Chapter 9: Chapter 8: Fear

Chapter 8: Fear

Maru stares back at Manho, barely able to hear his muffled voice. It felt as if her ears were plugged by her own fear.

“What is he saying?”

She felt trapped inside her own body, the echoes of her heartbeat being the only thing she could hear clearly.

“I didn’t mean to punch him like that – my body moved on its own. He looks different to me now. I feel different too.”

Maru has felt scared plenty of times before, but this was a different type of fear. This felt like a type of fear that was etched deep into her mind, almost primal. Like her body was constantly trying to pull itself away from Manho, and it wasn’t by Maru’s will. He was painted to be this almighty creature, sitting atop the food chain in a porcelain throne.

Despite this overwhelming sense of terror, she felt more in-tune with her Magic than ever. Before, it just felt like a shirt she was wearing, something attached to her that she couldn’t control completely. Now her Magic felt like an extra limb, a part of her body, an extension of herself; a second mind.

Manho takes a few steps forward before sprinting towards her. A voice in the back of her head starts to scream, “get away, get away!” She instinctively holds her hand out, a bolt of lightning jolting out from her palm and flying straight towards him.

He stomps the ground during his stride, forcing the rocks in front of him to bind themselves together and rise up to create a thin, rectangular shield to block the lightning bolt. The rock is obliterated as the bolt collides with it, creating a shallow cloud of dust that helps to mask Manho’s next approach.

Maru tries to take a step backwards, her back pressed against the stone wall of the cave as she looks over her shoulder. “Still stuck,” she whispers, facing forward again to see Manho lunging towards her.

Her heart sinks as she catches his oncoming punch with one hand and throws it aside, counter attacking with a jab to his liver. Maru throws a strong hook towards his head as his body curls up, but Manho blocks the attack with both of his arms. He takes a step back, waving one hand through the air. Rocks would protrude outwards from the wall Maru was pushed against, wrapping around her waist tightly and locking her in place.

Large stones levitate around Manho for a few seconds, covering both of his arms. Maru puts both of her arms up to try and block his oncoming flurry of attacks. The jagged edges from the rocks left rough lacerations across Maru’s skin, blood coating her face and arms like splashes of rainwater.

Her body suddenly releases another burst of energy, strong enough to knock Manho back again. Using the little time she had, Maru reached down and tore apart the belt of stones holding her in place.

Although her body was overwhelming with Magic Energy, she could feel her physical stamina reaching its limit. Her muscles were sore and pounding, and it would only get worse the longer she kept fighting.

“I need to get out of here,” she thought, looking up back at the hole she originally fell through.

“I’ve climbed mountains before – this should be no problem.”

Though her body was exhausted, she could use her Magic to help with the climb. The problem was: she couldn’t think straight. With Manho still being so close to her along with her body being pushed to its limit, her thought process was scattered. Her mind was overwhelmed with terror. The only thing she could think about was the voice in the back of her head telling her to run away from him.

She jumps up, digging her bloodied fingers into the rough walls of the hole with one hand. Biting her lip while clawing at the rocks, she tries to pull herself up before Manho can get to her. A bolt of lightning protrudes from her fingertips, expanding outwards and latching itself into the rock like an anchor.

“Thank you!” she says in her head, talking to her Magic like it could hear her.

A hand tightly wraps around her ankle, yanking her down and tossing her back towards the altar. Maru tumbles across the rocky floor and drops her staff, the Magic Energy in her body starting to quickly fade away.

She jumps up back on her feet in a hurry, her eyes darting around and focusing in on her staff. It was the only thing providing her with a constant stream of Magic Energy, and by proxy the only thing keeping her in the fight.

With her sights set on the staff, she leaps towards it with arms outstretched. Manho suddenly shoulder-bashes her out of the way, reaching down and picking up the staff himself.

He looks at it with a smile, giving it a cinematic twirl before gripping it tightly with one hand. “Let me show you how to use it.”

Maru stumbles a little but stays on her feet.

“I just need to grab it,” she whispers, putting her hands up in a fighting stance while waiting for Manho to approach her.

Manho slowly walks forward, spinning the staff in his hands. As soon as he was within range, he would bash it against Maru’s head with a devastating swing, causing her defense to crumble. He bashes her head again, this time from the other side, leaving her dazed again. As he goes to swing one more time, Maru outstretches her arms and manages to grab the staff again. Her body is revitalized with another surge of Magic Energy.

She tries to pull the staff away from Manho, but she isn’t nearly strong enough. Instead, Manho pulls the staff closer to him, bringing Maru along with it. Maru lets go, but the momentum sends her flying straight towards him as he kicks her firmly in the stomach, sending her flying into the wall of the cave.

The little bit of Magic Energy that Maru gained from the staff began to fade, leaving her physical body to fend for itself. Drained of all her stamina, her body goes limp and she’s unable to fight.

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“Did I not get enough?” She thought, slowly lifting her head up to look at Manho as he slowly approached her. Her pupils constrict as the ingrained fear sets in again. She realizes that she is now at his mercy.

“Plenty of potential,” Manho said slowly, using the staff to lift her head up and force her to look at him, “but you lack experience.”

He takes a step back, creating some space between them as he takes another step forward, pulling his leg back simultaneously, and kicks Maru firmly in her ribcage. She’s launched with enough force to send her toppling through the walls of the cave at an upward angle. Being propelled upwards, she drills through the stone as her backside is constantly bashed by sharp rocks and large boulders, leaving her clothes ripped, tattered, and stained by her own blood.

She emerges from the ground with an eruption of stone, tumbling across the rocky floor. Her body rolls to a gentle stop, her muscles sore and pulsating with a deep, etched pain. A shadow looms over her, Standing in front of her was a familiar silhouette. Broad shoulders, skin etched with scars, and a mile-long stare she could never mistake.

“Gon…” she whispers. She was ready to run, but her body was so weak and exhausted that she could barely move. Using the last of her stamina, she jumps away from him before collapsing onto her bottom, the exhaustion overtaking her.

At her sides, Francis and Tianyu stared in awe for a moment. The two of them looked no better than Maru, bloody and bruised, with their clothes tattered, scorched, and torn like they were ravaged by some kind of ravenous beast.

“Maru!” They exclaimed in unison as Tianyu caught her head before it hit the ground. He places his hand on her stomach, a Magic Circle appearing on his palm.

“What happened to you?” He spoke gently, caressing her hair with one hand while looking down at her with a soft gaze.

“Manho…” she said weakly. Tianyu's eyes widen briefly before he looks back over at Gon.

Francis immediately stepped in front of Maru with his arms up, returning Gon's stern stare. As beaten as he may have been, he wasn’t going to let Gon get a step closer to her, even if it cost him an arm or a leg.

“You are a valiant young man,” Gon said, “but your bravery will result in your death.”

Francis looks over towards Tianyu, his gaze soft. “Can you get her out of here?”

Tianyu shakes his head, “I am too weak to get out of here in time. However…”

A Magic Circle appears beneath his feet, engulfing him and Maru in a large sphere made of water. “If you can hold Gon off for a little, then I can recover enough energy to take her with me.”

Francis nods. “That's all I needed to hear,” turning his head back towards Gon, he takes a deep breath. “Do your worst.”

Gon clenches his fist tightly, a familiar purple flame engulfing his fist in a fiery inferno. The light from it was blinding, reflective of its immense power.

“Now that the three of you are side by side, I can feed you all to my flame. Sayonara.” Gon takes a large step forward, throwing a punch with his flaming fist. His fist collided with the air, releasing a devastating wave of purple flames hurling towards the trio.

From the hole that Maru emerged from, Manho jumps up into the air, mere inches in front of the wave of flames. He holds his palm outwards, coating it in a layer of golden Magic Energy. Once they make contact with the purple flame, the raging inferno is immediately reduced to specs of dust as the heat in the cave begins to dissipate.

Manho lands gracefully in front of Gon, his lightly scorched cloak flowing just as elegantly.

Gon’s eyes widen, as the flames engulfing his fist immediately disappear. He falls to one knee, tilting his head down. “I am honored to witness your return, Lord Manho.”

Manho chuckles, using his hand to gesture for Gon to stand back up.

“Rise, rise. No need to call me Lord, my era of reigning King ended centuries ago.”

Gon stands back up, and Manho turns his attention over towards the trio, more specifically Maru.

“You want some too?!” Francis exclaimed, still in a fighting stance.

Gon takes a step forward, clenching his fist as he gets ready to lunge at the boy. Manho puts his arm in front of Gon, stopping him.

“Let them live,” Manho said, “if those two are her little friends then I don’t mind.”

“My Lord, we can use them as fuel to-”

“If I wanted them dead I would’ve cleaved all their heads off already. Let. Them. Live.”

Gon sighs, taking a step back and crossing his arms.

Manho points towards the group. “What are your names?”

Francis speaks up since he was in front. “Francis of Redville.”

The sphere of water surrounding Tianyu and Maru slowly disappears.

“Tianyu.”

Tianyu helps Maru to her feet as she looks over at Manho. The fear instilled in her heart slowly began to settle in, but she tried to keep herself composed. He was being friendly, for now, but there was no telling just how long he’d keep the act up.

“Maru,” she said, holding Tianyu close.

“Maru…” Manho echoed, “your name sounds similar to ‘Maruhn.’ It means ‘Storm’ or ‘Hurricane’ in the oldest dialects of Arcanian.”

He glances down at the mossy staff in his hands still. Beneath the coarse stone, he could see a glimmer of the black gemstone hidden beneath.

“Maru,” he calls out, tossing the staff towards her.

She outstretches her arm, catching the staff with one hand and bringing it close to her chest. Normally she’d feel energized, but the staff didn’t provide her with any Magic Energy.

“Remember what I said. That day will come. Now, if you value your life, leave.”

The trio stands still, somewhat reluctant to leave. Francis is the first to turn around, leading the group away.

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“Why did you do that, Manho?” Gon looks over at Manho eye-to-eye, “they’ve discovered our ritual rooms and you engaged in battle with that girl. It would have been much better to kill them and feed them to the flame. The son of Poseidon was standing right there, and you let him walk away! Have you not already jeopardized your own plan?”

“We have much bigger things to deal with, Gon. Whether or not they live or die is not my concern right now. If anything, they have my interest. The son of Poseidon, lounging with a couple of dusty villagers that double as rookie Mages.”

Manho chuckles, opening his palm as a journal manifests in his palm from golden dust. “But more importantly, that girl…”

Manho flips through the journal, turning to the last page. He grabs the pencil attached to the spine of the journal and makes a quick sketch of the staff he gave to Maru.

“...How could she wield my staff?”