Zectas Volume VI: The Delusive Realm of Mictlan

by John Nest

  He walked over to where he threw his sacred clay staff and picked it up. Then, after Dastard’s body vanished, he heard the sound of two heavy objects fall to the ground.

  Stowing away his staff he rushed to pick up Dastard’s dropped items.

  + Acquired epic hook swords: Sun and Moon Blades

  Upon closer inspection, he saw that one of the hook swords had a gold handle behind the crescent guard. A sun was etched into it. Whereas, the other sword had a silver handle engraved with the moon.

  Sun and Moon Blades (Hook Swords)

  These swords were said to have been forged for the sons of the great god Cuezaltzin—Tecatl and Tonati. Yet, a tragic accident occurred when the two of them died during a sparring session. Cuezaltzin laid Tonati’s body in the sun and Tecatl’s body in the moon. As a sign of remorse, he had the swords turned into blunt weapons but was given a special property to work well together.

  —————————-

  Sun Blade

  —————————-

  + 200% Attack Damage against Ice-based Creatures

  * Solar Slash (Active)

  > Consumes all of your MP and transforms the Sun Blade into a ray of Sun. It inflicts your maximum MP x 1.5 of pure Fire Damage

  Restrictions:

  -Warrior Variations Only

  – Needs maximum MP to activate

  —————————-

  Moon Blade

  —————————-

  + 200% Attack Damage against Fire-Based Creatures

  * Lunar Force (Active)

  > Consumes half your MP and increases the weight of the Moon Blade by 10% of the MP you used.

  Restrictions:

  – Warrior Variations Only

  – Needs half of total MP to activate

  —————————-

  Sun & Moon Blade

  —————————-

  * Brothers Reunited (Active)

  > Consumes a third of your MP to teleport you from the sun blade to the moon blade and vice-versa.

  Restrictions:

  – Needs at least a third of total MP to activate

  – Maximum Range is 200 Meters

  Smoke smiled in amazement, but then he frowned as he remembered that Meneur had been killed by these swords. He walked over to where her body was. The only thing that was left was her long brown robe. He collected it and stowed it away.

  With nothing left for him inside the ice cavern, Smoke ventured outside.

  He was taken aback at the booming sounds of thunder. Dark clouds filled up the sky as massive lightning bolts struck down the ground. Hailstones as large as a man’s head pelted from above.

  Electrocuted bodies of the Orks and their mounts were laid out everywhere. There were even a few Sonstwelter Knights who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the range of their Lightning Tempest.

  Yet, despite the expansive attack, Smoke could see a fluid movement from the Orks. They were not running around like headless chickens. Instead, they marched at a steady pace towards ruined effigies of the former kings.

  Using his Telefax Vision, he found that the Wizards and Priests defending their trap’s exit had all been wiped out. The majority of the Horde continued to run out of Etonner Valley.

  The mounted Knights assigned there abandoned their posts. Instead, they shifted their focus on attacking the Orks climbing the mountainside.

  Following the direction of the mounted Knights, Smoke spotted Tritank and his wyvern. They were still defending the place near Prince Matalim’s tent. A massive mist of gray had split the mountain in half. Smoke assumed that hundreds of Orks were still trapped inside of it, remembering how they had almost reached the crowned Prince of Thanotl.

  The mounted Knights blocked the escape of the Orks caught in Tritank’s Ponderous Mist.

  A torrent of elemental spells continued to rain on the hapless Orks. Some did manage to get out of the mist, only to be skewered by the Knights’ lances.

  Then, Smoke spotted two persons flying above him. Ouragan and Chrysopelea rushed towards the valley’s exit. But they were not flying too high up as the lightning strikes also targeted them.

  Once the two wind specialists arrived, they began powering up a tornado to block the Orks’ escape.

  Chrys and Ouragan’s tornado caught dozens of escapees and sent them hurtling upwards. But there were even more Orks who simply moved to the side and continued to rush out of the valley.

  Boulders and earth-walls were also being put up, but the Orks are expert climbers. The ones on foot scaled the earth-blockades like there were carved-out steps on the mountainside. Dirus wolves and hell boars were discarded without a care. Their riders joined their jade-skinned brethren and clambered over the boulders.

  A confused Smoke did not know what to do. The Lightning Tempest had finally been activated, but there were barely any Orks left in the valley.

  Then, a little gray mouse suddenly scampered onto Smoke’s shoulder. “Snide is leading the Orks to retreat,” she happily squeaked. “Except for the ones caught in the Ponderous Mist, most of the Orks have left the valley and are running for their lives,” she reported proudly.

  “That’s bad,” replied Smoke.

  “Huh? What are you talking about?” asked Daga. “We won.”

  “No,” somberly answered Smoke. “Because we were here to wipe them out.”

  * * * * * *

  It had been a full day after the joint armies of Vitzytl and Thanotl fought the Ork Horde. They wiped out the ones trapped inside the Ponderous Mist and the grunts left frozen for dead inside Meneur’s ice cavern.

  Smoke had just logged back in after his scheduled two-hour sleep in the real world. He opened his eyes and found his bare, modest-sized tent empty.

  He wondered if Igniz and Daga had already reached the swamp lands, as the MaduHai Priestesses asked to be brought home. Cynar and the OrkElves offered to lead them there by themselves, but Smoke wanted to Igniz and Daga to join them.

  Needing some air, he stepped outside to what he thought would be a now desolate valley but was astounded to find bustling Sonstwelters everywhere.

  The once green valley was blackened by their campaign. Craters and scorch marks from the Lightning Tempest were evident. Even though the war against the Horde was over, there were still numerous Sonstwelters in the war-torn Valley. A few of them were scavenging for dropped items that were otherwise unclaimed. Whereas, the ones belonging to a large guild were busy rounding up dirus wolves and hell boars abandoned by the Orks.

  Without notice, an elderly HighElf grabbed him by the shoulders from behind. “Thank Tlaltezin you’ve returned,” blurted out Ouragan. “Hurry! King Kajou and Prince Matalim are about to go to war.”

  “The King’s here?” asked Smoke, surprised.

  “Yeah, he arrived a few hours ago,” replied Ouragan. “He began asking how the battle went and when Tritank and Prince Matalim came to his tent… Well, let’s just say it’s a good thing King Kajou isn’t a Warrior.”

  Ouragan led Smoke towards an even more stately tent than the one Prince Matalim used. It could easily fit ten of the Prince’s tents.

  “Magietrois Florissant, I found him,” said Ouragan to Eleve as soon as they entered.

  Inside the vast tent, Smoke spotted the hairy King trying his best to pull out a sword from its scabbard but was unsuccessful. Chrysopelea and Trottel stood next to the King, both pointing their wands at the crowned ruler of the Thanotl Kingdom.

  Simultaneously, Prince Matalim had drawn out his sword. Tritank and ten other Knight Captains had their own weapons and shield at the ready. They stood closely behind their Prince.

  “This is bad,” said Eleve to Smoke, worried.

  “Calm down,” said Prince Matalim to King Kajou. “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

  “Ha! You’re one to talk!” screamed King Kajou, still trying to pull out his sword. “This was our chance to wipe out the Orks for good, but yo
ur Knights abandoned my Wizards and Priests. You caused this whole operation to fail, thousands of my citizens died for nothing.”

  “Hey!” called out Tritank. “My Knights knew it was a lost cause defending the valley’s exit. It’s not our fault your Wizards and Priests weren’t smart enough to run for their lives.”

  “How dare you speak to our King that way!” yelled Trottel, launching a lightning bolt at the Sonstwelter.

  Two Knights stepped forward and blocked the attack with their shields.

  “King Kajou, I know this is far from our desired outcome” began Prince Matalim. “But there are several merits that we’ve accomplished.”

  “Hmph!” scoffed King Kajou.

  “Our initial goal was to kill their Supreme General—Wertlosvati,” added Prince Matalim. “We did that. We even killed his UrukHai Colonels.”

  “The MoriHai General called Schaf…and the OlegHai General named Dastard were killed too,” chimed in Tritank.

  “Wow! What gall to say those accomplishments,” countered Trottel. “Wertlosvati was killed by Faux’s OrkElf friend, Schaf was killed by Prime Wizard Chrysopelea, and Dastard was killed by Faux himself.”

  “Yeah? Well… My wyvern and I killed more than a fourth of the entire Horde!” claimed Tritank

  “What? You’re honestly going with that,” argued Trottel, exasperated. “If you sent your wyvern to the valley’s exit we could’ve kept the stupid Orks within the reach of our Lightning Tempest!”

  “If you’re going to point fingers, then blame it on Meneur!” retorted Tritank. “Wasn’t this her plan? And Faux’s OrkElves could have stalled the Orks from escaping. But I guess they weren’t as dumb as your Wizards and Priests to sacrifice themselves for a lost cause.”

  The back and forth arguments between Trottel and Tritank only worsened the situation.

  Then, King Kajou finally pulled out his sword from its scabbard and tried to attack Prince Matalim. But the stout King was too far away, hitting only air and stumbled on the ground by himself.

  “This is the end of our alliance,” declared King Kajou, sprawled on the floor. “After we wipe out the Orks, we’re claiming your lands next,” he added as he was being helped up by Trottel and Chrysopelea.

  Eleve clutched Smoke’s hand and said. “You’ve got to do something. If this happens, then the Horde will win.”

  With certainty, Smoke knew that she spoke the truth. It was clear that the alliance was over. Instead, an all-out war would break. The MaduHai Orks and OrkElves would be offered up as sacrificial lambs, reasons why this whole undertaking failed. He could see the Horde running rampant throughout Sawtorn. Especially now that they were solely led by Snide.

  Stepping away from Eleve and Ouragan, Smoke suddenly let out a burst of maniacal laughter. “Hahahahaha! You fools did everything I wanted!” Each one of his palms pointed at King Kajou and Prince Matalim. Swiftly, he captured the royals in earth-binds. Before anyone could react, he got out his sacred clay staff and surrounded himself in a spherical Manatl.

  A second too late, Tritank, Trottel, and the Knights from Thanotl went to attack Smoke’s barrier.

  SCHILD SCHILD SCHILD

  But their strikes and elemental magic could do nothing against his Manatl.

  “Faux? What are you doing?” asked Chrysopelea.

  Ouragan and Eleve both looked at each other, confused.

  “Now, listen well. For this thought-out plan is too impressive not to share,” began Smoke, making his voice deeper, acting out his self-imposed role as the villain. “It all began when I successfully infiltrated the 13th Magi Gagnant Tournament.”

  “What?” asked Chrysopelea out loud, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “During the preliminaries, I searched for Magietrois Florissant and became her student.” He smirked and winked at Eleve. “All I did was play along. With that, I gained her trust and her powers.”

  “What are you doing?” asked Eleve in a whisper.

  “Just play along,” hushed Smoke. “I intentionally placed second and lost the tournament to win Ouragan’s favor,” he went with a much louder voice. “But was surprised that I also fell in good graces with that snot-nosed imbecile,” he added, pointing at King Kajou.

  “Why you little—” began King Kajou, but was silenced by an earth-wrap which covered the King’s nose hair and mouth.

  “You see, I was working with the Horde the whole time,” revealed Smoke. “Thankfully, General Snide is a genius. He sensed that something was wrong with the MaduHai Orks. So, he sent me there.”

  “How long did you plan this?” asked Tritank. “And to think that I would’ve offered you to join my guild!” he added with disgust in his voice.

  An earth-ball struck Tritank in the jaw and knocked him down on the ground. “Shut up!” yelled Smoke. “I’m talking. This is my time!”

  Tritank remained silent as he propped himself up.

  “I gained the trust of the MaduHai Orks and became their emissary,” said Smoke. “And General Snide was right. Those magical Orks couldn’t be trusted.”

  “Wait, so you didn’t kill Dastard?” asked Chrys. “No…” he paused as another realization came to him. “Don’t tell me you were the one that killed Meneur?”

  “What of it?” asked Smoke. He gulped as he swallowed his guilt. “The MaduHai and OrkElves knew nothing. They followed me like mindless sheep.”

  “And then you told Snide of our plans,” interjected Prince Matalim. “But why did the Horde still enter the valley?”

  “Um… Well, that’s because…” stammered Smoke, his voiced cracked as he searched for a response.

  “Because Snide didn’t tell anyone else,” concluded Prince Matalim. “This was his plan all along to get rid of the other Ork Generals.”

  “And now he has full control of the Horde,” added Chrysopelea. “My King, we shouldn’t fight with the Thanotl Kingdom,” he said to the bound up monarch.

  “That’s right!” exclaimed Smoke. “But with the way things are going now, I’m sure that this is the end of this pathetic alliance. Everything for the Horde!”

  All of a sudden, Tritank attacked Smoke’s Manatl once again. The Thanotl Knights and Trottel joined in.

  Smoke reinforced his Manatl, but after two minutes it showed signs of dissipating. He took in a deep breath and prepared for his death. He smiled at Ouragan and Eleve. If this was what it would take to preserve this alliance, then he was more than willing to make this sacrifice.

  Tritank yelled out. “Everyone, let’s kill this son of a bit—”

  Was the last thing Smoke heard as he unexpectedly felt a tingling sensation in his entire body. He was teleported away and left only a fiery afterimage of himself.

  * * * * * *

  When Smoke opened his eyes, he found himself in front of thousands of books, magical experiments, and floating balls of fire. He had seen this place before, it was the Magietrois Tower, a place hundred of kilometers away from Etonner Valley.

  A small figure materialized from the flying balls of flames. It belonged to a familiar young girl.

  “Flora?” asked Smoke. “I thought you died?”

  “Child, that was but one of my Avatars,” she replied. “People used to call me Magietrois Florissant. But I don’t mind if you call me by that name.”

  “You’re the real Magietrois Florissant?” asked Smoke, astonished. “Can you help me get to Mictlan?”

  “My, my, my, presumptuous, aren’t we?” said Florissant. “Truth is, it’s our eldest sister Magna who is an expert in the afterlife.”

  “Then, can you tell me how to find her?” asked Smoke.

  “Wow!” exclaimed Florissant. “Ingrate much? A little thank you would be nice. After all, I just saved your life from that mob.”

  Eight flying fireballs moved next to Smoke. He then felt dizzy, suffocating. The fireballs around him were sucking out the oxygen.

  “Forgive me, Magietrois Florissant,” gasped Smoke and lowered his head to the floor.
“Thank you for helping me.”

  “Good. That’s better,” she said. The fireballs dispersed and she propelled Smoke in mid-air. “Now, normally, I wouldn’t have bothered with you. But Eleve kept on insisting that you were worthy… that you were special.”

  “Eh?” replied a floating Smoke, oblivious of what to say. He now realized where Eleve got her sadistic nature.

  Florissant loudly sighed. “You know, I kind of hate you,” she blurted out. “It’s not a good thing to be wrong in front of your student. But this time, I’m sort of glad I was.”

  “Um… thank you?” said Smoke, afraid to lower his Intimacy with a real Magietrois. Then, he was gently lowered to the floor.

  “You’re acting could use some work, though,” said Florissant. “Putting that aside, that thing you did back there was unbelievable. You do know that you can never step foot in any of the cities of Sawtorn again, right?”

  “Yeah, but they needed a common enemy to hate,” replied Smoke. “Otherwise, they would have blamed each other.”

  “There were about a dozen more solutions to that problem,” said Florissant. “But the one you came up with was very touching.”

  “Um… touching enough to contact your sister Magna?” he asked with a wide grin.

  “Definitely!” replied Florissant, nodding her head. “Only problem is… I don’t know how to find her. Both of them for that matter. Magna and Ancienne never respond to my calls.”

  Smoke’s eyes widened as the flying fireballs swirled above Magietrois Florissant. In but a few seconds, he could already feel the temperature of the room drastically rise.

  “As the youngest sister, they asked me to stay behind,” she said something ordinary, but her anger was clearly conveyed in her tone. “Of course, I obeyed,” she went on. Her frail figure of a little girl slowly changed to that of Flame Giant. She was even bigger than two Gargantuan Goblins stacked on top of each other.

  Smoke strained his neck when he looked up at her full height. He steadily backed away from Florissant, feeling her blazing heat. Smoke’s life bar was being depleted. Despite his high resistance of 90% against Fire, he still received the Burned Status. He quickly got out his sacred clay staff and put up a spherical Manatl. Otherwise, he would have surely been killed.