A small radio communicator began to light up and buzz, prompting a hand to reach out and pick it up.
"Umbra, one of the guests has begun revolting," A voice said from the speaker. "It's Eron Walker. During the commotion, two more escaped. The first is Diane Cambion, but we were unable to identify the second man. He seems to be making his way up to you as well,"
"They can struggle all they want but it will not change how today will end," The hooded figure said. "Pedtro's fate will not remain the same after this,"
Umbra cancelled the transmission. He found himself staring out the windows of the building at the city. But it was not the sky-cutting structures that caught his eyes, but the people who walked around and into them. From so high up, they seemed almost as insignificant as he knew the government viewed them. How could they see them as something else when they sat up in the sky, so far from the earth? Umbra clenched his fists tightly. He was going to destroy the sky so the earth was as high as anyone could go, and anyone who went against him could lay beneath it.
The hooded figures of the Ebon Shroud had found themselves in quite a situation when they were infiltrated and defeated by a lone freelancer. As a response to that, most of them had made sure to try and keep some form of gun on them so they could avoid close-quarter combat. Yet despite this, they had found themselves in a worse situation with this white-haired menace.
Eron blew through the hooded figures like a ferocious storm of dark winds. Their stream of lead and Revel had yet to cease but it meant nothing to the Walker and he walked through their shots as though he was stepping into the rain. All the hooded figures could see was a blur of black and white before it faded to black. Their numbers began to drop drastically. It seemed as though their efforts were all about to be for nought yet again due to the efforts of one man.
As Eron approached yet another hooded figure to knock him out, his attack was intercepted by another similarly hooded figure. Their similarities ended there though. Eron could tell from the hooded man's grip he could tell he had a level of strength that all the others before him lacked. The man pushed the Walker's hand away and landed a strike on his chest. Eron could feel the Revel within him halt for a moment as a surge of force flowed into him and pushed him backwards.
For the Ebon Shroud, this moment was like deja vu. Yet again in their darkest moment, this man had emerged again to be their light. Eron could see an intense look in the man's amber eyes, but he could not tell if it was from rage or passion. The Ebon Shroud's freelancer had emerged once more.
"I've been looking forward to meeting you, Eron Walker," The freelancer said.
"And why might that be?" Eron asked.
"To reclaim the title as the Anti Revel User,"
Eron raised an eyebrow when he heard this. Before he had created Void Style, there existed a man and a Revel Art that held the title of Anti Revel Art. Unlike his, this Revel Art could be learnt by others, though the difficulty in mastering it was very steep. The man pulled off his hood revealing his weathered and rugged face. His black hair was short and scattered. He wore a grizzly beard that would have made it seem as though he had no mouth had he not been smiling.
"You are not Aziel," Eron commented.
"I am not," The man confirmed. "I am his student, Adira. I have come to take back what you took from him and the Alteration Fist,"
To say that Eron was familiar with that name was an understatement. Comparisons had been made between Void Style and Alteration Fist due to their ability to counter other Revel Arts. While Void Style specialised in the neutralisation of Revel, Alteration Fist altered the Revel of others when making attacks, disrupting their Revel Flow and cancelling Revel Arts. There was also a question often asked when these comparisons were made, one that had not been able to be answered with certainty.
"Haven't you ever wondered who would win?" Adira asked. "The neutralisation of Void Style or the disruption of Alteration Fist?"
"I do not tend to burden myself with hypotheticals," Eron replied.
"Then how about I test the hypothesis on my behalf!"
Adira dashed towards Eron and began to spin as he drew closer. Eron raised his arm to guard his head from the incoming attack. Almost immediately, the bearded man dropped to the ground and swiped him off his feet, knocking him to the ground. The white-haired man quickly rolled backwards and shot at his friend.
There was no time to recover though. Adira immediately closed the distance between the two and unleashed a flurry of blows. Eron did his best to counter his attacks but even when he blocked it was rendered irrelevant. Whenever Adira's fist drew close to him, Eron could feel his Revel shift in an unusual way. When his strikes landed, they seemed to do twice, even thrice as much damage as they ought to do.
Eron tried to gather his Revel to reinforce his body and use Void Style but his attempts were thwarted by Adira's attacks. No matter where he punched or how hard he did, he dealt more damage than he should have and caused while simultaneously interrupting his flow of Revel, cancelling whether Art or technique he tried to muster.
"What's wrong Walker?!" Adira exclaimed. "Is your Void Style not cutting it out for you?!"
The hooded figures could not help but watch the display of martial and Revel prowess between the two in awe. Hope and joy began to fill in their hearts. Their ambitions would not cease at the threshold of their endeavours. They would succeed and change the planet for the better!
Eron kissed the back of his teeth with his tongue. The disadvantage was too steep for him to overcome with raw strength and his technique was rendered useless. He was going to have to use a Manifestation.