Eleven's Ghost

Chapter 24: Fatherly Blood

Everyone woke up at dawn, and some didn’t sleep. Shams woke up a few minutes before dawn. Two portals appeared on opposite ends at dawn, and everyone travelled inside within one hour. On the way inside, Malik poked Yayis and Shams’s shoulders. “When we leave the portal, I will leave your side. You will have a last challenge before you enter the academy. In fact, you will be already inside of the academy. This final challenge will only make you official students.”

They nodded and left the portal with everyone else. They found themselves into a large arena. People were sitting on the benches, watching them. In front of them, a masked man was sitting on top of a throne with crossed legs. The booth where he sat was elevated in comparison to the rest of the benches. The winning candidates glanced around, confused.

“What will we do now?”

“Who are all these people?”

“What’s going on?”

“People!” They saw Dahab speaking from a different booth that was right above the tunnel they came out from.

“Welcome to the academy! I glad you made it here safely!”

He clapped.

“You’re surrounded by the students that already enrolled here in the past decades. Obviously, not all of them are here, but whoever made it is excited to see the new students perform today!”

The crowd clapped and whistled in encouragement.

“As for your mission…”

A gate opposite of theirs opened. They heard the sound of heavy shackles and slow footsteps.

“This is a prisoner we kept for the past few hundred years. He’s very vicious, an evil creature! Have no mercy on him. Beat him up! In fact, kill him! He will revive. Don’t pity him!”

Yayis’s eyes widened, seeing who it was.

“Fight him! Fight the vicious jinn Iblis!”

Iblis stood in front of the crowd without a weapon, naked and covered in chains that dragged him down. His skin was dripping with blood from his numerous cuts and bruises. His face was covered with his messy white hair that almost shined under the sun.

Everyone stared at the jinn, confused. They were unwilling to attack him.

“If you don’t attack him,” Dahab added, “You will be disqualified!”

They all instantly ran towards Iblis. He didn’t move from his spot. His eyes were searching for Yayis, and they widened slightly as he found him. He coughed as someone stabbed his belly. Another punched him down on the floor and stabbed his back. Yayis gritted his teeth and took a step forward, smashing the floor underneath his foot.

“You have no right to attack fellow students,” Dahad spoke again, staring at Yayis with a smirk, “You will be disqualified.”

Yayis stared at his father’s blood spreading across the white tiles on the floor.

A board appeared mid-air, and the number one was written on it. A white light then flashed on Iblis’s body.

“One death!” Dahab announced. “Each one of you must kill him at least once, and the total death count should be twenty thousand deaths! If this number is not fulfilled, you will all be disqualified. There is no countdown. You can use any methods you want!”

Yayis gazed at Iblis with round eyes. Tears rolled down his face, and he fell to his knees. He held his head in his hands and cried out in pain and shock. He gasped as someone patted his shoulders. Looking up, he saw Shams and his teammates. They hugged him. Shams looked down sadly. “I’m sorry for not realizing it sooner. I just learned that… he’s your father.”

Yayis looked at him in despair. “You must hate me now,” he whispered, “I’m the son of your sworn enemy.”

Shams nodded. “I will never hate you. The identity of you father is not your fault.” He smiled at Yayis. “You’re my precious teammate and my treasured friend. I love you, no matter what.”

Yayis burst into tears and hugged everyone back. Mika blushed slightly and looked away. “This isn’t my kind of thing…”

Louise laughed and slapped his back, making him cough blood. “Don’t be like this! You’re enjoying yourself!”

Bayn smiled briefly then looked at Iblis. “He’s not resisting at all. This is strange.”

“He’s pre-exhausted,” Mika informed, “And I’m pretty sure his powers are mostly drained or sealed. He should be weaker than a human now. This is obviously a setup to humiliate him,” he paused and folded his arms, “Many people find pleasure in breaking people’s ego and pride, especially if those people have such hubris. Iblis fits the bill perfectly.”

Yayis stood up. “You can go hit him. I won’t blame you.” He forced a smile. “Go.”

“What about you?” Louise glanced at him curiously.

“I won’t. I can’t.” Yayis lowered his head with clenched fists. “But you go…” He looked down, his shoulders sinking. “I don’t need to be here anymore.”

He walked towards the dark tunnel. “I will go home,” he whispered, his eyes going blank, “But where?”

The others gasped as a blue light burst from behind them, and Iblis jumped skywards. Within seconds, Iblis appeared in front of Yayis and pulled him into a tight hug. The others stared at him in shock. The cheering audience fell silent.

Yayis frowned, feeling his father’s arms wrapped around him. Iblis buried his face in his son’s head and slid his hands along his arms until he threaded their fingers. He picked up one of his hands. “You came. For me.”

He rested his forehead on his son’s and gazed into his crimson eyes. “I will return the favour now.”

Yayis’s eyes flashed wide, feeling his hand sinking into his father’s heart. He felt it throbbing, burning hot, desperate and hasty. Iblis hugged him tighter and fell to his knees. “I’m your father,” he whispered, blood trailing from the corner of his lips. “Whether you… like it or… not.”

Yayis screamed and yanked his hand out. He leaned backwards and stared at his father collapsing in horror. He looked down at the blood on his hands. His world went black quickly, and collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

Bayn sat in front of Iblis and glanced at the board.

“He died. Yayis just passed.”