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Kilian stopped at the front of the church tower, “The tower still stands, leaving what only remains. Take that as you wish, but it is very symbolic of how Jinsu survived despite being ground zero.” He sees the siblings observing the tower before demanding to go, he continues driving, eventually descending from the hill. Markus, feeling better and less fatigued, turns behind him, putting his head above the roof, viewing the ground zero of Jinsu. “This is just unbelievable. All of what came before has perished.”
“How many survived?”
“Only around five percent at most or even less, matter of fact. Some have already returned to their land to rebuild their homes during this past week…I’ll say around two thousand or less made it through the bombings.”
Konstantin, who had been silent the whole trip, sighed as she glanced to her side. Ronja insists she ain’t looking at the whole of Jinsu from above. Marina went up beside Markus for the remainder of the trip.
The truck reached the bottom of the hill. “Even at night, the main street used to be bright and lively for a town,” Hugo said.
Kilian turns on the aerial headlights again. Dirk views his window, seeing a tower with light shining through the windows. “I see a tower. What’s that?”
“That’s us, Hong An Palace.” Kilian pointed out of his window before turning left to the intersection. The roads inward are now clean, leaving plenty of space for the truck to zoom through. He sped through a mile and drifted into the palace. Markus and Konstantin fell on their backs to the truck’s bed.
Konstantin's episode of motion sickness as she lifted herself and laid back down momentarily till the effects subsided. Hearing the doors open, her head stirred towards the tailgate, “You are reckless. This is your first time driving?”
Kilian shook his head and couldn’t remember how many times he drove ever to begin with. Konstantin rubbed the back of her ears before standing back up, leaving the truck in front of the main hall. It had reversed towards the main hall. “Yep…you reckless driver!”
He took it as a compliment and insisted more would come. He grabbed their luggage and gave it to Vivian. She placed them beside the main hall’s stairways.
“I didn’t know there were butlers here.”
“I met Vivian as she was doing her part-time job at one of the former clothing shops near here. She knows clothing and assisting jobs, so perfect candidate.”
Vivien greeted Vivian, ironically sharing a similar name, “Vive-”
“Yes Vivi…”
“Ok, so that’s how we are doing it…”
“It’s more convenient.”
The two engage in the conversation as the siblings all depart, following her to their rooms. Selina leaves the truck, leaving Kilian to drive it into the throne hall. Ignoring the tables, he rams to the right, smashing the furniture and the tables, parking it there. He turned off and came out of the truck, scanning for any scratches, and to his surprise found nothing.
“How much more stuff are we gonna destroy?” Selina walked up the stairs.
“I can’t count…” Kilian shrugged his shoulders, “We are gonna form a new government tomorrow afternoon. There’s no need for this throne hall anymore. It might be a new living room or something.” He pointed to the throne chair, suggesting to remove it too. Consider it useless and offer no purpose.
“All of that effort getting that chair…just for it to be thrown away.”
Kilian nodded. He could care less about the throne if it’s just him sitting there. The office in his residence building is where he would do the majority of paperwork and management, and he prefers that setting when it keeps him occupied more and having verbal meetings simultaneously. Plus it's much more comfortable for the guests on the couch with a drink for longer conferences.
He went up to the throne seat, unsheathing his blade. Sounds of the blade clinging to the sheath as it departs. Selina ran in front of the throne, insisting Kilian resist demolishing it. He stood quietly, gripping the hilt, while Selina could see his cheeks twitching, and his eyes growing thin. He reluctantly pushes his sword back into the sheath.
Selina breathes in relief, only to hear a crack. She quickly turns her head around.
BOOM.
The wood and crystalized rocks imploded into thin dust, leaving remains of powder debris scattered on the floor.
||Abnormal Scent detected||
The pungent smoke emitting from the pile caused it to contaminate the whole throne hall very quickly, “You know what fuck this.” Kilian gestured Selina out of the throne hall as he withdrew his sword, slicing the whole roof. He exerted his foot, directing himself backward, up towards the air, witnessing the throne hall collapsing. “Oh well. I guess we will have a new building here in the future,” he muttered.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, you idiot?!" Yelling voice from below.
Kilian didn't respond once he navigated the voice to be Selina’s. The campsite got spooked. He descended to the top of the remains of the throne hall. Few came out of their beds bewildered about why the throne hall collapsed.
||Abnormal Scent removed||
No more pungent smell. He walks out of the scene while Selina disappointedly stands outside of the perimeter, with her right hand palming her face. “Worth it!” He happily responded to Selina.
She shook her head with her right hand outward while crossing her left arm. Kilian ensured the campsite was all him. The four generals of the former groups Kilian had promised to discuss with him were also waiting at the campsite.
“I didn’t forget the intended conversations well…” Kilian looks up at the night sky, “It’s only a few hours left until morning, so why not get this in session.” He invited the four to follow him to his residential building. Zikham jolted first, walking behind him, and raised his hand towards the whole campsite before departing, “You men better get rest till sunrise.” He said confidently. Ivermi, Benson, and Detsu raised their hands respectively towards their men in the campsite before following Zikham and Kilian.
“You are not coming?” Kilian asked Selina as he saw her heading towards the north hallway.
“I have a clinic business to take care of. Especially Qian and Alarcia.”
“I’ll keep you posted until then.”
Selina leaves heading back to the direction of the clinic. Kilian went east, passing the main garden. Ivremi adored the greenery, illuminating throughout the garden, “I haven’t seen this much dense greenery in such an area.”
“You guys have no gardens?”
“I thought you know?” Zikham replied while Ivermi denied ever having one.
“There were no photographs, only maps, and black ink diagrams. The undercover team might know what the interior of each palace was like, but I haven’t asked them yet.”
“I’m surprised you even survived and defected to Hong An.” Kilian started to speed, prompting others too. The four sprinted through the hallways, near misses of the protruding corners as all turns.
“Slow down,” Benson said before his knees collapsed onto the pathway. Others stopped, screeching briefly.
Ivermi teleported towards Benson, grasped his gi’s collar, and dragged him to where the others were staring at Benson. He got knocked out as he got closer to everyone else. Zikham chuckled in disbelief and looked away. Dentsu didn’t even budge and looked away towards the entrance of Kilian’s residence ahead.
|| Benson: [Stamina unstable]
Cooldown 10 Seconds||
Damn. I better manage myself better. Kilian thought, realizing Benson has a similar issue, like him, on Stamina management. But this is just awkward, embarrassing everyone. He recalled the time at the BBQ eatery with the siblings and pointed it out. “So, it is true. Tiequan is more of bookworms and fists, and we somehow still lost.”
“Hong An even had debt collectors to make up the trade from us,” Zikham added.
“Sure when the King was still around,” Kilian said.
“You are trying to unite everyone in Jinsu.”
“Mhm. We have no choice now, do we? Klaus and Mei Zhan led me to where I am now. There’s no turning back.”
The two names left the three startled that even Benson awakens, letting go of Ivermi’s grip, and picking himself up. “Klaus?!” Benson yelled.
Kilian shrugged as if there was no other reason to say it differentially. “Let’s talk about this first thing inside,” he said while pushing the door open. “Please sit, make your flabbergasted selves comfortable.” He summoned the lights on, placing his sheath beside him on the desk. Benson surrendered to the couch, and Zikham sat closest to Kilian. Ivermi and Detsu toured the office and residence, disturbed by the unordinary differences in the layout.
Both got yelled at as Kilian noticed them about to head to the stairs. “Upstairs is not for meetings!”
They got away from the stairs and eventually sat down on the couch. Zikham, feeling tense since hearing the two names, demanded reasons why they were somehow back in existence. “You mentioned them as if they were still alive on the soil. If that’s true, I demand to know where they are?!”
Kilian pulled out a bottle of water and took a sip. “I don’t know what you mean. They are spirits not living souls. After all of your respective former clans and sects left Klaus bled to death, he did a ritual as his final wish. Then I was resurrected after supposedly five years dead…”
“Why did he want to bring you back?” Ivermi asked next.
“I don’t know. I was the perfect candidate in his eyes that could tear the Jinsu groups apart.”
The four looked at each other and didn't know what to consider, the fact they were sitting in front of the man who destroyed the palaces and finished in one day despite Jinsu being raided days before. Kilian leaned back, pulling out more unread paperwork.
“You are fucking monster,” Ivermi said.
“Indeed I am,” Kilian said as he scrambled through the papers after something came to his head. He eventually found a treaty of the five groups from undisclosed years ago. “Look at this, you guys' signatures are on here, on page three.” He warned this is the last time the treaty will be valid. Being the culprit in separating Jinsu into five groups, Kilian tore the paper apart before disintegrating it to dust, officially ending the group's control of Jinsu. All the territories beyond the central part of town are allowed for civilization expansion while protecting the forest and various wildlife beyond the bridge. The point of intersection where Klaus’s siblings arrived is the farthest territory Jinsu can reach.
All four slumbered and reluctantly accepted the terms. “So, what about us?”
“That would depend on you. Two conditions. Serve me, you get your fair shares, benefits, and securities under fewer restrictions. Then have peace."
"Have peace?"
“Commit and have some peace. In a way, some peace lowers the burden enabling us to succeed more efficiently and quicker. I had peace with accepting my only recalling memory of my death. That was another one of the causes that got me here too.”
Zikham finally leaned back to the couch and did not understand [peace]. “You didn’t answer one thing. I asked earlier about Mei Zhan,” Zikham said, looking directly at his eyes. Kilian pointed at the conical hat hanging at the wall and then walked up to it, keeping his finger pointed in its direction. “Here.”
He felt amused as Kilian pointed at the conical hat, thinking he wasn't comprehending his question. Kilian gestures to it. “I’m still here. Not losing my mind. This is where the spirit was.”
Kilian lifted the ragged conical hat off the wall hanger and felt a sense of qi coming from it. His whole right arm jolted as he got electrocuted. He accidentally drops the conical hat. Once he picked up again, he felt nothing. Which is strange. The ragged conical hat shouldn’t have any excess of qi left.
||Electrocution countered||
“Oi, you good?” Zikham called. Kilian shook his head, tossing it across reaching his Zikham’s grasp. “This is some heavy hat,” Zikham said with his forearms flexed, showing off his tight veins. Kilian carefully observed the four viewing the conical hat. Back of his head be fearing for any uncertain bullcrap might occur at any moment. He turned around momentarily to summon Hong An’s arrivals log textbook.
||[Threat Behind:] 4 Feet||
Sounds of swirling progressively more louder from behind while pulling the pages in the textbook. Instinctively his right facing outward, his right hand’s grip stopped at the crown, generating purple electricity, dispersing out from his hands. The OLRS went loud. He turns around and finds the illuminating purple light from within the layers of the conical hat.
||[Threat ->>> Enemy]
[Danger - Must neutralize]||
Zikham jumped out of the couch with his grip on his hilt. “What the hell is this massive burst?!” He then withdrew his katana.
“Wait, don't do it here!” Kilian grabbed his sheath and ran out of the residence building, ramming the doors. They followed him, flying up into the air. He crash-landed on the hill at the training site and viciously threw the hat upwards. He pulls his black blade from his sheath and disintegrates it. Red energy leaks out while both of his hands are gripping the hilt, about to unleash it. Loud bang and boom roars, overwhelming his ears. He slashed his sword towards the ground.
The red energy transitions to an angry blaze as it departs from the tip of his blade. Zikham blasted a thin beam from the tip of his blade, striking the conical hat in place. Glancing at the blazing blast magnifies the farther it moves from Kilian, he immediately cuts in half, before the hat gets engulfed by the flames. Kilian leaps upwards to the four, “That should do it.” he hoped. The site explodes, emitting a plume of smoke.
Ivermi’s eyes began to glow yellow while staring continuously at the smoke. She exerts briefly her qi, alerting Zikham. He turned around along with Kilian staring at her. The side of her face is overlapped by her yellow qi, shaping half the face of a wolf. “The hat is still there,” she growled.
“Are you serious right now?”Kilian is baffled when he sees Benson just standing there with his back partially turned away, reading out of all time of the day. He didn’t budge to listen. “Fucking bastard,” Kilian muttered, turning back to see the three already on the battlefield.
He dashed towards the three fighting something anonymous hidden within the plume of smoke. Naturally, Kilian gives a strike towards it. “What the!” His strike has abruptly stopped.
“Damn it. All from that hat.” Ivermi said while blocking barrages of air punches inflicted on her. She got nudged progressively farther leaving trails of dirt.
Kilian leaped backwards watching the scene trying to pinpoint what he could do.
||Target unrecognizable
Calibrating…||
“Ah!” Zikharm was thrown back, blood spattered across the site, showering drizzle all over Kilian and Ivermi. For her, she lost her focus, and one air punch dived into her stomach. She was swirled into the air, crashing to the hill. Dentsu is the only one left clashing with the anonymous. He is riding on the cloud, using various forms of magic for an offense where he can block countless barrages of air punches effortlessly. The cloud served his defense along for movement.
Clouds formed out of thin air, hovering over the training site. With the two full moons in the bright night sky, Detsu manipulated the light towards the cloud, creating a splash of water. He articulated his fingers causing a stack of water in the shape of a rectangular prism, standing tall on its base.
Kilian observed the stack seeing the water move within despite it’s fully surrounded by water. He remains focused on it and the anonymous while progressively unlocking multiple suppressions. Detsu pointed towards the anonymous, breaking the shape, pushing the water from the clouds striking it. The water stopped the plumes of smoke escalating further, dissipating in the air by contact with the water.
Detsu turned to Kilian, “Little help here,” A silhouette revealed under the waterfall and smoke. There’s no mistake, it’s a person. “I saw a silhouette!!” He yelled. A sword jolted out from the smoke. Detsu nearly misses, dodging his head out of the way. His cloud distanced further away while keeping the waterfall.
“Hang on for a little longer!” Kilian said while his blade’s edges turned white. “You better be ready, too. Disable your suppressions.”
“I don’t have any,” Detsu replied and summoned a cloud sword from his riding cloud. “There were never situations where we needed to train much further and at an imaginary limit!”
“Jesus, man you all need to collaborate on your training routines once this is over!”
The pressure from Kilian’s shoulder causes the ground to shatter. The boom from the blade echoes, spreading the entire training site. White qi followed by red surrounds him. He grunted and clenched both of his forearms, manipulating his energy into an aura. He lets out one breath and relaxes, “It’s now or never…let it all out!” Kilian said to Detsu.
“I think I’m at my limit.”
“Bullshit! You just summoned a sword from your cloud!” Kilian flashed from a distance. “NOW!” He lifted his sword, preparing a loaded strike. The anger of his blade, lusting for destruction to its prey.
Detsu was reluctant, not wanting to knock himself out, but the comment ticked his mind. He switches the flow into a projectile before grabbing his sword and leaping midair. Gesturing his fingers, a portion of water heads toward his blade and dives for the strike. Kilian went first, striking the silhouette. It blocked his strike, but his blade still soars, imitating a scream. Detsu went for the head, also blocked.
The clash of the three inflicted chaos around the training site. Shockwaves flowed in all directions, gusts generated mid-air, knocking Benson out of the air, and sending him to the ground hard. Detsu grins slightly after feeling a sensation between his eyes, and his mind feels cold. He pulled out his palm, facing it towards the silhouette.
Splat.
A few shaped-like blades exerted out of the silhouette’s body, causing it to lose its slight defense from Kilian, whose blade is only more feisty and demanding. An imitation of the dragon’s jaw starts to appear from his blade. Kilian pushed further inward as his aura grew immense, transferring its energy to the blade.
“Feuerfluss!!” Kilian’s eyes shine bright red. A whole river of lava with the surface of scorching fire, released from the blade's edge in the form of a projectile, blasting onto the silhouette. The silhouette immediately reacted to the scorching hot lava spread all over it and stepped away from position for the first time. Loud feminine yells were so loud, that they vocalized echoes, sending the two flying.
||Nose fracture detected
Activating Stamina Recovery +10%
Unknown effect in effect(1): Boosting Strength and Defense (25 s) ||
Oh no! Kilian, realizing his aura dissipated, got up from the ground with his face covered with dirt and blood dripping from his nose. “That damn motherfucker.” He sprinted towards the silhouette, still screeching in pain. Detsu went behind the silhouette as Kilian reached close to the range of the echoes again. “Here it comes,” he muttered. Following the grass movements, he tried to pinpoint the timing of the upcoming cycle of echoes. To his dismay, he misjudged the second wave, prompting him to cover. Using his sword as a shield, he attempted to release his aura once more.
The aura was only partially occurring around his head and upper torso. Detsu, can you hurry up now? He thought as the echoes pushed him back while the echoes were exponentially increasing in frequency, and started inflicting wounds on his legs.
Splat.
||Wounds detected (1 -> 5)
Health decreasing in effect||
Shit. Kilian glanced below, eyes blood squirting out from his thighs and knees. His legs refused to surrender as they continuously braced the force of the echoes, pushing him even further from the silhouette. Thinking of any last-minute options he got, he scrambled his mind for anything he could do.
The force seemingly decreased abruptly. Kilian saw the reflection from behind. The grass changed directions, pointing to his left where the upcoming waves were going to his left. He leans to his right, and his legs tremble, but still standing. He glanced behind to see Selina with her green magic. “Now is your time. GO!”
Kilian looked upwards, “Once I go up, you redirect the echoes right towards my blade. My call.”
He sprinted towards the silhouette once more and ignored the continuing blood leaking out of his kneecaps. “Damn it. What the hell are you from that hat?!”
Kilian’s thighs start to numb while preparing a leap upward. He switches focus towards his feet and lifts off. The aura re-emits at his lower half, and he recharges his attack one more time, lifting his sword upward, “Do it!!” He reaches above the silhouette and the remaining smoke emitting from it.
Selina rotates her casting clockwise and fires the absorbed echoes, transforming it into a beam. Kilian directed his sword towards the ground, clashing with the beam. He proceeds in a free fall once he feels heavy. Detsu shoots a cloud projectile, striking its legs and disabling the silhouette.
The sword unleashes the echoes back at the silhouette, dispersing all the smoke in its path and sending it landlocked. "Take this pain back!" He vents his anger as he reaches the silhouette, revealing the whole body covered in black smoke.
The blade pierces its abdomen. The light shines through from the body. Detsu, with no second thoughts, dashed up to Kilian, sending both away from the scene. "What the Hell are you doing?!" Kilian yelled.
"We were about to be blown away!!" Detsu glanced back.
Boom!
The blast erupted as the shockwaves simulating gravity sent the two down to the floor near Ivermi and Selina. Selina cast a bigger shield around the blast and in front of her. Detsu rolled away from Kilian. Kilian got up from the ground, viewing the blast.
“Uh…your legs are soaked.” Detsu looked at Kilian’s knees.
“I know it’s been since a minute ago,” He said while staring at the blast dissipating
||Target detected||
“No way!” Kilian in disbelief seeing the silhouette stands up.
“Are you fucking serious?!” Detsu ranted, bewildered as he also watched the scene.
The silhouette appears standing in a slump. Likely must have attempted to get itself up seconds after the blast. Seconds later, it collapsed violently on its knees before tumbling to its side on the ground.
“I was about to say,” Detsu said, taking a breather.
The smoke covering the silhouette dissipates as well. Kilian vaguely sees the arms revealing purple vinyl. The vinyls caught him off guard. He asked Selina if she could see who it was. She took a pause, silent. “Hang on. That’s…”
Kilian grunted trying to stand on his shattered knees. He grabbed Selina’s right hand. Her tight grip feels like a table, positioning himself easier to stand. His limbs are slightly closer to the site. “It’s not possible.”
||[Health Warning…Entering A State of Crisis]
Need Medical Assistance||
His heart is pumping concerningly fast, and the pain in his knees and thighs subsided. Trying to run, only to be awkwardly slumped to the grass. Goddamn my legs. Just for once, let me move. He pulled himself again, jogging towards the site. “Can’t be.” he dropped to the floor. “Mei?! Mei?!” yelling her name. No wound to her abdomen. He leans closer to her chest.
Thump. Thump.
The sounds of a heartbeat. “She’s alive!” he loudly muttered. Then told Detsu and Selina to come to his spot. Selina went closer to her shock. Out of nowhere, her known friend is now alive once more after originally thinking her time was over when she got obliterated by the barrages of air bombs dropping on Jinsu. She was only in spirit form in prior visits or meetings. After hearing her heartbeat, Selina realized reincarnation had happened to her and was alive once again. Her body appearance has changed. The shoulders are broader, with toner arms. Purple vinyl imprinted on her neck.
The silhouette thing is a mystery. The ragged conical hat is gone. No traces of it or a fragment can be found. The electrocution from the hat finally concluded to be Mei. More strange to the point of Kilian is that her reincarnation is out of all times, and there is no signal. There are too many questions unanswered, scrambling his mind. He leans up, seeing Selina towering over the two. "Jeez, I'm feeling exhausted. I need a nap," Kilian whispered as he slowly lay on the grass. Blood leaks from his knees, spreading over the grass floor.
||Target eliminated
+1000 XP
Level 0: 4000/4000
Level 1 Unlocked||
"Hang on!” Selina grasped Kilian from hitting the floor. His eyes grew heavy as he tried to resist longer. She adjusted him, temporarily leaning on Mei. He glanced at Selina before closing the doors of his eyes.
