Ryuzio's rage engulfed his body in the form of his fiery Ethersurge, the Energy of the Skies pumping through his muscles as blood through veins. He stood on the irregular ground of the southern mines, surrounded by spiky pillars of conical rocks jutting from the ground, hiding behind some were cavelurkers, beaten and bloodied.
Ryuzio deactivated his Gauntlet, turning his head to his left, away from the blasting sounds coming from the blows Hitryel was trading with the helmet-wearing skyguard. Joysaleen got off the back of the brown-haired skyguard, running to Ryuzio's side, her hands cuffed behind her back. When had that happened? Who had dared do that?
"We thought Lexnal came after you, Ryuzio," Joysaleen said, stopping beside him. Only now Ryuzio noticed her mask was missing from her face. "If you weren't the boy in the southern mines, then…?"
"Heal Arold," Ryuzio said quietly, pointing to the broken boy tied to one of the spiky rock pillars.
"Can't." Joysaleen pulled her tied hands apart, the chains of the cuffs stiffening. "But he has the key." She pointed with her chin at the brown-haired skyguard, who got off the ground and cracked his shoulders, a familiar weapon by his feet… Arold's bow!
"Jeez, kid," he said. "Warn me the next time, will you? This wasn't part of the deal."
"Deal?" Joysaleen said immediately. "Keep your tongue in check."
The skyguard showed both of his palms, brows rising. "My bad."
Ryuzio stepped toward him, flaring his aura coat. "So you cuffed Joy, yeah?"
The skyguard shook his hands in panic. "I did, but it was only because she forced her way into our office. We're skyguards, you know. It is our duty to stop intruders."
"I don't care," Ryuzio said, Scalemarks spiraling down to his right fist. "How dare you cuff my squadmate!" 'Dragon Gauntlet!' Ryuzio clenched his fist two steps away from the man.
"You should've just said so to begin with," the skyguard said quickly, taking out a set of keys and jangling them in front. "This ought to solve the problem."
Ryuzio moved his eyes to the keys on the man's left hand, but didn't move his hand—
The skyguard grinned and took out one of those weird guns that skyguards used from the side of his waist, under his coat—but this one had a different design that Lexnal's. "There's no way I'm gonna miss from this range." He aimed to fire—
Ryuzio threw his Gauntlet to the man's face at the same time the skyguard was bringing up his gunned hand to fire. Ryuzio had never planned to accept the keys. He'd planned to snatch them after punching the man.
The thrown fist almost cracked against the man's skull but at the last moment he twisted his body and tilted his neck away, the fiery Gauntlet brushing past his left ear. This also meant that the shot just fired missed Ryuzio's body completely, Joysaleen behind him ducking—
Ryuzio didn't waste a moment to follow up his attack, throwing a straight left kick to the man's ribs. The impact of the Ether-enhanced foot cracking against the skyguard's torso pushed him away, jamming his breathing for a short moment.
The skyguard's feet didn't drag farther than 20 feet before they claimed balance.
Ryuzio snatched the keys off the air. "I'm not done."
The skyguard's brows rose in surprise as he looked into his empty left hand. "When did I…?"
Ryuzio tossed the keys to Joysaleen. "Heal Arold, Joy. He'll be the first of many that you have to—"
A purple beam of light pierced the airborne keys, splitting them apart.
Ryuzio quickly tucked his chin and turned his head to the source of the shot, flaring the Ether covering his body. "Lexnal."
Lexnal walked closer, putting his energy gun back to its holster, wiping the blood under his nose with his other hand, before unwrapping a lollipop. "I didn't fire my Subjugator at you, boy," he said, tossing away the wrapper. Then he finally brought his eyes to the front, giving Ryuzio a chilling glare. "Do you know why that is?" He put the candy in his mouth, moving by the brown-haired skyguard's side.
"Because you're dumb," Ryuzio said simply.
Lexnal snorted. "We'll find who's the stupid one in a bit. But first, tell me your name, boy. I can't leave the description of the losses you made me empty, can I?"
"I'm Ryuzio Smyte!" he announced proudly. "The man who's gonna be the Sky King! And also the man who's gonna kick your ass!"
"Sky…King…?" the brown-haired skyguard said.
Lexnal thinned his eyes, craning his neck forward. Then he chuckled softly as he looked at the skyguard beside him, gesturing toward Ryuzio. "I didn't think we'd find the stupid one THIS quick."
Hitryel and the skyguard he was fighting broke off their scuffle, ending up on their respective sides. "You still won't apologize for it, huh?" Hitryel said, hands also cuffed, Ethersurge activated. "Then I'll have to MAKE you!"
"Hit," Ryuzio said, turning his head to the right. "We have to beat up these skyguards."
Hitryel rolled his eyes to Ryuzio's side, keeping his head forward. "I was already doing that, idiot. The helmet one took Kelty's gloves and refuses to apologize to reduce his punishment. I guess he wants all of it. And that one cuffed us both."
"I got the keys," Ryuzio said. "But the Lexnal guy shot at them and now they're all scattered around."
Hitryel rolled his eyes to the ground, searching for the keys of his cuffs. "Good job."
"You keep your head in the fight," Joysaleen said from the opposite side. "I'll pick all of them up. I can't help you with my hands tied."
Ryuzio and Hitryel nodded.
"There won't be any need for that," Lexnal announced. "I think we can reach an understanding. I'm willing to diffuse this conflict on your behalf, even though you're the ones who dealt more damage—"
"Shut up!" Ryuzio and Hitryel said simultaneously in a fed up tone.
"First you kick out those maroon guys from their homes," Ryuzio said. "And then you capture and hurt my friend? Not a single of you is getting away without at least 10 Dragon Bullets!"
Lexnal hissed in annoyance, his partners standing to his either side. "So let me get this straight," he said, holding the stick of his lollipop. "A boy like you comes out of nowhere and threatens the existence of my business by an attempt on my life…and thinks we're the ones not 'getting away'?"
"Let's get this over with," Hitryel said, bringing his shackled hands to the front. "I don't have time for the likes of you."
"So you're the final accomplice of Mr. Fake ID, am I right?" Lenxal said, pointing to Ryuzio. "You think just because you ran him out of some fighting stadium, you're a Volant now?"
Ryuzio's brows furrowed. "Heh? What're you talking about?"
"Boy learns to use a little Ethersurge and thinks he's a Volant, do you?" Lexnal said in a mocking tone. "Then tell me about the skyshards you've raided. Tell me about the bounty of splinters over your head. Tell me why you're scrambling in a mine like a little rat instead of soaring through the Skies?
"Because you're all gonna die here, let me tell you kids this: I'm more of a Volant than skyguard. And if that doesn't make you second guess your actions, then you're flucked up in the head."
"What's this guy rambling about?" Hitryel said, confused.
Ryuzio shrugged, his aura coat shrinking. "Don't know."
"He's the biggest lucentum and skyshard dealer in all of Imperos," Joysaleen said. "He's the reason why lucentum prices are rising in the Imperos market."
Lexnal grinned proudly. "Even the biggest Volants on this skyreacher rely on me to grant them wings to take off to the Skies. Do you regret it now, boy? Do you feel guilty about punching me so casually?"
"Heh?" Ryuzio picked his nose with a pinky. "What does loose end drums and all that have to do with anything? I don't care about any of that. I'm just here to help out a friend."
"What!" Lexnal said loudly, baffled. "Are you mad, boy? Do you not realize what all of this means?"
Hitryel looked at Ryuzio…and they both shared a shrug.
Lexnal inhaled. Then burst out laughing. "Why was I expecting you children to know anything at all? You're not real Volants. You're just little kids playing—"
"I'm a REAL Volant!" Ryuzio shouted—
"Then why don't you know the significance of my position and business?" Lenxal shouted angrily in return. "What do you think the world needs to function? A government? People? NO! Energy! The answer is energy! And what happens when you stick a monetary amount to a source of energy? It lays the foundation of an economy! Do you think Imperos runs on fairy dust? Skyshards are the blood of society! Volants are the leeches! And I'm the one who has the power to distribute it!
"And the man who owns the power over the distribution of energy decides the fate of society!"
Ryuzio pointed at him. "If you're trying to confuse me to save your ass from getting kicked…it's working. But I'll still kick it no matter what!"
"But these are lucentum mines, idiot," Hitryel said to the slick-haired skyguard. "And they don't sound the same as skyshards to me."
"That just exposes your ignorance, kid," Lexnal said with a grin. "Because if you knew the power granted by the control over lucentums, you'd be freaking out right now!" He took his energy gun. Ryuzio and his squadmates put their guards up.
Lexnal took out a bullet from the energy gun. "The cities are powered by skyshards and protected by skyguards. But all that depends on lucentums. Because skyshards are made from Skyprisms and lucentums. And the ammo called gemslugs for the weapon skyguards use…" He showed the bullet of the energy gun called Subjugator. "…is made from skallo and lucentums."
Hitryel nodded, raising a brow. "So controlling lucentums effectively gives you control over the other two."
"Finally," Lexnal said loudly. "Someone capable of thinking."
Ryuzio slid closer to Hitryel's side, cupping his mouth, eyes on Lexnal. "I didn't get it," he whispered. "But don't let him confuse you into thinking he doesn't deserve and ass kicking."
Hitryel sighed.
Lexnal loaded the bullet. "And you kids went ahead and made an enemy of a man like me, a man who holds the power over the functioning of this entire skyreacher." He snorted softly, licking his lollipop. "Stupid would be an understatement."
"You're the dumb one," Ryuzio said. "What good will all that do when you can't even leave this place?"
Lexnal grinned, raising a brow. "So someone told you about rock lungs, ain't it? The disease every skyguard down here suffers with." Lexnal took out a small candy box, filled with pink balls. "Well, kids, hate to break it to you…but rock lungs ain't real for bullspit. Just a myth I made everyone believe in so they'd stick around and be the committed employees I need to run a business like this."
"What!" Ryuzio said, gritting his teeth. "Then what were all the medicines you've been giving them?"
"Someone told you about them too, eh?" Lexnal snorted, shaking out a pink ball from the box and showing it to Ryuzio before popping it in his mouth. "Candy," he said with a satisfied grin.
Ryuzio blazed his Ethersurge. "They believed in you," he said quietly. "They thought you were helping them."
"They don't know about a lot of things," Lexnal said lightly. "But servants don't need to know about master's secrets, do they?"
Ryuzio roared, charging at Lexnal with a Gauntlet pulled back. "HOW DARE YOU!" Hitryel followed even after having his hands tied.
Lexnal grinned, taking out his Subjugator, his partners doing the same. "Why do you think I'm telling you this? Because you're not making it alive, kids." He pressed the trigger and a streak of purple light shot straight to Ryuzio head.
"VUUZOO!" Arold shouted from behind, finally saying something for the first time in a while.
Lexnal's grin widened. "Congratulations! 100% of the debt you owe is paid."
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