4 The Third Guardian

He centered his right hand toward him.

"Fine, have it your way then!" He propelled the blade from his wrist. It flew with tremendous speed toward him.

Suddenly, something unprecedented took place. Bianca pushed him out of the way, and when that happened, the blade peered through her body and attached her to the wall.

"Bianca! Noooo!!!" Pete bellowed as blood began to seep from her wound.

Slicer summoned it as it reattached itself to his limb. She plummeted to the ground while he approached her and knelt. He cupped her head in his arms while tears drizzled from his eyes.

Life had viciously taken someone dear from him once more.

Bianca stood apart from everyone he met because she was the first to have faith in him when no one else did. She was also the first to embrace him for who he was and not pass judgment. In contrast to when he was young and arrogant, he didn't have to alter who he was to win her over.

The faint hope he had clung to faded, threatening to steal his newly discovered delight. How was this possible? How long must he endure pain before finding happiness?

"Stay with me, please stay with me!" he pleaded.

Before departure, she looked at him and smiled, even at the face of death.

She stroked his cheeks and said, "Always remember these words. Brand them in your heart if necessary, but please do not forget them."

A tear drizzled from her left eye despite the smile carved on her face, "No matter what may come your way, the sun will shine on your side."

She closed her eyes and bode her departure. Pete screamed in anger as her hand dropped to the ground. In an instant, rage took hold of him. The moment that it seized his heart, fear was no longer present as he directed his gaze toward Slicer.

He rose to his feet and clenched his fists, his brows narrowed, and his breathing increased.

Slicer cackled under his mask, "Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. You were fortunate enough that fate spared you."

The vindictive assassin directed his blade at him. Although that was the case, Pete still trudged forth. He didn't care if Slicer was ready to launch the sword at him or even if he had the power advantage over him. All he wanted to do was to beat him into a bloody pulp.

Although this is what Pete desires, he fails to realize that he has already given his foe the necessary advantage.

Kuhn Lau appeared from behind and landed a flying sidekick toward the forefront of Slicer's features. The impact of that attack repelled him a further distance away. With cat-like agility, Slicer flipped himself back up to his feet.

"Kuhn Lau, so glad of you to join us. Who would have thought I would find all two Guardians here simultaneously?"

Pete still trudged forth from behind. Kuhn Lau stopped him by resting his hand on Pete's chest.

"Don't even try," he warned.

"Let me go, he killed Bianca, and I wanna make him pay for that!"

"Even at the cost of your life! It's not worth it. Bianca wouldn't want you to sacrifice your life for her!" Kuhn Lau exclaimed.

Even though Kuhn Lau spoke to Pete with his body facing Slicer, he only turned his head toward his back a couple of times to communicate with him. He would look forward, ensuring that their foe didn't try anything funny.

Eventually, he tendered his gaze at him and said, "You must be Slicer. Your blood lust speaks volumes of what you are!" Kuhn Lau taunted.

"I am what I am. I have come here to accomplish my task. And that is to retrieve your talismans. Now, this can go two ways. One, you surrender all the talismans, or two, I'll have to take them by force, rendering you liable for your demise."

"Unfortunately, Slicer, you are not getting a nickel from us!!!"

Slicer then took a step further. "I was hoping you'd say that."

He swung his blades toward their direction, hurling out a wave of air-compressed projectile slashes. Kuhn Lau modulated a force field, and although it did shelter them from the heinous incisions, it was afflicted with cracks.

Kuhn Lau gasped with horror, for he had not seen anything of this nature. He lost the equilibrium to conjure and manipulate the forcefield. In turn, he propelled a current of water toward him. Slicer flipped over the water current. His blades morphed back into his hands. He attempted to strike Kuhn Lau with an upside-down-spinning kick, with his foot reaching for his head.

Once again, he gasped with horror and blocked the attack by shielding his forehead with the back of his wrist. He winced with his teeth gritted.

"Incredible! Even though I blocked his attack, somehow, it still connected," he muttered.

With precise speed, Kuhn Lau landed a hook kick against the right side of his ribs. However, the attack only pushed Slicer a few centimeters away.

"My foot, what is this guy made of? If this continues, I will be drowning in deep waters."

Although he received a minor ache on his foot, he masked his anguish with a stern face.

When the two combatants locked horns, Kuhn Lau called out to Pete.

"I need you to go, fellow warrior. Don't look back. Get out of here!" He bellowed.

He hesitated to oblige, though, seeing that this was his only chance at survival. However, something deep down urged him to run away. It's as if his critical thinking returned.

"I don't think so," stated Slicer.

He punched Kuhn Lau in the forefront of his face. He collided against the ground after his punch connected.

Slicer then swung another projectile wave at Pete. Fortunately for him, Kuhn crafted another forcefield. The barrier was shaped like a wall. It separated them from the projectile slashes. Although the projectile slashes struck the force field, they only carved a cluster of cracks. A desperate Kuhn Lau yelled at Pete, trying, by all means, to usher him away.

"I said go. Bianca's death would've been in vain if you didn't!" Kuhn Lau shouted.

At last, a light bulb lit up in his mind. It took the force of Kuhn Lau's words and his sense of judgment to convince him about the seriousness of this matter.

He ran away and tried numerous ways to climb up the wall. Aside from him, a green, rectangular trash bin stood on the corner of the wall. He climbed on it and jumped toward the other side of the wall.

Kuhn Lau sighed with relief, but his task was still far from over as he still had a large mountain to climb.

Eventually, the force field broke away and could not withstand further slashes from the piercing, projectile waves. Kuhn Lau knew that he was backed into a corner and trudged towards Slicer while he still had the opening.

He attempted to land a back kick, centering his target toward his facial features. Unfortunately, Slicer grasped his heel and lifted him. After that, he slammed him against the wall repeatedly. He tossed him in the air and kicked him on the spine with a spinning kick.

The force of his kick repelled the latter even further. It reached a point wherein he landed in the center of the road. He then crawled up to his feet while a merciless Slicer transitioned from wherein he stood and appeared above him quickly.

Kuhn Lau's eyeballs nearly bounced off his sockets, "What the?"

Without warning, Slicer rammed his middle foot toward the left side of his face. The devasting assault would've smitten him to death had he been human. It sent him flying backward, however.

As soon as he fell on his back, he groaned with agony and placed his hand on his cheeks as he gently rubbed them. He crawled up to his feet and murmured silently.

"He is so fast; I can't hope to catch up to him."

While Slicer pursued him, he responded by landing a sidekick to the face. However, Slicer was a step ahead and blocked his attack by shielding his face with his elbow.

"You know, for a Guardian, you have lowered my expectations. How disappointing." He taunted.

He struck Kuhn Lau with a blow to the lower abdomen. In response, Kuhn Lau yelped when his punch connected. Swiftly, Slicer landed a spinning kick toward the left side of his face.

Once again, he held his back and winced in agony as a sinister Slicer sauntered towards him, finding pleasure in afflicting anguish in his victim.

"I have to get up, or else it's the end of me," muttered Kuhn Lau.

Slicer placed his foot on his chest and centered the blade towards his throat.

"It's time to die!"

As he was about to drive the blade through his throat, a truck appeared out of nowhere and ran him down. It then dragged him toward the nearest building.

***********

Meanwhile, Pete walked back to his apartment with his shoulders sagged. He didn't know how to make sense of his predicament. He kicked a can that hit against a lamp post to take his frustration out. While walking, Kuhn Lau caught up to him and grabbed his collar. He hoisted him on his shoulders and flew with him to a safer location.

A few minutes later, he transported him to an open field. When they got there, he climbed off his back.

"Who are you? What the hell is going on?"

"I am Kuhn Lau, but before I can explain everything. First, let us climb aboard my aircraft."

"What aircraft?"

He then looked around, and not far from them stood a spaceship. Although not significant, it still dwarfed an ordinary scout ship. However, the aircraft was old and slightly disheveled. Many pieces of the structure were jutting out, while bush linings of rust spread out equally. It was silver and black. Much more, a field of dents and grazes was carved on its deteriorating skin.

"Is that a spaceship?"

"Yes," he answered and pottered towards the door. Beside the door was a handprint scanner. He placed his hand on it. After that, the machine scanned his hand and granted them access to the vehicle.

Pete was a bit timid when Kuhn Lau stepped in, for he had not seen a spaceship before. Eventually, he stepped into the vehicle.

Kuhn Lau went to the cockpit and switched on the aircraft. The vehicle released a blast of heat through its thrusters, thus propelling it toward the sky. Once it took off, he placed it on autopilot and joined him inside the cabin.

Pete tapped his thighs and bit his lower lip. Kuhn Lau then arrived and sat down next to him. He shoved his hand through his right pocket and took out a talisman. The talisman bore much resemblance to that of his own. It had the same golden pigment but differed from the shape of the star. Instead, it was an octagram embroidered toward the edges. Thus, to further distinguish his talisman from Pete's, it had the carving of an owl amid the octagram.

"Where the hell did you get that from?"

"The same way you did. My teacher passed it down to me."

Pete stared blankly at him as his right brow arched, "Hold on a sec, this doesn't make sense. My dad gave me this talisman. And what you're trying to say is that your teacher handed it to you? What the hell is going on?"

"If you say that your father has handed the talisman down to you. Then this deems you worthy of being a Guardian!" Kuhn Lau answered. "What?!"

"Indeed, allow me to elaborate further, Mr. Atkinson."

"It's Pete. Just call me Pete, alright.."

"Ken Sou has chosen you to guard the talisman."

With furrowed brows, he responded, "From...?"

"... from the subordinates of the Elite Force. Remember that the Elite Force is an empire that has established its dominance in the Multiverse. Moreover, Death Wrath created the Elite Force. Their initial goal is to overthrow the Utopian race in a grand scheme of supremacy and cleanse the Multiverse with their ideals. However, with the absence of their emperor, they still have a long way to go."

Kuhn Lau then rose to his feet and pottered towards the fridge, and he grabbed a tankard. Afterward, he proceeded to the cupboards and brought a pair of glasses. He then sat down and poured a glass of water.

"Thank you," he poured another water content into his glass.

"Where is their Emperor?" He then replied to his inquiry.

"Ken Sou defeated and banished him to the Dark Realm after that. A realm cast with nullity and darkness. Since then, his subjects have been searching for talismans."

Pete then inquired, "What is the function of these talismans?"

"It is said that they can release him from the Dark Realm. And once he does, there will be carnage across the Multiverse. To make matters worse, Ken Sou has grown weary and sick recently. He won't be formidable enough to take the gauntlet during their second bout."

***********

Texas is a state made famous by the lone star on its seal and flag. Its sizzling barbeque, traditionally prepared through meat smoking, has become a global attraction to millions. Much more, their barbeque made its home in the taste buds of thousands of Americans.

However, Dallas, Texas, is home to one of the world's big bad, Khenan Khunta Azan. He is widely known as King Khunta of Federal Jamaica.

In his manor estate, Khunta traveled down a staircase toward his basement. Steve Joe, his right-hand man, accompanied him. When the two got inside the cellar, they drew closer to a stranger who they kept as a prisoner. It so happens to be Ace, one of the six Divine Guardians.

He was chained to the ceiling with power-dampening cuffs. His legs were dangling in the air.

Khunta glanced at him while the latter raised his head and opened his eyes. A sadistic smirk crept up from all the corners of his lips.

"You must be Ace."

Ace glared at him, sending a cold shiver down his spine. But on a professional level, Khunta masked his fear with a stern expression.

"What did you do to me?"

He then looked around, analyzing his environment with great concern. He furrowed his brows and fidgeted. He attempted to pull one link out from the roof with all of his latent power. It would seem as though he did not have the required strength to emancipate himself.

Khunta imploded with laughter, "You cannot escape, Ace. There is nowhere for you to go."

He struggled once more; however, his attempts proved to be useless once again.

"I promise you. Once I'm free from these shackles, I will beat the crap out of you!!!"

Khunta then placed his hand on Ace's chest. He felt the firm rigidness of the Guardian's pectoralis muscles. In response, Khunta twitched his eye with awe. His captive had lengthy broad shoulders and honed, refined abdominal muscles.

His rigid abdominal muscles reinforced the imagery that a precision carving craft sculpted them. Not to forget the range of rock-hard biceps that ultimately stood out like mountain ranges.

"How do you intend on doing that?" Khunta inquired.

"I have imprisoned you with power-dampening cuffs. You can not use your super strength to break through the chains. For now, you are just an ordinary man, " he continued.

Ace furrowed his brows even further.

"Look what I've got," Khunta taunted.

He shoved his hand in his pocket and took out Ace's talisman. Ace struggled even further as he worked extensively to pull the chains from the ceiling. His talisman was ornamented with a heptagram lining close to the edges. And in the center of the amulet was the carving of a bull charging with its horns locked forward.

Khunta glanced at the talisman as the golden aura bounced off the ornament, "Beautiful. And soon, I'll have all six talismans."

All Ace was fuming with rage. Instead, he surpassed his anger and interrogated Khunta instead.

"Why are you doing this? What will you gain if you have all six talismans?"

"I was born in a poor village. I tasted poverty, and it wasn't pleasant. Right now, I want my family to remain wealthy and not suffer as I did. Not just them, but also my children's children," replied Khunta.

"But aren't you rich? How will your children suffer? And their children's children. It doesn't make sense, bra."

"Yes, I am already rich, but selling these babies on the black market will make me richer. That way, cash will be abundant and won't finish quickly. They'll enjoy the wealth I've left for them for generations."

Ace lowered his face. After that, he raised his head once again and glared at him.

He inquired from him once more."The talismans are scattered across the world. How will you find them?"

"We have a radar that will track down the whereabouts of the other talismans. All it needs to do is scan one talisman. After that, it will pick up the talismans' location."

He flipped his talisman and continued, "And it so happens that I have one in my hands." Khunta then turned his back on him and walked away.