65 The Workalin
Hundreds of meters from where Howard had fought the magicians, there happened to be a small cave that led deep down into the earth.
Inside of it, a blue lake of Coagulated Ki caused the space to shimmer with a majestic light. On every wall, blue and white flashes cascaded back and fourth, causing the space to look like a glowing wonderland. Walking towards the lake, Howard felt his body starting to collapse.
'Ugh, I guess Dream Ki is pretty good at masking wounds,' Howard collapsed onto his knees, clenching the dirt as his heart raced faster and faster.
During the fight against the magicians, he had nearly died before Yindred's power soared inside of him. It felt like he could climb a huge mountain with a single leak. However, deep down inside, the entire time he fought, he could feel a terrifying force spreading through his body.
Magician's in the Aresoul Royal Brigade had spent years storing up Ki in order to take down Horned Nation, and every attack they unleashed in the earlier battle had caused Howard to feel desperate and powerless. The first attack, if not for the Channeling Doors, he probably would've been devoured in that light and disappeared into embers of smoke.
He looked down at his hands, seeing the beautiful pond in front of him before he began to crawl forward. Every step, he could hear something inside of him break. Every forceful movement, felt like he expanded the last bit of his will.
'I-I'll be fine. I just need a sip of water,' Howard smiled, feeling the world around him start to blur. His hands, which had once been clear in his vision, now could barely be identified in the midst of swirling gray. Finally, Howard made it to the large pool of Coagulated Ki, touching his hand against it as he psased out into the darkness!
Boom!
A large explosion shook the cavern.
Up in the surface, Respell looked up at a huge six horned king lizard that had appeared out of the shadows. Holding out his arms, Respell used 50% of his power to attack the S ranked creature with all his might!
Ten doorways opened around him, spinning in the air and causing Ki to rapidly shoot forward at Authoritarian charging at him. He felt hopeless, firing off months of the Ki he gathered in an attempt to scare the massive form away.
The Authoritarian had to be at least 10 meters tall, and possessed such a powerful dominion that with every one of its movements Respell felt his heart scream in terror. Authoritarians in the S rank had control of a skill called Ki Dominion, which collected the external energy in the air. Though not useful against other Authoritarians' in the S rank, for someone like a Channelor, this would spell almost certain death.
Though this didn't affect Magician's nearly as much, Respell still had no choice but to unleash all of his power as three vortexes formed around the giant lizard like black fiend. Watching his months of work shoot forward, Repspell gulped, praying that the attack would swallow the beast whole!
His attack seemed to turn into two thousand snakes of white light full of Ki that swerved towards the beast. In response, the large Six Horned King Lizard roared, unleashing three pillars of black flames!
Boom!
The two attacks hit in the sky before the Six Horned King Lizard's roar suddenly disappeared. The massive attack from Respell sent it flying into a mountain, giving him a small chance to breathe.
Looking over at the Brigade, gathering around him, Respell felt like he'd lost everything.
"We'll come back in a week. It should take them at least that long to make a path." Respell grabbed at his side, feeling a laceration from the powerful Authoritarian Ki from the Six Horned King Lizard. "That kid. Do any of you know anything about him?"
"The-the Exland Empire reported some brat that seemed to be able to harness the power of the Furnace at the surface. Do-do you think it could be him?"
"Of course, of course that's him!" Respell coughed, falling to his knees. "Damn it! How could our plan fail! I thought of every scenario. I had you all in the perfect position! Did I get greedy again? What happened?"
"I think-I think that is that kids blood," One member of the Brigade named Erspeed said, picking a small drop of it off the floor on his white glove.
The air had started to clear in the strange wasteland, and the Six Horned King Lizard could be heard stirring to its feet. "He-he might not have made it very far. Should we search for him?"
"Erspeed, Jarrin," Go see if you can find him. Every one else! Back to camp!" Respell clutched his anger in his fist and took a deep breath. He wouldn't forget today, he told himself, seeing Howard in his head getting crushed by his student.
In a few weeks, he promised himself to send a letter to Horned Nation, asking Annibel for a friendly competition to inspire the next generation. Luckily, Respell's top student could already crush him into the dust.
"Hmph, give it three weeks, and I'll have your head," Respell stepped off on the floor, disappearing into the distance. A few seconds later, a large Authoritarian appeared, roaring so loud that even the sky seemed to tremble.
###
"I'm sure Howard's fine." Una brushed back Monica's hair, and pointed at Cantron City. "Zack is who we need to worry about. Stop being such a girl."
"I-I'm allowed to be worried! He's like a girl magnet! I bet he's sleeping with a girl right now!" Monica pouted, still remembering Howard lying on the bed with Jenny. He'd seemed to not be able to distinguish the difference between his girlfriend and his childhood friend!
When he let Jenny sleep on Howard, he'd started brushing her hair in his sleep! What-what if he started kissing her in her sleep. Or… or what if she started kissing him and… This was pissing her off!
"Hmph, when I get back to Howard, we're going on a vacation." Monica saw a zombie rushing towards her that soon lost its head to an ice spear. "I-I still owe him for saving Zack. You really think he's there."
"I'm sure," Una said, patting Monica on the back. "The man who promised to meet us here is late, though. What do you think happened?"
Una and Monica had used the symbols Howard taught them to great effect. To get into Cantron City, you had to pass two special doorways before gaining entry. At the first doorway, they'd met a Workalin.
It was a being with large, dark eyes and three tails that it used like a third hand. With it's furry brown skin, it stood at only 1.2 meters tall, but had an intelligence that was hard to forget. It seemed to be able to recall all the symbols of all of Cantron City before it took them to a single doorway out of a thousands.
Right now, they waited at that doorway, seeing the mark they'd drawn on the sand scribbled against the wooden frame.
"Well, we could just knock it down," Monica said, gently knocking on the door. "Hey! Are you going to open the door! Hurry up!"
"Don't scream, Monica," Una brushed back her hair. "I miss Zack too, but we could die if we piss off the Workalin." Una looked up at the door, and sighed before a furious scream almost escaped her lips. "However, what the hell? Has it been more than an hour."
"You-you may come in Horned," The doorway gently opened. "You must be here for Zack." A man in a black cape opened the door, hovering over them as a doorway opened behind him. "We are too. The Workalin have decided the highest bidder wins."
###
Back at the bus, Barabin waited nervously for Howard.
After twenty minutes, he finally couldn't wait any longer. For the last twenty minutes, it had been perfectly silent in the distance. Not a single sound seemed to escape, and the more he thought about it, the more it seemed that someone had blocked out the frequencies in the air.
'It could be the Aresoul. However, there are over 10 entrances to the Ki Reservoir, and they don't know we're coming.'
'He's probably fine,' Barabin patted Reece on the back. "Let's move out. We must have missed Howard's signal because of that strange feeling in the air."
"What about me?" Jenny said, gently walking off the bus and strutting over. "I-I should stay here right?"
'You might get eaten if you stay behind. Would help me," Harley yawned, grabbing her hand. "I'm kidding. We'll protect you. I don't have time to be myself."
"She's right," Barabin said, "However, don't attack unless you really have to. If the Authoritarian in this area is as strong as I think, we have to move with the utmost respect."
"Ugh, I just hope Howard is okay," Jenny said, nervously shaking. "I-I can almost feel something in the air that is screaming at me that he's not okay! And for the love of me I can't describe it."
"If that's true, then we better hurry." Barabin stepped off his back foot. "Girl's I'm going to run ahead! Come as quick as you can!"
