Chapter 3- Clash of the Titans

  “They say he’s as strong as Thalen—the strongest S-ranker…”

  A soldier dropped his sword, his will to fight vanishing in an instant.

  “What’ll happen to us?!” another sobbed, drowning in a frenzy of fear.

  “Can the general alone take care of him?!”

  “No, it’s impossible!” cried another one, glued to the ground where he fell.

  It was only the beginning… of despair. Lioren’s gravity was truly terrifying.

  “I’m surprised, Taren,” the beast roared, as he advanced – his each step creating a crack on the earth. It was clear – he was bad news. “Your soldiers, who were full of hope a minute ago, have all turned pale!”

  There Kael and Mira were still locked in battle with their opponents, both wounded badly—but little attention was paid to their own fights. Even their enemies were distracted. Every pair of eyes had turned toward a single man, slowly but steadily approaching Taren, radiating pure menace.

  Taren, a sniper best suited for long-range combat, stood frozen. His bullets were useless—the overwhelming gravity bent their paths midair, rendering them powerless before they could even reach the beast.

  “What’s happening?! The reinforcements should’ve arrived by now!” Kael barked, eyes still locked on the advancing threat.

  “Sir, bad news…” a soldier rushed to Selric, who sat on the ground, bloodied and breathing heavy. “Reinforcements are delayed—by ten minutes!”

  “What do we do?! The men are already losing morale…”

  “Tsk… this is turning ugly,” Selric muttered, anxious for perhaps the first time. The sky was already turning dark. Then—click—an idea struck him. “Wait, that trick Taren told me the other day…”

  He snatched the mic from the soldier’s hands.

  “Attention, all my brave soldiers!” Selric’s voice echoed across the battlefield. “The reinforcements are delayed by fifty minutes! But I believe in you—you must hang in there!”

  “F-Fifty?!” one soldier gasped.

  “It’s over… we’re finished!” another shouted in despair.

  Selric grabbed the mic again, now wearing a sly grin.

  “Correction!” he shouted. “There was a mistake in the report. Not fifty. Only ten! You just need to hold out a little longer! I know you all can do this!”

  “Ten?!” “Only ten?” “We can do that!” “Let’s hang in there!”

  A cold, frightful voice cut through the hope like a blade.

  “You guys sure are having fun there, no, Selric?”

  All eyes turned to a lone figure standing atop a nearby cliff—cloaked in white, aura radiating power.

  “That aura…” Lioren muttered. “He’s… an emperor.”

  In a blink, the man vanished from the cliff—reappearing right beside Selric.

  “Yo, Selric. It’s time,” he said calmly, offering a hand.

  “Jon—I mean… Hate! I didn’t think you’d actually come!” Selric exclaimed, forcing himself to his feet despite his injuries.

  “Who the hell are you?!” Kael roared. Taren fired two quick bullets.

  Splash!

  The bullets were obliterated mid-air—by a sudden burst of water.

  “It must be the Water Emperor!” Lioren stiffened. “What in the world is he doing here?!”

  “Oi, Selric!” Kael shouted, panic in his voice. “What’re you planning to do?!”

  “It’s pretty clear, Kael,” Mira said, her tone cold. “He’s abandoning us…”

  “I had a good time with you guys,” Selric said, raising his hands, “but I can’t stay stuck here forever under royals and nobles…”

  He pointed directly at Lioren.

  “I want to grow stronger—strong enough to defeat even you, monster.”

  The man’s eyes narrowed.

  “…Something’s coming. It could mean trouble.”

  “We’re leaving,” he said. Grabbing Selric’s arm, the two vanished—swallowed by the dark.

  Lioren immediately turned to Taren, preparing a large-scale attack. Suddenly, all who stood were pulled to the ground—the gravitational force had spiked, crushing and overwhelming.

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  A fiery object streaked across the dark sky. A meteor.

  Half the soldiers were still paralyzed by the mysterious man’s appearance. Some were lost in the shock of Selric’s betrayal. Others could only gaze helplessly at the massive meteor barreling toward them.

  “We were never a match… not against a top-tier S-Ranker,” Taren muttered as his pistol slipped from his trembling hand.

  “What are you all doing?!” Kael roared, desperation cracking his voice. “We have to stop that thing!”

  “No matter what we try… our attacks can’t stop what’s coming,” Mira said coldly, her voice barely above a whisper. For the first time, her composure broke. “Looks like this is where it ends… sad, isn’t it? How unpredictable life is.”

  She smiled faintly through her sorrow. “I just wanted to see my family in Bergia. Just once more…”

  Kael fell to his knees, fists clenched.

  “Forgive me, Lyra… my love,” he whispered, his voice trembling. “I couldn’t keep my promise…”

  “Oooh, so even the hot-headed general has a soft spot…” a voice echoed from above.

  A figure appeared in the sky — and in the blink of an eye, he shattered the meteor into tiny fragments with two glowing swords.

  “Reinforcements!” a soldier shouted, hope flickering back into his voice as he spotted two figures approaching from the front — and one landing from the sky like lightning.

  “That outfit and badge…” Mira whispered, eyes wide. “These two must be the royal guards… and that one— the new commander-in-chief!”

  “R-Royal guards, you say?!”

  “If they’re here…” another soldier picked up his fallen sword, adrenaline rushing through him, “then the Emperor must be serious now…”

  “There are four of them in total,” Taren muttered, retrieving his pistol. “They’re called the Four Pillars of the Nation… the strongest beings in the empire, right after the Emperor.”

  “Elite soldiers — even among S-rankers.”

  “Two of them together can even deal with an emperor!”

  As the battlefield stilled, all eyes locked on the newly arrived figures. The one who had shattered the meteor — Izak — touched the ground with a thunderous landing. The other two joined beside him.

  “Oi, Izak!” called out the other royal guard, Faeron, pointing at Lioren. “Handle this meteor guy. We’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Don’t underestimate me! I’m the strongest S-ranker!” Lioren barked, the air around him distorting from his gravity field.

  “You’re underestimating us, kid…” Izak growled, tightening his grip on his dual blades. “We’re the strongest ones here.”

  Lioren planted his feet, aura swirling — his ability slowed Izak’s approach, but couldn’t stop him. Izak burst forth, blue energy engulfing his swords as Lioren clashed with red, gravity-infused power.

  Elsewhere, Faeron had summoned massive, terrifying beasts — creatures of nightmares — that tore through the battlefield, scattering the vice-chiefs. The new commander-in-chief, Malrik, moved among the wounded, helping those who could still fight.

  In the sky above, the real battle raged.

  Izak’s swordplay was insane — speed, precision, flow — while Lioren’s control over gravity kept bending space itself. The clash of their powers painted the night: red and blue streaks flashing through the sky like dancing comets.

  Some on the ground said they were perfect rivals — that both would fall. Others argued Izak’s elite training would carry him to victory.

  “You might be the strongest S-ranker in Bergia,” Izak called out, swords glowing with power, “but I’m the strongest swordsman in the world — and an elite S-ranker!”

  “Shut the hell up, you damned Bergian pet!” Lioren roared back. “You’re just the emperor’s dog!”

  “What did you just say?!” Izak snapped. “The Emperor doesn’t rely on us for nothing!”

  He lunged with full force — the blue aura erupting.

  “Hell… Oi, Izak! You’re taking too long!” a voice rose from the ground — it was Faeron, his beasts still causing chaos below.

  “Let me enjoy this battle!” the swordsman growled. “It’s been ages since someone pushed me to my limits…”

  The clash raged on — wild and unpredictable. Neither held the clear upper hand. Both were monsters in their own right, unleashing their powers in full. Just blurs of red and blue — lights that clashed, chased, hunted, and tore through the sky like furious storms.

  “Interfering in this kind of deadly combat could mean death,” Faeron muttered, his gaze locked upward.

  Then, suddenly—

  “That’s enough. End it now.”

  A cold, commanding voice echoed from the nearby cliff.

  “Far too many lives have been lost... this shouldn’t continue.”

  There was something in that voice — not just command, but urgency. Anxiety.

  All eyes — once locked on the sky — now turned sharply to the cliff.

  Three shadows stood silently against the moonlight, their presence alone halting the winds. One of them stepped forward — his eyes burning with a flame more intense than his aura.

  It was Rai, accompanied by his two comrades.

  It was a dark night – half of the soldiers couldn’t even see what was happening.

  “It’s the flame emperor!” Soldiers stood stunned, perplexed what to do next.

  “That’s him! The one on the TV…” The soldier instantly recognized the face – the cold, frightening face.

  “Why’s he here?” General Kael roared, already exhausted by the endless comings and goings.

  “Wasn’t he supposed to be in a fight with the third guild?!” Taren calculated.

  “Don’t tell me defeated them all!” Mira said coldly.

  “Many lives have been lost – you say?!” questioned the new commander-in-chief, Malrik, “And what about the innocents your flames turned to ash, Flame Emperor?! Don’t speak of lives lost!”

  “You’re in no position to say that when you ordered the ruthless massacre of Anderians right after you were previously posted here two years back…” Faeron stated rudely – his summoned beasts halted, paralysed by the Emperor’s overpowering presence.

  There in the sky Lioren screamed, launching a compressed gravity sphere. Izak slashed through it with his dual blades. They continued to fight, little did they pay attention to the Emperor.

  “I destroy because I’m ready to be destroyed myself!” Rai surged upward, flames blazing, intercepting the beams of red and blue with a searing orange light, ultimately settling the matter down.

  “You think some fancy words can wash the blood off your hands?!” Kael lost his temper as he rushed towards Rai, who stood in the middle of the battlefield with the beasts worn out from fighting, and his comrades.

  “I never have said that my hands were clean… neither I said my actions were justified…I was never working for justice or equality. Those are illusions—impractical, empty concepts. People can never be equal!”

  “Then what the hell are you working for?!” Taren asked, perhaps angered for the very first time.

  “My only motive is peace…” Rai raised his hands forward, towards his enemies, “Peace alone can change the world!”

  There Saera was lost in her own thoughts.

  “Two years ago…massacre of Anderians…” Saera thought aloud, “You murderer…” Saera’s hands trembled, her heart racing. “You killed my mom and dad. I’ll never forgive you. I swear… one day, I’ll make you kneel in the dirt you buried them in.”

  “Oooh! Now we have a scary little girl!” Malrik teased, taking her lightly.

  Suddenly, the moonlight shifted—falling on a figure that had stood in the shadows all along.

  A man… calm, tall, a cigarette between his lips – it was Smoker.

  Kael’s voice trembled. “It… it can’t be.”

  “That’s… the old Commander-in-Chief…” Mira muttered. “He died in the Gerdon Fire…”

  “Why… is he standing with Rai?” Taren gasped, eyes wide. “Why the hell is he alive?!”

  Eagles officially take flight. From a war-torn land, a new hope rises — not just for Anderus, but for a world broken by the five elemental powers.

  Next Week in Chapter 4: The Hidden Scar

  The aftermath of war is never clean — and some wounds run deeper than battlefields. One of the core characters will confront a buried truth from their past, and trust me — it’s going to leave a mark. There’s more tension, more heart, and maybe a few tears.