(WOW it's been some time since this was updated. Oopsies ^^' I can explain everyone. See... Elsword NA got a few updates like the level cap and like... I had to get it and like... There's also demon hunters which I need to do more of with those who're in it and like... Christmas was not too long ago so like... yeah... Sorry for the wait, I will continue to have this updated on time as well as Demon Hunters. Enjoy!)
Chapter ten: Ara's Big Change
"Wind Blade Execution!" I shout as the giant purple blade comes out of the magic circle. It quickly shoots out and cuts through the training dummy. Seems I've gotten better control over it. Before I couldn't even control the length of it since it uses more mana than usual.
"You've gotten better with using that skill" Phantom says. He's standing next to me, sharing some of his power with me while also using it. "You should also get to class before you wear yourself out and miss class." I nod as I put all the things I used back. After, I grab my bag and head to homeroom.
~Global~
I stare out the window as Mr. C gives us his lecture about Rurensia. I tried listening to him before, though because of how how's he's been talking all this time, I tend not to listen. "-nd here is the Global Studies class" I faintly hear. I turn my attention to the door as I see Penensio walk by and other people following him. They look like students, probably those who plan on attending the Academy. Some of them peek inside while others keep walking. The one who catches my eye, however, is the one with white hair tied in the back. She has on a white dress with purple on the outside of the top as well as a yellowish orange ribbon in the center. (Basically, a High Mage with white hair) She looks the classroom then looks toward me, smiles, and then walks away. Wait…. Huh?
"Elsword!" I hear Mr. C shout as I quickly stand. "Tell me, which El Master attacked the El tower during the Harmony Festival?"
Wait a minute, I know this. "It was Solace, Master of the sun" I say. He nods.
"That's correct, though I would much prefer you pay attention rather than zone out." He has a point, though I wasn't zoning out… was I? I slide back into my seat and act as though I'm paying attention.
~After class~
As I walk toward the exit, I feel an arm wrap around my neck. "So, thinking about the new freshmen?" Chung asks. Almost immediately, I think of the white haired girl. I quickly shake my head.
"Wha? Course not Chung. What I was thinking about was this eye of mine" I lie. Well, not completely since I was thinking about that too. He should believe it, right? "besides, when I glanced over, I only saw the back of the last one in line." That seems true… I hope.
Before he's able to respond to that, Ara runs up to us. "Elsword, come with me" she says as she grabs my hand and starts pulling, making me follow. She stops once we make it to Rena and… that one guy. "Sorry for the wait you two, we were still in class." What's she talking about?
"Here, Elsword. It's a letter from Penensio since he's out for today" the guy with yellow eyes says as he hands me a letter. I open it up to see what it says.
Dear Elsword,
I will be out for today due to some serious issues. Do not worry; it is nothing concerning you students. Anyways, you will be joining Ara, Raven and Rena for a quest today. Deep within the Ancient Waterway, a demon awaits. That's not all though. He is a giant demon, capable of destroying many lives if not handled soon. His name is Victor. I want you and the others to go take him out. Be mindful that not all your attacks may work due to his superhuman strength.
"So, when do we depart?" I ask.
"Right now. Be sure you're prepared for this" Raven says as he picks up his sword. I nod and go get my sword.
~Heart of the Ancient Waterway. Cave Area~
The sound of rushing water immediately comes to my ear as we walk down this open cave area. While the area is dim, the crystals reflecting light make up for it by shining off, giving the cave a bluish look to it. Even with something as calm and cooling as this setting, I ready my sword. Anything could happen in here. "You seem a little tense, Elsword" I hear Rena say. I turn and give her a comforting smile.
"Oh, it's nothing. You just can't be too sure of what's gonna pop up, right?" I say. She smiles and nods. I take this time to analyze the cave even more. On both sides of the platform we're on, there's water. A few… weird creatures stand distant from us. Are they even demons? "So, how are we gonna get through these things Raven?"
"They don't seem like much of a threat, so just walk passed them for now. If, however, they do attack, don't hesitate to fight back" he says. I nod and begin walking forward. The one closest to me looks sorta familiar, like I've seen its face from somewhere. Wait a minute… that weird merman looking thing back at the beginning!
"I've got you now, creep!" I run toward it and knock it into the air. Ha! I jump into the air and slash at it three times with the third knocking him toward the ground. That'll show him to run in the middle of a fight. I look to see…. More of these things?! Wait a sec, so this wasn't the one?
"Duck!" I hear one of the others behind me. Without think, I quickly drop down. "Phoenix Strike!" Over my head, I see a flaming phoenix fly toward the other merman things. They fall down with no signs of getting back up.
"That was very reckless Elsword. What happened to walking pass without drawing attention?" Raven questions me. Well… that kind of got thrown out the window once I saw that thing… I scratch my head and say 'oops.' "Whatever, let's just keep going."
~Outside the cave~
Fresh air hits me open exiting the cave. A nice ocean breeze is what one would call it. Looking around, the walkway seems to be going in a circular motion around some giant thing in the center. Could that be the location of the demon? "We need to find a way to that center spot" Rena says. Just what I was thinking.
"In order to do so though, we need to get past the remaining demons" Raven replies. I start analyzing the demons in the way and see one familiar one. One who caused a big problem it's Chloe!
"Hey!" I shout at her. She looks at the four of us, glares and then starts running away. "We need to go after her before she causes any more trouble for us."
"I agree, knowing what she's capable of doing. Letting her get away now would mean more problems in the future." I begin walking toward her direction, but Raven stops me. "However, it looks as though she knows this place and where to go. Let's follow her first before taking action." While that does sound like a good plan, what if she doesn't go to where we need to go. What if it's just a trap to get us killed. I sigh... What if it isn't? I guess listening to Raven would be the better thing to do. I nod as me and the other two follow him.
Demons, demons and more demons pass by us, but don't attack. What's going on? Are these things really demons or not? "So what's the deal with the demons right now? Why aren't they attacking?"
"I don't know. Maybe we aren't seen as a threat?" Ara questions. That could possibly be them reason, but I don't know. They're just acting strange. My left eye begins glowing. Phantom?
"It's because of you, Elsword. Think about it, where did you get me at?" Phantom says. Well...It's was around here in the Ancient Waterway, but what does that have to do with the demons? "In this area, you are seen as no other than one of them. Make sense yet?" Sorta, but not really. I hear him sigh. "Half of you is now part demon. They're only sensing the demon side of you." Well that makes sense seeing as though Phantom is my demon eye. I guess that's all they can sense. "And because your friends are with you, they don't see them as enemies, but rather captured enemies." Well that helps, I guess.
"Is that Chloe up ahead?" Rena asks. I look and see the dark elf herself, looking at something on the ground. She really didn't get that far.
"That's her alright. Let's get her" Ara says. We nod and run toward her. She turns her head toward us, but doesn't do anything. Instead, she readies herself by getting into a pose.
"Alright Chloe, this time we're taking you down" I say, readying my sword. Some demons gather around her for support. "Great, more of them in the way."
"I'll take Chloe while you three take on the demons. That sound alright" Raven asks. We nod and then rush at the demons. I one I run to moves to the side just as I get close. Eh? I move closer and it moves away once more. I sigh. Wait, could be the demon side taking effect. I wonder…
"Get out of here before you're obliterated" I say. It turns around and runs away. Wait, that worked? I look at Rena and Ara, who're fighting their demons. "Demons, stop fighting and run." They back off and run, just like the other demon. "Guess Phantom was right out this eye. They see me as one of their own here." I look at Raven who seems to be holding his own against Chloe.
Chloe kicks at Raven twice who dodges both of them. She goes to knee him next, but he blocks it with his Nasod arm. She does two back flips as a way of gaining distance. On the third one, Raven runs up and punches her in the face with his Nasod arm. She goes flying backwards and lands on her back. Fire illuminates from Raven's sword as he pulls it back. He then swings it forward in an uppercut motion. "Ignition Crow!" he says. A giant, fiery figure appears above him then dashes forward at Chloe. She manages to dodge it; however, Raven runs to her, grabs her with his Nasod arm and throws her into the air. He then jumps, positioning himself next to her, and then aims his Nasod arm at her. "Harpoon Spear!" A giant fireball is shot out at Chloe, who's sent down with it. It drags Chloe for some distance and then stops. Once it stops, Chloe just lays there. Seconds later, she gets up, glares at Raven, then hopes away. Gone once again. "No more distractions. Let's keep moving you three." We nod and continue. I take a peek at what Chloe was looking at.
"I know this symbol guys. Maybe it'll take us to Victor?" I ask.
"Worth a short. Let's try it" Rena says. We all step on it and are instantly transported to some… thing in the middle of all the water. If I can recall, we were currently at the walkway just in front of us at a distance. The water starts… draining? Now the thing is moving?!
~Down the 'elevator'~
The thing stops moving and the prongs push against the locks, locking us. I hear some type of screech from a distance. Where's it coming from? "Everyone, MOVE!" Ara shouts. From what? I look up, see just what it is and dash away. It lands and roars. I'm guessing this is the Victor that Penensio wrote about.
"Karma!" Rena says. There's a light green glow behind her as well as leading toward Victor. She points her hand toward Victor and pillars of wind shoot out of the ground. The one that hits Victor seems to do nothing as he blankly stares at Rena. "Did that do… nothing?" Victor holds up one arm then runs toward me and Rena. We need to move, and now! I activate Vitality and instantly appear next to Ara and Raven. I see Rena jump over Victor by front flipping as he crashes into the wall, though debris falling from the sky knock her down and onto the ground.
He walks over her and continues toward us. Quickly the aura around me turns red as run toward him. "Triple Geys-" I cut off by one of his fists connecting with my whole body. I hit the wall then fall to my knees. That really hurt even though my shield was up…
"Hellfire Gatling!" Raven shouts. I look up and see him shooting fireballs at Victor, who is still coming toward us.
"Shadoweave!" Ara shots as she throws her spear like a boomerang at Victor. Victor, unfazed, smacks both of them out of the way. Raven is knocked in front of me while Ara is knocked toward the right. Slowly Raven gets up and points his Nasod arm at Victor.
"Revolver Cannon!" He shoots two bullet objects out at Victor, who shrugs it off. Vents pop out of Raven's Nasod arm and he shoots six more bullets. Still nothing unfortunately .Victor hits his chest with his fists then jumps at Raven. Raven, unable to escape, gets knocked into the air. Violently, he uses his fists to constantly beat Raven then throws him like a ragdoll. Now he proceeds toward me. I have to stop him!
Going into Vitality mode, I flash step toward Victor and prepare myself. "Storm Blade!" I shout as giant blades appear around my body and spin around, cutting up Victor. He punches me once more, interrupting my Storm Blade and sending me back to the wall. Damn, here again. I can't keep this up. If I do then- My thoughts are broken as I feel rapid punches strike my body, pushing me deeper into the wall. I… I can't…
…
They stop and I just stay there, unable to move. My body feels broken in two as I stare at Victor. He's in about the center of this place. He lifts up his arm then runs toward me. My body… feels heavy. I can't… move it at all… Have I lost…?
In the blink of an eye, I see white… tails? Nine of them, all white. Victor's hand, which was aiming for me, has been stopped by a spear. Is that… Ara?! "I won't let you hurt my friends any longer!" she says. That's definitely her voice, but why is her hair white? She swings her spear, sending Victor backward and making him lose balance. "Pulling Pierce!" Quickly, she stabs Victor with her spear. She then dashes forward with one heavy hit. "Moonlight…" She pulls her spear back and waits a bit. "Slash!" A large, circular slash is done, knocking Victor over. "Explosive Breaking!" She jumps into the air then quickly comes down, slamming her spear down. The ground around her cracks and breaks. Victor, who took the full attack, roars out of pain and then lays there, motionless. Ara walks over to me as I look at her, speechless. "Are you alright Elsword?"
"Ara you… How did you… Just what was that?!" I ask, astonished. She giggles.
"This is Eun mode. It lends me the power of the nine tails…" She starts closing her eyes slower and slower.
"Hey Ara, you feeling alright?" She starts falling forward. I instinctively lunge forward and catch her as her the tails and white hair go away. My legs give out and I drop to knees, holding onto Ara. "Ara? Ara! Wake up!" I hear a light snore. She… fell asleep?! I sigh.
"So she managed to take down Victor" I hear. I look up and see Raven walking over with Rena. "Before you even say it, we're fine. While that attack did hurt, it wasn't too bad compared to what happened to you. Rena wasn't hurt that bad either." Read my mind like a book. "We need to leave this place and get back to the Academy." I look around for some door or opening or anything to let us escape. I spot some type of lever near whatever this thing is.
"There's a lever over there." I point to where I see and they turn their hands to it. "That could be the key to getting out." Raven walks over and pushes it in the opposite direction. The prongs locking this thing unlock and we start heading back up. Guess that was the key.
To Be Continued in Chapter 11
Such an epic ending right? Who do you think is going to be next huh? I'll give y'all a hint: It starts with A, ends with a and has ish in the middle. I bet none of you can guess who it is.