CHAPTER 49: New friend.
Airi glanced at Kazuka, making him startle; he immediately backed away in fear.
Takeshi sighed.
"Sigh, but say what you will, it truly is pitiful."
Airi glanced; her sharp cold eyes made Takeshi instinctively cover his mouth.
They walked through a sparse forest on a large dirt road.
Takeshi sighed.
"Yesterday I dreamed we were walking. Suddenly someone fell down and crushed me."
Kazuka frowned, a bit confused.
"Huh? What a weird dream."
Ayaka: "Could it be an omen?"
Airi nodded.
"According to Takeshi, before meeting me, he once dreamed of me. It's quite possible."
Ayaka didn't know, but she still went "oh."
Then suddenly, a scream of someone rang out.
Takeshi looked up at the sky; it was some young man floating in the air. Surrounding him was green energy, like a gust of wind.
The wind was flying out of control; the young man on it cried out loudly. The four standing below were quite bewildered.
Suddenly, he accelerated and plunged toward where Takeshi was standing. Takeshi immediately reacted and jumped back, but suddenly the wind changed direction; it dove after Takeshi and slammed into him.
Kazuka stood there, clutching his stomach and laughing loudly.
"Haha, Takeshi. Your dream came true!"
Airi and Ayaka stepped over. It was a young man lying on top of Takeshi.
He scrambled to get up, hands holding his head and looking around. Takeshi, having been crushed, was annoyed and shoved him away.
"Aa!"
He was flung to the ground and looked around.
"Ouch, my apologies. I didn't mean it."
Airi frowned, she was a bit guarded; the young man saw Airi and stood up abruptly, pointing at her face, his expression a bit panicked.
"What is a vampire doing here?"
Airi spoke with an annoyed voice:
"That's what I should be asking first. Why is an Elemental doing here?"
Kazuka stopped laughing; Takeshi, holding his head in some pain, walked closer. Ayaka, curious, also approached. All three asked in unison:
"You are an Elemental?"
He was surprised and backed away.
Kazuka observed.
"Your ears are long like an Elf, the energy is similar too. But I feel this energy clearly surpasses an Elf."
Airi stepped forward and pushed the three aside.
"Alright, speak slowly. Sit by the roadside and talk."
All five sat down. He smiled and placed a hand on his chest.
"Alright, let me introduce myself first. I am an Elemental, I'm quite small. Only 17 years old. My name is Aoto Kazeha."
Except for Airi, the three looked at Aoto with interested eyes. They scanned him once.
Light golden hair shimmering, flowing lightly in the wind like silk. Ears longer than an Elf's.
Eyes sparkling green, like reflecting forest light when the wind blows.
Appearance very handsome, ivory skin, high nose bridge, refined features mixed with a bit of mischief.
Outfit: A silver-blue cloak like the color of morning mist, embroidered with leaf and wind patterns. Inside was a white shirt, brown pants, and normal shoes.
Airi: "So why is an Elemental here?"
Aoto: "That's simple, I just wanted to leave that boring forest once and travel across the world. If wind is not free, is it still wind?"
"So why is a vampire here?"
Airi: "Look around, they are my friends. We explore together."
Aoto scanned around and looked at the three: Kazuka, Takeshi, and Ayaka.
"You people accept a vampire?"
Kazuka nodded.
"Of course, and there's no problem at all."
Aoto asked curiously:
"No problem? She shouldn't appear here and wander around."
Kazuka laughed loudly.
"Haha, so what? We aren't afraid."
Aoto turned to Airi.
"So where do you want to go?"
Airi pointed to Kazuka and smiled. Understanding, Kazuka said:
"We don't have a clear place to go. We will go everywhere."
Takeshi: "This world is our home."
Aoto's eyes lit up.
"Really? That's great, can I go with you?"
Airi: "Why do you want to go with us?"
Aoto sighed.
"Simply put, I'm bored. It's great that you don't care about race and consider each other friends. When I stepped out of the barrier, I was also worried I'd be sold into slavery."
"So I want to go along and befriend you."
Airi: "Did you run away?"
Aoto nodded.
"Yeah, inside that barrier is very boring. I want to go out and explore the world."
Ayaka, curious, turned to Airi.
"What barrier? Of the Elemental race?"
Aoto nodded.
"That's right. It's the strongest barrier in the world; it protects the entire Elemental race inside it."
Airi nodded.
"I know that after the unification about 50 years ago, a human was chosen to protect the Elementals. That person created the sturdiest barrier. Even the Elemental race cannot solve it until now."
Aoto: "Yes, but although that person helped the Elemental race be safe, he was also the one who made the world suffer. That person is recorded in history as one of the strongest and most dangerous."
Kazuka spoke with surprise.
"That sounds cool."
Ayaka: "So what is the unification?"
Aoto suddenly shouted:
"Huh? You don't know? I thought everyone knew!"
Kazuka scratched his face.
"Actually, I don't know either."
Aoto sighed.
"Fine, let me tell you."
"Long ago, the world was very chaotic. Then a demon suddenly appeared; he was very strong. He unified the demon race and made peace with other races. After that, he helped other races unify, ending the wars..."
"For example: although humans still fought demons, human civil wars were many. He helped end them. That is called the unification."
"Treaties were signed consecutively, and the world became peaceful. Although sometimes there are still wars between two races, the treaties also include ways to make peace and solutions that don't cause casualties."
"Although races like angels or Elementals... no, it must be said almost all races hate demons. But they cannot deny that a demon helped them."
"That's the story."
Kazuka's eyes sparkled.
"That sounds truly cool, I wonder when I can do something like that?"
Airi sat silently, her eyes showing some thought as she looked at Kazuka.
Aoto jumped up and shouted.
"So... let me go with you guys!"
Takeshi: "Hey, what is your power?"
Aoto scratched his head and laughed.
"Actually, I only use wind energy like most Elementals who don't have authority yet."
"I am still a small Elemental."
Takeshi pointed far away, a bit curious:
"Then try attacking that tree over there."
Aoto turned his gaze to the tree, then nodded slightly. Green energy surrounded him; wind blew up dust.
The feeling of an Elemental's energy is extremely strange and pressuring. Not the pressure from killing intent... but the pressure here is a massive amount of energy.
Aoto swung his hand.
"Wind Slash!!!"
The slash flew horizontally, a very large range, and zoomed away.
Boom!!!....
It cut down a series of trees and stopped. Before their eyes was a large clearing; trees lay tumbled everywhere.
Kazuka, Takeshi, and Ayaka marveled.
Kazuka: "Truly strong."
Aoto scratched his head.
"It's still quite weak."
He looked down at his hand, his voice soft:
"I wonder when I will have authority."
Ayaka, curious.
"Your authority?"
Aoto nodded.
"Yes, Elementals and angels will have their own authority. And these two races are not related to each other at all."
Ayaka: "If you have it, you'll be very strong, right?"
Aoto shook his head.
"I don't know, this will be random, granted by the world. Whoever is lucky gets strength."
Aoto shook his head as if to clear the thoughts of authority away.
"Are you guys ignoring my question? Let me go with you."
Kazuka and Takeshi nodded repeatedly.
"Sure!"
The three rushed in and hugged each other.
Aoto: "Thank you, guys."
Kazuka: "No problem."
Takeshi: "Great, we have a new friend."
Ayaka smiled and walked near Airi.
"Look how happy they are."
Airi sighed.
"Three idiots again, you'll see."
Ayaka laughed.
"Seeing the three of them happy looks great."
Airi nodded in agreement; she smiled slightly.
"Indeed, it looks happy."
The three were hugging and jumping around. Suddenly Kazuka stopped, his eyes serious.
"Hey Aoto, are you afraid of death?"
Aoto was confused, but then it clicked as if he understood.
"I dared to run away from the forest, so what am I afraid of?"
Kazuka smiled.
"We aren't afraid of death, it's great that you are the same."
The three hugged and jumped around again.
Airi and Ayaka stepped past the three.
"Alright, let's go, the road is long. If we stay here long, it will be dark when we reach the city."
Aoto was confused.
"Where are you guys planning to go?"
Kazuka nodded.
"We are going to Kari City."
Aoto: "What for?"
Kazuka shook his head.
"We are exploring, no need for a clear goal."
Aoto: "Great, let's go then."
The three walked together right behind Airi and Ayaka.
Kazuka asked curiously:
"How did you fly earlier, Aoto?"
Aoto: "Ah, that's because I possess the wind element. I use it to lift my body."
Kazuka sighed in disappointment.
"Sigh, I wish I had it too. Flying must be nice."
Aoto laughed loudly.
"Haha, it's not nice. Controlling it is very hard, that's why I fell."
Kazuka: "Is that so?"
Aoto nodded.
"Yeah."