0041 Allies and Enemies
"Prague! Living Roots!".
"Don't stop me Father Alcione! Or I'll have to deal with you too!".
Alcione stretched out his hands and touched the walls of the cave during his run, a green glow came out of his hands and dyed the walls where he touched, from the walls glowing in green, grasses sprouted all over the place, the roots and branches looked alive as they reached out trying to envelop Jardel's body, and Jardel lunged forward cutting everything in his path.
"You should do your job! Stop causing trouble!".
Alcione didn't want to wait, he emited even more power through his hands as he glanced back, and kept running in search of Jenany.
"Miracle! Diosalva's Armor!".
Seeing the Hyenas arising towards him, Jardel produced and materialized a layer of bluish green armor, a pair of angel wings made of energy came out of his back and curved protecting his body from the Hyenas.
With his sword, he continued to cut the Living Roots, but in a few seconds he was unable to continue advancing, behind him, the Hyenas started biting the energy wings and others started spitting stone spears that hit his magic armor.
"Fuck!".
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*"Right, you chose the best path..."*.
When they reached the slightly lit path, they came face to face with the outside of the caves, Lucius walked close to the exit and looked down and then to the sides, the exit was in the precipice wall.
*"I had no way of knowing that the exit would be right at the precipice..."*.
*"No problem, we're already here...
... There is an entrance a little further down, you can jump without problems, but we need to be careful..."*.
Lucius saw Sara's dismay, but he didn't give up and looking at the two girls, he mentioned that they could try to go down, making them both happy, but then he looked worriedly back the way they had come.
*"Lucius, right? What worries you?"*.
*"Well, the Father is an old man, will he be able to get down without any problems?"*.
Jenany's brow furrowed as she saw Lucius' concern for the Father, she looked at Sara and saw how she too was in doubt about old man Alcione's health and physical capabilities.
*"Young's! What are you doing stopped? Keep on running! Oh no!"*.
Along with the voice, a white light like a lamp denounced the arrival of Father Alcione, the object responsible for the light was a medal from the church that seemed to be made of glass attached to a cord around his neck.
The Father arrived and quickly noticed the outside, he wanted to continue running, but he realized that they were on the precipice and with that he stopped and leaned against the wall to rest.
*"I said, I'm too old for that kind of action!"*.
*"Yes Father, we are seeing, but we need you, for us to get out of here!"*.
Alcione looked up at Lucius's smile, he took a few more breaths and shook his head negatively.
*"Things got ugly back there! Watcher Jardel is on his way, he wants to kill you at any cost!
And now we're on a dead end road, I don't know if I can hold him any longer, we have to think of some way for you to escape!"*.
The three were stunned by Alcione's concern to help Lucius escape, even if it brings him some trouble, and Lucius was even more pleased to have chosen this Father to carry out his plan.
*"Don't worry Father, there's a passage just below us...
... Come, take a look and see if you can get down!"*.
*"Yes, Father Alcione, I will also help you if you have difficulty getting down!"*.
Breathing better, Alcione looked at Lucius beside him, who using his thumb, pointed back towards the precipice, without turning his body.
Then he looked at Jenany on the other side who raised a fist in the air and declared that she would help him, lastly, Sara who was a little further away, and even in silence, she nodded positively when he looked at her.
*"Very well youngs, like the eldest, I can't give up that easy..."*.
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"Father Alberto, the way is blocked...
... There are a lot of Hyenas, and now these roots walls have appeared blocking the way...".
"It looks like the Living Roots Plague, living roots...
... I think Father Alcione did it!".
"But why would he block us here?".
"He didn't do it against us! I'm sure of it!".
Alberto arrived with his group, but the roots blocked the way, where several Hyenas were wrapped in branches and roots trying to get free by chewing everything that held them.
Being trapped, they couldn't escape to the ground or the wall like they used to, and that got the Envoy beside them excited to kill some Hyenas.
"Do not do it! Let's open the way and pass without hurting the Hyenas!".
The Envoy, who had already prepared for the attack, frowned, displeased, he obeyed the Father and quickly made his blades of light cut a path between the Living Roots of Alcione.
"I feel the presence of someone fighting the Hyenas, it must be the Watcher Jardel!".
"Don't worry Watcher Freddy! Keep defending the rear, let the Envoy take care of the front!".
With more Hyenas appearing and shooting their stone spears from behind, the switch of position between the Watcher and the Envoy was necessary, Freddy lifted his cracked energy shield and with a strong thrust, he threw the shield like a disk that hit a Hyena clinging to the ceiling.
The Hyena fell and the shield shattered sending shards of energy all over the dark corridor, and the fragments lit up the entire passage showing a wave of Hyenas hiding in the dark, but as soon as they were revealed by the shards of light they hid in the floor and walls again.
It was a simple move, it didn't hurt the Hyena despite knocking her over, but it served to fend off the several Hyenas that were spitting the stone spears at her back, and that gave them a brief rest.
"Miracle! Watcher's Wall!".
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Once again Freddy used his power and blocked the entire passage behind them, the wall was reinforced and its light illuminated the whole place, helping to see any other Hyena skulls emerging to attack them.
The would-be soldiers marveled at Freddy's display of power, but soon they were sad again when the Envoy managed to make some way between the Living Roots, on the ground, they could see the remains of their friends who had accompanied the Watcher Jardel.
"Shit! Father Alberto, let me kill these beasts!".
"No! The more we hurt the Hyenas, the fiercer they will get!
I just read that Hyenas don't chase very far from their nests, and that scattered bones are an indication that the territory is part of the center of their nest...
... It also says that Skull Hyenas can be Rank C, Rank B and even Rank A, but we will only know their real Rank when they are very angry, look around us, I don't want to find out the Rank of each of them...
... If we make it out of the caves, there's a chance they'll stop chasing us, or at the very least, their numbers should decrease significantly!".
Alberto closed the book and tucked it inside his robe, on the one hand he was happy not to have to run around with a heavy backpack on his back, on the other hand, leaving the other books with Lucius could result in a great loss considering the current situation.
The Envoy continued clearing his way even though he was displeased with not being able to kill the Hyenas that were trapped nearby, but his attention was attracted by the bluish green light that came between the tangle of roots ahead.
With one more cut, the Living Roots wall was ripped in half and on the other side, Jardel was kneeling on the floor, several Hyenas were tied to roots, but their mouths wouldn't let go of Jardel's wings or legs, and to top it off, he was also tied by roots.
"Oh Angels Diosalva and Diocolpo... Your servant faces difficulties in fulfilling his duties...
... Please give me the strength and protection to do Diore's will...".
Jardel's body began to emit a strong white light, and his prayer whispers began to sound through the cave's corridor, the Envoy who was opening even more the path stopped when recognizing the two objects in Jardel's hands.
"He is praying with two golden insignia!".
"What? Where did he get two golden insignia?".
"Which Angel is he praying to?".
Alberto was shocked to learn that Jardel possessed two golden insignia, but Freddy who was reinforcing his magic wall was not distracted and asked about the Angel that Jardel might be praying to.
"I can't hear properly! I'll try to get closer!".
The Envoy kicked a Hyena to the wall after cutting the roots trapping its hind paws, the Hyena growled at him, but upon finding a space without the Living Roots, it dove to the ground and disappeared.
Alberto reached into the pocket of his robe and began to check all the insignia and medallions he had that could be useful at the moment, he had several white insignia and a few silver ones, as well as several white medallions, but he stopped his eyes on the white medallion Alcione had given him.
"He is praying to the Angels Diosalva and Diocolpo!".
"Shit! If it were only Diosalva! Does he intend to start a fierce battle by summoning a Rank B Angel of Diocolpo?".
Hearing the Envoy and Freddy, Alberto took a deep breath and put away all the insignia and was left with five white medallions, and two silver medallions, they all had the same image, an Angel holding a shield.
As for the medallion given by Alcione, he kept it well with the others, then he looked at his men and made up his mind.
"Everyone get ready, I'm going to wear some medallions as soon as...".
Before Alberto could finish his words, two Angels of white light appeared beside Jardel, one holding a large shield that covered half of his body, and the other Angel holding a large heavy sword.
Both Angels had huge wings that they couldn't open because of the small place, and the moment they emerged, the Living Roots began to envelop their bodies.
Exchanging glances, the Angel with the shield touched a hand to Jardel's body, and in the same instant all of Diosalva's armor was restored.
The Angel with the heavy sword made his sword glow brightly and with his extreme strength, he just moved, ripping through the roots that held his body and stabbed his sword into the ground burying it halfway.
"Punishment. Diocolpo's Aura.".
"Oh no!".
Hearing the emotionless voice that resonated as if it were inside everyone's heads, Alberto went into despair and quickly prepared his medallions.
"Angels of Diosalva, protect us!".
"Miracle! Protective Aura!".
With the light of their white power, the medallions immediately disintegrated and in their place, a new Angel appeared for each medallion, and each Angel held a different shield, Freddy gave up on reinforcing his wall and ran to Alberto's side, quickly he summoned a bluish green Protective Aura that enveloped the two.
The Envoy retreated jumping and the would-be soldiers were protected by some angels who wrapped them in their wings, the angels with the biggest shields positioned themselves in front of everyone and several shields of white light materialize in the air.
Diocolpo's Rank B Angel's sword began to vibrate, space began to vibrate, and then, the entire hallway turned white.
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"So is that what happened? Well...
... Sorry, but I can't help you... I'm not even here!".
Oscar disappeared like smoke again, then reappeared near another entrance.
"Do you understand me? Besides, if I go down with you guys, I'll have to take care of those annoying uncles again, they won't stop talking!".
Maycon sighed as he saw the child's reaction, he finally found someone who could help them, but in this situation, it seemed like help might take a long time yet, and Jeffrey at his side was thoughtful until he decided to say something.
"How about this... You can send one of your friends to take us to the castle, and you keep playing here...".
"That's it! Jeffrey! Sometimes you are a genius!
Even better! Oscar! In addition to sending one of your friends to help us... You can capture all the people inside the cave! Without letting anyone escape!".
Oscar frowned upon hearing the request of the two, he turned his head and looked at the Little Bone beside him who seemed to understand their conversation and also looked at Oscar.
"Heeh hehe!".
"It's ok! It's ok! Little Bone isn't happy with these people invading his territory either...".
Sighing, Oscar crossed his arms, it seems Little Bone is more responsible than he is, and with that, a teenage Skull Hyena emerged from one of the walls, it looked like the same Hyena that had been injured by the Envoy earlier, but now she was fully healed.
"Hey, boy! Looks like you're fine, doesn't it?".
The teenage Hyena approached and Jeffrey rubbed his hand through the hair on the hyena's back and then ran his hand over a white cut scar mark made by the sword blow.
"Yes, Little Bone here cured him, but left the mark for the teenager to learn from his mistakes...
... Well, this conversation is getting boring, I'll get back to playing, you can go...
... Oh no! The uncles are getting close to me, I'll have to hide more, then I'll be back! Take care of things here Little Bone!".
Oscar simply disappeared like smoke again, leaving Maycon, Jeffrey, Little Bone, and the young Hyena staring at each other.
Little Bone got up and started walking until he disappeared into a side wall, and the little Hyena chose one of the cave corridors and entered, making Maycon and Jeffrey follow her.
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"I'm not seeing anyone else!".
"Impossible! An Angel would not appear here alone!".
"I wonder are they in that house?".
"That's the Leader's house... If they dared to enter there, we can't let any of them escape!".
"But how do we get to the other side?".
"I'll guide everyone, I've visited the Leader's house before...
... That time I brought a big office table for him... Oh yeah! We have to go through the caves, but don't worry about the Skull Hyenas...".
"Skull Hyenas? Is it from here that we receive our Familiar?".
"Yes, indeed, there is a large nest of Skull Hyenas in the center of the mountain...".
"Hey, look there!".
The group had just arrived at the entrance of the cave, and they all approached the precipice to observe the Leader's house on the other side, but finding no one but the Angel in the sky, they were left wondering where the enemies were.
And just as Oscar mentioned, they started talking non-stop again, until one of them saw something on the precipice wall.
An old man with white hair and a long white beard, together with his white cloak, denounced his organization, he was hanging from one of the cave entrances trying to go down to the other entrance below, however, something seems to have gone wrong and some young people are trying to pull him back.
"Is he a Father or a Cardinal?".
"I don't know, let's get them first, and then we'll ask!".
The men took off their tabards, robes and shoes, leaving only loose pants, their bodies began to make strange popping sounds as their flesh and bones rumbled under their skin.
The skin tone of all of them changed, becoming more yellow for some or more brown for others, with the body swelling, they were getting bigger and bigger, their heads began to deform with the jaws growing forward, and the whole face taking on a canine appearance.
Fur grew all over his body, and on his back the fur grew like hair, following the spine to the middle of his back, and the nails turned into huge black claws.
The belt of their pants had a glass-like jewel in the center, and as their bodies all grew and gained volume, the jewels began to shine.
While the jewels shimmered in a dark green shade, very fine lines of dark green appeared on everyone's pants, somehow the fabric kept up with the growth of its wearers' bodies without letting the clothes rip.
In a few seconds, everyone had turned into monsters from the mixture of humans and Skull Hyenas, with his eyes glowing crimson intensely.
"Hihihihi... These new pants are perfect!".
"Hehehe... Yes, I think so too, look at this!".
"Let's get this over with!".
One by one, the twenty men jumped from the precipice, with their tremendous strength and their sharp claws, they slammed into the precipice walls and managed to cling on without any problems.
The vertical sprint began, and despite the supernaturality of their movements, with every second they ran, the faster they got.