CHAPTER 32: THE FIGHT

"Tsk! Bad luck, the general came in time. If he didn't come, I could have built their grave first. Such poor soul..." Dark Hartina mumbled while sniffing. Tears formed in his eyes.

Dark Howlan raised an eyebrow and turn away from him. His ears twitched.

Here it comes... Dark Hartina's opposite side. What did they call it again? Ah... Soft. Yes, it's the soft personality.

People who didn't know Dark Hartina have multiple personalities would be so confused. It comes and goes suddenly depending on the situation.

"So, does that mean, Dark Hartina was affected by the enemy's death?" He thought quietly.

It seems so...

"What're you staring at? Don't you feel they look miserable? You're so cruel, Dark Howlan! You even hurt Dark Lordany! I hate you!"

Dark Hartina cried and hit Dark Howlan back.

Dark Howlan just stood in silence. The hits weren't that strong so he let it be. They have stopped in mid-air because of Dark Hartina changes.

Sighs... These will take some time before Dark Hartina returns to normal.

"You're so cruel! You're so cruel! Take this! And this!"

Dark Howlan ignored him. The hits feel like tickling now. A moment later, he felt the hit stop and turn around to see.

"Welcome back... You're the weirdest person I've ever met." He said dryly after seeing the astonished Dark Hartina.

"What? You have a problem with my personality, Dark Howlan?" Dark Hartina glares.

Even if his personality changes sometimes, the thing they did would still be remembered by him. That sometimes embarrassed him but he wasn't able to deal with it.

He has gone to see lots of doctors but none can treat this disease of his. They said there was nothing wrong with him except the difference in personalities that would not harm him.

Yeah, right. If it's not for all Deorc Star members knowing he had a different personality, they would have beat him long ago. But they did want to beat him up if his trick or sticky personality appeared.

"No comment. Hurry up! They probably already hide our target."

Dark Howlan starts to move again.

Dark Hartina follows behind. He was disgusted when he felt the tears in his eyes. If their enemy saw it, they would have thought that he was vulnerable and easy to bully. He wiped his eyes angrily before concentrating on their destination.

Kairi, his friends, and the guards have already changed places. They hurriedly move towards a building far from the main palace. Agi suggested they take Kairi somewhere safe and hide him until the enemies got killed or retreated. On their way, they met another Bright Star user, Auriga, and his small number of soldiers.

Auriga has been helping Kairi during the sightseeing over Antonia. So, Kairi knew him.

"Your majesty, I'm sorry for being late. Let me protect you too." Auriga bows his head.

"Thank you." Kairi appreciated it.

Auriga was known as the second in command of the whole army after Leo. He was talked to by Agi, Virgo, and Pegasus before, and he has the same strength as Dark Ries.

"General, we intend to take him to the defence room," Agi told him.

"Yes, good decision, Agi." Auriga nodded and then proceeded to point the way to the defence room.

The soldiers he brought surrounded Kairi and his friends. The defence room was underground inside a building with the walls surrounding the room in a powerful magic field with the help of magic stones.

The wall acts as a protector from the outside attack or force. The room was ten meters in length, width, and height. Small but has high defences.

"Agi, lock this room with your field after I'm out. I will be protecting outside." Auriga commanded.

"Yes, general!"

"We're too," Libra said to Cygnus and Eridanus.

Both nodded to her.

Once they exited, the room was enclosed by Agi's shield.

"I wonder if they're okay? There's still no news from Aries." Kairi feels uneasy.

He's worried about their situation.

"Don't worry, Kairi. We will protect you with our lives if they succeeded in attacking this place." Virgo promised.

Agi knocked his head. "Idiot! You should calm him down instead of making him even more scared! Look what you've done." Point him to Kairi who was now hugging his body while shivering, fear in his eyes.

"Erk! Sorry, Kairi. I didn't mean they would succeed in reaching us..."

"But what you said might come true..." Kairi bit his lower lip.

I hope they're okay... He thought. If not... His eyes sharpen, green slightly manifested before it disappeared.

Suddenly, Aries shouts appear in their mind.

"Everyone, protect Kairi at all cost!"

"Aries, what happened in the knight headquarters?!" Libra's voices sound anxious.

"Dark Howlan and Dark Hartina are here. They're heading towards you guys! Pegasus was badly hurt..." Aries explained in grief.

Hearing Pegasus's name, Agi's eyes narrowed. Anxiety appeared slightly before it was gone. He can't leave Kairi. He needs to protect him. After all, he trusts that Pegasus can hold on until their medical team arrives.

"... Everyone... Everyone in the knight headquarters is dead..." Aries continued.

Her voice sounded hoarse and miserable. She sobbed when she looked over them again that were now hidden behind a white cover. The medical team has arrived to help.

Leo has already left her to take care of and protect the medical team. She wanted to help protect Kairi too but she knew no one else could save the medical team if anything happened here. Pegasus was still under their treatment. She hopes he wakes up soon.

Kairi and his friends were stunned. They couldn't believe it. There were thousands of knights and palace guards either in training or resting there.

How can they all be killed?

Although some were working outside they should have more than a thousand people on it were left or in standby.

"And Rafiz, I saw he was taken by Dark Howlan. He looks seriously injured!" Told Aries nervously.

Kairi's eyes widened. He hurriedly went to the door and wanted to open it. But, Agi and Virgo immediately stop him.

"Move." Kairi snarled.

His anger can be seen. Such changes startled his friends.

"They got Rafiz and killed our people. You still want me to hide here?" He asked them.

"Kairi, please calm down. Even if you want to go, do you even know your enemies and their powers?" Agi walked closer to him.

"Then tell me." Kairi turns to him while folding his hands on his chest.

"... Okay. Dark Howlan has a dog-head and often uses his power through his mouth. If he howls, anything can appear from it." Agi explained.

"Howl...? Isn't his name Dark Howlan? Are you joking with me?" Kairi looks dumbfounded.

A little anger subsided from hearing something that seemed funny. He didn't laugh because this was not the right time or place to do that.

"Yeah... Don't ask. We don't know either." Virgo chuckled before he turned serious.

"His manifesting power can be anything that comes from nature."

"We never fought with him, only heard it from Sir Leo. He fought him many times before. He told us if we can keep Dark Howlan's mouth shut, he won't be able to use his power but... He is strong with weapons too so it's kind of hard to shut him while fighting him." Agi shrugged.

Kairi pondered. Truly, this was hard to take Dark Howlan down.

"What about the other?"

"Dark Hartina... He's one of the most dangerous. They said he's the fourth-ranked user in Deorc Star. Although we could fight Dark Spincer that time almost equally. That could be just a fluke because he is distracted by Dark Reammut conditions. He is after all, second-ranked. But between these two, we must be wary of Dark Hartina more. He is unpredictable."

Virgo shuddered when remembering Dark Hartina's appearance. "And he truly is one of the unique beings I have ever seen."

"What do you mean?" Kairi was confused.

"You'll find out soon, Kairi."

Agi rolled his eyes at Virgo's reaction.

"... As for his power, he has mental control ability. Almost the same as Aries but different. He can manipulate people's memories, unlike Aries who could only see them. You could say Dark Hartina is a Deorc Star communicator and spy. His weapon is the same as Aries, archery."

"Just don't think because he can use archery he couldn't fight in close combat. No. He is a spy, so he has many hidden weapons too, not from his main power weapon though." Virgo added after Agi.

Kairi finally understands these two. But why does he feel the power inside was a little anguished but excited? Moreover, he felt a kind of close kinship towards them. He was confused again.

Is the power trying to tell him something? But what?

"I want to save Rafiz. So, I'm still going." He told them seriously.

His friends look at each other.

"Alright."

"Agi!" Virgo was astonished because Agi would allow it.

"We will protect Kairi. That's our promise to General Auriga and Aries." Agi's smile then cleared the field of confinement that surrounded the room.

"Kairi, make sure you're not far from us." He then warned.

Kairi nodded his head.

The room shook, telling them that the enemies have arrived. So, they opened the door but didn't see Auriga, only eight soldiers were left to protect the room.

Seeing their king and the Bright Star users coming out, they bowed.

"Your majesty, my lords, what's wrong?" One of them asked.

All eight of them don't look nervous nor have fear in their eyes. This was because they got used to the attack of Deorc Star users and have battled with their underlings before. So those soldiers that were left behind were the elite soldiers.

Auriga won't ever leave the protection of Kairi to normal soldiers. As for him, he had to go and fight those two from getting near.

"Prepare yourself. We're going into battle." Agi ordered.

"Yes, sir!"

They rushed out along with all the soldiers. When they arrived outside, they were shocked to see the destruction of some of the palace's buildings.

"Cygnus!" shouted Agi when he saw Cygnus was leaning against the side of the building with his head bleeding.

Agi, Kairi, and Virgo ran towards Cygnus while surrounded by their soldiers. Agi uses his powers to heal Cygnus' injuries. Suddenly the wall in front of them shattered and a dog-faced man came out. In his grasp was the neck of Eridanus which he was strangling.

"Urgh..." Eridanus groaned in pain as his body was used to smash the wall. He could feel many bones were broken by it.

"Damn... It..." His oxygen was cut due to Dark Howlan choking him.

"Dark Howlan!" Virgo shots Dark Howlan with his gun while running towards them.

Dark Howlan dodge the bullets and threw Eridanus' body at Virgo. Virgo cached Eridanus' body and cushioned them with his body as they fell to the floor.

"Erk! It hurts... What did this guy eat?" He said in his heart and got up again while pushing Eridanus to the side.

"Are you okay, Eridanus?" He asked.

Eridanus wheezed and coughed with a bit of saliva coming out of his mouth.

"Do I look okay?" He replied with a hoarse voice.

Then, he wiped his mouth and stood again. The sound of bones popping was heard from him.

"Agi!" Virgo called for his help.

Agi chanted his healing spell on Eridanus.

"Thanks!"

He and Virgo turn to Dark Howlan who was waiting for them to attack him. But his eyes move to someone.

"Oh, I found him! Hey, Dark Hartina!" Called Dark Howlan after seeing Kairi.

He knows Kairi's face because Dark Hartina has already transferred the image of the heir from the people they killed to his mind.

Dark Hartina appeared next to him. Kairi and his friends' eyes widened to see Rafiz in Dark Hartina's embrace.

"Rafiz...?" Kairi's aura gets colder seeing Rafiz's dire condition with blood still dripping from his wounds.

Unforgivable!

"What?! Why is Your Majesty here?!"

Auriga appears next to them after realizing Kairi and the others got out of the defence room. His cheeks were slightly scratched from Dark Hartina's attack. Agi healed it too.

"Thanks, Agi. My lord, please go ba-...?" He wasn't able to finish his words when an aura of burning light surrounded Kairi's body.

He also heard Kairi's teeth clenching loudly. And a small part of his lips was bleeding a little. His fuming eyes could not help but look at Rafiz and then Dark Hartina. A growling sound came out of his throat.

"Kairi?"

Agi and Virgo were stunned after seeing Kairi like that. The fierceness and pressure from that appearance almost made them kneel.

Kairi slammed his palms to the ground and a starry field appeared beneath him. Shocked by his action, Agi, Virgo, and the soldiers immediately jump away. They watch Kairi move his hands up and two sword blades appear from the centre of the starfield.

One of the swords was black with its blade surrounded by a green light that lines zig-zag to the end of the blade while the other sword was white with aquamarine crystal embedded in the middle between its sharp blades. Both emitted a majestic aura of their respective colours.

Kairi grabbed the handles of the two weapons and attacked Dark Hartina first. His speed arriving in front of Dark Hartina in the blink of an eye surprised everyone there including Dark Hartina and Dark Howlan.

"Dark Hartina!"

Dark Howlan shouted and kicked Dark Hartina's hind leg, bending Dark Hartina's body to the back. The swings of Kairi's swords almost severed Dark Hartina's neck.

Since the attack was unsuccessful, Kairi changed the direction of his sword and brought it down to Dark Hartina's body without thinking about Rafiz, who was in Dark Hartina's arms.

"Shit!"

Dark Hartina had to let go of Rafiz and pushed Rafiz to Kairi then bent both his hands above his head and dodged Kairi's attack by rolling his body backwards. At the same time, he summoned black archery and fired his arrow at Kairi.

Dark Howlan also summoned up his weapon, a magic wand as high as his height with a sharp end tip. With the tip of his weapon, he swung it at Kairi too. Their attacks were unsuccessful when their attack hit the shield around Kairi.

Agi had recited a shield spell to protect him. Kairi, who hugged Rafiz, took a moment to look at his brother. Rafiz was still breathing and that relieved him a lot.

"Des Sa Olo Nas Ki Ei... Ruip Ne Ene Gamo Olo Masu Ou Yan Olo Usu Ei. Denuk Ju So Som Sa Ten! (Oh star who became my servant... Return the perfect body to the person I chose)," Kairi chanted and a healing light surrounded Rafiz's body.

"Damn it! He's not supposed to be this strong yet. I need to quickly destroy his memories!" Thought Dark Hartina then he ran towards Kairi.

"Oh no, you don't!"

Libra appeared from behind him. Under the foot of Dark Hartina appeared a large card that had a picture of sharp ice.

Dark Hartina's eyes widened but he jumped to his side immediately at the same time sharp ice pounded out of the card. If he didn't dodge in time, his leg might have been pricked by the sharp ice and wounded his leg. While he was busy with Libra, Dark Howlan was attacked by Eridanus and Virgo.

They keep him away from Kairi who was treating Rafiz. Auriga also began to act by pulling out his weapon, two long revolvers, and shooting his power bullet to the wall near Dark Hartina. The bullet that hit the wall exploded and spawned solid monsters.

They rush to attack Dark Hartina. Dark Hartina retaliated by throwing his hidden knife, stabbing the monster while dodging the assault from Libra who was chasing him.

Leo and Perseus arrived and went to check on Kairi and Rafiz first.

"Oh, Rafiz... Is he okay?" Perseus asked Kairi while kneeling by their side.

"I already healed him. Hope he wakes up soon..."

Kairi has calmed down now that he got Rafiz back. He turned to Leo.

"General..."

Leo wasn't surprised to see Kairi's appearance and his subsided aura.

"Rest. Leave the battle to us." Leo turns around from them.

Kairi nodded. A small movement attracted him.

"Kairi..."

"Rafiz!"

Rafiz who had woken up from his fainting look at Kairi and Perseus. He slowly moves up with Kairi's arm pushing gently on his back.

"Thank goodness. How are you feeling, Rafiz?" Perseus smiled.

Rafiz felt so awful before but now his body seems a lot better. He knew who healed him.

"Thanks, Kairi."

Kairi's eyes formed tears. "You... You are... So fuck up!" Kairi snapped with anger.

He slapped Rafiz face hard. It was actually so loud that almost everyone there was shocked by his action. Even Dark Hartina and Dark Howlan almost slipped their feet from seeing it.

Woah... They thought that Kairi was a violent person, almost like them.

They dodge again after another assault from their enemies. As for Rafiz, he understood why Kairi got angry and apologised to him.

"Sorry. Really sorry, Kairi... I didn't mean to get hurt so bad..."

"You told me to run when there's a danger I cannot handle but you didn't even escape! What kind of advice is that?!"

"I'm sorry... Please forgive me." Rafiz begged.

"My god! Doesn't he feel ashamed doing that?!" Dark Howlan said to Dark Hartina.

Dark Hartina shrugged. "Damn! I have enough of you!"

He was irritated with the monster's attack and fired his arrows with auras embedded in them. The monsters were destroyed but Auriga won't give him time to take a breath. He shot again and more monsters appeared.

Rafiz, who heard Dark Howlan exclaim, just ignored it. It doesn't matter what he said. He needs to pacify Kairi first.

"I won't do it again. I promise!"

Kairi glared at him. The promise seems to be broken instead of keeping them!

He doesn't trust it. He stood up and gave his hand to Rafiz. His face still told Rafiz that he didn't believe in him anymore.

Rafiz smiled awkwardly and let Kairi pull him up.

"How many people are injured?" For safety, he changes the topic.

Kairi and Perseus look melancholy.

"Thousands of soldiers and knights have died..." Kairi told him.

If his eyes could kill, Dark Hartina and Dark Howlan would have died thousands of times already.

"Damn!" Rafiz gripped his hand tightly.

His eyes have turned bright vertical purple. His men who he had trained with difficulty for weeks were definitely among the dead as they were with him when Dark Howlan and Dark Hartina ambushed them.

"They are unforgivable!"

Kairi nodded in agreement.