Alre’s head fell toward the sea of lava. The blood that splurted, quickly evaporated. His body came falling next, in which, Eros quickly pulled away the pocket hanging on its waist.
Before the head and body could even touch the sea of lava, it started to burn and disappear like dust in the air. Alre’s allies all stared at the now nonexistent body. Their heart thumped and the confidence they build up was gone in an instant.
“Sir Alre…” One of Alre’s followers muttered. Of all he was the one who seemed to have been shaken the most. But in reality, near him, Edea has an extremely ugly and pained expression. Her body trembled as she murmured, “Eight million magic stones…. Gone..”
Even those outside watching were startled; those from the Virrel family were most affected. Alre was obviously of great importance to them. He was expected to be one of the future leaders to lead the family to greatness. But now, in Genna, he perished in the hands of Eros Libera – a human no one believed to reach so far.
Aside from the Virel family, Ruven’s always stern face now twisted with rage. He tried to conceal it, so not even a single breath passed, he quickly turned placid.
However, not all competitors in Genna were shaken. Goll Para was one of those few who even took advantage of the situation. With haste, he sped towards the direction of the Bloodflame ruby. Based on his movement, he clearly knew another safe route aside from what Alre have provided!
“Now that Alre is gone, our contract is no more.” Goll said towards the other elf from the Para family, “Leave them all alone and follow me!”
“So as expected of Goll Para, he was only playing along with Alre.” Pyria commented, but as soon the words left her lips, she also sped towards the Bloodflame ruby.
Edea Yara was the last one to act. Her eyes directed at Eros, conflicted if she would attack him or aim for the win. But in the end, she gritted her teeth and shot towards the Bloodflame ruby.
Selt also followed along still attacking those he came across. And Eros who was nearest to the Bloodflame ruby, also noticed the new movements, and also rushed ahead of the others.
“Alre… Ruven..” Eros murmured as he flew at top speed, “So I was right all along. That time he saved us at the outskirts of the Ruins of Kivel and the way he asked me if there is anything usual on our mission of dispelling the spell formation, it was all because is one of the enemies of the Kingdom of Sheles!”
He clenched tightly the stone eye on his hands and thought, “I have proof, but I do not know who to trust! I cannot also report to Saevel or request audience with the ruler without Ruven noticing.” In the end, after some thought, he shook his head and decided to leave that matter for later and focus on obtaining the Bloodflame ruby.
He knew that winning would give him a higher chance of meeting either Saevel or the Ruler. It is the safest way to exit Genna before Ruven eliminates him!
Occasional attack still broke out as they all outdo one another. However, now all alliances seemed to have no meaning. Even Pyria started to attack whoever blocks her path.
Unexpectedly, Goll was now on lead only a few steps away from Eros. Heeding Alre’s orders earlier seemed to be his own plot, and at the instant Alre perished, he unleashed unbelievable power and speed.
Goll glared at Eros sharply. His eyes showed that he had great desire to engage in a fight, but in the end he calmed down and focused on his flight.
All of them were getting closer and closer to the location of the Bloodflame ruby, in fact, it was only a hundred meters away. It was extremely hard for them to even move or maintain speed, but no one dared to give up, instead they ignored the harsh environment blocking their path.
Those watching outside Genna were now all focused. In a few breaths the winner will be decided. All eyes were on Eros and Goll who were on lead, however, suddenly; the sea of lava below erupted violently! A gigantic elemental beast with abnormally large head and mouth full of numerous fangs bore towards Goll! At a moment he was on lead, but now he was in the midst of being devoured!
Eros who was nearest to Goll was also startled. Without hesitation, Eros flew away in escape since the beasts seemed to be focused on someone else.
However, as Eros was fleeing for safety, a familiar face appeared on his mind when he saw Goll on his peripheral sight. “Keya.” Eros said. Confused, Eros waved his hands towards Goll. and a blast of wind landed on Goll’s body sending him several meters away, luckily saving him from certain death.
Then a thunderous sound reverberated when the mouth of the elemental beast shut closed after taking a missed bite at Goll. And without bothering with another attack, it landed back at the sea of lava hiding from everyone’s senses.
Eros continued to fly at top speed. But behind him, Goll stared with complex expression. He did not move for a while before saying, “Keya.. You seem to have found a nice friend… But it will never work.” Then he looked away at Eros, and again, began chasing behind, but this time, it was obvious that he lost his chance.
50… 30… 10 meters.... Eros already has his hands stretched as far as he could towards the Bloodflame ruby. Those watching were now on their feet ready to welcome the champion of the event.
However, at that very moment, another elf slowly materialized beside the Bloodflame ruby. From her head, her invisibility seemed to peel off revealing her for everyone to see. Her hands also stretched towards the Bloodflame ruby, closer compared to Eros by an inch.
This sudden turn of event shocked everyone present and watching. They all said simultaneously “Lusha Grero!”
Eros who was madly excited to grab the Bloodflame ruby suddenly felt he would lose out, so he did something that shocked the crowd. Eyes bloodshot, he used magic to attack the Bloodflame ruby, sending it flying towards the lava spread out like a sea. Worst of all, the Bloodflame ruby seemed to have cracked from Eros’ attack.
Lusha Grero was also stunned. She was confident she would win, but now, all her schemes were ruined by Eros’ unanticipated move.
The Bloodflame ruby kept falling which quickly prompted Lusha Grero to chase it. However, before she could, Eros mercilessly attacked her!
Elemental magic rained over her. Most shocking was her control of elements suddenly faded. It was the very same feeling Alre had before losing.
BOOM!
The elemental attacks landed on her solidly, and pushed her away. However, she tried to ignore her injured body and proceed to chase the falling treasure swiftly. She also kept an eye on Eros who she thought would chase the Bloodflame ruby after gaining advantage, but what she did not expect was for Eros to not even give chase and kept on attacking her, implicating more damage.
“This crazy bastard!” Lusha Grero cried out. She did not understand why Eros does not care about the Bloodflame ruby and only focused on eliminating her.
However, at the very moment that the Bloodflame ruby nearly touched the sea of lava, a giant hand popped out, catching the falling treasure and grasping it tight. Then slowly, its body slowly protruded out of the lava, which made everyone shout in surprise.
“It’s Eros’ giant elemental ape!”
Eros then smiled, and shot towards the ape. In contrast the ape pulled its arms back, and threw the Bloodflame ruby towards Eros! At an instant, Eros caught the Bloodflame ruby which made everyone halt. In fact, it happened so fast that no one could react.
“We lost…” Edea murmured. “From the beginning to end, he seemed to be ahead of us all. Even brazenly gathering treasures, and tricking Alre’s offer to reach eight million.” Then she shook her head seemingly lost some hatred towards Eros, and found his acts to be somehow amusing.
Near her, Pyria Varel simply relaxed her body and closed her eyes. Goll Para also calmly accepted his loss. He already knew that he would never win after being saved by Eros.
Outside, everyone began cheering. The fierce competition lasted almost a day, and now it ended with Eros’ win. For the citizens of Ronsorth, the winner is now their new hope. And witnessing the strength of the new generation made them burn with excitement for the future of the Kingdom of Sheles. The threat of war which was all weighing in the minds was now eased by seeing the power their young wizards wields.
“Glory to the Kingdom of Sheles!” One by one they began cheering, until everyone was shouting it with intense feeling.
Inside, Eros and the rest still stood unmoving, and suddenly, the sky in their location twisted and stared swirling. It was the very same occurrence they saw when they entered Genna. Now, there was a giant hole above, obviously leading outside. However, this time, they need not to fly toward it. All of them were pulled by an invisible force and then was rapidly shot out of Genna.
“Argg..” Many groaned from the pain of forceful ejection from Genna.
When they knew it, all of them were already rapidly falling from the sky towards the ground of the Kingdom. Riddled with injuries, it was hard for some of them to regain flight.
While falling, Eros quickly glanced below looking for his companions. “Hagu.. Fryr… Eris.. Where are you.”
Luckily, they did not change location, and Eros found them at their previous position. With haste, he tried to transmit a message to them using magic. A ball of wind formed in his hands, and in it was a very small elemental spirit.
He tried not to be noticed, while murmuring to the elemental spirit. “Ruven is trying to kill me. Trust no one. We need to escape fast!”
After that short, message, the elemental spirit disappeared seemingly merging with the wind.
Below, the crowd cheered more. And many grand wizards from different families and schools took flight. They were obviously there to assist the wounded contestants.
Eros and Selt were assisted by three grand wizards, Almon, Conall and Ruven. They all have a joyous expression as they approached.
“Eros!” Almon shouted, his voice exuding great pride and happiness. “I knew I was right about you. You made Ronsorth proud!”
“Also Selt! You did great!” He added, with a laugh so loud that it resounded everywhere even with all the cheering from the crowd.
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Conall’s also stared at Eros with a more approving eyes and Ruven appeared to do the same. But when Eros’ eyes met with him, Eros knew that Ruven was up to something!
“Sir Almon” Ruven said, “Let me assist Eros towards the castle. Later, he would be given the chance to speak to the crowd, but for now we need to mend his injuries to ensure his safety.”
Almon laughed in response before saying, “Indeed. The winner should not look miserably injured in front of the citizens.”
Eros’ expression did not change when he heard Ruven’s words, but deep inside, he was already panicking and was extremely worried
In no time they landed near the castle. Many from the other families came to them to express their felicitations. This thus forced Conal and Ruven to accept them one by one leaving only Ruven to guide Eros to a place to mend his wounds.
As the two of them walked in a chamber, they didn’t say any word. Eros cautiously followed behind, clearly scared.
After walking for some time, Ruven suddenly stopped, and said, “You already know what will happen from this point.” After which, a semi spherical transparent barrier suddenly surrounded them, blocking Eros’ path of escape and not allowing noise to exit the place.
“From the beginning to the end, I have trusted your capabilities, gave you chance to become my student and even saved your life once.” He then turned around, his face sinister, and his voice became sharper. “I have reservations in doing this, but you gave me no choice! This is all for the Fourth!”
As Ruven was preparing to use his attack, he suddenly stopped and frowned, Eros who was also preparing to fight and was wracking his mind to find a method escape suddenly shifted his head behind. There, he saw Azar walking towards them seemingly confused of what he was seeing.
Ruven quickly removed the barrier, and said, “What brings you here, Sir Azar?”
Azar looked deeply at Eros and Ruven before replying, “I am just here to show my gratitude to Eros for saving my student, Goll. And then I saw you using a barrier, what were you discussing in such secrecy.”
Eros who still doubted weather he could trust Azar or not suddenly realized that this was an opportunity. Earlier, he did not meaninglessly shout for Azar’s help since he knew that they were on bad terms. But now, he realized that Azar who he thought most likely to be an enemy was someone who could save his life in this current calamity!
Ruven who noticed this, quickly prepared to seal Eros’ lips. However, before he could do so. They all heard a voice saying, “Madown!”
Somehow, the voice made them lose focus, and urged them to berserk. It was as if a monster inside them wanted to break free and destroy everything they can see.
Along with this, an odd fragrance surrounded them, and a symbol appeared on their chest. This caused them to feel weak and fall on their knees. However, the urge to go wild was too strong. So with all their might, they began throwing magic without caution.
Eros who was caught in the middle realized what was happening. “Eris! And this Curse… It’s Fryr!” He said.
BOOM!
The wall on their side suddenly exploded and crumbled. Then a rampaging orc rushed and punched Ruven smashing him on the opposite wall, and with a roar, the orc leapt and punched Ruven several more times. After which, the orc switched target aiming at Azar and strongly punched him, throwing him afar, but before the orc could continue, a raspy voice ordered, “Stop that you idiot. Grab the boy and let’s go.”
The orc hesitated for a bit, but it the end; it quickly grabbed Eros and shot back to the hole in the wall, leaving both Azar and Ruven injured. And without any trace left behind, Eros’ group disappeared.
….
“Ehh?” Eros stared at someone who he did not expect to meet while still fleeing for safety “Why is Firo here? Didn’t I tell you not to trust anyone?”
“But I’m your friend.” Firo said, a bit emotional. “I was just worried.”
When Eros looked at Eris to ask for explanation, she quickly said without waiting for Eros’ reproach, “We did not tell him anything. For some unknown reason, he overheard your message while he was sitting on Hagu’s shoulder. He said it’s because of his magic.”
Hearing Eris’ flustered explanation, Eros could only sigh. “He looked at Firo deeply as if trying to see if he’s an ally or enemy.”
Firo quickly raised both his hands in defense, and tried to absolve himself, “Hey. I told you, I’m your ally. In fact, if not for my magic, it would be hard to enter the castle or more so escape.”
This time Fryr voiced out in favor of Firo, “Soul magic. Such Flexible magic! As you can see, our near perfect disguise is only because of his magic. Using the appearance of the soul and even hiding our aura, such creativity!” Then he changed his gait to that of a rich merchant and added, “Besides, I always wanted to act like a rich old elf. This disguise is just fantastic.”
“Of course! Our tribe maybe small, but our soul magic is extraordinary.” Firo boasted, while laughing proudly.
“Alright.” Eros said helplessly. He knew that arguing with Firo and Fryr would be useless, so instead of complaining, he asked, “Can we get out of the kingdom with this disguise?”
Again Firo began laughing, his eyes shining with excitement before bloviating, “Worry not. I used an item which my father gave me to boost the effect of my magic, even grand wizards would have a hard time seeing through our disguise. It is the pride of our tribe, and the skill that helped us survive till the current day. In fact, we have much more unbelievable magic, as we go along I will amaze you more… And, oh! I remember, we have..”
Before Firo could continue with his nonstop chatter which Eros never heard for a while and almost forgotten, he said, “Alright.” Interrupting Firo. “So I trust that disguise is now the least of our problem, but I’m unsure where to go.”
“You can temporarily hide in our tribe.” Firo suggested, “I’m the son of the current tribe chief, so you can come as visitors.”
“Perfect!” Fryr quickly said, “Then it’s settled! I am curious on what sort of tribe would dare to create magic especially to control souls.”
Eros did not bother to think of another option; he knows less about Eunos compared to everyone, so thinking of a hiding place is not his call. In the end he did not say a word and simply nodded his head.
As they were walking in crowded streets to appear less suspicious, they saw some peddlers. Without a word, Fryr approached them acting wealthy in every way. Even though he now assumed a form of an old elf, his head was still without hair. He was still short but he stood straight, adding authority to his facade.
“I greet thee ” Fryr said extremely in character. In response, the young peddlers greeted back with respect, and asked, “What can we help you with, Sir?
“Oh. It is but a simple matter.” He walked towards, the peddlers two carriages and horses before saying, “I just noticed from afar that you have a steady steed at your service.”
The eyes of the young peddlers lit up and asked, “Are you interested in purchasing them, Sir?”
Worried that Fryr might reject them they added, “If you might not notice, those are not ordinary steeds. They are called Bley – an extremely strong and vital steed. With their legs twice as big as ordinary horses, they can traverse mountains without rest and carry items more than ten times their weight. Their speed is also hard to match by mages especially on the wild.”
Fryr nodded in amusement, then said, “Now I’m tempted to buy, however, we only seek ride to reach a certain location outside the kingdom.” Seeing the disappointed faces of the peddlers, he waved his hands at Eros and said, “Give them a five thousand magic stone as payment.”
The peddlers’ eyes lit when they heard Fryr’s offer. But Fryr was now in full character, so he was not satisfied with their meager display of excitement, so he added, “No. I like these Bleys, so make it Ten thousand magic stones.”
This time, the peddlers were more excited than ever, which made Fryr feel more satisfied, but he was getting engrossed in his acting so he added, “Ah. I feel that they are extremely sturdy so make it Twenty thousand.”
Hearing this, Eros’ eyes went wide. Fryr’s hands signs were all directed at him all this while, obviously expecting Eros to pay for his arrogant play.
So with haste, Eros produced a pocket carrying twenty thousand magic stone, not waiting for Fryr to say more.
With wide smiles, Eros’ group was led to ride the carriage, and treated with utmost deference.
….
In the location near the castle, Almon frowned for the first time in a long while. “So you only saw an orc take him away, and two unusual magic attacked you along with the orc.” Almon said while pondering for a moment. In front of him, Azar and Ruven stood waiting for his decision. “This is indeed a worrying matter, how can we explain this to the ruler, but for now we have no choice but to observe everyone going out of the kingdom.”
Then he ordered, “I will inform Sir Saevel about this matter, and the two of you can oversee the search.”
Both Ruven and Azar nodded and quickly dispersed. However, before leaving, Azar eyed Ruven with vigilance he had never done in the past.
….
“You have grown boy.” Fryr said, “Before, you were just a crybaby and as poor as one can be, but now you can now even pay twenty thousand magic stone without batting an eyelid. I have truly picked a worthy disciple.”
“Do I need to still hit you in the head?” Hagu added.
Eros smiled reminiscing about the past. He have only been in Eunos for around four years but he experienced numerous challenges. With Eris, Hagu, Fryr he now felt safer. His body relaxed and his mind eased, so for the first time in a while, he closed his eyes, and before he knew it, he fell asleep.
Their journey to escape the kingdom continued, and Eros was sleeping on Eris’ shoulder the whole time. It was a peaceful travel, but, suddenly Eros was startled awake when he heard Fryr arguing with someone outside the carriage.
“My friends, how can you now allow us to proceed?” Fryr asked slightly disgruntled. “We have to reach our destination tomorrow before dawn; it is impertinent to keep us here without reason.”
“Sir, we have been..” The man said, but before he could continue, Fryr said, “It’s Falel. Sir Falel.”
“Err.. Sir Falel, on behalf of the kingom I apologize for this, however, we have been ordered to do carefully check everyone leaving. As you can see there are only five more before your group so it won’t take much time.”
Fryr frowned and said, “Do you dare delay my audience with Sir Hearthenfire?”
The elf was shocked to hear that name; even the peddlers with them could not help but gape. Hearthenfire was someone who rules an area at the outskirts of the Kingdom of Sheles and was on good terms with the ruler. His name alone is revered by many. He might not equal to eight great families, but he still carried great authority.
Now that Fryr have brought up a name of someone with power, the elf got nervous and said, “I understand Sir Falel, I will discuss this with everyone.”
“No. There’s no need for discussion.” Fryr said with tone extremely overbearing.
Also, right at that moment, Eros stepped out of the carriage and said, “Sir Falel, if we are delayed any longer, Sir Herthenfire might be enraged, and not only that, he might be put in grave danger.”
Hearing this, the man sweated in profusely, and could speak no more. Fortunately, another elf approached and said, “I overheard your discussion. May I ask what the matter with Sir Hearthenfire is?”
When they heard the elf, both Fryr and Eros were shocked since in front of them was none other Elion – the elf who assisted them when they first arrived at the kingdom.
Fryr was especially worried, he have been with Elion far longer than Eros, and he know he was a sharp fellow so his cover might be blown. But Eros was different, he stood by his words, and added, “I seek your forgiveness sir, but we are not allowed to say nothing. You can kill us but not a word will leak from our mouths. Hearthenfire is an ally of the kingdom so we hope you can understand us and let us pass.”
Elion frowned, and stared right at Eros, but all he can see are eyes filled with worry. It was hard to tell if his words are lies or truth, but it was hard to gamble on Hearthenfire’s fury.
“Alright. Let them pass.” Elion ordered still staring deeply at Eros, as if observing his reaction.
On the other hand, Eros quickly bowed respectfully and said, “I will remember this kindness, Sir.” And without more words, they came back to the carriage and directly exited the Kingdom of Sheles.
…
Some distance from the walls of the kingdom, Fryr laughed and said, “You have indeed grown. Even your acting abilities are commendable. I was caught off guard when I saw Elion, but you handled that well.”
Firo also gave his approval and Eris simply smiled, but Hagu was still looking stern as usual.
“So how do we go to your tribe?” Eros asked shrugging the nonsensical compliments.
“Actually our tribe is located just beside the lands of Sir Hearthenfire, so you almost guessed our destination earlier.”
Their journey continued with Firo’s chatter along the way. With the shocking speed of the Bleys they arrived at the outskirts of Hearthenfire’s lands before dawn. However, before entering, they all disembarked from the carriages and bade farewell to the peddlers.
This time, they continued by foot, avoiding anyone’s sight. They could have flown earlier when they exited the Kingdom of Sheles, but they were wary of scouts.
Soon they entered a forest, extremely lush and dense. Trees were almost touching each other and there were barely spaces to fit themselves.
“Is this really the way to your tribe?” Fryr asked
“Yes, just a bit more and we can enter.” Firo said, Then he began saying some magic chant, but oddly, no voice came out of his mouth.
It was as if he was talking to something from a far away location, and his pupils swirled seemingly a vortex leading to some unknown dimension. Even though Eros saw his magic before, it still shocked him to the core.
Suddenly, the trees blocking them bended and deformed like mud. Souls could be seen etched on the tree seemingly the cause why it bended smoothly. It was a bizarre sight, a sight that could even cause them fright.
Then beyond the bended trees were suddenly filled by fog, extremely thick that one could never see what’s ahead. Howls of souls also echoed from time to time, and a soul would sometimes pop out the cloud of fog with a sinister smile.
“Uhh.. Is that really the entrance to your tribe?” Frys asked, voice hoping it wasn’t what he was thinking.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared?” Eros asked, with a mocking grin, obviously copying Fryr’s haughtiness while he was speaking with Elas in front of the Midnight cave back then.
However, as the two were arguing, Firo said, “Come. Follow.”
With no choice left, all of them followed along, and hesitantly entered the fog filled with souls that made them feel cold to the bone.
They continued to walk inside the fog, without visual on what’s in front. And only after a hundred steps did they see light and an unusual world welcomed their sight.