Back in Euna, Shokei's party members are fighting their way through the darkness that is pguing the forest. The monsters that they fought were much dangerous as they fiercely make their way through each one. The fight against the monsters, summoned by the Necromutants, are becoming far too deadly as the party is doing their best to survive the wave of monsters that are targeting them.

  After the st wave of enemies were dealt with, Rei and the rest of her party looks around to see if there are any more of the monsters left. Looking around, the monsters were perished as they are dead in defeat, tainted in blood. Many of the trees in the forest were taken down due to the strength of the monsters. Trying to build up stamina, the party remains where they stand until they can hear the sounds of rumbling.

  "H-Huh?" Marie looks around, feeling alert of another situation coming. "Wh-what...w-what now?!"

  "I'm wondering the same thing too." Saeko said, gripping her weapon in case.

  "I have a feeling that there is something big is heading this way." Mizuki said to the party. "We need to be ready and stay strong."

  "I have a feeling that we might be in for the worse..." Rei said. She gets in position, all set to fight.

  Obsidian and Ferron have their weapons gripped as Sadako breathes in to get herself ready.

  "This is a fight...that does not seem to end..." Beatrice said.

  "This battle...does not seem to be over yet..." Marie said, fearing for the worse.

  The party can hear the rumbling sounds are becoming louder as a new enemy was approaching. Suddenly, the party can hear a bunch of trees being knocked down and they can see from their distance to where the incident is taking pce. Rei looks carefully to what was coming ahead and she can see that there is something tall coming up to where her party is.

  "What...the...hell?"

  The party looks up to see that there is a giant-sized Minotaur approaching. The party can see that this Minotaur is tall and around thirty feet tall in height. The monster carries two bded sharp axes. The size of the axes is huge that it fits the hands of the Minotaur. The Minotaur cuts down a tree with one sharp hit, sending that tree down. The party can hear more footsteps as they turn to see that there is another giant-sized Minotaur, also armed with twin axes.

  "Shit...you're kidding me." Rei said, widened to see two tall Minotaurs in her sight.

  The two Minotaurs appear on both sides as Rei and her party are at the middle. Seeing how big the two monsters are, the party waits to make a move. Without warning, the Minotaur swings his axes down to the ground as it makes the surface shake. The party felt the quake effect as it nearly made them lose their bance.

  "W-woah!!" Marie said as she falls to the ground.

  The party gets back on their feet. Then, the party can see that the Minotaurs are closing in as the Minotaur from behind swing his axe right at them.

  "Watch out!" Rei shouted at her party.

  The party avoids the enemy's attack as they dodge out of the way once the axe struck the ground.

  Spectating above, Hauntmystic and Kukofoges are watching the action from below. The Necromutants can see that Shokei's party are running from the big Minotaurs that are chasing after them.

  "Hehehe..." Kukofoges smiled evilly and said, "My pn is working perfectly. It looks like the allies of the Emissary are not able to go against two big antelopes."

  "It is." Hauntmystic agreed. "Even if they destroyed most of our summoned creations, they will be tiresome for all the fighting and their suffering will be at the mercy of those Minotaurs!"

  "Absolutely." Kukofoges said.

  "Which reminds me..." Hauntmystic looks at her fellow comrade. "What about Bck Death? She is among the Emissary's group...are you aware of this?"

  "Huh?" Kukofoges hears this and remembers. "Oh right. Her. Hopefully her appearance should fool the Emissary's allies. Let's hope that neither of them suspects her as one of us."

  "At least she's doing a good job in protecting her true identity." Hauntmystic said.

  "While we're at it, let's enjoy the st moments to witness the fall of Emissary's allies." Kukofoges said, seeing Shokei's allies making a run for it. "Death to the Emissary and all of her allies!"

  The Necromutants ughed as they watch the Minotaurs haunting down Shokei's allies.

  ----------

  Back at the cursed novel, Shokei and Mariko are fighting against Hian in a game of tennis. With the score being tied at 3-3, Egoh is keeping the score as a reminder. Both girls are standing their ground as Hian and her Dark Elven assistant are keeping bance in the deadly game.

  "Geez!" Mariko said, still shaking while holding her racket. "N-never thought a game of tennis would be that serious."

  "Come on you two! You can do it!!" Young shouted out to Shokei and Mariko.

  With the bck ball in her hand, Shokei serves the ball. Hian sees the ball coming and sends the ball back. Mariko runs and dives to hit the ball back with her racket in time. Seeing the ball going off to the side, the Dark Elven hits the ball back with a lob shot. Shokei sees the ball and responds with an overhead smash. The swing was powerful enough to send the ball back to the opposite side, earning the score.

  "Yes!" Mariko cheered proudly. "It's 4-3! We're still in this!!"

  "Hmmph!" Hian said. "Looks like it's time to spice this game up a bit."

  Hian generates a ball in her hand. This time, the ball turns out to be gray and the enemy has a new trick up her sleeve. Shokei and Mariko are waiting for the ball to be served back and then the halfling was prepared.

  Time to make this game a twist of unfortunate events...

  Hian is ready to resume pying tennis. She makes her serve, only that it is a twist serve than a regur serve. Shokei and Mariko looks at the ball being served. Shokei notices that the ball turns out to be fishy as she senses the ball emerging energy inside.

  "W-what the?!" Shokei said with a surprised look.

  With quick thinking, Shokei leaps to the side to make a duck for it. The ball nds on the ground as it explodes on the floor. Mariko gasped at the outcome as Shokei looks back on the crash site. Then, the girls look back at their opponent. Hian ughs as she was amused by her tactic she pulled off against her opponents.

  "Gah ha ha ha ha ha!" Hian proudly said and asked. "How was that?!"

  "What the hell?!" Shokei shouted at the enemy. "That's cheating!"

  "Y-you...scumbag! What is this?!" Mariko asked angrily.

  "This is my game of tennis." Hian said to them. "I can py this game in my way. Do you really think that going against me will be challenging enough for you? I don't think so. This game of mine will be harder from this point and I'll make it tougher for both of you to take the fragment that I have on me."

  "Don't push your luck you creep!" Mariko warned.

  "I second that." Shokei said.

  "If you two think you have enough willpower to go against me, be my guest." Hian said. "I suggest that you py this game of mines until your bitter end."

  "We'll get through this." Shokei said to her. "Bring it on!"

  Shokei grips her sword and gets to the other side of the court to be ready for the next serve. The halfling smiled wickedly as she generates another bomb in her hand.

  "If the ball drops on either side of the court, the point still counts." Hian tells them. "Be advised that if my ball nds on your side, you'll be faced with some unlucky results."

  "We'll py this stupid game that you're forcing us into." Shokei said, showing determination to continue.

  "As you wish!" Hian said as she serves the gray tennis ball and pulls off a twist serve. "En garde!"

  Shokei sees the gray ball coming and she serves the ball back by swinging her sword. The ball is being sent and the elven statue catches the ball its attention. Mariko whacks the ball away as she swings her racket with her might. The game is pyed regurly as tennis but with the new twist in gamepy, Shokei and Mariko stand their ground as they continue to serve the ball back at their opponents. As the game progresses, Egoh and Young are watching all the action within this deadly sport. Egoh takes note that the ball is bouncing back and forth in a fast pace, and he can see that the ball is building up great speed.

  "That's strange...the ball does not seem to be exploding or anything." Egoh said.

  "Hmm, you're right...but I have my suspicions." Young said, keeping an eye on how the game is pyed.

  Shokei sends the ball back whereas Hian quickly moves at fast speed to serve the ball back. When the ball connected to the racket, the ball instantly turned into a fireball. This caught Shokei her attention and she quickly act by sending the ball back. The elven statue responds quickly by hitting the ball back and Mariko takes a dive as she manages to send the ball in the air. Hian sees the ball and delivers an overhead smash in the air. Shokei sees the ball in the air as she delivers a powerful swing with her sword.

  Suddenly, Hian runs up to the ball and rather than sending the ball back with a powerful smash, she slightly tapped the ball with a weak shot. Mariko can see the ball bouncing up back to her side and pulls off the same move that her opponent did. She bounced back the ball in time and the ball is already being turned into an actual fireball. Hian winked and then she bounces the ball in the air, only to jump in the air to pull a drive volley against Shokei. Without warning, the ball bounced right into Shokei by her face in a point-bnk range, hitting her.

  "Ahhhh!!"

  Shokei stumbled back and fell on the ground. She lost her grip of the sword, and the ball loses its fme quickly in order to touch the ground as it became an official point.

  "HEY!!" Mariko yelled. "THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!"

  "Pff!" Hian said, brushing off her protest. "That what she gets for not paying attention."

  "Grrrrrrr!!!" Shokei has her hand covering her face as she tries to find air to breathe from the painful hit.

  "In this game of tennis, anything goes." Hian said. "And yes, I forgot to mention that striking an opponent with a ball on any part of the body does count as a point."

  Shokei tries to get up from the ground as she felt the soreness from being hit directly by the gray ball in her face. With one eye, she looks up to see Hian holding her tennis racket by the shoulder.

  "Hehehe. You should feel fortunate that there was no explosion right in your face." Hian said, staring down at her. "I must say that you have a long way to go."

  "Hurrr...b-bitch!" Shokei growled at her.

  "This little tennis game of mine is full of twists." Hian said with a mischief smile. "I did say that have I?"

  Shokei sighed as Mariko comes over to check on her.

  "A-are you all right?" Mariko asked.

  "I...I'm o-ok..." Shokei said, rubbing her face, but she still feels the soreness on the side of her face near the nose.

  "I...I don't know how much we can keep up with this." Mariko said. "This is getting ridiculous and..."

  "No! We can't give this up!" Shokei said to her. "There's no way we can escape out of this! We need that fragment... even if she tries to throw more obstacles at us."

  "Ohhh...but at least you're strong enough to survive such a hit." Mariko said. She extends her hand. "Here...let me help you with that."

  Shokei felt a sense of magic touching her face. She feels relief of the pain lifted from her face as Mariko heals her. The pain is gone as the numbness is no longer there.

  "Awww...that's better..." Shokei said, taking a breather to feel herself breathe again.

  "W-what?! What did you just do?!" Hian asked, noticing what Mariko was doing. "Was that magic I saw you did?!"

  "I...uhhhhh..." Mariko tried to find the words to say, forgetting the forbidden rule.

  "Magic is NOT allowed in my turf!" Hian said. "I'm sending you to the shuttle!"

  Hian snaps her fingers as Mariko feels herself fading and then reappearing inside the cage with Egoh and Young.

  "Oh no!" Mariko said, panicked as she realized what she illegally did.

  "Because you used magic, you are now a prisoner in my cage!" Hian tells her.

  "N-no! No fair!!" Mariko protested.

  "Rules are rules. You just had to heal this ally of yours." Hian said, pointing at Shokei.

  Shokei recovers from her injury after Mariko healed her face. She walks over to pick up her sword. Then, she gets back in position to face Hian once again.

  "And...it seems you're the st one standing." Hian said. "You must be lucky that you're not gifted with magic at all."

  "Just shut up...and py against me." Shokei tells her.

  Hian smiled at this response. Then, she snaps her fingers and then the statue stops moving and crumbles into pieces. The remains of the pieces then vanished as it cleans the court.

  "Won't be needing this thing anymore." Hian said. Then, she looks up at Shokei. "...now, it's your turn to serve."

  Hian throws the gray ball to Shokei, allowing her to grab the ball in her hand.

  "It's time I go face to face against you now." Hian said. "I'll be sure to send your body down into the pits where it'll be your grave."

  "That won't happen." Shokei said to her. "As long as I stand on this court, I'll be sure to avenge my allies from the likes of you."

  "Then..." Hian dimmed her eyes and said with a menacing smile, "Serve that ball."

  Shokei serves the ball with a powerful smash and continues on with the game.

  As the game of tennis progresses, Shokei was unable to get a score as she feels outsmarted by the evil Halfling. The score is now 4-6 and Shokei feels her body being tired from running around her side of the court to continue pying. The outcome is not looking good for her as she was outpyed by the techniques from the racket that Hian is using against her. By trailing a few points within the game, Shokei can see that the comeback was a long shot, regardless of how much stamina she has left to keep pying.

  "Giving up?" Hian asked.

  "Hell no!" Shokei replied back. "I'm not losing to some deviant bastard like you."

  "You really must be at the end of your rope." Hian said. "I'm sure that you'll run out of steam by the time I settle this score."

  "Hey! Always bet on bck." Shokei tells her.

  "Really?" Hian said as she generates a ball in her hand. "Then I'll have to seal the deal and crush you."

  "Come on!"

  Shokei shakes her head, and she gets ready for the ball to be served back. Hian then served the ball and Shokei responded by sending the ball back at her side. The halfling moves quickly and she hits the ball right back to her. Shokei strikes the ball back, but then she brings herself close to the net as she tries to take advantage. Hian sends the ball back and Shokei counters the ball again as she draws herself closer to the net. Her allies watch from below as they see progress from Shokei.

  As the ball was being sent back, side by side, Shokei is now close enough to where the net is, and she keeps on sending the tennis ball back at Hian. The halfling keeps up with the game as she is trying to make a game point victory. However, she notices something different about her opponent. She is clueless and unaware of the gamepy taking a turnaround. Hian strikes the ball, sending it back by pulling a twist by using her racket to make the ball disappear. Shokei takes note of the action, and she looks behind to see a small portal opening. The ball is coming and is about to hit her from behind. Shokei makes a jump spin as she serves the ball right back, nding the ball on the ground to earn a point.

  "Wow!!" Mariko said with awe.

  "Amazing!" Egoh said, adjusting his gsses. "H-how did she know that?!"

  "Seriously?!" Hian said angrily, feeling pissed at the outcome. "You saw that coming?!"

  "I saw that trick you were pulling anyway." Shokei said.

  "I'm.... Impossible!!" Hian said angrily. "You...you're going to regret this!"

  "5-6!" Shokei reminded her of the point. "C'mon! I'm used to this already."

  "Hmmph! Fine then!" Hian said as she passes the ball to Shokei.

  Receiving the ball in her hand, Shokei gears herself ready as she continues onward with the game. Hian serves the ball back as both sides keep sending the ball back at each other. Just like before, Shokei tries to get close to the net as the ball keeps moving faster. The enemy can see that her opponent is trying to break her pattern of the game, hoping to end her on the final point. Shokei stays on her ground as she moves side to side by hitting the ball back to her opponent.

  There has to be a way to finish this bloody game! I'll just take my chances and go for it!

  Having some thought on what to do, Hian hits the ball with a powerful smash, sending the ball to the other side of the court. Shokei eyes on the ball heading to another direction and she quickly nails the ball with her sword for a lob shot. Hian saw the action being pulled off and strikes the ball back with another powerful smash. Shokei gets on her feet again and she makes another immediate action with a big counter as she makes the ball bounce further away from her opponent. The halfling saw the move that she did but it was too te as Shokei scored another point as she tied the game.

  "UGH!!" Hian grits her teeth in rage, very pissed off that she failed to strike the ball back.

  "Wooo Hooo!!" Mariko cheered with joy. "Goooooooo, Shokei!!"

  "She's doing it." Young said. "She's going to win."

  "Never underestimate me, little bitch." Shokei said. "I'm definitely going to save myself and my allies from the likes of you."

  Hian stares at Shokei in the eyes. Shokei looks very serious and up to the point that she has fought her way back to tie the game. Hian deeply sighed and she is furious.

  "THAT DOES IT!!" Hian shouted. "I am getting tired of your antics! I will NOT let you win this game!!"

  "Wanna bet?" Shokei asked.

  "Grrrrr!!"

  Hian growled as she does not approve of where the tennis match was going. She then generates a bck ball with a dark aura surrounding it and then presents the ball in front of Shokei.

  "This...will determine the fate of this match..." Hian said with a cold tone of voice. "I'll send your behind to the depths...even if I have to die trying..."

  Shokei grips her sword tight as she is all set for the match point.

  "Bring it on!"

  Hian serves up the bck ball with a powerful smash. Shokei countered immediately as she sends the ball right back at her enemy. Both sides continue to py their st game as the bck ball intensifies with speed. The other party members are watching the outcome of the match as Mariko cringes with fear. She could barely watch as she is scared of what would happen to Shokei.

  Shokei makes a connection with her sword as Hian countered back with her response. Shokei makes a powerful smash against the bck ball and then Hian used her trick with the tennis racket by turning it into a bck hole to send the ball back to her opponent. Shokei sees the attack coming. She turned to see that the bck hole appeared and is targeting towards her. She quickly sshed the bck ball into the hole, sending the ball right back at Hian. The enemy was too te to react as the ball struck her with a powerful magnitude that threw her off bance. Hian became overwhelmed as she fell down into the gap, where the pit of spikes met her fateful end.

  "She...she did it..." Young said, now feeling gd and excited. "S-she, she finally did it!!"

  "Huh?!" Mariko uncovered her eyes and sees Shokei standing. "Ya-YAAAAAAAY!!"

  "Woah. She killed her." Egoh said with amusement. "She managed to survive."

  Shokei looks back at the spot where Hian was st seen. She felt very tired after going through the intense tennis match against another half of the Three Little Evils. Suddenly, Mariko, Young, and Egoh were all magically teleported out of their cage. All three of them are back on the floor and Shokei reunites with her party. Mariko felt some emotion and goes over to hug Shokei.

  "Oh Shokei! You did it!!" Mariko cheered happily. "You finally did it!"

  "H-hey now!" Shokei said, feeling hugged by the Time Witch. "I'm still tired from all this."

  "I was so worried! I thought you would lose to that witch!" Mariko said.

  "I thought I would lose." Shokei said. "But I learned her pattern and made it through."

  "Gd that you've done it...but, what about the fragment piece?" Young asked.

  Shokei looks back at the spot to where the halfling was st seen. She sees something on the ground and finds another fragment piece of the medallion. The fragment magically floats in the air and is coming towards the party. Shokei puts her hand out and retrieved the fragment in her possession. Then, she and her party all look to see the fragment.

  "That's two down. Only one more left." Young said.

  "The final piece is what we need to restore the Medallion of Prophecy." Egoh said.

  "So, where do we go now?" Mariko asked.

  "We'll figure it out once we get out of here." Shokei said and heads for the exit. "C'mon."

  The party did as they are exiting the area and are leaving the castle to return back on nd.