Chapter 9-Alwayse A Step Ahead

" CRASH!!"

Tsucko with the man in his left hand went crashing into a building next to the one Hebi was standing on. His eyes remained wide as the presence he felt from this young man was something he hadn't felt yet in the Kingdom of Aces.

He stared into the raging fire inside the building Tsucko had crashed into. Suddenly he saw movement, and then a figure shot from the hole in the building in a straight line for Hebi.

Hebi jumped into the air as the figure flew underneath him crashing into the wall of another building. Hebis's sword twirled around him like a professional dancer as he descended back to the roof he was standing on.

[ 'This mana...It's something completely different than anyone else's in this kingdom. So sinister, so bloodthirsty, That guy was no older than 20 yet his mana far surpassed most high-level commanders even in the Emerald Kingdom."]

Hebi looked to Kalci who stood as an onlooker to the current situation with a sly smirk. Kalci didn't much enjoy needing saving or help in any situation, but when it comes to fighting a far superior opponent, he feels it will be much more fun taking him on with Tsucko.

" Ah jeez," Hebi eyes shot to the hole the figure had been launched from. " You dodged that huh...Looks like my mana detection was accurate. You're pretty strong!"

Hebis eyes narrowed as Tsucko exited from the raging fires of the building. At first, the color of the flames mixed with the darkness of night made it difficult to see his face but now he has a clear view of the pure excitement expressed from the wide smile on his face.

Hebis eyes looked back to Kalci who seemed to have caught his breath and was now beginning to walk closer to the building he was standing on.

[" That smile, no one should be that excited for battle no matter how strong you are....Only people with twisted minds look like that...Or, he's that confident in victory"]

Tsucko pointed his palm at Hebi where a yellow glow began to form. Hebis eyes narrow as he quickly determines what sort of magic it is. Hebi also kept track of Kalci who had suddenly vanished from his detection.

[" Shit I can't find him, he must have suppressed it all again,"] "Tsk!"[ " That doesn't matter, what does is this magic...I'm reading it as basic attack magic but there's something different imbedded into the cast."]

Tsucko continued to pour mana into the attack as Hebi quickly tried to figure out what was different while simultaneously trying to find Kalci.

[ " It's no use! If I engage I'm losing this fight...I might have been able to take each of them on solo but together there's no shot. I have to retreat."]

" Don't run!" The ball of mana in Tsuckos hand split into 8 smaller ones. Hebis eyes widened as he prepared to flee crouching down in preparation to jump.

"Boom"

He left a small hole in the roof as he leaped into the sky. He looked down and saw the yellow balls sore underneath him, but to his surprise, they quickly changed direction and headed straight for him.

["They're honing in on me!... Did he imbue a tracking cast into the magic!?"]

Hebi expelled a small amount of mana using the physical form it takes in the first couple of milliseconds to dodge all 8 and change his trajectory back towards the buildings on the ground.

" Of course you can do that!" Tsucko watched as his attack chased after Hebi as he went soaring into a building across the street.

Inside he jumped around building walls and weak pillers causing 2 of the mana balls to smash into them. He burst out a window on the other end before jumping through a weak wall of another building again dashing and weaving in between its fiery halls.

Three more of the mana balls were destroyed as he entered a taller third building with multiple floors. He used his sword to whip himself up to the upmost floor entering through the weak roof. The yellow mana balls pursued as he used his sword to quickly maneuver down the floors.

He heard the building creek and shake as it barely stood the impacts of the mana balls as they crashed behind him. " BANG!" He had kept track the entire time and knew that was the last one as he reached the second floor up from the ground.

His eyes darted around the room looking for a quicker and more unexpected exit than the ground floor. To his right, he found a window that he dashed towards without a second thought.

"Got You!" 

Tsucko appeared in front of the window pointing at him with fingers in the shape of a gun. At the end of the fingers, yellow mana had been gathered and was ready to fire at point blank. Hebi narrowed his eyes in concentration...

" BANG!!"

" ...HA! You dodged that! [He's easily the strongest I've seen in this world."]

Hebi leaned slightly and the mana ball shot past him and ripped through the weak walls of the building. Hebi brought his sword back but before he could swing... Although his vision was obscured by the smoke he could still sense mana with perfect accuracy.

" Bang!"

The building shook as Hebi blocked and attempted to kick through a weak wall by Tsucko who smiled out of enjoyment of the battle, but before he could make his next move. Hebis's sword bent over himself and down towards Tsucko.

" CLANG!"

Tsucko was able to summon his dagger and block the attack but was pushed back out the window and to the ground. Hebis's sword retracted back to him as he went to exit the window but was stopped by a sound from underneath.

" CRASH!!"

Kalci appeared ripping up the floor with a sword in hand. Hebis eyes widened as he didn't sense him at all, but his base skills were good enough to avoid a swing that nearly missed his chin.

Hebi countered with a kick to Kalci's stomach sending him into the side of the window sill. Hebi swung his sword and was blocked by Kalci who then caught a follow-up punch by Hebi. Tightening his grip around his fist he turned and threw him through a wall to the left of the window.

[" Dame he's strong...Throwing a fully grown adult is no easy feat but to do it with no mana and without superior positioning is not normal."]

Hebi went sliding against the ash-covered path until he regained footing. Looking up he saw both Tsucko and Kalci standing in front of him. The wounds on Kalci still hadn't healed as he wiped blood from above his eye, but Tsucko was in prime condition.

Hebi sighed at the sight as this battle had already begun to tire him slightly, he turned his head to see behind him and luckily they had found the exit on the other side of town.

" You running away!" Tsucko began to antagonize him. " Someone so strong shouldn't be such a coward." Kalci stood waiting for an opportunity to attack, but Hebi wouldn't give him one as he stayed on guard with his sword blade waving above him at full length.

" This fight isn't worth it...At least not yet. Maybe sometime in the future, we'll fight to the death. No. I'm sure we'll meet again."

[" He some believer in a predecided destiny.] Oh yeah...Where at...Want to set a time and place?" Kalci looked at him like he was crazy.

[" Letting this guy go now is a bad idea...I'm sure he'll tell the Emerald kingdoms king and they'll be more prepared. After we control the kingdom of Aces they'll know their next."]

"On the battlefield of The End Days...Five or six years from now...I'm sure you'll be alive then, that's where our lives will truly be at stake."

Kalci and Tsucko both looked at each other with confusion as the Hebi spoke. They didn't take him to be a believer in prophecies even in the short fight they had...Hell, Tsucko didn't know if prophecy was a thing in this world but he couldn't think of what else the Hebi could mean. 

In the seconds they were looking at each other, Hebi suddenly whipped his sword along the ground in a circle kicking up loads of dirt and ash. Kalci stepped towards it but Tsucko held him back with one arm.

" Don't, he's already gone."

" Uh! Can't you track him?" Tsucko let out a loud disappointed sigh and looked to the ash-covered night sky.

" He's not stupid enough to leave a trail...He scattered his mana in all directions when he whipped that blade. It would take ages to find the true trail."

Kalci gritted his teeth and de-summoned his sword. He then squeezed his right hand into a tight fist and punched his thigh.

" Dam it!"

" Oh. He piss you off that much did he?"

" Well yeah." Kalci held out his arms which were covered in small cuts. " Look what he did to me."

" Hm....Yeah, he got you pretty good in the face too, but they're all minor cuts." Tscuko held out his hand and a yellow glow covered Kalci's body. After a couple of seconds, all of his wounds were healed and all that remained was the dried blood from them. 

" Tch..."

" Don't act so annoyed, you took out all of those true mages, didn't you...That's one step closer to your goal, isn't it? Don't be so harsh on yourself...That was one of the Emerald Kings 8, you can't be expected to beat one of them yet."

" Tch..." Kacli looked to Tsucko as they began walking toward the exit leaving the burning town behind them. " What about you, you seemed to believe you could beat him."

" Hm. " Tsucko looked at him with a sly smile on his face. " My confidence is backed up by my abilities and skill."

They walked quietly out of the village as they heard buildings crumble and the screams of the innocent, the bodies they left would be turned to ash with no trace of the fight. Tsucko stared into the ash-covered night sky as the moon occasionally broke through to shine on them. Kacli looked to the ground as they left the village watching as Tsuckos feet always landed slightly in front of his.

[" That's the problem Tsucko...My dream was to kill as many magic users as I could to get revenge for my father and mother. And prove that a worthless mana-less guy could stand above everyone...You are someone I need to surpass to do that, yet you are so far ahead of everyone else"] Tsucko gritted his teeth [" How am I supposed to achieve my dream while standing in your shadow."]

They left the village and walked off into the night as the orange light of the burning village slowly grew distant behind them...They could hear as a backup for the Aces guard arrived and began helping the civilians escape.

[" I'm determined to achieve my dream, just like you are...but unlike you, I'm unsure If I can...Watching you fight makes it hard to believe I can surpass all magic users...I'm so determined but also....So conflicted."]

" This world." Tsucko began to speak startling Kalci who was deep in thought. " It will bend to our will...Once I've created my dream world, we'll both be able to make our dreams a reality with no judgment from others...[ Though he will have to earn his dream, in a battle against the one who made it possible. That's how it will happen."]