The next chapter will be a little late, I can't promise it will be out by tonight but I'll try my best to get it done. Thanks for your patience and remember to stay awesome :)
Almost everyone was present when we returned back home. Echo was seated at our dining table, with fingers tapping rapidly on her laptop, while Lowe was in a middle of a phone call with Aisha, ordering her to return as soon as possible. Raven, Eve, and Amos were seated quietly at the living room, Chung and I joined them without a second thought. It didn't take long for Aisha to return home and when she came back Lowe gestured us to the dining table for a meeting. We mutely gathered around with eyes on Echo---to say she looked over-worked would be an understatement. Loose strands of silver hair stuck out in various directions from her head, her emerald eyes were now cloaked with dark bangs underneath.
"As you all know, this is known to be the most peaceful time of the year." Echo began with eyes glued onto her laptop screen. "Normally magic levels and demon activities are significantly lower thus leaving our world in a state of tranquility---but this year is different."
"Have any of you felt a strange disturbance during these past few months?" Lowe asked, folding his hands behind him. "Like a shift of the magic levels."
We each nodded stiffly, Lowe's jaws tightened at our response.
"What's happening?" I asked.
"We've received reports of unusual magic buildup in the area known as Feita." Echo resumed typing on the laptop. "Demon activity has sky-rocketed as well. Knights have also reported seeing two anomalies leading demons to attack and gather."
This sounds like the warning Scarlet gave me, I thought grimly. If she knew about it before the Knights began detecting it, who knows how long those two have been active in Feita?
"Tonight the Feita Temple was breached by demons. All the Knights that were guarding it was wiped out, no survivors have been reported."
Aisha gasped," that's awful."
"They reached out to all Red Knight bases for help and Lowe has decided to send our best team out." She glanced up at us with a smile. "We've gathered your clothes and weapons already, they should be boarding an airplane as we speak. I've also included both El Shards with them, in case you guys need an extra power boost."
Why would she consider taking both the El Shards? We are strong enough with only one Shard, it is unnecessary and dangerous to have two.
'She's just looking out for us, Eun, please try not to be judgmental.'
"Wait, we're leaving tonight?" Raven blurted.
"Feita needs all the help it can get as soon as possible." Lowe replied. "I apologize for sending you all away on such short notice."
"What about Elsword?" Eve asked. "He is back at home with his sister."
"The plane you will be taking stops at Velder," Echo answered with a yawn. "Elesis has been informed of your arrival and will be expecting you tomorrow morning. Elesis will direct you guys to the Feita transport team, from there you guys will listen to the orders given out by the leader of the Feita base."
"Can I come too?" Amos piped in. A frown instantly formed on Raven's lips at the sound of his request.
"I don't think that's a good idea, kiddo." Lowe answered before Raven got a chance to. "The troops out there also detected a high level of dark magic---much higher than the one you felt in Bethma." He added, forgetting Amos was not with us in Bethma.
"But I wanna help too," Amos whined, ignoring Lowe's mention of Bethma.
"Lowe is right," Eve ruffled Amos' head. "This is too dangerous for you."
"Please," Amos begged, flashing puppy-dog eyes at his two guardians. "I promise I'll be super good and make some more awesome potions."
Raven and I exchanged conflicted looks, like two new parents trying to figure out how they should respond to the complaints of their first child.
"Well, I don't see a problem in him staying at the base." Echo muttered, resting her head on the table. "He certainly won't be bored with Allegro around."
"Allegro?" Amos repeated curiously.
Echo smiled," he's an amazing alchemist---even better than me." Her cheeks flushed with pink. "I miss that dork."
Eve crossed her arms together," but what if the base gets attacked? How can we be sure Amos will be safe during the attack?"
"I also don't like the idea of leaving him alone with strangers." Raven added with a frown. "How can we be sure they'll protect him like we do?"
"You two sound like my parents," Echo groaned---Eve's cheeks flushed with pink in response. "Let the kid see the world, you can't keep protecting him forever."
"I agree with Echo," Amos flashed them another set of puppy-dog eyes. "Pretty please can I go?"
Raven sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose," if I bring you along do you promise to be good?"
"Of course!" Amos answered almost instantly.
"And you will agree to go back if we decide it is too dangerous for you?" Eve quickly added.
Amos frowned," but--"
"Answer my question." Eve cut him off.
"Fine," he said, dropping his head down in defeat.
Lowe's frown clearly expressed his distaste with the idea of sending a kid with us but he kept quiet as he knew he had no say in what Raven and Eve wanted to do.
"You should get packing, Amos." Echo suggested with eyes shut. "The plane in Elder is waiting for you guys."
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We arrived at the Velder airport early next morning. The sky was still painted in an array dawn's hues and the sun had still retained its early amber glow. Walking through the Velder airport was unnerving, to say the least. People seemed to steer clear from us as we navigated through the building with a Ponggo (whom they must have assumed was another demon) and an Ancient Phoru following us. We were confronted by several Velder Knights about our unique group but they quickly left us alone once we had revealed to them our identity. After we had gathered all of our belongings we hurried to the bathroom to change back to our usual clothes.
Unfortunately whoever was packing our belongings had forgot to pack my prized golden necklace. I spouted out a few curses before letting my anger simmer away, I knew there was nothing I could do to get it delivered---at least I still had Chung's with me.
Once we were all changed we decided to fill our stomachs up at the small food court. I was reluctant to buy Yang fast food to eat but I knew better than to leave my partner hungry---luckily Yang didn't complain about its meal and ate every last bit of it before we were finished our food. We enjoyed the remainder of our breakfast in silence as we waited for Elsword and his sister to arrive---Yang slept beside me once it had finished its share of food.
"I found them." A familiar voice sounded.
I swallowed the last of my burger and averted my eyes up. Elsword could be seen running to our table with a toothy smile, a red haired woman (who I could safely assume was his sister) followed slowly behind him.
Elsword's sister had long scarlet red hair and matching red eyes. In one hand she held a massive red sword and while her other hand was wrapped up in a cast. Unlike her brother she was in casual wear, she had on a simple green t-shirt and a pair of red shorts.
She looks a lot like Scarlet, I mused. I wonder if she's the one I've been talking to this whole time. If she is why didn't she warn the Red Knights about the duo in Feita? Why did she have to inform me about it?
"Sorry we took so long," Elsword said once he had arrived. "We slept in." He took a fry from Aisha's tray and plopped it into his mouth.
"You both managed to sleep in?" Aisha asked incredulously. "And don't just take my food like that."
"I barely ate before coming here," he said, taking more of her fries.
"Well...then I guess you can steal some food." Aisha gestured him to take the rest of the fries. "But it's your fault for sleeping in."
"Hey, it wasn't my fault Elesis wanted to go on a movie marathon with me last night." He defended---Raven and Chung snickered in response.
"I bet she forced you to watch some chick flick." Chung laughed.
Elsword frowned and stuffed his face with more fries," maybe." He muttered with his mouth full.
"There's nothing wrong with a chick flicks," his sister piped in suddenly. She leaned her massive sword against the table and took the rest of Elsword's fries. "You were totally crying like a baby last night."
Elsword choked on his food and began coughing. Our table erupted in laughter as he tried to drown down the remainder of his food with Aisha's drink.
"Don't mind him," she said, eating the last of his fries. "He's always trying too hard to as cool as me."
"Am not!" Elsword snapped once he was finished coughing.
"Sure, pumpkin, whatever you say." She laughed, ruffling his hair. "You're such a cute little brother."
"I'm not cute," he slapped her hand off his head with reddened cheeks. "And you're not cool."
"As Elsword's cool and awesome sister---"she wrapped her arm around her brother"----it's my job to tell you how cute this guy looks in a dress."
"Elesis," he groaned as he tried to free himself from her grip.
"Oh and one time we were out shopping---"she strengthened her grip around Elsword"---Elsword got separated from me but the poor kid didn't know. When I turned around I saw this dork going up to some red-haired lady demanding for her to give him his money."
Elsword buried his face in his hands as Elesis began laughing at the memory," the poor lady looked so terrified."
"Sis," Elsword groaned.
"There was also a time where this loser almost drowned in the kitty pool, but that's a story for another day." She released her brother from her iron grip. "Right now I should be escorting you guys to your ride. They're waiting just outside Velder."
"Is everyone ready for departure?" Eve asked---nearly everyone bobbed their heads at her question.
Elesis smiled at our response," glad to see you guys are ready to go." She said retrieving her sword. "I'm sure Lento will be delighted to see your early arrival. "
___________________________________________________________________________________
Elesis drove us through Velder to meet up with our escorts, unfortunately her van was not big enough to fit everyone comfortably. Yang took up most of the space in the back seats thus we had to make some adjustments to our seating arrangement---Elsword gave up his front seat for Aisha as he joined Raven and Eve in the middle section of the van, Amos was seating on Raven's lap. Chung and I were forced to squish in with Yang in the back but because Yang took up so much space I had no choice but to sit on Chung's lap--he was a surprisingly comfortable chair.
Elesis entertained us with her childhood stories; most of the tales told was to deliberately embarrass her brother. My initial suspicions of her being the same person as Scarlet quickly died out as her stories progressed. Elesis had never mentioned anything about travelling away from society nor had she brought up the idea of integrating herself back in. The closest thing I heard was her prolonged mission on a different continent. It was safe to say Scarlet and Elesis were two completely different people.
The van quieted down once we began threading through the inner parts of Velder. Almost all of us were amazed at the many colourful decorations put up for the Harmony Festival along with the many Knights patrolling down the streets. It was strange to see so many Knights on duty, you could hardly catch a glimpse of a patrolling Knight in Elder. A great stone castle loomed over the busy streets with various watch towers encircling the building.
"During the day of the Harmony Festival all the streets are blocked off for parades and marches." Elesis spoke up as we neared the edge of the great city---the tree lines were growing more thick and less people could be seen. "We also have public spars for the people to watch and bet on."
"That sounds way cooler than Elder," Aisha pointed out. "We have night markets and parades but nothing more than that."
"We tend to go overboard with holidays," Elesis chuckled. "But it's been harder and harder to celebrate with so many attacks and disturbances."
The air seemed to thicken in the van. Aisha swallowed as she mutely opened the car window just enough for a cool breeze to rush in.
"I'm not sure about letting you guys fight in Feita." Elesis said after a minute of silence. "I've heard some amazing accomplishments from your team but I don't feel like you're ready."
"I think you're just overthinking things, sis." Elsword replied, probably with a frown. "We took down some crazy Nasod under Elder, defeated a Nasod King, and took down a dragon---a freakin' dragon!"
"I'm not calling you weak," she clarified calmly. "You are far from weak, but I fear your successful experience is boosting your ego. As of now you have seen nothing but victory, you have not tasted defeat enough to fight with caution."
"Well there was one time we let a bandit get away, and another time when we were defeated by a thief, and--"
"Minor mistakes," Elesis cut her brother off---her hands tightened around the steering wheel. "The stronger you get the more you attract danger. Please keep that in mind when you enter a new mission."
"Sis, we'll be fine."
Elesis' shoulders tensed," I hope you will be."
There wasn't any further exchange in words. Elesis continued down the straight road with whitened hands gripped tightly around the steering wheel. We drove further down the straight road for another half hour or so before spotting a small gas station. Elesis turned into the station, there we could see three large black trucks parked side by side with knights standing guard beside them.
"These are your escorts," Elesis said as she pulled up beside the trucks.
No one said a word as we shuffled our way out of the cramped vehicle. Elsword opened up the back trunk to let us gather up our belongings while Elesis spoke with the Knights on guard.
"Sorry to call you guys out here on such a short notice," a familiar blue-haired knight approached us with Elesis following shortly behind. I recognized him as the Knight we met at the restaurant back in Elder.
"It's no problem," Elsword replied, closing up his sister's trunk. "We're glad to help."
"I would like to formally introduce you to my team but there's no time. We must depart to Feita immediately." He gestured to the black trucks behind him. "You may leave your belongings in one of the trunks. Unfortunately we do not have enough room in each truck for your team so would it be okay if you guys sat in trunks?"
"That's fine," Elsword answered for us.
Lento smiled politely," very well, we should get going as soon as possible."
"W-wait," Elesis grabbed Lento's arm. "If anything goes wrong call me. I-I might be injured but I can still fight."
"Elesis, you've been fighting for long enough. The reason they didn't give you a high-class healing potion is because they want you to rest and relax." His expression seemed to soften a bit. "Please just rest."
Elesis frowned," Lento--"
"I'll contact you if anything does go wrong, but until then stay home and rest up." He pulled his arm out of her grip. "I promise you'll be the first to know if something goes wrong.
She opened her mouth to protest but Lento turned his attention away from her before she got the chance to speak. "I'll be waiting for everyone to board." Lento began his way back to the trucks, the knights on guard lowered their weapons as they began shuffling back inside the trucks---others hopped onto the empty trunks.
"We better get going," Elsword looked over at his sister. "You better rest up like Lento told you to."
She sighed," I know." She folded her lips tightly together. "I-I wish we could've spent the Harmony Festival together. It's been forever since I've spent time with you." She turned her back toward us and sniffled. "I used to leave you alone all the time to go on missions; looks like karma has finally come to bite me."
"Elesis, don't cry." Elsword dropped his belongings and ran toward his sister. The rest of us mutely proceeded to fill one of the trunks with our baggage. No one said a word to Elsword as we hopped onto one of the two trunks available. Raven, Eve, and Amos sat in one truck while Chung, Aisha, and I sat in the other.
Seeing Elesis and Elsword's reunion made me feel upset---not because I wasn't happy for them but because it felt unfair. Aren and I have been separated for a much longer period of and yet we aren't allowed to reunite yet. I hate to admit it but I was bitterly jealous of Elsword.
"Sorry I took so long." I snapped out of my daze as Elsword hopped onto the trunk.
"How's Elesis?" Aisha asked softly.
"She's upset that we have to be separated again," he said, sitting himself down beside her. "She said she would be fine but I don't trust her on that."
"Once we're done with Feita we can visit her," Aisha placed her hand over his. "Don't worry."
He mutely bobbed his head and his fingers intertwined with hers. I readjusted my sitting position as the trucks roared to life. One by one the trucks began their way out the gas station and back on the road. We waved Elesis good bye on the way out---she smiled at us but it was quite obvious her smile was forced out.
I hope this mission won't take too long. I thought. Elesis must be devastated to see Elsword leaving her. I know I would be if Aren had to leave right after I reunited with him.
"Lento, are you sure these kids can handle it?" One of the knights' muffled voice sounded from inside the truck.
"These kids have taken down remarkable enemies," he answered. "I trust in their ability to fight."
"But can they deal with the demons that's attacking us?" Another piped in.
"If Lowe's words are correct these kids will be more than okay dealing with the demons." There was a brief pause. "What I'm concerned about is the increased demon activity. I don't understand why there's such a rise in activity during this time of year."
"Not to mention the number of spirits sighted."
Spirits? I've heard it was possible to fight spirits (Mother and Father learned the techniques to deal with various spirits) and send them back to the other world, but I didn't think I'd ever encounter one.
"If the reinforcements aren't enough should we fall back to the--"
"No," Lento snapped. "You are not allowed to use such a skill under any circumstances."
"Then what's the point in learning it?" Someone grumbled.
"It is a skill that is only used in the most dire of situations. We rarely fall back on such a skill though." Lento answered lowly. "Do not mention such a skill in front of this team...young naive minds shouldn't get the wrong idea."
"I didn't think sitting back here would be so cold," Elsword said with a sneeze. "I should've worn a sweater."
I pried my attention away from the knights' conversation and returned my attention to my friends. Elsword now had an arm around Aisha, Aisha was snuggled comfortably on his shoulder. I felt my face warming at the familiarity of such a gesture.
"Aren't you cold, Ara?" Aisha asked, wrapping her arms around Elsword.
I felt my eyes instinctively trailing down to the ocean blue pendant hanging around my neck," not really." I answered with a grin.
"And I've been meaning to ask you, where did that lovely blue pendant come from?" She added---probably with a raised brow.
"Umm," my cheeks heated further. "Someone gave it to me."
"A special friend?" Elsword piped in playfully.
"No," I snapped almost instantly. Chung chuckled at my response but didn't add onto the conversation.
"I totally believe you," Aisha replied, sarcasm dripped from her voice. "You don't have to tell me now, we can wait another day."
I was about to reply but I quickly lost my words as a gut wrenching aura pulsated from the road ahead. I felt the colour and bliss draining from everyone's faces. We all turned our attention ahead to see the dark road ahead. The sky in front of us was not the clear blue colour we had grown to know, instead it was tainted with dark clouds---it looked as if it was the result of a terrible forest fire. From what I could see it didn't appear like there was any sunlight up ahead, it's as if the land was forever shrouded in the night.
"S-something feels wrong," Aisha whispered. "I-I sense a strong level of dark magic up ahead."
"S-same," Elsword added quietly. "It makes me want to vomit."
"I can't imagine what our enemy will be like," Chung mused grimly. "Maybe this is why Elesis was worried about our well-being."
"We'll be fine," Elsword reassured. "S-she's just a bit paranoid."
A heavy feeling began to press itself against my chest, it felt as if I was being stepped on by an elephant. I took a deep breath in and readjusted myself into a more comfortable position, hoping it'll help me breathe easier.
"Do you think this has to do with our next El Shard?" Aisha asked.
Chung shrugged," if it is that's one strong Shard."
We rode further down the rode in silence. The dark aura swallowing us only thickened as we travelled further down. At one point one of the knights asked if we were coping with the dark essence alright to which we replied with an obvious lie. The ashen colour on our faces clearly showed our distress over the abrupt change in atmosphere.
The distinct smell of blood began to grow present in the air. I informed the knights about it to which they responded by exerting the full speed of their vehicle. It took me by surprise when none of them asked how I could pick up the scent, either Lowe informed them ahead of time about my special powers or they were too worried about their base to care about the small details.
It didn't take long for the small base to come into view, but even from a distance we could see the various enemies swarming around the base. Everyone mutely took up their weapons and waited for the trucks to reach our target. Raven and Aisha released a couple of fireballs at the enemies standing in our path as the trucks all came to a screeching stop, the vehicles kicked up a cloud of brown dust during its abrupt halt.
I hopped onto Yang the instant we had stopped moving and sprang into action. The demons instantly took notice of our arrival and wasted no time to attack us. Most of my friends stayed by the entrance of the base to fight off the approaching enemies while I used Yang to charge further into the base. Yang burned through most of the demons blocking our way while I took care of the few that didn't seem to be bothered by its flames.
The demons I was fighting was unusually strong and organized---their strength was significantly stronger than the demons that had attacked Elder. The demons strategically fought in big groups when going against two or more opponents while others went off alone to take down the injured and destroy the many tents set up.
It felt like hours had passed before the demons decided to retreat. Once the area was free from any more enemies we proceeded to aid the injured Knights. Aisha and Chung immediately began brewing up some potions (Amos hopped in to help them) while everyone else helped clean up the base---unfortunately that meant cleaning up bodies as well.
"Lento, I heard you were back." I turned my head away from the wrecked tent I was currently repairing and averted my attention to the short black-haired guy running toward Lowe. His rounded glasses clutched loosely around the bridge of his nose and bounced with each step he took.
"Allegro," Lento idly pushed past his knights to reach him. "Why are you out here? It could still be dangerous--"
"There's people that need me," the boy Allegro protested. "How can I do my job if I'm constantly being cooped up in that tent?"
Lento frowned," what if you suddenly get attacked? How can you expect me to protect you?"
"I'm not that helpless," Allegro dug into his oversized green jacket and pulled out three different coloured orbs. "These are infused with elemental magic. I just need to break them and poof they're activated."
Lento arched his brow," can they kill a demon?" He challenged.
Allegro grinned," they can kill, but not quickly though."
"They're useless unless they can kill on the spot," Lento snatched his orbs away with one hand. "I refuse to let you run into battle with these."
"Give those back," Allegro attempted to reach for his orbs but his height betrayed him. "Lowe, you're always so controlling."
"I'm just looking out for you," he said, raising his arm higher. "Go back to the tent and brew up the potions there."
"You're such a bore," Aisha's voice sounded. I turned my head toward her, shocked that she would say such a thing to Lowe, but she was still occupied with the potion brewing over the small camp fire.
If it wasn't Aisha that said it then who?
"Honestly, how can you expect your best friend to be happy in that oversized igloo?" A familiar mage with twin purple braids walked idly toward them. Allegro's cheeks flared with red as she wrapped an arm around his shoulders," relax a bit, old man. Allegro won't break into pieces if he steps outside, the scary bugs and fresh air won't kill him."
"Speka?" I heard myself blurting out her name. The trio turned their attention to me along, Lento and Allegro seemed surprised at my knowledge of her name while Speka simple greeted me with a toothy grin.
"Ara, it feels like forever since I last saw you." She chimed. "If you're here then my big sister must also too. I can't wait to give that loser the most painful bear hug in the world."