“The promise, huh… So he hasn’t forgot… A strange one he is…” She muttered to herself, still smiling. However, the smile disappeared from her face as she remembered how truly grave his situation was. 

“I’m sure he’ll be able to survive the retribution, but… There are angels and even gods who absolutely mustn’t find out about his existence. I doubt that at this stage he’d be able to even put up a fight…” She muttered

But at the same time, she wasn’t sure. John was getting stronger at an incredibly fast rate. Even his new form was something not to be reckoned with.

“*Sigh* He’s always giving me so much work.” She complained

——————————————

“H-Hey!? What happened to him?!” 

“I-I cushioned his fall using wind magic and a water pool but… He hasn’t woken up.”

“Did he drown?!”

“No, the moment he landed I got him out of there with a water bubble.”

“So then why isn’t he waking up?!”

“Calm down, Hexo. We don’t know.”

As the young man stood silently in complete darkness. He found himself paralyzed, being unable to move and only hear the muffled voices of his comrades.

They were so muffled that by voice alone he could barely distinguish between them, but he could Still tell who it was that was talking.

‘Wake up…’ John thought to himself

However, he still couldn’t move. He could feel the darkness within him, creeping in the back, as it enjoyed holding him down.

Upon noticing this, John took in a deep breath in the darkness and said the words again. This time, more resolved.

‘Wake up’

John suddenly opened his eyes as he sat up before coughing out all the remaining water in his system.

“*Cough* *Cough*”

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Confused, John gave a quick look around him and noticed that a surprised look on everyone’s face.

The first to speak was Hexo who even stuttered on his words.

“H-He’s awake! He’s awake!!!” He shouted

Satire and Shera both breathed a sigh of relief while a big smile was formed on the guild master’s face.

“I told you he’d pull through!” Said Hexo

“Weren’t you the one literally panicking a while ago?” Satire asked as she gave him the stare

“N-No…” Hexo muttered slightly embarrassed 

“As expected of our Hero, even drowning is no match for him!” Said the guild master

“He didn’t drown!” Satire responded

The party was filled with Joy the moment they saw that John was still alive.

“Hey John, tell them that you didn’t-“

Once Satire had turned to John for help, she was taken aback and completely forgot about finishing her sentence. 

The same happened for the others who noticed this. Once they saw the look on John’s face, they were all taken aback.

Long spiky dark and white hair, and sharp eyes with glowing irises which resembled the sunrise and a pupil which resembled the night sky. They could see his eyes now that the blindfold was off, but that wasn’t what had taken them aback. 

A smile could be seen formed on his face as a tear flowed down it. Never could they have ever imagined seeing such an expression on John’s face.

John had only noticed this now, quickly wiped his eyes before muttering.

“Sorry… I just remembered something…”

However they still remained speechless. The one to first break the silence was Satire. 

“John, you… You’re-” 

Before she could finish, Satire was interrupted by John who shouted.

“GET BACK!” 

As this happened, golden electrical currents could be seen flowing through and around him.

“Eh-“

*BOOOOOOM!*

Yellow lighting, struck right where John was standing, electrifying John as it did so. The clouds in the sky had turned dark and began to circle in the sky above John.

Following that, more and more lightning strikes were fired down upon John.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOOOOOM!* 

“ARGH… AAAAAAARGH!” Just shouted in pain

Burns began to form on his body, as his consciousness began to fade. He wasn’t just being hit by regular lightning. It was a kind which was striking at the demon part of him, making him feel a type of pain he could have never imagined.

Burn marks were starting to form all over his body, each strike rendering him More and more useless. It was the wrath of the heavens.

“GUILD MASTER!” Hexo shouted as he dashed over at John

Just before the lightning had striked him, They were all dragged away from John by a strange force. Hexo knew that it was John who had pushed them away and wouldn’t forgive himself if he didn’t help him right now. 

Hexo stood in front of John with his guard raised as he did so, his draconian scales came out, serving as an insulator. This caused the following lightning strikes to get intercepted and hit Hexo directly instead.

*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOOOOOM!* 

Before the lightning could hit them, A large metal shield was forming in the air above them, to block it, however the lightning passed right through the shield.

“WHA-“

‘It went past my shield!?’

One after another, lightning continued to strike, It’s wrath landed on Hexo, burning at his scales. It hurt, there was no doubt, even if his partial draconian form, it hurt like hell. However, Hexo knew it would hurt John more. A human wasn’t as resistant to lightning as Draconians.

“DAMN IT… WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS THING!?” Hexo shouted

*BOOM!* *BOOOOOOM!* 

Hexo’s began to grit his teeth in pain as the strikes kept coming. Thankfully, they were no longer hitting John, however, John’s pain hadn’t stopped.

“AAAAARGH!!!! H-HEXO! M-MOVE! I’M AH- FINE!” John shouted as he struggled to handle the pain.

Hexo found it strange how John was still in pain despite the lightning not hitting him and how it didn’t stop him from saying stupid shit. 

“King Class Earth Magic: Great Defender” Said Satire as she just finished her chant.

The earth from beneath Both John and Hexo became unsteady, before they were eventually  grabbed a large rock golem which was formed beneath them. 

It had a peculiar design and look, with a strange glowing core in the middle of it’s chest. 

As this happened, the guild master quickly leapt in front of Both John and Hexo, taking the attack from the lightning as he did so.

*BOOM!*

Steam could be seen coming off the guild master’s arms which were the first to come in  contact with the lightning. That was when he realized how painful it was.

It wasn’t something as simple as getting electrocuted or even getting striked by lightning. The guild master had gotten struck by lightning, but that lightning which he had gotten struck by, now felt like a simply zap in comparison.

This was true lightning, conducting itself all the way throughout his body.

‘That kid… He dealed with 6 strikes from this?! That Hexo too… Just one of these strikes made my arms go completely numb… More importantly…’

“TAKE JOHN AND RUN! I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING BUT HE’S BEING TARGETED!” Shouted the guild master.

The earth golem which carried both John and Hexo, moved at fast speeds for it’s height, allowing it to quickly breeze past Satire and Shera.

Satire and Shera knew they weren’t being targeted so they didn’t run after them. They Had a different objective, and that was to find whoever it was that was doing this.

Or so she tried, but no matter how much she did. She couldn’t trace it. There was no magic power in the air around them, leaving only two explanations.

One, he was getting attacked by a long-range user. But even then she’d be able to trace the location through his magic, if it landed near her. Or two, it wasn’t something being done by a magician, but rather, something already set in stone or programmed to happen.

The will of the heavens. Satire had heard stories about it, but never did she believe it was real. What could John had done to incite the anger of the heavens?

Suddenly, the lightning strikes, stopped. 

“I-Is it over…?” The guild master asked as he let out heavy pants. The strikes had disorientated him, and he could still feel the pain through his insulating Armour. His entire body was numb.

Just as he was about to feel a sigh of relief, he felt his heart sink as he heard Hexo’s words.

“OI! JOHN! WAKE UP!”

Filled with complex emotions, the guild master quickly turned back. Only to see, the group surrounding John who laid on the floor.

Satire was giving John CPR. His body fully covered in burn marks was now motionless. Upon seeing this, the guild master quickly rushed to John, his whole body aching as he did so, before dropping on his knees beside him.

“H-He’s not breathing…” Said Hexo hesitantly

“Wake- Up! Come- On! John!” Satire shouted as she continued to give him chest compressions

“Can’t you just use a healing spell?!” Hexo asked

“I-I Can’t… His heart… It… Stopped…”