The Phantom Riser

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE - FEAR ME (3)

Before coming out of the portal, Karenia found herself lost in the middle of nowhere. A desolate wasteland. The scary thing wasn’t that she was alone in the middle of nowhere, but that she couldn’t sense any life form around. She paced about, trying to see if she could find anything. “Kiro!!! Victor!!!” she beckoned but was met with deafening silence.

“You won’t be joining them any time soon I’m afraid. That is if you will be joining them at all,” a voice said. The echoes gave her a feeling that he probably wasn’t in one spot. She closed her eyes, concentrating as hard as she could on her surroundings in a bid to locate the voice she just heard, but no luck.

“Who are you?” Karenia asked. Hopefully, if they spoke long enough, she might be able to pinpoint his location. “Are you the one who brought me here? Where is ‘here’ in fact?”

“Questions, questions. You’re not the one in charge here. You won’t be here forever, so enjoy it while it lasts,” he said.

“Well, since we’re both stuck here, the least you can do is talk right? Aren’t you bored?”

“It’s just three minutes, so I think I’ll be fine.”

Three minutes. That wasn’t too long. A lot could happen within that time though. Another problem was that if he was using a special skill and his limit is three minutes, then that means his level is considerably higher than hers. And her frenzy mode would run out before whatever this space was, did.

“If this is your doing, shouldn’t you have the upper hand here? Or are you afraid of a girl?” she goaded.

“You can’t provoke me so don’t worry. Besides, I know better than to underestimate you. You’re a prodigy like I am. So, rest, you’ll need it.”

“A prodigy?”

“Rest.”

A prodigy with a higher level than her and an ability she’s susceptible to was a lot more than she could handle. So, she sat straight on the ground.

***

System Update

Karenia Zari

Skill move deactivated: Frenzy

Time left: 00:40

***

A few minutes later, Karenia walked out of the portal holding Jovak’s teammate’s; Leroy’s head. “That was one tough Riser. So, who’s next,” Karenia goaded.

“How did you get out? You’re weak to illusions,” Jovak asked. For the first time, he was far from pleased.

“Don’t worry about it too much. You’ll get your turn at a*s whooping. There’s plenty to go around,” she goaded.

Kiro pulled her towards himself with a force field sphere. “Are you okay? Do you have any serious injuries?” he asked. Victor was glad to see that she was okay.

“I’ll live. But if they are all as difficult as this guy, then we are in real trouble,” she said.

“I know. You know what to do right? We are taking them in one swoop,” Kiro said.

“Ready when you are,” Karenia said. Kiro passed a nod to Victor who also reciprocated.

“Isaac, Draiville, you’re up. Ardan is already on the move,” Jovak said.  

Isaac fired multiple laser beams at them. Kiro and Victor defended against them using a combined skill of Kiro’s force field and Victor’s earth. Karenia jumped from behind in an attempt to attack but she was a little too late. She found herself square with Draiville; one of Jovak’s men. He was a huge dark man. It was obvious that he was the strong type. Were they planning power to match her power for power? If that was the case, what a failed attempt.

Karenia charged with a straight jab at him and he countered the same.

***

System Update

Draiville

Skill move: Counter; absorbs physical attacks and reflects it two times stronger. This skill however can be overwhelmed.

***

Karenia was pushed back every time they collided. Kiro and Victor could see that things weren’t going to get brighter for her in that fight. “Victor, switch up. We take the fight to them this time. I’ll help Karenia out,” Kiro said.

***

System Update

Victor Vaneki

Special Skill Move Activated: Fire Cloak (The user is cloaked in fire. This gives the user a chance to buff strength and speed; the current buff percentage is set at 30%. The user is also capable of creating anything with fire with similar effects. The complexity of the creations is dependent on the user’s level. Each creation also has a chance to explode if dispelled; the explosion chance is set at 70%. The fire cloak also reduces physical damages currently by 30%)

Time Limit: 00:30

***

System Update

Victor Vaneki

Skill Move: Truth Seekers (Fireballs are deployed that can be controlled remotely or homed on a target. Special word spells give them special effects as well)

Limit: Six Fireballs

***

System Update

Victor Vaneki

Skill Move: Fire-Snake Hold (a snake of fire binds its target; possesses burning effects)

***

System Update

Victor Vaneki

Skill Move: Fire-Ox (An ox made of fire charges violently at its target. It is especially useful in taking down strong differences; possesses burning effects)

***

System Update

Victor Vaneki

Skill Move: Fire Falcon (a falcon of fire tears at its target with its sharp claws; possesses burning effects)

***

Victor launched a barrage of attacks on his enemies; a full-scale assault. Isaac’s beam deflected off the ox while the truth seekers were set dead on Isaac and the others.

***

System Update

Isaac Wayne

Skill Move: Watchful eye; a large pool of energy appears above the user and shoots lasers at anything that comes close; acts as both a defensive cover and a counter.

Time limit: 00:45

***

Isaac deflected Victor’s attacks while also shooting large beams. At this point, Victor’s fire blasts were on par with Isaac’s energy beams so they canceled out.

Kiro jumped straight between Karenia and Draiville putting up his shield to repel him. As they fell back to the ground, he cushioned Karenia’s fall with his body. “Hey, are you alright?” Kiro asked.

“Yeah, I’ll live,” Karenia replied. She shrugged off the pain as she struggled to get to her feet. Kiro held her up. Her legs were wobbly. There was no way she could face Draiville in that state.

“Take a time out. Let us take it from---” Kiro said, but before he could finish his statement, Karenia stabbed with a knife right in his stomach!