Chereads / Progress Under the Sun / Chapter 13 - Danger Causation

Chapter 13 - Danger Causation

"Emma how many…" Magnolia said. 

"There are twenty seven on the left said of the camp and only ten on the right side, the General's tent is directly in the middle."

The girl explained as the wind rushed past her. Magnolia glanced back at his other four comrades. They all wore all black military uniforms with matching colored face paint. A group of shadows in the dead of night, invisible to the eye.

"Kibo and Matthew, you two take the right, Valentina you take the left, your abilities are best suited for the large numbers. Now go!" Magnolia commanded.

With a nod, the three dispersed into their respective objectives, leaving Magnolia and Emma alone.

Magnolia glanced at the girl beside him. Taking a deep breath, he spoke with resolve.

"Let's go." 

The green haired girl simply nodded and followed behind the leader of this mission. He had gotten more strict lately... maybe to show he wasn't a loser? It really didn't matter though; everyone knew that Magnolia was one of the strongest, even compared to Ren.

...

Valentina landed directly in the middle of the camp full of men and women. The sudden appearance of a little girl brought all activity to a halt, the soldiers stared at her with curious gazes.

"What's a little girl doing here?" A male soldier asked.

"I don't know maybe Egypt sent her…"

The entire left side of the camp burst out into amazing laughter, mocking the little girl standing in the middle. Valentina stood still, a blood vessel bulging on her forehead. Then she smiled, and as the laughter died down, she vanished.

"Did she run ho—"

The man never finished his sentence. His face was crushed, teeth and blood scattering.

"Not so little now that your face was punched in, am I?" Valentina snarled. 

On the other side of the camp, Matthew and Kibo were dispatching their enemies swiftly and silently. This side seemed to house sleeping soldiers. A well-placed strike to the lungs ensured they would be out cold for hours... more than enough time to capture the base.

...

Magnolia and Emma walked to the front gate, two guards standing in their way.

"Stop right there, you have no business here, turn around-"

He didn't get to finish as he was turned the ash were he stood, the second guard following the same fate right after.

"Emma, you can turn back around now," Magnolia said as he walked forward, the girl following closely behind, stepping over the remains of the guards.

In the center of the camp, they found a man seated, waiting. Magnolia signaled Emma to move aside, sensing the confrontation that was about to unfold.

"I take it you're the leader of this 'invasion.' So young... Has Egypt truly fallen so low that they recruit children?"

Magnolia's gaze remained unreadable, offering nothing as the man stood and spoke again.

"I won't tell you my name, only my goal: to kill you. Child or not, you threaten the Motherland. So powerful at such a young age... too dangerous to be left alive. What a shame."

The General stretched out his arms as a bow made from flame materialized into existence. The General then conjured an arrow, golden in color and fired it at Magnolia.

Magnolia outstretched his hand and the arrow stopped in its place. He then finally spoke for the first time.

"You are weak."

"That was impressive, I admit," the General said, "but if that's all you can do, you won't leave here alive, little one."

Magnolia stayed silent observing the enemy's movement as he creates a spear of fire, throwing it at the general, piercing his lower right abdomen. As Magnolia struck, Emma was greeted with her other allies as they joined to watch the fight. 

The General clutched his wound, speaking through gritted teeth. "Well, this was unexpected."

Bright orange light covered the wound, healing it almost instantly.

"He can heal a wound that severe?" Emma and Kibo said together in astonishment. 

Magnolia smirked in confidence even in spite of the Generals miracle. "Maybe this is more interesting than I thought."

"Don't get cocky boy."

The general dashed towards Magnolia at lighting speed, creating a blade out of fire and showed no mercy, attacking ruthlessly. Magnolia quickly dodges the initial dash, creating claws of fire to combat the General. As Magnolia is blocking the swings of the General's blade with his claws, he takes a swipe at the blade, completely disintegrating it. Without pause, Magnolia swiftly pulls the General on top of him, uses both his legs to kick the General up into the air. Jumping up above him, he grabbed the General and briskly elongated one of his claws, digging into the General's gut as they fall down together.

Magnolia's claw then moves to penetrate the General's lung, getting deeper and deeper, turning everything it touched into ash as they reach the ground. Pulling his claw out of the General's gut, he stared into his eyes as he begins to fade.

"Y-You damn Egyptian boy." The General spat as his body turned into ash. 

"That was awesome Magnolia!" Valentina exclaimed. 

"You looked like a cat out there!" Amelia added.

"Yeah you did." Matthew agreed. 

"Nah more like a bird, like a falcon." Kibo argued. 

Emma quickly turned her head from the Generals ashes towards Kibo as she heard the word 'bird.' Magnolia walks over the ashes, walking towards the door. Though he dodges a golden arrow that embarks from the General's final ashes, soaring into the night sky. 

Everyone tracks the arrow with their eyes until it is out of sight. Kibo was first to comment.

"The hell was that?"

"It seems our friend here has sent a unchancy posthumous." Matthew remarked. 

"A what?" Said Magnolia dumbfounded. 

Matthew explained. "It's like a message after death, a signal that something else is about to happen, something that isn't too good. We should follow it and see where it takes us." 

"Yeah, most likely. You said it's a signal?" Magnolia asked, burning the General's remaining ashes. 

"Yeah, but I'm not sure for what, it could be a distress signal."

"Or a warning, gramps said that the Greek are very cautious, and they always have a backup plan." Kibo added. 

"Emma you think you can track the disc from this far?" Magnolia asked. 

"Ye-Yeah."

Emma sucks in the oxygen and air around her before sending a gust of air into the atmosphere. 

"This way guys follow me."

Emma points towards the sandy abyss, roughly four or five ticks southwest. As they walk out a couple of meters following behind Emma, they heard a loud bang from nine ticks northeast. 

"What was that?" Amelia questioned. 

"Another unchancy posthumous." Matthew answered.

"Which one do we follow?" Valentina asked.

Magnolia quickly thinks of a plan. 

"Emma, Kibo you're with me, we're going to the arrow. Matthew Amelia and Valentina you all go towards the loud bang. 

They all follow Magnolia's command, separating in two groups of three.