Varak made an attack, charging his claw at Kai. “It’s fast!” Kai quickly ducked and rolled the other way. He caught his breath, as he took back his stance. He kept his eyes fixed on the beast in front. “This will be a gamble,” Kai thought to himself, as he pulled back right hand, behind his back.
The monster roared, as it charges for another attack. But this time, Kai made his move first. “Magic arrow!” he shouted, extending his right hand towards the creature. A small, glowing arrow materialized from his hand and shot towards the creature. “It works!” he said out loud. The arrow hit Varak’s left shoulder, as it roared in pain, but it didn’t seem to slow down. “Not much though,” Kai knew he had to try something else.
Back at the mansion, Hiro and the others had just finished their dinner. “Psst!” Maximus whispered to Hiro, trying to catch his attention. Hearing this, Hiro turned in his direction. Maximus gestured with his hands, beckoning Hiro to come closer. As Hiro approached, Maximus whispered, “What’s going on with those two?” He pointed towards Sakura and Celestina, who were happily whispering to each other. Hiro began to wonder as well. “Max, should we ask them?” he whispered back. Maximus nodded in agreement.
They both then sat up straight and asked Sakura and Celestina why they seemed so cheerful. At this, both Sakura and Celestina looked at each other, then at Hiro and Maximus, and smiled. “Follow us!” they said.
Meanwhile, Kai was running out of options. Varak was getting closer and his arrows didn’t seem to be doing much damage. “Let’s try the other one then,” he decided to try another spell. Varak launched another attack, it’s claw glowing with ominous aura. But just before it could hit Kai, he used the other spell. “Magic wall!” a glowing barrier appeared around him, just in time to block Varak’s attack. Kai sighed in relief, but he knew he couldn’t keep this up for long. Varak continued to attack at the barrier. “I am trapped,” he knew that he needed to find a way out - and fast.
Returning to the mansion, Sakura and Celestina led the way down the hallway, with Hiro and Maximus trailing behind. “Where are they taking us?” Maximus asked Hiro, his face a mask of confusion and curiosity. Hiro whispered back, his expression mirroring Maximus’s. “No idea, Max.”
They continued on until they reached their destination: Kai’s room. Hiro and Maximus exchanged confused glances while Sakura knocked on the door. This time, there was no response from inside. After several knocks, Sakura decided to peek inside. She discovered that Kai had fallen asleep. She turned back to the others and whispered for them to be quiet. Slowly, she opened the door and they all entered to find Kai and Montina asleep on his bed.
Sakura and Celestina’s faces lit up at the sight, while Hiro and Maximus were taken aback. They struggled to process what they were seeing. “HOW!?” was the only thought running through their minds. Suddenly, Maximus noticed something. His expression shifted from confusion to seriousness as he saw Montina holding Kai’s hand in her sleep. He started to move towards them, but Celestina stopped him. She smiled and whispered, “Don’t. Even. Dare.” Maximus froze in place, while Hiro could only watch from behind.
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Later, Maximus left the room, his head bowed. The others followed, with Hiro casting one last glance at Kai. As he closed the door, Sakura asked, “Hiro, is something wrong?” Hiro looked at her, pondered for a moment, then replied, “Maybe I’m just overthinking it,” as he ran his hand through his hair. “But… I felt like Kai was having trouble sleeping.” Sakura tilted her head, her face reflecting her confusion.
Back in the dungeon’s eerie silence, Kai held his ground within his barrier, his gaze locked with Varak’s. Varak loomed over him, its scales beginning to glow ominously. Its eyes, ablaze with a predatory light, were fixed on Kai.
Despite the situation, Kai remained calm. “It’s trying to intimidate me,” he thought, observing Varak’s movements. The creature hurled itself at the barrier with a thunderous crash, causing the barrier to flicker dangerously, yet it held firm.
“I’ve been maintaining this barrier for some time now. Surprisingly, I don’t feel exhausted,” he mused, glancing at his hands before returning his attention to the monstrous adversary. “I can’t remain on the defensive forever. I need to counterattack. But how much mana do I have left? If I cast another spell and run out of mana, it’s game over.” His eyes narrowed as his mind raced to calculate all the conceivable outcomes.
As he wrestled with his predicament, the countdown screen reappeared. “10 minutes remaining,” it flashed ominously. Kai’s expression hardened, his doubt replaced by determination. “It’s now or never.” He deactivated the barrier, standing tall and defiant before Varak. His eyes began to glow red, as the screen switched displays, announcing: “Bloodlust level 1, activated.
Varak recoiled slightly, then shrouded itself in darkness. With a deafening roar that echoed through the air, its claws morphed, lengthened and honed to a deadly sharpness. Its form expanded, growing more menacing with each passing second. “So you will power up, huh,” Kai remarked, watching as Varak melded into the shadows. “And now it’s disappeared into the shadows…,” he scanned his surroundings, but the creature was nowhere to be seen. “This is not good.”
Suddenly, Varak materialized behind him, launching itself towards Kai. Quick to notice, Kai looked back from the corner of his eye. “From behind!?” Kai spun around, Varak’s proximity sending a chill down his spine. “It’s too close!” In a desperate bid, Kai decided to try his last spell, “Magic javelin!” A massive javelin of pure light materialized in the air above Varak and plummeted down. Varak attempted to dodge, but the javelin was too fast and gigantic. It struck Varak, eliciting a roar of pain and anger from the beast. The whole dungeon started to shake to the impact, small pieces of rocks falling from above.
“Now, magic arrows!” he shouted, as barrage of magical arrows materialized from thin air, each one whizzing towards Varak with deadly precision. The creature roared in pain as the arrows struck it, but it quickly recovered and lunged at Kai once more. “It can still move!?” Kai barely had time to react. To the response, Kai quickly casted, “Magic wall!” But this time, Varak was ready. It slammed into the barrier with such force that it shattered, sending shards of magical energy flying in all directions.
Kai was thrown back by the impact, but he quickly got up and prepared for Varak’s next attack. “How much time do I have left?” He looked at the screen, as he saw 8 minutes remaining. “I still have time but… making the fight longer will get me tired.” He started to stretch his arms and legs, having his eyes locked with Valak’s. “I need to end this,” he whispered to himself.
-To be continued