Lurking

The current day found Verte collapsed on the scorched earth, her body trembling from the toll of battle. Across the debris-strewn field, Acrodontayay advanced slowly, his voice ringing out with bitter contempt.

"I've seen it all from you elves now! You all use the same tricks and always end up with the same results in fights!" he bellowed, his words laced with a venom that matched the desolation around them.

Verte mustered what little strength she had left and raised both palms to the ground. "Have you ever seen an elf do this?" she challenged, her voice strained yet defiant. As she pressed her hands into the soil, the earth itself began to shudder. White magical energy surged through her veins, stirring even the strands of her hair into a weightless dance.

"Elemental Harness—Imperfect Technique..." she intoned, her eyes locking onto the roiling sky. Then, as if summoned by her call, six colossal statues of women appeared overhead, each locked in a prayerful pose. They towered over the island, their sizes magnitudes greater than the land below. Each statue radiated a potent aura tied to one elemental force—fire, water, plant life, lightning, air, and earth. One by one, they unleashed shimmering tendrils of magical energy that snaked through the sky, latching onto Verte and inundating her with raw power.

In an instant, radiant rainbow wings unfurled from her back, reminiscent of an angel's glorious span, glowing fiercely with elemental light. Her eyes turned an otherworldly white, and enigmatic X-shaped markings blossomed across her face.

"Incomplete Avatar," she whispered, her voice carrying both awe and newfound strength.

Acrodontayay's eyes widened in disbelief. "What is this?! Some sort of secret god form?" he jeered.

A surge of power pulsed through Verte's hands as she concentrated, thoughts racing with a single, lethal resolve: One shot... should be enough to kill him!

"So you're silent now? Well, I won't just sit here and let you charge up!" Acrodontayay roared, lurching forward with predatory ferocity.

"Incomplete Avatar: Burst Beam!!!" Verte commanded, releasing a massive, pulsating beam of rainbow magic. The radiant blast slammed into Acrodontayay at point-blank range, exploding into a towering pillar of chromatic energy. A guttural cry of pain tore from him as the impact shattered his resolve.

In the aftermath, the statues that had empowered Verte dissipated into nothingness, their presence fading like distant memories. Verte sank to her knees, her eyes struggling to remain open amidst the overwhelming fatigue. "Did I... do it..." she murmured, barely audible as she stared at the scorched ground.

As the dust from the colossal explosion settled, it revealed a vast crater rimmed with flames, shards of ice, and clinging vines—a stark reminder of the power unleashed that day. Verte, her strength waning, tried to rise and confront the devastation, but before she could fully steady herself, a rasping voice shattered the silence.

"You thought it would be that easy?" Acrodontayay's voice emerged from the crater like a twisted echo of doom. Crawling from the depths, he revealed a nightmarish visage: his skin and scales were charred and peeled away, his head bare enough to expose a skull, and his eyes appeared as if they were melting in agony—yet he moved with unnerving composure.

"I'm a god of war!!!" he screamed, unleashing a powerful shockwave that rippled through the shattered landscape. In the chaos, the fallen lizard man allies began to stir, rising as a macabre undead army, their forms reassembling in grotesque unison.

Verte's heart pounded as she staggered, her voice barely a whisper. "No..." She sank down, one knee collapsing under the immense pressure of the moment.

Acrodontayay drew closer, his voice now tinged with the bitterness of ancient grudges. "Elf kind—they forced us out of the forest, calling our nature horrible and barbaric." With each step, the horde of undead lizard men shuffled behind him like a dark tide. "There has always been a belief that lizard-men are pure evil, existing only to deceive, destroy, and feast on the innocent. Yes, we do all that; we are a force of destruction. But no elf, no human, no dwarf, fairy, or giant understands that, deep down, we are living beings too!"

He stepped even closer, his tone intensifying with raw emotion. "Yes, we exist to devour, to destroy—our will to destroy is as vital as a human's will to live. We kill not out of malice, but to experience life itself. You cannot take life away from a creature, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Even the smallest cockroach loves life." His glare locked onto Verte, as if daring her to refute his bitter truths.

Verte looked downward, blood trickling from her face, her gaze haunted by unspoken sorrow. "But I have nothing to do with that—I'm not the same as the other—" she began, her protest strangled by the gravity of his words.

"It doesn't matter!" Acrodontayay roared, his voice a thunderclap in the gloom. "I'm going to destroy you! Elves forced us out, killed our parents, and left us to fend for ourselves. You claim that we're emotionless monsters, but how can you be so sure? There's no scientific evidence to prove it—you simply assume we lack souls because you fear what you don't understand. You see us as monsters, and I'm here to prove you right. Because at this point in history, what else can be proven?"

In that electrifying moment, Acrodontayay lunged toward Verte. However, before he could land his blow, a glint of steel flashed through the fray. A hand, steady and resolute, impaled him through the chest.

His eyes widened in shock as he gaped, "What the—" he began, but was cut off as a tall, formidable figure stepped forward. Behind him stood a woman with long, unkempt dirty blond hair, a fearsome tiki mask obscuring much of her face, and a hunting spear gripped in one hand. In her other hand, she held a mysterious, glowing brown timepiece—a beacon of impending judgment.

Acrodontayay's voice faltered. "It's you... but why are you here... do you know what he'll do if he knew you interfered—" His protest was drowned out as the woman pressed her arm further through his chest, sealing his fate.

"I'm confident that today will also be his last day on this planet," the woman declared coldly, her tone final and unwavering.

"What—But how—" Acrodontayay stammered, but before he could utter another word, the spear cleaved through him. In a mesmerizing display, his halved form crumbled instantly to ash, while the undead army of lizard men collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Verte's eyes flickered, a mixture of shock and curiosity stirring within her. I can't sense her mana... is she... she wondered silently.

The woman removed her mask, revealing eyes that glowed with a rich, draconic brown intensity. Verte whispered in awe, "Gaia..."

"Gaia," the woman confirmed, her voice both gentle and commanding. "Visitor from The Negative Point. I see that you've become entangled in the conflicts of the lower land."

Verte attempted to rise, but her strength faltered, and she began to fall. Without hesitation, Gaia moved to support her. "Don't push yourself," she soothed, her touch both healing and firm. "I'll get you healed. And while I know this isn't the ideal moment to pry, I must ask—I've been asleep for a few days, only to awaken to a dangerous surge of mana. That must be your student, right?"

Verte's eyes widened in recognition. "Hiyoku?"

"If that is his name, then where is he?" Gaia inquired, her gaze probing for answers.

Far away, in the depths of a shadowed dungeon, a fierce struggle unfolded. Toruri kicked at a hulking golem until it shattered into fragments—yet, as if possessed by an unyielding force, the golem reformed almost instantly.

"It comes back faster and faster every time!" Toruri shouted, his frustration mingling with a grim determination.

Gnari, standing nearby, warned in a low tone, "If we don't find a way to permanently stop this thing, Toruri, we could be trapped here forever."

"Forever?" Hiyoku, who had been quietly seated on a cold, worn step, suddenly stood. His voice carried a fiery defiance, "Like hell." With that, he charged his fist, and flames began to lick up around it, igniting with the promise of retribution.

Toruri scowled, watching as the massive golem reassembled itself from the wreckage. "So now you decide to do something?" he muttered, irritation laced in his voice.

Hiyoku, standing with his arms crossed, shrugged. "I don't think I can do much better if you're already failing to kill this thing," he admitted. "But I could try a little something."

Gnari, standing off to the side, arched an eyebrow. "What ever happened to saving your strength for the Dark Lord?"

"Shut up," Hiyoku snapped. Without hesitation, he raised a palm toward the golem.

"Die."

A titanic beam of fire erupted from his hand, the sheer force of it tearing through the air with a resounding crack, as if breaking the sound barrier itself.

Toruri's eyes widened in horror. "Hiyoku! I'm still over here!!!" he shouted, but before he could dodge, the beam struck the golem, detonating into a massive sphere of flames. The explosion sent him flying several feet into the air, engulfed in the shockwave. Fortunately, he managed to unfurl his wings just in time, stabilizing himself before gliding back down to safety.

He landed beside Hiyoku with a smirk, his feathers still faintly singed. "Dude, you have some hot fire."

Hiyoku gave a small nod. "Thanks."

Despite the sheer intensity of the blast, the golem's massive frame reformed within the inferno, its single orange eye glowing ominously through the flames.

Gnari studied it carefully, her expression grim. "That weird liquid inside of it—it's nearly indestructible and can't be evaporated."

Hiyoku narrowed his eyes. "And that's what's bringing it back, right?"

Gnari nodded. "Yeah… Do you have a solution?"

Hiyoku hesitated. "N-No."

Before they could strategize further, the golem's eye flashed, unleashing a rapid barrage of energy beams.

"Move!" Toruri shouted.

The three scattered. Gnari slipped into a magical door, vanishing into thin air. Hiyoku soared upward, using his wings to evade the onslaught. Toruri leaped high, dodging the barrage as beams tore through the floor beneath them.

Toruri's expression darkened. "Zilla..." He took a deep breath, gathering raw magic into his mouth as energy crackled around him.

Hiyoku's body ignited with a radiant blaze. "Phoenix Magic: Full Phoenix!" A colossal aura in the shape of a fiery phoenix engulfed him, his wings expanding as he floated in the air.

Toruri clenched his fists. "Rex!!!"

With a roar, he unleashed a massive beam of condensed magic downward. The attack struck the golem dead center, obliterating its form in an instant. A thunderous explosion of orange energy followed, shaking the entire room as a shockwave rippled outward, sending debris flying.

But Hiyoku wasn't finished.

"BURNING MAN: LEAVE NO TRACE!!!"

His entire body became consumed in fire, his form indistinguishable within the roaring inferno. He streaked downward at blinding speed, plunging directly into the explosion caused by Toruri. The resulting detonation was cataclysmic—an even larger shockwave tore through the chamber, briefly forcing Toruri backward from the sheer force of it.

As the flames settled, a towering pillar of fire remained, burning fiercely in the center of the battlefield. Hiyoku flipped backward out of the flames, landing effortlessly. His fiery aura dissipated, leaving behind only the smoldering remnants of his attack.

He dusted off his hands with a smug grin. "Doubling up on the explosion."

Toruri landed beside him, his gaze still fixed on the blazing wreckage. "Don't get too excited. It could reform anytime now."

Hiyoku waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, it won't. I made sure that fire burns hot enough to keep it in a purgatory of burning."

At that moment, a magical doorway shimmered into existence behind them. Gnari stepped through, her expression calm and composed.

"Leave the rest to me." She clapped her hands together, a surge of magic emanating from her fingertips.

"Sealing Technique—Door Magic…" A massive glowing keyhole manifested in the center of the flames, swirling with an eerie, arcane energy.

"Hundred Year Lock!"

A grand door materialized within the inferno, opening wide. The fire, along with the remnants of the golem, was sucked inside in a violent vacuum before the door snapped shut with a final, resounding clank. In an instant, the massive structure transformed into a single, black-glowing key that hovered in the air.

Gnari caught the key before it could hit the ground. She turned to them with a warning. "Don't touch it. As long as it remains untouched, it'll be sealed in there."

Hiyoku placed his hands on his hips. "Alright, so how do we get to the Dark Lord now?"

Gnari turned toward a massive door at the far end of the chamber. She ran her fingers along its surface, frowning slightly. "Maybe if I find a way to teleport through… This door can't be that thick, right?"

Hiyoku crossed his arms. "And how will you do that—"

Before he could finish, Gnari pulled a dagger from her side.

"With this blink dagger."

Hiyoku blinked. "Wait, wait, wait—you have a blink dagger? You can just casually teleport?!"

Gnari tilted her head slightly, feigning innocence. "Uh… yeah."

Hiyoku groaned, rubbing his temples. "W-Whatever. Just do it."

Without another word, Gnari flicked the dagger into the air and vanished, reappearing instantly on the other side of the massive door. A magical doorway materialized between the two sides, granting Toruri and Hiyoku passage.

Hiyoku and Toruri stepped through the ancient door and into the dark lord's sanctum—a cavernous chamber bathed in a ghostly quiet. Vines clung to the low, crumbling ceiling, and a vast pool of still water, dominated by a solitary rock at its center, stretched out before them.

Gnari's voice cut through the silence, low and measured. "This should be the dark lord's room."

Hiyoku scanned the eerie space. "It's empty," he observed, though a tension prickled at his skin.

Toruri's eyes narrowed as he searched the shadows. "I can sense a trickle of mana here. Someone's hiding."

"Do you know where?" Hiyoku pressed, his voice growing impatient.

"If I knew, we'd already be fighting the guy," Toruri replied, his tone edged with irony.

Throwing caution to the wind, Hiyoku bellowed into the darkness, "DARK LORD GUY, COME OUT, I WANNA FIGHT!!!" His cry reverberated off the stone walls, echoing into the abyss.

A disembodied voice answered from the depths, silky and menacing, "Are you a sacrifice?"

Hiyoku scoffed. "Do I sound like a sacrifice to you?" he shot back.

In the impenetrable black above, two red, diamond-shaped pupils glowed ominously. The voice continued, "Why would you come?"

"I already told you, I want to fight," Hiyoku insisted, his voice bristling with defiance.

"How... repulsive. You're not food at all." From the shadows, gliding with eerie grace toward the lone rock in the pool, emerged the fairy dark lord Tariki.

"You wanted to fight?" Tariki's tone was cool and detached, every word laced with centuries of darkness.

Hiyoku couldn't hide his disdain. "Jeez, you're creepy looking."

Tariki's eyes flickered with ancient sorrow. "Years in the dark—and years surviving on the bodies and souls of the innocent—have forged me into what I am today."

"Innocent lives? You really must be evil," Hiyoku retorted, incredulity in his voice.

"All stories can be told from certain perspectives," Tariki replied softly, his words hinting at a tragic irony.

"And what? Is your story supposed to be sad or something?" Hiyoku taunted.

Tariki's reply was a whisper filled with bitter resignation. "It's only a story of self-inflicted tragedy."

In a sudden burst of defiance, Hiyoku ignited both of his fists in searing flames. The heat and light forced Gnari and Toruri to step back, wary of the escalating confrontation.

"Well, I'm not willing to listen," Hiyoku declared.

"Very well," Tariki intoned coolly. "You should have told me that you were a sacrifice."

Before Hiyoku could respond, an unseen force slashed across his back. Pain exploded through him as he staggered.

"The darkness is my domain—as long as you're in the dark, I reign supreme," Tariki declared with a cold finality.

"Big talk for a guy who just cheap-shot me," Hiyoku retorted, wincing. "How about you do more than just talk?"

Tariki's eyes widened with a mixture of hunger and desire. "That magical power you have..."

Hiyoku smirked, his flames dancing brighter. "You already feel it? I haven't even attacked you yet."

A desperate, almost maniacal cry filled the room from Tariki. "I NEED THIS!!!" he shouted, his voice cracking with unbridled intensity.

Hiyoku glanced back at Toruri and Gnari, who watched with wide, anxious eyes. "What is he—" he began, but was cut off.

Suddenly, without warning, Hiyoku was torn apart on all sides by an invisible, violent force. He crumpled to his knees, his body riddled with deep cuts and gashes, crimson blood mingling with the water at his feet.

Tariki's voice echoed around the chamber, laden with a dark, unyielding hunger. "You... will cure me!!!"