Yori hesitated to believe what he saw just happen. He didn’t even know what he saw. ‘Was the fairy right when it said she had powers like the others?! But what…’

  Yumi slowly turned in fusi to uand what happened as well. A vibrating feeling lingered in her back as phantom memories where she had thought the bde cut into her. ‘What happened? Was it something I did?’ She stared at her hands and body seeking answers from herself and finding nothing.

  Nothing visible remained of what happened and with her back turned away she saw nothing. Her only clue came from the awe struck look in her brother’s eyes. Unfortunately, his eyes did little to fort her panicked feeling growing in her chest. She had done something, but didn’t know how to do it again.

  Philon stared at his sword hand seeing the red scrape marks from where his sword ripped forcibly from his grasp. ‘I thought they were supposed to just be children! What is she…’ He leaned back to see where his sword nded, calg his risk in going for it against the unknown powers of the girl. Images of what happened pyed through his mind trying to piece what he kogether. In the end only one clusion seemed the most reasonable. One clusioed. “You’re a MP user too… What’s the ces of twue MPs together. Is this a revolt?”

  Chapter 106 – Disciple of War

  The young soldier that Seiji picked out to fight id in the dirt after one punbsp; Seiji appeared very disappointed with the results. He looked back at Yuki, who hadn’t even mao get into his fight with the Captai. “That was a big dam down! And what’s with my fight being pletely off-s! That’s not fair at all!”

  Yuki sighed a little, l his eyelids. “It’s ly a fair fight sidering your strength.”

  Seiji lifted up the unscious soldier by his uniform, staring at him. “I know, but I held back most of my strength! He should have been able to take at least two damn hits!”

  “You jumped the guy as he came out of the house! He didn’t even see you ing!” Yuki looked away from his man.

  Still not satisfied and tinuing to get upset, Seiji marched over to Yuki. His anger over ay fight fed into his words. “If he's a soldier then he sure as shit should always be prepared! He should have expected me!”

  Yuki raised his hand to his faot sure why he had this argument with Seiji. “Are you listening to yourself? These guys aren’t expeg someoo fight babsp; They’re looking fhtened and fused stists that stumbled in! You really think they’re expeg them to fight back!”

  “But what soldier doesn’t take pride in being trained and always ready!”

  “Didn’t you hear Ayumi talking on the walk?! They haven’t fought for real in millennia!”

  Seiji chucked the soldier casually up against the house, getting in Yuki’s fabsp; “That’s no excuse! You ’t let yourself weaken in a time of peace!”

  “What are you a General now?”

  “It’s on sense!”

  “Only to you!”

  Amidst the bickeriween Yuki and Seiji, Simonides held back for a while being cautious about the breakdown. ‘At least one of them isn’t a normal researcher. Something is definitely a foul.’ Keeping his sword ready, the Captain stalked forward to get the jump on Seiji. However, when he came inte to act everything rang loudly around him.

  A fist held straight out from Seiji remained as the response. He looked down at the Captain he ko the street. “Don’t interrupt me while I’m talking!”

  “Hey, what do you do that for?” Yuki darted over to the older man, managing to somehow remain scious after receiving a powerful hit from Seiji. A quivestigation of his dition made Yuki turn his head back up at Seiji. “He was mine! How could you take my oppo like that?! How am I supposed to fight him fairly after this?!”

  “If he went down in a single punch then he ain’t the hell worth either of our time!”

  “You’re just upset that yht didn’t st long and you’re taking it out on mine!”

  “Why you…”

  Simonides pushed himself away from them seeing them getting distracted with arguments again. He wished a little that he knew what they were arguing about. However, none of it mattered, he knew. He had his pride as a soldier of the Atntean army, but his duty to protect came first.

  ‘Eusebios is the only ohat’ll be able to deal with him…’ From his pouch at his side, he retrieved a small item hidden well in his hand. His arm shook still from the damage making it difficult for him to get it pced. Lightheadedness began to take him over as he kime ran out. As his st act, his finger pushed a button on the device shooting a bright light out of the top shooting into the sky. Simonides passed out a moment ter, dropping a small der from his hand.

  Ohe light reached high enough into the air, it exploded and created a ball of light seen across the field and in neighb vilges. Both of the arguing teens stopped their yelling long enough to look up at the light in the sky. A momehey stared at each other.

  “How’d the hell they get a fre if they’re a Greeks?!”

  Yuki pushed Seiji off of him with the pause giving him back trol of his emotions. He k down looking at the Captain. The der he held rested in the dirt. Upon examination, Yuki found it to be far above the teological level that he had seen in the vilge. ‘Seiji’s right…this doesn’t make any sense…’

  A remark from Chiharu echoed in his mind as he started a new line of thought. ‘I wouldn’t uimate them. It’s exactly because they appear this way that we should remain cautious. Unlike A Greece they are surrounded by the me. The citizens might not have muowledge of the world, but I doubt the leaders keep a blio the outside.’ Her words came ba feeling like foreshadowing.

  ‘She might be right about that.’ The more he sidered the thought the more questions came to him. Unfortunately, time did not grant him what he needed. Seiji wanted answers and began staring at him very closely. “Hey! Step back a little!”

  “You’ve been quiet for too damn long!”

  “It’s been ten seds!”

  “More like a minute!”

  “What you timing me now?” Yuki rolled the spent fre g in his hand trying to figure some of it out. The strahied was that it cked anything familiar to him in what he had seen in movies that used modern teology. It may have been a poor parison, but he didn’t believe they stole the fre. ‘If anything it looks to be more advanced…did they make it themselves?’

  Not having an answer for Seiji didn’t seem an option. All Yuki managed for him was a shrug. “I don’t have any more of ahan you. They do have all of the powered users here. So maybe they made it through their powers or something.”

  “But isn’t it all fake?”

  “That’s not—“ A spear throwweewo of them cut him off before he finished. In the sed the spear disappeared leaving Seiji fused. However, a familiar feeliled in Yuki. ‘Demosthenes! He’s here!’ Anticipating his enemy, a ring of light burst out from Yuki’s feet. Repg his clothes, his battle clothes appeared in response as grass filled the surface of the ground, but left the homes untouched.

  Seiji hesitated for a moment, not sure what happeo Yuki. “hreads! Got some for me?” He reached out for Yuki holding a joking smile. A deadly serious fsh came from Yuki’s eyes when he looked at him that made Seiji step babsp; It brought back chills for Seiji. “Hey, what the hell’s wrong, man?”

  Nothing stopped Yuki as he strode forward focused on the darkness out of the vilge where he spear came from. “This one’s mine. Don’t get in my way.” Yuki didn’t even bother meeting Seiji with a gaze disappearing dowreet to the end of the vilge.

  ‘I haven’t seen him like that since middle school… What’s that all about?’ Following him became impossible as four soldiers came out of alleyways already drawn with swords. Seiji smirked a little to himself, looking pleased with the situation. “Four on one, now we’re talkin’! But yonna need a helluva a lot more than that for me!” He charged towards them disregarding their ons with his fist raised in the air to strike.

  Across the vilge the uneasy stalemate between Yumi and Philed out. her of them tried to make any overt moves to attract attention. The doubt in Yumi made her hesitate.

  Yrabbed onto his sister’s shoulder to get her attention. “We o leave while we have the ce.”

  ‘Escape?’ Her focus diverted for only a moment away from the soldier and to her brother.

  The mistake gave Philoime to reach his sword and charged for the two of them. ‘If I’m faster than their rea I get around their powers! A rogue MP user is too dangerous to have alive!’ All of his fears bleed out of him as he sprinted for the siblings. Duty to protect drove his sword’s bde no longer with the iion to capture. Rebellio death for one such as her.

  Yumi caught the movements of the man out of the er of her eye. Time slowed down for her as she thought of her brother. A dark expression that she had never witnessed before appeared on the soldier. She pushed Yori back, knog him out of the way as she turned. ‘I will protect you this time, brother!’ Doubt crumbled and poured molded into resolve and fidenbsp; Yumi knew what she had to do.

  A half star suddenly glowed brightly burning out from under her shirt. It enveloped her even as the young soldier charged blindly on with a sure thrust in his sword. They disappeared from Yori’s sight only hearing a frightening csh like ripped flesh. “Yumi!?” He struggled to get back to his feet. However, as he rose a shockwave from the light sent him back as well as anure out of the light. Coughing and biting through the pain he fought with himself to stand. He had to know who he just saw.

  Another fsh of light blew out before it faded away. Yori mao make a few steps before he looked over to find her h off the ground. Her eyes remained closed and a strange wind whipped around her pying violently with her clothes and hair. Faint echoes of light shimmered around her as remnants. Cheg on the fallen figure, he saw Philon lying on the ground with his hand bloodied and sword missing.

  Yumi slowly opened her eyes carrying with unusually serious narrowed features on her fabsp; She lifted up her right palm showing a small k of metal that suddenly shrank as though under pressure from external forces. The metal pressed until it became a small ball no more the size of an average child’s marble. “Your sword shall no longer hurt my brother,” she decred. Her iron marble floated up higher from her palm as her arm stretched out towards Philon. The ball disappeared from her possession fshing through the air spraying blood up from the impact.

  Philon screamed with his shoulder nearly shattered by his own sword. He ground his teeth together as he pressed his hand against his wound. ‘She’s to for me…but if I don’t do something…’ His still good arm reached behind him pulling out a small dagger. Determination burned in his eyes knowing what he had to do.

  A gnce from Yumi at his dagger ripped it from his hand floating away from him. Like his other on she crushed it into a ball aur back through his other shoulder. She gred at him looking for him to back down. “…stubborn…” Yumi remarked before waving her arm at him. Philon flew across the alley crashing into one of the houses. A nearby rock ripped itself free from the earth and came to rest h in her hand. The rock filled out her palm pletely. “Flee. This is your st ce,” anded Yumi with all of the lethal presence she had to break through the nguage barrier.

  It didn’t take much for Philon to uand the ce that Yumi gave him. A bitter taste built in his mouth with the thought of retreat. Both of his arms had no use and the bleeding made him feel lightheaded. He ran out of options. “You’ll regret sparing me!” Philon turned and sprinted away into the field to the pnned rendezvous point.

  Yumi exhaled with relief and dropped to the ground. All of the wind around her disappeared at the same time. She closed her eyes to catch herself and when she opehem the serious girl disappeared. “Yori! How hurt are you?” She rushed over to his side trying to look at his wounds.

  No words came from his lips stu shobsp; ‘What happeo Yumi? Was that really her?’

  “e out Demosthenes! I know you’re here!” shouted Yuki, still marg out of the vilge. When he reached the gate of Skoupa he sed the area searg for a field. The further he went the less that he saw. However, the moonlight still gave him enough sight. Meters away from him a dirt cracked arid nd cut away into his grass Field. His eyes narrowed as he prepared, reizing it as a Field. “Not using a grass Field this time?”

  A shadowed figure stepped out of the night haze closing in to Yuki. The man wore a simple bck shirt and loose pants with leather boots. However, he had a different air about him from the man that Yuki knew. “It would seem that you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m Eusebios assigo the South Gate Border Patrol for dealing with intruders such as yourself. However, for an enemy we seem to have something in on that we share.”

  Yuki gred at the man not pleased by the casual tohat he took with him. “What’s that?”

  “Demosthenes Alexander. I don’t know how you know him, but he was my teacher!” Eusebios materialized a spear to his hand dropping into an attack stanbsp; “I won’t let you tarnish his noble h your tongue!”