The ochelon charged as though it understood the words, immediately launching an attack aimed at my head. I barely ducked under the blow, with the pain of my wound nearly rendering me unconscious. I struck upwards, aiming for the elbow joint, but the only thing my sword sliced was air.
An attack came from overhead with the intent to squash me, but with a quick pirouette, I dodged the attack and sliced again. I found my target, but it did minor damage even with the mana-imbued sword.
"Oh, come on!" I shouted, meeting the monster's eyes after realizing the lack of damage. The creature roared as it flicked me into the wall like an insect. My back slammed into it, the pain riddling my body as I gasped for air. I could hardly stand, and noticed the creature looking at the wound curiously.
"So it does hurt," I said aloud. The creature snarled, realizing that the mana-flame wasn't dissipating. I reflected on my first battle, and what my spell had done to those glicks.
If I can use that on this bastard, I might just stand a chance. Mana-based attacks seem to work on him, even if my sword skill doesn't deal a lot of damage, I thought as I watched it scream.
After observing the ochelon for a moment, I sheathed my blade and did my best to focus on what I was about to do.
Although it was something I'd never even dreamed of attempting before now.
Driven by necessity, I took one deep breath, as I drew once more from the Ethereal, gathering as much as I could in both hands. The creature, now moving towards me a little more cautiously, noticed what I was doing. "I don't know if this will work, but you're going to kill me if it doesn't, anyway," I spat out a wad of blood that had pooled in my cheek.
"Come and get me, you angry son of a bitch," I seethed.
The creature, showing more intelligence than I had anticipated, charged at me, moving much more quickly this time. I dove under the creature's hind legs, avoiding the blow from both claws, and was now behind it. I could feel my eyes begin to glow like my older brother's, though less refined, as I could also feel tendrils of mana licking at my temples.
I whipped both of my arms, releasing the mana I held in my hands and wrapping each of the beast's limbs in it. "Hold this for me," I said with that same power from before in my voice. I screamed as I pulled the tendrils away from the creature's body. The ochelon roared, and tried to fight against it, but as this was a battle against mana, there was little it could do but feel its limbs being torn from its body.
"Tell your wife I said hi!" I shouted in response.
A squelching sound could be heard beneath the loud roar that resonated throughout the cave, as the massive limbs were flung in opposing directions. The ochelon's massive body flopped to the ground, as its blood meshed with the previously formed pool. I could feel my eyes stop glowing, as the reality of my situation set back in.
"Fuck!" I shouted, realizing that for a few moments, the pain had subsided while I was casting the spell. I panted heavily, feeling the pain from every bruise, scratch, and cut growing more intensely by the minute.
I fell onto my knees, reveling in the silence after my victory. Even through the immense amount of pain, I chuckled. "Master sure knew what he was talking about. Keep your sword sharp and wits about you," I said with my best imitation of the Master's voice. Through the cave's quiet, I heard footsteps rapidly approaching.
Please don't be another creature. Please don't be another creature, I thought.
I couldn't tell you how relieved I was to see my brother's form come into view from the entrance.
"I heard the roar come to an abrupt stop, and thought you had been squished," he said, seeing me on my knees. Since I had already lost a lot of blood with the wound on my back, I could only weakly smile at my older sibling.
"Oh, shit! Are you okay?" he asked, realizing I wasn't my usual self. "Do I look okay?" I replied weakly, but still maintained my smile. "With that attitude, I guess you're better than you look," my brother said warmly. "Heh, you should see the other guy," I pointed towards the pair of carcasses and multiple body parts strewn about the cave.
"What the fuck…?" he muttered breathlessly. "I knew they were ochelons, but I didn't think they were fully grown yet. How the hell did you…?" I heard him ask, but couldn't hear the rest because I lost consciousness, falling flat on my face.
A few minutes later, my eyes reopened, and I felt a calming warmth.
Did I die? I thought as I began to regain my focus.
I could feel him pushing mana into my body, reconstructing the shattered ribs and seared tissue on my back. The only way that I could describe the feeling would be comparing it to his fingers dipped in warm oil digging around in my rib cage. Not that that description makes it any easier to understand, but it was the best way I could describe it.
"How do you feel?" my brother asked, helping me sit upright. "A little better, but my back still feels like it's on fire," I said, moving my shoulder around. "Well, you did sear the wound shut. Good thinking, by the way. Just know it's going to leave one fuck of a scar," he smiled wryly. "I'd be surprised if it didn't," I grunted and groaned as he helped me get to my feet.
After allowing myself a moment to breathe, I realized how much darker the cave was without the eyes to help me. "Here," my brother handed me the mask, which I donned with a little difficulty. Shortly after, the cave became bright once more with the infusion of Bernar's mana.
Observing our surroundings briefly, I walked over to a curious object near where I had encountered the first ochelon. I moved in to get a closer look. "A torch? It seems to have been freshly lit, too. Maybe not even a month old," I said, picking it up to examine it more closely. "That's odd. No one other than the Master should have come through here recently," Bernar stated half to himself.
I wonder who the hell would have gotten past not one, but two of these titans, I thought.
I stepped over the dead ochelon's torn limb and moved towards where I had seen the female sleeping. Its lair was covered in old, gnawed bones from many meals. I suddenly felt a small rush of air sweep across my sweaty cheek.
A breeze? Better check that out, I motioned to my brother to follow me in the direction the breeze came from.
I moved into the deepened ground where the beasts had lain, and noticed a small crack in the rocks. "How good are you with earth manipulation?" Bernar asked, seeing what I had found. "I'm not as good as you, that's for sure. Care to do the honors?" I asked weakly.
Bernar snorted, but seemed glad to see me in better shape than when he first arrived. He gathered mana in his hand, pushing it forward into the cave's wall, then dragging it to the right. It pulled the crack open like a curtain, scattering dust and gravel as it moved. After the dust had cleared, we walked through the hole Bernar had made, looking around the revealed room.
Books? Scrolls? What in the world are they doing here in a place like this? I thought.
The walls of the inner chamber I had just stepped into were lined with books, and shelves as high as the ceiling lined the walls. A desk in the corner of the room had various notes strewn across it.
"Someone obviously left in a hurry. Either that, or this person is more disorganized than Batch," I scoffed. The two of us looked over the notes, analyzing the titles and what secrets they held in the ink. "These are probably the oddest names I think I've ever seen," I began.
"Dissection by a certain Nexis Pelantyr. I wonder who that is. Here it talks about uses for the plant the Master mentioned. Look, there's an incomplete copy of it, but it's not the same handwriting. Someone else was obviously in here, but what they copied is hard to tell. Judging by the handwriting itself, whoever did this must have been in a rush," I continued.
"I agree," Bernar said loosely, flipping through several pages. I glanced at the other notes, but found nothing of importance and decided to move over to the shelves.
"The Effects of the Ethereal, Habits Of Trolls And Other Beasts, A Voyage To The Underworld, Wards And Other Defenses Against Dark Magic, How To Make Alcohol By Using Citrus And Mana," I listed off the names aloud, hoping my brother would recognize any of them.
I'm probably still too young for that last one, but it's good to know that's possible, I chuckled quietly before taking another glance at the first book I'd read the name of.
Something inexplicable drew me toward it, like I instinctively knew it held many of the answers I was looking for. With a pained grunt as I pulled it from the shelf, I opened it and began to read. There wasn't much dust on it; a tell-tale sign that someone had either read it frequently or it was only recently placed there.
Either way, I knew something was wrong right away because after sifting through a handful of pages, I came to a small, but noticeable gap in the page numbering that was too great not to draw attention to.
Damn, just when it was getting good, too, I thought.
"Bernar, come look at this," I beckoned. He immediately recognized the book when I waved it in the air, but his eyes widened when he noticed the torn-out pages. "Well, that's not good. This book… We need to inform the Master quickly," he said urgently. I took the book and left the cave through the main entrance.
There was still so much more to be seen there, but it's too dark to tarry any longer. I'll have to come back another day, I thought.
We set off at a slow trot rather than a walk as we returned to the fortress.