Leon's shout ended!
Whoosh!
Red-orange flames suddenly erupted from Shion's body with violent intensity! Waves of heat spread throughout the lab in an instant! Light from the flames blazed out, driving away the darkness and revealing the fierce determination burning in the girl's amber eyes!
It looked like they'd planned something together ahead of time!
Volt's eyes went wide in shock! He never thought the girl who looked completely weak would still have enough power left to do something like this! He quickly got ready to release electrical waves to stop them!
But before he could act, a massive flaming fist formed from the fire raging around Shion! It shot straight at Volt's face at high speed!
Volt cursed in frustration! He had to roll away from the fire punch clumsily! The explosion from the missed punch made the lab floor shake!
Soon a towering wall of fire appeared! It cut between him and Leon and Shion! Its intense heat warped the air around it!
Leon, who'd been secretly untying his ropes for a while now, didn't waste time! He seized this golden opportunity! Got ready to run up the stairs to the upper floor immediately!
But then Shion's body, which had been standing so defiantly, suddenly collapsed to the floor! The flames that had been blazing around her went out! Only hot air and terrible burn marks appeared across her body! She looked awful!
"Shion!!!" Leon cried out in complete shock! He stopped dead in his tracks! I... I can't leave her here alone! The thought hit him instantly!
Leon made his decision in a split second! He quickly turned back! Carefully scooped up Shion's weak, burning hot body in his arms! Then he ran up the stairs to the upper floor again!
But while Leon was struggling to carry Shion up the stairs, Volt managed to use his electrical power to break through the weakening flames! His face was blackened with soot! His eyes blazed with fury!
"Where do you think you're going?!" Volt roared! Then he sent another electrical wave at Leon!
Bzzt! Bzzt!
The sound of electrical shocks rang out continuously! Even though the electricity without Volt's special device wasn't strong enough to knock Leon out immediately, the constant energy waves made his body go numb and slow down! He gritted his teeth! Tried to fight through the pain! Carefully protected Shion in his arms! Climbed the stairs one step at a time with great difficulty!
Suddenly his eyes caught sight of something sitting on a shelf beside the stairs!
That... that might work! Leon thought quickly!
He carefully leaned Shion against the wall, then reached out to grab a large ceramic flower pot from the shelf! He put all his strength into it and hurled it at Volt, who was climbing the stairs after them!
Crash!!!
The sound of the pot shattering! Dirt and pottery pieces splattered across Volt's face hard!
"Ahhh! You little brat!!!" Volt screamed in pain and rage! He raised his hands to brush the dirt off his face, his eyes glowing red as he glared at Leon with hatred! Then he started releasing even more violent electrical currents!
"Ugh... this is such a pain..." Leon cursed in frustration. He tried to pick up Shion again to keep running, but it looked like he wouldn't make it in time! Volt was climbing the stairs right behind them!
"Think you can escape me... little boy..." Volt grinned like he held all the cards!
But before Volt could do anything more—
"Wh-what's going on, Mr. Mayor?"
The trembling voice of the same elderly maid came from the upstairs hallway! It seemed she'd heard all the shouting and had to come see!
Volt hesitated slightly when he saw the maid appear! Annoyance flashed across his face! But he didn't plan to pay any attention to the old woman!
However... that split second of hesitation was enough for Leon!
He gathered all his remaining strength! Used his shoulder to ram into Volt's chest while he was distracted! Then kicked the man in the stomach with full force!
Thud!
Volt, who hadn't been ready, lost his balance! He tumbled down the stairs rolling! His pained cries rang out!
The elderly maid saw everything and screamed in complete shock!
"Damn those little brats!" Volt rubbed his head lightly before struggling to his feet! His eyes blazed with hatred! He immediately ran back up the stairs!
But Leon didn't wait! He picked up Shion again! Then ran out of the mansion for his life!
"Shion! Shion! Wake up! Hey!!!" Leon shouted the girl's name while running, weaving randomly into the thick forest outside Sunstone Town with no direction! Sweat poured down his body! His heart pounded from exhaustion and fear! He had no idea which way he was going or what he'd run into! He only knew he had to get Shion as far away as possible!
On Volt's side, after tumbling to the floor, he immediately ran back into the secret lab! "Can't believe I got careless like that!" he cursed at himself in frustration! Then he quickly grabbed the same special metal arm guard and put it on again! When blue electrical sparks started crackling from the device, he immediately ran after Leon and Shion's trail outside the mansion!
But when he followed them to the edge of the forest, he couldn't find any trace of the two kids! They'd vanished into the darkness and complexity of the thick woods!
"Heh... you two can't run far..." Volt grinned wickedly, his eyes sparkling with determination to hunt them down. "This forest... it's like my home!"
He walked into the thick forest after them... A new round of fierce hunting was about to begin...