Chapter 33-Anemoi

"I'm glad that's over with," I groan as I step off of Khione's trail of ice once the four of us have reached the other side of the swamp. Khione, Old-Man F, and Mary step onto the other side of the swamp as well.

Khione then spins around and couches down, before placing her hands to her trail of ice, which then begins to melt, and Khione's water rejoins with the murky water of the swamp.

"So what's our next move?" Mary asks as she pers up at Old-Man F.

"We continue heading North-East."

But before the four of us can progress, we hear some rustling come from the Jungle in every direction ahead of us.

"Great, what now?" I grumble as I enter my Charge Stance.

"Prepare for a fight, you guys," Old-Man F orders as he takes a step over to me, back to back, and enters his Charge Stance as well.

"Right!"

"Got it!"

Khione and Mary resume their Charge Stances as well.

And then…dozens of spear-wielding bandits wearing green loincloths and straw hats leap out of the Jungle, surrounding us.

Mary shrieks. "WHY ARE THEY NAKED?!

Swiftly, Khione a hand and covers Mary's eyes.

"So the Land of Wind has bandits too, huh?" I ask.

"Yeah, but they look a lot different than ours," Old-Man F replies.

"LET'S GO, GUYS!"

"RIGHT!"

"Water Charge, Level One: Bullet Rain!" I shout as I thrust my hands into the air then twist them, summoning needle-sharp rainfall upon the bandits, who cry in pain as they're sliced by my droplets of rain.

"Ice Charge, Level One: Permafrost!" Khione shouts as she swipes both hands outwards, freezing the air around dozens of bandits, and encasing them in ice, freezing them in place.

"Sand Charge, Level Two: Sand Spear!" Old-Man F shouts as he fires off a flurry of kicks towards the bandits, firing off a spear of sand with each kick, which pierces the bandits, and causes them to cry in pain.

"Blood Charge, Level Three: Rapids Talon!" Mary shouts as she swings a hand towards the bandits, but just as before, nothing happens.

"Shoot!" Mary cries, "It didn't work!"

"Mary, duck!" I order as I resume my Charge Stance, and water begins swirling around my hand.

"Water Charge, Level Two: Rapids Claw!" I shout as I swing a hand towards the bandits, firing off a blade of water from each finger, and causing the bandits to yelp in pain as they're shredded by my attack.

But then, more bandits charge me from behind, and with a roar, they thrust their spears towards me.

"Oh crap!" I cry as I turn and peer over my shoulder at the bandits.

"Noah, look out!" Mary cries as she resumes her Charge Stance, and this time, blood begins flowing from Mary's pores, and swirls around her hand.

"Blood Charge, Level Three: Rapids Talon!" Mary shouts as she swipes a hand towards the bandits behind me, sending blades of blood flying from each finger and whizzing straight over my shoulder, then tearing into the bandits, and causing them to cry in pain.

Mary's eyes widen. "I…did it…"

My eyes widen as well. "Woah, good going, Mary!"

"Thanks!"

"So it looks like one of your friends has to be in danger in order to use your Rapdis Talon. That's…a cute trigger for spell activation."

"It's a bit embarrassing," Mary replies as she rubs the back of her neck with a bashful chuckle.

Mary then stumbles backward a bit, then drops to the ground on her knees.

"Mary, are you okay?!"

"Yeah…" Mary answers as she peers up at me with a weak smile, "I'm just…a bit dizzy from blood loss…"

"I didn't think about that…" I reply as I touch a hand to my chin, "Try not to use that spell often."

"Right…"

And so, four of us continue battling it out against the bandits for a little while.

"WATER CHARGE, LEVEL ONE: BULLET RAIN!" I shout as I use my spell to take out the final few bandits.

"WHEW!" I whistle as I dust my hands off, "Well there's that!"

"So just like in the Land of Water, bandits are gonna be after us here, too?" Khione sighs.

"I guess we're an easy target regardless," Old-Man F replies, "With two young girls, a skinny man, and an…AHEM…OLDER gentleman."

"OLDER gentleman," Khione snickers.

"And once word spreads about Noah being the Water Charger, even more bandits will be after us," Mary adds.

"Yeah, that too," Old-Man F replies.

But before our group can get a move on, we hear some rustling come from the shrubbery ahead of us.

My body slumps over as I let out a sigh. "AGAIN?!"

"Prepare for a fight, guys…" Old-Man F sighs as the four of us resume our Charge Stances, "AGAIN."

The rustling ahead of us resumes, and then, a figure in camo-green samurai armor with a black samurai helmet, green face guard, and silver crest emerges from the jungle. Hanging at their hip, is a katana tucked away in a black sheath wrapped in a green ribbon, with a golden, flower shaped hilt, a golden butt, and a matching green handle.

The four of us flinch.

The samurai looks around, surveying all of the bandits laying at their feet, then sighs.

"So…you guys were after their bounties too, huh?" The samurai asks.

"Huh?" I ask.

"The bounty," the samurai explains, "The Blazing Ogre bandit group has a HUGE bounty over their heads. They're one of the strongest bandit groups around these parts, so I can't imagine such a small group like you four would purposely pick a fight with them without going after their bounties."

"I guess these guys are big-wigs in the Land of Wind, huh?" Khione whispers to me, "Like our Twilight Wolf."

"Yeah…" I whisper back.

"Well, I won't bother fighting you guys over their bounty," the samurai sighs as they turn around and begin walking away, "What's yours is yours."

"Oh, well, we're not after their bount-" I begin to say, but Old-Man F elbows me in the ribs, cutting me off.

"We have no money," he whispers to me, "We are able to survive until now because the Land of Water was familiar to us, but now that we find ourselves in the unknown Land of Wind, it would be unwise to pass up this opportunity."

"Right…" I reply as I crouch down and begin scooping up one of the bandits, "We'll have to make do with what we can until my Water Charge gets me some much-deserved fame."

The samurai pauses.

Slowly…they turn around to face me.

"Did you say…WATER CHARGE?" The samurai asks, causing me to perk up.

"Uhh…yeah."

Upon laying eyes on me, the samurai's eyes widen.

And then, without another warning, the samurai rushes over to me and wraps me in their arms.

"ACK!" I wince as my head slams against the samurai's armor, "YOU'RE CRUSHING ME!"

"HUH?!" My three friends cry.

"Wh-what are you doing to our leader?!"

"The samurai's attacking Noah!"

"Should we…fight back?!"

After squeezing the life out of me in a hard armored-up hug, the samurai lowers their arms and takes a step back. The samurai then reaches up and pulls off their helmet, revealing a girl around my age with bright, forest-green eyes, and short, dark-green hair around shoulder length that's been chopped off at the bottom.

"Little brother…" the samurai softly says.

My eyes widen.

"You…know who I am…?" I softly ask, "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!"

"No…" the samurai answers as she wipes her moist eyes, "While I don't KNOW who you are, exactly, I can FEEL it. You and I…we're family. My name is Anemoi, the Wind Charger. What's YOUR name, Water Charger?"

Everyone's eyes widen.

"YOU'RE THE WIND CHARGER?!"

"Yup!" Anemoi answers with a beaming smile.

"And you're related to Noah?!" Khione asks, "So you know who he is?!"

"Not exactly," Anemoi answers as she bashfully rubs the back of her neck, "I don't have any recollection of seeing this face before, but I can, like…FEEL his water calling out to me. Maybe it's because we're both E-Chargers of the main four elements, and we're destined to be reunited. But I don't know, it feels like…we're family."

"I wonder why I can't sense that," I frown.

"Who knows!" Anemoi shrugs with a smile.

"Family, huh? Well my name's Noah, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Noah."

"So, Anemoi, do you…have any memories?"

Anemoi cocks her head at me.

"No, why?" She asks, "I just woke up in the jungle one day, where a villager found me. You too?"

"Yeah," I sigh, "I just woke up on some beach in the Land of Water one day."

"I see…"

Anemoi then turns around.

"You guys are trying to find your way out of this jungle, right?" She asks, "I'll show you."

"Prove it," Old-Man F barks as he crosses his arms.

"Jeez, Master…" Khione sighs with a face palm.

"Huh? Prove what?"

"There are many bandits and E-Chargers after Noah. Prove to us that you're the Wind Charger."

"Anemoi, don't listen to him, you don't have to-" I begin to say with a sigh, but Anemoi cuts me off.

"Alright," Anemoi smirks, "I'll show you."

Anemoi then crouches down as she places one hand on the scabbard of her sheathed katana, and the other hand on its hilt. Forest-green sparks of energy begin to burst and swirl around Anemoi's body.

"So that's her Charge Stance, huh…?"

"Wind Charge, Level One…" Anemoi begins to say.

"CRESCENT-MOON SLASH!"

In the blink of an eye, Anemoi draws her katana and slashes it outwards, firing off a huge crescent-moon shaped projectile of wind, before resheathing her katana directly after, leveling the entire forest in her wake.

Our eyes widen as the four of us turn to face Anemoi's carnage, seeing that -as far as the eye can see- the trees and plants ahead of Anemoi have been completely sawed in half.

We blink.

"Well…she's the real deal…"

"I've…never seen someone use a sword as a ranged attack…"

"And that…was a level one spell…?"

A wide smile spreads across my face. "And that's my sister, for ya'!"

"Now then-" Anemoi says as she turns around again, then turns and peers over her shoulder at us with a smirk, "You guys ready to go now?"