They rose higher and higher. Lux tried to shake him off but failed. While they were dashing through the dark cloud, Lux produced a blue sword in his hand, swung himself upward and cut off Ferdinand's hand. Lux and the hand came off Ferdinand and fell down. Ferdinand stopped ascending and looked down at Lux, before staring at his severe wrist as if he lost a cheap bracelet from a street market instead of a hand.
Lux fell down through the cloud at great speed before bumping against a plane roof and rolling to the side. As he dropped off the roof, he grabbed the ledge of the window.
While he was lifting himself up, he looked through the window and saw people inside the plane gazing at him in shock, except the baby in his mother's arms at the window seat, who laughed with joy.
Lux smiled and waved at the baby and the passengers before climbing back to the roof. As soon as he got on the roof, Ferdinand zoomed down from the sky and landed forcefully on the back side of the plane, with a three-point landing, causing the aircraft to shake.
Ferdinand stood up with his severe hand in the healthy hand. "I know cutting off people's hands is fun. But at least you should signal them first." Ferdinand reattached his hand, before the cut wound emitted hot vapor and instantly healed. He moved his fingers and hand to check if they were still functioning. "Where were we? Oh, right, killing you!" Ferdinand jumped into the air and thrust his hand towards the sky. Red lightning struck his hand, being stored within it.
He threw the sparking hand at Lux, shooting a line of red lightning at him.
Lux sprang backward to dodge the lightning. The lightning struck the aircraft, causing it to tremble and its electrical systems to malfunction.
Ferdinand landed on the flickering plane and glared at Lux with triumphant red eyes that glowed brightly in the darkness.
Ferdinand shoved his hand toward the sky, absorbed the lightning, and fired a thunderbolt at Lux again. Lux sidestepped to evade. Ferdinand repeated the attacks, and Lux dodged them by rolling and jumping to the left and right.
Then, Ferdinand stabbed both of his hands at the sky, absorbing the lightning, before firing the lightning in his left hand at Lux. As soon as Lux dodge the first lightning, he shot the second lightning from the right hand at him.
Lux couldn't dodge the second lightning, so he stood his ground and got ready for the strike.
He thrust his hand toward the lightning. The lightning struck his hand and instantly spread throughout his body. Lux's body shook.
He gritted his teeth in pain, trying to absorb the lightning that spread throughout his body. He took a deep breath, focusing, and gradually drew the lightning around his body back to his hand.
The red lightning slowly returned to his hand, converting into blue lightning.
When all the lightning gathered in his hand, Lux shot a blue thunderbolt back at Ferdinand. Ferdinand dodged the lightning by casually leaning backward.
"Not bad for a first timer," said Ferdinand.
Lux readied himself for the next attacks.
Ferdinand grinned. "You were just lucky, rookie, and luck can run out."
Ferdinand bombarded Lux with red lightning. Lux dodged the lightning and redirected some of it back at Ferdinand. Ferdinand dodged Lux's lightning and reversed some of it back at Lux as well. They threw lightning at each other like tennis.
After crazily hurling lightning back and forth for a moment, Ferdinand stopped dodging and shooting back, and collected all the lightning that Lux returned to him.
After Ferdinand absorbed all the lighting, he fired a great red lighting at Lux. Lux couldn't reverse lightning that powerful, so he prone down and let the great lightning fly over his head.
The great lightning arced into the dark cloud behind Lux before exploding and unleashing red lightning all over the sky, accompanied by an ear-splitting, terrifying thunderclap.
Lux pushed himself up into the air with both of his hands and returned to his feet. Ferdinand brought the smoking fingers to his mouth and blew on them as if they were a gun that had just been fired. He holstered his finger gun into an invisible holster, and said, "That was entertaining. You're a good playmate, you know that?"
"I'm not your playmate!" yelled Lux.
"For me, you are. Now, what do you say if we play hide and seek?"
Ferdinand snapped his fingers, and the dark cloud around them stopped rumbling with red lightning. Without the light from the lightning, the sky plunged into pitch-darkness.
"Let's play!" Ferdinand spread his arm, jumped into the air, flew backward in a standing position, and disappeared into the cloud.
Lux cast his eyes around, searching for Ferdinand. The blackout on the plane left only Lux's glowing blue eyes and the crystal on his chest as the sole sources of illumination in this dark hazy sky.
But no matter which way he looked, all he saw was darkness and a wall of clouds.
Suddenly, Lux noticed a shadow swooshing through the cloud. It was exceedingly fast that he only caught sight of it for a split second.
Then, the shadow passed behind Lux. He couldn't see it, but he could hear it. But when he turned around, and once again, the shadow had vanished.
While Lux was looking for his opponent, Ferdinand zoomed out of the cloud behind Lux and crashed into him, shoving him off the roof. Lux conjured a crystal knife, stabbing the plane and stopping himself from falling. He created another knife in his other hand and climbed back to the top.
As soon as he got back on the roof, he shattered the knives, fabricated the sword, and darted his eyes around for Ferdinand. Then, he heard a whoosh behind him. He wheeled around and cut at Ferdinand. But Ferdinand's punch reached Lux's face first, dropping him to the ground. Lux got up from the ground and resumed the hunt for Ferdinand.
Lux tried to counter Ferdinand, but he was too fast. Ferdinand knocked Lux off his feet over and over again, sometimes almost pushing him off the plane.
Lux dropped to his knees. He groaned in pain and puffed in exhaustion. Lux stood up, reeling. He couldn't use only his eyes, to find him anymore, he had to use something else. Lux closed his eyes, opened his ears, and breathed deeply, focusing on his surroundings. He heard the wind, and the movement in the cloud around him.
Then, he heard a whoosh behind him. The faint sound slowly got louder and louder, signaling Lux the approaching of Ferdinand.
Suddenly, Ferdinand flew out of the cloud behind Lux and zoomed straight to him. Lux instantly opened his eyes, produced a crystal shield and smashed it against Ferdinand. Ferdinand dropped onto the plane, bouncing along the roof. After rebounding, he slowly stood up and said, "It seems I underestimated you, Vanderer." Ferdinand spitted out his tooth.
"Stop playing around like a kid and fight like a true warrior!"
"I've fought you many times. Aren't you tired of it?"
"It's not about being tired or not. You're Farsilon's servant. You've murdered a lot of people and destroyed a lot of good things. You deserve to die."
"How do you know I've murdered people?"
"Farsilon's minion who doesn't have blood on his hand? Don't make me laugh."
"You know, you're too serious. You need to relax a little bit."
"I'll relax after you die."
"Then, you'll have to wait for eternity because that moment will never come.
"I'm the Guardian of Arteon and I'll protect my people with life."
"The Guardian of Arteon, huh? Then, let's see how the Defender of Life will protect the people on this plane!"
Ferdinand ran to the edge, jumped off the plane, and flew straight to the plane's engine.
"NO!" shouted Lux.
Ferdinand pierced through the engine and flew into the cloud. The engine exploded and caught up in flames. The plane tilted and the passengers started to scream. Lux fell off the roof and glided down the wing. He generated a crystal knife and stabbed the wing, stopping himself from sliding off the plane.
The blaze burned bright, turning the sky orange. A few seconds later, Ferdinand zoomed out of the cloud and broke through another engine.
The second engine blew up and was engulfed in flames. The cockpit was bustling with the shriek of the alarm and the red warning light that was flashing like crazy.
The pilots tried their best to control the plane. They called the air traffic controller, declared an emergency, and prepared for an emergency landing. But it seemed nothing could stop the incoming tragedy.
Ferdinand flew back and forth, destroying the remaining engines. When all four engines had been destroyed, the pilots completely lost control, and the plane plummeted down to the earth.
Lux heard the passengers screaming in fear. He wanted to save them, but keeping himself from falling off the plane was challenging enough.
The burning plane emerged out of the dark ceiling of clouds, diving down to the city. People on the streets looked at the plane in shock, pointing their fingers at it. Some covered their mouths, some screamed in horror, some recorded videos, and some called their family, friends, or emergency services.
Arthur saw the burning plane flying over his head like an asteroid, and he ran after it.
The plane glided lower and lower, and the scream of the passengers became louder and louder. The calm people on the ground ran for their lives when they realized they were in the path of the crashing plane.
Lux wanted to stop this madness, but there was nothing he could do.
In the end, the plane crashed into the city, destroying buildings, cars, and everything in its path. After bringing down dozens of buildings, the plane hurtled into the city park. It slid along the ground, creating a long trench.
Lux couldn't hold on to the plane any longer and sprang away from it. He fell to the ground, rolled along the dirt, and passed out.
The plane kept advancing before stopping at the center of the park, leaving a trail of fire behind it. The plane fractured into many pieces, engulfed in flames, and released a plume of smoke into the sky.
After regaining consciousness, Lux slowly got up from the ground, and looked at the plane.
"No," said Lux in shock, running to the plane.
He looked through the windows and the holes for survivors, but all he saw were the lifeless bodies of the passengers. He ran around the plane, searching for any survivors. But when he realized no one had survived the crash, he collapsed to his knees and looked at all the dead passengers in the plane in sorrow.
Suddenly, he heard the cry of a baby coming from inside the plane. He rapidly stood up and rushed to the sound. He yanked the stuck door open with his super strength and traversed through the flames to the baby. When he found the baby, he realized that it was the same baby who he waved at. The baby was in his mother's arms. She hugged him tightly, taking the impact for him. She lay motionless, covered in blood, wounds, and dust. Lux pressed his finger to her neck, checking for a pulse, and as he feared, she had passed away. The baby wailed out loud, stroking his mother's face. There was a man sitting next to the mother, and Lux assumed he was the boy's father.
Lux looked at the baby in grief, his heart wrenching from the cries of the baby and the scene in front of him.
But there was no time to mourn. Lux took a deep breath, pushed aside his sorrow, and gently removed the baby from his mother's arms.
The baby held onto his mother firmly, unwilling to let her go. Lux reluctantly pulled the baby away from his mother and carried him out of the plane. The baby reached for his mother with both of his hands, tears streaming down his face.
After Lux took the baby out of the plane, the plane exploded. He wheeled around and stared at a large plume of black smoke floating out of the airplane in shock. He could no longer save the other passengers, but he could still save the baby. He turned away from the plane and ran for help.
While Lux was searching for help, he noticed a family—consisting of a father, a mother, a son, and a daughter—running his way.
"Are you alright?!" asked the father.
"I'm fine, but this baby needs a doctor. Hurry! Take him to the hospital!" Lux handed the baby to the family.
The mother took the baby and rocked him. "It's okay you're safe now."
"What about the other passengers?! Are they still alive?!" asked the father.
Lux closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, everyone is dead."
"Dammit!" The father stomped the ground.
"Are you sure there are no survivors?" asked the mother.
Lux nodded.
"Why are you wearing armor?" asked the daughter. "And why are your eyes glowing?"
"I want to share everything with you. But this baby needs to see a doctor as soon as possible."
"You're right. Come on, everyone, let's get back to the car!" said the father.
The father ran back to the car, and his family followed. But then the mother stopped and looked at Lux. When she saw him standing still and looking down at the ground with sorrow, she asked, "You aren't coming with us?"
"I still have a duty to fulfill," answered Lux. "Besides, I'm not the father of this poor child."
"If you're not the father of this baby, then that means…"
"His parents are dead."
The mother covered her mouth in shock. "Lord, have mercy on this child. But even if you're not his father, you can't leave him. Who will take care of him after a doctor treats him?"
"I know you have a lot of duties on your hands. But can you look after this boy for me?"
The mother looked at the baby.
"I… I don't know."
"Please, ma'am, this kid has no one left to turn to."
"What about you?"
"I'm too busy to take care of him. I have battles to fight and wars to win. Moreover, he will face many dangers if he comes with me."
The mother looked at the baby in her hand, before looking at Lux. "Okay. I will take care of him. We will look after him as if he were one of our family. You have my word."
"Thank you."
"Good luck, sir. I hope you achieve victory in your battle."
The mother took the baby away. Lux watched the baby until he was out of sight. Lux was both happy and sad. Sad because the baby would never see his parents again, but happy because he had met his new family who would take care of him for the rest of his life.
A wisp of raindrops fell onto the grass around Lux before the sky began to cry, pouring down heavy rain. Thunderclaps blended with the noise of the rain. Even though the rain was harsh, it wasn't enough to extinguish the flames from the plane. The blaze still shone brightly behind Lux.
"A dream without action will remain a dream. Goodwill without action and enough power will remain goodwill," said Ferdinand, descending from the sky behind Lux.
Lux clenched his fists in rage. Ferdinand folded his arms and looked at his work.
"No matter how much you want to save them, without power, you can't save anyone," said Ferdinand.
Lux gritted his teeth and breathed heavily, before fabricating the sword, turning to Ferdinand and pointing the weapon at his face.
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