Present Day | November 28, Year 110
Zenos Base
13:10
I woke up suddenly, sweat dripping down my face, and my body was trembling. The past continued to haunt my dreams. My heart was still torn from the pain, a wound that I couldn't yet heal. I left my bed and immediately went into the bathroom to freshen up in an attempt to clear my mind.
After showering and getting dressed, I walked into the kitchen and saw Lux cooking something up. He had a complete focus on his meal, ensuring that it was done well.
"You coming to take my job as chef, Lux?" I joked, still brushing off the internal turmoil I was dealing with.
He laughed, still concentrating on cooking, "I took over since you were sleeping in today. You must have been exhausted from sparring with Mari yesterday. Plus, it's a good way for me to do my part for the group."
He was right about my exhaustion. I ended up sleeping through breakfast. Thankfully, Lux was able to cover for me as a cook. His food was delicious, competing with my cooking, so I was sure that the Zenos were still happy despite my oversleeping.
I agreed in response and sat on a stool in front of the counter, "Mari wiped me out yesterday. Sorry, I missed breakfast. What's everyone else up to?"
Lux cut up some carrots for the stew he was making. Each cut was precise and quick; I was impressed by his technique. He continued chopping the vegetables before replying.
"Well, Mari and Kota are going to Kysora on a scouting mission. Yuri is training in the forest. Nonoka, Ren, and Hasashi are sparring with one another. Zel wanted to see you in her room once you finished lunch. Okami is out hunting for beasts," he described and continued, "And we're also right here, ready to enjoy a late lunch."
It had been a few days since Lux joined us, but he fit in quickly. I was happy to have him around to brighten my dampened mood. The Zenos had been my family for a long time, so I was delighted whenever it grew. The first members were Zel and I about nine years ago.
"Get ready, 'cause here comes a good meal," Lux served up two bowls of good stew, handing me one of them. He sat beside me and began eating his food.
He ate his stew with a lot of passion, which made him a bit loud in chewing. Although noisy, it wasn't as distracting as Yuri or Mari when they ate. After eating Lux's delicious meal, I headed toward Zel's room.
"Thanks for the meal, Lux!" I said.
He looked at me and smiled, "Anytime."
I moved through the nook of the kitchen and into the great hall. I marveled at the paintings that Nonoka made in her free time. She was typically quiet and reserved, except when I spoke to her alone, she was talkative and creative.
I went to the end of the hall and headed up the steps that led into Zel's room. For all that walking, her room was rather unexciting. She was a big fan of simplicity, so you could only expect gray colors with minimal furniture. I gently knocked on her door, which was slightly cracked open. I heard a faint voice.
"Come in."
She had her back in her chair with her legs kicked up on her desk, placed against the back wall. She looked over at me and said, "Raya, just the one I needed. I've got a mission for you."
Zel's laid-back demeanor always differed from the tasks she handed out, so naturally, I was curious.
"What do I need to do today?" I asked.
She picked up a document and gave me a run-down of the information, "We received word that a few of our allied troops are being held in the capital's lower prison. The royal government has recaptured the village of Torsmos, and they're holding the execution of those they've captured next week in Death Square. I need you to rescue the prisoners and escort them to Lillica's Retreat."
"I won't disappoint you, Zel. I'll escort them safely," I answered.
"Very well, take your leave tonight. We need to be as careful and quick as possible. If all else fails, don't get captured," Zel said.
My plans for today now included breaching Kysora Prison and saving some rebels. I had better get ready. However, I still wanted to check on a particular person. I left the building and went to the forest, where Yuri was training, that musclehead and his brute strength. Yuri kept asking everyone if they wanted to do a rankings battle; Lux was the only one dumb enough to do it. I mean, sometimes Mari and Kota fought him, but they always won, so they tended not to fight Yuri since he couldn't win at any point.
In the distance, you could hear a ton of thrashing about and yelling. I stepped into a clearing where Yuri fought against the plant monsters he summoned. His magic allowed him to have great training partners of his own. Each one was as strong as a few of our members.
"Hey, how's the training going?" I asked.
"It's not going so well. I can't make these plants as strong as I want them to be. How about we battle it out?" He replied. He wore a light tunic and black pants. His muscles bulged out of his shirt, and he was working up a sweat from his training.
"I figured you'd want to fight me again. I have a mission to do, so I need to get a warmup in," I said, knowing Yuri would go all out if I mentioned a mission.
He destroyed the remaining plant monsters and focused on me, "Now I'm excited. A battle between two of the top five!" He exclaimed. Of course, he paid attention to the ranks.
Although he was stronger than me in general, I felt confident about the battle, "Come at me with all you have unless you are too cowardly to," I taunted.
He smirked and rushed towards me with his fists. I knew his plant magic was weak against my flames, but his strength magic was the biggest problem for me.
"Strength Enhancement x10!" He yelled.
Our fists clashed, sending a brutal shock wave through my arms and knocking me back. Unable to recover quickly enough, he punched me in the stomach, launching me into a tree. Damn, I hated that super strength. Even Mari had struggled with Yuri a little bit. He started to charge at me again.
I shot a concentrated beam of fire out of my hands at the charging buffoon. The beam covered him, which had to hurt him.
I moved away from the tree and prepared another attack. Flames sprung up from below the surface. Like vines, they held his body in place, encasing Yuri in fire.
"This fire is annoying, but it's nothing I can't handle. Let's see how you deal with my Treants," Yuri shouted while struggling to escape.
Tree monsters appeared around me and began to attack me. All I had to do to defeat them was light them on fire. I blew flames from my mouth and burned them down to a crisp.
"That was easy enough, Y-," I was kicked in the back by Yuri, who had escaped my flames. My breath left my body as I fell to the ground.
"Your flames won't hold me down. What was that about me being too cowardly?" Yuri joked.
I couldn't believe that he escaped so effortlessly. It looked like I had lost this one. I put my hands up, "Fine, fine, you win..." I sighed.
Yuri smiled, "I am the winner! That's right, Raya. W-I-N-N-E-R! That officially makes it 27-18 in my favor."
"It simply means I'll smack you nine more times to take the fourth-place spot from you, musclehead!" I retorted.
Yuri's constant training had made him so much stronger since I last fought him. I needed to improve before he completely outclassed my abilities. Once I was done with the mission, I would train as hard as possible to keep up with Yuri.
I brushed myself off, standing back up and healing my body. Yuri approached me, drinking an elixir to recover his burns.
"I wish you luck on your mission. I'm hoping to have another battle soon so I can keep improving my score against you," he taunted.
"Oh, shut up already. I'll give you a hell of a beating once I come back."
I walked away from the brute, setting off to Kysora once more after packing up my items and riding one of the horses. It was time to bust the rebels out.