Chapter 56

For Kogane1089, Ty seems to be an interesting character. I have a change of heart; can I make him appear after this chapter? Please!! ^^

God created heaven. Men created hell.

Andrey Iskanov

The next morning, at Alberta….

The owner of Peco inn and the children are feeding the peco-pecos in the barn. "Grandma, do you think Elraven will return to Alberta anytime soon?" Asked one of the children. "Yeah, I miss his peco-peco stories" The other kids continued. "I can't tell you for sure, dear. Perhaps when he is done with his work he'll visit us" The owner slowly replies.

However, seeing the children look sad, the owner felt a need to comfort the children by saying, "But, we miss him for sure. He is a funny guy although he's pretty insensitive. He's a hard worker and diligent. He helped the Sagramore to protect the city when Drake and his thugs attacked us, right? Right now, Sagramore soldiers are guarding this city, so I believe we will see him again", the owner finished with a smile as the children replies by smiling too.

"Feeding the pecos in the morning? As expected from the hard working civilians of Alberta" A lord knight praised the owner and the children from the door of the barn.

"Oh, captain. Good morning" The owner responded.

"Good morning, mam. Good morning, kids. How is the pecos today?" The lord knight politely replies. "Great as always" One of the children answered. "Well, thanks to you, I believe. Ever since you and your soldiers arrived at this town a month ago, Valdomir never attacked us again" The owner gratefully stated as the lord knight smiles.

But suddenly, they heard something big coming from the above.

SWIIIIIIIIING

"What does that sound?" The owner said….her last words.

GLAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!!!

A meteorite falls from the sky and crushed the barn, destroying anyone inside it. Before they could even reacted.

GLAR! GLAR!! GLAR!! GLAR!! GLAR!!!

"What is that?!" "An explosion?!!" "Valdomir attacking?!!" The people in Alberta rushed to the streets to save themselves as more and more meteorites destroying them and their buildings.

"Uwaaaaaakh!!!" "Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!" "Hellppppp!!!" "Gyaaaaaakh!!!" Their screams echoed in the sky, as three gigantic figures lower themselves from the sky, between the falling meteorites. They were Sword Master, Bow Master, and The Fire God of Midgard, Ifrit.

"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! PATHETIC WEAKLINGS TRYING TO SAVE THEIR PATHETIC LIVES!! AS I FIGURED, THE METEOR STRIKE WOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH TO SWIPE THESE WORMS. BY ROASTING THEIR BODIES, THEY WOULD PERFECTLY FIT TO BE THE DOGS' FOOD IN HELL!! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" The gigantic fire monster proclaimed when the Sagramore soldiers guarding the city split themselves. Some are trying to save the civilians and the other, a dozen of lord knights, are trying to confront Ifrit, as The Fire God of Midgard descends from the sky to the street.

"Good god almighty….that is Ifrit!! There's no mistaken!!! He…he, he is Ifrit the Fire God!!" One of the lord knight trembles when he recognized the godlike monster. "IT IS USSUALLY ABNORMAL TO TREMBLE RIGHT BEFORE YOUR ENEMY, EVEN IF YOU ARE JUST A LOWLIFE SCUMBAG WHO DOES NOT DESERVE TO LIVE IN THE FIRST PLACE. BUT WHEN YOU STAND BEFORE ME, THE ALMIGHTY FIRE GOD OF MIDGARD, IT'S AN EXCEPTION" Ifrit proudly praised himself as the lord knights slowly walk backwards.

"Call the reinforcements in Payon!! Somebody call Alexandria and the other soldiers!! Now!!! Nooooooow!!!" Another lord knights shouted as Ifrit formed a glowing red sphere by putting his palm together in front of his body, "PURGATORIO", he chanted as the sphere exploded and swipe Alberta into pieces.

DUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!

That is the last sound anyone ever heard from Midgard's port town…..

Half an hour later, at Payon…

Elraven is seen sitting on the stairs in the main temple. George and Olivia are being tutored by Felicia after they tied her last night. Clyde is still trying to calm Sasha down from shooting Frea. Frea is taking a bath, so Elraven wouldn't want to bother her, he got his chance anyway.

"Oh, damn it Captain….when will the parts arrived?" Elraven mumbled as he realizes someone is walking towards him from his behind. He turned his head and watched Fiorentin coming, "Alexandria? Good morning!!".

"Good morning, lovebird" Fiorentin replies calmly as she takes a seat beside Elraven.

"Lovebird? Is that a new nickname you gave for me? I'll take that as a compliment" Elraven said back with a smile.

"Well, take it as you want it. So, how was Frea yesterday? Did you please her?" Fiorentin swiftly responded.

Elraven shakes his head, "Well, several times. But honestly, girls shouldn't ask that kind of questions".

"And boys should stop telling girls what to do. Especially if the girl he was talking to is the rightful heir of the true kingdom that rules the land, and if the girl needs to say it specifically, including the stairs which he sits" Another swift reply from the confident former princess.

Elraven sighed, "And the boy surrenders. The boy is not used to debate when the girl is".

"Good, now the girl demands an answer. What is the boy doing here?" The light pink haired girl asked with a smirk.

"The boy is waiting for some parts for his broken half-assed Ultimate Gatling gun in order to repair it. His captain said it will come from the sky today, but it isn't here yet" Elraven answers as he looks up to the sky.

"That means the boy could do a favor for the girl as he waits" Fiorentin stated. Elraven stared at her, "The boy is wondering, what kind of favor?".

"The girl wants the boy to recite a poem" Fiorentin quickly answered.

Elraven narrowed his eyes, "The boy does not understand. Why does the girl want to listen to a poem?".

Fiorentin gave a sharp answer, "Because the girl feels like it. And….this is an order".

Her answer makes Elraven stares blankly at her face. Fiorentin grows uncomfortable of his stare, "The girl wants the boy to recite a poem, not stare blankly on her".

Elraven cunningly smiled, "Well, the boy does not mind to recite a poem for the girl, in one condition".

"The girl demands to know the condition as soon as possible" Fiorentin gave another quick respond. It seems that she wants to listen to a poem so badly.

"The boy wants the girl to recite a poem for him in return" Elraven's answer surprised Fiorentin quite a bit. But seeing Elraven smiling, Fiorentin agrees, "The girl…agrees. But her poem shall not be recited anytime soon. And the girl should decide where and when her poem will be recited".

"Fair enough" Elraven said as he takes a long deep breath. Fiorentin went a little closer so she was right beside Elraven, trying to listens the poem as close as possible, making their faces are right next to each other. But suddenly, "Am I interrupting?" could be heard by both of them.

It was Alphard, staring at them defiantly. Fiorentin was very surprised and quickly trying to find a reason to explain to the male lord knight, "Oh, Sir Alphard!!! No, no, we…we..we..were just….".

"Don't worry; if I am truly interrupting your fun, I would gladly excuse myself at this moment…right now" Another sharp statement from the angry looking lord knight making Fiorentin feel harder to explain.

Elraven, realizes that this situation is partly his fault, trying to help the former princess explaining, "No, no. We were not really doing anything, Lord Alphard. She asks me to recite a poem and I said I'll recite a poem later, that's all".

Alphard stares at the gunslinger, and then turns his attention to the former princess, "Is that true, Fio?". Fiorentin slowly nods, answering the lord knight. "Well, since your business in here is finished, does that mean we can have a talk about attacking Geffen right now?" Alphard asks another question, finishing the heavy atmosphere from before.

Fiorentin, feeling grateful, answers, "Oh, yeah. Right, Shall we get inside to discuss it?".

"Fine" Alphard slowly walks upstairs, following the female lord knight while Elraven is still sitting on the stair.

But, when he stands right beside Elraven, he slowly whisper to the gunslinger's ears

"Were not really doing anything, huh? Not including you danced her last night?". Elraven didn't reply, perhaps he was a bit surprised knowing the lord knight knew the fact.

Fiorentin watches them from above, hoping there will be no fighting between the two men. "I hope no one will fight because of me here!!!!" She said to herself.

"We are on a friendly term at the moment, so let's not make a big deal of this one. I only ask you to stay away from her, quietly. Do you get it, Angel of Darkness?" Alphard finishes his whispering as he resumes his steps upstairs, leaving Elraven alone. But suddenly, something fell from the sky, right in the now destroyed festival ground.

BRAAAKKH!!!

The sound of something crashed to the land catch everyone's attention. "What is that? Is that your delivery?" Fiorentin asks Elraven as the two runs towards the festival ground, leaving Alphard behind them. "….Damn" The male lord knight slowly muttered seeing the two.

"No way. It can't be my delivery. Emilio will send my order using a parachute, not throwing it from the sky!!!" Elraven answers as they finally have a good look at the source of the crashing voice. It was Peco Inn Name Billboard's.

"Wha, what?! This is peco inn billboard's?? Why on earth….?" Elraven looks at the sky to find nothing up there.

"Is Alberta under attack?" Fiorentin slowly mutters something that makes Elraven widened his eyes. "What happened, Fio?" Felicia arrives with George and Olivia. Not far from their behind, Frea, Clyde, and Sasha could be seen rushing.

"Alberta is under attack!! Valdomir sent Peco Inn billboard's!! Get the soldiers ready!!!" Fiorentin orders her comrades as Elraven orders her subordinates, "Clyde! Sasha! Prepare your weapons right now!!!".

Wasting no time, the group reforms as Fiorentin informed Alphard, "Sir Alphard, please prepare the soldiers as soon as possible and follow us to Alberta using the warp gates. I will take Felicia, George, Olivia, and the gunslingers alongside Frea with me to help the soldiers in Alberta first".

"Understood. Take care of yourself" Alphard answers as he runs outside the festival ground, readying the soldiers in the entire Payon area. Olivia quickly creates the warp gate to Alberta, "OK!! It's all set and ready!!". "Good, let's move now!!" Fiorentin orders as she and her comrades get inside the warp gate. Elraven was the last to get in, "I have a bad feeling about this!! Boss, children, please be alive when I arrive!!" The gunslinger said to himself as he repositioned his purple glasses and entering the gate.

Less than half a minute later, at Alberta….

The group arrived at Alberta only to find its ruins and dead bodies anywhere, be it the civilians or the Sagramore soldiers. They couldn't find a single trace of anyone alive. "It's horrible. They are all dead! Who on earth could have done this?" Olivia slowly speaks as she closed the eyes of one of the soldiers.

"Valdomir attacked this town? Without us being noticed by one of the soldiers? How? I already told them to warp to Payon if they were cornered…" Fiorentin speaks in disbelieve.

George noticed something weird about the dead bodies, "Uh, guys. Look at their bodies..they are all roasted. It's as if they were burnt to death or…exploded?". Felicia touches some of the bodies and they are still hot. "You're right, George. Valdomir used fire to kill them" The paladin ensured.

Although she couldn't see, Frea could sense that Elraven is trembling, "Elraven? Are you alright? You're…trembling?" The soul linker touches his shoulder. "I, I….the peco inn!! The peco inn!! This cannot be happening!!!" Elraven shouts and then runs towards the direction of the peco inn. Everyone was surprised, even Clyde and Sasha. This is the first time they ever witness Elraven loses his coolness. "Chase him, it's too dangerous!! The Valdomir could still be here!!" Fiorentin shouted but suddenly two large shadows appeared from above and landed right among them. It was Sword Master and Bow Master.

"You're not going anywhere" The Sword master said as he and the bow master prepare their weapons. "Princess, please chase vice captain!! We will take care of these two monsters!!" Clyde shouted as he and Sasha prepare a stance and confront the two masters.

"OK!! Let's go guys!!" Fiorentin and the rest of the group chase Elraven, leaving the two young gunslingers against the two masters all by themselves. Clyde and Sasha runs into different areas of ruins of Alberta, so they won't disturb each other's battles. The Sword Master chases Clyde as The Bow Master chases Sasha.

"What a waste of time. They will not be enough to defeat our great leader of Erebus Guild!!" The sword master slashes his gigantic blade as Clyde dodged and pulls out his Double soldier handguns. "But I will be more than enough to defeat you!!!" Clyde shoots his guns right into the head of the Sword Master but only managed to make him walks backward. "What on earth?" Clyde, couldn't believe what he just saw, dash forward and aim his guns right on the jaw of the sword master. "Piercing Bullets!!" He attacked the Sword Master with his technique only to find his adversary slashes his gigantic blade to the ground and hits Clyde's left shoulder, making blood pours from it.

"Aaah!" Clyde slowly touches his wound as The Sword Master looks proud. "What are you? I shot you twice on the head but you didn't die? Your armor didn't even get scratched by piercing bullets?" Clyde asks in pain.

"Well, you see. Erebus Guild is the strongest guild Valdomir Kingdom ever created. The members of the guild are either high level fire monsters or dragons. For humans like me and the other thousand soldiers, we need to adapt to our new environment of high level monsters, so we used this specially made of Orihalcon armor. Every single one of us human soldiers in Erebus Guild" The Sword Master explained.

"Every single one of you???!!" Clyde couldn't believe what he heard as The Sword Master rushes and used Bash to attack him. The young gunslinger jumps to avoid the impact, but despite the Bash attack only hits the street and destroys it, the flying rocks from the street scattered and hits Clyde several times before he landed on the ground.

"Damn, he's good!!!" Clyde thinks for a second, but the Sword Master quickly appears in front of him and slashes another Bash. Clyde tried to defend the Bash using his double handguns, but the attack sent him flying and crashing in one of the ruins, making a loud sound as he hits the ruin.

"Weak!" The Sword Master spat seeing the gunslinger defeated. He turns around to find his partner, but he suddenly heard something moving from his behind. "How persistent…" He grunted as he turns back and sees Clyde standing, with weird looking double handguns on his hands.

"Changing guns? That won't make any difference!" The sword master, again, rushes towards Clyde who stretches his hands as the Sword Master slashes his sword. But suddenly, Clyde slides behind his legs and jumps aerobically, shoot the Sword Master right on the back of his head and knock him to the ground.

"Ugh, what?!" The Sword Master quickly rose in disbelieve of what has just happened. "Coincidence!!" He screamed as he tries to throw another slash, but Clyde quickly made his way in front of him, and turns his body so his back faces The Sword Master in a very close range. Without even seeing, he shoots both legs of The Sword Master, destroying its armors and his legs.

BANG!!!

"Aaaaakh!!" The sword master fell to the ground and cries in agony. "My legs!! My legs!! You bastard!!! I will kill you!! I will kill you!!!" He tries desperately to reach his sword which he drops when he falls, but fail.

"What kind of gun is that? This armor is made of Orihalcon!!!" The Sword Master still cries. Clyde aims one of the guns to The Sword Master's head as he answered, "These two guns are Cutlass, one of the five children of ARMAS. Their normal bullet will have the same power as ten piercing bullets. I can tell the hardest part of your armor is your head. But the softest part must be either your elbow or your legs, because you will need it to move freely".

BANG!!!

Clyde shot The Sword Master head and then his body moves no more, died. But he felt a great deal of pain on his body afterwards.

"Ukh, aakh!" Clyde drops his weapons and sees his hands, both his fingers are bleeding. "Damn, I still haven't mastered Cutlass perfectly. Their impact to my body is still huge. If it's true that their soldiers are that strong, I'll have to become stronger even more!!" Clyde said to himself.

Meanwhile, Sasha is battling the bow master….

"Your shotgun won't work at me!!" The Bow Master proclaims after Sasha shoots several bullets to no avail. "That armor of yours is damn hard!!!" Sasha runs backward while still shooting the Bow Master. The armored soldier pulls out his iron arrows and attacks using the Arrows Shower.

"Damn!!" Sasha tried to hide behind one of the ruins, but the arrows pierced through it all, making it impossible for her to hide. "Great effort, but I've found your weakness" Sasha said to herself as she dashes towards The Bow Master, who is seen preparing the next Arrow shower.

"You won't make it, girl" The Bow Master unleashes his arrow shower as Sasha dashes as fast as possible. The arrows pierce right to her path, destroying anything they hit.

"Now you're dea…where is she?" The Bow Master, who was almost certain of his effort, shocked to find Sasha is nowhere to be found.

The Bow Master slowly walks and searches the female gunslinger, but a bullet hit him right on his head, pierced through his armor, killing him. As his body falls to the ground, Sasha could be seen aiming from the point where she and the others first arrived, with Daedeye on her hand.

"As I thought, Daedeye is strong enough to pierce that Orihalcon armor of his. He fell into my trap when he unleashes the Arrow Shower when he saw me running towards him. My plan is to make him think he got me, but I used the butterfly wings to teleported myself back to the first point, and shoot him using this Daedeye, which possess the power of piercing a hard material. Truly the ultimate weapon of snipers. And the last but not least, the art of sniping is to kill from where you could not be seen. Perhaps that Bow Master should have learn more about sniping" Sasha said to herself proudly.

Meanwhile, in where Peco Inn used to stand…

Elraven stood in disbelieve as soon as he found the remaining of Peco inn. Fiorentin and the others catch up with him from behind, couldn't say a single word seeing the heart breaking sight.

"Boss? Children?" Elraven slowly said as he walks through the remains of Peco inn. Sadness could be seen in his eyes. "El, they are…" Fiorentin wants to say something but holds it back as soon as she saw Felicia stares at her and shakes her head.

"This is inhuman. I couldn't even find a single life aura in this place" Frea slowly speaks as if she was trying to tell the other that…Alberta and its people have already been destroyed.

"THAT MEANS MY WORK IS PERFECT, SOUL LINKER" An echoing voice from the group's behind making them turn their attention. "MY, MY...LOOK WHO WE HAVE IN HERE. SAGRAMORE AND ITS PETS, WHAT A SIGHT TO BEHOLD!" Ifrit roars as Felicia recognizes him.

"You…you..are..Ifrit!! The Fire God of Midgard!!" Felicia trembles with fear upon recognizing the monster. The same goes for Olivia, who couldn't stand his presence and start trembling. She was so scared that she could not even say a single word. "Ifrit? You are the one…who single handedly killed 200,000 Prontera soldiers in Mjolnir Mountain five years ago during the war? Does that mean Erebus Guild is behind all this?!" George, just like his other two friends, shouted as if he demands an explanation.

"What?! Someone is there?! But I couldn't feel his presence!!!" Frea surprisingly stated. Since she couldn't feel a gigantic presence means their adversary is far more skilful then they are.

"OF COURSE YOU COULD NOT, WOMAN!! MY PRESENCE IS FAR TOO HIGH TO BE RECOGNIZED BY SUCH WORM!! AND EREBUS GUILD IS NOT BEHIND ALL THIS!! I AM BEHIND ALL THIS!! I ALONE WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO SWIPE THE PATHETIC LIVES OF THE WORMS HERE, JUST LIKE I DID WITH PRONTERA SOLDIERS AND SAGRAMORE STRONGHOLDS IN COMODO!!!!" Ifrit roared another shocking statement.

"No way!! How could you do that without us being noticed by our soldiers?!" Fiorentin said loudly in dismay, she could not believe such feat has been done without she even knowing.

"BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO STUPID AND TOO NAÏVE TO NOTICE IT. WHEN PHELEGETHON GUILD WAS ATTACKING, YOU LEFT YOUR STRONGHOLDS AND YOUR SOLDIERS IN COMODO ALL ALONE BY THEMSELVES. THEY AND THEIR PATHETIC LIVES COULD NOT EVEN REGRET EVER BEING BORN IN THIS WORLD. JUST LIKE THE PEOPLE IN ALBERTA!! HOW FOOLISH!!!" Ifrit proudly explained to the group.

"Take those words back" Elraven slowly walks toward the imposing monster as Ifrit notices him. "I SEE, SO YOU ARE THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS. ARE YOU MAD

BECAUSE I KILLED YOUR FRIENDS IN A..CERTAIN INN, PERHAPS?" Ifrit words make the group surprise.

"THERE IS NO NEED TO BE SO SURPRISED LIKE THAT. I AM NOT AN IDIOT. I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU AND YOUR COMRADES. LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING INETRESTING, AFTER I CRUSHED ALBERTA USING THE METEOR STRIKE, AN OLD WOMAN CRAWLS FROM THE BARN BEHIND THE INN" Elraven suddenly freezes, he wants to listen to what happened to his former boss and the children.

"SHE CRIED FOR HELP, SHE SAID SOME OF THE CHILDREN WERE STILL ALIVE INSIDE THE BARN. I THOUGHT SHE WAS A WORM, BECAUSE SHE WAS SO IRRITATING AND ANNOYING WITH HER CRIES, SO I DECIDED TO GIVE HER AND THE BARN ANOTHER METEOR STRIKE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? THERE GOES THE WORM AND HER CRIES! WAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ifrit laughs as he finishes his story.

Olivia starts pouring some tears from her eyes after listening to what happened. Felicia and George just stood still, not knowing what to say. Frea asks with a trembling voice, "You…you're detestable. You did all that while you were laughing?".

"YES. SHOULDN'T YOU BE HAPPY WHEN YOU DO SOMETHING FUN? WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" Ifrit's last statement made Elraven could not contain his anger any longer.

"Ifriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!" Elraven dashes quickly towards the Leader of Erebus Guild with Tristan and Lancelot at his hands. "Elraven, stop!! He's too strong!!" Fiorentin tried to warn the gunslinger, but Elraven already appeared in front of Ifrit. Elraven aims both his handguns in front of Ifrit's face and unloads the bullets, right into the very last bullet. "Take this! Take this!! Take this!!!!!" Elraven screams as he is unloading his guns, but what appears in front of him after he finished, was so shocking.

Ifrit, still with his calm face, stood unharmed. "ALL THE BULLETS EITHER WENT THROUGH ME OR MELTED INSIDE ME. I GUESS I MISSED SOME PART WITHIN MY INFORMATION. I DON'T KNOW THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS IS SO STUPID THAT HE COULD NOT EVEN REALIZE HOW COME A BULLET COULD EFFECT AN ELEMENTAL ENTITY" Ifrit stretches his left arm right in front of Elraven's surprised face. "No way…..." Elraven mutters. "HORTUS DELICIARUM" Ifrit unleashes a gigantic fire blast which engulfs Elraven in flame and destroys the remaining of peco inn, as Fiorentin and the others dodged the attack.

DUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!

Elraven could be seen flying in the air before fell to the sea in the back of the spot where the inn used to stand. "Elraven!!" Frea screamed her lover's name as suddenly Ifrit appeared behind her. "HORTUS DELICIARUM' Ifrit unleashes another fire blast, hitting Frea perfectly and engulfed her in flame, sending him crashing into one of the ruins.

"Frea!! No!!" Fiorentin and Felicia rushes to the direction of the Fire God of Midgard. "NOW IT'S ALEXANDRIA AND HER SLAVE. ONE BY ONE YOU WILL GREET YOUR OWN DEATH!!" Ifrit speaks as his lower body forms a leg made of fire. Using the Claymore and the Saber, Fiorentin and Felicia use their Bash at the same time, only to watch their sword went through Ifrit's body. "Damn!" Fiorentin said to herself as she and Felicia steps backward.

"PATHETIC" Ifrit floats and chanted, "FIRE BALLS", as dozens of fire balls spread through the sky and destroying anything it hits. "Cover yourself!!" Fiorentin orders as the spot where she and Felicia stand was hit by the fire balls several times.

DUAAR!!

"Aaaaaaakh!!" Felicia was hit by the impact of the ground exploding behind him. She was sent crashing to one of the ruins and fell unconscious. "Felicia, no!!" Olivia cries her sister and quickly approaches her, chanting the healing spell. But Ifrit appears behind her and kicked her hard before Olivia even realizes it, knocking her out.

"SAGRAMORE ARE JUST A BUNCH OF IDIOTS WHO NEVER LEARNT FROM ONES MISTAKES!!! I WONDER HOW YOU COULD GIVE A FIGHT TO PHELEGETHON GUILD AND LETHE GUILD. PERHAPS THEY ARE JUST AS WEAK AS YOU ARE!!" Ifrit roars as George, running towards him with his fist ready to attack.

"Tiger Fist!!!" George quickly hit Ifrit with his technique, only to no avail just like his comrades did previously. "TAKE THIS!!!" Ifrit kicked him right in his face, knocking him out cold after sent him flying and hits some ruins. He didn't even get the chance to scream because it was too quick.

Fiorentin comes out from one of the ruins she used to cover herself from the earlier fireballs attack and witness all her friends have been defeated. "No way!" She mutters to herself. "NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!!" Ifrit suddenly appears right behind her, much to her surprise.

Fiorentin quickly readied her Claymore and faces Ifrit off. "OH, YOU WILL NOT JUST GIVE UP, HUH? YOU WILL NOT LIVE LONG LIKE THAT!!" Ifrit prepares another Hortus Deliciarum as Fiorentin began to think, "How do I defeat him?! Physical attack won't work with him!!! Am I going to be finished here?!!! ".

"Esma!!" Suddenly she heard Frea chanted an esma as two blue spirals come forth and perfectly hit Ifrit, canceling his Hortus Deliciarum. "THE SOUL LINKER IS STILL ALIVE?" Ifrit, still unaffected, muttered to himself.

"Frea!! Thanks god you're alive!!" Fiorentin was never this happy seeing the soul linker. Who, although battered, is still standing and assist her from behind. "HOW DID YOU DO THAT, WORM? DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU COULD NOT FEEL MY PRESENCE?" Ifrit asks the soul linker as she and Fiorentin joins closer.

"I could not feel your presence, yes. But, I can still feel a heat from the fire you created. It's easy to predict where you are using that" Frea prepares another Blue Esma. Ifrit floats again and prepares another fire balls. Frea, realizing a way to fend Ifrit off, whispers to Fiorentin, "Princess, listen to me carefully, I've found his weakness".

Not having an idea for attack, Fiorentin chooses to listen, "When I hit him with the blue esma earlier, although my attack didn't hurt him at all, but just for one second his body became solid. When he releases his fire balls, I'll protect both of us using one esma. When the fire balls stop, I'll quickly hit him with another esma, at the same time with that, you hit him with your Bash and he will be out of the game. Let's hope this works, OK?" Frea ends the strategy planning as Fiorentin nods.

"FIRE BALLS" Ifrit unleashes his fire balls as Frea unleashes one of her esma into a big barrier. The fire balls colliding with the blue esma barrier cause the ground to shakes and rocks scattered everywhere. "Hold on, princess!!!" Frea told Fiorentin who was hiding behind her.

When the fire balls finally stopped, Frea throws another esma towards Ifrit as Fiorentin dashes. "TOO SLOW" Ifrit simply touches the esma to make the esma vanishes, much to the dismay of both women when Fiorentin stopped her steps.

"NOT A BAD EFFORT, BUT TOO SLOW FOR AN ATTACK" Ifrit states as he prepares another Fire Balls. "Damn, we failed" Fiorentin mutters to herself seeing the plan didn't go as planned.

"Not a bad effort but you talk too damn much, red ass!" Elraven suddenly said from behind, aiming his Inferno right towards Ifrit, as the others turn their attention towards him. Elraven unleashes his Scattered Mines and hits Ifrit perfectly when Ifrit is preparing another fire balls, solidifying his body as the ice encased the fire monster.

"Now!" Elraven shouted as Fiorentin dashes and hits Ifrit with Bash, as strong as she could.

CRANK!!

The Bash successfully destroyed Ifrit encasing body into pieces. "It worked!" Fiorentin sighed in gratefulness as Frea and Elraven watch carefully had Ifrit is still alive. Their predictions are true; suddenly the pieces of ice turned into fire and formed Ifrit as he appears right behind Fiorentin.

"Alexandria, behind you!!!" Elraven shouted as Fiorentin turns her back and witness Ifrit is till standing, unharmed.

Before the three could even react, the imposing flame creature formed a red sphere again, "IF SUCH SMALL FEAT COULD EVEN HARM THE FIRE GOD OF MIDGARD, EREBUS WILL BE ASHAMED TO DEATH. PURGATORIO".

GLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!

The sound of the red sphere explosion could be heard throughout the sky as a gigantic flame engulfs Alberta for ten seconds before vanishing. Leaving Ifrit stands tall.

"WHERE ARE THOSE WORMS ROASTED BODIES?" Ifrit wonders in his mind as he witness Elraven, bloodied and battered, rose slowly from behind one of the ruins. "YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, ANGEL OF DARKNESS? I BET THE OTHER TWO WORMS ARE STILL ALIVE, RIGHT? HOW DID YOU SURVIVE?" Ifrit asks as he prepares another fire balls.

Elraven drank a berserk potion as he slowly explains, "Easy. I encased myself and my other two comrades using the ice spheres right before your fire hits us. They are alive yeah, but perhaps your fire knocks them unconscious somewhere. But I can tell that…they are alive".

Ifrit curiously asks, "DO YOU THINK YOU ARE UNDEFEATED? YOU SOUNDED SO SURE".

"I don't think I'm undefeated. But I know one thing; I won't be defeated by the likes of you!!! I will not be defeated by human haters!!!" Elraven shouted at the fire monster.

"HUMAN HATERS? YOU'RE WRONG" Ifrit's statement catches Elraven's attention, "I DO NOT HATE HUMANS. I SIMPLY DETEST THEM. I ALWAYS WONDER WHY THEY WERE CREATED ON THE FIRST PLACE. FOR ME, HUMANS LIKE YOU, ARE JUST WORMS. UNWORTHY OF LIVING, YET IT BRINGS JOY TO ME DESTROYING THEM. I AM GOD; YOU'RE NOT, SO YOU MUST DIE. AS SIMPLE AS THAT".

"You're insane!!!!" Elraven shouts, "I'll stop you!!".

"NOT FOR A LONG TIME!!! FIRE BALLS!!" Ifrit unleashes another fire balls as Elraven dashes, making his way through the fire balls to reach the Fire God of Midgard.

"The same trick will not do, Ifrit!!!" Elraven shoots the fire creature using both Lancelot and Tristan again, although he knows it will not work. "USELESS" Ifrit suddenly appears behind him again, but he spotted Elraven smiling. "Gotcha" Elraven says as the point where Ifrit standing explode all of a sudden and covered him with an ice smoke; Elraven put a trap using the ice spheres when he was escaping the last attack by Ifrit without the fire creature even knowing.

Elraven quickly prepares to continue his attack by pulling out his Inferno, but much to his dismay, Ifrit still stands tall, unharmed. The ice smoke trap failed to freeze him.

"IMPRESSIVE, ANGEL OF DARKNESS!! HOWEVER, THAT WON'T BE ENOUGH!!!" Ifrit ascends a bit more to widen his fire balls area, making Elraven changed his plans into shooting some more ice around himself, encasing a solid ice barrier to cover his body before being hit by the fire balls.

"FELL INTO ANOTHER TRAP, ANGEL OF DARKNESS. PURGATORIO" Ifrit suddenly created a red sphere between his fire balls and exploded it, without Elraven noticing, swiping the ice and Elraven with his explosion.

DUAAAAAAAARR!!!!

Elraven flies backward before hit some ruins and fell to the ground, defeated. His inferno was nowhere to be found. "PATHETIC. REALLY PATHETIC" Ifrit descends and slowly walks towards Elraven, who persistently tries to rise.

The purple glassed gunslinger's mind wonder everywhere, "I…I was knocked by a single fire blast!! My attack could not affect him at all!! But his attack…just one single blow was enough to weaken me!!! I've fought so many battles, hits by many attacks…but he…he is different from any opponents I have ever fought before!!! Even after drinking the berserk potion, I could not even reach him!!! I couldn't…avenge the boss and the children!!! His attacks are unavoidable…his defense is flawless. Not only he is unbreakable, he is also unmatched…...what an adversary!! I have never thought that…... someone like him could possibly exist in this world!!! I never knew I was this weak!!!!".

Ifrit stopped right in front of the battered gunslinger. The imposing creature chokes Elraven's neck with one hand and lifts him to the air so he can take a good look at him. Ifrit could tell that he is still breathing.

"SO, THIS IS THE FAMOUS ANGEL OF DARKNESS? YOU ARE NOTHING IN FRONT OF ME!!!" Ifrit proudly roars, but Elraven didn't give a reply. "I KNOW YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, BUT YOU STILL WILL NOT GIVE UP, WILL YOU?" Ifrit continues.

"…kill…you…"

Ifrit could hear Elraven slowly muttered something.

"I….will…kill…you"

Ifrit was a bit surprised that Elraven could still talk after all that attack. "THAT IS WHY HUMANS ARE NO DIFFERENT FROM WORMS. YOU STRUGGLE TO LIVE ALTHOUGH YOU ARE WEAK!! WHAT A DISGUSTING SIGHT!! YOUR VERY EXISTENCE COULDN'T HELP ME BUT FEELING PROUD OF ME!!!!" Ifrit roars again.

"NOW, YOU HAVE BEEN DEFEATED BY ME. I CAN KILL YOU RIGHT NOW AND EVERYTHING WILL BE OVER, ANGEL OF DARKNESS. BUT WHY WOULD I DO THAT, RIGHT?" Ifrit continues.

"RATHER THAN FINISH YOU OFF RIGHT NOW, I WOULD WANT TO KNOW IF YOU CAN STILL LIVE PROUDLY AFTER THIS DEFEAT. SOMETIMES, SEEING A STRUGGLING WORM IS BETTER THAN KILLING IT" Ifrit throws Elraven to the ground, knocking him unconscious.

"WE WILL MEET AGAIN, ANGEL OF DARKNESS. AND I WILL NOT BE AS MERCIFUL BY THAT TIME" With that, Ifrit vanishes, leaving ruins and dead bodies everywhere.

But Elraven…could be seen gripping his right hand until blood pours from it.

"Now….it's personal"

****

Wow, fifteen pages!!! The longest I've written so far!!

Well, I hope this chapter is quite enjoyable. Sasha fights will be mostly short cause she is a sniper, so she will try as quickly as possible to finish her opponents off. Clyde will

show some more gun kata moves during his next fights.

Now, for the character introduction, Ifrit.

As you guys already know, Ifrit is one of the strongest MVP bosses in Ragnarok Online game. So, I tried my best to create my improvisations (just like I always do and I won't stop doing) for him. His techniques names are related to hell.

Why did I use him as Elraven arch foe? Hm, actually, when this story is first created, I realized Elraven will have to find a stronger reason to fight in the war against Valdomir. His reason is just his past, and I don't think that would be enough to motivate him that much.

That's why I chose a character to show Elraven how weak he is and how vulnerable he is. I chose Ifrit because I think Ifrit is perfect to be Elraven's arch foe. Elraven is kind hearted while Ifrit is pure evil. Elraven is insensitive while Ifrit is pretty aware of his surroundings. Elraven kills not because he likes to do it but because he has to, in order to achieve his goal. But Ifrit kills, not only because it's an order but also simply because he enjoys it, as depicted in this chapter.

I already planned, when the time finally come for Elraven to have the fight of his life against Ifrit, I will make it 20 pages long. So, expect more to come from The Fire God of Midgard!!

Hope u enjoy, see u next chapter!!! ^^