Elder Lich Saga: Awakening

by Michael Sisa

  “But! Your Majesty! Going into war with that country is a big mistake! We should not needlessly sacrifice the lives of our men! Of our people!”

  The King slapped Viper’s face. With a soft voice, he said, “Please. Go. Just go.”

  Viper bit his lips. His entire body was quivering with utter frustration. Why can’t he understand? He wanted nothing but the safety of the Royal Family.

  With heavy footsteps, Viper disappeared from sight.

  ***

  [Present Time]

  The fire violently crackled inside the chamber, illuminating everything in a bright hazel glow. A soft hissing sound filled the air as a snake easily spanning fifty meters in length coiled itself onto a stone pillar.

  Viper smirked as the memories of the past suddenly resurfaced in his mind. Why was he remembering it now of all things? He tossed the small figure he was sculpting into the flames.

  An owl flew through the opened window and perched itself on the table. Its eyes glowed for a second. It said, “Lord Bandit, the promise?”

  Viper got up from his bed. He was stark naked. “I’ve killed all the knights. You were watching us. Is there even a need to ask?”

  “As expected. Your sense towards magic is really impeccable.”

  The snaked coiled on the pillar violently hissed. Viper signaled for it to calm down, and it did. “Stop the pleasantries. The Blood Stone Fragment?”

  “I cannot give you that, yet. First, present to us the head of Frederick Lancelot. Also, we found out that the female priest you took is Faith De Sagun. The High Priestess of the Order of Aquina. We also wish for you to present her head to us.”

  Viper closed his eyes. “I’ve come this far. There is no turning back. Consider it done.”

  “Kukuku! Splendid. With enough Blood Stone, the revival of Princess Krisha will no longer be a dream.”

  Viper glared at the owl. How many lives had he taken for the sake of his goal? He had lost count. But they were all necessary sacrifices. He cannot turn back now.

  “Then, we’ll expect great news, Lord Bandit.”

  The owl opened its wings wide. The snake hissed, and the owl flew out into the distance. The curtains of the window violently flapped from the gust of wind.

  “What a chilly breeze,” mumbled Viper. He walked towards the window and stared out into the moonless sky. It was dark. And the silhouette of the innumerable trees outside gave off the appearance of an abyss. Such life was indeed lonely.

  Suddenly, chills ran throughout his entire body. He violently trembled as a malevolent presence engulfed his entire existence. He had never felt such massive amount of magic in his entire life. It was bottomless, peerless.

  Who was it? Why had he not noticed its existence until now?

  One thing was sure. Right now, a creature greatly surpassing the strength of the Holy Apostles was inside his mansion.

  A monster?

  No, a God would have been a proper explanation.

  Chapter 18: The Great Statue

  Viper donned his white robe and grabbed his rapier. His heart started to pound louder as moments ticked by. Even now, he could feel the malevolent aura engulfing his mansion. It was full of hatred, of malice.

  He approached the gargantuan snake coiled around the stone pillar. “Aguis. From blood, one shall rise. From stone, one shall shatter. I command you to give me the blood stone.”

  The gargantuan snake uncoiled itself, slithered within the room, then made a stop right before its master. It violently hissed as it opened its mouth. Four small pieces of red stones the size of a pebble came out.

  It was still covered with the snake’s saliva, but Viper grabbed all of it without hesitation. He immediately tucked it inside the pouch on his waist.

  “Aguis. Come with me. We are leaving the mansion.”

  The snake hissed. Its body quivered for a few seconds, and it started to shrink at a tremendous speed. It became so small that Viper was able to easily tuck it within the comfort of his robe.

  Viper glanced at the door. The entity that had intruded his abode was looming closer as seconds passed by. He cannot stay here. He knew.

  Without hesitation, he jumped out the opened window.

  ***

  Jiablu gazed at the three bandits before him. One of them knelt in utter desperation, while the other two rigidly stood still. They were unshaven, dirty, and reeked of alcohol. By now, the blood from his previous victims had covered the ground.

  “P-Please! Don’t do this!” the bandit kneeling on the ground pleaded. Tears uncontrollably fell down his cheeks.

  Jiablu furrowed his brows. He was getting tired of repeating himself. “Where is the priest?”

  “T-The B-Boss took her s-somewhere! W-We don’t know w-where!”

  “If y-you look in the Master’s C-Chamber! M-Maybe she’s there!”

  “Where is the Master’s Chamber?” said Jiablu.

  One of them repeatedly opened then closed his mouth, then spoke in an almost incomprehensible voice. “From h-here, just take the long corridor. O-Once you’ve seen the r-room f-filled with the s-statues of the nine G-Gods, turn l-left from t-there!”

  Statue of the nine Gods? Jiablu’s eyes slightly widened in interest. He wanted to see it. He knew that there were other Gods worshipped by the humans aside from the puny Queen Fairy called God Aquina. His lips crooked into a small grin.

  “Interesting,” he whispered. Without uttering a word, the heads of all three bandits burst into pieces. Blood violently splattered on the ground.

  Jiablu went out the room and immediately saw the long corridor the bandits spoke of. By human standard, it would probably take five minutes to reach the other end.

  “Nine Gods... the mortal said that there are nine Gods. Then, maybe...” Jiablu mumbled as he slowly walked towards his destination. He silently wished that there was a statue of his master.

  A group of five bandits saw him and approached his way, but before they could even ask what he was doing in such a place, their heads burst open and their bodies kissed the cold ground.

  “Nine Gods… Nine Gods… I want to see him… I want to see my Master,” he continued to mumble, all the while massacring all the bandits that came his way.

  Eventually, he arrived at the end of the path. He glanced left and right. There were two rooms. If the left was the path to the Master’s Chamber, then the right one must be the room where the statues were kept.

  Jiablu opened the door to the right and entered. It was dim. Without any illumination.

  He willed for an orb to manifest itself before him. It was the size of a fist, and its azure glow illuminated his immediate surroundings. Shadows loomed as numerous statues greeted his eyes. Just like what the mortals said, there were indeed nine of them.

  To his great delight, one of the statues was that of his master. Jiablu felt shivers crawl down his spine when he realized the great semblance of the figure to his master. It was intricately done, even to the most minute of details.

  “Well done,” he said. If the creator of the statue was here, Jiablu would have greatly commended him for the work, regardless of his race. He continued to gaze at the figure, and each second sent him into a state of euphoria.

  Jiablu did not realize that it had been almost half an hour since he motionlessly stood admiring the statue of his creator. If not for the hoarse voice that reverberated in the room, he would have not broken out of his stupor.

  “He’s here! The culprit is here!”

  “Catch him!”

  Jiablu glared at the source of the voice. “Impudent bastards.”

  Seven bandits entered the room, their weapons unsheathed from the scabbards. One of them hollered, “Are you the one that killed our guys? Answer us!”

  Jiablu wanted to immediately massacre them, but he was reminded that they were currently inside a Holy Ground. He could not let a single drop of blood be shed in front of the statue of his master.

  “Silence,” said Jiablu. And a deafening sil
ence befell the group. They could neither move nor utter even a sound. All that they were left able to do was stare at the child as he wordlessly gazed upon a single statue.

  Minutes passed, and almost an hour came. Eventually, the child spoke, “Such a satisfying encounter. Whoever made this deserves my respect. A true artist indeed. A human that has surpassed others in his art. Impressive. Impressive.”

  The orb of light hovered onto the next statue, then to the next, until it went back to the statue the child was intently staring at.

  “The statues of the other Gods are mediocre. As expected. No one is greater than my Master,” said the child. There was a satisfied chuckle after that.

  If the bandits were not frozen, they would have glanced at each other by now and say, “what the hell is wrong with this kid? He’s a fanatic!”

  Eventually the child turned around and faced their way. Their bodies violently trembled upon meeting his crimson eyes. He pointed at one of the bandits and said, “You over there. I am permitting you to speak. Answer my question.”

  One of the bandits almost stumbled on the ground when the restriction that bound him dissipated. His chest immediately rose then fell and he gasped for air. He looked at his companions. Just like before, they were frozen still.

  “Should I take the statue from this Holy Place? Somehow, this place feels perfect. As though my Master wishes for me to silently gaze at his majestic self every now and then. Though I dislike the idea of him being lined alongside the other so called Gods, I shall permit it for now,” said Jiablu. When he received no answer, he added, “What do you think?”

  By now everyone in the room knew that the child was no mere human. He was without a doubt a magician. A very strong one at that.

  The bandit gulped down the lump in his throat. “I-I think t-that he should stay here? I-I mean… the statue would be lonely if you remove it from there… r-right?”

  The bandit’s heart loudly pounded, and it almost jumped out of his chest. If what he said displeased the monster before them, their blood would cover the ground red. He shivered at the thought.

  To the bandit’s surprise, the child nodded. “You think so, too, huh?”

  There was a deafening silence as the child remained fixated on the figure that spanned five meters in height. The child’s back was completely exposed, and his thoughts were obviously occupied by the statue before him. Still, the bandit that had his restriction removed did not dare move a single muscle. If that magician was capable of binding everyone without lifting a single finger, then how much of a monster would he be if provoked? The bandits cannot afford such a thing right now.

  “Something’s missing,” mumbled the child. Seconds passed, and his gaze swiveled between the statues and the frozen bandits. He clapped his hands once. “Ah. That’s it. There are no flowers. Master Thanatos likes flowers.”

  Without warning, excruciating pain bolted through everyone’s bodies. They wanted to scream in agony, but no voice came out. To their horror, their bodies began to bend in unimaginable ways, their flesh splitting and bones cracking.

  Surprisingly, not a single blood splattered on the ground as the bodies of the bandits continued to distort into gruesome figures capable of making a full grown soldier cry.

  “Flowers, bloom for your God,” mumbled the child.

  A fragrant scent wafted through the air as vines sprouted out of the distorted bodies. Leaves unfolded themselves, and flowers bloomed into utter perfection. It was a pristine, divine sight. It was beautiful enough to shame even the Royal Garden of each Kingdom.

  The child smiled in utter satisfaction. Today was a great day. Indeed.

  He knelt down, and flower petals rained in all directions. “Master, this humble servant is greatly honored to see you.”

  He added, “These flowers shall bloom—forever—to please you.”

  Chapter 19: Gradual Change

  After making sure that no other entity could enter the room filled with statues, Jiablu went towards the Master’s Chamber. At the center of the room, a large stone pillar was immediately seen upon his entry. On the left was a colossal bed capable of accommodating a dozen persons at once.

  “Over there,” mumbled Jiablu. He stared at a large painting of a princess on the wall.

  A normal person would have a hard time noticing the hidden passageway, but to a magic caster like Jiablu, the flow of mana in the surroundings immediately gave it away.

  He touched the painting and it immediately melted down the ground. He entered the narrow passageway, his footsteps echoing amidst the silence.

  Eventually he arrived at a small, decrepit room that resembled a warehouse. Wooden boxes that reeked of kranite were stacked one after another. At the corner-most portion, Jiablu saw a familiar face. Both her hands and feet were shackled, her body crouching as she slept.

  For a moment, Jiablu’s mind was filled with mockery as he stared at her. How could she sleep in such a place, surrounded by enemies? But then, he inwardly sighed. He had experienced the blissful state called sleep, and he could somehow empathize.

  Jiablu pointed a finger at the shackles, and they immediately split in half then fell down the ground. The loud clanking sound woke her up. She slowly opened her eyes.

  “Priest,” said Jiablu. “Wake up.”

  For a moment, the two of them locked eyes with each other. The torment Faith had experienced before resurfaced in her mind. Her eyes widened to the point of popping out. She was about to scream in utter terror when she realized who the young man in front of her was.

  “J-Jiablu? I-Is that… W-What are you doing here?” she breathed, her eyes locked on Jiablu’s.

  “I’ve come to get you, of course,” he simply replied.

  Jiablu have a boiling hatred for humans. That much was sure. But somehow, this priest before him was an anomaly. Whenever he was with her, his hatred somehow softens, and there was even a point during their journey when he had almost regarded her as something greater than a mere insect.

  Emotions. It was something he was having a hard time grasping until now. Maybe, this was the first step. Somehow, Jiablu felt a sense of accomplishment. He inwardly smiled.

  Now that he had a closer look, he saw the numerous cuts and bruises on Faith’s body. Her clothes were tattered, and her cheeks were swollen. Jiablu remembered the words uttered by the three naked insects when he first woke up. It seemed that while he was asleep, this human protected him.

  Jiablu snorted, “You are indeed foolish. But that foolishness saved your life.”

  Faith shot him a quizzical look. She noticed the stacked wooden boxes within the room. As though she had remembered something, she quickly spat, “Kranite! This room is a storage area for those illegal drugs! Try to hold your breath as much as possibl—”

  She coughed. With wobbling legs, she stood up. She looked at her hands and feet. “The shackles...”

  She wanted to ask how those thick pieces of metal were cleanly cut in half, but now was not the time for that. As a High Priestess, the amount of mana within her body was greater than most people. She could endure the hallucinogenic effects of Kranite for a bit longer, but the same could not be said of Jiablu. If worse comes to worst, the young man could lose his sanity after breathing too much of it.

  She grabbed his hands then ushered him out of the room. “Let’s go!”

  Half-running, they entered the narrow passageway and arrived at the Master’s Chamber. Faith was huffing as she breathed in a gust of air. Her vision was starting to get blurry now, probably from the overexposure to kranite, or the loss of blood, or maybe both.

  “Are you okay?” she said.

  Jiablu wore a blank look on his face. Those things she called Kranite were plants that normally grew in his dungeon. Even if he was exposed to it all day long, nothing would have happened.

  Faith touched Jiablu’s cheeks. She mumbled, “Your face… it must have hurt so bad. I’m sorry.”

  Her fingertips glowed for a moment, and Jiablu
felt the cuts on his cheeks heal on their own. After making a satisfied smile, Faith sternly said, “We’ve sent an emergency message to the Kingdom. Reinforcement should be coming here soon. Don’t worry. Big Sister will protect you until that time comes.”

  Despite trying her best to sound strong and resolute, her weak, almost croaking voice gave her away.

  Her vision gradually dimmed, and she entered the world of black. She fell down the ground.

  Jiablu stared at her unconscious face. “Humans really are foolish.”

  He knew that if Faith had not used her remaining magic to heal his cuts, she would have not fallen unconscious. Why was she willing to go that far for him? It left a bad aftertaste in his mouth.

  Jiablu flicked his fingers, and Faith’s body floated on the air. A translucent bubble covered it. Slowly, her wounds closed on their own. Her previously pale face regained its color.

  He remembered the words she uttered.

  “Reinforcements, huh?”

  After a wave of his hand, Jiablu and Faith’s figure vanished, leaving an empty Master’s Chamber.

  ***

  [Dry Valley – the path that serves as entrance to the Kingdom]

  The Red Griffin, a special unit of the Kingdom that served as reinforcement in times of dire crisis, made their way through the Dry Valley. They were surrounded by large cliffs, and the ground almost resembled a desert with its sand dunes. Clouds of dust swirled upwards as their cavalry moved forward in top speed. Time was a luxury that that they did not have.

  “Commander Rajak, what do you think of the message?” said one of the soldiers.

  A man with a scorched jaw replied, “It’s from the De Sagun. There should be no mistake about it.”

  “B-But is it really possible? They have that Monster Commander with them!”

  “Let’s leave that for later,” said Rajak. He squinted his hazel eyes. From beyond, his scouts were signaling their group to stop, and he clearly saw the reason why.