Affinity:Chaos

Alice's opponent died a few minutes later than that of Klaus and the others. Grey and the others didn't intervene, but their presence meant the man would inevitably die. The fear of dying and his wish to escape caused his death.

"Well, what now?" Alice asked.

"We shouldn't have killed everyone. They might have good things in their hideout, but now there's no one to take us there." Grey commented.

"Oh, a few are still alive, frozen, but alive." Klaus said, pointing at a few ice sculptures.

These people were too weak to break through Klaus' domain and were frozen solid. They didn't really die, but if they stayed in that state for a few more hours, they would definitely die from the cold.

"Bring two, the rest can die."

Klaus nodded and unfroze two from the multiple people that were frozen. The duo were both in the Early stages of the Venerable Plane.

When they regained consciousness and saw the condition of the path, they were left speechless. Grey and his friends were still alive which meant they've defeated not just the large group of bandits, but the six Peak Elemental Venerables.

"Where's your hideout located?" Klaus asked after unfreezing them.

The duo snapped out of their shock and took a look at Klaus, shivering in fear.

"Thi… this way, my Lord." The one who spoke bowed in fear, not daring to look Klaus in the eyes

The other man bowed as well.

The group followed the duo, heading deeper into the canyon. The bandits had been staying here for a long time and they knew every terrain and path. After a few twists and turns, they arrived at a cave.

"Here, the hideout is in there."

"Alright, lead the way." Klaus shoved the man that spoke.

There was no harm in ensuring they weren't being set up.

Grey closed his eyes and his spiritual senses spread out. He soon scanned through the cave and shook his head.

"There's nothing inside. It's worthless."

Klaus looked at Grey, and then turned to the two men, "Why didn't you tell us there was nothing inside?"

"I… I… my Lord, you didn't ask." One of the men fell to his knees, banging his head on the ground as he pleaded.

"Are you dumb? What would I want with your hideout if not to loot it? There's nothing here, why did you bring us here?" Klaus scolded coldly.

The men didn't know what to do and both started pleading with the group while kowtowing.

"We should leave, there's no point wasting more time." Grey said and vanished.

Klaus snorted coldly, waved his hand and both men started to freeze. He smiled and said, "I'll leave your heads out, if you can survive, then it's your luck. If not, you're just unlucky."

Klaus shrugged and went after his friends who were already leaving.

Their encounter at the canyon was over, and they needed to continue with their journey. They still needed to explore the continent as much as they could.

….

Time flew by in a flash.

It had been three months now since the group decided to go on this trip. They were presently deep in the Southern Continent. After exploring the Middle Continent, they've started exploring the Southern Continent.

This Continent is said to be the home of the greatest ever Fire Elementalist in the Aurora Continent. The group has all read about the man born from flames who went on to become known as the Firelord. It was said that he could call out fire Dragons and even create volcanoes. His abilities with the fire element knew no bound. Eventually, he vanished from the world before the great war of Gods.

Some believed he ascended and became a God, others believed he was dead. In short, he was a great man that disappeared without a trace.

He created a Faction while he was still present and it grew to become the best fire elemental Fire in the Aurora Continent. It was deserving since it was created by such a legend.

Grey and Alice wanted to visit this place, and it lay in the center of the Southern Continent.

Klaus and Reynolds had no issues with going there.

….

The Center of the Southern Continent.

Grey and his friends stood before a majestic gate. The gate was flaming red, and there were Dragons drawn on it.

"Is that what I think it is?" Klaus pointed at a drawing that looked to be alive.

Grey and the others' attention was drawn to the drawing.

"A Phoenix. I heard the Firelord owned the last one. Is it true there are no more Phoenixes?" Reynolds looked at the drawing, intrigued.

"It looks so majestic."

"Dragons are still roaming the world, there's a huge possibility that there are still Phoenixes in this world. If not this one, some other realm must have them." Grey stared into the sky.

Phoenixes are legendary birds, and they were mostly attuned with the fire element. Their greatest ability is the Phoenix's rebirth from fire. An element known for its destructive and wild nature can be tamed and made docile, using it as a means of healing.

The thought of using the fire element to heal someone was absurd given its nature, but they've all read about it. According to what Grey heard, the Faction set up by the Firelord had a secret technique. This technique can turn the fire element into a great healing tool.

"What do you guys think their secret technique is?" Reynolds asked.

Grey and Alice exchanged glances and shook their heads.

"There's no way to find out. We're not part of their Faction, and they will never agree to showing strangers their secrets."

"Why would you ask such a question?"

"I'm curious, don't tell me you aren't."

"I'm not a moron like you to speak out about it. I know it's not possible in any way, why waste my strength?"

Reynolds looked at Klaus who shrugged. He didn't have any problems with poking fun at Reynolds any chance he got.

Reynolds wanted to attack, but paused when he saw some figures walking in their direction.

A beautiful girl with fiery red eyes and hair that was tied behind her back led the group. She looked to be in her early twenties, but she was already at the Peak of the Venerable Plane.

Her group consisted of seven, and all of them had one similarity, the fiery particles surrounding them. It was as if a spark was about to go off.

As they walked closer, the temperature started to shoot up.

Klaus, sensing this, breathed out. The temperature dropped in an instant.

The young lady and her group were standing before them, but the difference between both sides was shocking. On Klaus' side, the temperature was extremely low, while on the fiery eyed young lady's side, the temperature was well above the burning level.

When she looked at Klaus, she opened her mouth, and a melodic yet cold voice sounded, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause you people any discomfort. We just came from a training session, hence the heat."

Her voice was the exact opposite of what she was displaying.

Hearing her apologize, Klaus stopped dropping the temperature. He thought she was doing it on purpose, but hearing the sincerity in her apology, he decided to let it slide.

"It's alright, I'm not just a fan of the heat." Klaus replied with a smile.

The group moved aside so the young lady's group could walk past.

"Are you guys from this Faction?" Reynolds asked as they were about to walk past them.

"Yes, we're part of this prestigious Faction. Can we help you? What are you doing at our gate?" A young man in the group asked.

This man was in the Late stages of the Elemental Venerable Plane.

"Oh, we're touring the Continent and have all heard of the famous Firelord's Faction. We wanted to visit it and see it for ourselves." Alice spoke up.

She was currently in the Eighth stage of the Elemental Venerable Plane. The same as Reynolds. The duo broke through a few weeks after the battle with the bandits. But they hadn't been able to break through again since then.

Grey and Klaus were still at the Peak. The same as Void who hadn't tried to even break through. He had been sleeping in Grey's spatial storage, and only came out when he felt hungry or whenever Grey was cooking.

"May we know where you are from?" The young lady asked with a friendly tone.

"We're all from the Eastern Continent. We came here to increase our experience." Grey replied.

The young lady tried to access Grey, but she found out that she couldn't see through him. Klaus' aura was that of a Peak Venerable, Alice and Reynolds were both in the Eighth stage. For their age, they could still be regarded as geniuses. But she didn't think they were on the same level as her. However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't sense anything from Grey.