Ralphie, Harry, and Leandre led the massive crowd to City Hall, which was soon surrounded by many soldiers headed by Niklas. "The city hall is only a couple of blocks away. Because of the guards in the route, getting there will take some time. "So, young chef, how do you want to do this?"
Ralphie took the lead, followed by the citizens. "There's no other choice but to smash past their defenses. Sneaking around would take time, which we don't have, and with this many people, there's no way to slip around and past those soldiers."
"Ralph, are you serious? There are three times as many soldiers as there are followers. We'd be easily stopped because we're outnumbered." Believed Harry, who saw Ralphie smile and laugh confidently. "That will not be necessary. These troops are simply Niklas' underdogs. I should be able to handle most of them on my own, and we have the mayor on our side as well."
Harry grumbled and continued running behind Ralphie. "I've ended up in this group, so I might as well finish the course. Let's hope you're correct, and no, I'm not doubting your fighting abilities. I have reservations as someone who has never served in a battle of any kind."
Ralphie chuckled cheerfully and moved on forward, where the troops awaited them.
Kou moved through the streets. They were thin and emptied of people. It was mostly dust and abandoned houses with only lives in them; the troops.
He perched on the edge of the roof and gazed down in secret. Troops were spread across the whole hill. None had a break, they kept scouting, keeping watch. "Damn. The streets are filled with these goons. How am I supposed to sneak past them with so many? If I make one mistake, I'm done for." He thought.
He looked over, spotted a few more, and backed from the edge. "It's not too bad." Somebody spoke. It caught Kou off guard. His hair spiked up, and his body shivered.
He flipped around. "What?!" he screamed. Before he could continue, Bow pressed his palm onto Kou's lips. "Hey! Calm down, will you? If you shout, they'll spot us."
Kou blinked, finally getting freed from Bow's palm. "Hold on a minute. You're that soldier from Yumiko's homeland. What were you again? Wasn't it something involving light?" Kou wondered.
Bow smiled. He was squatting on one knee. "You're talking about the Sun Soldier's title. I'm finished with that job. Since the moment Muro's been imprisoned, we have no need to keep those titles. Just see us as allies for now."
Kou seemed dubious. "I hope so. I don't want to get my body crushed by your friends." Exclaimed Kou, tilting his eye to the side. "Trust us or not, know that I'm here to help. So, I heard from Blue that you tried to help a girl out. You're quite a lucky kid, huh?" Bow chuckled.
"Stop saying it like that. It's not what you think. I only helped because those goons stole something that belonged to her. Then I accidentally stumbled across that smoke guy that Yumiko attacked." Bow was more than interested in it. He was happy.
"All right. You needn't be worried. I'm here to help out in any way I can. I'm lucky I found you so fast. Now, have you come up with a plan or do you need that as well, bud?" Questioned Bow and looked into Kou's face.
Kou looked back over the edge. "Well, I can't do much about it. These goons are everywhere, and the next building is too far for me to jump, especially now that I'm all out of juice." Bow noticed determination inside Kou's eyes.
"I see. Good to know. Leave it to me." Bow stood up straight and whipped his right arm to the side. He called upon his golden bow. He extended its corners to a bolt-like pattern, then converted the sun's energy to his will. He created golden arrows made purely from the sunlight.
His eyes glowed with golden hues and golden trails of energy surrounded his whole body. He scouted the streets and managed to locate every soldier in a hundred-meter radius. "Looks like there are about 43 soldiers in a hundred-meter radius from here. Should be doable."
Sweat appeared on Kou's forehead. He was perplexed. "How could you know that? I can't even see how many there are behind the next street." He wondered.
Bow smiled. "Have you forgotten?" he raised his bow above his head, directed the arrow in the air, and continued. "I can sense the warmth of their feet when the sun's out, and on top of that I have the knowledge on how to use the forbidden technique; inspection." His explanation was reasonable. Kou was impressed by it.
"Seriously?! Heck, your eyes are like an eagle's, but you're a human. Man, I wish I could have a useful ability like that. My ability just causes my skin to rip apart or forces me to get tired way too quickly."
Bow pulled the string and finally shot that one golden arrow high into the air. Once the arrow reached a certain point it burst opened and scattered into hundreds of arrows that started to rain down on soldiers' heads. Once they were hit by the arrow they were knocked unconscious, and they started to fall in a chain like dominoes.
Kou's eyes opened wide, and what he saw nearly caused him to fall over the edge. "How did you do that?!" he shouted, then tightened his grasp on the roof's edge.
Bow lowered his weapon and caused it to disappear into golden sparkles. "It's simple really. When I shoot out an arrow in the air it bursts into sparks that are shaped like arrows. Then it scatters around like a flower and locates the nearest heat of someone's body. It strikes and forced them into a comma, but it doesn't injure them." He added. "I call it, Sunfall Scatter. Now, let's hurry up and find your friend."
Kou learned that knowing his ability was the least of their concern now and agreed with him. "I heard they would take her to an underground cell, but I'm not sure where it is. Since you're here, do you think you can find where it's at?" Bow blinked, crossed his arms, and thought.
"Depends. I don't know the layout of the city, so I'd need to hope that there are people in the cell. If you remember, I can only detect their body heat, meaning I couldn't locate a room without anyone in it." Bow explained.
"That shouldn't be a problem. You should be able to detect Louisa's body heat, not to mention the people around her that are planning to lock her away."
Bow nodded and allowed Kou to continue. "Then it's time we hurry up and find her. I feel like the cell should be someplace close to that broken mansion. If my memory serves me correctly, I'm more than certain that those guards planned on bringing her to their leader first." Kou explained and pointed his finger at the mansion. "Could you scout that mansion's surroundings? It should be the main building to come in contact with Louisa. But if we're planning on entering, I'm sure it won't be as easy."
Bow looked at the same mansion and dropped down into the street. He crouched, placed his palm on the ground, and closed his eyes.
A sudden surge of warmth spread through the ground and Bow's vision lost the colors. It became like a colorless city with the only hues being black and white, but that only lasted until his detection reached the front of the mansion. He noticed two guards dragging Louisa toward the mansion. They had the colors of the sun and that's when Bow finally opened his eyes.
"Kiddo looks like you were right. They're almost at the mansion, so we should hurry up and go." Bow looked at Kou on the top of the roof, folding his arms. He seemed unimpressed and irritated. "Can you people stop calling me a kid?! It's nerve-wracking!" He shouted. Bow looked at him, bewildered, and then slightly pointed his finger at him. "But you're fourteen, right?"
Kou's eyes widened and a red vein popped on the side of his head. "That doesn't mean I need to be a kid! I'm a teenager and let's not forget that I'm risking my life for this job! You could start showing some interest in me, and call me by my name!"
Bow slightly dropped his finger, and a sweat slipped down his forehead. "Okay, sure." He claimed. "We should, um, hurry up now. We don't have all day."
Kou grumbled and then dropped down to the ground. The two of them accelerated and ran in the direction where the guards were dragging Louisa.
To be continued...