“L-L-L-Lia?” Kai stammered his voice barely a whisper as his face drained of all colour. His body trembled uncontrollably, legs shaking beneath him as his wide, horrified eyes locked onto….. Aurelia’s severed head, lifeless and grotesque in Jack Sparrow’s grasp.
Jack’s lips curled into a wicked smile, his eyes gleaming with sadistic amusement, “Happy—” he began, but before he could finish, a blast of indigo-coloured flames shot toward him with searing intensity.
Jack’s smirk deepened as the fire closed in, but just as the flames were about to engulf him,
Bang!
BOOM!!
A gunshot echoed through the air, and the fire exploded into a massive blast, scattering its deadly heat before it could touch him.
“Sorry, Aether,” Jack sneered, “but you can’t harm me that easily. And what’s with your eyes? Can you even see her clearly anymore, or do I need to describe it for you?” His tone dripped with malice as he looked straight at Aether, who was burning with fury, his once clear eyes now black as night, swirling with dangerous, dark energy.
“You will die,” Aether growled, his voice low and lethal.
In a flash, he disappeared and reappeared right in front of Jack, his fist poised to deliver a devastating blow. Just as his punch was about to connect with Jack’s face, a rain of bullets shot toward Aether, forcing him to move with lightning speed.
He dodged most of the bullets, but a few grazed his skin, leaving faint trails of blood.
Jack stepped back, amusement dancing in his eyes, “You really are something, aren’t you?” he taunted. Then, without warning, he shifted his focus to Kai, his lips curling into a sickening smile, “Come on, then. Take your mistress back, why don’t you?”… as he taunted his next target of elimination.
‘Hahaha.. The master will be too proud of me’ Jack thought with an amused expression.
“YOU BASTARD!!” Kai roared, drawing his sword with a furious swing. He charged at Jack, but before he could close the distance, something slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.
“What the—” Kai started, but before he could finish,
Chukkk!
“Arrhh!” A scream tore through the air as Vesperine cried out in pain. She had jumped in front of Kai, and now a bullet meant for him, had pierced through her shoulder.
“V-Vesperine!” Kai’s eyes filled with bloodshot fury as he cradled her. He whipped his head toward the direction of the gunfire, and his eyes fell upon an adult man, gun raised, with a cold, calculating look in his eyes.
“W-Who is he?” Kai demanded, his voice thick with disbelief.
“Jack’s Puppet!” Aria hissed, eyes blazing with annoyance as she swiftly notched an arrow and fired it straight at the puppet.
The arrow hit its mark, and the puppet vanished into thin air.
However,
Bang!
Another shot rang out, and Aria barely managed to dodge it. She turned her head around and saw yet another puppet of Jack, grinning at her from the shadows.
Just as she was about to fire another arrow,
Bang!
“KYAA!” Someone screamed.
“What’s happening?!”
“There’s another one here!”
“And another!”
Aria’s eyes widened in horror as dozens…. no, hundreds…. of Jack Sparrow’s puppets appeared from every corner, surrounding them, each one armed and dangerous.
“What the…” Kai’s voice trailed off as he stood frozen, taken aback by the sheer number of puppets. Before he could react, Vesperine grabbed his arm and pulled him into the dome.
“V-Vesp, let me go—”
“No, Kai! I won’t!” Vesperine’s voice trembled, but her grip on him was firm. She hugged him tightly, her face etched with fear but filled with determination.
“B-But, Lia… she—”
“Forgive me, Kai,” Vesperine whispered, tears brimming in her eyes, “I… I can’t let you die for someone who’s already gone.” Her voice cracked with a sorrow that cut through the air, but her resolve remained.
Aria continued firing arrows at the puppets, but it seemed endless. Each time one puppet fell, another took its place. Snowflake, too, struggled, her large body making her an easy target for the relentless bullets.
/Aria… get inside./
Aria blinked, her breath catching at the sound of Aether’s calm voice inside her mind. She turned, spotting him dodging bullets with unnerving composure.
/Aether, I—/
/Get. Inside./
There was no room for argument in his voice. Aria flinched, the icy tone sending a shiver down her spine. Reluctantly, she nodded and called for Snowflake to follow her inside the dome.
As they retreated, Jack Sparrow’s voice rang out, dripping with mockery, “Do you really think that dome will protect you?” He smiled wickedly as his puppets continued to fire bullets at the barrier, the constant,
bang!
bang!
bang!
Echoing like a death knell!
Inside the dome, panic spread like wildfire. The people trapped within watched in terror as the puppets fired relentlessly, bullets raining down upon the dome’s protective barrier.
“W-What do we do now?” one person asked, their voice shaking with fear as the bullets hammered the dome, cracking its surface.
“We need to fight!” Kai said, his voice steady despite the chaos.
He drew his weapon and moved toward the barrier, knowing it allowed attacks to pass through from the inside. With a determined grin, he thrust his sword toward a puppet’s heart, killing it instantly.
Encouraged, the others followed his lead, doing their best to take out as many puppets as they could…. But the sheer number was overwhelming.
Meanwhile, inside the dome, Helena was clutching her head, her voice weak, “I… I can’t see…”… her vision was fully dark and void.
“What do you mean?” Celestia frowned as she glanced at Finnian, who shook his head, “I healed her, but her eyes… It’s cursed and it is damn strong than anything I saw before and maybe Archpriestess can lift it.”
Celestia sighed in relief that it wasn’t permanent, but the weight of the situation still loomed heavily.
Her eyes flicked toward the battlefield outside, where the puppets seemed endless, “He’s awakened his Origin Weapon…” she murmured as she stared at Jack Sparrow, who stood grinning confidently amidst the chaos.
Just then, Aether’s voice echoed in Celestia’s mind.
/Celestia… Use it./
Celestia blinked in surprise. /Are you sure? You said it was still a prototype./
But Aether didn’t reply. She sighed, taking out several small red crystal balls from her pouch. Without hesitation, she began to throw them around the perimeter.
“What are you doing?” Finnian frowned, but then his expression darkened. “And who are you, anyway?”
Celestia didn’t answer, continuing her task with focused precision. Finnian, growing impatient, was about to stop her when—
“It’s fine, Finnian,” Helena interjected, her voice calm despite her blindness.
“What do you mean?” Finnian asked, baffled.
“She was with Aether,” Helena said with a soft smile, causing Celestia to pause briefly and glance at her before resuming her work.
Finnian, however, wasn’t appeased, “What does that even mean? What’s so important about her being with Aether? Is Aether some kind of god or what?”… He really started to hate Aether!!
“… Maybe…”
Meanwhile, outside the dome, Aether was still dodging the onslaught of bullets. But suddenly, he stopped, letting several bullets graze him without flinching.
“Giving up already?” Jack taunted, grinning wickedly.
But then Aether’s body began to glow with indigo light…. as indigo-coloured sparkles emitted from his body…
He let out a deep, heated breath.
Aether’s body suddenly sparkled with indigo colour before, he let out a hot breath and
BOOM!
Aether stomped on the ground, the force of his movement shattering the earth beneath him. The indigo light sparked and spread like wildfire, racing toward… the red crystal balls that Celestia had thrown earlier.
As soon as the light touched the crystals as if a spark ignited them,
BOOOM!
One by one, the crystal balls ignited, each explosion sending a shockwave through the air.
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
BOOOM!
…..
….
….
The blasts ripped through Jack’s puppets, vaporizing them in a series of massive explosions. Even those inside the dome felt the impact as the ground shook violently, and the barrier itself began to crack under the pressure.
“Everyone get down!” Celestia shouted as they dove to the ground, covering the unconscious Aqualina. The dome, already weakened, finally gave in, shattering with a deafening,
CRACK.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The explosions continued, and the people inside trembled with fear, praying the blasts wouldn’t reach them. The pressure of the shockwaves felt as though they were right on top of them.
After what felt like an eternity, the dust began to settle. Vesperine slowly stood up, her eyes scanning the battlefield.
The puppets… they were gone.
But before she could even catch her breath, Aria’s voice rang out. “Not yet!” she shouted as she fired an arrow.
“KYAA!!” Vesperine screamed as the arrow narrowly missed her head.
“Some of the bombs didn’t go off!” Celestia muttered, her eyes narrowing as she saw several remaining crystals. But their numbers had dwindled to a mere 10, and with a wicked grin, she disappeared, reappearing behind each of the remaining puppets, cutting them down with deadly precision.
Meanwhile,
Aether stood still, holding Lia’s severed head in one hand, his gaze cold and blank. His other hand was wrapped around Jack Sparrow’s throat, squeezing the life out of him.
“L-Let me go… cough…” Jack rasped, struggling to summon his magic. But his body had reached its limit after using many of his puppets, ‘Why he is stronger!’ Jack screamed in his mind, Aether was far stronger than him… even with his level 35 he couldn’t beat him?
Aether’s expression didn’t change. He stared blankly at Jack, his voice devoid of emotion as he said, “Heheh… I will.”