Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

Bannnng

BAAAANGGG

The water whip kept clashing to the soil wall. Soil splashed around and small and large cuts appeared on the soil wall the more the water whip collided with it.

“Have you gotten stronger or am I just imagining things?”

The soil dude slashed the water blade that was aimed at his chest with his spear as he said that.

“Tell me the locations.”

BANNGGG

SLASH

.....

Another water blade was slashed in half by the sharp blade of the spear.

“You really trust me? It’s surprising.”

“Tsk!”

BANGGG

The water whip slammed down to the ground, splitting it in two right before the man’s feet.

“Hoh!”

The soil dude jumped back.

“You’ve really gotten stronger...”

The man raised his head and glared at the glowing thing on Kain’s writs. The thing was vibrating and a mysterious aura was oozing out of it.

“KAIN!”

But he soon took his eyes off of the bracelet and glanced elsewhere after hearing someone’s voice.

“What are you doing! Stop!”

BANGGG

A shining beam of light collided with the soil wall, resulting in the soil wall finally crumbling and falling apart. Dust rose to the air as the soil fell down to the ground.

Grab

Kairen grabbed Kain by the shoulder and pulled him back.

“What are you doing?”

He created a few barriers around the two of them.

Kairen was somehow confident that the soil dude in front of him wouldn’t harm him, at least he wouldn’t try to kill him, but he couldn’t just stand in front of him defenseless.

Why?

First, they were supposed to fight. Even if it was some act, they had to make it seem that they were fighting and they didn’t know each other in front of the other agents. Who in their right minds would stand in front of their enemy without a single shield to protect them?

And second, even if the soil dude didn’t want to harm Kairen, there was no guarantee about him not wanting to hurt the others! He said before that they had to be hurt a little bit for it to seem that he had carried out his mission well.

Kairen made sure that there were enough shields around them before pressing Kain’s shoulder and yelling at him.

“I’ve told you several times, you shouldn’t use that bracelet!”

In the past two months, Kairen put a lot of effort into making sure that Kain wouldn’t use that bracelet’s power.

Aside from training with him for a few weeks in the SMF’s training ground and making sure that he could control that power, he made sure that he used the element of ‘annoyance’ to the fullest by sticking to Kain’s side and nagging him about the bracelet for hours for weeks.

He even checked on him every time he went to a mission, interrogating him after he returned for several hours to make sure he hadn’t used the bracelet.

Kain had to swear that he hadn’t even thought about the bracelet on the whole duration of the mission and yell that he’d rather cut off his arm than continue to answer Kairen’s question after a few hours of interrogation for Kairen to finally let him go.

And here he was now, using the said power so freely without caring about anything at all.

While still grabbing Kain’s shoulder, Kairen tried to pull him back. Of course, he couldn’t overpower him. Instead, Kain pushed away Kairen with an angry face.

“Now it not the time for that talk.”

BANGGG

The water whip slammed the ground once again.

“Stop!”

Kairen moved to stand in front of Kain. He couldn’t pull him back so he stood in front of him instead.

“There is no need to use that thing here!”

BANNNGG

Another shiny beam of light landed beside the soil dude.

“Step back!”

Kairen’s voice saying that was not similar to his previous voice. It was as if he was ordering Kain, not asking him.

“Hah!”

He heard Kain’s scoff-like sight from behind.

Tap

And then a footstep.

‘He sure is flustered.’

It was natural to be flustered. Kairen was surprised at how Kain could maintain his calm until now.

Kairen too was flustered and frustrated. Putting his worries about Alessia and Ariyan aside, he didn’t know what issue he had to be worried about in this situation.

‘First, how am I supposed to ask him about the locations? Should I make sure that he is my brother or not at first? Ah, wait. Is it really okay for me to fight him?’

Kairen wanted to cry.

He really really wanted to sit down on the ground and cry.

SHHHHH

While Kairen was busy thinking, a soil wall was created once again, shielding the man from all attacks.

‘Whatever!’

Kairen didn’t want to think anymore.

‘The capital’s bombs come first.’

He could ask the man later about his identity if they survived this.

And on the other hand, he wasn’t sure if he could keep up the act if he was to face his brother right here right now. Everything would get messy if he was to suddenly jump and hug an enemy who was attacking them while carrying a bomb with the intention to kill them, right?

Crackle Crackle

Small, golden-silver cracks appeared in the air.

Onnnnnnggg

Kairen felt familiar energy surround his body.

‘I just halve to get close to him.’

In order to ask about the locations, that is.

‘I hope he really doesn’t hurt me.’

Cause Kairen would shatter to pieces if that man had to hit him as hard as he hit Reyan and Darren.

Swosh

Swosh

A gust of wind surrounded his body. He didn’t need much time and effort in order to cast the wind spells he used to move fast after being trained and practicing with captain Neal for more than two months.

His spells were strong and efficient too. He could easily move around with them and surprise attack the enemies. But still, these spells wouldn’t be fast and powerful enough to overpower that soil buddy.

Kairen glanced at Rai who was not too far away. Rai was also staring at the swirling wind around Kairen. When their eyes met, Rai gave him a nod.

SWOOOSHHH

And the wind surrounding him got multiple times stronger.

.....

Dash

With a weak push of his leg, Kairen jumped several meters to the air.

Crackle Crackle

His golden-silver cracks followed him as well, alongside the energy that was being concentrated in his palm. Kairen jumped up the soil wall and opened his mouth while falling down from high in the air.

“I’ll do as you say-”

He talked in the language of this world and in a voice loud enough for Kain who was around them to also hear the answer.

‘I won’t go to the capital if that means that you will give us the locations.’

He then moved his palm towards the man’s face.

“So, you do the thing you promised as well.”

Kairen was more than sure that the soil dude would be able to block his attack.

His attack and the power he used were strong, but Kairen knew his limits. He knew that something like this wouldn’t be enough to overpower this man. And he didn’t have any intentions of overpowering him in the first place. He only used this attack, his only attack that required him to be close to the enemy, as an excuse to get close to the man.

ONNNNGGG

But then, something unexpected happened.

ZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZ

Something popped up in the air.

It looked like an electric current.

The electric current, the red and purple electric current, suddenly popped up from within the energy that Kairen was holding in his palm.

But that wasn’t the only place that it appeared.

“Ah?”

The soil dude gasped and attempted to move back.

ZZZZZZ

ZZZZZZ

The pin-like thing on his cloak, something that looked like a simple brooch with a round frame and a single stone, the same thing that was holding the two sides of his hood. There was a simple, white, and medium-sized stone-like something on the brooch. It was something that Kairen had never thought of it much to the point of not even noticing its existence till now.

ZZZZ ZZZZ

Red and purple electric currents appeared all around it.

ZAAAAPPP

The currents in Kairen’s palm and on the stone’s surface jumped towards each other as if reacting to the other’s presence.

“What?”

Suprised, Kairen jumped back. So did the soil dude. The two of them each stepped a few meters away.

ZAAAAAAAAPPP

But the currents still continued to react to each other.

‘What? What is this now? Is it because of my power again?’

That was the first thought that came to his mind as all of the strange things around him would happen due to that stupid power of his.

Kairen hurriedly canceled his power. The energy on his palm vanished and the cracks around him faded as well.

He shook his hand that was about to get burned by the electric currents and turned towards the soil dude.

ZAAAAPPP

Instead of vanishing alongside the power, the electric current around his hand jumped towards the soil dude all at once.

“H-hey!”

Kairen hurried to create a barrier, but the current moved as fast as light. The eclectic currents all jumped at the white stone.

ZAAAAPPP

CRACKLE

And all of the electric currents vanished as soon as they came in contact with the stone.

“.....”

“.....”

The two men stared at each other. And at the same time,

Crack

A purple-red crack appeared on the white stone’s surface.