Chapter 644: The Clouds Master

Oren watched his blood trail, knowing that the soldiers should follow it. This way, his mother and Selena would have a chance to run away using the underground tunnels. However, he could feel the presence of several people following him, making him relieved.

"Lancelot, are you there?" asked Oren, and he received a response shortly after. Mr. Tate was near the battlefield, and Lancelot had found him. Therefore, Oren asked his spirit to guide him toward Selena, which should be the weakest person among them.

Then, Oren had to lose these soldiers and meet with his mother before running away. Mr. Tate was powerful enough to protect Selena, but he had to hide his tracks before meeting his mother again.

As he was bandaging his bleeding, Oren could hear the sound of footsteps traveling from behind. Then, using the breathing technique Master Ronin taught him, Oren calmed down. Mana vibrated around him, and Oren decided to use a technique he had learned.

He called it Mana Decoy, as his ability allowed him to control mana even after it left his body. In this way, he could mask his presence by sending a mana decoy elsewhere. Oren allowed mana to leave every pore of his body, replicating his appearance. Then, he was staring at the mana figure in front of him.

"Go and lure them away," muttered Oren as he controlled the figure to run deeper into the tunnels while he took a side road. This would give him a few minutes since the Mana Decoy had a similar presence to his.

Unless someone had a high perception, most awakeners relied on mana to feel other people's presence. After all, a mana essence or a manablood was condensed mana. Therefore, Oren didn't think that whoever was pursuing him could tell the difference.

Oren ran through the tunnels, hiding his presence as much as possible. Finally, the darkness beneath him split apart using a small flame on his hand, allowing him to see better. Then, he heard hissing and rumbling sounds as if something was slithering inside the tunnels.

His running came to a halt as Oren stopped to listen to the sounds behind him. Even after listening for a while, there was no telling what it was. Then, Oren saw what was coming after him.

"…that man is filling the tunnels with clouds?" glared Oren at the clouds rushing his way before running away. "He must have realized that I used a decoy, somehow. This is bad, but at least I'm the one they are after."

Oren could feel the clouds rumble behind him, and he frowned. If someone could create shadows, then they should be able to…

"These clouds are charged!" muttered Oren as he looked at them and saw the clouds flash with light. "What kind of bugged ability is this?"

Oren had to run for his life as the lighting crackled and struck the tunnel's walls. The entire underground structure began to shake under the destruction of the lightning and the clouds. As the clouds almost caught him, Oren saw the end of the tunnel before.

"Ugh!" groaned Oren while stumping his foot on the ground to rush forward. Then, he rolled on and fell from the end of the tunnel, letting the clouds graze past him. The electricity charged within them made his hair stand up, and Oren fell to the ground. "Cough!"

The young awakener rolled on the ground before he managed to stand up, finding himself inside a giant underground reservoir.  The clouds stuck to the ceiling as lightning began to rumble between them.

"I caught you at last, Oren Silvera," muttered a voice from the clouds before someone fell from them, his hair standing up like an afro. "I'm glad you are the one I picked."

"…what?" muttered Oren while looking around. "Where are the other two?"

"We split apart to find the three of you since the three paths had different traces," said the clouds' master with a shrug. "I wanted to find that woman, but you are quite something yourself. You are… a Spirits Contractor, right?"

"…does that mean… the other two also left traces?" muttered Oren as he stood up, his brows furrowed. "Those two idiots!"

"It is wrong to bad mouth your mother, kid," said the man. "In any case, my name is Jono. I have some questions for you."

"What kind of questions?" complied Oren as he looked around, looking for an exit. If the two other two followed his mother and Selena, then he needs to go and save them. It was best to distract this Jono until he finds a way out.

"I know that you have a relationship with a man named Ronin, and I want to know about his daughter."

"…Master Ronin doesn't have any daughters that I know about," said Oren with a frown while realizing that all of the exits were blocked with clouds.

"As far as I know, he only has one daughter called Melania," said Jono as he sat on top of his clouds. "Melania is my little sister."

Oren was shocked and speechless by the revelation, and he remembered the woman he met at Master Ronin's house. As he remembers it to be, her name was June, and she seemed to be the master's wife.

"You are June's son?" asked Oren with shock, and the man's expression crumbled.

"Do not mention that name with disrespect, kid. I will let this one go, but another time means death."

"Does that mean you are not here to kill me?"

"…you have a point, as I will kill you regardless," nodded Jono. "However, we have been instructed to kill no one related to the sorcerer, as that would backfire on our plans."

"The sorcerer?" muttered Oren, realizing these people's true goal. "You want to kidnap my mother to threaten my brother?"

"If you put it that way, I would feel like a villain. However, that is indeed the case. All for the sake of survival."

"How is that a justification for killing countless innocents?"

"It is either this city or our kingdom," shrugged Jono before realizing that his clouds had blocked every possible path. "You have nowhere to run, now. Tell me about my sister."

Oren gritted his teeth as he was surrounded by clouds rumbling with lightning. However, given his hair, Jono did not control the lightning himself. Nevertheless, this was the silver lining of this ordeal that could make him survive.

"I have no idea what to tell you."

"…is she miserable here?" asked Jono, and Oren saw the first human side of this man. "I wanted to take her along, but I don't know if that is the best thing for her. After all, this world is going to be destroyed."

"…there is no we are letting that happen."

"You have seen Amelio," said Jono with a sigh. "He is not a human, but a god. That kind of god has set eyes on this world, and no one can stop him."

"We will," said Oren with conviction. "Kera will not fall."

"I admire the confidence behind those words," said Jono with a yawn. "However, you failed to rescue your family, so I wonder where that confidence comes from? As we speak, my soldiers are capturing your family and friends."

Oren was quiet for a few seconds because he realized that Jono was trying to entrap him here, nothing more. Then, his flames appeared around his body, making Jono raise his brows in surprise. Then, Oren dashed forward.

"I will never allow that!" shouted Oren as his greatsword appeared in his hand, and he sent a giant crescent of flames toward Jono. However, the man simply waved his hand, and the clouds protected him.

As the flames struck the clouds, Oren watched the latter absorb the mana of the attack. The fire died down, but Oren was far from being over. He jumped atop the clouds that hindered Jono's vision before waving his greatsword at him.

"It is futile, kid."

The clouds rumbled around Jono before a streak of lightning struck Oren's sword, which he let go in a moment's decision. The lightning struck the blade, making the iron bend from the extreme heat.

As he landed, Oren struck Jono with his fist covered in flames. The attack connected, sending the man flying toward the clouds. However, the moment that he did, his legs got entrapped.

"Dammit," Oren tried to break free, but the clouds defused his mana and strength. Jono landed on the floor before standing while rubbing his mouth.

"Ah, it hurts," said Jono. "It is hard to hold back against weakling."

The words stabbed into Oren's heart, making him stop struggling with frustration. However, then, a smile appeared on his face. Jono frowned as he realized that something was wrong.

"You think I am desperate to get to my family, but that is wrong," said Oren with a smile. "All I have to do is keep the most troublesome soldier here, and my family will be safe."

Earlier, Lancelot told him that Mr. Tate was here. Oren sent his spirit to help his mother and Mr. Tate to help his girlfriend. In this way, those two were safer than he was.

"It seems… you are underestimating me," said Jono as the clouds surrounded Oren's arms and twisted them. His forearms broke at the same time, making Oren howl in pain. "All I have to do is keep you alive."

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