My System: An Evolved Computer I Made With My Unique Ability—

The blizzard was unlike any other Satoshi had seen in real life or on tv. It was so strong that even the full blast of the Windfan couldn't stop it. Fearing that the Windfan and the Lighter would freeze (unbeknownst to Satoshi, he could already subconsciously feel the status of his familiars), he decided to recall them and put them back in the Orb Oboros.

"Thank you for your work," Satoshi said.

"Aghk~!" Vinny screamed as one of the ice spikes stabbed her by the shoulder.

"Urk~" Rachel shifted into her phoenix form once again just so she won't have to deal with the ice spikes. It also enabled her to heal the others who were suffering from the blizzard.

Satoshi was a step too late to notice that the blizzard was actually not made of snow, but of ice spikes. He didn't notice it at first since his body was phasing every time an ice spike passes through. This was all Ghast's doing and Satoshi wasn't aware of it.

[Be careful, Satoshi] Dex's concerned voice suddenly rang in Satoshi's head, making him flinch.

Just then, something cold and sharp hit Satoshi through the chest, piercing his heart and rendering it frozen. He gasped, feeling the chilling gaze of the Ice Empress as she stared back at him. "The hour of judgment has come, it is time for you to die, human." The Ice Empress said.

Compared to the Ice Empress's faster-than-sight acceleration before, she's gotten even faster, instantly covering the distance she had with Satoshi in less than a hundredth of a second. There was no way Satoshi could react to such insane speeds.

That's why the next thing he knew, he was already falling down. It became harder for him to breathe, and even when he tried to speak, there was no voice coming out of his mouth. Then he remembered a fact when he watched a documentary about serial killers— a stab through the lungs would render you unable to scream. Right now, he was experiencing such a predicament.

Furthermore, his energy was almost depleted. At this rate, he'll go on a rampage once again.

When his vision cleared as he neared his death, he saw that the Ice Empress shrank in size and she was almost as tall as him, only slightly taller, that is. 'So she was hiding her strength all along. No wonder Vinny said that we don't stand a chance against her. They didn't have any chance in the first place.

As Satoshi fell, he immediately felt his muscles binding up as if they were reattaching themselves. The heart that once stopped suddenly started beating furiously and blood spurted out from where he was stabbed. Without a second thought and out of desperation, he cupped his hands on his chest, hoping that doing so would minimize his blood loss. Cell by cell, then vessel by vessel, Satoshi felt himself regenerating and at the same time, realized that his energy was depleting fast. Fortunately, he will live, but at what cost?

They're dead anyway. It's not like Lloyd and the others could take on the Ice Empress without his help.

"SATOSHI!" Emma screamed, a stray tear escaping her right eye.

But suddenly, Satoshi's body jerked and a bright yellow glow on top of an eerie purplish haze enveloped him. Before everyone knew what happened, a huge crater formed on the cave floor, shaking its foundations of it. Crystal stalactites hanging from the ceiling started raining down and rocks started to crumble, sending debris downwards and causing the others to dodge them in return. As soon as the light smoke cleared from the crater formed, they realized that it was Satoshi's doing. He was doing a 'why are you approaching me' stance while two wisps of flames danced and circled around his hands.

"Don't worry, I just knocked them down." Satoshi turned around and threw one of his flames towards empty air. A split second later, they heard a 'whish', and then the Ice Empress appeared right behind Satoshi with her lance pointed at him.

That's right, somehow, the scepter that the Ice Empress was holding transformed into a lance of pure ice. And apparently, the whish they heard was the Ice Empress changing directions since she was almost hit by the wisp of flames that Satoshi threw at her. Of course, she didn't know that the blue flames actually did. But right now, she wasn't risking her chances. She assumed that the blue flames would kill her instantly if they were to touch even the tiniest fraction of her skin.

For the first time during the entire ordeal, Satoshi felt a slight hint of panic emanating from the Ice Empress. And he wasn't the only one feeling it, even Lloyd and the others found it evident that the Ice Empress was getting sore afraid at Satoshi's unpredictability. With a light grunt, she brought down the lance at Satoshi, to which Satoshi didn't dodge. His body just phased through the attack as if he was a ghost. Confused, the Ice Empress sent out another flurry of attacks in two different directions so Satoshi wouldn't be able to dodge everything. She was confident that she can leave at least a dent in Satoshi's invincible armor since she was able to stab him through the heart a couple of seconds ago.

But Satoshi remained unmoving, and none of her attacks dealt him any damage. Satoshi's eyes started glowing a light shade of purple, then it turned darker and darker until a haze seemed to come out from his eyes. "From the depths of the deepest realm, I command that you come out. Our bond goes beyond dimensions. I have no idea why you were sent there but now, I'm beckoning you over to this side. And you, you have no choice but to heed my command. Come out, Sain," Satoshi extended his hand and gripped it in mid-air, clenching it as blue flames enveloped his hands.

[Summon successful]

[Congratulations, Satoshi, you were able to call back Sain from the Purged Conduit. I'm afraid your power is increasing more rapidly than expected.]

A flash of blue light appeared on Satoshi's hand and then a scorpion emerged from it. The small scorpion started crawling on Satoshi's hand until it settled on Satoshi's middle finger, attaching itself to it. A scorpion ring.

"What was that just now?" Lloyd wondered, but until now he still can't quite grasp what Satoshi's superpower is. And at this point, asking another question just made his head ache a little more.

"Raaarghhh! Mere tricks won't defeat me, human." The Ice Empress screamed, unleashing yet another blizzard of ice spikes. But as soon as she did so, something powerful hit her from the back, sending her flying a few meters before she crashed on the rocky cave walls. She gasped for air, but her diaphragm was violently hit.

It was the Ice Bear! Somehow, the Ice Bear was attacking the Ice Empress all on its own. Why?! How could it betray its lifelong master?!

"Pelez! What are you doing?! Come to your senses. It is I, the Ice Empress!" The Ice Empress said, but the Ice Bear just wasn't listening. It roared a second time and charged at her.

Since the Ice Bear was one of the most trusted familiars of the Ice Empress, she didn't detect any killing intent when it attacked her just now. But right now, she doesn't know what caused the Ice Bears to switch sides. Up until right now, everything was still fine and the Ice Bear continued to obey her orders.

And yet, right now, they're attacking her as if she was the enemy in this enclosed space?!

Unbeknownst to the Ice Empress and everyone else, as soon as Satoshi landed on the cave floor, creating a huge crater, he attacked the Ice Bears and knocked them unconscious. And after that, he shot two of his blue flames at the Ice Empress. Of course, he missed...

... or did he?

Those blue flames then landed on the two Ice Bears, Pelez and Alez. And because of that, Satoshi had successfully brought the two formidable enemies to his side. And furthermore, they were even more powerful compared to when they were under the leadership of the Ice Empress.

Now was Satoshi's chance to push the Ice Empress to the corner. And he didn't want to miss it. A split second later, he teleported right in front of the Ice Empress, aiming his fist right at her face. The first thing that the Ice Empress noticed was the scorpion ring that Satoshi wore. She didn't have the leisure to admire it though since she had to dodge out of the way. Right now, Satoshi was as fast, if not faster than her. She couldn't understand it at all. How could a mere human overpower her after she already used everything in her arsenal?

But before she could think about that, something sharp pierced her chest, causing blood to drip from her lips. Somehow, the scorpion ring on Satoshi's hand turned into a long chain of chainsaw, which followed her and stabbed her as soon as she stopped moving.

"Ban-kai." Satoshi muttered, remembering a classic animated series about deadly hollows and shinigami's.