CHAPTER 24: THE FORGOTTEN ELEMENT

As the mystical gauntlet was swung by the thief leader again, the force emitted from the metallic knuckles like a thunderstorm, blowing away another row of barriers. With such abundant material already in attendance, the youthful mage raised his hand, stopping the momentum of the broken slabs of soil and stone. Using the remaining walls left standing in unison with the broken bits, he sharpened them all, creating a rain of earthen arrows fixated above the thief.

"Eviscerating Tera."

With a wave of his hand, he commanded the thousands of shards to plummet upon the lonesome thief. Elias’ expression remained unfazed as he cocked his gauntlet back, facing the sky before thrusting his fist upward–THWOOM.

This time, the force was undoubtedly greater; Leon attempted to plant himself down, though found himself being lifted off the ground by the rippling wave of power. All of the projectiles in the air were blown away into small, insignificant droplets.

’Alright...That gauntlet is a problem–I guess he’s been stealing some high-end gear,’ he thought.

Just as his feet returned to the ground with a rainfall of sediment, his eyes met with the thief in front of him. He ducked down, staring at the ground as the gauntlet was swung right over him.

The noise made his ears pop, like a cannon firing right next to his eardrums. As he looked up, he found the free hand of the thief reaching towards him. From what he gathered of the "Plunder System", he needed to avoid being touched at all cost.

["Subjugation"]

Strands of silver energy wrapped around the bandit’s body, humming with a capturing force.

"—Hrm?!" Elias grunted.

A unique skill meant only for the capture of beasts, though the effect it had on people acted as an impractical stun. It only held the thief for a second before the shocking bindings were broken by his natural strength.

A second was enough time, however, as a combination of fire and lightning was packed into Leon’s fist, allowing the dual elements to swirl through his limb like a mystical strength.

"Dragon-Slaying Blow."

Just as Elias was able to move, the fist packed with magical power was slammed into his gut.

The direct hit denied the notion of a "level difference" as the impact roared with a thunderous collision, casting embers and sparks in all directions. As Leon pressed his entire strength behind his fist, he sent the fellow reincarnator flying back with a thunderclap.

Above, the gloomy clouds parted in observation of the fantastical display of magical power. As the cold air became heated in the wake of the impact, the thief managed to catch himself on his feet.

While it was unnerving to see the direct blow brushed off, the steaming hole left in the bandit leader’s uniform, exposing his bruised chest, set those worries aside.

"I felt that one, I’ll give you that," Elias complimented, exhaling with a wince, reaching his arm out into the black void conjured by his side once more.

Leon held a sphere of swirling mana in his hand, intertwining the natural elements into one, transcendent form, looking ahead at the man who stood opposed to him, "--I’m going to ask again that you withdraw. This isn’t about money or anything like that. I just believe...With the extra chance we’ve both been given, this isn’t what we should be doing. Slaughtering those you don’t agree with–there are better ways to do things."

From the void, the gauntlet was gone from Elias’ arm, withdrawing in its place a greatsword with an emerald handle, "What do you suggest then? Men like Haul are above prosecution by the law. Your way of thinking is naive and juvenile. The workers who died–I saw their families–children without fathers, mothers in despair, left empty by the greed of one person."

"I’ll think of something, so just give me some time–" Leon requested.

"That’s what you want me to go off of?! What will you do when the person you’re trying to save ends up killing another innocent?!" Elias shouted, demanding an answer.

"You’re not a god that gets to decide who lives or dies, either! You’re bound to make a mistake, bound to kill people who are innocent themselves—!" Leon retorted, using both hands to funnel mana into the coalescence of elements.

As his magic swelled and the blade wielded by the bandit became to shine with a malicious light, it was clear—

The only convincing argument was force.

["He won’t take what I say with any meaning unless he knows it’s coming from a respectable force

."]

"All things considered, you’re a really talented fighter!" Elias shouted.

The sudden compliment caught Leon off-guard, watching the enigmatic greatsword wielded by the thief hum with a greater shine. In much the same fashion as the shame-fueled dagger, only the inverse.

Elias’ boot slid forward, turning his hips as the radiant blade was brought down. From its glow, a hum like that of a whale call vibrated through the summit.

In the same breath, the magic formed of the united elements was born. It was the highest form of magecraft he had studied, accessing a mastery that would take lesser geniuses a century of learning–

["The Forgotten Element."]

A hefty sum of mana was required that even left his peerless reservoir feeling dry as his limbs ached from the sudden deprivation. Just the creation of the apex element made his body sweat, teetering on the brink of passing out.

He pointed it forward, allowing it to unravel like a wind that swallowed up the air it traveled through, burning, freezing, solidifying, melting–an all-encompassing form of energy.

Once it was fired, there was no going back—

Perhaps Elias would die, or perhaps he would; the Forgotten Element was a fickle beast, not so easily tamed.

The air contracted and expanded, rapidly shifting with air hot and cold; the fluctuation caused it to vibrate. As the ripples shook the mountain, the light of the unleashed force became blinding. Beyond his own calculations, he was engulfed in the same force. As it was born of his own mana, his body resisted, though was not immune.

As quickly as it came, it was gone; the Forgotten Element was dispersed.

The sky above was left glossy as translucent fragments of dust trickled down like snowfall. As far as he could see, the entirety of the plateau, once of hearty soil, was now smooth glass.

’A convergence of creation and destruction; malevolence and benevolence–an apathetic magic,’

he witnessed tiredly, looking down at his hands.

The entirety of his right hand was left in much the same state as the ground he stood on, finding an absence of his once pale, clear complexion, now of glass like that of a translucent doll. He closed his fingers, clenching his fist as he felt the sensation clearly, even seeing his veins through his crystalline flesh.

’Shit...I overdid it. Beatrice told me to never read those grimoires, let alone use it–but, I guess this guy honestly pissed me off,’ he thought.

There was no sight of the thief, not so much as a glass statue left as he looked in each direction. As he feared the worst, his eyes widened, only just then realizing–

"Plunder."

–As the voice met his ears, he blinked, realizing the man was right there the entire time, as if somehow he hadn’t noticed him. With that revelation, a feeling echoed through his body, bringing him to his knees as a distinct emptiness resonated within.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

As he looked up, he found what he had lost, what had been stolen, held in the glassed hand of the thief–his still beating heart.

"How...?" Leon weakly asked, clutching his chest, finding no wound.

There wasn’t so much as a meager beat within him, only a harrowing silence that sat silently in his body.

Elias knelt down to speak to him eye-to-eye, "I stole your perception of me. You see, stealing something as vital as a heart, I need to have direct contact for at least ten seconds. Normally, that’s pretty hard against somebody as tough as you, but if you don’t even know I’m there–it’s different."

"That’s...how...?" Leon forced the words out of his panicking body, reaching his hand out for the core piece of himself.

Elias withdrew the beating heart as if holding candy away from a child, "In about forty-six seconds, you’ll lose consciousness. Another thirty after that, you’ll be dead."

"--" He remained silent, saving what little breath was left in his lungs.

"I understand where you’re coming from, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, when you’ve experienced the grimy sides of humanity that I have, you see things for what they are," Elias reasoned, explaining calmly. "Valuing life itself, even if it belongs to a scumbag...It’s naive, but it’s not bad. I’ll let you play out this childish idea of yours, Zack."

Hearing that name be used, the young man clenched his chest, looking up at the one of petrifying, amethyst eyes. Despite finding his heart held in the other’s hand, it seemed the words he expressed prior had not gone unheard.

"If there’s a better way...I’ll hear you out then," Elias admitted with a tenderness to his words, reflecting in his irises. "Show me that Haul can live, and that nobody else will be hurt as a result. But, if anybody ends up hurt by your choice, then the guilt will lay on you. The Brotherhood will have a new target if you can’t follow through."

With that promise, his own consciousness flickered like a buzzing light bulb. As his ears picked up nothing but the passing winds, whispering with quiet melodies, his vision wavered until–nothing.

["I...lost?"]