5/4/2019

  1:25 AM

  Julius and Lian had finished their meals and were at the bar section of the outdoor restaurant. The cool air, pool splashes, and people talking made the vibe. However, the two weren’t there just to relax. They were listening carefully to everything and everyone around them.

  Nothing odd since they got to the bar or when they were eating…until now.

  Opening the phone, Julius sent a text message to the group chat. Immediately, he got a text back from King Valtoris and Solomon. The two asked how urgent it was because that could be bad news if it reached that point. Julius texted that if he or Lian gets involved, it is all hands on deck.

  Solomon sent a few messages, urging him not to fall for it. Otherwise, New Orleans would be in a panic.

  Disappointed, but Julius sent back a message, agreeing with him. He turned off his phone and put it in his pocket. Leaning to Lian’s side, he told her not to look.

  “They look drunk.”

  “Yeah. I assume back on Raal, you guys have fights in pubs.”

  “All the time.”

  “Well, here it happens, but it’s hard to settle.”

  Lian took a sip of the iced tea cocktail. “Is it the laws?”

  “Both sides would be handcuffed and sent away for interrogation.”

  As Lian put her cup down, she was then confronted by two men. They weren’t from the fight. It was some random encounter. Julius was like oh no. Don’t do it. He prayed it wouldn’t go too far. Unfortunately, his pessimism was right. The two tried to advance, prompting Lian to react.

  She nudged the two away. For some reason, they persisted.

  Julius pulled out his phone, sending a quick message to the group chat before turning it silent. He then turned to them. “What are you guys doing?”

  He got a good look at the two men. Both were jacked like an average playboy who was or continued as a football player. They were clean-shaven and soulless, and their smiles were creepy. The one on the right wore business casual, while the left had a tucked-in polo shirt with cargo pants.

  “Long boy. Stay out of this.”

  “Fuck, no! I’m with her.”

  The right one zoomed in on Julius. “Then you’re not doing a good job—”

  Wham!

  Fucking alcohol breath. Julius rubbed his nose and looked at the guy tumbling back. The latter’s forehead blistered and swelled up in an instant. Like a balloon, it popped, splattering blood and taking that guy into a jolt. His clothes were ruined and collapsed to the ground.

  The polo shirt guy took a few steps back while keeping his focus on his bleeding friend. “Look, we don’t want trouble, alright. Let us go.”

  “No can do. Everyone here is not going—”

  Slam!

  Julius then turned around. “Jesus…Stop being a disgrace to yourself,” he muttered to a bearded guy he just elbowed to the chest. He collapsed to the table, shattering it in half.

  Someone had called the security guards and extra men because multiple of them appeared at the restaurant’s entrance. They demanded that everyone else leave. Some ran, but most stayed.

  Solomon and King Valtoris had warned about this in the group chat, but oh well. Julius deployed magic for the first time outside of Colemond in person. He fired a spell at the crowd that stayed behind. A heavy wind pulled the scattered crowd into one spot. Lian got out of her seat and fired a different spell, summoning a barrier.

  The police came. Loud sirens could be heard outside.

  For some reason, the fight from earlier was still going on, so Lian sprinted and grappled the three guys and crashed them into the pool.

  Julius hopped to one of the vacant, dirty tables and launched right into the crowd of officers, security guards, and men.

  Kaboom!

  The entire pool area and the hotel rumbled after a thrustful punch. Multiple men were thrown into the air. Lian launched out of the swimming pool like a missile launched from a submarine. She did a tornado kick, twirling at rapid speed. A gravitational force expelled from her boots, dragging them into the pool.

  More police came in, and Julius made himself slide through the lot. He thrust his leg out, kicking one of them. Body cameras shattered into bits. Radio and clothes were shredded. Following that, he went for a spinning crescent kick. All were knocked out before drawing their tasers.

  Shatter!

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  Kaboom!

  A plume of smoke erupted two stories up. Julius sensed King Valtoris’ qi. Oh no. He realized there was someone else.

  “Out of the way!!!” King Valtoris yelled.

  Lian swiftly fired and cast two spells, grabbing everyone nearby and teleporting them somewhere else.

  King Valtoris came through the smoke like a projectile. He was gripping a cloaked individual from up high and crashed into the swimming pool.

  All of the water burst into the sky in the shape of a beam. The hotel began to rumble, and a huge crack developed along the perimeter of the pool. Julius turned back to the restaurant to find the people were still there. “Lian!”

  Crumble!

  The pool area collapsed, taking him, Lian, King Valtoris, and the individual down multiple floors.

  Clearing all the dust, Julius summoned his sword, Valence, as the rebel mage stood up from the rubble. Solomon’s qi spiked, and his aura arrived right behind the mage. His silhouette towered over the rebel, and his orange eyes flashed with sparks.

  “Get out of here!” With his active aura, he took one heavy step forward and swung his battleaxe.

  Kaboom!

  A wide plume of smoke roamed Bourbon Street.

  Julius exhaled, clearing the smoke inside the remaining lobby.

  “Rebels are here?!” He asked Solomon.

  “A fucked up timing. We can’t stay here anymore. Empress Cai told me that while King Valtoris was dealing with that rebel, we have a big problem in the Gulf. Thousands of rebels had arrived. Some are already in Texas, and half were set to take over this city and Louisiana.”

  Fuck! Julius’ mind yelled, sending boils down to his spine. He looked around and kicked a table out of frustration. The disguises were all off, and Julius went back to his usual clothes. “Alright, where are the others?”

  “Oh, wait,” Lian said, jumping up the level where the pool formerly was. The three watched her fire a spell for a moment. “There, done. Those people should be safe now.”

  King Valtoris summoned his sword and dashed out of the hotel. “Ling Wu and the rest were already outside a minute ago. Let’s go.”

  All exited the hotel. Julius flew up with Lian and was presented with a wreck of terror and fire.

  Downtown New Orleans was invaded by flames and sparks of conflict. The angry waves from Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River crashed into the city. Both sides of the city, north and south, were flooded. And water was flowing towards the center, which was not a good thing. For all Julius and many people knew, the sea level in New Orleans was terrible.

  Not even like above zero. It was in the negatives.

  The portals and rifts began to crack open. Red and dark qi spewed out as cloaked rebels and various negative ailments revealed themselves to the city.

  Like Downtown, some had already arrived with terror.

  King Valtoris exerted his green aura and charged to Downtown. Solomon headed to Lake Pontchartrain, where the huge rifts are.

  “What direction are you heading to?” Lian asked.

  Julius looked at the lake and south of New Orleans, where the Gulf of Mexico was. “I’m going to follow Solomon. But before we do…” He placed his left palm on the spine of Valence’s blade and handled the sword like a rifle. Golden qi surrounded his hands. He aimed the blade at the target. The navy ships were at least twenty miles away. For one deep breath, Julius flexed both of his forearms, firing a beam of blue and gold energy.

  When the beam struck the waves, he let his left hand off the blade’s spine and lounged forward with a thrusting motion, directing the beam farther into the gulf. Once he felt the pressure and force, he yanked the sword back and gave one swinging motion. His ears heard a massive explosion from many miles away. That should start something over there.

  He turned back to New Orleans, asking Lian. “Shall we?”

  Lian nodded. “Let’s go.”

  The two headed on to Lake Pontchartrain. Julius glided down into the scenery, dodging rounds of explosives. Bits of water and steam flew into his face while speeding through. Heat swarmed his entire back as he was about to do a landing like a seaplane. His arms moved in the opposite direction, pulling him into position. The feet hit the water first, creating a rippling effect. More water splashed into his face. Not this crap again.

  Julius landed on the surface of the water. His qi cleaned his face of all the sweat. Lian landed on the water, standing beside him.

  The rebels surrounded the two.

  Julius put Valence on his back and summoned his upgraded AR-15. He hadn’t used it outside of demos, so this was his first time trying it. One pull of the trigger fired a cannon blast from the barrel’s small muzzle. Because it was qi, the recoil was much stronger. His strength prevented him from the massive recoil.

  The blast grew wider and longer as it sped away from the muzzle. It struck at the rebels, effortlessly decapitating their heads. A manifestation of a meat grinder, as it was clean cut, and it didn’t surrender when it crashed into the ground, further tearing it apart. Smoke and debris filled the scene. Multiple farmer silhouettes charged from within the debris clusters, prompting him to set the rifle to automatic.

  [Skill Count: 79] + 1

  Goodness! There are so many of them, like fucking insects. Julius ranted in his head. He casted a spell, 除法, and stopped firing his rifle. A thin, mirror-like object was summoned a few inches in front of the nozzle. He then pulled the trigger, turning a beam into five. It was like watering the garden with a shower hose nozzle.

  Lian had to exert her dark aura to prevent herself from getting hit by one. With her body protected by her qi, she thrust her hand out and grabbed a fragment of the beam. The beam turned into a giant orb fueled by her darkness. Then, she threw it at one of the portals, obliterating it into a pulp.

  Blood bath everywhere until Julius got bored and brought back his longsword. The rifle disappeared into his inventory. He summoned a surge of qi after firmly gripping the hilt. The dark qi emerged from the blade's edges, swarmed his whole body, and he unleashed an entire colossus-sized pillar of black energy at the large rift.

  Lian teleported away as the energy erupted over the lake. “Look out!”

  Julius turned around.

  Clash!

  Valence’s blade stopped a few inches from the opponent’s strike to Julius’ torso.

  “How fucking rude,” Julius muttered.

  Lian’s face turned sour as if she knew who it was. “Brother?!”

  Julius’ eyes rose. “You two know each other! What kind of family drama is this crap?!” He thrust his leg right at the cloaked individual.

  Lian demanded that the individual remove his hoodie. Julius watched him do so. He noticed how similar the two were, leaving him with questionable thoughts. I hate family dramas.