The Truth About Angelia Island

"Mana Skin," the cloaked figure muttered under her breath.

In an instant, she moved — a blur across the rooftop — springing effortlessly from one building to another. Behind her, city guards yelled and scattered, hopelessly outpaced. She glanced back once, lips curled in a sly smile under the cloak. She'd lost them.

Or so she thought.

She slipped into an alley, ready to peel off her cloak and melt back into the city crowd like nothing had ever happened.

"Hey, bad girl — found you!" Kael's voice rang out, echoing off the stone walls.

"Damn it," she hissed. She spun around to see Kael standing calmly behind her, arms crossed, grinning like an idiot.

"Mana Skin," she repeated, her cloak glowing faint blue as she summoned another surge of power. Her body blurred again — but Kael matched her move for move, his own aura flaring.

"You think you're the only one who can use Mana Skin to amp up your body?" Kael taunted.

She narrowed her eyes. "I don't have time for this. Get lost if you don't want to die."

Kael just grinned wider, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "No way I'm letting someone who smashed my head into the ground walk away scot-free."

It clicked for her — the pervert who'd grabbed her chest. Her eye twitched.

"Oh. So you're that shameless creep. You deserved that punch."

Kael crouched, ready to pounce. "Prepare yourself!"

She muttered a word — "Tejasi," — and her mana crackled into the dagger in her hand, extending it into a glowing blade of searing blue.

Kael's eyes sparkled. "So that's your spell, huh?"

She lowered her stance, her voice cold. "I'll say it once more. Leave. Or I'll cut you to pieces."

Kael laughed like a child with a new toy. "I'm not backing down. Bring it on, bad girl!"

She lunged, blindingly fast, her mana blade sweeping for his head.

BOOM!

The blade cleaved the air — but Kael caught her wrist mid-swing.

The sheer force of her missed slash split trees and cracked open the ground behind him, but Kael's grip didn't budge.

Her eyes widened. She struggled to twist free, but his hold was unyielding.

"You're not going anywhere now!" Kael roared, tightening his grip before slamming her down with a brutal chokehold.

CRASH! The impact split the earth and kicked up a cloud of dust and rubble.

But when the dust settled — he was holding nothing but her empty cloak.

Kael blinked. Standing a few feet away was a stunning woman with long green hair, a dangerously curvy figure, and a chest that could make grown men cry tears of gratitude.

"So you're a girl!" Kael blurted out, genuinely shocked.

Her jaw dropped. "Idiot! You grabbed me back there! You heard my voice! How did you not realize I'm a woman?!"

Kael scratched his head, utterly clueless. "Then why'd you punch me?"

Her eyebrow twitched so violently it looked like it might jump off her forehead. "You grabbed my boobs for free, you scumbag!"

Kael just tilted his head, even more puzzled. "What's so bad about that? Asfan said women's chests are like mochi — shouldn't you be happy someone appreciates yours?"

Her entire brain short-circuited. She just stood there, mouth open, trying to process the idiot logic.

"Who are you, you psycho?!" she screamed.

Kael leaned forward, grinning. "So what's your name, Miss Mochi Boobs?"

Her hair practically sparked with rage. "Don't you dare give me some stupid nickname!"

"Oh, so you don't like that one? How about Moss Girl? Or Rubber Butt Girl—"

ZAP! ZAP! Lightning spells ripped through the air, blasting apart the ground where Kael had been standing.

But he'd already dodged, moving so fast he blurred out of her sight.

What is this freak? she thought, her frustration mounting. She layered wind magic on top — whipping up slicing currents to hem him in.

"Wind Magic — Cat Claw Cyclone!"

Kael just chuckled, his aura deepening.

"Mana Skin — Level Two."

BOOM!

A thunderous blue aura erupted from him, swirling like a miniature storm. His hair lifted in the surge of power. Every spell she'd cast winked out instantly, torn apart by sheer force.

She froze — she knew she couldn't win this. She had to run.

"Water Magic — Mist Veil!" She spread her palms, flooding the alley with thick, swirling vapor.

She bolted. But she didn't make it two steps.

SHING!

Kael was behind her again — one arm hooked around her neck.

"Let me go! Let me GO!" she screamed, thrashing.

"What's your name?" Kael demanded, voice low and rumbling like distant thunder.

"Why the hell do you even care?! Just kill me! I'm sick of this world anyway!" she choked out, hysteria seeping into her words.

Kael's grip slackened. He frowned, staring at her like he was seeing her for the first time. Slowly, he released her.

"You're not a bad person," he said quietly.

The green-haired girl stared at him, completely bewildered. She slowly stepped back — then turned and sprinted away, muttering under her breath.

What a weirdo, she cursed silently as she vanished into the trees.

"Hey! What's your name?!" Kael shouted after her.

"Fina!" she yelled back without turning around.

Kael grinned wide, hands on his hips. "Alright, you're strong, Fina! I like strong people — but I still won!"

***

After meeting the mysterious girl named Fina, Kael decided to head back to town to find Asfan — but, true to form, the fool got himself completely lost instead.

Instead of retracing his steps to the city, the clueless boy wandered deeper into the forest.

"Looks like I'm lost," he mumbled to himself, utterly unfazed.

Meanwhile, Fina had managed to escape Kael's chaos. She hid deeper in the woods, cursing him under her breath.

Thanks to him, all her careful plans had gone up in smoke.

That weirdo… he's probably just some perverted old man who came to this island to get his filthy thrills, she grumbled as she sat under a huge tree to catch her breath.

Her battle with Kael had drained almost all her mana. She clutched her chest, trying to calm her racing heartbeat.

What the hell was that guy? What kind of magic did he use? I've never seen anything like it… Forget him, Fina. Focus, she scolded herself, trying to clear her head.

She closed her eyes, but Kael's idiotic nickname, "Mochi Breasts Girl," kept echoing in her mind.

"That bastard… If I ever see him again, I'll snap every bone in his body!" she hissed.

***

#Guild Mermaid Sun Headquarters

A young woman with a live cobra coiled lazily around her neck walked down a dark hallway and pushed open a heavy door.

Inside, the room was dim, lit only by a single lamp near a massive throne.

"Master, the preparations to harvest mana from these fools on the island are complete," she said, kneeling before a man lounging on the throne.

Rakusan Alexa — Guild Master of Mermaid Sun. A nobleman from House Alexa, one of the founding families of the World Government.

Rakusan smiled cruelly. "Well done, Marlane. You never disappoint me."

"But there's a small problem, Master," Marlane added carefully.

Rakusan rose from his throne and strolled to the window, parting the heavy curtains to peer out over the glittering city of Angelia below.

"What problem? Has someone discovered our plan?"

"Ashfina Maurer," Marlane said. "A brothel girl we groomed for our network — she's been snooping around the Guild. She must have learned too much, Master."

Rakusan's thin smile turned venomous. "That ungrateful whore… Find her. Kill her."

***

Back in the forest, Kael was still wandering aimlessly, clueless as ever.

"Pretty sure I'm lost," he muttered again, like it didn't matter at all.

On the other side of the woods, Fina crept deeper, moving quickly.

She knew Mermaid Sun's true plan for the island — that's why the guards had chased her down earlier. She'd been caught snooping inside their headquarters.

Kael, meanwhile, finally plopped down under a tree for a rest, still completely oblivious to where he was.

Not far off, Fina spotted something through the trees: a hidden facility about fifty meters away.

She ducked into a bush, peering out carefully.

That's it. If I can destroy that place, all this ends, she thought.

She scanned the area, then slipped forward silently — but then—

"Ashfina Maurer. A whore trying to play hero," a cold voice called from behind her.

Fina spun around, instantly on guard.

Three men stepped from the shadows — each with a mermaid tattoo inked on their right cheek.

"Mermaid Sun agents," she hissed, gripping her dagger.

One of the men, a chubby brute munching on a bag of chips, sneered at her.

"Heh, look at this, big bro. She thinks she can fight us."

Another man, skinny and sharply dressed, grinned. "Orders are orders, Fina. You're not walking away from this."

They were Mermaid Sun's so-called Pain Generals — the infamous three brothers: Elkan, Boru, and Kian.

Fina knew she was outmatched. She'd stand no chance against three Guild-level generals.

She tensed to run — but Elkan flickered behind her in an instant. She barely dodged in time.

Elkan's camouflage magic let him appear anywhere in a blink.

"My turn, brothers! Poison Smoke — DHUMA VISHA!" Boru bellowed, spewing a sickly green vapor from his mouth.

Fina fell back, covering her nose with her arm. "Poison gas — damn it!" she cursed.

She whipped out her dagger. "TEJASI!"

Her signature move — channeling mana into the blade until it became a glowing magic sword.

She slashed through the cloud, slicing the poison mist apart.

"Water Magic — Mist Veil!" Fina cast again, summoning thick steam to cover her escape. But—

Chunks of earth rained down from the sky.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Explosions rocked the ground as soil and stone slammed around her.

Kian, the youngest brother, was an earth mage with deadly precision.

"Got her, big bro!" Kian crowed, delighted.

Fina barely survived by throwing up a mana shield — but she was running on fumes.

"You're pretty talented for a filthy brothel girl," Elkan taunted, stepping closer.

Fina's chest heaved. She had almost no mana left. She was cornered.

***

BOOM!

A distant blast shook the forest.

Kael's eyes snapped open. He sprang up and leapt into a tree for a better view.

About 500 meters ahead, smoke and dust rose from the canopy — clear signs of a battle.

He focused, sniffed the air — and caught a scent he recognized.

"That's… the Mochi scent!" Kael barked, and launched himself toward the fight like a bullet.

***

Back at the clearing, Fina was at her limit.

Boru's poison gas choked the air, her shield was flickering, and Elkan kept blinking around her, his blade slashing dangerously close each time.

I have to get away, she thought desperately — but suddenly her legs wouldn't move.

"Gotcha again, big bro!" Kian whooped.

His living mud trap locked Fina's legs in place, dragging her down.

Elkan strolled up to her, grinning cruelly.

"Shame… The city's most expensive slut, dying out here like this. Maybe I should enjoy you before we finish the job, hmm?"

Kian twisted his magic, shaping the mud into a crude cross that forced Fina's arms and legs apart, exposing every curve of her body.

The three men laughed like rabid dogs.

"Hey bro, do we get a free taste of Fina tonight?" Boru drooled.

Elkan licked the spit Fina had thrown at him off his cheek.

"Mmm… delicious. Let's peel this slut layer by layer—"

Fina spat at him again, furious.

"You bastards! I know what you're doing — you're turning this island into a slave brothel! Forcing local girls into sex work, starving the people so you can harvest their mana for your damn secret lab! You monsters!"

Elkan chuckled and licked his lips. "Such a pretty mouth. Let's see what else you've got under these—"

He reached for her clothes—

BANG!

A shockwave smashed into the clearing. The ground cracked, lightning crackled, and Elkan stumbled back just in time to dodge the blow.

Boru and Kian recoiled in shock.

Fina coughed through the settling dust — then saw him.

Kael stood there, grinning like an idiot.

"You okay, Mochi Chest?" he asked, totally unconcerned about her shredded clothes.

Fina didn't understand a word — but for once, she was grateful for this fool's timing.

Elkan spat at the ground. "Another damn idiot shows up. Hey, bastard! Stay out of our business!"

Kael ignored him. Blue light flared around his body as he activated his power.

"Mana Skin — Level Two!"

Elkan's eyes narrowed. What is this guy? His mana just shot through the roof…

Kael cracked his knuckles, his aura roaring like a wildfire.

"Get ready, Mermaid Sun. I'm Kael Luminous, Master of the world's greatest Guild — that doesn't have a name yet — and I'm about to teach you bastards a lesson!"

To be continued…