Lei rushed through the crumbling corridor, his troll and the remnants of Zei's subordinates racing closely behind. The underground hideout shook violently, foundations rebelling against their presence. Kaname's savage rampage rippled through the cavernous passages, each vicious blow bringing more of the structure down around them.

  Ceilings collapsed in thunderous crashes. Stalactites and debris rained down in cascades of boulders and dirt. Screams of the enslaved vibrated through the hallways like a haunting chorus of repugnance and forlornness. Those attempting escape found themselves trapped, crushed by falling rocks or cornered by encroaching destruction.

  The group rounded a corner at full speed, boots skidding to an abrupt halt as Zei's body bulldozed through the wall directly in front of them. Both of his arms dangled, crushed and useless at his sides. His physique pummeled and wrecked, bleeding profusely from gashes covering every visible inch of skin. Smoke curled from his torso as the last vestiges of his fire ability sputtered out like a dying ember.

  The subordinates exchanged panicked glances, their confidence evaporating, witnessing his defeat.

  Another explosion rocked the hideout. The sound of her impending fury stirred a renewed sense of abysmal dread through the group. Rocks showered down from the ceiling, forcing them to dodge and weave to avoid being flattened.

  "What... what do we do AHHHH!!!?" one subordinate yelled before a fallen stone obliterated him on impact.

  Before Lei could respond, the wall to their left erupted outward, pelting them with debris. As dust settled, Kaname materialized in the newly formed opening, emanating an aura blacker than the pits of hell.

  Disbelief and panic consumed him, choking his cognition. In a desperate bid to regain control, he whisked his hand to his mouth, fingers quivering as he whistled.

  The troll beside him responded instantly to the signal. Its massive frame tensed, muscles bulging beneath thick hide. A guttural roar dredged from its vocal cords and pealed off the crumbling walls while beating its chest with clubfists. A berserker's aggression blazed its eyes, charging toward Kaname.

  Lumbering at her, its massive feet cratered the gravel, further destabilizing the space. Debris continued to dribble down, escalating the calamitous spectacle unfolding.

  Disdainfully, Lei examined his last line of defense, hesitating to move into position. The subordinates skulked along the walls, torn between the urge to flee and anchoring fright.

  As the troll closed distance, Kaname's silhouette held unnervingly still. She clenched her bloody fist and began walking toward the incoming behemoth. Her pace accelerated, scooping up a severed head by its roots.

  The troll lunged and swung its arm sideways, its dominating fist carving through the falling debris.

  She gracefully dodged the powerful attack, rotating her body mid-air to gather momentum. At full velocity, she hammered the severed head against the troll's temple with ruinous force, releasing a resounding boom through the passageway.

  The blow barreled the creature through the walls like a projectile, its body going limp amidst the rubble. The head obliterated upon contact, leaving only blood and bone fragments sprayed across the walls.

  Kaname landed in a crouch in front of Lei, shaking the aftermath off her hand. She picked up Zei's needle-point knife, making direct eye contact with him. As she rose to full height, the group flinched backward, eyeballing the blade, glimmering faintly in the low lighting.

  Lightly, she scratched her cheek, scanning the passageway behind Zei's men. "Now that your troll is out of the way," she nonchalantly voiced, twirling the knife in her hand. "It's time I level the playing field."

  Drawing his sword, the scars on Lei's face wrinkled in agitation. "You stupid little shit! You'll pay for this! I'll kill you!" His head snapped to the side, eyes locking onto the subordinates. "I'll give 10 years' pay to anyone who kills this bitch! Don't let her get away!"

  He readjusted his grip on the sword and stormed forward, the men eagerly racing around him.

  Kaname heaved a bored sigh, effortlessly dodging Lei's wildly fierce swings. Spotting an opening in his blind spot, her right hand shot out and grabbed his face, inundating his resistance. She hurled him backward into the ground, dazing him. As she craned his head, she repeatedly hammered it back down.

  *BANG*

  *BANG*

  *BANG*

  Each bash crumbled the floor, deepening it into a pool of blood pouring from his indented skull.

  The men instantly halted their pursuit and spun to flee in the opposite direction.

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  "Let's get out of here!" one screamed.

  "I didn't sign up for this shit!" another yelled back.

  Plopping her hold on the deceased Lei, Kaname towered above him. "Where do you think you guys are going?" she grumbled, her passive tone teeming with menace. "...Don't you remember our lessons?"

  Her eyes hollowed in a surge of velocity as a chilling excitement animated her cheeks, observing the cowering men. She sprinted towards the fleeing group and overtook them, blocking their exit.

  "Didn't he say..." she gestured her hand in Zei's direction, her voice seething in dark irony, "This is the fate that awaits those who cling to weakness, who refuse to understand true strength?"

  Scared stiff, realizing their escape was no longer an option, pure survival instinct overrode their logic. The dwindling group descended into an uncoordinated assault born from mushrooming bedlam, brandishing an array of swords, axes, and spears while others summoned their elemental abilities, hands crackling with energy.

  Advancing with a bellowing war cry, a burly man wielding a battleaxe attacked first. Kaname sidestepped his swing, the blade burying itself into a boulder. In one fluid motion, she slashed through his arm at the shoulder and drove the knife upward under his armpit. Blood spurted from both wounds as he flopped to the ground.

  Thrusting his hands forward, the other subordinate pushed a violent gust of wind howling toward her position. She maneuvered above the airburst, decimating the passage behind her. Rolling over, she closed inside his guard and punctured his neck with the blade, dragging it outward laterally and partially separating his head from his body.

  The underground chamber rumbled. Dust and larger debris rained down more frequently as the battle intensified.

  A swordsman and fire-wielder coordinated their assault, blade and flame arcing at her in tandem. She wove between their attacks, her movements too fast to clearly track. The knife flashed twice and rumpled both men, their synchronization shattering along with their bodies.

  Amid the melee, Kaname weaponized the crumbling environment to her advantage. She kicked loose stones, crunching bones under the projectiles. Falling debris acted as cover to evade incoming strikes and steered enemies drifted into firing lines, coercing their allies to their deaths.

  The water-bender shaped his stream into a pressurized whip, lashing it at her neck. She angled the flat of her knife, deflecting the attack to an earth-manipulator attempting to encase her feet. The whip struck him, splitting his body in half.

  Just as she set her eyes onto him, a deafening roar shook the cavern. The wounded troll rammed through the rubble and barreled through the water bender, pulverizing his body as its primal rage geared towards her.

  She swerved to face it, a faint smile playing across her lips as she inhaled its rancid stench.

  "Hmmm... Tasty..."

  The troll galloped, bashing everything in its line of sight. Kaname leapt through its stampede, slashing at its legs as she passed its bulk. The creature howled in pain, redoubling its assault. They circled each other, neither willing to yield ground despite the hideout's impending collapse.

  The underground structure grimly groaned. Cracks branched throughout walls. Water gushed through the fissures while chunks of masonry and crystals plummeted through widening holes. The earth shuddered around them, dust particles obscuring the passageways in thick fog.

  Zei's consciousness rallied, dragged by throbbing pain radiating from every nerve. He forced his eyes open, blinking against grit trying to seal them back shut. His mind sluggishly attempted to process his surroundings, lancing white-hot agony through both butchered arms.

  AAAHHH!! Damnit!... What... What the hell is going on?

  He turned his head left, observing the dregs of the corridors. His exhale caught in his lungs, crudely smiling at the broken bodies littered the ground, mutilated like discarded dolls.

  Hahahaha... I shoulda known...

  A groan to his right peaked his ears, staggering his neck to the other side. Yasushi lay unconscious on the padded mattress, protected by a wall of corpses.

  Psstt…Pathetic. The boy can't even wake up to face his own death.

  His gaze narrowed to his front, landing on a familiar face among the fallen. A twinge of grief pierced his chest seeing Lei motionlessly recumbent, eyes blankly staring at the honeycomb ceiling while blood oozed from his mouth and dripped from his earlobes.

  Lei! Hahahha... you too... What a fool!! A loyal dog is worthless in death... you shoulda escaped when you had the chance. You were my—

  A boisterous roar stole Zei's thoughts. He watched through the plume of detritus, mesmerized by Kaname's relentlessly calculated movements against the infuriated troll. His eyes sparkled as she pivoted, smoothly slicing through its joints and tendons, rendering its limbs useless.

  How clever! The troll is too large for her to handle so she's severing its tendons to cripple it. Hahaha!!! Brilliant!!

  The troll's agonized yowls saturated the tunnel as it toppled backward, its body no longer able to support itself. As it pummeled to the ground, Kaname leapt onto its torso and drove the knife into its chest, reopening the wound Etsuyo's left. She cleaved deeper, ripping through the chest cavity to expose its beating heart.

  *BA DUM*

  *BA DUM*

  *BA DUM*

  *BA DUM*

  His vision popeyed at her mouth watering and eyes igniting with predatory hunger. Mustering the last of his residual strength, a sinister chuckle barked through his lips witnessing her tear it out and take a bite.

  "LITTLE ONE!!!" he shouted, his voice hoarse enveloping a gleeful manic energy.

  "I NEVER THOUGHT I'D LIVE TO SEE A DAY LIKE THIS!! YOU ARE TRULY AMAZING !! A RARE GEM IN THIS FILTHY WORLD!!!"

  His body began to glow, flames flicking off his skin. His laughter grew louder and more unhinged, drawing Kaname's attention away from her meal. His eyes smoldered through admiration and madness, imbuing the cavern with a shimmering heat.

  "IF YOU SURVIVE THIS! BE SURE TO COME FIND ME AGAIN IF I'M NOT DEAD, KAY?! HAHAHAHAHA I GOT A FEW THINGS I'D LOVE TO TEACH YOU!!”

  Embracing the destruction he wrought, Zei released his power in one catastrophic surge, maintaining a maniacal laughter. He triggered a devastating explosion, reminiscent of a small nuclear blast, imploding the underground hideaway from within and blowing everything into total mayhem.