Felmer and Anderson kept running deep into the forest. They didn’t think of looking back once.
“Faster, Anderson, faster…” Felmer shouted, cold sweat running down his face.
As they ran, they heard various sounds behind and around them. The sounds grew closer with each passing second.
Felmer looked back, and from the bushes, a masked man emerged. Rather than attacking Felmer, he lunged at Anderson and hit him on the head.
Anderson fell unconscious from the blow, crashing to the ground. The masked man lifted his sword to stab Anderson. Felmer stopped abruptly, balanced himself, and turned towards the masked man.
But before he could act, another man emerged behind the masked man and stabbed him in the heart.
“Don’t worry, Mister Felmer. I am from the Eclipse, and my name is Oscar…” Oscar politely introduced himself, smiling. “You two are safe with me…”
Just as he completed his introduction, two masked men approached him from the right and left. Oscar defended against one, and to avoid the other, he ducked. He summoned a repulsion orb, grabbed Anderson by the collar and retreated towards Felmer.
“I think you should continue running. Your friend is under my protection. They won’t lay a finger on him…” Oscar said, charging his sword with magic. “GO!”
Felmer nodded, trembling and began running towards the forest exit.
The masked men stood up slowly and looked at Oscar, angry. They imbued their swords with magic and charged at Oscar. Oscar slowly placed Anderson on the ground and countered the attack.
“Wind Art, Death Gusts.”
Violent gusts of wind rushed at the two masked men, but after a struggle, they defended.
Oscar’s eyes caught movement to his right, and he saw another swordsman dash towards Felmer.
“No…” Oscar tried to stop him, but the two masked men lunged at him, giving him no chance to act.
Far away, an archer imbued his arrow with magic and aimed at Felmer. He held his breath and adjusted the aim.
“Run…” Felmer whispered to himself.
The swordsman approached Felmer, slowly and slowly.
Running swiftly, a thought flashed in his mind.
“Why am I running?”
His pace began to slow down.
“Weren’t I supposed to fight alongside my friends? Then why am I running?”
His pace kept decreasing.
“What was the point of all bravery? What was the point of all the training if I had to run? Why am I becoming a coward?”
He began to jog.
“Because I am an heir? Heir my ass…I am fighting…I am not running.”
Felmer made up his mind, skidded, and came to a halt.
“Well done, kid. Just keep standing like that…” The archer whispered, smiling.
“Perceive the waves…” Felmer said to himself, eyes closed.
The swordsman got closer.
In a few seconds, Felmer detected many waves.
“Magical presence far away, and someone rushing at me.” He mumbled, understanding the waves.
The archer took another deep breath and released the arrow. The magical arrow cut through the air and leaves, rushing at Felmer.
“Wait…” He said, waiting for the right moment.
The arrow travelled at immense speed, breaking any branch in its path.
As the arrow arrived, Felmer opened his eyes.
“Now…” Felmer swiftly moved his arm and placed his sword in front of the arrow.
The arrow hit the sword, and the impact pushed him slightly.
“What!?” The archer shouted, shocked.
“Now for the other…” Felmer said, moving his eyes towards the swordsman.
‘I am bad at magic, but there is no time to hesitate at all. Go all out…’ He said to himself, the cyan light shining brightly in his eyes.
As the swordsman arrived at a striking distance, Felmer cast his Art.
“Flame Art, Burning Hell,”
Felmer lifted his right foot and stomped it on the ground. Sparks rose from his foot and spread in all directions. The cyan-coloured sparks fell onto the grass and lit the ground. The grass immediately caught fire, and the cyan flames engulfed the ground up to five meters.
The swordsman, unable to stop at the right moment, stepped into the cyan flame, his clothes catching fire.
“AGHHH!!!” The man screamed in immense pain.
Felmer imbued his magic into the sword, the cyan flame covering the blade. Felmer moved his left foot forward, pulled back his sword, and landed a blow at the man. The blade cut through the man’s chest, and the cyan flames devoured him.
The man, covered in cyan flame, ran here and there, screaming. After a few seconds, the man fell and turned into ashes.
Felmer smiled and whispered
“Art delivered.”
…
Walter wasted no time and lunged at Marco. Marco leaned back, threw away his rifle, drew his handgun and fired at Walter.
Walter dodged the bullets with his swift movements and attacked Marco. Marco immediately drew his sword and blocked Walter’s attack.
Walter pulled back his sword, hardened it with his Earth Art, and went for Marco’s head. Marco ducked and kicked Walter in the chest.
Walter walked back a few steps and observed Marco, waiting for him to make a move. Marco transferred his water magic into the sword and slowly walked towards Walter.
Marco took a step, but Walter acted faster and attacked from Marco’s left. Marco blocked the attack and took back a step. Then Walter also retreated a step and cast an Art.
“Sword Art, Repulsion”
Walter thrust his sword at Marco’s face. Marco moved to the side, but the Art’s effect repelled him with immense force, sending him straight into a tree.
Walter wasted no time and rushed at Marco. Marco, without caring for his bleeding head, ran to grab his rifle. He grabbed it by the barrel and swung it at Walter. Walter miscalculated, and the rifle’s stock hit him hard on the head.
Marco pulled out his dagger and jumped at Walter. He was about to stab Walter’s neck, but Walter stopped his arm with his left hand. Marco pushed hard, using all his strength. Walter held Marco’s hand for as long as possible. He pulled out a knife with his right hand and pushed it into Marco’s left thigh.
“Aghhhh!” Marco screamed his heart out.
Walter punched Marco in the face and tried to stand up.
Marco lay on the ground, groaning in pain.
Walter’s vision blurred as he felt immense pain in his head.
Marco pulled the knife and threw it away.
“You bastard!” Marco shouted, grabbed his rifle and stood up, leaning on his rifle.
Taking heavy steps, Marco walked towards Walter. Balancing himself, he lifted his rifle and again hit Walter in the head. Marco lost balance and fell.
Walter again fell to the ground, trying his best to remain conscious. He saw a rock and grabbed it. Walter turned and crawled with all his might.
Marco looked above, and a rock came at his face.
Walter sat on one knee, grabbed Marco by the hair and smashed his face with the rock. He hit and hit until no life was left in Marco’s body.
Walter looked at the evening sky, then all around him. It was slowly turning dark.
“Marco?” A man said, struck with shock.
‘Wrong timing…’ Walter thought and turned around.
A man with brown hair stood there, looking at Marco’s corpse.
It was Jack.
Jack looked at Walter, grief and anger absorbing him.
“I will kill you, bastard!” Jack shouted and ran at Walter like a psycho.
Before he could reach Walter, an invisible wall of wind appeared in front of him, and he crashed hard into it.
Irnik dashed past Jack and stood near Walter, pointing his sword at Jack.
“What’s up, Walter? Are you fine?” Irnik asked, smiling.
“Heh…Do I look fine?” Walter took a deep breath. “I never thought of coming across you, especially here.” He said softly, and he fainted.
“Well, rest. I will take him on.”
Jack stood up slowly and looked at Irnik.
“Fine…I will kill you too…” Jack clenched his fists.
“Shall we start, if you have stopped dreaming?”
…
Alice sat behind a tree trunk and scanned the forest, looking for the archer who attacked them. She detected the magical waves and detected not one, but three magical auras around her.
‘There are three archers, and only one has high magic.’ She thought, pulling an arrow from her quiver.
She again perceived the waves and located the archer. Through the waves, she aimed at the archer, charging the arrow with magic.
“Wind Art, Quiet Walker.”
Adjusting her aim, she released the arrow. The arrow silently cut through the air and pierced the enemy archer’s neck.
“One down, two to go…” She whispered.
Then she turned to her right and saw the second archer, aiming at Felmer. She was about to target the archer, but she stopped, shocked.
‘He isn’t running, just standing, eyes closed. What is he trying to do?’ Alice thought, quietly observing.
Soon, the archer shot at Felmer. Felmer moved his sword at the right time and blocked the arrow.
‘That was clever…’ Alice smiled, impressed.
But her smile vanished as soon as she spotted the swordsman. But before she could make a move, Felmer used his Art and burned the swordsman to a crisp.
‘Commander Irfika was right to call him an interesting kid…’ Alice nodded slightly, pulling another arrow. ‘Good work, kid. Now, I will handle those archers…’
She aimed at the archer’s back, imbued the arrow with magic, and fired. The arrow shrieked through the air and killed the archer.
‘Now, the next one…’
Alice turned around and immediately tilted her head, a magical arrow barely missing her head. Without a thought, she rolled to her left and hid behind a thick tree, followed by two more arrows.
‘He found me first, sharp he is…’
Far away, Roosevelt took another arrow and aimed at the tree.
‘Nice moves, miss. But you are not escaping me…’
Roosevelt activated an Art.
“Water Art, Transparent Vision”
After a few seconds, his Art enabled him to see a faint silhouette of Alice. He charged the arrow with immense magic, took a deep breath, and fired.
Alice’s instincts fired up, and she ducked her head as the arrow cut through the thick trunk.
‘Thanks for revealing your location…’ Alice chuckled.
Alice took two arrows, turned, leapt to her left and fired in the direction of Roosevelt.
Roosevelt didn’t flinch and fired another arrow at Alice as her arrows went past him. Alice fired two more, but missed. Roosevelt followed her patiently and fired at the right time. But Alice’s reflexes were fast, and she successfully dodged the arrow.
Roosevelt tried to find her, but an arrow came at him out of nowhere, forcing him to move. He leapt to his left and took cover behind a tree.
“Not bad…’ Roosevelt pulled out an arrow, preparing to attack. He looked to his right, and his eyes stuck, boiling with absolute rage.
At some distance, Irnik grabbed the beaten Jack by the collar and looked at him, smiling. He lifted his sword and stabbed Jack in the heart.
“The job’s done…” Irnik released his grip, and Jack’s lifeless body fell on the ground with a thud.
Roosevelt, consumed by anger, turned at Irnik and fired without aiming.
Irnik failed to notice the arrow, and it struck him in his right arm. He groaned, pulled out the arrow, and ran behind a tree.
This mistake was enough for Alice to make her move.
‘Not a big fan of hand-to-hand combat, but I don’t have a choice…” Alice thought, running towards Roosevelt.
She jumped to land a flying kick at Roosevelt. Roosevelt, eyes red, turned to block with his bow, but Alice’s kick broke it in half.
Roosevelt didn’t hesitate. He threw away the broken bow and punched Alice before she could regain her balance. Alice fell and tried to get up as Roosevelt rushed at her. She rolled to the side, got onto her hands, and kicked Roosevelt in the face. Roosevelt regained his balance and stood still, watching Alice.
Alice didn’t waste any time and lunged at Roosevelt. Roosevelt, waiting for her to move first, grabbed her by the arm and hit her in the abdomen with his knee.
Alice coughed, followed by another punch to the forehead. Then he grabbed her by the neck and bashed her head straight into a tree.
Alice fell with a thud, her vision slowly fading. But she held herself together and tried to stand up. Roosevelt jumped on her and punched like a mad dog. He tightly grabbed her throat, choking her.
Alice struggled, but Roosevelt didn’t budge at all. Suddenly, Roosevelt’s movements came to a complete halt. He looked at Alice, eyes wide open. Alice pulled her little knife from Roosevelt’s abdomen and punched him.
Roosevelt stared at the sky and mumbled, breathing heavily.
“Jack…I ho-pe…we…”
His words stuck in his throat, and the light in his eyes…left, never to come back.
Alice slowly stood up, coughed, and adjusted her hair. Then she took her water bottle, washed her face, and walked away.
…
Near the northeast point, at night.
Williams signalled his soldiers to attack Irfika, and all five of them lunged at him. Irfika summoned his sword, blocked the first attack, deflected the second, and kicked the third attacker. He leapt to his right, and Williams rushed at him.
“Wind Art, Piercer.”
Williams cast his Art and swung it horizontally, generating multiple sharp wind blades. But Irfika didn’t flinch. He imbued more magic into his sword and stopped the wind blades. Williams immediately dashed and went for a forward thrust. Irfika swung his sword, obstructed the strike, and kicked Williams’ chin.
At the same time, a soldier jumped at Irfika.
“Flame Art, Fire Dogs.”
The soldier cast his Art, summoning five dogs of fire. The dogs leapt at Irfika, and Irfika swung his sword, killing two on the spot. He stomped on the face of one and killed the remaining two. The soldier, covering his sword with fire, dashed at Irfika.
Irfika pulled his sword, imbued it with magic, and struck the soldier before he could make a move, injuring his arm.
Suddenly, Irfika heard a voice behind him.
“Water Art, Hailstorm.”
Williams cast his Art, boiling with rage.
At once, dark clouds covered the sky, and a violent hailstorm fell on them. Before Irfika could counter the Art, another soldier used his Flame Art and vaporised the hail. Irfika, confused, turned and got punched in the face by Williams.
‘This is my opportunity. I must not let him make a move at all…’ Williams thought, punching Irfika again and again.
He punched from left, right, below, and above, using every opening he could. Irfika understood Williams’ moves, tilted his face to the left, and grabbed Williams’ incoming punch. Irfika twisted his arm and kicked him in the chest.
But before he could make further moves, countless air bolts came at him. Irfika, using his fast reflexes, dodged almost all of them, but got hit in the thigh by one.
‘Dang it…They are spamming to pin me down…’ Irfika gritted his teeth, figuring out the enemy’s strategy.
More attacks, a mix of water, air, and wind Arts, followed, injuring Irfika. But Irfika used his powers and healed his wounds.
‘This is not going to work out like this…’
Williams, bleeding badly, used his Art.
“Water Art, Water Beasts.”
He used almost all his strength, generating countless massive beasts of water, each reaching 12 feet or higher.
“Let’s see how you will survive this…” Williams chuckled, blood dripping down his chin.
‘Hah…I didn’t want to use that Art, but I think I have to use the other one…’
“Why are you hesitating? You have full control over my Art. Use it and finish them…” A voice spoke menacingly inside Irfika.
“Once again, shut up…” Irfika silenced the mysterious voice.
Irfika straightened and smiled. He lifted his palm and held it at his eye level, focusing magic into it.
“Thirty years ago, a big leap was made in the branch of Combat Magic when the Golden Mage and I discovered a type of Art. An Art type which could level countries and lands alike. A type even the heavens feared.”
Red and black streaks began to converge above Irfika’s palm.
‘Wait…This information…It reminds me of something…’ Williams thought, sensing familiarity.
“After I killed the Golden Mage, I became the only wielder of that type. And now, I will demonstrate it to you…”
The red and black streaks began to spin violently, forming a ball and lighting up the dark forest,
‘Now, I remember. The type is…Art of Annihilation!’ Realisation struck Williams.
“Art of Annihilation…” Irfika smiled.
Fear engulfed Williams, and he shouted with all his might, “Soldiers! Retreat!”
The soldiers turned around to run, but it was too late.
“Convergence…”
As Irfika cast the Art, the ball began to pull the forest towards it. The ground pulled towards it and tore up like fabric.
Williams and his squad ran with all their might to escape the attack radius, but the pull was too powerful.
The ball pulled the ground alongside Williams, his squad and the trees, folding it all around itself like paper.
Irfika stood above a black void, smiling.
‘This is fun…’
The ball grew heavier with each passing second, and finally Irfika unleashed the Art.
“…Expansion!”
In a split second, the ball exploded violently, releasing a destructive shockwave that flattened the trees for up to 300 meters.
“The job’s done…”
Chapter discussion