As the flying airship carrier loomed nearby, Large chunks of sandstone hurtled across the desert of red/orange sand. Sophia, Ruby, and all the kunoichis (aside from Star) evaded the hurtling sandstone before landing on the sandy terrain on the outskirts of Delaureus. The auras of their Surging Mana States faltered as their mana was drained into the small Hallucinogenic Flora (purple plant life with bioluminescent glow) vines all over their bodies.

"I wasn't expecting Sensei's Kitsune Visage of Retribution to be such a hassle to deal with," Sophia uttered as she yanked the HF vines off her body. Ruby nodded her head as extremely dense Cascading Mana spikes formed around her body and pierced through the vines.

"Yeah, and that Zallino guy hasn't even done anything yet, but if anime is anything to go by then he's certainly going to be a powerhouse as well," Ruby muttered as she flexed her arms and re-entered her Surging Mana State, covering her body in a red aura.

"What do you mean by that, Ruby?" Charlotte asked as she swung her dawnite swords and slashed all the HF vines off everyone.

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"Well, if an opponent in a duo or group doesn't fight while the others do, doesn't it mean they're super strong?" Ruby asked. Luna itched her chest and sighed as she stared at Zallino. With his back to the others, Zallino silently stared into the distance as the faint wind brushed against his semi-liquid body, making it wobble.

"Didn't he only come since Mr Zalroth asked him to bring us back after our training?" Luna asked snarkily. Ruby blinked before she contently sighed.

"That's good to hear...," Ruby remarked.

"What makes you say that?" Heather asked as she gave Ruby a perplexed side-eye. Maru unamusedly stared at the girls before he punched his scaly fists together.

"If you lot keep messing around, I'll start using larger vines," Maru barked as he parted his fingers and held purple seeds between them. The girls flinched, and all reactivated their Surging Mana States before spitting up and rushing for Maru.

A little distance away, Star, Jokel, and all the other kids who didn't go to the concert were in swimsuits and swimming around in an out-of-place luxury pool. A grumpy Mimi grumbled about having to be a lifeguard for the pool Zallino made.