CHAPTER 6 : Family (2)

That morning arrived without light.
Thick fog smothered the sun, and the air around the forest felt heavy, as if holding its breath with them.
Karsid was the first to wake, but his face immediately tightened. Outside, footsteps echoed—layered, heavy, and orderly. When he peeked through a slit in the wooden hut, his chest clenched. Dozens of Xentra surrounded their hiding place.
Some wore thick armor—Rank B. Others glimmered with dense auras—Rank A.
And in front of them stood a figure he knew all too well: Adur.

“Karsid Otona!”
The voice was deep and echoing. “Come out of your hiding place. There’s no escape anymore. You’ve violated the Union’s rules. It’s time to surrender yourself.”

Karsid didn’t answer. But inside, panic erupted instantly.

“What do we do, Boss?! We’re surrounded from every direction! There’s no way out!”
Mila shouted, her voice trembling, her hands gripping the edge of the table.

Raven sat on the floor, drawing something in the dust as if oblivious to the situation. Kei was busy dismantling and reassembling a small device in his hand, eyes empty yet focused. Only Reiss stood near the door, body ready but tense.

“Oi! We’re not waiting any longer!”
Adur’s voice came again, this time closer, rougher. “Come out, or I’ll blow up that rotten hut of yours!”

A woman’s voice spoke through the earpiece in Adur’s ear.
“Adur, be patient. Even if we have the advantage in numbers, your opponent is still Rank S. Don’t be reckless.”

It was Alice — the operations overseer, far from the site.

Adur chuckled. “Hahaha… you still worry too much, Alice. Did you forget who I am?”

“Don’t joke around, Adur,”
Alice’s voice tightened.

Adur shrugged lightly, answering casually,
“Relax. I just want to have a little fun.”

“You know Karsid’s ability — metal manipulation. He can turn metal into liquid and solid whenever he wants,”
Alice reminded him.

Adur grinned, green vapor curling around his black gloves.
“Hahaha… You know, ‘my favorite food’ is rotten metal.”

Alice fell silent for a moment, her mumble barely audible.
“That’s true… your decay ability makes his metal useless.”

“And one more thing,” Alice added, “there’s also the fugitive Kei in there. Be careful with him. Don’t underestimate him just because he’s Rank A.”

Adur answered in a teasing tone,
“Yes, yes, Miss Overseer~.”

Meanwhile inside the hut, Karsid looked at everyone. His face was calm, but his eyes were heavy.

“Listen,” he said softly, yet firmly. “All of you, get into the basement. Reiss, take care of Raven. I’ll go out.”

Vynn immediately cut him off, his voice rising.
“What?! You can’t fight them all alone, Karsid! That’s suicide!”

“It’s fine,” Karsid replied, stepping toward the basement door with steady movements. “I just need time to find an opening. Go. Now.”

Tarn and Mila exchanged a look, then obeyed without arguing. Reiss took Raven’s hand and guided him.

But Karsid paused in front of Raven.

“Raven,” he said gently, kneeling. “Go with Reiss for now, okay?”

Raven looked at him with innocent eyes. “Why, Papa?”

Karsid froze for a moment, searching for words that wouldn’t scare the child.

Finally, he smiled softly.
“We’re playing hide and seek. Papa will be the seeker. So Raven has to hide first with Reiss.”

Raven beamed, unaware of the truth.
“Okay, Papa!”

He ran toward Reiss, joining the others.

“Vynn, Kei,” Karsid called again. “You two, go down as well.”

Kei said nothing, simply obeying while still tinkering with the device in his hand.

But Vynn stayed where he was, jaw clenched.

“Vynn!” Karsid snapped. “Get in! You’ll die if you stay here!”

Vynn gritted his teeth. “And you think we can live peacefully if you die out there alone?!”

Karsid didn’t answer.
Their eyes met — brief, but enough to understand each other.

He patted Vynn’s shoulder once, then turned away.

“Sometimes… someone has to be the bait,” he whispered, his voice almost swallowed by the fog.

He opened the door.

Cold air rushed in. Elyseam’s fog crept inside, thick and heavy, as if trying to swallow the room’s last bit of light.

Karsid’s footsteps were slow but certain. Each step echoed between the silent trees.

Outside, Adur waited with a crooked smile.

“So you really came out, Karsid Otona. I thought you’d die hiding like a rat.”

Karsid stared at the ground without speaking. His right hand lifted slowly.

The ground trembled.

From beneath the surface, nails, pipes, and shards of metal from the ruined village rose into the air, spinning like a flock of metallic birds ready to strike.

The air thickened—hissing with energy.
Some Xentra stepped back subconsciously.

Adur chuckled.
“Heh… don’t interfere,” he said to his soldiers. “Just watch. I’ll show you guys… how a Rank S fights.”

He stepped forward, green vapor dancing around him.

Karsid met his gaze, saying nothing.

A smug smile spread across Adur’s face. He took one more step, eyes fixed on Karsid like a predator spotting a familiar prey.

Karsid inhaled deeply. The air around him vibrated, and metal began forming over his body — hardening into a silver armor that reflected the fog’s dim light.

“In that case…” his voice was heavy, steady with restrained fury,
“Don’t blame me for making you regret coming here.”

In an instant, the air exploded.

Thousands of metal fragments shot forward like a storm of blades — a rain of iron engulfing Adur from all directions.

But Adur didn’t move. He raised one hand as if the gesture were merely ceremonial.

“Decay Field.”

The air around him turned greenish.
Hissing filled the air as every piece of approaching metal began to rot — like flesh devoured by invisible maggots.

Steel turned to ash, iron to dust.

Adur chuckled, eyes narrowing.
“Too bad… it’s my favorite snack.”

Karsid didn’t back down. He clenched his fist, and the earth below him liquefied like living mud. From the depths, metallic minerals surged up, forming liquid spears that spun around him like silver stars.

But each time he launched an attack, the green haze swallowed it—dissolving metal as if it never existed.

The battle lasted only minutes, but for anyone watching, time felt frozen — as if hell were slowly opening its gates.

The clang of metal collided with small detonations, and the sharp scent of poison burned the nostrils.

Karsid staggered back, breath ragged. Parts of his body were turning black — his skin corroded by Adur’s decay, thin vapor rising from his wounds like smoke from molten metal.

“Tired already?” Adur taunted, stepping lightly. “I haven’t even started.”

He raised his hand again. Green energy gathered in his palm, forming a massive hand of fog that floated in the air. It lunged — gripping Karsid’s shoulder.

The moment it touched, the metal armor on Karsid’s body decayed and crumbled like ash.

Karsid held back a scream, but his face twisted. Veins in his arm darkened, his fingers melting slowly under the poisonous grip.

But before the green fog hand could devour him whole—

SREENGG!!

A flash of fire streaked in from the west. An orange blade sliced through the air, cutting the fog and forcing the poisonous hand to dissipate in a burst of heat.
Adur snorted softly and turned.
Beyond the mist stood a young woman with burning eyes — Vynn. Orange flames danced along his sword, scorching the air around her.

“Stay away from him,” she hissed, cold.

Adur raised an eyebrow, as if noticing a child daring to bite a big dog.
“Oh? Rank A?” His gaze traveled up and down Vynn’s frame. “Interesting… then let’s see how brave you really are.”

Vynn didn’t answer. She lunged forward, and sparks of light filled the air.
Her sword swings were so fast they left trails of red-orange in the sky, like living strokes of fire.

But Adur parried them all with one hand. Each contact made a cracking sound, like rusted metal snapping.
“Fast…” he said calmly. “But not fast enough.”

He deflected the final slash, then delivered a light punch to Vynn’s stomach. The force behind it was like a maul — sending Vynn’s body flying several meters back.
She crashed into a large tree trunk with a dull thud that echoed through the fog.

“VYNN!” Karsid shouted.

Vynn coughed blood, red dripping onto the white mist. Yet she forced himself up, hands trembling around the sword. The flame along the blade flared again, though dimmer now — like a candle battling a storm.
“Not… finished…”

Adur clicked his tongue softly. “Stubborn. Just like your teacher used to be.”

Green energy swirled once more in his palm, denser, thicker. The poisonous vapor hissed, hungry.
But before Adur could launch his next strike—

“Enough.”
Karsid’s deep voice cut through the air.

He stepped forward slowly, his body smeared with blackened wounds, yet his eyes still burned — not with rage but with resolve.
He stood between Adur and Vynn, staring straight at the Xentra.

“Don’t touch her,” he said softly, but with the sharpness of a blade.
“Take me instead.”

Silence.
Only the sound of the fog rolling between them.

Adur looked at him, then let out a low laugh — a sound that rang like iron being scraped.
“Oh? Finally, the tone I’ve been waiting for.”

He lowered his hand, walking forward with calm but oppressive steps.
“Nice offer, Karsid Otona.”

“What a pity…” his voice turned cold, “the Union has no interest in surrender. They only want your remains.”

Karsid stared back sharply. His gaze was calm, but beneath it lay anger bottled up too long.
“Then…”
His hand rose slowly. The metal beneath the ground trembled, elongating into sharp spikes that erupted one by one around them.

“...I will make sure you don’t touch anyone here.”

More footsteps sounded from behind.
“I’ll help you too.”
Vynn stood at Karsid’s side, her fiery sword burning faintly — its flame flickering like the last breath of hope.

Adur grinned widely. “Hahaha... interesting. Then advance, both of you!”

“B-boss, this is getting out of hand! We have to—” one Rank A Xentra shouted, but he didn’t finish—

“SILENCE!” Adur roared. “I TOLD YOU, NO ONE INTERFERES! ANYONE WHO APPROACHES… I WILL KILL!”

The green fog thickened, swallowing light and sound. The stench of rusted iron and burning flesh filled the air, stabbing at lungs.

In the midst of the mist, Adur stood tall. His arms spread wide — as if daring both enemies at once.
“Two against one. Even for a Rank S like you, it’s unfair,” Karsid said flatly as he drew a long breath.

From the earth beneath his feet, hundreds of blades rose, spinning around him like a silver storm.
Vynn on the other side ignited his sword fully — its flame erupting, wildly dancing in the cold air.

“No need for fairness… when the opponent is a monster,” she murmured.

Adur smiled a crooked smile. “Monster, huh? Intriguing. Let’s see… how long you can last.”

In an instant, the ground beneath him shattered. In the blink of an eye, Adur vanished — then reappeared in front of Karsid. A fist wrapped in green mist struck the air like a bullet.

BOOM!

A tremendous impact rang out. Karsid blocked it with a shield of liquid metal that thickened around his arm. But every touch from Adur caused that metal to rust and crumble within seconds.
Karsid ground his teeth. “Damn… that touch—!”
A kick smashed into his chest, hurling him far back so he hit the ground in a cloud of dust.

“Your metal is brittle, Otona,” Adur taunted. “Your ability is useless against me.”

Before Adur could close in again, Vynn shot in from the right — her flaming sword carving a blazing red line through the air.

CLANG!
The blade of fire met Adur’s hand wrapped in fetid mist. Fire and poison ate at each other, spewing green and red bursts.

Adur chuckled. “You think fire can cleanse decay? Foolish.”
He grabbed the blade with his bare hand. The flame along Vynn’s sword immediately weakened, its light dying slowly — consumed by the creeping green energy like a living toxin.

Vynn flinched. She leapt back and reignited her sword. Gouts of flame sprung from the ground, illuminating the haze.

“You talk too much.”
She charged forward. Her strikes were fast, in succession — each swing full of emotion and force. The air trembled around them.

Adur dodged almost effortlessly; every motion precise and graceful, as if dancing in the heart of a firestorm.
“HAHAHA! Good!” he yell while spinning. His elbow slammed into Vynn’s chest, sending the young woman flying.

Karsid moved quickly — appearing behind him, his right arm transforming into a large metal blade like a scythe. He slashed at Adur’s back.

The attack almost landed —
But Adur spun without looking. His hand stopped the blade with ease.

“I told you… metal does nothing to me.”
The metal blade rusted instantly and crumbled into black ash. Karsid didn’t retreat. He used the moment — the metal beneath Adur’s feet liquefied, swallowing half of his lower body.

“Then I don’t need to touch you!”
The earth trembled. Hundreds of metal spears shot up from all directions, piercing the air toward Adur.

Only a single quiet word escaped his lips —
“Interesting.”

His palm struck the ground. A ripple of green energy spread outward, enveloping earth, air, and iron.

In an instant all those spears rotted away, melting like candles. Small bursts sounded as metal shards exploded back, striking Karsid himself.

He was thrown aside, blackened wounds spreading across his skin.

“Boss!” Vynn shouted, vaulting high. She swung her sword from the air, gathering all her flame into one strike. A blinding red light filled the sky, and then—

a thunderous concussion shook the ground. Thick smoke blanketed the battlefield. But that mocking laughter could still be heard through the haze.

“Fire and metal. A beautiful combination… but still not enough.”
From the smoke, Adur reappeared behind Vynn and pressed his hand to her shoulder.

“ARGHHH!!” Vynn screamed as her body began to rot under that touch, as if burning from within.

Karsid shouted, “NO!!” and launched liquid metal at them, separating the two.
The attack detonated in midair, but Adur brushed it aside with a single sweep — as if it were nothing.

Now Karsid and Vynn stood side by side, gasping. Karsid’s metal armor had cracked; parts of his skin were blackened. The flame on Vynn’s blade flickered weakly, as if its last breath of fire was failing.

Adur stepped forward slowly, the green mist curling around him like a lethal aura.

“Is it over?” he said lightly. “I thought a Rank S fugitive would be a bit more entertaining.”

Karsid drew a deep breath; blood trickled from his temple.
“Not yet.”
He looked at Vynn, who still knelt, breathing hard. “Get ready. This time we strike together.”

Vynn nodded. Though her knees trembled, the fire along her blade blazed back to life — this time a deep orange, burning like the ember of one last anger.

Karsid focused his energy. The magnetic field around him thundered, flinging shards of metal into the air to form dozens of razor bullets.

“Now!”
Vynn lunged forward, followed by a storm of metal from the opposite side. Fire and iron combined, creating a destructive wave that shook the whole area.

Adur raised his hand; his field of decay spun into a shield of green mist. Consecutive detonations slammed into him, red and silver light mingling in a deadly cacophony.

But this time, Adur’s expression shifted. For the first time — he looked slightly serious.

One blast pierced his defense, cutting his cheek and drawing blood.

“Hmm…” He smiled faintly, licking the blood from his finger. “Finally. You made me sweat a little.”

Only for a moment. The green fog thickened again, devouring both flame and metal at once.

Then —
a shattering blast rocked the air.

Karsid was flung to the ground, his body crushed and blood trickling from his mouth.
Vynn fell beside him; her sword’s flame went out completely.

Adur’s footsteps came slowly, heavy and unhurried — like an executioner savoring each second before finishing his prey. Poisonous vapor dripped from the tips of his fingers, hissing softly on the earth.

“Enough, isn’t it?” he said flatly. “Now it’s your—”

A sudden loud noise cut across his sentence.
—KLIK! KLIK! WHIRRRR!

All eyes turned.

From the half-destroyed hut pulsed a red light. Through the fog, a figure stepped out slowly — dust and sweat clinging to their skin, but their gait firm.

Kei.

He held two large devices: a red-lit cylinder that pulsed intensely, and a blue capsule spinning rapidly in his hand.

“Talk’s over,” he said, voice hoarse but steady. “Now… it’s our turn.”

Adur turned his head, eyes narrowing. “And who are you?”

Kei didn’t answer. He only lifted the red cylinder.
Its light shifted — from red to a dazzling purple.

“Try to withstand this… if you can.”

A few minutes earlier.

Underground, the silence was so complete that breaths sounded clear. A small lamp in the corner blinked, casting dim light over Kei’s face as he sat cross-legged on the floor.

Around him: small pieces of metal, wires, and fragments of old machines. The scrap he’d taken from villagers’ kitchens and workshops now lay assembled like an intricate puzzle.

His hands moved quickly. The tips of his fingers emitted a blue shimmer whenever they touched metal — a soft glow, like the pulse of energy from within his own body.

Little by little, two objects took shape before him:
One, a cylinder with a slowly pulsing red light.
The other, a transparent capsule with a blue core spinning fast, like a tiny beating heart.

Mila, seated near the door, watched anxiously.
“Kei… what are you doing?” she whispered.

Without looking up, Kei replied flatly, “Preparing something… in case Karsid fails.”

Reiss, calming Raven on his lap, snapped his head around.
“Don’t tell me you’re going out! Kei, we don’t even know how many of them are out there!”

“Exactly why,” Kei answered without hesitation.

He tightened a small valve quickly, then welded the cylinder’s tip with a thin flame from a metal bracelet on his wrist. “If we don’t move now… they’ll all die. Including Karsid.”

Mila bit her lip, voice trembling. “But you don’t even know how strong Adur is—”

“—and he doesn’t know my power either,” Kei cut in.

For the first time, he looked at them. His gaze was sharp — not with anger, but with the cold calm of someone ready to die.

“My skill isn’t fighting. I’m not as strong as Karsid, or as fast as Vynn. But…”
He lifted the red cylinder — and the basement filled with a soft hiss as the air vibrated from its heat.

“…I can make anything from the materials around me. And if you think this world doesn’t have enough material to make something blow up…” He shot a quick glance and a faint smile appeared. “…you’re sorely mistaken.”

Mila stared at the cylinder in horror. “An explosive?”

Kei nodded. “A new type. A reaction of compressed metal with catalytic energy from Elyseam stone. Once activated, a fifty-meter radius… gone.”

Reiss shook his head quickly. “You’re insane! If you mess up a little, we all vanish!”

“That’s why I made this too.”
Kei picked up the blue capsule next to him. “A short-range teleporter. Prototype. Never used.”

He stood, dusting his hands, then slipped both devices into his belt.

“When the time comes, I’ll send the signal. You get out and help the others. If I fail…”
He paused, looking at them one by one.
“Take Raven. Go as far away from here as you can.”

Raven, who had been quiet all this time, looked at him with innocent eyes. “You’re going to leave, Uncle Kei?”

Kei bowed his head, smiled gently, and patted the boy’s hair.
“Just going to fetch your father, Raven.”

A moment of silence. Only their breathing remained.

Then Kei climbed the stairs to the surface — leaving the room filled now with anxious stares and silent prayers.

The present moment.

Poisonous green fog still churned across the shattered ground.
Karsid and Vynn stood on their last legs — bleeding, burned, breaths ragged and uneven.

Then that sound echoed again.

CLICK! CLICK! WHIRRR—

A blast of violet light sliced through the mist.

Kei stood there, eyes hard with frozen resolve.

“Enough talking,” he said. “Now… it’s our turn.”

The red tube in his hand pulsed brighter.

Adur squinted, but—

“Try stopping this,” Kei whispered. “If you can.”

—FHWAAARRR!!!

A wave of red-violet energy erupted outward like a plasma burst tearing the sky open.
The ground shuddered; tree roots snapped out of the soil. Xentra in the back ranks were thrown away like scraps of cloth.

“WH—WHAT!?”

Adur shielded his face, the rot-green veil around him warping, cracking under the scorching heat.

“NOW!” Kei shouted.

From the ruins behind him, three figures shot forward at once: Reiss, Mila, and Tarn.

Reiss blurred past as a streak of blue light, daggers carving twin arcs as two Xentra collapsed before they even turned.
Mila’s lightning whip cracked, scattering the fog.
Tarn’s stone fists slammed the earth, splitting the ground and shattering enemy formation.

Adur snarled — a metallic, burning sound.

“YOU DARE!?”

Black smoke crawled upward, staining the sky.

Karsid stared at Kei, disbelief and awe mixing in his blood-stained face.
“That kid…”

Vynn, barely conscious, managed a weak smile. “He’s… crazier than we thought.”

Kei didn’t look back.
“Get up. This isn’t over.”

Adur slammed his palm into the ground.

A wave of green corruption spread outward like thick ink.

But Kei had already pressed the blue capsule — a circle of spiraling energy ignited beneath his feet.

“Time to go home,” he muttered.

But before the teleport could complete—

A blackened hand pierced through the circle.

“Not that easily,” a heavy voice growled.

Adur.

Suddenly towering right in front of Kei, eyes blazing sickly green.
His hand clamped onto Kei’s wrist — Kei’s skin blackened instantly.

“KEI!” Reiss and Mila screamed.

Kei trembled, jaw clenched to stop the cry.
But his gaze didn’t break.

He smiled — faint, bitter, fearless.

“In that case…” he whispered, locking eyes with Adur.
“You’re coming down with me.”

He pressed the red switch.

—VRAAAASHHHH!!!

A star-white burst consumed the battlefield.
Heat roared outward.
Fog evaporated.
Trees folded like paper.

Below, hiding underground, Raven looked up at the sudden sky-white glow.

“…Papa… Uncle Kei…”

Minutes later.

Dust covered the entire village.
Little fires flickered across charred earth.
The air tasted like metal and smoke.

Kei lay in the center of the crater — burned, broken… but alive.
His breath was heavy and thin.

“Did… it work…” he whispered.

Karsid, Vynn, Reiss, Mila, and Tarn crawled out from rubble — Kei’s emergency teleport had thrown them just far enough.

Vynn spotted him. “H—He’s there!”

They rushed over.
Mila knelt and pressed his wounds. “Kei! Stay with us! Hey!”

Kei smiled weakly. “Told you… I don’t die that easy…”

He coughed blood, struggling to breathe.

But then—

CRACK.

Not from him.

Everyone turned.

A charred hand gripped the earth.

A mangled body rose — skin peeling, half its face melted — but the eyes still glowing green.

Adur.
Still alive.

“Heh… fascinating…”
He grinned crookedly, blood dripping down his jaw.

“You really thought that could kill me, Kei?”

Kei tried to stand — and—

THUD!

A brutal punch crushed his back.
Bones cracked sharply.
Kei flew forward, coughing blood as he hit the dirt.

“K—KEI!!” Karsid roared.

Adur stood over him, trembling with fury.

“You dare make me look like this…? You’ll pay for that.”

Vynn ignited her blade, flames flickering violently.

“ADUR!!! DON'T TOUCH HIM!!”

She sprinted —
Adur touched the ground—

—SHHRAAANG!
A blast of rot-green force hurled her through the air. She smashed into a tree.

Mila, Reiss, and Tarn attacked together —
Their strikes rotted mid-air before making contact.

A flick of Adur’s hand.

All three were thrown aside like toys.

Karsid stood, shaking.

“As long as I live,” he growled, voice trembling with rage,
“I won’t let you touch them.”

Adur snorted. “Still stubborn.”

He lifted his hand to finish Kei—

And then—

WUUUUUUSHHHH!!!

A massive surge of wind and energy blasted from the direction of the hut.
The earth split, fog scattered, even Adur staggered back two steps.

A small voice boomed across the battlefield.

“DON’T HURT UNCLE KEI, YOU MEAN MONSTER!!”

Everyone turned.

Raven stood at the doorway of the hut.
Hands outstretched.
Blue light bursting from her eyes.

Raw, uncontrollable power whirled around her, cracking the ground.

Karsid froze.

“…Raven?”

For the first time—
Adur’s expression changed.

Not anger.
Not arrogance.

But fear.