Heroes of Elemental System

”Is there any way to cure a spectrum? ” Igneous asked.

Zenda lowered his head.

”No, ” he answered in a pained tone, ”once you become a spectrum, there is no turning back. ”

”Why? ” Igneouss voice had a suppressed rage, ”why do you say that I have to destroy the human cities? ”

Zenda got down from his chair and walked slowly to a bookcase in front of his desk. He grabbed a thick leather-bound tome and handed it to Igneous.

The boy opened it, but found no letters. Well, not the letters that he knew, it was a written language that he had never seen.

”I don understand this language, ” the boy said.

”Look at the images, ” the old man requested.

Igneous flipped through the pages and saw an illustration of a man, kneeling before a giant beast. That beast was very much like the lion of fire, the aeon that had assigned him his mission.

”This is knowledge that humans have forgotten, ” Zenda explained, ”only we demons hold this knowledge. Well, at least in the libraries that are still standing. Many have been destroyed. ”

The old man sat back in his chair.

Igneous turned another page and saw what he guessed was another aeon, a bird? No, it was a green feathered dragon.

”The divine spark is the source of all magic, ” Zenda continued, ”from it were born the eons, divine beings with elemental powers and the power to create planets and life. The first humans, created by the eons, could use magic consciously and founded the magic-based civilization of Lemuria. But something happened that led humans to abandon magic and the eons. ”

”And whats wrong with humans abandoning magic and eons? ” Igneous asked. It was a fair question. Those eons must have been cruel and arrogant gods. People should be free to follow whoever they want.

”Did you see the black mist? ” Zenda replied.

”Yes… ”

”That is the punishment for humans. They are to blame for the mist. ”

”Then, we the marked ones… we are the ones who execute the punishment of the gods? ”

”That is correct. ”

Igneous clenched his fists.

”That doesn sound… fair. ”

”Boy, do you think its fair that the entire planet has to suffer for the disobedience of humans? ”

”What? ”

”The entire planet is covered with mist. The Rakna, the vital energy of the planet no longer flows as before. Soon everything will perish, even plants and animals. There will be no life left unless you fulfill the mission of the eons. ”

Planet… mist… punishment, gods…. None of that mattered to Igneous. He just wanted to find Eider.

”I… I just want to find my brother. ”

”Oh boy, when you fulfill the mission of the gods, all your wishes will come true. ”

My wishes…

He thought of Breeze and Eider. All together. Happy again.

When Igneous left Zendas house, he found that Not-Breeze was walking toward the edge of town. She carried a full bag on her back. They all looked at her with curious eyes.

”Hey, Breeze! ” She called.

”Don call me that, ” she retorted bitterly.

”If only you would tell me your name… ”

She did not answer.

”Where are you going? ” Igneous asked.

”Im going to the next human city, ” she answered, ”Kamsara, remember? ”

”Oh yeah, right… Then Ill go with you too. ”

She did not say anything.

That was the deal for both of them. Escort each other to the next human city. After all, Eider wasn in that town of demons, so Igneous had to keep looking elsewhere.

”Let me say goodbye to everyone, ” Igneous One asked the girl, ”do you have food yet? ”

”Enough for the trip. ”

He nodded.

Igneous said goodbye to Zenda, Yao and the children. He thanked for their kindness. He did it from the bottom of his heart.

”You
e leaving now? ” The little girl asked in a sad tone.

”Yes, ” answered Igneous crestfallen, ”its just… Im looking for my brother; you know? ”

”But… Can you look for him here? ”

”I don think it works like that, little one. I have to go looking for him far away. ”

The girl nodded, clearly disappointed.

Igneouss heart crumpled. He leaned down and looked the girl in her eyes.

”I promise to play with you again, ” he stated.

Her eyes lit up and he smiled. He ruffled her hair and reached for Not-Breeze. She seemed indifferent.

”You grew attached to those children, ” she said.

”And who wouldn ? ”

She did not answer.

Kamsara, according to the System, the nearest shrine was there. That would be the first big step in his mission. He looked behind him, and saw the children waving their hands. He smiled.

The ground shook. Igneous and the girl stopped dead, they were pale. They looked at their faces, scared. That feeling… they already knew it…

Huge metal spheres rolled between and over some houses in the town. The demons screamed and ran.

”Sentinels…, ” Igneous mused.

Metallic treads. They found themselves surrounded by those round machines. Not-Breeze unsheathed her sword and they both fell into combat stances.

”This will be the revenge of my babies! ” A shrill female voice.

Igneous looked up and saw that woman, with blue hair, two long pigtails on both sides and tight leather clothing. And that neckline…

”You again? ” The boy roared, ”Didn you get enough? ”

”That humiliation is not going to stay like this! ” the woman replied. She then looked from one side to the other, ”Now do you fraternize with demons? Typical of you marked ones. ”

”Don ! ” Not-Breeze growled, ”I am not a marked one! Don compare me to this one! ”

”Te-hee, ” the blue-haired woman scoffed, ”it doesn matter if you
e not. You
e accompanying him, besides, you
e with these demons, aren you? So you
e just as guilty as a branded creep. ”

The unknown girl gritted her teeth and lowered her head.

The woman raised her arm, on which she had that gauntlet.

”Attack! ”

A sentinel fired a beam from his crystal eye. Boom! A house exploded into hundreds of pieces.

”What are you doing! ” Igneous yelled, eyes wide, horrified.

Boom! Boom! House after house exploded in fire and smoke. Boom! Boom! Demons ran everywhere, screaming in fear.

Igneous wanted to throw himself to protect the children, but… Boom! Lightning struck the boy. He went flying against the wall of a house.

”The children…, ” he muttered under his breath.

Igneous breathed calmly when he saw that the boys respective parents took them in their hands and fled.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Everything was burning around Igneous and the girl. The glow of the flames gave a reddish and orange hue to the town.

The boy took the Treasure. He gazed it.

”Fire… ”

Then he glared at the blue-haired woman.

”Transformation! ”

A red glow and… Transformed Igneous blasted at the sentinels. Fist after fist, each one of those machines went down.

The woman raised her gauntlet. One sentinel joined another, then another, and so on… until Igneous was surrounded by three of those metal centipedes. And still dozens of sentinels.

”Damn… ”

”Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ” the blue-haired woman sneered loudly.

Fush! A blast of metal threw Igneous to the ground. Fush! Another blast.

Boom! A metal centipede fired a bolt of energy and the boy was reduced to the ground.

”Ha, ha, ha, ha. ”

”Hey, System, ” the boy said, ”you don have one of those tricks up your sleeve, do you? ”

”Sure, but if I use it, Ill spend all my stamina. ”

”And I will lose the transformation. ”

Three metal centipedes in front of him. And he just had one chance. One and he would lose his transformation.

”What do you plan to do, marked one? ” The blue-haired woman asked, left over.

”Defeat you! ”

”Ha, ha, ha, ha, don make me laugh. ”

Igneous looked at Not-Breeze, she was paralyzed. There was nothing she could do. Not even he with all that power had much to do.

My elemental skill could barely beat a single one of those centipedes, the boy thought.

He had no other choice. He activated his second elemental skill, threw himself at the centipedes, engulfed in blazing fire, and…Crash! He shattered one of those gigantic metal beasts, then… CRAAAASH! He smashed the second one and when he went against the third… Poof!

Igneous fell to the ground, without armor, without powers.

”No, no, no, ” the boy lamented, ”Just one more! ” He yelled at the Treasure.

Sentinels surrounded him. Dozens of them.

”System, transformation! ” He screamed.

”Stop fooling around! Transformation! ”

The sentinels moved closer.

”Transformation! ”

The sentinels moved even closer.

”TRANSFORMATION! ”

Damn… That was the end.

”Ha, ha, ha, ha, ” the woman sneered, ”I knew you could only execute such a powerful attack once, ha, ha, ha, ha. ”

A human figure, clad in armor, leaped into the air and plunged his spear into the glass eye of one of the sentinels.

It was Yao.

”We shall not give up! ” the soldier yelled.

”Yao! ” Igneous was very happy to see him.

The machine sparked.

Other soldiers charged at the sentinels. Spear after spear was plunged into the glass eyes. Although the machines sparked and wobbled, they continued to operate as if nothing had happened.

One of them hit a soldier with such force that he was sent flying into a house. The sound of bones cracking was very loud.

The man fell limp.

”Do not give up! ” Yao yelled.

The soldiers did what they could, but… a sentinel fired a bolt of lightning that pierced Yaos stomach, didn matter that the man had armor.

”Yao! ” Igneous screeched.

The soldier fell to his knees, looked at Igneous, then collapsed face down, dead.

”Noooo! ”

The other sentinels fired lightning bolts that finished off the soldiers one by one. None were left standing.

”Damn it…, ” Igneous slurred, frustrated, helpless, full of rage.

”Ha, ha, ha, ha, ” the woman scoffed, ”ridiculous. Did they really think they could beat my babies? ”

I want to wipe that disgusting smile off her face.

The sound of a stick against the ground.

That was…

”Zenda? ” Igneous said.

The old man walked slowly and stopped in front of one of those round machines. He hit her with his cane.

”Zenda, don ! ” The boy yelled at him, ”What are you doing? ”

”I am fighting for my people! ” Zenda responded without stopping hitting the machine, ”Go away! Go away! ”

”Ha, ha, ha, what a sweet grandpa, ” the blue-haired woman scoffed, ”I would feel sorry if he wasn a disgusting demon. ”

The glass eye gleamed. The machine trembled, as if preparing to fire.

”Zendaaa, ” Igneous lunged to push the old man aside.

Fush! The beam went against them. It almost hit them.

”What are you doing, old man? ” The boy demanded.

Zenda lowered his head.

”I couldn stay with my arms crossed. ”

That… was quite laudable.

Igneous stood up, looked at one of those machines and clenched his fist.

”I don care that I don have powers, ” he said, ”I won give up either! ”

The boy slammed his fist into the glass eye. He didn even scratch it.

”Ha, ha, ha, ha, ” the woman scoffed, ”ridiculous! You will die! ”

The glass eye of that round machine shone. Ready to shoot. Igneous closed his eyes and prepared to receive death.

Eider, Breeze… see you soon.

”Transformation! ” a voice yelled.

Igneous opened his eyes. A green glow. He gasped when he saw Not-Breeze clad in green armor.