Chapter 9. Long-awaited meeting

Inside the crater, located in the very center of the Borderlands, were three figures.

- And when will they arrive?

A young-looking man said in a boring voice.

He was sitting on a large piece of stone left from a destroyed building. The top of his body was bare and covered with picturesque tattoos. A large number 2 was depicted on the left chest.

Opposite him stood a feminine figure wearing a mask. She was wearing a long coat, her hands were hidden under gloves, and her hair was hidden behind a hood. The girl silently looked at the scarlet sky.

- They're already here.

An energetic voice sounded from their left.

It belonged to a handsome man with white hair wearing a white robe that was covered in dried blood. He looked up with his eyes, which had neither pupils nor sockets. They could see impenetrable space filled with stars.

The silhouette of a man with a two-handed sword appeared in the sky.

The white-haired man spread his arms wide, as if preparing for a hug.

- I'm already tired of waiting!

He said with a warm smile.

*Bang*

At this moment, a sword blade appeared right in front of his head. It was stopped by an energy field of wind surrounding the white-haired man.

The blow was delivered with such force that the ground under the man's feet cracked, and those near him were thrown back.

- Conrad!

The man in the white robe screamed as if in euphoria.

- Zero!

Conrad's voice was filled with rage.

Zero increased the size of the wind barrier, thereby finally stopping Conrad's blow and pushing him back. The warrior flew a short distance, and when he touched the ground again, the Second appeared to his right.

The monster, outwardly indistinguishable from a human, was cut into two parts by an instant blow of the sword, without having time to do anything.

- Don't interfere.

Conrad concentrated a large amount of wind energy on the tip of his sword and lunged towards Zero. The blow was again stopped by the wind barrier. However, the wind from the barrier began to flow towards the tip of the sword, gradually increasing the power of the incessant thrust and making the barrier less dense.

Noticing this, Zero canceled the barrier and dodged the blow to the side. When Conrad found himself near the white-haired man, he slowed himself down with his feet and divided the energy accumulated on the tip throughout the sword. He made a series of incredibly fast swings that released streams of air flying towards the enemy.

Zero dodged blows with such speed that from the outside it seemed as if he was teleporting. Zero then, with a slight wave of his hand, created three spheres of air around Conrad. Each sphere collected the surrounding air with such force that it attracted small objects. They were located in such a way that in their center, where Conrad was located, such a high pressure was created, as if gravity had increased tenfold.

With a circular swing of his sword, Conrad dispersed the spheres. He concentrated even more wind energy around his body and made another lunge towards Zero.

The white-haired man, whose face never left his smile, created another barrier. But when Konrad found himself near him, he stopped abruptly and made a turn, finding himself on the side of the enemy. He then swung upward, lifting Zero into the air.

- Ahahaha!

A man in a white robe, lifted by the flow of air, laughed with all his heart. 

He was having a lot of fun. When he was at a height of a couple of tens of meters, he dissipated the barrier. Zero floated freely in the air. Longitudinal energy wind streams resembling spears began to appear around him. He shot them at Conrad.

The warrior swung his sword, creating a stream of wind in the form of a slash that flew towards Zero and destroyed the wind spears in its path.

At the same moment, Conrad concentrated the wind energy under his feet and used it to fly upward. By moving behind the previously created cut, the warrior was protected from the monster's attack. When the cut almost reached Zero, Conrad made another similar blow, thereby increasing the power of the first.

But his technique was dispelled by a slight movement of Zero's hand. Following this, the monster appeared right in front of Conrad and, taking him by the neck, threw him to the outskirts of the city.

- You don't want others to disturb us either, do you?

Zero's voice was playful.

The monster flew after the warrior.

While Conrad and Zero fought, the Second managed to regenerate, reconnecting parts of his body.

- It was fast.

He said in surprise.

The Second wanted to attack Conrad again.

[Path of Fire: Eruption]

But he heard a voice from above and hastened to dodge to the side.

Walter landed next to him, hitting the ground with his fist. At that moment, it began to emit a red glow, and then a powerful column of flame, in the center of which was the warrior, rose upward.

The second extended his hand, intending to use some kind of technique, but was attacked by a spear, the blow of which passed right in front of the monster's eyes, and if he had not tilted his head back, there would have been a hole in it now.

Toby wanted to carry out the next attack, however, the Second wave of his hand knocked the spear out of the warrior's hands and was about to attack him. Suddenly, the monster felt numerous accumulations of water energy on the right side, so it extended its hand in that direction.

A lot of bullets were flying from there. The second opened his palm, after which the bullets scattered in different directions, not having time to reach the enemy.

The monster's eyes opened wide in surprise. He saw the First, who was simultaneously fighting with four opponents, whose attacks were perfectly coordinated.

Zass and Alexander suppressed the First and constrained its freedom of movement with a powerful onslaught of melee attacks. Patrick and Glaive constantly looked for gaps in the First's defense, circling around it, and attacked the monster at the most opportune moments.

Glaive enhanced Patrick's fiery attacks with his wind energy, and Alexander created water barriers in space that slowed down the First's movements and reduced the power of her blows.

[Path of Fire: Controlled Eruption]

Walter spread his arms wide.

The pillar of flame he had previously created was compressed into a spherical stream of fire energy located in front of the warrior's chest. Walter then slapped the sphere. The energy of the fire rushed in a powerful stream towards the Second, who was distracted.

[Wind Path: Endeavor]

Toby rushed for the spear.

With a horizontal movement of his hand, the Second changed the direction of the stream of fire flying towards him, sending it towards Toby.

[Wind Path: Ascension]

When Toby picked up the spear, he created a whirlwind with a rotating movement, which absorbed the stream of fire. The wind energy intensified the flames growing inside the whirlwind.

Walter appeared next to the Second. The warrior hit the monster in the jaw, sending him flying.

[Wind Path: Endeavor]

The monster rolled over several times as it hit the ground, but was stopped by an attack from Tobi, who pierced its chest and pinned the enemy to the surface. 

The Second squeezed the palms of both hands, after which Toby began to sharply press towards the ground. He fell to his knees and braced himself with his hands, resisting with all his might.

The spear rose into the air, freeing Second, who rose to his feet again.

Walter was already running towards him, but suddenly Patrick flew into him and was thrown by the First. Walter quickly reacted and redistributed the weight of his body, which allowed him not to fall and catch the red-haired youth.

- Hey, don't touch my toys!

The Second shouted with dissatisfaction.

The First didn't answer him.

She gracefully dodged all the attacks of her opponents, and, having guessed the right moment, kicked Alexander in the stomach with such force that he quickly flew towards the Second.

He jumped sideways. Alexander flew past him.

- What!?

The second was amazed at the impudence of the First.

- Wanna fight!?

He looked contemptuously at the impudent girl, and his left eye twitched nervously.

Chapter end