The blast from the gun evolved into a huge explosion as soon as it made contact with the Ancient. A huge spiral of blue energy erupted like a blooming onion, roaring into life. The surge of the explosion sent Francine spiralling into the air, her ears ringing and her eyes stinging. She anticipated a large impact from the blast, but she never expected it to be this big. She soared through the air and crashed into the branches of a tree before finally tumbling to the ground.
A large crater had formed in place of the explosion. Francine tried to see if she could find signs of Sola, but her vision was obscured by the smoke, dust and ash flying up from the explosion. The Ancient had yet to reemerge, so she felt safe to say that it had been handled, but what about him? She felt her stomach drop to the group with fear. If Jonathan found out about it- No. He had to be alive. He needed to be alive; she needed him to be alive.
"Sola!" She cried into the smoke.
"I don't think she can hear you," A voice said.
Francine turned around to see a large man draped in a dark cloak. His height and width were so imposing she found herself surprised she had not noticed him getting so close to her. His dirty blonde hair was short and unkempt. His onyx eyes were small and beady. His scarlike mouth was contorted into an off-putting smile that put Francine on edge.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Does it really matter?" The man asked. "You're about to die anyways,"
Francine's grip tightened around her gun. She was tempted to use it, but she knew there was no point. She was trapped.
"It's such a shame though," The man continued. "I let my partner go after the Immortalis brat because I wanted to face off with the famous Silver Bulwark, but then went ahead and died before I could get here. I missed a chance to fight an Ancient too," He clicked his tongue. "Today is not my day,"
"You're after Master Jonathan?" Francine asked, her eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"
"Why am I after a kid with the ability to heal near infinitely and isn't strong enough to protect himself yet? Could be the potential for biological experiments someone of his blood has but the real answer is with my employer, whoever that may be," The blonde man waved dismissively. "I don't really care. I came because of Sola and since I can't fight him, you'll have to do for a warmup."
In the blink of an eye, the large man was right in front of her. She tried to brace herself for the incoming attack, but she was not fast enough. Her stomach seemed to fold into itself as the man's fist connected with her stomach. His punch knocked her back several feet and crashing into the crater. Francine felt a few of her ribs crack on impact and her mouth tasted like blood. She tried to steady her vision and keep track of her attacker, but the dust and smoke reduced her sight.
"Seriously, that's all it took?" The man said with a sad tone. "I thought since you landed the finishing blow on the Ancient, you'd be super strong. Ugh, today really isn't my day,"
Francine could see the gleam of the man's black eyes from within the smoke as he approached her. She could feel her heartbeat grow faster and her breathing became ragged. Was this how she was going to die? In a forest after someone else paid for a mistake she made? When would her family find out? Would they even know? She doubted if the Immortalis' did know after she died, they would give them such a liberty. Her eyes started to water, and her voice was welled up in her throat, wanting to call for help. But there was no help. She closed her eyes and waited for the man's fist to come down on her and put an end to her misery.
She felt the sudden shift in the wind as his fist came down to strike her. Her body tensed up in anticipation of the blow. But the blow never came. In disbelief, she slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened and standing before her was a familiar figure clenching the fist of the attacker.
"Sola?" She croaked.
The smoke began to clear, revealing the grey-haired man in all his glory. His body was badly bruised and burnt with blood oozing from fresh wounds. Francine could not help but notice the odd nature of Sola's blood though. It was silver instead of red, pouring out of him like some kind of metallic liquid. Sola turned his head to face her and gave a small nod.
"Wipe those tears, this will all be over soon,"
He turned his attention back to the man in front of him, his silver eyes burning with fury. The man on the other hand could not have looked happier. His smile was so wide it made his beady eyes look even beadier.
"I should have known you weren't dead!" He cried gleefully.
"Darwin Aurst," Sola grunted.
"You know me?! My day just keeps getting better and better!"
Sola had heard of this man frequently from the other members of the UFLO. He was a notorious independent mercenary who took jobs directly. This was due to the jobs he took being dirty and criminal; things that could not be facilitated through the Universal Freelancer Organisation. He was also known to be a battle maniac, always taking up jobs that guaranteed he would face strong opponents. His prices were very exuberant which often limited his clients to people who lived in Pedtro's capital. Taking up a job this far up north was something that would have been unheard of for him yet here he was.
"You don't work alone," Sola suddenly remembered. "Where's your partner?"
"Probably finishing yours off and taking the kid to our employer," Darwin smiled.
"Sure, he is. I don't have much time to waste, so I'm just going to beat your ass and catch up with Fólórunsó,"
Sola immediately went on the offensive and punched Darwin. As soon as he made contact with the man's gut, he felt a surge of pain in his fist as a sharp clang rang through the air. He pulled back and looked at his hand; it was bruised and almost bleeding. Confusion filled his eyes as he looked at his opponent, who was now giddy with laughter.
"I'm going to enjoy this!" He laughed. He grabbed his cloak and ripped it off.
Darwin was dressed in a pair of black shorts, revealing his body rippling with muscles larger than Sola's. He had knee pads and shin guards on, as well as a pair of studded leather gloves. Sola's eyes went down to his abdomen and saw what it was that he hit. Darwin's lower body was covered in a blue crystalline substance that was spreading all over his body. The man's scar-like mouth widened even larger as crystals began to grow on his face.
"Try not to die too quickly, Silver Bulwark!"