Elder Brothers

Seeing his brother mortally wounded, in a state of adjacent death, he became enraged. His eyes bulged and he grits his teeth. His veins show as he tenses his muscles. Sam was slashed in his leg tendons and he fell to the ground. It was too fast for him to see.

Nate pulls out the ice spike that was in Lamar's heart. Vic runs toward Nate and pushes him away, she took the brunt of Elijah's attack. Her bicep tendons were cut and her arms were immobile. Then her face took four elbow strikes from Elijah. Her nose was broken and she was laid out.

"Vic!" Nate yelled out

Elijah landed an unblocked roundhouse house kick to his chest. He was thrown far back and he rolled over to stand back up. He then gets punched twice in his abdomen. He couldn't breathe in air. He then got hit in his chin with Elijah's elbow. Elijah then jumps up, bringing his body up, raising both his legs and double kicks Nate's stomach.

Elijah then raised his blade and was about to stab Nate right in his eyes. In half a second, the houses to Elijah's left and Nate's left, burst a hole. A loud thunder sounded right before the burst. The blade was caught by Derrick. He was holding the blade with his bare hand. Blood dripped from his palm. Derrick then twisted the blade away from Nate and lets it go. Then he kicks Elijah across the village.

Elijah coughs up blood and struggles to breathe. Derrick lifted his palm and showed it to Elijah from afar. The blood that was pouring up suddenly stopped. His palm was completely healed. Derrick then dashed toward Elijah. He ducks down and trips Elijah forward by pushing both his legs back. Then he grabs Elijah's clothes and throws him to his right. Through a few houses. Derrick catches up to Elijah. Elijah stands up with his last legs. A small stick was piercing his liver. He was shaking and probably dying.

Derrick slowly walks closer to him and starts the fight. Elijah thrusts his blade at Derrick and he redirects the blade back to Elijah's chest. Elijah catches his own arm and tries his best to push the blade away. Because Elijah was enraged and clinging to life as much as he could, he surpassed the power of hysterical strength.

Derrick, however, was too strong for Elijah. And a better fighter than Elijah. Derrick places his right leg behind Elijah's and trips him down. Using the momentum of the blade and his body weight, the blade pierces Elijah's chest a bit. Then Derrick raised one of his hands high up, and shouted as he sends his hand back down and hits the blade. The surprising force was too much for Elijah to buckle and the blade pierced through his chest.

He then lay down next to Elijah. He takes a few seconds to catch his breath. Then he sits up next to Elijah. "Still alive?" Derrick was surprised.

"I never stood a chance, did I?" Elijah wheezes the words out

"Without your body spell? Nope." Derrick answered

"My brother's dead isn't he?" He said as a single tear ran down from his eye

"Probably. Sorry about that. It seemed like he screwed up." Derrick replied

"That's okay. That kid you saved was your brother, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"Hair, face, voice."

"Hehe... You know, if we met in different conditions, we'd be pals." Derrick smiled

"Maybe." He coughed up blood

"How do you do it? Stay with your brother?"

"Older brothers oughta be models for their younger siblings. You or they fuck up every now and then, but you should always be there for each other. No matter what."

"No matter what, huh?"

The light in Elijah's eyes then was out. He died. Derrick picked his body up and carried it back to where he was. Derrick laid Elijah next to Lamar. The ground was shaky then the debris that was scattered on the ground started to float. Derrick felt lighter, almost floating.

Soon later, the villagers came back. They thanked them for winning and complained about the destroyed houses. Derrick met up with Skylar again. They finally had time for a conversation. The three students that were hurt were brought to a local hospital. Derrick and Skylar were sitting next to each other on the dock at the edge of the village.

"Glad you're alive." Skylar said in relief

"Same."

"Was that blue-haired kid your brother?" She assumed

"He is."

"Wow, he looks great! Minus the beaten up part." She replied

"He's probably used to it."

"Why exactly were you here, Derrick?" She asked

"He's looking for what I'm looking for," a damning raspy voice spoke.

Derrick was alerted by the familiar voice. He turns around and immediately stood up. It could've been worse Derrick thought. It could've been Shujin. But he was bad too. Second worse, give or take. "Ablaze?"

"Why the hell are you here?"

"Two reasons. One, I'm looking for the last ring. Seems like it's not here. Though, it was here for a while. Two, I wanted to see you again."

"Why?"

"You and I are very similar."

"The hell we are."

"Thought you would say that. I paid Nathan Varr a visit."

"You wha-"

"Calm down, I didn't do anything to him. I was just visiting him."

"Why?"

"Wanted to know if he was alive."

"How the hell did you know he was here?"

"Mana Sensory. Just like you can see or sense surroundings beyond your field of view. I can sense people with mana to a distinct point. What elements they are, what magic weapons they have, who's mana it is, etcetera."

"What do you want?"

"Since we're similar, I'll give you a chance to stay away."

"From what?"

"We're going to destroy Bright. And I'd like for you to live through it." Ablaze then turned around and walked away. Then he turned his head back at Derrick, "be seeing ya," he said before bursting into flames and disappearing.

Derrick was weirded out. That then prompted him to run to his brother. Skylar followed behind him. Nate was lying on a hospital bed. His arms crossed and staring blankly at the ceiling. He broke two of his ribs because of Elijah's kicks. Then there were the slashes from Lamar. Derrick burts into Nate's room and it surprised him. Derrick looked worried. "What's wrong?" Nate asked.

"Nathan, did Ablaze come and see you?"

"Ablaze? You mean the guy with blue hair and orange mask?"

Derrick nodded in response.

"I did."

"Did he say anything?"

"No. He just stood at the door."

Derrick then was confused. He gripped his chin, thinking. He then sat on the floor next to the bed. He folded his legs and started thinking. "What're you doing?" Nate asks.

"Why did he warn me?"

"About what?"

"He said that they're going to destroy Bright."

"What? We should tell Kai and the others."

"I tried on my way here, I can't get through." Derrick said. "Lemme borrow your phone, Skylar." She handed him her phone and he still couldn't get through.

"Then, we'll just hafta say it face-to-face." Nate said

"Yeah, about that..."

"What is it, Skylar?"

"The train station is destroyed. Burnt down."

"Ablaze!"

"We're not walking to Hursh."

"But we need to warn them, now!"

The three tried to think of a way to deliver the warning quickly. Nate then remembered something. But he was quite reluctant towards the idea. "Fuck it." He mumbled, "our house is three kilometers away, Derrick."

"Our house? You mean..."

"Wait, you had a house this entire time?"

"Not mine. Our family's."

"Oh..."