บท 34: - And The Great Ones Party [2]
The battle was fierce, Rain had to admit that.
No matter the numbers, nor the environment they had chosen as their battle grounds, Rian knew that no battle was ever easy. Even for those you had pure confidence in defeating, there was always the challenge of beating them.
Thinking back, Rian remembered the mysterious man he called friend, and the words he had told him in regards to that very same topic.
'Even if you can fight with pure certainty, you will never be without a challenge.'
When Rian had asked the man what he meant by that, he was left dumbfounded by the simplicity of his answer.
'A battle will never be without a challenge, because you will always find yourself fighting them, even if you have the confidence in winning.'
From them on, Rian had always looked at a fight, a battle like it would be his last.
In more than one way, this had helped him to grow. Giving it his all in every battle, helped him to grow stronger, become a leader to the miners, and experience a feeling he always took lightly.
Pride.
Even as the battle began, he never let his guard down. But he was certainly proud to be able to fight next to Cain and Lia, who seemed to also be prepared to give it their all.
Lia and ….Cain.
Rian had believed the man's words like they were some holy text to him. After all, they had assisted him in becoming stronger, prouder, and a better man all together.
But that all shattered before his eyes in the span of one hour.
At first, he was shocked to find Lia dealing with these adversaries so easily, given that she had taken on three of his own attackers, one of which he had little confidence in defeating.
But then he saw Cain…and that man scared him.
He could still remember the moment he saw Lia fall, the spiders surrounding her like a sea of moving mass and flesh.
And when she made contact with the ground, a blinding light appeared from below her, and rising from the ground, Cain wiped out the sea of spiders with barely anything more than a flick of his wrist.
At first, Rian wanted to run to Lia and see if she was alright, heal her if she wasn't. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he had become attached to her in some way. Like a close friend.
But that man..scared him.
When Cain told him who he was, and that he shouldn't be afraid, Rian nearly collapsed to his knees in relief. In fact, when he witnessed Cain's pressure bearing down on the Tank, Rian had to constantly remind himself that Cain was in fact on his side. Not against him.
However, that feeling had not as easily left him as he would have thought.
The crashing sound of the pillar, ramming into the stone floor had sent his two attackers stumbling for their balance, easily allowing him to crush them beneath his fists.
But just as he was about to join in battle with Lia and Cain, he was petrified in witness to Lia's bloodied body, a sword piercing from her stomach, falling to the ground.
Rian couldn't remember when he had started, but he suddenly found himself running to her, full force. Nothing could have stopped him from reaching her.
And luckily, Alan didn't even try. He just slowly backed away in a daze, almost as if he was shocked he had actually succeeded in his mission.
And then it came. That feeling of fear deep within Rian's chest, his instincts fuming with warning.
Even as he desperately tried to cover Lia's wound, and stop any further loss of blood, he couldn't help but find himself slowly turning in the direction of that fear.
And no reminder of whose side he fought on would change that suffocating feeling of fear in his heart.
"Cain..?"
He asked in a weak voice, his strength somehow leaving him in that moment.
Before him, kneeling down, Cain was glaring forward in Alan's direction, his eyes wide with hatred. A red and black hue covered his body, rising up in the air before disappearing like steam.
'He's angry.'
Glancing at Alan, Rian knew he was feeling the same thing, a feeling of inescapable death.
Though what brought Rian some small sliver of hope and security, was the direction of Cain's glare, his hatred pouring from those eyes.
And it was not directed at Rian.
"You…"
Cain's hollow voice resonated deeply within Rian, who felt as if his entire chest had caved in, and was now hollow inside.
Suddenly, Rian had a terrible feeling within his gut, as he cried out in warning.
"Cain, wait!"
But even as his words left his mouth, his voice easily breaking the silence, he was drowned out by the sound of a small shock wave that caused his hair and clothes to flutter because of it.
Cain was gone, Alan was gone, and Rian, for a moment, felt alone, before the sound of stone breaking caught his attention.
-CRASH!
Snapping his head around, Rian's eyes landed on Alan's mangled body embedded within the stone wall. A large dent in the wall and its cracks that reached to the ceiling, told Rain just how hard he had hit that wall.
Slowly, it all came back to him, the sound of that shock wave, the feeling of the wind brushing past, Cain and Alan's almost instant disappearance. It all added up.
Cain, in his anger, had shot forward at a speed Rian couldn't' track with his naked eye, and had thrown Alan, deeply embedding him into the wall.
Now, there he stood, his shadow casted over Alan's body, as the boy struggled to free himself from the stone wall.
'I was right. He's lost it.'
As if confirming Rian's fears, Cain, with slow and smooth movements, grabbed Alan by his leather chest plate and with no signs of struggle, threw Alan across the chamber, ramming his body full force into the wall opposite of him.
But then…
"Gah!"
Clutching his stomach, Cain collapsed to his knees once again, voicing out his pain in small subtle gasps for air.
"Ha…ha…ha.."
Rian nearly took his hand away from Lia's wound to go and check on Cain, obviously in pain, but he was stopped by the sound of his voice.
"Don't."
Said Cain, lifting his hand to Rian.
"Help her. Focus on her. I'll be fine."
Though Rian didn't want to argue, he knew Cain was in pain, more so than he let on.
'They're bonded - summons to summoner. Of course you would be in pain, it's like your life is draining from you as we speak.'
But…
'Wait…the fact that he's still alive could mean…'
Lia.
She was still alive.
Taking a moment to process his discovery by taking slow but steady breaths, Rian's eyes locked on Alan, who, surprisingly, was still alive.
"What about him?"
Though Cain said nothing, Rian could read the meaning within his eyes as he glared out across the chamber to Alan.
He was going to kill him.
"He'll be dealt with."
Turning his head, Cain's eyes locked on something behind Rian, somewhere far off.
"Kal. Come."
***
Kal Odyssian.
The Great Mirage. A name not given out so lightly.
While Kal had been tasked with protecting the fallen Lukali, whose body was slowly starting to recuperate, it had been in fact an easy job.
Kal had run into no problem, no attackers daring to come close, and their attention was mostly focused on Cian, Rian, and Lia, who kept them occupied.
In fact, Kal had been quite bored with just standing here protecting some half dead human.
'It doesn't matter. He gave me this task, I must oblige him.'
Kal reminded himself of why he was here, and refused to question his master's decision.
'Don't mind the details, just focus on the task.'
Kal had only been in the Ancestral world for a few hours at most, and the location was somewhere deep underground. But to Kal, that didn't matter.
For one, he was happy to see the Ancestral world with his own eyes for a change, rather than just hearing stories about the people in the Eternal world.
He had never had a summoner. Though, like many, he was intelligent, old, and powerful, he never thought that he, himself, would ever need one.
In fact, in his eyes, the few summons that were intelligent, had simply gotten to their feet a lot sooner than the non intelligent ones, who didn't really get much choice.
Beasts, monsters, and creatures that one would mistake for the average animal. Except for the few dragons, wyverns, and ancient creatures that had an edge against the others, there weren't in fact that many intelligent beast creatures. Only monsters with a savage mind.
But even then, just because one was an intelligent summons, didn't mean they had much freedom. Like a sentient statue that roamed around, doing its master's bidding from time to time.
The whole thing reminded Kal of a golem, a creature built of inanimate objects to create an animate being. He found the whole thing ironic in many ways.
Powerful creatures like them, servicing humans by some rule or law that binds them.
He never understood it.
Which was mainly why no human had ever met the criteria he had set for the humans. He didn't mana, nor did he need any shackles on his feet.
So, like some select few summons who had that freedom, he set his bar very high.
High enough that no one had called him to the Ancestral world, so the only knowledge he had of it was the stories he had heard from the few people he actually knew personally.
But now that he was here, summoned by his master Cain, Kal had no choice but to come hither where he had been called.
But that didn't stop his curiosity.
'Why, of all people, did the master choose that human to be his master. Much less any human for that matter.'
Unlike other summons, Cain was a being he understood little of. All he knew was this.
He was strong. Unkillable, and in many cases a titan amongst even gods. A being like that would much rather use more mana than he was actually taking in.
So why?
Why become the slave to some weak and pitiful human? Though, even then, Kal had to admit one thing.
'Her resolve is one thing to praise. I've never heard of a human with that much determination, much less a summons.'
Besides, Kal had to admit that she used his skill well, though he would have preferred to keep it to himself, he knew his master had far more powerful ones in his arsenal.
"Kal."
Snapping him out of his thoughts, Kal could hear the sound of Cain's voice clearly in his head, as if the man was right next to him.
"Come."
Hearing his words, Kal couldn't help but smile, knowing full well what was coming next.
'Time to have some fun.'
***
Originally, when Cain had decided on Kal as the summons he would call forward, he never thought that his skill set would be wasted on a mere protection job.
The man was built for speed and agility, not defense and protection.
But Cain didn't want to take the risk. So, seeing the mass sea of spiders, with their quick reflexes and agility, he had called out the fastest and most agile person he knew of.
Kal Odyssian was a rogue. An assassin, dedicated to his quick and nimble movements that often left the attacker riddled with scars before he or she ever took their last breath.
His skill set was exactly what he needed when dealing with the spiders while he was healing Lia, but for the task of protecting Lukali, Cain could only guess the number of times Kal had complained inside his head.
Of course he never voiced these concerns to Cain, seeing that he couldn't as he wasn't strong enough to do so, but it was also out of some form of respect for his power.
But now, Cian needed him, and for a task he knew Kal would dominate in.
When Kal arrived at his side, kneeling down, Cain marveled at how silent the man was, even though it had little effect on him, having an effect on him at all was still a major feat.
'Perfect.'
"Kal Odyssian. I've called you here to help me, and help me you shall."
Though Kal couldn't talk, Cain could tell that he was excited.
'The thrill of the Hunt.'
Scoffing, Cain shook his head, expecting such a reaction from the man.
"My contractor is injured. For these next few minutes I will need to heal her. Your task is this…"
His eyes glanced over at the body of Alan, who was now recovering from the throw, and freeing himself from the wall.
'He probably has healing potions. As well as artifacts. This could prove to be difficult.'
Turning his head back to Kal, he spoke.
"...immobilize the man named Alan, and deliver whatever pain you deem necessary in doing it. I care not. But keep him alive at all costs."
His eyes instinctively moved to a silhouette past Kal. A body. The body of his contractor Lia.
"At least until I'm done with her. Then I'll kill him. Do you understand?"
Kal nodded his head, and drew two long and silver clean daggers out from his bandolier, a belt that held all his weapons to his chest.
Even though he could not speak, Cain could already tell what the man was saying.
'As you wish.'
"Go."
Like an arrow, Kal shot forward, his speed nearly untraceable to the human eye, but that was how he wanted it. He wanted Alan to see him coming.
The distance was large, but Kal easily closed it in a few seconds, the faint appearance of afterimages showing behind him.
Alan, who had just crawled out from the wall, his back and ribs in pain, some broken, saw only a dark silhouette of a man, as he halted before his eyes.
Kal was dressed in all black leather clothing, a small mask from his nose to under his shirt covered a large portion of his face.
But what frightened Alan even more was the cold eyes that looked back at him like he was nothing. It wasn't nearly as frightening as Cain's, but nonetheless, it sent chills down his spine.
"Y..You. My job here is done, so I mean the rest of you no harm. Just kindly let me go, and I'll be on my- Gah!"
Rian, who witnessed the attack, could only hold his mouth open in shock.
Neither he, nor Alan knew what had happened.
Their eyes saw nothing, their senses told nothing, and their minds blanked out in fear at the sight of a grown man, dressed in all black, disappearing in a blink of an instant, before Alan felt a searing pain in his right chest.
In an instant, Kal had shot forward and landed a damning scar across Alan's side, his speed unimaginable, and incomprehensible.
All Cain could do as he watched the attack take place from where he now stood over Lia, he could only scoff at it.
'That's why they call him…The Great Mirage.'
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