William Lorson had chased Katrina for no more than thirty seconds before realizing her plan. He conjured a long-winged bird made of his black flames and sent it rushing at her target while he hastily made a U-turn and returned to the now-destroyed small house.
Upon seeing the huge and dangerous bird, Katrina’s eyes narrowed as she leapt in the air and unleashed all of her power.
Her counterattack wasn’t as flashy as William’s, nevertheless, it was no less deadlier: She swung both hands, slashing the glistening silver blades, and released a milky-white sharp aura that spun unidirectionally.
The magical bird clashed against the agent’s formless white aura, causing a soundless shock wave to crush the street, scorch the lamps, and melt the concrete.
Katrina managed to safely get rid of William’s destructive flames, but that was only the beginning as she landed on the ground like a cat and then, like an unstoppable bullet, gave chase.
The role of the cat and mouse changed, but even then, Katrina was slightly worried about Zeke.
…
Meanwhile, after slight difficulty, Zeke and Azmer were able to escape from the spreading fire and the collapsing rubble. The laboratory was in the renovated basement but, fortunately, the stairs were relatively unscathed.
They encountered a couple of armed men, which were all either unconscious or dead from the series of explosions.
After exchanging a glance, the two students made their way outside only to see the ruined yawn, the rising flames that were no shorter than them, and Jacob crawling on the ground while letting out muffled and painful groans.
Azmer’s pupils constricted once he saw his brother’s current state. Surprisingly, he didn’t rush to help, instead, motioning for Zeke to follow him as he used his sword to cut the flames blocking their way.
Alas, they had just marched a couple of steps before a domineering fireball made of black flames descended from above, quelling the normal fire and turning the place quieter and less chaotic.
The angry William had an ugly face as scanned his vicinity, spotting the struggling and bleeding Jacob then focusing on Azmer and Zeke.
Seeing Anthony’s son come out, William concluded that the two scientists were either dead or had already fled, which infuriated him. Nevertheless, he didn’t have the time to deal with them as he needed to leave the area before the authorities arrive.
“We will talk later. Come with me.”
The father motioned for his youngest son, who just stood there and gave him a solemn and cold look.
“Father, were you really trying to sacrifice another person for me?”
“...”
Instead of feeling grateful, Azmer felt disgusted just thinking about it. Admittedly, he felt inferior to Jacob, however, he never wanted exterior help. He firmly believed that, with enough hard work and with the Dean’s tutelage, he would undoubtedly become the strongest in Erys and surpass his older sibling.
“You cannot be a disgrace to the Lorson family. Your talent wasn’t enough so I had to employ drastic but necessary measures.”
Albeit being pressed for time, William composed himself and gave an honest and brutal answer. It was rare for Azmer to not immediately listen to his words, so the man knew that he had to appease him and convince him that the operation was the best available option.
As the father and son were conversing, Zeke had closed his eyes and concentrated; He blocked all the unnecessary noise and focused as hard as he could, trying to locate the missing Olivia.
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While Anthony’s ability was purely water-aspected, Olivia Vyrsan was gifted with two abilities. The first was similar to Maxine, which significantly strengthened her physical prowess and made her unbelievably tenacious. The second one was what was commonly referred to as ‘Support Abilities’. In exchange for permanently sacrificing a specified quantity of her Vitality, she would be able to summon a Spirit Beast.
It was the famous ability of the Vyrsan Family, which was the only household that nurtured the so-called Beast Masters.
Zeke knew that she would prioritize her safety and escapade rather than launch a full-on retaliation for what had occurred. Therefore, she would probably call forth a type of Spirit Beast that would facilitate her retreat.
After closing his eyes for nearly five seconds, Zeke suddenly sprung into motion. He raised upwards and shot several thick lightning bolts at an empty space in the air, approximately 50 meters away.
He accurately hit the invisible Olivia, who was rising atop a dinosaur-like beast with thin and arched wings.
The beast cried out in pain, blood gushing out of its body, however, it didn’t completely fall to the ground as its rider stabbed a syringe into its back.
A savage red aura burst forth, strengthening the flying Spirit Beast and making it flap its wings while screeching deafeningly. By the time it stabilized its falling body, Zeke was already below it, ready to throw the spear of lightning he had conjured.
Unfortunately, just as he was about to deal the fatal blow and finish his ‘mother’, he sensed danger, causing him to hastily turn around and use the spear to defend himself against a rising wave of black flames.
His attempt to defend himself was only half-successful as William’s flames were pierced and started to disappear. Alas, part of it transformed into a tiny fireball that hit Zeke’s left arm.
The second it touched it, he shouted in agony and fell to the ground, writhing and trying to get rid of it using Voltage. He had almost lost all rationality as the pain was soul-rending, so much so that his face distorted and turned dangerously pale.
William snorted as he appeared next to the youth, looking down at him with contempt. He saw the black-haired Zeke convulse and continue crying, unable to cope with the agony of having his arm burned.
Strangely enough, the black flame didn’t melt his skin, it just charred it and continued to make him feel the irresistible flood of pain.
With his thoughts muddled and his mind turbulent, Zeke was unable to calm himself or cope with what was happening. Nevertheless, as a last desperate resort, he concentrated and used his accumulated PE to unlock the Pain-junkie Main Path.
For him, if something was able to lessen the agony, then that would be it. Of course, it was a risky gamble, one he was willing to make to end this suffering and save his life.
A distance away, Katrina had caught up but was unable to interfere as a large dome of fire enveloped the house and the lawn, allowing her to do nothing but watch as her benefactor’s young brother was crying out.
“S-stop! Father!”
Azmer didn’t have it in him to attack his father, but he did try to interfere. However, he was completely ignored, which made him clench his grip around the sword enveloped in golden flames.
Even though he didn’t like Zeke, he still felt pity seeing him like that. He became like a madman, howling in a beast-like manner as his whole left arm was covered in William’s notorious ‘Ink Fire’.
****
“Ahhhhhhh! Argh!
“H-hey! Sulong! Sulong!”
Jack and Sulong were playing an entertaining card game only for the latter to suddenly hold his muscular left arm and shout agonizingly.
He fell to the ground and rolled around, tears pouring from his eyes as he kept hearing a loud ringing sound.
The bald thug tried to use his new ability but couldn’t, his whole body and mind overwhelmed by this sudden wave of pain.
It was then that the quiet red-haired boy, who was sitting on the couch and watching them play, got to his feet. He was recently named ‘Albert’ by his Papa.
He knelt near Sulong and extended his slim and soft hand; After a couple of seconds, what could only be described as a sanguine-colored cloth appeared out of thin air and wrapped around Sulong’s arm.
“Ah…ah…”
The pain vanished, but Sulong’s mind was momentarily blank as he gasped for air and shook for a couple of seconds. His bald head and large forehead were covered in sweat, and his eyes were filled with shock, fear, and confusion.
“W-what happened? Are you okay?!”
Jack helped his friend sit up and checked his body, but Sulong didn’t reply. He first checked his left arm then softly smiled at the expressionless Albert.
Albeit not receiving any explanation, Sulong was almost certain that the source of pain had originated from Zeke, whom he had formed a fateful connection with.