The Phantom Riser

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - THE INCOMING WAVE

Nuri had lost. And he didn’t lose to the team, he lost to the Ascient. It was a completely one-sided fight. And worse of all, Jovak had to witness it all in real time. He had been remotely watching the fight. The fact that Victor left a message for him through Nuri must mean that he might have been aware that Jovak was watching. Or was it another coincidence? At this point, he wouldn’t put it past them, even though his level was way higher. It was all worth it though. He had a good chance to see what they were capable of. The Ascient’s fire cloak would be especially troublesome to deal with. Other than that, he was fine. The beast could be handled too. But he Phantom Riser… that was the problem. The true extent of his abilities were still unknown. It was known that he was the one that took down Isaac, so he is definitely not all talk. But if he had that much of a problem against Isaac, he shouldn’t be too difficult. Jovak was confident that he could take out both Nuri and Isaac together. Even though part of him wished Kiro’s team were just all talk and hype, he was glad. He would at least derive some joy when taking them out. And he would come to be known as the man who single-handedly took out their team. Recruiting them was an option though. He wouldn’t mind having such strong subordinates. But the Phantom Riser was too much too much to deal with. Jovak would rather avoid all that trouble. He didn’t seem like a person that listened to orders much. If not, he would have tried to recruit Kiro when they met. It looked like he had a different vision. Set on a faraway target. But nonetheless, it was clear what he needed to do; take them all out.

Jovak was lost in thoughts when Isaac approached him again. “What do we do? Nuri lost. It was embarrassing,” Isaac said. He had a neutral expression. Although his words said otherwise, he didn’t look like he was condemning nor mocking Nuri.

“We take them out. I’ve given them enough time to mature. They’re ripe enough,” Jovak replied. His expression was cold. Like all the happiness in his heart had been stolen from him. They were alone. This was the only time that Jovak could be true to himself.

“You’re worried about the Ascient’s ability?” Isaac asked, noticing Jovak’s worry.

“Not just him. The Phantom Riser,” he replied, barely stealing a glance at Isaac. His fingers were steepled under his chin like he was in deep thought.

“You’re not wrong to worry.”

“Am I different?” Jovak asked, catching Isaac off guard.

“Where’s this coming from?”

“Nuri. Why was he afraid to come back?” The concern on his face was genuine.

“You’ve changed all right. But it's not a bad thing. In order to survive in this new world, one needs to adapt. I think he was desperate to prove his worth. So desperate, that he could not see through the façade to show to the others.”

Jovak let out a soft smile. He wasn’t entirely settled yet, but there was little time to be moping around.

“I wish we had just been a group. It would have been much easier.”

“Come on my man. Look at what you’ve assembled. What you’ve achieved.”

“We could have done it together.”

“We are doing it together. Nuri is still alive. We can fetch him later if he doesn’t return. I’m sure he can find a way to stay alive. Besides, you have powerful team mates. Even more powerful than me.”

“They are really impressive, I have to say. I can’t see us losing.”

“Why not leave them to another? We are not the only ones after their heads after all.”

Jovak was silent for a while. His eyes narrowed as if he was looking into a distant future that only he could see. “That’s what worries me. Why would they send a Ranger to assassinate them? That’s a bit overkill if you ask me. How much of a threat do they possess to make anyone send a Ranger after them? I am really curious.”

“Well that’s what makes them ideal targets for us. What scares me though is their growth rate. It’s way too fast for their levels. Neither the Ascient nor the Beast was as powerful as that when they fought me. Their growth is tremendous. If I had fought them in their current form, I would have lost way sooner… we haven’t even seen what the Phantom’s growth is like yet. We can only assume it to be the same… or worse,” Isaac said.

“Have they found the other two items yet?”

“They should have.”

“Good. That should save us the trouble of looking for the Phantom. He’ll come right at us.”

“Do you still intend to take in their abilities?”

“It does look tempting. But they look like too much trouble. If they pose so much of a threat to the higher ups separately, imagine combining them in one body? Powerful yes, but I don’t want to be targeted by people that high up. It’ll hinder my goal.”

“So why are we still going after them?”

“Personal satisfaction. And payback for what they did to Nuri.”

A Riser spoke loudly from the mouth of the cave. “They have arrived my lord!” he said.

“I will be out now,” Jovak replied. He strolled out of the cave with Isaac walking beside him. Slowly, his cold expression faded and was replaced by his terrifying grin. It was a face he wore when he was with others. He was strong, but his conscience got the better of him most times. He had suffered a great deal as a regular human for being nice. Well not this time. Life had given him a chance to start again. He wasn’t going to take the path of the nice guy. No one ever listened to nice guys. Good guys never changed anything. And for the sake of what he hoped to achieve, he would wear a mask. A façade of emotions that had no place in his soul. He would take on all the hatred and turn it into a weapon. A weapon strong enough to take down those who put them in this mess in the first place.