Guardians of the Light [Chapter Twenty] Clash of the Titans
CHAPTER 20 - Clash of the Titans
“Gang’s all here.” Jin muttered as they looked over the four Mists that materialized into the Guardians.
Yuto dropped on his knees and healed Ryosuke while the other three guarded them.
“Move away kids. This isn’t your battle.” Toma said.
“Not ours? Then why did you take us in the first place?” Ryutaro asked.
“Well, it’s basically because you are the only one who could get the Hollow. It’s that simple, kid.” Toma chuckled. “You were just too naïve to believe everything that we said. Remember, not everything that glitters is good.”
“Not without my help, right?”Kazuya muttered, to which Jin nodded.
“Y - You manipulated us?!” Yuri screamed, his eyes blazing with fire.
“Obviously, you idiot.” Jin sniggered.
“Are you okay?” Yuto checked on Ryosuke, who opened his eyes. He nodded and stood up. When he realized what was happening, he stared in amazement at the Guardians.
“What are you doing here?!” he shouted, shoving Yuto and Yuri to the side as he strode in the direction of the Triad.
“Hey! Stop! Wait!”
But even before Ryutaro could pull him back, Ryosuke threw a rapid fist at Toma, hitting him in the face. The latter staggered backwards. Kazuya and Jin pushed him back up and glared at Ryosuke. The Guardians watched as the two gave Ryosuke a combination of kicks that threw him back to where the Guardians stood. Keito shifted his footing and the ground ensnared Ryosuke’s hands and feet.
“Don’t try to do anything as stupid as that or else we’re dead.” Keito said.
Ryosuke struggled but failed. Yuri squatted so Ryosuke can see him eye to eye. He beamed at the struggling Ryosuke. Then his face became dead serious.
“Look, if you don’t trust us, that goes double on our part. But a certain prophecy binds us in this fight so whether we like this or not, we need to defeat the Hollow together. You get that?” he huffed and stood. “Keito, release him. If he tries to do something stupid again, I’ll castrate him.”
With those words in mind, Ryosuke stood between the Guardians.
“You don’t have to do this. This is my fight.” He murmured.
“You know, an old man once told me, the selfishness of a person can kill him. Just keep that in mind. We don’t want the light to die out.” Ryutaro uttered.
“But-” he was about to protest but Yuri stepped on his foot and faced him again.
“Did you just hear what he said? Or maybe you want me to fulfill that quote for you?”
Ryosuke shifted uneasily and faced the Triad back, who vanished and reappeared in front of them. Jin was in front of Yuri and Ryutaro, Kazuya was on Keito and Yuto's side, while Toma was at Ryosuke’s back. They formed a triangle around the five young men.
“Check mate.” Toma whispered on Ryosuke’s ears.
Adrenaline surged into Ryosuke’s veins as his heart pumped harder in his chest, increasing the blood flow in his body and to his brain. He pushed the Guardians off and spun. Keito, Ryutaro, Yuri, and Yuto dropped on their knees and glared at Ryosuke in unison. He spun harder and emitted light rays at the Triad. They leaped back and deflected the rays. As Ryosuke stopped, the Guardians stood up.
“Thanks for shoving us to the ground.” Yuri murmured.
“Yeah. If I didn’t do that, we’d all be dead by now.” Ryosuke answered back. “They shouldn’t be in that position once more. They’d use the Hollow to eat us up. He has done it before and it wasn't a good scene.”
“Right, I got that in mind. Now what we need to do is to separate them.” Keito suggested.
“But the prophecy says that we should beat them together.” Yuto interjected.
“LOOK OUT!” Ryutaro shouted and blew as a couple of plasma balls targeted them. It was a good thing that Ryutaro’s reflexes and aiming was good that the plasma balls were deflected easily.
“Stop arguing! Fight! You and you, fight the skinny, long tongued one!” Ryosuke said, pointing at Keito and Yuto. “You two fight that one on the right. I’ll get the one in the middle.” He ordered Yuri and Ryutaro.
The Guardians and Ryosuke flitted across the gap between them and the Triad. Yuto gave Keito a boost with his long hands, where the latter held a fist towards Kazuya. He dodged and pulled back, providing a space for Keito to stumble. He kicked Keito in the chest, making the latter squirm and fall to the ground. Yuto overtook Keito and wrapped his arms around Kazuya.
“Nice trick. But I have one of my own too.” Kazuya smirked and shot his tongue to Yuto who, from out of sheer intent of survival or disgust, recoiled and eluded every attack Kazuya made. He wildly flung his tongue at Keito and Yuto. The duo jumped from one side to another as they dodged. Whenever Kazuya’s tongue would hit a boulder, it would shatter and that was why the two were keen enough to avoid the tongue. Keito grabbed a large fragment of a wall and slammed it towards Kazuya. If not for his timely reflexes, Kazuya would’ve been a mashed potato. He soared into the air and stared down at the Guardians.
“What a pity. Can’t fly?” he teased. A quick blur passed by his back. He recognized it to be Jin, followed by two equivalently fast Mists; a red and bluish white one. “That idiot, he had two kids running after him.”
“Keito, now.” Yuto whispered. The said person stomped his foot on the ground and just below Kazuya, a projection of land, which looked like daggers shot up.
“Shit!” Kazuya doubled on the air, in an attempt to avoid the attack. He pushed his foot up using the blunt side of the earth as leverage and gracefully stood tiptoed on the tip of the sharp mound of earth. “You kids are boring.”
Jin was being constantly chased by Yuri and Ryutaro in the air, with the former laughing hysterically whenever the two Guardians would come near but would fail to capture him. Yuri puffed fireballs at him which he constantly evaded. Ryutaro on the other hand was calm in position covered by his Mist.
“Is that all you can do? Huh! What a waste!” Jin shouted at Yuri.
“You want more eh? Why don’t you stop running away you coward?” Yuri shouted back.
“Coward? Me? Ha! You’re just an idiot.”
Ryutaro snapped to his senses. He pushed hard in the air, which he controlled to be able to accelerate his movement. He reached his hand out to touch Jin's foot. As Ryutaro pushed harder, he got hold of Jin's right foot and held on to it as Yuri followed behind him. Ryutaro hurled Jin to the ground with all his might only to fail as Jin whirled on air and landed feet first on the ground. They followed him and threw fireballs and air spheres at Jin. The target blocked the attacks with his plasma balls.
“Looks like this will be a tough one, Ryu-chan.” Yuri whispered.
“You’re good in hand in hand combat right?” Ryutaro asked. Yuri nodded. “Think fast.”
Ryutaro blinked and sucked in deep, his lips facing Jin. A huge stream of vortex soon spurted between them. Jin, who was too confident before was being sucked towards Ryutaro and Yuri. He tried to run but to no avail. He tried flying too but it was no good. Jin grinned and fashioned a plasma ball in his palms. Without hesitation, he tossed it against Ryutaro. The plasma ball ran in a faster rate that if not for Yuri, who deflected the ball with a fire pillar, Ryutaro would’ve been eating plasma balls for midnight snack.
“Thanks.” Ryutaro muttered out of disbelief.
“Ryosuke…” Toma grinned. The said person shifted his gaze to the battling forces around them. “You can’t stop me.”
He turned to glare at Toma. “No… I won’t let you.”
“How many times have you tried stopping me and succeed? Let me guess, not even once. You may have imprisoned me in that wretched thing but it didn’t stop me. I’m still here, right?”
Toma was cut off when Ryosuke’s fist landed on his cheeks, which threw him to a pile of boulders. The attack was followed by a speedy light ball that made a bright collision. Ryosuke smiled.
“Wipe that smirk off your face.” A voice from behind emerged, which made Ryosuke’s expression turn sour. A blunt blow on the back took Ryosuke flying to a wall. Toma raised his hand an emitted a plasma ball towards Ryosuke. The latter got up and flung himself to the side, evading the attack. The next scenes appeared as a blur when the two men aggressively fought each other. Every time Ryosuke would attack, Toma would easily block it, and vice versa. They were almost equal in power.
Toma evaded a light ball that Ryosuke threw at him that was followed by a well executed leg lariat. Toma was able to dodge the attack. However, he was pushed into a corner. As Ryosuke got up, he quickly tossed a fist at Toma. If not for Toma’s quickness, he would’ve been turned into rubble, just like what the wall had been. Another fist was flung that sent Ryosuke to the ground. In a quick motion of Toma’s hand, dark vines enmeshed Ryosuke’s limbs which immobilized him.
“My, my… Look at what we’ve got here. This view looks familiar. Ah, I remember. It was just like what happened before your old friends died.” He sneered. “Oh, maybe we can repeat that part of history eh?”
Ryosuke glared and struggled to free himself from the grappling force. It pinned him to the ground that he couldn’t move. Toma walked towards him and leaned down.
“Poor you. I thought you’d be better or at least stronger. You’re still the same old weakling that I have faced before.” the deep voice of the Hollow in Toma said.
Toma moved his fingers across Ryosuke’s cheeks, caressing it. The latter shook his head but Toma clasped his hand on Ryosuke’s face and smiled. He leaned in closer, opened his mouth, and hovered above Ryosuke’s lips as if leaning in for a kiss. Ryosuke’s face glowed a bright yellow light and a small stream of smoke exited from his mouth and into Toma’s. Ryosuke’s eyes bulged and cold sweats formed on his forehead.
The Guardians on the other hand were in a ferocious clash with Jin and Kazuya that they did not notice Ryosuke’s loud cries.
“No…” tears formed on his eyes as more and more of his life force as being drained from his body. He grew weaker and weaker. It was as if the Light in him was getting dimmer every second that passed. Ryosuke’s eyes closed and his breathing began to have periodic chances of apnea. He was fading slowly.
An explosion made him open his eyes as the connection between him and Toma was cut off. He caught a deep breath and coughed as he sat back up instantly. The restraints on him have loosened. Toma glared, but not at him. Ryosuke followed Toma’s line of vision and saw eight people that stood, looking at them with weary eyes.
Kota was in the middle, a shadow ball in hand. “Need help?”
“Gang’s all here.” Jin muttered as they looked over the four Mists that materialized into the Guardians.
Yuto dropped on his knees and healed Ryosuke while the other three guarded them.
“Move away kids. This isn’t your battle.” Toma said.
“Not ours? Then why did you take us in the first place?” Ryutaro asked.
“Well, it’s basically because you are the only one who could get the Hollow. It’s that simple, kid.” Toma chuckled. “You were just too naïve to believe everything that we said. Remember, not everything that glitters is good.”
“Not without my help, right?”Kazuya muttered, to which Jin nodded.
“Y - You manipulated us?!” Yuri screamed, his eyes blazing with fire.
“Obviously, you idiot.” Jin sniggered.
“Are you okay?” Yuto checked on Ryosuke, who opened his eyes. He nodded and stood up. When he realized what was happening, he stared in amazement at the Guardians.
“What are you doing here?!” he shouted, shoving Yuto and Yuri to the side as he strode in the direction of the Triad.
“Hey! Stop! Wait!”
But even before Ryutaro could pull him back, Ryosuke threw a rapid fist at Toma, hitting him in the face. The latter staggered backwards. Kazuya and Jin pushed him back up and glared at Ryosuke. The Guardians watched as the two gave Ryosuke a combination of kicks that threw him back to where the Guardians stood. Keito shifted his footing and the ground ensnared Ryosuke’s hands and feet.
“Don’t try to do anything as stupid as that or else we’re dead.” Keito said.
Ryosuke struggled but failed. Yuri squatted so Ryosuke can see him eye to eye. He beamed at the struggling Ryosuke. Then his face became dead serious.
“Look, if you don’t trust us, that goes double on our part. But a certain prophecy binds us in this fight so whether we like this or not, we need to defeat the Hollow together. You get that?” he huffed and stood. “Keito, release him. If he tries to do something stupid again, I’ll castrate him.”
With those words in mind, Ryosuke stood between the Guardians.
“You don’t have to do this. This is my fight.” He murmured.
“You know, an old man once told me, the selfishness of a person can kill him. Just keep that in mind. We don’t want the light to die out.” Ryutaro uttered.
“But-” he was about to protest but Yuri stepped on his foot and faced him again.
“Did you just hear what he said? Or maybe you want me to fulfill that quote for you?”
Ryosuke shifted uneasily and faced the Triad back, who vanished and reappeared in front of them. Jin was in front of Yuri and Ryutaro, Kazuya was on Keito and Yuto's side, while Toma was at Ryosuke’s back. They formed a triangle around the five young men.
“Check mate.” Toma whispered on Ryosuke’s ears.
Adrenaline surged into Ryosuke’s veins as his heart pumped harder in his chest, increasing the blood flow in his body and to his brain. He pushed the Guardians off and spun. Keito, Ryutaro, Yuri, and Yuto dropped on their knees and glared at Ryosuke in unison. He spun harder and emitted light rays at the Triad. They leaped back and deflected the rays. As Ryosuke stopped, the Guardians stood up.
“Thanks for shoving us to the ground.” Yuri murmured.
“Yeah. If I didn’t do that, we’d all be dead by now.” Ryosuke answered back. “They shouldn’t be in that position once more. They’d use the Hollow to eat us up. He has done it before and it wasn't a good scene.”
“Right, I got that in mind. Now what we need to do is to separate them.” Keito suggested.
“But the prophecy says that we should beat them together.” Yuto interjected.
“LOOK OUT!” Ryutaro shouted and blew as a couple of plasma balls targeted them. It was a good thing that Ryutaro’s reflexes and aiming was good that the plasma balls were deflected easily.
“Stop arguing! Fight! You and you, fight the skinny, long tongued one!” Ryosuke said, pointing at Keito and Yuto. “You two fight that one on the right. I’ll get the one in the middle.” He ordered Yuri and Ryutaro.
The Guardians and Ryosuke flitted across the gap between them and the Triad. Yuto gave Keito a boost with his long hands, where the latter held a fist towards Kazuya. He dodged and pulled back, providing a space for Keito to stumble. He kicked Keito in the chest, making the latter squirm and fall to the ground. Yuto overtook Keito and wrapped his arms around Kazuya.
“Nice trick. But I have one of my own too.” Kazuya smirked and shot his tongue to Yuto who, from out of sheer intent of survival or disgust, recoiled and eluded every attack Kazuya made. He wildly flung his tongue at Keito and Yuto. The duo jumped from one side to another as they dodged. Whenever Kazuya’s tongue would hit a boulder, it would shatter and that was why the two were keen enough to avoid the tongue. Keito grabbed a large fragment of a wall and slammed it towards Kazuya. If not for his timely reflexes, Kazuya would’ve been a mashed potato. He soared into the air and stared down at the Guardians.
“What a pity. Can’t fly?” he teased. A quick blur passed by his back. He recognized it to be Jin, followed by two equivalently fast Mists; a red and bluish white one. “That idiot, he had two kids running after him.”
“Keito, now.” Yuto whispered. The said person stomped his foot on the ground and just below Kazuya, a projection of land, which looked like daggers shot up.
“Shit!” Kazuya doubled on the air, in an attempt to avoid the attack. He pushed his foot up using the blunt side of the earth as leverage and gracefully stood tiptoed on the tip of the sharp mound of earth. “You kids are boring.”
Jin was being constantly chased by Yuri and Ryutaro in the air, with the former laughing hysterically whenever the two Guardians would come near but would fail to capture him. Yuri puffed fireballs at him which he constantly evaded. Ryutaro on the other hand was calm in position covered by his Mist.
“Is that all you can do? Huh! What a waste!” Jin shouted at Yuri.
“You want more eh? Why don’t you stop running away you coward?” Yuri shouted back.
“Coward? Me? Ha! You’re just an idiot.”
Ryutaro snapped to his senses. He pushed hard in the air, which he controlled to be able to accelerate his movement. He reached his hand out to touch Jin's foot. As Ryutaro pushed harder, he got hold of Jin's right foot and held on to it as Yuri followed behind him. Ryutaro hurled Jin to the ground with all his might only to fail as Jin whirled on air and landed feet first on the ground. They followed him and threw fireballs and air spheres at Jin. The target blocked the attacks with his plasma balls.
“Looks like this will be a tough one, Ryu-chan.” Yuri whispered.
“You’re good in hand in hand combat right?” Ryutaro asked. Yuri nodded. “Think fast.”
Ryutaro blinked and sucked in deep, his lips facing Jin. A huge stream of vortex soon spurted between them. Jin, who was too confident before was being sucked towards Ryutaro and Yuri. He tried to run but to no avail. He tried flying too but it was no good. Jin grinned and fashioned a plasma ball in his palms. Without hesitation, he tossed it against Ryutaro. The plasma ball ran in a faster rate that if not for Yuri, who deflected the ball with a fire pillar, Ryutaro would’ve been eating plasma balls for midnight snack.
“Thanks.” Ryutaro muttered out of disbelief.
“Ryosuke…” Toma grinned. The said person shifted his gaze to the battling forces around them. “You can’t stop me.”
He turned to glare at Toma. “No… I won’t let you.”
“How many times have you tried stopping me and succeed? Let me guess, not even once. You may have imprisoned me in that wretched thing but it didn’t stop me. I’m still here, right?”
Toma was cut off when Ryosuke’s fist landed on his cheeks, which threw him to a pile of boulders. The attack was followed by a speedy light ball that made a bright collision. Ryosuke smiled.
“Wipe that smirk off your face.” A voice from behind emerged, which made Ryosuke’s expression turn sour. A blunt blow on the back took Ryosuke flying to a wall. Toma raised his hand an emitted a plasma ball towards Ryosuke. The latter got up and flung himself to the side, evading the attack. The next scenes appeared as a blur when the two men aggressively fought each other. Every time Ryosuke would attack, Toma would easily block it, and vice versa. They were almost equal in power.
Toma evaded a light ball that Ryosuke threw at him that was followed by a well executed leg lariat. Toma was able to dodge the attack. However, he was pushed into a corner. As Ryosuke got up, he quickly tossed a fist at Toma. If not for Toma’s quickness, he would’ve been turned into rubble, just like what the wall had been. Another fist was flung that sent Ryosuke to the ground. In a quick motion of Toma’s hand, dark vines enmeshed Ryosuke’s limbs which immobilized him.
“My, my… Look at what we’ve got here. This view looks familiar. Ah, I remember. It was just like what happened before your old friends died.” He sneered. “Oh, maybe we can repeat that part of history eh?”
Ryosuke glared and struggled to free himself from the grappling force. It pinned him to the ground that he couldn’t move. Toma walked towards him and leaned down.
“Poor you. I thought you’d be better or at least stronger. You’re still the same old weakling that I have faced before.” the deep voice of the Hollow in Toma said.
Toma moved his fingers across Ryosuke’s cheeks, caressing it. The latter shook his head but Toma clasped his hand on Ryosuke’s face and smiled. He leaned in closer, opened his mouth, and hovered above Ryosuke’s lips as if leaning in for a kiss. Ryosuke’s face glowed a bright yellow light and a small stream of smoke exited from his mouth and into Toma’s. Ryosuke’s eyes bulged and cold sweats formed on his forehead.
The Guardians on the other hand were in a ferocious clash with Jin and Kazuya that they did not notice Ryosuke’s loud cries.
“No…” tears formed on his eyes as more and more of his life force as being drained from his body. He grew weaker and weaker. It was as if the Light in him was getting dimmer every second that passed. Ryosuke’s eyes closed and his breathing began to have periodic chances of apnea. He was fading slowly.
An explosion made him open his eyes as the connection between him and Toma was cut off. He caught a deep breath and coughed as he sat back up instantly. The restraints on him have loosened. Toma glared, but not at him. Ryosuke followed Toma’s line of vision and saw eight people that stood, looking at them with weary eyes.
Kota was in the middle, a shadow ball in hand. “Need help?”