Chapter 226 - The Ark Of Bryan

"How long are you going to stare at me until you ask my name?" asked the man, who shifted uncomfortably.

"I had expected you to introduce yourself," explained Mavislin.

"You first."

Mavislin elbowed the stickman. Ashley nearly spat out his soup.

"He can be best friends with you, Sassy Stickman," whispered Mavislin, with a deadpanned look.

"I'd rather not be friends with exploding balls..."

"Mavislin Roydon, leader of the Barren Pillars," said the Valkyrie, ignoring the stickman.

"So, you are the infamous Valkyrie!" yelled the happy mystery man.

"You sound surprised..."

"Well, of course! You are quite well-known to us small fries. My name is Bryan, no last name given, I'm afraid."

"Mage or Human?"

"Do I get a choice of 'both'?"

Mavislin remained quiet while she tried remembering the fella's name. She had heard it before, somewhere during her small journeys. But the ongoing fight at the Old Chapel snapped her back as she quickly felt Melancholia.

"Looks like you've used up all of your time, Time Mage," laughed Benjamin as he tossed the boy away.

"I might have but they don't call me a Triplet-Holder for nothing!" yelled Raiyen, glitching through the air.

"What?! How can you still teleport if you can't use your Time Element?" shouted Benajmin as his Melancholia spell inched out from the place he stood.

"Glitch was never a spell of the Time Element alone. If I can't use Time, purely, I mix it up with my other Elements."

Raiyen then unleashed a huge conga line of Radiant Storms, all aimed towards the Corrupted One. With several bolts raining down, there was no way the Corrupted One could exscape.

"Voltaic Dance!" yelled Raiyen, as his Aura exploded to full blue color.

Streams of blue electricity danced his forearms as he launched himself towards Benjamin.

"Raiyen can't take anymore... I have to go back," said the Valkyrie, standing back up.

"And where do you think you're going? There's no way you can defeat that Corrupted thing without a backup plan," said Ashley, quickly finishing his soup.

"I thought I was the backup plan?" asked Bryan, scratching his head.

"Who are you?" chimed the two.

"That was mean... Anyways, Minwoo sent me to find you two. But the priority was still the Valkyrie. He'd said you lot would need my help. Though, that was a few months back... And I can't seem to find him. But at least I found the Valkyrie," explained Bryan, pointing at Mavislin.

The Valkyrie felt a wave of sadness wash over her face at the mere mention of Minwoo. There others that she had to kill but none had such a lasting effect as the death of the late Marquess. Ashley felt the girl's change in mood and quickly answered this man.

"He's gone, he lost his life during the conflict between the Umbras," replied Ashley.

"Him? Well, I guess he is still human so he can't do much. Poor dude. But no worries, I'll still help you, even if my master is dead. So I guess, I'll be serving you, Lady Roydon," said Bryan, kneeling down to Mavislin.

"What makes you think that you can help us defeat that thing?" asked Ashley, skeptical about his help.

"Now that I think about it, you sound familiar... Do you know that Korean White Rat?"

"Answer my question, it's more pressing," replied Ashley, slowly getting irritated.

Bryan nodded as he took some of the crystal balls and tossed them to Mavislin. She caught them with ease. They were small, roughly the size of gr.a.p.es. The Valkyrie and stickman look perplexed as Bryan merely smiled.

"Earlier, I said I was both Mage and Human. Because of that fact, Minwoo thought that a Hybrid would beneficial to defeat the Corrupted One."

"And how's that gonna help?" asked Mavislin, playing with crystal balls.

"Because my powers are not in those crystal balls."

Bryan snapped his fingers. The empty pot exploded but was mitigated by Mavislin easily.

"Using those as a decoy... Even if you can make the Corrupted One's garments or weapons explode, it's still not powerful enough to kill."

"The Element Of Touch need not always explode. I only choose that because the Husks are easier to deal with explosions."

Mavislin's eyes widened as she heard what power this man possessed. The Element Of Touch could tip the balance of the Elements.

"So this is what happens when a Hybrid is born..." murmured Mavislin, worriedly.

"So, do I pass the test?" asked Bryan.

"Well, I'm not responsible for your death or wounds." said Mavislin, nonchantly.

"Yes!" cheered the new member.

Mavislin and Ashley raised their eyebrows in confusion and merely shook their heads. The familiar roar of Ysabeau's true form shook the ground, rendering impossible to stay any longer.

"Hybrids are strong in their own ways but do remember that you have a limit. Your cap is way lower than us Mages."