Start

Boom! Boom!

Two cannon shells fired with sharp accuracy, landing at the places where Zeke and Yano dodged to.

Wind booster

Yano used his Fire and Wind marks to boost himself. Blue fire went out of his soles as he flee forward.

Suddenly, a red whip appeared at where he is going. He then twisted his body, and boosted himself again.

Fire Ballet

An arc of fire flew out of his hand, and charred the lands behind him, and a metal bear. He then jumped off, and pulled Zeke that is under a bitter fight against the axe-wielding madman.

Fire Waltz

Blue flames darted off and created a semicircle burst of flames and stopped after a few meters. They then transformed into palm-sized flame spheres and flew at different directions.

Fifteen blue spheres of fire were sent outwards in a scattered manner. After travelling a little while, it burst into a star-shaped flame and devoured everything in front.

"What sick moves!" Aidelai gasped and smiled, completely awed at the duo.

"Sadly, I won't see those moves again." Aidelai sighed and a metal bear came rushing towards the two. An axe was also sent towards them, only to find air and not hit anything.

"Damn!" Zeke clicked his tongue and ran. They will defend, dodge and run just to buy time for the kids they taught.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three shells were flung out of the cannon and almost hit the fleeing duo. Time was running out, and their mana reserves are plummeting down.

Whack! Whack!

The sounds of the whips crackled as Aidelai continued on lashing it.

Numerous indentions on land, flung rocks, and deep marks appeared at the vicinity. Seeing this, Yano's face turned paler and paler by the second.

His mana reserves are on 90% in just three exchanges and almost a minute of dodging. He maneuvers minimally and smoothly to avoid the wrong moves and avoid excess mana expenditure.

"Sophia, why are you doing this?" Zeke asked.

The little kid looked at him, but she didn't said anything. Instead, she let the metal bear attack Zeke.

"Sophia, you were once a Knight of the Grand Family. Why are you doing this?" Zeke asked again, while kiting the bear and Sophia away to make space for Yano.

"Knight?" A cold glint flashed from Sophia's eyes. She looked at thd fleeing Zeke and said: "My clan served the Family for generations, we did it with loyalty and fervor, yet the Family always use the others as cannon fodder. Our lives also matter." With great wrath, the bear, appeared in front of Zeke, clamped its two hands together and smashed at Zeke. The latter used his sword to borrow momentum and further the distance from them.

He skidded on the floor and twisted his body to carry on the force and hasten up their speed. Zeke then used his Ice mark to forcefully kill the friction on the floor and dashed forward.

"Don't think that you can escape from me!" Sophia shouted in fury. The metal bear roared and glowed red like being melted.

The bear then emitted clacking and sonorous sounds due to metals assembling and dissembling. A mechanical sound whirred and a face of ferociousness was displayed on its face. A cloud of smoke was then released to the surroundings.

"Oh sheesh." Zeke and Yano both spoke, in a slow and solemn manner.

Yet, under the pressure, the speed of their run never ceased. Six figures could be seen dashing and clashing with each other. Two running in front and four chasing. They never thought that in a snap of a finger, the greatest plans ever invented was about to start.

------'-'--------------

[Nodes Acquisition Complete]

[Core Activated]

[CAUTION : No seal broken]

A dark room, a single body, and a rectangular panel with those words written. The room is as wide as a city and he is standing right at the middle.

"Good grief, I thought you were gonna die." A voice resounded and the body of the little boy tilted towards where the voice came from.

The body then opened its mouth as if it was gonna say something, but no words came out, rather, no voice came out. The other one looked at him with interest and smiled at him while he was still "talking".

"Yes, I know. He can't hear you. He is on the core, just right above you. I am just curious on how did you acquired that white sword. We tried to find it once and we almost turned every planet upside down, but did not manage to find it, and yet, you have it." The man's voice said.

The little body then answered the question but is muted. His mouth says something but no sound can come out at all.

"I don't want to hinder you from doing so. I just want to feed this little curiosity of mine. After a minute, he and I will talk, and you can come back to his side after that. I mean him no harm, for he is the future. Actually, it solves one of my problems having you here. I just want to know how that sword came here."

The little boy then looked at the man. He looked at his eyes and he sat down for a moment. He then hugged his knees and buried his face on his arms. He talked and when he finished, the man with a voice was shocked.

"He reached his goal, and here I thought this will help."

The boy then stood up. He then said something and a piece of paper suddenly flew towards the man with voice. His body then trembled and an odd feeling of joy welled from his heart.

The boy then "talked" and his eyes seems like it would bulge out of its sockets. He then stored the paper into a clean container and then he smiled.

"Good grief. I thought you were gonna die."

-----------------_------------------

[Completion Rate : 100%]

[Status : Ready]

"How was our sleeping handsome?"

A voice then was heard. A boy could be seen standing on the middle of a sphere.

"Who are you? Where am I?" The boy said. His black and white irises were glowing due to the illumination around. There are particles seen in the air but it stops from about two meters away from where he stands.

"108." Another boy came with the man, but this boy is corporeal and floating, not like the man.

The man is bearded, gray hair, almost 6 feet tall, a good body composition and an aloof attitude. He wears a blazer but under it is a shirt. His slacks are neat and his shoes are black, complimenting attire.

"What 108? What do you mean by that? And who are you? Where is Yano? Where is everybody?"

"Relax. You will know soon. As for my name, you can call me Avalon. About the number 108, it is the number of manifestations you need to complete this place. As you can see, this place is a bit deserted, but do not worry, it will be lively as more manifestations go here. Right now, you have two starting nodes." After Avalon said nodes, two towers began to stand up.

Two identical gray towers, but what differs is the color of the orb above them. Then lines were drawn into the ground. There were also circles of all sizes and there are some with double lines, double circles and even triple ones.

"That is the place you need to fill up. As to why you need to fill it up, I guess I will leave that decision to you. You can fill it up or not, I would not insist. And this won't hurt you. Actually, this is more beneficial than detrimental to you. As for the rest, experience it yourself. Experiment." Avalon then walked towards the outer layer of the sphere.

"This place is inside you. To be honest, I did not know that the core will be here. But the choice is yours, Vin."

The sphere then became thin in a blink of an eye, and Vin was seen clearly. He is standing from afar and recollecting his memories.

"Smart kid. That's what I like." Avalon smirked.

"You know what I am thinking?" Vin asked.

"Of course, this place is inside you. Your thoughts are loud and clear to me. You are right," he then pointed to the towers, " those patterns are from the parchments you copied."

"I see. What about the orbs above them? And how do I fill it?" Vin asked.

"You trust me, kid? I mean, some main characters would be doubtful, or others may decline the offer unless they are insisted upon or in a dilemma, sometimes they act wary and makes pact in order to protect themselves. But why, you, a main character, trusts a character that only came out on the twenty-seventh chapter?" Avalon asked.

"Cut it. Main character or not, everybody has a goal needed to attain. Some of them has traumas, some has trust issues, some of them are seen by the society as a weak link, others will be viewed as trash and others will be picked on. They have tragic backstories that explains their characteristics. As for you, you said it many times. You are inside my body, in short, you can not harm me. And those diagrams, I saw it on those papers and I knew there that it will help me achieve my goal. I just don't want to be under control." Vin said.

"Good character. You earned me, boy. There is no need for more talks. Fill this place, and you will see wonders of it. And when you face those bastards..."

"I will leave none alive." The temperature dropped and a single hue of gray streaked the sky.

-------------------------

Tattered lands, holes and dust. This was the background of six people engaged in a battle. A whip, a bear, an axe and a cannon on the right side and mana balls and a sword on the right.

The battle seemed on a standstill, but the two of them knew, their mana reserves are on the low. This is more true to Yano for he used his mana again and again to fend off attacks and run away.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Are you two really this weak?" The man with the axe laughed out loud. Yano then wiped the sweat on his forehead.

"But before that, I have some news from you. Choose between the good one and the bad one." Aidelai laughed.

"Tell me in which order you want to tell me. Either way, knowing it or not knowing it will not save us." Zeke panted but successfully delivered the line.

"As you say so. The bad news is that the army covered this whole world. This will be the new planet exclusively for the Arlequint Family. The good news is that, you will die today and no one will know. Not even those Grand sh*ts nor those kids." After saying that, two cannon shells flew towards Yano and Zeke.

The chase once again commenced, but the prey this time grew wings, fangs and shell. They proactively went all out. The mana bullets Yano created began to hit the four here and there. This made the four jump back again and again, giving the two time to breathe and run.

But the time they bought for themselves are too little. The exhaustion slowly crawled on them. Due to mana exhaustion, their body has cramps all over it. Their breathing is ragged, their chests are up and down. This will be their last stand.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM" Not far from them, many more explosions began to happen.

"Zeke, there are three more mana signatures heading this way. Run as fast as you can and catch up to them. As for me, do not mind me. Just teach them what Sir Vlak taught us. The Grand lineage must live on." Yano said.

"How about you Sir?" Zeke asked.

"If worse comes to worst, I will be a legacy. If I survive, let us meet at the academy's entrance." Yano tapped the shoulder of Zeke.

It was then that a much larger mana signature came into. It was like a lighthouse in the night that everyone was drawn in it. It was like a candle in a place full of moths. They are drawn into it, but their fates are sand if they get close.

The three signatures stopped, and the six also did. The mana released is too much for them that being inside the 50 kilometer radius was filled with fear and dread.

After a minute, the mana outpour stopped, and the place was once again filled with peace. But the peace is not peace but silence.

The three mana signatures then became erased and the next moment they were detected, it was in front of Yano and Zeke.

"You?" Yano blurted out.

"Long time no see, Yano." The man said.

Yano then took steps backward, together with Zeke, but they were halted by a hand on each of their back.

The delicate hand was small, but it has power to back it up. Grayish hair, and two different colored irises.

"Welcome, visitors. I welcome thee to our banquet." The boy said while smiling.