The massive Arena, which moments before had roared with the fervor of a thousand fans, fell into an unnatural, heavy silence. The thousands of onlookers were frozen, their faces pale as they tried to process the impossible event that had just occurred: the sudden, public humiliation and theft of the imperial regime.
Emperor Arthur Delacronix slowly pushed himself off the stone floor, dusting the white trousers of his immaculate uniform. His immortality had already erased the severe trauma of Valerus's counter-attack, but the shame of the defeat burned hotter than any magic.
Damn it! Arthur thought to himself, his diamond-like eyes blazing with silent fury. The Aureblade. Like the legendary black blade—the Oathkeeper's Shadows—I had desired the golden blade all to myself. With these two swords, I believed no one could challenge the Aethelgard empire. I believed no one could stop me. He had even mused about killing the tournament winner to secure the Aureblade. And now, not only has the Aureblade fallen into the hands of the Thorenzians, but the Oathkeeper's Shadows as well.
Every eye in the arena was fixed on Arthur and his wife, waiting for the Imperial reaction.
"So, Babe, what are we going to do?" Lysandra asked, rising to stand beside him. Though her physical injuries were already gone, her composure was ragged.
"What? You ask," Arthur said, his voice low and dangerous, carrying the weight of ancient power. "Well, I'm going after them."
Lysandra smiled—a cold, calculated promise. "I'm coming too."
The guards, recovering from their shock, stood and watched in awe. "Now, those guys will know why you shouldn't make the Delacronix clan angry," one guard whispered to his companion.
With a unified surge of innate power, Arthur and Lysandra suddenly took off, their forms shooting into the sky like twin bullets, flying away toward the northern city limits, already hot on the trail of Valerus's group.
Meanwhile, the Thorenzian allies were in full flight aboard a flying bus, a repurposed civilian transport now soaring through the sky thanks to the constant, powerful surge of Flame Hera channeled by members of the El Max clan.
"I thought you guys went to another province," Valerus said, turning from the front window, the Aureblade resting against the seat next to him. "Why were you in Cinder?"
"We came to watch the tournament," Athena explained, wiping a smudge of dirt from her cheek. "We figured if the event was this important to the Aethelgardians, we could probably gather intelligence while the entire Royal Guard was distracted."
"What about you, Monday?" Valerus asked, turning to face the Vylonian Prince, who was staring sullenly out the window.
"It's no business of yours," Monday snapped, the frustration of his failed solo attempt still stinging.
"What?" Valerus snapped back, rising slightly from his seat, ready to challenge the Prince.
At that moment, a massive boom rocked the bus, shaking everyone violently.
"What was that?" Athena demanded, grabbing the nearest railing.
Everyone looked back. Behold, flying at incredible speed, Arthur and Lysandra were closing in, hot on their heels.
"What? How did they catch up so soon? That was fast," Valerus exclaimed, his goldeneyes narrowing.
"How are they flying?" Athena questioned, utterly baffled by the speed of the immortal rulers.
Valerus quickly moved toward the roof hatch. He went out of the bus and stood firmly on top as the transport continued its rapid, fiery flight.
Arthur and Lysandra combined their efforts, unleashing a powerful, swirling wind cyclone toward the bus. Because it was an attack made of pure wind energy, Valerus instinctively used his own developing Wind Hera to redirect and send the cyclone hurtling back toward the Emperor and Queen. They both dodged the attack easily, but their advance was momentarily halted.
Valerus pressed the advantage, swiftly channeling and unleashing a concentrated blast of Water Hera. The cold, sharp water struck Lysandra mid-flight. Just as it hit, Athena came to join him on the top of the bus, and she froze Lysandra mid-air using a secondary burst of her own concentrated ice magic derived from the water Valerus supplied.
"When did you learn Water Hera?" Athena asked, impressed by his sudden display of elemental versatility.
"When I was teaching the El Max clan to wield Hera in the dungeon," Valerus replied, the effort making him breathe hard.
"That leaves Lightning Hera as the only Hera type you haven't mastered, right?" Athena observed.
"Yeah," Valerus confirmed, his attention fixed on Arthur, who was now forced to fight alone.
Just then, Arthur stopped his pursuit. His immortal eyes fixed on the bus, and he created a series of glowing magical circles numbering from one to twenty, surrounding the speeding bus in a dangerous circumference.
"What's that?" Athena asked, dread creeping into her voice.
"I don't know. But whatever it is," Valerus said, drawing the Aureblade into a ready stance, his new goldeneyes glowing fiercely, "it's bound to be bad news."
Immediately, each of the twenty circles unleashed a brutal barrage of fireballs at the bus. Valerus raised the Aureblade into the sky, and it instantly absorbed all the fireballs quickly and cleanly. Then, with a mighty swing, Valerus slashed the air, unleashing all the stored fire attacks back at Arthur. Arthur dodged the massive returned assault easily.
At that moment, Arthur's eyes changed entirely. His reddish, diamond-like gaze sparkling, and his innate power—his Roogan—was activated. He formed a complex, ancient hand sign and began to recite a powerful incantation:
"Oh blazing prison, lock up my enemies. Let them be like cornered rats before you!" Arthur's voice boomed over the wind.
A massive prison of pure, intensely hot flames rose instantly from below and circled the bus, locking the flying vehicle in a searing cage.
"What? The Aureblade isn't absorbing the flames!" Valerus exclaimed, clicking his tongue in sudden frustration. The flames were magical, not elemental, and the Aureblade was useless against them.
"What are we going to do now?" Athena shouted, desperation evident in her voice.
Meanwhile, inside the bus, the situation was desperate.
"We're trapped. What do we do?" Luisa said, her voice strained, her mind racing to find a route of escape.
"Guys," a voice suddenly called out, calm and steady amidst the panic. "Leave this to us."
Everyone's attention turned to a corner where the group of people Valerus had liberated were seated. Their eyes were a striking reddish hue, each one decorated with ten unique white dots.
"What can you guys do about this situation, anyways?" Monday demanded, ever skeptical of those who didn't fight with brute force or familiar magic.
"Don't underestimate the might of the El Max clan, lad," Zeddicus El Max said, rising slowly. The wisdom of centuries seemed to rest on his shoulders.
"Pardon my son, sir," Luisa interjected, stepping forward respectfully. "But who are you guys? Those eyes... I haven't seen them before."
Zeddicus gave a small, knowing smile. "We are the El Max Clan. My name is Zeddicus El Max, and I am the Elder of the clan. Our eyes hold a powerful ability that is unique to the El Max lineage throughout all of Thorenzia."
"What power is that?" Luisa asked, sensing this was their only chance.
"Watch," Zeddicus simply instructed.
At his command, five select members of the clan stood up and positioned themselves in a straight line, their backs to the wall, ready to unleash their unique ability.
Outside the bus, the flame prison continued to close in, threatening to melt the metal of the bus. Valerus and Athena continued their futile effort to fight back the walls of fire, but the magical inferno showed no sign of stopping.
Lysandra, her own immortality having fully healed the wound inflicted by the Water Hera, joined her husband, hovering outside the scorching magical barrier.
"Where are they?" Lysandra asked, annoyed she couldn't see the prisoners clearly.
"Over there," Arthur replied, pointing to the blinding prison of fire.
"Oh, this spell," Lysandra mused, recognizing the signature of his powerful Roogan incantations. "It's only a matter of time before they end up dead. But what about the swords?"
"Don't worry about it," Arthur said, his tone utterly confident. "The swords are safe. They will remain in this cage until the flames consume their flesh, and then we simply collect the blades."
Back in the bus, the five selected members of the El Max clan formed a complex, synchronized hand sign. Their white-dotted, reddish eyes began to glow with intense, concentrated power. In unison, they recited a single, short incantation:
"Take us to a realm where no man has access to, Dozgan!"
Suddenly, a blinding bright white light erupted inside the flame prison. The light swelled violently, expanding until it hit the physical boundaries of Arthur's Roogan spell. With a single, devastating pulse, the immense power of the light shattered the flame prison to pieces, leaving Arthur and his wife stunned and bewildered in the empty air.
The white light began to shrink rapidly, contracting until it vanished entirely.
There was no sign of the bus, nor the people who had been inside, nor the Aureblade, nor the Oathkeeper's Shadows. They had all vanished without a trace, leaving only residual smoke in their wake.
"What on earth just happened? Where are they?!" Arthur questioned, the control he prided himself on dissolving into burning, impotent rage.
"Babe, let's go home," Lysandra said, her voice tight with forced calm. She knew the public display of chasing ghosts would only worsen their image.
"Damn it!!!" Arthur screamed in absolute frustration, the sound echoing across the empty arena grounds.
Meanwhile, far outside the nation of Aethelgard, in the neutral territories bordering the eastern waste, the encampment of Chronohelix bustled with activity. The people of the nomadic nation were involved in their daily routines.
Suddenly, with a shimmer of residual white light and a low thump, the flying bus materialized directly in front of the camp.
The people of Chronohelix immediately ceased their activities and approached the bus with caution, drawing weapons and looking for threats.
Then, the door opened, and the figures inside began to walk out one by one: Valerus, Athena, Luisa, Monday, and the entire El Max clan.
As they realized their successful escape and the location of their safety, the entire group erupted into a frenzy of jubilation, a cacophony of celebratory shouts and relieved laughter. They had reclaimed the Aureblade, secured a powerful new alliance, and defied the immortal rulers of the Aethelgard empire.