Online In Another World

There was no doubt about it: when it came to raw power, it felt as though it was impossible to surmount the gap with just magical reinforcement against a system's stages. Still, through the usage of a veil of wind around himself and optimizing his reinforcement, he could at least perceive and react to Excelsior's attacks.

"Arondight!" Excelsior invoked an unknown technique.

Dashing across the shallow water with speed not unlike a bolt of lightning, Excelsior manifested a large, gold-and-platinum greatsword into her hands, nearly catching him off-guard before he manifested a grandiose spell in the form of giant, flaming arms that sprouted from beside him.

Excelsior spun around before slamming the enigmatic sword down after having leapt up, producing a roaring shock wave that was blocked by the armored, flaming arms. It was a clash of power; the strength of Excelsior's claymore versus the durability of his spell.

"Second impact!" Excelsior invoked.

–From the edge of the mystical blade, a secondary pulse emitted, breaking through the blockade of fiery limbs before the shock wave smacked against Emilio, briefly stunning him.

Being pushed, feeling some ounce of pain through his body triggered him to begin taking this bout seriously as his mana signature spiked. The water violently rippled around Emilio as his dense, magical energy became visible through its sheer quantity.

The bruises on his arms healed instantly, noticed by Excelsior who was surprised by the sheer mastery of magecraft wielded by the Dragonheart. Even more impressive was the supreme aura that surrounded Emilio, spiraling into existence around him like a hurricane.

"Woah there," Excelsior remarked quietly, "That's some aura you've got. You've been holding out this entire time, haven't you?"

"It's not an insult to you–I always have to suppress myself. If I don't, who knows what will be destroyed," he explained quietly.

Following up as he planned to weave a destructive fit of fire magic at the palms of his hands, the boundless sea around him began evaporating through layers of steam at the sublime heat. The level of destruction that was building up was that of the highest level of magecraft; spurring a crimson glow that expanded through the domain and even pushed Excelsior back through the sheer volume of heat alone.

Excelsior raised her hand amidst the vortex of heat, witnessing the foundations of the chaotic spell being woven. The heat of the flames continued exponentially increasing, violently roaring as the shade of red brightened, turning into a deep-purple glow.

'If he releases that spell, it could bring everything around us down,' Excelsior thought.

He was about to unleash the powerful spell up close and personal against the woman before–

"Alright, that's enough."

–Excelsior's words stopped him as the woman's guard dropped, ending the fight right then and there as Emilio looked at her, relinquishing his magic.

"Something like that might actually harm the seal…or get one of us seriously hurt," Excelsior remarked.

The woman's armor dismantled itself naturally as she looked at him with tired eyes, though holding a smile now, "You pass–with flying colors, I might add."

"Really? That's it?" He asked in surprise.

"If you're that capable without using your system, then that's enough for me. You went pretty hard for just a sparring match, but I dig that. I like you, Emilio," Excelsior smiled, giving him a pat on the chest.

"Guess I'm just a savant," he playfully said.

Excelsior had a half-cocked smile, "Well, I took it easy on ya, so don't get the wrong idea. Ash-boy never once beat me in a mock battle, you know. '205-0' is my record."

"Never? That's an insane record. You'd be a boxing legend," he remarked.

That comment spurred a laugh from the woman, "You're a funny guy, Emilio. I can see why Ash-boy felt inclined to do what he did."

Though he wanted to get out of the mystical domain they were in, the Reincarnator who seemed to have him beat in both experience and wisdom declined that idea.

"We need to lay low here–just for the rest of the day or so," Excelsior said, sitting down on the shallow water.

He hesitantly sat down near her as well, though not feeling very comfortable in the mystical domain, "Sure, but…why?"

"There are some pretty troublesome people after both of us. They're passing through this region of Ennage today–I learned that from the oracle as well," Excelsior said, "Trust me, it's better to let them pass than to confront them."

The realm around them was quiet and secluded; a good place to lay low and allow time to pass as it was certainly a far-off place to search for anybody. Even more, it seemed Excelsior had woven a barrier around the descent into the seal to prevent anybody from stumbling upon it while they were there.

"Alright, but what's after that? I need to get back to my family," he asked.

"I know, and I'll help you with that–I can promise that much," the short-haired woman told him, looking into his eyes as the promise was unmistakably genuine, "Actually, I almost forgot–somebody else will be joining us."

"Huh? Who?" He asked curiously.

"Another one like us–a Reincarnator. Not just anybody, either. Bastian Seraphheart–the "Strongest Reincarnator"--or so some claim. A pretty cocky title, if you ask me, " Excelsior told him with a shrug of her shoulders, seeming somewhat sour on the named figure.

"The strongest? Just how many of us are out there?" He asked.

"Who knows. Bastian has been looking for you, actually. I'm just here in the meantime to help you out while you're on Ennage, he's the real one that's going to train you up," Excelsior explained, "Seems there's big plans in store for you, Emilio-boy."

There was still a lot he didn't know, and while it was quite a bit to take in, some pieces began fitting together, namely what sort of threat the mysterious group–the "Children of Chaos"--posed.

'That group seems to have a focus on Reincarnators. Those faceless statues…I wonder if they're linked to the Faceless God? Either way, that means it's best to ally with the others. Excelsior seems trustworthy–Asher told me as much. This "Bastian" figure…the strongest of us? I want to meet him,' he thought.

There wasn't all that much to do to pass the time while sitting in the fog-filled seal, looking upon the statues and wandering around as hours passed. He found the short-haired woman once again sitting in front of the mysterious wall, gazing intently at it as he stood beside her.

"What is this? You've been eyeing it pretty hardcore," he asked.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Excelsior answered, putting her hand to her chin.

Sitting down beside the woman, he looked over at her, "So…your system, what is it, anyway? I couldn't figure it out."

"Yeah? Give it a guess."

"I mean, if our names are anything to go off of, with Dragonheart, Devilheart, and you're "Mytheart"--then your system has something to do with myths, right? That's kind of vague, though," he said.

Excelsior had a small smile before answering, "You're correct. I have the 'Mytheart System'--it gives me the ability to summon aspects of mythical creatures from our own world's folklore to empower myself. Pretty sick, right?"

Showcasing a portion of the power from her system, Excelsior raised her hand as she was able to momentarily morph her fist into what resembled the talons of a griffin–long, sharp, and deadly.

"Totally awesome," he agreed with a small laugh.

Excelsior extended her hand to him, "Listen. I can get you home, but I'd like to extend an offer to you as well: an opportunity to take out those who are responsible for what happened in your hometown. For what happened to your mother."

"--" Emilio looked at her hand.

"The Children of Chaos are elusive, powerful, and quite honestly, freaky as hell. But unless we act, we'll have to live under constant threat from them. You're not alone in this. There are others like us out there–let's take the fight to them," Excelsior said.

He accepted her hand, shaking it firmly, "I'm in."

"Glad to hear it," Excelsior smiled with a wink.

At least for the moment, he was able to experience some call as he made progress through the unknown–finding some answers and getting his mind off of the anxiety and guilt he had been weighed down over.

"You're from Earth, too, huh?" He muttered out while sitting there.

"'Course. My original name was Hua Mei. I was from China," Excelsior told him, "Usually, it's a bit of bad taste to ask a Reincarnator about their past life, but I don't care and I'm guessing you don't either.

He shook his head, "I've never had the chance to really…you know, talk about it?"

"You were with Ash-boy, right?" Excelsior asked.

"Well, yeah. The thing is, we never really had time to talk about anything. We were constantly fighting for our lives, it felt like," he explained.

A small laugh came from the woman as she rested her arms over her knees while sitting, looking up towards the wall in front of them.

"That sounds like him. Always a straightforward guy," Excelsior said.

Emilio looked at her for a moment, noticing that glisten in her hazel eyes whenever the subject changed to Asher.