A Few Minutes Earlier,
A distance longer than where Aether and his group were standing…
“Looks like those guys moved on their own to impress their Grace, only to mess up this much…” a black-haired man mumbled with an amused expression as he stood on the roof of a tall building, overlooking the chaotic scene below.
“Though Master predicted this, to think the trio was able to defeat the group… Interesting… Anyhow, I shall finish my duty,” he said, positioning a sniper-like gun in his hands, the cold metal glinting under the light sky.
“What a mysterious artifact…” he muttered, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he marked his target… Aether.
“Should I kill him? He seems more dangerous than the others…. He even interrupted my master’s plan to kill Aria Zephyr on his first day… hmm…” The man pondered for a second, his finger hovering over the trigger before deciding,
“Nah, I’ll just do what Master told me to. Otherwise, he’ll be pissed off and dismantle me.
A fight between two empires… it’s going to be interesting…” He smiled a cold, calculating grin as he aimed at Selene Frostblade, injecting his Arcane energy into the gun.
A ‘Zzzzzznnnggg’ sound erupted from it, then,
“BANG!”
But he wasn’t done. The man immediately aimed at…. Aurelia Scarlet and fired again,
“BANG!”
“Haha… That will wipe those smiles off their faces,” Jack Sparrow’s Puppet giggled, but his expression turned to disbelief when his bullets missed their targets.
“BOOM!”
“BOOM!!”
“Shit!!” He readied for another sniping attack, but the people running away from the blast hindered his line of sight to the trio, making it difficult for him to aim precisely.
“Get them out of the way, fucker!!” he mumbled in annoyance. Still, the fleeing people made it hard for him to target Selene and her companions accurately. Left with no choice, he decided to kill everyone in his path, hoping to clear the way.
“Hope my master doesn’t dismantle me,” he muttered, frustration evident in his voice, and fired again.
“BANG!”
‘Sssssshhhh!’
The bullet travelled towards its target, ready to destroy anything in its path. However…
‘Sshhrrrrr~’
A small blue flame hurled towards the sky and,
“BOOM!!!”
The Flames suddenly exploded like fireworks… when the blue flames hit the bullet, it exploded…. causing the self-exploding bullet to detonate prematurely.
“BOOM!!”
Hearing the explosion from the sky, the people who had been running away turned back in fear, their screams echoing through the streets.
“WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE!!”
“TERRORIST ATTACK?!!”
“WHERE ARE THE GUARDS AND SOLDIERS!!”
People shouted in panic, their voices rising in a cacophony of fear. Some tried to shield themselves with small barrier spells, but not everyone had the skill, leaving many with no choice but to run.
“FUCK!” Jack Sparrow’s Puppet clicked his tongue, his frustration mounting as he tried to shoot again. However, to his surprise, Aether and the others were already moving with the crowd, blending in with the fleeing masses.
He gritted his teeth as his sniper-like gun suddenly disintegrated into dust.
“Tsk, looks like I used it beyond its limit!” he mumbled, standing up and surveying the panicked people, “I will kill them…” he declared with determination before disappearing from the roof, his figure vanishing like a shadow.
Guards and soldiers arrived at the scene, trying to calm the panicking crowd, their authoritative voices barely managing to pierce through the chaos.
“Where the hell have you been?”
“What the hell is happening here? In this city?”
“Shouldn’t the Academy protect the city?”
Panicked people shouted, their fear and anger directed at the guards who were struggling to maintain order.
Meanwhile,
Aether, running with the group, glanced at Lia and Selene, who were holding his hands and running ahead of him, their expressions filled with confusion and… fear.
If not for ‘Log’ commenting…
if not for him falling down… experience-MvLeMpYr-content
if not for those two stopping…
if not for them tilting their heads at the last moment…
He was sure they would have already died by now.
His face itched with… Fear!
A sense of fear crept into his heart, his face starting to sweat like bullets, his breath becoming laboured, and his eyes flickering with darkness as if something were corrupting him from within.
It was then,
“MOMMY!!!”
Aether snapped out of it and looked at a child crying while holding a flower, the child’s face riddled with tears and snot as it looked around in panic, its tiny body trembling with fear.
‘Crack’
“Where are you!! ‘aawwwww’ ‘Drip, Drip’ Scary! ‘waaawwww’—–” The child cried, scared of everything, and while crying the child heard some cracking sound…. then noticed the wall cracking. Before the child could run,
The wall started to fall,
“MOMMY!!!!” The child covered its eyes, holding the flower with trembling hands. However, for a long time, nothing happened. As the child slowly opened its eyes, it saw a black-haired boy holding the wall with trembling hands, his muscles straining under the weight.
!~Ding~!
[+7 Agility]
[Agility: 30↑]
[Remaining AP:17325 ]
[Error]
[Limit reached according to the Level]
“Ha-ha… Hello, cutie~” Aether said, breathing heavily. Even though he had invested everything into his agility, if he hadn’t pushed himself even more… He was sure the child would have been crushed.
The wall was heavy, so he slowly set it down in the corner and looked at the child, who was still staring at him in astonishment, its eyes wide with wonder.
“Haha… Are you fine?” Aether calmed his racing heart and smiled at the child, his voice gentle and reassuring. The child snapped out of its daze and,
“waawwwwwwww” Started to cry, its tiny shoulders shaking with sobs.
“Oh, shit!” Aether muttered before patting the child’s head, saying, “D-Don’t worry, nothing was going to h–”
Aether’s pupils momentarily flickered with pure white, and the next thing he knew, he was in the white-black realm, the familiar but eerie landscape stretching out before him.
And just like before, his Arcane Card hovered in the middle of two intersecting realms, suspended in the air like a delicate balance between light and dark. Then,
‘Drip’
A small, pure white drop fell onto half of the diagonally tilted Arcane card presented on the black realm, the drop shimmering with an ethereal glow.
A small white etching appeared on the Arcane Card, intricate and beautiful.
Aether’s eyes widened as he felt a sudden warmth and gentleness coursing through his veins, a sensation that rejuvenated and refreshed him. The next thing he knew, he was back in reality, the strange vision fading.
“MOMMY!!” The child cried loudly. Aether didn’t know what to do with the child and was just about to pick it up when,
“DARLING!!!” A panicked voice called out. Aether saw a woman walking with a guard, her eyes wide with fear and pain.
“MOMMY?” The child stopped crying and looked at the crowd, shouting again, “MOMMY?!”
“DARLING!!” Upon seeing her child, the woman ran towards them and hugged the child tightly, tears streaming down her face as she cried with relief.
It was then the mother’s eyes fell on the broken wall near them, her heart pounding with fear at what could have happened.
“D-Did you get hurt? A-A-Are you al-alright?” She checked her child’s body vigorously, her hands shaking as she inspected every inch. Tears continued to flow from her eyes. Even though she was hurt herself, seeing her child safe brought her immense relief. If anything had happened to her child, she wouldn’t have known how to live her life anymore.
“N-No, Prince saved me,” the child said, pointing behind them to where Aether had been standing.
“…”
“B-But there was no one,” the mother said, seeing the empty space where her child had pointed.
“H-huh?”
Aether had already left when he saw the woman hugging her child. He then looked around and saw the guards almost controlling the panicking crowd, their presence providing a semblance of order amidst the chaos.
“Where did you run off, idiot?” Lia shouted upon spotting Aether, her voice filled with a mix of relief and frustration.
“Did you hurt yourself?” Selene’s eyes turned teary as she looked at him, corners of her eyes were teary.
They thought they had lost Aether in the crowd, the fear of losing him evident in their expressions.
“Sigh,” Aether sighed heavily, the weight of the recent events pressing down on him. He suddenly hugged both of them tightly, his arms encircling their bodies in a desperate embrace.
“W-What are you doing?!!” Lia shouted, her face turning a deep shade of red in embarrassment.
“W-We are in public!!” Selene was happy to be hugged by Aether, her heart racing with joy.
However, noticing his trembling body, Lia and Selene glanced at each other, understanding the depth of his fear and relief. They hugged him back, their arms wrapping around him comfortingly, and said,
“”We are Fine!””
It was then Aether’s heart calmed down, his body finally relaxing. The fear that had gripped him loosened its hold, replaced by a sense of safety and reassurance.