GUARDIAN OF THE END

"I, uh, got kidnapped. Sort of." Jason said the first words that appeared inside his head as he saw the visible confusion on Risa's face.

After all, he had provided the right explanation yet hadn't told her the details.

Jason eyes then shifted over to Ray who was also looking at him, albeit a bit more confusedly.

"Maybe I should explain it from the beginning…" Jason sighed as he recited the recent events from the start where he had appeared outside the forest and had met Alex disguised as Risa.

Risa didn't look surprised when she learned that Alex had turned into her to fool Jason.

"I found Ray around the entrance of the forest too, or at least I thought that I did. It turned out that Alex was going to make me his vessel," Risa explained.

"Thankfully, I came there on time, distracted Alex and dealt him some damage before running away." Ray added as he was brought up to speed with the recent events by Risa.

Ray had been initially surprised by the entire thing, however, he was a Syrward. He had accepted the strange and chaotic things his family went through long ago.

He was now left wondering whether that part of the family had shifted over a bit too much to both Jason and Nora as both of them went through so many troubles, the former much more than the latter.

"You both were able to attack and get away from Alex?" Jason asked with slightly open mouth as the two of them nodded.

"I mean, it wasn't that hard. We certainly didn't face a banner and was able to get out of the forest easily," Ray replied before pausing.

Both him and Risa exchanged a glance as though they had just realized something.

"Unless that was Alex's hidden intention all along." Risa finished before looking at Jason with a grim expression. "Do you know any reason due to which Alex might be after you."

"That's all I know. If not for Feta, I would be stuck inside the forest until who knows how long." Jason sighed as all eyes turned towards the goat.

Feta had the decency to just nod and acknowledge the fact that she was being praised.

[ I'm your guardian after all. ] She said inside his head.

'Do you have any idea why Alex, or whatever her real name is, was trying so hard to get me and Risa to become her vessel?' he questioned.

[ Guardians like me have a generally high level of compatibility with certain bloodlines. The Syrward family bloodline is the most favored one by all guardians as your family is compatible with all of us. ] Feta replied honestly.

'My family is also the most compatible with trouble.' Jason sighed.

[ There is one thing that has been bugging me though. ] Feta added. [ Guardians can only chose people under twenty to be their vessels… ]

'Wait, was Alex also trying to get Risa to become a vessel in case I couldn't become one?' Jason asked.

Feta, however, didn't provide him with a reply as she herself was thinking about things in detail. She decided to remain silent on the topic until she had reached a solid conclusion.

Jason on the other hand stared at as he tried to figure out why Alex would choose her as a vessel.

"Grandma, did you see any sort of holographic window open in front of you?" Jason inquired.

"There was one saying that the guardian of Mistopia wanted to be my guardian and then it listed the pros and cons of having a guardian." Risa replied. "That was what you saw too I suppose."

Jason suddenly had an unsettling feeling spreading throughout his body. Was something wrong or was someone lying again?

[ I don't know who is lying yet we have to figure it out soon. ] The system suddenly spoke up. [ I feel as though something is going to go terribly wrong.]

'You aren't the only one feeling that way.' Jason admitted. He was secretly relieved that he could at least trust the system in such a situation too.

'What was Alex trying to do and how did Risa see that window?' Jason brainstormed hard. 'Why did Alex go after Risa and Ray separately before going after me?'

Jason was trying to connect all the dots together yet there was something missing that prevented him from doing so.

At the same time, Risa and Ray started discussing about the events in the capital.

"The fights between the second group should have started soon. Also, Kerwin is still present in our room at the hotel, albeit unconscious." Risa muttered.

"Can I punch him a few times once I get back? I am feeling slightly stressed." Ray replied while cracking his knuckles.

"You can do it as long as he stays unconscious. I don't want anymore drama for some time." Risa sighed.

Ray looked as though he was about to protest, however, Jason spoke up before Ray could say anything..

"Alex was trying to make sure that those who could see her were separated from those who couldn't," the realization stuck in coldly in the stomach. "Her original target was Nora from the start."

Ray and Risa both went silent as they processed what Jason had spoken. His words made perfect sense as Risa and Jason were the only ones who had been able to see Alex.

"This means that we need to get back to the capital right now. Ray, I leave this on you." Risa declared as Ray used his wind magic to lift them in the air.

Ray focused in the direction of the capital as all of them shot forward at a neck breaking speed.

Jason had to close his eyes to do the sheer pressure created by the wind. They shot forward at such a speed that Jason believed they were almost going to tore through the walls surrounding the city.

[ Alexa is going after Nora due to him being a demi-human. ] Feta muttered before explaining her statement. [ Alexa is the guardian of Mistopia and her specialties are mist creation and illusions. She can replicate anything with full accuracy. ]

'What does that have to do with Nora?' Jason inquired as he registered that Alex was short for Alexa, a genius move taken by the other guardian.

Although he already knew the major reason for Alexa to go before Nora, it didn't make sense for her to try so hard to get to Jason.

Or maybe he was just overthinking things…

[ Its because he not only has good levels of fire and wind affinities but also the fact that he belongs to your bloodline. He is the perfect vessel to the creator of mists, one of Alexa's nicknames due to the fact that she lives in the mists. ]

'Damn…' Jason didn't know what to say as they zoomed past the walls and headed straight towards the arena.

No guard was able to catch up with their speed as they saw the walls of the arena.

They had moved pretty fast but could a guardian be faster than them? The chances of that happening were extremely high.

Jason knew that Issac or Zara wouldn't be able to see Alexa yet he hoped that Issac could sense that something was wrong.

His grandpa had an innate ability to sense such things which was useful how many messes the entire family got into.

"What are we going to do if we do catch Alexa?" Jason asked, using the guardian's real name.

[ Its not her real name and Feta is not my real name as well. ] Jason's guardian provided helpfully though he wasn't in the mood to learn new names.

"Alex is Alexa aka a she?" Risa asked as Jason momentarily nodded. "Once we do see her, we will throw her back to the place where she came from."

"Uh, how are we going to do that?" Jason couldn't help but ask as Risa sighed exasperatedly. "Also, doesn't that mean that we will be basically throwing her back into the forest to torment us or someone else in the future?"

"We will think of that once we actually find Alexa. For all we know, she has already taken Nora as her vessel." Risa stated what could be a very obvious thing.

If Alexa was fast, that would be the first thing to do. Getting a child like Nora to agree with her request would also not be that hard.

That's why Ray had made all of them travel at such a quick pace. As a father, Ray was the most worried as he didn't know what might have happened at the arena.

"I guess we do things only when we actually see them." Jason sighed as they appeared closer to the arena.

Ray didn't look as though he would stop and directly made them go the glass box. The three of them landed near the glass box in the next few seconds.

Feta had went inside Jason's body in the meantime.

Risa suddenly grinned despite the situation. "That's the Syrward way, Jason."

***

AN: Sorry for the late upload. I just edited this chapter. Daily uploads will continue from regular timings.