CHAPTER SEVEN: THE UNCO MEMBER (2)

“Damn it!”

It was all Chad could let out as the group of four slowly succumbed to the barrage of attacks. Garu could only endure with sharp and loud grunts as he endured broken limbs and ribs beneath the endless pounding he received along with the rest.

The Zeal-leachers reveled in the sight of pooling red blood for a change as they began pounding their fists over the crumbling bodies for better results.

Garu, Bava, Cassandra, and Chad simply hid their heads beneath broken arms as they lay there, beneath the beatings they were certain wouldn't end long after they were dead. They should have known better than to assume they could face these creatures that lived only for the celestial of retribution. Who could deal a more deadly hand of revenge than these monsters with the sole purpose of enacting just that?

Lengthy cries of sharp cracks whipped through the air around them and the four found the weight of impact bashing against their body was dropping rapidly until they were sure no Zeal-leacher was standing over them.

“Get up!”

The four slowly let out their shielded heads to find an incredibly tattered body turned away from them. The three whose legs weren’t broken dragged themselves back onto their feet to find a somewhat familiar man, at least to Cassandra and Chad, glancing back at them.

“You’re that lunat…..!”

“There’s no time! Carry your injured and move with me, stay close to me at all times!”

Chad quickly kept his mouth shut as he recalled the brief calmness he’d seen in this man’s eyes earlier.

Cassandra, on the other hand, was convinced by the surety this man’s voice carried. “And how are you going to lead us out of this ambuscade from twenty of these creatures?”

“Hundreds.”

"Huh!" Bava's breath shook as he picked up on this newcomer's mumble from the ground.

The Russet-skin stranger turned around to regard them with calm Hazel-colored eyes, albeit lost. "Six hundred and thirty-six." He raised an open palm to his right and thin black lights cracked through his fingertips, spreading from the center of his palm curved into a 'C' shape, and the release that followed gave a booming sound that accompanied the impact against a mini hill, which resulted in blasted rocks shooting into the air. The three crouched out of reflex and Bava simply shielded his eyes with his mouth agape.

It was an incredibly powerful display. One with an impression that's unfortunately shortened as countless clouds of white smoke began fading into their views, releasing Zeal-leachers that now have them surrounded within spreading rings of circles, creating one hell of an ineludible trap.

"Six hundred and thirty-six." The feeling of trounce accompanied the exhaustion dwelling within Chad while taking a slow turn around him with a slumped gait. He allowed his eyes to take in the large-scale battle-worthy number. "They were far more prepared than we anticipated."

"This is it." The intense gloom in Bava's eyes is hidden from the rest as he stares at the ground that lay beneath the countless hind paws spread out from his ground view. In the others' state of despondence, they've forgotten he had a dislocated leg. "I knew it. I was sure this wouldn't end with us alive."

"Maybe, but we're still alive right now so I need you all to cage your hopelessness," Garu grunted at the three in despair. He turned to a dazed Cassandra. "Hey! You've poured years of dedication and sacrifice into this to give up at a time like this." He slapped a sturdy hand against Chad's bulked arm. "Which one of you is willing to go down as the Holy Warrior who never made it to the Holy Star Symbol?!"

Those words ran jolts of epiphany through them in unique ways. They each had their reasons and motivations behind enlisting in the Temple of Wisdom's military school at a very young age, and none of them would have ever made it this far if they had allowed the fire of great will that burned within them through those hellish years to be doused or snuffed out. How can they give justifiable acknowledgment to the title they earned mere hours ago if they can't even bear through the bottom of the humongous barrel of adversaries that would inevitably come their way while protecting the priestess?

Cassandra hid her face behind her palms in slight embarrassment; one she quickly recovered from. Ignoring the intense ache through her body, she turned to the mysterious man who had been staring at them in silence. “We’re ready.”

The ragged young man gave no reply as he immediately turned and began walking towards the edge of the innermost ring made by the surrounding Zeal-leachers. For some reason, none of the creatures made any motion to shorten the distance. Cassandra followed close with eyes trying to discern their mood.

“Why aren’t they attacking?”

These creatures were not of the natural world. They were surely smart enough to know they'd overwhelmingly outnumbered five humans. Though they were no ordinary humans, they still held no advantage should the clash commence.

Bava suddenly found himself lifted off the ground like a weightless lump over Chad’s shoulder. “Hey!” He unfortunately reignited the pain in his broken wrist as he attempted to get himself off. A sharp butt slap from Chad that elicited a second-long look of bewilderment from Garu had him hiding his face as his higher torso hung upside down. Unwilling to prolong his thorough embarrassment, he complied.

The nineteen-year-old Holy warrior voluntarily took the rear of the line, hands holding an orb of hungry flames flaring dangerously within confinement while he set cautionary Dusk eyes behind him.

Their heart lurched as they got closer to the edge of the circle and they all wondered what this man would do when they witnessed the Zeal-leachers moving away from the calm man's path. A glance to the left, a glance to the right; the leachers would scurry backward then to the side. The path continued to open up as they slowly proceeded onto the slope.

Chad stared at his surroundings, absentmindedly adjusting Bava into a bridal carry. "Heavens! How are you doing this?" He turned a horrified gaze at the man leading the group. "What exactly are you?"

Cassandra raised a finger to shush Chad. “Just keep moving.” She possessed an incredible gift for acute awareness and strongly felt a different commentary on the happening right before her eyes. With a great deductive mind, she quickly narrowed down the most probable cause of these creatures’ hesitance.

She stared at the man’s bare back, marred with numerous layered palm prints and hook marks. This man had been through it much worse than them. If he truly held the ordinary citizen status, she didn’t know what to make of his current state; a man lucky enough to possess such power or an unfortunate lunatic? The latter was terrifying. “Are you a Holy Warrior?” She felt it was a silly question considering the lightning he released earlier but she would take anything from this man’s mouth. She got nothing.

They proceeded up the slope, ever closer to Wraith Valley’s boundary when the hundreds of Zeal-leachers began to pound on the ground and belch their displeasure. They began to hurdle closer, the path behind Garu closing back up five steps away.

The strange young man suddenly grabbed at his hair, in what the onlookers guessed was frustration, with both hands. With eyes bulged out, a throat-ripping scream broke through his lips before he dashed forward.

“Star blast! Run. Run!”

The group of four didn't need Cassandra repeating those words before they sprinted in pursuit towards the exit. Garu could hear the thudding of clawed feet closing in behind him. He grunted as a push from a Zeal-leacher's brutal palm slap to the back threw him past the main barrier. The booming belches of fury faded out and the chirps of busy birds dropped in as he crashed to the ground.

It was quiet for a while as warmth showered over them. They opened their eyes to a far livelier surrounding, tall lush green of nature stretched across their view and they slowly accepted it.

They had made it out of Wraith Valley.

“By the Watcher’s grace, we made it!” Chad threw celebratory punches into the air until a hiss had him looking down at the man somewhat cradled in his arm. “You okay?”

Bava had just begun digesting reality when he glanced up at the man whose wide shoulders were blocking the sunlight from hitting his eyes. “Uh….Uhm!”

Chad got concerned at the man’s stuttering, he dropped a hand for a light tap on the smaller man’s cheek. “Hey! Take it easy. We truly made it out, okay? You’re okay.”

Bava didn’t know what happened to him at that moment but the man’s soft tone warmed him up with a soothing shock and for a moment, he found himself briefly lost in the pair of gold circles staring down at him. He hated it. “You can put me down now.”

Garu couldn’t contain himself as he gave a round of four lengthy smooches to the grass below. Cassandra was about to reprimand him for it when the sound of footsteps reached their ears and they spotted the Priestess and her eight of her security guards running towards them.

 “Praised be the supreme watcher!”