"Quite sad, don't you think?" Mundi sighed as he watched the life begin to leave Gustavo's body. He was not quite dead yet, but he was close.
"Indeed, it is quite sad. The boy has lost everything in the span of a few days." Argon nodded his head. At the moment, the two of them were using their astral bodies to linger behind and watch the scene of the fight between Gustavo and the city guards of Tahan.
Mundi waved his hand and Gustavo's life was finally extinguished. The blood in his veins stopped running as his heart fell silent. The qi in his veins had already dispersed through the broken channels and his body slowly turned cold.
Argon raised a curious expression when he saw the gray orb hovering over Mundi's right palm. He was a bit confused.
"It is quite rare to capture the soul of a Master. They have strong wills and are rarely swayed by the promises that Demon kind uses to make other beings sell their souls. I am simply collecting a souvenir." Mundi defended himself as he held the orb to his mouth. His jaws opened wide and he swallowed the gray orb in one smooth motion. A content look flashed over his face as Argon shook his head. He turned back and held out his hand, causing Gustavo's sword that had been drenched in his blood to turn illusory and fly into his grasp.
"A souvenir for myself." He said when he was met with Mundi's curious gaze. With that, he turned around and vanished from the spot. Mundi soon followed after, leaving Gustavo's cold body to lay where it was.
.
.
Shuaaa!
A shower of sand sprayed across the desert as the automobile sped through it. A long trail of dust was risen behind as Eugene did the best he could to distance himself from Tahan.
Drip drip.
Silent drops of tears fell onto his lap as he mourned the passing of yet another close person. Gustavo had been his mentor, and another father figure in his life. Whenever his father was absent, Gustavo was present. It had caused him to rely heavily on the man to get by.
Now, he had lost his last pillar.
Eugene's crying face was extremely ugly. That was why he had promised himself never to cry whenever he was dismissed by his father in his early childhood for showing no aptitude for magic. He had eventually grown past it and never even bothered. But now, all those tears had come back with a fury.
Eugene drove for hours without even registering the passage of time. When the sun was at its peak in the sky, the engine of the automobile stuttered and the vehicle jerked and slowed down, snapping Eugene from his daze.
Without wasting a moment, he stopped the automobile. He had an idea of what was wrong. Wiping his tear streaked dry face, he walked into the carriage of the vehicle and accessed the compartment that held the magic fuel. At a single glance, he saw that the canister that he had put there before was empty now.
"Just great." Eugene sighed and fished through his spatial ring for another canister. He quickly replaced the empty one with a sigh. Yesterday, there were three of them. Even May, the only one without any combat experience, was enough to keep his mood positive to an extent. He had believed that Hazzan Tahan would help him out, but it turned out that the man was most likely working for the Sand Shamans as well.
"Just wait and see, I promise you all. I'll get my revenge." Eugene clenched his fist and returned to the seat outside. He began his journey again. This time, his destination was not a desert city or kingdom. He planned to leave this entire area to escape the reach of the Sand Shamans. This was because he would not have any peace until they had his head.
So, he would leave this area for now. He would train, grow, acquire the necessary strength. And when he was strong enough to touch the skies, he would come and wipe out all who had a hand in his father's and Gustavo's death.
Soon, evening came and Eugene felt waves of tiredness begin to wash over him. It was a sudden change from his clear mind only minutes ago. Before he could crash the automobile, he parked behind a low dune and let out a sigh, only to suck in a deep breath when he saw that his entire surroundings was covered in a thick fog.
Whoosh!
A spark of fire flashed in the corner of Eugene's line of sight and he turned to look at the sudden appearance of a fire and some rocks around it. A familiar robed figure was seated on one of the rocks.
"It's you!" Eugene said in an accusing tone as he alighted from the driver's seat of the automobile and walked over to the fire.
"Indeed, it is I." Argon replied. His black, clawed hands rose up to his hood and pulled it down. Eugene hurriedly turned away his gaze.
"It is fine. You can look at me without worrying about your soul." Argon chuckled. "Last time, i told you to call me Holmes, but there is no need now. You can refer to me by my given name, Argon." He smirked. Holmes was the name that was passed down through the particular lineage that he had descended from as a Demon.
"Argon... You! I called out to you, begging for your help! But you ignored me! I almost died!!!" Eugene suddenly burst out, his tone filled with rage.
"Hahaha!" Argon suddenly let a deep laugh rise from his chest. "You asked me for help and I refused to give it to you. What did I do wrong? How can you rise to power if you rely on others? If you do not grasp the power you seek with your own two hands, then how can you stand up for yourself? Stop thinking like a child, Eugene! Look around you! There is no one to take care of you anymore! You have to do it all yourself!" Argon vanished from his spot and appeared before Eugene, shoving him down to the ground and standing over him.
"No one will coddle you forever! Stand up for yourself! This is the only way you can get your revenge." Argon said those final words and turned around, vanishing from Eugene's sight. In the corner of Eugene's eyes, he could see the fog dissipate.
The heat of the fire also vanished, but for some reason, there was still a reddish-orange light in the corner of his vision. He turned his head, and was shocked to see a familiar blade stabbed into the ground, glowing with light.