The Hidden Realm

Chapter 22 – DEATHMATCH

TODAY, Eleand equipped himself for the battle. He wore the battle armor, the best suit he could get compared before, and brought his golden bow. He would fight the priestess the way he could defend himself. How could he explain to her that he studied everything in the book, but there was no improvement?

He uttered his prayers again when he saw Fariyah waiting near the ice statue of Veira. He was somehow relieved that the priestess was not wearing her white battle suit, and her sword was nowhere in sight.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

He silently swallowed hard, and he managed to nod his head in agreement. Because even if he would honestly inform her that he couldn’t wield the water, they would still fight. Maybe it was his fault. Because she gave him enough time to practice the basic spells, but he failed to make it happen.

Fariyah brought him again to the peak of the waterfall.

“I want to see how much water you can control, draw a magic symbol in the air. Do it!”

Eleand faced the water beside him. His hands trembled as he drew the basic symbol he knew and chanted the spells from the book.

Nothing happened.

Fariyah’s eyes narrowed when she looked in his direction. Eleand gaped when he met her gaze. Then suddenly, he felt the throbbing pain inside his head.

Eleand knelt in severe pain and hardly closed his eyes. There it was. He saw hundreds of ice daggers trying to pierce his head. He gritted his teeth to control his scream.

Protexerium.

Eleand did his best to concentrate. He had been practicing this magic, and he would not let her control his mind, not again.

Fariyah attacked him non-stop. In his mind, he fought so hard to strengthen his mental shield. He eliminated the ice daggers using the imaginary black fire in his head.

But Fariyah’s surprise attack made him shiver in fear. She motioned her hands in the air. The water from the source seemed to have its intelligence when a large portion of it floated on air. With one click of Fariyah’s finger, the water became frozen and sculpted thousands of swords. At least a hundred of it attacked him fast.

What the hell! His reflexes helped him avoid the ice swords. But this was intense!

Eleand shifted in a defensive position where he blocked every attack. He tried his best not to panic. Because of one wrong move, his life would be finished.

But he was not that lucky to avoid every attack. A few hit him, although it was not fatal. He found shelter in a mini glacier a few meters away. The ice swords seemed to land for eternity.

When Fariyah motioned her hands again, she manipulated the full volume of the water flowing below. This time, the ice sculptures became pointed spears. It targeted him one after another.

Eleand had blocked some of the spears, but the moment one had hit his arm, it continued to shoot in his body, and he almost surrendered to the pain. He screamed when he felt an ice-cold spear pierced his chest.

“No!” He felt burning. He concentrated until, in just a blink, a black fire covered his body. Melting the snow around him.

Eleand had witnessed the surprise expression on Fariyah’s face, but she never halted from her attacks.

“What creature are you?” She seemed puzzled while she continued her onslaught.

He shoved off the ice spears until was nothing but a mist. The blood from his chest continued to spill, but it didn’t discourage him.

“I can’t wield the water magic. I’ve tried hard, but I just can’t. I don’t know where I went wrong,” he managed to say even he was troubled breathing in the midst of blocking the attack, “But I finally mastered the Protexerium.”

Fariyah looked disinterested. She didn’t care even if his body was failing. When she got a chance to move near him, she touched his arm, he suddenly felt dizzy, and his body shivered, unable to fight any longer.

His eyes broadened when a mountain materialized in his vision. Then they were suddenly near the summit. The priestess used the Vanire to transport him there!

“If you survived here, I will teach you the Vatranum and the remaining elements.”

Fariyah vanished before he could utter his protest.

Eleand held his chest when the burning sensation heightened. He would run out of blood if he could not find a way to stop the bleeding. He called Enkille in his mind several times, but she never appeared.

Slowly, his legs forced a pace. It wobbled as he regained control. When he surveyed the surroundings, it was familiar. The dry land and the heat—the Unforgiving Mountain! Fariyah brought him to Steri Volcano.

Eleand still clung to a hope that he would survive even he didn’t have an idea how to make a descent into his current state. His body couldn’t make it, no matter how much willpower he had.

He tried to stroll further. A slow pace was better than nothing. But he stopped when he heard a roar. It came from behind.

Damn! He cursed several times as he got a glimpse of the creature behind. It was a wild beast similar to a hyena, except it was bigger, and its fangs were larger and more deadly. It had three pointed horns, and its fur was long in a combination of black and dirty white.

Eleand alerted himself. He gripped his bow and adjusted his aim going to the wild creature. His instinct told him to run, but he was too weak to do so.

His heart beating fast when he saw that the beast was not alone, it was a whole pack, and they were ready to attack.

The creatures were determined to feast on him alive. Six of them moved to circle him. Worse, his remaining arrows were the same as the count of the beasts. He could not miss a single aim.

Shit! He didn’t think twice to hit one of the beasts when it tried to strike him. He hit its neck, and it roared aloud. The remaining beasts attacked simultaneously. He hides at the back of a huge rock and hurriedly targets two of them.

Thanks to his faerie eyes, his trajectory did not miss.

Three down. Somehow, he made progress. And for some adrenaline rush, he ran as fast as he could. He forgot how he was severely injured. He intentionally slides while shooting two arrows, hitting the creatures in the body.

One last beast. It was more aggressive than before; it wasted no time to begin another assault. He rolled to the ground to avoid the sharp fangs of the creature. Until he finally got a chance to hit the beast.

The arrow landed into the creature’s right eye down to its neck. It fell on the ground, roared out loud, and went still, lifeless.

His knees staggered as he stood up. He was drained. He couldn’t manage to walk another step. The green blood of the beast mixed with his own spattered to his clothing.

Eleand gathered his remaining consciousness to think rationally. The area was vast, and no single tree he could find comfort for a shadow.

The weather was indeed unforgiving because of the mixture of extreme hot and cold. His throat began to dry, and his body temperature started to rise.

His balance finally went off. The mountain was stiff, only if he could just roll and slide going down. But it was impossible because of the pointed rocks along the way.

Eleand closed his eyes and uttered his last prayer. He didn’t want to die like this. So humiliating! He had to survive to learn different magic. But his fatigue was telling him otherwise until his vision went dark.

He thought of his family, silently apologizing to them since he could not return to them alive. He fought hard. But still, it was not enough.

I’m sorry.

Tears slowly cascaded to his cheeks as his pulse slowed down.