Alicia was cornered in a room with a surly man in a long-sleeved shirt blocking the only exit. Wisesa's teeth had met and ground together the moment Orb was found cradled in the bookworm's arms. No slightest fear was shown from her to the lad who appeared almost her peers—even though Orb's warning had echoed beyond the forest. The warning that always emanated whenever a strange thing emitted air that frictioned with the Arcane elements in close proximity.
Through Orb, Alicia could also sense it. However, both of them shared the conclusion that there was an exception for this Wisesa. Black magic was both "present" and "absent" in his body. His body was deemed clean (his fierce temperament was what it was, not the result of Khaos' disturbance) but at the same time, Khaos was buried deep within his being.
Wisesa stepped one foot forward. Alicia's right hand was already filled with the swirling energy of Divine Grace. Both his palms were extended in front of her, and his previously grinding teeth were concealed in his best effort to be friendly. It was just that the world and everything in it had to recognise that not all were born gentle. Wisesa was one of them.
"Thief! I knew a rude man like you was behind Orb's disappearance!"
A hint of irritation stabbed Wisesa's heart, but he paid it little heed.
"Put the orb back in the chest, and no one will get hurt," Wisesa persuaded.
"Are ye an idiot or what?" Now it was Alicia who growled with annoyance. "Orb is clearly not yers. Ye should be ashamed!"
"I've been ashamed all my life. That thing is going to lift them all. Second warning, Alicia! Put it in the crate!"
With a motoric command, Alicia's right hand fired Arcane might, which she channelled directly to Wisesa's chest, sending him flying across the room and cracking the hut wall!
A small peck of extraordinary magic power. No pain bothered Wisesa, but being thrown around against his will made him even more inflamed. Sure enough, he quickly rose and ran at Alicia, brandishing a snaking dagger in his rough hands. Alicia retaliated by discharging even more powerful plasma into his body. That fierce lad was flung out of the hut; those poor wooden bars now rendered to splinters!
Wisesa's buttocks landed some distance away from his rickety hut, now teetering on the verge of collapse. His eyes flared open in a blaze of wrath. That Arcane might truly was abysmal. But instead of yielding, he picked up his dagger which was already covered in dry leaves.
The dagger he used indeed had a peculiar meandering blade. Nevertheless, it was the mainstay weapon of the people of Lojitengara, which was not only used in battle, but was also associated as the most effective magical medium.
And believed it or not, that was exactly what Wisesa was poised to demonstrate.
As Alicia stepped out through the breach, she found Wisesa clutching the kris and its sheath. Disgust welled within her as he spat on the scabbard hole. Not without the reason he did that. Before long, smoke suddenly appeared from the same hole. It appeared that Wisesa had put a medley of flower petals and fallen leaves within it, then chanted a few incantations. When the white smoke from the sheath had soared, another whisper escaped Wisesa's lips.
“¹Asep ngelebur nyawa ing raga. Mugi-mugi kasangsaranipun saben otot dipun raosaken wonten ing jiwa, lan pageblug jiwa saking Durga kedah ndadosaken tiyang ingkang laknat ing pati.”
The sun shone without effort. The morning remained morning. The wildlife chirped still. Only two beings in the middle of the forest still struggling in silence. Alicia's senses detected nothing out of the ordinary as time passed by. Curious smoke billowing from the spit was bizarre indeed, yet it was nothing too significant in Alicia's idea of shamanic magic. The lass was ill-equipped to recognise the signs of its workings. Not surprising, of course. The window to her world was a pile of illustrated books. Those who said books were windows to the world trapped themselves in a utopia of assumptions, when only by venturing into the field could one truly understand the extent of their ignorance.
There was no sign of the magic yet. No radiant outburst of energy, no strange noises, no luminous glyphs. Unbeknownst to her, Wisesa's slight grin was one of them.
The Kris blade extended within the rising smoke, while Alicia readied her stance. Suddenly, the Arcane flow ceased. An oppressive weight descended upon her chest. The weight grew heavier and heavier, and the bespectacled girl's knees wobbled. The pain became more profound, causing Alicia to retch blood!
How could Alicia not flinch when thick blood spurted out without cause? Her fear increased as her tongue still tasted the metallic tang between her red teeth.
So this was the mystic art form of shamanism... Alicia even recalled the poltergeist shenanigans she had experienced in Vanir—culminating in fighting the Deer-Man that emerged from a pool of foul blood. The oldest mystical art form in the world of thaumaturgy was still not to be underestimated.
The weight on Alicia's chest grew unbearable! She clutched herself tightly as her heartbeat slowed akin to drowning in a puddle. Blood was being pumped out of her mouth instead of throughout her body.
"Last warning!" Wisesa slowly approached. "Your heart exploding is not worth losing your magic ball."
Alicia coughed. "W-what... are you doing to me?"
"Didn't you hear what I just said? I'm exploding your heart."
"You couldn't have killed a young girl like me!"
"How stupid you are, missy! So what if you're a young girl? I've already killed an entire town! Eh... technically not me. Ah, the blame still falls on me, anyway."
Wisesa's dagger twisted slightly, and Alicia felt her heart twisting too. Her frantic mind urged her to hand over Orb, but it was just a passing thought, and her trusty blue sphere comforted her.
Alicia, stay concentrated! Remember me, you can undo the curse!
There was no way Orb was deceiving her. How many times had she been guided by the blue energy sphere? Alicia remained resolute. No matter if her vision blurred, and the agony enveloped her like a shroud. If Orb said she should not meet death, then death had only taken her heart; her corporeal vessel would continue to make its pilgrimage on Earth.
Synchronisation reignited. The obstruction that had been preventing the Arcane flow through her body vanished. Her Arcane might burst from her veins, knocking Wisesa back along with his dagger. Alicia's breath escaped in a gasping rush as her heart was liberated from the young shaman's curse. Furthermore, her legs regained their strength. Wisesa, on the other hand, fell into a ridiculous position, his back landing on the ground while his buttocks and legs protruded awkwardly behind him.
Wisesa's kris and sheath had seemingly been swallowed by the earth. He rose again. His nose was flaring. His face was steaming. He appeared like a steamed vegetable and as stupid as a clown.
"Why are you being such a rebel wench, Alicia? Stop being a rebel!" Wisesa exclaimed.
"That so, eh, hypocrite? Wisesa, why are you such a stonehead? Stop being such a bloody stonehead!" Alicia shouted back.
"What was that, parroting my words? Are Westerners' brains so clogged with garbage that they can't think of an original reply?”
Having spoken thus, the Yawanese youth held a martial arts demonstration in place. His movements were emphatic, mingling with the wind noise created as his strong hands swiped at the air. From a distance, Alicia knew that Wisesa must be coming up with another move.
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Alicia pedalled her foot. A barrage of Arcane plasma was already unleashed, but this time there was no way Wisesa would accept that willingly. The young lad received no shots. Alicia's intention shifted to smashing Wisesa's head with Orb, but with a sudden break in the middle of his spell dance, he halted her advance with a powerful, invisible barrier, firm like concrete. Both of them clashed in strength, again, struggling in silence.
Wisesa pushed his hands again, and the invincible force knocked Alicia back. The lass had not given up; she kept running and looking for an opening even though the unseen force kept repelling her. Wisesa, the magic wielder, was actually annoyed by her determination.
"Stop moving forward! I have a series of spells to perform!" Wisesa scolded.
"Ye really ask yer foe to stop?"
"This damn Western wench is getting on my nerves like crazy!"
"Ye're absolute rude!"
Wisesa's hand ceased to channel the magical gust. He had surrendered, letting Alicia approach him. Feeling that she had become pompous, Wisesa then spun around and launched a sweeping kick! Alicia fell to the ground again.
Wisesa performed his dance again with a faster gait. While doing so, he again chanted in a language alien to the crimson-haired girl.
“²Kanthi nyilih wewayanganing Dharma Angling, ingsun saget ndemek mburi gunung. Ora ana sing saget dakdemek, nanging sing sapa nemoni ingsun ora bakal nemoni ingsun. Hawaku ngelus-elus gulu lan nggegirisi jiwa. Lengenku ngetutake sampeyan nanging sampeyan ora bisa ndeleng. Kaya dene paningal anglin dharma nundhung buri raseksa.”
The young shaman's feet took a few steps back, patiently waiting for Alicia to rise. Alicia quickly drew the Arcane might with her right hand again, and from a distance, Wisesa threw a punch. She stumbled forward instead, with an ache in her back as if struck by a hurling rock.
Wisesa made a slapping motion, and Alicia received a rough blow on the back of her temple. His move was unusual, and it piqued Alicia's curiosity to turn around. There was nothing or no one, just a gaping old hut. Suddenly, she felt a kick delivered to her rear, sending her tumbling to the ground once more.
Supernatural forces had twisted her heart, repeatedly pounded her, and were now launching attacks from unexpected angles, guided by Wisesa's punches and kicks. These made Alicia all the more exasperated, while Wisesa broke into laughter after a series of rear-kicking bullying.
"Wisesa! Stop kicking my bum!"
"Western girl loser!" mocked Wisesa. "Where's that great magic might, huh? Can’t you cancel my attack this time?"
"Enough, Wisesa! I dinnae want tae fight with you!"
"Like I give a fuck! Until that ball comes back to me, you're going nowhere!"
"I told you it's mine, ye idiot!"
"I told you like I give a fuck, deaf!"
Alicia continued to be tortured by the slapping hands of Wisesa as he leaned casually against a tree. When Alicia managed to fire an Arcane, it either veered off course or self-deflected due to her distracted focus.
"Just put it on the ground, Alicia, and I'll be kind enough to let you go," taunted Wisesa. "As long as I can see you here, your backside—not to mention your ass—won't be safe."
Feeling like the centre of the gods, a few words slipped from Wisesa's lips. Alicia was glimmering with inspiration.
"I see. You're toying with me through rear assaults as long as you can see me."
Wisesa was caught off guard.
"Damn it! Don't you dare—"
But she had already “dared”. The courtyard of the man's house became a boundless white field, unblemished by Arcane’s glare! When Wisesa's vision recovered, the figure of Alicia had already vanished into thin air.
How the Divine had cursed Wisesa. His body glowed blue, but he did not feel like he was blessed by Arcane. Instead, his body levitated on its own. As he gazed at the luminous source on his body—the suspended Orb—he glared at Alicia with a flaring nostril.
Alicia's concentration struggled with the thrashing of Wisesa's body. Although she had become increasingly skilled at lifting living things with Arcane might, she still had to learn more about cultivating her power as effectively as possible. And so, Alicia did what she usually did—purifying the influence of Protos particles from someone, or something.
Arcane energy delivered a scorching stimulus to Wisesa's nerves, but strangely, Alicia did not share the same ache. As she had guessed, the presence of Protos was both present and absent in this lad, and when the purification took place, no Khaos was found in Wisesa's body. Nevertheless, that dark power was still present and palpable!
"How did you hide your Khaos core?" Alicia demanded.
Wisesa continued to whine incoherently like a tantrum-throwing toddler. But unlike the other villagers, he seemed to understand the terminology Alicia was using. "I'm not hiding black power or shit!"
"Then why do I and Orb still feel the bloody presence of Khaos?” Alicia snapped.
"B-because... it's not me!"
"Then who is?"
"You're talking too much, damn Western wench!"
A big desire inside Alicia to crush the skull of the foul-mouthed, racist lad, but there was no way her sphere mate ever let him die. The purification process would also be futile. So this was Alicia's intention: she would create an Arcane explosion to knock him unconscious, after which he would be dragged to Semar's place for trial. If the explosion plan had not rendered him unconscious, Alicia would have let Orb hit Wisesa's head until he fainted. But surely one explosion would be enough, because if not, it would have left Alicia at her wit's end.
So what she wanted happened with Orb's blessing. A huge energy blast occurred in the middle of the forest, and both Alicia and Wisesa were thrown away. Wisesa had already rolled several times on the ground; the Arcane's explosive power had indeed drained his strength. He could no longer complain about being thrown against his will.
Alicia approached the man. Apparently, Wisesa could still speak, no matter if his entire body was paralysed.
"Let me tell you something, Alicia." Wisesa grinned. "That Khaos' air of power doesn't come from me. It comes from a realm inside my body."
Alicia was puzzled. "A realm inside your body? Possessed by something, then? Ah, never mind! Sorry, Wisesa, but it's time for your nap!"
"Wait, wait, wait! Don't make me faint. Alicia, don't—"
THUD!
With a jarring impact, Wisesa fell into a deep stupor, while Alicia gathered her strength and squatted before him.
"Nae wonder people dinnae like you, Wisesa. Try to be a wee good lad next time, will ye?" Alica said to the unconscious lad. "Now I have to find Ki Semar in that dense forest because nae danger I'll carry yer body all the way to the village!"
Just as Alicia was about to stand up, Wisesa suddenly gasped and his eyes opened wide. Alicia was taken aback. The young man had suffered a severe attack of apoplexy, and his body contorted in an abnormal manner, bones audibly cracking. She quickly readied Orb for any potential danger.
"Wisesa! Wisesa, what's wrong with you?"
Wisesa did not answer.
"Having a laugh, aren’t ye? Wisesa, this isnae funny, stop it!"
Wisesa did not utter a single word. He continued to twist his own body until he found a comfortable pose for him—the bridge!
From beneath the lad's cloth-veiled abdomen, emerged a yellowish, effervescent energy. The air it exuded seethed with scalding heat as it ascended, gradually moulding itself. Retreating was contemplated in Alicia's mind as the shape of the otherworldly force became increasingly distinct. But it did not take forever for the substance to coalesce into the spectral form of a humanoid being. A being strikingly akin to the one that had assailed the village. The being that had hunted the Panca Gendheng bandits. The being that Ki Semar had tamed.
Alicia's eyes widened. At the same time, Orb screamed, for a core of Khaos had emerged. The connections were obvious. All those questions in Yawadwipa. All the ins and outs of the mystery in the village.
One piece of Nostradame's prophecy of The Six Children became clear as day.
Alicia uttered in a hushed gasp, "Ellie’s Wrath, it’s you!"
Awe still grappled within her. She did not realise that Wisesa's feet and hands were treading lightly as the Barong-shaped magical projection met her. The tumultuous energy within that form seemed to be held in check, so it could not fully assume its physical manifestation. Nevertheless, controlling the young lad it occupied with its current state was more than enough. The bridge-posing lad sped towards her, the creature's hand seized Alicia's neck, then thrust her against the trunk of a teak tree!
Even though it was just a translucent energy substance, Barong's hand was able to strangle Alicia like a colossal clamp.
"W-Wi... se... sa...!" Alicia groaned. "W-wake up...!"
But Wisesa was not home. There was only Barong, snorting and growling in front of her mien. Its hand squeezed so tightly that she felt as though her neck might snap. The exposure of Arcane pierced through the spirit like nothing, albeit the air of Khaos was really felt to the bone.
Alicia barely took it anymore. Her lungs burned. Her breaths grew shallow. Soon, she might have to bid farewell to her body… []