Solflare: The Painter's Secret

Chapter 285: The Storm’s First Welcome Guest

Leaves drifted in the air as countless vehicles moved along the streets of Thule, going on with their daily activities.

The moment two brown leaves lowered themselves and landed softly on the calm sea beneath Bastion City’s highway, a loud thunderclap cracked the blue skies.

Car horns blared upward when heavy black clouds lit with flickers of black and golden lightning chased the grey clouds away.

"What is happening?" Kate asked, standing beside a brown BMW.

Min-seo stepped out of the vehicle and squinted at the black lightning moving like an angry serpent. "I think the Gods are angry."

The hairs on Min-seo’s skin rose as chills ran down her spine. Instantly, the state in which she saw Li Mei and Lily at the Bastion hospital reeled into her head like a wound that had not healed. ’I’m sorry, Leon.’

Min-ji stepped out of the vehicle and slammed her palms on the back of Min-seo’s neck. "Stop acting stupid and behave like a grown-up!"

Kate’s head snapped back when Min-ji dragged Min-seo into the vehicle as if they were not even siblings.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"

Kate rushed into the backseat of the vehicle the moment she saw the burning rage in Min-ji’s eyes.

Smoke billowed out of the exhaust pipes of the BMW as it swerved out of the traffic queue as if on a chase.

The foam of the driver’s seat tightened as Kate held it like a lifeline. "Take your time, Min-ji. Or you will end up killing us."

"Who says I care about your filthy life?"

A tipper truck’s horn blasted while its headlights flashed on the BMW.

A grim grin shimmered on Min-ji’s face when she steered the BMW out of the way and turned in a full circle; they drove off as if nothing had even happened.

Behind them, countless drivers stepped out of their vehicles and began watching the sudden darkness swallowing the warmth of the midday.

...

A faint black smoke spiraled at the front of the Bastion hospital’s wall, then transformed into a black vortex.

The red-robed Faceless Monarch stepped out of the vortex and lifted its head toward the direction the black and golden lightning was heading. ’You should have waited for the right time, Leon.’

The black vortex vanished the moment screams tore out from behind the Faceless Monarch. Without a beat, the Monarch transformed into Feng, the man in a black hoodie, and rushed into the fleeing crowd.

"Give way!" He pushed some of the crowd away from the hospital’s entrance and softened his steps when he reached the front of the main building.

The moment he pushed the door open, Zoe appeared from a distance with pale eyes.

"Uncle Feng." She screamed the name out loud and rushed toward him as if seeing a ghost.

Feng spread his palms apart and embraced Zoe. "Why do you have that look on your face?"

A lump formed in Zoe’s throat when she lifted her head from Feng’s chest and pointed toward the stairway. "Lily."

Her voice broke, but she managed to spill the words out. "Lily is dying."

Without hesitation, the two of them rushed toward room 514 of the VIP floor.

...

Debris flew out of the Storm Mansion and drifted in the air when a thick bolt of blackened golden lightning struck the front of the iron gate.

Fiery sparks drizzled around the walls when Leon stepped out of the fog of smoke. His blazing golden war suit dimmed when he placed his palms on the iron gate. "I’m finally home, mom."

Lights flashed on him countlessly when the drivers in the vehicles stuck on the street behind him saw him step out of the lightning bolt like a God.

Murmurs surged out when Leon ignored them, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

"Did you see that? That was Leon Storm, Li Mei’s son!"

"Yes, he has changed. He looks just like the Destroyer we saw years back."

Instantly, all the images captured of Leon stepping out of the fog of lightning smoke with shimmering crossed blades at his back and a shield floating beside him spread like wildfire.

News broadcasters began arranging the images into a short film and showed it on the Thule daily news.

Every device and television ignited with the images. But the moment the nurses tried to turn on the television of Bastion Hospital, they froze.

Within seconds, Feng dashed and walked through the frozen time in his Faceless Monarch form, destroyed all the electrical connections of the cellphones and the television, and returned to Lily’s room as if nothing ever happened.

...

Crows gathered at the branches of the fig tree at the front of the Qing’s safe house and sent deafening cries into the air.

Stormy wind flashed at the front of the transparent glass walls when a black lightning bolt dashed from the sky and boiled the cemented ground.

The lightning reflected on the wall-mounted television when the blue curtains moved sideways.

Water rippled and glass clicked as a wine glass moved in a black, gloved hand.

"Finally shown himself," Darien said in a faint voice, then sipped the red wine like a prince awaiting to overthrow his kind. "Now you will see how bad it hurts when the ones you love turn into vegetables."

A cunning laugh surged out of Darien when he crushed the wine glass with just two fingers. A loud banging sound echoed when he grabbed the hilt of his blackened Hi-no-Kami and slammed its blade on the ground, shattering the indestructible black stone floor.

In his head, memories of the 11th Alchemania incident reeled uncontrollably. He remembered watching his beloved girlfriend dissipating into motes of dust as the solar blast from Leon erased her from existence.

...

Leon’s chest heaved as his dual heart pounded heavily when he moved past the first mango tree he remembered to have once been lush with fruit.

"What happened here?" His vision blurred for a second when he saw Lily’s favorite squirrel lying upside down on the gravel road, dead.

He swallowed hard as he shifted his gaze from the rotten squirrel to the garden at the front where the fountain stood.