28 Interrupting the Battle

Heimer, surprisingly, holstered one of his pistols. Telavera scoffed at this, her sword returning to its sheathe.

Getting into a low stance, she put her hand above the hilt and adjusted her breathing. The lingering gas on her body would not go away, so she had to prepare to deal with whatever was coming.

She guessed that he would try to cause an immense explosive just above the surface of her body-- one she would be unable to escape. She also guessed that he might try to engulf her in unbelievably hot flames, but she could not know for sure.

As she ran around in her mind, Heimer was smirking and chatting in his mind with the pistols.

"She's already lost."

"Indeed, the battle of the mind is already won."

The pistols were confident in themselves, but also in Heimer. Having judged Telavera's capabilities, they gauged that the next move would spell her demise.

"Ready yet?" Heimer impatiently spat.

"I always was." Telavera blew some hair out of her face, a leisurely expression on her face. Though she acted nonchalant, her body was tense. She could attack at a moment's notice-- or perhaps even shorter than a moment.

Heimer had used this time to allow the pistol in his hand to build up a stunning glow. With a teethy smile, he held barrel up to his face. He pressed it against the spot between his eyebrows.

Telavera had a moment of puzzlement, but then her face turned ugly as traces of horror arose. The energy of the pistol was passing into his own body. He was using the distance to safely increase his own power.

"Shit!" She grabbed the hilt of her sword, keeping her hand there as she all but teleported over to him. She drew her sword in less time than it takes to think, yet she was still too late.

Time froze for them both, but the outcome was clear.

Where there was horror and hope on Telavera's face, there was mocking and triump on Heimer's.

He had wanted exactly this. She had been played for a fool.

"Boom." Even before his words were heard, Heimer pulled the trigger. In that split second, fire poured out of the pistol and engulfed them both. The mass of gas lingering on Telavera made for a truly stunning explosion, however it was contained by some invisible force.

That massive sphere of pure destruction soon spat out a burning figure. Telavera had been burned down to the cloth wrapping her bountiful chest and the trousers she wore beneath her usual rags. It seemed that these clothes were quite durable. Also, her hair was unharmed.

Her draconic tattoos were new fully visible.

She hit the ground, rebounding and flying even further away. She crashed into a lot of the debris that remained after her attack, ending up outside of the destroyed camp. Meanwhile, the ball of fire had shrunk. Cloaked in lingering, ever-burning flames, Heimer stepped out with both pistols at the ready.

"Still alive?"

Telavera had not let go of her sword, however her eyes were shut tightly and her breathing was shallow. Heimer walked over to her, the two pistols held closely together.

"For my men."

Fire and gas began to gather and swirl at the end of both barrels. This time, the gas was ignited but did not cause an explosion. It was evident that, whenever he willed it, flames would be tossed out torrentially and cremate Telavera on the spot.

"Incinerate."

Just as the fire was about to consume her entire body, a dark purple portal of swirling energy appeared in its path. All the fire was being sucked into it, shocking both Heimer and the pistols.

Once the fire stopped, the portal then chimed loudly, then Heimer saw a bright light heading towards him from inside the portal.

"Oh crap!"

It was his own fire coming back at him. The change was subtle, but the pistols could feel that the fire was different. Stronger and fiercer, or perhaps a lot hotter. Either way, they were different.

Heimer used the pistol in his left hand, a series of mini-explosions taking him far away from the portal.

The fire poured out over what remained of the camp, reducing everything to embers. Heimer looked on in shock as the portal swirled about, not dissipating.

"Who did this?" He asked the pistols.

"No idea, but I don't recommend sticking around to find out."

"Hm. Sure enough, whoever did this is nowhere around. To do something like that from so far away... This person must be the master spiritualist at least. This is not someone you can handle right now. Quickly leave this place!"

With both pistols urging him to leave Heimer did a similar action. He was going to use the flamethrower to fly away at his fastest speed, but then he saw the portal undergo another change.

Jumping out of it, wearing nothing but a small black robe, a youngster appeared with a sword and scabbard in hand.

"Oh? You want to escape this One? Laughable." Niu brushed his hair aside, standing proudly as he stared at Heimer.

"Who are you?" Heimer would have already left, but the pistols advised him against it.

They thought he no longer had any chance of escaping.

"Me? That depends on you. I'm kind to my friends, but to my enemies I'm the worst person imaginable." Niu slowly pulled the sword out of the scabbard, letting go of the latter and leaving it hovering above the scorched ground.

"Come here." Niu slashed out with the sword. He himself was unsure as to what he was doing, but something in him directed him without him even being aware.

It was like having learned to ride a bike. Even if you had forgotten the last time you rode one, you would easily be able to ride one even if decades had passed.

The sword quite literally cut apart the space between Niu and Heimer. If they were once dozens of meters apart, they were now only half a meter away from each other.

"You led your soldiers here to attack the Sanctum? You killed the Old Mistresses?" Niu regarded Heimer as if he was no better than dog shit. This secretly pissed him off, but Ful and Flude told him that if he wasn't courteous he could most likely die.

They were scared of Niu.

"I did. There is no excuse. I acted out of boredom, arrogance and selfishness. I was tired of winning and sure that I could eradicate the most powerful force on this mainland. I see now that I was wrong." Heimer bowed his head.

He had already dispersed the flames on his body, returning to his usual state. Pistols holstered, he all but surrendered to Niu.

"If my friend here doesn't wake up, I shall have to ask you to bear the brunt of my own selfishness."

In his heart, Niu thought his words were corny, but he kept up with the act since it felt natural.

"Telavera?" Niu warmly called out to her, a stark difference from his previous tone. She groaned before her free hand reached out to him. She was alive, at least.

"She'll recover. Good."

Niu held out the sword and gently touched her forehead with its tip. She was sent away, back to the Sanctum.

"I will only say this once. Leave this mainland and never return. If I or my associates see you again, your little life will be ended. Do you all understand?"

Heimer, Ful and Flude gasped. Had Niu sensed their presence?

This was actually not far off. Holding the sword, Niu could see that there were two other life fluctuations besides Heimer's. He also saw that they were inside the two pistols.

Heimer hurriedly nodded before Niu vanished in a portal.

"Tch! Damn brat!" He shot off with his flames, flying away above the clouds.

...

"I know Rai, he would love for there to be certain compartments. So then I would have to make them accessible from the hilt so there's no drawbacks in combat. Oh! Maybe if the blade itself was able to ignite. Rai should have enough spirit energy for that, right?"

In his secret forge, Han was diligently working to create weapons that suited his sons.

He had been perfecting the plans for quite some time, and was finally able to develop ideas for possible weapons and modifications. They would take some time, but he would surely be able to do it.

Unbeknownst to him, an old woman in pink came in with a bamboo staff and crooked smile.

"Glad to see you've already begun." Hearing that familiar voice, Han turned around and saw the short and elderly woman.

"Fufu!" He smiled, but his attention quickly returned to his work.

"I had come to tell you to make your preparations. I'm going to begin putting things in motion. After the war in the capital ends, whichever side wins, I will begin my extraction of this world's spirit. By that time, old laws and times will pass on, and a new era will begin. That will bring about my restoration."

Han immediately stopped what he was doing. He turned around.

"You mean... You mean that you will be as you once were?" She smiled.

As she did that, Han saw his wife's face and Fufu's face coalesce into one.

"How funny it is. I wanted my wife back all this time, and now that she will return for good it seems that I do not look forward to it as much." A tear escaped his eye.

Seeing this, Granny Fufu smiled and walked over to him, wiping his eyes.

"Fushi Fuli, Granny Fufu, they are one in the same. I may not be your wife as I am now, but we share the same spirit. I can tell you this with absolute certainty. When I am no more and she returns, it will be impossible for her to leave you behind. Once she is restored, she will take you to see them. At that time, I do not know what she will do."

Granny Fufu smiled.

"Just promise me this, Han." He immediately agreed.

"Silly man, you haven't even heard my request."

"Niu has already come to realize who he is. The Necropolis has begun to vanish. As those souls return to him, so too will his memories and his power. A time may come where he cuts all ties with you and refuses to see you as his father. Steel yourself."

Granny Fufu then walked off, disappearing from Han's eyes.

His hands tightly held the tools, but he smiled and returned to his work.

He felt that the future was impossible to guess- even for Fushi Fuli.