Storm

Blood drips from his neck, yet his eyes are full of life. The man points his weapon at the enemy. Faster on the draw, his opponent pierces his head with an earth shot from his wand.

He went out like a true warrior.

Hoshina can't take her eyes off the battlefield. The clash of earth and water shots plays the chaotic melody of war, punctuated by thunderbolts that shriek like beasts. The grounded air—thick with blood—floods her nostrils so fully she can taste it.

Although hundreds of feet away from the fighting, she can feel the heat of the fire and the rumbling of the earth.

A wasteland of destroyed structures and dead warriors. How she wishes she could be a part of it.

"Such an epic battle, don't you think?" she says, a shiver running through her body, though her face shows none of it.

"I agree. These are the best adversaries we've had in a while." Her teacher—or rather, her bodyguard—replies.

"We probably won't have another war like this in quite some time. It would be a shame to lose out on it just because of a small technicality."

"I'm not letting you fight."

Hoshina turns so briskly a strand of hair falls across one eye.

"Pleease?" she tilts her head and locks her gaze on him.

"Yeah, no. It doesn't matter how cute you try to sound; that deadpan expression of yours isn't swaying anyone's heart." He's such an uptight musclehead.

"What if I convince my father to give you a raise?"

"You'd need to convince him not to behead me."

"Come on, what's one short month? Gift me an early birthday present."

A flick on her forehead. Waissu turns away.

"Stingy." She kicks his foot. No reaction. "Coward." Another kick. "You are so weak a seventeen-year-old beats you when sparring. You couldn't train a monkey to fight with a rock."

"So you're dumber than a monkey." What? It takes her a second to process it. The moment the meaning of the words hits her, she feels like kicking for real.

Let's spare him this once. It's true that if he allowed her to fight, Daddy would give him more than a slap on the wrist. She goes back to watching the spectacle.

Only now does she remember the strand of white hair in front of her eye. After moving it aside, she ponders whether it's time to cut it again. Could she trim it shorter this time? Would that look weird? It's always so hard to tell with these things.

Something catches her attention, snapping her out of the thought.

"What's going on there?" She points at a woman and her child. Both running away from two of her clan's warriors.

"That's… not going to be a pretty sight. You better look the other way." Hoshina stares at him again.

"Why? What do you mean?"

"Don't make me say it. Those two plan to have some 'fun' with the woman."

"Fun? But she's from the enemy clan. What kind of… ?" A revolting thought crosses her mind. Hoshina looks at the woman, and the men who are getting close to reaching her, then back at her teacher. "Go stop them."

"They're not doing anything forbidden, as long as one does not desert or betray their comrades—"

"Don't care. Stop them or I'm doing it myself." A loud sigh escapes her companion.

"Fine. You remain here, am I clear? Move a single step and I'm taking you home." No complaints there.

Waissu dashes forward. Before he can reach his comrades, a bolt of lightning strikes them down.

The source: canes. A tier above mere wands. Longer, sharper, etched with runic writings. Capable of summoning powerful thunderbolts and erecting protective barriers.

The owners—four enemy elites—are clad in full-body magic armor. It gleams in shining silver, with blue light emanating from the crevices and a screen covering the face of the helmet.

Next they point their canes at Waissu. He shows a surprising dexterity for a while, dodging one bolt after another. He's moving better than when sparring with Hoshina.

Still, these are four fully equipped elites. It doesn't take long for Waissu to get hit by a bolt. And though he masterfully reflects it back with his wand, taking only superficial burns, it's blocked by a barrier from one of the canes.

His chances look grim, yet that doesn't seem to dent his determination.

Before the next round of lightning can strike him, Hoshina pushes him aside and—snatching his wand—takes on the full attack herself.

After a struggle, she manages to deflect the energy. It scatters in all directions, nearly hitting him anyway.

"What are you doing!?"

"Saving your life," she replies, nonchalantly.

"Run away right now before—!" A powerful buzz interrupts. Like a shooting star, something crashes a few feet away from the four warriors—the shockwave so strong it makes them flinch.

Black armor, glinting with red light, and a one-of-a-kind runic staff.

It's the Arc Warrior.

Three elites attack. He flies like the wind, dodging every strike. He fires back, but regrettably, his thunderbolts slam into barriers. The elites coordinate flawlessly, rotating their barrier cooldowns. An almost impenetrable defense.

The Arc Warrior halts in his tracks, taking a thunderstrike without flinching. As if it has no effect, he points his staff toward them. After a brief pause, he fires something different—a black sphere.

All four elites combine their barriers. The moment the sphere makes contact, it begins to suck everything around it, its power ripping the earth beneath. The barriers shatter. They're pulled in. The first loses his footing, screaming as the sphere contorts his body to fit inside. One by one, the others follow, their cries echoing until they can no longer scream.

After a few seconds, the sphere explodes, unleashing a rain of blood and dirt that coats the Arc Warrior. He sheathes his staff and looks at Hoshina and Waissu.

"Shit, shit, shit! He's going to kill me!" Waissu seems more worked up than when his life was actually at stake.

"You worry too much. He's just trying to act cool, and succeeding."

The Arc Warrior flies towards them in the blink of a second and stops in front of Hoshina.

His helmet opens on its own. Hoshina is greeted by eyes as dark as the void, scars from a hundred battles, and the age lines of decades of experience—along with familiar white hair, though longer than hers. Daddy looks as badass as ever.

"What are you doing here?" His voice is calm as a lake yet firm like an island.

"Waissu was about to get killed by those guys so I had to help him." As the black eyes lock onto Waissu, he takes a step back.

"Why were you here fighting when you're supposed to protect Hoshina?"

"S-she ordered me to go and stop—"

"It doesn't matter what she ordered. Your duty goes above her wishes." Waissu gulps and nods.

"Come on, daddy, don't be like that, he was just—"

"You broke your promise, Hoshina. You disappoint me." These words stab her like a dagger and cut down her carefree attitude. She lowers her gaze.

"I'm sorry, father. It won't happen again."

Hoshina hesitates before obeying, only now noticing how red and swollen her hands are. It must have happened when she deflected all those thunderbolts.

"Go home and get treated. Then you'll stay in your room until I get back."

"Yes, father." He pats her head, tinting her white hair red.

"Loyalty is key for a warrior, and trust is almost impossible to recover once lost. Don't forget it."

"I won't."