BOUND BY CHAINS
Jean is stunned by the sight of countless zombies and his group members trapped in the slime falling from above. He dodges the slimes as they merge with the slime monster. Spotting Nakao near the slime surface, he leaps towards her and pulls her out of the slime monster with his monkey arm. Nakao coughs out slime and urges that they need to save the others too. Jean, stressed by the number of zombies blocking their way in the slime, he then sees Megan inside the slime monster, swimming towards its core. Realizing Megan's plan to defeat the monster from within, Jean watches as Megan touches the slime monster's diamond core. The core shines brightly, and Megan recalls her earlier dream, casting the same spell. The core releases a brighter green slime that expels all the darker green slimes containing the zombies and the group. The many zombie cars start their engines and open their hoods to consume the surrounding zombies. One of the zombie cars consumes the security zombie with the glowing chest. The many zombie cars then drive off as the strong security zombie chases after them. The remaining hundreds of zombies begin to rise one by one. Jean helps Simbad up, while Kiren and Ezzy get to their feet together. Nakao reloads her pistol, stating they must fight their way out, and starts shooting down zombies. Meanwhile, Nhia is tossed by the muscle zombie across the sewer floor. Coughing out sewer water in disgust, Nhia says that he must have been dragged to the afterlife, and that it sure doesn't taste good. As the muscle zombie swings a powerful punch, Michael barely saves Nhia in time, shooting a lightning bolt that hits the muscle zombie. Unfortunately, the lightning also electrifies the sewer water, shocking both Michael and Nhia. Nhia collapses, muttering that this must be his punishment in the afterlife for all his sins. Michael realizes he can't use his magic without harming the rest of the group.
Kiren and the others begin fighting the surrounding zombies as Megan opens her eyes, noticing the slime monster is now the size of her palm as a smiling face form on the slime. Suddenly, a giant door at the end of the sewers opens with a magical light, illuminating the dark. Megan, believing this to be the answer she's been seeking, walks toward the light, desperate for answers and momentarily forgetting about helping the others. She enters the magical door and is sucked through a tunnel, landing in a magical white cave. Rising to her feet, she sees another set of doors with a magic circle on them. She reaches out and comments on the familiarity, touching the circle. It begins to move, unlocking and opening the doors. As she steps into the magical room, the golem outside the room opens its glowing eyes. While the group battles the surrounding zombies, a massive golem emerges from the large magical doors. Parts of its stone body break off and fall to the floor. The golem then uses its magic to control the fallen stones, launching them into the ongoing fight and killing many zombies. Kiren and the others barely manage to dodge these magic stones, except for Nhia, who gets hit. Simbad uses his magic simultaneously to reduce the impact on Nhia, but it still knocks him out.
The golem then summons its stone staff, spinning it rapidly in its hand. It leaps into the battle, swiftly dispatching the remaining zombies. When the muscle zombie attempts to attack, the golem swings its staff, causing the muscle zombie's upper body to explode. Kiren stands ready with his weapons beside Simbad, Jean, and Michael, who declares that an even tougher fight lies ahead of them. The golem stands firm, its magical eyes fixed on them. Kiren says they need to defeat the golem to reach Megan. Nakao prepares to cut her arm to give blood to the exhausted Ezzy before she explodes, but Ezzy stops her. Ezzy decides that her uncontrollable flames are needed to defeat the golem and warns that if they can't beat it, everyone should run while she destroys it with her curse explosion. Nakao cautions that it's a risky move. Ezzy insists they have no choice, sensing the golem's magical strength is too powerful for them to defeat on their own. Nakao then suggests contacting Mai to send Rune and Adam for reinforcement. Nakao checks her earpiece, body mic, and body cam, realizing they're all broken. She notices everyone else's equipment is also damaged, indicating they've lost communication with Mai. Ezzy stands up and remarks that even if they wanted Adam or Runica here, Kiren wouldn't allow it. They glance at Kiren, who looks more excited than ever to face such a strong opponent.
Meanwhile, Megan enters the magic room and sees a young girl bound by magic chains in the center, under a magic circle. As Megan takes a few steps forward, the girl awakens and yells out in rage, threatening to kill. However, she stops mid-sentence upon seeing Megan and calms down slightly. Megan introduces herself and asks for the girl's name, who mutters "Iris." The two look at each other with a sense of familiarity, though neither can remember where they've seen each other before. Iris wonders how Megan was able to enter the room, and Megan explains that she simply unlocked the magic lock and walked in. Iris shakes her head in disbelief, insisting it must be another one of her father's tests to torment her. Megan approaches her, assuring Iris that she means no harm and is only there seeking answers about herself. Iris then realizes that Megan is also bound by magic chains, though they appear different from her own. As she reaches for Megan's chains, her hand passes right through them. Iris lets out a short laugh and says they are the same, both bound by chains against their will. Megan is surprised that Iris can see the chains around her body and asks if Iris knows who she really is. Iris replies that she has no clue who Megan is but feels they might have crossed paths before. However, she has been in this room for so long that she has forgotten most of her memories. She knows only that her father kept her locked in this room that one day she'll break free from here and kill him herself for all the things she went through because of him.
Megan takes a moment to think and looks around the room. She then shares that she grew up in a happy family and got married at a very young age, but she keeps having dreams about herself that seem like real memories from the past. She uses these dreams to help her find out who she might be, and sometimes they reveal magic spells that aid her in difficult situations. Iris then shouts that she doesn't care about their different lives and asks if Megan can help her out of her chains. Megan notices a curtain leading to another room and suggests that they might be able to help each other escape from their own chains. She enters the room and asks Iris from the other side if she has ever been in this room. Iris responds that she is restricted to the magic circle and can't leave, so she mostly just sleeps to pass the time. Megan explores the room, which is filled with shards of magical crystals. She closes her eyes, concentrating as her magic extends to touch one of the crystal shards on a table. Holding the shard, she identifies it as a memory shard. She steps back into the other room and shows Iris the glowing shard. The shard reveals memories from Iris's past: a younger Iris running through grassy fields into her father's arms. Her father holds her with tears in his eyes, though his face is blurry. Iris comments that it has been so long she has forgotten what her father looks like.
Megan then points out that Iris's father's face is also obscured just like the man she sees in her dreams, and wonders if they could be the same person. As Megan's magic around the shard returns back to her, her eyes begin to glow brightly. Suddenly, a cloud of magic emerges from Megan's head, revealing Megan meditating in a water well. Iris recognizes it as one of Megan's dreams and comments that it must be significant. Megan explains that this is an old dream of hers. They observe Megan's dream self swimming out of the well and smiles at a faceless man who pulls her out and engages in a conversation. Iris notes that the faceless man appears different from her father, seeming much happier. The shard then disintegrates into magical orbs that enter Iris's body. She feels a slight return of her magic. Megan suggests that their meeting may be fated and that by continuing to unlock these memory shards with her magic, they might uncover their true identities. Iris agrees, saying that it could help her remember her father's face and regain her powers to break free from her chains. Megan goes back into the other room and uses her magic to interact with the other memory shards. However, her magic is quickly repelled by the shards. Returning to Iris, she admits that her magic isn't strong enough to access the other shards. Iris suggests that Megan needs to strengthen her magic so they can both escape their chains together. Megan expresses uncertainty, unsure if simply discovering her identity will be enough to free herself from her chains.
Iris then notices a small slime monster on Megan's shoulder and smiles. She mentions that Megan has made friends with the only companion she's had. Megan is surprised that Iris knows the slime monster. Iris explains that during her early days in the room, she encountered this slime monster, which somehow had the ability to come and go freely. She named it Huey. Huey then jumps onto Iris, and she begins nodding as if communicating with it. Iris then shares that years ago, Huey told her that the human world had been overrun by zombies. Huey had planned to save the humans by absorbing as many zombies as possible, starting with the nearby upper city to help the humans survive. However, the task proved too overwhelming, leading to Huey's corruption, where he could only think of absorbing anything in the city above. Fortunately, Huey met Megan, who was able to free him with her magic.
Megan holds out her hand, and Huey jumps onto it. She expresses her surprise that this small, cute creature had been trying to save the world on his own and is glad she was able to help him. Megan then asks Iris how long she has been in the room. Iris responds that she has lost track of time but estimates it has been about 200 years. Megan is shocked, noting that Iris seems to be the same age as her. Iris advises Megan to become stronger and return to the human world to train. According to Huey, Megan's friends are still battling at the gates, and the golem guarding this room is very powerful, so she should hurry back. Megan's eyes widen as she realizes she nearly forgot about her friends while she was so focused on discovering her identity. She heads towards the door, and Iris tells her that they are connected in some way and that they can remain friends in the future. Megan smiles and assures Iris that they will always be friends.
Meanwhile, during the battle in the sewers, Jean regains consciousness and sees Michael crashing into a wall with tremendous force. He turns to find Kiren using his shield to block the golem's staff attacks. Simbad then uses his magic to immobilize the golem, holding it in place. Ezzy steps forward and unleashes a massive fire blast from her hands, engulfing the golem in flames. But suddenly, the golem's staff pierces through the flames and stabs Ezzy in the stomach, lifting her off the ground. The golem emerges from the fire and hurls Ezzy into Nhia. Kiren advances toward the golem, hurling his shield, which impales the golem's chest. He then rushes in and strikes the golem's head several times with his short hammer.
Michael rises and tells Jean that if they want to win, he needs to join the fight. He then rushes back into the fray, while Jean remains rooted to the spot, feeling both useless and fearful that using more of his power might cause Henry to remerge. The golem slams Kiren into the ground before pulling the shield from its chest. Michael charges in, delivering a lightning kick and a flurry of attacks around the golem. However, the golem, now adapting to Michael's speed, counters and sends him flying with its staff. Kiren takes advantage and swings his hammer upwards, launching the golem into the air. Nakao quickly pulls out a grenade and tosses it towards the golem. Simbad, using all of his magic, enhances his katana and unleashes an energy slice that strikes the grenade, triggering a massive explosion! As the smoke clears, parts of the golem's body rain down. Exhausted, Kiren says they've done it. But suddenly, the golem lands back down in a smaller form. Weary, Kiren picks up his shield, ready to fight again, as the others, worn out, prepare for what's next.
The golem's core begins to glow as it charges up a massive energy blast. Kiren remarks that it would be nice if Adam or Rune showed up now, but since they're busy, it's up to him to see this mission through. The golem unleashes the massive energy blast from its chest, colliding with Kiren's shield. Kiren's arm muscles strain as his veins bulge, using all his strength to hold back the blast. Slowly, his feet start to slide back, but suddenly Simbad and Nakao rush behind him, pressing against his back with their arms. Simbad declares they're not going to die today because he still has hope. Nhia and Ezzy also join in, pushing against Kiren's back. With renewed determination and the support of his team, Kiren pushes against the energy blast, inch by inch.
The golem releases more of its magic, increasing the intensity of the energy blast. The force is too much for the team, as Nhia, Ezzy, Simbad, and Nakao are thrown back, crashing into the sewer walls. The entire sewer shakes, but Kiren holds his ground, roaring with all his might as his shield expands and begins to absorb the energy blast. When the smoke clears, the golem sees Kiren still standing, his shield glowing with magic. Jean, watching from a distance, realizes that if he doesn't act now, his team will perish. Everyone has exhausted their strength, leaving him no choice but to unleash the full extent of his powers. As the golem approaches Kiren, spinning its staff, Kiren breathes heavily, muttering that if Adam were here, this golem would've been an easy opponent. But since he's the star of this team, he'll fight until the very end. Just as the golem closes in, Jean, in his monkey form, suddenly crashes into the golem, smashing it with his giant fist.