He was right. They had reached the center before long. They hadn't encountered anyone from the Red team yet. For a while, they chatted to get to know each other better. They decided who had what abilities and how they would use them. There hadn't been much change in the plan. Aurora was the one with the ability that would be most useful for defense among them. Similarly, Han was the most suitable person for attack. Urania said she could use her hypnosis effect if she could catch one of them alone. Hecate, in an emergency, could hide Magni and the others in the shadows. However, Hecate said that her ability would be useless if Sol came against them.
Magni said he believed he could defeat Amor or Diana if he encountered them. He had known how to fight since he was a child. Perhaps he might even be the most skillful person in the class in a fistfight. He would form this opinion when he compared himself to the others during the training. As captain, Magni had to make a decision. Either they would wait for the Red team to surround them and defend, or a few people would scatter into the surrounding ruined buildings and set up an ambush.
After discussing this idea among themselves, they decided to scatter. Magni, Han, and Hecate would disperse into the buildings; Aurora and Urania would stay in the center to wait for the enemy and give a signal in case of a possible attack. They took Urania and Aurora into the center and moved into the buildings. Magni was slowly climbing the fragmented stairs, checking the floors.
When he reached the 4th floor, he heard shouting coming from outside the building. The Red team must have arrived. He was going to check this floor too and then leave the building. But he felt a different sensation on this floor. It smelled like dampness. As he continued to walk, he heard water droplets hitting the floor. Drop by drop, the water was falling to the ground. He leaned his back against the corner wall to catch his breath for a moment.
Just then, the building shook, and the ceiling above him, as if cut, slid down and broke off the building. Affected by such a sudden event, he got up from where he was leaning and lunged forward. Although he wondered who did this, that was not what he should be worried about. Neptune was standing in front of him.
"Give me the armband, Magni. I don't want to hurt you."
"If you want to take it, you'll have to catch me first, Neptune."
After saying this sentence, he made a move towards the door. Suddenly, a wave wall of water appeared in front of him. He had made a mistake thinking he could exit through the door.
"Magni, don't make this difficult for me. All you have to do is give me that band. That's all…"
"No… I wonder how long I can stall you."
Magni started running with all his might. He charged at Neptune without stopping. Neptune, in turn, aimed the three-headed spear made of water in his hand at him. However, Magni's plan was not to hit him. He slid between Neptune's legs and continued to run. He slid down the broken piece of the building and descended to the ground. There, he encountered Han, who had placed his red sword on the ground and raised his hands in the air. When he looked around, he saw Aurora's unconscious body leaning against the concrete. Right in front of Han and Magni stood Sol, holding Urania captive. Hecate was nowhere to be seen.
"Han, what happened here?! What was that thing that cut the building!?"
"I cut the building while trying to hit Sol. If I had known you were inside, I would have been more careful, Captain."
Magni tried to run towards Sol. Before Han could stop him, he felt a sharp pain in his calf. A bright, transparent but hard arrow had struck him. He screamed in pain and threw himself to the ground.
"Captain!"
"I-it's nothing, Han. This much pain won't do anything to me. Ugh…"
"Why did you make such a thoughtless move! There is a reason why I'm standing here like this."
"What?"
"Do you see that building?" Han indicated with his head.
Magni turned his gaze away from his bleeding wound to the distant building. There was someone on top of it. It must have been Luna. No one else came to his mind. So, that arrow must have been made of moonlight.
"Han, what about Hecate? She was supposed to be protecting you."
"She arrived here not long after I did. She encountered Amor and Diana in the building she entered. She gave the armband to them without much struggle. She came here with them. She did this to lure them into a trap. I defeated both of them and took their bands. But then Sol arrived. He suddenly zoomed past me while we were fighting. When I looked, he had captured Urania. He took the armbands from me and forced me to drop my sword. They also took Hecate. I couldn't allow my team members to be harmed. I'm sorry. We failed on our very first mission. Does this mean I lose my Vice-Captaincy?" he said mockingly.
"No, haha. I haven't decided yet."
While holding his leg, Magni met Sol's eyes.
"I guess this means you lost, Magni. I still don't understand how they accepted someone like you, without an Heirloom, into this place."
"I couldn't understand it either, but there must certainly be a reason."
"Perhaps it's fate, what do you say? So you can understand that you shouldn't be among people like us."
Urania interjected, "Hey, Sol! Don't you know how to speak to people properly?"
Urania was also trying to free herself from Sol's grip. Upon this, Sol said, "Shut your mouth and be still!" He broke the arm he was holding. The poor girl writhed in agony. Her screams echoed in Magni's ears. It felt like he wouldn't be able to forget that sound for many years. Urania, with a tearful expression on her face, silently pleaded with Magni for help. When Magni saw that expression on Urania's face, an anger, whose cause he could not clearly pinpoint, overwhelmed him. The feeling seemed to spread through his veins all over his body. Was this feeling due to not being able to protect a member of his team, his immediate attraction to her, his humanity, or his feeling of being less than an ant among so many powerful individuals? With his remaining strength, he stood up. He could barely stand on his feet.
"I'll make you pay for this, Sol," he shouted with rage.
"I'd like to see you try," Sol said, trying to provoke Magni.
And he succeeded. Magni ran and approached them by a few meters. Suddenly, his other leg went numb. He paused and looked down, seeing the arrow embedded in that leg as well. He collapsed onto the ground again. The only difference was that this time it was due to numbness, not pain. He was lying face down on the ground. He struggled to lift his head. He looked at Sol. He was trying to get up. Seeing this, Sol pressed his foot onto Urania's broken arm to discourage him. The girl's scream echoed throughout the entire area. Magni could no longer control his rage.
"SOL!!! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD SON OF A BITCH!!!" he screamed.
His tone of voice was so full of emotion that even Han, standing behind him, was scared by his state. While these events were unfolding, the air suddenly surrendered to dark clouds. These were storm clouds. Everyone looked at the place where the sunlight was cut off because the clouds were only above them. There wasn't a single cloud above the school just ahead or the city. The clouds gathered tightly, turning dark. A lightning bolt fell from the clouds, right onto Magni. Everyone was in shock. It couldn't have been one of them who did this. Aidoneus, who was watching them through the cameras, shared the same astonishment. He immediately checked the students' files. There was no one among them with a Cosmyth capable of controlling lightning or the air. After the brightness created by the lightning subsided, they saw someone standing there. Yes, there was no doubt. It was Magni. But he was not the helpless young man who had just collapsed to the ground. This was a completely different person. His face was shadowed by the darkness of the clouds. The only thing that made him visible was the lightning bolts surrounding his body. Magni vanished from where he was standing. He suddenly appeared in front of Sol. His right hand was clenched into a fist, covered in lightning. Sol reflexively stepped back slightly and brought his arms into a guard position. He tried to create a shield of light, but Magni was faster than him. With the force of the punch he threw, Sol flew backward. Due to the impact, his arms and the bones in his ribs were shattered; he was covered in blood. Sol could only stop after breaking through the walls of four buildings and hitting the wall of the fifth. Blood was pouring from his mouth. His broken ribs had pierced his lung. His bones had ripped through his skin and popped out. He was losing blood.