Chapter 9 - FIREBALL!

"Wunderbar!... Khihihihahahahaha!" chortled the little Quack.

On his hand was a device, a scanner with a small gleaming screen on top that reads : Age - 32, Race - Human.

Directing it at Nagata Li who was sitting a regal lord in a pedestal, with his hand lazily resting top a table holding up his chin, he stared at the curious little Quack and the little thing he waved around.

"Yes!... It is!!" he exclaimed, high on excitement more so than his usual intoxicating and enraptured insanity or as many claimed, 'A Quack!'

Playing an annoying chuckle of mad giggles -barely able to continue he muttered, "But still a mystery to another mystery.. But still it's a discovery!" an upbeat giggle between his words. Every moment he spent were euphoric in his own space.

'Why's he here?' they fretted to the littlest bearded old Quack who captured their unwanted attention.

The highlight of the day, Nagata Li was one you would not dare assume a just born. Be it his memories were blanked he found himself enamored to the aroma of the room, a sense of being want.

"Intriguing really!" spoke out a man in the crowds, tall and proper, smart with ties and leather shoes of brown.

"Another question to an already giant mark. Speaking of, wouldn't he suffice for a king among your many lab rats! Professor Hummels?" smirking as rugged hands caresses his groomed beard -natural attire grew like moss in his chin.

Poking intricate verbal jabs at the little Quack.

Hummels couldn't or were it wouldn't or as he would and had always gone -too far in his own take on reality to be piqued. Instead a giggle he would and always shred, it was always queit at times with a whisper of eerie, and he trailed, "Oh!! It's you!! County Zack!!... Yes!! but who else not you!! Yes! always the funny humanitarian! but Yes!! this specimen... ahh yes! A King!" with little eyes reeking of menace choking Zack.

"Who cares if it's the first or no Mister Nagata, as a representative of Arthe I promise you a high position and riches beyond you can fathom!" with a tongue of gold, likely more than fifty of age a large man not tall but rotund pointed his luxurious cigar at the Descent, with a belly impressively large, wide and full of gold he promises the promising herder of blackholes.

"Money is power I'd agree Mister Timble but a man wonders, how many zeroes should follow the first to make it super?" Zack the sly remarked.

Timble, his beady eyes annoyed and challenged, he turned towards Zack with a dancing belly making waves on his luxurious tux, his mouth -massive, lots of times he rid of chicken legs to the bones in only a bite, "Know your place worm! I never heard of a case where poverty gives you courage wait! maybe it's the other way around, either way..." *Ahem* clearing his broad throat as nasty drizzle of spits flew, "You're still poor in the end! Wahah!" smirking as he then busied his hand with a handkerchief.

"Very Good! Mister Timble, It's about time you learned money would buy you a better script to spew I was frantic thinking a pig was living under all that suit." reciprocated Zack in turn.

Erupting laughter and whispers of giggles in kind, the regal Li smirked as do the ever giggling little Quack -Profesor Hummels.

"Steak!" a siren then captured the noise, beneath the busy public of tongues, a woman set right in her business suit of black.

An euphonious voice not loud but capturing calmed the loud public of tongues.

Her eyes slanted and piercing, if not her glasses her gazes could slay and impale and it set their sights at Nagata and she boldly claims, "Steak! I offer you steak!"

Li bemused yet curiosity struck him in a sudden lightning as he smiled to the simply yet alluring proposal.

For Maw, the day still endured a battlefield for words that came from the representatives. As always men with weights on their words spoke -Zack from Liendry, Timble from Arthe, Hummels for science or as he claimed and Lady Xiao Ling from Ensfield, the noise left out two more who were peculiarly silent but nevertheless it raged on their sonic bursts of arguments.

A fire, a march of lava is to come at the Out-lands far on the northwestern road of Liendry. A huge felled tree blocking the road -a clear trap, an ambush on either the ends of the tree.

Phillipi felt the incoming battle, an expectation all but extraordinarily right made his heart beat in the rhythm of a thundering drum, his menacing grin as Raul gulped, they screamed and yearned for a fight.

<ADRENALINE RUSH - RISING>

"I feel it! Damned I'd be wrong if I said I wanna sit this out." he growled, unnerving Raul who felt in him a raging thirst for trouble.

Phillipi could tell without in need of seeing what was bound to happen. He knew well, Fiora was not one to stutter in the face of any danger or anything or anyone in that matter. She was well known to stand her strict ground always with her high black military boots, fiercely you might add with her dark red high collared overcoat and the lining of golden on every end, dressing her a disciplined but fierce attire.

Her four soldiers or as she often would shout were too similarly dressed, all but varying in little designs.

There they stood ready, Five against numbers unknown. With not a grin of excitement on each of their faces but no shred of fear instead with dignified stances of confidence, calm and collected they stood straight and ready with their cruisers on their back.

With a resounding roar,"Show yourselves!" Fiora commanded, assuming her rightful assertion.

The Out-lands were untamed, vast and wild, towering trees stood in hordes, only the paved road of grey remained touched by men.

Fiora and her pride of lionesses awaits the unseen hyenas.

Their patience much to the driver and Raul's dismay invited a discordant bursts of laughter echoing from the shades of the many trees. One by one they then appeared: the hyenas, the bandits -who made the Out-lands their home, runaway vile criminals and outlaws who were shunned and cast out.

They were of no threat to oppose a force like the well-feared Fiora, since census declared more than Ninety-nine percent of power-borns served their respected towns and the rest lived as mongrels on the Out-lands. Which beg a question to Raul who weakly stuttered at the aroused Phillipi, "Do-don't they know it's Fiora? they're up against?"

"They got balls!" harsh and throaty still, with ever a maniacal smile Phillipi admired the bandits.

Raul was flabbergasted, the little boy who seemed so mature now acted a battle hungry mongrel, "It's stupid to fight an already losing battle." he explained.

"Yea! but you gotta give credits where its due, just watch them bro. it'll be epic!" from the right side of the truck they peeked their heads as Raul the taller hid behind the younger Phillipi.

"I will not repeat myself..." among the many bandits who made more shadows on the fallen tree roared a giant man, "Scram! but leave the goods." shouted the giant.

All muscles and no hair -with only a pair of boots and pants, his thunderous steps would scream a shout if they did not fear the man himself, with a wide grin of confidence having no fear shown to the well-feared lady of fire and lava.

"I will not repeat myself as well! Surrender now or surrender after violence!" roared Fiora back.

"Ohhhh!!!!" exclaimed the giant teasing cowardice, as his littler henchmen followed, their bountiful laughter reverberates the windy air, "I like you lady! I knew we're the same cause I didn't mean to let you all leave even if you ran with your tails behind your legs."

"Are you resisting arrest?" not an inch she moved nor she ever did.

Her question was met with the giant crackling a smirk as he came crashing down the road, cracking a dusty meteor and just then it was clear he was a power-born.

The spectacle of the giant made the driver and Raul dropped their jaws but to Fiora and the other four, these were but all too familiar.

As the dusts from the giant's crash fades slow, his back was watched by many a numbers of bandits all blinking eagerly for menace. Slowly walking towards the five ladies who still stood but a readied statue.

"Bandits these days don't fear even the upper echelon." slowly with a face of worry said the driver.

"I-I don't get it... They should fear her... I don't get it,, I don't get it... I don't get itt!!" panicked Raul, hands on his grim cheeks he shook his head in fright.

Phillipi -his blue eyes enamored by the abundant action that was to come was bothered by the incessant murmur of the weak-kneed Raul.

"Don't be a bitch dude!!... we're way over here!"

Raul however was too far gone in his panic that no sound reached his ear, not the sound of the battle cries of the bandits or the harmonious charge of Fiora's capturing shout, nothing until Phillipi hauled him down by his shirt on the neck and promised, "Bravery!! You need it for a new life!"

Short words which calmed the timorous as Raul slowly nodded.

"If you aren't upto it, just use your perk!" blue eyes speaking to the soul within, Phillipi managed to inspire Raul, albeit wierldy.

"I can hide?!" he muttered weakly.

"Yea! hide, run whatever, Just do you... anything but just not a bitch!" said Phillipi with fluffy attire he turned towards the fierce battle of two parties.

"uh-okay... Tell me when they're done."

Raul whimpered, he shied away his eyes of dreary mourning his peace as he faced the end of the carriage but just as he blinked for a breather a bandit with a mask, with a pink hairy stout for a nose, a mole like power-born sprouted and sprang off of the ground, swishing out a dagger from his back, already set to lunge towards Phillipi who was blind on his back, an expert assassin, 'Just - give me a break!!' Raul cried in the sight.

<DANGER!>

Warned Aeyai with now the opaque blue menu was replaced with bright red but as Phillipi could tell her voice -, monotonous, he could somehow always tell the weight of emotions behind them, 'This one lacks one o'those!' he thought before suddenly feeling as if he was whipped down to the earth's core by the waist.

Raul in a flight, unbeknownst to his cowering mind lunged towards Phillipi, he the closer reached Phillipi's little waists with but just a fraction earlier and managing to tackle the little Phillipi just as the swooshing piercing sharp steel drove through the air, barely missing the falling little boy.

Phillipi craned his neck, as much he could to see who dare felled the great revenger, he saw the dirt crumbling, lanky masked bandit now with two daggers - which he fiddled in both hands and the timid Raul with his raw-boned arms shielding with many trembles, who in his mind was a younger boy.

"Raul.. thanks and all but you can let go now!" tapping Raul's head, slightly in a worry.

Then,

*Clunk*

*Clunk*

Footsteps on the carriage like hammers on steel were nearing Phillipi, using blink came on his mind but he worries for the frozen Raul but then in his eyes he saw,

<Skill : Fireball>

<Cast Time : 0.67 Seconds>

<Radius : 6 Inches>

<Range : 45 Feet(reliable) 400 Feet(unreliable)>

<Mana Cost : 90>

<Cooldown : 8>

<Description : Hurls a burning ball of concentrated fire to burn any foe in sight. Dealing 200 fire damage/critical strike will deal *50 dmg per '×' multiples of critical rate procs. As well as inflicting burn on a target, leaving a *20/sec fire damage per '×' multiples of critical rate over time for 5 seconds.>

*Clunk*

And then a stop, "21!" muttured the bandit as Phillipi rather still excitable saw the bandit's eyes which leered downcast at the two boys, they were curiously supernatural with red veins pumping insanity all round his muddy white pupils. Reeking of murder the bandit then readied one of his dagger, ready for a down-thrust of a killing strike.

<Cast your arm out>

Aeyai advised, and the master followed.

<Aim>

Instinct called Phillipi to bend his fingers making a finger-gun.

<And cast.....>

<FIREBALL!>

"FIREBALLLL!"