The crackling of electricity filled the room containing a large man wielding a hammer and a thin man holding an oddly shaped mace.
The two objects were channeling electricity as the two fighters charged at one another.
Clank! Thud! Clank!
The two massive weapons collide sending sparks all over the room.
These two have been fighting for nearly forty minutes now without rest.
"Former district commander Vorus, your talents precede you."
The thin-looking man commended his opponent.
This man was Falkner, wielder of the Vajra relic.
In Hindu mythology, Vajra is the weapon of Indra, the god of thunder and king of the devas.
The vajra is a powerful weapon having the combined features of sword, mace, and spear.
It was created out of the hard thigh bones of sage Dadhichi who gave up his life willingly for a noble cause so that his spine could be used to build the weapon.
Truth to the legends, the vajra now was in the form of a mace and was trading blows with the mighty weapon of another god of thunder, Mjolnir.
"To think that my opponent would be someone that controls lightning, just as I can," Vorus said with a big grin on his face.
He was always one who enjoyed a good battle, a true warrior feared throughout Ernia as "Nature's hunter." Today he has met an equal in so many ways.
The two legendary weapons kept clashing with neither side easing up on their assault or even trying to dodge. It was simply a context of 'you hit me, I hit back.
At times the vajra will strike Vorus and at times Mjolnir will hit Falkner.
The two fighters kept trading blows with broad grins on their faces.
If there was a third party watching this exchange they'll be awestruck.
The screen showcasing their fight in the security room was becoming unstable due to the high discharge of electricity.
In another section of the mansion, Rohan was about to confront the fifth and final member of the enders clan, Jake.
The blond-haired swordsman came face to face with another swordsman.
"It's been a while, Ro-ro." The red-haired swordsman said as he bowed to his childhood friend and current foe.
"Tsk. Don't call me that, Jake!"
Jake bursts into laughter as he looked up at Rohan.
"Why? I'm just happy to be reunited with my childhood friend." He said with a wide smile on his face only for his expression to darken in a split second.
Rohan upped his guard as he quickly drew his sword.
"The same childhood friend who ended up becoming the strongest swordsman in the country and got the title - mad swordsman for his relentless style of fighting. Where's your alter-ego now?"
"The same friend who used to play all sorts of games with me when no one would, not even Rhea."
"The same friend who saved my life all those years ago."
Jake drew his sword relic. It was a pure white blade with strange markings on it.
He pointed his sword at Rohan as he continued.
"The same friend who betrayed us and left us for dead!" Rohan lowered his head and clenched his fists.
It was about six months ago.
"I refuse to further align myself with the likes of those accursed relic users, even if they were your companions at some point in time, Rohan."
"They are not just my companions. They're my friends, brother. We grew up together, learned together, trained together, and played together."
Rohan was arguing with his brother.
Rada Khan had asked Rohan to help him in his plot to oust "the accursed relic users" from the kingdom. He has had enough of working with them.
In truth, ever since the five soldiers were chosen to become SOAR's very own unit of relic users a year ago, he has had nothing but resentment and malice towards the system and the team.
He finally decided to take matters into his own hands.
"All I need to do is to make sure that these devils will be castrated from the region and deemed as traitors to the nation."
"I'm sorry brother, but I won't be helping you with this deed, best you let it go."
Rohan walked out of the room they were in, leaving Rada Khan to his thoughts.
Rohan had figured that his brother would drop whatever it was that he had planned if he decided not to be a part of it, but he was wrong.
A week later, the king summoned the Generals, Rohan, and the unit.
He said that somebody had been communicating with the enemy region and that it was one of them. He then added that prior to their summoning, he had ordered a thorough searching for evidence in all of their homes and that the traitor has been exposed.
"What! No! My liege, I swear it wasn't me!" Rhea was grabbed by the guards following the order of the king to subdue and lock her up.
"Your majesty Rh-"
Before he could object to anything, Jake was struck in the head by one of the guards. The king ordered the execution of Rhea by sunset tomorrow.
She was locked up in a special section of the region's prison.
Hours later, Jake and the others sort out Rohan to help them in saving Rhea.
"You know her just as well as we do! She'll never betray this nation."
They pleaded to the king but only got thrashed by the guards and threatened to be executed with her.
They pleaded to their childhood friend but all he could say was.
"Give it up, her faith has been sealed."
Rohan clenched his trembling fists as he recalled the terrible memories of how their friendship ended.
He truly felt sorry. For not believing in his friends, for not lending them his help, and most importantly, for not calling out his brother.
"Jake..."
"Enough chit-chat now! Rohan Khan, I shall be your opponent and you shall pay for your sins against our beloved captain and friend!"
His sword glowed brighter as he slashes the air and sends a white energy wave at Rohan who easily deflects it.
Rohan looks up to see no one as he quickly swings his sword around to block a strike from his blind spot.
"I have seen that teleporting technique more than once, you're gonna have to try something else."
Jake had used the ability of his relic to teleport.
This was none other than Hofund, the famed sword of the Norse god Heimdall which was said to have the ability to teleport the user.
The two swordsmen traded and deflected each other's attacks barely dealing mere scratch wounds. They both jumped back and took a similar stand readying an attack.
" Dai style." They both said in unison as their swords glowed
"White arc!"
"Eclipse slash!"
The white energy wave collided with the black energy wave resulting in a mild explosion as the two swordsmen quickly charge at one another again.
"It doesn't have to be like this, Jake."
"Yeah well, it's too late now!"
Jake made a feint and teleported. As Rohan was ready for an attack from behind.
"Up here! White arc!"
"Tsk. I barely dodged that one. Jake has gotten stronger."
Was it that he was driven by hatred and wanted revenge so badly?
No.
Jake had truly gotten stronger from the last time that the two of them clashed.
There was always a rivalry going on between the two even when they were children.
Rohan recalled how they would race each other to the dining and see who could finish their food first.
How they both trained together and competed to see who can do more sit-ups.
The two would turn something as simple as flower picking into a contest.
Rohan smiled recalling these moments as he dodged another one of Jake's attacks.
"You've gotten stronger Jake. How long has it been since we had a duel? A year perhaps."
Jake didn't care to reply to his foe as he swings his sword repeatedly but not carelessly. He was fueled with anger but he also knew firsthand just how powerful Rohan was.
He earned himself the title mad swordsman and was the strongest swordsman in Cronoa.
Although the last time they clashed was a day after Jake got his relic as thus could only exert a portion of its true powers.
This time was different. Jake had a whole year to train and the motive strong enough to drive him to exceed his past limits.
He was not going to lose to his rival this time around!
"Dai style: Blinding rush!"
Jake moved at light speed and teleports even more than ever as he attempts to pierce Rohan with his glowing sword.
Rohan could barely dodge the attack on instinct as he jumped out of harm's way. But Jake didn't ease up one bit as he kept pushing him with a flurry of well-executed and timed combos using his relic abilities and his refined swordsmanship.
Suddenly, Jake halted his assault and was staring down at his opponent.
"Are you mocking me!?"
"Huh?"
"You are not fighting with your all. Do not insult me any further!"
Rohan had been fighting defensively since their duel began. It wasn't that he was doing that on purpose, he didn't even know. he was lost in his guilt and self-pity.
If he had backed his friends all these won't have happened.
After the gang helped Rhea escape and ran away together, the king ordered the capture and execution of her fiance. that was what gave Rhea the final push she needed to resort to taking on the path of vengeance.
Rohan had locked away that thought for a long time now, but he can't seem to keep lying to himself anymore.
He drops his sword and spreads his arm apart.
"Jake, a thousand apologies will never be sufficient to change the things I've done. I am sorry, I truly am. "
He kneels and closes his eyes.
"What better way to repent than with my own life? Do it, Jake."
The red-haired swordsman looked at him with eyes as cold as the Arctic, his entire body was shaking with rage as he tightened the grip on his sword.
"As you wish."
Without a second to waste, charged at the disarmed swordman.
Swoosh!Clank!Swoosh!Having completely shattered all the furniture and items in the room they were in, Reginald and Chase both stopped on their tracks and faced each other.The two were both battered and tired as they were breathing heavily too."Huff. Huff. Had enough?" Reginal said with a corky attitude."Hahahaha. I am just getting started." Chase disappears as he finished and starts blitzing around the room at light speed.'Tsk, I have less than five minutes to end this or my snatch steal's duration will end.'His opponent had a similar thought as he had also burned a lot of stamina and was planning on ending the fight as well.Reginald sounded confident earlier whereas in reality, he was worried that soon enough his relic' s ability will end and enter a cooldown period thus he won't be able to keep up.'Here I come.'He holds his sword with both hands and took a stance as he closes his eyes.After duking it out for so long against the speedster, Reginald had finally figured out
Reginald and Conroy had finally bested their opponents and were now standing across their unconscious teammate and his opponent."Get off him, now!"Reginald draws out his sword as Conroy takes aim, ready to fire."My my, there's no need to be so angsty."The man got up and begins to approach the duo, leaving the flattened Vorus behind."I take it you two have beaten Chase and Lexi? Sisi won't be happy about that."'Tsk, I still need about ten minutes before I can use snatch steal again.'Reginald grits his teeth while Conroy was sweating bullets as they both watch Falkner as he approaches them slowly."Why don't you both surrender? You might have beaten those two but even I can't possibly come out of that fight unscathed."The real reason Reginald and Conroy were sweating nervously right now was due to the fact that they were both exhausted and way past their limits.They have suffered a lot of injuries and taken a considerable amount of damage from their respective opponents.Conroy
The blackness was perfect, a sort of visual silence that could send chills through anyone's spine.The two captains were squaring off in the void dark room.Ace, being able to use seismic sense was freely maneuvering through the darkened room.Rhea on the other hand was barely able to block some of Ace's attacks.It was truly a one-sided battle.The room was completely pitch-black and she was being forced to heighten all of her other senses in order to keep up with Ace.Black zone was one of the techniques that Ace used proficiently as an assassin.The fact that he was using a technique that he swore never to use again shows just how formidable Rhea was.At the start of their confrontation, Ace had taken considerable damage from Rhea's scythe which drains power from the victim's soul directly.It was a completely agonizing experience for Ace who was used to all sorts of pain.He experienced the same type of pain that he usually feels whenever he trades his life force to his relic for
"Huff. Huff. Huff. Finally made it."Reginald was carrying an unconscious Conroy as he arrives at the ark.He lumps the archer on the bed and takes a moment to catch his breath."Now for the big palooza."Vorus was nowhere to be seen as Reginald only arrived with Conroy. Where could he possibly be?"Undo shadow realm prison!"The shadow lurking around Reginald swells as the large warrior appears out of it.Reginald had used snatch steal once again and copied Ace's relic. He then activated the shadow technique that Ace used to send Reginald to the shadow realm when he was in a critical condition.It was all so that he could carry the both of them to safety while Ace wraps up the battle."Now where did we stash old man Shuntal's medicine?"Rohan was kneeling with his arms spread apart as awaits his faith.Jake clenched the handle of his sword hard as he charges at the other swordsman.Rohan closes his eyes and a great silence enveloped the room. He opened his eyes to see the blade point
"Ack! What are you doing!?"Ace who had arrived with Rhea at the nick of time grabbed the blade that was aiming for the captured General's chest.Before anybody could react to the sudden appearance of the ex-assassin, he sent Rohan flying with a punch."What in the world do you think you're doing!?""Tsk, it's none of your business." Rohan scoffs as he looks the other side not wanting to make eye contact with Ace. "This is the only way for justice to prevail."He got back up and wipe Ace's blood that splattered all over his face from when he stopped the sword with his bare hands."Justice? You think killing him is justice?" Ace takes a few steps forward till he was standing face to face with Rohan."Rhea, what are you doing here? Did you bring the enemy here?""Jake, I know this may sound selfish, and I know how far you all went for me and I'm very grateful to you guys. But, let's forget the past and move on."Jake widened his eyes as he couldn't believe what he's heard. He can unders
"There are so many people here!""And they're all braves like us."The gang had made their way to the top of Mount Lily for their first crypt raid as a clan."Woah, I can see Lily town all the way from here."The mountain top was also a famous tourist attraction sight in the western continent.Braves travel far and wide from different corners of the world so they could participate in the Aquarius crypt trial."There's the portal." Vorus points towards the direction of the crypt's portal."Come on let's go!" Ace dashes in the direction of the portal.He turns around and calls out to his clanmates to follow suit.Thud!"He crashed into a woman and her glasses fell to the ground."My glasses! Hey, watch where you're going, punk!" She gets down and begins to pat the ground helplessly trying to feel her glasses.Ace picks up the glasses and hands them over to the woman with both hands as he bows apologetically."My apologies, I wasn't looking where I was going."She snatches the glasses an
Along the route leading to the Capital of Cronoa, a carriage was passing through."You truly plan on going against your own family, brother?""I lost my brother the day you let your hatred for relics turn into an obsession."Rohan was driving the carriage with his brother tied and seated behind him."I plan on conveying the truth to the king, that it was you who shared letters with the enemy and framed Rhea."He carefully maneuvers through the bumpy road."I will bring you to justice, that shall be my repent-"Just as he was about to finish, an arrow flew in their direction.'Tsk. Ambush!?'He avoided most of the arrows that aimed for them.Eventually, he couldn't dodge an exploding arrow that sent them crashing into a tree.Rohan burst his head as his vision got blurry. He could see the silhouette of a woman standing in front of them with a dozen archers behind her.He sneered at the sight of the woman untying his brother as they all looked down at him."What do we do with him, comma
Inside a shaggy tent in the middle of a forest, a bandaged Rohan was starting to regain consciousness."Argh, w-where am I?"He sits up and holds his head, wincing in pain as he recalls the incident that transpired which led to his current condition.Rohan clenched his trembling fists, releasing his aura in a fit of rage.He planned on having his brother return to Cronoa with him so he could face his crimes."That mad man is loose out there and it's all my fault."Rohan managed to eventually calm down a bit as his aura disappeared."Caww!!"He hears the cawing of a bird from outside the tent and decides to check it out.As he steps outside the tent he sees a rainbow-colored bird flying towards him and spots an old man trailing not too far behind."Huhuhu. It seems the youngin has finally awakened, Ada.""Woah!"Ace and co. have completed their first trial in the Aquarius crypt and await the final test.They were currently walking in a vast hall that depicts numerous hieroglyphics."I'