you're different from anyone we've encountered from the Magical Academy. Most would have taken the opportunity to eliminate us when they had the chance. Hell, if I was in your shoes, I would have chosen to destroy the enemies at any opportunity. It just goes to show how idiots think."

  Alan snorted. “You and your sisters don’t do mercy, I know. You wiped out nearly my entire squad like they were nothing. I’ve only got five left, so let’s be honest—this is hardly an ambush.”

  The Elite Mage tilted his head toward the red-cloaked mages beside him. “But you see… these girls here? They’re not like the others.”

  At his words, the five mages grinned. Their faces ranged from smug to relaxed. One of them stretched her arms with a satisfied sigh. “Mmm, nice and soaked from the hot springs we made on the beach!”

  Another one flipped her wet brown hair over her shoulder. “Yeah, I swear, that was the best part of this entire mission.”

  A third nodded. “Ooo… I almost forgot we were supposed to fight after that.”

  Alan chuckled and shook his head. “Tch. You see what I’m dealing with?” Then, his gaze sharpened. “But don’t let their attitudes fool you. These five are my best. And were about to give you one hell of a fight.”

  Alan raised a single finger, pointing it at the three sisters.

  "Name’s Alan. Not that it’ll matter much when you’re charcoal. Now, let’s turn up the heat!"

  Alan unleashed flames around him which came from the red aura that appeared around his body. The flames formed a blazing inferno that enveloped the area. The intensity of the flames sent waves of scorching heat throughout the Mystical forest.

  One of the red-cloaked mages crossed her arms. "Oh, so you get a grand entrance, but we don't?"

  Another one scoffed. "Tch. Typical. Well, I’m not about to let you have all the fun."

  As the flames roared around them, The mage with short red hair took a bold step forward and placed a hand on her hip. “Listen up, little girls. You’re about to learn the names of the mages who’ll burn you into ash!”

  She jabbed a thumb toward herself. “Viera. I like my flames big, wild, and impossible to control. Once I start burning, I don’t stop until nothing’s left!”

  The one with wet brown hair over her shoulder had a lazy smirk on her face. “Lita. Precision’s my thing. I don’t waste energy—I aim, and I finish.”

  One with yellow hair in a spikey-style cracked her knuckles with a small flicker of fire igniting between them. “Faust. If you’re waiting for an opening, don’t bother—I don’t give ‘em. I pressure, I burn and I win.”

  To the side of faust was a girl with short green hair. She let out a low chuckle as sparks of fire flickered from her hands. “Machin. Fire’s more than just destruction—it’s art, movement, flow. I don’t just burn my enemies—I make them dance before they drop!”

  A black haired mage tossed a small flame between her fingertips before snuffing it out with a snap. “Danish. You won’t see my fire coming, but you’ll feel it. That moment of hesitation? That’s when I strike.”

  Without warning, the five mages surged forward with each one igniting flames of their own. The sisters barely had time to react before a barrage of fire magic hurtled toward them.

  Risebelle clicked her tongue. “Here we go.”

  All three sisters moved at once, pulling out their respective cannons in a synchronized motion.

  Roselle’s massive cannon fired a high-powered blast straight at Viera. Risebelle’s medium-sized cannon released a concentrated shot aimed at Lita. Runebelle’s small but rapid-fire cannon unleashed a relentless stream of shots toward Faust, Machin, and Danish.

  But to their shock—every single shot missed.

  Roselle’s eyes widened. “Huh?”

  Risebelle’s gaze sharpened. “They dodged?”

  Runebelle’s rapid fire halted for a brief second. “No… I don’t think they dodged. They knew where we were aiming before we even fired.”

  The five mages smirked.

  Machin twirled her fingers. “You’re up against fire specialists, little girls. We don’t just burn things—we read the heat, the movement, the shifts in the air.”

  Danish flipped a small flame between her fingers. “Your shots were dead before they even left the barrel.”

  Viera charged right in, leading the pack. “Now let’s show ‘em what real firepower looks like.”

  Roselle narrowed her eyes, summoning her yellow lightning, but the moment the sparks formed, they flickered out for some reason. “Wha—”

  Before she could process it, Faust was already in front of her. She threw a fire-imbued punch straight for her face. Roselle barely got her Massive cannon up in time to block, but the force sent her skidding back.

  Faust didn’t let up. She launched a relentless barrage of rapid punches with knuckled wreathed in fire. Each strike sent embers scattering through the air. Roselle gritted her teeth.

  Meanwhile, Risebelle moved swiftly and attempted to disappear into the treeline, but the moment she slipped into the shadows—

  “There you are.”

  Machin was already there, waiting. A flick of her wrist sent flames spiraling toward Risebelle, cutting off her escape routes. No matter where she moved, Machin was always there.

  Risebelle gritted her teeth. “Damn it!”

  Runebelle dashed around, firing wildly, but Danish spoke in a sing-song tone. “Fire Dance.”

  Her flames swirled and twisted, forming a mesmerizing pattern. Then, the flames merged with Runebelle’s own energy, redirecting it into a fiery trail leading straight to her.

  Runebelle barely had time to react before Danish appeared within the flames, spinning on her heel. A flaming kick struck Runebelle’s gut, sending her flying.

  At the same time, Faust’s final punch broke through Roselle’s defenses, and Machin’s fire surged forward, engulfing Risebelle in an explosive wave.

  The three sisters were knocked back. They crashed hard against the forest floor. Their bodies ached. And as the five mages loomed over them, the heat of the battle only seemed to rise.

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