Brave

"That Cardo...!"

"Did he just used one of the body enhancement magic?"

While they were confronting the Wither Bees, they bear witness to Cardo activating Liksi for the first time. And then, the all-powerful sword wave that he created, sends tremendous shockwaves all around him.

"Magdalo, get over here!"

Marlo creates a thick wall of dirt and uses it to cover him and Magdalo from the shockwave. Meanwhile, the Wither Bees have no choice but to feel the shockwave push them towards the dirt wall Marlo created and get squeezed in between it and the force of the shockwave.

"Roberto... Hang on!"

"Ugh!"

On the flip side, Riko and Roberto with no protection in hand, were both sent flying. Luckily they were flying in the direction of a tree.

"Grab my hand, Roberto!"

"Yeah!"

Riko uses his left hand to grab the tree trunk with every ounce of his strength, all while keeping a tight grasp of Roberto's hand.

The shockwave went on for a short while but eventually subsided, allowing Riko and Roberto to let out an exhale of relief.

"It's over." Said the young knight as turn head towards Roberto. "Are you all right?"

"I'm good," Roberto replied as he casually took the stings out of his legs. "What's the situation? Cardo suddenly appeared out of nowhere and saved our a**es."

"Cardo is..."

The young knight shifts his gaze to the direction of Cardo and the Wither Bees. When he did, all of a sudden, his brown eyes spread wide in shock.

"Cardo!"

Hearing the young knight screaming the name of their fellow knight in panic, urges Magdalo and Marlo to take a peek from the edge of the dirt wall.

"Cardo?"

"Oh no!"

At that moment, they see Cardo lying on the ground alongside the corpses of the Wither Bees he split into two without moving a muscle. As their worries clouded their thoughts, Magdalo and Marlo tried to run to the incapacitated Cardo, disregarding their surroundings.

Buzz!

Buzz!

"Huh?"

Only after hearing them buzzing their wings in a split second did Magdalo noticed the Wither Bees whose stings are only an inch away from piercing his eyes.

The veteran knight crouches down instinctively. However, his reaction was too slow that the Wither Bees could have killed him already. Thankfully, Marlo is just behind him. The knight who witnessed the creatures going after Magdalo first-hand is able to manipulate the shape of the earth just in time, creating a thick layer of dirt between the veteran knight and the Wither Bees.

Stab!

Pierce!

While the Wither Bees got themselves stuck in the wall of dirt that Marlo created, the veteran knight looks at Marlo and proceed to give him his sincerest thanks.

"That was a quick save," Magdalo added.

"Go." Said Marlo out of the blue. "I'll deal with them."

"Are you sure?"

The moment Marlo gave the veteran knight a serious gaze, Magdalo quickly understood his message.

"You're a brave knight, Marlo! You know that!"

As Marlo watches over the veteran knight who went on his way to check up on Cardo, the Wither Bees proceed to free themselves from the wall by leaving their stings stuck in it.

"Tch! How persistent!"

Using his earth manipulation magic, the dirt wall crumbles into pieces as each one of them begins floating around Marlo.

"Damn pests!"

Marlo is a foul-mouthed knight and magic-user who despite having an arrogant tone in his voice, is the one who always gets terrified easily when confronted by enemies, especially creatures that are as horrifying as the Guardian Snake.

Marlo's magic ability is one of many elemental magic abilities that exist in Alteria. His ability allows him to change the shape of the earth to however he likes, control them at his will, and even manipulate its hardness. If used correctly, it can be a very formidable ability, especially in a favorable environment.

In Marlo's hands, however, he's obviously not using his ability to its full potential.

As a coward who cannot face enemies head-on, Marlo considers himself as the rear-guard type of soldier. He sometimes uses it as an excuse to avoid being put on the frontlines as it scares him despite knowing that his ability is more useful in the face of the battle. To make it even worse, Marlo did not train with his ability just to make sure the higher-ups can't talk him out of it.

When the Hari showed his true self to his people, Marlo thought he made the right choice. Otherwise, the high commander would've put him in the face of danger, forced to protect the kingdom against his will. Or worse, he gets put down, seeing the possible threat his earth manipulation magic could pose to the kingdom if ever a rebellion occurs.

No matter how much he tries to escape the frontlines, in the end, Marlo's fate led him to face his fears. He got dispatched to his hometown along with his friends, following the order issued by the Hari to not let any foreign visitors from entering Kruule.

One thing led to another. Then finally, Marlo and the others meet Lyrica. The girl's presence is without a doubt, giving them a strong sense of hope. But despite that, Marlo's fears remain the same.

But after witnessing what Carlo did against all three Wither Bees with a single, powerful swing of his magic tool, Marlo finally realized it.

'I can't keep cowering behind everyone forever. I can't keep running away and disappoint everyone forever.' Marlo said to himself. 'Sooner or later, I'm gonna have to face battles myself. Sooner or later, we will face an adversary where my magic is the one needed the most.'

At that moment, following his stern and fearless gaze, every single piece of dirt, now more hardened than ever, starts hurling towards the Wither Bees endlessly.

"Die!"

Following his warcry, Marlo thought to himself:

'Enough cowering like an idiot!'

The Wither Bees effortlessly avoiding the rain of hardened dirt makes Marlo's ability seemed almost useless. But unbeknownst to the oblivious creatures, it was all just an act of distraction.

'Enough holding my power!'

Reshaping and controlling the earth requires moving any one of his hands. The pieces of dirt went towards the direction of the Wither Bees—where his left hand is stretched forward.

'I need to step up!'

Marlo raises his other hand above his chest. His fingers start trembling vigorously as if he's trying to squeeze hard on something.

'I need to become stronger!'

Without them realizing it, a dome of super hard dirt imprisoned the Wither Bees.

Wrap!

'Stronger than anyone else!'

At that moment, at the same time Marlo closed the palm of his hand and turning it into a fist, the dome falls flat to the surface, crushing the Wither Bees flat and alive.

'Until nothing can scare me anymore!'