Give Us His Head  

"Where is he? Where is that blasted old man?" Kahless scanned the chamber, searching for Sorah.

He had witnessed Sorah's fall from the sky, and followed him to the Rendil Temple, determined to finish what he had started.

"Kahless!" Warden Poahf waved frantically to get Kahless's attention while pointing towards the splattered remains of Duke Theodore. "Look! The Duke... he's dead! He was shot by that brat and the scarecrow!"

"What?" Kahless's voice was filled with disbelief. "The Duke... is dead?" His gaze shifted from Sorah's body to the Duke's mangled corpse, and a look of shock and horror crossed his face.

"This... this is a disaster. What the hell were those two Imperial Guards doing to allow this to happen?" Kahless expressed genuine fear. "The Duke... dead... under our watch... We're doomed."

He knew the consequences of his failure. He would be stripped of his rank, his power, his freedom. He would be branded a traitor, an incompetent fool who had allowed a Duke of the Imperial Court to be assassinated.

'And then...' he shuddered, envisioning the gruesome fate that awaited him. 'They'll make an example of me. They'll execute me in the public square, and my body will be left to rot as a warning to others.'

Warden Poahf, who was standing beside him, shared his dread. She too had failed in her duty, had allowed the prisoners to escape and the Duke to be killed. She would be stripped of her position, her authority, her life of luxury and power.

'They'll throw me into the mines,' she thought, her heart sinking like a stone in deep water. 'They'll make me work alongside the slaves, they'll break my back and crushed my spirit until I'm nothing but a hollow shell.'

A shared look of desperation passed between them. They had to find a way out of this predicament, a way to redeem themselves in the eyes of the Dune Directorate.

'There's only one way,' Kahless thought, his gaze drifting towards Sorah's unconscious body.

'We need to take his head,' Poahf thought at the same time.

They both understood that Daichi was the one who had pulled the trigger, the one who had blasted Duke Theodore to smithereens. But the Dune Directorate would never believe that a mere child could have accomplished such a feat. They needed a scapegoat, someone to blame, someone to punish. And Sorah, the old Aerithran, the master of martial arts and the wielder of the mysterious staff, was the perfect candidate.

He was a known insurgent, an enemy of the Dune Empire, and the one responsible for freeing the Aerithran prisoners and leading the rebellion against Warden Poahf. His head, presented to the Dune Directorate as a trophy, as proof of their loyalty and their competence, would be enough to save their own skins.

'It's him or us,' Kahless's resolve hardened.

'He has to die,' Poahf thought before yelling with a vengefully, "Combustion!"

Boom!

Her form changed as aether steam burst from her, swirling and condensing as it did so. Her two-headed Cerberus Titan materialised, and the chamber shook.

"We need that old man's head!" Kahless hollered from within his Eden Ryuu Titan Avatar.

"Give us his head!" Poahf shouted.

The Rice Guru, still clutching Sorah's limp body, understood the gravity of the situation. They were trapped, cornered by two powerful Titan Avatars with a bloodlust for revenge.

"We have to get out of here," he whispered to Daichi, who was still staring at the Duke's remains with a look of shock and horror.

"Kyuuu…" Woodworm whimpered, huddling close to the Rice Guru.

With terrible intent in their eyes, the dragon and Cerberus charged at them. They opened their maws, preparing to unleash a devastating Kana Beast Bomb that would obliterate everything in its path.

"Boqumu #25 - Glassism!" The Rice Guru raised his hands, guiding his remaining Aether Steam into a defensive spell. A barrier of transparent energy materialized around them, protecting them from the impending blast.

Boom! Boom!

The Kana Beast Bombs struck the barrier, but the Glassism held firm. However, it wouldn't be that way for much longer. Its surface was rippling and distorting under the force of the explosions.

"GRAAAH!"

"They're trying to kill us!" Daichi cried out in panic.

"I know, Daichi," the Rice Guru replied. "But we will not give up. We will protect Master Sorah."

"Protect him?" Daichi scoffed. "They want his head! And it's all my fault!"

"No, Daichi," the Rice Guru said firmly. "It's not your fault. You were just... scared. You made a mistake. But that doesn't mean you're a bad person."

Daichi shook his head, tears streaming down his face. "But... but I killed him! I killed the Duke! And now they're going to kill us all!"

"No, Daichi," the Rice Guru repeated. "They're not going to kill us. We will not let them."

He turned to face the two Titan Avatars. "We will fight them to our last breath. We will protect Master Sorah, and we will escape this place."

"Take my head instead!" Daichi stepped forward all of a sudden with his small frame trembling with defiance. "I'm the one who killed that pompous ass! I'm the one they want!"

"Daichi, no!" the Rice Guru cried out, reaching out to pull him back.

But Daichi stood his ground, his fists clenched and his eyes blazing with a fierce determination. He would not let Sorah or the Rice Guru die for his mistake. He would face the consequences of his actions.

He stared at the two Titan Avatars and yelled, "Come on, then! Take my head! I'm not afraid of you!"

As his resolve hardened, something incredible began to happen. Daichi's arms, which had been bare and unmarked, began to glow with a faint, ethereal light. Wisps of Aether Steam, amber-white and tinged with a fiery orange, seeped from his pores, and was swirling around his hands.

His left hand was enveloped in a miniature vortex of fire, its flames dancing and flickering like a miniature inferno. His right hand was surrounded by a swirling gust of wind, its currents twisting and turning like a miniature tornado.

Daichi had awakened dual elements - Air and Fire. It was unprecedented, a phenomenon that was rarely ever documented.

"What the...?" Poahf gasped in shock and momentarily forgotten her thirst for vengeance as she witnessed the spectacle.

"This is…" Kahless also was taken aback by this scenery.

The two Titan Avatars halted their attack and stared at Daichi's glowing hands. They had never encountered anything like it before, a human who possessed the ability to wield two elemental affinities.

"Interesting..." Kahless's voice rumbled from within the dragon's head. "A dual-Elementalist... I haven't encountered one of those before."

"Just kill him already!" Poahf snapped. She cared not for the boy's unique abilities; she only wanted revenge for the humiliation he had inflicted upon her and the death of the Duke.

"Kill him?" Kahless glanced at the Poahf strangely. "No, my dear Warden. This one... he is special. He might prove to be... a valuable bargaining chip to safe guard our heads."

"Hmm?" She pondered what he said then looked at Daichi. "Step aside, boy. We have no quarrel with you. We only want the old man's head." Poahf fixed her gaze on Sorah's body.

"No!" Daichi stood his ground with the dual-elemental powers swirling around him. "You're not taking him! You're not taking anyone!"

On instinct, he defiantly raised his hands and prepared to unleash his newfound power.

"Combustion!"

Boom!

A colossal inferno erupted, swallowing the Rendil Temple and everyone within it...