Chapter 15: The Unfair Blessing

  Ray

  I stood in the vast hall of the king’s vil, my chest heaving as I wiped blood from my brow. The walls, adorned with golden insignias of the Elthias family, bore scorch marks and cracks from the ongoing fight. Opposite me, the bastared Rave smirked, his bck cloak fluttering as if alive, his aura radiating malevolehe guards who had remained loyal to the king circled the perimeter, waiting for an opportunity to strike, but none dared intervene in his duel with me.

  “You’ve sted lohan I expected,” the bastared Rave sneered, his voice eg through the hall. The taunt dug into me, but I refused to give him the satisfa of a reay breaths were shallow, eae ced with the searing pain of exhaustioilted his head slightly, the smirk on his face widening as he examined me like a predator sizing up its prey. “But I must admit, you’re intriguing,” he added, his tone mog yet curious.

  The weight of his words pressed down on me, amplifying the tension in the air. My grip tightened on my sword, the edges of my vision blurred from fatigue. “But endurance alone won’t save you,” he tinued, his voice sharp as a bde. “You’re running out of tricks.””

  I said nothing. My grip tightened around the hilt of my sword, the faint glow of my remaining mana flickering like a dying ember. I o buy time, but the bastared Rave wasn’t the kind of oppo who let his prey breathe.

  With a zy wave of his hand, the bastared Rave summoned a massive circle of glowing runes beh my feet. “Soul stri,” he said with mock revereendrils of shadow erupted from the circle, coiling around my legs and arms. The tendrils pulsed with energy, sapping my strength.

  I gritted my teeth and used my enharength blessing. The dark tendrils snapped as I pulled free, but the bastared Rave only ughed, the sound cold and mog.

  "Predictable," the bastared Rave said. He raised his arms, and the air around him crackled with energy. “Let’s see how you hahis. Void Tempest.”

  The air pressure dropped instantly as an invisible force smmed into me. The sheer weight of the spell crushed the floor beh me, and my knees buckled. The attack wasn’t physical—it was tearing at my very esserying to unmake me from the i.

  Akira

  We moved swiftly through the forest, the moonlight casting long shadows across our path. The distant rumble of battle from the vil grew louder with every step. Maki and Theodore fnked me, their expressions tehe sileween us was deafening, broken only by the ch of leaves beh our feet.

  Suddenly, two figures emerged from the shadows, blog our way. Both were shrouded in anonymity—one a small child, barely reag my waist, and the other a mid-height man cloaked in tattered bck robes. I tensed, sing their postures and movements. The child spoke first, their voinervingly calm.

  “Turn back. This path leads to death.”

  Theodore stepped fravity subtly shifting around him in a way only I could notice. “We don’t have time fames,” he said, his voice a low growl. “Move.”

  The taller figure stepped into the moonlight, their face hidden behind a mask. “This is your only warning. Leave.”

  I felt my pulse qui as I studied them. Their movements were too precise, too calcuted to be mere ce. Something about their presence screamed danger—and purpose. “These two are stalling,” I said, my voice sharp as I pieced their iogether. “They’re likely trying to dey us until it’s too te.” I g Theodore and Maki, my resolve hardening. “We ’t let that happen. We deal with them now, fast and .”

  Ray

  I g to sciousness, my vision swimming as I staggered to my feet. The pressure of the bastared Rave’s Void Tempest had nearly crushed me, but I wasn’t do. I needed a pn—something to disrupt his overwhelming spellcasting.

  “Is this the best you have to offer?” the bastared Raveaunted. He began weaving another spell, golden runes swirling around him. “I thought I’d be fag someone who actually knew what they were doing.”

  I forced a grin, blood dripping from my lips. “You’ll regret those words.”

  the bastared Rave smirked. “Will I?”

  I activated my ghost form, my body being intangible as I dashed toward him. But just as I closed the distahe bastared Rave’s figure shimmered and vanished in a fsh of light, reappearing several feet away. His smirk grew wider, tauntih the distance he maintained.

  I tried again, lunging toward him with ghostly precision, but each time my hand neared his body, he vanished and reappeared, his mog ughter taunti every failed attempt. “You ’t touch me,” the bastared Rave mocked. “This spell ehat anything approag me with malicious iriggers a teleportation. You’ll never get close enough to even try, let alone succeed.”

  “You think you take over me like you did in the Lion Cub City?” he whispered, his voice chilling. “Foolish.”

  The bastared Rave raised a hand, gripping my spectral form mid-air. Before he could act further, a strained voice broke through the tension. It was Benjiro, his body battered and broken as he leaned against a cracked pilr. His face was a mask of agony, his breaths shallow. "Look at his blessing," Benjiro said hoarsely, each word dragging out like it cost him what little life he had left. "This guy is invincible… with all the spells he’s shown just now."

  He coughed violently, blood spttering onto the floor, the sou and siing. My heart twisted at the sight—Benjiro, the one who had stood with me through so much, was now a shadow of himself. Still, his eyes burned with defiance, a glimmer of the strength that had always defined him.

  "What an unfair blessing," he managed, his voice trembli resolute. Those words, spoken with finality, hung in the air like a death knell.

  Before I could process the weight of his words, a brilliant light engulfed him. The glow was blinding, ing him entirely in an instant. I could only wat horror as his body erupted into a violent explosion of light and energy, leaving behind nothing but a charred outline on the floor where he had stood. The sound of the bst echoed, a haunting reminder of the price he paid.

  The bastared Rave’s ughter echoed through the hall, loud and mog. "Oh, this is priceless! Did you think you could critique blessings without sequehat, my dear stranger, is the Universal Curse. Call a blessing unfair, and the gods themselves will strike you down for your arrogance."

  My fists ched, fury boiling over, but my body refused to respond, drained from the earlier assaults. Unnoticed by ahree figures had been watg from a distance—Selia, Taki, and Lucky. They had arrived moments earlier, just in time to witness Benjiro’s tragic death. Frozen in shoone of them dared to move or speak.

  But the silence broke when Lucky, overwhelmed, let out a startled gasp. Heads turned instantly toward them, and the three found themselves exposed. the bastared Rave’s grin widened, his gaze log onto the newers.

  Selia gasped, her eyes immediately log onto the charred remains of Benjiro. "No…" she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. Lucky stayed close behind her, his face pale as he took in the se.

  Taki, however, froze for only a moment before her expression twisted in rage. "You bastard!" she screamed, her fists g as water began to swirl around her. Without waiting for a signal, she unched herself toward the bastared Rave, her blessing maing as sharp streams of water that sshed through the air.

  I blinked in shock. Taki’s movements were precise, atacks forced the bastared Raveo teleport repeatedly to avoid her strikes. Despite his mog demeanor, he began to weave defensive spells, golden runes fshing around him.

  "Impressive," the bastared Rave said, his toinged with surprise. "I didn’t expect such ferocity from you. But it won’t be enough."

  Taki gritted her teeth, ign his taunts as she tinued her assault. Her water whips shed out in uable patterns, f him to stay on the defensive. I watched, astonished. 'She’s holding her own against him,' I thought, a flicker of hope igniting in my chest.

  But the battle began to take its toll. Taki’s breaths grew bored, her movements slowing as her mana reserves dwindled. A powerful terspell from the bastared Rave shattered her water barrier, sending her flying across the room. She crashed into a pilr, slumping to the ground with a groan.

  "Taki!" Selia cried, rushing toward her. Lucky hesitated, torween helping Taki and shielding Selia from further harm.

  The bastared Rave chuckled, brushing off his cloak. "A valiant effort, but futile. You should know better than to challenge me, little girl."

  My fury reignited as I saw Taki struggling to stand, blood trig down her face. "That’s enough," I growled, my voice low but ced with determination. I forced myself upright, my hands trembling but steady. "You’ll pay for that."

  Selia

  Before the city was attacked, meteors streaked across the sky, burning trails of destru in their wake. We had barely escaped when Ray found us. His face was stern, his words sharper than usual. “I saw the meteors ing. Run, and don’t stop until you’re far enough away. I’ll hahe rest.”

  We didn’t question him, but the weight of his voice lingered as we fled. Taki hadn’t stopped looking back, her steps hesitant as if wanting to stay behind. I could see the struggle in her eyes, torween obeying Ray and staying to fight. “Ray wouldn’t leave us if we were in danger,” she muttered, mostly to herself. “He expects the same from us.”

  We eventually found refuge in the ruins of an old house, a remnant of the battlefield where we had fought alongside Benjiro. The air was heavy, the silence oppressive. It felt like the ghost of that battle still lingered, refusing to let us fet. I couldn’t stop myself from gng at the broken walls, half-expeg shadows to leap out and drag us bato the chaos.

  Taki wasted no time. She stepped into the clearing, summoning her water blessing with a sharp breath. “Ray said I need precision,” she murmured. Her voice was focused, determihe streams of water coiled around her, shing out as she mimicked the teiques he had taught her.

  I watched from the doorway, arms crossed. She was improving, but her movements still carried hesitation. Her frustration alpable, radiating through every swing of her water bdes. “You’re rushing it,” I called out. She turned, her face flushed with frustration and a hint of shame. “Ray wouldn’t let you get away with that.”

  Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she adjusted her stand began again, her determination unwavering. It reminded me of Ray’s quiet, relentless drive, and for a moment, I wondered how much she had e to admire him.

  Nearby, Lucky leaned against a crumbling wall, ever the despite the tension in the air. “Why don’t you train me instead?” he quipped with a grin. “I’d make a great student. Fast learner.”

  I didn’t bother responding, my eyes fixed on the devi my hand. The hacked work dispyed dots representing the king, his son, and Ray. “Something’s wrong,” I said softly. The signals didn’t make sehe king and his son were moving, but Ray’s dot remained surrounded. My stomach ed at the implications.

  Taki stopped mid-swing, her breathing heavy. “What’s wrong?”

  I hesitated before showihe s. “They’ve left Ray behind. He’s surrounded.”

  Her eyes widened, panic fshing across her face. “We have to go back!”

  Lucky’s humor faded, repced by a rare seriousness. “We’re sneaking in, right? I’m not built fhting.”

  I shook my head. “We ’t rush in blind. Let’s see what’s happening first.”

  We set out again, making our way toward the king’s signal. The air grew colder, heavier with every step, as if the world itself was warning us to turn back. The signal led us to a clearing where we saw him standing across from a green-haired man. Their auras were overwhelming, suffog the air around them with tension. The sheer presence of their power radiated outward, making the grouh us feel as though it trembled in fear of what might e .

  “This isn’t good,” I said, my voice barely audible over the distant roars of energy. My stomach ed. “If the king and his son are here, what’s happening to Ray?”

  Taki didn’t wait for a response. She broke into a run, her resolve unshakable. Lucky and I exged a ghe same unspoken fear mirrored in his eyes, before we followed her.