Crashing through the air like a pair of asteroids that clung onto one another, the Twin Generals flew right through the Wave shield set up around the Palace and dropped onto the ground right in front of the main palace hall. Upon impact, the ground cracked in eight different directions as a cloud of dust rapidly jetted out from the feet of the big brother. "The Atlas Twins!" The King called out from above, and the big brother looked up to see the king of the Kingdom of Varous being tied to his throne as the piece of elegant construction was ripped from the floor of the Palace and suspended in the air. Countless dark metallic ropes were stretched out from all directions, holding the throne in a place like a prey within a spider's net. A trio of figures sat directly underneath the throne and the king, and they rose to standing when the Twin Generals approached them. "Uh oh, I wouldn't be so rash~" Tom Bom, the red-haired caster with a face full of dark piercings and the one nicknamed the One-Trick Bomber said with fingers outstretched, "Why don't you take a better look up, pretty lady?" The sister halted her steps and reached out her Wave sensing when she suddenly detected the patterns of Casts layered all over the throne and the metallic ropes connecting to it. She glanced back down to the red-haired man, and he smiled sadistically before pulling out his book of Casts. "If you move a single step, he's dead!" Tom Bom said, making a fluttering pattern with his finger, "Kaboom!" "Boring." The big brother clicked his teeth, dashing forward as the ground crumbled underneath his feet with the push-off. He dashed past the little sister, the gust from his movements stirring up her dress and hair. "Watch out!" Darl, the giant standing beside the other two bent down and charged forward, matching the big brother's aggression. The two Channelers clashed in the middle of the open area as a shock wave rapidly expanded from their position. The tiles underneath their feet became completely shattered from the impact as Darl caught both fists of the big brother and held them in place. As a whirlwind of the Wave surged out from both fighters, Darl asked with his slow voice, "Did you not hear what Tom Bom said about your king?!" "I don't care." The big brother said coldly, lunging forward and easily overcoming Darl, who's nicknamed the Walking Disaster. Gripping into his fingers until Darl felt like they were being turned into mush, the big brother then planted his foot hard on the ground, spinning and slamming the body of Darl into the ground as if he's in a pillow fight. "YOU TWINS ARE CRAZY!" Tom Bom shouted, his hands faced forward as his Crimson Book of Casts roared to life. Unleashing a series of explosions right underneath the feet of the little sister, smoke and fire instantly envelop her beautiful frame, "DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I SAID?!" A figure dashed through the smoke, and Tom Bom stepped forward, slamming his hand into it and instantaneously casting an Explosion Cast, blowing the figure apart. However, he immediately realized from the splintering of woods and metal pieces that he just destroyed a puppet. "Like my big brother said," The little sister said, her voice layered with anger, "We don't care." "THEN HE SHALL DIE!" Tom Bom shouted, snapping his finger and triggering the explosions of the throne and the metallic wires from above, "Enjoy the fury of my Explosion Cast!" SNAP! A massive explosion turned the entire sky red, and a seemingly infinite wave of fire replaced what was once A blue sky dotted with the occasional white clouds. With the burning backdrop, the little sister charged forward, leading a dozens of puppets from her sides with the stickman pattern over her right eye glowing white. Tom Bom laughed frantically as he cherished the taste of his successful execution. With his hands filled to the brim with concentrated Wave, he's ready to blow up everything in his way. He looked at the little sister square in the eye when the puppets all attacked at once. "USELESS!" Tom Bom declared, wiping his hands in the space around them and decimating the puppets as they come by. Then, a sharp tearing pain came from right in his back as a rogue wooden piece pierced through his skin. He turned around, stumbling forward when the little sister resumed control of the puppets he destroyed and continued embedding the splinters of the wood straight into his body, his skin now crowded with the tiny spikes as blood rushed out from the countless tiny wounds all over his body. Tom Bom screamed, and as the little sister prepared to deliver the killing blow, Jiyu Saturo, the leader of the Inverted Questions and the one nicknamed the Venomosity, emerged from the smoke of Tom's explosions with his Serpent fully manifested and preparing to take down a fellow Manifester. That was when suddenly, another figure slid right in between the little sister's back and him as a massive glowing sword parried away the Serpent's bite. "My King!" The little sister spun around rapidly to see the King in a half-lunge position with his blade in hand guarding her back, "You must get out of here!" "They defiled my daughters, ruined my Kingdom, and killed my guards..." The King said through gritted teeth and slashed his blade down and out, "They will not be forgiven!" That was when the little sister noticed the missing right hand of the King, and the fire within her burned even fiercer. She had always been great friends with the King's daughters, and the moment the two of them stepped away from the kingdom, this happens... Right before Tom Bom blew up everything, the little sister swapped the king and a puppet of hers, saving him from his doom. That's why the big brother attacked without a moment's hesitation. In contrast, Darl, startled by the actions of the big brother, was unsteady in his footings and lost the battle before it ever began. "ARGHHHH!" The little sister yelled, a massive surge of the Wave jetting out from her right eye as thin long strands of Wave formed around her body uncontrollably. The massive rise in power drew the attention of the three and caused Jiyu's facial expressions to turn from malice to fear. "TOM BOM! DARL! GET OUT OF HERE!" He shouted, reaching the Serpent forward and shooting out balls of his venom bags, hoping to contain the attack from the little sister. In the meanwhile, the big brother was slamming Darl repeatedly into the ground, and he turned to look in the direction of his little sister as she cried out in pain. Taking advantage of that moment, Darl shot a fist up, sending a massive gust of wind that lifted the body of the big brother into the air. Then, he rolled to the side with great difficulty and dashed with his torso close to the ground, the movements accompanied by the vortices of air. He ran past the unconscious Tom Bom and picked him up. Then, as Jiyu conjured a massive bag of venom in front to act as a exit screen of sorts, Darl picked up him also. "Boss!" Darl said worriedly as he leaped off the staircase leading up the palace and continued running through while carrying Jiyu in one hand and Tom Bom in the other, "Where now?!" "Shit! Those Twin Generals are far stronger than I thought..." Jiyu cursed, turning around in Darl's arms and shooting bags of venom at the guards that tried to contain them, "We need to retreat and regroup!" "Tom Bom!" Darl added, and Jiyu nodded. "We need to get him treated too." Knocking aside the bags of venoms with the tendrils, the little sister then tried to follow after them with her enhanced level of strength when the big brother suddenly appeared in front of her, his massive arms hugging around her body. "They are out." He said with a calming tone as the tendrils dug deep into his flesh, "You may rest now, the great Puppet Master." A low hiss came out of the right eye of the little sister, and the white glow around her Mark of Manifestation slowly faded away. The King stood nervously with the blade in his left hand when the Wave strands were reaching towards him, but as the body of the little sister softens in the grasp of the big brother, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you again, Joseph, Jolyne." The King said, returning the blade back into its sheath as the big brother slowly stood up straight. The little sister opened her eyes slowly, and she mumbled something inaudible. "Yes, the buns are still here." The big brother said kindly, reaching into his pocket and handing her the crushed taro-paste sweet bun with its fillings now on the outside rather than on the inside, "Oops." With the defeat of the three key members of the Inverted Questions at the hand of the Twin General of Kingdom of Varous, Joseph and Jolyne Atlas, the brief reign of the IQ came to a swift end. All of the orders that were given out by the Inverted Questions were retracted, including the bounty for the Summoned One and Lera. With the tables turned, three sets of bounties are then placed on the head of Jiyu Satoru, Darl, and Tom Bom. Joseph Atlas, the big brother, paid a visit to the two daughters of the King, and they ran to him in tears, crying about how scary everything was. As he held the frail bodies of the two girls in his massive arms, he silently swore to track down and kill those three with his own hands. In the meanwhile, Jolyne went out and used the excuse of extinguishing the remaining members of the Inverted Questions, returning to the bakery by the city bounds and purchased an entire rack of Taro-paste sweet buns. Returning to their hideout just outside Sonne, Jiyu Satoru dug his nails into his skull in frustration as Darl continued working on the body of Tom Bom. Their plans had failed again and again, and that left them with no options left. Now, the entire kingdom of Varous is on their tail, let alone those bastards from PORA. "Boss." Darl said, his voice slow and low and his fingers still sore from the aftershock of Joseph Atlas' strikes, "Tom Bom should survive." Jiyu nodded slowly and sighed. He murmured something before looking up, "We have only one option left." "And that is?" Darl asked. "To get the Token." Jiyu said, biting his lips hesitantly and standing, "With the Token, all of this can be undone. We will be square with PORA by killing those two, and we can overturn the bounty with the power of the Token!" Darl nodded slowly, though as the taste of defeat lingers in his mouth, he can't say he's confident in facing off the opponents of that caliber just yet. Tom Bom awoke later, and he's uncharacteristically quiet after his defeat. At this point, he is one loss away from diving headfirst into despair, and he's simply too fatigued to argue with Jiyu anymore. Out of options and out of time, the trio hid their identities and headed into the Guild of Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries. They have had their dealings with the bounty hunters before, and they also gained special access to the special room through their 'ties' with the PORA. Walking through the door, they saw piles of bodies on the ground as at least a dozen bounty hunters were knocked cleanly out. A woman with long white hair tied into a ponytail sat alone at the bar, drinking to her contempt when she heard the sounds of the three's entrance. "Oh?!" She said, turning around slowly and smiling as her golden skin glowed under the warm lighting, "Have you come to join my alliance, or have you come to challenge me?" "Depends on what your alliance is for," Jiyu asked, glancing towards the room of downed mercenaries and sensing their levels of power subtly. "It's to take down Lera and Wu." She said, gesturing a finger forward towards Jiyu, "I know the bounties are down, but I have a personal score to settle. I just want them. You can take the Token afterward or whatever." That sounded too good to be true. Jiyu and Darl shared a glance before nodding. A smile crept up the face of the woman, and she stood while propping her large breasts forward. "Kneel for me, and I shall welcome you into the Anti-Wu alliance." She said, her big green eyes glowing with power, "My name is Kaire Jin, and I am a member of the Sky Guardian Corp."