The lights flickered as battles echoed throughout the building. Occasionally the entire structure shook, but it held firm, allowing Shouri and his trio to continue their trek unimpeded.

  None of them spoke a word.

  No commentary, no concerns, no snark.

  Just a forward march into the depths.

  Taika continued to apply Rilevare l’intenzione, updating Shouri’s map. A solitary blip well below them pulsed like a beacon, urging them deeper into the structure.

  The first words finally spoken were Taika’s: “He’s here.”

  They stood before a single door at the bottom of a stairwell. Below the first floor, in an unlit space, though this was no problem for half of the party.

  “That was too easy,” Pacifica noted, looking back up the staircase they had descended. “Why didn’t anyone stop us?”

  “This is totally a trap.” Rebecca shrugged.

  “Definitely,” Shouri agreed.

  “It felt like he was guiding us specifically to this spot,” Taika mumbled.

  “Let’s go.” Shouri shuffled to the front of the party and pushed the door open to step into the light.

  Their destination was illuminated by high bay lighting, the kind one would find in a warehouse. The floor was empty, nothing having been moved into the space. On the opposite end of the massive room was a freight elevator. Just in front of the elevator was the target of this whole operation.

  “Ilea!” Shouri barked, his voice echoing throughout the empty basement.

  “Mr. Tomoshibi, I didn’t realize we were on a first-name basis,” Ilea spoke loudly enough for the pursuers to hear him, but only just that.

  “We’re bringing you in!”

  “Okay.”

  That took the wind right out of Shouri’s sails. He looked back at his trio of Resonators who returned his confusion with some of their own.

  Ilea Vim began to cross the room, slowly closing the distance between himself and Shouri’s party.

  The Maestro drew Pacifica’s tuner from his side, while Rebecca and Taika readied their ad-Libs. Four glares failed to penetrate the cool confidence that casually strode over to them.

  “Much better. I would rather not converse over an entire warehouse,” said Dr. Vim.

  “What’s your game?” Shouri growled.

  Ilea Vim raised a brow. “No game Mr. Tomoshibi. I am well aware of the laws regarding maltreatment of Resonators.”

  Rebecca shook, baring her fangs at the scientist before them.

  Shouri held out a hand to steady her. “Then why?” he asked, the yellow rhythm in his eyes burning radiantly.

  “I just had to know what happens… when they break that is,” Ilea Vim stated.

  “BASTARD!” Rebecca roared.

  “REBECCA, NO!” Shouri shouted.

  Though he tried to stop her, he wasn’t fast or strong enough. A blazing foot rocketed towards the feroce researcher’s head.

  However, the result was beyond anything the quartet could have expected. Rebecca’s anger had been extinguished in an instant, along with her fire and all of the momentum from her missile of a kick.

  Ilea Vim had not only caught her foot, but he caught it with such ease that the man was not phased. It was as if she had gently tossed him a ball. It took no effort for him to pull off this feat.

  “Let go!” Rebecca yanked her leg away from the man, her eyes still darting around in a panic. She tried again, flipping around and throwing another blazing cannonball of a foot at the man, but history repeated itself – her flames snuffed, her force parried like a beach ball. Three more attempts all ended the same, the man was ready to intercept no matter which angle she attempted.

  Taika tried her hand at attacking the man next, urging her beads to restrain the scientist. However, rather than being caught like Rebecca’s ad-Lib had been, as soon as the projectiles entered his space, she lost control of them, causing the polished pearls to scatter all around the ground.

  “His rhythm is insane…” Taika mumbled.

  “How is he doing this?” Rebecca shook her head.

  “Ghiacclio, Fortissimo,” Shouri’s command cut through the confusion. At that moment, Pacifica’s heart beat alongside her Maestro’s, and no further elaboration was needed. A great spear of ice took shape above her head and she fired without mercy. The arc of the attack magic flew with the final destination being the scientist’s heart – only a fatal conclusion awaited the monster in human flesh.

  But as the two attempts before her had failed, Pacifica’s attack met the same fate; caught just like Rebecca’s had been, the ice disintegrating against the man’s open palm as if it was running into molten lava.

  Undeterred, Shouri called another “Ghiacclio, Rubato.”

  Pacifica nodded and created a prison of ice spears covering every angle, but as soon as they invaded the man’s space, no matter the vector of attack, they all turned to a fine mist. The otter’s determination cracked as she openly trembled, her eyes in disbelief at the spectacle unfolding before them.

  “Are we sure he’s alone?” Shouri guessed, his own conviction faltering.

  “I-I can’t sense anyone else, only him,” Taika reported.

  “I don’t feel any spellcasting either, it’s just him doing this!” Rebecca called out, desperately searching for an answer to this logic-defying technique.

  “You find it fascinating, no Mister Tomoshibi?” spoke Ilea Vim, a small smile on his lips.

  The younger Maestro slowly shook his head in denial, unsure of what else to do. Rhythm didn’t work, and based on the way he easily parried Rebecca, physical attacks didn’t work either.

  “What the fuck are you?” was all Shouri could get out.

  “One in eight billion… or so they say,” Ilea stated simply. Four pairs of eyes went wide at what they witnessed. “A stave with no peer; all strength, no flaw – that is what I am.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Ilea’s eyes burned black like the scherzando they hunted; blazing, bursting in the deepest pitch where light could not hope to escape.

  “Monster…” Rebecca couldn’t help but mutter.

  “Yes, that is what they call me. Cursed children; scherzando born; the corrupted; all monikers those of my blood have bore,” Ilea spoke like he was reciting his own legend.

  “Sho, what do we do?” asked Pacifica, never tearing her eyes from the creature that towered over them.

  “I’ll come willingly Mr. Tomoshibi,” Ilea Vim repeated his earlier claim. “Provided you can show me something interesting.”

  The man didn’t move, he just stood there. Even so, he was slowly ratcheting up the rhythm radiating off of his body. Rebecca was the first to notice, grabbing her tie and loosening it as sweat began to bead down her face.

  “He’s gonna kill us… by just standing there…” Rebecca warned, having long lost control of her composure.

  The fear in her eyes stabbed Shouri’s heart. He could feel the ever-invasive rhythm filling the space like a deadly gas. There was a reason Ilea picked to wait here. He was making a point. Not even the huge warehouse could contain his seemingly unlimited rhythm.

  Rhythm so dense and potent that it broke fundamental laws of spellcasting. He made the rules his servant as if he had pressed an override button on reality.

  “Sho…” Pacifica grabbed his arm. “D-do you think he’d let us… leave?” she whispered.

  “M-maybe I could… hold him off?” Rebecca suggested, though her voice quavered as she did so.

  Shouri shook his head, his mouth agape as he began to sweat himself. Sacrificing anyone was out of the question, and he wondered if Ilea Vim would let them walk away. He knew they knew everything about his operation at this point. Surely, if he intended to continue his sick experiments, he wouldn’t let them leave.

  “Punch him.”

  The panicking trio looked to Taika.

  “Punch him right in the face,” despite the oppressive rhythm that hung in the air like poison, Taika’s blue willpower burned defiantly in her gaze. In fact, the longer they waited, the more brilliantly her radiance grew.

  “He wants to see something interesting? I think you punching him right in his smug face would be the most interesting thing you could do,” Taika told her Maestro.

  “Taika are you out of your mind?!” Rebecca barked. “I’m not letting Sho get anywhere near that THING!” the fire Resonator cried.

  “You won’t, and he will,” Taika said, her tone remaining even as she spoke.

  “Y-you’re serious…” Rebecca gasped.

  “We don’t exactly have the luxury of joking,” said the lunar fox.

  Rebecca opened her mouth to protest further, but Shouri spoke up before she could: “Okay.”

  “AUGH!” Rebecca grabbed her head and shook it. “Paci, tell me you’re at least still sane!”

  “They’re serious Rebby…” Pacifica said with a sigh.

  “I trust Taika,” Shouri told the other two.

  “FINE!” Rebecca shouted. “I’d rather go down swinging anyways!” the vixen growled.

  “It has to be Sho. We can’t touch him,” Taika advised. “But, he doesn’t have to do it alone.”

  There was an implicit understanding the quartet reached upon hearing those words. Shouri took in a breath and recomposed himself. He faced down the older man, flexing his digits as he did so.

  “Wait wait,” Rebecca grabbed Shouri’s hand. She balled it up and rested his thumb over his index finger. She shuffled behind him, holding his fist. “Push off your back leg, throw it forward, use your knuckles as the impact point. Don’t stop when you make contact, push right through him,” Rebecca quickly advised, moving his body from behind so he could feel the motion.

  “Thanks.” He managed to grin.

  “It’s gonna work,” Taika told her fellow Resonators. “We just have to believe in him,” she said with a smile.

  Rebecca stepped back, allowing him some space. “That’s so corny,” Rebecca chuckled hollowly. “Then again, we’ve done some crazy shit already. This’ll probably work.” The fire Resonator shrugged.

  “He wants to see it,” Pacifica noted. “I think this is it.”

  “Hit him with it, Sho,” Taika urged their Maestro forward.

  In a reversal of roles, it was now Shouri’s turn to truly protect them. Not a self-sacrificial throwing his body on the explosion, but stepping up to face down a monster that would kill them if given the chance.

  “This is your answer?” Ilea questioned.

  “I trust them with my life,” answered Shouri.

  “Very well.”

  The two men stood face to face, sizing one another up. Well, at least Shouri was doing the sizing up. Ilea remained as stoic as ever as if he was alone in the room.

  Shouri held up his hands, both balled up in fists, just as Rebecca had shown. However, what she didn’t show him was that defensive positioning. It all felt natural. The suffocating rhythm that previously surrounded him had long ceased being a problem.

  “We’re hunters,” Shouri spoke. “Anything that endangers lives, we’ll take them down – with force if necessary.” He drew his fist back, his feet following suit, giving him all the leverage he needed.

  “GO!”

  “GET’M!”

  “SHO!”

  Ilea’s eyes widened – for the first time his poker face cracked. What was unseen by most was painted vividly before the rhythm master. Shimmering blues, reds, and yellows intertwined, sparkling around the Maestro whose attack rapidly approached. “Beautiful…” Ilea Vim whispered as he watched his rhythm shatter away in the wake of the incoming fist.

  THWACK!