Chapter 11: The Test
1310 Words
“Now, I along with the human race are branded as traitors to Sirkus.”
The others’ eyes widened. “Oh, no.”
Ihdaachar grinned from ear to ear, amused. “Fret not. I will protect you. However, I will not live forever. I want to train more people and teach humans to defend themselves. I want them to breed and evolve. Then, I can die in peace.”
He took a pin from his shirt and walked out of the tent. “Our chat was very interesting. Now, Yayis. Come with me. Bring Shams with you.”
Yayis glanced at the others, and they nodded. “You can trust him, Yayis. He might not look like it, but he’s very worried about both of you.” Sabaa reassured.
“It seems like we’re under attack.” Ashra’s eyes were shining grey. “My owls told me. An army of giants are marching towards the citadel.”
“Damn that yellow-haired freak!” Un gritted her teeth. “We will defend our new life, no matter what!”
“Leave that to me.” Ihdaachar smiled soflty. “I want the ten of you to return to your districts and protect the locals. I know you’re very much capable. Go.”
“But, there’s about a hundred of them…” Achra hesitated. “You can’t… I mean…”
“I appreciate your concern, but this is an order.” Ihdaachar patted Yayis’s shoulder. “I will see what you’re made of.”
Yayis nodded. He woke Shams up and ran after Ihdaachar, who was walking leisurely with his hands in his pockets.
Yayis glanced at him curiously. “Are you… Why are you wearing sunglasses?”
“Because my eyes are fully open.”
“So…”
“They’re not very pretty, and then, my powers activate as soon as I open them fully. Those glasses prevent that.”
“Is it so bad that your powers activate?”
Ihdaachar laughed. “I see you’re getting used to asking questions from this old man.”
“Y-You’re not that old! I’m one thousand years old!”
“That’s not too old in jinn years.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know a bunch of things.”
They saw the humans around them seeking shelter and following the instructions of the village leaders.
“But… Don’t you think the number of humans increased suddenly? Are we still one hundred millions?” Yayis glanced around. “Strange… There are so many people.”
“Maybe. I don’t see any difference.”
“Ah… Sorry…”
Yayis looked down, blushing with embarrassment.
“Did you… ever perform in Sirkus?” Yayis asked after a long silence.
Ihdaachar shook his head. “I didn’t have enough happiness…”
“What?”
“They have a device that can measure happiness there. If you’re not happy enough, you can’t make a show.”
“A-Are you serious?”
“Yeah. That’s why I trust those ten are very strong. They have something that humans generally don’t have. At least old humans.” He smiled faintly. “Hope.”
“So… If you didn’t make shows, what did you do?”
Ihdaachar stepped out of the citadel, and the wooden gate closed behind him. He threw his pin in the air, and it turned into a giant safety pin. “I used to fight.”
Yayis stared at the odd pin for a while. “Fight… Sirkus has fights? I thought they only do circus shows.”
“The shows are only the surface. Much darker things are going on backstage.”
They walked in the green plains.
“Anyway, those titans will be the same ones that took Zultan,” Ihdaachar started, “Titans are high level summoning. They lived with humans for ages, but they were vicious creatures. They were eventually locked behind a wall made by a virtuous man known as Zulkarnain. He was given the power from God to build a wall between two mountains and trap these creatures inside.” He sighed. “They’re humans just like us. They’re just big in size. The first humans were much bigger than us.”
“Wait! If they were locked up, why did that happen? And who took them out?”
“You do your own research. I’m sure you will come across titan summoning eventually. Study well. If you still can’t find an answer, come back here. I will tell you.”
Yayis nodded. “And… If they’re humans, can’t you reason with them?”
“Being held captive for so many eras without food and water made them go mad. They’re beasts that only know how to destroy. They were like that before being imprisoned, but their greed only grew over time.”
He stopped, seeing the horde of titans running in the distance. He shut his eyelids and took a deep breath. “Show me what you’re made of, Yayis.”
He bent down and placed the pin on the grass. He then punched the ground, and a black shadowy wall extended behind him. “Those titans will die as soon as they touch this wall. If you and Shams do not manage to kill at least half of them until then, I will not allow you to go to the academy to audition.”
Shams gasped. “But I don’t have any powers!”
“Awaken them.”
Ihdaachar folded his arms. “Every post-confinement creature has a hidden power. Awaken it. Use your head.”
He gazed at the titans. “You have about five minutes. Go.”
Yayis gritted his teeth and screamed. “BRING IT ON!”
His hair burst in red flames. He grabbed Shams’s hands and flew skywards before heading towards the titans.
Ihdaachar smiled with amusement, watching them.
“Aren’t you being too rough? They’re children.” A black-haired jinn stood next to him.
“It’s when things are rough that the true potential of a human being is unleashed.” Ihdaachar spoke. “You wouldn’t get it. You’re only a jinn.”
“I will kill you if you don’t stop badmouthing me.”
“Do you want goodmouthing instead?”
“I didn’t know that a three hundred years old human is still capable of thinking about sex.”
Ihdaachar laughed. “It’s you that understood it that way. I only meant that you wanted compliments instead of insults.”
The jinn glared at him then glanced at the battlefield. “Let’s watch what they do. I hope you didn’t send them to their death. It wouldn’t be fun if they die so early.”
“You don’t need to tell me that.” Ihdaachar narrowed his eyes. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”
He rested a hand against the side of his head, and his glasses disappeared. “We don’t need this anymore. The justice fanatic solved his problem.”
He shut his eyelids to watch the fight.
Meanwhile, Yayis killed the first enemy and sat down, panting. “Why is it… so tiring?”
He glanced at Shams. “Are you still… alive?”
Shams was trembling with teary eyes. He had a sword Yayis gave him. He gasped as a titan was about to hit him. He placed the sword in front of him and screamed as the titan still squished him against the grass. He stood up with a wince. “That… hurt! It felt like my entire body is turned into mud.”
Yayis cut another titan in pieces. He gritted his teeth. “This is taking longer than expected.”
He placed his sword down and took out a small dagger. He slashed both of his hands. Blood gushed out of them. He pressed his hands against the grass, and a giant red circle trapped all the titans inside. Ihdaachar’s eyes widened slightly. “Interesting.”
Bleeding hands started howling as they devoured the titans and pulled them into the circle. Yayis coughed blood midway, unable to keep the circle open until the process ended. He gasped and collapsed onto the grass, and the circle disappeared, leaving titan halves scattered across the grass.
Shams then screamed his name and ran to him. He hugged him protectively and bandaged his hands. “You fool! Don’t do something beyond your capacities!”
“But Iblis… He can do it so easily!” Yayis screamed his lungs out, frustrated. “WHY CAN’T I DO IT?”
Shams stared at him, worried. He caressed his wounded arm. “I’m sorry. It’s all… because I’m weak… I can’t help you in any way.”
He shut his eyelids violently and hugged Yayis tighter. He gasped as Yayis pushed him aside and stood up, hugging his sword. He gazed at a giant titan that was formed from the fusion of the titan remains.
“I made a promise to Zultan…” Yayis stared at the colossal titan. “I will never back down on my word.”
He took several deep breaths, squeezing the hilt of his word.
“I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!”
- Writer
