Chapter 48 - Mistakes Were Made

Maikal had shouted Plan D, just a short while ago, as he vibrated the Qi inside his body and beams of light quickly gathered in his hands. He then held out his arms towards Sagat and Roland as he yelled,

Two powerful bolts of lightning shot out at high speed towards both Warriors, who were terrified. If they were hit by this attack, there would probably not even be ashes left of them, and they soon regretted greatly for having provoked the dignity of a Qi Emperor.

However, as they were about to be struck by the lightning bolts, they seemed to collide with an invisible wall, creating a shock that vibrated the air mightily. Both Sagat and Roland shot off in different directions, and while both suffered wounds of some severity, vomiting blood and with various internal injuries, both had their lives preserved. Maikal cursed inwardly, as he disappeared from where he stood and appeared in front of Roland ready to attack him a second time, when a tan hand appeared in front of the Rhodnian and knocked Maikal back.

Maikal's forehead was a little pale, as cold sweat ran down his face. The main reason Maikal was reluctant to act previously, other than as a deterrent, was to avoid feeling the weakness of his unstable Qi, however, it was too late now. Maikal also began to regret his decisions, given that he should have acted more ruthlessly, taking out Roland and Sagat at once, and then fled with the boys. Thinking of his former self, Maikal was confronted with his untimely ageing, not so much in his outward appearance, nor in his convalescent Qi, but in his attitude to problems. In the past, he, who was considered one of the Rhodnians' worst nightmares as a Dragon General, would never have taken such a passive stance.

In front of Maikal stood a man dressed in furs, looking about middle-aged with few wrinkles on his face. His hair was silver and his gaze was cold and condescending. This was Sylas Du Sacar.

"Well... Look what happens when you don't wait, Roland. If I hadn't arrived in time, you'd be dead by now. All because you're so eager to get credit on your own. What am I going to do with you? You don't seem to learn from your mistakes, your defeat to Armand was for something similar," said Sylas as he looked at Roland who was on the ground.

Roland looked up and said with joy "Uncle Sylas. It's good that you have arrived."

"Now, what do we have here? Mmmmmh... A Qi Emperor perhaps. But your Qi is quite unstable, as if it disappears at times. Past wounds perchance? Well, never mind. I'm afraid you must die," said Roland as if he was talking about the weather. He then raised a hand towards Maikal, whereupon a giant, insect-like leg, several feet tall with several spear-like hairs attached to it, materialised and attempted to pierce Maikal with great speed and force.

Maikal also raised his hand, as if it were a claw, and a golden paw materialised itself, deflecting the attack of the insect's leg.

"Oh... Interesting," said Sylas.

Sylas immediately disappeared from where he was and began to attack Maikal with great ferocity, however Maikal put up a fierce defense, with strong and violent blows and kicks, as if he were a hurricane. Maikal's movements, however, were concise, trying to save time, with no frills or big jumps. Sylas, who was originally attacking Maikal, was momentarily overpowered and had to exert a quick defense, separating himself several meters from Maikal as his fingers clasped together like a spear. It then launched several attacks towards Maikal with its hands, whereupon multiple insect limbs materialised one after the other, attacking Maikal relentlessly.

Maikal on the other hand continued to attack rapidly with his fists as well materialising several golden clawed paws which followed the rhythm of his hands. Scarce lightning bolts accompanied the paws. Within seconds they had exchanged hundreds of blows and attacks and the cave room they were entering was destroyed by the power of the two mighty Warriors. Maikal was slowly approaching between attacks, which being concise had a certain advantage over his enemy and eventually one of them managed to take advantage of a small moment between Sylas' attacks to strike directly at his body, to which Sylas could only exercise a hasty defence by linking his two arms together. Eight spider-like legs appeared covering Sylas and defending him from the attack, however, he had to retreat several steps back.

Sylas' eyes widened in shock. "Impossible. The Path of the Interceptor Fist." But how? You should be dead!"

"Nothing is impossible little spider. If you're alive, can't I be alive too, you little scum? Don't forget that when I was tearing up the Sacar Tribe's tents, you were just a poor little bug that was just learning to drink milk," Maikal said sardonically.

"You.... hahahahahahahahaha. How the mighty have fallen. To imagine that the magnificent and mighty Dragon General, Mikael Dai Rosalia, the Mad Dog, is nothing more than a beggarly vagabond, with no trace of the dignity he once had. Time seems to have been merciless with you," Sylas said as he laughed with his hand covering his face. Still, there was a rage and envy contained in that mockery.

"Mikael Dai Rosalia. It has been many years since I have heard that name. No matter. Even if I have fallen, it is not impossible for me to get rid of a squirmy little bug like you Sylas." Maikal replied.

"Perhaps in the past it would have been so. But now you are not even a shadow of your former self, haunted by your background, rubbish by the side of the road. I, on the other hand, am one of the elders of the Great Sacar Tribe, one of the Mighty Ones of Rhodnius," Sylas said, trying to weaken Maikal's mind. He knew better than anyone that even as powerful as he had become over the years, he could not touch how magnificent Maikal had been in his past. After all, a lanky Camel was still much bigger than a horse, so the next battle would be extremely complex, and any small advantage could well make the difference between life and death.

"We shall see, little bug. Even if I were on my deathbed, before me you are nothing more than the coward that in the past I let live on a whim," Maikal finished as his Qi rose to its highest and behind him a beast materialised lying down, with lazy eyes and large fangs protruding from its snout. It was in the form of a Giant Mastiff with a lush and magnificent fur, golden in colour, with lightning bolts dancing through the beast's fur. This was the complete materialisation of the Will of Maikal.

Sylas' face darkened, as his Qi also rose. A giant 5 metre spider materialised next to him, with many "hairs" on its 8 legs that were like blades and spears. Its malevolent face had 8 pairs of reddish eyes and a pair of powerful jaws. This, therefore, was the materialisation of the Will of Sylas.

Roland stood at one end of the cave watching the fight between the two great Warriors while in his head he was markedly surprised by what he had just heard. The hobo looking man in front of him was practically a black legend in the history of Rhodnius, Mikael Dai Rosalia, one of the men who had inflicted an enormity of defeats upon the Rhodnius Territory over the last few centuries. Roland had only heard rumours of why he had fallen, though he knew that some of the most powerful men in Rhodnius had been involved, as well as supporters of some of the Great Families of Ansem.

With the fall of Mikael in the past, Rhodnius managed to regain much of its lost territory, as well as inflicting multiple defeats on Ansem. Were it not for the rapid rise of Falma later, and then Armand, it is likely that at least a third of Ansem's current territory would have belonged to Rhodnius.

The battle was about to begin. No one had noticed that from this room in the cave, one of them had disappeared. At some point Sagat had managed to escape, thanks to Sylas' intervention, albeit with many wounds inside him.

...

When Nerun and Silvester heard the voice, their eyes widened and looking at each other, they realised that the worst possible situation had occurred.

Before entering Sagat's lair, the boys from the Orphanage, together with Maikal, had made several plans in case they got separated and to deal with different situations. Plan A, which was the one they were originally executing, and the best outcome they were hoping for, was to simply rescue Eliana and disappear, before Sagat and any of his henchmen realised.

Given Ocelot's presence, and that he had found Elijah, it was up to them to go to Plan B, in which Maikal would do everything in his power to keep Sagat trapped, while the boys escaped. If they could rescue Eliana they should do so, but safety was the most important thing. Plan C indicated that trouble had occurred and there were more high-level warriors than expected. In this case the arrival of Roland and his men indicated that they had to be on this plan. Maikal would hold the fort, while the others were to flee at once, with Elijah's support. In fact, they were currently on Plan C, only Maikal did not know of Ren and Malo's presence, after all, he was not clear of the plans Roland had previously made.

Plan D, basically indicated that everything had gone to hell. A high-level Warrior had appeared, at least one Qi Emperor. The kids had to escape no matter what. Even if Eliana hadn't been rescued, they had to get out of the cave. Elijah, if he was with them, was to escort them, otherwise, his mission was to use his top speed to get out of the cave and quickly seek out Ansem's army to report what was happening, without wasting any time.

For this reason, Silvester began to run harder to escape from the cave in the company of the others. However, he quickly stopped when he realised that Nerun had not moved from his place as if frozen.

"Nerun, what is wrong with you? You know Father's orders, we have to leave quickly, otherwise there may be great danger." said Silvester almost shouting, to make Nerun react. However, Nerun seemed to be seriously wrestling with something in his mind and finally he seemed to make up his mind and went back to the cell where the woman was tied with chains.

"NERUN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Come back at once, you know we can't waste any time" Silvester blurted out, as he hurried back to the cave. The others did not know what to do and also followed Silvester back into the cell room.

"We can't leave her alone. She helped us and saved our lives. You know what Plan D means, if we leave her alone she's likely to die or worse." Nerun said as he arrived at Arbak's side.

"What are you doing kid? You should listen to the fat boy and get out of here as soon as possible," said the woman.

"Beautiful Big Sister Arbak, we must help you. It is possible that a high ranking warrior is about to arrive, or is already inside the cave. We need to get you out of here as soon as possible," Nerun commented quickly as he used all his strength to try to break the chains, without much success. Silvester reached Nerun's side and wanted to open his mouth again, but seeing Nerun's stubborn and obstinate look, he knew there was no way he could convince him.

When Arbak heard Nerun's words, her pupils shrank. Ailan, Eliana and Roxanne turned pale and wanted to run away at once, but it was impossible for them to escape without Nerun and Silvester, who were the strongest among them, especially since Roxanne was wounded. In the end they could do nothing but sigh and accompany Nerun who was ruminating ideas to help Arbak.

Nerun did not want to run away. He felt deep inside that Arbak had saved their lives, and abandoning her to her fate was impossible for him. Nerun, who had grown up with almost nothing beyond his "father and brothers" was someone who placed immense value on relationships, as well as on people who had done him good. That is why his attitude growing up was to return a lake for a drop of water received and to pay back in spades anyone who had harmed him. So for the first time, he ignored Maikal's instructions and stayed behind to try to help Arbak escape from the cage.

Nerun tried everything he could think of, but there seemed to be no quick solution. Minutes went by and he was beginning to get desperate. In the end, he had made some kind of important decision in his head and started searching on his clothes for something, when all of a sudden he heard some noise behind.

Roxanne, Ailan and Eliana were looking at a tall, bald man, with a hideous scar in his chin and torso, who looked ferocious and had a lot of blood on him. The man was looking at them as if a ferocious beast was looking at prey about to be mangled. There was unconcealed rage in his eyes, and his Qi was a bit unstable but otherwise exuberant and making them feel as if they were totally exposed and helpless.

While Sagat looked at the children, despair started to bloom in their hearts. There was no way out in front of a Qi General.