Without stopping crying about his partner's condition, Shioko lifted Enatsu's head from the muddy ground, hoping that he would breathe.

The merchant's face was full of scratches and wounds, and his eyes were closed. Apparently, Enatsu appeared to be dead, but he had probably just lost consciousness.

​​

During that strange event, Yoichi had the impression that Rokuro's wound and Enatsu's had been inflicted simultaneously. He shook his head afterwards, clearing that assumption from his mind.

"Enatsu! Hey, brother!" Yoichi exclaimed aloud, rushing towards him and lowering himself so he could look him in the face. Enatsu's eyes did not open even after his comrade's repetitive calls.

Shioko grabbed his wrist and squeezed it into one hand, "the pulse is feeble. We have little time," she spoke, looking up at Yoichi.

"Are we short on time? Of course, but... but how are we going to do it?! We are in the middle of nowhere, around this mountain there is no village! We need a healer and... Enatsu, hold on!" Yoichi repeated, shouting encouraging words in his dying friend's ears.

"Your irreverence has killed a fellow of yours. Well, that doesn't matter, after all. After you became servants of the dark Emperor, you probably would have killed him. Mhmhmh..." Ogai's evil chuckle broke his silence once again.

As Yoichi heard that evil voice, his gaze diverted from Enatsu. Shioko had never seen an expression similar to the one painted on his face, despite having already witnessed her teammate's fights several times.

The eyebrows pointed down, and the forehead was corrugated above the eyes. Breathing more and more intensely, Yoichi looked to be unable to hold back his anger.

The young tamer shook as if his body was about to explode and his poor friend was unmoved in front of him. Then, in the form of quick images, memories of his awakening and first encounter with Enatsu began to flow before his mind's eye.

The Silvertide's young and kind merchant had reciprocated the kindness of an unknown farmer with the only thing more valuable than money: knowledge. Thanks to him, Yoichi had learned in record time the basic rules that revolved around the demon tamers and the world of Lumya.

After touching his best friend's forearm one last time, Yoichi stood up with his back towards Ogai. The Void Summoner walked out of the darkness and the dust cloud that still soiled the cave's anoxic air.

"What have you done, you stupid fool?" Yoichi spoke, clenching his fists. The squeeze was so firm that his nails sank into the palms of his hands and thin rivulets of blood flowed from his fingers, falling on the black mud of the floor.

Continuing to talk to Enatsu as if he could hear his words, Yoichi began to cry. "Why did you do it... Enatsu?" she repeated, wiping away tears with one arm.

"I've already wasted far too much time with you. Now that we've got rid of the weak link, we can finally finish the regeneration process" – after that sentence, Ogai raised both his arms, beginning to gather the black sludge back to the upper limbs of his body.

Yoichi stared at the void before him. His eyes roared in silence like two rabid beasts ready to devour anything. More drops of blood fell from his clenched fists.

Knowing that the impending battle would be fatal, Shioko dragged Enatsu's body away from Yoichi. She managed to rest the unconscious merchant's back on one of the walls on the dark side of the cave. Soon after, he was supposed to recover Rokuro's body and dab the deep wound on its body with some clean cloth.

"I sense great strength in you, blond-haired warrior. Your name is Yoichi, right?" Ogai inquired. From the tone of his voice, it was possible to understand that the Kamakiri's warlock was smiling under the hood.

Yoichi did not answer. His back faced his opponent, and his gaze was pointed at the rocky wall where Enatsu's body was.

"Well, although it doesn't matter, I just can't understand. How can a skilled warrior surround himself with insects?" Ogai asked again, referring to Enatsu.

At that exact moment, tiny sparks appeared on Kenji's tail, still on his paws metres away. The sparks formed a faint flame by joining one another. It was imperceptible under the dim light of the wall, still illuminated by torches.

"The strong and the weak cannot coexist. If the strong one is recognized as such, it is only because of the insects that he crushed. Your friend over there wouldn't have lasted a single second without your help, would he?" Ogai added, defying his interlocutor's patience.

The mud that had risen from the ground had reached his arms. Two streams of that viscous material were twisting around the arms of the Void Summoner, heading towards his hands. The palms were facing upwards.

"You wrote your end, Ogai" – without warning, Yoichi spoke in a calm and decisive tone of voice.

"Um?" the enemy gulped, turning his head slightly.

"I don't care where you come from and if you have a family" the young tamer spoke. "You will die here and today."

When Yoichi uttered those words, he turned to his opponent. He opened his hands, showing the wounds on his palms. At the same time, Kenji growled fiercely, sharing the same temper as its tamer.

Sinking its four legs into the mud, the little dragon activated its power: the flame on its tail frighteningly increased its intensity, and the usual fiery strip appeared on its back. This time, the flame travelled over his neck, stopping between his two black horns.

"What?! What kind of demon is that?!" the Void Summoner requested, looking at Kenji from under his hood. The giant dormant demon had remained in the same position throughout all the recent events, never opening its four eyes.

Without answering, making sure Shioko, Rokuro, and Enatsu were far enough away to unleash his fury, Yoichi opened his arms down. One by one, his Oracle's black scales appeared on his skin, and the muscles of his arms began to swell, welcoming all the dragon demon's power.