Chapter 4: Burning Tower 

A month passed after the interrogation. Kaito Lu was staring at the full moon from a balcony of a major party on floor fifty nine of the twin tower building in Black Horn City's noble district. He was wearing a clean black tuxedo as the nobles and celestials celebrated Founder's Day.

He had unexpectedly won the nationwide lottery last week and got admitted into the enforcer academy of Black Horn City. His family was out in the shopping district as Mr. Tseng moved them to a private villa. They were spending some of the money Kaito won to buy more supplies and clothes. Of the eight districts, the noble district was the most luxurious, but the fighter district was where the truly rich lived as they were celestials.

"The moon is so close. Is this what the dinosaurs saw before the moon's orbit slowly became farther and farther away?" Kaito said absentmindedly. He still couldn't believe he wasn't with his family.

"That sounds deep," a Korean girl in a beautiful white dress remarked as she entered the balcony. "Did you just win the lottery? Most newly rich people reminiscence about the past a lot."

"I can't really say my luck is all that great," Kaito said. "What's your excuse?"

"Maybe I like seeing the night sky?" the girl joked and leaned on the rails beside him. "It was getting stuffy in there. So many so-called elite students bragging about their training to hook up girls. I doubt they've been in any real action. Have you?"

"I have. I faced goblins and a ghost," Kaito grinned. "I'm Kaito. Kaito Lu."

"Ye-jin Ye-jin Baek," the girl smiled as they shook hands. "You're an esper. Only an esper can see----"

The girl was interrupted as she saw two helicopters spinning out of control. She realized it was an updraft and pulled Kaito to the ground. They covered their heads as the helicopters collided two stories above. Kaito felt the floor shake as the helicopter began to crash through some floors. His eyes widened as he saw a propeller blade skewer a woman in half before disappearing through the floor.

"We need to move!" Kaito shouted as cracks spread beneath them. He used his enhanced strength to pick her up and lunged over the rail to the balcony on the next floor down to the left. Kaito grunted as they landed on his back, his eyes darting to the balcony above as it crumbled in a flash.

"What happened?" Kaito gasped.

"It was an updraft. I saw a helicopter moved erratically like that before. We don't have much time until both helicopters explode. Water sprinklers also don't reach so high up," Ye-jin answered.

"Don't twin towers have something like a sky bridge?" Kaito asked.

"On floor thirty eight. I saw it on a brochure at the party," Ye-jin and her face softened. "Did you have anyone close up there?"

"No. You?" Kaito asked and saw her shake her head. "Firefighters should come soon. Maybe some mages too, right?"

"No. There is a large scale horde to the north beyond the mountains. All the top celestials are there now. Only mortal firefighters are in the area now," she shook her head.

"What could cause an updraft? I didn't feel any wind. Only cold air as it crashed above us," Kaito frowned.

"Cold air?" Ye-jin began and paled. "Ghosts. Ghosts make the air around them cold. We're under attack!"

Kaito noticed the grim look on her face and took out his magical dagger from his storage ring. He looked at her in surprise as Ye-jin slightly ripped her own dress for more mobility. They raced indoors and burst into the hallway. Panicked guests flooded the hallways and blocked the elevators. Kaito grabbed Ye-jin's hand and raced toward the stairs.

"Wait. There is a restaurant on this floor. We can change into different clothes in there. Chefs and servers must have a changing room!" Kaito paused as they reached floor forty two. The duo ran into the restaurant and quickly burst open the lockers to find clothes. Ye-jin took out a short sword from her storage ring and stopped Kaito as she saw people hiding in the kitchen.

"We need to leave. Ghosts are attacking the tower," Ye-jin shouted at the guests.

"What happened up there?" a chef asked.

"Ghosts tookover one of the two helicopters and crashed into one helicopter trying to stabilize from an updraft," she answered. "We can't wait for rescue helicopters. We need to leave. Now!"

"Oh my god. Ghosts."

"We're doomed. We have no espers here."

"We have one," Ye-jin assured them, pointing to Kaito. "The two of us are also official ranked celestial fighters. We need all fighters with magical energy to help protect the guests. We need to get to the sky bridge on the thirty eighth floor. These towers have magical barriers and the ghosts only got in because of the helicopter explosion."

"I'm a first rank warrior apprentice," the chef said, two others of the eleven people also raising their hands.

"Hurry! The fire is seeping through cracks on the roof!" a woman shrieked, everyone seeing fire in the ceiling.

"Move!" Kaito roared as he saw creatures in pure white gowns and black auras creep out through the floor. Kaito raised his left hand and blue fireballs shot into the ceiling, exploding and covering the ceiling with ice almost instantly.

"Head to the bridge!" Kaito screamed as two ghosts died, their grey energy entering his body as five more appeared. Everyone else could only see outlines of the ghosts as they crawled through the flames.

Kaito rushed toward the ghosts, fear and exhilaration in his body. He lunged at one ghost, thrusting the dagger with both hands as he held it in front of his body. The ghost wailed as it burst into black and white energy, Kaito crashing onto the ground as another grey energy entered his body.

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Kaito looked around and slammed his left hand onto the ground. Rock spikes burst upwards from the ground and created a circular rock formation as three ghosts died instantly. The last ghost was three seconds behind the others and only lost a left arm. The ghost screamed and punched the rock spikes, pebbles and rock fragments buffeting Kaito's body.

The ghost phased through the rock and grabbed Kaito by the neck, slamming him into the ground. Kaito realized that ghosts were like humans. They must have had their own levels and this ghost was equal to an official ranked warrior.

"LET ME GO!" Kaito screamed and closed his eyes as his left arm grabbed the ghost's arm for stability while the right hand stabbed the dagger into the ghost's body over and over again. He fell to his knees and rasped for breath as the ghost died. His left hand clutched his chest as he laid on his back and breathed deeply.

He staggered as he rose to his feet and stumbled out of the restaurant. He closed the staircase door behind himself and took out a water bottle from his storage ring. He didn't move down to the thirty eighth floor until he finished his water bottle and stabilized his breath.

"You're alive!" Ye-jin cried as she hugged Kaito and helped him toward the bridge with an arm over her shoulder.

"Why didn't you.....go across?" Kaito asked, his voice soft due to the bruising on his neck.

"The glass floor is gone. The metal frame is there, but it is too risky to reach across each pillar," one of the escapees answered.

"What about the ghosts?" the chef asked.

"They're dead. Wouldn't be...here if I died," Kaito chuckled and winced due to the pain. "Help me to...the bridge."

"You can get us across?" the chef beamed and quickly helped Ye-jin carry him there.

"I can control water and wind due to my battle beast," Kaito answered, using a heal spell on his neck.

"You have a battle beast? Amazing!" the woman from before gasped. "Where did you come across such a relic?"

"I can try to make a bridge, but I am only a mage of the first rank," Kaito said. "I need magical energy to completely restore the bridge.

"Put your hands on his back," Ye-jin told the three fighters. "Channel your magical energy into his back!"

"Hurry," a girl begged as the building shook.

"Here we go," Kaito said and placed his left hand on the ground while his right hand stretched to the other side of the floorless bridge. His complexion paled as wind and water magical energy spread from his right hand and covered the right side of the bridge. He couldn't risk damaging the metal and slowly made several steps.

"I couldn't make a complete solid bridge as it would damage the metal. Take care of your steps. Mortals go first," Kaito urged, the three children led across first. Ye-jin and Kaito were the last ones to cross and Kaito bridge.

"Break it! I heard some ghosts can possess people. Break the ice!"

"I got a gun," the noble woman said and carefully shot each step of ice.

"We made it," the chef sighed with relief as security guards appeared due to the gun shots.

"Nobody move. We'll scan your bodies for possession first. Ma'am, your gun," one of the guards said, the noble woman giving her gun before they were all tested negative.

"Was there other people behind you? What is the situation?" a man asked as he and a group of fighters in magic robes and magical armor appeared.

"The ghosts would have killed those above. I can't answer for those below," Ye-jin began and explained what happened.

"You're a hero, kid. Nice work. Leave it to us," the mage in bright green robes assured and instantly made a bridge of ice with a snap of his finger. Kaito's mouth fell open, feeling a little small upon seeing such a perfect ice bridge made so easily.

After giving their statements on what occurred, Ye-jin's limousine pulled over in front of Kaito's villa nearly an hour later. Ye-jin smiled as she and Kaito stepped out of the limousine. She took out a napkin and wiped some black dirt from the smoke off his face.

"Thank you. You saved my life," Ye-jin said, bowing her head formally.

"This world is really dangerous," Kaito couldn't help himself and bowed his head in return.

"Here is my card. My personal number is on the back. I'll see you in the academy," Ye-jin smiled as she gave him a business card.

"Thank you for saving the Young Miss," the driver took off his cap and bowed. Kaito nodded and waited until the limo left before going inside.

"You're okay! I was so worried," Ting sighed with relief as she hugged her son. "You're covered in dirt and smoke. Is that a bruise on your neck? Why are you so pale?"

"It was a long night escaping from ghosts," Kaito said. He took a long, cold shower and then relaxed on the couch. He watched the breaking news about the twin towers on their plasma screen with his family before the fatigue overcame him. His parents carefully laid him on the couch and put a blanket on his body before lowering the volume.

"Why does this one worry me so much," Ting asked softly, moving some strands of hair off his forehead.

"He's a strong boy. One day, he'll be strong enough to come back home without a scratch. He's not powerful, but he's a survivor," William answered and carried his sleeping daughter out of the living room as his wife continued watching the news.