As the leader of the Sons of Calydon, Caesar's strength was beyond question.
She effortlessly took down the Ethereals in front of her.
Then, following Belle's guidance, she took Eous and went to search for Clorinde and Billy.
Fortunately, they soon spotted Clorinde and Billy up ahead. Both had regained consciousness and were unharmed.
Caesar rushed over, holding Eous. "Clorinde, Billy, are you two alright?"
Billy, looking dejected, said, "We're fine, but the bikes are gone. Boss, what do we do now?"
The earlier explosion had caught them off guard, knocking them out instantly.
Strangely, neither of them had sustained any injuries. When they came to, they were already here.
Caesar turned to Belle. "Proxy, it's up to you."
Belle smiled. "Relax. I installed trackers on the motorcycles ahead of time. We'll locate them in no time."
At that, Billy perked up. "No wonder you're the manager—you think of everything. Let's hurry and find them!"
Belle, through Eous, said, "Follow me…"
She led Caesar and the others toward a fork in the path.
Before they could locate the motorcycles, a few Ethereals blocked their way.
Thankfully, they were just common types—nothing difficult.
Caesar, Billy, and Clorinde made quick work of them.
As they stood over the shattered remains, Clorinde looked thoughtfully at the black fragments. "So these are the Ethereals you mentioned?"
Compared to the monsters in Fontaine, these were strange. Their energy didn't resemble Hydro, Anemo, or Electro—none of the seven elements she knew.
Even Caesar and Billy radiated something unfamiliar. Not any element she recognized.
Could it be a new element? Or some other type of power?
Clorinde wasn't a god—she could only trust her instincts. She had no way to be sure.
Just then, Billy suddenly pointed. "Boss, look over there—is that Mors from The Vanquishers?"
Belle quickly whispered, "Keep your voice down. Listen to what he's saying."
They ducked behind a nearby structure.
From the shadows, they saw Mors communicating with Pompey, the Vanquishers' leader. From their exchange, it was clear Pompey was nearing the Lake of Fire.
The Vanquishers were close.
The chances of the Sons of Calydon turning the tide were growing slim.
Billy frowned. "They're supposed to be taking another route. Why is Mors here? Boss, you were right—those explosions must've been their doing."
Clorinde nodded. "All evidence points that way."
Caesar, however, looked uncertain. "But from that call, Pompey didn't seem to know about the explosions."
Billy's eyes widened. "So Mors acted on his own? Damn it. I'm going to grab that bastard and expose the Vanquishers for what they are!"
"Shh! Quiet down," Belle hissed.
"He heard you," Clorinde said calmly.
Sure enough, Mors had spotted them. He was already on alert, glaring in their direction.
"Well, well... what a coincidence, Caesar, Billy."
"Mors, mind explaining what you're doing here?"
"Told you—it's just a coincidence."
Billy growled, "Boss, forget talking. Let's drag him to the Lake of Fire and toss him in."
No prompting was needed—Caesar had already drawn her shield and sword.
With yesterday's ambush and today's attack, there was no way she'd let Mors walk away.
"Mors, surrender. You're not getting out of this."
"With just the three of you? Dream on."
"Billy, take him alive. Clorinde, cut off his right—don't let him slip away."
The three launched their assault together.
Caesar alone was more than enough to overpower Mors in a straight fight.
But Mors didn't rely on power—he relied on speed. Catching him was the hard part.
Luckily, this time, it was three-on-one.
Just as Caesar had Mors on the ropes, and Clorinde and Billy were closing in from both sides—
An Ethereal suddenly leapt down from a nearby building, landing squarely between them and Mors.
The ambush completely disrupted their plan.
"Mors, you're not getting away!" Caesar shouted.
But Mors, clutching his wounded chest, staggered back. "Goodbye, Caesar. Billy. You'd better deal with that thing first."
And with that, he turned and fled, limping away.
"Coward!" Caesar roared. "You won't get away with this!"
"I'll go after him—" Billy started to run, but the Ethereal blocked his path before he could take more than a few steps.
"Billy, Clorinde, deal with this thing first," Caesar ordered.
Clorinde nodded. "Leave it to me."
The Ethereal wasn't hard to handle—just time-consuming.
A few minutes later, the three of them had taken it down.
Then Belle's voice echoed from nearby. "Over here! I found the bikes!"
Caesar lit up. "Perfect. Clorinde, Billy, we're out of time. Let's get to the Lake of Fire."
"Right," Clorinde agreed.
Billy scowled. "We're not letting Mors off the hook."
They quickly pulled the bikes from the debris. Other than being dusty, they were completely intact.
Mounting up, they followed Caesar's lead and headed for the lake.
"Clorinde, Billy, Proxy—stay sharp. We're almost at Cinder Lake…"
As they neared their destination, Belle received a message from Fairy and relayed it to the group.
"The Ether concentration and activity near the Lake of Fire is spiking fast. Something's definitely wrong."
Caesar's heart sank. "What? Did Pompey fail? Did he not destroy the Ether crystals?"
Billy shouted, "No matter what's going on, Boss—we're making the Vanquishers pay for what they did during the race!"
Caesar nodded grimly. "Come on. The lake is just ahead."