While Ash and Louis's party were busy dealing with the two groups of men belonging to the organisation, Ian was almost done deciphering the spell.
He had his eyes closed and was concentrating on the flow of mana that he was sending inside the barrier flowing like streams.
And soon, they all connected like a giant maze. Ian sighed in relief and opened his eyes.
"I'm done."
"Is it over?"
Bela, Ash's mother, asked from under the shades. Ian nodded his head in response.
It had taken him even less that ten minutes to decipher a spell of that level. He was actually feeling proud of himself.
But sadly, all he had with him were genius, peerless kids and teenagers and a out of the question Demon Queen. Meaning, he had no one to admire him for the marvelous achievement he had just achieved.
'How?'The Phoenix asked staring at Ian intently. 'How what?'Ian asked back as he started gathering all of his mana in one spot. After he starts rewriting the algorithm of the shield, he'd have to use up most of his mana in one go. 'I won't have much time to gather my mana once I start, y'know.'He explained thinking the Phoenix was asking about his mana, which was clearly a wrong assumption. 'Tsk. That's not what I'm asking. You're really going ahead with that plan? I told you it's impossible no matter how talented you are.'It explained once again. Although Ian surpassed it's expectations countless times in the past, there was a clear difference between being smart and being stupid. The Phoenix simply couldn't understand why Ian was so hung up on an idea so bizzare. 'It is only possible in theory-''Or if you have two brains.'Ian cut him off and answered back. He shook his head thinking how the stupid Phoenix was focusing on the wrong part of the conversation once again. 'I-
Rick and his knights were currently accompanying Ian in his journey or adventure or just roaming around aimlessly, whatever he called it. And right now, they were standing outside the village where the people of the Cat tribe lived. They were trying to save the lives of the countless people living inside that village right now. And Ian, the most important person of their party, was trying to reverse the algorithm of a giant shield that was large enough to cover the whole village and which was also the cause of the villagers suffering. Damon, as he explained what Ian was trying to do, managed to gather some mana and stabilise his condition. He and Ash had helped Ian by lending him their mana and they were the only two people capable of doing so since both of them were connected to Ian by a soul contract. But that was a secret that the other's didn't know of. "Wait a moment." Louis cut him off while he was explaining some things to Rick as he grabbed him by the arm. "What?
"Brother!"Both Ash and Louis shouted simultaneously as they ran towards Ian's direction. A sense of urgency covered their mind and body as they went down on their knees and looked at Ian. He was there, lying unconscious, with a peaceful look on his face as if he was having a great dream. They looked at him for a long while before moving their eyes back up at Bela. "What's wrong with him?"Ash asked his mother before Louis could even open his mouth. She was lending her thighs for Ian to use as temporary pillows. And as someone who was standing by his side the whole time, they were sure that she would be able to tell. Or so they thought."He just fainted.""Fainted? How? Why? When?"A barrage of questions attacked her before she could even finish answering the first one. Seeing her kid show such an urgent expression over something so small, she almost laughed but managed to stop herself in the last moments. "Why aren't you answering him? How long has he been like that?"Even Louis
The Phoenix had assumed that it'd take Ian at least two days to recover from damage. So the other's also started preparing accordingly. They were planning on camping there, beside the shield for at least two days. And once Ian recovered, the rest depended on him. During the night. "The food's ready." Ash informed everyone as he brought down their food, grilled meat and fish, from the fire. These foods were hunted by the other members during the day. Luckily, they found a nearby creek which also solved their water problem. "Mmm~ smells so nice!" Amber commented excitedly as she sniffed the air around the food. She was one of the ones responsible for the meat hunting group. And the wild boar twice her size that she had brought in earlier was enough to drop everyones jaws to the floor. "I'll help." Richard also approached them quietly and took the initiative to help Ash in serving the food. The cutleries were provided by the vineyard when Ria asked them for help. There
"Sooo... I wasn't supposed to wake up today?"Ian asked while rubbing his nose. Earlier when he was trying to surprise Ash, it seemed like his tactic worked too well that it almost backfired. He did manage to save the food that Ash had worked hard to make, but failed to protect his precious face in the process. Bumping into his head which was as hard as a rock, Ian almost teared up. "That's what we were told..""But.. are you sure you're okay?"Ash explained the whole thing to him, about how he fainted, how someone else appeared and reassured them that everything was okay and that it'd take two days at least for him to wake up."Yeah. I'm fine now.."Ian felt the curious gazes of the people around him directed towards him and started scratching the back of his head. Although everyone was trying not to be too obvious, it was very very obvious. 'They're trying too hard.'They were trying too hard controlling their curiousity. Nobody had yet asked Ian about the other person but it see
As some of the cat tribe members and Ian stood face by face on opposite sides of the barrier, both parties looked significantly baffled by each others appearance.'Uh.. wow.. They're up and healthy already...'Ian looked back seconds later remembering how Louis was right behind him. He was worried that the boy might freak out and-"......"He did. Louis was standing behind him with the hood of his robe pulled all the way down, making it impossible for anyone to see even the smallest part of his face. He was hiding. Ian sighed and turned back ahead letting the kid be. If looked like he needed some time to prepare himself mentally. Ian could give him that much. "Um.. Hello..?"He waved awkwardly towards the people from the cat tribe. But even with those small movements, he could see the other party flinch remarkably as they step back."Hey hey.. I'm not an enemy.."He had to explain the whole situation to them for their guard to come down but even that seemed impossible. Even as he wa
"So you modified the shield?"Oliver asked while wiping his eyes with the handkerchief given by Ian. He was still in shock by the whole situation. Of course, the attack of the organisation and their almost death was a horrifying enough situation, but the thing he was most shocked about was Ian's presence at that moment, at that place. "I'll go bring the other's."Louis who was on the opposite side of the barrier spoke almost in a whisper before disappearing into the darkness. It looked like Oliver hadn't noticed anything as the boy simply kept looking at Ian, waiting for an answer."Yes.. I modified the shield, more like I took control over it, if that makes sense."He nodded as he replied to Oliver. There was a tense look on the faces of the people behind him. And Ian could totally understand why they were making that expression.A shield that was capable of killing every single member of their tribe, a shield that they were completely helpless against, a shield that only made them
Haah.."This is why I didn't want to come."Louis said while throwing his hood to the ground. The attitude he showed was somewhat different from his usual demeanor, piquing Ian's interest."Brother? What's.. wrong..?"Lucas asked with a confused tone. The rest of the members of Ian's party also had a similar reaction as they looked around, confused."Hey.. Kid!"Louis looked at Oliver instead of giving anyone a proper answer. They all looked puzzled by the sudden and unfamiliar change but were too stunned to speak. Oliver flinched at being called so abruptly. The whole situation didn't make any sense, to him at least. He was all excited and happy about getting to introduce Ian to his family and friends, and also by the simple fact that they came to his rescue with such a perfect timing.All of a sudden, his whole village, the elders and the adults, everyone, was bowing in front of Louis, another cat tribe member who was just like him, whom he thought of as a friend. "W-what is it?