Ren's POV:-
I groaned.
"I don't think that another fu-jutsu artist can...Wait . SHE?..."
"Yeah , her name's Kiara ..."
I felt a bit miffed . She already had some secret , fu-jutsu friend , now another one? Kazuma-nii was ...of course , all business .
"Ayano , this guy can't die . Bringing someone else ..."
"You're wrong . He Can be killed . We Could take him down but ...the prize is Too High . Kiara can ...will ...help . Please ...trust me ."
Me and nii-san looked at her with doubt and confusion. But we were considering it . After all , we both knew she wasn't the kind of person who simply asks for help .
"How long will it take for her to get here?"
She let out a sigh in relief .
"Don't worry . She's fast... and she knows I don't normally ask for help , so she'll hurry ."
"But,...but ...what if she doesn't check her phone ?"
I asked .
She blinked .
"She doesn't have a phone ."
"WHAT?THEN HOW ..."
Nii-sama gripped my shoulder.
"Ren , quiet down ."
I closed my mouth shut .
"I can sent a message to her ..., don't ask , I'll explain later ..."
She added the last bit as I opened my mouth again.
"...There's one problem though , if we send it from here , he might be able to block..."
"YOU INSOLENT CHILDREN BELIEVE YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME... IN MY OWN HOME ...Well!..."
The earth calmed down , the spikes resided with a wisp of the monster's voice .
"...you can try."
And then, there was silence .
No more spikes , no more random attacks .
Nii-san suspended us in space and we waited in high alert for a few seconds .
"Ayano ,can you sense him?"
I turned towards nee-san . Her hands were clenched and her whole body seemed stiff . Her eyes were filled with a strange emotion , determination , but it seemed strained and hazy like she wasn't actually seeing anything with them.
Of course ,she not seeing , ...she's sensing his location.
Her voice came out in a whisper.
"He's everywhere ..."
Nii-san turned to her as her eyes regained focus but her body remained stiff .
"What do you mean ? "
"I mean , he's Not Human and he's spreading his aura , his Hold Everywhere ."
"That means he's cancelling any weak spots ..."
"...and unless the message is sent from the surface , he can block it for sure ."
I hated the tense silence and most of all , I hated being so helpless . Even nee-san was looking ahead while all I can do is not get in their way . But nee-san was in this position before too and no matter what , I refuse to become a burden to either of them .
I am strong. I just have to wait until my strength is needed .
A low, firm , accusing tone brought to my attention the fact that nee-san was glaring at nii-san who seemed surprised at her words.
"What are you thinking ?"
A fond smile grew over his face as looked at her while nee-san seemed to grow... worried ?
"Did I miss something ? "
Kazuma-nii turned serious in a slip-second and began to speak .
"Okay , listen guys , the air from the atmosphere is entering this underground cave from various gaps . The area closest to the surface is just on top of us . Ayano , how long will it take to ...create the message ?"
Nee-san blinked and then began to write in the air with her fingers , nii-san's eyes widened in recognition before disappearing into his usual calculating look.
Nee-san moved her hand into a snap-like position before giving one light snap .
The words she had written in air erupted in a burst of crimson flame before condensing into a small ball on the palm of her hand . Thin lines of fire flashed over the ball like a ...seal. I only made out a few words like 'beast' , 'earth' and 'fast'.
"Break this and the message will be sent ."
Nii-san had a grave look on his face before turning to the side . We turned too.
A tunnel of wind shot through the roof opposite where we were and crumbled the earth, ...but the next second the gap closed and that entire area became enclosed in spikes.
Nii-san gave a sigh and turned to nee-san .
"Ayano, your turn . The other gap is right next to the spot I just broke ,to the left."
Nee-san's eyes narrowed and she gave me the message ball before raising her hand .
The next second a spark appeared at that section followed immediately by an eruption of crimson flames launching into the roof , turning the earth into glass and breaking the centre at the same time . It lasted a few seconds before the walls crushed the gap and once again covered that section in spikes .
"As I thought , he's after me , not you . Plus , thanks to the glass the reaction time is less "
The way he said that ,the way his body shifted in preparation...
"Kazuma , if you're thinking what I think you're thinking ..."
"Is mind-reading another one of your hidden talents , princess?"
He said with a smirk as he took of his watch and set it . My eyes widened . No, he's not thinking of...
"Nii-san , you can't possibly..."
He gave me small encouraging smirk .
"The wind will keep you guys afloat for 1 minute then shoot you up."
He gave me the watch ...and vanished.
"NII-SAN!" "KAZUMA!"
The reaction was instantaneous . The intense pressure of that beast's aura began dissipating and the rumbling was heard in the same direction nii-san's aura shot off to.
"THAT IDIOT ! HE DOESNT KNOW WHAT HE'S GETTING INTO !..."
I looked at the watch ,...54 seconds left.
"Nee-san , we have to trust him . How do you sent the message ?"
Ayano's face was hardened , her eyes thick with worry and...fear? Nee-san knows nii-san can handle himself , but ...even he has limits . Nee-san never looked away from the source of the constant rumbling , every sound meant an attack ,but...it also meant the attacks were still missing their target.
"We just have to break the seal..."
Her voice was hard coated with anger and worry .
"COME NOW , CONTRACTOR . LET'S END THIS GAME ...WE BOTH KNOW THERE IS NO ESCAPE FOR YOU..."
I held the message-ball in my hand , loosening my hold in case I accidentally open it .
"...don't worry , only a spiritual weapon or a true flame can break it ."
That's right , nee-san had her true flame and...
"MY ! MY ! ...DID THAT HURT ?..."
Both our eyes widened .
We were shaking .
Just standing here doing nothing was killing me ...I'm pretty sure nee-san's worse . Her entire body was rigid , her feet automatically moved to the direction of where I suppose nii-san's aura was . It was obvious that she was physically restraining herself from going after him.
Just like it was obvious I was the reason she was staying .
I'm not powerful enough to break the ceiling with just my flames . I can barely summon my true flames for 20 minutes without passing out . I...
A beep was heard from the watch .
Nee-san and I snapped into attention as the wind began to ascend us up.
Crimson flames surrounded us seconds before we hit the ceiling and the massive power surrounding me was almost suffocating . I looked to my side to see nii-san glaring straight up , the anger and hate fuelling her flames were clearly visible in her eyes . I wondered if I should help but it was obvious that she had more than enough emotions to release for her flames.
The voice began to get more blurred but was still clear enough to understand.
"YOU THINK YOUR FRIENDS ARE SAFE?...YOU'RE WRONG .."
My eyes narrowed , so did nee-san's . Don't listen to him , nii-san.
"...AH! ...I WAS RIGHT ...."
The flames broke around us and the wind brought us a bit above ground level and released us . Looking down , I saw the wide hole we came out of surrounded by a thick radius of glass .
"...YOUR BLOOD IS DELICIOUS ."
Both my and nee-san's eyes widened , we looked to each other as we descended . My eyes , no doubt , reflected my fear and worry . Hers shouted pain and doubt .
We were both warriors . We knew what we could and could not do .
"NEE-SAN , I'LL SEND THE MESSAGE ..."
The ground surrounding the gap was already starting to close in forming cracks in the glass. There was no time .
"But..."
Nee-san's eyes reflected her usual worry over me . She was always protective , but she knows she couldn't just wait out here .
"TRUST ME!"
Nee-san's eyes hardened with resolve and she grabbed my hand and threw me as far as she could before twisting around and launching right back into the cavern .
I twisted my body and skidded across the ground , I looked up to see the glass shatter and the ground begin to form spikes all around the area .
I couldn't sense either of them .
They were too deep .
I forced myself to swallow the fear I had.
They were strong. They can make it .
They Had to.
I sensed the attack at the last moment and moved out of the way before a spike rose from right below where I was .The edge cut my hand and knocked the message-ball out of it .
no, no,no, NO!
Ignoring the pain . I surrounded myself in flames and shot through the spike . I could sense the ball , it was the same aura as nee-san's flames and I could easily sense it .
But I couldn't see it .
The ground was swallowing it.
The spikes kept pushing me away but they were weak . The chijutsu-artist's influence was weak here . But even when I look at where it's supposed to be , I couldn't see it . It was going underground.
I can't waste anymore time. Nee-san and nii-san are counting on me and that Monster was hurting them .
I focused on that anger , that rage ...and lurged .
'...only a spiritual weapon or a true flame can break it '
I shot through the spike and when I was on the ground right over the ball , I turned the area into glass to prevent the earth from moving it away and raised my hand .
"ENRHIHA MATERIALISE!..."
I raised up the legendary sword gifted by the flame king and brought it straight down with all my strength , letting my emotions drive my flames into forming a barrier of flames around me.
It cracked through the glass and just as the tip of the sword hit the seal , ...
the seal shattered and a shot of crimson fire shot upwards right past my face and through my barrier. When I looked up, it was gone .
I did it ...
I did it!
I quickly dodged a spike and launched myself on top of a nearby tree and navigated across the branches until the earth stopped looking for me.
I let out a sigh of relief and looked down , but there was no way I could reach them.
This was all I could do . The rest was up to nee-san and nii-san ...and Ayano-nee's 'friend' .
.
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A.N:-
A big thank you to all my readers and reviewers . I felt so happy with the last chapter's turn-out . So just ...THANK YOU AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER .
...And don't worry , Kazuma and Ayano are in the next one .
P.S:- to the anonymous reviewer that goes by 'how're you doing' , thank you for correcting me on that chijutsu , not genjutsu thing. I Really appreciate it.
P.P.S:- Please review.