Chapter 132

Might of a Dragon (II)

An occasional flicker -- that's all that the group staring at the sky could see. Their expressions, however, weren't tense and shiny with sweat because of what they could see, but rather what they could feel; ever so often, an outburst of raw Mana would seep out whatever dimension those two were fighting in, and the sheer remnant was enough to nearly suffocate all of them on the spot. They couldn't even quite contemplate the exact level of what the fight might look like, and their paranoid minds hardly did much to ease their anxiety.

“... somebody... somebody’s coming.” Diya’s voice pulled everyone out of their imaginations, noting that she was looking toward the stairs leading up to the platform, with everyone else quickly focusing on it as well.

“How many?” Emma asked, frowning. The King’s reinforcements?

“Ten,” Diya replied. “But... their Mana is strange.”

“Strange?”

“It’s... like ours.”

Before the group had a chance to confirm their immediate suspicions, ten silhouettes appeared at the top of the stairs, slowly entering the platform. Sure enough, Emma’s frown deepened further, her mind reeling slightly. How did other people get here so quickly? Did they also get a quest but from the King? Or are they just exploring? No, this isn’t a place you ‘explore’. They knew to come here, but how?

“Don’t say anything,” Emma warned sternly, taking the mantle of the leader once again in Cain’s absence. “But be ready to fight.”

The group of ten seemed just as surprised to find Emma and others here, stopping some fifty feet away, chattering silently among themselves. Suddenly, one of them -- seemingly a leader -- stepped forward, taking off his bone-plated helmet. The man appeared to be middle-aged, his hair short, beard shaved to stubble. A pair of black eyes peered curiously at the group standing opposite of him, though the confidence in his gait showed he hardly feared the group.

“Name’s Kramer,” he spoke directly at the sun-haired woman he determined was the leader of the group, ignoring the others. It wasn’t just her appearance that drew him in, but also her equipment that looked to be even a level above his own. Both were Paladins, he quickly determined, and he even suspected her Level was above his due to the faint Mana traces.

“Emma,” she replied with a faint nod.

“We have no Quest here, don’t worry,” Kramer had long since picked up ways to interact with other groups in the wild, especially if they encountered them at places like these -- where it was clear something monumental was happening. “One of our members merely sensed a monumental outburst of Mana a few minutes ago and we just came here to sight-see.”

“I see,” the woman said.

“... you don’t say much, do you?” Kramer smiled faintly, though didn’t press; after all, whatever was happening, it was clearly quite important to the group in front of them.

“I’m usually quite chatty,” she smiled back faintly. “Unfortunately, you caught me in a bad situation.”

“I can see that. Do you need help?” Kramer asked inquisitively.

“Not sure,” to his surprise, she didn’t outright reject him. “We are waiting, just like you.”

“For what?”

“Results.” she replied mysteriously, indicating he shouldn’t probe any further -- and he didn’t.

“We’ll set up camp on the outskirts,” he said. “If you need our help, holler. If not, I still hope we can have a nice chat once all this is cleared up. Perhaps over a beer or two?”

“I’m flattered,” she said. “But also taken.”

“Unlucky.”

“Hm.”

“Good luck, then,” Kramer said, turning around and waving back. “I hope it goes well for you.”

He slowly made his way back to the group who appeared jittery and restless, causing him to sigh. If it were not for him, it was likely most of these people would have already died in the Tower, despite their talents.

“So, how do we attack?” and the worst of them all spoke up almost immediately. “I say -- just go straight at ‘em! They don’t look that strong! No need for surprises.”

“We’re not attacking them,” Kramer’s words immediately cooled the atmosphere, though he hardly cared much for it. His word, in the end, was the law.

“... why?” Amelia asked with a frown.

“Because we’d lose.” he replied honestly, glancing back stealthily at the group.

“Huh?” it was just Amelia or Sigmund that exclaimed in disbelief, but everyone else.

“If I’m not mistaken,” he added. “That’s Ricky’s advance party.”

“It is?!” Sigmund exclaimed. “Then more the reason--”

“Shut it,” the usually quiet Anton interrupted Sigmund in a grave tone. “How did you conclude that?”

"Well, partly because I highly doubt any other party has means or balls to trigger an event as big as this," Kramer replied as the group slowly moved to the edge of the platform, setting up a quick camp. "And partly... because I believe their strongest member is somehow responsible for that outburst of Mana and is currently somewhere up there, fighting something."

“Lander won’t like us not taking action.” Amelia said.

“Lander is a boy still stuck in the past,” Kramer replied indifferently. “You’re too hung up on his ‘orders’, Amelia.”

“He’s paying us.”

“Wrong,” Kramer shook his head. “He’s using us. And that’s fine -- but... don’t chase ghosts of death for a man who would toss you aside the moment a better opportunity showed up.”

“... so, what’s the plan?” Anton asked.

“She mentioned they might need some help,” Kramer replied. “If it turns out to be so, we’ll help.”

“Seriously?! Aaagh!” Sigmund exclaimed in frustration.

“I don’t think that’s--”

“Look up! Something’s happening!!” one of the member’s warning alarmed the rest as everyone looked up toward the sky where a thundering rift suddenly boomed open.

Beyond, they slowly began to see flashes of a dimension beyond reach, of a world beyond the scope, and of a battle that froze the blood in their veins. There were two men -- one thrice as tall as the other -- chasing each other in circles, beams and pillars and arrays of blood transforming into ghastly arms that clawed open the world, while the storms of Elements raged against them, their size nigh-impossible to estimate.

“What in the God’s fuck...” the party’s sole Elementalist, Ryu, mumbled under his breath. He recognized most of the Elements within the storm... yet, their usage and their capacity... shouldn’t be possible.

The tiny figure flashed abruptly, encased in a thick, raging storm as it burned forward, meeting the much taller one squarely. An explosion that sent a shockwave so strong its winds actually reached them burned up the world, a pillar of indeterminable colors awashing the sky. The two figures were tossed backward like kites without strings, wings unfurling behind both; one pair was bloody, and another ethereal, ghostly. Before anyone could even process the explosion itself, they were back at it, firing off attacks that could level an entire city without even trying.

“... you still wanna fight ‘em?” Kramer asked, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. We were wrong, he realized. It wasn’t an item that allowed him to summon the sun on that day. It was all him.

“I might like fighting,” Sigmund replied, cold sweat enveloping him. “But fuck that noise boss. Let’s get outta this bitch before anything bad happens.”

“That shouldn’t be possible, right?” Amelia mumbled. “Are you sure he’s an Elementalist?” she turned toward Ryu and asked

“Ey, don’t look at me,” the young man shrugged. “You’ve seen other Elementalists. I’m way better than them.”

“How many Elements is he conjuring up at the same time?” Anton asked abruptly, surprising others.

“Huh? Hmm... there was Blood there... Creation... Fire, Aether, some Element I don’t recognize, another I don’t recognize, and Earth---holy fuck, it’s SEVEN!! HE’S... HE’S USING SEVEN ELEMENTS AT THE SAME TIME!!! WHAT THE FUCK?!” Ryu shouted so loudly that he drew the attention of even the other group that swiftly turned toward them, their eyes beaming in a dangerous glint.

“Kramer, we need to go,” Anton said, standing up quickly. “Someone that strong won’t surround himself with nobodies.”

“... I’m well-aware,” Kramer replied with the faintest of smiles on his face. “But... isn’t it exciting?”

“Exciting?!!”

“The potential,” Ah, there it is... everyone immediately realized their boss... was gone. That entranced, bedeviled expression on his face signaled he had escaped into his own, little world. “For what we’ll be able to do. Fight beings akin to Gods squarely on our own while bending the entire reality to our will. No wonder... no wonder he had the confidence to proclaim himself the sole King of the Tower. What if--”

“Don’t!!”

“Not again...”

“Oh for the love of...”

“--we joined him? We could learn directly from him! Become stronger! Tsk, what’s some pointless millions from a spoiled billionaire against the teachings of a God? That’s it! I’ve made my decision! I’ll pledge us to him immediately after the battle!”

“...”

“...”

“... ah, goddammit. What’s this? Eight time?” Anton mumbled as he slumped back and sat down, dispirited. “I guess I need to change my name and face again... maybe I should go for a more handsome look this time around? Nah, Sarah would kill me. She’d think I’m cheating on her...”

“...” And there he goes too... why the hell did I join these guys?!! With conflicting emotions and dispirited souls, the party continued to observe the battle beyond the world, though for the briefest of moments as the rift in the sky closed up, returning back to its previous, thundering appearance.