Nega Nebulas and Great Wall were going to duel for Setagaya Area 1, which had been previously occupied by Great Wall following the fall of the first Nega Nebulas. This had been done as part of Graphite Edge's compensation for joining Great Wall.

The rules for the Territory Battles were the same as they had always been, a 50% win rate for the entire legion. This time however, due to Kuroyukihime having problems with her connection, she was forbidden from participating, but for better or for worse, this didn't mean the Green King's withdrawal. For the most part, he liked to stay away from battles, though his true intentions were unclear as always.

If Nega Nebulas acquired at least four wins from this Territory Battle, they could start conquering the rest of Setagaya Ward using Area 1 as a foothold.

"HEY HEY HEY! MEGA-LONG TIME NO SEE, CROW!"

For a while, Haruyuki was eager to meet his long-time rival and the first Burst Linker he ever dueled, Ash Roller. Himself a Level 7 nearing Level 8, Ash firmly decided to give it his all in this duel.

"Yeah, same here, Ash-san!"

Haruyuki returned the honors. With the pleasantries taken care of, they readied their battle positions, to prepare for a fantastic duel. With Crow's body upright, and Ash's V-Twin motorcycle revved up, they were eagerly waiting for the counter to finish.

Meanwhile, some old rivals were about to cross blades after a long time. The master of the Ain Style, the Anomaly, Graphite Edge. The master of the Omega Style, Suzukawa Seri, also known as the Omega Weapon, Centaurea Sentry. As they were among the few Burst Linkers that could use swords and the best in their craft, they had each been desiring a duel where they would face off in their strongest, though that opportunity was lost when Sentry gave herself to the Armor of Catastrophe and had to be put down by the Blue King.

But a second chance had finally been given. Graph had caught wind about Sentry's revival in the accelerated world back in July. A chance for a final faceoff had been granted to them through this Territory battle, though Graph was the one who had specifically set this up to happen. He set out a list of terms for today's Territory Battle, and one of those was the inclusion of Sentry in Nega Nebulas' team.

"Long time no see, Anomaly."

"Man, I never would've thought this was possible, but I'm glad. We finally get to settle our score."

"Let's give it our all and make this a satisfactory duel."

But they were not the only ones with a rivalry at hand. There was also Fuuko – Sky Raker – of Nega Nebulas' Elements and Iron Pound of Great Wall's Six Armors. They had both been active participants in Territory Battles for more than a month and almost always fought against each other.

"Good to see you haven't changed, Gen-chan."

"Same goes for you, Raker."

3…

2…

1…

The battle had begun.

Ash put full throttle on his End of Century bike, ready to smash down Crow. However Haruyuki, having grown from the countless number of battles he had against him, always had a new trick up his sleeve.

They had a strong sense of rivalry and kinship with one another. This is because, aside from the Territory Battles, they used to duel each other every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. They each had fans from all the legions who would come to their Galleries every time their duels were starting. Because of this, they had to put on a spectacle for everyone who was watching, even from their enemy legions.

"Alright, let's see what tricks you got today, Ash-san."

Haruyuki readied his silver wings, and flew full throttle towards Ash's bike. However, Ash would intercept him on his bike using a style of daredevil combat.

Though Ash was not a strong believer of Incarnation, in part due to his own pride and the ISS Kits that ate away at the user's negative emotions, he ultimately had to use it in a similar manner as his 'parent', Raker did for her wheelchair.

This was because he could not keep focusing on driving his bike and engaging in combat at once. Therefore, the only solution was to leave one task to the subconscious, in other words, to the Incarnate System, and fight Crow to his heart's content affixed to his bike.

"Yes, this is MEGA-EXCITING, Crow! Dueling with you is always fun!"

The duel kept getting more and more intense like this, with Ash nearly falling off his bike once or twice and still managing to bring himself back up.

Compared to the wild duel of the century, Graph and Sentry were locked in stance as the two samurai were ready to strike with their ultimate killer move.

"Elucidator!"

"Omega Style – Setsu!"

Ain Style was the pinnacle of Incarnation, which was the user's feelings overwriting the system, powerful enough to connect to the Highest Level, while Omega Style was the pinnacle of system logic.

Their blades clashed, one visible and another invisible, causing a ripple from the overriding forces of both styles. But Graph wanted to keep fighting her until the ripples were powerful enough. As a result, the fabric tying Brain Burst together was torn, leaving behind holes connecting to the Highest Level.

Elsewhere, the two Kings Niko and Kuroyukihime were guarding the flag for Nega Nebulas' territory. But Kuroyukihime was simply a broken doll at this point, leaving Niko to do most of the work.

"Tch, why do I have to be the guard?"

"Sorry, Rain. If I were fit for battle, I would've helped you. Please bear with it for a while. Besides, your long-range fighting style works best for defending this place."

"I don't need you to tell me that!", Niko pouted, using very similar words that Kuroyukihime used a while back, before looking through her scope. "Oh great, the big man just HAS to show up."

The Green King, Green Grandee was about to join them in battle. He clearly should have got the message that Kuroyukihime was feeling a sort of 'Burst Linker sickness' right before the Territory Battles, which meant he was here for Scarlet Rain – Niko.

Sure enough, he pointed his finger at the Red King's Enhanced Armament, Invincible, indirectly stating that he wanted to battle her.

"As you wish, old man! Let's blast away! Hailstorm Domination!"

She fired several missiles and bullets at Grandee, but he deflected them all with his seemingly impenetrable shield.

Meanwhile, Fuuko and Pound had started their duel. Pound was backed by Suntan Chafer, another one of the Six Armors. She too had a strong rivalry with Fuuko.

Without the use of her wheelchair, Fuuko was fiercely engaged in fisticuffs with Pound and Chafer, skilfully dodging and countering their moves. She had the upper hand even though it was two against one. And what's more…

"Cyan Spike!"

Takumu – Cyan Pile – sent Chafer away.

"We're leaving it to you, Pard!"

"K."

After saying that, Blood Leopard jumped over Takumu and ran straight towards Great Wall's flag.

"How dare you!"

"Sorry, but your opponent is me. Cyan Blade!"

Takumu called out his Incarnate technique, transforming his pile driver into something that looked like a shinai sword.

Chiyuri – Lime Bell – also joined in the offensive. Though she was primarily a healer, Chiyuri had a great deal of offensive power packed in her bell, making her a fighting force to be reckoned with.

"Alright, let's do this, Chi- Bell!", Takumu said, almost letting her real name slip out.

"Okay!"

In the meanwhile, Pard ran straight, narrowly dodging Pound's fist in the process as he realized what was going on. She had nearly touched Great Wall's defense post, when…

A disturbance occurred.

Two beacons of light emerged from the Highest Level and disrupted the entire accelerated world. Haruyuki and Ash were shaken as a result of the tremors occurring.

"Whoa, what's happening?"

"They are coming."

"Wait, they? Who are they?"

"MEGA-DUNNO! Graph told us about them, but refused to say anything else."

Just then, Haruyuki had a bizarre flash of memory.

"Wait, this… this feels familiar somehow."

Meanwhile, near the center of the disturbance:

"Hmm, did you feel that, Anomaly?"

"Yeah, though I was the one who waited for this to happen. Sorry, Sentry, but we'll have to continue this duel some other time."

"…I see."

Graph instantly logged out without providing any further explanation.

At the same time, the disturbance caused a direct interference on Kuroyukihime's Fluctlight.

"What are… these memories…? Ahhhhh!"

She felt a huge strain of memories which ended up paralyzing her. She writhed in pain as a result, with her visor flickering on and off.

Niko heard Kuroyukihime's scream, and so did Grandee. He signalled her to stop her onslaught of missiles by raising his hand. Having got the signal, Niko disengaged her Enhanced Armament and ran over to Kuroyukihime.

"Lotus!"

"Rain… I…"

Immediately after saying that, her visor permanently shut off, and her duel avatar stopped functioning. Though it appeared to be Zero Fill, it actually wasn't. Her Fluctlight was instead separated from her duel avatar and dragged to a faraway place. Niko proceeded to make a military-style distress call to Fuuko.

"Raker, can you hear me? Lotus is down. Repeat, Lotus is down."

"Understood. Everyone, we'll have to cancel today's Territories. Now, BURST OUT!"

Uttering this command, Fuuko and the rest quickly exited the duel field, leaving behind Lotus' avatar. After entering back into the real world, Fuuko and Chiyuri quickly caught Kuroyukihime's lifeless body.

"Sacchan…"

"Senpai…"

"…Just what happened?", they both said in unison.

"Dammit!", Niko remarked. "Why does she have to be so stubborn and throw herself in like that?!"

"Unfortunately, that's who she is.", Fuuko replied. "But anyways, this is a serious issue. If possible, I would like to not take her to the hospital in case any Burst Linkers try to infiltrate there."

She then turned to Haruyuki.

"Karasu-san, shall we use your place?"

"Y-Yes…"