The training with Darian involved learning the North Sword Style. He told Darian how his father, Indra, had disliked using it. Darian informed him that Indra just did not have the capability to master it which was why he disliked it.
The training with Marilia consisted of her teaching him various Healing Magic Spells. She made him focus on speaking the incantations out loud. Then to incorporate them and apply that concept with the Voiceless Incantations. She also got him to master various other magic spells.
The training with Rumble involved close-combat with force. Lakshman continued to struggle to keep with Rumble’s Instant Step technique with his Flash Step. It seemed that mastering Instant Step required him to increase his movement a lot more.
Wolfenstine assisted Lakshman in various like knowledge, tips and hints. It seemed he had full knowledge of how to fight using the sword, magic and hands-on combat. However, he chose science because to him violence was not the answer.
“Remember, Lakshman. Violence is the destruction of everything, not the solution!” Wolfenstine said fiercely and Lakshman nodded in understanding.
Severant also helped by allowing them to use a dimension that he often uses to stay in. He called it the Rumination World which he often used to discard unnecessary thoughts and emotions. So Darian and Rumble used it to train Lakshman because it involved combat.
Lakshman donned the Phoenix Armour and fought them to control it. Upon fighting, both Darian and Rumble realised Lakshman was releasing unnecessary amount of energy. It seemed this caused him to feel totally drained that time. So Lakshman meditated into controlling it with Tetra.
During their training, Ondine was taught how to cook food by Marilia. She was amazed at how many varieties Marilia knew and asked to learn them. Marilia agreed and it quickly became apparently that she was a proficient teacher.
It turned out to be even more difficult to learn. Because Ondine only drinks water, she cannot taste how the food tastes. Marilia, however, encouraged her cheerfully and even volunteered to taste the food.
Everyone was busy and that also included Sevedant. Day and night, he would leave and returns several days later. It seemed he constantly observes places and the people constantly. While he was trying to find the source of the twistedness in the air, he also searched for the whereabouts of Felix.
One day, however, a certain event occurred and it made the Phoenix Titan into something spectacular.
It was a fifteen days after the city people realising the existence of the Phoenix Titan. Lakshman went out in the night and often patrolled the night. He would interfere and stop trouble before it got out of hand. During several of his interferences, people knew he was real and not some random rumour.
One a particular day, everyone were eating happily eating lunch. Ondine and Tetra took turns to feed each other cheerfully. Lakshman also did it, but only for Tetra since Ondine did not eat the food they cooked.
Everyone watched them with amusing expressions on their faces.
“Watching you three makes me feel jealous!” Darian said and he looked longingly at his wife.
Marilia caught his expression and severely said “I would, but you constantly knock my teeth with the spoon! Because of what you did, I often had to use Healing on myself!”
“I-I’m sorry,” Darian said and he quickly began eating quickly from his bowl.
Rumble laughed and said “Lakshman, Ondine and Tetra make a great couple! It almost makes me wish I had wives like you two!”
“We’re not wives or anything yet!” Ondine and Tetra said in unison, but they were smiling happily.
Last week, apparently Lakshman confessed his love for the girls, but in a strange way. He told them he cannot love them until he turned sixteen because of how young he was. When they informed Darian and the rest, they also agreed with his idea.
“Sixteen is the age one officially becomes an adult so it makes sense,” Darian had said approvingly.
Lakshman merely nodded his head at him. The fact was that he did not know about sixteen being the age they officially are recognised as adults. That made him realise he needed to visit the library sometime later.
Just then, Sevedant suddenly appeared in their room.
“Ah! Sevedant! Come over and sit down! You’ve done a good job as always,” Wolfenstine said as he offered him a seat at the table.
“No time,” Sevedant said quickly. Then his eyes turned blue as he said “Broadcast.”
In an instant, the entire room vanished. Everyone was startled to find themselves surrounded by blackness. Then the blackness faded and revealed that they were standing atop a building.
“What the?! What just happened?” Rumble asked as he and everyone else looked around in confusion.
“Broadcast. Illusion Magic Spell. Connect to dummy. See from dummy,” Sevedant told them.
“Oh. So you’re using the Illusion Magic Spell, Broadcast, to let us see what a dummy you left behind sees? Cool!” Rumble said in an amazed voice.
“Rumble, who were you explaining that?”
“Ah? I just explained since I thought you were too dumb to understand, wolf face!”
“Ha! Too bad, but that’s one lousy joke!”
“Shut it! Look over there!” Darian said sternly and they looked towards the building.
A large part of the window was smashed to reveal a floor behind it. There were several people standing there while one of them had his hands tied to his back.
“What are they up to?” Marilia asked in a concerned voice as she squinted to see more clearly.
Lakshman could see them talking to each other while some were shouting. There was a sense of rush and panic within the air. He suddenly had a bad feeling as he watched the events unfold.
At that moment, they heard the man standing at the front speak to the crowd of people gathered below.
“We are from the Felix Freedom Faction and we have taken several nobles hostage! We demand the Phoenix Clan to withdraw the Trial of Betrayal of Felix. It is unjust and unfair for the clan to frame such an amazing man who has done so much for us!”
There were murmuring of as they debated about the words spoken by the man. Then what the man said shocked everyone.
“However...! If the demands are not met, we will drop one person to their death every thirty minutes!”
Hearing those words, everyone was shocked. Darian and the group could not believe what they just heard.
“What the hell are they thinking?! Rumble and Wolfenstine exclaimed at the same time at the madman’s demands.
“They are insane!” Darian said quietly.
“This is wrong! It will make Felix look like the bad guy now because of their ridiculous actions!” Ondine said angrily.
“I know, but... maybe their bluffing to get the Phoenix Clan to make the decision!” Rumble said as he thought about it.
“Hopefully,” Sevedant said quietly.
For the next thirty minutes, everyone waited in silence. During this time, there was no word or response from the Phoenix Clan. Just as the time was up, some city officials arrived to speak with them.
Because of the distance between them and the people, they could not hear what they said. Then things escalated more quickly from there and the people on the floor brought a man out. They held him near the edge of the building.
“No... No...! No...! No...!” Lakshman muttered in a horrified voice.
At that moment, the man’s head suddenly exploded which sent blood everywhere. They then let his limp body fall to the ground.
NNNNOOOOO!!!!” Lakshman shouted in a shocked voice as the headless dead body of the man fell.
“We expect a better response from the Phoenix Clan in the next thirty minutes. Otherwise, it’ll be someone else!” The man said as his voice was projected across the area.
Lakshman could not believe anyone would do that to living people, regardless of what the reasons were. He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth angrily.
“I’ve seen enough!” Lakshman said in a seriously firm voice.
Sevedant deactivated the spell and they found themselves sitting in their chairs behind the dining table. Lakshman rose to his feet with an extremely angry expression on his face.
“Tetra! We’re leaving!”
“Y-Yes!” Tetra said quickly and she transformed into her sword form.
“Phoenix Armour, Activate!” Lakshman shouted and he was surrounded by a flash of light before reappearing in the full armour which had labelled him the Sacred Armoured Phoenix Titan.
“Lakshman, be careful! As far as I could see, they only had swords and nothing else. This means they are above Sage ranked warriors and probably magicians as well,” Darian warned him.
“I’ll be careful!” Lakshman said and eh headed towards the veranda.
“Master! I’ll assist!” Ondine offered, but Lakshman shook his head.
“Stay! That’s an order! This is my fight now!” Lakshman said fiercely as he walked onto the veranda.
Lakshman climbed onto the edge of the veranda. Then he launched himself into the air by jumping with incredible force. Lakshman soared through the air at incredible force before slowing down and landing on a rooftop.
“If I remember correctly, that building is in that direction! Yes!” Lakshman said and he headed in that direction by jumping over rooftops.
“You’re getting better at controlling the armour and your energy, master,” Tetra told him in his mind.
“Naturally! I spent this entire week training to get the hang of it! There’s no way I would waste all the effort I put into mastering this!” Lakshman said as the wind howled in his ears.
A few minutes later, he arrived where Sevedant’s dummy stood. He was slightly amused to find that it was a stone statue. Only the eyes were glowed brightly to indicate that Sevedant and others watching through its eyes.
Lakshman looked around and looked up at the building where the hijackers were. The people, calling themselves the Felix Freedom Faction, seemed to be in argument. Almost twenty minutes have passed and there still did not seem the Phoenix Clan would come to negotiate.
Wanting to hear what was happening down below, Lakshman dropped to the lower buildings to hear what they are saying.
“The Phoenix Clan are refusing to give into negotiations with the Felix Freedom Faction!”
“What?! Are they stupid?! That group’s already killed one person and they will continue to do that every thirty minutes!”
“I know, but the Phoenix Clan are refusing to hear me out!”
It looked like the Phoenix Clan had no intentions of negotiating or changing their minds. It made Lakshman angry, but he decided he will deal with the clan later. Instead, he wanted to save those people trapped in the building without another person getting into harm.
Once the thirty minutes was up, the Felix Freedom Faction dragged another noble out. Lakshman was surprised to see it was none other than Emilia Serabell’s master. The fat noble was shouting, yelling and cursing at them, but they ignored his struggles.
Just then, someone else got in their way which turned out to be Emilia. It looked like she was trying to keep her master from harm, but it was no use. Those people were a lot stronger than her and easily pushed her aside.
They suddenly came to a stop and looked at each other. Lakshman was confused by their actions, but was horrified by their next decision. They kicked the fat noble away and dragged Emilia forward. It shocked Lakshman to see her being dragged by the hair as she struggled to break free.
“No...! Those bastards!” Lakshman said quietly as he slowly surged with power.
“Keep calm, master. You mustn’t make a move until the time is right!” Tetra said in his mind and he nodded in agreement.
The people dragged her and held her at the edge of the building. Then, one of them, aimed their hands at her head. In that instant, Lakshman realised what was about to happen and knew it was the time to act.
Lakshman lunged forward and soared straight at the building. He drew his fist back and, upon nearing, brought his fist forward and punched the building. The force of impact suddenly caused the entire building shake as if it was hit by a powerful earthquake.
He quickly grabbed onto the edge of the broken window frames. Then, as he looked up, he saw Emilia falling towards the ground. He instantly reacted by placing his legs on the wall and launching himself into the air. He quickly soared into the air and caught her in his arms.
For a second, Emilia had her eyes closed. Then she blinked in surprise and looked around. She was appalled to find herself in mid-air. Then she turned around and was shocked to see who her rescuer was.
“P-P-P-P-P-Phoenix... T-T-T-Titan?!”
Lakshman had no time to respond because he felt himself loosing speed as gravity began pulling him down to the ground.
He held her firmly and said “Hold on!”
She held tightly to his arm and nodded while staring at him in awe. Using a great surge of Energy Force, he propelled himself upward after releasing energy downward. He soared up and reached the floor level where the perpetrators were located at.
After propelling himself at the floor, he launched a fist and punched a man away. Once he landed, he let Emilia down and told her to get clear. As she stepped away, Lakshman walked forward as several people forward with fists at the ready.
Lakshman knocked them out even before they realised what hit them. As they limply hit the ground, the rest of the group aimed at him and shouted magic spells.
“Fire Spin!”
“Ice Blast!”
“Wind Blast!”
“Gust!”
“Earth Breaker!”
All different types of attacks soared at him. Lakshman knew they were powerful attacks, but not powerful enough to hamper him. He instantly raised his sword and hit each of them which caused an explosion.
The attackers thought they had won from their combined attacks. As the smoke cleared and Lakshman appeared without a scratch on him, everyone was stunned.
“No... way...!” They said slowly in disbelieving voices.
Lakshman admitted them to be strong. Under normal circumstances, he would have had to dodge their attacks. However, while wearing the Phoenix Armour, he was far more powerful than he was ever before.
At that moment, they realised their magic attacks are useless. So they decided to attack by using their weapons. So they pulled out their swords and spears before charging at him with yells.
Four to five warriors attacked Lakshman at a time and they aimed swung their weapons at him.
Lakshman easily dodged them because of the intense training he received by Darian and Rumble. Being able to use Flash Step a lot faster than before helped him move around quickly. This enabled him to easily dodge all the strokes and stabs the attackers did to try and hit him.
“I think that’s enough,” Lakshman said in a tired voice once he got bored of dodging.
He quickly went on the attack and whacked each of them away with a small punch to their sides. They slowly straightened up and charged at him. That was when Lakshman aimed his hand at them and said “Frozen Rock!”
In an instant, their feet were frozen to the ground. They looked down and saw the ice quickly creeping up their bodies. They tried to get rid of it, but it was no sue. The ice crept over their entire bodies until everyone became frozen statues.
Once he checking that he got all the attackers, Lakshman let out a sigh of relief. Then he turned around and walked over to the fat noble, Emilia’s master.
“W-What do you want?!” The noble said as he looked at Lakshman.
“Release all the slaves under you this instance!” Lakshman said in a powerful voice.
“Ha?! Why should-?!” The man began to say, but he faltered at the anger that Lakshman radiated.
“You can choose to deny unless you wish to feel my wrath!” Lakshman said in a scary voice.
“Master?” Tetra asked uncertainly.
Lakshman had informed her and Ondine last week that he intends to help Emilia. Being in the position to help and not helping makes him as guilty as anyone. They were uncertain at first, but they accepted it. Emilia was someone they liked and respected for her unyielding determination.
As the noble meekly agreed, Lakshman heard a sound of someone coughing from behind. He straightened up and turned around to see the man he had sent flying with a single punch.
“W-Why, Phoenix Titan?! Why did you do this?! Don’t you support to release the unjust accusations placed upon Felix?!” The man asked him desperately.
For a moment, Lakshman remained silent to gather his thoughts. Then he said “I do support the idea of freeing Felix, but achieving it this way is disgusting! Achieve it through noble means, not the underhanded method of using someone’s life as a means to bargain our way to victory!”
The man’s eyes widened in disbelief and he collapsed on the ground as all fight left him. It was the day the notorious faction known as the Felix Freedom Faction was brought down by one man. It was also the day Phoenix Titan became renowned around the city as the hero that saves people in the name of freedom and justice.
“That reminds me... I’m hungry. I hope they still have some leftovers when I get back,” Lakshman thought which made Tetra laugh.
