They were surrounded at all sides. The coalition army of both Min-ae and Min-ji were entrapped in the middle of foreign warriors.
Yeong-ji came up in front of his soldiers and asked,
"Tell me, was it the elders who put you up to this?"
The man with pale blue hair tied in a ponytail, replied, "Whether it is them or not, it does not matter. But if you really want to know, then yes. We are acting on the instructions given by the elders. Forgive my rudeness, for I am Azahel."
Yeong-ji breathed out softly and looked up towards the sky, his mind coming to peace with itself knowing that the time had come.
"So you've made peace with yourself," Azahel said, "but I'm afraid I still have to curtail your men."
The temperature of the atmosphere suddenly dropped. It became colder and colder by the minute, so much so that breaths became visible and the environment lost its summer hue and started to revert to the pale grey-blue of winter.
Then Azahel said, "Frozen Waters."
All two hundred and fifty-four warriors standing, became as still as a statue. Instantly they froze up, their bodies were a solid blue as ice covered their entire being.
Dae and Yeong-ji were surrounded alone against all enemy forces. With the loss of their men and communication cut off, the two feudal lords remained against all odds.
Yeong-ji sighed deeply.
"It's good thing I prepared myself then" He said, his voice being barely above a whisper, "at the very least, I want you to live, Sung-nim."
Dae walked next to him, with her summoned creature following her closely from behind.
"You know what's going on?" Dae asked him.
"Indeed I do." He replied.
"Does it concern me?" She asked again.
"Indeed it does."
Dae glanced at him and then at the enemy. "It's the both of us now."
"So it would seem. You're not suggesting an extension of our alliance, are you?"
Dae smirked. "Perhaps. However you want to take it, but I do know that I'm not going to be killed like some wild animal. This is a problem within your own city, no one else should be involved, but I'm willing to make an exception, just this once."
"Is that so?" Yeong-ji replied. "Then thank you, Dae Chun-ja."
She smiled.
"Don't dwell too much on it. If you do, you'll regret it."
"Yes, yes, I hear you." Yeong-ji returned the smile.
"The Feudal lord of Min-ji and Min-ae working together... Despicable." Azahel said, tilting his glasses up.
"But it makes things far more interesting that way, doesn't it?"
Replying to the black-haired teen, Azahel said, "I do not like interesting things. Let us end this quickly and return. I am growing weary of their friendliness."
"Is that because you're a lonely sucker?"
Dae and Yeong-ji looked back, astonished. How many times today would they hear a voice from nowhere? But it didn't matter, as the voice they heard belonged to no other than someone they both recognized.
It was the voice of Aosaki Toshirou... in the flesh!
Fully rid of all injuries, his clothes in perfect condition and a monotone expression on his face, he walked and stood beside Dae and Yeong-ji.
Dae wasn't just shocked, but puzzled as well. She was at her wits end for the first time in years.
'T-Tell me this is a dream.. Yeah, it's all a bad nightmare. How in the world is he still alive?'
"Ao.. saki-kun, is that really you?" Yeong-ji asked tentatively, gazing at him.
"The one and only there'll ever be" He replied. "Save the questions for later. I'll explain it all when we deal with this."
Yeong-ji glanced at Dae and she nodded her head. The three of them stood together in a line against the vast amount of foes before them.
Toshirou stepped forward and pointed his finger at the commanders of the enemy army.
"You're Azahel"— he moved his finger to the black-haired male standing beside Azahel— "Junhyung"— he moved to the burly brown-haired man— "Seungho."
Junhyung was ecstatic hearing his name come out of Toshirou's mouth.
"I don't believe it, you know my name! Tell me, was it the Joel kid that told you... or was it Hazel whom you kept that spoke of me? Tell me, tell me, what did she say?"
"Nothing much." Toshirou replied.
"But between us, it seems she was quite fond of you the most."
"Ahaha, I'm flattered." Junhyung smiled with a slight blush.
"Really? Sorry, but I have to end your life right now."
In a flash, Toshirou rushed at him. He was fast, much faster than before, Dae noted. He came at Junhyung, holding the hilt of a sword behind his back.
Junhyung felt his hair fly as a rush of wind passed him by.
'Wait, what!?'
Toshirou had bypassed Junhyung and headed straight for Seungho. Grabbing his neck, Toshirou took him away. The two men zoomed away at an incredible speed, leaving their companions alone to their own devices.
"Curse that kid, using us as test subjects." Dae said with an annoyed smile while drawing out her sword.
"Understandable but it's for the best." replied Yeong-ji, standing upright and folding his arms inside the broad sleeves of his kimono.
"Do you really think the both of you are enough to defeat me, let alone the both of us?" Azahel tilted his glasses up as he spoke.
"Damn that's just cruel, I can't believe he went past me just like that." Junhyung breathed out softly. 'But dang, if I had really been his target, I would have been dead by now. I didn't see anything, it was all like a blur.'
"Let's get it over with, Yeong-ji."
"Yeah."
Azahel raised up his arm and swung it down.
The signal was given. The army uttered deafening battle cries as they charged at Dae and Yeong-ji. The two were not bothered in the slightest about the large number of people heading their way to kill them.
"Way of the Tiger: Act 1; Sacred Fang!"
The silver burst of energy swiped powerfully at the army. Wiping out up to a third of their forces, Dae mounted the back of her tiger and charged straight towards Junhyung.
"Tssss!" The black snake around his neck hissed. Junhyung's grin grew wider.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." He saw Dae clearing and defeating his men like they were nothing as she approached him. Likewise, he walked steadily towards her in the midst of the chaos. He said,
"Do not rejoice, O Philistia,
All of you,
Because the rod that struck you is broken;
For from the serpent's root a viper will come out,
And its fruit will be a flying serpent!"
A greyish-black aura surrounded him. The black mamba wrapped itself around his neck like a scarf. With a few words, a massive burst of greyish-black energy emanated from his body. His words struck Dae as a recitation from the book of Isaiah.
"Replace their blood with venom, Rajah!"
In the aura, the mamba transformed into a large hideous creature. It left Junhyung's neck, and grew to about 13 feet tall. Its scales were sharpened like razor blades, its golden eyes were sunken, giving it a more scary appearance and its fangs grew longer. Something like a mane of sharpened thorns protruded out its neck and it wrapped its scaly tail around Junhyung in a protective manner. The mamba laid its head on the ground and its master climbed atop it.
Rising up from the ground, Junhyung stood on the head of the snake with a black staff in hand.
"Let's see what you're made of, Dae~chan!" He said in a singsong manner.
Dae's beast leapt up from the ground into the air, aiming straight for Junhyung who stood on top the head of the snake.
"Way of the Tiger: Act 1; Sacred Fang!" She swiped her sword at him powerfully, silver energy blasting out strongly towards Junhyung.
"Way of the Serpent: Act 1; Black Blood!"
He swung his staff vertically at her. Black waves of energy flowed out from the staff and clashed against the silver energy that was Dae's attack.
*Boom!!!*
The result was a mighty explosion!
Both fighters jumped down from their respective beasts and faced each other in a series of weaponry combat. Their animals, with their huge sizes, dueled against each other exactly as their masters were doing.
On the ground, Junhyung spun his staff around on the offensive, clashing and striking against Dae's sword which was also on the offense. In the same manner, the enormous mamba used its sharpened tail as a whip to lash at the body of the striped tiger as the tiger used its razor-like claws to defend itself against the blows.
"Grrrr!!"
"Tssss!!"
The two animals growled at each other violently and fought with such ferocity.
"You're good." Junhyung said, using his staff to block her attack.
"Likewise" Dae responded as she moved her sword away from his staff and slashed him on his right shoulder.
Junhyung laughed as blood spewed out of his shoulder. Using the arm of the injured shoulder, he held his staff, rotating it around, and swung it at her neck. Dae placed her sword by the side of her head and defended against the strike.
'He is well adept at bōjustu for someone so young.' Dae noted as she fought him.
Meanwhile...
Enemy soldiers rushed at Yeong-ji. He lifted his left arm in the air and swiped his hand vertically and horizontally. A gust of wind suddenly blew, it diverted the edge of their blades away from him and flung them into nearby buildings.
"I see. You possess the ability to manipulate the wind. You're an Elemental, just like me." Said Azahel, observing the event that just transpired from a few meters away.
"It doesn't really say much of me if my enemy were to be impressed by my capabilities. So please, refrain from speaking as if I did something special." Yeong-ji replied, his facial expression being relaxed yet strict. His arms were still folded in the widened sleeves of his kimono.
"Impressed? You flatter yourself." Azahel raised his hand and swiped it in the air, drawing unseen symbols that gave form as he moved.
"Frozen Hollow."
An enormous platform of ice came up from the earth, riding on it and hurled itself at Yeong-ji. Yeong-ji moved his hand in the air as well, performing symbols of his own.
"Aerial Defense."
A defensive shield made of air and air alone surrounded him, blocking the ice from making impact and diverting it away from him towards nearby soldiers.
Azahel moved his hand in the air again.
"Ice Creation: Zero Lance!"
Multiple lance-like weapons made out of ice appeared in the air. With their pointed edges aimed at Yeong-ji, they fired. As quick as the wind they rushed at him, each lance, at least two, aimed for his vitals to immobilize him.
"Air Creation: Vortex!"
There was a visible whirling mass of air. The space in front of him swirled around like a whirlpool, and absorbed the lances into itself.
'What?' Azahel was surprised.
The lances emerged from the vortex and shot back at him, going at twice the speed that he originally fired them at.
"Ice Creation: Zero Defense!"
A massive wall of ice came up before him, its density thick and sturdy. It blocked the lances of ice and destroyed them into thin pieces.
Yeong-ji removed both hands from his sleeves. He joined them together, as if in prayer, and clapped the two times in rapid succession.
"Air Creation: Whiplash!"
A thunderous bang was heard, like the cracking of multiple whips on the back of a horse. Visible torrents of wind twisted together, increasing in size and number. With a pointed edge like that of a spear, the torrents attacked Azahel, with the intent to incapacitate.
He multiplied the wall of ice before him, creating up to five in front of him to defend against the whip-like torrents of wind.
There was a loud crashing sound of impact heard as the wind made powerful contact with the first wall of ice. The ice was sturdy enough to hold against the mighty wind.
"Did you really think you could stop the flow of air?" Yeong-ji said. "It is all around us."
Azahel's eyes widened in realization.
'That's right! The deflected wind... It'll simply multiply!'
The sound of tearing could be heard as the wind split in multiple whip-like torrents and rained down on Azahel, bypassing his defenses.
It pierced through his body. In his arms, legs and shoulder, the pointed edges of wind struck him, blood running down from the wounds they created.
Azahel fell on one knee, breathing heavily and in pain as the whips of wind did not just pierce him, it hollowed out the wounds causing blood to gush out profusely.
"You're young, Azahel." Yeong-ji said, walking up to him. Standing over him, he continued, "I have spent forty-five years upon the face of this earth. I have witnessed the rise and fall of cities ever since my birth. You are still far too young to comprehend my ways."
Azahel looked up at him with an expressionless face. Deep down, he understood that this man was no pushover. He was surprisingly strong for someone the elders simply wanted to dispose of.
"Look around you, Azahel. Some of your men have been immobilized and others defeated."
He shifted his gaze away from Yeong-ji towards his soldiers. All around him, his men were restrained. He couldn't see it but he knew what it was. Straps of air tied the soldiers to the ground, rendering them unable to move.
"Y-You... You.. are powerful!"
"I told before, didn't I? It doesn't say much of me if my enemy were to be impressed by my capabilities. So please, refrain from speaking as if I did something special... and brace yourself, Azahel."