The Phantom Riser

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO THE TRUE ENEMY

Lucas, Theodore, and Olivia continued their journey to the Rift Valley, along with the map and the three special items they had acquired with Kiro’s team. It was the only way that they could continue their journey and at the same time stop Jovak from following them. When they arrive at the Rift Valley, they could easily teleport to bring them back. That was the plan that Kiro had in mind. Kiro had put his complete trust in them that they would return and not leave them behind. Risky, but he trusted them.

“Are you sure they will be alright?” Olivia asked. Maybe because she hadn’t really seen them in battle, but she wasn’t feeling very confident in the entire plan.

“I’m sure they will be fine. Besides, Kiro even went as far as making me help Victor to unlock a new ability. Sage, he called it. I didn’t even think that was possible,” Lucas replied. If only he knew how pissed Aaron was at him and Kiro for helping Victor power up even more, he’d be less lax about the whole situation.

“He’s right. Besides, we’re just a few minutes from the fountain. We’ll be out of here in a moment,” Theodore said.

It didn’t take long to enter the Rift Valley. It was more of a cave than a valley, but the name on the map clearly wrote ‘Rift Valley’, so who were they to complain? They entered the cave. Beyond its entrance, the map didn’t read anything. Theodore was a little concerned about that. It meant that they would be unable to see anything coming. Even Kiro wasn’t sure exactly what was within the valley. He had merely heard of it. Within the cave was the reason it was called ‘Rift Valley’. An extremely wide valley, split in the middle; a rift. Hopefully, the condition wouldn’t be for them to jump into the c***k. No way in hell.

From behind them, an ominous breath changed the temperature of the valley. Shivers ran through their spine as they turned back to see what horrors awaited them. Alas, it was just a man. Theodore and Olivia heaved a sigh of relief. Why were they so scared? But Lucas was far from relaxed. The man standing before them was blindfolded and he had almost no readings on his energy levels, so he couldn’t even gauge how strong he was. Maybe he was some sort of gatekeeper or something. But the fact that he couldn’t read his mind gave him the same chills he felt with Kiro.

“You must be his friends. I can smell you on him,” he said. He was tall, with hair that defied gravity itself. His blindfold was a little creepy, but he wore a tunic and some comfy trousers. he looked fast. Very fast.

“Who are we talking about here?” Lucas asked. There was every hint of skepticism in his voice. He wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“Relax, mind reader. I’m not here for you. I’m here for the Phantom Riser,” he said plainly.

They took a step back. It became very clear who the man standing before them was; the Ranger that Kiro had spoken about. The one that was after him. Lucas signaled Theodore through telepathy that they should leave, but the Ranger’s voice halted their movement.

“There’s no need to run. If he doesn’t come eventually, I’ll come to meet him. Besides, they are going to die at the hands of Jovak. And that works completely in my favor,” he said. The fact that they couldn’t see his eyes made it difficult to read his emotions. His voice was bland, so that wasn’t much of any help either. Was he teasing? Bluffing maybe? Or dead serious?

“You don’t know what you’re talking about! Kiro will get out of there with the team!” Lucas yelled. It came out so impulsively that he didn’t notice till he was done.

“Oh, he’s a leader too? An inspiring one it would seem. No hard feelings. I have nothing against him. I think he’s a good guy. But some very powerful people want him dead. His fate is as good as sealed the moment his name popped up on my list. But Jovak is not one he can beat. Not even if they all work together. Don’t believe me? I’ll show you,” he said. He conjured up a screen midair. It showed the battle between Kiro’s team and Jovak’s.

“So, that’s how you’ve monitoring him?” Lucas snapped.

“Easy there. I have access to the command feed. Nothing special. Even the Test Instructor; Noah isn’t aware of this.”

“What has he done to deserve this?” Theodore asked.

“Nothing. He simply was unlucky enough to make a few high rankers uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough that they want him taken care of.”

“But that’s not fair!” Lucas cried.

“Nothing is fair, Riser. Having that much power isn’t fair to begin with. You deal with whatever hand you’re dealt. That’s life. If he can get out of this, he’ll come out stronger. Which is very unlikely. But he can never be safe. Know this and cut ties with him,” he said. And that final statement embrewed imbrued the valley with deafening silence.

***

System Update

Jovak Leonard

Skill Move: god Killer; a divine sword that cuts through anything.

***

While being quickly swallowed by a sea of roots, Jovak conjured the mighty weapon; god killer. It was huge. The size of ten swords and a hilt; a foot long. It cut through the trees in one swing, giving Jovak enough leeway to break free from their hold. He held the sword in his hand and in one swing, cut the entire forest into two. That wasn’t enough of course. The forest began to regrow as soon as they were cut down. But Jovak wasn’t done yet. He imbued the sword with immense energy. As Victor attacked the forests, Jovak responded with a single swing of his sword that decimated the entire forest in an instant.

Without giving Victor a breather, he went straight for Victor’s torso, aiming to cut him in half. Victor responded with bolts of lightning but that didn’t stop a determined Jovak. All that vigor came to a halt as his blade was caught by the blindfolded Ranger. Where he had come from or when he had arrived was completely unknown to everyone present. But his aura was intimidating. And that was only to scare them a bit. For they wouldn’t survive the full wave of his immense aura. “Sorry to cut your fight short, but I need this one alive,” he said.