Before anyone can speak, however, every single Hero's phone in the room goes off. The alarm sounds nothing like the first one, but far more
urgent.
Mio's eyes widen as she checks her phone.
"What?! Barrier breakdown?! That's-"Those are the last words she gets in before she, her Hero allies and everyone else, Sandra, the ship and Tourmaline included, get thrown into the Jukai.
Unknown Phase
JukaiEveryone is deposited at a spot halfway between the Shinju tree, shining behind them and the ship in front of them. Mio looks around frantically.
"The barrier broke! The barrier is-oh.
Oh god."As everyone looks towards where Mio is staring, they realise what she has reason to panic over.
There is a giant gash in the sky, leading into what seems to be total blackness and oblivion. Unlike the other gash into the outside world, where there was hellfire, and the surface resembled that of the sun, this seems infinitely more dangerous. If Alanis were to use her magesight on it, she would see a literal gap in the world, as if there was literally a void; not even ambient magic is present.
Chizuru's eyes widen.
"Where does THAT one lead to?""Senpai....I'm scared.""It'll be alright, girls. Everyone, transform!"Mio and her Hero Club execute a combined transformation, transforming into their Hero forms in front of everyone. The flashes of magic make it hard to discern movement, but Chizuru seems to be dancing as she transforms, Hikari and Ayane seem to confidently allow their magical garments to put themselves on, Yuki actively grabs hers and Sora meekly lets themselves be put on to her.
"Sachi, can you detect anything?""I.....I detect a large Vertex signature heading towards you! B-Behind you!"As she says that, another gash is torn into the Jukai with a loud ripping noise. A giant Vertex pushes itself through.
This one was far larger than the last ones they'd faced.
It resembled a giant, burning orb, with rainbow-coloured smaller orbs spinning around it in elliptical orbits. The orb is enshrouded in luminescent crystal, emitting a low humming noise and it seems to dwarf even the largest Vertex they'd seen thus far. The only visible 'face' part of the Vertex seems to be a small diamond of metal on the face of the orb looking towards them, with a small, red crystal inset in the middle.
"Libra-type Vertex, Major. This isn't good.""It's not alone! Sachi! Can you detect the second one?""I-I'm trying to! I can't find it!"