"My name is Malrik. Now move, or I'll be forced to end your life."
Instantly, the girl drew her sword. Malrik had to admit, it looked beautiful. The sword was the complete opposite of his. The grip and the metal were completely white, while the hilt was red. The grip had a golden design of a phoenix flying upwards.
Malrik's eyes shone blue as he gazed at the girl. Floating above her head were green-coloured words: The Rising Nova.
'So, she does have a Title.'
Malrik started releasing his own magical aura as the room filled with a clash of blue and orange. The girl, whose eyes were glowing green, looked at the boy in confusion.
"You don't even have a title. How did you kill all these men?" She looked genuinely curious. "Better question, where are all the prisoners you people captured?"
Malrik was barely listening, though. He was scanning the room, calculating the best way to escape. 'If I don't hurry up and get out of here, Vale will find me. He drew his sword and decided to attack. That can't happen.'
"Sorry, but I'm in a bit of a rush, so I'm afraid I'll have to make you move out of my way."
Malrik jumped into the air before coming down with a downward slash. The girl quickly blocked it. Upon the clash, red sparks emanated from her body and sword. The girl promptly pushed herself away, leaving him surrounded by those sparks. Then – BOOM!
The sparks exploded in his face, covering a part of the room with smoke. The girl noticed a shape flying out of it just seconds after, landing past her. It was Malrik, and he wasted no time running into the hall behind her to escape.
"Hey! Where the hell do you think you're going? Come back here!" she called out, running after him.
Malrik looked behind him, noticing the girl speeding towards him. He quickly turned around, positioning his sword next to his waist, as the girl raised her sword. They leapt at each other, swinging with great force. The girl's sword released sparks as it came down. They clashed and BOOM! Another explosion occurred upon contact, sending both flying back.
Malrik noticed his ears ringing. He shook his head to clear the eyes as he groggily looked up towards the girl, who was slowly getting up. It wasn't long before she moved into position again.
"I am Sarah Aurelion, daughter of Dain Aurelion. You won't escape from me!"
"Great, I really needed more problems after me." Malrik pumped magic into his feet and began to dash away.
"Hey!" Sarah called out. She pointed her sword in front of her. Taking a step, the ground beneath her feet turned red before she dashed forward with blinding speed, leaving red sparks in her wake. It was like a missile was being shot at him.
Pure instinct was the only reason Malrik managed to dodge to the side with nothing but a scratch. However, he couldn't escape the trap she left behind. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The sparks exploded behind her, capturing Malrik in the blast. He crashed into the wall on the left side of the corridor, flying onto the floor of the large room he was now in, smoke rolling off him. He was able to protect himself from the blast, but sadly, he couldn't say the same for his vest. The top part had been completely obliterated, the rest hanging down. He paid no attention to it, focusing on the girl walking into the large room.
"So that's how it works." Sarah looked at Malrik in confusion. "Your power— you release sparks while you fight, and they can explode whenever you choose."
"Aren't you too young to be in such a dark organisation like this? You look like you're my age."
"That is none of your business." The boy's eyes narrowed as he gripped his sword tightly.
"I've got to end this quick, so I can get out of here."
As the kids fought, Vale was currently facing his own troubles. He stared at the confident man in front of him. Dain Aurelion, The Blinking Star.
The man had blond hair and blue eyes. He looked like a standard popular superhero, but nothing was standard about him. He wore a tight-fitted black hero suit with golden arcs that pulsed like veins. The outfit perfectly showed the man's physique, which Vale could only drool over. The centre of his chest burned with a radiant sun-shaped core that shone golden. Everything about the man screamed perfection, and Vale could only look on in disgust.
I told that girl not to fight. 'What is she doing, releasing all that magic?' He looked at the on-guard Vale. 'Looks like I'll have to finish up quickly.'
Vale continued staring in disgust. Every instinct screamed at him to beat the man to the ground. However, he knew he could not win against a Champion like him. He quickly reached for his gun in his pocket. He had to try to escape. That was his only chance.
Unfortunately for him, his opponent wasn't stupid. In the blink of an eye, the man appeared above him. Vale couldn't believe his eyes as the man just disappeared out of sight. He quickly shifted his gaze to Dain's new position; however, as he did, a vicious kick connected and sent him flying through several walls.
Dain stared off at the man crashing through walls, before blinking after him. Vale winced in pain. Looking back, he saw flashes of light blinking in and out of existence, chasing after him. He grumbled before twisting into a backflip and landing on his feet.
Just as he stopped, Dain appeared above, sending a downward kick towards Vale's head, sending him crashing through the floor and onto the lower level.
Recovering quickly, he rolled back and did a backflip onto his feet. Bringing out his gun, he quickly aimed at the man. BANG! At lightning speed, the bullet soared through the fading image of Dain.
Feeling a presence behind him, he quickly twisted around and fired with the gun in his other hand. The bullet travelled so fast it pierced through the air. Of course, it never connected, embedding itself in the wall and creating a sizable hole.
"Impressive," said Dain, walking behind him with his hands in his pockets, making Vale turn back with a scowl. "Your bullets are much faster and more powerful than regular ones. You must love guns to earn a title like that."
His eyes were gold, fixating on the words above Vale's head.
The Absolute Trajectory.
"A title like that might be worrying for any Champion. Unfortunately for you, you're facing the worst possible opponent—"
Dain quickly vanished again as two bullets struck his former position, creating a large hole.
The man reappeared several feet away, looking at Vale in confusion.
"A guy who has grown up in nothing but poverty and gangs. You're seriously surprised by my love of guns?"
A crazed face appeared on Vale's face.
"It makes my blood boil when frauds like you play hero while men and women are out there struggling."
Vale pointed his guns forward as the other bullets started floating in the air, directing themselves straight at the Champion.
"Trust me, I am going to enjoy filling your body with so many holes. Have a taste of my magic!"
BANG! BANG! Two bullets shot forward from his gun as the other two embedded in the wall flew along with them at incredible speed.
Dain, his hands still in his pockets, just smiled. He suddenly released a pulsating golden aura that crashed into the bullets. The magic was terrifying, and the man was releasing it so effortlessly. Like a gust of wind, it blew everything away as it travelled throughout the room in thick waves.
As it moved towards Vale, who raised his arms into a block, he was lifted off the floor and sent hurtling hard back onto the ground.
Groaning, the man struggled to get up. He looked up to see Dain pointing one of his guns towards his face. 'So, this is the end.'
Dain lifted his foot onto the man's chest and pressed down, pinning him to the ground.
"Before I kill you, I've got a few questions for you. You and your organisation have been going on a killing spree and capturing children every chance you get. What exactly are you guys planning?"
A dark laugh escaped the man as he grabbed his head with his left hand.
"Please, don't insult me by asking stupid questions we both know will never be revealed here."
Dain sighed. "Very well. As much as I'd love to take you in for questioning, you are a kill-on-sight criminal. Besides, I've got many more clowns like you, from whom I can get answers."
The man smiled as he stared at his gun.
"Hey, if you see a brooding boy with black hair… Tell him it was fun while it lasted."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dain stared at the man, still wearing a smile on his lifeless face. He picked up the body and carried it over his shoulders, his eyes cold and unapologetic.
"Dying with a smile. – Admirable, but pathetic with the life you chose to live."
Clash! Clash! Clash!
Malrik and Sarah attacked each other with full force. Their swords shimmered slightly from the speed at which they moved. Their fight resembled a choreographed dance as both aimed for the other's head. BOOM! BOOM! Malrik dodged another explosion and jumped out of the way. He then blocked a downward strike from Sarah while looking annoyed at the girl.
"What the hell is your problem? Why won't you move out of my way?" Malrik's patience was running out. He didn't want to kill this girl, but he was growing increasingly inclined to do so as the fight dragged on.
"You're part of the organisation that steals kids and does weird experiments on them. I'm not about to just let you leave after all the horrible things you people have done. I'll save all the children."
Malrik swatted the strike away and viciously kicked the girl. However, as he did, he noticed the multiple glowing sparks surrounding him.
The sparks exploded just as Sarah crashed into the wall on the other side. She slowly walked out of the dust created from her crash as a voice rang out.
"Save them? You mean to tell me you're here to play hero to a bunch of strangers who no longer need it?"
Malrik started laughing as the smoke cleared, revealing the crazed look on the boy's face.
"What are you laughing at?"
"There is nothing to save! Just corpses and killers who stopped being children a long time ago," he said, interrupting the stunned girl. "You think you're on some kind of heroic rescue mission? What you're standing on is the graveyard of the souls you're trying so hard to save – and yours is next!"
In a burst of speed, the boy appeared in front of her, sword inches away from her neck.
In the blink of an eye, a man appeared, stopping the sword with his hand. Malrik could see a golden aura surrounding the man's palm. He looked up at him.
"So, you're the so-called Champion sent here to rescue us."
"Dad!" Sarah dropped to the ground in relief.
The man looked behind him and gave a thumbs-up to his daughter.
"Don't worry. Let me handle this."
Malrik noticed the lifeless body on the man's shoulder. 'Is that Vale?'
"Hey, kid." The two warriors faced back at each other. "Why don't we drop the sword, before we both do something we'll regret?"