One Out

I came to a stop, lightning still sparking around me as the rain refused to let up. High above me was a sphere that the rain did not hit. Quickly enough, the sky cleared itself, once again revealing sunlight. Air floated down from where she was, Mevis with her.

"He is so annoying," I grumbled, leaning against a wall.

"That was Water?" Mevis asked.

"Yeah, and you should stay away from him," I advised. "He's developed the hots for you. Knowing him, you'll probably either end up dead or in the middle of the sea."

Air looked around while we were talking.

Mevis dug through her bags and pulled out some medical supplies. I waved it off, telling her, "No point. My body's going to be back to normal soon enough."

Mevis put the medical supplies aside.

"So... you know the stakes involved in this competition so far," I told her. "You have to make a decision now. Do you intend to stay in the competition or forfeit?"

"I want to stay," Mevis determined. "If I become an Elemental, I'll be able to protect myself. I'll be able to help the others still at the lab!"

I let out a groan as I slid against the wall and sat on the ground.

"What? Don't you want me to win?" Mevis asked.

"Of course, I want to win," I replied. "But today's been a really long day and I've been getting beaten up way too much."

I looked up at the sky, saying, "Let's just find a place to stay. The sun's going down, so we might as well get some rest."

Air held Mevis' hand and extended another hand in my direction. I took her hand, requesting her, "Could you take us down to my bakery? You've been there before, right?"

Air shook her head.

"It's the place with all the colourful buildings," I reiterated.

We appeared along the street where my bakery was located at. We made our way over to my bakery without much difficulty. The sun was setting. During the night, it could become quite a problem. A certain Elemental of Dark thrived during this time.

I showed Mevis to the guest room, the same room she had rested in back when I found her on the street. I kept the lights on. We waited until Mevis fell asleep before Air and I discussed things. Air managed to get a book and pen to write on.

"This competition won't end until we eliminate the other humans," I explained to her. "Are you sure you still want to hang around?"

Air nodded.

"I don't want you to fight though," I told her. "I want you to take care of Mevis, that's all. If any of the Elementals come after her, just run away."

Air tilted her head.

"You don't need to fight," I told her.

She wrote down 'What will you be doing?'

"I'll be out hunting," I said to her. "I'll try to take down the humans as quickly as I can. But I can't do it alone. I need your help to locate them."

I showed her the pictures of the humans. I started with a human which whom I was most familiar, the boss of the establishment. I asked Air, "Could you find him for me?"

Air stared at the picture for quite some time. Humans needed to breathe, meaning they were always in contact with some sort of air. That just meant that Air would be able to locate every single human on Earth. She could see whoever she wanted to.

Air wrote down something and even drew something.

She drew a square and an arrow that pointed to the square that had the word 'Building' on it. She wrote in bigger words on top of the square, '5-star hotel Staller'. She even drew a couple of stars and the numbers '13-34'.

I pushed myself up, saying, "I'll be off for now. Remember, run away."

She gave me a thumbs up.

I vanished into flames and found my way to the hotel Air had directed me towards. When I managed to sneak into the hotel room, I saw the boss of the establishment sitting on the bed. He seemed stressed, constantly scratching his head and pulling his hair out.

He turned to face me, his eyes wide with paranoia.

"You!" He shouted, pointing at me and leaning away. "What are you doing here?"

"Hand over your precious belonging," I instructed him. "If you value your life."

"I knew I should have never gotten myself involved with you!" He screamed, throwing a pillow at me.

The pillow bounced off me harmlessly.

My staff appeared in my hand. I swung wide, hoping to finish it in one fell swoop. The shadow beneath him extended, blocking the staff. Dark emerged from the shadow, a black blade in hand. She commented, "Didn't expect you of all people to try assassination."

"Can't beat them, join them," I shrugged.

"I'm not going after your human, Fire," Dark scowled. "With Air there, I much rather wait for the others to complete the job."

I threw some fire at the human, but the flames were engulfed by the darkness that surrounded him. Dark continued, "I'm sure Time hasn't told you yet. I'm already eliminated from the competition."

"What?"

She jabbed her finger back at the human. "His most precious belonging was the building which Earth and Air went and demolished. We've already lost."

"Then what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Because I want my revenge," Dark scowled.

She ran at me. She was just much too fast for me to keep up. Her sword was slashed through my neck before she turned around to slash me up some more. I turned back, swinging the staff, but she knocked it aside. I discharged lightning in all directions, catching Dark in the crossfire and stunning her momentarily. Dark then let out slashes of darkness that ripped apart the entire room.

I just stood there, the staff vanishing into flames.

The human lay on the ground slashed to bits and dead.

I glanced in his direction before telling Dark, "I'm assuming you won't be keeping your promise to Water anymore?"

"Oh, our deal isn't off," Dark smirked.

She vanished, but I could still hear her voice. "Air may be protecting your human, but she won't be able to stay by her side forever."

Just like that, I was alone in the hotel room.