*Kohri*

Onami and I made our way to the tower that had appeared in the Kuroki mountains. A strong demon presence wafted the air around it. At least the flames had died off. Lorenzo, Zaki, Hideo, Hideaki, Amun, Kiara, Emon, Reno, Suzuki, Akane, and the villagers had covered the perimeter. They focused on containing it and allowed it to burn out.

My girlfriend came to a stop as we reached the base of the mountain.

"What's wrong?" I asked, glancing at Onami.

She descended the air and walked toward a figure resting its head against a tree.

I followed after her and saw it was Naoru. He seemed fine, other than the soot on his face and breathing weakly.

"Nao," Onami said, wrapping her bushy tail around him.

He opened his eyes and smiled weakly. "O-Onami."

"Don't talk. You're frail. Seriously, why did you run off like that?"

He clung to his knife. "I-I needed to get it to the king." He glanced at the tower. "The link... it broke as soon as... he entered it. Tetsuya's barrier... also vanished soon after. The princess and Serrano were the first to be trapped in there."

Onami gasped. "Yuko must be there too, she was with Tetsuya!"

Same with my brother and cousins.

I walked toward the pagoda. "Onami, can you take Naoru back? I'll go ahead and check that strange building alone."

She furrowed her brow as she cradled Naoru with her tail. "Are you sure? It's dangerous to go off on your own. Plus..." She averted her gaze. "Plus, what if you run into Conrad?"

"Do you think I won't be able to fight him?" I flew up.

"Don't force yourself. Retreat if you can't. I... I don't wish to lose you too."

I turned around and grinned. "Don't worry. I'll return with Conrad and the others."

"Alright. If you aren't back in half an hour, I'll go get you." Onami raised her hood over her head and ran back toward the ruins of Hideo's town.

I sighed. Why was she so worried? Didn't she trust me?

My gaze shifted back to the pagoda. The tower's mana, it reminded me of Conrad's. Was Itou the one who made it?

I sped ahead and landed in front of the tower. Its gates were shut by iron bars.

"Time get smashing!" I said, striking the bars with my hammer. My eyes widened as my hammer went through the door and reverted back into its tiny form. It was as if there was no door at all.

Worse of all, something within had canceled my angelic powers.

I stepped back and crossed my arms. Going in absent-minded wouldn't help the others. I would simply be adding another burden to them.

"You there!" a female voice echoed from the forest.

My eyes widened as I found myself at the crosshairs of a crossbow.

A woman with long, crimson hair, and deep green eyes stepped toward me.

I raised my hands into the air.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The girl raised her eyebrows, and if in realization of who I was, she lowered her bow.

"You're one of the Seven Hill Knights, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Kohri Kuroyuki no San." My head tilted. "Now, who are you?"

She placed a hand on her curvy hips. "I'm Haname Noel, one of the Seven Flame Knights."

I gasped. "Oh, are you here to help us?"

She rubbed her shoulder. "Sort of. I was told that something big was going on here, so I rushed over. Imagine my shock, seeing King Tabiki's flames burning the borderlands."

I crossed my arms. "Someone told you? Who?" Was this part of a trap?

She grumbled. "A stupid sis-con did!"

I blinked. "Huh? Your brother?"

She shook her head. "No. My ex. He asked me to help his older sisters out. But, when I arrived, they left. That huge tower appeared around the same time."

"Older sisters?" I asked. Who could they have been?

I gasped. Naoru failed to mention Serrano's mom.

"Is your boyfriend Woolsey?" He was a bit of a dotting big brother toward Plu.

Her eyes widened. "You know him?"

"Yeah. I'm friends with his sister, Plum."

Haname frowned. "I see. What will you do when you have to face her?"

I blinked. "Face her?"

"She's the Pig Pillar. The reason Woolsey broke up with me was because he's the Sheep Pillar. Seems he didn't want any attachments with the enemy. Ironic, his nephew is one of Seven Hill Knights while another is one of the Five Knights of Prophecy."

So, she knew about Serra and Tetsu.

"Did he tell you that?"

She chuckled. "I know them a little, but yeah, he did tell me." Her green eyes narrowed. "You didn't answer my earlier question. Would you be able to face Plum?"

My eyes shifted her gaze back to the tower. "I have to face another of my friends. If I must, I will fight her, not that I'll enjoy it. That said, Plu is an innocent and carefree girl. I doubt she'll harm her friends."

Haname smiled. "Seems you do know her." She paced around the tower. "I've tried to see if I can destroy it from the outside. My attacks disappeared as soon as they touched its surface."

I raised a hand toward my chin. "Just like what happened with my hammer."

Haname sighed. "We might have to break inside if we wish to free our allies."

"I'll go in. You can stay out here and keep watch."

The Seven Flame Knight stopped pacing and laughed. "Patrolling is all I've been doing here. I'll like to see some actual combat for once."

"Guess we'll go together, then."

She tipped her head at me. "You aren't willing to wait, huh?"

"I would, if I didn't have a friend in there who needs some saving."

"The one you mentioned earlier, hmm?"

I nodded. "Yeah. It haven't seen him in years." My eyes grew misty. "It's my fault he is in this mess. If only I had been a little faster at getting all of the ingredients, then he might never had died."

She gasped. "Died?" She looked up. "So, your friend must be the other one Woolsey sent me here to save if possible, his nephew."

I moved my hands up and down and smiled. "Yeah! That's my buddy, Conrad!"

Haname stepped through the door without another word.

"Hey!" I yelled, chasing after her. The interior was made entirely of gray and black stone, giving it a depressing vibe. Why stone? Didn't the one who make it know we Kuroriku clan members tended to be proficient at earth manipulation?

Haname knelt down and gritted her teeth.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's as I thought; this place blocks all angelic powers. We're basically humans in here."

I closed my eyes and spread my wings. "Well, these still seem to work."

Haname touched her chin. "Must be because they're part of our biology." She rose to her full height. Her eyes surveyed the cracks on the wall and on the floor. "Seems that there was a battle here."

I gasped as I noticed sword markings on some of the stone. "I think my brother was one of the ones who fought here." I ran toward the stairs. "Maybe he's not too far from here!"

"That's assuming he wasn't killed here!"

I chuckled. "I doubt it. Even without his angelic powers, Hyo is a tough opponent. Plus, Tetsuya and the others are with him. Yuko has her magic and Tetsu and Serra have their abysmal powers and physique. Setty's Alma I hear can't be sealed either."

That only left Rosa and Uncle Osamu powerless. Though, both of them had varying levels of martial art skills, much like my brother with his sword arts. Hopefully, that was enough to keep them safe.

Haname stared at the orange beaded rosary in her hand. That must've been her angel tool's inactive form. "That's good. Do you have some skills of your own? You'll need something if you plan to survive here."

I raised my normal sized hammer and smiled. "I got this! It might not be as big as before, but I can still deliver a good pounding!"

She laughed. "Nice pun."

I blinked and laughed as soon as I got what the pun was. "That wasn't intentional!"

"Enough talking, let's hurry up," Haname said, running ahead of me.

"Hold up!" I yelled, chasing after her. I stopped as I noticed a hole in the ceiling. Something about its wide size told me it was either Tetsu or Rosa who had made it. "Haname, come back! I might've found a shortcut!"

Sadly, she was too far gone.

I scratched my head and grumbled as I continued running after her. It would be bad if we got split.

"Haname?" I called out, looking around. My eyes widened as I saw the floor was a giant maze. "Haname, where are you?"

There was no response. I ran toward a split in the road. "Why another maze?" I asked, grumbling. It was the same back in the castle that had appeared over Grand Chasm. Battling Satoru, Mai, or Man-kin would've been leagues better than going through that mess. At least there weren't any annoying mirrors this time.

"Kohri?" a voice called out. I turned left and saw Rosa and Yuko exit the maze. "Princess, Yuko! Wait, where are the others?"

Yuko lowered her head. "A man Asil sent everyone different ways."

My eyes widened. "Asil?"

"Yeah, seems that he knew Hyo as a kid," Rosa said. She huffed. "He was a real jerk too! Seemed he had some beef with your brother."

I sighed. "Yeah, they have some history. Though, Asil started it by abandoning him simply because of who our grandmother was lower born and our grandfather was a fallen noble."

Rosa gritted her teeth. "He better hope that I don't run into him again. I'll give him a good one-two punch for insulting Grams, Gramps, Tetsu, Mom, Uncle, and Hyo!"

I laughed. "Since when did you start to call him Hyo anyway?"

My cousin blinked. "I'm... not actually sure. He got mad when I called him by it back in Grace's place. But he doesn't seem to mind it as much after we became friends in Huang's place."

I stepped back. "What? Friends? He accepted friendship?"

Rosa clapped her hands. "Yeah." 

"What did you do to make him say yes?"

Her cheeks reddened. "It was a little complicated."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

Yuko's ears wiggled. "Yuko hears someone in that direction!" she yelled before running on ahead.

"Is it Tetsu?" Rosa asked, chasing after her.

The tanuki shook her head. "No. It's not Hyosetsu nor the king. It smells like a girl."

"Maybe it's Haname!" I said.

My cousin furrowed her brow. "Who?"

"Haname, she's one of the Seven Flames."

"She isn't in league with Tabiki, is she?"

I shook her head. "No. At least, she didn't seem to be. Woolsey was the one who asked her to come here, to help his older sister and to save Conrad if possible."

Rosa gasped. "Wait, I know who you mean. Hana, Woolsey's girlfriend!" She turned away. "Though, I had no idea she was one of the Seven Flame Knights. With Zaki, Maki, Emon, Kimura, and her, that makes five. Wonder who the other two are."

"Princess and Kohri don't know them?" Yuko asked.

"No, Kasai no Ki has traditionally been secretive about the whole process. Unlike Kuroriku, they kept their order of seven secretive. Though, rumors say that most of the angel tools ended up in the hands of random people after the death of Tabiki's Seven Flame Knights. Wonder how Hana got hers. I know that Zaki got hers from her fallen father. Maki got his from his dad at some point. Kimura I have no clue about either. Emon's the only one I know who got chosen normally."

"So, the Seven Flames are like Master's team, ragtag?" Yuko asked.

I laughed. "Yeah, you could say that."

Rosa smiled. "We might be ragtag, but I think that we can make a good team."

I nodded. "Yeah, if only we weren't always getting split up."

"While it's just us three, we should show the enemy not to mess with Team Tetsu."

Yuko smiled. "Master will like that." She came to an abupt stop, causing Rosa and me to nearly crash into her.

"What's wrong?" Rosa asked.

She spread her hands out and formed a blanket of sand. Hanabe grumbled as she crashed into it.

"Hana!" Rosa yelled.

"Rosa?" Hana said, wincing as she got up.

"Here, let me help," Rosa said, grabbing her arm.

"We need to get away," Hana said, gritting her teeth. "Up ahead is a demon we can't beat without powers. He's too sturdy and bulky to take down with normal punches and kicks."

I ran forward and took a look at who had sent her flying our way. A white haired teenage-looking demon calmly walked toward us.

"Oh, more guests?" he asked, smirking.

Yuko thrust her hands forward, sending a wave of sand at him. The boy swatted the sand, sending it back at her.

I yanked Yuko away and watched as the sand eroded the stone wall next to us. A moment too late and she would've been badly hurt without any means to heal her.

"Yuko, Rosa, Hana, get away. I'll buy you three some time."

"No, we said that we would work as team!" Rosa said.

Yuko nodded. "Yeah." She raised a hand, causing the earth under the boy's feet to rise and grasp his arms and legs.

"How cute, but this magic pales in comparison to mine," the demon said, crackling as his hands sparked with electricity.

I threw my hammer into the air just as he shot his attack us. He gasped as my hammer drew the electricity toward itself, functioning as a lightning rod.

"Let's go find Tetsu and the others," I said as I grabbed my hammer with a thick leather glove. Good thing I had my job equipment on me.

Yuko nodded and formed a wall of earth. The four of us ran off, leaving the boy to deal with the newly made stone walls. Yuko formed an opening in the maze for us and quickly closed it.

"Have you tried to use your earth powers to send the others?" Hana asked, panting.

"Yeah, but Yuko's reach is limited," Yuko said, lowering her head. She closed her eyes and started to lose some speed.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked, patting her back.

Yuko opened her eyes. "Yuko's sleepy, but this isn't any place to nap. Yuko has to find Master and the others."

"I think that Tetsuya might be with my brother. I saw a big hole in the first floor and some sword markings."

"They must've taken down Asil!" Rosa said, grinning.

"If that was recent, they might be nearby," Hana said.

"That's assuming they didn't take the hole." I grumbled. "I wanted to check it out, but you ran ahead."

Hana laughed. "S-sorry. But at least we ran into Rosa and Yuko."

"Yeah. That only leaves my brother, Tetsuya, the king, Setty, and Serra to go."

Yuko's ears wiggled again. "Yuko hears something that way!" she pointed forward.

"Let's check it out," I said, lifting her up into my shoulders. "Meanwhile, you just focus on guiding us. Leave the fighting to us knights."

"Yeah," Rosa said, smiling.

"Our primary focus should be to escape this place. We stand little chance against enemies like that guy. Actually, I don't think it'll take long for him to find us. He appeared to be toying with me."

"Seriously, why do demons and abysmals do that?" Rosa snapped.

"Hey, you won't hear any complaints from me. It's thanks to their hubris that we're alive."

"True..."

Yuko clenched my head seconds before the maze shook erratically. A bright light zoomed past one of the halls toward our right.

"What's that?" Rosa asked.

"It's that demon's doing," Hana said, gritting her teeth. "Seems he decided to get a tad more serious."

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this chapter ^^. It's been half a year since I first published this book! How far it's come. Right now it's hard to say whether or not a fifth book will have to happen. I don't desire to rush the ending of the series like I'd done with previous iterations of the first book. Thoughts? Predictions for the remainder of the series as a whole?**