Jin arrived in the east of Zvennes, where tensions had become rare after its sudden downfall.
However, since the arrival of the King of Arva, people feared that the incurable disease would reach them.
They had given this disease a name — this wandering cataclysm that now haunted their dreams. In the violent, freezing cold of the eastern side of the Empire, the most powerful in the world, the disease had been named "Karaignos", which meant "The End" in Zvenne.
No one knew where it came from. They had all been too busy running.
But Jin did know — and the worst part was that he couldn't care less.
He had come to Garma to find strong opponents. And someone's aura had drawn him here.
In Garma, the weather had become extreme and merciless. Frost and cold devoured the land without restraint. Some inhabitants had been trapped in ice, becoming statues of people agonizing, fleeing, shielding their children, crying....
A real apocalypse-movie scenery.
Jin could almost hear their screams. The city had become a graveyard of ice, echoing in the souls of all who saw it.
"Nice atmosphere."
Voices shrieked in Jin's ears as he walked toward the massive aura.
"Run, my son, run!! Don't look back for mommy!!"
"I can't see anymore!! I can't see!!"
"I wanted to become a hero…"
"Why me, why??!"
"Where is Emperor Turcan?!"
"Has Zvenne fallen to the apocalypse?!"
Jin didn't ask himself such questions. He knew there was nothing he could do now. He had spent his entire life trying to become strong in combat, not learning how to heal everyone. He didn't regret his choices. In this kind of situation, only someone from another world could save them. He was helpless.
However, there was still something he could do…
"So, the genius of fighting has come to me. Goagi spoke of you. You are a real threat."
Astra stood there before him, only a few meters away. Her blue eyes, filled with an ocean, tried once more to enchant Jin and pull him into a bottomless abyss.
Jin was surprised — even terrified. His quest for strength had never brought him this far. He had reached a point where what he was facing wasn't even of this world and possessed unimaginable power.
But for some reason, he appreciated this sudden change…
"I'm glad to hear that."
Jin wasn't one to speak much. He understood well that what was about to happen would likely be the fight of his life. Defeating an entity from another world… it sounded completely insane. Never in his life had he imagined he would fight something like this.
"However, you cannot oppose fate. What is written in the books is immutable. I will not die by your hand."
Good. Jin didn't like killing his opponents anyway. He preferred giving them the chance to grow stronger and return for a rematch.
"That doesn't matter to me. You just need to lose. I can finally see whether my level is enough — or greater than yours."
"Oh, don't worry. In pure combat, I am stronger than Goagi."
Astra's voice made the entire frozen city tremble, as if the earth itself was growling. Jin struggled to contain his emotions. Facing such an entity, feeling a deep incomprehension that led to fear, was only natural.
But Jin didn't reject fear. He wasn't afraid of feeling fear itself. On the contrary — he wanted more. It was only by surpassing that useless emotion that he could grow. Fear was merely a way to respect his opponent, a way to acknowledge their strength.
Jin didn't usually feel fear. The only times he had truly felt it were the first time against his father — and the second time, now, against Astra. She was terrifying.
The bluish aura floating around her like a magical mass that didn't belong to this world radiated a terrible chaos ready to crash down on him. The frozen scenery around them didn't help either. Her eyes weighed down on him like the entire ocean pressing on his shoulders.
She was an entity. A real one. Like in the books and legends. A being of overwhelming power.And he was about to fight her…
"You're the Third Horsman, aren't you? I don't really care, but I have to make a report to the master, to tell him how effective I've been against monsters like you."
Astra hardened her gaze, and as she did, Jin felt it through every corner of his body…
"I told you — I will not die by your hand."
But that was exactly what he needed to get fired up…
"We'll see about that."
**
Nathanaël and Azraüs arrived in an arid place. A place where the rocks rose high and were sharp enough to injure anyone. The wind was blowing extremely hard. Visibility was reduced, and night was beginning to fall.
Nathanaël had trouble seeing even with his vision enhanced by aura. And the wind was blowing so strongly that he could barely raise his voice loud enough to be heard.
However, the situation was bothering him, while Azraüs seemed confident. Too confident to realize he might not be on the right path.
"Don't you think we should stop?"
Azraüs kept walking calmly, looking around as if searching for something.
"No. This is Dan territory. They know how to manipulate the terrain perfectly. It was their chief who sent their warriors into the forest. Remember?"
Of course he remembered. Nathanaël had spent his first days in a survival game where anybody could jump them at any moment. The forest warriors in particular had taken quite the beating from Azraüs.
"Yeah, I remember. They weren't that strong. Why are we going through here?"
"Because I felt like teaching them a lesson before heading to the capital."
"Oh."
Nathanaël couldn't take it anymore. He had to scream just to be heard, and their steps were simply ineffective. Azraüs shielded his face with his arm. Their horses had taken shelter behind some rocks, but he knew that hiding there was just as useless as behind any other rock around here.
"They won't help us anymore."
They were in a complete storm, and on top of that, warriors could jump them at any moment.
Azraüs still seemed completely unfazed, happy to keep moving, while Nathanaël missed his rich life in his beautiful home. This was the first time in his life he regretted not being filthy rich. Usually, he was humble about it, but right now, he wanted his beautiful house back.
And suddenly, something darted through the air at full speed.
"Oh. Watch out."
"I saw it."
An arrow cut through the air despite the wind, but Nathanaël noticed it was using the wind rather than piercing through it. It wasn't fighting the current—it let itself glide through it, like a fish docilely following the flow.
Nathanaël had never seen such a technique, because despite everything, the arrow was still flying straight at them. This had to be the result of incredible mastery. The arrow simply couldn't miss its target.
He was amazed.
"These guys are experts."
Despite that, Azraüs easily caught the arrow. He managed to read its trajectory before grabbing and snapping it.
"Be careful, Nathy. This is the first time I'm facing them head-on."
Azraüs regained a serious look and tried to locate the shooter. But Nathanaël already knew…
"We're surrounded."
The wind drowned out the sound of the thousands of arrows falling on them at the same time. All around, from every direction, arrows floated in the air, carried by the wind.
"Nathy, find a solid rock."
"Okay."
Nathanaël focused his senses. After fighting Azraüs so many times in the village arena, his aura had strengthened even more. He controlled it much better. He could reinforce specific parts of his body at precise levels he chose, he could see farther—much farther. A kilometer no longer posed a problem; he could see well beyond that. In truth, he barely needed his eyes anymore. He sensed aura like the faintest breeze brushing against his hand. He saw the floating particles of light. The world around him had become slower, more beautiful, but he also saw its smallest details and hidden secrets. His eyes glowed faintly. Now, finding those rocks wasn't the problem. The problem was…
"Oh, crap…"
Dodging all the arrows that appeared in his ultra-vision.
"Azraüs!!"
"I know."
What he didn't know was that Azraüs could sense them too. Not at the same level, but as a warrior who had survived Nozras…
"I'm not planning on dying here."
He still had plenty of strength left.
He spun around at such speed that the resulting air pressure formed a powerful whirlwind, diverting the arrows' trajectories.
Nathanaël was impressed for a moment, but he did notice some arrows had hit him.
"Some of the shooters can predict even Azraüs's potential deflections. That's insane. He wasn't hit badly, so he'll be fine. Still, it's useless to stay still. Even if they're elite marksmen, it's easier for us…"
Nathanaël dashed forward, unleashing a massive wave of air and rocks straight toward one of the shooters.
"…to keep moving constantly so we don't get hit."
Azraüs stopped spinning as well and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Nathanaël had started running.
"I see. I'm right behind you, Nathy."
Azraüs vanished just as dozens of arrows struck the spot where he stood a moment before. Tracks appeared in the ground at various places, each one a millisecond behind Gazor's son.
The hidden shooters quickly lost sight of them, but that hardly intimidated them. Any detected movement was a shot they couldn't miss.
Nathanaël ran like he had never run before. He finally understood Marc's feelings when he told him about his sprint through the library. The world around him seemed to rush past at incredible speed, and the wind slammed violently into his face. He welcomed it with pleasure—and started smiling too.
However, the arrows were falling at full speed as well, some even coming straight at him. He had to dodge them while continuing to run and locate the hunters.
It wasn't an easy task usually, but Nathanaël already knew where they were.
"I see you."
The shooter who had fired the arrow right in front of Nathanaël's face saw him disappear from behind his rock.
"Huh?"
"You guys are really strong. Respect."
Nathanaël appeared just above him. In less than a second, his speed made it look like teleportation. The shooter was at his mercy.
However, just as he was about to land a fatal blow, an arrow shot toward him at full speed. He dodged it mid-air by spinning on himself. But when he set his eyes back on the shooter, the man had vanished.
"Damn it."
The warriors were incredibly organized, and all the advantage Nathanaël gained from his aura was crushed by their mastery of the terrain and their sharp instincts.
While he was thinking, an arrow appeared exactly in his back, from an impossible blind spot. At least, impossible for normal humans.
Nathanaël grabbed it with rage as he spun around at full speed. He clenched his teeth and looked around.
The shooter then fired three more arrows at him, while more began pouring from the other side.
Nathanaël dodged them, but one of them—fired with incredible skill—shifted slightly due to the wind and rushed toward the back of his leg.
It was too late to stop that one.
"Damn it."
"Nathy…"
Azraüs arrived at full speed to the rescue, emerging from the darkness as he parried the arrow and threw his mace in an unknown direction.
His face remained focused, showing no weakness.
Nathanaël could understand his genius, but even his calm in such a situation made him admire him. Azraüs might look like an idiot, but he was an experienced warrior who had fought against wind and earth to forge himself a terrifying reputation. It was normal that a situation like this didn't faze him.
"We attack together. It'll be harder for them to get us. Be careful, Nathy. This is another level."
Nathanaël had never been in a battle like this. He had never put his life on the line constantly. He didn't know the true life of a genius, nor the pure toil of a conqueror.
So that day, he had to give everything. Just like from the beginning in Nozras. This country had pulled everything he had out of him…
"Okay."
They rushed together toward the mace Azraüs had thrown. Even if they couldn't see it because of the darkness, they both knew where it was. They caught up to it as fast as lightning. In truth, Azraüs knew exactly where he had thrown it, and despite the violent winds around them, he caught it effortlessly.
A shooter was right there, surprised to see both warriors coming for him. But they had anticipated that. Two men were waiting instead of one, expecting their arrival. They, too, were not without resources.
"Come at me!"
After shouting, the man took the mace's handle straight in the mouth. The other shooter didn't even have time to react before Nathanaël's foot smashed into his face.
"Okay."
The two were taken down easily, however several more arrows came to overwhelm them, and warriors instantly positioned themselves behind them.
Nathanaël then drew his sword, illuminating the battlefield with the aura only he could see, and with speed and precision, he stood in front of Azraüs and parried all the arrows.
Azraüs then stepped in front of him and threw his mace at the first warrior charging at them.
Nathanaël moved in front again and delivered a violent blow to the stomach of the second. He fainted instantly, and Nathanaël used his body to push the others back and knock them to the ground.
Suddenly, another warrior thrust his spear at Nathanaël's face while he was still crouched. Azraüs jumped and landed on the spear before it reached his companion. He then delivered a spectacular hook to its wielder, nearly knocking his head off.
After such a spectacular combo, one thing was certain: they were without a doubt the best duo humanity had ever known.
"I've got your back, Azraüs."
"Okay."
Warriors appeared behind, in front, and above them. They were surrounded. Surrounded by men who had just signed their death sentence…