Big shadow

A hooded figure hushed along sparsely populated streets. He sped up from time to time, trying to lose the ones chasing him, but they were already prepared. Whoever had set their eyes on Tepo had hired more than just a handful commoners to stay on lookout.

Tepo frowned as he dived into an alley, only to realize that it ended before a large wall. Not knowing the city proved detrimental in times like these.

The young man could only turn around and go back to the main street. He quickened his pace as he looked over his shoulder, always finding one or two suspicious figures.

This can't go on. There is no way to lose them all like this.

Gritting his teeth Tepo suddenly stopped trying to be sneaky. He sprinted at top speeds, backtracking the road he took earlier with Terno.

A few minutes later the warrior was back on the main street below the wind channel. Although people still used this road late into the night, the crowd wasn't big enough to hide.

Running down the street, his coat billowing behind him, Tepo soon reached the place where he parked his ship again.

Not far behind the young man two pairs of eyes suddenly got anxious. The persuaders took out their coms, urging whoever they worked for to hurry up.

But they could only look on as Tepo reached a stylish blue ship, jumped in, and left the city the fastest way possible.

Outside the gate Tepo wrinkled his brows. Although he got rid of his pursuit, he still had to be cautious.

His thoughts racing, the fresh warrior decided upon his next course of action.

I'm currently in the ruw's territory with no map or anything. I can't stay here. I should return to the mapped out area.

Coming to a decision, the young man left the Winged Border City behind. He advanced through the main wind channel for a few minutes before finding his target.

Tepo steered towards the left, entering a smaller channel. He still remembered this one from earlier today. From its curvature this channel most likely led out of the ruw's territory, so Tepo followed it without doubt.

Soon, his ship traveled at high speeds. Only a few ships took this channel this late into the night. Red eyes stared at them as beasts still circled the wind channel. Luckily none of them had the urge to attack.

In this oppressive atmosphere Tepo advanced for a while until a show of lights appeared towards his left. The young man grinned. This was the Winged Border City, so he was on the right track.

Confident, Tepmodus continued. Finally, a dark wall was vaguely visible. This was the cloud wall, which looked like a black monster in the dark. Even Tepo felt a drop of sweat run down his cheek as he entered a long tunnel resembling a huge dark maw.

Fortunately, he wasn't devoured as he left the wall of clouds and arrived back in human territory. His short trip ended here but the consequences were far reaching.

Not knowing what was waiting for him, the young man sighed in relief, following the wind channel. From his map he had to continue for a while before he could merge back into a bigger and faster channel, which would lead back to the Hurricane Kingdom.

As the last few hours played in his mind, Tepo steered his ship unhurriedly. Some others passed him from time to time, but the young man didn't care.

This went on for about half an hour until another wind channel appeared in his view.

Suddenly Tepo's chest tightened. His instincts sounded alarm. He slowed down his ship, narrowing his eyes.

Observing the spot where the two wind channels merged, he felt something off. Although he couldn't put his finger on it, the young man decided to be careful.

Not far away. Ships hid in the storms around the wind channels. Standing still, they were nearly invisible in the dark night.

In one of the bigger ships a thin, bearded man with a vicious face could be seen carrying a sadistic grin. He sat on a luxurious seat, eyes focused on the wind channels.

Suddenly a voice connected with the ship, addressing the people within.

"Black Crow Captain. Are you sure the target is on its way? I don't have all day."

The captain's body trembled. He gritted his teeth. Inwardly, he cursed the demeaning voice a thousand times.

B*stard. W*nker. S*itface. You deserve to die a terrible death. Is it so hard to remember our names?! We are the Black Claw Pirates! BLACK CLAW!

Just as the urge to lash out threatened to overcome the captain, this terrifying pair of eyes appeared in his mind.

It was a while back when they asked around for the b*stard who dared to play around with them and used his son for training.

A man suddenly approached them out of nowhere. With eyes that treated everyone around him as ants, he directly threatened to annihilate their group if they don't tell him everything about the green-masked man.

This short meeting led to the current situation where they hunted down a fresh warrior.

With the man's might branded in his memory, the captain didn't dare to be disrespectful. He spoke as politely as possible:

"Of course, big boss. We tracked them all the way. They will arrive any minute now."

Receiving only a cold harrumph as answer, the captain gritted his teeth. His eyes roamed the wind channel again.

Suddenly the captain's eyes lit up. He noticed a particular ship, which strangely came to a stop within the wind channel. He remembered the report he received earlier.

Blue ship. Streamlined. Good quality. It's him!

Just as the captain's eyes lit up, his tongue got tied in surprise. The ship he discovered turned around and entered the storm!

Tepo trusted his instincts. He felt a big danger lurking in the dark. Even his Core of Time was unsettled. The spiritual marvel of nature perceived a strong core in the surroundings.

Ironically the pirates alone might have been more successful in their hunt.

But with all those signs Tepo made a quick decision, turned his ship and entered the storms. He sped up, doing his best to let himself get caried by the storms.

Soon, the young man noticed fluctuations behind him. In the dark it was hard to spot, but Tepo was sure ships were hunting him down.

Again?! Are you not tired yet?!

Gritting his teeth the young man braved the storms as he tried to come up with a plan.

What should I do? Back to the tower? But those ships are in the way…

Maybe entering a city? If I could find a moment to change my face undetected this would be my best bet!

Hoping that his old tactics might work again, Tepo did his best to advance towards the nearest city.

But he had still quite a way to go, and danger was breathing down his back. Darkness surrounded him and the sound of terrifying storms was the only noise reaching his ears.

Until… a high-pitched hissing sound made its way through the storms. The young man furrowed his brows, not recognizing this sound.

Suddenly, a vague barrier covered Tepo's ship automatically. Flames lit up in the darkness. The ship shook heavily. The young man's eyes shot wide open.

What? Spells? But how could they reach me through the storms?

Behind Tepo's back, multiple ships were giving chase in a V-formation. They stuck to Tepo, determined to revenge their grudge.

Some distance away a big shadow loomed threateningly above their heads. It was a big ship, painted black, looking down on all others just like its owner.

Within the black ship were multiple rooms. It was luxuriously furnished, offering way more commodities than a single person could ever need.

A man was leisurely lying in a lounge-like area. Scantily clad women were feeding him sweet berries as his eyes were focused on a big screen. It showed the outside in surprising clarity, with information about Tepo and even his ship displayed.

Right now, he had a malicious grin on his face as he watched the ship surrounded by flames.

How do you like our Flaming Rockets, kid? You should feel honored that I waste our precious treasures on you!

The finely dressed man theatrically flicked his long black hair out of his face as a vicious glint flashed through his eyes.

Next to him, a valiant woman was seated on a comfortable chair. She wore a shiny silver armor and had fiery red hair. She turned her head towards the man:

"Sir. Those pirates are too useless. Why don't you let me go and capture the ship?"

The man seemingly contemplated for a second before nodding slowly:

"Let them fire one more rocket. Then you can go. Make sure none of the pirates returns as well."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

With excitement on her face the woman stood up. An invisible pressure spread from her as she was ready to take action.