Seven of the normal sand boats along with one much larger model had parked around the broken pieces of Alexander’s boat. The majority of the crew had already descended out of the boats and was walking towards the group. In the lead, a black-haired woman with the sides of her head shaved and wearing a green leather armor was flanked by a group of armored soldiers. Speaking into a walkie-talkie, she reported the situation. “Let Sir Gabriel know I’ve followed the signal on the half-Inquisitor. I’ll be taking the Prince and escorting him back to the base. I’ve brought 7 pirate ships with me in case there are any Tlaloc clan members defending the Prince in secret along with a contingent of our division’s soldiers, but based on our observations, he should only be accompanied by non-threats.”
From the other side of the line, Jacques, Gabriel’s butler, responded. “Good. The young master will be pleased to know he’ll be able to return home full of glory without even having to lift a finger. Do not tarnish our division’s reputation by messing up now, Captain.”
The woman handed the walkie-talkie to a nearby soldier before clapping her hands. Once her hands touched, the sound of thunder roared through the forest. “Half-Inquisitor, hand over the prisoner! I am Beatrice, captain of the third squadron of the Storm Division. I come under the orders of Sir Gabriel son of the Storm King, Lord Antoine, to move the Prince to Propizio.”
Atop the sand boat, the anger Thomas had tried to suppress erupted. “A friend, Alexander?! He was leading us on this whole time!”
Holding back Thomas with his arm, Alexander attempted to placate him. “Let’s not be so hasty to jump to conclusions. Why would he make himself vulnerable by sharing his history with us if he planned on immediately betraying us.” Seeking a better explanation, he turned to Kai. “What’s going on, Kai?”
Touched by the trust Alexander had already placed on him, Kai rose from the table. “I have no idea how they tracked us, but I was genuine when I moved the boat away so that we wouldn’t be discovered.” Walking over to Pola, he picked her and Pengu up before bringing them back to the table. “However, it just so happens the enemies are the members of the crew who kept me prisoner for so long. So how about I show you I’m trustworthy by doing something I’ve been holding back for way too long. I’ll just annihilate everyone.” A deep rage filled his voice as he enunciated those last words.
As Kai finished speaking, he began to float up. The boat trembled as all the metal coating was ripped off and fluidly formed a stream surrounding Kai. Overlooking the enemies, Kai’s voice boomed. “Listen up, you scum. I have toiled for the Green Mamba for years. Long did I allow myself to be used, but I am a free man now. Anyone who dares stand in my way will draw their last breath in this forest.” The metal quickly condensed into thousands of shards as they pointed down, arcs of lightning running through each of them.
The captain’s gaze was seething as thunder once more engulfed the forest. “You seek to interfere with the Jupiter clan’s business? Preposterous! To think a mere Inquisitor reject would dare step up to the Storm Division. Men, thunderstorm formation. Pirates, go wild. I want nothing but ash to be left of this failed Inquisitor.”
The lightning coursing through each shard of metal began to turn yellow as Kai dove straight at the pirates. A blast of blue light temporarily blinded everyone, and as their vision slowly returned, they witnessed the aftermath of Kai’s first move. A deep crevice expanded in the earth around Kai. Any pirates unlucky enough to have been standing near the epicenter of the crash landing could no longer be made out. The surrounding pirates began to summon crystallized weapons and power up their bodies, but they soon realized the hell was just beginning.
A rain of metal assaulted the pirates, shearing straight through their defenses. Cries filled the battlefield for almost a minute before the captain and her soldiers were able to eliminate the threat. The Storm Division soldiers emitted a brilliant yellow light from their eyes as they formed a circle around the captain. In the center, she raised a rapier to the heavens and shot out a single lightning bolt. Over the metal scraps, a pitch-black cloud crept into the skies as if the heavens themselves were responding to the call to arms. Fierce thunder and lightning were soon born, obliterating any metal in their path.
Refusing to allow his enemies to gain an upper hand, Kai called down eight of the largest shards left to float behind him like weapons at the ready. Extending his right hand back towards the boat, a whistling sound was heard as his sword flew into his hand. Blue lightning swept through him and his makeshift swords as he took one step forward. When his foot touched the ground, he appeared twenty feet away with his sword piercing into the stomach of the nearest pirate. With a mind of their own, his eight surrounding blades shot out to eviscerate the ranks of the pirates.
Releasing his blade, Kai kicked an incoming pirate away as he prepared himself for the onslaught of attacks. Now that the soldiers were taking care of the metal rain, the pirates’ disarray ended, and they began to attack Kai more calmly. Bow wielders released a swarm of arrows to descend on Kai as several blue color users looked to face him in combat. Appearing to be in a battle trance, Kai attacked with no regard for his defenses as he rushed the close-combat specialists.
For every punch on Kai’s body, he would return twenty as his blue lightning burned at full power. No one in the battlefield could keep up with his speed. Ducking under a sweeping hammer, Kai pierced into a club user with his bare hands. Feeling an arrow stab through his calf, he angrily launched one of the metal pieces towards the long-range enemies. Thunder rumbled once more throughout the forest. Sensing a change in the clouds, he gathered the other eight pieces of metal like an umbrella under a storm. A deafening lightning strike tore through the metal and hurtled towards Kai. Reacting at the last second, he threw the hammer wielding pirate over his shoulder and rolled away.
A heavy lightning strike decimated the ground forming a crater much larger than Kai’s in the forest floor. Slowly rising from the shattered trees, Kai clenched his jaw as he witnessed the destruction the now massive cloud had caused. A part of the lightning had still managed to hit him, burning away the majority of his shirt. “You interrupt my cleansing! Stay the hell away from if you want to live.” Baring his teeth, Kai furiously screamed.
Nine yellow lightning strikes poured over the captain and her eight soldiers. Their auras skyrocketed, and the captain quickly reached Lord tier strength. “I don’t give a shit about what you want. Even a pauper of the clan is better than you. The only reason you earned the slightest bit of my attention was because you decided to disobey today, and now you will face de-” A fast approaching blue flash interrupted her mid-speech.
A giant lightning bolt struck the ground immediately in front of the captain, defending her from Kai’s surprise attack. His blue lightning was able to defuse the brunt of the attack, but he still endured severe burns on his right arm. Ignoring his current state, Kai brought forth the remains of his eight makeshift blades, crushing the broken pieces together until they reformed into a second blade along with his greatsword. Afterimages formed around the squadron’s perimeter as Kai used his maximum speed in an attempt to reach the captain. He was met with disappointment as lightning bolts crashed down no matter what angle he approached them from.
Kai knelt as a he felt another arrow pierce into his body. A splatter of blood sprung from his back. Flashing away, Kai let loose on the remaining pirates. He weaved through the crowd as he began a second massacre. There was less than a dozen pirates alive at this point, and they were all eager to tally as much damage on Kai as they could to avenge their fallen comrades. Deflecting as many blows as he could with his faux blade, Kai occasionally tanked hits with his body if it meant he could complete a killing blow. Every time he swung his sword, the metal behind him would explode outward like shrapnel bombs. Soon enough, there was no longer an uninjured pirate.
After slashing the penultimate pirate, a large lightning bolt burned through his body. Lightning strikes had chased Kai through the battlefield as he cut down the survivors, but none had managed to cause any substantial injury until this one. The damage incurred left Kai paralyzed, and the last remaining pirate took advantage of this by piercing Kai in the chest with an arrow. As a third arrow struck his body, Kai roared in pain. He was cut up, bruised, and burned, but by the sheer force of his will, he rose and dashed to the final pirate. Blood dripping from his wounds, Kai’s speed was no longer akin to teleportation.The damage had piled on, and his rash use of mana left his reserves running low. Nevertheless, he still reached the final pirate and cut straight through his bow.
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Panting from the exertion, Kai stabbed his sword into the ground to lean on it and turned to face the Storm soldiers. “I… will never again be chained down. NEVER!” His eyes glazed over as the largest lightning strike yet towered down.
Suddenly, a dome of ice formed around Kai’s body. The physical impact of the lightning shattered the ice, but the insulation properties were enough to draw away the electricity. Pouring most of his mana into reforming the dome, Thomas yelled out. “Heal him fast, Alexander! I can only hold this for a few seconds, and I still need to conserve some mana to deal with the empowered soldiers.”
Following the failure of the first one, more lightning strikes descended. Alexander was already healing Kai with his white flames burning as much as possible. Kai regained consciousness quickly, but Alexander held him down as he passed him a lightning snack Pola had given them. “I am going to heal you for as long as Thomas can hold the lightning strikes back so just hold still. Eat this in the meantime.” Chipped ice pelted the three of them as the dome trembled more and more frequently. “We both understand your reckless charge against the pirates was cathartic and necessary, but we’re really gonna need you to get a hold of yourself for them because they appear to be much stronger than the pirates.
The dome shook once more as Thomas coughed blood. “I’m covering too many different lightning strikes. Defenses are coming down any second now, and for the love of Sobek, I hope Sparky over there fights with us rather than letting us die.”
Focusing his scan, Alexander began to feel strong emotions of release and acceptance. Realizing he was getting through to Kai, he continued. “I know going wild on the pirates must have been freeing for you, but that’s all well and done so how about we finish this fight together.” Alexander offered Kai a hand.
Clasping his hand tightly, Kai stood up, a steadfast expression on his face. “I’ve made a fool of myself. I tried to be cool and neutralize the enemies on my own, but I ended up losing control.” Looking to Alexander, he made a small nod. “I appreciate your help. Allow me to repay you by getting us out of here alive.” He flashed beside Thomas as he extended his hand backwards. “Hey, Tommy. What do you say we kick some ass?”
Wiping a stream of blood leaving his mouth, Thomas grunted. “You better be ready to fight much better than whaterver the hell you did before. It was embarrassing seeing someone I lost against do so poorly.” Thomas summoned his shield and spear, opting to go without armor in lieu of his low mana.
The greatsword flew into Kai’s open hand as blue and yellow lightning poured into it. “Don’t worry. I’m ready to release my anger in a much more controlled way.” Taking a step forward, he rushed straight at the icy barrier.
The dome walls melted to water as Kai flashed through them, yellow water dousing his sword in the area where he passed through. Behind him, Thomas flew through the air in a river of his own creation. When Kai reached the Storm soldiers, he swung at the nearest soldier. The cloud rumbled once more, but this time Thomas created an ice cover to protect Kai from the incoming lightning strike. The yellow water Thomas had previously attached to the greatsword activated as it completed its downward arc, remarkably increasing its weight. The nearest soldier had no chance to defend against the attack.
Flashing backward, Kai regrouped beneath Thomas, leaving the Storm soldiers in disarray. Icicles poured down at the men as the lightning bore down on the icy roof. While Kai called back his sword, Thomas swept forward, flooding the soldiers with his dense water. With their movements bogged down, Kai and Thomas both charged into them.
Fearsome lightning strikes continued to rain on them, but Thomas kept them safe by forming layers of ice over their cover. Now that the threat of the storm had been temporarily neutralized, the soldiers all crystallized their weapons and prepared for combat.
Ducking under a sword swing, Kai launched his greatsword at the captain. Meanwhile, Thomas leapt over him and shield bashed the soldier who had attempted to attack Kai. A yellow glow quickly increased the heaviness of the shield which planted the man straight into the ground.
Blue lightning rolled through the captain’s body as she simply caught Kai’s blade, but Thomas was quick to increase its weight, surprising her. Kai flashed over and front kicked her right into an ice spear Thomas prepared. Taking her first wound of the fight, the captain shook in anger- the thunderstorm roiled in the sky mimicking her actions.
The rest of the soldiers converged on Thomas’ location. Spinning his spear over his head, he kicked up a small snowstorm to defend himself, but the soldiers muscled their way through it as they sought to skewer Thomas. Having limited mana left, Thomas could do nothing but turtle under his shield. He tanked only one hit before Kai’s sword curved through the air and sliced through the soldiers.
The size of the cloud halved after the soldiers had been disposed of, but this did not decrease the frequency of the lightning strikes. If anything, the captain’s anger caused them to fall even more often. As she broke herself off the spear, the captain’s eyes glowed brighter. Suddenly, the cloud descended into the forest sending everyone into a foggy world with low visibility. The lightning strikes continued only now they moved horizontally across the cloud. Looking in vain for Kai, Thomas took a hook to the jaw. He swung his spear reflexively but hit nothing but air. Another punch cracked his ribs as he was thrown deeper into the fog. Feeling an incoming blow, Thomas weakly raised his shield, but the captain’s fist proved too heavy. Bursting through the orange crystalline shield, the captain uppercut Thomas right into a lightning bolt. A cold laughter was heard around the cloud as more lightning coursed within.
Peripheral lightning found the dome Alexander had been kept within and smashed it away. Having been a trapped spectator to the battle so far, he had used his scan to detect nearby bodies. Two indigo auras with lightning attributes clashed within the cloud. Finding a water-attributed green aura, Alexander sprinted to the collapsed Thomas. Think, Alexander. Think!! How can I help here? Healing his wounds is not enough. I need to be able to contribute something. The captain’s fist hit against Kai’s leg momentarily parting the cloud as blue lightning went everywhere. Alexander saw as Kai seemed to absorb some of the captain’s lightning to further fuel his next boosted kick. That’s it! Can’t I just feed Thomas some of my mana? Isn’t that just healing another type of organ?
Stunned by his new enlightenment, Alexander placed his hands around Thomas’ head and began to heal. He felt the familiar sensation of his mana converting to white flames which actively boosted the body’s regenerations. Focusing on the process, Alexander began to force his white flames to convert back into mana within Thomas’ body. He imagined the roaring river of mana he typically felt from his friend, and after a few seconds, he succeeded in creating a piffling brook.
Thomas’ eyes shot open as he regained consciousness. He recalled the captain’s attack prior to passing out and was surprised to find an exhausted Alexander beside him. “How did you get here, and why is there such deep black circles under your eyes?”
His head bobbing away, Alexander eked a few words before falling asleep. “Can’t always be thrown away to safety. I-I helped this time. Off to mimi-land now. Zzzzzzzz.”
With a firm pat to his friend, Thomas picked up his nearby spear and began to limp towards the sounds of fighting. I can activate the yellow color twice thanks to Alexander. Not enough mana to make my shield anymore, but that should be fine.
On Kai’s side, he met another of the captain’s punch with a side kick of his own, but as he exploded backwards, he found his leg had fractured. Just how much can this monster empower her body? Kai was a blue color specialist, meaning he had trained his lightning to empower only one of his body’s qualities; in his case, it was his speed. Circling around the captain, Kai wondered how he could defeat her. His thoughts were interrupted as a hand made out of water mana grasped his leg. Understanding Thomas’ meaning, Kai flashed towards the captain once more after shooting a lightning bolt directly at her.
Seeing his approach, she calmly slapped the lightning away before focusing all her lightning into her right arm as she prepared to finish off Kai. However, this would not come to pass as a yellow tinted spear intercepted her punch. The spear disintegrated upon making contact with the captain’s punch but most of the lightning dissipated as well. From within the spear’s dust, Kai kicked down. His leg glowed with the remainder of Thomas’ mana, caving in the captain’s chest.
The cloud dispersed showing the results of the battle. Thomas lay burnt to a crisp as he had forsaken all defense to support Kai. On the other hand, Kai lay in the crater that was the final resting place of the captain. His leg wasted under the immense weight Thomas had attached to it. Further out, Alexander was collapsed on the ground, softly snoring away.