*Haru*
"Stop! They're here." I ordered.
Briony and Silva stopped in their tracks.
"They are 30 meters to the east, about 4 People. They're the ones that we've been ordered to kill."
We readied ourselves and tried to sneak up on the „Pirates" that stole The Union's order of communication scrolls they purchased from the African Kingdom. The transport route for the scrolls was set to be from the African Bridge through Central Superio and then to the European Union. But the „Pirates" stole our scrolls and tried to extort The Union for gems.
Our orders were simple. „Get the scrolls and kill the perpetrators."
Our position was close to the center of the city, the „Pirates's" position too.
„I'll handle it, just support me from afar and watch for any other Mana-Wielders." I ordered.
„Understood!" They responded in unison.
‚Fuck the procedures, I'll go in from the front and erase these fuckers' existences.'
I walked over to the tall African men that wore simple robes and wielded machetes and rifles.
[„Look out, Enemy!"] One of them yelled something I didn't understand.
Immediately they began shooting at me. It was futile. I created a thick Mana-Barrier in front of me. The bullets hit it and stopped mid-air.
‚I love the faces they make when they lose hope.'
Seeing as the bullets stopped mid-air, they dashed at me with their machetes. Their movements were sloppy and mostly relied on speed and momentum.
The first „Pirate" arrived and slashed his machete downwards at my head.
„Pathetic…"
I drew my double-edged sword and intercepted the slash. I didn't move a single inch, neither his strength or momentum was high enough to make me flinch.
I kicked the „Pirate" away and looked for the other 3. ‚They positioned themselves around me, not bad…'
The other 3 attacked from all directions.
„Let's make it fair."
I reinforced my legs with Mana and enhanced their strength and durability. I then jumped 3 meters into the air and used my recently created move.
„Dominion of Mana!"
I pushed the Mana in a radius of 10 meters away. The AoE was was rid of any Mana and only the Mana in the cores of the Mana-Wielders remained. That meant, only the Mana in the Cores could be used to reinforce the user's body and weapons putting a restriction on any Salan abilities that utilized Mana outside of one's body.
[„I can't use my Salan ability!"]
[What the hell is happening!?"]
The „Pirates" were stupefied and didn't know how to react. I didn't wait another second and started cutting them down one after the other. Though the last one was smart enough and moved outside of the AoE.
„Monster, you!" The last surviving „Pirate" said as he trembled in fear.
„Shouldn't have stolen the scrolls, [idiot]."
He naturally resisted and tried to avoid the Grim Reaper. Unexpectedly, he was a Bearer. Which of course didn't change anything, all he was able to do with his Salan ability was creating a cloud of black smoke.
I held my sword's handle with both hands and slashed horizontally while spinning 360 degrees. Doing that created a small change in air pressure which led to the smoke being blown away.
With his comrades dead, his rifle useless and Salan ability being overcome so easily, the "Pirate" fell down to his knees.
"Where are the scrolls?" I asked as I placed my sword against his nose.
"Su- Sun... Side Seven." He stuttered.
'The good old SSS, huh? Been a while since I was there.'
Sun Side Seven was a club in the most south-east place in Central Superio. It had an artificial beach and was warm most year due to the hot steam that came from a volcano across the lake in the African Kingdom. It wasn't the only reason I went there. SSS was also an illegal fight club where people with different martial arts fought each other. There was always a champion, the previous winner, the "7th". The other 6 competitors would fight in a free-for-all and the winner could challenge the 7th.
Last time I went there, I got the scars on my left upper lip. I was defeated that day, the only and last time I was beaten by another person other than my father.
As I recalled my memories from the SSS, I hadn't noticed that my blade had went through the African's face.
"Ugh.." I sighed.
I wanted to call Briony and Silva, but I noticed a strange feeling on my back. It was rather familiar, also. When I turned, there was nothing.
***
In the last few months, I received military training and joined the European Union's army. That's what Declan advised me to do.
During that time, I met a lot of people, Silva being one of them. Silva was quite different from the rest, being both introverted and strong. His Salan ability allowed him to do two things: Telepathically communicate with allies over a short distance and create rings that were made out of his Mana. He could change their sizes, density and weight. He could also control and move them around. When I used Dominion of Mana for the first time, it was against him. Even when all the Mana in the surrounding was gone, he could still control these rings.
Briony Wise, Declan Wise's only daughter, the "Green Princess". She was called the "Green Princess" by the people on the internet for being the daughter of the wealthiest man alive and having so much money. That nick-name later changed into "Ruler of Roots". It was mainly her Salan ability that got her that nick-name. She could control the natural Mana in the ground and create roots. I spent every day with her since we met. I taught her everything I could, except swordsmanship. I did all that to gain more of Declan's favor.
'I see myself on the top. With Declan's help, I can achieve everything.' I thought.
***
'We shouldn't have left the horses to the guy on the bridge. It would've been easier riding our horses across Central Superio. What was the weird guy's name again? Reynolds? Raymond? Reus? Whatever, as long as he follows my orders.'
"SSS is not far from here, about 5 more kilometers." I informed.
"How do you know where it is, anyway?"
Briony's question even made Silva curious. He wouldn't normally care about other people, but this time, he looked as he wanted to know no matter what.
'I wanna know too.' Silva's voice resounded in my head.
"Damn it! I told you not to use your Salan ability without warning me first."
I received an apologetic smile from Silva. I let it be.
"I used to go there. It's a club, but the owner runs an underground MMA tournament. I was the champion there for a while. No one knew how to beat a swordsman with a wooden sword. That was until I lost and got this." I explained and pointed at my lip.
"So that's how you got that scar. I always thought a cat might've clawed you."
As Briony's words registered in my brain, my lip started to ache, like it had been freshly cut. I tensed up and unconsciously let the Mana in my Core leak out of my body. With anger combined, the Mana was like a thick blanket of smoke for Briony's and Silva's lungs.
I unconsciously started to scratch the sides of my head until I scratched enough to make it bleed.
"The Shining Swordsman was defeated by The Panther."
"HAHAHA!!"
"He was beaten by a woman!"
"I wish I would've bet on The Panther."
"Embarrassing, HAHAHAH!"
"Panther! Panther! Panther!"
"Panther! Panther!"
"Panther!"
"-ther!!"
The announcer, the crowd, The Panther.
Overpowered, humiliated, mocked.
"I enjoyed this, I hope to see you again someday. [May you be guided]."