The earth shot out of the ground like a wall and it crumbled, slamming right on top of the creatures, but there were too many. They just continued to advance, climbing over the corpses.
“Take the boy and go!” Master Lumes screams, raising more earth to come shooting out, but Tsugi doesn’t move. He was still holding down the queen. Instead he looks behind him, kicking a small rock over to get Ellie’s attention.
“Take him and go!” Tsugi screams, glancing at the boy in front of her. She gives him a nod and helps the boy up as Ruzo comes sliding down the hill.
The maltus were getting closer and closer, and he could do nothing but watch, feeling as if Ellie and the boy couldn’t move any slower.
As soon as Ruzo bounded up the hill, digging his paws into the earth, Tsugi whipped around and snapped the chains, hoping he would have time to rid some of the horde before the chain unbinds from the queen. In a wide arch, he swung his daggers into an explosive bout. He managed to cut the multitude of maltus down, but it seemed like there were still so many, like a plague sweeping over the land.
Yipping and screaming from one side, were the thunderous paws of delgum mounts with their riders on their backs. The creatures roared and their jaws opened wide, snapping them shut on the maltus. Raising their muscular four armed claws, they smashed the maltus into bits, splattering them into a pile of mush.
The queen screeched loudly as the chains began to come loose. A mountain of earth rose and fell right on top of her, trying to pin her to the ground, seemingly like they were trying to bury her beneath it.
“Go take care of the injured!” Master Lumes yells, still piling dirt on top of the queen and at the same time, whipping the smaller ones with the vines, sending them flying.
Once the warriors reached the queen, they took over and Master Lumes Joined Tsugi in healing. Some of the warriors were still very young, some even younger than Tsugi. Some had acid burning their skin, melting them as they slid right off the muscle and onto the ground.
Screams erupted from toward the queen as she broke from the mound of earth. The pussing welts around her had exploded and splattered onto the warriors around her. In that instant, Tsugi took off, evacuating the injured out of the immediate area while the warriors pin her down with more earth magic. Some were already beyond saving, seeing as their skull was visible, and even their eyes drooped from the socket, but he carried those that were still alive to safety, depositing them by Master Lumes before returning for more.
A young teenage boy had half his body pinned by a felled tree, as he was crying, screaming for help. The boy’s legs were gone and he probably would never be able to walk again if he were even lucky enough to survive it.
“Leave him!” Master Lumes screamed. Even when she was so far away, she could see the gears in Tsugi’s head turning. There were others that were injured around him, but Tsugi just couldn’t force his legs to leave the boy. Gritting his teeth, he ran over and tried to dig under the boy to pull him out.
The ground begins to rumble again, and the queen breaks free. She was on her last burst, as blood poured from her, soaking into the earth beneath her. The warriors went from underneath her, where there were no welts, and jammed a spear right into her chest.
She screeches, her body tensing with pain and she falls. Tsugi could do nothing but watch in horror as she was falling right on top of him. Without even realizing what he was doing, he hunches over, as if his little body could shield the boy. All he saw was how the boy had morphed into Lugo and he couldn’t let Lugo die. He just couldn’t.
When the thud hit, and the ground shook violently, and then it stopped. Everything stopped. All the screams, and cries, all the noise had disappeared, drowned out by a loud ringing in his ear. It was dark, very dark and he could feel specks of dirt landing on him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Master Lumes right by his side with two other warriors. Their arms were raised, and above him is a wall of earth, suspending the felled queen from crushing them into bits.
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“Get out! Now!” Master Lumes roared, sounding none too patient.
Tsugi whips out his daggers, and with one powerful move, he breaks the tree and drags the boy out from under the wall before it crashes into the ground, the queen along with it.
Immediately he begins to heal the boy, pouring everything he had into trying his best to make sure the boy would survive, though chances were slim to none.
“Come on. Don’t die. Don’t die.” Tsugi mumbles to himself. Lugo’s face just kept flashing before his eyes, and he couldn’t make it stop. Why wouldn’t it stop? When he finishes, he opens his eyes and sees the boy, his eyes closed and he lies very still. No. It was too late.
“Hamone!” A strained voice cries from across the forest. “Hamone!” It was closer now, but Tsugi couldn’t take his eyes away from the boy that his brain had convinced him was now Lugo, lying dead before him. “Hamone!” The voice was now right next to them as a woman and a man knelt on the other side of the boy, pulling him into their arms, but Tsugi couldn’t hear them.
Why? Why are they embracing Lugo? Do they know him? Tsugi seemed so lost as his eyes just stared. A pain digging in his chest and he couldn’t quite understand what it was. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes and he couldn’t understand why. Something was growing in his throat and he couldn’t breathe.
“Ana, aba.” A small raspy voice says.
“Oh Hamone.” Says the man and woman as they embrace the boy. “Hanu.” They said, turning their gaze to Tsugi. “Hanu. Hanu-Hanu-Hanu.” They said again and again as tears rolled down their faces.
“Hanu.” The boy said, his eyeballs shifted exhaustively to where Tsugi sat, kneeling beside him. He was alive. The face of Lugo began to change and form into someone Tsugi didn’t recognize.
Tsugi fought back the quiver of his chin and nodded as he managed to stand, heading over to the injured and continued to heal the others, sending silent prayers of thanks that the boy survived.
Ruzo carried the injured toward them as they all helped lay everyone down, carefully healing one after another.
Soon, more villagers arrived and they began assisting the injured and the dead back to their village just beyond the way, where they meet Ellie and the boy Tsugi first met in the forest.
The villagers continued to thank them, patting them on the shoulders and offering them gifts, but Master Lumes turned them down with politeness, or at least as much as she could until she could no longer say no to the chief of the village. His son was the one Tsugi had managed to pull from under the tree.
As soon as they got back home, Master Lumes whipped around and slapped Tsugi hard across his face. “That was the most reckless thing you could’ve done.” She said in her most dangerously angry tone, which was calm, quiet and collected.
“I saved him.” He says, glaring back at her.
“Because of sheer dumb luck. If it wasn’t for us, you would’ve died right along with him. You were lucky we managed to get there on time. Four months.” She says. “You will not leave the grounds for four months. No missions. No healing. You will train only by gathering energy and controlling it.”
“Yes master.” Tsugi says, hanging his head as he heads toward the stairs.
“No-no-no.” She waved her finger in the air. “He is drenched, he’s staying outside.” She tapped her foot impatiently, glaring at Ruzo who was dripping a giant puddle onto the wooden floors. As if on cue, the maids and butlers quickly ran over to mop up the watery mess.
“Sorry bud.” Tsugi looked at him and opened the back door for him. Ruzo hung his head and walked out the door, making his way into the barn.
“Go shower and come down for dinner.” Master Lumes folded her arms across her chest and walked away.
Tsugi narrowed his eyes at her back and trudged to his room.
“Stupid rule. Stupid, soreness.” He grumbles, rubbing at his chest. “Stupid stomachache. Jeez, I have been farting all day. What the heck?!” He growled and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He had been having a bad day since he woke up this morning. He sighs loudly, it wasn’t like it could get any worse now. He grabbed his clothes and went to shower. Standing under the hot running water, it soothed his sore chest and aching stomach. He rinsed the shampoo off his head and out of his eyes before soaping his body.
After scrubbing all the dirt and grime off, he moved to wash his privates. He retrieved his hand from his crotch to rinse it under the running water, and his eyes widened with shock. “Is this…what I think it is?” There was blood and little blood clots on his hand. He quickly rinsed it off and washed his crotch again. Pulling it back up into view, he gazed at his blood covered hand. “Fuck! I have my period?!”