"Looks like you guys dont check Red List before heading out to adventure huh?"
Alvarez, a member of the gang spoke up.
"Huh... Acting like bigshots. In the end you guys are just some lowly bounty hunters."
Riley mocked him.
Alvarez and Julius cornered Riley, whereas the remaining four cornered Eiser and Sandy.
"Look. Your lackeys are have been cornered."
Julius said.
"Who said they were my lackeys"
Riley said, as in a sudden bust of spark, Eiser had already laid down two of the members.
"BRIAN! OSCAR!!"
Alvarez Shouted.
Riley charged onto them yet both of them got back.
Brain and Oscar, whom Eiser had lain, were up aswell.
Now everyone in the gang had been annoyed. As they took some sort of a formation. With five people at the front and one person at the back.
"Huh.. typical formation, five at the front meams they are attackers. The one behjnd will probably be the Water mage for defence."
Riley said as he saw the formation and attacked on his own.
As Eiser saw Riley attack on his own he charged aswell.
"Stay back!"
He said to Sandy as he did.
Sandy was surprised to hear that. It raised a semse of doubt inside of Sandy's mind. A belief of incompetence.
"I cant hold out for long! So be quick"
The member at the back said as he recited,
"I Steal the spark from the heavens to warm the cold earth — Let my torment be your light!"
As he recited that a ring of blazing fire was created, circiling them.
Eiser was surpried yet Riley was was confused as they saw that ring.
"FALL BACK!! GET OUT OF THE RING!!"
Eiser shouted to Riley as the ring was created.
In a frenzy, all three of them started to run back.
"Sandy quick!"
He said and Sandy quickly pulled the Earth up. On which the three of them stood.
"Why is it so hard??"
Sandy struggled to speak.
"Prehster"
Julius said as a giant tornado easlily broke their balance. Yet they were still in the sky as now they were all floating on Riley's Prehster.
But not for long, as the member at the back shot magma beams from his spear which dropped all of them at the ground.
All of this had infuriated Eiser alot. The sparkles around him had grown intense.
As even in that ring of fire, he blitz past Brian and Alvarez with a giant aprk of electricity in his hand, he tried to electrocute them. Yet they dodged. From behind, Brain froze his feet, Eiser's balance broke then Vozinha came with a mighty Earth punch.
"Prehster"
Riley shouted and made Vozinha fly back.
He shot some Air blades, that all of them dodged.
"Spi-"
Oscar was about to attack when Eiser punched him in the face. Suddenly from above, Julius and Alvarez with blades in thier hand, striked down at Eiser, yet as Eiser dodged, both of them got hit by blocks of Earth by Sandy.
As Riley charged ahead to attack Marcus, he suddenly fell down as his feet were covered in Earth. A giant fist headed its way which was suddenly broken by a magma Pistol.
It was Arkas who had just arrived from the Post office.
"Spirals"
Arkas said as he created mini fire spirals. All six of them dodged those spirals, and instead Arkas was hit by a very hot magma beam. Yet it was not the end of it as Incruz came rushing towards him with a fiery fist. He was about to land that fist when uddenly he got hit from a giant Earth fist from beneath.
"I am covering you!"
Sandy said.
As he said that, Eiser looked back at him. With all the ruckus around him, Eiser noticed that even though These Bounty hunters were greater in numbers and were using great powers, all of them, Sandy, Ana, Riley, Arkas, were fighting fully ready like a team. This sudden thought made him smile abit. For To Eremos was showing teamwork even better then those bounty hunters.
Thinking about it, he smirked as he charged himself with sparkles and threw lightning bolts at Alvarez and Julius.
"Lightning Party!"
He said as he spun his body around and electric bolts were released in all directions by him.
Yet the strange thing was that even though the attacks of To Eremos were hitting them, The Bounty Hunters weren't backing down. It was almost as if that their attacks had no damage.
Despite all this, To Eremos fought them to save Riley.
Sandy proving his worth, Anastasia silently backingthem from behind, and Riley Arkas and Eiser leading the charge — They had found a formation of their own.
Maria, watching them from the roof the Archdiocese, chuckled.
"They didn't need any saving after all"
As she thought to herself.
Soon enough the fire ring started to deteriorate. Incruz had reached his limit as he laid flat on the gound huffing.
Eiser created a lightning bolt and Riley created a Tornado, ready to finish them off as suddenly they started to back off.
"We are the Aneleemones! Remember this!"
Alvarez said as they ran away with their tail between their legs.
As they left, To Eremos, huffing sat onhe ground there.
Clapping her hands, Walking with a gate, in her barn clothes, Maria came.
"You guys fought well!"
She said.
"Oh Maria, you should've brough the carriage!"
Eiser said, catching his breath.
As they reached the barn, Anastasia healed Arkas's beam injury and light injuries on everyone else aswell.
With a bright smile on his face Eiser started.
"Ahhem... Today we fought as a team, it was a very great effort. Cheers to To Eremos's first victory!"
Eiser said as he raised his glass of water up.
"Cheers!"
Everyone said, laughing they celebrated their first fight.
"But i gotta ask. What was that power that that guy used? I am pretty sure our red head cant do that!"
Riley said.
"Who are you callinga red head. Huh??"
Arkas shouted at him.
"It is known as Divine Protections."
Eiser replied.
"Divine Protections? What are those?"
Sandy inquired.
"Divine protections are ancient prayers. These are prayers of the First kings that were fullfilled by God."
Maria said as she walked into the barn with a pot in her hands.
She put the pot down. And from a side shelf she took out pots and gave one ro each person.
Then she sat with them. Opened the lid of the pot. As steam came outside with tantalizing aroma.
"What have you made Maria?"
Arkas inquired.
"It is called as Oyakodon!"
She said as she put the soup like dish into pots and served them.
"Great isn't it?"
She asked.
"Umm.... It is!! So delicious!!"
Sandy said full of emotions.
"About what you said earlier Maria? What do you mean Prayers that were fulfilled?"
Riley inquired.
"I wont dive in too deep as you all must've heard the whole stories. But three thousand years ago, in the era of the first Five Kings, It is said that the Demon they faced was so strong that even after all of their combined efforts, The demon wasn't defeated. So they all prayed to god with some special words. When God heard those special words he granted them the answer to their prayers. Those were, The Divine Protections".
She explained as they ate.
"Hey Sprakles, How do you know about These Divine Protections. Dont tell me you can also use them?"
Arkas inquired.
"No i cant use them. If i could i would've already done so. Knowing them well... Roger told me about them."
Eiser replied.
Eiser's reply relieved Arkas abit.
"Who is Roger, Blue Bro?"
This time Sandy asked.
"Oh.. I guess i never told you about him. He was the man who raised me. Roger Dionysus"
As soon as Maria heard that name, the pot that she ate with with fell down. A sudden fear coveyed her body. As her expressions went pale.
"Maria, are you alright? What happened?"
Eiser said.
"Huh... Yeah yeah i am fine! I just got lost in thought. I'll clean this up."
She said as she got up to get a towel.
Eiser looked at him with sharp eyes, Yet he didn't say anything.
"Roger Dionysus raised Eiser Alexiaris?? That bastard, he hasnt done something to him has he?"
She thought to herself as she cleaned the spilled soup.
The whole time, they all ate and gossiped, Anastasia was clouded in some thoughts of her own. All she did was play with her finger or stare at the Moon's Crown at the back wall.
Eiser noticed that so after they were done eating. As everyone left the barn. Eiser called her out.
"Ana is something wrong? You look bothered."
He said.
"Huh? Ohh... Nothing. This Moon's Crown. It just distracts me abit! Haha."
Anastasia didn't look in the eyes of Eiser or perhaps she couldn't for she knew if she did Eiser would tell him that she was lying.
She hid that worry of the letter behind that tiny smile. Forcing herself into a battlefield of her own. A battle that she thought she had to fight herself.
Overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions. She wasn't even able to look at Eiser, who was sitting infront of her.
He touched her chin with his hand and lifted it up. Forcing her to look him in the eyes. As their eyes met. As those calm, starry blue eys met those shiny, watery eyes of Ana. That water brust out.
A gentle smile on his face, his perfectly set brown hair, that shined upon being lit by the sublime light of the moon. As his fingers brished her chin. A warm breath calmed her insides. Her long hair, those bangs, danced and swayed with the movement of the wind.
As she looked at him, her worries deminshed. As she looked at him, she found herself in a state of such a mental peace, that not even a new born baby, in the extremes of ecstasy, playing with angels would feel.
As her fingers gripped her soft chin that quivered. The fountain, that she hid in her eyes finally bursted out. Her hands that were resteicted, playing amoungst themselves, had found a new play toy. As they went to his broad back and hugged him from there.
Finally the silence inside the barn was broken with her childlike cry. Her hands held him tight, close to her. After crying her heart out, Anastasia finally revealed to him Jessica's letter.
After getting to know about Jessica's letter, Eiser called everyone inside for a plan and meeting. As Maria said she had to go out for sometime, To Eremos used this time to plan their aheads.
When Maria came back, all five of them had already slept.
In the morning, as they had already planned, To Eremos split into two groups, Riley and Anastasia took their carraige to go towards Fosch Bevite, while Eiser, Arkas and Sandy got into a carriage to traverse the mountains to go to Trankava.
After saying their farewells to Maria they all left as planned and decided to meet at the Patriarchaty of Trankava.
************
Tips:
How does Maria know about the Divine Protections? And what grudge does she hold against Roger?