Yiernoshi stood on the rooftop, swathed in flame.

Alene, Marian, and Rachel gasped, staring at the screen in shock.

"Lord Yiernoshi...she..."

"What is she trying to do, emitting the flames so far away from Don...?"

"Discharging the flames uselessly is just as good as throwing away her own life!"

The flame surrounding Yiernoshi began to flicker erratically.

Don's eyes narrowed.

That irregular flame...could it be...?


She swore under her breath.


"The Dying Will Zero Point Breakthrough...!"


Sam looked surprised.


"Why would she know about it?"


Don readied her gun.


"I won't allow it," she hissed.


She jumped towards Yiernoshi, who barely dodged the blow.



"You can't escape so easily!"



She started firing. From the front. Back. Left. Right. Yiernoshi couldn't keep up.



"Gyah!"



Finally, Yiernoshi was hit full-on in the back, and fell to the ground.



"Unh..."



While she had been fending off Don, her lollipop had returned to its original round shape. Now, as she concentrated, it transformed into a triangle once again.



Above her, Don raised her guns.



"This is charity!"



She fired multiple bullets, using the same technique as before.



Yiernoshi disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

-----

Christine looked up at one of the screens placed around the school.



"Boss!"



Claire, tying up her injuries with strips of cloth ripped off the bottom of her shirt, looked up at the screen above her, surprised.



Bella peered up at another giant screen, a safe distance away from, and out of sight of Claire.



"Lord Yiernoshi!"



Alene stared, horrified, at the swirling smoke on the screen.



Finally the smoke cleared, to show...



Yiernoshi lying in the middle of a giant crater, flames extinguished.

-----

Don took a few steps forward.



"Tch, is she dead? Scum should all turn to ashes."



She raised her gun.



Her finger was preparing to apply pressure to the trigger, when suddenly, Yiernoshi's forehead began to glow softly. The flickering spot on her forehead grew, and became a small flame.



"Hmm?"



Suddenly, without warning, the flame simply exploded, blazing fiercely. The lollipop began to glow. Yiernoshi levitated off the ground, held there by her flame.



"What?"



Sam smiled.



"She's done it."



Yiernoshi got to her feet.



Marian blinked.



"That's strange. Didn't she suffer a direct hit?"



Sam elaborated.



"She neutralised Don's Flame of Wrath, by acheiving the Reverse Dying Will State."



"Reverse...Dying Will State?"



"Normally, a person in the neutral state is at the Zero point. Going into the Dying Will State and emitting flames is the Plus state. The Zero Point Breakthrough means that when you are in the Plus state, you are able to reverse back into the Minus state."



Rachel blinked.



"Minus? You mean, acheive an even emptier Dying Will then when you're doing nothing?"



"That's right. Also, the part that becomes empty is also able to receive the enemy's flame. When it absorbs the flame, it also negates the damage."



Meiling rubbed her chin thoughtfully.



"Then why does it produce such an unusual flickering flame?"



"That's because, in order to acheive the Minus state, she must balance the timing of going back and forth between the Plus state and the Zero Point."



Don looked at Yiernoshi.



"That's what the First Boss used."



"That's right."



"Fuhaha! The real technique would not allow the user to suffer damage to that extent!"



Carmen glanced at Yiernoshi.



"Her body is bruised because she absorbed the Flame of Wrath. Even with this techinique, her chances of winning aren't very high..."



Alene looked scandalized.



"But we trained so hard to acheive this technique!"



"That's not it..."



"Eh?"



"The impression among many people is that the Zero Point Breakthrough was a 'technique' used by the First. In reality, it is actually a 'condition' that shows the path to the 'technique'. If she can reach that 'condition', she may be able to work out a technique different from the First's."



Meanwhile, Don was laughing.



"It's the end, scum! I'll shoot you until you turn into ashes!"



"Then make sure you aim well."



"Hmm?"



Yiernoshi concentrated, and her lollipop morphed into a square.



"Zero Point Breakthrough..."



"...Revised."

-----

"Fuu, you're trying again? It's not going to work. The real Zero Point Breakthrough does not have that pose!"



Yiernoshi quirked an eyebrow.



"I'm just going through my own Zero Point Breakthrough."



"I'll kill you right here, so you never speak the name of that technique again!"



Don leapt into the air, and started firing.



A huge flame orb came hurtling towards Yiernoshi.



Rachel gasped.



"No good! It's a finishing blow!"



There was an explosion.



"Lord Yiernoshi!"



Don stood a little way apart from the giant crater.



"I'll scatter you into dust for all eternity, you piece of trash!"



Suddenly, she detected movement behind her. She spun around.



It was Yiernoshi, flying towards her.



"It's my turn now, Don."



"Kuh!"



Don propelled herself upwards.



"Just die already!"



Yiernoshi soared up too, matching Don's speed. She swung around, and kicked Don's face, sending her hurtling to the ground.



"You...."



She shot her guns, creating a giant cylinder of flame.



Yiernoshi swung her now-triangular lollipop in mid-air.



Sam smiled.



"I see what she's done to 'revise' it. She didn't just absorb Don's power. She converted it into her own."



Don stared at Yiernoshi.



"Impossible!"



Yiernoshi flew forward, and thwacked Don with her lollipop.

-----

"Whew! Thanks! Just in time."



"Tch."



Claire turned away from Victoria.



"If you'd died on the school grounds, it would have been very troublesome."

-----

"Thanks, Christine."



"No problem."

Se Ern placed her Ring into Christine's palm, alongside Jeanine's.

"Here. There's a higher chance that you'll run into Yiern of something, so you take these. I don't feel like moving."
-----
Victoria ran round the corner.

She pressed a hand to her side, where it had been injured previously.

"Gimme a break. The wound's bleeding again."

A figure skidded to a halt in front of her.

"Who's there?"

Victoria blinked.

"Christine!"

Christine lowered her fists in surprise.

"Victoria! You're all right too?"

"Well, Claire didn't want people dying on the school ground, so she saved me. I've got her Ring for safekeeping."

Victoria opened her palm to show the Rings of Rain and Cloud.

Christine held up three Rings.

"Jeanine and Se Ern are fine too."

"Wait...that means that the only one left is..."

"The Mist!"
-----
Victoria and Christine threw open the door of the gym.

"Where's Maria?"

"Over here."

Christine stared past the demolished Mist pole, to see Maria, throat held in a death grip by Bella. Behind her, Kara was slowly getting up, the Ring of Mist clutched in her hand.

Bella grinned.

"Hand over the Rings that you've got, or I'll skin her alive."

"What?!"

A few sparkles appeared in the air. Seconds later, Victoria and Christine were pinned to the wall, held there by a few daggers.

Kara's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You aren't in a position to argue. Hand them over, and she," here she indicated Maria, "gets cured of the poison."

"Hurry up and decide."

Before they could, the wall of the gym exploded. Out of the resulting smoke leapt a hissing, spitting cat.

"Meeko!"

Se Ern stepped into the gym.

"Hey."

She stooped down, and plucked the Mist Ring off the ground, where it had fallen during the explosion. She placed it into Maria's wristband. Just in time.

"Uhh..."

Kara got up from the ground, slowly.

"Give that back."

Se Ern grinned.

"It doesn't really matter now, does it? The Sky Battle is about to end."
-----
Yiernoshi and Don charged towards each other. Yiernoshi's lollipop was now squarish.

"Die, trash."

Don grabbed Yiernoshi's hands in her own, rstricting the movement of the lollipop.

Her hands began to glow.

Carmen gasped.

"She intends to receive that flame?"

Don smirked.

"Goodbye."

What followed next was a huge orb of flame, surrounding them both, and obscuring all vision on the screen.

Marian peered into the dense smoke.

"There's someone there!"

It was...

Don.

"No way!"

"Don't panic all at the same time."

Sam pointed at the screen.

"Look at her hands."

Rachel blinked.

"Eh? Her hands?"

Mun stared at the screen in shock.

"That's-"

Don's hands were frozen.

The smoke cleared to show Yiernoshi, staring at her now-traingular lollipop.

"This is..."

Sam smiled and nodded.

"This is probably the Zero Point Breakthrough that the First came up with."

"Eh?"

Everybody stared at Sam.

Sam sighed, and explained.

"Since it is the Reverse Dying Will State, it creates the opposite of the flame, which is..."

Rachel gasped.

"Coldness!"

Mun frowned thoughtfully.

"But this isn't any normal ice. It froze Don's flame."

Sam smiled.

"It's a technique created to seal off the Dying Will Flame."
-----
Yiernoshi stood facing Don.

"Let's go."

She swung her triangular lollipop, hitting Don hard.

"Zero Point Breakthrough, First Edition."

And with a loud crackling, Don was frozen completely.

Yiernoshi knelt to the ground, and the flame on her forehead winked out.

"Her energy has reached its limits."

"Now's our chance!"

Bella knelt down beside the massive ice lump.

"Watch carefully."

She opened her palms, to reveal all six Rings.

Carmen stared in shock at the screen.

"Eh? The Rings are on fire!"

"The ice is melting!"

Bella grinned.

"Do you know why the Rings were stored in halves? Because together, they have a hidden power."

The ice melted completely, releasing Don to the ground.

Seet walked over, with the Sky Ring that her raven had picked up from Yiernoshi's side.

Don looked up.

"Give me...the Ring..."

Seey grinned.

"Of course, boss! This second-rate loser doesn't deserve it."

She lifted Don's hand, and...

"Hold it right there!"

Meeko sprang out of nowhere, attaching herself to Seet's face.

"Eek!"

Seet dropped the Ring in fright.

Bella raced to pick it up.

Victoria jumped in front of her.

"What do you think you're doing?"

She swung her club at Bella's head.

Meanwhile, a commotion had occured at the other side of the arena.

Claire ran in, ignoring the bloodstains on her tonfa and the moans of Hini and Chip who had been struck down by her.

She picked up the Ring, and tossed it to Christine.

"I'll take care of these herbivores. You keep that safe."

That said, she swung around, smashing Gladys in the face with her tonfa.

Christine ran towards Yiernoshi, when suddenly, she tripped.

A gloved hand reached down in front of her face and picked it up.

"Thanks very much."

Kara turned, and started towards Don. She didn't get very far, before she was zapped.

"Aah!"

She collapsed.

Christine turned her head to see Jeanine, piggybacking an unconscious Maria.

Jeanine raised an eyebrow at Christine.

"Well, go on, give it to Yiernoshi!"

"Right!"

Christine retrieved the Ring, and began to run. She heard footstpes behind her, but they stopped abruptly. Most probably her pursuer had been struck down by Jeanine.

Finally, she reached Yiernoshi's side.

Yiernoshi blinked slowly.

"Christine...?"

She nodded.

"Here you go. It's yours."

Yiernoshi nodded slowly.

She plucked the Ring from Christine's grasp, and slipped it onto her finger.

"We've won."

The judges were of the same opinion, as they announced the victory 30 seconds later. Yiernoshi didn't hear them, nor the whoops of joy that followed.

She had fainted.