"So Ultio, I've got two questions." Eric Midas said as he walked back to the inn alongside Ultio V.
"Ask away."
Eric nodded and rose his head imitating the pose taken when one admired the sky. "Sorry, I actually meant three questions."
"It matters not." Ultio said with a shrug.
"Okay, first of all, why did we leave so early?"
"I began to lose my control over my power. If I let that battle go on, I would most likely have destroyed this continent."
Eric was shocked by Ultio's words. However, he wasn't as shocked as the members of Guild Ouranos, he was just mildly surprised and nodded his head in understanding. He had, after all, suspected that Ultio definitely wasn't ordinary.
"Second question," The two men entered the inn and made their way to their- no, Eric's room. "Why did you put on an act?"
Ultio searched around the room a little, before facepalming lightly and moving to go to the roof. "I wanted to bait them into using their Phantasms, but as I said earlier, my control over myself began to slip."
Eric nodded and followed Ultio to the roof.
"My last question," He began and tilted his head up to face the sky.
"What's it like to see?"
Ultio finally found what he was looking for; a silver coin that he had dropped.
He picked the coin and flipped it a little, and surprisingly, the coin didn't turn to dust. It was clear that this wasn't a regular coin.
"Well for most, it's a negligible gift that is never praised nor acknowledged. For powerful people, it is an enhanced sense that can turn the tide of battle." Ultio said and sat on the edge of the roof with his legs dangling over the edge.
"And for you?" Eric asked.
Ultio chuckled slightly and ran a hand through his hair.
"For me... The eyes are a window to the soul. So seeing, is teaching."
"Teaching the soul?"
"Indeed." Ultio said with a light nod.
"Ultio, do you feel emotions?"
A slight frown appeared on Ultio's handsome-to-the-point-of-beautiful face. "I feel the emotions of others, and I use my knowledge to decipher what the emotions mean and how they affect the one feeling it."
"What about you?"
"My emotions, as well as other things belonging to me, are sealed." Ultio said, thinking back to the 'curse' that was placed on his body.
It was beyond insulting to be cursed, and have your belongings sealed within yourself. Usually, when people are cursed like this, the things taken from them are usually hidden in powerful artifacts or treasures, to ensure that the person being cursed will never get them back.
Although he didn't know who it was exactly, Ultio knew it was a god responsible for this curse. He will have his vengeance for whatever they did to him.
"Oh. That's sad. Because a member of Guild Ouranos is in love with you."
"Love?" Ultio asked curiously. "I've detected this love on a few occasions, after reviving my shadows. What's it like?"
Eric smiled slightly and looked up to the sky. "You're asking the wrong man."
The two men enjoyed the silence of the night for a few more minutes, before a violent explosion went off right at the entrance of Lont.
Eric got to his feet and prepared to investigate with Ultio, but was surprised when he found Ultio still sitting, almost like nothing happened. "Uh... Ultio, we've got to go."
"Hm? Oh, there's no point. I can't fight right now, I'm slowly regaining control over my powers."
"Really?" Eric seemed surprised by this revelation. Though, it still didn't do much to the fear and respect Eric had for Ultio. "And you aren't even curious to see what it is?"
Ultio chuckled and waved Eric off. "What's the point? If it relates to me, I'll find out sooner or later, wouldn't I?"
"...True," Eric nodded as he considered Ultio's logic. In the end, he also returned to his perch on the edge of the room. "So we'll just wait here until we're dragged into this?"
"Indeed."
*****
"Hahaha! Humans are funny," A loud voice called out from within the fire started by the explosion that went off a moment ago.
"What do you plan on doing to me with pitchforks and... Are those torches? Am I a witch? Can you not see that I'm standing in the middle of an inferno yet still holding a conversation with you?"
The large crowd of people that had gathered before the fire with an assortment of weapons took a step back instinctively as they felt the gaze of a predator locking on to them.
"It doesn't matter. Leave now, before I slaughter every last one of you." The voice said impatiently.
"Really? You think you can kill everyone in this town?" Someone else refuted the voice's claim.
This someone was the white haired member of Guild Ouranos that was a pyromancer. Coincidentally, his name was Pyrodeus Muspel.
He was sitting on the roof of a nearby house, which belonged to a young widow that everyone avoided, as they feared that she killed her husband. Needless to say, Pyro had his reasons for being there at this time of the night.
The pyromancer leapt off the house and slowly walked towards the inferno that steadily consumed the town of Lont.
His dark blue hoodie and black pants billowed violently as a burst of flames escaped from the inferno and fell upon a mother and her child.
Pyro stretched out his gloved right hand to fire, and the flames halted in their tracks then shot into his body.
"Playing with fire in front of me?" Pyro said with a mocking laughter as he slowly walked forward, devouring other bursts of flames that escaped from the larger inferno.
"Haha, fire doesn't discriminate, pyromancer." The voice called out with a laugh.
Pyro narrowed his eyes and stretched out his left hand. "You're right... Fire doesn't discriminate." He said menacingly as a cluster of blinding flames appeared over his left palm.
"These Phoenix flames will devour you, like they have devoured many before you."
The flames merely danced above his palm, yet it consumed everything before him. The heat of the flames were so intense that everything combustible with a fifteen metre radius went up in flames.
The owner of the voice scoffed and charged over at Pyro with a snarl.
It turned out to be a young woman with an ethereal, breathtaking face and flowing white hair.
Her hair was held up in a ponytail by a golden ornament that hinted at royalty, yet the hair still ended below her waist.
She wore a white shirt with loose sleeves, while baring a good portion of the lower half of her large breasts and abdomen.
Around her waist was a golden girdle which resembled a labyrinth in constant motion, giving it a mesmerising look.
She also wore brown skintight leather pants and knee-high boots.
"Eat this!" She growled as she stretched her hand towards Pyro's head, intending to squash his head.
At that moment, the flames dancing above Pyro's hand suddenly roared to life and engulfed his entire body, causing the lady to take a cautious step back.
The intense flames coating Pyro slowly began to form into the outline of a large Phoenix, with him positioned at the centre of the bird's head.
"Fire falls from the raging heavenly bird..."
"And fills the sky with a flame so red..."
"Taste the rage of that which was heaven-bred, Phoenix Break!"
With that odd chant, Pyro stretched out an arm, and the Phoenix avatar cloaking him spread its wings out eagerly.
The lady narrowed her eyes and black scales slowly started appearing on her left arm. "This should be interesting." She said with narrowed eyes as Pyro let the Phoenix construct fly through the air.
It opened its beak and let out a loud screech as it left a bright trail of fire in the air.
The lady had a wild, almost beast-like grin on her face as she grabbed the Phoenix with her two arms as it tried to split her in half with its sharp beak.
With a roar that shook the sky and dispersed the clouds up high, she tore the fire construct in two.
As the flames died out, Pyro twisted his lips to one side and stretched out his hand once more.
"Another construct? Well, let me see how much power they can possess!" The lady said loudly and dashed towards him.
However, this time there was no construct forming around Pyro. Instead, a blade made of fire surrounded his hand, and he dashed forward as well, catching hid opponent off guard.
The two collided with their forearms, as they were too close to each other to swing their weapons at each other, before lunging backwards to put some distance between them.
Pyro immediately shot forward once more and brought his fire blade down swiftly.
The lady thrust her claws upward to counter the attack, but had to kick him back, as his flames turned white and burned even hotter.
"Feeling a little bit of heat?" Pyro asked mockingly as another white-hot blade of fire surrounded his other hand.
The lady narrowed her eyes at that provocation and claws, as well as black scales, also extended from her other hand. "Two can dual wield, bitch!"
Pyro smirked, seeing that his opponent was easily angered, then jumped forward and began to swing like a madman.
Claws and fire blades clashed over and over in the night as the two kept battling it out.
Very soon, injuries began to appear on Pyro's body, especially his arms, as he was trying his best to preserve the lives and properties all around him. Although he was doing his best, he still lost count of how many had been killed by the shockwaves generated in the fight.
At this point, Pyro's attention lapsed for a moment, and the lady took advantage of that moment and stabbed an entire clawed hand into his abdomen, then spun around and sent him flying with a roundhouse kick.
"I've always asked myself why you humans were so weak... But now, I've come to the conclusion that your kind just cannot be strong," The lady said with a sneer as she slowly walked over to Pyro's crouched figure.
However, a small chuckle escaped Pyro's lips as he got back to his feet. "You seem to think you're some kind of big shot, but you seem to have forgotten," He said and stretched out a hand with his palm facing the sky.
All the flames in the area raged for a moment before calming down and shooting towards Pyro's hand.
The lady's instincts warned her of danger, which caused her to retreat slightly as the flames left Pyro's hand and began to assemble behind him.
As a fifty metre tall armoured giant made of fire appeared behind him and conjured a large sword of flames, Pyro smirked and said,
"There's always a bigger fish."
*********************************
I apologize for the massive delay, I had typed this chapter elsewhere, however, there was a minor case of data loss and I had to rewrite it. Been a little busy so it took longer than expected. Sorry, once again.