Helpless. Since the first moment she discovered the meaning of the word, Sona has chosen to loathe it. Always having to rely on others, slowing down everyone around you, and never having any significant achievements to call your own. Sona believes she has a comprehensive understanding of how life works, despite the fact that she is still in her early years. Either you work your way to the top–
Or you work until you're dead.
Currently, Sona is pinned underneath the rubble of the now destroyed Montgomery Church. Her lower body was completely concealed by a chunk of what used to be one of the church's pillars. Ever since Mizuki was forcefully taken away from her and Toshiro, a series of unfortunate events occurred shortly after. With the destruction of the church, Sona and Toshiro were bound to face serious injuries. They could only thank the sudden wind that prevented a much more fatal impact with the ground. But as for the rubble that collapsed on them, it didn't prove to be much better.
"T-Toshiro?" Sona called out to her brother in a weak and breathless voice. With only one of her hands free, she rubbed her eyes and removed any debris or stone that exacerbated her vision. "Toshiro…where are you?"
The sound of quiet footsteps trekking through the ground, moving the minuscule pebbles on the ground as they walked, could be heard getting closer to Sona. A shadowy figure appeared before Sona, making her squint to distinguish the person in front of her.
"Sona!" It was Toshiro. Blood was leaking from his brown hair, indicating that he must have previously sustained some injuries. "Sona, are you okay!?" To Toshiro, it was a stupid question. For crying out loud, his sister was stuck underneath the rubble of a building. He was supposed to be the smart one of the group of siblings!
"I'm fine, Toshiro," An obvious lie from Sona, "Can you help me get this thing off of me?" Still trying to act strong despite the situation. Toshiro could only wish that he was so mentally and physically resilient.
Toshiro then placed both of his hands on the broken pillar that pinned Sona, pushing with all of his might. But alas, the pillar would not budge. With no training in utilizing magic like a student or warrior, Toshiro was nothing but a maturing child, with only his ingenuity being his most prominent trait. Certain points in life really make anyone of any age question how well they really know themselves.
Toshiro tried pushing once more, only to fail once more. "I-I can't get it to move!" He exclaimed, tears daring to leak out of his eyes as he failed to save his sister.
"Keep trying! You got it." Sona encouraged her brother with the same weak voice, struggling to move her body.
Toshiro felt as if his arms were about to give in. His elbows shook erratically as he applied even more pressure to the fallen pillar. Suddenly, the pillar budged, surprising Toshiro and Sona. Then, with Toshiro still pushing, the pillar was lifted above both of the children's heads.
Toshiro and Sona's eyes widened at the sight before them. A man with black and blonde hair had picked up the broken pillar, raised it over his head, and tossed it to the side to discard the chunk of rubble. This particular man had a red headband wrapped around his head tightly, along with a red-colored vest that covered a black undershirt. "Are you children okay?" The man eventually questioned, the sheer amount of power in his words shook the kids. Instructor Akushon has arrived.
Toshiro eyed the man steadily, his lips quivering. "W-who are you?"
Akushon eyed the immobile Sona, then back to Mizuki. "I'm the person who's saving you. I'll carry the girl. We need to get you somewhere safer than here."
XXX
Returning back to Kaminari Nozomu and Mizuki, we can still observe as Yuso charged toward the two, his eyes specifically locked onto Mizuki.
Nozomu scowled at the sight of Yuso. 'I don't know if he is the reason behind any of the destruction lately, but I don't care to find out.' Nozomu looked down at a fearful Mizuki, still shaking in his arms. "Mizuki, I'm not sure if we can outrun this guy–I need you to go hide. I'll hold him off." With those words, Nozomu set Mizuki down gently, gently shoving him out of his way.
As Mizuki tried to quickly run off toward a nearby building, Nozomu assumed a small stance in preparation, his eyes glued to the incoming redhead. But to Nozomu's shock, Yuso veered off and went for Mizuki. In response, Nozomu decided to charge at Yuso this time, attempting to intercept Yuso's pathway to Mizuki.
Stepping in front of a sprinting Yuso, Nozomu threw the first punch, only to have the redhead duck underneath the punch and knock Nozomu off balance. As Yuso gripped Nozomu's arm, he filled his arm with his aura sense, enabling him to launch Nozomu toward a random building off to the side. "I recommend that you don't get in my way," Yuso said sternly, turning back to pursue the fleeing Mizuki.
Yuso began sprinting once more, his eyes once again locking onto Mizuki. With the clockwise twirl of his demonic eyes and the illumination of his palms, Yuso extended his arms and surrounded Mizuki with three pentagrams. Red chains shot out of the pentagrams—similar to the ones Yuso had used against Shototsu in their first encounter—and entangled them with Mizuki, preventing him from running away any further. "I got you now, target!"
Just as Yuso was about to reach Mizuki, his hand extended out to grab the child, a sudden explosion erupted in a building behind him. Before Yuso could process what had happened, a fist found itself striking the side of Yuso's face at full force, sending Yuso flying through a set of buildings.
As the pentagrams disappeared after the sudden assault on Yuso, Mizuki looked back to see the cause of the explosion. To Mizuki's immeasurable bewilderment, Kaminari Nozomu stood tall, his fist extended from when he struck Yuso in the cheek. But, more notably, lightning was racing all around his body, a brilliant bright blue arcing over every part of Nozomu's form.
"M-mister…" Mizuki called out quietly, watching as Nozomu lowered his extended arm.
Nozomu then turned to look at Mizuki, asking, "Are you okay?"
Without a moment's notice, a pentagram appeared out of thin air, with Yuso emerging. The redhead stood tall once more as he glared at the white-haired Nozomu. Yuso narrowed his eyes as he analyzed his new opponent. 'Is he with those people I faced earlier? He isn't wearing a cloak of any kind. In fact, he's wearing armor.'
"There you are, you brat!" A foreign voice hollered behind them, prompting them to look back and spot a man on a rooftop. It was Gimu–he didn't appear to be very happy. Small hints of his transformation from earlier remained.
Nozomu's eyes widened as he eyed Gimu. The man seemed so familiar. The bandaged face, arrogant tone, long sword…
—Flashback—
"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT, ASSHOLE!" When Nozomu and the queen turned around, they saw the man with the kanji-marked sword approaching them at breakneck speed. "You shouldn't have done that, you serf!" The man barked as they both clashed their weapons.
Nozomu dived beneath an incoming swing and attempted a jab at the man, only narrowly missing and cutting his side. Hitting him in the same exact spot where he was struck by lightning before. "OW! YOU BITCH!" The assailant screamed. The man's aura seemed to grow stronger, with a golden glow enveloping his body. Nozomu swiftly moved back to escape being sliced, then put up his palm and created a little blue protective barrier to block an incoming yellow beam flaring with heat heading towards Nozomu. "Fight me!" The bandaged man screamed angrily.
"As you wish" Nozomu monotonously stated, rushing forward then seemingly disappearing, leaving a trail of lightning behind, only to reappear behind the man and stab him in the back.
"AAGGHH" The man yelped in pain, Nozomu went to finish the man before a fire started to combust around the man and swallow him whole, the assailant seemed to have disappeared from the spot, leaving blood on the ground to show where he was last. Nozomu quickly turned to the Queen and urgently stated,
"We have to leave. Now!"
—Flashback End—
'He was there the night of the attack…' Nozomu concluded, clenching his fist at the sight of the bandaged man.
Gimu's eyes had found their way toward Nozomu, ogling the lightning tracing around his body. "Who the hell are you?"
Before Gimu could receive any response, Itami, Doryoku, and Shototsu appeared on a separate rooftop. Itami opened his mouth to yell, "Stop running away, damn it!" That was obviously targeted toward Yuso.
Mizuki got a bit closer to Nozomu, but not too close due to being scared of touching the lightning radiating off of the white-haired man's body. "Those are the people who took me away from my siblings!"
Nozomu scowled once more. It is definitely not a good situation to be in. 'How am I supposed to keep the brat safe if I have to fend off these people who appear to be rogues!?'
XXX
Akushon could be seen carrying Sona in his arms while Toshiro followed along behind him. "Haishi! Oshieru!" Mr. Akushon called out to two people in the group in a holler.
Haishi and Oshieru turned and spotted Akushon and the two children. "Where did you find them?" Haishi immediately inquired, his gaze drawn to the injured girl and the bloodied Toshiro.
"The girl was stuck under some rubble and the boy was trying to save her," Akushon answered hastily, his tone remaining as powerful as before.
The rest of the group walked over, Kou and Oshieru at the front of the warriors and students. Sona turned and looked at the group, her legs limp from the broken pillar that landed on her legs. "We have to find our brother! He was abducted by men in cloaks!"
The students' eyes widened at Sona's words. More specifically; Tanjo's, Akogare's, and Naderamu's. Were the three kids that they conversed with not so long ago in danger?
Oshieru looked over to Toshiro, eyeing the boy conspicuously. "Is what she said true?"
Toshiro nodded immediately, parting his lips to speak, "Yes, it's true!" There was so much going on, and with them only being kids, they had no way to actually go and get their brother back. Perhaps informing actual warriors could save their brother.
Oshieru glanced at Haishi. "What do you think we should do?" With Haishi being the Chief, getting his input would definitely be of help.
Haishi took a moment to respond, sitting in contemplation. Haishi then eyed his armor–especially his crest. The symbol that represented Buraun. Haishi looked over to the two siblings. "Where were they last seen?"
XXX
Hey! I hope you enjoyed today's chapter! What will happen next? Stay tuned to find out!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_