Chapter 614 The Abandoned Town

"Manny to Group, Manny to Group. Do you hear me?" Manny called as Keng and Manny continued on their way towards the town. Keng marked the area of attack as they slowly moved forward.

"Liz here. I read ya." Liz replied.

"Ritsuka. What's up?" Ritsuka replied.

"Lee Seng and I came across some bandits. We managed to dispatch them, but I think their could be more elsewhere." Manny informed them. "They were pale like snow and had pointed ears like Elves. They could use Ice magic, too. Even had enchanted swords that could afflict frost onto me."

"Are you two alright?" Liz asked.

"We're fine. Lee Seng managed to not get a scratch on him. Lucky." Manny pouted. He eyed Keng with an evil glare. Keng didn't bother to even look back at Manny. There were other things to worry about than Manny's ego being bruised a bit. "Other than that, we're fine."

"Good." Olivia answered. "Can you send some pics of the Bandits for reference?"

"Lee Seng?" Manny called out to Keng. Keng sighed and tapped his watch. A few seconds later, a beep came onto Manny's watch. "Got it?"

"Yup." The other four members spoke in unison. The four were quiet for awhile as the sound of snow crunching beneath Keng and Manny's feet grew loud. The snow wasn't too deep. Keng seemed to pinpoint where the deep spots were and directed them away from them.

"Well…" Evan's voice broke through the temporary silence on comms. "They're literally pale like snow."

"And they manipulate ice?" Olivia asked.

"Mmhm." Keng answered, looking left and right.

"Ice magic. Pale as snow. Tall, I assume? And pointy ears like Elves?"

"They fit the perfect description of Ice Elves honestly." Keng commented. "They're talented at blending in with their surroundings. I couldn't even register them before we were ambushed."

"So we should be careful then." Ritsuka sighed. "How's that sword though? Have you used it, yet?"

"No." Manny replied. "Haven't seen another Ice Bandit in sight since then." They trudged on for awhile, finally seeing the first glimpses of the town. "The town! It… It looks like it didn't die." Smoke rose out of the buildings of homes. Lights were still on while the odd contrast of old cars rusting away sat in patches of overgrown grass on concrete.

The roads were paved and a strange feeling came upon both of the boys as they took it all in. It was pristine in all of the ways that it shouldn't have been and at the same time, it wasn't. Keng and Manny slowly made their way closer to the town.

"Oh! I see it too!" Liz announced.

"Same." Ritsuka added. "It looks… Like people actually live here."

"Could it be an illusion?" Olivia asked.

? "I'm not sure, but keep your guards up. You don't have me around to heal you." Manny reminded them.

"We aren't you." Liz brought up. Keng glanced at Manny and noticed he was embarrassed about something he didn't know about.

"Y-you! Shut up! That's all I have to report on! Manny out!" Manny quickly tapped his watch and silenced the communication. Keng could hear snickering as a smile grew on his face. "L-let's go!" Manny pushed him forward as Keng began to jog.

"Comms will be active. Hit me up if you get anything." Keng told the group.

"Roger. Good luck, Lee Seng!" Olivia spoke.

"What the heck is all of this?" Manny asked, looking around. They walked in the middle of the road as they both looked in opposite directions as they moved further into the town. "The houses are in pristine condition."

"These cars… They're just rusting." Keng commented.

"And there's lights on in that one!" Manny pointed.

"And that one." Keng pointed. Manny looked at Keng, shocked such a thing could happen all the way out here.

"Did someone restore this place? They couldn't have, right?" Manny asked Keng. Keng shrugged. He didn't know why the abandoned town was like this, but it did make everything feel a bit more… Eerie.

Each step caused a small ripple as Keng and Manny moved into the town more. Keng could tell there wasn't anyone inside. Manny moved to the nearest house and walked up the cleaned pathway to the front door.

'The snow has been cleared too.' Keng observed. 'Who could've done such a thing?'

"Hey, Lee! Come look!" Manny shouted. Keng hurried up to Manny as Manny stepped to the side.

"What?" Keng asked peering in. There was a hot meal on the table. Keng had sensed this with his blips, but he thought nothing of it.

"Why's there hot food here?" Manny asked. Keng shrugged as Manny pushed past him and into the room. "It's even nice and toasty. Maybe we should stay in here for a bit." Manny moved further into the room, pulling at his armor.

"We're here for the VIP, remember?" Keng reminded Manny. "Not to lounge around in a creepy abandoned town with electricity and hot food on the table." Keng began to turn to descend the steps when a blip alerted him of something at the end of the pathway. Hydrosphere appeared in his hand in an instant as he was about to throw the dagger. A small pointed ear girl stood at the end. She was bundled and looking up at him.

"What're you doing here?" The little girl asked. Manny's ears perked up at the newvoice. He started to wander over when a cold front rushed towards him. A blast of ice fired off, slamming Manny onto the opposite wall. Before Keng could even turn to defend himself, a cold finger ran itself down the side of his face.

A single cold breath flew out of his mouth as his eyes started to close.

[Sleep is being used on the User.]

Keng gasped as he forced the Resonance fire to light within him. It was a strange reaction to the cold shutting his body down, but Keng snapped out of it, swinging the dagger straight for the person who touched him. A cold gust rushed past him as he the door slammed against the wall.

A large blast of ice held Manny against the wall as a large Ice Elf stood in between them.

"I told you not to leave the door unlocked, dear." The male Ice Elf spoke. He turned to look past Keng with his cold white eyes.

"We were only to be gone for a moment. I didn't think a human would show up." A female voice spoke behind Keng. Keng grunted as he swung his elbow out behind him. A gust of cold air fluttered, leaving snow in its place. The little girl was still watching from the end of the pathway as the female voice appeared behind Keng. "What should we do to this human, Bob?"

"We should kill them for breaking and entering our home, dear." The male Ice Elf replied. The female Elf raised her hand as ice began to build in it. "Execute them, dear."

"Execute, I shall, Bob." The Ice Elf woman replied. Frostbolts fired out as Keng narrowly disappeared from sight. The little girl stood in her place, watching the frostbolts shatter in front of her. "Emily, come inside. It's way too cold for you to be out there."

"But I want to play more, Mom." Emily protested. The mother sighed as she moved into the door frame, beckoning the young Elf to come inside.

"Come before the humans cause more problems for us." The mother instructed her child. Emily groaned as she started forward.

"Lee!" Manny shouted. "Lee! What did you do to him you, you cold bitch!"

"This one has a mouth on him." Bob raised his hand. Ice fired out at Manny as he squeezed his eyes shut. The sound of explosions echoed all around Manny. The screams of the little Elven girl, Emily, grew loud as the mother began to shout. The house exploded sending the Elven Mother and Father in different directions.

Keng gritted his teeth as frozen water and light pooled around Keng and Manny. A blinding light kept Manny from seeing anything as Keng pushed the frozen water and light away. A blast of energy fired out, destroying the road and opposite house in an instant.

"Bob!" The Eleven Mother shouted as Bob flew past her and Emily. Emily screeched in horror as Keng turned and shattered the leftover ice with ease. Keng wrapped his right arm around Manny and sprinted away.

Keng's breaths were the only thing Manny could hear while the wind whistled in his ears. MAnny opened his eyes, noticing strange lights around him. He looked right, seeing Lee Seng's face as they continued somewhere far away. When Keng figured out they were far enough from the Elves, he came to a stop and kept Manny in his arm for a bit longer.

"Let me go… I think I'm gonna—" Manny turned, puking on the ground as Keng felt some puke get on him. He flicked it off without much thought and quickly turned to look around. "Why'd you… Do that… Don't you remember I get… Motion sickness if you… Go too fast?"

"We could've died." Keng replied, coldly.

'How come I couldn't sense the Ice Elves? There was no one in sight and I couldn't even register them through my usual Energy Sensing… What's going on here?'