Chapter 4

"Rashield!"

Zatch casted his lightning shield spell, but it did not appear as they were in midair, and his shield spell only worked when he was on the ground. "Oh-no! I forgot!"

"You idiot!" Tia put up her hands and quicky summoned her spell. "Ma Seshield!"

A large pink circular shield appeared in front of Zatch and Tia, blocking the view of the creature that was headed towards them. It only stopped the creature for a moment as the shield cracked and shattered within seconds.

Tia was distraught. "No way…it broke through so easily."

"Tia!" Zatch turned and held Tia, his back towards the beast. He used his mantle to cover them both in hopes that would be enough cushion for them to somehow survive the creature's jaws.

The creature howled, but the sound was fading out of earshot. Zatch turned to see the creature hurling down towards the canopy, blue lightning crackling all over its body. Thunder rolled above them, and Zatch immediately smiled, recognizing the sound.

"Zatch, are you hurt?"

Zatch and Tia turned to the voice and saw Zeno hovering in front of them. "Zeno!" Zatch exclaimed.

"Hmp…didn't ask about my condition…" Tia murmured as both Zatch and Zeno landed on some treetops that were overseeing the rest of the forest.

Kolulu peeked from behind Zeno and waved shyly. "Hi. Are you both alright?"

"Oh, Kolulu!" Zatch perked up even more. "I knew you were safe!"

Tia didn't say anything for she knew she was proven corrected regarding Kolulu's safely. Kolulu seemed unharmed except for the slight nervousness shown on her face.

"We're fine," Zatch continued. "Thanks for asking!" He paused briefly before speaking again. "What about you? You seem…scared?"

"I'm just…" She trailed off right before glancing down. Her face was as pale as Zeno's and she wrapped her arms around Zeno's neck. "I don't like heights! I want to get down!"

Zeno seemingly wanted to shake Kolulu off again but abstained from doing so since the last time he did that was what caused them all to be in their current predicament. Instead, he carefully forced her hands off him, and she immediately grabbed on to a section of his mantle. "She also can't handle my speed. She was screaming the entire time I was trying to get here," Zeno said as he jabbed a finger in his ear to try and adjust his hearing.

"I said I was sorry," Kolulu said and unintentionally looked down to face away from him, but doing so only made her squeal from the height at which they were, and she clamped her arms around Zeno again, making Zeno release a heavy sigh in response.

The trees where the beast fell began to collapse and started to expose a clear path that was headed towards them. Both pairs of kids glanced at each other.

"How did you two managed to get targeted?" Zeno asked angrily.

"We don't know!" Tia answered as if defending herself. "It just started chasing us out of nowhere!"

Zeno continued. "I saw a flash of lightning from this direction and recognized its power. Zatch, you launched a spell, didn't you?"

"Uh…oh, yeah! I did." Zatch started making winding motions in the air with his finger. "After I launched it, it went like this…and turned like that…and went in that direction." He pointed west.

"West? Strange."

After a loud howl, the creature leaped towards the four of them with its jaws open and claws exposed. Zatch, Tia, and Kolulu all screamed at the sight of it, but Zeno stared at it until it was close enough for him to punch it on the nose. The creature fell backwards and landed on the ground floor again with a loud thud that shook the ground, making several trees topple over. It seemed a coincidence that the trees they were standing on didn't collapse.

"How bothersome," Zeno commented as he looked down.

"What do we do?" Tia asked, clutching on to Zatch's mantle.

Zeno was still staring at the ground floor where the beast landed. "I wonder…"

"Huh?" Kolulu turned to Zeno. "What do you plan on-?"

Her words were cut short as Zeno jumped from the treetop. He took one large leap to have a clear shot at reaching the ground floor faster instead of bouncing from branch to branch to gradually reach the bottom. Of course, this made Kolulu scream the whole way downwards. Even when they landed, she was still screaming and gripping his frame.

Zeno had to cover her mouth with his hand. "Please, stop that," he said.

Kolulu nodded, but yelped when she laid eyes on the creature that was staring at them. Spittle was dripping from its fangs, and blood was dripping from its snout where Zeno punched it. Her eyes widened when she saw its blood drip on some of the flowers.

With one hand still covering her mouth, Zeno used his free hand to aim his palm at the beast.

"Zaker."

Despite the attack being at close range, the bolt did not hit the beast. The lightning looped around the creature's body until it finally struck the metal tip that was at the end of its tail. After the spell vanished, the creature grinned at them and opened its jaws again, but Zeno kicked its jaw shut, jumped, and kicked it in the face to send it flying back several feet.

Zatch and Tia landed beside Zeno and Kolulu. "Hey, that's exactly what happened with my spell! It looped around like that and disappeared," Zatch said.

Zeno glanced at Zatch for a moment before looking back up at his opponent. He stared at the tip of its tail for a bit until his eyes widened. "Ah! It's a lightning rod."

"A what?" Tia asked then grunted. "Oh, that's just great."

"Zatch, we can't use our spells," Zeno told his younger twin.

"Okay…so, what do you suggest we do?" Zatch asked.

Zeno grinned and removed his hand from Kolulu's mouth to crack his knuckles. "I guess we have some fun."

"No!"

Everyone turned to Kolulu who spoke.

"Don't hurt it too badly," she said.

"What?" Zeno asked.

She continued. "If you hurt it, it will bleed, and if it bleeds, its blood will get on the flowers. I don't want blood on any of the foliage."

Zeno narrowed his eyes at her. "What makes you think I care about that?"

"I agree with Kolulu."

"Huh?" Zeno turned to Zatch.

"I agree with Kolulu," Zatch repeated. "We shouldn't damage any of the fauna."

"Flora." Tia corrected.

Zeno scoffed. "What in the world makes you think I'd agree to that?"

"Because we don't know who owns this property." Zatch continued. "We wouldn't want to damage anything."

Zeno rolled his eyes. "Zatch, all this belongs to the royal family. This is your property."

"Even better! I say we don't damage any of the flowers while fighting."

"I agree with Zatch," Tia added.

"Why even fight at all?" Kolulu pitched in.

"Ridiculous and impossible." Zeno leered at all of them. "You cannot have proper combat without some bloodshed."

"You have a better idea?" Tia asked mockingly.

Zeno raised his palm at her, hand sparking with electricity. "Don't use that tone with me."

Tia raised her hands towards him, seemingly ready to summon a shield.

Zatch grabbed Zeno's wrist and looked from him to Tia. "Let's not do this." He looked back to Zeno. "What's the cleanest way we can get rid of that thing?"

Zeno yanked his wrist from Zatch and pointed at the creature's tail. "If we can remove that lightning rod, we should be able to use spells instead of physical combat. I can forcefully remove the tail myself, but…" He glanced at Kolulu. "…not without getting my hands red."

Kolulu vigorously shook her head.

Zeno continued. "Otherwise, we need something sharp enough to deliver a clean cut."

"But we don't have anything like that, and my only attack spell isn't powerful enough to cut through it," said Tia.

"We might have something, actually." Zeno didn't take his eyes off Kolulu.

Zatch and Tia darted their eyes to Kolulu, and Kolulu exchanged glances with all three of them. "What?"

In one swift motion, Zeno grabbed Kolulu's hands and started caressing her fingertips. "Something sharp."

Kolulu gasped and her eyes widened.

"Say it."

"No."

"Say the spell that will turn you into an unruly beast." Zeno's eyes glistened.

"I said no!"

"Say 'Zeruk'."

Zeno had to leap out of the way to avoid an unexpected blow from Zatch. He saw Zatch standing in front of Kolulu with his arms outstretched, shielding her. He also saw Zatch's eyes glint with streaks of black mixed in with his golden iris'. "Oh? What's this?" Zeno smirked.

"Zeno, Kolulu doesn't do that anymore. That was only during the battle for the throne, but that's over now," Zatch said in a serious tone.

"Then tell me, brother…why is she shivering?"

Zatch looked back and saw Kolulu shaking while holding her arms, hugging herself.

"I…I don't want to…I don't want to…" She kept mumbling to herself.

Zatch turned to her and grabbed the sides of her arms. "Kolulu, don't listen to him. You don't have to fight. I will be here to protect you."

"Zatch…" Kolulu trailed off right before shifting her gaze over his shoulder. Zatch noticed this and saw Zeno standing directly behind him. Zeno landed a punch on Zatch's cheek, and Zatch fell face-first in the dirt. Kolulu screamed when Zeno landed the blow.

"You're so foolish sometimes," Zeno said to him.

Zatch turned to face him, but didn't get up from the ground. Zeno bent to grab Zatch's brooch and lifted him. Zatch was on his knees with one eye closed as Zeno continued to speak. "Why are you telling her to run from her problems? Saying that you'll be there to protect her…you won't always be around her. You can't help everyone at once. She needs to learn how to accept her transformation spell."

Zatch grabbed Zeno's fist that was holding his brooch. "You're wrong. Kolulu doesn't want to hurt anyone, so she doesn't want to fight using that spell."

"Wait, wait! Time out!" Tia waved her arms in the air until everyone looked at her. "What's going on? I'm confused. Kolulu can…change?"

Zeno chuckled. "Oh? You didn't know?" He turned to Kolulu. "Shame on you, Kolulu. You never told your best friend your darkest secret."

"What secret? Kolulu and I…" Tia turned to Kolulu who was still shaking and holding herself. "Kolulu, what's he talking about? He's lying, right?"

Kolulu glanced at Tia, faced the ground, and started to cry. "I'm sorry, Tia."

Tia turned to Zatch. "I don't understand."

"Well-"

Before Zatch could start, Kolulu bolted in the opposite direction and ran from the group. "No! I don't want to hear it!"

"Here we go again," Zeno sighed.

"Kolulu, wait!" Zatch pushed himself from Zeno and tried to chase after her, but was blocked when a giant paw stepped in front of him.

Zatch looked up at the creature. "Get out of the way! I have to go after my friend!"

The beast replied by opening its mouth and hurling its jaws towards Zatch. Zeno responded quickly by kicking it on the side of its head, forcing it to tumble sideways.

"This thing is getting annoying." Zeno jumped on the creature and grabbed its tail right beneath where the metal part started. "I'll just take care of this myself."

"Saisu!"

Zeno used his mantle to block the sudden attack. When the smoke cleared, he lowered his mantle to see Tia hunched over with her arms crossed. He grimaced at her. "You…"

She stood upright to face him. "Zeno, Zatch said to not damage this place any further. I suggest you stop."

His grimace turned into a grin. "You think you can stop me?"

Tia put up her hands, palms out front. "I've done it before."

"Stop it, both of you!" Zatch gestured towards them. "We should be going after Kolulu."

A scream followed by a splash was heard soon after, and everyone immediately recognized the cry.

"Kolulu!" Zatch and Tia cried in unison and ran towards the direction of the scream.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Zeno looked at the beast's tail he was holding, looked back at the creature's face to see it panting, then looked back at the tail. He gripped the tail and yanked on it a bit while scanning the area, seemingly mulling over something. The creature was at his mercy, its tail was in his hand, and he could just tear it off, find Zatch, and call it a day. By the position of the sun, it was the late afternoon. If he leaves now, he could at least finish half the work he had at home and finish the other half tomorrow before the meeting.

But would the work be done whilst worrying about the others?

"Screw it!" He yanked on the tail and the creature howled in pain. A small wound opened and a drop of its blood fell on the grass. Zeno stopped pulling on the tail when he saw the blood, Kolulu's words echoing through his mind.

"I don't want blood on any of the foliage."

Zeno yelled in frustration and threw the tail down. He jumped off the beast and chased after Zatch and Tia. It did not take long to catch up to where they were, which was beside a wide, fast-flowing river that lead to a waterfall. Kolulu was seen being forced downstream and struggling to swim to shore. Zatch started to run alongside the river to keep up with Kolulu while Zeno and Tia followed closely behind him.

Zeno noticed that up ahead was one of the trees that the beast collapsed on earlier. Its trunk was on its side with one end slowly sliding into the water. He noted that by the time Kolulu reached that section of the river, the trunk would have been fully submerged in the water and could possibly hit Kolulu, making her unconscious. Zeno called to Zatch and gestured towards the sloping tree up ahead.

"Oh-no! I've got to use a spell. If I can blast that tree with lightning, Kolulu won't get hurt by it." Zatch stopped and opened his mouth. "Zaker!"

Zeno grabbed Zatch from behind and forced his head upwards to launch the spell towards the sky. The lightning bolt turned and shot in the direction from which they came.

Zatch struggled out of Zeno's grip and faced him, eyes narrowed. "What did you do that for?"

"Moron," Zeno said. "Kolulu's in the water, and part of that tree is also in the water. If you strike it with lightning, you'll kill her."

Zatch's expression changed to concern as he turned back to Kolulu. She somehow managed to grab on to a rock standing in the middle of the river, but she was constantly losing her grip in one hand and had to use her other hand to hold on again. While this managed to buy Zatch some time to think, he still needed to act quickly. He chewed on his thumbnail while glancing between the river, the tree, and the struggling Kolulu. "Then…what should I do?"

"Zatch, why don't you swim to her, and I'll use a shield to block the flowing water."

Zatch stopped biting his nail. "Great idea, Tia!"

As soon as Zatch jumped in the river, Tia put up her hands. "Giga La Seoshi!"

A giant bubble shield, the length of half the river, surrounded Zatch and Kolulu. Zatch was near the shore while Kolulu was near the other end of the shield. The water inside the shield stopped flowing and Kolulu was able to float in the still water.

Zeno eyed Zatch as he was swimming towards Kolulu. "That isn't going to work."

"What do you mean?" Tia turned to Zeno. "It's working out just fine."

Zeno started walking along the riverside towards the waterfall.

"Hey!" Tia called. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you."

"What did you say? Come back here and say that to my face!"

When Zeno reached the edge of the cliff, he looked down the waterfall to get an idea of how long of a fall it would be if Kolulu didn't make it. Measuring it with his eyes, he guessed it to be at least a 150-foot drop. He glanced at Zatch, who was still swimming towards Kolulu, and counted to himself, "Three…two…one."

The trees on the other side of the river parted, and the canine beast from before jumped in the river right behind Kolulu. The transparent shield was the only layer protecting her.

Tia screamed and released her spell from shock, and the water started flowing again. The water pushed Kolulu passed the rock and towards the waterfall. Zatch tried to swim after her, but the tree that was sloping earlier fell in the river when the beast appeared and was blocking Zatch's view.

Zatch held onto the tree trunk and looked up at the monster that was looking at him. "You're targeting me because I was the last one to launch a lightning spell, right? Please move!" He pointed towards Kolulu who was struggling in the rushing water. "She's in trouble!"

The beast held up one of its paws and brought it down on Zatch only for it to be stopped by a pink circular shield. Zatch looked back to the shore. "Tia!"

"Zatch! I'm sorry! I got scared and-"

The beast managed to break the shield and slapped the water beside Zatch. Zatch held on to the tree as it was bobbing in the water.

Kolulu screamed for help as she was nearing the waterfall. Zeno extended his mantle towards Kolulu. She saw it and grabbed it. He pulled her out of the water and brought her to shore. She sat on the grass while coughing. Her clothes and hair were soaked and she was shivering.

"Are you alright?"

When Kolulu stopped coughing, she looked up at Zeno. "Yes. Thank you."

They both turned their attention towards the beast when it howled. Zatch was struggling in the rapid waters, and Tia was on the riverside beside herself, not knowing what to do. The large creature brought its paw down on Zatch again, and Zeno quickly held up his hand.

"Zaker!"

Zeno's spell was aimed directly at the creature tail, knowing that it will land there anyway. The creature turned its attention from Zatch and started approaching Zeno and Kolulu.

Zeno eyed the edge of the cliff. "We're going to jump."

Kolulu followed his gaze and looked down the waterfall. She immediately thought of the swings from earlier. "Nooo…"

"It'll be fine." He offered his hand to her.

She blinked twice and looked at his hand, wondering if he'll suddenly grab her like last time, but he stood still and waited for her answer despite the approaching danger. She looked at him again to see him slightly smiling, which shocked her.

"It'll be fine," he repeated. "I won't hear the end of it from Zatch if something happened to you."

Her mind spun in confusing at the unfamiliar kindness, knowing that he had been sporadically unkind to her throughout the day, but her heart skipped nonetheless at hearing Zeno say such caring words. From when she first encountered Zeno inside the greenhouse to now, she had been saved by him on more than one occasion. Whether it was just to appease Zatch or not, she didn't mind, and openly accepted kindness from any demon regardless of how they mistreated her, which was one of her weaknesses.

She took Zeno's hand and nodded. He allowed her to wrap her arms around his neck, and he jumped off the side of the cliff with the beast directly behind them. The giant canine followed them down the waterfall and slashed its paw at them. Kolulu lost her grip on Zeno, and he tried to grab her hand, but their hands were too slippery as they both continued to plunge.

Zeno managed to land on the ground beside the river, which was what he was aiming for before the beast threw him off balance. The creature fell in the water with a giant splash, and there was blood in the water once the back of Kolulu's head hit a rock.