Hide N Seek

And the best part is that this kid shrugs it off as if it was nothing, like an average Thursday afternoon of seeing someone murk themselves.

After passing through the initial hallway, Duncan found himself in a vastly different place the further he ran into the Crystal Princess' lair. And the kid learned that there was a reason why she was titled as such since the entire place was littered with beautiful chunks of white and light purple crystals.

But as mesmerizing as it was to look at them, Duncan knew that those things could turn into weapons to hurt him. The child recalled his lessons with Mavislin, who had stated that those with the most beautiful powers and Elements are usually those that should not be messed around.

Since they would pounce when you were distracted by their beauty, Duncan halted his run and took a deep breath to see if he was going the right way. But as Duncan used his sense of smell, his nose led him to a track that branched off from the initial path.

That's odd... But I should trust my nose, thought the child before shrugging and taking the more rocky path. And though it was somewhat difficult to navigate, Duncan found it fun to weave around in those massive crystals. Finally, the child found himself standing at a huge set of doors.

It was beautiful to see the giant doors made out of crystal with snowflake designs... It was like entering an ice palace made out of crystals. As Duncan placed a hand on them, the door swung open as if the occupant inside had been awaiting a guest.

Though it wasn't as big as Vastra's Palace, the Crystal Princess' Cave was huge in its own right as the area was littered with varying sizes of white crystals. In Duncan's opinion, the floor had the same snowflake design as the two front doors and looked magical.

However, unlike Vastra's lair or a palace, there wasn't a throne or furniture. Furthermore, Duncan thought it was not very interesting since only crystals were around.

"Who gave you permission to wander into my lair, puny child?" thundered a strong, female voice.

Duncan instantly summoned the Ankou's Scythe to his hands as he scanned the room. Unfortunately, the voice came from all corners of the giant room, so Duncan found it confusing.

"I don't need anyone's permission to break into my target's lair... I'm on a mission to kill you, so please show yourself so that I can succeed in my task," replied Duncan, spinning his weapon with grace and finesse.

The area tremored as the Crystal Princess laughed at Duncan's request. The child felt a vein pop in his forehead as he raised his blade above his head and slammed it down to the ground to silence that high-pitched annoying laughter.

The beautiful snowflake on the ground cracked as Duncan pierced the floor with his scythe. This act managed to silence the laughter, but the Crystal Princess was still nowhere to be seen.

"Alright then... Since you are so hell-bent on trying to find and kill me... I'll let you on a secret; I am here, but I've sealed myself in a crystal amongst all these in the room. Good luck finding me, little child of the scythe," replied Astria as her taunt irked Duncan more than helped him.

"Tch... What a pain to deal with these kinds of girls... Why can't I have a target that could show themselves for the thrill of the battle?" complained Duncan as more crystals appeared around him.

For the next few Tocks, Duncan wasted effort destroying the area to find that pesky Princess. And because this area was her turf, Astria's scent was everywhere, rendering Duncan's sense of smell useless and frustrating the child.

"I swear... When I find you, I will tear your head from your neck with my bare hands!" yelled Duncan, smashing the umpteenth crystal with his gigantic weapon.

Even the Ankou was starting to snore about how boring this game of hiding and seek was and asked Duncan if he was ready to unleash his Original Spell. But this early into the fight meant that Duncan's body hadn't warmed up yet, and he could not discern his enemy's true power.

Using a random spell blindly to test the waters might prove fatal since Duncan's body wasn't as well-trained as the rest of the group. But if he doesn't use a Spell soon, this thing might go on forever, and he'd die from exhaustion. Duncan sighed and held the scythe upright.

The handle touched the ground while the blade was in the air and pointed to Duncan's left side. The child then closed his eyes as he allowed his Elemental Aura to emerge, causing the area to blossom out more crystals as a defense mechanism.