Wild Reunion (Part 2)

Explosion occurred from within the kingdom. A massive explosion shook the ground and destroyed the main gate not far from where we were. From there, flames seemed to soar high, devouring every building. In the chaos, residents could be seen running, screaming for help.

"I'll answer after this."

I rushed there, using Z's unmatched speed.

Looking up, I noticed debris from a building falling towards a little child who had stumbled. Both of the child's parents ran towards the scene, intending to save her. But they wouldn't make it in time.

I hurried to the spot, weakening the gravity, making sure to hold the hand of the little girl so she wouldn't float upwards.

The child's parents stopped in their tracks, astonished, watching as every piece of debris hovered in place, unable to believe what they were witnessing.

I walked over, handed their child back to them, and nodded as they said, "Thank you."

Just as I was about to lower the debris, Celine and the others arrived. They looked around, unable to close their mouths, mesmerized by the surreal scene that seemed to come straight from a dream.

I clenched my right hand, crushing every debris of the buildings into tiny granules resembling sand.

"Zent, where did you get this power-"

"That's not important now. We must save them as quickly as possible and find out the reason why the protesters attacked their kingdom."

"Protesters?"

"I'll explain later. Hurry and help the people." I turned around, about to take a step, but then turned back to face them, saying, "Don't let a single one of them die."

Rayven and Rio nodded, leaped, and disappeared behind the buildings.

Now, only Celine remained standing, appearing worried as she walked closer. "Zent, are you okay?" she asked.

Ah, it seems I am approaching my limit.

I shouldn't have used too much Glory, especially not to create that gigantic wave.

"I might have gone a bit overboard using Glory," I smiled sheepishly at her.

"That wave is your doing, right?" Celine approached, touching both of my cheeks and flinched when she felt them. "You're cold, Zent!"

"I'm fine, Celine. Everything that happened here is my fault. I need to fix it before more lives are sacrificed."

Celine seemed like she wanted to argue, but she eventually let out a long sigh. "Fine, on one condition: I will accompany you. You need help, Zent, you can't do it all alone."

"But-"

"No! No 'buts'."

She came closer.

I could feel warmth flowing as her hand gently caressed my head.

"At least let me watch over you, okay?"

Who wouldn't melt upon hearing that voice?

A breath escaped me. I nodded in agreement, smiling as I saw her smile widen.

Together, we went to rescue the trapped residents inside the buildings, ordering them to leave the kingdom immediately. I had informed Sky to keep the path from the main gate safe from fire and debris.

Since Sky is a robot, I made sure to upgrade it to assist us in times of difficulty. Besides, it is my deadly weapon.

"Why are you talking to your wristband?"

"This is a watch, Celine. A watch, but one that also happens to have long-range communication functions-"

I quickly kicked away a large sheet of metal that almost sliced through her body.

Celine turned back, observing the sheet now embedded in the building's wall, then looked at me. "Hey, look at you. What has really happened in the past three months? You seem like a different person."

"Oh, you know, just taking jobs from others and becoming a legendary thief."

Her eyes widened upon hearing that. But I kept running, knowing that I had revealed something that should have been a lifelong secret.

"What do you mean, legendary thief!?" Celine shouted, chasing after me.

We ran past the debris of buildings, dodging and sliding beneath them.

Celine looked around, wondering where everyone had gone. "Don't you find it strange, Zent? There's no one here."

"Isn't that a good thing? It's much better for them not to be inside the kingdom."

But what she said wasn't wrong either. There should still be people around here; they couldn't have vanished just like that.

Then we stopped as a powerful tremor shook the ground like a massive earthquake. Celine lost her balance and fell, holding onto me, and our eyes met.

In those few seconds, I felt my emotions surge, wanting to burst out and embrace her tightly.

However, a thunderous voice interrupted.

We turned to look, seeing a pair of glowing purple eyes from within the now-ruined palace, concealed by thick dust.

Suddenly, a gust of mana spread rapidly. It was a familiar mana, one that made my heart ache with pain to the point where I felt like tearing my chest open.

Celine noticed it too, she came closer and provided warmth through the comforting grip of her hand.

From those pair of eyes, I could feel her love.

Our brows furrowed as we looked back, finding a colossal black-colored Mech starting to move, firing cannons from its arms. The explosions echoed, originating far from our current location.

Then, every magic rune in purple on the outer side of the Mech's arms began to glow brightly, accompanied by a buzzing sound. From the direction of the explosions, flickers of bluish light floated towards it, giving the Mech additional power, allowing it to fly and land on the other side of the kingdom.

"That Mech is taking the souls of the residents, using them to enhance its power," I explained to Celine, who appeared so angry that it made me a little worried for the safety of the pilot inside.

"The Heretics," she said, full of hatred.

Celine drew her sword, infusing it with mana until it extended high above in a bright golden hue.

I had to step back a few paces just to see the tip of her sword.

"Are you ready, Zent?"

I conjured my Scythe, twirling it momentarily before gripping it firmly and turning to Celine. "With you, I'm always ready, Celine."

She rolled her eyes, suppressing a smile from widening further.

She leaped forward, onto a building without waiting for me. Which I knew to hide her red cheeks, causing me to chuckle softly before following her.

Ahead of us, the Mech was once again draining the souls of the residents. Dark auras began to form around it, shrouding its body. Even from a considerable distance, we could feel the immense dark power, nearly rivaling Sarah's strength.

The Mech rotated, aiming its cannons and preparing to fire.

However, from above, a massive sonic boom formed. Strong winds were generated, almost knocking us backward.

From the sky, something streaked at high speed, slamming into the Mech, sending it crashing into the ground.

A powerful shockwave occurred, shaking the entire kingdom.

But it didn't end there; now the Mech had been thrown far back, and I quickly hooked my Scythe onto its cannon and wrapped my arm around Celine's waist. We were carried by the Mech to the other side of the kingdom, landing on top of a tall building, witnessing the Mech slammed helplessly not far ahead.

Once again, the figure appeared above it, stepping on the Mech as if it were a toy, not a machine of destruction.

"I knew it. Who else but Sarah could possess such power?"

Celine was surprised to hear that, turning to me with a puzzled expression. "So, Sarah has been with you all this time?"

I nodded softly. "Yes. Where else do you think Sarah would be?"

"I don't know, back with the Heretics?"

"I won't let them lay a finger on her,"

Celine fold her arms and I could feel her suspicious gaze piercing my heart. Pretending not to notice, I kept looking ahead, observing Sarah who was still standing there.

Wait, if Sarah is there, what about the other members of Scattered Brains?

.

.

.

"What are we going to do here?" Armon asked, confused.

"We're just ordinary humans. There's no way we can join them," Heather replied.

William, who had been silent since the beginning, finally stood up and turned to the other members of Scattered Brains, who looked disheartened after Zent's departure. "Are we just going to stand here? Waiting for Zent to give us something?"

"What do you think we can do without his power?" Armon replied irritably.

"Anything! We can do anything!" William exclaimed passionately. "Have you forgotten what Zent said? We are Scattered Brains! We are the ones who dare to challenge death and do crazy things! What's crazier than jumping into a battlefield where you know you'll die?"

Their eyes instantly filled with hopeful light, gleaming as they discovered a new purpose in life. A purpose they never expected, yet so simple.

"William is right. We just need to challenge death! That's why Scattered Brains was formed! This way, Zent will also see that we are not people who will give up just because we don't have powers," Heather replied cheerfully.

"Will, you know this is insane, right?"

William turned to his friend, giving him a wide grin. "So what?"

Armon nodded, knowing he wouldn't be able to escape the madness they were about to embark on. "You're right. So what.. WE'RE GOING CRAZY, MY FRIEND!"

"OF COURSE!!"

And finally, the four of them cheered happily, rushing into the car driven by William.

Meanwhile, Sheila could only shake her head, aware that her life now depended on them.

"LET'S BRING A SURPRISE!!"

"AAAAAA!!"

"I'm really going to die with them," she said weakly.