Stephanie's loud music echoed across the van, completely tuned out by Itama, who was completely used to her antics by now. "Stephanie, turn that off!" Gerald screamed, noticing her fearful glare that caused him to carry on without asking her to do anything. Forrest, completely focused on the snow that was slowly taking up the road, saw a silhouette looming in the distance, not moving at all upon a honk from the vehicle. "Forrest, you're going to run over someone!" Kaelan called out, followed by a scream. However, Forrest noticed something else - the so-called roadkill lifted up his hand right in the direction of the Great Armor, and multiple branches from trees came straight for all of them. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" Kevin screamed, trying to get his hands onto the wheel. Right before the Great Armor had been submerged in the eternal branches, Xavier had appeared right in front of the vehicle, holding a blue phantom-shaped ember on his right hand. "Who the hell do you think you are?" he shouted, echoing across the snowy mountains. The fog that silhouetted the man's face disappeared in an instant, revealing a frail, white haired man that had a bowl cut. "What's the Protector of the Phantoms doing all the way out here!?" the white haired man aggressively replied, charging down the mountain right towards Xavier and the vehicle. "I'm just here to murder the leader, you have no involvement in anything that's going on at the moment!"
Volume 13, Chapter 9 - Intruders
"Father…" a young Xavier asked, looking at the sunset on one of the many buildings in Ironhold. "I have a question for you… what truly is a phantom, and what does it have to do with my power?" Xavier's father, eyes still focused on the beautiful sunset, chuckled due to his son's question. "The phantoms, you ask. You'll learn it fully when you grow up - but I'll give you the gist of it right now. The generations of people since the Realm God and Sky Splitter battled thousands of years ago to determine the fate of the world, the dreams of these people that have not yet been achieved, and everything in between - you, my son, are the protector of all these elements, the Protector of the Phantoms." Even though Xavier had no idea what his father was talking about, he couldn't help but smile. "The Protector of the Phantoms?" he said happily. "I love that name!"
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"The power of bloom!" Stephanie called out, pointing towards the white-haired man. "If he touches Xavier at all, a tree is going to grow inside his intestines!" Both Kevin and Gerald screamed in fear for their comrade, repeatedly knocking on the glass to inform him of his enemy's power. "HE'S GOING TO MAKE YOU A LIVING TREE, XAVIER!" Gerald called out, silenced by the sense of determination lingering right from him. "Father… Why the hell am I thinking of that moment at a time like this!?" he exclaimed, unable to move any of his limbs. The flames on both of his hands slowly faded due to the appearance of the snow, and yet another branch was coming soaring right towards him. "Red Phantoms - Scatter!" he screamed, regaining feeling in his limbs at the last second. However, he noticed a giant cloud of snow coming straight in his direction. "What the hell is that!?" Kaelan screamed, shaking Forrest left and right. The white-haired man looked behind him, noticing a giant snowplow that trampled him and turned him into a thin piece of paper that landed in the cold snow. The giant plow halted before it could hit the Great Armor and anyone in Team Pyron, and a man with a thick, blue coat hopped out. He brushed the flurries of snow off his fur-coated jacket, then opened his eyes to look at Xavier, who was standing right on top of the Great Armor with his jaw dropped. "I didn't expect him to start another fight after I beat his ass back there," he murmured to himself, shocking both Kevin and Gerald. "HE'S GOING TO KILL ALL OF US!" Forrest screamed, repeatedly banging his head on the steering wheel.
The man squinted his eyes to take a closer look at the Great Armor, internally admiring the fortification of the car. "That's a nice car you have there…" he said to Forrest, who almost immediately looked up at him. "Anyway, I'll get you guys to the Land of Stone in no time!"
The gigantic snowplow (which was about 10 times larger than the Great Armor) suddenly changed direction, and multiple chains beamed out the back that connected the vehicle and the giant snowplow. "WE'RE BEING KIDNAPPED!" Stephanie screamed, nearly squeezing Kevin's guts out as she cried in worry. A few seconds after the movement back up the mountain began, the blue-coated man jumped onto the rooftop of the Great Armor and sat down beside Xavier, who was focused on the beautiful skies that respectfully welcomed the sun. "I've seen your face before," he said to him, setting down both of his hands on the cold metal. "Just making sure, is your name Xavier?"
Xavier suddenly turned his head in shock towards the man, nodding in agreement shortly after. "A few years ago, I battled your father - he's a very strong man, and he mentioned something about his son coming back to spar with me very soon."
Kevin and Gerald, who were overhearing the conversation from inside the van, laughed loudly. "Looks like you've gotten yourself into some family trouble!" Kevin called out.
Xavier examined the man, noticing that he had black hair that was sticking out in intervals due to the hoodie that enveloped his head. "Do you know anything about Pyron?" he asked suddenly, catching everyone that was sitting in the van unexpectedly.