Hidden Legacies

Axcel (Chapter 53)

Zhari's POV

Liander and I took Louise to a secluded area where the war can't get to us. I healed Louise's wound and bandaged it up. Though Louise was better, Liander couldn't stop sobbing. He was finally back.

"Louise, I-i'm sorry. I'm r-really sorry."
"Liander, she's fine now. You don't have to apologize."
"But I still hurt her! I did join Caster's side by accident but that doesn't change the fact that I'm the one who almost got her killed."
"Y-you shouldn't feel bad, Liander. You were being controlled. You couldn't help it."

Louise said slowly reaching for Liander's hand. She smiled at him happy that he's finally back. I should be angry at Liander for hurting my friend but I could see how much he loved Louise. And how much Louise loved him. As her friend, I only want Louise to be happy.

"As much as I don't want to spoil the moment, we still have a war to win."
"Yeah, let's get going."
"Are you sure you'll be alright Louise? I did manage to stop the bleeding but if you need more rest you can sit this out."
"Are you kidding? I'm feeling a whole lot better."
"If Louise is fighting then I'll fight too. I caused too much damage already. The only way I could repay what I did is to help out."
"Alright let's go!"

As we ran back to the battlefield, a big spacecraft appeared and started shooting from up in the air. It seems that we weren't the only one who had backup. The spacecraft reached the ground as we reached Amaya's side.

"Liander?! What is he doing here? I thought-"
"There's no time to explain. The only thing you guys need to know is that he's our ally from now on."

As our conversation came to a close, the spacecraft opened and there came a man in his 50s with an unusual device any of us have never seen before. As he came closer, we figured out who he was. Caster has revealed himself.

"So you finally decided to show up, Father? Nice for you to join in on the fun."
"But of course dear. I wouldn't want to miss seeing my daughter's face. So as a present, accept this!"

Then the war resumed starting with Caster's strong attack. He shot a unusual bullet that explodes in the air. All of us managed to dodge it but not completely. Shocked by the sudden explosion, some of us had bruises. But still we continued to fight. Using our powers to the limit.

"Amaya! There's lack of teams in the west side. We're running out of backup teams. We need help!"
"You guys go on ahead. I can handle Caster on my own."
"But Zhari-"
"Caster is going to run out of energy sooner or later. My energy can still run for a few more hours. Go and help."
"We'll be back as soon as possible once the west side is dealt with."

They went to the west side and our battle continued. Caster deflecting my attacks and me preventing his bullets. A few moments later, he ran out of bullets and fire started coming out of his hands. I manage to move away from it in a knack of time.

"Hold on a moment... Fire attack? That's not possible. Caster is a human. How can he have such power?"

Then he went in for another blow, luckily I deflected it. I reached for the sword with my power and threw it at him. He moved out of the way but the sword hit his hand. I expected him to bleed from the sword attack but all I saw was a glitch. Now that I think about it, Caster isn't the type to just show up carelessly without a plan. It doesn't make sense that he has fire powers and will just glitch like that.

"He must be an impostor."

Upon knowing this, I didn't have to worry about unexpected gadgets but just deflect his fire attacks. As soon as I was confident I'd beat him, he glitched again.
He then manage to burn my good arm and he hit me on the stomach. I went flying and I hit a tree. I layed my head on the trunk trying to swallow the pain in my right arm. I saw Caster walking towards me and he knelt down smirking.