Eternal Elysium

Rose and Mathew had diligently followed the snake-like woman. She had slipped through several places and hidden herself well behind everything she could find.

Unlike humans, who had a fixed body structure and bones that held the body together. The woman was seemingly tangible, like a rubber band. Her disguise was perfect—too perfect, in fact.

Rose knew of some people in theaters that could make masks to change faces, but a touch of their style would always end up in them.

That touch was not something bad; rather, it felt humane and had given each character their specific trait.

But when this woman named Sina took different forms, she seems to have abandoned the previous one completely. Rose found this weird; maybe she was more sensitive to looks than others as a woman, but the feeling of strangeness didn't stop crawling on her skin.

Mathew looked at the city wall and turned back to see the forest. His face instantly wrinkled as he muttered. "They are really leaving…"

It was obvious they were going to avoid the main road and use the forest as a cover.

Rose remained silent and placed the compass in her storage bracelet. She opened her eyes and whispered. "What else did you even expect? When troubles come, these detestable bugs are the first ones to run away."

"...Right" Mathew didn't know what to say as he heard Rose's venomous voice. Her hatred for evil seems to be growing by the day now.

He even suspected it was due to Tylor's death…

A friend's death was never easy to get over—one way or another the world seems to make the people realize who they had lost.

"What are you staring at?" Rose spat out with an annoyed look on her face.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was lost in thoughts—"

"Shh!" Rose didn't give him the chance to speak any further, raising her fingers, she placed them over her lips. Signaling him to stay silent.

Then raising her other hand, she pointed towards the inner sanctum of the forest.

"They are coming…"

Matthew's eyes narrowed as he looked at the place Rose just pointed to.

They had been following Sina for some time now. Following her was pretty easy with help of the 'Lock eye.' An artifact that, after marking someone, could point in their direction under the condition of a specific range and the user going blind while using it.

To use it properly, two people were needed to be present near it.

Hiding behind big trees and maintaining a safe distance, Mathew and Rose saw four figures appear in the dark.

"Did you bring the artifacts?" Elric asked, walking ahead of the trio.

Sina rose from the ground and took the form of a woman once more.

"I did… I brought the safely sealed ones."

Sina said with an uncertain tone, her voice etched with worry.

"Ah, finally some goddamn good news in days! Well done, Sina." Praising her, Elric patted Sina's shoulders in an excited voice.

His eyes then moved to look back and said.

"When will the carriage arrive?"

"Half an hour." The man wearing the scarf said, but then suddenly he squinted his eyes and turned to look at one of the several trees growing not far from the city wall.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, the other man behind him took a step forward with a stoic face and raised his hand.

"Shit!"

Seeing the man with bronze skin moving forward, Rose cursed out loud and grabbed Mathew's arms, making his eyes widen in surprise.

At the next instance, Rose created a vortex of wind beneath her boots and propelled both herself and Mathew back.

Not surprised the bronze-skinned man sliced his hand in the air, cutting through the wildly grown tree—cleaving it in half.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Sis, your turn…" The man said, clicking his tongue, and lowered his hand to his side.

Seeing the trees flock up in the air after being cut, the woman didn't wait and pointed her index finger towards the silhouettes of Rose and Mathew high in the air.

"Mathew now!!" Rose yelled.

"On it!" Mathew pushed his hand forward, reaching towards one of the cut-down trees.

A shockwave came from Mathew's hand, pushing the log forward at the speed of a small cannonball.

"...Bang" The woman whispered as her fingertips curled a little in the log's direction.

Booom!

The log exploded in midair, sending splinters flying everywhere as if it had hit an invisible barrier. The woman with the bronze skin didn't even flinch; she simply raised her hand to shield her face from the debris.

"Looks like Sina was followed." She muttered and gave a quick glance at the long-haired man already submerging in the shadows.

She sighed with a tired look and said while turning to look at her brother. "Don't go far from Elric."

And then again attacked the falling duo—

Bang!

Bang!

Dodging by a hair's breath using the wind, Rose and Mathew landed on the ground, rolling aimlessly.

"Huff—" Rose took a deep breath, ready to shield herself from getting hit, while Mathew stood up without wasting any time and moved his right hand to grip the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Who are you? How did you find us here?" The man who had cut the tree asked with a strange gaze.

Rose remained silent, not answering any question.

Mathew was about to step forward but then stopped—

A strange voice—a language he has never heard of—came piercing through his ears.

And then—

He went blind.

No, not just him; everyone present seems to have lost their vision for split seconds.

A blinding flash of light has exploded in between. As if a miniature sun has risen, cleansing the darkness.

Boom!

Booom!

The woman in panic used her ability, creating a flux of explosions surrounding her, but made sure to not go near her teammates.

Just as the world became clear, their vision returned. A strong gust of wind followed along with flames suddenly arising within to protect Rose and Mathew from the explosions. The wind turned into a wall, and with the fire in touch, it burned ablaze into a fierce wall of flames—separating the duo from the walking cannon and the swordless swordsman.

***

"Are you two alright?" I asked, stepping forward, but my gaze went to look at Franz instead.

His hair was floating in the air; surrounding him were two orbs of light, red and white, orbiting around him. Lyra had entered inside him, seemingly merging with him.

'Is this his awakened ability…?'

"Y-yes, we are alright… There are four enemies. Um, you should know this by now, I guess." Mathew blurted out in a hurry, then turned to help Rose stand up.

"Get ready to support us; I will separate them. We need to catch him alive!" Franz said and then raised his hand, twisting the wall of fire and wind towards the enemy standing behind.

However, the expected shriek didn't come. Instead the wall of flames split open; my instincts screamed as I stepped aside, letting the boulders explode behind.

Boom!

Following the attack, someone leaped toward us.

Like a rubber band, her hand stretched forward along with the daggers in her hand, slicing through the air aimed right at us.

But she didn't descend; instead, she seems to have slowed down in midair.

And I had done that.

Using [Kairosflow] to slow her down, I moved forward and went straight for Elric.

Franz looked at Sina and threw blades of wind aiming right at her.

Before they could have struck her down, an onyx hand came from the shadows and rose in the sky, grabbing her.

In the next instance it pulled her down immediately and shot new hands towards Rose and Mathew.

I looked at it from the corner of my eyes and clicked my tongue, feeling Sina escape from [Kairosflow].

But I didn't focus on her anymore. There were several enemies I needed to deal with. I even doubt why only two awakeneds were deployed for this when we need to face four awakeneds.

Franz and Sina have already started their battle, but from the looks of it, the guy with onyx arms will be the biggest problem, as he could move through the battlefieldto support all his allies.

'Those onyx arms are a damn cheat!'

As I reached Elric, his eyes widened.

"Damn you!" He yelled, taking a step back.

The man who has always been calm and collected has finally started to give a worried look. I remember seeing him always having control over the situation, but now the tables have turned. His plan, while perfect, has lost its luster after getting marked by Temple. Truly a fate worthy for a being like him who has climbed the social ladder through his corruptive schemes and sweet talk.

Just as I was about to grab him, my skin crawled as I hastily jumped back.

A clean cut made its way between me and Elric, splitting the ground. Following that, the bronze-skinned woman pointed her finger at me, and something appeared on her fingertip.

An illusory power seems to have gathered in it, and it shot forward.

'Ah shit!' Cursing inside, I jumped from the ground and stepped on the sky, dodging at the last moment.

Following that, a barrage of attacks followed, with both of them making me unable to stand in a single place for long.

The ground seemed to split open every time I tried to reach Elric by the man. The woman, meanwhile, provided excellent support. Her swift movements and attacks made it hard for someone to remain unscathed.

The only blessing I had was my superior speed and mobility. At some point I was also prepared to prolong this fight—with my recovery speed, unless I use [Static], fighting a long battle would not be impossible.

Amidst the chaos of explosions and slices, I swiftly made my own attacks. My strikes, while not as catchy as theirs, were deadly in their own right.

Each attack had meaning, and I was trying to follow a cold logic when dealing with them.

'A gap…?'

The man stepped forward; the distance between him and Elric increased. I rushed toward him instead of Elric, making both siblings startled in surprise.

And then summoned the charm of confusion; a crunching sound followed as the charm got crushed instantly under my palm's pressure.

"Celestia!" I muttered under my breath.

'He understands!'

A grin appeared over my face as his eyes went wide hearing the chant, and then a small flash of light appeared in between us.

He gasped in shock, making his sister look in surprise.

The man's eyes went hazy, making his steps stagger back.

And then—

It happened.

A confused look came over his face. His world started to twist around; the land seemed to start slipping away from under his feet.

His eyes finally went dull.