Upon opening the door where the prisoner was held, they saw him pinned to a wall by construction beams piercing his wings and arms.
Mirage: "Was it really necessary to do that to his wings?"
Damian: "Necessary? No, it wasn't. But weren't you the one who told me to take this mission seriously?"
Mirage: "Yeah, I did say that. So how are we going to wake him up?"
Damian: "Can you still use Electro?"
Hearing Damian's hesitation, Mirage realized he hadn't yet tried using Electro. He gave it a shot and succeeded.
Mirage: "I can, no problem."
Damian: "Great, then you know what to do."
Mirage approached the prisoner, his hands crackling with Electro, and shocked him.
Skypiano: "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The electric jolt woke Skypiano, who screamed in agony. Moments later, Damian stepped forward and grabbed him by his green hair.
Damian: "Well, well, looks like Sleeping Beauty's finally awake. So, how about telling us where your hideout is?"
Skypiano, staring straight into Damian's face, grinned and spat blood at him.
Skypiano: "What's up, bro? You think I'm some kinda snitch?"
Damian wiped the spit from his face, then pressed a finger to the center of Skypiano's chest. With sheer brute force, he pierced through effortlessly.
Damian: "Looks like you didn't get it. I don't care what you think you are—you're going to tell me what I want."
After several intense minutes, Damian and Mirage returned to where Yosuke was waiting. They found him putting the finishing touches on an alchemical circle drawn on a white glove.
Mirage: "We're back."
Damian: "You done with your stuff?"
Yosuke: "You guys took—holy crap, is that guy still alive?"
Mirage: "He is, though I'm pretty sure he wishes he wasn't. Why do you ask?"
Yosuke: "Seriously? Have you seen yourselves?"
Hearing his friends' voices, Yosuke turned to face them, only to see them drenched in blood. At his words, Damian and Mirage glanced at each other, finally noticing the sheer amount of gore covering them.
Damian: "Oh, so that's why Mèi wouldn't shut up."
Mirage: "What do you mean?"
Yosuke: "Yeah, what's that about?"
Damian: "Wait, haven't I introduced you to Mèi already?"
Mirage: "Yeah, you showed us your new weapon, but that doesn't explain why it's 'not shutting up.'"
Damian glanced at Mèi, then back at his companions. Pointing right at her, he said:
Damian: "So you're telling me you don't see a 1.5-meter-tall little girl standing next to me?"
Trusting their friend, Mirage and Yosuke looked where he pointed.
Mirage: "You okay, Dami? I don't see anything."
Yosuke: "I see a blur, but it doesn't look like much."
Damian: "Really? Guess I'll have to show you."
Damian picked up Mèi and set her on the ground. Stepping back, he said:
Damian: "Go ahead and eat, Mèi!"
At his command, Mèi (the weapon) began to tremble. Her soul surged forward, brushing against Damian and Mirage. As soon as she made contact, the blood on their bodies started draining into her physical form. Once it was all absorbed, both her physical and spiritual selves let out a loud burp that everyone could hear.
Damian: "Pretty cool, right?"
Mirage: "That burp—was that her?"
Damian: "Yup!"
Yosuke: "I don't get why that matters for a weapon."
Damian: "How could it not matter?"
Yosuke: "Whatever. Did you get anything out of that guy?"
Damian/Mirage: "Yup!"
The two then recounted what they'd extracted from Skypiano: the location of the hideout, their plans, and a few other tidbits.
Yosuke: "That's where he's at? Then let's move—I've waited long enough!"
Without another word, the trio bolted toward the location Skypiano had revealed. Along the way, something caught Damian and Mirage's attention: Yosuke was keeping pace with them.
Mirage: "Yosuke, since when are you this fast?"
Yosuke: "I'm not! I had to improvise."
He pointed to his shoes, which were covered in alchemical symbols.
Damian: "Neat trick!"
Yosuke: "Gotta get creative, right? But let's cut the chatter—I need to focus so I don't wipe out."
Refocusing on the path ahead, the three sprinted for several minutes before reaching their destination. But when they arrived...
Damian: "Ta-da! Check it out!"
Mirage: "You're just begging these guys to come after us."
Yosuke: "So many people!"
They were greeted by the sight of hundreds of figures hard at work. Judging by their clothes, they were a mix of pirates, underworld agents—or maybe both.
Damian: "Okay, I screwed up. Just thinking about chasing down this many people later, what a pain."
Damian: "But whatever. Yosuke, can you spot the guy?"
At Damian's prompt, Yosuke scanned the area for his mother's killer. He froze and pointed.
Yosuke: "There..."
Following his gaze, they saw a man taller than most—around 3 meters—with long brown hair, a smooth, baby-like face, and innocent blue eyes. He wore a simple formal suit, his frame lean rather than muscular.
Damian: "He looks tough."
Mirage: "Really? Doesn't seem like much to me."
Yosuke: "He is, though. My mom wasn't some pushover—she was one of the strongest on the island—but she couldn't even scratch him."
Damian: "And even if he's not that strong, fighting all these guys is gonna be a massive headache."
Mirage: "Hadn't thought of it like that. So what's the plan?"
Damian: "With what we've got? Nothing fancy. We'll stick to the basics."
Damian gripped Mèi in his hands and started walking toward the hideout.
Damian: "Let's take 'em down before they know what hit 'em!"
To Be Continued