"How about a display of strength?" Jonathan asked, his smile unnervingly wide.
"Do I look like so show dog to you?" Sola asked.
"That depends, do you bark?"
Sola scowled at the boy before turning his gaze to Fólórunsó. Suddenly, an idea came into his mind.
"A show of strength is hardly a fitting display of my prowess. You wouldn't be satisfied if I were to uproot a tree, swing it around and chucked it now, would you?"
"No... I suppose not," Jonathan replied, his smile slackened.
"Let's do this then," Sola began. "I'll save my strength for the meantime in order to decimate whatever you would have me fight while in the meantime, someone else keeps us entertained with a display of skill,"
It took Fólórunsó a while to realise that 'someone' being referred to was him.
"Huh?"
"What could he possibly do to keep me entertained?" Jonathan asked. The look of disdain in his eyes made Fólórunsó shiver.
"That bow on his back isn't for show you know!" Sola exclaimed with a sense of uncharacteristic mirth. "He's a very decent marksman. There isn't really much to shoot at the moment, but when he lets an arrow fly, you'll for sure be mesmerised!"
Jonathan scrunched his forehead as he contemplated the offer. He could see only one downside to it, and that was Fólórunsó. He had no desire to do whatever it was Sola claimed he was capable. It would however serve as a suitable means of passing the time if he added something into the mix.
"Alright," he said. "But why don't we make this a little bit more competitive?"
"What do you have in mind?"
He turned to his caretaker and nodded. The black-haired woman bowed in return.
"Let us have Francine here compete against your partner here? She's something of a marksman herself,"
"Alright then. Who should go first?" Sola asked.
"Your partner was the first to be proposed, so he should do us the honours,"
Sola looked at Fólórunsó and jerked his head to the right. The archer scowled and grumbled but moved forward to take his first shot. Sola made sure to stand as far away from Jonathan as he could afford. He was finally free from his pestering as his attention was now focused on staring at Fólórunsó sourly. Sadly, his reprieve was short-lived. Before he could do anything about it, Francine came to stand beside him.
"I've been in your company for a decent amount of time, and I still don't seem to understand it," Francine said, breaking the silence.
"What is it?" Sola asked in his usual dour tone.
"Master Jonathan has had an obsession with you for the entirety of my service to him and I have been privy to a great deal of your exploits," She began. "Over the years, you've slayed a great number of beasts and saved a larger number of lives during certain disasters, you are nothing short of a-"
"Get to the point," Sola growled.
"-My point is someone of your repertoire could be teamed up with freelancers that are just as legendary, yet you chose to be saddled with this tailcoat rider,"
The silence that settled between the two of them was pierced through by Fólórunsó's arrows as they flew by and struck miscellaneous fruit.
"You aren't the first to ask me that and you probably won't be the last either," Sola said. "But I'll do you the favour of letting you know why I'm partners with Fólórunsó,"
"People you call 'legends' have stupendous power and prowess and fame, but what people say about someone is never who they truly are. It's the same for people of no fame too. Of all the people who have asked to be my partner or teammate, Fólórunsó has something that is so rare it's almost unique to him,"
"And what might that be?" Francine asked. She her head to face Sola and their eyes met.
"You'll have to see what that is for yourself,"
Fólórunsó's final arrow whizzed through the air and hit the green oval-shaped fruit. Of the 20 arrows he had, only 8 managed to pierce through their target and 10 missed. The rest only managed to graze the fruit and leave cuts on them.
"I suppose your performance was palatable at best," Jonathan commented distastefully.
"Gee. Thanks," Fólórunsó said.
He stretched out his hand. His arrows immediately lunged into the air and flew towards him, one taking the fruit it pierced along with it as they all flew into his palm. Jonathan's eyes widened in surprise.
"You have a Revel Art?" He asked.
"Nah, I can just barely use Revel to do some stuff," Fólórunsó explained.
"I see," Jonathan said. His disappointment was heavy on his tone.
"Well then Francine, why don't you blow us away; in one way or the other,"
Francine bowed again and stepped forward. Fólórunsó offered her his bow and quiver but she refused it. She pulled the fruit off his arrow and pulled a small blue crystal encased in smooth steel. The crystal glowed brightly and the metal liquified. It consorted and folded until it took the form of a medium-length firearm in her hand.
"Blue Mercury," Fólórunsó whispered.
Blue Mercury is a universal technology conglomerate that is considered one of the foundations of technology in the universe. It pioneered the way for Revel harnessing technology, allowing it to be used as a sustainable power source. The corporation had recently opened a branch in weapons and arms, allowing the few who could afford it the ability to use Revel in some manner.
The Blue Mercury gun began to glow brightly as the crystal in it gathered Revel into itself. Francine aimed the general direction Fólórunsó had shot at and pulled the trigger. A burst of energy erupted from the gun's barrel with a deafening boom. In an instant, all the trees that populated the area were gone. The beam that flew out of the gun kept on going, destroying trees as it went until it finally dissipated a mile away. All that remained of them were their scorched and the ashes of what once was. Francine rested the steaming gun on her shoulder and bit into the fruit she took.
"Now that's what I'd call a display of strength!" Jonathan applauded.
He turned to see Sola's reaction and was deeply satisfied to see the look of horror the man now wore.
"What did you just do?" Sola muttered. "Why would you do that?"
"What is it? Was the power of my caretaker's 'marksmanship' greater than you were expecting?" The Immortalis mocked.
"We have to leave. Quickly! Before it-"
A loud crack reverberated throughout the forest shaking the four down to their bones. Deep within Tru Forest, a crack appeared across the bark of the largest tree. A hand seemingly carved out of wood and covered in sap burst through the crack and pushed it further open. From it emerged a being that could simply described as an oak tree moulded in the shape of a man. Its lanky frame stood at around 6 feet, leaves flourishing around its neck and upper back. Its wooden eyelids flew open, revealing two orbs of glowing amber staring intensely in one single direction. It uttered no noise before disappearing without a trace.