Chapter 13- A saviour ?

Raffaelo's body quivered as blood dribbled down his eyes, staining the white plain floor of the small room he was presently held in. 

His bloodshot eyes stared at his trembling hands when he felt energy slowly dissipate from his legs. He fell to his knees and his breathing became hurriedly haphazard. 

"Aren't you pushing him too hard ?" The male asked the female with a slight frown on his face. 

She cast a glance at him and chuckled at his remark. 

"It's only right he does this much for him to use it to its full potential….though…." She slowly took a peek at him and her lips curled into a satisfied grin. "He's done well so far". 

She slowly walked away from him and towards the male sitting on an ice throne. "I'll take my leave now….I've thought all that's been needed so far". 

The male watched as she walked past him and slowly disappeared into thin air. 

"Are….are you going to make me spill blood too ?" Raffaelo asked with a cold tone in his voice. He held his eyes with his hands but the male was sure he glared at him. 

"Do not worry…" he sighed, adjusting his position on the throne, crossing his legs, and resting the side of his face on his right hand. "My trait only requires you to be smart" 

"...smart ?" The baffled tone in his voice could not be reduced no matter how much he tried to reduce it in his head. 

"Yes…" he ignored his tone and continued with his explanation. "You see...ice….freezes all" 

"..." Raffaelo paused his line of thought for a moment at his "immature remark" or so it seemed in his head. Well, of course, it was natural for ice to freeze all things. 

"Well…I'm sure it does". He replied, trying to fake a smile.

".....don't make jest of me, boy". The male said with a stern tone. The walls of the room and the air itself began to make crackling noises as flakes of Snow and ice began to form. 

'...he….froze the air ?' Raffaelo could feel it. The air he had been breathing suddenly felt smaller than it formerly was. It may have been reduced a while ago since there didn't seem to be a source of ventilation but it wasn't as obvious since just now.

"You see child….we can freeze everything….it depends on your concept and skills but ice can even be harder than metal" 

"What ?!" His eyes bulged in surprise and a hint of excitement as the true ability of his trait seemed to be much wider than he expected. 

"It's like I said….during my time…there was nothing I couldn't turn into ice….be it a human….be it water and even the mountains. Everything froze before my feet. 

Turning them into solid ice forms was nothing but child's play for me". 

'Okay….now it just feels like he's boasting'. Raffaelo thought, feeling a bead of sweat drop down his forehead but before it could touch the ground. It had turned into a beautiful crystal of ice. 

"I see…..so depending on how I see it….there's nothing that can't be frozen ?" 

"Of course…that includes gas as well….droplets of liquid…and even ice in the absence of water…dry ice…..they are all possible". He stood up from the throne and it disappeared into tiny bits of shiny particles. 

"Don't limit your imagination…..and your understanding….imagining it is one thing but understanding is a completely different aspect…." 

"Hmm…understood". 

"...good….then…..till we meet again…". 

A bright light suddenly enveloped Raffaelo causing him to disappear. "....and good luck to you….Ice King". 

****

Thalia and Morganna held Raffaelo's hands as trickles of tears ran down their pretty faces. 

Rebecca had a solemn expression while Fiona stared at them in ridicule.

"....you realize he's not dead right ?" She muttered slowly. 

They cast a glance at her and she suddenly felt a chill creep up her spine. "Sorry sorry…continue…my bad". 

"...why isn't he waking up though….and we need to go help Gloria too…" Rebecca said as she stroked his hair. 

Thalia furrowed her brow. "Maybe we…shouldn't have done with the plan ?". 

There was an awkward silence between them as they felt a pang of guilt when they felt a cold chill from the wind surrounding them.

"When did it…." Morganna said when she noticed a blue light glowing from the wounds of her younger brother. 

A bright light sparkled in her eyes as relief cooled her frenzied expression.

"You see…." Fiona said as a satisfied smile grew on her lips. "Did you think that would be enough to stop our obnoxious little brother ?". She giggled as their worry turned into relief and a smile grew on their grim expression. 

The light stopped glowing after some seconds and Raffaelo's eyes slowly opened up. 

His eyes focus was still shaky so it took a while before he could finally get a grasp of the images of his sisters surrounding him.

"Did someone die ?" His shaky voice brought joy to their ears as Morganna and Thalia hugged him.

'Would have been nicer if we weren't blood related' He thought when he felt a bit of pain from his eyes. 

He placed his hand slightly on it slowly when he noticed a distinctive change in his vision. 

Although the bright moon was their only source of light in the pitch darkness of the night, they could still see not as clearly as day but they could. Probably another feature of a Jun. Rebecca, Fiona, and Gloria could feel the distinctive energies from their bodies and could tell whatever directions they were moving, so it was easier for them, but it wasn't the same for the rest.

Now, not only was Raffaelo able to see their distinctive features as if it was still day, but he could also see their distinctive energies and the flow around their body. 

"Is…..is This what she was talking about ?' He thought when they heard a sudden loud explosion.

"Gloria ?! Where's Gloria ?!"  He snapped out of his line of thought standing back up in a sudden burst of new energy. 'Hah? I feel…..fine…' He thought, inspecting his body. 

"How ? You should be exhausted from that battle ?" Fiona pointed out, stupefied by his current condition. 

"I'm fine….we need to help Gloria". He quickly rushed towards the broken walls of their complex. 

His sisters glanced at each other with worried expressions as they quickly ran after him.

"You should be more concerned about yourself. Idiot," Thalia muffled up her words, but her sisters could still make out the words from her sentence. 

They giggled. 

****

Signs of a vigorous battle were evident on the fields as they could make clear figures of two people far away. 

Their expressions slowly twisted from curiosity to animosity to the sight before them. 

Raffaelo bit down on his lip as he increased his pace and held back the urge to cry about his sister Gloria's predicament. 

"Gloria !" His sisters slowly screamed out her name and they could tell the dim light in her eyes as she slowly turned towards them. 

She was currently held up in the air with a sword thrust in her abdomen out of her body by Phillip who held a disdainful look of satisfaction on his face as he watched them run towards him. Her blood gushed out from the wound and dribbled down her lips as a tight, small smile exuded her faint, trembling lips. 

They screamed out in horror at the sight when Fiona struck out her hand in the air 

"7th tier magic !". 

Her mana spread furiously around her body as lightning sparks slowly emitted from her body. 

She disappeared and reappeared right next to him.

"What is it with your f*cking speed !" He muttered and flung Gloria's body into the air. It hit the ground limply some meters away from him with a loud bang. 

He then quickly turned when she stopped his attack by holding his blade. 

"Mountain Giant Shock". 

The sky rumbled and yellow lightning struck down from the sky onto her. She streamed it around her body to the tip of her fingers where it suddenly compressed and exploded into sharp stings of lightning bolts. 

The number of which completely stunned him causing him to scream out in pain. 

His body slowly turned black as the lightning reduced. 

Fiona felt him slowly lose his grip on his sword and the thought of him falling unconscious crossed her mind. 

She slowly dropped her hand when he swung his sword at her at a speed that was impossible to dodge. 

"Just kidding~" He played with the end of his statement as she begrudgingly glared at him while stopping his attack with a mana shield. 

It shattered to the force and another one blocked it from going further. 

She used that opportunity to draw back away from him when her siblings finally caught up with her. 

Phillip clicked his tongue at them when his gaze jumped to Raffaelo. 

"Huh ? You're still alive….well that doesn't matter….I'm gonna kill you all anyways". 

He sighed as he flipped his finger.  "Aura Field of Vision…..The Dark Side".

The sky formed the large arm of black clouds once again as it stretched towards Raffaelo and the rest of his sisters. 

They could only mutter small curses at him, unable to fight back.

'Curses! Do I die like this ?' 

Images of their time together flashed before their eyes as hope quenched from their heart. 

"Is this it-"  

Fiona thought when a sharp sound like the sound of a sword slicing through the air projected in their ears. 

Their eyes slowly bulged open, observing a thin line that was formed on the large arm, slicing it into two.  

Phillip felt a pang of pain across his chest as blood spurted out from his mouth and a fine cut appeared across his chest. 

"Oh…..you bully your brother's children now ?" 

"What ?! What are you doing here ?! Jerome!!!". 

The children gasped at the sight of a black-toned man that appeared apparently out of nowhere. He stood in their presence, blocking them from their foe, Phillip. 

"Sorry I'm late, kids….took a while to find the assassins that were sent for your heads' '. He stretched out his bandaged-ridden hands holding two long swords smeared with blood. "Can you believe it ?! There were 12 assassins sent for your heads !" He laughed out merrily. "Michaelo has to pay double! There's no way our king will let this kind of opportunity pass him by". 

He pointed his right blade at Phillip with a provocative smile on his face and his left blade on his shoulder. "I'll be your opponent now, Phillip".