"You're wrong. If enough people want a change then change will eventually come. I don't believe us humans are so irredeemable."
"Hahaha! If you believe that, then you are a naïve spoiled brat who has been sheltered her entire life. You may have recently been exposed to the cruelty of humans, but have you ever truly experienced it? Have you experienced the pain of losing everything you love in but a mere blink of an eye? Have you felt the pain of being brutally beaten for years upon years without end?… Probably not, right? Truthfully I envy your naivety, your colourful view of the world and your optimism. Unfortunately, like many others around me, I only see the world in black and white. The weak and the strong."
There was no point in talking sense to each other when both their mindsets have already been set. They were polar opposites who would never see eye to eye and they both knew this.
Reaching into his storage bag, the black-robed man took out a common-grade sword and positioned himself into a fighting stance.
Witney similarly prepared herself. Her opponent was a mana body stage cultivator, and although his foundation couldn't hope to match hers, his body was still refined by Mana and she hasn't even undergone the Superior Qi refinement process yet. He was a peak existence in his world, pride oozed from his body and he had the air of a seasoned survivor. Witney did not doubt that his battle experience trumped hers by many times, however, even after knowing all this, she didn't back down. She was confident that her techniques could overpower him.
*SWOOSH!*
The first to make a move was Witney.
'Solar Steps: 1st movement'
Her body glowed like a bright sun in the dull blue sky before she zipped towards the black-dressed man. Every time she took a step she would leave a glowing footprint that heated its immediate surroundings.
The man was surprised at her sudden burst of speed. He could barely follow her movements, but his experience and survival instincts showed its worth.
*screech!*
The sound of metal cutting through metal screeched into his ears, and his eyes lit up in horror. He watched as the blade of her haladie easily cut through his sword like it was paper.
He instinctively jumped back, but she managed to cut him slightly on the arm.
"Gah little girl! You've ruined my favourite cloak! And that weapon…I want it."
The leader of the gang grinned and his eyes lit up in greed. Not at all phased about losing the first exchange he dashed straight back into action, this time he would go old school, with no weapons just the good ol' fashioned fists.
He reckoned her sudden burst of speed couldn't be used in close-range battles and he was right. 'Solar steps: 1st Movement' was a technique that greatly increased speed while moving in a straight line. As soon as you tried to do quick or intricate movements you would end up crashing face-first into the ground.
"Lady Salvation don't die too quickly. Hehehehe, I still want to have some fun with you."
Punch after punch was aimed at Witney's head or upper body which forced her to either dodge or deflect the punches while being pushed back. She tried counterattacking but he saw through her attacks and she couldn't land any stabs or slashes. They reached a sort of stalemate where both were waiting for the other to lose concentration first.
This situation, however, suited Witney and her team. Hassan, Brian and Protea were nearly finished handling all the cannon fodder. To put it plainly, it was a slaughter and those lower members of the gang stood no chance against them. Brandon and Cora were also performing their duties well, taking on 2 Qi Conversion stage cultivators at the same time and still holding their own was a real testament to their ability and potential.
Some of those from the Salvation Army eventually regained their cool and helped Hassan and the 2 others deal with the lower members thereby speeding up the process.
Soon it was a 6v5 battle, each student took on a member with only Witney and Hassan working together to kill the leader.
They had already destroyed half the city wall so they took battle inside the city. Hassan with his amazing agility and speed used the surrounding buildings to his absolute advantage, weaving through them with precision and skill. He not just assisted Witney but the others too by sneakily attacking the gang members when they least expected.
However, it wasn't all easygoing for the Cloud Haven School students. The gang members cared very little for the lives of civilians and often used them as meat shields before running away.
An hour after the start of the battle, Witney and her team chased the remaining 5 members of the Damned and the Beautiful all the way to their main base of operations which was the previous building of parliament where the previous rulers of this nation held important meetings and such.
"There is nowhere left for you to run. Surrender and accept your death. I promise to make it quick." Witney announced as her team surrounded the ragged group of 5. They all had cuts and bruises in various places on their bodies mainly due to the machinations of Hassan. They had grim faces as they glanced at each other, trying to sneakily formulate a plan with their eyes.
*Swoosh!*
Not paying attention to his surroundings one of the members had his head unexpectedly slashed off his body. The 4 members stared in horror as they watched their colleague wearing a yellow coat and a green vest fall lifelessly to the ground. Next to his body was a glowing footprint that torched the ground around it.
"Fuck Calvon! Fabian what the hell are we going to do!" Ramello, the glasses-wearing cultivator who was now without them, shouted at the black-cloaked man. Ramello greatly underestimated the strength of these students. Although they were no match for them physically and did not have the combat experience they had, their techniques were levels above theirs and it was the ultimate difference maker.
Fabian gnashed his teeth in frustration. He had forgotten about that terrifying movement technique and because of that, one of his strongest members paid the ultimate price.
'Where did they get these cultivation techniques from? It's nothing like anything I've seen before. Wait…' Realisation struck the gang leader. Their techniques seemed way too advanced almost like it was from a higher world and that's because it was!
'I need to leave!'
He couldn't care less about these 3 idiots next to him. His own life took priority and if he had to use them to escape then he would do so in a heartbeat.
"Are you ready to surrender yet?" Witney's words brought Fabian's attention back to her.
Fabian remained silent, but he dropped to his knees and put his hands in the air. The 3 remaining members stared at his back with pure shock.
"Fuck this, I'm leaving!" Tyron circulated his Superior Qi and performed his movement technique. His actions were mimicked by the other two. They planned to bulldoze their way through the encirclement even if they had to suffer with some broken bones for a while.
"Don't let them through!" Witney quickly ordered. Brian and Brandon immediately moved to intercept the 3 gangsters with Hassan just behind them.
Fabian grinned when he saw this all play out and quickly reached inside his storage bag, pulling out a cylindrical-shaped object.
'You guys were horny idiots but I couldn't have done all this without you, so…thanks motherfuckers!'
He threw the cylindrical shaped object against the ground with as much force as he could generate. When it impacted the ground it blew up and a huge cloud of white smoke covered the area.
Witney, Protea and Corey who were rushing to help the boys turned their heads in confusion towards the cloud of smoke but that confusion soon turned into disbelief.
'He escaped!?'
This was a crucial lesson to Witney and her team but there was nothing they could do about it now. The best thing to do right now was to kill the remaining 3 members and unite the nation to complete their mission.
And so they did. Witney and her team captured the 3 gangsters alive and held a public execution which was well received by the public. The students then helped the nation prepare for its first democratic election. Once everything was sorted, Witney took out a cloud-shaped badge she received from the sect and injected some of her Superior Qi into it. The students watched how a door-sized portal magically appeared in front of them. They didn't need an invitation to enter the portal, they all just wanted to go home and rest comfortably in their soft beds.
On the other side of the portal, Principal Balan and the teachers greeted them. They congratulated the students on passing the exam and allowed them to go home. The six students were surprised to find out that they were among one of the first groups to finish their exam so they were pretty proud about that.
Witney lay on her bed with her eyes expressing her disappointment. She couldn't believe that she let Fabian, the leader of the Damned and the Beautiful, escape so easily. She felt like an idiot and she also felt that she didn't deserve to pass the exam. She couldn't help but imagine all the innocent families that Fabian might destroy in the future and the fact that she could've stopped him enraged her. She was fully responsible for the damage he might cause in the future.
'I wish you were here…'
She grabbed the pillow next to her and tightly hugged it as tears threatened to fall from her pretty blue eyes after she breathed in his scent that still lingered on the pillow.
She wanted someone to hold her and tell her that it was not her fault but that someone was on a completely different planet and she had no idea when he would be back.
'I miss you. Please come home soon~'
–––––
"Vasari…Vasari are you ok?"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Why are you crying?"
"Crying?"
Vasari wiped his hand on his cheek and felt the wetness on his skin. He was left completely baffled but it was immediately replaced by an inexplicable feeling of urgency.
Currently, Vasari and Joanna were relaxing in a warm cosy bath. Joanna was sitting in between his legs, her back resting against his chest and her head leaning against his right shoulder. Her curly hair was tied into a high bun which highlighted her beautiful slender neck. Vasari had one hand fondling her meaty breasts and the other wiping the tears on his face.
These past 2 weeks felt like a honeymoon to Joanna and Vasari. Every day they made love with each and when they weren't doing the dirty under the sheets, Joanna was teaching Vasari alchemy. Their connection and affection for each other grew with each passing day.
"Are you so happy that you're crying tears of joy?" Joanna twisted her upper body slightly and lifted her hands out of the water to hold his face. She stared lovingly at his long eyelashes which were glistening beautifully from the tears cascading down his cheeks. She tilted her head up and slowly licked the tears off his face before gently kissing his eyelids.
Vasari smiled in contentment after feeling her affection through her gentle kisses and her soothing caressing. He didn't know why he suddenly started crying but the image of a face that he would never forget and thought about every single day appeared in his mind.
'I miss you and I'll come home as fast as I can."
Billions of kilometres apart yet there was no distance in their feelings for one another. It just goes to show that distance doesn't matter when two souls are united.