by Michael Sisa
“You really won’t tell me anything?” her voice was soft and soothing.
“No. Why would I?”
“Muu…,” Yvette turned around as she thought of a few things. She did not want to back down. She was really curious of the technique Dan had just shown them. “Then let’s have a little game? If I win, you’ll tell me the secret. If you win—I’ll grant you one wish.”
Dan flashed a polite smile. “I am flattered for your eagerness, but no.” His reply was firm enough that Yvette did not ask further. He looked at the entrance of the training grounds. His eyes swiveled left and right as he scanned his surroundings. “Is there any place here quiet enough for me to meditate?”
“That’s easy. We can just order our men to leave the area.” Yvette raised her index finger. Afterwards, a small orb of green light manifested itself. She mumbled, “Tell everyone to leave the training grounds.”
Immediately, Dan felt numerous presences nearby disappear one after another. He smiled and turned to Yvette. “Thank you. Using the technique takes toll on my body. I have yet to master it.” He sat cross-legged on the ground. “Then… if you’ll excuse me.”
Dan closed his eyes and meditated. Within the span of two years, he had learned to properly channel his soul spirit within his body. He had yet to fully grasp its potential, but he was now capable of reducing the aftereffects. Black marks spiraled around his body and crept on his skin. An abysmal haze oozed out him and enveloped his body like a fog. Yvette gazed at the child as he meditated.
‘That’s a high ranking meditation technique. As expected of the Roshaila Family…,’ Yvette thought. ‘They probably found it hard to teach this child how to control the technique of Anito, but they remedied the problem by providing a way to control the sudden outburst of power.’
Dan kept meditating and at the same time, abysmal hazes continued to ooze out his body. The black spiral marks that kept creeping on his skin dissipated, only to manifest themselves a second after. His meditation was isolated and calm in comparison to his younger years wherein everyone felt the mortifying aura that enveloped his body.
After almost half an hour of silent meditation, Dan breathed in a large gulp of air and exhaled. He opened his eyes, and the spiral marks immediately faded away. The abysmal haze dissipated, and he stood up and dusted off his garb. He turned to the staring goddess beside him. “Done. Sorry for making you wait like that.”
Yvette’s velvet lips lightly turned into a curl. “You don’t sound a child, know that?” She paused and added, “Hungry? It seems that my grandfather did not even offer you guys food.” Her voice held a hint of contempt in it. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the dining hall.”
***
It took them a few minutes of walk till they reached the dining area of the castle. A large rectangular table capable of accommodating a hundred guests at once was seen. Extravagant food had already been prepared by the time the two of them had arrived. On the walls were the lined up banners of the Prochson Family.
“What kind of creature is that?” Dan asked after he took a bite from a large steak. He pertained to the creature imprinted on the Prochson Family’s insignia. The figure resembled a human. A broken horn protruded from its forehead, and its eyes were slit-like and bright hazel. Its skin was as pale as snow, and its body seemed fragile enough that a flick of the finger against the skin would wound it.
Yvette wiped her lips with a cloth. She looked at the banners. “That’s one of the five descendants of the Great Demon Lord. It’s Kemava of the Freezing Thunder.” She saw the quizzical look in Dan’s eyes. She continued. “It may sound weird… but according to our family’s history, Kemava prevented the collapse of the Prochsons around 150 years ago. You saw the magic of my grandfather, right? Its magic obtained after Kemava handed our family a portion of his magic.”
Dan was taken by surprise. “Hey, does anyone know that? I’m not really that knowledgeable in history, but I am aware that the Empire is in bad terms with Krukas. If it comes to light that the Prochson is affiliated with Kemav—”
“Once affiliated,” Yvette corrected. “The Prochson Family has been one of the seven great families even before the Great Demon Lord entered its eternal slumber. The other great families are aware that Kemava’s magic had been passed down to us…” Her voice trailed off. “That’s why they’re adamant on destroying the House of Prochson. They want Kemava’s magic for themselves.”
Everything had come to light after her words. Dan realized the reason why the Prochson Family was declining. He asked, “Then… the Roshaila?”
Yvette paused. She pondered on whether she was in the right to speak of the reason behind the Roshaila’s decline. Eventually, she said, “Roshaila… they have no affiliation with the five descendants of the Great Demon Lord. The reason behind is… Edward Roshaila. Your father murdered the Emperor’s son.” She fidgeted and added, “I’m not really in the position to speak such things with you… it would be better if you ask your father.”
Suddenly, a voice sprung out from their left. “What an interesting conversation,” Edward said as he emerged together with Wellter and three other men. His voice was calm but cold. He looked at Yvette with piercing eyes. “I wonder what the lady of the Prochson Family is telling my son?” Those that were inside the dining area felt chills run down their spine.
“Father… I have never heard of such thing before.” Dan simply said. He pertained to the murder of the Emperor’s son. He calmly looked straight into Edward’s eyes. Wellter whom was beside Edward had a few trickles of sweat on his face.
“That’s correct.” Edward’s voice lightly resounded inside the dining hall. It carried with it power and undeniable pride. “I killed the Emperor’s son. I am the reason why the Roshaila Family is now declining and is close to losing one of the seven great seats.”
Silence filled the air as Edward continued. His voice was grim. “I killed the man that caused my wife’s death.”
Chapter 14: The Emperor of Fire
It was an event that happened decades ago
The ground violently trembled as the Hydra stomped its way towards the fortress. Archers were stationed on top of battlements, and before the gates were thousands of soldiers armed to the teeth. The sounds of metal clanking reverberated as the commander ordered his men to charge forward. The Hydra with five heads roared, and a small shockwave collided against the charging army. Arrows made of fire and bolts of lightning flew towards the beast, creating fiery infernos and deafening blasts in its wake.
“GROAAHH!” The Hydra opened its jaws wide, revealing its sharp sets of teeth lined with silvery threads. The numerous projectiles did nothing but scratch its thick scales. It swiped the legion on its left using its head, and numerous men flew up into the air, only to be gnawed by the other heads in the process. Blood splattered everywhere as it munched on the soldiers like stale bread.
The soldiers held agonized and mortified looks upon their faces, but the resolve in their eyes refused to diminish. If they fell here, the monster would have an uninterrupted route towards the city. Everyone had resolved themselves to die in order to impede the legendary beast even for a single instance more.
Pillars made of earth rose from the ground and it strike against the beast. The beast lightly toppled backwards but retained its balance at the last moment. Using three heads, it smashed open the pillars of earth one after another, sending large rubbles in all directions. The soldiers were squashed like bugs underneath the powerful strikes. The scent of blood continued to linger in the air as the moon finally revealed itself.
The Hydra, after smashing the pillars of earth, made a charge towards the fortress. Each of its mouths was salivating, and its instinct was screaming at it that food was to be found beyond the walls. Another series of fire balls, ice shards, and lightning bolts shot towards the Hydra, only to be dissipated after impact. Its thick scales were enough to shame the sturdiest fortresses.
“C-Commander! We can’t stop it!�
� a soldier desperately uttered as it looked at the back of the five-headed creature. The Hydra ignored the soldiers and instead chose to charge straight towards the fort.
The commander of the army breathed in a large gulp of air and shouted, “All men! Take it down! Don’t let it reach the fortress! This place shall be our last stand! This place shall be our grave!” After those words, the commander himself charged head-first towards the creature. Everyone felt their prides wounded the moment the beast chose to ignore such massive army.
Everyone charged forth. All were ready to die at a moment’s notice. Sounds of blade against scales echoed, and large cloud of dusts filled the battlefield as the hydra stomped on the soldiers like bugs. Its tail swiped those that were at its rear, sending numerous soldiers flying to their deaths. Two of the beast’s heads breathed fire into the army, scorching their bodies along with their armors and weapons. Even the magicians’ magic failed to inflict fatal wounds against the beast’s thick carapace. Hydras were creatures highly regarded and feared for their near perfect magical immunity. Coupled with an armor that was hard enough for iron to refuse to clash against, the beast was categorized as almost legendary.
The one-sided carnage continued until a small orb of fire made the Hydra stop in its tracks. It stared at the apparition that hovered directly before it. It was a man enveloped in blazing flames.
Though beast was as large as a castle, its eyes depicted a hint of wariness the moment it saw the man. Everyone in the army stopped in their assault. All were looked at the man with their lips partly opened. The man was the magician sent by the Emperor to assist the Taras Fortress.
“T-The E-Emperor of Fire? T-The Emperor of Fire!” the commander shouted. Everyone heard their commander’s words. And it filled everyone with hope. Everyone knew that the blazing apparition was the man regarded as the Empire’s strongest magician. It was the man that was at the peak of the S rank: Edward Vont Roshaila.
Edward amplified his voice using magic. “My... what a bothersome creature... of all things... the Empire tasked me to eliminate an opponent almost immune to magic?” His eyes shifted towards the army. “All soldiers—retreat. Get away from here as fast as possible. You do not want to get swept away in the battle.”
The soldiers immediately understood what the magician meant. The moment Edward Roshaila cast his magic, the entire area would be turned into nothing but a blazing inferno. No normal human would survive such catastrophe.
The commander broke from his stupor and cleared his throat. He ordered, “You heard the Emperor of Fire! All soldiers! Retreat to the fortress!”
The soldiers hurriedly retreated back into Taras Fort. All wore a mixture of relief and horror upon their faces. Their hearts were thumping with anxiety and anticipation. To most of them, it would be the first time they would see a Royal Magician in action. It would be the first time they would see the strongest magician of the Empire fight.
The Hydra broke the staring contest with Edward and initiated the attack. The beast used two of its head to breathe balls of fire. Edward knew that the army had yet to evacuate. He raised a hand into the air and conjured a barrier of fire. The balls of blazing inferno hit the barrier, completely dissolving in the process.
Edward smirked. “Hey, big one. You cannot hope to defeat me using fire. Try harder.”
The Hydra seemed to have understood. This time, it used the head at the middle and a ball of lightning was spewed out. It shot towards the Emperor of Fire. Using the same method, Edward conjured another barrier made of fire. It blocked the orb of lightning, creating a shockwave that mediated a gust below them. Dust clouds flew in all directions as the army kept with their escape. The staring contest between the Hydra and Edward resumed.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from beyond. “Royal Magician! The army had successfully retreated!”
Edward’s eyes flickered after those words, and the previously calm blaze that enveloped his body became a piercing inferno. The atmosphere turned humid and scorching, and the moonlit night was further illuminated by a gargantuan ball of fire that was Edward. It hovered directly in front of the Hydra as if announcing the start of the battle.
The Hydra roared, and a shockwave blew into all directions. It stomped forward and swiped its heads towards the Emperor of Fire. Orbs of lightning, fire, and wind shot towards Edward. The man erected multiple barriers and successfully blocked each and every one of it. He raised a hand towards the heavens, and a pillar of fire shot down from the sky, scorching the carapace of the beast.
The Hydra’s eyes glared as it dismissed the shot magic like child’s play. No matter the opponent, the fact that it was almost immune to magic would not change. After realizing that Edward was no mere magician, the Hydra summoned its trump card. Its body lightly glowed a dim green hue, and a sixth head erupted from its body. Unlike the rest of the heads, the newly sprouted one was pure white, and its slit-like eyes emitted a radiant azure color. The sixth head opened its mouth wide as it channeled its magic.
Edward immediately realized the scale of the magic. He channeled his ball of fire towards the left, and his body conceded along with it. He flew towards the direction away from the fortress. On cue, the Hydra finished its cast and shot a silver beam towards Edward.
“Damn...,” Edward mumbled as he summoned five serpentine infernos. It clashed against the Hydra’s beam and a massive shockwave boomed upon impact. The ground beneath them trembled and formed cracks, and eventually turned to dusts. The serpent-like infernos dissipated after a long battle of resistance, and the beam shot unimpeded towards Edward.
The Emperor of Fire flew upwards and avoided the magic by a whisper. The beam kept cruising forward until it eventually hit the mountain from a distance. A loud explosion was created, and a portion of the mountain was chipped away. The moonlit night resumed its previous dim color.
The soldiers stationed at the fortress trembled when the thought on what would have happened if that magic hit them crossed their minds. Thankfully, Edward anticipated beforehand the scale of the attack and directed the magic towards the opposite direction.
“Hahahaha! This is great!” Edward declared with opened arms. He still continued to float on the air as the blazing inferno continued to ooze out his body. He had lived for thirty years now, and he had yet to find an opponent he could go all out with. The Hydra was a gem he was not willing to let go.
Edward’s eyes widened and turned fiery as he channeled his magic into the air. After a few more moments, a colossal phoenix was formed, and it hovered directly above its caster. The blazing flames that continued to ooze out of Edward were absorbed by the summoned beast.
“Let’s see if the mythical flames of a phoenix are capable of vanquishing a magically immune beast!” Edward’s grin was diabolical. His body shot upwards, and it merged together with the phoenix, eventually owning the body of the mythical creature for himself. Without word, Edward in the form of the phoenix shot towards the Hydra. Its burning claws gashed against the thick scales of the six-headed creature. The Hydra roared as it felt the pain from blazing embers for the first time in its life. The fire of a phoenix was different from a normal one. It was blessed with the divine attribute, enabling it to wound a magically immune monster, although the damage was minute than normal.
The Hydra kept swiping and biting off the body of the phoenix, but every time it did so, the blaze that enveloped the body of its foe scorched it. Edward kept slashing at the Hydra using his burning claws, and he kept spewing divine flames from his beak. The fight continued and eventually, the Hydra again summoned the beam from before. The attack hit the phoenix head-on, chipping away half of its body. A loud explosion erupted, and a large crater that could fit three castles was formed.
Edward felt excruciating pain. Despite the absurd regeneration rate of a phoenix, the beam from the sixth head of the Hydra was a form of an Ultimate Magic. He felt his consciousness dwindle as he channeled the remaining bit of his mana to regenerate the lost parts.
> The two legendary creatures were both exhausted from the fight, and both were adamant on taking down its foe. The fight continued, creating numerous craters in the process. The fight kept going till the sun finally declared itself, all the while the soldiers in the fort did not sleep a wink. Everyone was too anxious of the fight. Everyone was too baffled of the upcoming result. Eventually, after an excruciating pain that seemed to have lasted an eternity, the Emperor of Fire emerged victorious. The Hydra’s body was scorched beyond recovery, and its heads were turned to cinders. The entire Taras Fort rejoiced at the outcome of the fight. It was a fight that made Edward’s name further reverberate in the entire Continent of Tal.
***
Two weeks had passed since then. Edward had yet to fully recover, but he was in a good enough condition to answer the summons of the Emperor. He traversed the crimson-carpeted floor of the throne room as he walked towards the Emperor of Kulaima.
