Outside the School Gate
Kai was panting rapidly his breath came in small sharp gasps as he bent forward hands on his knees, his sweat drenched hair covering his face.
"Damn that guy's fast" He said.
His eyes met with the massive gate "What the hell is this place ?" His curiosity piqued.
Just as he was about to take another step his eyes met with the dead bodies of the third years sprawled across the floor. His eyes widened in pure shock fear gripped him completely, his heart pounding furiously trying to break out from its ribs.
The exact same feeling from the night Caden died. His instincts screaming at him to turn around.
"Not again" His teeth clenched against each other as he spoke, his voice mixed with fear and rage. "Why can't my body move, why's my gut aching, why am I feeling that same way, don't be pathetic it's just dead bodies, not like you haven't seen one before" Panic and fear filled his voice as he spoke.
"Do I go in ? What the hell killed all these people ? He probably went in so it means I have to go in, remember you said you're going to be brave like him so we have to..."
The shiny blue crystal soared above the massive gate plummeting straight above Aiden.
Instinctively he raised his arm.
Thup!
It landed straight into his palm, he slowly lowered his arm to get a closer look at what he had just caught, the crystal shone brightly reflecting a blue light into his eyes.
The most beautiful thing he has ever seen his face was filled with awe, nothing existed at that moment apart from himself and the seal.
In an instant the massive concrete gate walls shattered to bits before his very eyes bringing him back to reality.
In a fluid, almost violent motion Dante erupted shooting forward as if propelled by an unseen power, dirt and debris cascaded around him.
Time seemed to slow as Kai watched a young man dressed in black armor clung onto his form like a second skin and a silver blade clutched tightly in both hands.
Immediately his head snapped leftward his gaze piercing through Kai like a sword.
Without hesitation Dante turned towards his prey, his leg coiled like a spring with a burst of speed he exploded towards Kai with one sole intention of grabbing the seal.
Immediately Aiden appeared behind him his arms clutched tightly around his gut with a single stomp of his leg on the ground, the braces on his leg jolted into motion, shooting both of them backwards into the darkness.
"RUN!!!" Aiden yelled as him and Dante flew into the abyss
****
"Damien's down, we have to go get the seal" Freya yelled her voice laced with urgency.
"Yeah I know but that guy could you in an instant" Ryder added.
"Freya go get the seal, Ryder and I would act as cover" Dax urged.
Freya bolted off towards the seal her legs followed each other in seamless blur her torso bent outward and both her arms held behind her back with a sword in each arm.
Immediately Ryder thrust his arm upward. A scorching inferno erupted straight from his palm a straight column of fire heading towards Kagetsu.
Without hesitation Kagetsu leaped into the air, his arm already stretched forth ready to strike Freya down.
Before he could even compress his power.
Dax's foot smashed into his side, launching him out of the sky.
BOOM!
Kagetsu's body smashed the floor violently raising an air of dust around him, his light singlet that weakly hung onto his body tore off, his body a parade of inks both front and back.
Kagetsu sluggishly pulls himself up from the ground as the dust settled around him.
"You know..." His voice dragged with boredom. "When I first saw you guys I knew you were gonna put up a fight."
"But this" His tone sharpened brimming with confidence. "You actually managed to land some decent hits. Hell I saw that guy land a hit on Dante. But let me tell you how this is gonna–"
FWOOOOOSH!
A streak of blazing inferno tore through the air heading straight for Kagetsu.
Without hesitation he thrust his left hand forward.
A thick black smoke erupted from his palm colliding with the inferno and swallowing it whole.
"You're so boring I could die" Ryder groaned, his voice sharp. "What's with the slow talk, did someone put you on slow motion?
Kagetsu's brow twitched.
"If you're gonna talk then do it right" Ryder continued flames swirling around his fingertips. "If not, shut up and let me burn you to ashes".
Fury surged through Kagetsu
His eye brow furrowed with anger, his teeth clenched each other firmly his fists clutched tightly. Not only did the little brat interrupt him, he insulted him it's not the first time though but–
There was something about Ryder that made him want to just kill him in a slow, painful death, somehow Ryder was able to make him care about something again which was very unlike him.
The dragon tattoos inked along both arms began to glow.
Their eyes burned the exact same color as his own.
The ink slithered coiling forward, twisting along his palm as he stretched it forward
Darkness spread across his skin, creeping over the back of his palm, slithering up his fingers consuming them in pure black.
A dense suffocating smoke curled around his hand.
He clenched his palm tight.
BOOM!
A violent black torrent exploded from his hand rocketing towards Ryder at lightning speed.
But Ryder was prepared, the entire time he had been talking he had been building heat in his palm compressing it into a blinding orange hot glow– an attempt to burn Kagetsu to bits in a single strike, but as for now it served another purpose
BOOM!
Ryder unleashed his flames in a burst, propelling himself into the air.
The suffocating black smoke missed him by a hair's length.
Without hesitation Kagetsu's arm snapped upward.
Another black torrent screamed towards Ryder.
He twisted mid air thrusting his arms and legs back fire exploding from all four limbs pushing him out of the way in time.
One after the other, thick torrents of black smoke blasted towards Ryder each one faster and more precise than the last.
If he hesitated for even a moment he'd be dead.
He zigzagged through the sky flames erupting with each movement dodging in every direction –left, right, up, down.
The air around them glowed orange from Ryder's flames.
His body burned with exhaustion.
With a burst of speed, Dax exploded into motion in an instant he closed the gap between himself and Kagetsu his arm stretched forth ready to connect with Kagetsu's cheek.
Kagetsu became so obsessed with Ryder he forgot about Dax and now he was abyto pay the price.
His fist crashed into his cheek with a sharp smack followed by a dull thud as his head snapped to the side.
The blow sent Kagetsu flying, skidding across the floor before coming to a halt.
Freya dashed past the seal, and in the same breath, it was gone. Without hesitation, she rushed toward Damien, who lay unconscious on the ground.
****
"As much as I'd love to fight you right now, I have bigger priorities," Dante muttered, his tone cold and unwavering.
Without sparing Aiden another glance, his leg coiled like a loaded spring. Then, in a blur of motion, he launched himself forward—his sights locked on Freya, determined to reclaim the seal.
Dante was really pissed off by that blow, even if he didn't show it but he didn't want to let his feelings get in the way of the mission unlike Kagetsu, the seal was right in front of him and he was off to retrieve it.