The massive doors of the Wind Temple finally opened.
KRRRRRRRRRR...
A powerful gust exploded from inside.
Leo's hair flew backward.
Chen Wei grabbed his clothes.
Lily covered her face.
Yuna simply stood there, staring into the darkness.
Then—
A voice thundered from inside.
"FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!"
The entire temple shook.
"AFTER A THOUSAND YEARS, SOMEONE HAS FINALLY COME TO VISIT ME!!"
Everyone froze.
Leo slowly covered his ears.
Chen Wei did the same.
Chen Wei:
"WHY IS SHE SO LOUD?!"
Leo:
"I DON'T KNOW!"
Lily:
"My ears are ringing!"
Yuna:
"Is this her normal voice?"
Another voice immediately echoed through the temple.
"OF COURSE IT IS!"
Everyone:
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
Chen Wei:
"DON'T ANSWER US FROM THAT FAR AWAY!"
Footsteps suddenly approached.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Then a girl appeared through the swirling wind.
She looked completely different from the ancient temple around her.
Long silver hair with streaks of teal flowed behind her as if the wind itself was carrying it. A black cap sat loosely on her head, while several strands of hair framed her bright teal eyes.
She wore a cropped inner top beneath a loose, flowing jacket decorated with wind patterns and metallic details. Her baggy black martial-arts pants allowed complete freedom of movement, while chains, charms and a long scarf moved constantly in the breeze around her.
Her high-top boots touched the ground.
Tap.
She tilted her cap.
Then smiled.
A confident, mischievous smile.
Airi:
"Yo."
She pointed at herself.
Airi:
"Name's Airi Kazehana."
She spun around once.
Her scarf followed her movement like a ribbon of wind.
Airi:
"Wind Temple Guardian,
Master of the breeze,
If you came looking for a fight..."
She snapped her fingers.
Airi:
"...then get ready to freeze!"
Chen Wei stared at her.
Chen Wei:
"...She's definitely the one."
Leo:
"Yeah."
Lily:
"Absolutely."
Yuna:
"Without a doubt."
Airi grinned.
Airi:
"You four came together."
She looked at each of them.
Airi:
"So here's what we'll do."
She pointed toward a huge empty space inside the temple.
Airi:
"Battle."
Leo immediately reached for his sword.
Leo:
"Finally, something normal."
Airi:
"Rap battle."
Leo:
"..."
Chen Wei:
"..."
Lily:
"..."
Yuna:
"..."
Leo slowly put his sword away.
Leo:
"I knew there was a catch."
---
FIVE MINUTES LATER...
"WHAT?!"
Chen Wei looked around in disbelief.
A gigantic stadium had somehow appeared inside the temple.
Rows upon rows of people filled the seats.
Wind Martial Artists from the entire city had somehow arrived.
Someone had even installed massive speakers.
Chen Wei:
"HOW DID ALL THESE PEOPLE GET HERE?!"
Leo:
"I don't know!"
Chen Wei:
"WE JUST WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR!"
Leo:
"I KNOW!"
Chen Wei pointed toward the audience.
Chen Wei:
"THAT GUY WASN'T EVEN HERE FIVE MINUTES AGO!"
Leo:
"Stop asking questions!"
Suddenly—
A spotlight turned on.
A familiar figure appeared at the center of the stage.
The same legendary host who had once hosted the World Martial Art Tournament in Volume 1.
Host:
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!"
The crowd erupted.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
Chen Wei:
"NO."
Leo:
"What's wrong?"
Chen Wei:
"I refuse to accept this."
Airi jumped onto the stage.
Airi:
"Four challengers!"
She pointed toward Leo.
Airi:
"One stage!"
Then she pointed toward the audience.
Airi:
"One thousand years of waiting!"
The crowd:
"WOOOOOOOOOO!!"
Airi:
"And tonight..."
She raised both hands.
Airi:
"WE RAP!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The speakers exploded with music.
Leo stared at the stage.
Leo:
"...When did we agree to this?"
Yuna:
"We didn't."
Lily:
"Too late now."
Chen Wei:
"I'm going home."
Airi:
"No you're not."
A sudden gust pushed Chen Wei back into his chair.
Chen Wei:
"HEY!"
Airi laughed.
---
ROUND ONE
Airi stepped forward.
She didn't simply speak.
She moved with the rhythm.
Her fingers snapped.
Her feet tapped against the stage.
Airi:
"Wind in the sky,
Clouds in the view,
Four little heroes,
What you gonna do?"
The audience:
"OOOOOOOOOOH!"
Chen Wei:
"She started already!"
Leo:
"Your turn!"
Chen Wei:
"WHY ME?!"
Airi pointed at him.
Airi:
"You talk real loud,
You complain all day,
But when trouble arrives...
You run the other way!"
The audience exploded with laughter.
Chen Wei slowly stood.
He adjusted his clothes.
Chen Wei:
"Okay."
He cracked his knuckles.
Chen Wei:
"You've got wind,
You've got style,
But you've been waiting
For visitors for a while."
The crowd:
"OOOOOOOOOOOH!"
Chen Wei:
"Thousand years alone,
Sitting on your throne,
Someone finally arrives—
Now you're yelling at the phone!"
Airi froze.
The audience went silent.
Then—
Airi:
"...Okay."
She smiled.
Airi:
"You're funny."
Chen Wei:
"Thank you."
Airi:
"Now prepare to lose."
Chen Wei:
"...I regret everything."
---
ROUND TWO
Lily stepped forward.
Lily:
"You call yourself the Wind Queen,
You dance around the stage,
But your thousand-year personality
Still looks stuck on the same page."
Airi:
"OHHHH!"
The audience erupted.
Airi spun her scarf around herself.
Airi:
"Pretty good line,
But here's the truth,
You're acting all serious,
While your husband's got no clue!"
Lily slowly turned toward Leo.
Leo:
"Why am I involved?!"
Lily:
"Because apparently you deserve it."
Leo:
"That's not fair!"
---
ROUND THREE
Yuna stepped forward.
The music became quieter.
Airi raised an eyebrow.
Yuna:
"Your wind may be fast,
Your rhythm may fly,
But strength isn't proven
By shouting sky-high."
The audience became silent.
Airi's grin slowly grew.
Airi:
"Now THAT was clean."
She pointed toward Yuna.
Airi:
"You're quiet and calm,
But your words cut deep,
You don't need to shout..."
She snapped her fingers.
Airi:
"...to make the whole crowd leap."
The audience erupted again.
Leo:
"Okay, this is actually getting good."
Chen Wei:
"Forget the mission. I'm invested."
---
ONE HOUR LATER...
Nobody knew how it had happened.
The mission had completely disappeared from everyone's minds.
The four heroes had gone through round after round.
Airi had challenged them with jokes.
They had fired back.
Then the audience started joining in.
Even some of the Wind Martial Artists began creating their own rhymes.
At one point, Leo was laughing so hard that he couldn't even finish his verse.
Chen Wei had somehow become one of the crowd favorites.
Lily had destroyed three opponents verbally.
And Yuna...
Yuna had barely raised her voice once.
Yet every time she spoke, the entire stadium went silent.
Finally—
The music stopped.
Airi stood at the center of the stage.
She looked at the four of them.
Airi:
"Not bad."
Leo:
"Not bad?"
Chen Wei:
"We've been here for an entire hour!"
Airi:
"And?"
Chen Wei:
"AND WE STILL DON'T KNOW WHY WE'RE HERE!"
Airi laughed.
Airi:
"Because you needed to learn something."
Leo:
"What?"
Airi pointed toward the wind flowing through the stadium.
Airi:
"Wind doesn't move in one direction."
"It changes."
"It adapts."
"It flows around obstacles."
She smiled.
Airi:
"That's what a true martial artist does too."
The crowd became quiet.
For a brief moment...
The playful rapper disappeared.
The legendary Wind Temple Guardian stood before them.
Then her grin returned.
Airi:
"Now..."
She snapped her fingers.
Airi:
"Who's ready for round two?"
Everyone:
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
Airi burst out laughing.
And somewhere beneath all the noise...
The ancient Wind Temple continued to breathe with the rhythm of the wind.
TO BE CONTINUED...