The wall lifts, revealing two unfamiliar adults standing ominously in the dim light.
"Kazami, we finally found you!" the woman announced with a sinister smile.
"Just come here quietly, and we won't hurt you or your friends... but if you don't comply, don't think your friends are getting out of this unscathed," she threatened, her voice dripping with malice.
"Father, sister, snap out of it! The beast is controlling you!" Kazami pleaded, his voice desperate and strained with fear, something I never could've imagined coming out from that normally stoic face.
The woman's smile twisted into a cruel grin. "Alright then," she sneered, her eyes glinting with dark intent, "I guess you're fucked."
The two adults stomped the ground, their faces contorted with determination and pressed their palms together in a prayer-like motion.
"I'll hold off the attack—take them down!" Kazami shouted. Spikes began to emerge from the walls, sharp and menacing, but Kazami's power halted their deadly advance just in time.
The other adult stopped his hands and dragged his fist against the wall. In an instant, a gauntlet materialized around his right fist, and armour encased his left leg, gleaming ominously in the dim light.
I glanced at Kana; she met my eyes with a resolute nod. Desperation pushed me to take the pill, which was hastily prepared and less potent than usual. I didn't have the time to add more mana. Let's hope it works. Kana mirrored my action, swallowing her pill without hesitation.
As the pill dissolved, a surge of energy coursed through me. My vision sharpened, every detail in the room becoming crystal clear. Time seemed to slow, each second stretching out as blue clouds began to seep from my skin, swirling. I turned to see Kana glowing in the same radiant blue aura, her eyes blazing with newfound power.
In this slowed reality, I could see the faint tremor of the spikes, the gauntlet glint, and our enemies' determined expressions. Without wasting a moment, I dashed towards the free adult, my movements precise and fluid, as if I were cutting through the thick air with every step. The world around me moved in a molasses-like crawl, every heartbeat a drumbeat echoing in my ears.
I glanced to the side and saw Jin and Yatagarasu charging at him, their speed only slightly slower than ours. Flames erupted beneath my feet, propelling me forward as I caught up with them. Kana was right beside me, her aura blazing with intensity.
We were almost upon him when, suddenly, small walls erupted at our feet, causing us to trip and stumble. My heart pounded in my chest—we were so close. In my heightened vision, I saw his eyes glowing. He was using mana vision, too, perfectly attuned to our movements and able to counter our speed.
We all crashed to the ground, the impact jarring. "Bye-bye," he taunted, his voice filled with malicious glee. He wound up for a punch, aiming directly at Jin.
I forced myself into focus again, feeling time slow to a crawl. Struggling to my feet, I dashed towards him, Kana right beside me. Our movements synchronized, driven by desperation and determination.
As his fist hurtled toward Jin, I twisted and kicked at it with all my strength. Kana mirrored my actions perfectly, her backkick igniting with flames that boosted its power. We both aimed at the gauntlet, fire blazing from our feet to push him back even more.
Our combined force struck true, but the impact diverted his fist, sending it crashing into the ground further back. The ground shuddered violently beneath us, and before we could react, it gave way, and we were all falling.
"WHAT THE FUCK!" The entire ground collapsed beneath us. Panic surged through my veins as I instinctively glanced at Kana, who met my eyes with equal dread. Igniting a burst of fire within me, I propelled myself forward, but she was always one step ahead. With a swift, fluid motion, the girl hurled herself forward, and the entire room seemed to rush towards us with unstoppable force.
"No wa—" I barely managed to utter as we halted our motion, splitting in opposite directions. Yet, the colossal room ensnared us both, propelling us mercilessly into the unyielding wall. BAM! The impact sent shockwaves through my body, the collision brutally slamming us against the cold, hard surface. I felt my bones shatter, my flesh bruising and tearing. I wasn't sure if I was even alive anymore. The agony was overwhelming, every nerve screaming in torment.
"Yonu," Kana muttered, pointing with a trembling hand. I forced my eyes open, but it was too late. The wall was sealed off, trapping us inside. The pain was too much, and my ignition pill was exhausted. Helpless, I watched the wall close, the block shifting back into its standard position. It wouldn't be long before the wall would rise again, subjecting us to more torment.
'Kana… we stay on this side… this is our block…' I managed to croak out, dragging myself back to the side. I watched the wall slowly move upwards, a harbinger of more pain and suffering.
'I…I think I'll just die next…' I thought, despair clawing at my heart as I turned my broken body from front facing down to front facing up.
"Yonu, I guess it's just you and me." Kana's voice was steady but tinged with a vulnerability I had not heard too often from her recently.
'Yeah… Do you think we'll die?' I asked, my voice trembling with a mix of cynicism and terror.
"I will survive, and I'll make sure you survive too," she replied, her tone resolute yet solemn, a quiet determination lacing her words before the room fell back into silence.
The solemnity of the moment hung heavily between us, and the silence spoke volumes.
. . .
"Secretary, we have spotted personnel outside of the blocks."
"Everyone, move out to the designated location now! Now, now!" the secretary shouted as everyone mobilized within minutes. They all ran to the gathering spot, where the students continued to fall.
. . .
"JIN!" Yata shouted. "Got it!" Yata swung his arm as hard as he could at Jin, sending a mighty wind hurtling towards him. The force suddenly propelled Jin forward. "Jin's speciality: Gravity Well."
"Kazami, follow me!" As Jin flew towards them, he grabbed Kazami. He continued to soar despite being significantly slowed down by bending away the air resistance. He pushed his palm downward toward the ground as he approached the two. Instantly, he turned his palm into a fist and punched towards the ground. The falling people were suddenly propelled downward at such a high speed they could barely comprehend what was happening. The relentless stream of air left them helpless. Jin swung his body and arm around, causing air to swirl around him and Kazami.
Then, he manipulated the air to increase resistance, gradually slowing their descent until they landed safely. Meanwhile, the other two crashed into the ground before they could react. Yunosuke created a water slide with the water he had accumulated. His control had significantly improved over the past few days, honed by countless battles and the necessity to improvise for survival.
"They're right there!" the agent shouted, pointing to the two earth manacians lying face up on the ground. The group crowded around them as medics rushed to the students.
"Don't move," Gaeun commanded, approaching the earth manacians.
One of them laughed. "Haha…"
"What's so funny?" she asked, pointing her gun at him.
"I was about to be scared, but…you guys are so weak. Besides, don't you know better than engaging earth manacians on their turf? Haha, watch this." He smashed his fist against the ground, causing it to shake uncontrollably as cracks started to appear.
However, at that moment, a shot echoed through the air. In an instant, both earth manacians disappeared, reappearing behind Gaeun. She spun around just in time to see the cracks widening and ravines forming in the ground. Agents screamed as they plummeted to their deaths.
"What is this…" she muttered, rallying the remaining agents. "Secretary, what do we do…these guys are powerful."
She watched the two earth manacians emerging from the ground, panting heavily, their chests heaving.
"They're injured from the students' previous attack," the Secresecretaryied. "And they've been fighting for three days straight. Their mana pools must be nearly depleted, and they're exhausted. We can defeat them."
"GRAVITY WELL!" Jin's scream echoed through the area as he slammed his palm against the earth. Kazami stomped his foot, flooding the area below the two Earth Manacians with his mana to immobilize them. The two struggled on the ground, unable to resist.
Air manacians swiftly approached, handcuffing them and injecting sedatives until they lost consciousness.
"Thank goodness we saved some students," one of the agents remarked, surveying the exhausted and injured Jin and Kazami, their fists bloodied, shirts torn, and eyes heavy with fatigue. The scene begged for salvation.
"Let's get you guys to safe—"
"No. We have to go back and save them," Fuji interrupted firmly. "I can't just leave them in there to die."
"What happened?" Gaeun asked urgently.
"We were fighting, as you saw, but right before you arrived, a room was hurled at two of my friends. They're trapped inside without our help," Jin explained.
"Don't worry. We'll help you find them," Gaeun assured them, determination set in her expression.
Gaeun gestured for them to return to the base with her, but Yatagarasu interrupted with a pointed remark.
"With all due respect, I don't think you can find them fast enough," Yatagarasu stated firmly. "We have a lot of people at our disposal, but you just lost that many to those two. Imagine facing even more... The top of the big four aren't here, and the rest of the elite are on other missions. Considering how we handled the last fight, only we can handle the Quons adequately."
Gaeun muttered under her breath, grappling with the harsh reality. She had already lost over half of her agents to just two Quons. Without the support of the elites and the top four families of the subjugation squad, further losses seemed inevitable.
"Fine... But we'll provide you with communication devices so we can stay in touch," Gaeun conceded. "But how do you plan to enter the blocks? We've tried explosives and more, to no avail."
"We have a Quon... We saw that the Quons can freely control the room's walls. Well, it's a long story." Kazami strode towards the nearest stationary room wall, stamped his foot, and then pushed his palms apart. The wall split down the centre, revealing several students who cautiously raised their heads toward the light.
Tears welled up in their eyes as they crawled out from amidst a sea of bodies—loved ones and friends alike. With gentle assistance, the rest of the group helped them to safety.
"We'll take our leave," Kazami said quietly. The group retreated back into the room, leaving the students to be comforted and guided out.
(12 hours passed)
'Kana... I-I'm starting to feel cold again…'
"No way! Are you okay?" Kana lit a fire and placed it before me, but I felt no warmth. Her worried expression confirmed my fears.
We had been through twelve battles, one every hour. My mana orbs were depleted, my muscles were on the brink of collapse, and my mana pool was draining fast.
'Kana… please…'
"What do you need me to do?" she asked, holding my hand. Finally, I felt some warmth.
"Oh, it must be mana depletion... Don't worry, I'll transfer you some mana." She pressed her lips to mine, and warmth spread through my body as my energy slowly returned.
She pulled back, smiled, and said, "Finally, you're not so pale anymore."
'Hehe…' I managed a smile, but in truth, I was exhausted. I doubted we could keep this up, especially since even Kana was running low on mana. Two fire manacians trying to survive against godlike earth manacian demanded a lot of mana and skill.
I lay back on the ground, my eyes closing for a moment, but that moment stretched into what felt like an eternity, as every waking instant felt like torture.
The room eventually stopped once more. I struggled to stand up, every muscle protesting in agony. Kana stood up as well, her face determined. Instinctively, I spread a thin cloud of mana around me, taking my position before her, ready to pose as the front line, as Kana was the only one with enough mana to be the artillery mage.
The wall lowered, revealing yet another member of the Uon family.
###
The Four Great Families of Javan:- Hino
- Uon- Saka- IchiThe Four Great Families of Javan have been known for their incredible mana pool as well as well thought out techniques that are taught to their children at a young age. Due to this head-start, the four great families continue to produce stronger generational talents to improve the Mana Beast Hunter standards to this day.Each Great family has their own sub-families as well as a main. Each sub-family has their own family head however, they are in fact not as strong as the main family despite learning the same techniques. Sub-families' heads also do not have a vote on family matters as the main family's head will always have the final say. Decisions can range from choosing the next Family head to whether to take up or abandon subjugation missions.For Hino:- Hinora (Main)- Hinoka- Hinobi- Hinoto- Hinowa For Saka:- Sakata (Main)- Sakabe- Sakara- Sakaii For Ichis:- Ichizen (Main)- Ichise- Ichito- Ichizu- Ichiyo For Uons:- Quons (Main)- Kuon- Yuon- Luon- Ruon