The Elemental Hymn

Chapter 4: activating the Wind Tower & briefing

Back at the Wind Tower

"It's over, Julius!" Said Nathan.

"Feh, who knew a trio of kids have already defeated Mila? You are stronger than I had expected, but I shall not lose to you all!" Hissed Julius.

William casts a fire ball at Julius, but the armored man shrugged it off. Nathan enchants his sword with the element of light, and swings it at Julius. Both swords clashed as Julius and Nathan struggled to push each other with their swords, but it served as a distraction for Sophia to cast a water spell to bind the armored man in place. Many of Julius's men stood in awe as they watched the battle, despite knowing that the commander needs help.

Julius took a step back, out of breath and both arms and legs were bound by water. He glanced down, and he saw that he is standing next to what remains of Mila: a pile of ash and clothes. He bared his teeth and let out a scream of rage, knowing that he had failed by letting the earth magician get killed while the trio are going to activate the Wind Tower. He wanted to lash out at the trio, but seeing that he had exhausted his stamina, he has no chance against them.

"Come and help me men, that's an order!" He ordered.

Unfortunately, none of the soldiers did nothing but stared back at him.

"Heh, what a group of incompetent soldiers. They are but disappointment to me, and I am to blame for it" he chuckled.

Sophia released him, to see if Nathan will deal the final blow or what the armored man can do. William, on the other hand, wanted to finish Julius off but she told him no.

Nathan walked up to Julius, sword in hand, and stared at him.

"Go ahead, finish me off kid! Set me free from this humiliation of failure, so I can die a dignified death" said Julius as he grinned.

"No... killing you won't bring any satisfaction. I'm sparing you so your superiors will know that I have humiliated you, and have them decide your fate" replied Nathan.

Julius started to chuckle, before taking steps back until he is at the edge of the top of the tower. Both Sophia and William were shocked, for they don't want him to commit suicide. Even after Sophia had her revenge on Mila for killing her parents, but deep down, she felt lost and doesn't know what to do.

"Stop! Don't fall off!" Nathan called out.

"Heh, this will spare me of this humiliation. Until next time, we will meet again!" Said Julius with a smile, before falling off.

The trio rushed towards the edge and saw him fall, until they couldn't see him anymore. As for the soldiers, they have retreated into a portal to report to the Emperor.

"So, how do we activate the Wind Tower?" Asked William.

"Well, to do so, we have to acquire a core and place it into that giant orb" replied Sophia.

"In which I already have it" said Nathan as he pulled out a green gemstone from his pocket.

The green gemstone has a dark green color, like an emerald. However, it contains the essence of air and storms. Nathan inserts the core into the giant orb, then it glows as it floats up. Wind started to surround the orb as it glowed in a green color, then a gust of air blows out from the circular hole that came from down below. The trio were amazed that they activated the Wind Tower, but clouds rolled in soon after. They had to run back down the tower thinking it's going to storm, and since they fixed the mechanisms on each floor, they took an air powered elevator down. By the time they exit the Wind Tower, they saw an empty suit of black armor that Julius was wearing.

"I can't tell if he really died, or if he took off his armor and went somewhere else" puzzled William.

"Judging by the heavy foot prints in the grass, I think it's the latter. I can guess that he left his armor because he felt he wasn't fit to lead a troop, and reporting his failures to the Black Leaves would mean his death" Sophia suggested.

"What ever the case, he's out there somewhere" said Nathan.

At the Black Leaves headquarters

Isaac and his brother entered the throne room of Emperor Terra, but they saw that a soldier was whispering into his ear. Whatever it was, it made the Emperor frown.

"So, we had lost Mila and Julius to a trio of kids? I knew those two weren't up to the task, if that's the case, we might as well move on to a different target" said Emperor Terra in a calm tone.

When Isaac and Caelum walked up to the throne, they kneel down to show respect to the Emperor.

"We are ready" said Caelum.

"Ah, perfect timing. I have two missions for you two, but although, you must pick one mission while your brother picks the other. You two may not see each other, but you can stay on contact" said Emperor Terra.

"With all due and respect, your majesty. Who will be our partners?" Asked Isaac.

The Emperor gestures to a group of five individuals to come forth, and they walked out from the dark part of the throne room. It consists of a woman dressed in a dark blue dress with a black sash, a burly man who looked a bit like a samurai but is covered in writing from up to the head and down at the ankles, a male attendant in which Isaac couldn't tell if that's the same attendant who had healed him earlier, an older woman wearing a red dress with gold floral patterns, and a young man wearing an eye patch and a tan waist cloth.

Both Isaac and Caelum weren't sure about these people, the man covered in writing seemed rather stoic while the young man and the older woman looked rather crazy. The young woman wearing a dark blue dress with a black sash looked rather depressed, but it's rather hard to see what the attendant looked like without his headdress.

"First up is Eleanor, the water magician who specializes in ice magic. She hailed from the southern continent where the water colossus is located, we had just recruited her when she was left stranded at the fjords to the west" introduced Emperor Terra.

Eleanor cutsies while trying not to cry.

"Second is Isamu, the ink magician. He is from the far east, from which he is also a former samurai before learning ink magic. He rarely emotes, but gets the job done" introduced Emperor Terra.

Isamu looked at the two brothers and nodded.

"Third is Erika, the fire magician who specializes in explosion magic. She is from the northern continent where the colosseum of fire is located, she maybe in her sixties but none deny her skill in blowing stuff up" introduced Emperor Terra.

"Children, let granny join you for some fun~!" said Erika in a sing song tone.

"Fourth is Marcus, the attendant. You may not know this, but he is one of the attendants at your execution" introduced Emperor Terra.

Marcus silently put his hand up, to let the brothers know he's here.

"And finally, Acrab . He is an earth magician who specializes in sand magic, he is from the southeastern continent where an ancient kingdom once existed over five thousand years. Its also where an ancient ruins said to harness the power of earth is located" introduced Emperor Terra.

Acrab grinned at the brothers maliciously, as if he is willing to harm others.

"Now choose your partners, but remember: you can only choose two partners for the missions" said Emperor Terra.

Isaac and Caelum walked up to the group of five, not sure who to choose. After all, they don't know what the two missions have in store for them.

Authors note: what do you think of this chapter? What will the missions be?