Electric currents that were flowing around Elliott's body shot upward. Its sparks flowed like a river in the ocean. His grave mood caused Garuda's muscles to tense up even more. His thick, hairy fingers applied pressure to the cut, causing it to flow reddish liquid between the joints, down the hand, and eventually around the wrist.
The population was astonished by his arrival. He showed up just in time to prevent a bloodbath from breaking out and destroying the homeless people's streets.
His palm was tightly encircling the hilt of the blade. He stood in front of his companions like a fearsome guard safeguarding a fortress door. The sun's light and the raging inferno were mirrored inside the sword as he shook it, causing the blood to splatter off the metal and reveal the reflective silver blade.
"Another one of that girl's lousy friends. There seems to be more of you than I originally thought. You're supposed to be one of the strong ones too, such pain. You've really outdone yourself now, kid. I'm getting tired of you getting in the way of the 'Sun's Order'. You don't know who you're messing with."
Bow pulled out his bow and pointed it in front of his chest so that Elliott's head would be latched onto by the arrow's spike before there could be any further disruptions. A golden stream of energy started to fully shape itself between his knuckles. Its snake-like curled itself around the arrow. The long string, which extended past his head, behind him, was dragged over his shoulders.
His eyes had a golden tinge just before he let it go. He was worried and surprised by something, like he could see ahead of time. At breakneck speed, he fired the arrow, which spiraled through the air and made a beeline for Elliott's head.
He flashed on the spot just as the arrow was about to penetrate through his head. He unexpectedly disappeared from the spot, causing a flash of purple thunder to burst and curve behind Bow like a flickering light in the night.
Elliott used his thunder to his advantage and moved to the area's complete opposite side. To get to the other end, he traveled through it like an electrical current would through a wire.
In a split second, Elliott was in the center of the air, prompted behind Bow, holding his sword over his shoulder with the tip pointing up into the clouds. He generated purple electricity from his hands, which expanded to the point of the sword. The silver was consumed by it like wood being burnt by fire.
But he saw hazard in what was happening in front of him. When he suddenly swiped the sword forward, vertically, he saw Bow reacting instantaneously. His eyes had seen Bow bending his torso forward just as the blade and electrical trail were slashing over.
Although it seemed that Bow had almost surpassed him in speed, it was not the case. Just in time for Elliott to not be able to teleport behind his back, Bow moved the first instant he shot the arrow, just quickly enough before Elliott teleported behind his back.
"What was that?!" As soon as his feet touched the floor, he wondered. In shock, everyone's eyes widened. "Could that be?" Yumiko questioned herself as soon as she came to a realization.
"The Inspection Technique." Ralphie brought his eyes closer to her announcement out of interest and the want to learn more. He was completely in the dark regarding what had happened in that split second.
"What is that?" Ralphie asked.
Her mouth shuddered. "It's one of the five forbidden techniques that many people obtain it during the sessions of their training. In that moment, the instant your friend moved, Bow was already aware of what to do next. He managed to see what would happen ahead of time. He already knew that your friend would try to attack him from behind. It's the only reason Bow successfully dodged the attack."
Everyone was in awe after hearing her explanation. Elliott was astounded by what he saw as they all turned to face Bow, who was still leaning forward. Normally, he would be able to make the most of his speed and quickly defeat his enemies. But this time, everything was different. He was aware that he was attempting to attack someone with much greater fighting experience than himself.
A loud, robust laughter then arose. Despite being hurt, Garuda was back on his feet and appeared not bothered one bit. His broad grin practically concealed his expression. They gave him a nervous look.
"Such an amazing technique is it not? Even I was astonished the first time I had seen it for myself. Unlike others, Bow's been on a complete different level than all of us. He's considered to be the best among the 'Sun Soldiers', even better than me."
"To think that a young man like him would have advanced his senses to the point of being able to see future, it's utmost crazy to believe. But I lie not. What you see before you is a warrior who'll change the future. The more time passes, the stronger he'll become. He will be the next God of the Divine Artifacts."
"Isn't that right, Bow? You are one of a kind. Somebody whose tale will be written in the Book of Legends."
Bow raised his bow once again without speaking and pulled the string. He formed a golden light arrow that kept on glowing with the most exquisite magnificence.
Elliott intended to move swiftly behind him, but as soon as he took the first step, golden light tentacles sprouted from the ground. They immediately wrapped his limbs, constraining him from being capable of moving. He tried to pull, but their hold on him was too firm.
The others were terrified when Bow's face fixed on them. They were clueless as to what to do or when to move, so instead their eyes remained trembling behind timid faces.
He let loose a golden arrow, which shot through the air in a frenzy. When it was released, it pulsed forth a shockwave that pulled up a dust-encircled windstorm that exploded to the flanks. The houses were readily reduced to chunks of debris when the pressure of it crashed against their walls.
In order to strike the earth, the spinning arrow flew through the centre of the other people's locations. They realized they couldn't stop its overwhelming might and acknowledged that they would soon be dead.
But the arrow quickly curved up and shot between their shoulders, purposefully missing them. It suddenly attracted everyone's attention as it burst towards Garuda's direction. His broad grin vanished, and the arrow slashed directly through Garuda's abdomen. The sound of ringing repeatedly resonated in the vicinity.
The arrow detonated in a comparably sized explosion to the one that had been cast before.
Only a small portion of the flames that had already formed were fanned by the enormous explosion, which painted the street in vibrant colors.
Kizu and Trap both doubted what they were seeing. They didn't anticipate their leader being wounded by one of his own soldiers. They were so furious at Bow's careless attack that they immediately started to complain.
"The hell are you doing?! This was not our plan! We agreed to capture Yumiko to retrieve her back to the Muro's castle!"
Trap exclaimed as he saw Bow let go of the bow and hang it onto his back. Others' eyes from below the roof, which didn't know what he was doing, met his.
They were misplaced. They only saw an impression that Bow had betrayed the "Sun's Order." Something that didn't seem imaginable based on the expression on his face. They discovered Garuda's body encased within a building's wall. His skin had been burned by the explosion's heat and covered in dirt.
Bow and Ralphie cautiously turned and looked at each other. In an instant, he slipped into his pocket and pulled out a letter. The letter they had been looking for since this morning, and there it was, thrown forward only to be caught by Ralphie.
"You were looking for that, didn't you? It's yours now. Hopefully that helps." Bow claimed.
He gave orders for his comrades to release Elliott, and Trap reluctantly carried them out. Kizu, just like everyone else, naive thinking couldn't help but bug him. He reached for the top and scratched his head with one finger.
"Whus' that? A love letter? Didn't know you'd be into boys, man. Then, again, you've been keeping some of the most mysterious secrets ever since you've become one of us. I dunno if I should still trust you after that."
"You don't need to trust me. I've come here for one purpose, and one purpose only. We will return to the castle and inform Muro that we completed our duty involving the girl we'd been hunting for."
Bow gave them one last glance before he and his companions left. Then, without saying anything else, they vanished.
The surroundings went completely silent. Even though Yumiko had not been taken hostage, their faith had been misplaced. They thought that their foes would use some other plans they had in the future.
It was like a puzzle that needed to be solved.
To be continued...