After their sudden defeat and the tragic loss of half of the Running Man Players, Popo decided to take matters into his own hands one last time. Despite Yuu and Liu's attempt to stop him, Popo still proceeded to move along with his decision.

"Turn Back Time!"

With a loud shout from the Penguin, every part of the world, including the inhabitants, suddenly started to move backwards. Reversing the events that had just happened but took a large toll on the penguin as for the consequence for such a terrifying power.

After a moment's notice, Yuu was now standing at the same position he stood before Pala's incident. The time was indeed reversed but only Yuu and Liu knew what happened. After blinking his eyes two times, Yuu realized that he, technically, travelled back in time.

"We... We're back..." Yuu mumbled before hearing Liu's voice behind him.

"Popo turned back time again... Wait... Where's Popo?" Liu suddenly asked in a rush. He turned his back around to see a baby penguin sitting in front of him while playing with Popo's glasses.
"P... Popo?" Liu stared in shock as Yuu walked next to him to witness Popo as well.

"This must be what Popo mentioned... The price of using High level Magic..." Yuu spoke with a deep tone but sounded as if he was in gratitude before realizing that something was inside pocket. The moment Yuu's hand touched the object inside his pocket, both of his eyes instantly widened in shock.

He then slowly took the object out of his pocket and knew that his hunch was correct.

"What is that?" Liu asked.

"... Pala's scarf..." Yuu revealed the object to be the same same scarf as Pala's. "The only thing that he left before... Before that event..."

"That's impossible... Everything is suppose to be reverted back. Why is that scarf still on you?" Asked the surprised bug.

"I don't know..." Yuu replied before both of them heard Kuga's shouting.

They turned their attention towards the sound and there they saw Kuga throwing Lonky forward in order to catch up with Pala who was tossed in the air by the Stone Pillar that burst from the ground. Realizing what was about to happen, Liu and Yuu quickly acted in haste. Seeing that this is their second chance to save everyone.

"Yuu, whip me!" Liu said out loud.

Yuu quickly nodded and wrapped Liu's feet with his bandages before spinning him in a circle to gain power and momentum.

"Go further!" Yuu shouted before launching Liu towards Pala that Lonky just threw towards the final Hole.

Thanks to Yuu's power and momentum, Liu manages to catch up with Pala. Stealing Pala's staff and shoving him to another direction along with the fake artifact.

"Sorry Pala!" Said Liu. "But the real artifact... Is your Staff!!!" The bug shouted his final sentence while, at the same time, inserting the artifact into the final hole.

Liu quickly leaped out of the hole as the last blue pillar of light emerged from the hole and chained Ulcus' neck with the 8th shackle.

"We did it!" Lonky cheered in relief as the rest smiled.

"Ow...." Pala whimpered in pain next to Liu. "You didn't have to kick me, Li-"

Pala's sentence was cut off when he suddenly vanished in front of them. Shocking Yuu and the others until one by one they vanished. Leaving no trace as the Dv8 were left speechless.

"Why did they disappeared?!" Said Hanabi as she slammed both of her hands on the control panel in order to lean closer to the screen.

"They did it right, what happened?" Shawn asked the restless doctor.

"I-im receiving the Running Men's signal from inside of Ulcus!" Dr. Mala quickly replied.

"You mean... They were transported inside of Ulcus?" Shawn asked once more.

"I... It's possible..." Said Dr. Mala with uncertainty.

"But aren't the artifacts suppose to destroy Ulcus or something?" Hanabi asked, looking concerned and frustrated.

"Didn't you say that once they insert all 8 artifacts then they can defeat Ulcus?" Rema asked as well. Frustrating Dr. Mala with all of the questions.

"I know! I did say that but it's clear that Ulcus is still alive!" Shouted the frustrated doctor.

"Then... Is this... The end...?" Makhan asked from behind them. Bring silence upon the area.

Dr. Mala took his time to rid his frustration before replying.

"No... There might be still a chance..." Dr. Mala mumbled, lighting the area with a small hope.

"What do you mean, Dr. Mala?" Asked Hanabi.

"Ulcus is still alive even after they managed to successfully insert all 8 artifacts... Therefore meaning that the artifacts were never meant to stop Ulcus in the first place. I think... The artifacts are not weapons, but are keys towards a certain place... Inside of Ulcus"

"You mean... The artifacts are responsible for why the Running Men are inside Ulcus" Rema mumbled audibly. "But what is the purpose for transporting them there?"

"... I'm afraid only the Running Man can know the answer to that..."

After a moment, the Running Man were transported inside a dark a void but was slightly illuminated with countless of distant stars. As if they were in space. Separated, the Running Men grew anxious until an image of Ulcus, formed out of miniature stars, appeared in front of them individually and spoke with an echoing voice.

"Why are you trying to hinder me...?"

"Did you think we would just stand there and watch you destroy the world?!" Asked a ferocious Kuga in anger.

Soon the 8 stone tablets appeared and circled each of the Running Man players.

"All things created are in a constant cycle of life and death. Restoring the balance is part of that cycle. And it is my duty to uphold it..."

"Restoring the balance? You mean destroying it!" Miyo scoffed with an unflattering look before an image of the Materion appeared to their view with a statue of them and charming Gold thriving to reach for the fruit.

"...Your Greed extinguished the Materion. Now, all that is left is strife and chaos once more. The world must end to rid of it's sickness and disease..."

"That's Crazy!" Shouted Lonky as he exclaimed. "What you're saying is straight up insanity! Why don't you show yourself to us! Or are you afraid?!"

"I am the absence of fear and everything else... My purpose is to save this world by ending it and begin a new, not to argue with mortals. Perhaps this should make sense of what I mean..."

Suddenly, the stone tablets became something similar to a holographic monitor, all containing a video of the Earth's history. Once the video started, it portraits a chaotic land where all tribes were at war. Missiles firing from machines, Kunais and daggers thrown towards the heart of the other tribes, fists and blades colliding with flesh that ensued bloodshed, and diabolical factories built under the dying Soul Tree. All leading to the utter destruction of the World all because of one measly fruit.

"Is this... Our world?" Asked Gai, shocked and speechless as the rest.

"No... This isn't our fault!" Shouted Lonky, denying the fact.

"I refuse to believe this!" Liu said out loud, forcing the video to end and disappear around him. "There are many of those who are innocent and good which are not part of this sort of fate! I know it!

"It does not matter. For centuries I watched this event repeat itself over and over again. As time passes, I grew disappointed to witness all of you succumb to greed and destroy the same world... all for a Materion. In the first world I created, I thought I could give the humans a second chance to redeem themselves after bringing chaos into my first creation..."

"Humans...?!" Yuu mumbled in surprise as the rest.

"That means... Humans did rule this world long before us" Miyo mumbled as well before Ulcus proceeded to speak.

"...But I thought wrong. They proved to be beings that would never change their ways. So I created a new world where humans no longer exists after destroying theirs. A world where all of you now live in. But nothing have changed. Everything repeats itself. No matter how innocent some of the inhabitants are, that still would not change the fact that all of you have sinned"

"But destroying the world to start over won't solve anything!" Yuu said out loud as he clenched his fists. "If you've been doing this for centuries, then you should know by now that restarting the world won't solve a thing!"

"...It has come to my attention that no matter how many times I try to restart this world, none of my actions would help solve the main problem which is the inhabitants' greed. Therefore, I have decided to destroy this world completely..."

"What?!" Everyone asked in shock all together as their eyes and jaw widened.

"I will now destroy your world and will no longer have the need or desire to create anew. This will be the last time I will lay eyes on my creation who have sinned. Your time has ended. This... Is your... Devine Retribution"

Soon the area they were in started to rumble violently, causing them to shift side to side as the golden statue crumbled to pieces and fell in to the infinite abyss of space along with the Running Man players as they screamed in despair while they fall to their doom.

Only the Materion was left, glowing in red colours that illuminated the dark void with it's faint light.

"Why do you take this card with you everywhere? You said you won't use this because you'll get younger and shorter"

Pala's voice echoed through the bug's head. Soon that voice became a memory as he recalled a time before any of this have happened. Where all of them were sitting in the meeting lounge to listen to what Popo was about to say.

"That card is very special! Only a master magician can use it. A master magician that have... An incredibly magnificent noble spirit of sacrifice! One that is also wise enough to know their full potential. Someone like me of course for I have already used this before. But unlike the other cards that take 1 year of my age as the price for using them, this card takes 10 years out of me and decreases my height in the process. But alas, I cant expect any of you to understand or comprehend the crazy world of magic. It's better to just nod and agree with what I've said. Hehe" Said Popo with a smug look, followed by a laugh.

"Wait... So that card takes 10 years out of your age while the rest takes one year correct?" Yuu asked as he leaned forward with his legs crossed, sounding curious.

"Mhm! Correct!" Popo replied.

"Then how old are you to be exact?" Yuu asked once more but Popo took a moment to calculate his exact age if he were to subtract the times he have used high level magic.

"Well my current age is same as Pala, which is 25, but if I haven't used any of my cards since I unlocked high level magic then my age by now would have been 45"  Popo's response surprised them all and even caught Yuu and Miyo off guard when Popo revealed his current age.

"You're 25 years old?!" Asked Miyo in shock.

"Hey we're the same!" Pala said out loud with a delightful smile.

"Mhm! Because of my high level cards, my age and height decreases. So I use low level magic, which explain why my cards always fall to the ground after throwing them" Said Popo in return.

"Heh. What a bunch of lies" Lonky exclaimed after a mocking laugh.
"Don't believe a word this penguin says because he's just fooling all of you. That high level and low level talk is just an excuse to hide the fact that Popo is just a useless magician. Am I right?~~~"

"No it's not! I'll show you~" Popo mumbled in anger as he charges at Lonky with violent intent but the giraffe merely placed a hand on Popo's forehead and prevented him from approaching Lonky in a comical sense while the giraffe laughed his heart out.

Soon another memory appeared in Liu's thought, containing what Popo have said to them earlier before paying the ultimate sacrifice.

"It's going to be alright guys. I must protect... What's precious and wonderful so... Let's run towards the future we want most"

The occurring memories ended and Liu's thoughts have cleared from its anxiety and frustration. Feeling at peace before looking determined as he clenched both fists.

"You're right..." Liu mumbled before opening his eyes. "... We can restore our own balance and harmony... Because we write our own destiny..."

Liu then turned upwards and forced himself to stop falling by pushing with his legs and swaying his arms as if he was running on a track field. Soon his attempt worked as he was seen slowly moving upwards, countering the fall the Ulcus have sentenced them.

    NEVER GIVE UP

Everyone spoke of that word all together as they pushed themselves up. Trying to get back up towards the red Materion as all of them refused to surrender. Especially Liu and Yuu, seeing that Popo had given them a second chance to re-write everything.

Until a miracle arrived. A blue path appeared on the foot of each of the Running Men and extended forward. Giving them all a solid ground to run straight before coming across with the others who were running beside each of them.

"To protect what's prescious and wonderful..." Liu proceeded with his speech as he kept a straight look towards the red Materion.
"We would happily give our lives!"

Meanwhile, the blue path that Popo was standing on broke in pieces. Causing the the penguin to fall before Lonky stepped in and rescued the penguin by extending his arms and pulling Popo close to him before proceeding to run forward.

"Jeez... What are you doing? You have to pay more attention to your surroundings, brotha" Lonky exclaimed before noticing Popo's sudden change of appearance.
"Hey... Wait a minute... What happened to you? What did you do now?"

Soon huge falling debris started to drop onto Lonky and the baby penguin. Panicking, Lonky ran in a zigzagging motion to evade the falling debris but the last one had a precise mark on him. Unable to evade the final debris, which is larger than the others, Lonky covered Popo with his body and lowered himself to prepare for the impact. Until a loud crumbling sound was heard, when Lonky opened his eyes, he was surprised to see Kuga save him from certain doom by stopping the debris using his strength but struggled to keep it from falling on top of them.

"Kuga!" Lonky said loudly out of joy and relief as he smiled at the tiger who was carrying the heavy object before tossing it into the endless space.

"Come on, stay close" Kuga responded before they continued to run forward.

The Materion then flickered with blue light, as if it was reacting to the Running Men's selfless action. Soon a huge wall was formed from the blue path inorder to stop Kuga and Lonky from proceeding but the tiger could see no such obstacle that will stand in his way. Using his power, Kuga broke through countless walls that tried to prevent them from continuing onwards. Using all of his strength and power until breaking through the last wall.

Exhausted and breathless, Kuga's legs failed him and fell to his knees.

"I'm... At my limit... This is the end..." Kuga's words of despair and defeat caused the blue path ahead of him to crumble as well and almost made the tiger fall into the infinite abyss of space if Lonky hadn't stopped him by pulling the large rope that acted as his belt. Saving Kuga from certain demise and surprising when Lonky managed to pull him back into the path.

"Don't say those words like your giving up, because I got you" Lonky said to him, surprising Kuga even more when the Giraffe smiled and raised his fist towards Kuga. "Lonky. Kuga. Friends!"

The tiger didn't said a word, only a smile before bumping Lonky's fist with his. But even without saying anything, Lonky knew that Kuga now thought of him as his friend as well. Their acts of hope and kindness created another blue path as they proceeded to run while the path behind them is disappearing.

Another debris fell in front of them and destroyed a part of the path, Kuga manages to jumped towards the next path but due to Lonky's sudden halt, the path underneath him disappeared. He screamed as his reaction before Kuga saved him by grabbing his long arm and pulling him up, only for Popo to slip from Lonky's grasp and falling into the abyss.

"POPO!!!" The Giraffe shouted as he failed to grab a hold of the baby penguin, who was still smiling as if he was enjoying the best moment of his life.

"...No matter what, we're there for each other. And will never let any of us fall into darkness and despair..."

Gai suddenly appeared in at the last moment and caught the falling penguin around his arms. Miyo fired her grappling hook towards Gai. Once the Gai caught the grappling hook with his open hand, Miyo quickly pulled him back towards the path she was standing on with Popo safe around his arms.

"...We are prepared to risk our lives if it means saving our friends..."

The bandaged Man ran alongside the others until an sudden debris fell next to him. The shockwave from the debris caught him off guard and knocked him off the path and was sent falling into the abyss as well. He tried to grapple on the blue path using his extended bandages but the path had already disappeared.

"So... This is how I end? The hec~... Actually... I'm tired of saying that word" Yuu said to himself as he proceeded to fall deeper into the abyss, the view of the other blue path was fading from his vision.
But suddenly, after a Lonky blink, Yuu became shocked and surprised when Gai was seen in front of him with a cheeky smile across his face.
"Gai?!" Yuu gawked before realizing that behind Gai was 3 clones the held each of their legs and Lonky holding the legs of the last close with his long arms to form a chain to rescue Yuu.

"Don't tell me your giving up on us now? If so... Then you really have gotten weaker" Gai said with an insulting tone before showing Yuu his open palm but Yuu knew that he meant it as a reminder for him to never give up.

"Heh... Since when have I given up? I'm just catching my breath" Yuu replied proudly as he smiled underneath his bandages. "But thank you... All of you"

"Anytime dude" Gai replied before both of them clasped eachother's wrist. Holding it tightly until Miyo, Lonky, Liu, and Kuga, who was now holding Popo, pulled all together and managed to pull Yuu back towards the path where all of them were now standing on.

With a simple nod at one another, The Running Men were now complete as all 8 of them were running side by side once more. Moving towards the huge Materion that was still flickering with blue and red light as the grew closer.

"No matter what happens in life... When your together with friends and those you trust then you can do anything! And we won't stop running towards the future we want the most!"
Liu made his final speech as all of them ran faster. Having a serious and unbreakable look across each of their faces before arriving at the Materion. The large fruit then became blue and emitted a bright light the illuminated the entire space, leaving no specks of darkness. Only light covered the entire, infinite area. Soon, after a long silence, Ulcus spoke.

"...Your Hope has made it possible..."