21. The Desert Ambush

Elias and Wail took off, flying through the sky with their auras surrounding them.

Hours of flight passed before they finally landed in the middle of a vast desert that stretched endlessly into the distance.

They continued on foot.

After a while, Wail broke the silence.

"By the way..."

"What have you been training for all this time?"

Elias gave a faint smile.

"Let the fight speak. You'll find out yourself."

Then he looked at him and added:

"And don't you dare interfere in the next fight."

"It's my turn this time. I want to see how far my training has taken me."

Wail smiled and raised his hands in surrender.

"All right, all right. I don't mind."

Before he could finish speaking...

The wind suddenly grew stronger.

It turned into a violent sandstorm.

Wail and Elias stood on either side of Amira, shielding her from the sand striking them with force.

Amid the roar of the wind, Wail raised his head.

His expression changed.

He looked at Elias without needing to say a word.

Elias understood that look immediately.

There was... a threat nearby.

They fixed their eyes on the horizon.

A city could barely be seen behind the curtain of sand.

They exchanged a quick glance, then rushed toward it.

---

They reached the city.

But... there was no one there.

The streets were empty, the doors were open, and there were signs that the place had been evacuated not long ago.

The three entered one of the houses.

Wail and Elias completely concealed their energy so that no enemy could sense their presence.

Wail said:

"We'll wait until the storm dies down."

Elias nodded in agreement.

---

Midnight arrived.

Elias opened his eyes and looked out the window.

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The storm had grown even more violent.

He watched the sand battering the walls, then muttered:

"Damn..."

"Looks like it won't stop for several days..."

Wail appeared behind Elias, watching the storm as well.

He spoke in a low voice.

"Don't you feel... like there's someone behind it?"

Elias nodded without taking his eyes away.

"Yeah."

"The enemy could appear at any moment."

Then he added:

"Keep your energy hidden."

"Let's go out and investigate."

The two stepped into the heart of the storm.

The wind raged wildly, while fine grains of sand constantly scraped against their faces and arms.

The storm grew even stronger until their vision was almost completely obscured.

Elias gritted his teeth.

"Damn..."

His yellow aura erupted.

A massive wave of energy blasted the sand several meters away, but the storm quickly returned with even greater force, as if it were swallowing his energy.

The wind accelerated unnaturally, separating the two.

Wail tried to catch up with Elias after sensing his energy, but he heard him shout:

"Don't come any closer!"

"Stay back!"

A massive vortex formed around Elias, growing tighter and tighter.

Its speed was terrifying, leaving Elias with no choice but to brace his feet against the ground.

Then...

The storm suddenly vanished.

Elias opened his eyes.

He was no longer in the desert.

Instead, he found himself inside a valley surrounded by mountains on every side.

He closed his eyes, trying to locate his opponent.

But a voice reached him first.

"Don't strain yourself..."

"I'm right here."

Elias turned around.

Mark was approaching him with steady steps.

He stopped in front of him and said angrily:

"Finally..."

"We'll settle our score."

Elias smiled.

"You're all by yourself?"

"Then this will be over quickly."

His golden aura erupted.

In response, a brown aura surrounded Mark, and rocks began rising around him.

The scene paused on the anger in Mark's eyes...

and the excitement in Elias's eyes.

---

The scene returned to Wail.

The storm had weakened slightly, and a gray aura emerged from within it.

Dozens of wind blades shot toward him.

He raised his arms to block them, but most of them pierced through and struck his body.

He clenched his fist.

"Damn... dill."

The moment he finished speaking, he sensed another threat.

He tilted his body to the side.

A water blade passed directly behind his head.

He released his aura, preparing to attack, but the sand suddenly seized his feet.

At the same moment, Zaki swooped down from above and kicked him with tremendous force, sending him crashing to the ground.

Wail realized that the poor visibility inside the storm favored his enemies, and he tried to escape it.

But the farther he moved... the stronger the wind became, and the more wounds appeared across his body.

He had only one option left.

Fight.

He raised his head.

Four auras surrounded him.

Gray. Blue. Green. And brown, all mixed with black energy.

Bahaa had sent dill, sif, Zaki, and Zeno, using the element of sand.

Wail sighed.

Then his Golden Transformation erupted around him, crackling with blue lightning.

---

The battle began.

dill attacked from the front, while Zeno blocked Wail's paths with sand.

Zaki focused on restricting Wail's movements with plant roots, while sif attacked from a distance with water.

Every time Wail managed to escape one of them... another was already waiting.

A punch was answered by a wind blade.

A leap was intercepted by a wall of sand.

A dodge ended with roots wrapping around his leg.

And a lightning strike was met by a torrent of water that dispersed its power.

Wail fought with everything he had. He even overpowered each of them when facing them individually.

But... he wasn't fighting one opponent.

He was fighting four who worked together in perfect harmony.

His injuries began to pile up, and his movements gradually became slower.

Finally, dill struck him with a kick that sent him toward the sand Zeno had created.

The sand restrained him for a moment, and Zaki seized the opportunity to attack from above.

Wail leaped away with difficulty.

His body was covered in wounds, and his Golden Aura had faded.

Even so... he smiled.

Zeno looked at him in confusion.

"I see you're smiling even though you're about to lose

"What exactly is there to be impressed by in this situation?"

Wail smiled wider.

"You don't want to kill me."

"Neither does Bahaa."

Zaki smiled.

"And you can't kill us either."

Wail shrugged.

"Let's raise the level of this fight a little."

The four exchanged glances.

Wail closed his eyes, and energy began gathering around him calmly.

No shouting.

No struggle.

For a moment, he remembered... the red aura.

And the massacre he had committed.

Small red sparks appeared among the blue electricity.

But he took a deep breath.

The sparks disappeared, and all the energy transformed into a pure heavenly blue.

A calm aura surrounded him...

but its density was terrifying.

Wail emerged from within it.

His hair and eyes had taken on the color of the sky, while heavenly-blue sparks of electricity danced around him.

He smiled as he looked at himself.

Then he laughed.

"I can't see what I look like..."

"Describe it to me."

Dill didn't wait.

He unleashed a barrage of wind blades.

At the same time, Zeno attacked him with a sandstorm.

But... the moment the attacks approached the aura, they simply vanished.

Wail disappeared.

He appeared in front of Zaki.

He extended his hand toward Zaki's chest.

"First one down..."

"I think."

A beam of electricity shot forward, sending Zaki crashing down amid smoke and lightning.

sif instinctively stepped back, settling into a defensive stance when his eyes met Wail's.

But Wail passed him and lunged toward dill.

A continuous barrage of punches forced dill backward despite his wind barrier.

Then Wail charged directly toward Zeno.

Black energy ignited around the latter, and the two engaged in a rapid exchange.

Zeno sealed off the area with sand and tried several times to restrict Wail's movements.

But Wail's new speed was greater. He avoided most of the attacks and landed several direct blows, forcing Zeno backward.

Even so, Zeno managed to pierce Wail's shoulder with a sharp sand spear, then blasted him away with an explosion of sand before retreating.

The two landed on the ground.

Zeno stood there, breathing heavily, while Zaki began to regain consciousness.

At that moment...

A voice echoed inside their minds.

"Withdraw."

"There is no point in continuing."

Black portals opened behind the four, and they disappeared one after another.

Wail did not try to pursue them because he suddenly sensed a familiar energy.

His eyes widened.

"Elias!"

He rushed forward at his maximum speed and reached the valley between the mountains.

He froze in place.

Mark was covered in deep wounds.

Yet he was gripping Elias by the neck. Elias appeared unconscious and covered in blood.

Mark said:

"You fought well..."

"But you were defeated."

Wail rushed toward him.

But an invisible force violently repelled him.

He raised his head and saw Bahaa standing in the distance, looking at him with a calm smile.

He said:

"Finally..."

"I've caught you both."

At that very moment, dill, Zaki, and sif appeared.

They surrounded him once again.

Wail shouted:

"Damn it!"

He vanished in a flash of electricity and appeared inside the house where he had left Amira.

He grabbed her and disappeared again.

He reappeared with her at the mountain hill.

The heavenly aura faded from his body, and he dropped into a seated position, clutching his head.

Amira woke up in alarm.

"Wail! What happened?!"

But... he didn't answer.

He slowly stood up and walked away in silence, anger and despair dominating his expression.