Chương 22: FIRE CRACKER!

Roofus smirked.

"... You're stronger than I expected." Ace scoffed.

"Then surrender, it would make it easier for the both of us..." Roofus chuckled.

"Nah, I got one more trick up my sleeve." He glanced toward Flint. The two exchanged a single nod. No words. They didn't need any. Flint grinned.

"Ready?" Roofus lowered his stance.

"Let's harvest." Dark green mana erupted beneath both of their feet. The ground cracked as two enormous crescent-shaped circles spread across the arena like growing fields. Ace frowned.

"... Amelia."

"I know." Both immediately separated. Roofus raised one hand.

"Magic Skill..." His aura exploded outward.

"MAGIC SKILL: REAPER'S BOUNTY!" The green circles suddenly became connected by dozens of glowing vines stretching across the battlefield. Ace's instincts screamed.

"Don't let them touch you!" Roofus vanished. He wasn't fast... He simply disappeared. A split second later.. He appeared directly in front of Amelia. She immediately leapt backward. A platform of hardened magic formed beneath her feet, launching her safely out of reach. Roofus smiled.

"... That's a good dodge there." But... He wasn't aiming for her.

"Flint!" Above her A blur. Amelia looked up.

"... What in the?!" Flint had already appeared overhead, flipping through the air with his twin sickles spinning around him. He laughed wildly.

"You're too late!" Before Amelia could even recover.. WHAM!! His kick slammed into her ribs.

"GAH!" The impact launched her straight across the battlefield Directly toward Roofus.

"No!" Ace dashed forward.

"AMELIA!" Roofus extended his hand. The glowing vines wrapped around Amelia midair. They violently yanked her toward him.

"Harvest." SLASH!! His scythe apperition carved across her side. Before she could even scream The vines instantly hurled her away.

"... FLINT!" Like a ball being thrown. Flint appeared exactly where she'd be launched. He spun. Both sickle apperitions flashed. Amelia cried out as another strike sent her flying again. Straight back toward Roofus. Ace's eyes widened.

"... They're passing her to each other!"

"They're messing with her like she's some sort of play thing!" Again. Back to Flint. Then back to Roofus. Again. Again. Again. Every strike accelerated her faster. Every pass hit harder than the last. The glowing vines redirected her trajectory with terrifying precision. It was like she had become the ball in a deadly game.

"AMELIA!" Ace couldn't watch anymore. He burst forward.

"I'M COMING!" Roofus grinned. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"... He fell for it." Ace reached Amelia just as Flint kicked her toward Roofus again.

"I've got you!" He grabbed her arm The vines instantly changed direction. Both of them froze.

"... Huh?" Flint laughed.

"You fell for our trap!"

"You see when you try to interupt the flow of reaper's harvest you'll only end up being caught in it yourself.." The glowing vines wrapped around Ace's wrist. Roofus smiled.

"So.. anyone who interrupts the harvest..."

"... becomes part of the harvest." Ace's eyes widened.

"... What the heck is this?!" Both vines pulled simultaneously. Now... Instead of one target... There were two. Roofus swung first. His scythe slammed into Ace's shoulder before the vines launched him toward Flint. Flint met him in midair. Twin sickles crossed. Ace was sent hurtling back toward Roofus. Meanwhile.. Amelia was launched toward Flint from the opposite direction. The battlefield became complete chaos. Four figures moved so quickly the audience could barely follow.

Roofus struck Ace Flint struck Amelia Then the vines crossed. Now Ace flew toward Flint. Amelia toward Roofus. Neither of them could regain their footing. The moment they escaped one attack... Another partner was already waiting. Every impact fed into the next. Every strike increased the momentum. The entire combo flowed like an endless harvest. Mochi gasped.

"They're..."

"They're juggling them!" Thomas watched"This is a bad situation they're in.."

"If they want to win they must find a way out of the harvest" Ace gritted his teeth through the pain.

"No..." His sword scraped against the ground as he desperately tried to stop himself.

"I won't..." Before he finished Roofus's boot slammed into his stomach. Ace was launched across the arena yet again. The emerald vines whipped through the arena like living serpents. Ace and Amelia were still trapped within Reaper's Bounty, thrown back and forth between Roofus and Flint without a moment to recover. Another slash. Another impact. Another launch. Flint grinned as he prepared to catch Amelia again.

"She's coming my way!" The vines pulled Amelia toward him— But just before she reached him... Ace's hand shot out. GRAB! He caught Amelia's wrist.

"... Ace?!" Instead of letting the vines separate them... He planted his feet. Muscles tensed. With a roar"HYAAAH!" He ripped Amelia free from the vines and hurled her high into the air.

"ACE!" She soared dozens of meters above the battlefield, completely outside the range of the technique. The emerald vines snapped apart. Roofus' eyes widened.

"... He broke the chain?" Flint skidded backward in disbelief.

"No... he actually escaped?!" Ace remained alone inside the attack. The vines immediately rushed toward him from every direction. He slowly lifted his head. A grin spread across his face.

"You fools..." Blue flames flickered across his arms.

"You thought your little harvest could keep me trapped?" The grin widened.

"Then you never understood the difference between trapping prey..." His eyes ignited with blue fire.

"... and cornering a wildfire."

"You made the biggest mistake uusing that move in a 2v2" A colossal eruption of azure flames burst from Ace's body. The emerald vines instantly ignited. They shriveled away into ash before they could touch him. Flint shielded his face.

"What the?!"

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Roofus slid backward, his boots carving trenches through the arena floor.

"The heat is so intense..." The entire technique collapsed. Ace landed on one knee.

"Huff..."

"Huff..." Sweat dripped from his chin. His breathing was ragged. The flames faded. A moment later Amelia landed beside him. She immediately knelt down.

"Ace!" She looked him over.

"... Are you okay?" Her voice shook.

"I can take more punishment than you... I'm a defense type after all."

"You aren't."

"You must be hurting right now..." Ace stayed silent for a moment. Then slowly stood.

"... I'm fine." He rested his sword across his shoulder.

"You must worry less about me..." His eyes locked onto Roofus and Flint.

"... and more about ending this fight." Amelia stared at him. Then smiled.

"... Right." She stood beside him. The two shared a determined nod.

"Let's do this!" Amelia thrust both hands forward.

"Magic Skill: Cracker Missile!" Dozens... No. Hundreds of razor-sharp cracker shards filled the air before launching toward Roofus and Flint like a storm of white arrows. Roofus laughed.

"... They think that's going to work?"

"On us?"

"They know we have the Infinite Wall right?" Before the shards reached them Ace sprinted forward. His lungs expanded. Blue fire gathered deep within his chest.

"Magic Skill: FLAMETHROWER!" A torrent of scorching blue flames erupted from his mouth. Instead of burning Amelia's cracker shards... The fire engulfed them. Each cracker absorbed the flames. One after another POP! POP! POP! They expanded with explosive blue energy, becoming blazing projectiles that tore through the sky like miniature comets. Flint's confident smile vanished.

"... They..."

"... They combined their magic." Roofus grinned.

"Heh."

"Makes no difference to me." He stepped beside Flint.

"Let's go Flint!" Both raised their hands simultaneously. Golden mana erupted beneath them.

"Magic Skill... INFINITE WALL!" A massive golden barrier rose from the earth. It shimmered with incredible density. The flaming cracker barrage slammed into it. The arena shook violently. The wall held. Roofus smirked.

"Told you." Then... Crk. He blinked.

"... What?" A tiny crack appeared. Flint stared.

"... Roofus..." Another crack spread. Then another. The barrier groaned under the relentless barrage.

"No..." Roofus whispered.

"... Impossible." The cracks multiplied across the entire wall. Flint's eyes widened.

"We're..."

"... losing?" Roofus clenched his fists.

"No!" He tried to sustain the barrier with his full power.. However, the wall shattered. The flaming cracker missiles burst through like a tidal wave. Roofus and Flint disappeared beneath a storm of blue fire and explosive shards. A massive explosion engulfed the battlefield. Moments later Two figures were launched from the smoke. Roofus slammed into the ground. Flint bounced several times before crashing beside him. Neither moved. Silence fell over the arena. Ace remained standing, breathing heavily.

"Huff..."

"Huff..." He leaned slightly on his sword.

"... Did we..." He glanced toward Amelia.

"... do it?"

"... Did we win?" The smoke slowly cleared. Thomas stepped into the center of the arena. He looked at Roofus. Then Flint. Neither responded. He raised one hand high into the air.

"Roofus and Flint are unable to continue!" The crowd held its breath. Thomas smiled.

"The winners..." He pointed toward the two standing warriors.

"... Ace and Amelia!" Amelia let out a relieved laugh, and Ace, exhausted but satisfied, allowed himself the faintest smile. Mochi jumped into the air.

"LET'S GOOOO!" Tony pumped both fists.

"They actually did it!"

"They pulled it off!" Thomas allowed himself a small smile.

"Excellent work." Even Roofus, still lying on the ground, laughed.

"Heh..." Mochi ran toward the battlefield.

"That was awesome you guys!" Amelia smiled.

"Thanks.." The biggest smile anyone had seen all day was on her face.

"We won!" Then she turned toward Ace. Without hesitation, she raised her hand.

"High five!" Ace looked at it. Then looked away. Then looked back. Everyone stared. Waiting. Mochi whispered.

"Come on..." Tony whispered.

"Do it..." Ace sighed.

"... Tch." Reluctantly, he raised his hand. Smack. The high five connected. Amelia beamed. Ace immediately shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Don't get used to it." Amelia giggled.

"Too late, I already have." As the Voyagers celebrated their victory, one thought crossed everyone's mind. For the first time since the guild was formed... They had truly fought as a team. Amelia said"I'll call that attack, firecracker, pretty cool don't you think?"

"It's alright" Ace said flatly.. As the celebration settled down, Roofus slowly got back to his feet. Flint helped dust off his jacket.

"Heh. Guess we lost." Roofus laughed.

"Yeah. We did." Thomas walked over from the center of the field. The two guild leaders stopped in front of one another. Then Roofus extended his hand. Thomas accepted it. The two shook hands firmly.

"That was a wonderful match," Roofus said with a grin.

"We learned a lot." Thomas smiled back.

"So did we." Mochi blinked.

"Wait, really?" Thomas nodded.

"Your Infinite Wall forced us to adapt. Without it, Ace and Amelia never would've learned to work together and create their firecracker technique." Amelia smiled at that. Ace pretended not to hear. Roofus chuckled.

"Then I guess we helped each other grow in a way then huh?." Thomas released the handshake.

"We should have a rematch sometime." Roofus grinned.

"Sure thing."

"I'm down for that.." Behind him, Flint smiled.

"I'll be looking forward to it." Mochi immediately pointed at Roofus.

"And next time I'm fighting you!"

"I wanna see if I can break that infinite wall of yours!" Roofus laughed.

"Looks like someone is confident, aren't you?" Tony crossed his arms.

"Well, I'm not fighting anybody." Everyone ignored him. Roofus turned toward his guild.

"Alright, guys." The Farm Crop Guild members looked up.

"Let's go." They nodded. One by one they began walking away from the field. Arnold waved over his shoulder.

"See you around, Voyagers." Flint gave a respectful nod. Roofus turned one last time. His smile was genuine.

"You've got a good guild, Thomas." Thomas smiled.

"So do you." Roofus nodded. Then he and the Farm Crop Guild continued down the road until they eventually disappeared over the horizon. Silence settled over the field. For a moment, everyone simply watched them leave. Then Mochi stretched.

"Alright!" Everyone looked at him.

"When's our next guild battle?"

"Im ready to go" Thomas sighed. Ace rolled his eyes. Tony groaned. Amelia laughed. And for the first time in a while, the Voyagers Guild felt a little more like a family