Ember had already made his way deep into the assassin HQ, his purple flames licking at the walls as he searched relentlessly for Ragra. Keito, determined to stop him, intercepted him in a wide corridor.
"How did you even know Ragra would be here?" Keito demanded, his voice steady but laced with suspicion.
Ember chuckled, his hands still flickering with the eerie glow of his flames. "Come on, you're smarter than that."
Keito's eyes narrowed. "Only the Agency knew Ragra would be here. You're telling me—"
"Bingo," Ember interrupted, a sly grin spreading across his face.
"But why would the Agency betray one of their own? Why would they hand over intel to you and permit this raid?"
"That," Ember said with mock politeness, "is information I can't share. Let's just say the Agency is full of shady deals and even shadier people. But honestly?" He shrugged. "I don't care. I just follow orders."
Keito's expression hardened, but Ember wasn't finished. "Funnily enough, I just got back from Kirkia. I was on a mission there, fighting a little pest of a boy who looked just like you. But he and his friends got away—lucky brats."
Keito paused for a moment, processing the revelation. A faint smile tugged at his lips as realization struck. "You're talking about Taizen," he said.
Ember raised an eyebrow. "Your brother, huh? Makes sense now. Too bad I didn't end him when I had the chance."
Keito's smirk disappeared. "Your search and destruction ends here, Ember. I can't let you take another step."
With that, Keito reached down to his side and pulled out a compact object from his holster. With a press of a button, the device elongated and unfolded into a sleek bow.
Ember tilted his head, clearly unimpressed. "A bow without arrows? How exactly is that supposed to work?" He laughed, flames flickering higher as his confidence surged.
Keito didn't answer. Instead, he raised the bow, drawing back on the empty string. Red energy began to materialize, swirling into the shape of an arrow. The projectile radiated heat as flames engulfed it.
"Arrow God," Ember murmured, his laughter fading as he recognized the technique.
Keito let the fiery arrow loose. It screamed down the hallway with blazing velocity, the heat radiating from it warping the air. The shot echoed like a thunderclap as it streaked toward Ember.
With a quick clap of his hands, Ember conjured a wall of purple flames that surged upward, colliding with the arrow in an explosion of fire. The shockwave rattled the walls, sending debris falling to the floor.
Ember lowered his flaming barrier, his face now serious. "Unbelievable. There are rumors of only four people in the world who draw power from the Arrow God. Impressive… but let's see if you can keep up."
Keito didn't wait for a retort. He nocked another inner arrow, this one swirling with jagged, earthy spikes along its shaft. He fired, the arrow piercing through the air with a low, resonant hum.
Ember sidestepped, but the arrow struck the ground at his feet, shattering into a spray of razor-sharp stone fragments. Ember raised a hand, his purple flames forming a spinning vortex around him to deflect the shards. He retaliated instantly, launching a stream of fire at Keito, forcing him to roll to the side.
"Nice reflexes," Ember taunted, hurling another burst of flames. Keito conjured a shimmering water arrow and fired it mid-roll, the arrow slicing through Ember's attack and sending a wave of steam hissing into the air as the elements clashed.
Ember grinned as he advanced. "But let's turn up the heat, shall we?" He slammed both hands into the ground, and purple flames surged forward in a molten tide. The corridor glowed with an eerie light as the flames threatened to engulf Keito.
Keito leapt back, drawing and firing a wind-based arrow in one smooth motion. The arrow burst into a sharp gust that dispersed the flames, momentarily clearing the air. Keito seized the opportunity, rapidly forming and shooting a series of earth arrows.
Ember dodged each shot with remarkable agility, his movements fluid and calculated. "Not bad," he admitted. "But I'm just getting warmed up."
He thrust both hands forward, unleashing a concentrated beam of purple fire. Keito dove to the side, the intense heat singeing his uniform. Landing in a crouch, he quickly nocked a fire arrow of his own and fired it into the beam. The resulting explosion lit up the hallway, and the force sent both men skidding back.
Ember emerged from the smoke, his flames blazing brighter than ever. "You're good," he said. "But I'm better."
Keito smirked as he drew back his bowstring once more. A massive inner arrow began to form, swirling with a combination of fire and wind energy. "Let's find out."
He released the arrow, and it roared through the air, flames spiraling around it like a tornado. Ember countered with a massive wave of his flames, the two attacks colliding in a cataclysmic explosion that shook the entire HQ.
As the smoke cleared, both men stood firm, battered but unyielding. Ember wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned. "You're tougher than I thought."
"And you talk too much," Keito replied, readying his bow once more. The battle raged on, neither side giving an inch.
Ember's purple flames flared with intensity, casting eerie shadows across the corridor as his voice dripped with venom. "You assassins have always thought yourselves superior, haven't you? For centuries, you hunted us mages like animals, trying to wipe out our bloodlines. Why? Because you feared us. Feared our power. Feared the divine favor that makes us chosen by the gods."
Keito kept his gaze steady, his grip firm on his bow. "I don't have the luxury of worrying about grudges from centuries ago. That was long before my time, and whatever happened, I'm sure there was a reason for it."
Ember's flames surged higher, his anger palpable. "A reason? You mean the jealousy and arrogance of your kind? You feared what you couldn't control. Unlike you, we don't steal our inner. It's gifted to us by the gods themselves—pure, divine power. And now, we'll make sure those gods return to punish you all for your theft and arrogance."
Keito smirked, though his eyes remained sharp and focused. "That's some impressive self-righteousness, coming from someone who just burned through half a building. But if you think I'm going to let you continue your little crusade here, you're about to be sorely disappointed."
Keito narrowed his eyes, gripping his bow tightly. "So that's why you're after Ragra," he said coldly.
Ember smirked, his flames flickering dangerously around him. "Exactly. We believe Ragra holds vital information—something that will help us open a portal for the gods to return."
Keito's expression hardened. "A portal for the gods? What are you even talking about?"
Ember's grin widened, but his eyes remained deadly. "I've already said too much. Let's stop with the small talk and get back to what we're here for."
Without warning, Ember thrust his palms forward, sending a spiraling column of purple flames barreling toward Keito. Keito dashed to the side, the searing heat grazing past him, before sliding into a firing stance. He drew back his bow, an arrow of blue inner energy materializing, shimmering with water's fluidity. He loosed it in one swift motion, the water-infused arrow slicing through Ember's flames and hissing as steam exploded in every direction.
Ember lunged forward, closing the distance faster than Keito anticipated. Flames burst from his fists, forcing Keito to parry the strikes with his bow, the heat scorching the air around them. Ember's purple fire swirled around his arms as he swung a fiery punch toward Keito's midsection, but Keito spun to the side, pivoting smoothly while conjuring another arrow.
At point-blank range, Keito loosed the arrow directly into Ember's chest. Ember's reflexes were sharp—he threw up a blazing shield just in time, deflecting the shot, though the impact staggered him. Keito seized the moment, stepping in close with a rapid volley of inner arrows, each one charged with elemental energy. Ember ducked and weaved, his flames crackling furiously as he batted away several arrows with bursts of fire.
"You're pretty fast with that bow," Ember growled, stepping in closer. "Let's see how you handle this."
He ignited the ground beneath Keito's feet, forcing him to leap backward. Ember was relentless, following up with a sweeping kick that sent a fiery wave toward Keito. Keito countered by firing a wind-infused arrow downward, propelling himself into the air and avoiding the flames entirely. While airborne, he loosed another series of arrows in rapid succession, each streaking down like meteors.
Ember roared as he conjured a dome of fire, the arrows exploding harmlessly against it. Keito landed gracefully, already pulling back another shot, but Ember closed the gap once more. This time, the two engaged in close combat, their movements a blur. Keito blocked Ember's flaming strikes with the body of his bow, the sturdy weapon holding firm despite the inferno.
Keito ducked under a wide swing from Ember and retaliated with a precise shot to the mage's shoulder, the arrow sizzling as it burned through Ember's robes. Ember hissed in pain but grinned wickedly, flames spiraling out from his body in a fiery pulse that forced Keito back.
"You're not bad," Ember admitted, flames coiling around his fists like serpents. "But I've still got plenty left."
Keito smirked, drawing two arrows at once and igniting them with fire and wind inner simultaneously. "You're not the only one holding back."
The two charged at each other, the hallway trembling from the sheer intensity of their battle. Ember hurled a massive fireball, and Keito responded with a wind-fused shot that split the flames in half. Before Ember could react, Keito closed the gap again, landing a spinning kick to the mage's chest that sent him stumbling back.
Keito followed up instantly, firing an earth-infused arrow that exploded on impact, sending shards of rock flying everywhere. Ember managed to dodge at the last second, but a stray shard cut across his cheek, drawing blood.
"You're persistent," Ember said, wiping the blood away. His purple flames surged brighter, his expression darkening. "But persistence won't save you from me."
Keito didn't reply, his focus razor-sharp as he prepared for the next exchange. Their battle wasn't over—not by a long shot.