An explosion completely destroys the barn, sending smoke and debris for kilometers.
Shizu, Anin and Sterfen look through the window and see that destruction, with the smoke rising to the skies.
Sterfen stands up from the chair and asks:— Hey... wasn't that where Detrin was?...
Shizu stands up quickly and goes outside the inn. From afar, he sees that smoke.
Suddenly, a piece of debris flies toward him. A piece of wood almost hits him, but Anin cuts it in half at the same moment.
Shizu looks at Anin and immediately says:— We have to go see if Detrin is okay!
— Right!
After passing through a crowd of ferals that were running from that smoke, Shizu arrives at the place. Anin moves ahead and speaks while pulling her sword:— I'll check the place!
— Right! Sterfen, let's look for Detrin!
Shizu and Sterfen searched while calling his name. Shizu stops walking and calls Sterfen, who soon goes to him.
— Do you think he is here?
Sterfen looks at the debris, then raises his hands to his torso and closes his eyes. Then he conjures:— Light.
A golden aura begins to emanate from Sterfen. Shizu sees that and asks:— Huh? That's cool!
Sterfen stops his golden aura and immediately responds with a thumbs up:— Thanks! By the way, Detrin is not here. He probably escaped, since I don't feel his pure energy anywhere around here.
Shizu asks Sterfen with a cheerful face:— Oh! So you can see people's pure energy? What color is mine?
Sterfen observes Shizu for a few seconds, then responds:— It is a very strong blue, almost black, as if it were space itself.
Sterfen feels a headache and looks at the ground. And at the same moment, Anin appears saying:— I did a scan of the area and no sign of attack.
Shizu immediately brings his hand to his chin and begins to wonder:"This was an attack, but why attack Detrin?... Was this a bait?..."
Anin watches Shizu thinking, then asks:— Thought of something, Shizu?
He looks at her and Sterfen and then says:— From what happened, Detrin survived, but he is probably very injured. We should go look for him.
Shizu points in three directions and then says:— The most likely is that he went between north, northeast and east. In that direction. Whatever attacked him made him run between those directions.
— Three directions?asks Sterfen with doubt. Soon after, Shizu responds:— Yes, that's why I think we should split up and go look for him separately. I will go north, Sterfen northeast and Anin will go east.
Anin looks at Shizu worried and asks:— Are you sure? I think it's dangerous... since Shizu will be alone.
Sterfen looks at her and asks:— Dangerous? But wasn't he one of the heroes who defeated Babadar?
Shizu scratches his nose and then responds, raising his head:— It's fine, Anin. If something happens, I deal with it or call you!
She stays insecure, but soon gives in and agrees. The three walk in different directions. Anin sees Shizu entering the alleys and then walks on her path, wishing that nothing bad would happen to him.
Shizu walked through those house alleys, observing around him. Then, he feels a bad sensation. Soon after, he enters an alley and walks in a straight line, and repeats this four more times. He soon makes a decision.
"I am being followed... I walked in a perfect square 2 times and I still have the feeling of being chased."
Shizu looks at the rooftops of the houses on both sides while walking. Then he stops and sees a long glow coming from the skies, and in less than milliseconds, a devastating chain attack is launched from the skies, an attack impossible to dodge. At the last moment, when the chains would hit him, a shadow comes out of the ground and grabs Shizu, and both are thrown against a wall.
Shizu opens one eye and sees a necromantic shadow, and asks himself:— W- what are you doing here?...
A voice full of rage echoes inside Shizu's head:— Isn't it obvious, you idiot? It went to help you because you were going to die.says Phaul, furious.
Shizu immediately asks:— What do you mean?... You helped me?
Phaul gets furious and immediately responds, irritated:— Of course not, you idiot! That shadow is yours! You copied my technique and now you use it. If it were up to me, you would have died right there.
Shizu begins to stand up and looks up, and sees someone on top of a rooftop that looked like a building. The man removes the hood and reveals a face with scars on the mouth and a huge scar on the left eye, where the right eye was purple and the other gray. The man pulls his chain back with one arm and unleashes several attacks with the tip of the chain toward Shizu, increasing its size.
Shizu falls into despair and shouts:— SHADOW, PROTECT ME!
The shadow grabs Shizu and jumps over the house. The chains destroy everything in their path. The shadow lands with Shizu in its arms, like a princess. Then Shizu complains about the situation while the shadow puts him on the ground:— I didn't ask to be carried like that!
But without giving time for another reaction, the man appears behind the shadow and delivers a kick to it, sending it far away with that kick. Then the man looks at Shizu and says:— How interesting... even being so weak, you are capable of making contracts... I noticed you have an amount of pure energy well above average...
Shizu begins to tremble in fear, seeing that he had no chance in a direct fight, but even so he stays firm and looks at the man. Then he bites his lip, lets out a laugh and says:— Screw you!
Shizu makes a gesture with his hand, crossing his index fingers like an X near his lips, and shouts:— RESERVE!
A shadow comes out from behind him and goes toward the man of chains. The shadow delivers a powerful punch, but the man easily dodges to the right and kicks the chain, trapping the shadow's left arm. He lifts the shadow into the air and throws it hard onto the roof. Right after that, he raises his foot and stomps on the shadow with so much force that the entire roof collapses right there. The whole house starts to crumble.
Shizu gets up from the ground and starts running and shouts desperately for help:— ANIN! STERFEN! HE IS HERE!!
He ran with everything he had, but when he looked back, the man was standing still. He walked and teleported rapidly, as if he was moving slowly on purpose.
Shizu looks forward, and the man was already there.
Shizu quickly shouts:— RESERVE!
The shadow appears, and the man delivers a kick at Shizu. The shadow gets in the way and takes the hit. Shizu and the shadow are thrown away and crash through countless houses, destroying the walls. The shadow evaporates, and Shizu starts vomiting blood, fallen on the ground.
The man approaches Shizu and starts speaking:— People like me, world assassins...
— Running is unnecessary, because we are so fast that the speed of sound is slow. So every step is like an instant teleport.
Shizu tries to say something, but fails, choking on blood. The man of chains laughs and turns to him, speaking while walking:— Don't worry, Shizu... your death will be very well crafted and also...
— Brutal!
Voices echoed inside Shizu's head. Some screamed in fear and others in pain. They shouted loudly, calling him guilty.
Shizu suddenly wakes up and vomits. He feels intense pain all over his body and grabs onto the wall. He holds himself against it and starts walking with difficulty.
While walking, he saw the red skies, with smoke coming out from various parts of the city. He walked leaning on the walls while speaking with difficulty:— A-Anin... Sterfen... where are you...
Shizu walks.
With his hand on his stomach, he looks at a mass of smoke growing and the sounds of explosions from the other side of the houses. An orange glow rises to the sky like a beam and disappears. Soon after, an orange aura explodes like a pulse of energy, destroying the remaining glass and throwing Shizu against a wall. He twists in pain, feeling an infernal burning all over his body.
— Phaul... h-help me...
He called for Phaul, but got no response. He tries to stand up in great pain, but fails. Then he grabs a piece of wood and decides to head toward the explosion, leaning on the walls along with the piece of wood. He steps on debris and almost falls, but manages to hold himself and groans in pain. After a long path, he passes a house. When he looks ahead, a flash takes over his vision. An explosion throws debris everywhere. Shizu falls to the ground and sees the cause: Anin and Sterfen were fighting the man of chains, and he also sees King Napolix lying on the ground.
The man with the scar on his eye and rag-like clothes pulls the chain behind him and launches countless attacks toward Anin, who takes a quick breath and advances, dodging and blocking attacks in a fast and devastating way. The man pretends he would strike from below, but pulls the chain with his other arm and changes the trajectory to attack Anin from above.
— GOT YOU!!
The chains thin out and become as sharp as blades. Sterfen interferes and uses his ability:— ONE THOUSAND AND TWELVE CUTS!
He delivers attacks as fast as light, blocking all the man's strikes. He looks at the man and rushes forward. With a quick movement, Sterfen is already in front of him and tries to land a blow that would cut him in half, but the blade passes through him.
— WHAT?!
The man smiles and stomps hard on Sterfen's ankle, breaking it instantly. Sterfen loses balance with a face full of despair. Right after, the man spins the chain around his right arm and, with a devastating strike, hits Sterfen. He breaks the sound barrier with the blow and sends Sterfen flying away, destroying countless houses along the path. His sword falls to the ground. Anin doesn't waste the opening and rushes in.
— Malevolent Cut!
— NO, ANIN!
Shizu shouts. Anin turns her gaze toward Shizu for a single second. In that moment, the man lets out a laugh and delivers a fast and powerful chain attack while shouting:
— DON'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF YOUR OPPONENT!!
She looks back at him, but it was too late. The attack hits Anin directly, exploding half of her torso and head and throwing her far away toward nearby houses. Shizu goes into shock and screams:
— DAMN YOUUUU!!
— RESERVEEE!!
A necromantic shadow comes out from behind him and heads toward the man. The man dodges the punch, but at that exact moment, Shizu shouts:
— SWITCH!!
He swaps places with the shadow and tries to punch the man's face, but the man blocks it and breaks Shizu's hand. He lifts Shizu into the air and looks deep into his eyes and asks:
— Did you see what you did?.. You killed her..
Shizu looked at him with pain in his expression while saying:— No... it wasn't me... it was you...
— No, Shizu. You killed her. If you hadn't taken her attention away, she wouldn't have died like that... it's your fault...
Shizu looks at him in shock and still speaks:— No... it wasn't me... I just...
The man looks at him with disgust and throws Shizu away. He hits the ground and crashes into a wall, in pain, holding his broken hand. The man of chains approaches him, dragging the chains on the ground. Then he says:
— You know, Shizu... I really hate your kind of person. The kind that thinks everything can be solved with intelligence. Look around you. Everyone died because you are weak. You are the kind of trash I hate the most. The kind that hides behind others... I feel disgust just looking at you.
Shizu turns, still lying on the ground, and looks up at him while grabbing his leg, and says with blood in his teeth and eyes:
— You... miserable... mi...serable... MISERABLEEEE!!
The man looks down with a deadly and disgusted gaze, raises his chain into the air and slams it down on Shizu, who lets out his final scream as he was about to die:
— I WILL KILL YOU!!!
The sound of chains breaking bones echoes. A black screen takes over Shizu's mind. Soon after, he wakes up with someone calling him:
— Shizu?... Shizu?? Are you okay?
Shizu looks to the side and Anin was there beside him, sitting, alive and breathing. Sterfen looks at him and asks:
— You good, man? You suddenly stopped talking and just stared at nothing.
Shizu, looking at the table, asks himself in his mind, echoing:
"— Did I... go back in time?..."