11 Days Until the Tournament
The clash continued without slowing down.
The ruined villa was barely recognizable anymore. Half the roof had collapsed, the walls were covered in cracks, and pieces of stone were scattered across the street outside. People had already fled the area. The only sounds left were exploding attacks, collapsing buildings, and the constant clash between light and thunder.
Ren slid across the broken floor after blocking a strike with a shadow-coated forearm. He breathed heavily.
"...They're still fresh."
Raidon landed beside him after avoiding another beam of light.
"I noticed."
Around them, Sakayanagi was locked in a fast exchange against two Light Kingdom elites. Every time she created an opening, another elite covered it immediately. Their teamwork was almost perfect.
Kaelen wasn't in much better shape. He had managed to keep one of the stronger elites occupied, but the vines he summoned were being cut apart almost as quickly as they appeared.
Shigan wiped blood from his cheek before blocking another glowing spear with both arms.
"They're not slowing down!"
"They're trained to fight for days," Kaelen shouted back. "We're not!"
Another blast tore through the remains of the house.
Ren looked around.
Broken walls.
Open streets.
No civilians nearby.
The Light Kingdom warriors had completely surrounded them without anyone noticing.
One of the commanders stepped forward.
"You've fought well."
His sword pointed directly at Ren.
"But you're exhausted."
Another commander slowly circled behind them.
"Give us the Light Stone."
"We'll make this simple."
Raidon laughed.
"No."
The answer came with another explosion.
A rain of glowing spears dropped from above.
Ren and Raidon barely avoided them while Sakayanagi cut several out of the air. One slipped past her guard and buried itself into the ground inches away from Kaelen.
Dust covered the battlefield.
Everyone was breathing harder now.
Ren glanced at each member of the team.
Raidon's shoulder was burned from blocking several attacks.
Shigan's breathing had become heavy.
Kaelen had cuts across both arms.
Even Sakayanagi's movements weren't as quick as before.
They couldn't keep fighting forever.
Not against enemies who kept rotating positions and covering each other's weaknesses.
Ren lowered his voice.
"...We're leaving."
Raidon looked at him.
"You sure?"
"If we stay..."
He looked toward the Light Kingdom elites.
"...we lose."
Nobody argued.
They all trusted him.
Ren quietly reached into one of the small pouches hanging from his belt.
Inside was something he had made during training.
A round black sphere no bigger than an apple.
He smiled.
"Let's hope this works."
The Light commander raised his weapon again.
"Any last words?"
Ren slowly stepped forward.
"I've got one."
The shadows around his feet suddenly spread across the broken ground.
The Light warriors immediately tensed.
"He's charging another attack!"
"Get ready!"
Several elites raised barriers.
Others pointed their weapons directly at Ren.
Raidon understood immediately.
He started gathering lightning around his body.
Sakayanagi quietly stepped closer to Kaelen and Shigan.
Ren raised his hand high.
Dark energy began gathering around the black sphere.
The Light Kingdom elites prepared themselves.
"NOW!"
Ren threw it.
The small sphere hit the ground.
...
Nothing happened.
One of the Light warriors frowned.
"That's it?"
Then—
BOOM!
A massive cloud of pitch-black smoke exploded outward, swallowing the entire battlefield within seconds.
"What is this?!"
"I can't see!"
"My light can't get through it!"
The smoke wasn't ordinary.
It absorbed light itself, making even the brightest techniques useless.
Ren grinned inside the darkness.
"Run."
Nobody hesitated.
Raidon grabbed Kaelen's arm.
Shigan lifted a chunk of broken wall behind them to block pursuit.
Sakayanagi covered the rear while Ren stayed inside the smoke for a few extra seconds.
Footsteps echoed everywhere.
The Light Kingdom elites couldn't tell who was moving.
"Left!"
"No—right!"
"I heard someone!"
"They're getting away!"
Ren purposely created extra footsteps with small shadow figures running in different directions.
The elites split up.
Exactly what he wanted.
Only after hearing them scatter did Ren disappear into the darkness himself.
For nearly twenty minutes, the five of them never stopped moving.
Across rooftops.
Through abandoned streets.
Across hanging bridges connecting different parts of Stratos Haven.
Raidon occasionally released tiny sparks of electricity behind them, not enough to attack, but enough to make it sound like they had changed direction.
Eventually...
The sounds of pursuit disappeared.
Nobody spoke.
They kept running another ten minutes just to be safe.
Finally, Kaelen stopped near a narrow cliff hidden behind a curtain of hanging vines.
"...Here."
He pushed the vines aside.
Behind them was a forgotten maintenance tunnel built into the floating island itself.
Old support beams lined the walls, and dust covered the stone floor.
"No one comes here anymore," Kaelen said quietly.
Raidon looked around before nodding.
"This'll do."
The group entered.
Kaelen pulled the vines back into place, hiding the entrance completely.
Silence.
For the first time since the ambush began...
There were no explosions.
No footsteps.
No voices.
Just five exhausted people trying to catch their breath.
Shigan dropped onto the floor first.
"I hate... Light Kingdom people..."
Nobody laughed.
They were too tired.
Sakayanagi leaned against the wall and slowly wrapped a bandage around the cut on her forearm.
Raidon sat near the entrance, listening carefully for any sign of pursuit.
Ren remained standing.
He looked at each member of the team.
They had escaped.
Barely.
"They'll search the city," Kaelen said quietly.
"They know we're still in Stratos Haven."
Raidon nodded.
"So from now until the tournament..."
"We stay hidden."
Ren looked toward the small opening in the tunnel where faint daylight filtered through.
"Eleven days."
He clenched his fist.
"We recover."
"We train quietly."
"And when the tournament starts..."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"They won't be the only ones walking in stronger."
Outside, the search continued.
Inside the forgotten tunnel...
The crew finally had a chance to rest.
To be continued...