“… What is the meaning of this?” Finn asked quietly yet threateningly.

“Don’t worry… I just bond our hands together with a little electromagnetism to be safe. Just in case you try to drop me mid-flight or something, you know?”

‘… He’s gotten smarter,’ Finn thought. ‘However… I still have a million more ways to get rid of you.’

It was quite amusing, really. Despite only the two of them being left down here, isolated and out of earshot of the others, neither of them were letting their true intentions show… yet. Hurricane still kept up his kind, teammate act, which disgusted Finn to no end.

The two boys both remained still for several moments, before Finn at last made his decision and began flying upwards. Hurricane, thinking that his plan had been set into motion, smiled even wider. Finn didn’t need to be able to see to know this.

As they flew up, Finn felt the weight he was carrying become heavier and heavier. His arms were already strained from carrying all the other members, and his mana was dropping dangerously close to zero.

Or so he wanted Hurricane to think.

“What are… you doing?” Finn asked, tone dropping threateningly low while imitating a strained voice.

“Nothing,” Hurricane replied without even batting an eye. “Something wrong? I’m too heavy for you? That can’t be. Maybe you’re just tired? I’m the last person, though, so don’t worry… you’ll be able to rest soon.”

‘Forever.’ That’s what the sentence meant. But Finn wasn’t actually worried in the least. He had a good idea what Hurricane was doing, and it was a similar concept to Stormbringer’s Wrath. Finn doubted Hurricane was able to use this Ability, since if he could, he could’ve easily wiped out the entire team, but it may be a smaller, weaker version of it.

That’s why Hurricane had purposely not bound one of his hands, and insisted Finn carry him by just one of his. But he couldn’t help but feel things were going a bit too smoothly for him. The Finn he knew should’ve been smarter than this, but Hurricane’s ego caused him to think he had already won.

A fatal mistake.

The Ability he was using was called Aeon Magnet. It revolved around electromagnetism — and since he had noticed that the wooden stairs actually had faint traces of metal in them for support, he figured this would work. And indeed it did.

All the loose planks of the stairs had attracted themselves onto Hurricane’s palm, forming a large pile of dead weight for Finn. His goal here was to pull Finn downwards onto the ground, then crush him when he’s at his weakest.

Soon, Finn could not go any higher. His breathing became ragged, and the wings on his back began flapping slower and slower. Hurricane, seeing this, smirked.

“What’s wrong? Can’t go any further?”

Right now, they were still out of sight of the others who had already reached the top of the stairs, and out of earshot as well. Finn panted heavily, making sure to put on a convincing act.

“Hah… hah…”

“Need a rest?” Hurricane chuckled. “In that case… take one. Forever, that is!”

“…!”

With a loud cackle, he pulled himself upwards while dragging Finn down, cancelling the electromagnetic attachment between himself and Finn in the process. Then, as Hurricane grabbed onto a stair ledge, he kicked Finn straight in the chest to send him crashing downwards. Finn, on the other hand, received the kick without fighting back, while Hurricane dropped the entire load of broken stair pieces onto him.

Of course, this meant he couldn’t see Finn anymore. And that’s exactly what Finn wanted. He could’ve easily overpowered Hurricane there, but he didn’t. Why? Because he was waiting for the perfect, most surefire way to guarantee success — when Hurricane’s guard was down.

“Heh… too bad,” Hurricane muttered. “Sorry, Heartbeat, but I’m not into torture. I like to kill my enemies quickly and swiftly. So long, Finn. You shouldn’t have crossed me.”

Leaving these arrogant words behind, Hurricane spun around and began climbing up the stairs on his own, but then, a thick white tentacle suddenly coiled around his arm, freezing him in his tracks.

“What… AH-!”

He screams were cut short as the tentacle suddenly dragged him down, smashing him through the countless layers of wooden stairs over and over again. His cries of agony echoed throughout the narrow staircase, reaching the ears of the ones up above.

“What… was that?” Acaya asked hesitantly.

“That sounded like Hurricane’s scream,” Qi Ling analyzed. “But what about…”

Iris bit her lip in worry. “Finn…”

Then, with a deep breath, she activated her own wings. “You guys stay here, I’ll take a look.”

“Wait- it could be dangerous!” Toth warned, but Iris shook her head.

“I’ll be fine.”

“… If you say so…”

“Ngh…” Hurricane groaned, still alive. Just barely, anyway. Finn made sure to break his fall at the very end using one of his tentacles, just to prolong his life a little bit longer. Long enough to hear what Finn had to say.

Finn, with his six Phantom-like tentacles protruding out of his back, wiggling and squirming, stepped closer to Hurricane’s limp body on the ground, unable to move an inch.

“W-What the hell…?!” Hurricane cried, eyes widened in fear. “Y-You’re a… a Ghost?!”

“Sh sh sh sh shh…” Finn brought a finger to his lip. The gesture was silent, yet menacing like no other, tentacles eager for food. “I’ll be the one doing the talking.”

“M-Monster…” Hurricane stuttered, his arrogance and fearlessness from earlier nowhere to be seen in front of the abomination known as Ace, half-Ghost Hunter, half-Ghost.

“Calling me names won’t save you… but if you answer all my questions truthfully… I may let you live,” Finn said. “But of course… if you want to choose a harder, ‘alternative’ method… I can do that as well.”

Hurricane, body barely able to move, realized he wasn’t about to beat Finn in a fight right here. Giving in for now, then attacking again later once he had recovered… that was the best play here.

“F-Fine… what do you want to know…?”

“… Everything you know about Heartbeat. And… that special technique the House of Crimson Moon cultivates in its Hunters.”