Author's Note: If you find a name, which you're not familiar with, then scroll down and you will find some description in BOLD!

I know, it was a bold move to just jump out of the third floor. Usually, when I do this, there is a target below me, waiting for my impact to crush his neck or welcome the edge of my blades inside his head. Or I have to make a quick escape out of a window, where some sort of threat is behind me. Let it be explosion, cops or any other kind of enemy, I'm in an intense situation always.

This time was no difference. Free-falling from my room's height, I was greeted with three more beams, coming towards me. What I didn't like about them, is that each looked slightly different and behaved different.

One was just catching up with the other two, moving in an odd way. The second one was more narrow, coming towards me with accelerating speed. And the closest one for me was another big one, like that beam from moments ago.

I reduced my Primary Armor to its normal state and I snapped out of my slow train of thoughts. Spinning to the left, I evaded the first beam and purposely made contact with it with my hand. Once you see your opponent's attack, you usually remember it and feel it when he or she uses it again. And since my opponent revealed what he or she can do, I had a good guess about what that beam would do if I touch it.

And as I expected, it had a Pulse After Effect, a simple one. While that beam gave out its pulse, the second beam was approaching me and it looked like it would hit. But as I braced myself, the pulse from the previous beam gave me enough push, to fall past the second beam and narrowly missing it. I do thought about touching that too, activating its After Effect, but it passed me by and I decided to not pay attention to it anymore. And I already had a strange beam to take care about...

Now, upon closer view, I saw that this ''beam'' was not a beam, but an orb. Three times my size, moved slowly and inspecting it further, I realized that it's following my movement. Even if I tried spinning away from it, it would have moved under me and I wasn't sure about this orb's After Effect. Hell, I wasn't even sure if it had one, considering that the Side Effect was a Lock-On...

It was time to use my powers for defense and not just dodging. With the absorbed power from the sun, I created a small shield in front of my left wrist. Thanks to the hard surface and shield-like form on my well hid bracelet, it was even easier to create one. And to make sure that my impact won't be too hard for my Primary Armor, I grabbed my left wrist and hardened my armor too.

Coming in contact with the orb, I heard the two types of magic meeting with each other. It was like a plain surface, touching a chainsaw and the metal plates receiving the cuts. And it felt just like that, as I felt really small, but many cuts getting absorbed by my shield.

I moved myself to the right, avoiding falling into that orb and probably slicing myself to pieces...

When I landed, I glanced back up to see what happened to the beam. I was on one of my knees, when I had to roll away from the second beam. Apparently, it had a Lock-On as a Side Effect and it made a wide turn after missing me. And after it missed me again, it made another turn and followed after me, while I was running inside the abandoned building  next to the base.

When I was out of its line of sight, I didn't stop running deeper into the house. The beam exploded on the entrance of the abandoned building and sent chunks of brick after me, along with dust. But that wasn't the reason why I didn't stop running. No, the reason was the third beam. Unfortunately, it didn't explode upon touching the walls and it kept on following me, demolishing everything behind me.

I ran down the corridor, Catpass-ed over the left-behind crates from some previous gangs and pulled myself up to the first floor, seeing as the stairs were broken. There, I continued running to the opposite direction and had to a Side Roll forward, due to the orb coming right up underneath me. It followed all the way down the corridor, with its ''head'' sticking out from the floor and eating away everything behind me. It looked like a destructive shark's fin, chasing after me. But I knew it will disappear soon, because it started to lose its speed and visibility.

By the end of the corridor, I couldn't hear the floor and walls getting destroyed and that meant the end of the orb. I jumped out of the window and landed nearly at the same place, where I first landed. Quickly, I regained the lost air from my lungs and turned to my right, where the beams came from.

There, I saw five being, dressed in robes and all standing in one group. The one in the middle had his arms hanging in front of him, panting heavily like me moments ago. Though, he was still catching his breath, unlike me, who knows a good way to keep the muscles oxygen filled.

I started walking towards them, hiding my 'ready' position with my movement. In turn, they started approaching me and the exhausted one needed the help of one of the other robed man. Leaning against him, he helped the man, who turned out to be an old one, considering how worn out his skin looked. And about the other four, I needed a closer look at them...

''Analyze movement.''

''On it.''

''Why can't they be ladies?!''

I stopped and they stopped too and 10 meters away from each other, we stood there, no words, nor reaction.

''The two on the right and left... they're inpatient ones. While they're walking, the left one just couldn't stay on his ass. Like he has a worm in his pants. And the right one... he's just simply faster, but he really wants to fight. Both of them are good for offensive purpose.''

''The one holding the old man and to their left, they are most definitely defensive. They prefer to stay close to the old one, protecting him. I assume... their leader.''

''Heh, too bad this city's too small for two bosses.''

I took one deep breath and swallowed my anger. It was time to take out my anger via words and not action. Even though I was filled with rage, I HAD to think wisely. I had no idea about their abilities or what kind of creatures they were. My first guess was Mage, due to their clothing. Still, I had to make sure...

I popped my fingers, increased my Primary Armor and stood up straight, also popping my spine and neck. ''So...'' I started. ''Who the fuck wants to see me?''

I saw the one on the left, opening his mouth, but ended up closing it. Instead, the old man cleared his throat and answered in a raspy voice. ''Just as I thought. You are not the polite kid. The Avatar should know manners and do his duty respectfully.''

''Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize 'tatter'. I should respect those, who destroy my room, ruin my forenoon and let all the fucking Mortals know about the magical world. Yeah, I really should.'' I replied and now saw both impatient ones twitching once and the young man in robe on the left, clenching his fist in his rising anger. That man was already dead, I could tell...

''Hm, you would be right. But this time and again... you are wrong. It does not matter anymore for any of us.''

''I would demand an answer... or force you to tell me. But this time and again... I don't give a fuck. And knowing you old cigars, you WILL tell me, because you have nothing better to do, but share 'wise' tales.'' I retorted and the two on both sides were just dying to hit me already. It looked like I was on the right track to make them angry, causing them to lose their focus.

''Very well, you are going to die anyways.''

''Like I haven't been dead three times before...''

''Bitch please, YOU ARE Dead itself!''

''In a way, you are right...''

He let go of the other one, probably trying to show some strength and, as expected, he had some difficulties with staying on his feet. Angering his two teammate, I folded my arms before me, showing false boredom. Meanwhile, the old man managed to regain his balance and he started his speech...

''You need wise tale? Then listen, boy! We, The Five, we all had to fight our way up to this point. Thanks to your arrival and many other humans in this dying land, we were forced to hide, just like any other being. But it was not over yet. Your actions made us look like nothing. Our own kind turned away from us. They did not require our help anymore and sent us away from our own home!'' He sure had power to yell, but I remained unfazed and kept up my acting. Secretly, I wondered if he could get annoyed as easily as that other two. I highly enjoyed their rage, which they had to keep inside themselves...

''Even if your actions were remarkable, you are just a kid, who knows nothing about the life outside his own happy life... But it is time to end this. You made a mistake and put your own nation under the pressure of this war. And when we are finished, WE will bring the magical creatures into human territory and take control over this planet. Your foolish people caused many trouble to many creature and it is time to flip the cards!''

Though I agreed with him in a way, I still found them wrong in many other ways. They broke the most serious rule and it was MY duty to punish those, who dared to reveal magic to the Mortals. Yes, my nation and many other Mortals were foolish, but they had the rights to live too! It's the same thing with beings, who possess Dark powers. They have EVERY right to live, but only properly! No matter how unwelcoming they show themselves, they are souls with freedom and rights...

And actually... this old man was really annoying and just as stupid as many Mortal. First! I was still alive and not to brag, but I'm not easy to take down. Second. IF they actually defeat me, The Light and Hell would do something against their plan. Three. There would be... probably millions of powerful being, who would stop them? So pretty much, the whole planet was against them...

Another reason why they were idiots, is that they forgot what humans can do. Yes, they are stupid and they're destroying their own home. But if they get enslaved... hohohhoo, I could already see these stubborn Mortals, brutally killing that bastard...

No matter what, these Mortals who I'm protecting, are really strong!

But after these thoughts, I started to realize something. The old man was crazy, yes. But if they have the guts to come to me, break the most serious rule and even TELL ME their plan... maybe they have something powerful. A weapon, an ability? I didn't know and didn't care about it, so I settled with a simple plan...

... getting them know better...

Dhanthas already knew what I had in mind... ''Tactical Acting in 3, 2, 1... NOW!''

''So, let me get this straight... You... and your ass-lickers saw this 'opportunity' to take over Earth. So you... ruin my plans on taking over Buda, make a huge mess in my room and break the most serious rule amongst us, powerful beings? Hmm... I call bullshit and you lived up for the saying: 'Crazy old man.' '' I started smiling in false amusement... but I think I actually meant that smile of mine, since watching them, getting angrier and angrier... it felt really good. ''Hmhmhm...'' I chuckled. ''This is not gonna happen. And do you know why? ... Because... You hurt my nation, I hurt your being...''

''Looks like it had to come to this...'' Sighed the old man, shaking his head.

''By Thelestial's beard, you have a slow processing speed! Maybe you should take a nap before you try to face me. And actually... could you fair gentlemen take off those robes? I don't care if you're a Mage... it wouldn't be nice to paint those nice piece of cloths to red... blood-red.'' I raised up my hands in a defensive gesture. ''No homo.'' Then I looked at the left man, who had a really confused and annoyed expression. ''Don't be disappointed. I'm sure you'll find the perfect male for yourself...'' To make it more effective, I gave him a friendly and encouraging smile. A smile, which your best buddy gives you, when you talk about getting laid...

''You fucking with me, shit head?'' He finally shouted out and he was visible relived to finally let it out.

That was my chance. I went down to lower levels, JUST to reach this high temper of his. I usually hear arguments like these from other Mortals and I always found them useless. Only this time... it came handy...

''You mad, bro?''

And that was all it needed, the raging man lunged at me and I noticed something strange. He literally rocketed towards me! I could clearly see the flames coming out from his feet, giving him more speed. I'm pretty sure it wasn't just my imagination and I decided to be careful with the other four. If that one could create fire, then the rest of them had something dangerous for me too.

But only for the remaining four...

Because before I could think about this any further, I already felt the warmth of his blood on my right hand. I reacted sooner and the fool fell right into my awaiting hidden blade, pretty much committing suicide. And for good measure, making sure and for my own satisfaction... I decided to deal some more damage...

Locking his already limp head into a squeezing head-lock, pressing the side of his head into my chest, I released the hidden blade from my left bracelet and delivered three more, rage-filled stab into the back of his head. His blood splattered onto my torso and also painted my hoodie to crimson on the left wrist too. I literally embraced his head and squeezed it, letting out my adrenaline on him and getting more of his blood onto my clothes, nearly soaking the fabric and letting the red liquid's warmth to reach my skin.

Ahhh, how I missed that feeling...

I pulled out the blades from him and made his body spin around in the air, while it was falling to the ground. The dead hit the ground with an audible *thump* and a pool of blood started to consume the area around the body. And the only thing that remained from him in my left hand was his head, which I managed to separate from the neck...

As I felt the massive amount of blood in my left hand, trickling down between my gloved fingers, I looked up at 'The Five', who were reduced to 'The Four'. Dhanthas was already laughing, but the four robed men's expressions made him laugh even harder! I couldn't place it anywhere, though. It was somewhere between a maniacal and a hysterical laugh, but definitely came from his heart... and that meant he was pleased with the outcome.

I saw the sudden fear and panic in their eyes, while they adjusted their formation. The other impatient one stood on the front, the old man at the back and the remaining two on the sides. It was visible, that they were guarding the old man, given the defensive stance they picked up. Even the impatient one, who turned out to be patient after all...

''Ahhahhahhaa! *gasp* How the- ahhah, how in the fucking Hell did that work?!'' Laughed Dhanthas, still catching his breath.

''Hmhm... No idea... ehhehhehe.'' I replied with amusement. In all honesty, I didn't expect that. I merely asked him a question, which Dhanthas asks me usually. I still don't know what is so annoying about this question...

''My student... how could you be so foolish?!'' Spoke up the old man, staring at the bloody and headless corpse.

I could already tell that they won't be in the mood for more talking. Expecting an attack, I hardened my Primary Armor and waited for them to make the first move. I also channeled some energy into my legs, planning on a surprise attack, by rushing at them. My goal was to reach the old man and take him out from the fight, before he regains his energy and starts sending more of his beams. I had no idea how many types of After- and Side Effects he knew and how much it takes him to run out of energy. I HAD to eliminate him!

''One down... four to go.'' I said, quickening the beginning of our fight.

And it came quicker, yes. The one at the front was just about to move and that was my cue to react. As a distraction, I tossed the bloody head at him and immediately rushed at them. The head hit him in the head and he wildly flailed his arms around, trying to block it. Thanks to the still dripping liquid from the head, he also got blinded by his own teammate's blood, allowing me to use my climbing blades on him.

As I passed him by, the climbing blades dig into his left knee and I didn't just made him trip over, but neutralized him. The energy in my legs allowed me to close the distance between me and the right one, by jumping at him. I planted my right foot on his neck, most definitely damaging his throat, then pushed myself against him and towards the old man. In the air, I started to swing my left arm towards him, with the still unleashed climbing blade and aiming at his neck.

I was glad that I hardened my Primary Armor, really glad! I didn't expect a rock, with the size of my torso, slamming against my side and slowing me down in the air. And not just because it would have sent my flaying away from that perfect opportunity and ruining my tactic... but it would have ruined my plan anyways. The rock just slowed me down, preventing me from tackling my target...

I landed a meter away from him and managed to slice his throat enough, to make him suffocate in his own blood. But before I could do anything else, I had to shield away my face from a stone pillar, which popped out from the ground next to me and sent my flying away from the scene.

I landed on the heels of my boots and rolled backwards, before stopping myself and crouching on the ground. There, I looked over my work...

While the one at the front was on the ground, screaming in pain and holding his sliced up knee, the one on the right caught his breath, which I literally stomped back down to his lungs. He quickly rushed to the old man's aid, healing him with something, which I have never seen before...

Water...

If I saw it correctly, the water came out from a small flask, which was hidden inside his robe. The clear liquid moved around like a snake, obeying his bender's orders.

And it all made sense...

The impatient fool, who had flames coming out from his feet. The rock hitting me, then the stone pillar, exactly at the same time, when the one on the left was doing some sort of dance moves. And now the one healing the old one, bending the water on his will!

''Impossible!''

''No fucking way!''

''Benders...''

I couldn't believe it. Benders! Right in front of me, wanting to kill me and take over the world. What the old man said and the events in front of me gave me the full picture!

Benders were the first users of that unknown energy in the universe. They were the first ones, who were able to use this energy and learned to bend the nature around them. It all started in the cavemen's era and they spent their lives easily for a really long time. But when the Mortals started to act violently, kings and other rulers or leaders wanted to use their ability to kill. Of course, the Benders were more than the Mortals and that meant they foreseen the future, if they decide to use their gift to bring death.

In the end, the Benders fled to the wilderness and hid away from the Mortals. Only tales and legends remained about them, which the Mortals quickly forgot in the heat of those battles. Thanks to the Benders, we can meet Elves and Harpies and many creature like that. Their children were the new races and were the second souls, who got to know about magic. After Thelestial's and Lucifer's experiments with new abilities, nearly every Bender disappeared and they've became Mages. The remaining Benders disappeared too, but only from our sight. They lived secretly or moved to that world, which I have no knowledge about. I think it was called, A'nfora... yes, that was its name...

The Mages can bend the elements too, but not by will, no. Mages use their energy to bend the elements, which is MUCH harder than being a part of nature and commanding the elements to your will. And now I had one Mage and three angry Benders...

I wasn't sure if the one at the front was a Bender. I haven't seen his ability, but after I thought back to the recent events, I realized something threatening...

''The air... it's moving again...''

''And?''

''You mean... we have an Air Bender?''

It was true. It wasn't a mystery anymore, why I was out of oxygen so early, back at that abandoned house. That Air Bender took control of the area's wind, making it stop and hardening my breathing. That caused me to slow down, since my muscles received only a small amount of oxygen. But that wasn't the problem, no. The voice was on the part of 'stopping the air'!

I had to finish him off. If he regains his focus, then it won't be a matter if the old man was down. The Air Bender can put me under some sort of air pressure and I would explode from it. Or prevents ALL the fresh oxygen to get into my lungs and I would suffocate from lack of air, while I'm outside and breathing the city's air!

The Air Bender was just standing up and I didn't wait for him to make his move. I made the first move, by taking hold of my rifle on my left side and pulling out a grenade from the inside-pockets of my hoodie. I let go of 5 bullets, while starting to run to their left side and throwing the grenade to them. He reacted in time and made the projectiles stop in the air. The explosion created a thick smoke cloud around them, which allowed me to let lose of the rest of my magazine.

I didn't stop there and used my energy to make a start before jumping over them, 10 meters above them. In the air, I waited for my body to get into position, placed my rifle back to its place and I fired out the shotgun shells from my bracelets at the same time. Before landing, I crossed my wrists in front of me and pulled back the fore-ends at the same time, readying the next shots. But instead, I quickly pulled down my sleeves and changed to the Rapid-Fire-Mode. Now running around them to the right, I extended my left arm and fired all the 10 bullets from my left bracelet and again, I found myself in front of the Air Bender. Well, at least I thought I was at the front again, since I couldn't see them from the smoke.

I crouched down and let the other 10 bullets out from my right bracelet. My tactic was to attack them from every possible direction and confuse them. I only concentrated on firing at the Air Bender's spot, because he was the most dangerous at that moment. And if I would have fired at all of them, then maybe I wouldn't have dealt any damage to any of them.

So every bullet went to the Air Bender, making sure to kill him...

I felt the wind changing and I quickly jumped over them, but this time, I was spinning around in the air. Another double shotgun shot and I was on their other end. The smoke started to fade and I emptied my Shotgun-Mode, by firing one bracelet at once and quickly reloading it with the other hand, which was not busy aiming at them.

I spotted an earth wall around the old man, Water Bender and the Earth Bender, but the latter one had a bleeding right arm. From behind the earth wall, jumped the Air Bender and let loose of a raging wind blow, which started pushing me backwards. Not wanting to trip over, I jumped up into the air and let the wind taking me away. When the Air Bender landed, he collapsed, due to his injured leg and I also saw many bleeding holes on him. It looked like he was breathing his last ones and I quickly changed to Sniper-Mode on my right bracelet, not wasting this gap for my victory to close. He was on the ground, without protection and the wind wasn't that hard to stop a bullet from the Sniper-Mode.

Taking aim, I looked through the scope and I pointed it at his head. Clenching my fist once, the bullet went through the harsh wind and hit the Air Bender, who got thrown back from the hit. As I was falling down from the air, I could see many holes on the front side of his body. His clothes were ripped apart, burnt and bloody. Left leg's knee bone completely distorted and only little of his skin remained bloodless, as he was lying on the ground motionlessly.

The earth wall collapsed and I saw a panting Earth Bender and a still busy Water Bender. The Earth Bender spotted the dead Air Bender and his eyes widened. Then started snarling and stepped forward, letting loose of a battle cry. Stomping once, the ground started to shake, throwing me to the ground. Another stomp prevented me from getting up, as the ground underneath shook confusingly.

When it stopped, I quickly jumped up to my feet and bent my knees, expecting another earthquake. But it never came and instead, he sent a chunk from the ground towards me, using his intact arm. His injury came handy, since I didn't want to think about what he would have been able to do with two arms. The pain he felt already made him lose focus on earth bending and I was willing to use this advantage against him.

I dodged the flying rock and started running towards him. He slowly sent rock after rock at me, each one seemed to be a hard task for him, while it was an easy thing for me to evade them. But I was sure if one collides with my chest, then it would most definitely breaks through my Primary Armor and probably crushes my ribs.

Still, I kept the Primary Armor at that state. I wasn't about to let him hit me and waste energy on easing the impact. He was slow and I was fast. I decided to use my energy to cool down the muscles in my legs and give me additional stamina, to keep the fight going intensely. Just like I kept on conquering block after block, not wanting the enemy to rest. Putting the enemy under pressure was a good tactic, if you're fighting against stronger enemies. That, and hiding the pain, exhausted expression, fear and making sure not to make mistakes.

So looking confident, intimidating and professional, is how you turn the fight to your will and to your side...

Right now, I looked confident and just professional. That would have caused him to feel uneasy, but his rage blinded him.

But that didn't mean it wasn't an advantage...

First, he was worsening his injury by moving. Then, he's spending energy on his ineffective attacks. Two advantage already, but I used the third one...

His blind rage...

Instead of attacking him when I was just a few meters away, I jumped over him, rather visibly showing my intention. So he, instead of shooting me down in the air, he fired before me. I mean, he was just about to do that, but the rock didn't hit me. It hit the Water Bender on his back, pushing him away from the old man. But he at least paid attention and knew his own teammate! Because instead of flying away with a broken spine, he was forced to the ground, water splashing out from his body...

The rock rolled in front of me and I placed one leg onto it, inspecting the Water Bender. Dhanthas finally stopped laughing and spoke up. ''That was a dick move, but a nice one!''

I just hummed once and asked. ''So... it's some sort of Water Primary Armor?''

''Not quite. Primary Armor is from the energy inside you. I would say, it is simply a Water Armor... but I am not sure.''

''Dhanthas?'' I asked him, hoping for some possible information from my Darker self.

''The only thing I can think about is the deadly and kinky stuff he can do with that water...''

''Indeed, these came to my mind as well.''

''Oh, so you DO have a dirty mind! I knew it!''

''You do know I meant the deadly abilities and not-''

''Yeah, yeah, whatever!''

While the two was having a usual conversation, I watched as the Water Bender tried his best to collect his own water and ''reconstructing'' himself. A huge chunk of his right shoulder was missing and slowly growing back from water. I played with the thought of 'deadly stuff'. And soon, I found myself coming up with techniques for water bending. Each one proved to be effective and more deadly than the previous one. There were too many possibilities and one was a troubling one...

''Dhuradhan, is there a way to bend blood?''

''Hmm... I think yes. It is liquid and Water Benders can bend everything which is liquid. Drinks, tears, sweat and... well, blood.''

''BEND MY PISS!''

''Fantastic. I have to finish this quickly.'' I ignored Dhanthas' comment and stepped down with my leg from the rock.

The Water Bender said something to the Earth Bender, which caused the previously angry man to look carefully. He stood close to the old man and his teammate, visibly going back to defensive. He also created an earth layer around the old man and his healer.

I kicked the rock against the earth layer and the Earth Bender visibly cringed, grunting once. ''That's it, he's dead.''

And he surely was. Focus drawn to his teammates, injured arm that prevented him from keeping up his defense, energy used away and the fire inside him died out... he already lost it...

I started walking towards him and he stomped on the ground desperately, trying to stop me and saving some time for his teammates. It only served to weaken him and cause more pain to his right arm. And actually, I still had a lot of energy and not just magical one.

As I said, he was already dead...

Arriving in front of him, he proved to be worthless even further, when he tried to take me on with hand-to-hand combat. Raising up my left wrist, I stopped his right hook to my left cheek. The hard material on my wrist dealt HIM damage, as he tried to use his injured arm and using the free path to him, I head-butted him. We were right next to the earth layer and he used this situation to hit me with another earth pillar, coming out from the earth layer. I leaned to the left, span around and backhanded him with my right fist, causing him to catch himself in his stone pillar.

As he was pulling himself up from that pillar, I delivered an unpleasant punch to his right side, damaging his ribcage. He bent over, allowing me to grab his head and slam it down onto the stone pillar, which collapsed under the strong impact.

I picked him up from the ground and slammed him into the earth layer by his neck, pressing him up against the round shaped wall. Again, with my right arm, I hammered down onto his chest with my elbow, causing him to extend his arm out. Quickly stepping back, I reached to the back of my belt, pulling out a dagger and precisely stabbing it into his right hand.

He cried out in pain and remained motionless, trying to not move his arm and keeping up his focus on the earth layer. Meanwhile, I raised up a chunk from the collapsed earth pillar and with a grunt, brought it down upon his head.

The earth layer collapsed, just like his skull under that rock, which ended his life. Smoke filled my vision, but I knew where the Water Bender was. Swiftly retrieving my knife, I jumped into the the cloud of dust, bringing down the dagger upon the Water Bender, who was busy digging himself and the old man out from under the debris.

The knife was stopped inside his water-like skin and it started to inch its way further up my arm. Before it could consume me, I rocketed myself away from him, not wanting to lose an arm at the last one standing man. I landed a good 10 meters away or further and stood up. I searched around for possible water sources, making sure to stay away from them, since the Water Bender was now focusing on me. I wondered if he finished healing the old man, or he decided to join the fight as well.

I found no fountains, water pipes, public toilettes and neither drinking water. The closest water source was the severs, but those were below us and he looked too exhausted, to lead the water all the way up to the surface and breaking through the ground with it. His healing must have taken its toll on him, since he was repeatedly trying to find his balance.

Still, I had to end this carefully, no matter how worn out he looked...

He moved his arms around himself and slowly, the water he used from his flask started to extend, getting thinner and longer. Like a snake, the attack came from an uncertain position, more specifically, from behind his back. I barely had time to duck down in time, as he wanted to whip-slash at me. It was too close for comfort, so I decided to keep him under pressure and attack back.

I had no idea how much energy it took for a Bender to bend water, or to be more precise, how much they needed to focus. He looked like he won't lose any energy, nor focus over the attacks and that allowed him to keep ME under pressure. The distance between us gave him enough time to prepare for another strike and me, to switch to my Sniper-Mode on the other bracelet too. I decided to test what else he can do...

Taking two steps on the wall of an abandoned building, I launched myself away from the wall, the water whip missing me and in the air, I shot him once. He staggered backwards and readjusted himself, when his stomach turned into water and the bullet came out of his body. But that was all I needed, because I saw how his defense worked...

''Projectiles are worthless and I bet direct hits would go through him. Maybe letting lose of a full magazine would take its toll, but wasting ammo is unnecessary.

Now, his reconstructing takes enough time for a grenade to blow up inside him... and since he cannot reconstruct himself with far-away water, the grenade will be my chance.'' It was a cruel tactic, but one that I had to and actually... wanted to use.

So doing the same thing like moments ago, I kept on dodging his swipes, until I was close to him. There, I visibly readied myself to jump onto him and I already saw him turning into water. As expected, I went through him and his body just started to reconstruct itself. Quickly, I placed the grenade inside him and backed away from him, waiting for the explosion.

He turned around and the moment he wanted to bend the previously used water-whip, his face changed. From one moment to another, the facial expressions on his face showed shock, fear and an unbelievable amount of pain. I could see tears welling up in his eyes, due to the unpleasant pain, which he couldn't ease. He started collapsing onto his knees, when his shout came out of his mouth. I knew too well that feeling, when something is inside your stomach. It's squeezing you from the inside and damages the sensitive organs, thanks to that thing's odd shape.

No wonder why the scream of agony was so loud, that my ears rang from. At least, the explosion put an end to his misery...

Instead of water, blood splattered onto my clothes and I guess his organs burned away from the explosion. Only the pool of blood remained at the spot where he stood. I approached the spot and raised my hand to my chest, channeling the energy into it. The trick came naturally for me, as I slowly grasped around the air, where an object started to appear in light-blue light. I grasped it tightly, finishing the process, as the object appeared in the form of a cross.

The Golden Cross... I remember when Thelestial gave it to me. He said it would serve as a 'locator' and if I used it, then he would always know where I was. It also served as protection against Shadows and hid me away from them... that was until Lucifer decided to directly send the Shadows at me and that 'protection' was useless...

But why I needed it? Well, it has a Consuming ability, which I use to get the energy and power from the dead or weakened souls. That is how I received so much energy and unique abilities, like The Observer's Eyes of the Sinner. And now, I was about to acquire some ancient abilities!

I wasted no time and pointed my cross at the pool of blood, exactly where I felt the energy's source. In the color of light-blue, the energy got stored away inside the cross, along with the ability to bend water. The cross was shining, telling me that there are some consumed energy or powers inside it. It shone brighter and brighter, as I collected each Benders' power and energy, making their bodies disappear and not letting them lying around...

''I have something for you, guys.'' And with that, I pushed the cross into my chest.

The process hurts... the first time I had to push it back into my chest, I spent half an hour pushing that thing, while I felt really weak and agony pulsed through my being. And when I managed to do that, I spent a few hours on the floor, trying my best to not throw up and move.

It's like you're stabbing yourself in the chest, with something blunt and with the shape of a cross. When I do this, I'm not bleeding, but feels like I'm ripping open my chest! Also, it is MUCH harder for me, since I have Dark powers too. And... well, the cross reacts to it and acts like a magnet, not wanting to get close to the Dark energy.

And now, I didn't have to just deal with the usual struggling, but with the additional powers inside the cross. Those powers were not mine, that is why stealing energy is such a difficult task. I think I spent five minutes, just trying to consume the new powers...

After I finally pushed it all the way inside my chest, I immediately fell onto my side. The huge amount of energy, which had no more room to be inside me, was squeezing itself into the lines of my Dark, Light and my own energy. That caused me a strong headache, since the minimal amount of energy inside me had to be increased. Also, the new power had to sink in and become a part of me, but Dhuradhan and Dhanthas helped me out with that.

My heart was racing, my head was pounding and my breathing just kept on increasing. I was FILLED with energy and oh-so wanted to use it. But I knew that if I don't stay calm and do nothing, then the consumed energy would leave. Not all of it, but a fair amount.

And I needed all of it...

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

''Fuck yeah, we're gonna be able to use water tentacles in action!''

''I do not wish to know how you meant that...''

''So many possibility, so many ways to deal with the enemy. When I learn how to use these new powers, nothing's gonna stop me.''

I was really happy with all of these new things. Even if I thought about ways to kill the enemy, I still remembered why I kill...

So, before I get overwhelmed with all the murderous thoughts, I finally approached the old man...

And again, the blindingly-bright color of a beam greeted me... and I greeted the air, as I was sent flying away...

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Side Roll: Video here!

***

Side Effect: Lock-On

As a side effect, a shootable magical attack can 'Lock-On'-to a target. The attack will follow the target, until it reaches its destination or runs out of energy. The more energy you put into the side effect, the longer it follows the target or the better it follows the target. Both can be improved, but that means more energy. (Example: The beam, which Balance encountered had a bad ability at following the target and had little energy. And the orb had a lot of energy in it, along with a really good following ability.)

Without a specific After Effect, the Lock-On 'Side effected' beams will disappear, upon contact with hard surface. (Of course, if you spent a lot of energy into that beam, then it CAN go through solid surface for a specific time period. But it will make its 'life' shorter, since it loses energy by going through walls and such...)

As long as the attack is shootable, the Lock-On effect can be used. Making an attack follow the target, is required to know the target's energy source or soul. Without these and clear line of sight, the Lock-On effect won't activate itself, after leaving the caster's hands/legs/head/chest etc...