Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (96 page)

She
ch
ecked the chainmail underneath her
long sleeved shirt and felt that it
hung
in its correct position as it automatically
snuggled
to
her
curves.
Her
l
eg and armguards were secure. The
boots, pants and shirt were all ready
as well
. Then
she
checked to see that
Fangs were clear in their scabbards.

Sarah
looked at the others and they too were checking their armor as well.

They
were all prepared so
they
nodded.

Off in the far distance they
all clearly saw that a battle was already underway as a fireball erupted from the roof of a tall building.

They
all looked at each other one last time just before Ben,
Poseidon
and Sarah
leapt out
of
the broken window and began flying together.
Their task was simple.
L
ure the Keepers
to this building
and act frightened until the others took the enemy by surprise.

Withi
n
three
hour
s
after the fight
initiated
Connor
had already
slain
seventy six Keepers who managed to make it pass the front line
s
. Sorono and Connor
fought side by side, but he had already defeated one hundred and eleven
foes
who foolishly chose to challenge him
.

Both his Dark Steel claws and Tool were bathed in as much blo
od as their wielders. Connor
wiped a stream of blood from
his
cheek
, that wasn’t
his own
,
and looked around the city, from the sky.

S
treaks of lightning
continued
zapping their ways to their intended target
s
from many locations, even though there wasn’t a cloud in sight
. Many colors of f
ire were flying
in all directions
,
like
enlarging
streams
of all hues
. Some Keepers, on both sides, created and m
a
n
i
p
u
lated magma from superheating
the soil and lobbed the
deadly
weapons at their enemy. Buildings were
constantly
bein
g destroyed and used as am
munition
,
just like the ponds and other water sources were being
drained and
used
for
the devastating
battle
.

The protecting immortals
were holding
their
own only because the deformed Keepers were easily distracted and couldn’t keep up with an un-mutated Keepers mental faculties and thought processes. There were still some difficult battles because there were Originals mixed in with their
deformed descendants. Out of Sorono’s
warriors
,
Connor
counted maybe a hundred
that had
lost their
precious
lives
in battle
, but their
enemies
had
lost several thousand
, at least
.

To keep his
energies from depleting too fast
,
Connor
would
touch the scaly skin of
his
enemies and
rip the energy from
their bodies ju
st before their lives were extinguished
or used
a
Fire Shield to absorb any flames that were aimed
in his direction
. This was going to be a long and hard battle and running out of stamina would be the worst thing that could happen. Conserving ones strength is the key to a
n extended
battle such as this.

“ELDER!!!”

Sorono, Connor
, along with
their
contingent
, spun in the air to see an ap
proaching female Keeper from their
side flying directly towards
them
in a panic.
She was bathed in as much blood as
they
all
were.

“Calm yourself, hatchling.”
He spoke
in a calm thought himself as the female came to a
stop several yards away
.
“That is better. Now tell me what you need to
,
so you can get back to your post.”

“Sir.”
She quickly bowed her head and then said
“I’ve come to report that the enemy
’s
leader has just arrived and I was barely able to get away in time before he obliterated my partners. I am unmistaken
that
it
truly
is him. He had a horrible and massive red aura and his speed and strength is undeniable.”

Sorono and Connor
knew this was it
,
even if
they
didn’t look at one another.
Ranvan
had finally revealed himself and now he would face
his brothers
.
Connor’s
anxiety and heart rate sped up and it helped to clear
his
mind for the true task
that
he
would soon face.

Together
the brothers
instantly and simultaneously shouted
“WHERE?!”

“He is to the southwest of here. Please hurry before he kills anymore.”

Sorono left
fifteen
Keepers to guard over the White House while
they
and the other seven followed
their
guide southwest.
Sorono and Connor
had already spoke
n
about what
they
should do to
face him and hope to succeed. Connor
flew directly behind him and hid behind his
sibling’s
bulk.
What felt off during
their
intense flight-speed
i
s that
he
could sense that
they
were being followed, but not from an evil presence.

Within seconds Connor
saw
the
enemy floating in the sky
,
from
pee
king over
S
orono’s shoulder
. He and ten other deformed Keepers flew close to his side.
Connor
brought energy to
his
eyes for verification and saw the crimson aura that everyone has been talking about. It was a large as
his own
and Sorono’s.

So it really is him.

Ranvan looked exactly like Sorono
in many aspects
, but he looked more like a tyrant rather than proud
and kind
. He wore a red robe which was hard to differentiate between it and the blood dripping from the ends.
He wore similar Dark Steel claws and armor as Sorono, but the chest plate was mostly flat.
Ranvan’
s eyes were the same color as
his
and Sorono’s, but they showed only malice and deep seeded hatred
for those that were rapidly approaching his location
.

Ranvan raised his hand and
revealed
a smug smile.
Connor
felt his mind reaching out and allowed him only enough access to hear what he had to say, but not enough to read
any of his own thoughts
and alert him to
his
presence just yet
. Even the fee
l of his mind sent a chill up Connor’s
spine.

“Ah, my big brother has escaped from the prison I left him in. You surprise me, Sorono. I haven’t heard from your jailers in months and my hopes were that you had been a good boy and still remained in your cell
, or had died like I honestly hoped
. You must have some loyal servants and some excellent trackers
to have found and rescued you
.”
Then Ranvan’s eyes drifted over the still battling city.
“Sorono, do you honestly believe your pitiful force stands a chance of winning against our superior numbers?”

Proudly Sorono stated
“It matters not what you think, Ranvan.
Do you honestly believe the true Keepers would just bend over and let you saddle them? I think not. No wonder you chose to brainwash these pitiful creatures. They didn’t know of anything
in the new world
except what you told them and they let you take control of them. You may think yourself a god amongst the rest of the life on this planet, but you are forgetting that I too am a child of the Hallowed Mother.

“If she knew that you were disregarding her orders to guide the next sentient race, what do you think she would have to say?”

Ranvan r
oared out a demeaning laugh as Connor
held
his
position behind Sorono, looking just
barely
over his shoulder.
“So you are going to bring
her
into all of this? Forgive me, but neither you nor I have ever heard her words directly. If she really did want me stopped
then
she wouldn’t have let me
succeed
this far. She didn’t interfere when our brothers, Afleen and Ragke, fought and killed each other
. What is to stop me from killing you?
She won’t get involved, she never directly does.
She isn’t worth the scum between my toes…”

“I have a few surprises of my own
, even without her assistance
. Don’t think things will happen like last time. This time you cannot spring a trap on me
and hold me in bonds
.
Now we can fight honestly and you cannot win.
”
Sorono then turned his head
from side to side to look at his own company
fighters and said
“All of you, please take care of Ranvan’s assistants.
We
brothers need some alone time and plenty of space
to come to a final solution
.”

Ranvan made the same gesture and spoke to his guards
with a malicious grin again
.
“Yes, please show them how vain their hospitality really is. Get away from me and kill
to your heart
’
s content
.”

All of the Keepers slowly began flying away from the Harmonizers while also sizing each other up. Within a few seconds they rocketed away from
them
and began tearing into one another.

Once everyone was away from
them
,
Ranvan chuckled an
d
asked
“So what kind of surprises do you have for me that might actually save you?”

Cool
l
y a
nd clearly Connor
stated “That surprise would be me!
” and announced his
presence to the fifth Harmonizer
and
his
elder sibling
.

He
altered the angle of
his
legs to drift around Sorono’s tense shoulder and Ranvan’s eyes locke
d onto his
movement. Within moments both Sorono and
Connor
were flying shoulder to shoulder
like an unmovable blockade
. Together they stared down their
unpardonable brother. His hazel eyes
were doubtful when staring at him
.

Ranvan grinned and thought
“What’s this? Is this one of the so called Balancers our kind created from
among
the human filth? Ah yes I’ve come across a handful of them
before
, but they didn’t live long
after our meeting
. Run along little human trash. You are no match for the likes of me.”
T
hen his head tuned to the side for a moment before he reconsidered with another demeaning grin
. “Better yet, once I kill my elder brother I’ll eat you.
”