The Earth After Rebirth

The next couple of fights were very boring and tedious. Kiro had his eyes closed when he felt, through vibrations, a rebellious yet familiar energy.

'Wait just a damn minute, I didn't know I could use vibrations like this.'

He tested it by checking where each guardian was before he opened his eyes and realised that his guesses were all correct.

'Do I need eyes anymore at this point?'

Everyone's mana had a distinct attribute that set said person apart. There were no words in his vocabulary to explain it but he just knew.

'This could very useful in battle, while I can't sense it I'm pretty sure harbingers use Kaos. Why do they?' He unconscious touched his chest as if that would make the answer pop out.

His eyes darted and fell on the person entering the arena, "what in the devil is he doing? He already drank the potion didn't he?"

"He didn't tell you?" Hiro shrunk on his chair not in the slightest mood to come between the two.

"Tell me what?"

"He hasn't drank it, Lyle said that he wanted to prove himself. He wanted to become a guardian fair and square."

"He's an absolute moron! There's no fair and square in war."

His decision to do this wouldn't exactly change anything but Kiro saw it as a waste of time. He sighed and sat back down not willing to argue with someone who was as stubborn as he was.

Lyle's eyes combed through the audience until his eyes met with his master. He grinned from ear to ear, giving him a slight bow.

He did something more embarrassing and pointed to Kiro, "I'm doing this for my master, please watch over me!"

The crowd laughed.

Kiro wished for the chair to open up and drag him to the deepest parts of the abyss. His hand covered his face slightly, he vowed to punish Lyle when this was all over.

He noticed that the kid had a new staff. And by the looks of its quality, Hiro must've been the one to craft it. Kiro was proud of his friend, but it was concerning that out of all craftsmen in Asgard he was the only one who was on the path to becoming a legendary craftsman.

"I think you should take apprentices, it'd be great for you to have a group you can rely on and delegate tasks to. We're going to war, just you won't be able to..." He noticed that Hiro wasn't paying attention to him at all.

He was looking intently on the platform. His face carried an expression that was both shocked and amused.

Kiro followed where his eyes were looking and to say he was shocked would be an understatement, "what the fuck? Why's this happening to me, Why's that brat here!" He bellowed.

Loki entered. He'd chosen the dwarf race, compared to an evolved Hiro, he looked like something that didn't belong there.

This was Kiro's little brother, he'd be damned if he let him fight when he didn't even know the consequences of dying in a dungeon anymore.

Hiro turned to look at Kiro but he was already gone. Before the crowd knew it he had already landed between the two opponents.

They erupted into cheers upon realising who it was. Thinking maybe he'd gone down there to fight a two on one with the two players. But that would've been unfair so it didn't even cross Kiro's mind.

"Mast—" Lyle attempted to say but he was cut off briskly.

"Loki, go home, right now." His voice sounded like thunder all of a sudden. Then he remembered his brother was at school at the moment but refused to correct himself.

Loki's heart froze in place, he had prepared a whole speech but the words only lingered on his lips, never coming out. He didn't realise just how scary his brother was in-game.

He was used to the down-to-earth docile Kiro even though he'd changed drastically the last couple of months, he was still far from the being that was in front of him—trying to intimidate him.

"But..." He managed to get out.

"But nothing, get home this instant before I beat you into a pulp and force you out."

This was his territory, not even his brother had dibs. Of course to him, he was just protecting him from the oncoming mess they had to deal with.

If anyone was going to die first in this life it was him, he'd seen enough—he didn't want to see anymore.
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"I-I can fight too." He retorted, strengthening his resolve. "I knew you wouldn't want me in the front lines that's why I chose craftsmanship. I can fight in a different way by making weapons, armour and potions." He was relieved that his well rehearsed speech was coming back to him—his voice was slowly coming back to him.

"Does mum even know about this?" He asked through gritted teeth, not wanting the whole arena knowing their business.

Loki looked to the floor and shook his head. Kiro pinched the bridge of his nose, he knew that this would come back to him somehow. He was the oldest, he was also the one who was kind of in-charge around here.

"Dammit Loki!" He scratched his head. "If you win this you can stay." He turned to Lyle, "please beat him good."

If he was going to be made a scapegoat to their mother, he was going to make Loki work for it. As he turned, just at the corner of his eye, he saw Yuri and LJ. Trying desperately hard to hide from him and Hiro.

Kiro sent a gust of wind where they were, which lifted them up. Screams and yells—laughs could be heard throughout. He used his air steps to get onto the higher balcony that Hiro added for the guardians, while the two girls followed behind, carried by the wind.

"W-we can explain!" Yuri said, yelping while the wind dropped them on the floor.

"No you can't, you're supposed to be focused in school but here you are." Kiro said as calmly as he could muster.

"There may not be a school if this thing fails." LJ mumbled but Kiro heard her anyway.

Their determination regarding this was clearly stronger than he imagined. Kiro was sure at first that Loki got them into this, but hearing LJ making her own stance, he wasn't sure anymore.