Joel was frozen in place. He could only look around, his eyes darting back and forth between Sumiko and Sylvia. He tried to slip through the ensuing fight, but there seemed to be no escape. And as the tension grew palpable, Sumiko stepped forth with her sword lowered.
"I've heard all about you, Seagulls." She began, "You're the one who thinks you're invincible, the fist of justice? That's what you call yourself?"
"And you're the ones who think they can do whatever they want without consequences." Sylvia retorted.
"So far, I've seen none." Sumiko replied, raising her sword. "And I intend to keep it that way."
She charged towards Sylvia with her sword held high. But before she could land an attack, Ray interrupted the attempt with a swift parry from his sword. Sumiko was surprised as she eyed the boy, who glared back at her.
"Out of the way." She warned.
"Not happening, your fight is with me."
With a dissatisfied click of her tongue, Sumiko raised her sword and charged towards the boy. The two clashed in a shower of sparks, the sound of iron synchronized with the thunderclap that followed. As the two were focused on their duel, Tatsuo and Mik eyed the luminary Captain.
"Aren't you a Zes user, big guy?" Sylvia wondered.
"Not worth it on you." Though he was partially truthful, he simply didn't want to stir up a bigger fuss, for purposeful reasons. "Don't waste my time, let's begin."
He raised his fists in anticipation, and so did Mik as they eyed the captain. James, Dolisia, and Joel were in the same boat, all wary of what was about to happen, for they were all weaker than to intervene. Joel tried to slip away, while James tried to step forth.
"Don't you damn dare." Sylvia warned, "Escape and you're dead. And you, James. Step away, I don't want you to get hurt."
"But captain—"
"Orders!" She silenced, "Now shush, let me take care of it."
The three fighters stood glaring at each other as the wind blew faster and colder. And before they could notice, the droplets of rain grew tenser and denser, until it turned into heavy rainfall. The three locked eyes and Sylvia took the initiative.
The captain was bouncing lightly on the tips of her feet, and as Tatsuo approached, she switched her stance at lightning speed. It was unbelievable. Mik and Tatsuo were experienced fighters, but they were distraught at the sight of the captain. She left no openings, she was the definition of a perfect defense.
Tatsuo and Mik shared a nod before encircling the captain from both sides. Mik took the initiative and delivered a roundhouse kick as Tatsuo swung a devastating right hook. The captain was lightning-fast. She jumped with a backflip to safely dodge Mik's kick, before pausing in mid-air to let Tatsuo's fist safely pass above. She used her hands to propel her into a kick-up, then immediately ducked, spun, and swept the two boys off their feet.
The two fighters landed on the wet ground with a thud that reverberated through the cobblestone. They winced in pain, but it was the least of their worries. The luminary's lighting-fast footwork was dreadful. For her to pull such a series of complex moves that neither could expect—least of all counter—was enough of a red flag. Though her smirk added salt to the wound.
As the two boys were back on their feet, the captain began rocking her body back and forth. She swayed from side to side, her upper body lowering with each swing as her feet moved in a weird, unpredictable manner as if she was dancing. However, it was very familiar to Mik, it shocked him to see such a style of fighting, for he was far too familiar with it. It was Capoeira, precisely, the Ginga.
In one swift and graceful motion, Sylvia spun towards Mik and delivered a powerful cartwheel kick that knocked him off balance. As she turned her attention to Tatsuo, she stepped forward and raised her foot for a roundhouse kick, ready to strike. But at the last moment, she lowered her foot and spun around, catching Tatsuo off guard with a devastating flying back kick to his jaw.
As they landed on the ground, both boys were stunned. Tatsuo couldn't believe that Sylvia had outsmarted him with a feint, while Mik was awed by her lightning-fast movements. Sylvia was a master of combat, moving with feline grace and incredible agility. Tatsuo knew that he couldn't hope to defeat her with fists alone, and he turned to Sumiko for permission to use his Zes.
But Sumiko was in a dire situation of her own, engaged in a fierce swordfight with Ray. The difference in their skills was apparent, as Sumiko panted and sweated while Ray remained calm and collected. Despite her best efforts, Sumiko was unable to surprise Ray, who parried her attacks with ease and delivered quick and decisive counterstrikes.
Sumiko charged towards Ray once more, the boy stood firm, taking a deep breath as he anticipated the strike. As the swords clashed, a flash of white light shone from the point of collision, only to increase in size and luminosity until it exploded into a wave of transparent energy that snapped the sword in half and sent Sumiko crashing towards a wooden stall.
Seeing as their situation was sour, Joel looked around for an escape, to gather his thoughts and bring about a solution to their predicament. He took the chance and tried to scramble away, but Sylvia swept his feet from behind and sent him tumbling to the ground, before stomping on his head.
"Why didn't you listen to me?" She questioned, pressing harder.
"…Fuck you." Joel whispered in pain.
"Hey!" Mik called out from behind, "Let go of him!"
As the captain turned around, her eyes shifted into a fierce glare upon the sight of Mik holding James in a chokehold. "One step and I'll break his neck." He said, slowly turning the boy's head.
Sylvia clicked her tongue as she raised her foot from Joel's head. Mik did the same as he released hold of James, before striking him in the back of the head and knocking him unconscious. The captain was furious at such a dishonorable act, but she took a deep breath as she stepped towards the boy.
The two charged at each other as they raised their legs for a low kick, their strikes clashing. Mik felt his leg nearly shatter at the strength of the captain's blow as if he kicked a steel wall. He fell on his face, before quickly rolling away from a devastating stomp.
He rolled around and stood back on his feet with a kick-up, before immediately ducking under a back kick. He raised an arm to defend against a devastating spin hook kick, leaving him distraught as Sylvia took the chance and followed with a powerful backflip kick, then finishing with an overwhelming dropkick that slammed him against the wall.
Sylvia turned to face Tatsuo, who was holding onto his jaw. He was furious, yet calm as he directed a menacing glare at the captain. He decided he shouldn't use his Zes for now, since he couldn't ask Sumiko for permission due to her even more troubling situation.
However, Tatsuo was sure that he could now fight the captain on equal footing, after finally learning her moves. She had a random, yet calculated pattern. And whatever he did, he should keep a close range with her.
"Too scared to use your fists?" Tatsuo provoked.
"I was actually hoping you'd ask that. Seems like sore losers love to complain, so I'll give you a chance."
The two fighters stepped closer as they raised their fists. Sylvia bounced up and down, while Tatsuo stood like a brick wall, anticipating the strike.
Meanwhile, Sumiko was groaning in pain as she climbed down from the stall. She glared at Ray, who stood facing her with a calm expression. Though he was composed, Sumiko noticed that his breathing grew heavier, and beads of sweat trickled down his cheeks.
She smirked as she spread her arms before her hands flashed a brilliant gold. The light shaped and formed until it faded into two sabers, one in each hand. Ray was taken aback, his stance more serious.
"Let's see if you can defend against this."
Sumiko charged at him, striking one saber, before following with another. The first saber was successfully blocked by Ray, but the second broke through his defense and almost cut his cheek. Sumiko followed up with a slash with both swords, yet Ray was quicker to parry one and dodge the other before kicking Sumiko in the chest.
She disregarded the pain as she swung once more, the saber scraping the boy's uniform. Neither slowed down as they clashed into sparks of iron, coupled with parries and strikes and close calls that nearly ended the duel.
Ray awaited the perfect opportunity to strike as he analyzed Sumiko's moves. The latter swung with both sabers towards the boy, which clashed with his sword. Much to her dismay, another brilliant light shone from the collision point, growing in size until it exploded into a grander wave of energy that shattered her sabers and launched her away.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Meanwhile, Sylvia and Tatsuo were trading blows on an equal footing. Most of their punches were blocked and parried by the other, their fists clashed once in a while, and rarely did their strikes impact the other. However, a devastating hook from Tatsuo knocked the captain off balance as she stepped back, wiping the blood drop from her lip.
She was unfazed as she was back to bouncing in place, waiting for Tatsuo to take the initiative. As soon as he stepped towards her, Sylvia swung a left hook at the boy. He quickly raised his arm to block, but the hook passed in front of him.
'Damn it, a feint!'
As soon as he readjusted his block, he was surprised to see the captain spin in place, her right fist targeting the same spot that Tatsuo defended, yet ignored in favor of a blow elsewhere. He could only watch as the fist closed in on him with devastating power, smashing into his cheek.
Before she could follow with a hail of blows, Mik intervened and swept the captain's feet off the ground. It was now both of the boys' chance to strike as the captain tumbled to the ground. However, before she could fall, she spun to her side and stood on one of her arms before delivering a powerful kick to Tatsuo's jaw.
She stood on her head and spun her leg to strike Mik with a powerful kick to the side. And right as the two boys stood up, Sylvia propelled herself into the air with her hands and spun like a windmill, striking both boys with devastating kicks that distraught them. She then followed with an axe kick to Mik that slammed him onto the ground, before landing a left hook that toppled Tatsuo.
"Tatsuo!" Sumiko shouted, "Fucking summon!"
"Alright, you told me—"
But before he could finish his sentence…
*SCREECH*
A deafening screech echoed from afar. It belonged to no man and no animal. It was powerful, frightening, and froze the luminaries in place. Sylvia looked around, left and right, trying to make sense of that noise. However, she was surprised to find out that the sound resonated…from above.
Before she could look up, a massive shadow loomed over her, and the entire market, if not the entire town. Her eyes met with a hairless creature, with wings similar to a bat, a long neck, a long beak, and a crest at the back of the head. While the luminaries gazed in awe, Joel, Mik, and Dolisia gazed in horror, at the sight of the one-hundred-meter-tall pterodactyl.
"Heartbreak!" Sumiko called out, "Heartbreak, here!"
Right before the pterodactyl could fly away, it turned back, flying circles above the marketplace. A shadowy figure stood atop the pterodactyl's head, before leaping towards the market from a hundred meters in the air. The pterodactyl flew away as the figure smashed into the ground, raising up a cloud of dust as debris flew through the air.
As the clouds dissipated, the figure of a tall man emerged, towering at 1.90 meters. He appeared to be in his late twenties, with long light blonde hair that cascaded down his back and piercing blue eyes. He wore a simple black shirt that left most of his neck exposed, black boots, and striking red-striped black pants with a heart symbol sewn on both sides. It was Heartbreak, the man whom Luke feared.
As he walked towards the defeated Tatsuo and Sumiko, he chuckled at their pitiful state. "Well, well, well. Aren't you guys in perfect shape?" he mocked. "But, I must admit, you must be quite an opponent to cause this much damage to my dear underlings."
Sylvia stood wary of the strange man. Unlike Tatsuo and Sumiko, who had their guards up from the start, the man was nonchalant, with a smile plastered on his face as he stepped towards the captain.
"Who the hell are you?" Sylvia antagonized, bouncing in place.
"I am Heartbreak. THE Heartbreak, the man whom a billion ladies wish for," he introduced himself, "But, I'm sorry, I'm not in the mood to flirt, especially with gorilla-like women. So, how about you go away and let me pick my friends up?"
"Over my dead bo—"
"Thought so," he interrupted.
In a blur of motion, Heartbreak disappeared from view and reappeared in front of Sylvia. His skin shifted into a reddish tone with bulging veins across his arms, neck, and forehead, and blood-red veins encircling his iris. He tapped his thumb with his middle finger and ring finger, and suddenly, a devastating shockwave cracked the ground and knocked the captain unconscious. The force of the shockwave reverberated through the ground and knocked the wind out of Mik, Joel, and Dolisia's lungs. Before Sylvia could slam onto the ground, Heartbreak caught her and gently placed her down.
"Though, on a closer look, you are indeed a pretty lady," he said, holding her jaw.
Heartbreak spotted Ray charging towards him with his sword aimed at the former's neck. In a swift motion, Heartbreak ducked under the sword and stepped behind Ray. The luminary tried to attack once again, but the blade was caught by a barehanded Heartbreak. The force of his grip was unbelievable, freezing the sword in place as the boy struggled to free it.
Heartbreak snapped the sword with a flick of his wrist and grabbed the boy by the neck, slamming him onto the wall. The boy gasped for air as Heartbreak leaned towards him with a malicious grin.
"You should have been careful, boy. I'm not as easy-going with guys as I am with ladies," he said, his hand directed at the boy's abdomen. "Though, I don't judge. Mistakes happen, and now you just need to learn from them."
In the same gesture, Heartbreak tapped his thumb, and an even bigger shockwave cracked the wall behind them, knocking the boy unconscious. He released his grip, and the boy slumped to the ground.
Heartbreak's skin and eyes shifted back to normal as he turned towards Mik, Joel, and Dolisia, gazing at them with a perplexed expression before breaking into a joyful smile.
"Ooooh, you're Luke's dear friends, aren't you?" he asked. "Were you following us or something?"
The trio was silent, overwhelmed by the sudden encounter and the luminaries alone, but this man was dreadful, and a misplaced answer could result in a grander catastrophe.
"No, we ran into them out of nowhere. They were being chased." Sumiko explained, "It was too sudden."
"Ran into them? Though it did cause unwanted commotion regardless, no?" He questioned.
"…there was nothing we could do."
"Nu-uh-uh. That's not a sufficient answer, and that definitely won't make Jay any less angry." He scolded.
"Heartbreak, cut it out." Tatsuo said, struggling to stand up. "We had bad luck, what can we do? Now let's just get out of here."
"Watch it, slope." He warned, "If you're gonna have bad luck, then have it on your own. Your fiascos are ruining Jay's plans. Unless you don't want to end up in another slave boat to hell knows where, then you better watch your tone, and tone down the number of fuck ups you cause."
Tatsuo and Sumiko lowered their heads in silence, as Heartbreak scolded them.
"As for you…" He said, turning towards the trio.
But before he could finish his sentence, his eyes fell on Dolisia. His heart skipped a beat upon witnessing her unparalleled beauty, and her gaze that pierced right through his soul. She was a Goddess to him, a beauty of unnatural proportions.
"My god…" He said, stepping towards her. He held her by the chin and fixed her eyes on his. "Lady, would you please grace me with your name?"
"The fuck? No, fuck off." She said, slapping his hand away from her chin.
"Oh…hard to get. I love that." He chuckled, "Though I don't have time today, so I hope we meet someday soon. Maybe then you'll finally see some of my charms. Adieu, my beautiful goddess!"
He turned towards Sumiko and tried to help her up, but she smacked his hand away in disgust. "Get away from me, I can handle myself, you prick."
"Hm, I see. Maybe it's the rain that's dampening my charm." He shrugged.
"Anyway, Tatsuo, Sumiko, pick up the pace. We need to get far from here."
As they stepped away from the fight, Sumiko paused for a moment before turning to face Dolisia. A frown plastered on her face as she spoke to the trio.
"For our sakes, let's never meet again."
Thus, the renegades disappeared, leaving the trio alone in the middle of that mess. As they stood silent, trying to make sense of the situation, they heard the faint groan of Sylvia and Ray. It snapped them into reality as Joel scrambled towards Mik and carried him on his back before they dashed away from the commotion and out of town.
…
It had been a long day, and now it was night in the town of Faylea. Dozens of armed luminary soldiers patrolled the streets as the town was on lockdown, searching for renegades who were nowhere near the town.
Faylea was located on a flatland, except for the mountain that faced it. At the summit of the mountain, there were a few bushes and trees that provided a bird's eye view of the entire town.
Joel and Dolisia were lying prone in the bushes, while Mik lay on his back, groaning in pain. They were searching for a certain possession that they had forgotten to bring with them.
"How the hell did we forget the damn wagon?!" Dolisia furiously wondered, "The most important goddamn thing that we have is now gone! The fucking money is gone! All of our money was there, damn it!"
"Shush, mind your tone." Joel reprimanded, "There was nothing we could've done about it. We forgot it, it was an honest mistake."
"Honest mistake?!" Dolisia repeated, "Are you kidding me?! 500,000 Coe! We practically gave it to them! All of our goddamn life savings are gone!"
"So what? We'll get it back." Joel assured, "…probably."
"Probably? There's an army of luminaries in the town and you're still thinking of sneaking up in there?"
"Yeah? So? It's night, and if we're silent enough, we'll make it."
"Joel, are you sure Sylvia didn't give you brain damage?" Dolisia questioned.
"Oh, fuck off. What do you want us to do, huh? It's not like we have another choice. Hell, Mik was our trump card but now he's practically worthless against these gorillas, same as us!"
"Oh, don't mind me." Mik coughed, "I'm just getting my strength together."
"Plus, did you see the shit that happened?" Joel exclaimed, "Sword summoning, sword explosions?"
"Don't forget the Brazilian Bruce Lee break dance hybrid." Mik added.
"Oh, that was nothing in comparison to the motherfucking Burj Khalifa-sized pterodactyl that came from fuck knows where." Joel continued.
"And the goddamn sex offender that jumped off of its back and bodied the captain before wiping the floor with her lacky." Dolisia finished.
"Yeah, and he also mentioned something about being Luke's friends." Joel added.
"We should really, REALLY not stay in this land." Mik stated, "I have no idea how we even succeeded in two escort missions when there were monsters like this roaming about. We could have gotten our asses busted at any given moment."
"Misplaced luck." Joel explained, "Anyway, are you able to move, Mik?"
"Move? I suppose. But don't expect me to do anything crazy. That Bruce Lee break dance hybrid beat the piss out of me. Like, her kicks felt like a brick wall. I fought everything that I could imagine and even then it was nothing against that monster of a woman. I'm sorry, but if she's there, I'm dipping."
"Well, we're shit out of luck." Joel said, "I guess we'll have to abandon the wagon for now. Money can be made again, but prison is game over for us."
"Agreed." Dolisia joined.
"I mean, we could probably escape. But I'm not taking the chances." Mik replied.
"Welp, that settles it. Bye bye wagon." Joel said, "Now, let's make our way out of here before that crazy luminary bitc—" Joel started to say but stopped abruptly as he felt a sharp metallic surface poke his buttocks. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead as he realized a sword was poking him. Joel had a hunch that whoever poked him was exactly the one he had just cursed.
"We're toast," Joel whispered as the trio turned around to face Sylvia, Ray, James, and a dozen other luminary soldiers. Their swords were brandished, aimed at the trio. Mik, Joel, and Dolisia raised their hands in defeat and surrender. However, Mik couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at a single thought.
"So much for making our way out of here before the crazy luminary B-word finds us."
"You're the outcasts, right?" Sylvia asked, "Don't worry about that milk glass, I'll make it up for you in prison. For now…"
The trio knew that their luck was awful, but to reach such a degree was unimaginable. However, Joel and Dolisia were still satisfied at the thought that they were right. They knew from their horrible start in this world that they would eventually end up in prison, and they were on point. It left a bitter taste, but a reassuring feeling that their rational judgment was correct all along
"By the order of the luminaries, you three are under arrest."
And thus, a lively adventure was brought to a misfortunate, yet unavoidable end.