DESCENDANTS OF THE BLACK MOON

Chapter 10

"We've been walking since eternity. Where exactly is this mountain at?" Kath asked breathlessly, after walking for close to an hour.

"I think we are almost there." Replied the young man.

Kath breathes in and out. She knew she was gradually running out of breath. Never would she visualize the mountain to be this far. Like, what in heaven's name inspired Ravana to telepath her dad to the top Mountain? Worst part is, there hasn't been confirmed yet if the King was there or, Ravana was just trying to mess around with them.

By now, what they should be doing is, making plans for Ravana's second return. He has defeated them and has killed many soldiers; not just soldiers, generally, he has killed so many people of Nazirites. 

Kath wondered why they never for once realise that they would be fighting with monsters who possesses supernatural powers. Yes! They knew the monsters would be powerful, very powerful! But, they didn't make plans on how to defeat them even with the supernatural powers they possess.

And this was exactly the perfect time to make that plan but, the king is somewhere there; up there. Probably, Ravana deliberately did this so they could waste their time searching for the king, so they won't be enough time to make plans for his second return. Or maybe, he had other intentions best known to him.

"I have been thinking, what if this is just a trap? Princess, this place is certainly hazardous. What if we are just walking into danger for nothing?" A soldier behind Kath inquired. Honestly, Kath knew she has no answer to it.

At the same time, Kath knew what the soldier said was the truth, like literally, where they were heading to wasn't safe at all. 

Would she call this a forest or a jungle? They could literally hear the sounds of different animals. 

The jungles have so many giant trees, slippery weathered leaves, and cracked branches.

The jungle was full of birds, insects, and other animals that are yet to be known. And even if they haven't seen the rest of the animals, they knew they were more deadly animals in there.

"Whatever the case may be, just be.. prepared," Kath replied.

They continued walking deep and deeper into the jungle. The soldiers and Kath were at least thankful that, they haven't come in contact with any dangerous animal for now. At least for now…

"Can you hear that sound? Why do I feel like it is very close to us? Like very… close!" Kath said using her eyes to scan their environment.

The soldiers immediately brought out their swords. The sound was so loud and it seemed like was ringing deep into their ears.

It was so evident that It is literally just a few meters away from them. An animal, which some of the soldiers including Kath knew was definitely a wolf; a wolf has been watching them all along.

"Get prepared to fight. We can't just run away cause it will definitely come after us!" Kath announced.

A ferocious growl echoed from... nowhere. Their eyes dart in different directions trying to...

"I think more than one wolf will be attacking us. The growling sound is becoming even more..." and before the soldier could complete his sentence, two black Wolf's landed right in front of them.

Okay, they actually thought they were not scared; not until now though. The two giant wolves stared at them with their pale yellow distinctly slanted almond-shaped eyes. Their dark furs and ears stood upright ready to attack. They made another aggressive howl and snatch their sharp teeth.

"Jeez! What the hell is that? Is that a werewolf?" A soldier asked baffled by the wolf's fierce appearance.

"That's not important, just fight; fight whatever you see!" The soldier beside him answered.

"We are ten in numbers, right? Five should attack the one at the left, while I and fours soldiers will attack the one at the right. Let's begin…" Kath was interrupted by another aggressive howl behind her, followed by another. When Kath turned, she found another two wolves behind her and the soldiers. Now, they are surrounded by four fierce-looking wolves.

"Can we survive this? I said it, this is all a setup from Ravana. Ravana set us up."

"That's not important for now. We should think of how to defeat these wolves." Kath replied the already scared-looking soldier.

"So, where should we start from?" Another soldier asked Kath with his gaze fixed at the werewolf who were already walking in their direction.

"How about I attack the one wolf behind me, and you and the remaining soldiers attack there…" Before Kath could complete her words, the four wolf's launched at them. 

One, in particular, decided to launch at Kath and they collided. Soon, the wolf was hovering over Kath. The wolf's face and sharp teeth were so close to Kath's face but, she was too quick to push him aside.

Because of the force, the wolf ended up hitting his back on a very thick tree. It fell on the ground with a loud thud and immediately an already cracked branch cut off and landed on his skull, causing a little cut on his head. Thick black blood rolled from his head to his face.

This triggered the wolf and he became even more furious. He shoved the branch aside angrily and started sauntering towards her. Kath seized this opportunity to stand on her feet, gripping more firmly to her sword.

With no sign of awareness, the wolf spring at her but, Kath was too fast to use her sword as an obstruction. The wolf grips the sword with his teeth and shoves it aside. Instantly, it uses his paws to make a long scratch on her arm and her sword fell off her hand. Kath winced in pain and uses her other arm to jab him on his face. 

The wolf's upper lips curved over his incisor and a growl resonated from deep down his throat.

When she turned to look at the soldiers, they were still fighting with the wolves. One of the wolves is already lying dead on the ground, which means one has already been won against. At least, the nine soldiers were taking turns with the remaining wolves, but this particular wolf was just after her.

Kath picked up her sword with her other hand and again, the wolf launched at her. When it was just a few inches away from her, she uses the sword to pierce the wolf in his left eye and her leg to kick him off.

Similarly, the wolf hits his back on another thick giant tree. Thick black blood rolled down his eyes and head. He had his last breath and, that's it, he died!

Kath heaved a sigh of relief and tore some parts out from the hem of her fabrics, using it to tie her bleeding arm.

Now, there is just one wolf left for the soldiers. The last wolf's appearance seems even more fierce but, Kath was positive he will soon be defeated. After fighting and fighting, finally, the last wolf got annihilated.

They breathe out a sigh of relief and sat down breathlessly on the ground leaning their backs on a tree trunk.

The soldiers had some scratches on their face down to their next, while some had it on their arms or legs.

One of the soldiers said breathlessly.

"Geez! I thought I was going to die…" The soldier hesitated for a while after seeing Kath's arms; he asked worriedly, "are you okay?"

Kath rather responded with, "We should continue our journey of searching for the king before it gets too late." Even without any hesitation, the soldiers immediately stood on their feet. Kath marveled at how exactly the soldiers could get up that fast.

No doubt, she was too tired to continue but, she has to do it, her dad would be out there in an unsafe place. The worst part is; according to what Ravana had said, he was unconscious. Anything could happen to him. Likewise, a wolf or any destructive animal could attack him at any given time, which she knew would be severe for an unconscious person like her dad.

She gathered as much strength as she could and stand to her feet; dusting out those stuck withered leaves on her clothes.

"Honestly, I am still thinking that this is just a setup! Don't you think so too?" That same soldier confessed, turning his head to look at any other soldier who would agree with him.

Kath decides to reply to him this time, "At least, we need to confirm if it's just a setup or not. We can't just give up now that we have gotten so close, with a lame excuse that it was just a setup from Ravana when we haven't confirmed it yet. We should be ratified before we conclude."

Immediately Kath had finished saying this, she turned her back and continued walking as the soldiers followed suit.

After walking for about five minutes, they finally spot a very huge mountain. It was still very far from them but, they could still make out how magnificent it was.

Kath never imagined the mountain to be as big as this. What?! What if her dad was there? How will they get him down?

How on earth did this lame idea get into Ravana's head? The mountain was so huge, so huge that they thought they were looking up above a building with one million spiral steps.

"I don't want to believe that, the king would be up there. It will definitely take us three days to get up there and then, another three days to get down, which signifies that, we will be spending six terrible days on that mountain…"

"You shouldn't be thinking about that, for now. In fact, that should be the last thing on your mind right now. We are here for a goal and we must accomplish it. Besides, he is not just my dad, but he is also your king. At this point, you should be selfless and not selfish. Your, not the only person risking your life here, we are all risking our lives!" This time, Kath let out a little bit angrily. This same guy was beginning to piss her off. Besides, she's already frustrated that her dad is missing and they haven't confirmed if he was at that Mountain or not; and he is already adding to him.

She understood everything he has been saying about Ravana setting them up, but they should silently pray and hope that they haven't been in this jungle, including passing through all this stress in vein, but at least, even if the king would be at that mountain, he should be up there and…

Safe!