The battle was slowly coming to an end when a streak of purple lightning fshed as Ren bsted through another baboon leader with her spear while Kang held him down, leaving only one alive as all the others were already dealt with. The remaining one tried to escape, but to no avail, as Feynor and Niji were now there to surround him. As he felt his end approaching, the more desperate he became to escape... It was then that the sky started darkening, and Ren, forgetting about the fight, looked up with a cold and furious expression.

  "Someone is having a breakthrough?" Feynor mused, leaving the remaining, injured baboon to the others.

  "Yes…" She murmured, watching the red lightning fsh in the distance... "They are in trouble…."

  "We go?" Kang asked as the remaining baboon finally noticed it may be his opportunity to flee... as the rest looked distracted.

  "No. We can't leave any of these monkeys alive." Ren said, shaking her head, "I trust my family. They will be okay."

  "If not?"

  "Then…" She looked up at Kang with eyes that made the giant goril shiver. "I'll find those who hurt them and refine them into flesh puppets," she snorted, turning towards the remaining baboon leader, who suddenly knew... his end won't be a merciful one.

  …….…..

  Emi watched the young man standing before her as the sky rumbled above them. Her eyes were clear, yet they grew wary as the thundering sounds above them all brought a primal fear upon her.

  Before Leinor or the others could say anything, Poli raised his sword as the first lightning struck down, striking his bde like a lightning rod. Surprisingly, the sword itself didn't break; instead, it transmitted everything into his body. Thanks to Ren, he knew what was coming and had already released every excess of energy in his body as he bsted out with a thundering roar, faster than anybody could expect, even himself, propelled by the red lightning's powers.

  The skin and clothes on his legs instantly tore apart, blood and pieces of his flesh flying everywhere as lightning bolts fshed above the ground where he stepped before crashing into Emi, sending the giant fox flying through multiple trees before stopping.

  "Wha-?" She whined, coughing up blood, not knowing what even happened, while Poli, who was in a delirious, berserker state, tormented by pain, the feeling of numbness, and complete disorientation, sshed down, sending the still overwhelming energy swirling inside of him out in front of him, "Ugh!" She groaned as she narrowly dodged the sword that cut through the earth itself, leaving almost a ten-meter-deep gush on the ground.

  That was when the second lightning bolt struck, right on Poli's head. His eyes were bloodshot as his body began to crack from the abundant energies coursing through him. Still, he just looked at Emi, raising his sword once again, focusing every energy inside him to bst out of it, and this time, Emi couldn't dodge his attack.

  The ssh came too quickly as the red, lightning-filled bde sliced across her body from the neck down to her belly, making her whine and scream in a painful, animalistic voice. Her deep, crimson-colored blood spshed everywhere as a nasty, open wound appeared on her chest, which pulsated with electricity, lightning bolts cracking inside her flesh.

  "Let's die together… bitch!" Poli groaned, raising his sword again, but he was stuck there like a statue and couldn't move anymore. His body refused to acknowledge his thoughts; he felt imprisoned within his own body, losing control as the third lightning strike gathered above him.

  Seeing her chance, Emi didn't hesitate; she rushed out, snatching up the unconscious Rem while releasing a thick, pink smoke from her body, hitting the rest of the gang, preventing them from intercepting her, before disappearing.

  “Fuck… you…!” Poli forced the words out of his mouth while his eyes tried to follow her, but he still could not move.

  Isha and Zern tried to help, but they were drained from Emi's escaping attack, trying their best to resist her energy; only Leinor had recovered enough to move, yet the escaping Emi was too fast for him. He hesitated for a moment... Chase her? No... Instead, he rushed to Poli.

  "What are you… doing?" Zern groaned, watching him.

  "Poli's affinity is the same as Ren's… I can help." Leinor panted heavily, watching Poli's body, trying to determine how to do this.

  "It's insane…." Isha tried to sit up while speaking.

  "I can take it!" He yelled, watching Poli, who was still raising his sword towards the sky in a sshing motion.

  "S-stop… It..s… fine…” Poli groaned, trying to force out his words.

  "Shut it." Lenor snorted, "Concentrate on guiding the energy like Ren told you! If you dare to die, she will bring back your soul and pnt it in a pig!" He pced both of his hands on his shoulders. "I'll help you make its revolutions inside of you, try to deal with it!"

  When he did as Leinor told him, he finally felt the rampaging tides inside him slow, finding an outlet, flowing into Leinor and back to him, giving him enough time to try to control them, which had seemed impossible before. It was too wild and too much before... And then... The third thunderbolt came down, striking his sword right on the tip. The newly arriving energy flow was so strong that Poli cried out at once, as cracks appeared on his sword-holding hand, multiplying before exploding into bloody fragments of bones, chunks of flesh, and bloody mist, right up to his shoulder, while his sword fell to the ground.

  Seeing his body exploding, Leinor used all his focus to absorb as much as he could, to not only help him revolve but expel it from Poli's body... but he felt overwhelmed, still… That one moment when he managed to draw just the tiniest bit over, it stopped the cracking of Poli's body. Now, even though he was on the verge of exploding, Poli somehow managed to avoid it and could regain control of his body's energy flow at the st moment, reining it in slowly but steadily. When the sky finally cleared, Leinor threw up a lot of blood and chunks of his internal organs before colpsing, just like Poli, as both of them fell to the ground in sync.

  …….…..

  "Ugh…" Leinor woke up feeling sore all over while a terrible headache assaulted his senses, making him squint, raise his hand, and cover his eyes.

  "Easy…" Ren's voice came next, lying beside him, slowly climbing onto his chest, massaging it. "You are still full of the stuff. You glutton!" she whispered. "I'm slowly helping your body assimite it, but you ate so much it's a miracle you didn't burst."

  "I barely took a bite..." He murmured, eyes closed.

  "That tiny bite was still too much, and not meant for you. It is a miracle you survived!"

  "I feel like shit…."

  "Duh! No wonder." She snorted, kissing his lips, "But you did well. Both of you are alive."

  "I would've had to beat the shit out of him if he dies after all this…."

  "Ahaha, it seems I finally rubbed off on you, eh?" She giggled and kissed him again. "Rex. Try not to think; just lie there and rex... I'll massage you until you feel better. This will benefit you in the long run... Probably."

  "What about Poli?" He asked quietly.

  "He is resting in another house; we are back at the vilge. He regained consciousness before you, and now he is resting too." She shrugged, "Even though he lost his better arm, he seems to be full of energy. That little prick..."

  "He is older than you."

  "Hmf, I'm his Master, so he is a little prick." She snorted, "Anyway, a genius little prick. Maybe I'll call him Pricky from now on instead of Poli."

  "Well, before you or me, he was one of the youngest cultivators."

  "Ahaha… yeah, it shows." Ren chuckled, "He did something miraculous."

  "Mh? What do you mean?" Leinor opened his eyes, squinting against the light.

  "You'll see." She smiled, but soon her face turned serious again. "About Rem…."

  "She took her," Leinor mumbled, feeling down again.

  "I heard it. We need to find her."

  "She probably won't hurt her." He offered, "She assumed we kidnapped her."

  "Yes. Isha and Zern told me everything." She answered, patting her head, "We will go after her soon."

  "I'll-"

  "No. You stay, same with Poli." She commanded him, turning serious, "All of you stay and have a rest. I'll go with Kang and Niji."

  "..."

  "LeiLei."

  "Okay... Okay... I'll stay."

  "Good boy." She smiled, leaning in to kiss him, this time with passion, easing his headache.

  …….…..

  Not far away from the vilge, which was still being cleaned up from the aftermath of the battle against the baboons, a dark shadow was sitting on a branch. He watched as tired soldiers, chimps, and gorils were collecting the dead bodies of the baboons, per the order of Shaman, who was also bandaged up, leaning on a stick, helping him walk, yet still… He looked like he was full of energy, seeing so many possible sources of demon cores, wanting to collect them all.

  "He did use it…." The shadow murmured to himself, remembering as he observed how Leinor saved Poli, "But it saved a life…" He looked at the vilge, his voice conflicted. "Should I report this…?" he asked himself, doubting the decision of his Master. "I made the oath to serve the Empire," he assured himself, steeling his mind before disappearing into a cloud of bck smoke.

  When he materialized once again in the hidden cave of Nameless, he knelt before him.

  "What do you have to report?" The leader of his organization asked.

  "There was a fight between a high-level demon and the Prince's squad."

  "Did they die?"

  "No." The shadow answered, "They came out victorious in the end, but they were badly injured. I spectated the whole battle; there was no sign of the Prince using that power."

  "Really…? Give me your element shard that you were given." Nameless said as he reached out with one hand.

  "..." He didn't understand why, but he couldn't refuse as he produced it for his superior.

  "Do you know why you were given this?" Nameless asked.

  "I don't question the orders I am given."

  "Good answer," he smiled under his mask. "This is a Tainted Element Shard."

  "Tainted?"

  "Yes." Nameless nodded, "To be precise, it was damaged when mined. There are always defective ones from time to time... It's tainted as it absorbs energies from the outside and can't resonate with an untapped body, so it can't be used for ceremonies. Yet… Because of it, it can record energy flows it comes in contact with." he smiled as he sent his own into the shard, making it react and scan what kind of energies it came into contact with while being in possession of his subordinate.

  "I see," The shadow nodded, but under his bck cloth, he was sweating profusely, expecting Nameless to find out that he lied.

  Yet when Nameless was holding the shard, it suddenly exploded, sending red lightning wash over him, making him cry out in pain and topple backward like a toy figure.

  "Master!"

  "I'm… fine!" Nameless gasped, trying to stand up, but his body was numb, still fshing with occasional arcs jumping between his fingers. "It soaked up the residue power of the tribution… damn… This can't be used as evidence now," he groaned as he produced another shard, tossing it towards him. "Take this new one and follow the surveilnce! When he uses that power, and we have evidence, we carry out the order of the Emperor. Without evidence, the current ruler and the Prince's brothers could turn on us… We need a safety net to fall back onto. I won't let our order disappear... And we won't let evil return. We have served the Empire since Aerthus V, and the Empire will need us in the future, too! If we have proof, the previous Emperor will intervene..." Nameless grumbled slowly before sitting down to calm his body and soul. "Leave."

  "As you order," the shadow bowed, then disappeared, holding the shard close, his emotions still conflicted as he melted into the darkness.

  …….…..

  "Awawawa, Miss, you are injured! Awawawa!" came the panicky voice of Rem, flying erratically over the panting Emi, who was back in her human-like form, leaning against a giant oak tree. Her breathing was erratic, and she was clearly on the verge of dying, barely conscious. A deep gash ran from top to bottom across her chest, disfiguring her body, oozing blood.

  "At least… you are… safe…” Emi murmured with unfocused eyes.

  "I don't remember what happened… but worry not! My friends will come and help you, I'm sure! I'll get some flowers; we must stop the bleeding first!" Rem yelled as she flew off and soon returned with different colored petals in her hands. "Awawa, don't sleep, Miss! It's dangerous!" she flew up to her with a worried face, trying to wake up the fainted Emi, but to no avail. "Get yourself together, Rem!" she spped her puffy cheeks. "You are the little sister of Ren; you can do this!"

  Soon, the plump little fairy was chewing up the flowers before applying them to the nasty wound, releasing reddish dust from her wings as she slowly did her best and helped it close and form a long scar along her body, stopping the bleeding.

  "Good, it's helping! I'll need more. Don't die, Miss!" She yelled, "I'll bring more! And water! Yes, yes! Everything will be alright!" She repeated it over and over, but mostly to encourage herself as she flew off again.

  …….…..

  When daybreak came, Ren, with Niji, Feynor, and Kang following her, was already on her way, trying to get on the trail of Emi, catching up, and rescuing Rem. As for Leinor, he only woke up long after they were gone as he walked out of the house, still feeling sore all over his body but at least able to walk around. Squinting, the bright sunlight hurt his eyes as he tried to adjust to it, holding his hand up.

  "Yo, Leinor!" Zern appeared a moment ter, "You up? I was going to visit Poli; you coming?"

  "Yeah, that was my pn. Is he… fine?"

  "You mean about his hand being gone?" he asked back, shrugging.

  "Yes."

  "You'll see!" he smiled, surprising him.

  "Ren said something simir," Leinor mumbled, feeling curious.

  "She's right." Isha came up, holding a basket full of freshly caught fish. "Come, we have grilled fish for breakfast!"

  When Isha pushed in the door of the house where Poli was staying, a sword's glowing edge fshed before her, almost cutting the basket she held in half.

  "You prick!" she screamed, kicking out, but Poli just dodged with ease, ughing loudly.

  "Sorry, sorry, I was training!" he grinned happily as he stood still while his sword was floating around him.

  "He really came up with something ridiculous…." Leinor murmured as he watched the floating weapon.

  "Cool, eh?" Poli excimed proudly. "It was an equivalent exchange if you ask me! I feel the sword as if it is part of my body and can control it with my thoughts. I don't even need a hand to grab it!"

  "How far can you send it?" Leinor asked, just as excited as Ren could be, his eyes already fshing.

  "Around... Maybe about... a hundred or so?" Poli tilted his head as Zern helped Isha get ready for breakfast. "I need to test more; if I train hard, I think I could get more out of it!"

  "Still, that's awesome…."

  "Isn't it?" Poli ughed happily before patting Leinor's shoulder with his remaining hand. "I owe you my life. Thanks!"

  "Don't. We are family! No need for this between us." He chuckled, nodding at him as brothers would.

  "Still!" Poli ughed happily, squeezing Leinor's shoulders, "I'll buy you a beer when we go home!"

  "And what about us?" Isha cut in.

  "Okay, okay, for you two too!" He chuckled, "When Master brings back Rem, she gets a fruit wine from me too!"

  "I don't know about that; you saw how high she got. I don't think she can handle anything that is not water." Isha chuckled, but clearly, she was uneasy about Rem.

  "Don't worry. She will be fine. Master is on her way!" Poli patted his chest, visibly full of energy.

  "Yeah." All three of them nodded before concentrating on making breakfast and easing their worries. "You are right!"

  …….…..

  "This way…" Niji murmured as he crouched on the ground, touching the dried blood on the fallen leaves.

  "I just hope she is alive when we get there," Ren grunted.

  "You do what?" Kang asked calmly, cracking his fingers.

  "If she is fine, I'll beat her up until she can't recognize herself in a mirror." Ren answered simply, "If she is injured, I'll heal her, then beat her into a pulp."

  "Killing her would be… bad." Feynor added with concern, "She must be influential, judging by her powers… and if she is this strong, it would be hard to beat her if she has recovered."

  "Hard? No, no, no… It would be fun." Ren chuckled with a dangerous grin, "She owes one of her hands to me because my disciple is missing his! The minimum is that I'll rip it off and spank her with it!" She snorted with evident anger in her voice.

  "Rex, Ren…" Niji sighed. "The foxes are one of the main tribes here and they are... not to be trifled with."

  "How high are they in the pecking order?" She asked after a big breath, but she wasn't so convinced... yet.

  "Top three, at least." Niji shrugged, "They have a leader, a white fox... They say she was the first of theirs to evolve. She is rarely seen nowadays, but her presence alone can kill others. She is someone... Ancient. One of our firsts."

  "Fuck her… and all of her tribe!" Ren spat, her blood boiling. "Sending out such a naive girl to make a big mess out of nothing! Great leader, my smooth ass, that! My hole farts out more logical thoughts than hers!" She rolled her eyes, still furious over what had happened, and Feynor just smiled, shaking his head, "Let's go; we need to catch up with that fox!"

  Ren simply shrugged, following Niji, knowing they were getting closer and closer...