Chapter 46: Breaking Free

"What are you planning, Verin?!" Hugo growled as he kept striking Marcus's back with the assistance of the two, Verin in front to keep him from going forward, and Viv above to keep him from escaping.

The continuous strike from the three makes it hard for Marcus to defend and look for a chance to flee. And although they're avoiding vital spots, he's still receiving too much damage.

"We can use her skill to keep him in place."

Hugo snapped and accidentally struck Marcus harder, "Are you out of your mind? Can't you see her situation?!"

Lithea on the other hand, was trembling while looking at her hands, trying so hard to figure out what's going on and how she's going to get her mana back. She has to know how to use the stabilizer all on her own.

Back in the Land of Scorpion, Leon had finished his afternoon duties and visited the archives for some reading. The more he knows about the past, the more he can assist Lady Edrei. But as he went further on the dates, he saw some familiar characters on a worn out and very dusty maroon leather book.

'This is Priestess' Aelia's name,' he dusted off the book and tried reading the characters written on the cover, 'Aelia Einar's Book of Stones.'

Leon quickly flicks through the pages and reads the characters he's familiar with, 'Could this be the compilation of all the magical stones she made?'

He ran to the door and hid the book with his robe as it flaps with how quick his footsteps were, making his way to his mistress, Lady Edrei. He has to ask permission from her, 'this could help Lithea.'

Lithea had gone frustrated, with all her efforts to dive deep into the stone on her forehead, no matter how much she meditates, concentrates, and tries, it still won't open up to her and give her mana back. It won't help her.

She felt her knees weak and sat as she's feeling her palms, still trying to summon some mana. At least just enough to help the three who are fulfilling the mission up on one of the roofs. But each time, all the stone gives her was a static that drains all of her strength.

'What should I do?'

Lithea has never felt this weak before, not since the incident with their parents. She vowed that first night they got in the temple, in front of her crying baby sister, to get stronger for them both.

'What have I been doing all this time?'

She groaned and started sniffing. The priestess did not realize that she was already crying her frustrations out.

'What?'

Lithea touched her cheek and felt the water trickling down her cheeks to her hand.

'I'm crying?'

Hugo, who's still looking at Lithea while maintaining his stand, noticed the vulnerability of his friend and it agitated him.

"I don't know why you're so against it," Verin talked back, "you might have forgotten how powerful she is."

Hugo jerks his head towards Verin and imagines the person he's carefully attacking is Verin, he's itching to punch the man in the face and scream at him until he goes deaf.

"You must have forgotten," Hugo once again coated his scimitar when the first mana he summoned died down, "her mana is being controlled by that stone!"

Verin's expression softened, "then," he glanced at Lithea, "if we can't make use of her skills."

Verin looked Hugo straight in the eyes, "we have to draw blood."

Hugo tightened his jaw, as much as possible, he wanted to avoid doing it. But with how hard it is to find the crystal inside the man, it could be the only possible solution to set him free. He hates hurting people, he might have trained at the most strict and the harshest academy in the kingdom, his ways are different from theirs.

Viv who keeps attacking above Marcus and every opening he could see noticed how the other two were getting soft with their attacks and it could lead to him escaping again. Viv, all of a sudden, landed in front of Hugo with an intense look in his eyes and changed the style of his grip on one of his knives.

'No, this could be fatal!'

Hugo noticed his attack and grabbed his wrist, "Wait!"

Marcus screamed in annoyance and opened his mouth widely, releasing a yellow, hot slimy liquid. This unknown substance happened to land on Viv's knife and his hand.

"GAAAH!"

Viv stumbled in shock, his skin was burning, and his knife's blade was starting to melt.

"What the heck is that?" Verin watched Viv's red hand in horror. And with their distraction, Marcus managed to run from them.

"He's escaped again!" Verin was about to run after him when Hugo stopped him.

"No. Verin, I need you to lend me your sword."

Verin raised his eyebrow and then turned to see how far Marcus had gone.

"What are you doing?"

"Just give me it."

He wanted to hesitate and argue some more to get a proper answer from him, but if he did, their target would get even harder to catch. They just have to let the soldiers of this region trouble with Marcus for a while.

Verin handed his sword to Hugo and when the sword got to his hand, Hugo immediately summoned some of his wind and coated Verin's sword.

"Are you crazy? Your mana is draining!"

Hugo just smiled, "use your gem to maximize its power."

"What?"

"Do it."

Verin exhaled and tried to think of maximizing the borrowed skill, just then, the wind got stronger and his sword got denser.

"What the fuck?"

He couldn't believe what was happening. He had no idea it was possible for them to maximize their skills using their ruby stones. But weirded him out as it wasn't the ruby gem that was glowing, it was the two little topaz that came with it.

"You probably didn't know the functions of those topaz and sapphire stones," Hugo said. He was now coating his scimitar again with his wind, his mana had almost gone to zero. But because of the topaz stone, he was saved.

"These small gems?"

"Those aren't designs to beautify the rings they gave us, Priestess Aelia added those to protect the owner further."

Hugo's thumb played with his ring band for a while, "topaz gemstones can give us more mana and maximize our skills a bit, as for the sapphire, they heal small injuries during battle."

Verin was amazed at the information, he's been a ruby adventurer for years yet he never bothered learning the purpose of the smaller gems. Then it reminded him of the times he knew he had sprained an ankle or took a small cut from missions, but whenever he checks on it afterwards, it's never there. He thought he was just imagining things, but with what Hugo told him, it must have been the sapphire's work.

"Let's go," Hugo said but turned to look at Viv who's holding his burnt palm.

"You stay here with Lithea, Viv."

Viv flails his arms and has a serious look on his face, but to them, he looks like a child about to throw a fit.

Hugo had an idea to stop him from coming with them, "we need you to protect, Lithea."

Viv looked down and saw Lithea trembling at the side, biting her lower lip, trying to stop her tears from falling.

He nodded.

"Thank you, Viv. We're counting on you."

The knife user's eyes beamed with happiness when he heard those words from the group's leader and immediately hopped down and trudged towards the priestess to guard her, all while holding on to his wrist.

Both Verin and Hugo went on their way, trying to locate where Marcus could possibly be. But not for long, they saw some dust three blocks from where they were and immediately fastened their pace.

"We have to get there before he injures any more people," Hugo said calmly as they ran and jumped from one roof to another.

"He's such a pain," Verin gritted.

"The one before isn't as intelligent as he is, and he has more control of his own. They could have the same dark energy planted in them, but we can't rule out the possibility of having another person controlling this person."

Verin nodded, he doesn't like him but he must listen to Hugo. Not just because he's the leader of the team, but because one of Lance's rules was to not ignore your comrades' words, especially in battle.

"What could be so important, Leon?"

Lady Edrei raised an eyebrow on him, he'd been dismissed not a moment ago. And yet, while she continues to take care of some things for the region, Leon bursts the door open, panting. It is unusual for her to see her son so out of character, especially outside his quarters or his training room.

Leon shut the door and slowly walked towards her, "I found this."

He took the book out and revealed the maroon, nearing to black leather cover because of being stored for such a long time, "I am not an expert in ancient language, but, why is the priestess' name in the cover?"

Lady Edrei did not show any reaction, instead, she's as relaxed as ever, "that must be the one that holds the record of all magical stones she made in the past."

"You were aware this has been sitting in the dark?"

"I could only recall it now that you brought it to me," she stood and took the book from him, "this is hidden in the archive for a reason."

"What reason?"

"This has a blank page," she caresses the book, "a blank page that could only be revealed once Azazel returns, or those who are trapped under the blazing fire of hell would escape."

"How?"

Lady Edrei gave him back the page, "the ruby rank's stone is the same stone Priestess Aelia used to trap Azazel's heart."

"Does that mean he's not dead?"

Lady Edrei went back to her chair and massaged her temples, "that is the possibility we all wish will never come true."

"But it's never guaranteed, everything that has been passed down are all assumptions."

Leon can't think straight, all the demon talk makes his head ache. It is complicated to understand, so many situations need to be considered, and one must not be ruled out. No matter how ridiculous it is.

"That's the scary part, son."

Leon's eyes shake.

"We never know."

"You motherfucking nuisance!"

Krim kept attacking and defending, he had to think of his comrades' support rather than to just keep charging on his own, acting like a hero. He knew it was not a time to act on his childhood dream; a hero to everyone like the legendary ruby adventurers.

"We have to keep him down no matter what!" one of them yelled. But for some reason, Marcus seemed to have gotten stronger. Before all this, they were able to pin him down easily, they thought there's some drug that must have been injected to him for him to act this way.

"EVERYONE, FORMATION!!"

With Krim's leadership, they all acted and went on with one of their battle tactics. They ran towards Marcus at unison, others flooded the center with arrows, not having him use the open area to escape for the nth time.

"DO NOT LET HIM GET THROUGH! WE CAN'T HAVE HIM ENDANGER ANOTHER CITIZEN!"

They all cheered and screamed to give courage to each other, backing out and doubting could only cause more casualties in the area. They beat up Marcus once they get to him, and just when they thought he's weak enough to get taken back to a more secure prison, he jumped up, veins popped all over his body; his wounds seemed to be slowly healing with a hiss.

His body had gotten hot, smoke was coming out of his body.

"AAAARRRRGGHHHHHH!!"

Krim froze to where he stood and watched his fellow soldiers getting burns from just touching the man they were going to arrest. He was neighbours with Marcus, and their parents were pretty close with each other. And although they are not friends, they still had a decent relationship.

This is the first time he's seen Marcus like this, at this moment, he knew this was not the same person.

"You sick fuck!"

Krim ran towards him, his sword pointing directly to Marcus. He had decided, he would stab him and end his misery, as well as those around them.

"Go back to where in hell you came from!"

Krim raises his sword, he's determined to stab Marcus in the stomach. And at the moment the two were clashing, both Verin and Hugo arrived at the scene. Krim's intention was visible through his eyes, and if Marcus dies, it will just complicate things in their mission.

"NO!" Verin jumped down the roof and held Krim's arm to stop him.

Drip.

Hugo did not move from where he stood and just watched the three guys, close to each other, waiting for some kind of reaction.

"Gurk!"

Verin was trembling, his side was filled with blood.

Pant.

It is still hard for Hugo to see what's going on, their bodies are covering the placement of their arms and weapons.

Pant.

Sweat trickled at Verin's temple while Marcus was letting out a sinister grin before sticking out his tongue and licking his lips slowly; a deep chuckle escaped from his mouth.

Pant.

That was the scene played repeatedly in Krim's mind before he collapsed with his sword clang as it hit the ground as well. His eyes wide open.

Marcus moved his fingers, his whole arm was covered in blood. Because of Verin's intervention, the possessed got to him first and stabbed him with his hot and acidic arm, ripping his heart off in the process.

Krim's heart was slowly melting at the hand of Marcus.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The now larger and sturdier Marcus is laughing as he watches the heart make a stream of blood down his palm to his arm before it drops on the ground. At the same time, Verin kneeled down to close Krim's eyes.

Marcus threw the heart away, still laughing. His ridiculous crackle scared the people who were hiding nearby.

"I'm scared, mama," a little girl said to her mother. The two of them are hiding inside one of the kitchen cabinets in their home.

"Shhh, I know, baby. I know."

The mother hugged her child as tight as she could while praying as much as she could, asking for all the guardians to save her and her child.

Hugo noticed how Marcus's laugh was gradually slowing down and put weight on one of his feet, he squinted his eyes. When he realized what was going to happen, he glided down using his scimitar and cut his arms.

A loud piercing roar escaped from his mouth, but what was odd was how there was no blood gushing out from his arm.

The two immediately ran away from Marcus and took a stance; his arms twitched. Not a few seconds later, something gooey was slowly forming on his wound.

"That's sick," Verin covered his mouth, he felt like he was about to throw up from what he was seeing.

"Verin," Hugo gripped on his shoulder, "he's regenerating."

The two of them looked at each other and nodded; at the same time, they charged and simultaneously swung and slashed their blades towards Marcus. If he completes his regeneration, they both had a feeling he's only going to grow stronger.

Marcus opened his mouth and his throat seemed to move.

"Verin, out of his way!"

Hugo tried to push him away but the same slimy consistency he used on Viv still got on Verin's thigh.

"ARGH!"

Verin stumbled as he wasn't expecting it to be so hot, almost like a boiling wax covered his skin. The thing seeped through his pants and painted a red dotted mark on his skin, same as Viv.

He tried to get up and didn't mind the pain, he knew if he would fixate himself on it, it would just hurt even more. He had set in his mind that it was just nothing, that he's fine, and whatever pain he's going to feel after it would be buried at the back of his mind.

Hugo changed how he held his scimitar and penetrated Marcus's side. And when his blade was inside his flesh for a moment, the stone on his scimitar reacted, the wind flicked towards his chest. His eyes widened at the realization, the reason why they couldn't find the stone planted in him was because it was buried in his heart.

Whoever is controlling him wasn't the same person who controlled the one back in the land of scorpion, this one wants not just to take power, it wants to kill as well.

Hugo was sent back flying but he quickly pierce his scimitar on the ground to save himself; Verin carefully went to him. He can still feel a little bit of the pain from his wound.

"I now know where it is," Hugo informed him, not taking his eyes off on Marcus.

"Where?"

"It's inside his heart."

Verin's eyes widened, he couldn't believe the thing they had been looking for could kill this innocent person, it is inevitable to fight him, but killing him is a serious offense. Although in this situation, it won't be considered a crime if they would kill him, but in Lance's eyes, it is.

"What are we going to do?" Verin asked.

Hugo pulled off his scimitar and sheathed it back, "you already know what it is."

"But Lance told us to never kill a person no matter what!"

Hugo grabbed his shoulder, near his neck and put force on it. Verin almost kneeled in pain.

"You, of all people, know we must sacrifice one to save ten!"

Verin knew that is their duty as a ruby ranked adventurer, and although they are considered a carefree version of the Jades, their number one task, ever since it was formed, was to think of the good of ten rather than one.

"He's unaware of what he's doing," Verin tried to say those words in between his grinding teeth, Hugo was still gripping on his shoulder.

While the two are arguing about what to do with Marcus, the person in question had already moved and ran away from them. He knew he's going to be taken down no matter what, he had to look for something to win against them.

And as he was running, he accidentally went back to where they came from. There, he saw the other two who were pursuing him. But unlike the two swordsmen, they seem spent.

"Where did he go?" Verin asked when he used his eyes to move and look at where Marcus used to stand.

"Fuck!" Hugo loosened his hand on Verin and ran after Marcus, "we can't have him get away!"

Verin exhaled heavily and messed his hair in frustration before running after Hugo. If something were to happen to more people, he would blame himself for choosing to argue than to keep an eye on him.

Viv felt Marcus's strange energy and he quickly took his knives out and stood in front of Lithea; teeth gritted, he's determined to keep his words. He's going to protect her.

Viv has been growling as he watches Marcus running towards them.

"Viv?" Lithea asked, he seemed to be bothered. Like a hound sensing danger.

'Danger?'

Lithea moved her head a bit, and saw a glimpse of the person Viv was preparing for, Marcus. When she peeked out her head, Marcus was already up in the air, jumping towards Viv to put more strength in his attack; putting his hands together to smash Viv's head.

Viv didn't let it happen, he cut a wound on his hand and kicked his chest. But he wasn't the same, he's gotten stronger. Viv's kick only did so much, he almost felt no pain.

Lithea does not like what she's seeing, Viv is trying to protect her and doing the mission while she sits in the corner. She thought she had to do something.

'Determine your opponent's strength, and from there, you have to exactly draw enough mana to strike at them. Overpowering them with just enough to not exhaust yourself.'

Chi's words once again replayed in her mind. But although it was effective before, now that she has the stone, she's having doubts. Lithea didn't know that it wasn't just her mana connected to the stone. There's something else as well.

Leon went back to the archives, but this time, he did not come for his usual light reading. He came to study the book of stones of Aelia Einar. And since he is not good at reading ancient language, he had to beg Lady Edrei to let him borrow the guide for ancient readings. It is the King's rule to every council to keep it out of people's reach. And unless that person is the successor of the position, everyone is forbidden to use it.

The book is thick and every page is full with writings and accurate drawings of all the stones the legendary priestess made, it also had a full description of what its uses and what it can be used for. But she never wrote the exact procedure of how she made all of it.

Since her creation skill is mostly self-taught, how she did it isn't passed down. Although most priestesses have the potential to master the skill if they want to, due to how tough it is, they mostly give up in the middle of practicing it.

Leon flicked through the pages, scanning the pages that had a very detailed and realistic drawing of the stones. He tried looking for the shape and form that's similar to what Lithea is wearing on her forehead. And because he's underground, with only a handful of candles to give him light, he felt cold and funny.

Alone in such a huge room with nothing but thousands of shelves filled with dusty and cobwebbed books. Although he's shivering with the room temperature, his focus distracts him from the cold. In his mind, he has to find the page where the stabilizer stone is written, and with that, maybe Lithea wouldn't have to struggle so much whenever she attempts to use it the way she's been doing it.

He noticed back when they were sparring and when he was teaching her, she would always flinch but then shrugged it off in a split second, acting completely nonchalant. But he knew what he saw that night, even before he distracted her, she was struggling.

It reminded him of the times when he, too, was struggling with training. But even though both are completely different situations, with the stabilizer stone as her shackle, and him, Lady Edrei's recognition.

"I must find it before she comes back. There must be something hidden in these pages, there has to be."

Leon turned another page and he smiled, an exact same shape and form caught his eyes.

"This is it!"

Lithea closed her eyes and tried to relax her mind, but although she believed she was relaxed, she was very confused and frustrated at the back of her mind. She felt the flow of her mana on the veins of her arms to her fingertips.

'Calculate.'

Lithea recalled the times when she saw how Marcus was able to deflect and strike back at her teammates. She thought of freezing the time on him only to keep him from moving and give them enough time to take the crystal off of him.

She opened her eyes and squinted her eyes while she grinded her teeth, the force of her skill and the mana is different. It felt heavy, even with just a tiny amount of how much mana she used to waste before the stabilizer.

Lithea grunted and released her power towards Marcus who's fighting against Viv. Both Verin and Hugo arrived at the scene at the right time. Her time manipulation isn't visible to others and only to those who possess the divinity, and when it was about to hit Marcus, she felt a sharp pain from her abdomen to her ribs.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Lithea's body slumped as she quivered out of fear.

'What's happening to me?' she sniffed, her mind getting dizzy with all the questions echoing inside. She wasn't able to hear how the three screamed her name.

She dug her fingers on her thighs as she struggled to catch her breath, her fear turned to panic. Her anxiousness escalated quickly, and her hyperventilation did not escape the eyes of the other rubies. But with Marcus keeping them busy, they can't go near her.

On the days when she started her training with Master Chi in the mountains, the high priest was worried about her. While teaching and warning her how serious it could get, he would always include telling her to give it up and just focus on being a priestess. But his determination to keep her inside the temple only fueled her desire.

And the only thing he can do at that point was to never lack in reminding her of being honest to herself.

'I am against that you are doing this, I don't want you to torture yourself. I only ever want you to have a normal life with your sister, and although living in the temple is not really every child's normal environment, I want you to still become a child. Act like a child, and make troubles like a child. And when the time comes where you have to answer the question why you became what you chose to be, look deep in your heart. You will find the answer there, it might not be now, and it might change as you walk on your own path, but when the day comes, it will be the right one.'

A soft touch on her should wake her to reality, as her tears gently drip as she raises her head.

"Viv?"

Viv smiled at her softly, it was the first time she saw him give off such a warm smile and it was enough for her to gather her strength and to stop drowning herself with words that are poisoning her belief in herself.

She won't let acid get watered in her garden.

Hugo was sent flying near where she and Viv were, Verin was left fighting off Marcus alone. And it was just now that they noticed how his eyes had turned white, his was a beautiful shade of light brown.

"Lithea," Hugo managed to speak while struggling on getting up, Viv had to help him.

"I'm fine," she assured, "although there's something I want to try."

Hugo and Viv's ears perked, awaiting for her next words.

"Can you buy me a little bit of time?"

"What do you intend on doing?"

"I want to freeze him."

The two guys' worlds seemed to turn faster than before after hearing her plan, the wind seemed to get stronger as their hair swayed with the leaves, and the beautiful scent of the sea traveled to their noses.

"Freeze?" Hugo asked, he never heard of her having water nor an ice skill, "how?"

"I will stop the time around him," she said, "although it needs total concentration with the stabilizer on, I will need a few minutes."

"Are you sure?"

He's scared. For her.

"I'm sure," Lithea looked at Marcus, "you guys just have to make sure to create a spot for me to hit him easily."

"Alright," Hugo cracked his neck and his knuckles, "let's go, Viv."

As soon as the two rejoined the fight, Verin had gotten a hint on what they're planning to do and read the two's movements to blend his movements with theirs.

Lithea walked to a wider space and sat down to meditate. She needs to completely strip herself with negative emotions and enter the zone. With this, she can find the answers. If not, it will help her connect with the stone.

She's done it before but it wasn't successful, it was like she's about to open the doorknob but whenever she touches it, she'll get sucked into another place and have to start over again.

'Look deep in your heart.'

From her happy childhood, the birth of her younger sister, the slaughter of her parents, when she was separated from her friend and his parents, and when she arrived at the temple. It all started swirling inside her. Like a room filled with tiny mirrors with all her memories inside, and everything could be the reason why she did this, why she chose this path.

The three rubies struggled with Marcus, every blow, every strike, every attack, he counters and defends. It was almost impossible to believe how he could change after every defeat, like someone has been telling him what to do next.

Verin has had enough, Lithea only needed a few minutes and their time is up.

He poured everything on his fist and felt his mana covered his hand with the densest metal to ever exist. And when he landed a strong blow on Marcus's face, it caused the opponent's body to get lifted from the ground and arch as it was about to fly to the near wall.

Lithea opened her eyes, it was golden, her divinity awakened. With its help, she summoned a strong enough time manipulation skill and locked it at the area where Marcus is. And although it wasn't visible, its heavy impact can be felt by the three who were surrounding him.

"NOW!"

Hugo immediately coated his scimitar with his wind and the gem on it glowed as he stabbed Marcus in the middle, hitting his heart. It has to go deeper in his heart for the tip to touch the crystal and break it completely.

Marcus spat out blood when Hugo pulled the scimitar and they saw the bits of the crystals turning to ashes and joined the winds.

Lithea made a hand gesture and rewound the time to when he doesn't have a wound. But this time, the crystal is off him.

Marcus passed out and was about to fall face first but Verin caught him on his back while he was kneeling down to check on his wound. Viv panicked when Marcus landed on top of Verin and tried to kick him off, thinking he was being attacked but Verin stopped him.

With the sweet smell of victory in the air, all of them felt exhausted at once. Both Lithea and Hugo's bodies gave in and they laid on the ground, catching their breaths with a relaxed smile on their faces. Hugo nearly ended his life by almost draining his mana, while Lithea felt drained with the stabilizer on her forehead. But before she closed her eyes, the stone glowed a little.

Not a moment later, people had started coming out and calling for help for them. Aids brought a stretcher in and took Marcus from them.

Hugo gathered his remaining strength and sat up. He was looking around for Lithea but what he saw drained all the blood from his face.

She was unconscious.

The three of them immediately ran towards her, Verin felt her pulse, he was relieved to know that she only fainted. He picked her up but while he did it, he felt his wound sting.

He grunted, 'crap.'

Hugo was frozen on the spot, he blamed himself for letting it happen to her. He completely forgot to calculate what's going to happen if she forced herself to use her skills, and because she looked sure with her plan, he didn't question it.

'It could have been avoided.'

'We could have used their plan.'

"We need to have her checked!"

Verin carried Lithea towards the aids and they nodded, telling him to follow them. They want to get her on a stretcher but they're scared to ask him to hand her over to them. He seemed mad and worried at the same time.

While they were getting far, Viv kept looking back and forth between Hugo and Verin. Both wore the same pissed off expression. He couldn't decide who to follow, but since Lithea is with Verin and the second person he warmed up to after Thenea was her, he hopped towards them.

Viv followed them and when he turned to see Hugo never moved an inch, he ran back to get him and dragged him by the wrist.

"Oi, what are you doing?"

Viv pouted and it pushed his cheeks, making them bloat like a bun.

"Lia!"

Hugo's forehead creased and yanked his wrist from Viv, "you don't have to drag me."

Viv took his wrist again and ran towards Verin and Lithea, not wanting to get left behind.