Jordan landed on the ground heavily. He still found it difficult to breathe but he could feel himself getting better now that he was outside the range of the Lurker's poison sub-domain. Paired with his newfound regeneration as well as the [Spiritual earring] and he was getting better with each breath that he took.
His lungs felt as though they had been dipped in the smoothest honey. His airways opened up and air rushed towards his lungs. It was freeing and he wished he could stay lying down here for a while longer.
But...
The sounds of battle reached his ears. It was though blades were clashing continuously in the air. From the sound alone Jordan could tell that the battle was intense. Huey must have been fighting intensely.
Jordan wanted to rush forward and help his brother but he didn't dare to move.
He may have had the [Spiritual earrings] that helped to heal him as well as his impressive regenerative factor but that didn't suddenly make him immune to poison. Especially not poison as potent as what The Lurker seemed to produce at a moments notice.
Jordan clenched his fist not knowing what to do. That is until he remembered what Huey had told him before he throwing him over here.
'Lydia' his mind ignited. He was already moving away from the battlefield and heading where the others were.
They hadn't moved in this entire time because everything had happened too fast for them to react and even if they did, if they had rushed in without a plan then they would have had a every difficult time and could even die without knowing what happened at all.
When they saw Jordan approaching, Lydia and Veronica stepped forward to meet him halfway. They were the only ones who could currently participate in this fight and had the highest chances of survival.
Lydia's emerald eyes flashed with worry when she saw that it was only Jordan who was returning to them. She could hear the sounds of the air exploding in the distance as well as feel the ground tremble beneath her feet but that didn't lessen the worry in her eyes one bit.
In fact it made even more worried.
Ironically Veronica who was known for her cold disposition when she was active as the student council president back in York Town High looked no different from Lydia. She too was worried but it was for someone else entirely.
If an outsider had been here to see such a thing they would have mistaken the two ladies for wives who's husbands had been sent to war and were anxiously waiting to hear about their safe return.
Under normal circumstances, Jordan would have wondered how his brother had managed to bag a girl as beautiful as Lydia but then again Huey probably wouldn't have even noticed or he would have and wouldn't have thought it was anything serious.
Regardless Jordan couldn't help but elevate Lydia's status in his heart.
If someone like her were to end up with his brother, then he certainly wouldn't object.
"Jordan what's going on?" Lydia asked hurriedly. The situation was urgent and idle chat wasn't necessary right now.
"The Lurker has managed to release poison into the immediate area around itself making difficult to fight at close range. Currently Huey is the only one who seems fine in such an environment. My guess is that he has a poison resistance skill of some kind" Jordan began to explain and Lydia nodded along. It was something that that Huey had shared with her. "...We'll need you to produce the strongest gust of wind you can manage"
Lydia's eyes flashed. How could she not guess where this was going?
If she produced a strong enough gale of wind with her [Air manipulation] skill, she could blow away the poison, give the close range fighters an even bigger chance of winning this.
"And what about Conrad?" Veronica's voice was a bit unexpected. Her face was as cold as her voice sounded at this moment but her eyes couldn't hide the concern they held within their blue radiance.
Jordan gave her a look before:
"Huey and I will be facing the Lurker head on, Lydia's role is to make sure to blow away all the poison gases and Veronica. Your task is to bring Conrad and the mayor to safety and then you'll have to come and help us"
Veronica nodded with a determined expression on her face. Jordan looked at the resolute expressions on the faces of the two ladies and he couldn't help but be slightly jealous of Huey and Conrad.
But it was only that, slight. He would just have to make sure that those two idiots lived long enough to see the day the feelings of these two as clear as day.
But knowing Huey's personality, if he didn't push him forward then he would never make a move. That was a story for another day and it certainly wasn't something to think about in the current situation.
The three moved getting ready to join the battle.
Jordan's blood boiled. Veronica's aura was shrouded by a dense frigid air that seemed to make the temperature around her drop and Lydia's mana surged.
Lydia took control of all the air in the surroundings willing it to come to a stand still.
...
Just beyond the Lurker's poison sub-domain, a young man with golden hair sunk to his knees. His hands trembled and his teeth clenched. The pit around him was no more than a meter deep and the ground around him was cracked.
However what really stood out was the broken man who lay in a pool of his own blood. Most of the bones in his body were broken, his internal organs were crushed and his arms were nothing more than flattened flesh at this point.
The only part about him that seemed to still be intact was his face and even then dark veins ran down the side of his cheeks and parts of his skin that weren't covered in blood was a sickly pale color.
Conrad looked at his uncle. He was devastated.
Bennet's chest rose and fell slowing. His breathing was ragged and rough.
"U-uncle Bennet?" Conrad called out. His voice so low that it would have been blow off by the wind. His words were even drowned out by the violent clashes of Huey and the Lurker.
Bennet's eyelids flattered weakly. His eyes barely opening.
The whites of his eyes were soaked in blood making his eyes bloodshot. Bennet took a shallow breath and his eyes looked towards his nephew.
He looked at Conrad. This nephew of his had been his responsibility ever since the car crash that took the lives of both his brother and his sister-in-law.
They had left behind a small 13 year old boy. And Bennet had found himself looking after a child when he knew absolutely nothing about that. Bennet had tried his best for him. He had raised him up to be a responsible young man.
Tears fell down Conrad's cheeks.
Bennet's lips parted.
"Don't...cry...you're...no...longer. Li-little" Bennet's words were weak. Weaker than Conrad could remember. Weaker than Conrad had ever seen and heard it, even back when his parents died in a car crash Uncle Bennet had stood strong. He had been a pillar of moral support and had been the second best thing to a parent as he could be.
Seeing him life this.
So broken and fragile. It destroyed him. Conrad could feel his heart sinking. Despair seeping into the deepest parts of himself and latching on as though thorns pierced deep. His heart constricted, his lungs clenched and his throat burned.
Conrad wanted to say something but what came out were whimpers instead. Conrad felt small once again. Like he was transported back to that day. Standing over his parents graves except this time there was no strong hand to keep him grounded.
"...ah-don't cry...what am I...going...to...tell your father...when...I meet. Him?" Bennet's voice was soothing but the tears that spilled out of Conrad's eyes were relentless. His vision was already blurred by his tears. "...it...seems you'll have to go on your own...do you know what you mother used to call you?...It was golden lion..."
Bennet's breath came to a halt. His head slumped to the side and a single bloody tear fell down the corner of his eye. Light faded from his eyes.
Bennet White breathed his last.
Conrad wailed.
His voice carried across the battlefield just as a strong tornado materialized in the center so the field. The wind currents were strong. Dust was sucked into and smaller rocks were lifted off the ground.
And the poison cloud that had surrounded most of the battlefield was siphoned off. Drawn to the tornado by a strong suction force created by the centrifugal rotation of the winds.