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~~~(POV: Hailey Adamo)~~~
~~~(Location: The City Of Jaerey, The Kingdom Of Laasir, The Islands Of Haestar)~~~
~~~(Time: 7:50 PM)~~~
My little brother stands across from me with a confident grin on his face. The message I got from Cera is a clever little trick. On his part, that is. A prank at a time like this is rather cruel on his end. He told me he was giving Marcus bad information.
Giving me an advantage. But from the look on Marcus, it's clearly seen something is different. I don't know what Cera is telling him, but I know Marcus is getting duped.
The counter is slowly going down from 30 seconds, and as the numbers crawl. I feel a weight slowly press on my shoulders. I'm nervous about fighting my little brother. Marcus that is. Cera is someone I wouldn't mind beating and embarrassing.
Marcus and I don't have the same relationship Cera, and I have. I actually have a normal sibling relationship with Marcus. With Cera, it's always a fight and always a game. In fact... Knowing him... He's pulling something on the both of us...
He is. That's what Cera would do. Now, I'm in the middle of a dilemma. Should I tell Marcus we're being fooled, or should I use that to my advantage...
No reason for me not to use that to my advantage. I'll let Cera fool Marcus is the prank he's trying to pull on both of us.
"I hope you're ready for this, sis. Cause I'm not holding back as I have been."
A smile appears on my face as the timer is almost at zero. We're in the final 5 seconds now, and I slowly draw my weapon. The timer reaches zero, and the match starts. The world slows down as it does, and I start moving at full speed right off the bat.
Before I can get too far, Marcus is already using a spell to change the environment. I knew he had Spells and Skills that are different from just fire based. But I didn't think he'd have one or several that could slow me down.
Marcus sends a wave of fire in my direction as my speed is now debuffed. I'm still fast enough to get out of this way. But that attack wasn't meant to kill me; it was meant to test my speed. And now he knows I'm still fast enough to dodge attacks.
He starts to use another Spell as I land on the ground, but I close the distance between us and use one of my own skills.
"Radiant Space."
He's not the only one that has abilities that change the way a fight could go. As the words leave my mouth, the entire area is enveloped in light. As the light disappears, it looks like we're in space. With no one around.
Marcus takes a moment to look around, which proves to be a mistake. I dart forward and unleash enough damage to take out 70 percent of his health.
That proves to make him angry. He spreads out his arms and takes a breath. I know an attack is coming and create some distance between the two of us.
"Firestorm!!"
All I can describe it as is getting it by a hurricane made of fire. 80 percent of my health is taken away, and he burns away the change I made. As I stand up and look at my brother. I can see a smirk. A smirk knowing something.
I think he's put together that Cera was messing with us. Or trying to. I know my brother, but Marcus still hasn't experienced Cera and his version of pranks.
"You know, you could've told me."
He takes some balance, gathering, breaths as he speaks. From that statement, he's definitely onto Cera. I take a stance, ready for battle, and he starts up another spell. Not wanting to give him any time, I pull out one of my strongest trump cards.
"Temporal Teleport."
I disappear in a blink of light, and I appear behind him. As I do, I throw the tip of my blade forward and pierce it through his back. Dealing the last 30 percent of damage I need to win this fight. As I do, the crowd goes absolutely wild.
People are screaming about their winnings and losses from how this fight went. My eyes are on Marcus as he stares up at the sky. But there isn't a look of sadness or defeat on him, only a fun determination.
"That was the first time you fell for a prank by Cera. It won't be the last."
His eyes turn to me as I hold out my hand. It takes a moment, but he smiles and grabs it. I help him up and dust him off. Before we can leave the Arena floor. General Daenal Roane suddenly appears a little off to our right.
He makes his way over and gives out his hand to me. I take it and shake his hand. He does the same for Marcus. It's hard to read the man's expression, but there is amusement in it.
"What was an excellent fight, you two. I'm looking forward to working with the both of you in The Ruins Of Tasdir. Hailey, since you're the winner. You'll be the first to step into The Ruins of Tasdir. You can take up to 6 people with you. But it's not required."
That's awesome; it'll give us time to reach the place Cera told us about. No one will follow us or go there. This is the best thing that could've happened.
"You'll have a 10-minute head start, and I suggest you use it wisely. The Ruins Of Tasdir are massive and haven't been fully explored."
Marcus and I leave the Arena floor as General Daenal Roane finishes making his ending speech. Kelly and Rianna are the first to greet us at the bottom tunnels.
This win was thanks to Cera in part. If I hadn't caught onto the prank he was pulling, Marcus and I would still be fighting out there. Getting nowhere and nothing done.
I'll have a chat with my brother the next time I have some time to send a message. For now, we must prepare for The Ruins Of Tasdir.
~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~
~~~(Location: The Underground City Of Maero, Desert, The Continent Of Alforza)~~~
~~~(Time: 8:07 AM)~~~
The messages I'm getting from Marcus aren't too kind at the moment, but that's not my priority for the time being. Right now, I'm standing across from the council Sally, and I talked to before we went to Jaerey to help Hailey and Marcus.
This is the meeting Sally, and I were waiting for. It's come a lot faster than we thought it would, and I think that's because everyone agrees with the way they'll take this war. It's a noble cause to stop The Regaliance Kingdom.
But there are flaws in every plan.
"The device to draw Rahab into the capital city of The Regaliance Kingdom is complete, and all we need to do is smuggle it in now."
Their commitment to using Rahab will only end in disaster. The Last Leviathan isn't someone to trifle with. The mighty creature can and will kill. Nothing is stopping that.
Everyone's eyes shift toward me and are waiting for me to speak. There isn't much for me to say in the end, but I suppose they're looking for some disapproval with the plan. I don't know why they're doing so, but I guess I can give them what they want.
"You'll regret using Rahab, but I can't stop you. Sally and I will head for The Regaliance Kingdom and prepare for the war. But as I said earlier, we're not doing the heavy lifting. I'm not fighting your war for you."
Another war is about to start, and I'll be a part of it. Makes me wonder if I'm the reason it's starting in the first place.
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A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.
[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.240][Tier-4]
[Exp: 45/100%]
[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]
[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]
[Mana aura control: 6/100%]
[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]
[Stat Points: 470] [Armor rating: 500]
[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Camping gear] [Fishing poles 2x] [Festival Garbs 2x] [4x EXP Boosts] [Princess Saliandra's Panties (Black Lace)] [Desert Warrior Nomad Set (Rare)]
[Passive Perks]
[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]
[Active Skills]
[Heaven's light Lvl.74 325/7400] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.74 225/7400] [Slash Lvl.92 4600/21000] [Parry Lvl.68 85/6800] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controlled Fun] [Angelic Teleportation (Divine)]