Into the Oblivion - 34. Chance: Que Sera, Sera

A golden glow had covered the body of the person beside me. Even his sweat looked like it glimmered. Then the avroi in the atmosphere rose steadily. And I just gawked at him. A two-handed sword summoned itself from behind the guy. His hand grabbed it and dashed towards one of the enemies that were prowling.

The guy was fearless as he hacked and slashed, wasting no slight moment for the enemy to make a comeback. It was easy for him to switch weapons with a quick flick of a hand. Battle was natural to him. Confronting it became his lifeline. And it turned into some sort of madness within.

Behind him was a prowling creature. It looked ready to pounce on him, so I took the chance to push it away with my gravity magic. In the next few minutes, I was able to adapt to his raw fighting style. He was my sword and shield. And I was his feet. My gravity magic was useful in helping him dodge potentially fatal attacks from behind. Then I would pull him back near me like he was some sort of human puppet who could really create damage.

It went on for the next few minutes as we drove through more enemies. I was the puppet master who stayed away from a safe distance. But I could still defend myself. Morsus was still nowhere to be found during the chaos. I would look around every now and then to check if anyone was familiar with the scene.

There was none. I didn’t even know the name of this other mage.

Noise. It was all I could hear. All the people around us seemed to have fallen under a bliss of chaos. They ran wherever they could. People were screaming and crying and wailing until their lungs gave out. Flames were ablaze in some of the contraptions. Tents were ripped. Along with random bodies of unnamed people that were probably my neighbors. Everything was just chaotic.

Suddenly, I was thrown a few feet away as if an invisible truck rammed me from my side. Thankfully, the mark was active at that time. I had the extra durable skin to withstood the crash in one of the stalls. I didn’t waste time and stood up right away. A woman in dark clothing was in view, but most of her face was covered with a faceless white mask and a dark hood.

The warrior guy took notice and charged at her with no hesitation. It was a massively reckless assault as he, too, was swept off his feet. The only advantage he had was his magically enhanced strength layered underneath his armor. Even a massive guy like that clad in metallic protection was rendered powerless with the invisible ranged attack. I checked if it was gravity magic, too. But it wasn’t. The nature of avroi used for that attack was different.

I braced myself for another attack because we were left open. However, she didn’t. Instead, she just stopped in the middle of the field. Her hands started to glow, and streams of lightning erupted on the ground around her. As I stood up, a ritual circle was slowly being formed. The mysterious woman positioned her hands together. A ball of avroi emerged, and I could sense the insane density that was shooting up on it. I was really astonished at the amount of avroi being generated from her body that it was indeed impossible. And when something like that happens, it was not good at all.

From a distance, I saw the athletic warrior walking back to the battlefield. A weird grin was on his face as if a challenge was set before him. It would be the same strategy. He would relentlessly attack as I attempt to look for a vulnerability. There should always be a form of weakness in every mage, after all. But I observed the woman didn’t both to even look at us. Its entire focus was on the ball of avroi that was being charged. I then noticed that the streams of lightning were an intense amount of avroi that was turned visible. And based on the flow, it was coming from the ground.

The athletic guy charged with a loud battle cry. I thought he was a mindless goon who knew nothing but attack relentlessly. However, he stopped at the last moment when the woman raised her hand. Then he side-stepped with such agility. I sensed the invisible force that went into a straight-line. The guy efficiently dodged it and summoned a lance. I made my move and supported from behind.

With a piercing attack, he attempted to assault his opponent. But the woman managed to dodge it effectively. She had no choice but to let go of the ball of avroi to avoid getting hurt. The thing hovered and unmoved in the air, suspended by the streams of lightning that shot upwards from the ground. Then I sensed something powerful coming from it, so I pulled my ally backward as the avroi ball erupted with a pulse of energy. Even the woman was sent a couple of feet away.

Yet, she was determined. A couple of energy waves erupted again before recovering and dived for the avroi ball. The woman quickly managed to re-stabilize the ball of energy. Whatever it was, it was for something big. And it was a rhetorical idea to stop it at all costs.

My companion and I nodded at each other, and there was this mysterious synergy between us. I took the initiative and assaulted the opponent with a barrage of dark blades. Thanks to my extra avroi, summoning weapons consecutively barely diminished my strength. My ally dashed to the side as I commanded my weapons to disperse into a cloud of black dust on the enemy’s contact. He summoned a spear and threw it straight into the smokescreen I made.

However, the spear went through the black cloud. In my hand, I had my next spell ready, but my ally summoned another spear. He threw it again and got the same result. That only meant that the woman was able to sense the incoming attack. Then she suddenly emerged from the black cloud and threw a couple of daggers. My ally deflected them successfully as I launched my gravity spell against her. It swept her off her feet, and since it was literally a blast of avroi, I used it to drag her down. With sheer force of gravity, I pinned her to the ground.

Then a pulse of energy erupted from my dissipated smokescreen, and a static shock was felt. My ally and I were frozen momentarily, and my focus was easily disrupted. Our opponent managed to free herself from my magic and rolled back towards the glowing energy. She reached for it, and her body started to shimmer in a purple hue while the ball of avroi that was being compressed turned blue.

She furiously launched concentrated blasts of pure avroi at us, blowing both of us away. I stopped myself in mid-air with my gravity magic and reversed the force directly proportional to the strength she used at me. In a snap, I was shot back towards her. The woman got surprised and had her next attack ready. However, something started to appear in my vision. As she threw her next blast at me, I saw dozens of lines in mid-air, including the trajectory of her discharge. One of the strings passed through me, so I immediately knew that it would hit me. Slowly, I reached for the line and touched it. With my magic, I realigned it to my side. The blast still followed the trajectory that was derailed from my spot.

After that, I focused my avroi on my hand. Then landed a clean hit on her jaw with a sucker punch. She was thrown away to the ground. And the avroi ball behind me was immediately felt as it de-stabilized itself. I tried to contain it with my gravity magic and compressed the enormous amount of energy going wild. Despite the interruption, it continued to absorb the streams of lightning from the ground. I had to use both my hands in an attempt to leverage more of my mental-magical force to its compression.

It was exotic magic, and the only person that may have an idea to deal with this was Morsus or River. Plus, I doubt that the hooded woman was down for good. A sucker punch to the jaw wouldn’t be enough to take her down. She was pretty powerful for an opponent. The athletic guy appeared and ran up to me. He seemed to be disgruntled and stared at what I was holding.

“I need you to protect me.” I commanded. He seemed to be a skeptic with what I just told him. Then he looked around to see the potential adversaries that would take an interest. “My friends are coming soon, and they know what to do with this.”

“Look, brotha. I still have to look for my little brother and my girlfriend. Please understand that I need to protect them.” The guy pleaded. He seemed to be a frank person, and I just ended up frowning at him. Despite his size, he was still intimidated. But I couldn’t blame him. Half of my body was covered in a dark mark at that point. And at least one of my eyes was crimson red. Anyone would have been scared. “Those things are retreating. I have to go.”

“Fine.” I hissed. “Go look for your loved ones.”

“Thanks!” The guy replied. “How I wish we met in a different situation.”

“Me too.” I groaned. He just nodded back.

Then the guy left and ran towards the east. That may not be too good since it was the center of the plaza. Everyone was supposed to scatter outwards until they reached the outside of the barrier. I was sure that guy would still be stuck inside the event ground no matter what he did. But it was a better alternative than all of us getting stuck inside and get massacred.

Sharp pain pricked the back of my right eye. I winced in pain as my eyesight from the right side got slightly blurred. Whatever magic I used to see the trajectory lines must be tiring for my eyes. I had no choice but to close it in the meantime. I saw the woman walking back to me with energized hands at the ready at my left side.

She started blasting me again with raw avroi, and with a sheer effort, I opened my right eye. I saw the invisible trajectory lines again and realigned them away from my body. The projectiles followed their manipulated trajectories. Whatever this new power was, it rendered me invincible from incoming ranged attacks. But the pain in my right eye shattered my concentration. The dosage shot up, and I had to close it again.

The woman charged at me with her top speed. It was pretty fast as I tried to catch her with my left hand while my right hand held on to the ball of avroi. I was surprised by her strength and got pushed back. The raw avroi on her hands blazed to the rest of her body like wildfire. I had to step away from her and the ball. It was like she was being eaten with her purple flames as she grabbed the ball again.

But that was what she was aiming for. She took the ball from the lightning pedestal and raised it towards the sky. I tried to tackle her, but the avroi around her body turned into heated flames. It was impossible to get near her without getting burned along with her.

“Chance!” A voice called from behind. And when I looked back, I saw Jaden along with the rest of my friends. Despite what I looked like, they still ran towards me as if I was some sort of savior.

“Stay back!” I roared at them. It was that moment they saw my horrid and demonic looks from my mark. Then I faced my opponent as she amped up her flames so I couldn’t get near. “It’s too dangerous!“

I was not sure if they listened or not. And it was infuriating why I still cannot find anyone who was an ally. Morsus nor River wasn’t around. Heck, even Rei’s strong avroi wasn’t present. The event grounds were just too expansive to see each other easily. Based on the map, it was probably more extensive than Disneyland. As I faced my enemy, I stepped forward and pumped more avroi out from my mark. It gave me the strength to cover the area around her with gravitational force. Slowly, I tried to decompress the ball along with her. Space started to get warped as her limbs began to crack visibly. Even the flames that were going wild could not fight against gravity and looked like it was enclosed inside a crystal ball.

But then everything exploded from inside.

If it wasn’t for my gravity field that encased the opponent, my friends and I would have gotten burnt. And within that explosion, a blue comet shot up towards the sky. All of us stared at it as other comets from different spots also rose up to the sky simultaneously. The explosion got even more powerful as I pushed back with more force to contain it. Otherwise, it would cause more mayhem.

It gradually dissipated over the next few seconds. My friends thought it was safe and approach me from behind. I looked back at them, which caused them to stop in their tracks. They seemed surprised at how I looked like. But the battle took its toll on my body. I fell down on my knees as my strength left me. Every bit of my muscles was shaken, and the pain inside my right eye got even worse. I grabbed it with my hand and felt sticky liquid from it. And when I checked it, blood was on my palm. My right eye bled from the strain.

A hand appeared by my face, and I looked up.

“Come on, Valentine. I’m supposed to be the cool one here.” Jaden grinned at me. I grabbed his hand and smiled weakly. Even if I was supposedly mightier, he made an effort to pull me back to my feet. “Get your ass up!”

“Are you alright?” Caitlyn asked nervously, right behind him. Her eyes were puffy and slightly red. Anya was clutching her arm tightly and looked even worse. I bit my lip from the inside. And my friends were probably traumatized for life. “Those things were bigger than bears! They already killed some of our classmates!”

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Chance.” Dylan said but in a light-toned way. I was sure he meant well. It was Dylan, after all. “What’s next?”

“Let’s find a hiding spot first.” Jaden suggested. All of them looked around for an excellent place to lay low. Then Jaden point to one of the stalls that were torn down. “There!”

Each of us ran towards it and got inside.

“We need to get out of here!” Caitlyn exclaimed immediately. I gasp for air as I tried to retain what was left of my focus. My body was thrown around, and I had to use tremendous amounts of avroi. A small portion of my arms already started to grow numb. And it would grow worse over time. “There are dead bodies everywhere!”

“That was pretty much obvious.” Jaden pointed out. Caitlyn just shot him a look, and he fell quiet. “Everyone else is running around, but it’s not helping. Those things can smell them. The question is where we need to head to!”

“Did anyone know what Valentine could do?” Caitlyn asked out of the blue. I wanted to avoid the question, but Jaden looked like a justified schemer. He had the hints after the incident at the school. And it was what almost crushed my friendship with him. “This is all too sudden.”

“I did.” Jaden confirmed bitterly. I couldn’t even look at him after he said it. “He showed me his powers last week. That’s why we had a fight. He shouldn’t have hidden it all this time.

Dylan, Caitlyn, and Anya all looked at him incredulously. Then they looked back at me almost at the same time. It looked quite comical. Their heads went back and forth between Jaden and me.

“How?” Dylan was the first to ask. His expression was still stunned despite his inquiry. “Don’t tell me you had powers ever since.”

“No. It’s a long story.” I replied. But they didn’t look happy with my initial answer. I was pretty sure that they would demand answers later on. And I couldn’t risk using Estelle’s powers in them. “We can talk about it after we survive this. I’ll tell you everything. I promise.”

“You better fulfill that, Valentine!” Caitlyn demanded. Then she jabbed me lightly on the shoulder. It was kind of painful since my mark deactivated on its own when they ran up to me. “We’re your friends! We are here for you through thick and thin.”

“But I look ugly when I use my powers.” I chuckled softly. Anya just smiled at my comment about my looks. “I think I could even grow a horn when I go all out. Will you even fight for me if I look like a demon?”

“Don’t worry, you already look ugly even without it.” Jaden sneered deviously at me. Dylan and Caitlyn giggled at the remark. “And you’re already our little devil. At least you already have a Halloween costume starting next year. It should be fun!”

“Imagine all the candies we can get if you’re that scary!” Caitlyn added. I couldn’t believe we talked about trick or treat when we were in the middle of a massacre. This is why I would do anything to protect my friends. “Maybe you can grow a tail, too!”

“Candies.” Anya mumbled softly. All of us looked at her and laughed softly.

“Thank you, guys.” I smiled at them. “I really thought you’ll go crazy if you saw me like that. I don’t want to lose you.”

“If you were honest, to begin with, then you wouldn’t have to think about losing us. We hate liars, remember?” Jaden interrupted me. It was a punch to the gut, but he had a point. “We trust each other. Period.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you guys.” I declared bravely. And it was a form of a sincere apology, too. My friends seemed to be touched by my open declaration. “That’s why we really need to think of a plan right now.”

“Yeah. That’s the challenging part.” Dylan interjected. His eyes dart around. We saw some of the creatures crawling above some of the temporary buildings built by the production of Black Daze. “We’re quite in the middle of the event, and the main entrance is pretty far.”

“We’re not really aiming for the entrance. That’s practically a suicide mission for us.” I pointed out. That caught their attention, and all four of them looked at me. It was Jaden who looked the most skeptical of the bunch. “There’s another way.”

“What do you mean?” Dylan asked.

But Anya tugged my shirt then pointed to the sky. “Look.”

All of us looked up and gasped. A ritual circle was slowly forming in the middle of the sky. And it probably covered the whole event grounds. Sparks of blue rose up towards it and slowly got absorbed by the seal. But they were different from the blue comet that shot up at a faster pace. The blue lights shimmered in the afternoon sky as the clouds grew dark. They gradually turned more sinister, like looming thunder clouds that would strike us with lightning at any given moment.

“What on earth is that?” Dylan exclaimed.

“No idea.” I admitted. My mouth fell open at the sight of it. My instincts told me that the shimmering lights that rose up to the skies were not made of avroi. They were something else entirely. I racked my head, trying to remember what it could have been. “No, wait. It couldn’t be.”

“What is it?” Caitlyn tugged my shirt.

I knew what it was, but I couldn’t give the answer. We gazed at the cloud patterns that swirled into the middle of the ritual circle as if it was the eye of the storm. Beyond the seal, I could see something crimson and red. Avroi emerged from within the seal, but it felt more toxic and suffocating.

Then I remembered the stone inside my pocket. I tried to reach for it, but it was no longer inside. Even River’s avroi inside me was gone, and I couldn’t establish a mental connection with him. Morsus’ had the same situation. There was no way to reach out to my allies.

“Guys! Listen to me. I need you to get out of here by running to the edge of the event.” I instructed them. They saw it as incredulous and almost wanted to shrug it off. “My allies made a barrier around the event grounds, and you’re gonna be safe beyond it. We need to move fast before those things could spot us.”

“Wait a sec! Are you crazy?” Jaden objected right away. He looked at me intensely with his blue eyes. It was cold and slightly hateful. “We’re not gonna be dinner meat!”

“Yeah!” Caitlyn added abruptly. She almost stood up but stopped herself, or else we would be seen. “If you go outside the event grounds, it’s an open field. We’re going to be slaughtered before we even get far.”

“No. The beasts won’t be able to go through the barrier.” I explained. They seemed to have bought it. Otherwise, they would be hopelessly stuck inside the massacre grounds. “Anyone who can use magic will be stuck inside. Only you guys would be able to pass through.”

“Wait! Don’t tell me we’re leaving you behind?” Caitlyn frowned at me. I just nodded at her. I didn’t have the heart to say it vocally. “No. That’s not fair. I thought we’re gonna leave together?”

“I can take care of myself.” I replied fiercely. Dylan found a wooden plank and held it close. It seemed sturdy enough. But fighting those things would be like fighting an armored knight with a toothpick. “I’ll make sure you’re all safe until you get out of the barrier.”

“No. I understand.” Jaden said. He was already in a crouching position and checking if the coast was clear. Based on the screaming noises outside the broken stall, a couple of kids may have been eaten. “Guys. We have to go. We have to let him be cool for once. Okay?”

Then he shoved his hand to my chest with an extended pinky finger.

“What’s this?” I asked. But Jaden looked very determined. I doubt he would budge until I gave in. “We’re not kids, Jenkins. We’re all gonna make it. This isn’t like the movies on Netflix.”

“Just take it.” My best friend replied stubbornly. Caitlyn and Dylan couldn’t help but shake their heads. And Anya was trying hard not to laugh. “Promise me you will live no matter what!”

“This so cheesy. But fine. I promise that I’ll live no matter what.” I grabbed his pinky finger with mine and made the promise. He tightened his finger and shook his hand firmly. “Years from now, we’re going to laugh at this.”

Before he let go, he leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. I didn’t make an effort to fight it off. Everyone just gawked at us as seconds passed. In my head, I tried my best to fight off my tears. Jaden still loved me. And I was happy with that.

“I think I’m gonna barf.” Caitlyn commented, breaking the silence.

“Whatever.” Jaden snorted. “I’m sure you enjoyed watching that.”

“We need to head west since the barrier’s edge is closest there. It’s gonna be a few hundred meters. No biggie.” I said. Then I activated my mark, which caused them all to moved back. Even if they could not sense avroi, I was sure they felt the intense atmosphere I gave off. “All I need now is to make sure you guys won’t die on me.”

“Holy crap.” Dylan exclaimed. “You really look like you’re ready for Halloween!”

“On a count of three. You guys run for it.” I admonished, ignoring Dylan’s statement. They were all taken back by my more resonant voice caused by the mark. But their panic died down right away, and they went down to a kneeling position. Everyone was ready. “One. Two. Three! Go!”

It was Dylan who got to run on the front. The girls followed, and Jaden was in the back area. I jogged right behind them because I could get to them really quick, thanks to my enhanced body structure. Some of the beasts took notice right away but didn’t move. They all just studied the way we ran.

It was a good hundred meters when they started moving towards us. Jaden saw from his peripheral vision and tried hard not to panic. I ran faster and made sure I was only a meter away behind. One of the beasts tried to charge at us, but my gravity magic was prepared. With one strong gravitational push, it was thrown back.

Dylan looked behind him and saw me fending off another beast that charged at us. I summoned a dark blade and aimed for the leg. Then with a flick of a finger, I launched my weapon, and it went through the monster’s limb. After that, I focused the force of my gravity magic on the joints and crushed all of its knee caps.

We pressed forward for a few hundred meters before they started slowing down. Anya was already gasping for air before realizing that she used to have asthma attacks when she was a kid.

“That looks easy! I think I could do better than you.” Jaden shouted back at me. A smirk was on his face, trying to enjoy it despite the danger. But he was also heaved for air. Only Dylan and I were slightly athletic in the group. So I knew that it was going to be a drag for everyone else. “Show me something awesome!”

Then I grabbed Jaden by the shirt as a beast appeared from our side. A second more and he would have been crushed by the monstrous creature. My best friend muttered a curse word in silence, and my fingers sensed how his shoulder trembled in fright. He almost died, and he knew it.

Another hulking creature approached from behind. It zoomed into our spot at a frightening speed. With a flick of my finger, I pushed back with magic, and it was jerked away from us.

“I take it back!” Jaden shrieked. His lips quivered as he stared at the beast turning around towards us. He was beyond frightened at that point. Someone else’s blood was on his shirt. Hopefully, it was not someone we know. “You’re such an awesome friend. Remind me to give you my PS4 next week!”

A couple of hands grabbed my shoulder. Anya and Caitlyn scooted nearer to me despite my horrid appearance. Both were scared, just like Jaden. Dylan was still behind us, but he also looked shaken. It seems that they fear the creatures more than they fear me. All of them looked pale. And it wasn’t helpful that there were dead bodies everywhere.

“You guys need to hide.” I told them. But based on their eyes, it was as if I told them to commit suicide. There was no way that they venture far from me. “It would be hard to kill that thing if you guys are all over me.”

“Don’t leave us!” Caitlyn pleaded. Anya didn’t speak a word, but her eyes said everything I needed to know. I’ve never seen my friends scared like this. And my heart broke seeing it. The trauma in their eyes screamed so loudly. “Those things could find us!”

“Fine. Then just stay near me!” I commanded. They didn’t question it anymore as all four of them snuggled behind me. I summoned more dark blades around us. Jaden just looked in awe of my magic. Each sword pointed outwards in a phalanx formation in an attempt to protect me. “I’ll protect you guys no matter what!”

Two of the creatures approached us with caution. Dylan raised his wooden plank as if it could protect him. The most I could do was use my gravity magic to shove them away from a distance. But there was no way I could launch an attack that was lethal for our opponents.

A random person from behind the beast made a run for it. Its attention was taken away, but it was insanely fast. My friends witnessed as the monstrous creature dismembered the guy with its mighty jaws. It gave us a provocative stare, which caused Caitlyn to whimper from behind.

I didn’t see my friends’ eyes. But I was entirely sure that they were swollen from crying. I pumped out more avroi from the mark on my palms. It was as if I had control of opening a dam full of tremendous dark energy. I noticed that Anya’s hair on her arms stood up as I summoned more of the power given to me.

I felt insanely powerful. If only I didn’t have my friends clinging so near to me, I could have quickly slaughtered our enemies. To tear them limb from limb was well justified in my eyes. They have terrorized my town. Those things must pay. And it was a painful reminder that my borrowed power was merely a foretaste of that mysterious creature’s true abilities. More of that was hidden inside Morsus.

Then I remembered the mechanics of the forcefield that was erected by River and Rei. Any Tidian can freely go out of it. Only those who had magic in their blood will be trapped inside. It was the only shot I have in saving my friends.

Before I knew it, there were a few more beasts that started to flock towards our position. Jaden tugged my shirt and pointed at some from above. It was as if they were moths that were drawn to the flame. Something was attracting them. Or something may have commanded to pinpoint us. Either way, I wouldn’t let my friends be touched. I braced myself as I raised both my hands. My dark blades grew in size as I also summoned orbs of dark energy.

“Jaden.” I murmured. His heart probably jumped at the mention of his name. I was sure that he wasn’t going to be happy. “Make sure you’re always in the middle of Dylan, Caitlyn, and Anya. I trust that you can protect them.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” My best friend shrieked.

I didn’t waste another word as I pushed my avroi into his chest. He gasped as I pumped energy into him, and a small gravity field enveloped all of them. It was a little forcefield that would push back anything with its range. Jaden tried to grab me, but I moved out quickly. Based on the movements of the creatures, they were not entirely wild beasts. They can think and plan. And I knew that they could study my actions as well.

The mark on my palm was suddenly heated up as if I was literally holding a fireball. The dam of energy inside me opened, and my skin turned dark. Both my right and left side this time. Another horn grew on the left side of my head, and something protruded on my lower backside. Pain accompanied the modifications of my body. The thing on my back was like an additional limb. It kept growing longer and swiped from left to right. Even my canine teeth were slightly elongated, and my fingertips turned into short claws.

I had turned into a beast myself. Or maybe even something more sinister.

A couple of beasts charged at me simultaneously. That was when I noticed how my reflexes shot up. In my head, everything was like in slow motion. Then I also saw another beast charged at my friends. Since they were my priority, I activated the spell I left on Jaden’s chest. A powerful surge of repulsive gravity magic erupted from them, and the beast was shot back a dozen feet away. All four of them screamed for their lives before they realized that they were actually safe.

And then I did the same to my body at the very last moment. The monster’s paw was a few inches away from my face before I managed to defend myself. Both of them were thrown back. But another one followed through, so I held it in the air with my magic as if I had telekinesis. My hand was outstretched, and I slowly closed my palms. The motion paralleled itself as the monster was crushed into a ball of meat. Not even a drop of blood escape from the force I applied.

My instincts roared as I barely avoided an attack from behind. It was a split-second moment, and I countered with a punch straight into the monster’s gut. Thanks to the enhanced strength from the mark, the thing was barely a challenge. But my attention was caught when another beast zoomed into my friend’s spot. The spell I left was powerful, but it would not take a lot of abuse. The plan was to eliminate as many enemies as I could before my spell breaks,

I charged at the enemy and intercepted it in mid-air. The thing was jerked away and crashed into one of the stalls. Thankfully, the people hiding there saw the incoming beast and ran out before they were crushed. Everything was still in chaos as I dashed into another creature. Then I landed right beside Jaden and the others.

“Are you guys, okay?” I asked. My voice was hoarse and deep. Plus, it was like a few more voices inside me overlapped with my own. They looked freaked out at the sound of my voice. But I couldn’t lie to myself that my own voice also struck terror inside me. “Relax, it’s still me.”

For some reason, they were slightly smaller than me. Or rather, I grew a few inches taller. If it wasn’t so chaotic, Jaden would have made a snarky side comment about my mysterious growth spurt. Dylan just nodded at me while the girls were confused about what reaction they would give. I looked even more hideous than before, after all. I couldn’t blame them for that.

“Chance!” Someone called from behind.

I looked around to see Morsus running towards us. The beasts turned to him and charged one by one. A couple stayed back and seemingly observed from a reasonable distance. Then I checked above to see only one flapping its wings furiously. It was a few meters in the air. And it confused me how a monster that huge could fly.

There were a total of six creatures. Three charged at Morsus. Two stayed behind. And then the flying beast that was also focused on the little kid. Those that were thrown away stayed down on the ground. They seemed to be stunned. Not dead yet. But it was more than enough to buy us time so my friends could run for it.

Morsus engaged in attacking, and I took that chance to run to the middle of the two beasts. With my magic, I pulled them towards me. And with a swing of my arms, I summoned two blades that were at least ten times larger than my standard blades. A clean hit slashed through their thick hide, and I summoned a couple more of over-sized greatswords that dropped from above. The tremendous creatures were impaled into the ground and bled out an acidic fluid. The ground bubbled as I increased the gravity around me, slowly crushing my two enemies.

The thing from above decided to attack, and I raised my palm and pushed it with my gravity magic. Then before it was out of my range, I pulled the beast down and smashed it into the ground like a ragged doll.

Then I scurried back to Jaden and the others. We were near the Rides and Tech Zone area and pushed them towards the west. That was the closest exit that I could think of. With a gentle push, we started running towards the edge of the barrier. The thing was invisible, but as we got close, I could sense River’s avroi in the air. Not a single one of my friends said a word and just focused on running away.

As I checked around, I could see the people still running in every direction. I saw a couple of kids younger than us get crushed under the beasts. Then I looked away as the monster’s mighty jaw ripped them in half. I just couldn’t stomach the massacre that happened everywhere.

Morsus teleported to my side and ran alongside us.

“Before you say anything else, let me save my friends first! I’m not gonna have it right now!” I barked right away at him. My friends just looked at how I hissed at the little kid. But they didn’t look like that they were going to complain. I was their savior at that very moment, after all. “Any word from the others?”

“The Soul Bridge Ritual is already cast.” The boy pointed up. The eerie ritual circle at the sky loomed over us with such doom and heaviness. But my focus is on my friends. Then I had to look for my parents afterward. My dad was smart, and I was sure that he could figure something out. Everyone probably panicked more when they saw the glowing glyphs in the sky. The huge ritual circle probably covered an area more expansive than the event itself. “We need to bring everyone out of the barrier so the ritual will collapse.“

“How sure are you about that?” I asked.

“Theoretically.” Morsus replied dismissively. He moved forward while I placed myself behind my friends. The four of them ran between us. My spell on Jaden’s chest was still active. But he looked oblivious about it. “Necromancy was not my strong point. And it was not usual to discuss the Necronomicon during my stay in M’Vokagola.”

Out of nowhere, a black dagger almost shot through my face.

I had to stop myself from running to avoid it. Then I searched around where my attacker came from. From a distance, I saw a man in a dark cloak. It was eerily similar to what Rei was wearing. Except it looked modernized. The surface of his cover looked a bit of leather. And the enemy was wearing a faceless helmet. His left hand was holding a sheathed katana.

The man casually walked towards me. My skin felt like it was being crushed as the atmosphere slowly got heavier. And I could hear myself breath deeper. Slowly, I summoned more strength from my mark.

“Morsus!” I admonished. “Get them to safety!”

“No!” He shot back. I doubt that the little boy didn’t seem that he was going to budge from his spot. Everyone stopped running and watched the incoming clash. I kicked myself internally for even attempting to tell that to Morsus. There was just no way he was going to agree that easily. ”I’m not letting you out of my sight!”

I looked back and just nodded to Jaden and Dylan. But only the alpha dog bounced back. Jaden was stunned. They had to protect the girls. Or at least die trying. Dylan tugged Jaden’s shirt and started running. The edge of the barrier was a few yards away, and they were going to run for it.

Morsus walked up beside me and watched the mysterious masked man make his approach. I preemptively charged as I weakened the natural gravity’s hold on me, causing me to move faster. Then I left a dose of my avroi in each of the steps I made towards him. My instincts told me that he was no ordinary enemy.

I summoned a sword in each of my hands and tried to hack him. But he was insanely fast. The next thing I saw was the man shooting up into the sky. Morsus assaulted him with a barrage of blue flames that easily deflected away from him. The way it avoided him was guided as if he was also using gravity magic. It was highly unlikely, but not impossible.

That was when I used the avroi on the ground and formed into daggers. With a flick of a finger, they consecutively shot towards the target. The man drew his blade and deflected all of them with his katana. His swordsmanship was also quick, as if his sword had no weight. Then, he bolted towards my direction. I raised my arms at the last moment, hoping that my added durability would be able to save me.

But it felt like I was hit by a truck. In a blink of an eye, I crashed into one of the stalls a couple of yards away. One single blow from his katana was enough to hit a home run. Thankfully, I was durable enough to withstand all of it. The considerable trouble was he could single us out if we get hit by his attacks. I was quickly taken out of the area in one hit.

I rushed back to the battlefield and saw him pinning down Morsus with his foot. The boy was pinned down with an invisible force that slowly crushed him into the ground. The man quickly used his sword to disable the boy’s movements by impaling it into one of his thighs.

Morsus roared in pain. His prepubescent voice echoed everywhere. And time seemed to stop as the man pulled out his sword. Then driving it again on the other thigh. The boy was utterly defenseless as he screamed helplessly beneath the man. Morsus was far stronger than me, and he was clearly taken out by our enemy. In my head, all I wanted was to run away at that moment.

“No!” I roared and shot him with dark orbs of avroi. “Get away from him!”

But the man deflected all of my attacks effortlessly.

“Chance Valentine.” The man announced. His voice was powerful and a chill shot up my back. My skin was far more durable than before, but the sound of his thundering call of my name almost shattered it. Like mine, hundreds of voices overlapped with his. “Play with me.”

“Who are you?” I snarled at him. But his faceless mask didn’t allow me to see any form of reaction. I didn’t know if he was smirking under it. “What do you want from me.”

“My name is of no importance.” He responded strongly. There was massive pressure from his voice. But he was not angry or anything. In fact, I couldn’t discern any form of emotion in his voice. He was almost like a robot. “I’m here to fulfill what had been predestined. My goal is to fulfill the plans of the One who had designed everything.”

“Sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I shot back at the man. A red-letter ‘V’ was engraved under where his right eye would be. That was the only detail on his helmet. “Are you part of the Teios Kyr?”

“No. I have no interest in Teios Kyr. But you will know what I’m talking about in a short while.” The man mused softly. Then he sprinted towards me at full speed. A series of slash came from his katana as I summoned my set of swords to defend myself. “Show me what you’re made of, Chance Valentine!”

But the man’s swordsmanship was impossibly rapid. He could instantly strike as if the sword had no weight. Based on my observation, he was using dark-element magic, too. However, it was unusual that his katana was a weapon he could un-summon, or vice-versa. Most of the dark-elemental users often summon bladed weapons from their shadows and dispose of them right after. I concluded that it was most likely a unique weapon of his.

I felt a couple of strikes to arms in the first few seconds of my clash. It smoothly went through my defenses. If it wasn’t for my superhuman durability from my mysterious mark, I would have been shredded into minced meat. Then I would meet a staggering strike that would disarm me with my weapons before I would feel a series of blows to my chest.

With every effort, I tried to push back. But the man barely made an effort to make a decisive assault. A strike to the arm. A follow-up to my gut. A stab to my chest. His swordplay was built on speed. I was being beaten to a pulp and got almost knocked out senselessly. But every few strikes, he would unleash a powerful attack that would shake my whole body. My outer skin was durable and could fend off his attacks. Yet, the muscles inside it started to crumble despite that added strength from the mark.

I remembered Prince Zein’s swordplay in the middle of our clash. The young prince was more of a technical fighter who takes advantage of his wide variety of bladed weapons. But this enemy was out of my league. Each assault was precisely done. Speed was his default stance. Then he would use gravity magic to add a ton of weight to his blade and use the momentum as his primary offensive force.

If I died at that moment, it would be fine. My friends got to run away. I wanted to say goodbye to Jaden, at least. But the circumstance didn’t permit me to do so. All I could do was to fight until the end. With every clash of my sword with him, my will to fight got slowly chopped off segment by segment.

I tried to reverse the situation, but I could barely think of a plan in mind. Any gravity-based attack can easily be countered by another gravity user. Whoever this person is, he was probably another traitor in the House of Vladimir. That was the only conclusion I could think of. I no longer cared if Rei saw me escape at that point. Or that I had a mysterious form of magic. The enemy was powerful. And they need to know what they are up against. The best-case scenario for me was to survive that encounter.

During my transformation, the mark consumed me. I grew a long tail that looked like an extension of my spinal cord. The tip was a sharpened bone fragment that could probably drive through my enemy. It was supposed to be an advantage that I technically had five limbs to attack with. And he was only using his right arm to defend and attack with his katana. The only difference was that his great mastery of avroi control could effortlessly demolish any advantage that I had.

The man struck me with insane strength that caused me to be thrown back to one of the stalls. My body was numb from all the assault that it took. I slowly stood up and checked around. Morsus was still on the ground, barely moving. His primary weapon was his mobility. And it was simply taken from him. He could have used his mark, too. It could have given him the needed durability to withstand his attacks. But it was a huge question of why he didn’t.

I looked at the masked man who raised his blade, ready to stab me.

“You were always predestined to be weak, Chance Valentine. It is your fate. And it will always be your destiny.” He declared loudly. Almost sorrowfully, even. His statements were ambiguous at best. But I found no strength in me to even reply. I barely noticed that trashed the small area in the process. My mark slowly shrank back as I had no more energy to keep it activated. Whatever his next attack would be, will surely be fatal. “You cannot fight against fate. Never forget that.”

I closed my eyes in defeat. Then I heard the sound of flesh being ruptured.

There was no pain. No blood.

So, I opened my eyes to see my best friend between the man and me. He stepped right before me and received the attack instead. It was supposed to hit me, too. But it was slightly swayed to the side, barely grazing my arm. My savior managed to twist his body during the moment it struck him and deflected it away. His back was facing me as the masked man pulled out his arm that completely drove through his chest. Jaden’s insides turned into a mush of blood and guts that fell to the ground. My best friend fell back as I caught him.

His eyes stared back at mine. And with the last of strength, he smiled back at me. In the next few seconds, the light in his eyes vanished. The vision back then became real. I cradled Jaden in my arms as I couldn’t find the words to describe the gaping hole in his chest.

I howled. I cried. And I roared agonizingly. It was all I could do.

“Jaden!”