Intersection was a beautiful city, and unlike many other cities in the world it didn't have the problem of overcrowding. There weren't that many slums, and the people were well taken care of. Intersection's walls were tall and fortified with barriers that hid it from the outside world. So even if one was able to go past the three Great Mountains, they wouldn't be able to get into Intersection without permission.
At the centre of this grand city was a large palace. The palace was built with red stones similar in structure to White Stones. They were strong and tougher than White Stones, and could only be breached by Nightmare Level Powerhouses! This palace was the home of the Barbarian Lord and his family. And it was this very same palace that housed the Barbarian Ancestors whenever they were present in Intersection.
Currently the most important men and women of the Barbarian Race were gathered in this mansion. They were all gathered within a large hall in the palace. And each of them had somber expressions. There were people of varying ages and genders here. There were some middle aged men and women, some old men and women, and some relatively young men and women. These individuals were the Barbarian Elders.
Barbarian Elders were barbarians who were considered High Born. As such, the position of Elder remained within that family for as long as that family was alive. So as long as there were descendants, that family would be part of the Elders' Circle. And that explained why some Elders were old and others young. For the young ones, they were the most qualified of their generation. But they wouldn't be here if the most qualified members of their older generation were still alive.
Right now, none of the Elders had a pleasant expression on their faces. Each of them had somber expressions, with some of the younger ones fidgeting nervously within their boots. The quiet atmosphere was not only born from the news they had just received, but the presence of the handsome man who sat at the end of the hall.
This man wasn't the largest Barbarian male. Although he was close to two meters tall, for Barbarians that was the average height. And he was relatively leaner than the average Barbarian too. Plus with him seated on that large stone chair meant for the Lord of Barbarians, he looked smaller than normal. But his physical appearance didn't do anything to hide the ferocity of his aura.
For although his eyes were closed and his breathing absurdly calm, one could feel a hint of turbulence underneath that tranquil surface. And within that destructive energy was rage that threatened to boil over and remind people that his name was more than a reflection of his appearance. And that name was…
Barbarian Lord Magma!
His red hair was the reason for his name, but over the years he had proven without any doubt that his anger was just as fiery as his name. And to force Magma to make a move was stupidity in itself. Besides, even if he didn't make a move, the two who stood at his sides were just as deadly and destructive. The Flames of Magma they were called, those two.
Waska the Mad Flame and Rasa the Wise Flame!
Just like Magma they weren't the largest barbarians in Intersection, but they were certainly amongst the most powerful. They had forged their own legends. Some they forged individually – apart from each other – others they forged together, and some they forged with their Lord. But one thing was certain: Never cause either of the Flames to umbrage. For offending either one of them was the same as signing your death warrant. But what happened when a person didn't just annoy Waska or Rasa, but annoyed them both? And even worse, what if they also annoyed the Barbarian Lord Magma? Well, the answer would be realised today.
*Tap*
*Tap*
*Tap*
Magma slowly tapped the armrest of his chair with his eyes still shut. Every now and then a gulp would be heard from the crowd of Elders waiting for him to return to them. The place was silent for several minutes, yet none of them dared to utter a word or even a groan of complaint. Finally, Magma's eyes snapped open. The tension that had disappeared after his fight with the Ice Bear was back when he heard the news from Waska and Rasa. And that tension was felt by everyone in the hall. An oppressive aura filled the place, and the throats of many of the Elders, including the ones from the older generation who weren't weak at all, tightened.
"When?" Magma asked calmly. His voice was sweet and tender, just like his appearance suggested. But when the Elders heard his voice they all felt as though a harsh trombone was being blown into their ears, and many of them couldn't hide their anxiety. Being before the most talented Barbarian Lord in history was pressure in itself. But when this monster was angry, his presence was no longer considered as mere pressure, but as a life and death encounter. One wrong word and there would be one less Elder in the hall!
"A few minutes ago," the oldest Elder here responded. She was an aged woman with hair full of gray hair and eyes that reflected deep pools of wisdom. Seeing her step up, many of the elders sighed silently in relief. And why was that?
Well, this elder was called Elder Miriam. And she was no ordinary elder. She was one of Magma's teachers! Magma only had two teachers his entire life, and Elder Miriam was one of them. She was the only one amongst the elders who knew Magma better than he even knew himself. And Magma respected her so much that there was no way he would ever harm her. In fact, she was the only one who would never be afraid to confront Magma, and she wasn't afraid to twist his ear in rebuke whenever he did something wrong either!
"I see," Magma's aura faltered a little bit when he heard his teacher's voice. He sighed and asked, "And the others?"
"Number 3's life talisman is still intact. But Number 2's is broken," Elder Miriam replied sullenly. Number 2 was a member of her household and her grandson. He was put in the same team as the Barbarian Princess because the two grew up together and were quite close. And since they were all highly talented, they formed a great team. But now he was also dead.
"Take heart Teacher Miriam," Magma stated calmly. "Whoever killed Agni must have surely been responsible for Totty's death. I assure you that the culprit would be dealt with." Magma said, and Elder Miriam nodded her head. Totty was her grandson's real name. His code name was Number 2, but his real name was Totty. And Magma loved the boy because he was his teacher's grandson.
"What about Number 3?" Magma asked.
"Her life talisman remains. But it is fragile with many cracks." Elder Miriam replied.
"She must have been captured," Rasa stated, and Magma nodded his head. Cracks on a person's life talisman meant that the person's life hang in the balance. So it was highly likely that Number 3 had been captured.
"Do we have any idea who is responsible?" Magma asked. If they didn't know this, then what was the point of talking about justice and vengeance?
"The Princess's last mission was to eliminate the Elemental Twins. Since they weren't under the protection of Caliburn's Wielder, this was supposed to be an easy mission." One of the Elders replied.
"However, because Ivor was still around the mission directive was to avoid direct confrontation and use other means."
"What other means?" Magma asked calmly.
"Heart Beetle," came the reply, and Magma nodded his head. A Heart Beetle was a deadly creature that could control the mind of any unfortunate soul whose heart had been pierced by the creature.
"Continue," Magma ordered, and the Elder gulped nervously and explained the plan in detail.
"Ivor was usually not around the twins, and the Elemental Prince was participating in the Grand Tourney, so they were to capture whoever was to face the Elemental Prince and use the beetle on him."
"And that way no one would know that we were responsible," Rasa butted in, and the Elder nodded his head. "It is not a bad plan," Rasa praised, and the Elder gleefully nodded his head. To be praised by the Wise Flame meant that his plan was good indeed.
"But it is not a good one either," Rasa suddenly stated. "Excuse me?" the Elder asked dumbfounded. Didn't Rasa just say that his plan wasn't bad?
"This plan is incomplete," Rasa stated. "For starters this plan only eliminates the Elemental Prince. But what about the Princess?" Rasa asked. All the while Magma just sat with his eyes fixed on the Elder, seemingly waiting for a response.
"Well…" the Elder suddenly understood how incomplete this plan was. If it was a plan to kill the Elemental Twins, then how was it only the Prince who was meant to die?
"And what if Ivor found them? The Heart Beetle must be within a 200 meter radius to be used, so that meant they would have had to be there when the Elemental Prince was killed. And that would mean their retreat would depend on how quickly Ivor can figure things out. And from how scheming that man is, the correct answer should be: very quickly."
As Rasa spoke he walked away from Magma's side and gradually walked towards the Elder. With every step he took the heart of the Elder tightened, and beads of sweat began to roll down his face.
"Since the Princess is dead that could mean that she and her team failed in their task. So not only have we lost three talented geniuses, we may have nothing to show for it. An inexperienced team like the Princess's didn't have to be assigned to such a dangerous mission"
"The plan wasn't bad. But it wasn't good either." Rasa stated once again. He was now in front of the Elder. He forcefully lifted the chin of the man who was too scared to look him in the eyes and said, "This plan was only average. And average isn't good enough; especially when it concerns the Princess."
*Crack*
Along with the sound of bones breaking and a muffled grunt, the Elder slumped onto the floor, lifeless. His eyes were wide open and his face displayed the fear of a man who knew that his days were all but numbered. Rasa didn't even bother to spare another glance at the corpse. He calmly walked back to Magma's side.
"Could it have been Ivor?" Magma asked, his brows wrinkled in worry. Although Ivor was only a peak Nightmare Level powerhouse, the one that crazy man served was someone that he was weary of. Taking on Ivor would be like admitting that they were the ones who made an attempt on the Elemental Prince's life. And that would be enough for the matter to blow up and lead to a full scale war between the two races. And the Ancients would be more than happy to see this. Although he was a brother, he was also a Lord and he couldn't make decisions based on his emotions alone.
Suddenly a small hole appeared above Magma's head. This hole was pitch black, and it reflected nothing but darkness.
"Protect the Lord!" one of the Elder's shouted and rushed to Magma. The aura of a Nightmare was fully unleashed from his frame. The others didn't dawdle either, and several powerful auras exploded from every corner of the room as the Elders rushed to encircle Magma. None of them was weak, and the mildest aura here belonged to a Pseudo Nightmare Level powerhouse!
However, the person they were protecting was looking at the black hole with a dull expression. The only thing that he did was furrow his eyebrows in thought.
"Is that?" Waska looked at the black hole in deep thought as well. As someone who was supposed to protect the Lord, he looked a little too laid back. And that was because he had an idea of what that black hole was.
"It is. Ivor's power." Rasa narrowed his eyes and said. There was only one person who had this kind of power. And that was the reason why he was so feared. A controller of the Space Elements and a maniac of the Elemental Race, Ivor! Soon the black hole disappeared, almost like it wasn't there in the first place. But it was, and everyone here was sure of that. And that was because of the letter that dropped from the hole.
Waska walked over to the letter and picked it up. He opened it up just to be safe, and then walked back to Magma and gave him the letter. Magma glanced through the contents of the letter. But as he read the letter, his expression grew sterner.
"What is it Lord?" Rasa asked.
"See for yourself," Magma replied and passed the letter over to Rasa who read it before handing it over to Waska and whispering some things in the Lord's ear.
The Elders were calm by now and had returned to their seats. They waited anxiously for the Lord and his aides to finish with the letter and tell them what was in it.
"Ivor didn't kill them. But he knows who did" Rasa addressed the crowd of Elders, and they were stunned. Since when did the Elementals become so generous?
"He wants this person dead as well," Rasa spoke, and the Elders nodded their heads. That much was clear. Otherwise the Elementals wouldn't be this gracious to them.
"So who is this person?" Elder Miriam asked, her eyes flashing with hatred.
"It's a boy. His name is Mane," Magma spoke this time. It seemed that whenever Elder Miriam spoke, Magma was reluctant to let Waska or Rasa address her in his stead. He smiled slightly and rolled the paper into a ball.
"And we know where he's headed."
"Rasa and I shall depart at once," Waska bellowed.
"There is no need for that," Magma waved his hand and said. "The culprit is only at the Pseudo Nightmare Realm. Send a few Peak Pseudo Nightmare Teams and just to be safe, let the Night Patrol go too."