—Determinant Of The World Destiny—
Almost
"Is our food ready yet?"
"Can't you wait?" Claire responded to Noah's question with a sarcastic tone. They were inside a dilapidated, abandoned building on the outskirts of Equinox, which now served as their shelter from the hot days and cold nights.
"So, Elena, did you leave the message at the recital hall?" Andreas said, stretching his back by rotating his arms.
"Yes, of course. Otherwise, this wouldn't be called a hostage mission."
"Then Nathan, was the situation so bad that you had to use a healing crystal?" Andreas's voice sounded worried, a little hoarse.
"But I warned you not to use it." Velyna's lips curved downwards as she puffed out her cheeks slightly, showing a pouting expression.
"Hey, didn't you see the Sandstorm Sovereign yourself? He's a madman who's eager to kill us. Besides, you're safe because of me, right?"
"Hmph." Velyna turned her gaze away from Nathan. Andreas exhaled slowly.
"You too, Andreas, don't try to fight the Sandstorm Sovereign. He's a wielder of an Arcane-level rune." Arthur looked at Andreas with a serious face.
"Haha, sorry, sorry, but what else can we do? To get the Taurus rune, we have to defeat him first." Arthur let out a frustrated sigh, holding his forehead with his hand and shaking his head repeatedly.
"Then what about that damn president? He's been so noisy, also fat and heavy too." Arthur hit his back with a slightly hard fist.
"The results will be decided tomorrow morning, right?" Cleavon answered Noah with another question, lying on the floor. Even though it was dirty, he was too tired today to think about it.
"Yes, that's why we can't let our guard down for a single moment from now on." Velyna spoke in a serious tone, her voice echoing in the building as everyone fell silent. Their faces were now a little gloomy; the atmosphere had become somber.
Suddenly, Noah's stomach rumbled.
"Hey, don't blame me, it's dinner time already." Silence fell before everyone burst into laughter. The once gloomy atmosphere returned to normal, and the room filled with laughter that would one day become a memory.
***
"We didn't give them the wrong address, did we?" Andreas fanned away his sweat with his hat, the midday heat and the long wait for the Equinox members to arrive with the Taurus rune in exchange for the president, who was now their captive.
Andreas's eyes narrowed slightly at the brightly shining sunlight before falling upon a man carrying a briefcase and wearing a neat uniform with a badge shaped like a tree branch and three large leaves on top, followed by other leaves on the side branches of the main tree. The man's face looked serious, staring deeply into Andreas's eyes.
With each step, the man approached Andreas with a murderous aura he tried to conceal but failed in front of Andreas. No mistake then. Andreas stared back at the man sharply. No mistake, he is the representative from Equinox.
The man was now directly in front of Andreas, and the silence between them broke as the man spoke.
"I've brought it." His heavy voice reached Andreas's ears.
"Can I see it first?"
"...after I see the president."
"Alright, follow me." Andreas walked into the old building they had occupied last night, which was also where the president was being held.
When they both went up to the second floor of the building, they saw the president sitting, tied to a chair, asleep.
"You know the consequences if a president faints, don't you?" the man asked with a serious tone.
"Yes, the invisible wall will weaken because its galactic energy supply is sound asleep. By surrendering this rune, we can end this peacefully without any casualties." The man looked at Andreas as if he wasn't convinced.
"Alright." He opened the briefcase he was holding. Inside was the Taurus rune, glowing brightly, emitting a blue light from its cracked patterns. The man handed the briefcase to Andreas. Andreas took the rune, checking the front and back.
"Looks real enough, alright—"
A bomb was thrown from outside through the window, landing precisely between the man and Andreas. Instantly, sand surrounded the man and the president, protecting both of them. That Sandstorm Sovereign!. The bomb exploded with a loud noise, destroying the second floor of the building. Andreas's grip weakened, causing the rune to fall from his hand.
Andreas was thrown onto the roof of the building next to it. Andreas coughed and covered his mouth; when he looked at his hand, it was covered with a few bloodstains. Am i coughing up blood? i didn't expect them to use such a strong bomb.
Andreas lay on the building's roof before getting back up. He jumped, using his wind power as if floating. From the building's roof, the other members of Unit 1 were seen chasing the person holding the Taurus rune. Andreas saw Nathan also moving from one rooftop to another, chasing from above.
Andreas approached Nathan on the adjacent building's roof.
"How's the situation?" Andreas asked.
"The man in front of the Sandstorm Sovereign, below us to the right. He's holding the rune." Nathan stated firmly. From above, Arthur and the others were chasing the Equinox Wanderers before one of them looked back and released many papers that formed a wide paper wall, covering the entire view of Unit 1, even Andreas and Nathan on the roofs.
Swiftly, Nathan immediately jumped down into a building's floor through its balcony. He moved through the building to the other side, then jumped to the building in front of it to chase the Equinox Wanderers. When there were no more buildings in front of him, he looked to his lower right and saw an Equinox Wanderers running.
Nathan didn't act rashly; he looked around before finding Cleavon on the balcony of the building to his right, holding a sniper rifle and aiming it at the person carrying the Taurus rune. When the sound of a gunshot was heard, Nathan threw a smoke bomb towards them.
Just before the smoke dispersed, the person holding the rune was seen incapacitated after being shot in the back by Cleavon. From the roof, Andreas flew past Nathan towards the smoke to retrieve the rune. Nathan's only thought now was how he could help.
From the thick smoke, the rune was thrown upwards. Its blue glow was clearly visible despite the brighter glare of the sun. Suddenly, someone emerged from the smoke—it was Andreas!
He used wind power in his feet to exit the smoke and the surrounding Equinox Wanderers. He was also the one who threw the rune upwards. Before the paper power of the mysterious man and Vincent's sand could reach him, Andreas shot a gust of wind from his finger while flying backward, hitting the rune, which sent it flying toward Nathan, though not directly to him.
Nathan immediately jumped to the left side of the building and held onto a rainwater pipe, catching the rune which had almost slipped through his fingers.