Chapter 30: Head Of Scrolls [4]

Mordecai kept shouting Bobby's and Vester's name but it was futile. They only saw his mouth move up and down but not a single word did they hear.

Maoki tightened his fist while his white monkey crawled out of his furry jacket and unto his shoulders. It seemed the time had come for him to show his abilities in this exam. He knew the officials and Kingdom Forces were watching so he couldn't let this opportunity slid past him.

The ladies too readied themselves. Ariel removed her backpack and introduced two paper scrolls that were longer than ordinary ones to her girls from her backpack. She flung these paper scrolls to both of them at her back and with style, they caught it before driving their hands sideways.

Because of the foreigners' position, they reorganised their attacking formation and formed a circle, with each person very close to the other. Since they were surrounded the best option was to guard every corner, this way, they would see every incoming threat the foreigners posed to them.

The ones positioned at the owl masked squire poured all attention towards him, while the other ones by the sides watched every corner agitatedly. Unknowing to them, two other plane white-masked squires jumped down from above. Seemingly like they hid themselves up above Mordecai's team. Since they weren't a single sound in the environment anymore, the squires dropped like the owls of the night. Landing straight inside the circle they formed.

Not a single one of them noticed this, except one person, Vester. Just as they landed, Vester threw his head over his shoulder and found them just a split second from landing on the ground.

He shouted, 'Behind you!!'

But no one could hear him. Before he could completely take a turn, the masked squires had already attacked his teammates. Mordecai and Odith were the first to get hit. The first masked squire took hold of Odith by locking his elbow around her neck. His motive was to knock her out on time for the next action.

While the second masked Squire took the same action. Planning to knock out Mordecai in the same type of way. Mordecai was in position or had no power to block the masked squire from knocking him out, but the fact that he was the Bliss either they liked it or not give him a kickstart. If he couldn't avert this attack then no one should call him The Bliss anymore. Immediately the hand went across his neck, he saw it move and this gave him more than enough time to manifest his ethereal ring and forcefully drag the masked squire from his back and into his front. In that brief time, he spun on the leg he stood with, jumping up from the ground and sending the masked squire into a far distance with the back of his other foot.

As for Odith, nobody knew what the second mask squire did to her after wrapping his elbow across her neck. All they saw was her unconscious body fall lifeless-like to the ground.

The other of her friends screamed her name but nothing could be heard. Due to the sudden rush of anger imploding inside them, Alith decided to dash inside their formation circle. The only thing inside her head now was to rip this masked bastard arms off.

Back at the mask squire, he just stood there with a lazy posture, gazing at how Alith lunged her self without thinking towards him. Ariel yelled at her to stop but it was futile. No sounds could be heard.

In that brief moment, there was a clash between the two parties. Alith directed a sky-rocketing hook to the masked squire's face, in the hope to shatter his incongruous mask. The masked squire quickly reorganised his posture into that of battle stance. Extending only his middle and index finger and leaving the rest guarded by his thumb. Just moment from Alith's unconventional blow, the masked squire eluded this hit with a precise shift to the side, using the fingers of both his hands to undermine the joints of Alith.

Thud! Thud!

The shoulder to the hand that carried her fist was hit twice, weakening about 101% of the attack.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

It didn't end there, the masked squire went down to her ribs, unlocking her intertwined joints and bones only with the index and middle finger.

Thud! Thud!

For his last attack, he went back up to her hand, destroying the bones in her elbow.

It was not that she couldn't fight back, it was just that she somehow managed to lose the sense of the masked figure attacks. Like he wasn't there at all, coupled with the fact that this attack took nothing less than five seconds to be carried out.

Unlike the rest, Ariel calculated some unnoticeable events. Like how the masked squire attacked, he was slow and precise. Any experienced fighter of their age would be more than able to counter his moves. But why couldn't her friends? To be known to all, she wasn't a Mantrant that made use mantras every now and then. Not that she couldn't but her core manifestations were mainly based on one thing, calculations. She took the idea of exploration and enlightenment as a path better to behold than the sight of ethereal lights that made one a muscle without a brain.

From the knowledge she has of her friends which she had spent six years with, it was likely of her to know their capabilities. Alith should be more than able to counterattack the masked squire's move but she couldn't. It made no sense to her. Now adding to the fact that Odith was sneaked attacked by him. Whether it was a case of sound or no sound, they still had their six sense. They were able to perceive and identify the position an attack came from even if it meant being blindfolded.

They've trained themselves countless times to the extent they were able to block an attack, even if it meant they weren't aware of its position.

She had a theory, but decide to keep mute and play along. To see where this idea of hers would take her.

The main owl masked squire who was responsible for the sound blackout finally lowered his fingers from his lips to end the silence. Immediately, the remaining masked squire inside their formation front-flipped over them and landed outside their circle before taking a quick run into the dark night.

The group was now left with only the owl masked squire. He seemed calm and relaxed like he waited for them to react first. Mordecai unexpectedly stepped out from their circle. He wasn't going to say anything, not like he didn't want to but because he couldn't. He went closer to where the owl masked squire stood and cautioned for his teammates to stay behind. Ariel quickly lunged herself towards Alith who seemed like she was going to drop to the floor.

Bobby gave Ariel a hand as they both heaved Alith up from her knees. Maoki kept watching their surrounding area while backing Odith and as for Vester, he got a tingling sensation from the owl masked squire. There was a distinct feeling of relationship lingering in his mind as kept staring at the masked squire. Like they were acquaintances, and at that moment, he remembered…

**

In an island made of pure gold and silver, where the forest beds were besieged with myriads of gold dust and the towers of the island abated so high unto the clouds there were rumours of them being able to see tomorrow was a grand temple. A temple with a towering structure of three circles intercepting themselves at a point. These circles were the ideal impersonation of peace. A symbol that governs the limitations and boundaries of power. Whenever there were two kingdoms wrestling themselves for clout and a vestige of this symbol is idealised in a flag, the two opposing countries would conceal to servility.

This symbol was a testimony to the very existence of a man that watched the world in absolute peace.

Inside the temple...

'Like you wanted, Man-God. You have finally achieved it, the world is in absolute peace as you've always wanted.'

The person was being talked to clasped his hands behind his back and kept silent with both eyes shut.

'34,678 countries and nations all bow to you, including the divided kingdoms and interdependent villages. They are all witnesses to your God-dom.' the first speaker continued.

The man who was listening still remained calm. But subsequently, he spoke in his deep calm voice, 'Can absolute peace really be… achieved?'

'With your power to unite the entire world into one government. I say if there's anyone who could, it would be you, my Lord.'

The man being referred to as Man-God slowly took a turn to his back. Lustering Scarlet hair, pale-silver eyes and a demeanour that supersedes all other majestic traits. There was no hint of regret in his eyes, no trace of rethought on any issue surfacing on his expression. Only one thing remained unchangeable, which was the mind of certainty and resolution.

Looking back at the first speaker, he drawled, 'Come now Marius, there is much work to be done.'

The recipient, Marius, lunged his fist to the ground and said with an immense resolution, 'Yes, Man-God.' On his side belt was a mask shaped to be like the visage of an owl dangling, coupled with his jade armour which had the hieroglyphs of the word's translation, Rings Of Silence.