The earth flowed down the mountain. Rocks crashed down on the camp. Trees snapped and broke. The very ground itself bucked and shuddered, threatening to turn liquid under Ike''s feet. Terrified, the boy clung to Ike''s shoulder. Ike held on tight, sprinting at his full speed. Wisp dashed ahead of him, asionally pausing to make sure he kept up. He had to use his Lightning Dash, but with that, he was able to keep Wisp''s pace.


    Behind them, the ck-robed mages fled. Thendslide crashed down on them. What should have been unfeeling earth chased each mage down with a vengeance. Rocks leaped up andnded direct hits on the mages'' heads. Clumps of earth rose up, looking almost like hands, and dragged them down into the depths. Not a single one escaped the flow of earth.


    Thendslide chased after Ike and Wisp. Both of them sped up, struggling to break free. Ike cast a nce left and right, but thendslide coursed down the whole mountain slope. There was no easy escape.


    Abruptly, Wisp slowed down. She ran alongside Ike. "Grab me."


    "Huh? Why?"


    "I can get us out of here, but you have to grab me. Now!"


    Ike shrugged to himself. He grabbed on. Wisp nted her feet. Instantly, the earth roared toward them. A hundred feet, fifty, twenty…


    A rock hurtled at their heads. Ike lifted a hand off Wisp''s shoulders to fire a punch at it. Green shockwaves intercepted the stone and shattered it. Shrapnel rained down on them, shing skin and pelting them with bruising strikes. Ike ducked his head, covering the boy with his punching hand. "Wisp!"


    "There!" One thread connected to each of Wisp''s hands. She yanked with all her might and threw herself forward, into the air. They arced out over the slope of the mountain, momentarily airborne. As they fell, so, too, did the mountain fall away, so they could gain a little more time airborne.


    That''s going to hurt, Ike thought, looking down.


    From above, they could see the entirendslide. Ike nodded, finally understanding Wisp''s n. Of course. Once they were airborne, they could get they of thend and figure out where to escape to.


    Thendslide coursed down this slope of the mountain, but to the right, a second slope stood unharmed. Wisp fired another thread and yanked herself off to the right. Theynded with a thump, and Ike staggered away. The boy grabbed his shirt tight, so tight it began to strangle Ike. Ike patted his hands, begging for a break. When the boy let go, he set him on the ground.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "So… what is this kid?" he asked, ncing at Wisp.


    "A problem," Wisp replied.


    The kid bared his teeth at her and hissed like a cat.


    "I gathered that much. What kind of problem?" Ike specified.


    "The kind you die for," a voice whispered in his ear. Something cold closed in on Ike''s back.


    Without turning, Ike instantly activated Ice Armor and Lightning d. A de bounced off the ice armor, then ttered to the ground. Its wielder cursed, bouncing backward. She shook out her hand. "Lightning armor?"


    "Sure." Ike whirled. He drew his sword and closed in on her.


    She lifted her hands. A st of wind caught the broad side of his sword and blew it to the side. Before he could retract it, she gestured again. A de of wind flew toward his neck.


    Ike''s eyes widened. Ice climbed up his body, barely freezing his neck over before the wind de struck. Most of it bounced away, but a thin red line opened at his throat. It began to seal over instantly as Smander Healing took over. Nheless, Ike grimaced. I let down my guard. I need to be better than this.


    The mageughed. "A foolish swordsman with a few defensive tricks will never—"


    Lightning flickered around Ike''s feet. He shed out again, one-handed this time. The mage deflected his blow again, still chuckling, but she didn''t deflect his off-hand. He punched at her gut. She jumped back, barely dodging—and then a deep wound opened on her side.


    "W-what?" she gasped, stumbling away.


    Ikeughed, secretly sheathing his invisible wolf dagger. "Just another ''defensive trick.''" He chased after her. Halfway there, he pulled the wolfskin around him and vanished.


    She raised her hands. Wind des shed at the ground and air where Ike had been. "No one can escape my barrage!"


    "Incorrect," Ike whispered from behind her. He slid his sword between her ribs. Blood flowed. She stumbled forward, then fell to her knees.


    Ike yanked his sword out. He stood over her, wary of anyst-second moves.


    Instead, she chuckled. Blood sttered over her face as she coughed. She shook her head. "You don''t know… what you''ve done. Who you''ve… angered…"


    "Yeah, well, neither did you, and look how that worked out for you," Wisp said, then paused. She looked at Ike. "That was kind of a self-own, wasn''t it."


    "A little bit," Ike agreed. He nodded at the boy, who had watched his whole fight without a single scream or fright. The boy gazed at him in defiance. Despite the powerful skills Ike had disyed, he still remained utterly fearless. "What is he?"


    "First, go grab that orb of hers," Wisp said, nodding.


    "Oh, orbs?" Ike scurried over to the girl''s body. As Wisp had said, a small yellow orbid beside her. He snatched it up. It shone, perfect and wless all the way through. He sent a small pulse of aether into it, and got the impression of wind. A sense of rejection ran through him. Not as strong as the rejection he''d had to the sword technique, but rejection nheless. He rolled the orb around in his palm, then pocketed it. Now wasn''t the time. If he''d reject it, he needed time and safety to properly absorb it. The leftover ck-robed mages,ndslide, and newly acquired feral child in the near vicinity did not give him the time or peace he needed to handle the rejection.


    "So… the kid?" Ike asked.


    A deep, friendly voice replied. "He''s the same as me."