"Ha, I can't believe it was with you this whole time."
In a dingy cell a Li Yang laughed while clutching a necklace made of a shiny white fang hanging from a black string. Next to him was the two-meter-tall giant, Li Ming
"Give… that back, my father… gave that to me."
A feeble voice came from the bloodied Li Hongji who was sprawled across the floor, his face was covered in cuts and bruises and his white t-shirt was now stained red with blood.
"And it confuses me why he did that, you have no idea how valuable this is. No matter now it's in my hands and I can finally rule everything."
Li Yang said while laughing evilly. On the floor Li Hongji continued to struggle to stand up, but to no avail, his strength had left him and his body fell to the floor.
"Why…. Why did… you team up… with that… demon."
Li Hongji asked weakly, Li Yang smirked.
"You mean the cultist or whatever the hell that creep is, she's just a means towards an end, she came here around half a year ago wanting the Lion family treasure."
Li Yang said slowly, he squatted down in front of Li Hongji and waved the necklace in his face before continuing to speak.
"Such a trinket seemed be important to her, with it she can kill the royal family and as the one who gave it to her, she will make me the new king."
"that's…. that's why you killed them, my sister… my father."
Li Hongji spat out hatefully, the hostility was clear in his eyes.
"Oh, my foolish brother, he didn't have the guts of a true leader, I told him my plan. How I was going to make the lions the new royal family and make him king, but sadly he didn't know what was good for him, someone had to step up so I did."
"Your… crazy."
"That's what all the others said. They didn't see what I saw, a glorious vision of the future where our family rules Hu Xia… they made things difficult for me so I locked them up. Once I'm king they will see how wrong they were and gladly take my side."
"You… locked up the elders."
"Senile fools, anyway this conversation has dragged on long enough, now that I have the necklace you have outlived your usefulness, I'll send you your father and sister shortly. Li Ming do it."
Li yang said turning around to the giant who drew a dagger from his waist and walked towards Li Hongji on the floor.
"Yes, boss Yang"
SLAP
Li Yang slapped the giant across the cheek.
"What did I say, you're addressing a king now."
"Yes, your majesty."
Li Ming continued to make his way to Li Hongji his footsteps getting louder and louder causing Li Hongji to lose hope, his eyes fixated on the dagger that would send him to his family. Despair filled him, he didn't want to die but the situation was hopeless. Li Hongji closed his eyes and waited for his impending doom.
"Ignis lorem."
A huge fireball erupted on the back of Li Ming's head, causing the man to stumble. The roar of the flames made Li Hongji open his eyes where he saw a pair of scarlet irises glowing with a vivid red radiance staring right back at him.
"Who the hell are you."
Li Yang shouted at the attackers, Ren and Tang Yue stepped out of the darkness.
"We're the rescue team."
Tang Yue proclaimed proudly. Li Hongji eyes became wide with shock as he recognised his saviours.
"Ren… princess… it can't be."
Li Hongji mumbled, these were the last two people he expected to see. Li Yang took a step back and a look of confusion could be seen on his face.
"Rescue team, what the hell is that supposed to mean…. No, it doesn't matter who you are, what can a little kid and a girl hope to accomplish. Li Ming ice these fools."
Li Yang roared. By now Li Ming had already recovered and appeared to suffer little to no damage from Ren's attack.
"You might have got lucky with that surprise attack kid, but Li Ming's a Rank two breaker, he'll make short work of you two weaklings."
As if on cue, Li Ming step forward and a heavy aura shot out of his body and washed over Ren and Tang Yue. Ren felt sluggish as if there was a pressure surrounding him from all sides.
"Shit."
Ren exclaimed, he still remembered his master's advice, when facing a mage of a higher rank he should only think of escaping, this was an opponent he wasn't ready to face yet.
At this moment Tang Yue stepped forward seemingly unaffected by the aura, seconds later an equally strong aura burst out of her own body.
"You were saying."
Tang Yue said while grinning, she did some simple stretches and when she saw the look of surprise on Ren's face she laughed.
"Did you really think the princess of a nation would be weak."
She said causing Ren to sigh, he knew that she was a breaker but due the hectic events he never managed to clarify how strong she was, by any means this was a good thing.
"I'll deal with the big guy, you take the pussy cowering behind him."
She said with a savage look in her eyes, making ren wonder if she really was a princess in the first place.
"Agreed."
Ren said, focusing his attention on Li Yang who was behind Li Ming. He didn't reach for his sword, in the enclosed space the length of the weapon would only get in the way. But this brought up another problem, if he was caught up in the aftermath of Tang Yue and Li Ming's fight it wouldn't end up well for him.
"Ventus Burs"
BOOM
CRASH
A loud explosion caused Ren to look up and see a newly formed, human shape hole in the wall, Tang Yue laughed, her hands seemed to be covered in swirling air currents. she swaggered over and climbed through the hole in the wall she had presumably sent Li Ming through.
"Well, I guess that takes care of that problem."
Ren thought to himself, before refocusing on his target li Yang.
"Don't get cocky you little shit, I can handle you by myself."
He placed his hands together and a blue light radiated from his hands.
"You use the fire element right, ha to bad you're up against me."
"Aquas Lorem"
Droplets of water began to condense into a large ball, which began to shrink rapidly, soon the waterfall, exploded, turning into a jet of highly pressurised water that raced towards him.
Ren dove to the corner, narrowly avoiding the stream which destroyed a small section of the wall behind him. Not one to wait around and do nothing, Ren replied in kind with his own attack and send a fire bolt hurtling towards Li Yang.
Li Yang seemed to have anticipated this and sent out another water jet that collided with the firebolt, extinguishing the firebolt easily and not slowing down in the slightest.
BOOM
The water jet smashed into Ren who could only lift his arms up in defence while the water jet shredded the skin on his arm, knocking him down onto the ground and his sword Nightfall came of his waist and slid across the ground.
"REN"
Li Hongji shouted from the floor, Ren had clearly come here to save him, so if Ren died now it would be his fault, he would be able to forgive himself for that.
"I'm fine, worry about yourself."
Ren said struggling to stand up, his arms were covered in blood from the wounds he had just received.
"Ha, they make kids quite sturdy these days. It's a shame, you're about as strong as me but fire will never beat water."
Li Yang laughed cruelly and placed his hands together a blue light radiated from his hands as he prepared to send a finishing strike to Ren.
Ren's mind raced as he thought of ways to overcome the situation, he looked down and noticed the ground was swamped with Aether enriched water.
Before Roxy had left, she had taught him a spell, that he was meant to get as a reward for winning the tournament. Even though he didn't compete in the latter rounds, she said it was his reward for getting her three bottles of top shelf whisky from Yang Chens master.
Ren looked at Li Hongji who was on the floor.
"Clench your teeth."
Ren shouted at Li Hongji who looked confused by what Ren had said. Li Yang who was equally confused by Ren's remark decided to pay it no mind and launch his spell any way.
The jet of water was aimed at Ren's head and closed the gap in an instant. Ren was prepared for this and dropped to the ground, placing his hands to the wet floor, the stream of water passed over head as he chanted.
Ren had little control over this spell and more importantly it was a close-range spell, but with the current environment that didn't matter. He could only hope that Li Hongji could endure it.
"Electra pulsus"
Ren finished his chant, instantly snake like lightning wrapped around his bloody hands and surged onto the water laden floor, the streaks of lightning spread across the ground far too quickly to be stopped.
"AAAAAAHH"
"EEEEEK"
Two high pitched screams came from Li Hongji and Li Yang, making them both pass out cold
THUD
Li Yang's body hit the floor, both victims of Ren's indiscriminate attack were foaming at the mouth and their sizzled hair puffed up like cotton candy. Ren walked up to Li Hongji and checked his pulse. He was still alive.
"Oh, looks like your finished here."
Tang Yue said climbing out from the hole in the wall. Ren turned around and noticed her clothing was immaculate as before, she looked completely unharmed.
"The giant."
Ren enquired about her opponent but from the smug expression on her face it seemed unnecessary.
"He's alive… barely. Anyways is this our damsel in distress, how come he's out cold."
Tang Yue said glancing at Li Hongji's body.
"That's irrelevant, just help me get him out of here."
Ren quipped back, he couldn't exactly admit he was the one responsible for Li Hongji's current condition. After all it was somewhat embarrassing.
"Where do you think you're going"
A weak voice came from behind Ren, causing him to look over his shoulder and see that Li Yang had regained consciousness, he was struggling to stand on his feet, his hand seemed to be clutching a large silver coin with a pentagram engraved on it.
"What do you think you can do in that state."
Tang Yue laughed and walked over to finish him off, Ren got a bad feeling when he saw the coin, just as he was about to stop her, the coin in Li Yang's hand turned to ash.
Instantly the room was filled with a dark murderous aura that made them freeze. Both Ren and Tang Yue fell to their knees and started shaking uncontrollably, their minds consumed by a primal fear that stopped them from thinking.
If they were able to inspect their surroundings, they would have noticed that a black-haired woman appeared out of thin air. The woman was wearing revealing black clothing that put her stunning body on full display, her dainty features where enough to steal any man's heart but her mystical appearance was let down by two black soulless eyes. Her eyes weren't the only thing strange about her looks, her ears were deformed ending in sharp points.
"If you called me that means you found the tooth right."
The woman paid no attention to Ren and Tang Yue who were trembling on the floor and questioned Li Yang with a soul stealing voice.
"Of course, I do, here take it"
Li Yang handed her the necklace without much resistance, he looked at her with a mixture of reverence and fear.
"Good work, I'll be seeing you then."
She said while turning around causing Li Yang to panic.
"Wait my good lady, I have some uninvited guests, do you mind taking care of them."
"I do, clean up your own messes."
She said while continuing to leave, this time Li Yang grabbed on to her arm to stop her, causing a look of disgust to appear on her face. Li yang quickly let go, he got the feeling he might die if he didn't.
"Take me with you, I want to be there when you kill the royal family."
He said, his dreams were on the verge of being realised, he would finally be king, he wanted to see his crowning moment with his very own eyes.
"The royal family huh, I guess I did say something like that, don't worry, if they're on the island they will definitely die… along with everyone else."
She told him, Li Yang did a double take when he heard the last part, maybe he didn't hear right.
"Wait what do you mean everyone else."
He asked, causing the woman to roll her eyes.
"Didn't I make myself clear. Let me put it in a way even a dimwit like you can understand. This. Island. Is. Fucked."
She said emphasising each word. Li Yang's jaw dropped. The whole island, hundreds of thousands of people lived here.
"Wait this isn't what you promised, how am I meant to be a king if there aren't any people to rule"
"Sounds like a you problem, now buzz off, I hate clingy men."
The woman continued walking away, Li Yang wanted to follow after her but realised he could no longer move, or even make a sound.
The woman who was humming to herself as she prepared to leave, stopped abruptly when she realised, she stepped on something, looking down she saw an unusually shaped black sword.
"This sword…"
She mumbled, she turned back around and finally laid eyes on Ren and Tang Yue who had collapsed on the floor. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ren, she walked over to him and snapped her fingers.
Instantly Ren broke out of the sorry state he was in and came face to face with a beautiful black-haired woman with strange ears.
"What happened, who are you."
Ren said weakly, he realised he couldn't move a single limb, the woman in front of him seemed extremely dangerous and surprisingly gave off a similar vibe to Roxy' except for the fact it was a whole lot more sinister.
"I'll be the one asking the questions kiddo. I recognize you, you're the one who was with Roxy that day, since she gave you this sword you must be someone important to her, what's your relationship."
"She's… my master. Now tell me who you are."
Ren couldn't help but feel compelled to answer her question truthfully. His reply made a savage smile appear on the woman's face.
"You should know who I am, considering you came here to find me."
Ren was shocked, this was the person they came here for. Then why did it seem like he was in immense danger, why did his instincts scream at him to get as far away from this woman as possible.
"You're masters friend."
Ren asked, since he wasn't able to run away, The only thing he could do was talk. The woman bent down and grabbed Ren's chin, forcing him to look into those soulless black eyes of hers.
"HA, me a friend of that savage, quite the funny one isn't you. But I do wonder what kind of face she'll make when she finds her dear disciple dead by my hands. Just the thought of that insufferable woman breaking down, makes me… wet."
"You're going to kill me."
Ren asked staring at her with wide moist eyes, since it had come down to this, he might as well use his secret move, puppy dog eyes. Sadly, it wasn't very effective and the woman seem unbothered by his act.
"Isn't that what I said. It's a shame though, I'm sure you would grow up to be a real looker in the future, if you want someone to blame, your master's a good candidate."
The woman put her palm over his face, ready to deal the finishing blow, but at that critical moment she paused and jumped back causing Ren's body to slump back onto the ground.
"How can he blame me for losing his life, when I was the one who saved it in the first place."
A rough female voice spoke from behind Ren, even though he couldn't lay eyes on his saviour, he could recognise that brutish voice anywhere.
"Roxy… I had a feeling you might show up."
The black-haired woman said hatefully, while narrowing her eyes. Roxy swaggered into view, a grin spread across her face when she looked at the woman in front of her.
"Not sure I appreciate that new look of yours Elena, what are you, a goth."
"Shut up… what do you know about my salvation, you heretic."
Her words made Roxy do a double take, she clenched her gut and laughed wildly.
"That's the look of salvation give me a break, you've been corrupted. The once proud high elf has become nothing more than a filthy dark elf."
Roxy said slowly walking towards Elena who was staring her down hatefully.
"SHUT UP. YOU KNOW NOTHING."
Elena roared before calming herself down she stared Roxy dead in the eye and continued talking.
"you wouldn't understand my actions, you humans are flawed. No matter my plan will soon come to fruition, I don't have time to spend arguing with you."
"You really think you can escape… from me."
Roxy chuckled and continued walking towards her, her aura surging with each step. Elena flashed her a devilish smirk.
"Maybe I would be worried if you were alone, fortunately you're not"
She said raising her hand making her palm face the ceiling, rays of light seemed to gather on her palm forming a small orb of bright light, that would have blinded anyone who wasn't as strong as Roxy.
"Shit"
Roxy shouted and quickly dived towards Ren, Tang Yue and Li Hongji who were on the floor.
"Till next time."
Elena chuckled and the orb of light burst.
BOOOOOOM
The mansion was saturated in a blinding white light as a huge bubble of hot white plasma expanded from within the mansion, obliterating everything in its path, leaving behind a huge empty crater that was twice the size of the entire wall surrounding the mansion.
A couple hundred meters away on a hill, Roxy and the others reappeared out of thin air. A crowd of people had formed as they rushed outside to see what the loud explosion they had heard was.
Waiting nearby where the distraction team plus a muscular bald man with a scar over his left eye, who had named himself as Li Hao. Roxy had brought them here before entering the mansion as a precaution, luckily enough it turned out this was the right move to make.
The others, minus Zi Xi who still hadn't come round yet, were preoccupied by staring at the explosion in the distance with unhinged jaws, they finally snapped out of it when they noticed the newest arrivals.
"REEEEN"
"Y-Young master, is that really you."
Olivia and the Li Hao ran towards them with concerned expressions and they were soon followed by Yang Chen who looked slightly tired.
Ren was not heavily injured but he was exhausted. His silver lining was the fact that he was still conscious, the same couldn't be said for the other two, Tang Yue was out cold, and Li Hongji who was in the worst state of them all, was breathing dangerously shallow.
Olivia leapt at Ren pulling him in to a tight embrace and bursting in to tears, Ren's memories were hazy and he didn't fully know what was going on, despite this he still remembered what the princess had told him about those maps, if it was true then they were in deep shit.