I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. Damn this Lou Yi's place. I just cannot resist the comfort of the cool ambiance that this wooden house was giving. It's all dry but cold.
As I went on my way out to pee, I had noticed that all were sleeping except Vale, who was outside, staring blankly at the sky.
"Still thinking of her?" I asked.
"What makes you say so?" Vale responded.
"The night. It is so romantic not to think of someone you love. Do you miss her?" I grinned.
"Damn that intuition, Harith. Did you also learn that from the Academy?" Vale, who sounded a little bit awkward after I teased him.
"Nah. No one can ever teach you how to fall in love, Vale. But you must be careful though. Because the very last thing you might want to happen in love is when you're falling without you even knowing."
"I don't totally agree with you, Harith. Falling without knowing?" Then he raised his right hand, and drew a small tornado in his palm. "It's like saying you can feel the wind, but can't see it. And just because you can't see it, you choose to ignore that a wind is actually touching you. Love is universal, Harith. It is the same addicting experience commonly felt by everyone. And you know there is love from the moment you start feeling the affections. It is not true that you wouldn't know."
"Valir, right? Are you still upset with him?"
"Aside from that lame excuse of falling without knowing, there is another thing I don't understand." Then the tornado previously in his palm began to circle around him. "Valir is too smart not to know many things. He knew it's wrong. He knew how complicated everything would be. He knew I will get hurt. And Kadita too. But why did he still fight for it?" Vale argued, his whitish hair now raised upward by the strong winds surrounding him.
"I.. I don't exactly know Vale. Maybe he had some reasons. Some reasons only he understand."
"Maybe you were right. If only... if only I share the same principle with you Harith, maybe Valir is still alive now," Vale, in a more relaxed manner.
A moment of silence followed as Vale continued to look deeply in the starry sky.
"Vale, by the way, my inventory is full already."
"Are you saying all your six slots are full? That's good."
"Yes. When you gave me your Winter Truncheon, I had no inventory slot for it, so I had to take out another one," I sighed. "If only one can carry more than six items. Sadly, we're designed this way. So I've decided to pull off this one for you."
"I can't accept this. You need it more than I need it. Helcurt's eyes are fixed on you. And who knows what lies ahead tomorrow. The track towards Yu Zhong is dangerous and full of deadly assassins."
"No. You better keep it. Magic is my life. In this war, I need to maximize my damage. This Immortality will only decrease my magic output. And as long as you're there, Rafaela, Aldous, Lou Yi and whoever tank we can find out there, I am confident I will not be needing this. Please, take it."
"Fine. If that's what you want, I'll keep it."
Suddenly, we heard a commotion coming from the house.
"Everyone, out! Now!"
We heard Lou Yi screaming! What's happening?
Vale suddenly flew upward, gaining vision of the entire scene. I immediately looked back, and found out that the house was covered with smoke.
"Harith, we're being attacked!" Vale shouted from above. "I'll give you more time, go save them!"
I hurriedly blinked to the house's direction as Vale started his offensive attacks. He was on the sky, casting his Wind Blades followed by powerful tornadoes and whirlwinds.
The smoke affected my motion as I entered the house. I could hardly move my feet. It felt numb and a little bit paralyzed.
"I can't move!" Lou Yi complained. "And I can't use my spells either!"
"Come, take my hand, I'll get you out of here!" I offered.
"Aldous and Rafaela, we have to get them first, they're in bad shape!" Lou Yi suggested.
Lou Yi quickly went to Aldous' room and I hastily went to Rafaela's. But I was shocked to see her in a terrible condition, lying on the floor, with lots of blood oozing from her mouth.
"Rafaela! Are you alright? Please, stay alive!" I held her head in my hands, hoping she will respond.
"Harith, healing prayers for you. Please win this war. Thank you for coming. I cannot die yet without my aquamarine in your hands. My aqua-- aquamarine. Take it. Na-- Natalia. She's here," Rafaela, grasping some air in her last words, with aquamarine now ascending from her fallen body.
"No!!!" I screamed, with anger and sorrow wrapping myself, but I still couldn't cast my skills! Dammit!
Natalia? So we are inside her Smoke Bomb?
Then Lou Yi came, assisting Aldous, and realized what happened.
"Our skills are of no use here Harith! We need to get out fast!"
But Lou Yi's words wouldn't sink in, my eyes were more focused at the lifeless Rafaela.
"Harith, listen to me! We need to avenge her death, but we can't fight inside this Smoke Bomb!"
Avenge her death. Those words were more clear now. I need to avenge her death.
We were on our way out of the smoke when we suddenly heard six loud gunshots coming from behind.
"I think-- I think I'm hit," groaned Aldous, who suddenly fell on the ground. The smoke was now gone.
"Step aside! It's Granger!" warned Lou Yi as she cast her Dispersion that instantly triggered a powerful Yin-Yang reaction. But the explosions did not hit Granger.
"Nice try, Lou Yi! But better wear eyeglasses next time!" teased Granger, casting his Rondo to evade the attack.
Suddenly, Granger was lifted in the air and knocked air-borne as Vale cast his Wind Blow on him.
"Let's not talk about eyesight here, one-eyed Granger!" Vale shouted, with eyes turning whitish gold. Then he continued a series of wind strikes, with Granger firing critical bullets in return.
"Lou Yi! You have to use your Ultimate! Take Aldous somewhere! There's no other way! He'll die here!" I suggested.
"What about you? Aren't you coming with us?"
"No! I have to help Vale! For now, all you have to do is bring Aldous safely!
"I get it. Harith, we will help you fight in this war. I will help Aldous gain great stacks of damage first. And by the time we're ready, we will fight with you. But I will take a support role for now."
"Thank you Lou Yi, but you need to hurry! Natalia is around!"
Right away, Lou Yi cast her Ultimate, bringing Aldous with her.
I can see that Vale was still engaging with Granger in a fight. But my focus was not on Granger this time. I was more preoccupied with killing Natalia. That damn assassin!
"A yellow mark on your head! Careful!" Vale warned.
(Author's Note: I recommend playing the video below for the rest of the chapter. Video has no relevance, only for background music. You can start on 1:27 of the video. Enjoy the clash!)
Then Natalia's silhouette could be seen running around me. But I firmly stood my ground.
"I admire your courage, young mage," Natalia appeared before me. "A mage standing in front of an assassin is exceptional."
"You traitor! Why did you side with Helcurt?"
"I am always a seeker of truth. Fate forced me to become an assassin. You know that, Harith. And I really wanted to be with the good guys. But the king of darkness offered a better light. Isn't that so ironic?"
"I see, so you prefer now to be a seeker of lies. When you think an assassin counters a mage, that's a lie. Did your king tell you that? What if I say, mages are good counter for assassins?"
"Don't fool me! Mages are squishy. And the lesson I learned in this war? If you're an assassin, always aim for the mage. They die right away. Easy aquamarines for easy level up. But your friend Rafaela, she won't give up. She kept on healing herself so I was forced to use my Smoke Bomb. It was supposed to be a silent and stealth murder."
Her disturbing words made me cast my ultimate Zaman Force instantly, with fists now electrically loaded with bursting charges. "Well then, your lessons are not over yet!"
With an ultimate cast on, I immediately bombarded her with Synchro Fissions and Chrono Dash. But to my surprise, Natalia did not retreat, instead she chose to take all the damage by using her Claw Dash to face the attack, successfully hitting my knees and triggering her passive Silence!
Now that I cannot cast my skill, she stepped closer and whispered to me. "Did I outsmart you? No. Because from time immemorial, assassins are mage counters. That's how unfair this world is, young mage."
Then she was now in stealth mode, switching for close combat. To finish the attack, she assaulted me with deadly claws by executing her ultimate The Hunt, that empowered her basic damage and further augmented her critical strikes.
"Not this time, Natalia," I whispered back to her as I activated the item that Vale gave me, the Winter Truncheon. In effect, I received no damage at all from her.
"What the f---" Natalia, surprised.
"Are you done? My turn!" I screamed at her face, as I continued my series of combo toward her, taking advantage of my Zaman Force still on the battlefield. Paired with Glowing Wand, Natalia suffered a serious burning magic damage. The magic penetration from Genius Wand was also severe, that it made her crawl on the ground.
I went closer to her and said. "You're not that smart to be outsmarted. You're a dumb ass."
But Natalia smirked, then she managed to use her Flicker spell, and was now on stealth mode again.
"You can't hide from me weak rascal!" I used my Chrono Dash to follow Natalia's direction. Then a yellow mark appeared above me, a signal that she was nearby. I looked around and saw a small bunch of bush. It was the only bush in a wide wheat field.
"Really? This is so not predictable. Hey dumb ass, I know you're listening. Why are mages good counter for assassins too? Because we are capable of dealing high burst damage against low health-points like you."
Then I stepped closer to the bush. "The lesson? Don't brag about your assassin character, kiddo. This game is not about roles, it is about strategy. And this war has no place for idiots and heroes lacking common sense."
Without a second thought, I unleashed a perfectly crafted Synchro Fission and targeted the lone bush, not considering if Natalia was really there or not. The bush was immediately destroyed, with ash particles floating in mid air.
Few seconds later, a bright, glossy gem floated in the bush. It was Natalia's aquamarine. "Such a dumb ass."
Meanwhile, Vale continued clashing with Granger. I can see from afar that all Rhapsody bullets fired by Granger missed. Vale on the other hand, responded with wind attacks, hitting Granger on the process.
"You sure those guns are loaded?" shouted Vale, irking Granger. "How does it feel hitting the winds?"
Then Granger paused for a moment and shouted back at the floating Vale, "Experience the euphony of suffering!"
"Oh! How poetic? Is that what you get from watching too much Guns and Roses?" teased Vale.
"Vale, he is casting his Ultimate!" I warned him.
Instantly, a horrifying sound can be heard in the entire scene. It was the sound coming from Granger's Violin of Death, which was now transformed from a musical instrument into a Super Cannon. Tales had it that Granger's Ultimate contains two deadly bullets, followed by a super bullet that lands a lethal strike.
But Vale was also now raising his two arms upwards, with ravaging winds now connecting to the sky. Extending from his hands, a funnel-shaped tornado was formed from the atmosphere, dissolving and absorbing the clouds within the area. The friction of the clouds and air particles above also created electric charges resulting to random lightning strikes.
A Wind Storm was formed, directly heading towards Granger. However, Granger also released the fatal bullets of his Death Sonata. The two had no plans in retreating. They were all determined to finish each other!
Vale landed perfectly his Wind Storm. However, it seemed that Granger's fast bullets were never evaded by Vale.
I hurriedly went to the site to have a closer look as Vale's ultimate made the scene foggy and less visible. Alas! I can see Granger's aquamarine. But where is Vale? I looked above but I still couldn't find him. Then I searched the vicinity where Vale might have fallen, hoping to find him. But still to no avail.
Those bullets. They surely hit Vale this time.
My heartbeats went faster. I could feel my nerves chilling all throughout. I was looking for Vale, not for his aquamarine.
"I'm sorry," apologized Vale, as he appeared walking from the fog. "I have consumed the Immortality you gave me. I never expect those bullets were deadly."
"Vale! You're alive! See? I know it will be useful!" I joyfully exclaimed, after finding out Vale's safe.
But as Vale was heading towards me, I noticed that his eyes turned to whitish gold again, and gave me an extremely worried look.
"Harith, behind you!" shouted Vale as he dashed forward to save me.
Too late. I felt something hitting my back. For the second time tonight, I couldn't move! But this was way more painful and freezing than Natalia's smoke! I was completely stunned!
"Why does the moon seem so warm to me? Is it because you're clearing all the clouds?" the voice behind my back said to us.