DAISUKE AND HIS FRIENDS went to an inn to spend their night after they bid farewell to Graphael and his colleagues.
Robin, Riku, Brunnhilde, and Mirana just finished taking a shower and were now having small talk inside their room.
“Those skin patterns you have Riku really look amazing! They're like a tattoo,” said Robin.
“Is that so? Most elves have these skin patterns. But even our Elven Council does not entirely understand why we have these.”
“Does it hurt when it lights up when you use your magic?” Brunnhilde asked.
Riku shook her head. “I’m also not sure why they light up when we use our ability.”
“Come to think of it, Daisuke looks very different compared to you and Jack. Why is that?” Mirana asked.
“As you may already know, Daisuke is the avatar of Ariyani, the Ishvara of Wood. It could be the reason why, but the council said that it could also be because he came from the Sacred Tree.”
Mirana, Brunnhilde, and Robin looked confused.
“Oh, right. We forgot to mention. He wasn’t born. He came from the fruit of the Sacred Tree.”
The three still looked confused.
Riku tried to explain better. She told them about the geography of Maria Island, the giant tree known as the Sacred Tree at the center, how the Sequovas, one of the council, and his wife found the Sacred Fruit floating on the river, and how Daisuke mysteriously came out of the fruit.
“That is very weird,” Brunnhilde commented. “Then again, Siegfried was said to have come from a dragon egg.”
“From a what now?” asked Mirana.
“Dragon egg. But that's just some hearsay.”
“Anyway. What about this entire avatar thing again?” asked Robin.
“Avatars are the reincarnation of the twelve Ishvaras, beings of pure mana and Laniagaea's essence, and Daisuke is one of them. Our Elven Council said that he is the reincarnation of Ariyani, which makes Daisuke possess the power over all kinds of plants and other powers that Ariyani possesses.”
“If I’m being honest, he doesn’t look that powerful to me though.”
“Well, he single-handedly made the Emergent Kingdom's army lose morale and destroy their tree-cutting towers,” reminded Mirana. “And when he was fighting a Diabolia back at Arcanas, he showed that insane power as well.”
Mirana recounted the time when Daisuke got burnt to death by a Diabolia, a beast who exists in two separate dimensions at the same time, how Daisuke recovered insanely quickly, and how he defeated the beast with relative ease.
“He also showed that power when he was at the Colosseum Empire. I saw how Siegfried impaled him, but his wounds healed like it was nothing,” Brunnhilde added.
“That’s one very convenient power.”
“That very power is why his father doesn’t want him to leave our island,” said Riku.
“What do you mean?”
“Is it because of the U.A.?” asked Brunnhilde.
Riku nodded. “But not only the U.A. Many others are after the avatars as well. But so far, we’re lucky we haven’t experienced being hunted by U.A.”
“I wouldn’t call that 'lucky' just yet. The U.A. will do anything just to gain more power against the Hunters’ Horde. After all, they have a division specially created to hunt down avatars—the Chasers”
“How did you know about that?” Robin asked.
“Oh, right. Brunnhilde here came from the Drasgard Kingdom. His father is the King of Hunters, Odin.”
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Robin's mouth gaped.
“But I could not care less about the Hunters’ Horde. That’s my father’s thing. As for the Chasers, some members of Hunters’ Horde have been fighting them recently because the Chasers are trying to take two avatars who are treasure hunters.”
As the night gets deeper, the four ladies talked more about United Alliance and Hunters’ Horde.
* * * * *
Daisuke, Raijin, and Siegfried were all inside one room as well, having their own conversation.
“What do you think the girls are doing right now?” asked Raijin.
“Probably having a girl talk or something,” Siegfried said as he picks his nose. “You know...girl stuff, emotions, talking about boys.”
“Wanna go over there?”
Daisuke smacked him on the head. “Do you want to get beaten by Riku and Robin?” He then walked away and went near the window.
“Yeah. Let’s just sleep,” Siegfried went to his bed and tucked himself in. After a few seconds, Siegfried was already snoring.
Raijin noticed Daisuke looking outside. From their room, they can see the calming night sky dotted with twinkling stars.
“So, what’s your plan?” asked Raijin.
Daisuke breathes deeply. “We've come this far, Raijin. But I don’t want to cause any trouble. After how great the people here treated us, there's no way I could make a scene.”
“We’ve got plenty of time. We can stay here for a few days to see if anything changes. Just don’t decide on anything too big just yet.”
Raijin may not be as wise as Mahogry, Daisuke thought, but his words made sense. They got time. There’s no need for them to rush. He decided not to worry about the statue for now.
That night, Daisuke slept like a log.
* * * * *
The next morning, they woke up to the sound of screaming people, trembling, and an explosion.
Daisuke and his friends immediately went out and saw several bulls on stampede, people running away, and houses and stores getting destroyed and trampled by the bulls.
They all looked at each other and knew exactly what to do.
“Stay here, Raijin!!” Daisuke and Riku shouted.
Raijin agreed and saluted.
Daisuke went to his left where two dozen of bulls were running towards them. With his power, he created several cherry blossom trees that wrap around the bulls, stopping them from their track.
Riku did the same thing with her Rose Magic. On her right were two dozen bulls running towards her. She created rose briars that immediately stopped them. To avoid hurting them though, she created rose briars without the thorns. For some reason, the bulls also calmed down when the rose flowers bloomed.
In front of Mirana, more bulls were running in their direction. She immediately activated her Ice Magic and released a beam of ice. The beam hits most of the bulls, encasing them in a thick block of ice.
Still, more bulls were running wildly all around.
“Where did these bulls come from?!” Siegfried complained.
With the hilt of his swords, he struck the raging bulls on their head, knocking them out cold.
“Try to be more gentle, Sieg. Bulls are actually peaceful creatures,” said Robin as she hits the bulls hard with her bow.
“You’re one to talk!”
Raijin was asked by Brunnhilde for mana, something that he has been waiting for for a long time. He placed his hands on Brunnhilde’s back just below her nape.
“Don’t worry if you don’t know how to give mana, I’ll try to take them myself.”
“Just be gentle, please. It’s my first time.”
In an instant, Brunnhilde took as much mana as she could from Raijin, then proceeds to heal the injured.
A couple of bulls then showed up and were about to charge them.
“Don’t mind the bulls! I got them!” said Raijin as he took out his electric tonfas.
As one of the bulls got near, Raijin sidesteps and struck the bull with his tonfa. The tonfa electrocuted the bull and paralyzed it. The bull fell to the ground, unable to stand up.
The other bull charges in, but Raijin evaded it as well and successfully electrocuted and paralyzed it.
“Bulls – zero, Raijin – two!”
Around him, he saw how many bulls have been defeated by the others.
* * * * *
When there were no more free bulls, everyone regrouped and helped the people that got hurt by the stampede. Brunnhilde used simple healing magic that didn’t take a toll on her body. From time to time, the others would give her mana so she could continue healing the people until the local authority arrived.
Everyone was busy helping the wounded when a strong surge of mana was felt by everyone. Everyone knew exactly that something bad is coming.
Daisuke went up the roof of the inn which managed to stay intact. And from afar, he could see a bull walking like a biped.
“What is it, Daisuke?!” shouted Siegfried.
Daisuke went back below. “Something’s coming. Get the people away from here as far as possible. I’ll deal with whatever that is.”
More people were running away, including the city’s officials and local police.
“We’re not leaving you, Daisuke!” insisted Riku. “Whatever that was, that’s way too much even for you to face alone!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll just slow it down so no innocent person will get hurt any further. And Brunnhilde would need all the mana she could spare.”
Riku clicked his tongue but didn’t argue any longer. “Okay, people! This way!”
“Siegfried, stay here. Assist Daisuke,” Brunnhilde ordered.
Siegfried looked at Daisuke and shrugged. “She’s my boss.”
Riku and the rest evacuated the area along with the people and guided them accordingly.
Soon, the creature that Daisuke saw was just a few yards away from them. It was an auroch-human hybrid, no other than Zeb himself.
“You must be the dark-skinned elf,” said Zeb with a deep voice.
“You know that guy?” Siegfried asked Daisuke.
“No idea.”
Zeb looked around and saw the bulls. “Look what you people did to these poor cattle. Hurting the cattle...unforgivable.”
Daisuke and Siegfried braced themselves as Zeb the auroch-human hybrid charged towards them.